Band on the run

Band on the run
Paul McCartney & Wings studio album
Publication (s)	December 5, 1973 ( US ) , December 7, 1973 ( UK )
Label (s)	Apple / EMI / Universal Music
Format (s)	LP , MC , CD , download , app
Genre (s)	Rock music
Title (number)	9 (USA: 10)
running time	41 min 2 s (USA: 44 min 17 s)
occupation	Paul McCartney : vocals , acoustic guitar, bass , piano , keyboard , drums , percussion , synthesizer Linda McCartney : keyboard, vocals Denny Laine : vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, percussion Howie Casey : Saxophone Ginger Baker : Percussion Remi Kabaka : percussion Tony Visconti : Orchestration Ian and Trevor: backing vocals Sound engineer : Geoff Emerick
production	Paul McCartney
Studio (s)	EMI Studios-Nigeria-Apapa, Nigeria ARC Studios-Ikeja, Nigeria AIR Studios , London Kingsway Studios, London
chronology Red Rose Speedway (1973) Band on the run Venus and Mars (1975) McGear ( Mike McGear (& Wings)) (1974)

Band on the Run ( English band on the run ) is the third studio album by the group Wings . At the same time, it is Paul McCartney's fifth album after the Beatles split up . It was released on December 5, 1973 in the US and on December 7, 1973 in the UK .

Emergence

In May 1973 Paul McCartney had released the album Red Rose Speedway with the Wings . It was successful in terms of sales, but failed to convince the critics. Between the two tours in Great Britain from May 11 to 27 and a few appearances from July 4 to 10, 1973, the members of the Wings - Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney , Denny Laine , Henry McCullough and Denny Seiwell - followed suit Scotland back, where they were preparing new tracks for the next album. However, there was increasing tension within the band, mainly because McCartney had promised the band members a financial share in the income from albums and tours, but never implemented it. Seiwell deserved for example, since 1971 constant 70  dollars a week. Also artistically, Seiwell and McCullough could not get involved as much as they wanted.

McCartney planned to record the new album outside the UK and had for an EMI recording studio in Lagos ( Nigeria decided). About a week before the flight to Lagos the bad mood in the recording studio escalated and Henry McCullough got out of the band. Denny Seiwell announced his departure from the band on the day of the scheduled departure for Lagos on August 9, 1973, when McCartney made it clear that he would not hire a replacement guitarist. Paul and Linda McCartney flew to Lagos with Denny Laine, where they recorded parts of the new album Band on the Run within seven weeks.

During the recording they had to struggle with a wide variety of adversities: The EMI studio in Apapa in the Nigerian state of Lagos was spartan and had outdated technology, so McCartney, sound engineer Geoff Emerick and others put in partitions themselves to record different instruments on separate tracks to be able to. Paul McCartney booked two houses to stay in Ikeja , near the airport, an hour's drive from the studio in Apapa.

An incident occurred shortly after the band's arrival in Lagos: Paul and Linda McCartney were mugged and robbed in the evening, stealing all the demo tapes and lyrics, so that the titles had to be recapitulated from memory. Paul McCartney, in turn, suffered a breakdown during the shoot that doctors attributed to increased cigarette consumption.

The recordings of the songs Band on the Run , Mrs Vandebilt , Let Me Roll It , Mamunia , Helen Wheels , Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five and No Words finally took place in the EMI studios in Apapa; Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me) was created in Ginger Baker's ARC Studios in Ikeja . McCartney had originally planned to record the album with African musicians, but decided against it when he was accused by musician Fela Ransome-Kuti , among others, of "stealing" African cultural assets and wanting to exploit African music. Remi Kabaka, who played percussion on Bluebird , was the only Nigerian musician involved in the recording . Kabaka himself came from Lagos, but lived and worked in London, where he also worked on Bluebird . The Wings flew back to London on September 23, 1973.

Two weeks later, in October, the songs were orchestrated in the London AIR Studios under the direction of Tony Visconti, where the songs Jet and Bluebird were also recorded.

The final mixing then took place at the end of October / beginning of November 1973 at Kingsway Studios in London.

During the original recordings for Band on the Run , the song Oriental Nightfish, composed and sung by Linda McCartney, was recorded in AIR Studios, this song was only officially released in October 1998 on Linda McCartney's album Wide Prairie .

In November 1973, the Wings recorded two more songs, Wide Prairie and I Got Up , by Linda McCartney at the Pathé-Marconi studios in Boulogne-Billancourt, France , which were also released on Wide Prairie . Furthermore, the song Zoo Gang was recorded, which was the theme song of a British television series of the same name and was released as the B-side of the British edition of the single Band on the Run .

Band on the Run was released on December 5th in the US and on December 7th, 1973 in the UK. The song Helen Wheels, recorded in Lagos, was already released as a single on October 26, 1973, and it is included in the US edition of Band on the Run . In the USA, in 1975, a quadraphonic mix was also sold on 8-track cassettes ; this mix shows clear tonal differences, just like the DTS- CD in 5.1 mix released in May 1996 .

In 1977 the album Band on the Run was released in the Soviet Union with a completely new cover design. In this version, the title song Band on the Run has been replaced by Silly Love Songs , the speed of the songs on the album is also increased.

Band on the Run became the third number-one album for Paul McCartney in the US and the second in the UK. The album was extremely well received by both audiences and critics and is considered McCartney's artistic breakthrough with the Wings.

Cover design

The cover shows a group of “prison escapees” dressed in dark in front of a wall, which are illuminated by a spotlight. In addition to Paul and Linda McCartney and Denny Laine, you can also see the actors Christopher Lee , James Coburn , comedian Kenny Lynch , boxer John Conteh and the television presenters Michael Parkinson and Clement Freud . The idea to include other public figures in addition to band members came from Linda McCartney. The scene was photographed by Clive Arrowsmith . The backs of the covers of the US and European editions of the album differ in the arrangement of the things photographed, such as passport photos.

Track list

All songs were written by Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney, except No Words , which was composed by Denny Laine and Paul McCartney.

page 1

1. Band on the Run - 5:10
2. Jet - 4:06
3. Bluebird - 3:22
4. Mrs Vandebilt - 4:38
5. Let Me Roll It - 4:47

Page 2

1. Mamunia - 4:50
2. No Words - 2:33
3. Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me) - 5:50
4. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five - 5:27

The US-American LP (CD) also contained Helen Wheels on page 2, as a third song (CD title 8).

Information on individual songs

• The lyrics of the song by Band on the Run are based on a remark made by George Harrison during a Beatles business meeting in 1969: "... if I ever get out of here ..."
• Jet was also the name of a McCartney Labrador Retriever .
• Let Me Roll It is generally considered a friendly response to the John Lennon song How Do You Sleep from the album Imagine .
• Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me) goes back to an idea of ​​the actor Dustin Hoffman .
• Helen Wheels is about the McCartneys Land Rover and a drive from Scotland to London.

Re-releases

• In 1978, Band on the Run was released on Picture-Disc (USA), pink vinyl ( Netherlands ) and yellow vinyl ( France ).
• The album was first released on CD in Europe on February 4, 1985. The CD is accompanied by a twelve-page booklet with illustrations containing the lyrics. In the USA the album was released on CD in February 1984 on the recording company Columbia Records. A four-page booklet is enclosed with the CD.
• The album was released in January 1993 remastered by Steve Hoffmann in the DCC Compact Classics Edition as a 24-carat gold-plated CD. The CD comes with a twelve-page booklet that contains information about the album and the lyrics to the song. The CD plastic sleeve is in turn in a cardboard sleeve, which still contains a mini-format reprint of the original poster of the album.
• In April 1993 the CD was released in a version remastered by Peter Mew. The CD comes with a twelve-page illustrated booklet that contains information on the album and the lyrics to the song. The album has two bonus tracks:
  • Helen Wheels - 3:44
  • Country Dreamer - 3:07
• In May 1996 the CD was released in a DTS 5.1 mix version in the USA. The mix was done by Geoff Emerick and Alan O'Duffy and Peter Mew.
• In March 1999 the CD, remastered by Greg Calbi and Geoff Emerick again at Sterling Sound Studios , was released as a double CD and vinyl double LP under the title Band on the Run: 25th Anniversary Edition . The two CDs are in a hinged cardboard box that is accompanied by a 24-page booklet with illustrations containing information about the album and the lyrics to the song. The box also includes a mini-format reprint of the original poster from the album.

The first CD contains the US version, including Helen Wheels as track 8. The second CD contains the following titles:

1. Paul McCartney (Dialogue Intro) / Band on the Run (Nicely Toasted Mix) - 1:12
2. Band on the Run (Original) / Paul McCartney (Dialogue link 1) - 2:17
3. Band on the Run (Barn Rehearsal - 21st July 1989) - 4:59
4. Paul McCartney (Dialogue link 2) / Mamunia (Original) / Denny Laine (Dialogue) / Mamunia (Original) / Linda McCartney (Dialogue) / Paul McCartney (Dialogue link 3) - 4:23
5. Bluebird (Live version - Australia 1975) - 0:55
6. Bluebird (Original) / Paul McCartney (Dialogue link 4) - 0:23
7. Paul McCartney (Dialogue link 5) / No Words (Original) / Geoff Emerick (Dialogue) (Paul McCartney / Denny Laine) - 1:24
8. No Words (Original) / Paul McCartney (Dialogue link 6) / Tony Visconti (Dialogue) / Band on the Run (Original) / Tony Visconti (Dialogue) (Paul McCartney / Denny Laine) / (Paul and Linda McCartney) - 1: 47
9. Jet (Original from Picasso's Last Words) / Paul McCartney (Dialogue Link 7) / Jet (Original from Picasso's Last Words) / Al Coury (Dialogue) - 2:55
10. Jet (Berlin Soundcheck - 3rd September 1993) - 3:52
11. Paul McCartney (Dialogue link 8) / Clive Arrowsmith (Dialogue) - 1:44
12. Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five (Original) / Paul McCartney (Dialogue link 9) / James Coburn (Dialogue) / Paul McCartney (Dialogue link 10) / John Conteh (Dialogue) - 3:24
13. Mrs. Vandebilt (original) / Paul McCartney (Dialogue link 11) / Kenny Lynch (Dialogue) - 2:10
14. Let Me Roll It (Cardington Rehearsal - 5th February 1993) / Paul McCartney (Dialogue link 12) - 3:52
15. Paul McCartney (Dialogue link 13) / Mrs. Vandebilt (Background) / Michael Parkinson (Dialogue) / Linda McCartney (Band on the Run Photo Shoot) (Dialogue) / Michael Parkinson (Dialogue) - 2:25
16. Helen Wheels (Crazed) / Paul McCartney (Dialogue link 14) / Christopher Lee (Dialogue) - 5:32
17. Band on the Run (Strum Bit) / Paul McCartney (Dialogue link 15) / Clement Freud (Dialogue) - 1:01
18. Picasso's Last Words (Original) / Paul McCartney (Dialogue link 16) / Dustin Hoffman (Dialogue) - 4:22
19. Picasso's Last Words (Drink To Me) (Acoustic version) - 1:11
20. Band on the Run (Nicely Toasted Mix) / Paul McCartney (Dialogue Link 17) - 0:42
21. Band on the Run (Northern Comic Version) - 0:37

• In May 2007 the album was released in download format.
• In November 2010, Band on the Run was released , remastered for the third time, by the Hear Music / Concord Music Group label as part of The Paul McCartney Archive Collection . The remastering was done by Sam Okell and Steve Rooke at Abbey Road Studios . Allan Rouse was in charge of the project. The CD album has a cardboard cover that can be opened and a 22-page illustrated booklet is enclosed, which contains information about the album and the lyrics. The design comes from the company YES. The album was released in different formats:
  • Standard Edition
    The original British 9 track album
  • Deluxe version
    Two CDs: The original 9-track album with a bonus CD that contains the following songs, some of which have not been released before:
  1. Helen Wheels (single A-side) - 3:46
  2. Country Dreamer (single B-side by Helen Wheels) - 3:08
  3. Bluebird ( captured from video One Hand Clapping , 1974) - 3:27
  4. Jet ( captured from video One Hand Clapping , 1974) - 3:56
  5. Let Me Roll It ( captured from the video One Hand Clapping , 1974) - 4:23
  6. Band on the Run ( captured from video One Hand Clapping , 1974) - 5:13
  7. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five ( captured from video One Hand Clapping , 1974) - 5:58
  8. Country Dreamer ( captured from the One Hand Clapping video , 1974) - 2:14
  9. Zoo Gang ( Band on the Run single b-side in UK) - 2:01
  • The Special Edition also contained a DVD with the following content:
  1. Band on the Run (music video)
  2. Mamunia (music video)
  3. Album promo
  4. Helen Wheels (music video)
  5. Wings in Lagos
  6. Osterley Park
  7. One Hand Clapping (recorded in Abbey Road Studios , London , August 1974 )
     Track List:
     1. One hand clapping theme
     2. jet
     3. Soily
     4. C moon
     5. Little Woman Love
     6. Maybe I'm amazed
     7. my love
     8. Bluebird
     9. Let's Love (previously unreleased)
     10. All of You (previously unreleased)
     11. I'll give you a ring
     12. Band on the run
     13. Live and Let Die
     14. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five
     15. Baby Face (previously unreleased)
  • Super deluxe version
    Has the same content as the deluxe version with an additional CD that was already released with the Band on the Run: 25th Anniversary Edition , as well as a 120-page hardback book, the edition also contains a code for download of the album with the bonus tracks
  • Deluxe version by Best-Buy
    The original 9-track album with the listed bonus CD, the listed DVD plus an additional bonus DVD. The content is as follows: Band on the Run 2010 EPK plus three live videos from the Good Evening New York City DVD : Jet , Mrs. Vandebilt and Band on the Run . Distribution was carried out exclusively by Best Buy in the USA.
  • The album was also released as a vinyl version as a double LP (newly remastered) including the nine bonus tracks.
• On July 14, 2014, an iTunes app was released with the following content: Content: nine songs, six music videos and an interview with Paul McCartney as well as photos.
• On November 17th, 2017 the vinyl album was released by Capitol Records , pressed on 180 grams of white vinyl.

Promotional publications

In December 1973, the album Band on the Run - Interview Album was distributed to radio stations in the United States for promotional purposes .

Single releases

Helen Wheels

On October 26, 1973 (USA: November 12, 1973) the single Helen Wheels / Country Dreamer was released in advance . The US version of the album contains the song Helen Wheels, not the European version. Country Dreamer was recorded during the sessions for Red Rose Speedway .

The promotional single was published in the USA as follows: the mono version is on the A side and the stereo version of the A side of the purchase single is on the B side . Separate promotion singles were made for Helen Wheels and Country Dreamer .

Mrs. Vandebilt

In Germany and other continental European countries (not in Great Britain and the USA) the single Mrs Vandebilt / Bluebird was released in January 1974 .

jet

In the US, the single Jet / Mamunia was released on January 28, 1974 , the B-side was replaced on February 18, 1974 by the song Let Me Roll It . (On February 15, 1974, the single Jet / Let Me Roll It was also released in Great Britain and Germany .)

The promotional single was published in the USA as follows: on the A-side is the shortened mono version and on the B-side the stereo version of the A-side of the purchase single.

Band on the run

On April 8, 1974 the single Band on the Run / Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five was released in the USA and on June 1 in Germany ; in Great Britain and Spain appeared on June 28, 1974 the single band on the Run / Zoo Gang, where Zoo Gang was previously unreleased. Band on the Run became Paul McCartney's third number one hit in the United States.

The single Band on the Run was released in the USA as a promotional single in two different versions: the first contained a shortened version in mono and stereo, the second single, however, contains the shortened mono version and the uncut stereo version of the song Band on the Run .

Further single releases

• In December 1980, Columbia Records re-released the following two singles in the US that contain songs from the album: Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey / Jet and Band on the Run / Helen Wheels .
• In January 2011, Maybe I'm Amazed / Band on the Run was released as a jukebox single on orange vinyl and with an introduction spoken by McCartney .

Music videos

Music videos were made of the songs Helen Wheels , Band on the Run and Mamunia , but not the single A-sides Jet and Mrs Vandebilt.

Chart placements

year	album	Chart placements					annotation
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1973	Band on the run	15th	-	-	1	1	Also reached number 5 in the Netherlands , number 89 (Flemish) and 96 (Walloon) in the Belgian charts, number 1 in Norway , number 47 in Spain and number 23 in New Zealand .
2010	Band on the Run (re-release)	-	-	-	17th	29
year	Single release	Chart placements					annotation
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1973	Helen Wheels Band on the Run	33	-	-	12	10	Also reached 23rd place in the Netherlands.
1974	Mrs Vandebilt Band on the Run	33	-	-	nv	nv	Released in Europe (excluding the UK) and Australia only . Reached No. 7 in the Netherlands and No. 19 in Belgium (Flemish Charts).
1974	Jet band on the run	6th	-	-	7th	7th	Reached 10th place in the Netherlands, 26th in Belgium (Flemish Charts) and 9th in Norway.
1974	Band on the Run Band on the Run	22nd	-	-	3	1	Reached 7th place in the Netherlands and 21st place in Belgium (Flemish Charts).

The 1999 re-release of the CD reached number 69 in the UK.

Sales figures and awards

Sales figures

Country / Region	Award	Sales
Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales)
France (SNEP)	gold	100,000
United States (RIAA)	3 × platinum	3,000,000
United Kingdom (BPI)	Platinum + Gold (Remastered)	400,000
All in all	2 × gold 4 × platinum	3,500,000

Main article: Paul McCartney / Music Sales Awards

Awards

Band on the Run was awarded a Grammy in the category "Best Pop Vocal Performance By a Duo, Group or Chorus" (Paul McCartney and Wings) and a Grammy in the category "Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical" (Geoff Emerick) in 1975 excellent. The plate had reached platinum status in England in May 1975, first received gold status in the United States (December 1973) and was awarded triple platinum status in 1991.

criticism

Band on the Run was hailed as McCartney's breakthrough as a solo artist and the definitive breakaway from the Beatles. "[...] Paul McCartney took off with this album: 'Band on the Run' made it socially acceptable again with the critics who said the record had Beatles qualities", according to Pop magazine 1974. Jon Landau called the 1974 album "The best album so far that one of the ex-Beatles has released". In retrospect, critics described the album as the "most closed and musically daring album" McCartney since the end of the Beatles. Band on the Run was "a flawless triumph" that even John Lennon paid tribute to. Both the album and the single of the same name are “great”, Lennon said in an interview with Rolling Stone in 1975.

In the list of the 500 best albums of all time released by Rolling Stone in 2012, Band on the Run was ranked 418.

literature

• Chip Madinger and Mark Easter: Eight Arms To Hold You - The Solo Compendium . 44.1 Productions 2000, ISBN 0-615-11724-4 , pp. 186-191.

Web links

• More information about the album
• More information about the 2010 re-release
• Official homepage: Band on the Run
• Recordings by Paul McCartney from 1973  ( page no longer available )
• Paul McCartney singles from 1970 to 1973  ( page no longer available )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Judith Philipp, Ralf Simon: Listen to What the Man Said. Paul McCartney and his songs. A complete retrospective of the records, videos & films . Pendragon, Bielefeld 1991, p. 53.
2. ↑ Peter Ames Carlin: Paul McCartney. The biography . Hannibal, Höfen 2010, p. 307.
3. ↑ Peter Ames Carlin: Paul McCartney. The biography . Hannibal, Höfen 2010, p. 309.
4. ^ ^{A b} Peter Ames Carlin: Paul McCartney. The biography . Hannibal, Höfen 2010, p. 311.
5. ↑ Peter Ames Carlin: Paul McCartney. The biography . Hannibal, Höfen 2010, p. 310.
6. ↑ ^{a b} Judith Philipp, Ralf Simon: Listen to What the Man Said. Paul McCartney and his songs. A complete retrospective of the records, videos & films . Pendragon, Bielefeld 1991, p. 57.
7. ^ DTS-CD: Band on the Run
8. ^ Soviet album Band on the Run
9. ^ Judith Philipp, Ralf Simon: Listen to What the Man Said. Paul McCartney and his songs. A complete retrospective of the records, videos & films . Pendragon, Bielefeld 1991, p. 58.
10. ^ Judith Philipp, Ralf Simon: Listen to What the Man Said. Paul McCartney and his songs. A complete retrospective of the records, videos & films . Pendragon, Bielefeld 1991, p. 49.
11. ↑ Band on the Run Netherlands-Pink Vinyl
12. ↑ Band on the Run France-Yellow Vinyl
13. ↑ Band on the Run - Interview Album
14. ↑ Single: Helen Wheels
15. ↑ US promotional single: Helen Wheels
16. ↑ US promotional single: Country Dreamer
17. ↑ Single: Mrs Vandebilt
18. ↑ Single: Jet
19. ↑ US promotional single: Jet
20. ↑ Single: Band on the Run / Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five
21. ↑ Single: Band on the Run / Zoo Gang
22. ^ First promotional single: Band on the Run
23. ↑ Second promotional single: Band on the Run
24. ↑ Single: Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey / Jet
25. ↑ Single: Band on the Run / Helen Wheels
26. ↑ Single: Maybe I'm Amazed / Band on the Run
27. ↑ Chart source: everyhit.com
28. ↑ See overview on hitparade.ch
29. ↑ Chart sources: everyhit.com , musicline.de ( Memento of the original from December 12, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
30. ↑ See database of the British Recorded Music Industry
31. ↑ See database on riaa.com
32. ↑ Paul McCartney: The Most Successful . In: Pop , April 1974.
33. ^ "The finest record yet released by any of the four musicians who were once called the Beatles" Cf. Jon Landau: Album Reviews: Band on the Run . Rolling Stone, # 153, January 31, 1974. ( Archived web link ( June 2, 2007 memento on the Internet Archive ))
34. ↑ Peter Ames Carlin: Paul McCartney. The biography . Hannibal, Höfen 2010, p. 312.
35. ↑ Quoted from: Peter Ames Carlin: Paul McCartney. The biography . Hannibal, Höfen 2010, p. 312.
36. ↑ See 500 Greatest Albums of All Time . rollingstone.com