Wings

Wings was formed in 1971 by Paul McCartney as a means of getting back on the road with a working band after the slow, bitter split of The Beatles. Formed after the recording of his 1971 album Ram, the band, who would more commonly be referred to as Paul McCartney & Wings, was comprised of Paul on bass and vocals, his wife Linda on keyboards and backing vocals, Denny Laine on guitar and vocals, and Denny Seiwell on drums. The quartet released their debut album, Wild Life, to scathing reviews from critics. Their next three non-album singles – 1972’s “Give Ireland Back to the Irish,” “Mary Had A Little Lamb,” and “Hi Hi Hi” – were more successful but did not achieve the expected success of a former member of The Beatles. However, after the addition of lead guitarist Henry McCullough, the group bounced back with the May 1973 release of Red Rose Speedway, which included the international hit single “My Love.” Wings followed that success with the now-classic James Bond theme “Live and Let Die,” which was another worldwide hit. Seiwell and McCullough left the band before they went into record their next album, so Band on the Run (December 1973) featured both McCartneys and Laine playing most of the instruments. The album was an enormous success and hit the top of the charts in the UK, the US, Canada, Norway, and Australia while landing in the Top 20 in Germany, Italy, and Japan. McCartney recruited two new band members – drummer Joe English and lead guitarist Jimmy McCulloch – for the recording of their next album, Venus and Mars, which was also an international success. The same line-up recorded the hit album Wings at the Speed of Sound (1976) and the triple vinyl LP live release Wings Over America (1976). As the group prepared for the recording of their next album, English and McCulloch left Wings and the core trio of Paul, Linda, and Denny Laine recorded the album London Town (1978), which was not as successful as their previous releases. Along with new guitarist Lawrence Juber and drummer Steve Holley, Wings released Back to the Egg (1979), which was their most exciting and energetic album since Band on the Run. However, the album was not a critical or commercial success and, after Paul McCartney was busted for marijuana possession in Japan in January 1980 and the murder of John Lennon at the end of the same year, Wings split up. Guitarist Jimmy McCulloch died of a drug overdose on September 25, 1979. Linda McCartney died from breast cancer on April 17, 1998. Guitarist Henry McCullough died on June 14, 2016. Denny Laine died on December 5, 2023. In 2024, the previously unreleased album One Hand Clapping was issued and credited to Paul McCartney & Wings. The recordings came from a live-in-the-studio session that had originally been taped in 1974 for a documentary that was later scrapped. During these sessions, the band ran through Wings hits and album tracks, surprising cover versions, and even a few Beatles classics.

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