"London Town" is a song by the British–American rock band Wings. The title and opening track of their 1978 album '' London Town'', it was the third of three single releases from the album, reaching in the US, in Canada and in the UK. It also reached on the ''Billboard''

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

chart in the US.

Writing and recording

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

and

Denny Laine Denny Laine (born Brian Frederick Hines, 29 October 1944) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter, known as a founder of two major rock bands: the Moody Blues, with whom he played from 1964 to 1966, and Wings, with whom he played from 1 ...

began writing "London Town" in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Australia, in late 1975 during the

Wings Over the World tour The Wings Over the World tour was a series of concerts in 1975 and 1976 by the British–American rock band Wings performed in Britain, Australia, Europe, the United States and Canada. The North American leg constituted band leader Paul McCartne ...

, but they completed it later in Scotland. The recording features a lead vocal by Paul McCartney and backing vocals by

Linda McCartney Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney ( Eastman; September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, animal rights activist, vegetarian cookbook author and advocate, and entrepreneur. She was the keyboardist in th ...

and Laine. It was one of the first songs recorded for the ''London Town'' album, prior to the departures of Joe English and

Jimmy McCulloch James McCulloch (4 June 1953 – 27 September 1979) was a Scottish musician best known for playing lead guitar and bass, as a member of Paul McCartney's band Wings from 1974 to 1977. McCulloch was a member of the Glasgow psychedelic band One i ...

, who play drums and guitar, respectively, on the track. Laine also plays guitar, Paul McCartney plays

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

and Linda McCartney plays keyboards.

Lyrics and music

The lyrics of "London Town" describe "ordinary people" and everyday life in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. According to Beatles biographer John Blaney, it "presents a romanticized view of London; part reportage and part fantasy." Blaney elaborates that it combines "idealisation with acute observations of everyday street life." Music professor Vincent Benitez compares the effect of "quixotic" presentation of the people of London with that of the McCartney penned Beatle song "

Penny Lane "Penny Lane" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released in February 1967 as a double A-side single with "Strawberry Fields Forever". It was written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwr ...

." Benitez notes a theme of loneliness throughout the lyrics, as the singer feels alienated from the Londoners he describes. "London Town" is a

soft rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...

song in the

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

E major E major (or the key of E) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, ...

. The introduction to the song obscures the tonic by beginning phrases in different keys, but the key of E major is established at the end of the introduction and is then used to begin the first verse. The fourth and final verse is also based on the key of E major but the middle two verses begin and end on the key of

A major A major (or the key of A) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The key of A major is the only k ...

, which is the

subdominant In music, the subdominant is the fourth tonal degree () of the diatonic scale. It is so called because it is the same distance ''below'' the tonic as the dominant is ''above'' the tonicin other words, the tonic is the dominant of the subdomina ...

of E major. Benitez notes that besides using the same key, verses 1 and 4 are also linked in that they describe the singer meeting colorful Londoners and they end with the phrase "Silver rain was falling down/Upon the dirty ground of London Town." Besides sharing a key, verses 2 and 3 share a more pessimistic viewpoint—the singer's frustration at his inability meet ordinary people and the emptiness felt by an unemployed actor. These two middle verses also end with the phrase "Well, I don't know." The two

bridges A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whic ...

and the outro are also in A major. Benitez interprets the tension between the keys of E major and A major throughout the song as representing the "uncertainty felt by the protagonist, who is unsure about where to go in London."

Critical reception

Chris Ingham praised "London Town" as one of the best tracks on the album, stating that it was "full of the most sensitive pop

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

touches". ''

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

'' described it as a "melodic, atmosphere ballad" and particularly praised McCartney's vocal. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said is showed McCartney's "rare ability to combine simple elements and achieve intriguing results" and that the "well-timed pauses give the record an 'open' feel." McCartney biographer

Peter Ames Carlin Peter Ames Carlin (born March 13, 1963) is an American journalist, critic and biographer who has written for publications such as ''People'' magazine, ''The New York Times Magazine'', '' The Los Angeles Times Magazine'', and ''The Oregonian''. Seve ...

called it "a pleasantly spaced-out perspective on city life". Tom Waseleski of the '' Beaver County Times'' recognised the song as having "more substance" than other of McCartney's

tracks. Henry McNulty of the ''

Hartford Courant The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is considered to be the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven ...

'' praised it for its "fine, clear

harmonies In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However, ...

" and "sprightly, inventive

melody A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...

," recognizing it as one of the few decent songs on the album (along with the other two singles). Tim Riley calls it "willfully sulky".

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

biographers

Roy Carr Roy Carr (1945 – 1 July 2018) was an English music journalist, covering pop, rock and jazz. He joined the ''New Musical Express (NME)'' in the late 1960s, and edited ''NME'', '' Vox'' and ''Melody Maker'' magazines. Biography Born in Blackpoo ...

and

Tony Tyler James Edward Anthony Tyler (31 October 1943 in Bristol – 28 October 2006 in Hastings, East Sussex) was a British writer who authored several books and wrote for the ''NME'','' Macworld'', ''MacUser'', ''PC Pro'' and '' Computer Shopper''. He j ...

regard "London Town" as an "anachronism", with several Beatle-esque touches, including opening chords that sound like " Blackbird" and a chord progression similar to that in " The Fool on the Hill". Paul Sexton of udiscovermusic.com described it as a "laid-back, beautifully-harmonised and reflective piece about the British capital."

Weekly charts

References

External links

Lyrics from Paul McCartney's official site
{{authority control Paul McCartney songs 1978 singles Paul McCartney and Wings songs Songs written by Paul McCartney Capitol Records singles Song recordings produced by Paul McCartney Songs written by Denny Laine Music published by MPL Music Publishing Music videos directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg 1977 songs Songs about London 1970s ballads Rock ballads Songs about loneliness