Paul McCartney is set to share his new book, which is an oral history of his band Wings, this week. Check out an exclusive photo and a new excerpt below.
News of the new book, titled Wings: The Story Of A Band On The Run, first arrived in February, and it will see the singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and Beatles icon look back at his time with Wings.
Set to arrive tomorrow (November 4), it is compiled from over 42 hours of interviews – including new discussions, historical interviews and newly discovered, previously unheard conversations from Paul’s personal archive.
Around 150 photographs capturing Wings throughout the years are included too, as well as some of Paul’s diary page entries from the time and handwritten lyrics. Anecdotes shared in the book will come from Linda McCartney, Denny Laine, Mary McCartney, Stella McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, George Martin, Sean Ono Lennon, Chrissie Hynde, Dustin Hoffman, Twiggy and all the members of Wings.
Shortly after the book was first announced, McCartney then revealed the cover – showing members Paul, Linda, Denny Laine, Henry McCullough and Denny Seiwell together while on tour in Spain in 1972 – and shared a foreword.
Today (Monday November 3), an exclusive photo has been shared from the new book – showing Jimmy McCulloch and Paul McCartney during the London Town recording sessions in 1977. The photo was taken on the Fair Carol yacht in the Virgin Islands, and photographed by Linda McCartney.
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In a newly-revealed excerpt Paul McCartney gave context to the image, sharing: “We had a little flotilla, so we could hang out with everyone, have parties and so on, and then Linda and I could go back to our own boat, where the children were.
“There is an up feel to the music from being on a boat. We got moved on a lot for being naughty rock and roll people infesting the waters. We moored at the island called St John’s. It’s a national park. ‘You must not play amplified music.’ But we had a whole thing going. You could hear it for miles. We got fined $15.”
A blurb of The Story Of A Band On The Run describes the book as “a landmark account of Paul McCartney’s triumphant musical reinvention in the 1970s and the subsequent rise of one of the decade’s most iconic bands – told by Paul and the people who were there.
“This remarkable cast tells the story of a band who made history – selling over 22 million albums and becoming the first band to achieve sales of over two million in the UK singles charts with Mull of Kintyre,” reads a new description. “A band who pushed the boundaries in both the studio and in live performances, from their first university tour through to pioneering large scale concerts, long before stadiums and arenas were commonly used for rock shows.”
Visit here to pre-order.
The upcoming release follows on from a number of releases celebrating Wings in 2024. These included the theatrical release of the film One Hand Clapping, its accompanying 1974 live-in-studio album, and a 50th anniversary edition of their 1973 third album, ‘Band On The Run’.
Later this month the band will also be sharing a definitive self-titled anthology collection, personally overseen by McCartney. It is available as a 3LP limited edition colour vinyl, as well as a 1CD and 1LP, and will include the band’s hits ‘Band On The Run’, ‘Live And Let Die’, ‘Jet’ and ‘Let ‘Em In’.
Meanwhile, ‘The Beatles Anthology’ project is returning next month with a new book, album and video, and Wings released a 50th anniversary reissue of their fourth studio album, 1975’s ‘Venus And Mars’ earlier this year too.
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