Paul McCartney reveals new details of life after The Beatles split
Sir Paul McCartney has disclosed he felt ‘completely adrift’ after The Beatles disbanded in 1970, confessing he ‘didn’t really know how to be in a band’ in the immediate aftermath.
The legendary musician, now 83, eventually found his footing with Wings, a group he formed in 1971 alongside his late wife Linda McCartney and former Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine.
Wings went on to release seven studio albums, including the critically acclaimed Band On The Run in 1973, before their eventual split in 1981.
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Reflecting on that period, Sir Paul shared: ‘The times with Wings were exciting because we built up to it, and eventually we hit the big time, there was a particular kind of excitement in achieving that goal.’
“After The Beatles I didn’t really know how to be in a band, it was a complete blank canvas, we’d go on the road with no plans, no hotels booked, no gigs lined up, and we thought the only place we might find a captive audience was at a university.
“A completely off-the-wall idea, but I’m glad we did it.”
The singer and bass player believes Wings is experiencing a resurgence in the 2020s, noting that in recent years he has been asked as many questions about his second band as he has about The Fab Four.
He added that many fans have told him their favourite album is a Wings record.
Sir Paul explained: “I don’t spend a lot of time looking back in general, I like to live in the moment, like everything else, it’s a timing thing.
“In recent years, I noticed I’d be asked just as many questions about Wings in interviews as I would about The Beatles.
“People would tell me that the first thing they heard of mine was Band On The Run or Jet, or that their favourite album was a Wings one. The reception for these songs in our live shows often takes me by surprise too…
“Suddenly Wings has found its moment. There’s a generational shift at play, and it’s like being transported back on a magic carpet.”
The band recorded their best-known album Band On The Run in Lagos, Nigeria, and Sir Paul explained that while he and his wife were enjoying a walk through the city during the time the album was being made, they were mugged when he thought he was being offered a lift.
Sir Paul said: “Linda and I were walking along a dark street, heading back to our place from a mate’s house, it was probably about two miles away.
“We thought, ‘beautiful Africa, beautiful night, starry sky’, just walking along, when suddenly a car pulled up, me, with my Liverpool attitude, I automatically assumed they were giving us a lift.
“There were four or five of them, and one small guy with a knife, that’s when we realised, ‘oh, you’re not offering us a lift at all – you’re robbing us’.
“I had all my demo cassettes for the album with me, and they took them. I had to remember the songs from memory. Luckily I did – they were still fresh, so I recalled them.
“The next day in the studio, the local manager said, ‘man, you’re lucky you were white, they figured you couldn’t identify them, if you were black, they might have killed you’.”
During their time together, Wings achieved 12 UK top 10 singles including a number one with “Mull Of Kintyre”, they also had eight UK top 10 albums including two number ones. The band is best known for songs such as “Jet”, “Silly Love Songs” and “Live And Let Die”, the theme to the 1973 James Bond film.
Sir Paul was speaking ahead of the release of Wings: The Story Of A Band On The Run on Tuesday, which will feature hours of interviews with the star, edited by American historian Edward “Ted” Widmer.
