Paul McCartney And Wings

Wings were a British-American rock band formed in 1971 by former Beatle bassist Paul McCartney, his wife Linda McCartney on keyboards, session drummer Denny Seiwell, and former Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine. Wings were noted for their commercial successes, musical eclecticism and frequent personnel changes; going through three lead guitarists and four drummers. However, the core trio of the McCartneys and Laine remained intact throughout the group's existence.

Created following the McCartneys' 1971 album ''Ram'', the band's first two albums, '' Wild Life'' (1971) and ''Red Rose Speedway'' (1973) (the latter featuring guitarist Henry McCullough), were viewed as artistic disappointments beside Paul's work with the Beatles. After the release of the title track of the James Bond film '' Live and Let Die'', McCullough and Seiwell resigned from the band. The McCartneys and Laine then released 1973's '' Band on the Run'', a commercial and critical success that spawned two top-ten singles in " Jet" and the title track. Following that album, the band recruited guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and drummer Geoff Britton, only for Britton to quit shortly afterwards and be replaced by Joe English. With the new line-up, Wings released 1975's '' Venus and Mars'', which included the US number one single "Listen to What the Man Said", and undertook a highly successful world tour over 1975–76. Intended as more of a group effort, ''Wings at the Speed of Sound'' (1976) was issued midway through the tour and featured the hit singles "Silly Love Songs" and "Let 'Em In".

In 1977, the band earned their only UK number one single, with "Mull of Kintyre", which became one of the best-selling singles in history. Wings experienced another line-up shuffle, however, with both McCulloch and English departing before the release of the group's 1978 album '' London Town''. The McCartneys and Laine again added new members, recruiting guitarist Laurence Juber and drummer Steve Holley. The resulting album, ''Back to the Egg'', was a relative flop, with its singles under-performing and the critical reception negative. During the supporting tour, Paul was arrested in Japan for cannabis possession, putting the band on hold. Despite a final US number one with a live-recorded version of " Coming Up" (1980), after Laine departed from the band, Wings discontinued in 1981.

History

Origins

After the Beatles' break-up in 1970, McCartney recorded two albums: ''McCartney'' (1970), credited to himself, and ''Ram'' (1971), with his wife, Linda McCartney. He had insisted from the beginning of their marriage that Linda should be involved in his musical projects, notwithstanding her lack of previous experience as a musician, so that they did not have to be apart when he was on tour. ''Ram'' was recorded in New York City, where McCartney auditioned a number of drummers and guitarists, selecting Seiwell and guitarist David Spinozza. When Spinozza became unavailable due to other session commitments, Hugh McCracken was enlisted to take his place.

1971–1973: First line-up

After the release of ''Ram'', McCartney decided to form a new group and asked Seiwell and McCracken to join. Seiwell accepted, but McCracken declined, so McCartney invited Denny Laine, whom he had known since the early 1960s, to join. Laine, who was working on a solo album at the time, got a phone call from McCartney enquiring if he would like to work with him, as McCartney said: "I'd known him in the past and I just rang him and asked him, 'What are you doing?' He said, 'Nothing', so I said, 'Right. Come on then!'" Laine then dropped plans for his album there and then. As he had in the Beatles, McCartney would serve as the chief bassist and lead singer for Wings and he doubled on guitar, keyboards, drums and assorted instruments at various times. When asked why he stayed on bass guitar rather than change back to guitar after the Beatles disbanded, he has explained that by then, he was "a bass player pretty much, who also happened to play guitar" and also considers himself a bassist who happens to play piano.

In August 1971, Seiwell and Laine joined Paul and Linda McCartney to record Paul's third post-Beatles album for Apple Records. The result was '' Wild Life'', released 7 December. It was the first project to credit Wings as the artist. 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, on 13 September 1971. 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."

In an attempt to capture the spontaneity of live performances, five of ''Wild Lifes eight songs were first takes by the band.Wright, Jeb
Denny Seiwell of Wings
. Interview, ''Classic Rock Revisited'' website. Retrieved 17 May 2007. The album included a cover of Mickey & Sylvia's "Love Is Strange". Like ''Ram'', ''Wild Life'' left music critics cold, a response that typified the anti-McCartney sentiments that prevailed among the music press following the Beatles' break-up. In their 1975 book '' The Beatles: An Illustrated Record'', Roy Carr and Tony Tyler called ''Wild Life'' "rushed, defensive, badly timed, and over-publicized", and wrote that it showed McCartney's songwriting "at an absolute nadir just when he needed a little respect".Carr, Roy, and Tyler, Tony. '' The Beatles: An Illustrated Record.'' New York: Harmony Books, a subsidiary of Crown Publishing Group, 1975. . Wings similarly struggled to gain artistic credibility, particularly during the early 1970s, with critics, fans and McCartney's musical peers alike ridiculing the inclusion of Linda as a keyboard player and backing vocalist.

On 24 January 1972, McCartney added to the Wings line-up guitarist Henry McCullough, after he had tried out for the band. The new line-up immediately mounted an impromptu tour of UK universities (with the group driving around in a van), followed by a tour of small European venues. Although this was the first tour including an ex-Beatle after the Beatles broke up, Wings played no Beatles numbers during the tour, to show that it was a new band in its own right.However, McCartney played a solo version of "Let It Be", on piano, at Nottingham
Paul McCartney biography
(2003). MPL Communications. Retrieved: 11 December 2006.

In February 1972, Wings released a single called "Give Ireland Back to the Irish", a response to the events of Bloody Sunday. The song was banned by the BBC
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