Wings (band)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 Wings in 1971. Clockwise from left: Paul McCartney, Denny Seiwell, Denny Laine, Linda McCartney
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| Background information | ||
| Origin | England | |
| Genre(s) | Rock | |
| Years active | 1971–1981 | |
| Label(s) | Apple Parlophone Capitol Atlantic |
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| Former members | ||
| Paul McCartney Linda McCartney (deceased) Denny Laine Denny Seiwell Henry McCullough Jimmy McCulloch (deceased) Joe English |
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Wings was a rock music band led by Paul McCartney and formed in August 1971, shortly after the breakup of The Beatles.[1] Wings achieved widespread fame during the 1970s despite continual personnel changes.[2]
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[edit] History
As The Beatles were breaking up in 1970, Phil Spector was putting the finishing touches to Let It Be, and McCartney was working on his debut solo album, McCartney. He played all the instruments: bass, drums, acoustic guitar, lead guitar, piano, Mellotron, organ, toy xylophone, bow and arrow,[3] and sang all the lead vocals. Backing vocals were provided by his wife, Linda, whom he had married the previous year. McCartney insisted - from the beginning of their marriage - that his wife should be involved, so that they did not have to be apart when he was on tour.[4]
The song, "Maybe I'm Amazed" (one of McCartney's many love songs about Linda) [5] was called, "One of the best songs McCartney has ever written",[6]
In August 1971, drummer Denny Seiwell, and ex-Moody Blues guitarist and singer Denny Laine, joined McCartney and wife Linda McCartney to record Paul's third post-Beatles project. The result was Wild Life, the first project to credit Wings.
The band name is said to have come to McCartney as he was praying in the hospital while Linda was giving birth to their second child together, Stella McCartney.[7] Paul McCartney recalled in the film Wingspan that the birth of Stella was "a bit of a drama"; there were complications at the birth and that both Linda and the baby almost died. He was praying fervently and the image of wings came to his mind. He decided to name his new band "Wings".[7]
In 1972, McCartney added ex-Spooky Tooth guitarist Henry McCullough to the line-up of his band, and returned to touring, mounting an impromptu tour of UK universities and later a tour of small European venues (with the group driving around in a van), playing no Beatles numbers.[8]
In February 1972, Wings released a single called "Give Ireland Back to the Irish",[9] as a response to the events of Bloody Sunday which was banned by the BBC[10] for its political stance, and only mentioned in chart rundowns on BBC Radio 1 as "a record by Wings". It reached #16 in the UK, #1 in The Republic of Ireland and #1 in Spain.
Partly in reaction to the ban, McCartney released a children's song as his next single: "Mary Had a Little Lamb". Wings' next single, November 1972's "Hi, Hi, Hi" was also banned by the BBC for alleged drug references. The other side, "C Moon" was played instead.[7] The single made it into the top 5.
In October 1972, Wings also recorded the hit theme song to the James Bond film Live and Let Die, which reunited McCartney with producer George Martin. Over the years, this has remained one of a popular part of McCartney's concert performances (often played to fireworks).
In early 1973, McCartney re-christened the band Paul McCartney and Wings for the album Red Rose Speedway which yielded the first US number one Wings hit, the romantic ballad "My Love".
That same year, McCartney filmed his first American TV special James Paul McCartney, which was savagely criticised by noted rock journalist Lillian Roxon. After a successful British tour in May-June 1973, Denny Seiwell and Henry McCullough left the band, leaving the McCartneys and Denny Laine to cut their next album at EMI's recording studio in Lagos, Nigeria, recording what turned out to be their masterpiece, Band on the Run.
The album went to #1 and spawned several hit singles including the rockers "Jet" and "Helen Wheels", and the dynamic title track—a suite of movements recalling side 2 of Abbey Road. Moreover Band on the Run enjoyed very positive critical reception, and did much to restore McCartney's somewhat damaged post-Beatles image. It also included the heavy "Let Me Roll It", which was seen as an affectionate impersonation of John Lennon's solo style.
After this, Jimmy McCulloch and Geoff Britton, lead guitar and drums respectively, joined the band, now rechristened Wings again. The first recording session with the new members was held in Nashville and produced the rocky non-album single "Junior's Farm". The new lineup then moved to New Orleans to create the album Venus and Mars (1975), an album that topped the Charts, and contained the #1 hit single "Listen to what the man said", which incidentally featured Dave Mason of Traffic. While recording Venus and Mars, Joe English replaced Britton on drums. In the fall of 1975 Wings embarked on a world tour, starting in Bristol, which took them to Australia (November), Europe (March 1976), the US (May/June) and Europe again (September) and ending in a four-night grand finale at London's Wembley Empire Pool.
In between, Wings recorded Wings at the Speed of Sound, which was released at the end of March 1976. It represented a substantial departure from the Wings template in that each member of the band sang at least one song, including Linda ("Cook of the House"). It contained the #1 singles "Silly Love Songs" and "Let 'em In". Four of the tracks were played in the 1976 legs of the world tour, which also included five Beatles songs. Laine sang lead vocal for several songs and McCulloch for one, to emphasize that Wings was more than just a backing band for McCartney.[7] One of the Seattle concerts from the American leg of the 1975–76 world tour was filmed and later released as the concert feature Rockshow (1980). The tour also spawned a triple live album, Wings over America (1976).
Also in 1976, McCartney inaugurated Buddy Holly Week in London, founded on what would have been Holly's 40th birthday and marked with an annual celebrity party; his lifelong passion for the music of this rock'n'roll pioneer was also reflected in his acquisition of Holly's publishing catalogue. Ever the astute businessman, McCartney also cannily bought the rights to an off-Broadway musical he had seen in America, and this investment reaped huge returns when the musical was adapted into the smash-hit feature film Grease.
After the world tour, and following the single release of a live recording of "Maybe I'm Amazed" in early 1977, McCartney took a break, but this period produced both the most obscure and the most successful records he has made. He released the peculiar, unpromoted and little-known album Thrillington, an orchestral re-make of the earlier Ram album, issued under the pseudonym Percy "Thrills" Thrillington.
Later in the year, the band started recording their next album in the Virgin Islands, but the sessions were troubled by the departure of Jimmy McCulloch, and then Joe English. McCulloch had difficulty handling the rock'n'roll-triad, dying of a heroin overdose in 1979. English later founded the very successful Christian Joe English Band. Undeterred by their departure, McCartney released the ballad "Mull of Kintyre", an ode to the Scottish Mull of Kintyre coastal region he had made his home in the early 1970s. Its broad appeal was maximised by a pre-Christmas release, and it became a massive international hit, dominating the charts in Britain, Australia and many other countries over the Christmas/New Year period and becoming one of the biggest selling UK singles of all time.
Following this success, Wings released the album London Town in 1978. The album was a major commercial success, reaching #2 on the charts,[citation needed] but featured a markedly softer-rock, synth-based sound and yielded only minor UK hits in "With a Little Luck", "Deliver Your Children" and "I've Had Enough" (the former was a big hit in the US).
In 1979, McCartney signed a new record contract, leaving Capitol, the company he had been with since he was a Beatle, and, at least in the US, signed a deal with CBS Records. With CBS, they released the single "Goodnight Tonight", backed by "Daytime Nighttime Suffering", and the album Back to the Egg, which was favorably received, yet sold disappointingly, at least when compared to predecessors such as Band on the Run, Venus and Mars and London Town. Still it went platinum. Influenced by the Punk and New Wave scenes, Wings abandoned their mellow touch and hired Chris Thomas to help out in the production process. The result was a somewhat heavier album. It contained the song "Rockestra Theme", the result of an October 1978 superstar session with members of the Who, Led Zeppelin, Wings and Pink Floyd, and two singles were taken off the album, but did very little in the charts.
In November and December of 1979, Wings performed their final tour of the UK, climaxing with a massive rockestra all-star collection of musicians in London in aid of UNICEF and Kampuchean refugees. This final version of the band included guitarist Laurence Juber and former Elton John drummer Steve Holly, who had joined the group in 1978. During this tour the live version of "Coming Up" was recorded, this being their final US #1 hit the following year.
Plans for a new world tour were abandoned when in January 1980 McCartney was arrested for drug possession at Tokyo airport. Although he was released after 10 days, the Japanese tour was canceled and so were other plans. During 1980 Wings continued to demo some more tunes, and some work was done on a never-released "cold cuts"- album. On 27 April 1981, however it was announced that Denny Laine had left Wings, and that the band had been disbanded.
[edit] Legacy
The longevity and success of Wings can be seen as something of a vindication for McCartney, whose early home-grown solo output, which often featured simpler songs and less lavish production than The Beatles received from George Martin, sometimes led to critical dismissal of his work as "lightweight" next to the seemingly more serious nature of his former bandmates' solo output. But by the mid-1970s, Lennon's solo career had been put on hold following the birth of his son, Sean, and he had temporarily stopped recording; Harrison was also fading from view by this time, as by 1976 he had all but retired from recording and performing. As leader of Wings, however, McCartney continued to enjoy hit singles and albums the world over. He became the only one of the four Beatles who continued to tour and record regularly in the years after their split.
Wings' 1977 single, "Mull of Kintyre"/"Girls School" is still the biggest-selling non-charity single in the UK (although Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" sold more, its sales include a reissue in aid of the Terence Higgins Trust) and it ranked fourth in the official list of best selling singles in the UK issued in 2002.
[edit] Line-ups
Wings was ostensibly a true band, and in fact several members besides McCartney contributed songs and occasional vocals, but McCartney was unquestionably the group's leader and star. However, during its lifespan, Wings underwent numerous personnel changes. (Listings for 1978 through to 1981 also include the members of Rockestra, a "rock orchestra" formed by McCartney around this time which can be heard on the album Back to the Egg.)
| 1971–1972 | 1972–1973 | 1973–1974 | ||
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| 1974–1975 | 1975–1977 | 1977–1978 | ||
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| 1978–1981 | ||||
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[edit] Discography
- Wild Life (1971)
- Red Rose Speedway (1973)
- Band on the Run (1973)
- Venus and Mars (1975)
- Wings at the Speed of Sound (1976)
- Wings over America (1976)
- London Town (1978)
- Wings Greatest (1978)
- Back to the Egg (1979)
- Concerts for the People of Kampuchea (1981)
- With Others Artists (1979)
- Band on the Run: 25th Anniversary Edition (1999)
- Wingspan: Hits and History Compilation (2001)
[edit] Notes
- ^ The Beatles, Hunter Davies, 8 April 2004 (revised) Cassell Illustrated, ISBN 1-84403-104-7
- ^ McCartney interview Music Express", issue #56 (GG70470), the April/May 1982 edition
- ^ http://www.paulmccartney.fm/downloads/maccafm1w.PDF Paul McCartney PDF FileRetrieved: 14 November, 2006
- ^ Lewishon, p48.
- ^ Lewisohn. p12.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Wingspan: Hits and History. All Music Guide. Retrieved: -11-06.
- ^ a b c d Lewisohn, Mark. Wingspan: Little Brown, 2002. ISBN 0-316-86032-8
- ^ Paul McCartney biography(2003). MPL Communications. Retrieved: 11 December 2006.
- ^ BBC Radio Leeds interview Retrieved: 21 November, 2006
- ^ The seven ages of Paul McCartney, BBC News, 2006-06-17. Retrieved on 2006-11-06.
[edit] References
- Lewisohn, Mark (2002). Wingspan. Little, Brown and Company (New York). ISBN 0-316-86032-8.
[edit] See also
| Preceded by Shirley Bassey Diamonds Are Forever, 1971 |
James Bond title artist Live and Let Die (song), 1973 |
Succeeded by Lulu The Man with the Golden Gun, 1974 |
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| Official films John Barry Orchestra "The James Bond Theme" • Matt Monro "From Russia with Love" • Shirley Bassey "Goldfinger" • Tom Jones "Thunderball" • Nancy Sinatra "You Only Live Twice" • John Barry orchestra "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" • Shirley Bassey "Diamonds Are Forever" • Paul McCartney & Wings " Live and Let Die" • Lulu "The Man with the Golden Gun" • Carly Simon "Nobody Does It Better" • Shirley Bassey "Moonraker" • Sheena Easton "For Your Eyes Only" • Rita Coolidge "All Time High" • Duran Duran "A View to a Kill" • a-ha "The Living Daylights" • Gladys Knight "Licence To Kill" • Tina Turner " GoldenEye" • Sheryl Crow "Tomorrow Never Dies" • Garbage "The World Is Not Enough" • Madonna "Die Another Day" • Chris Cornell "You Know My Name" |
| Unofficial films Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass "Casino Royale" | Lani Hall "Never Say Never Again" |
