''London Town'' is the sixth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by the British–American rock group

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expresse ...

. It was released in March 1978, two years after its predecessor, ''

Wings at the Speed of Sound ''Wings at the Speed of Sound'' is the fifth studio album by the British–American rock band Wings, released on 25 March 1976. Issued at the height of the band's popularity, it reached the top spot on the US album chart—the band's fourth cons ...

''. The album had a long and tumultuous gestation during which the band's tour plans for 1977 were cancelled, due to

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 ...

becoming pregnant with her and

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 ...

's third child and two members of Wings having departed, leaving the band as a trio comprising Paul, Linda 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 ...

. Recording sessions were held intermittently over a period of a year, mainly at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...

in London and aboard a luxury yacht in the

Virgin Islands The Virgin Islands ( es, Islas Vírgenes) are an archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. They are geologically and biogeographically the easternmost part of the Greater Antilles, the northern islands belonging to the Puerto Rico Trench and St. Croix ...

. ''London Town'' charted in the top five positions in the UK and the US. It failed to repeat the success of Wings' three previous albums, however, and received mostly unfavourable reviews from music critics. The lead single, "

With a Little Luck "With a Little Luck" is a single by the band Wings from their 1978 album '' London Town''. Writing, recording and release "With a Little Luck" was written in Scotland and was Wings' follow-up single to the then best-selling UK Single of all tim ...

", was a number 1 hit in the US, but the album's subsequent singles achieved only minor chart success. Also recorded during the sessions was the 1977 non-album single "

Mull of Kintyre The Mull of Kintyre is the southwesternmost tip of the Kintyre Peninsula (formerly ''Cantyre'') in southwest Scotland. From here, the Antrim coast of Northern Ireland is visible on a calm and clear day, and a historic lighthouse, the second ...

", which, until 1984, was the best-selling single in UK chart history.

History

After the commercial success of 1976, with ''

'' and the well received

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 ...

, Wings' leader

planned on making 1977 a similar year. In February, Wings began recording sessions at

, which continued until the end of March. Wings recorded five songs there: "Girls' School", "Name and Address", "London Town", "Children, Children" and

's "B-Side to Seaside". The last was issued as the flip-side of the single "

Seaside Woman "Seaside Woman" is a 1977 single by Wings released under the pseudonym Suzy and the Red Stripes. It charted at #59 in the US and in the UK at #90 in 1986. History "Seaside Woman" was the first song Linda McCartney wrote by herself, in response to ...

" (issued under the name "Suzy and the Red Stripes"). The initial plan that Wings would tour in the US once more was thwarted by Linda's discovery that she was pregnant with her and Paul's third child. With the knowledge that they were not going to tour and had time at their disposal – and once again looking for different locales to record in – Wings found themselves moored on a yacht called ''Fair Carol'' in the

''The Words and Music of Paul McCartney: The Solo Years'' p. 79 during the month of May where several new songs were recorded. Reflecting the nautical locale, the album's working title was ''Water Wings''. As Linda's pregnancy progressed, the band halted the sessions for the album, except for the recording of a new track called "

" that August and the completion of the already begun "

Girls' School Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education and gender-isolated education, is the practice of conducting education with male and female students attending separate classes, perhaps in separate buildings or schools. The practice of ...

". The two songs were released as a single in late 1977 – Wings' only new release that year.''McCartney: Songwriter'' p. 121 Before the single's release came two defections from Wings: drummer Joe English had become homesick for

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and returned home, and lead guitarist

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 ...

left Wings to join the

Small Faces Small Faces were an English rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966. The band w ...

that September. For the first time since 1973's '' Band on the Run'', Wings were down to the core three of Paul, Linda and

, as reflected on the picture sleeve of the single. In November, two months after the birth of the McCartneys' son

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

, and shortly after sessions for ''London Town'' resumed, the Scottish tribute "Mull of Kintyre" was released to enormous commercial success. The song became the UK's biggest-selling single, outstripping

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' largest seller "

She Loves You "She Loves You" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and recorded by English rock band the Beatles for release as a single in 1963. The single set and surpassed several sales records in the United Kingdom charts, and set a record i ...

". Although it would be topped in 1984 by Band Aid's "

Do They Know It's Christmas? "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a charity song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was first recorded by Band Aid, a supergroup assembled by Geldof and Ure consisting of pop ...

", "Mull of Kintyre" still ranks as the UK's fourth biggest-selling single and the largest selling non-charity single. Recording for ''London Town'' was completed with some final overdubbing in January 1978. The single "

" was released on 31 March and became a number 1 hit in the US. The album also features the song "

Girlfriend A girlfriend is a female friend, acquaintance or partner, usually a female companion with whom one is platonically, romantically, or sexually involved. In a romantic context, this normally signifies a committed relationship where the indi ...

", which American pop star

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

subsequently covered on his 1979 album ''

Off the Wall ''Off the Wall'' is the fifth studio album by American singer Michael Jackson, released on August 10, 1979, by Epic Records. It was Jackson's first album released through Epic Records, the label he recorded under until his death in 2009, and t ...

''. In 1993, ''London Town'' was remastered and reissued on CD as part of the '' Paul McCartney Collection'' series. "Mull of Kintyre" and "Girls School" were added as bonus tracks. Laine included versions of "Children Children" and "Deliver Your Children" on his 1996 album ''Wings at the Sound of Denny Laine''.

Reception

''London Town'' received generally unfavourable reviews from music critics. In the charts, it peaked at number 4 in the UK and number 2 in the US, where it sold over one million copies and went platinum. After a strong start initially, however, it lacked the staying power of Wings' previous releases. The album's follow-up singles, " I've Had Enough" and the title track, became relatively minor hits. The album marked the end of Wings' commercial peak and the beginning of a minor commercial slump for McCartney. Paul McCartney was reportedly displeased with

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

in the US, where "Mull of Kintyre" was ignored by radio programmers; its B-side, "Girls School", reached only number 33 on the US charts. He was further dismayed at what he viewed as Capitol's lacklustre promotion for ''London Town''. With his contract at an end, he signed up with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

for North America (remaining with

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

elsewhere in the world) and would stay there until 1984, before returning to Capitol in the US.''The Words and Music of Paul McCartney: The Solo Years'' p. 180 The album was certified platinum in Australia on the day of its release.

Track listing

All songs written by

, except where noted. Side one #" London Town" (Paul McCartney,

) – 4:10 #"Cafe on the Left Bank" – 3:25 #" I'm Carrying" – 2:44 #" Backwards Traveller" – 1:07 #" Cuff Link" – 2:03 #"Children Children" (McCartney, Laine) – 2:20 #"

" – 4:31 #" I've Had Enough" – 3:02 Side two #

" – 5:45 #"Famous Groupies" – 3:34 #" Deliver Your Children" (McCartney, Laine) – 4:17 #"Name and Address" – 3:07 #"Don't Let It Bring You Down" (McCartney, Laine) – 4:34 #"Morse Moose and the Grey Goose" (McCartney, Laine) – 6:27 Additional tracks on 1993 CD reissue #

" – 4:38 #"

" (McCartney, Laine) – 4:42

Personnel

– lead vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, percussion, violin,

flageolet The flageolet is a woodwind instrument and a member of the fipple flute family which includes recorders and tin whistles. Its invention was erroneously ascribed to the 16th-century Sieur Juvigny in 1581. There are two basic forms of the instrume ...

, recorder, Gizmotron *

– vocal (lead vocals on "Children Children" and "Deliver Your Children"), guitars, bass, flageolet, recorder, percussion *

– vocal, keyboards, percussion *

– guitars, bass, percussion * Joe English – vocal, drums, percussion, harmonica

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1978 albums Albums produced by Paul McCartney Albums with cover art by Hipgnosis Capitol Records albums Parlophone albums Paul McCartney and Wings albums