A long-awaited book by Paul McCartney details his time in Wings

Paul McCartney had reached the pinnacle of global fame with the Beatles by the end of the 1960s. What he did for the next decade, after the end of the band themselves a few months later, is captured in this hefty oral history.

Wings: The Story Of A Band On The Run pairs McCartney with historian Ted Widmer, who has dug into archives and been given access to material from Man On The Run, a McCartney documentary due out early next year. There are comments from McCartney himself, ex-Beatles, other Wings personnel, family members and further figures in the Wings orbit – these including Sean Ono Lennon, Chrissie Hynde and graphic designer Aubrey Powell.

We get the inside track on Wings’ entry into the Bond theme annals – 1973’s Live And Let Die, perhaps the greatest example of the form to this day – and their ascent to American stadium rock status. There are also plentiful off-the-wall moments, from an attempted mugging in Lagos to the time some gnarly punk rockers approached McCartney in London, only to lavish unlikely praise on Wings’ exceedingly non-punk Mull Of Kintyre, 1977’s Christmas number one. Albums like Band On The Run itself are thoroughly dissected, alongside a cultural and band-related timeline, a discography and gigography, and a wealth of previously unseen photographs.

McCartney’s 1980 began with a drug bust in Tokyo and ended with the death of his former bandmate, John Lennon. Tired of the madness associated with band life, Wings fizzled out not long after this, but left behind a strong musical legacy, with album sales running into the millions. Their story is revived here with an insightful, revealing and often astonishing book.

Source: buzzmag.co.uk

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