Back to the Egg
Back to the Egg is the seventh and final studio album by the British–American rock band Wings, released in June 1979 on Parlophone in the UK and Columbia Records in North America (their first for the label). Co-produced by Chris Thomas, the album reflects band leader Paul McCartney's embracing of contemporary musical trends such as new wave and punk, and marked the arrival of new Wings members Laurence Juber and Steve Holley. Back to the Egg adopts a loose conceptual theme around the idea of a working band, and its creation coincided with a period of considerable activity for the group, which included making a return to touring and work on several television and film projects.
For the television special about the album, see Back to the Egg (TV special).Back to the Egg
8 June 1979
29 June 1978 – February 1979
Spirit of Ranachan, Campbeltown; Lympne Castle, Kent; Abbey Road and Replica, London
42:01
Parlophone (UK)
Columbia (US)
Recording for the album began in June 1978 and lasted for almost a year. The sessions took place at Spirit of Ranachan Studios in Campbeltown, Scotland; Lympne Castle in Kent, London's Abbey Road Studios, and Replica Studio – the last of which McCartney built as an exact replica of Abbey Road's Studio Two when the latter became unavailable. Wings returned to Abbey Road in March 1979 to complete the album, before filming a series of promotional videos in Lympne and elsewhere, for what became the Back to the Egg TV special.
Back to the Egg received unfavourable reviews from the majority of critics, with Rolling Stone magazine deriding it as "the sorriest grab bag of dreck in recent memory".[1] Although the album charted in the top ten around the world and was certified platinum in the United States, it was viewed as a commercial failure relative to previous Wings releases, particularly in light of the generous financial terms under which McCartney had signed with CBS-owned Columbia Records. Of its singles – "Old Siam, Sir", "Getting Closer" and "Arrow Through Me" – only "Getting Closer" made the top 20 in Britain or America. The song "Rockestra Theme", recorded with a cast of guest musicians from bands such as the Who, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 1980.
Wings toured the UK in support of the album, but the planned world tour ended in January 1980, when McCartney was arrested in Japan for possession of marijuana, spending nine days in jail. The group disbanded early the following year after the departure of Laine. Back to the Egg was reissued in 1993, with bonus tracks, and in 2007 for iTunes, with the addition of Wings' 1979 non-album single "Goodnight Tonight", in its extended form.
Background[edit]
After the release of the album London Town (1978), Wings band leader Paul McCartney hired two session musicians, drummer Steve Holley and lead guitarist Laurence Juber, to replace former members Joe English and Jimmy McCulloch.[2] With the new line-up – Wings' sixth since its formation in 1971[3] – McCartney intended to record a raw rock and roll album and return to touring, for the band's first concerts since their successful Wings Over the World tour of 1975–76.[4] McCartney also hoped to realise his longstanding plan of making a film adaptation of the Rupert the Bear cartoon series,[5] for which he owned the commercial rights,[6] and commissioned English playwright Willy Russell to write a feature film starring Wings.[7][nb 1]
Holley and Juber were recruited by Wings co-founder and guitarist Denny Laine,[13] who had appeared as a guest on The David Essex Show in 1977 when Juber was working as a guitarist in the house band.[14] Holley, a neighbour of Laine's, joined Wings in time to appear in the promotional video for London Town's lead single, "With a Little Luck",[15] having turned down a position with Elton John's band.[16] According to Wings biographer Garry McGee, Juber and Holley were each paid a weekly sum less than one-fifth of that paid to McCartney, his wife Linda (the band's keyboard player) and Laine.[15]
For the new album, Back to the Egg, McCartney collaborated in the studio with producer Chris Thomas,[17] with whom he had begun working on the audio for two films documenting Wings' last world tour: Wings Over the World, a television documentary,[18] and the cinema release Rockshow (1980).[19] This was the first time Wings recorded with an outside producer since their 1973 single "Live and Let Die", which George Martin had produced.[20] After working with the Pretenders and the Sex Pistols, Thomas brought a punk rock and new wave influence to Wings' sound,[21][22] matching McCartney's desire to reflect contemporary musical trends.[23][24]
Artwork and promotional videos[edit]
The design for the album's artwork was by Hipgnosis,[89] the company responsible for previous Wings album covers such as Venus and Mars (1975)[90] and the recent Wings Greatest compilation (1978).[69] The front cover depicts the five members of Wings in a room, looking down through space at Planet Earth through an open hatchway in the floor; the statuette above the mantlepiece behind them is the same that appears in the Wings Greatest artwork. The picture was taken by photographer John Shaw[25] at his London studio.[30] Photos of the individual band members appeared on the back cover, credited to Linda and Paul McCartney.[89]
Working with film company Keef & Co., Wings filmed seven promotional videos for the album, which would later be compiled into the Back to the Egg TV special.[91] Filming took place between 4 and 13 June, at locations including Lympne Castle's main hall, a private airfield at Lympne, Camber Sands in East Sussex, and Keef & Co.'s London studios.[92][nb 8] "Old Siam, Sir", "Getting Closer", "Spin It On" and "Arrow Through Me" were among the tracks for which videos were made.[91]
Release[edit]
"Goodnight Tonight" had been issued on Columbia Records in America,[94] marking McCartney's break from EMI-affiliated Capitol Records,[95] although he and Wings remained with EMI's Parlophone label in the UK.[96] McCartney's contract with Columbia made him the highest-paid recording artist in the world.[83][97][nb 9] As an incentive for McCartney, Columbia's parent company, CBS, had added to his publishing portfolio by giving him the highly profitable[99] Frank Music catalogue[74] – making McCartney the copyright holder to Guys and Dolls and other popular musicals by Frank Loesser.[100][101]
Back to the Egg was released on 24 May 1979 in the US[102] (as Columbia FC-36057), and on 8 June in the UK (as Parlophone PCTC 257).[25][29][nb 10] In Britain, "Old Siam, Sir" was the album's first single, whereas "Getting Closer" was the choice in America; in both cases, "Spin It On" was the B-side.[104] On 11 June, an album launch party took place inside Abbey Road's Studio Two, which had been blacked-out like a large frying pan, while tables carrying yellow parasols represented fried eggs sitting in the pan.[105] Part of Chattington's Rockestra documentary was screened during the event,[106] the only public airing the film received.[107]
The follow-up singles, issued in August, were "Arrow Through Me" in the US and "Getting Closer" in the UK,[108] the latter release a double A-side with "Baby's Request".[70] In some European countries, "Rockestra Theme" was released as a single.[44]
Compared to the major commercial success of previous Wings albums, sales of Back to the Egg were disappointing,[109][110] and none of its singles became significant hits.[70][111] In the UK, "Old Siam, Sir" and "Getting Closer" climbed to number 35 and number 60, respectively.[112] On America's Billboard Hot 100 chart, "Getting Closer" peaked at number 20, and "Arrow Through Me" at number 29.[113][114] Back to the Egg reached number 6 in the UK[112] and number 8 on the Billboard 200,[114] although US chart compilers Cashbox and Record World both listed it at number 7.[115] With heavy promotion from Columbia, the album sold over 1 million copies in America;[116] in Britain, retail outlets soon slashed its price in an attempt to dispense with their surplus of stock.[117]
McCartney later reflected that for an act other than Wings, sales such as those for Back to the Egg would have been considered "very healthy".[25] Given CBS's substantial investment in their new signing, Madinger and Easter write, the album's apparent failure led to a period of "mutual finger-pointing between Paul and Columbia Records", lasting until his contract expired in 1985.[30][nb 11]