Flashback: Paul McCartney and Wings release "Band On The Run"
It was 33 years ago today (December 5th, 1973) that Paul McCartney & Wings released Band On The Run. The album, which was one of McCartneys biggest critical and commercial successes, was mired in trouble before it began production.
While Wings was rehearsing the new material, guitarist Henry McCullough quit the band after an argument with McCartney over how a solo should be played. Then, just prior to the band leaving for Lagos, Africa to record the album, drummer Denny Seiwell phoned McCartney saying that he too was quitting.
Wings co-founder Denny Laine told us that he had no idea that the pair had quit until he didn't see them on the plane to Africa: "I didn't find out until they didn't turn up, because nobody told me what was going on. I just got the vibe. I knew that Denny was missing America, for example. I knew that he didn't like to travel. You know, he was basically a session man who got talked into going on the road."
Paired down to the trio of Paul and Linda McCartney and Denny Laine, the group recorded in the middle of the rainy monsoon season, while the Lagos EMI Studio was being built. One night Paul and Linda were robbed at knifepoint. The thieves who made off with the McCartney's cameras and cash also stole McCartney's demos for the album, which have never been recovered.
Macca took over drum duties on the album, and shared the majority of instruments with Laine. Laine recalled that the two-man band approach came naturally to him and McCartney: "We did that with Band On The Run a lot, where he would pick up an instrument, I would pick up another instrument and we'd put the backing track down. And then figure it out after that."
The first two singles pulled from Band On The Run, "Helen Wheels" and "Jet," both hit the Top Ten, helping to certify the album gold shortly after its release. The album lingered in the Top Ten until April 1974, when the Number One single success of the title track earned McCartney his third solo Number One album.
Band On The Run went on to top the album charts on two separate occasions -- the only such occurrence in McCartney's solo career.
In addition to the three hit singles, Band On The Run contained some of Macca's most enduring solo work, including such favorites as "Picasso's Last Words (Drink To Me)," "Bluebird," "Nineteen Hundred And Eight-Five," and "Let Me Roll It," one of the few Wings songs McCartney performs in his current shows.
While Wings was rehearsing the new material, guitarist Henry McCullough quit the band after an argument with McCartney over how a solo should be played. Then, just prior to the band leaving for Lagos, Africa to record the album, drummer Denny Seiwell phoned McCartney saying that he too was quitting.
Wings co-founder Denny Laine told us that he had no idea that the pair had quit until he didn't see them on the plane to Africa: "I didn't find out until they didn't turn up, because nobody told me what was going on. I just got the vibe. I knew that Denny was missing America, for example. I knew that he didn't like to travel. You know, he was basically a session man who got talked into going on the road."
Paired down to the trio of Paul and Linda McCartney and Denny Laine, the group recorded in the middle of the rainy monsoon season, while the Lagos EMI Studio was being built. One night Paul and Linda were robbed at knifepoint. The thieves who made off with the McCartney's cameras and cash also stole McCartney's demos for the album, which have never been recovered.
Macca took over drum duties on the album, and shared the majority of instruments with Laine. Laine recalled that the two-man band approach came naturally to him and McCartney: "We did that with Band On The Run a lot, where he would pick up an instrument, I would pick up another instrument and we'd put the backing track down. And then figure it out after that."
The first two singles pulled from Band On The Run, "Helen Wheels" and "Jet," both hit the Top Ten, helping to certify the album gold shortly after its release. The album lingered in the Top Ten until April 1974, when the Number One single success of the title track earned McCartney his third solo Number One album.
Band On The Run went on to top the album charts on two separate occasions -- the only such occurrence in McCartney's solo career.
In addition to the three hit singles, Band On The Run contained some of Macca's most enduring solo work, including such favorites as "Picasso's Last Words (Drink To Me)," "Bluebird," "Nineteen Hundred And Eight-Five," and "Let Me Roll It," one of the few Wings songs McCartney performs in his current shows.
The Rock Radio online