Band on the Run
Band on the Run is the third studio album by the British–American rock band Paul McCartney and Wings, released by Apple on 30 November 1973. It was McCartney's fifth album after leaving the Beatles in April 1970. Although sales were modest initially, its commercial performance was aided by two hit singles – "Jet" and "Band on the Run" – such that it became the top-selling studio album of 1974 in the United Kingdom and Australia, in addition to revitalising McCartney's critical standing. It remains McCartney's most successful album and the most celebrated of his post-Beatles works.
For the title song from the album, see Band on the Run (song).
The album was mostly recorded at EMI's studio in Lagos, Nigeria, as McCartney wanted to make an album in an exotic location. Shortly before departing for Lagos, drummer Denny Seiwell and guitarist Henry McCullough left the group. With no time to recruit replacements, McCartney went into the studio with just his wife Linda and Denny Laine. McCartney therefore played bass, drums, percussion and most of the lead guitar parts.[2] The studio was of poor quality and conditions in Nigeria were tense and difficult; the McCartneys were robbed at knifepoint, losing a bag of song lyrics and demo tapes. After the band's return to England, final overdubs and further recording were carried out in London, mostly at AIR Studios.
In 2000, Q magazine placed Band on the Run at number 75 in its list of the "100 Greatest British Albums Ever". In 2012, it was listed at 418 on Rolling Stone's revised list of "the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".[3] A contemporary review by Jon Landau in Rolling Stone describes the album as being the "finest record yet" by a former Beatle "with the possible exception of John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band".[4] It was McCartney's last album released on Apple Records. In 2013, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[5]
Cover artwork[edit]
The album cover photograph was taken in Osterley Park, West London, on 28 October 1973 by photographer Clive Arrowsmith[26] from a concept by Hipgnosis and McCartney. It depicts the McCartneys, Laine, and six other well-known people dressed as convicts and posed as though caught by a prison searchlight. The six celebrities are: Michael Parkinson, Kenny Lynch, James Coburn, Clement Freud, Christopher Lee, and John Conteh.[34] Arrowsmith said the photo used for the cover was one of four he found acceptable out of the 24 pictures he took during the session. The spotlight's low potency meant everyone had to stand still for two seconds for proper exposure, which was made difficult by the photographer and subjects reportedly being in a "substance haze" following a party held by Paul McCartney. The golden hue of the picture comes from Arrowsmith’s use of daylight film instead of nighttime Tungsten film, which would have been more typical for the setting.[35]
Release[edit]
Apple Records issued Band on the Run in the UK on November 30 [16] (as Apple PAS 10007),[36] and in the U.S. on 5 December (as Apple SO 3415).[37] Rather than having the band promote the album on radio and television or with a tour, McCartney undertook a series of magazine interviews, most notably with Paul Gambaccini for Rolling Stone.[38] The conversations with Gambaccini took place at various locations from September 1973 onward,
[39] and combined to form, in the words of authors Chip Madinger and Mark Easter, "a remarkably forthcoming interview in comparison to the 'thumbs-aloft' profiles usually allowed by [McCartney]".[38]
"Helen Wheels" was released as a non-album single in late October 1973, and became a top 10 hit in America the following January.[40] For commercial reasons, Capitol Records, the US distributor for Apple Records, asked to include "Helen Wheels" on the album. McCartney agreed, although it was never his intention to include the track.[41] While "Helen Wheels" is not included on CD editions of Band on the Run in the UK (except as a bonus track on the 1993 "The Paul McCartney Collection" edition of the album), it has often appeared on CD releases of the album in the US and Canada, starting with the initial Columbia Records release in 1984. Early versions of the Capitol release fail to list "Helen Wheels" on the label or the CD insert, making the song a "hidden track".
Commercial performance[edit]
Initially, the album did not sell especially well, with the record-buying public wary after Wings' preceding releases.[42][43] On the UK Albums Chart, Band on the Run climbed to number 9 on 22 December,[44] remaining there for a second week before dropping to number 13.[45] On America's Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart, it peaked at number 7 on 2 February 1974, and then spent the next six weeks in the lower reaches of the top ten.[46] The album went on to achieve considerable success, however, thanks to the popularity of the two singles culled from it: "Jet" and the title track.[6][26] Writing in 1981, Bob Woffinden described Band on the Run as the first Beatles-related release to be "planned with a marketing strategy",[42] as Capitol Records now assumed a fully active role in promoting the album following the removal of Klein's ABKCO Industries as managers of Apple. Although McCartney had been reluctant to issue album tracks as singles,[47] the public's apparent lack of interest in Band on the Run led him to agree to the recommendations of Capitol's head of marketing, Al Coury,[48] who had similarly pushed for the inclusion of "Helen Wheels" on the album's American release. McCartney therefore authorised single edits of the two A-sides taken from the album.[30]
"Jet" was issued as a single in America on 28 January with "Mamunia" as the B-side, although "Let Me Roll It", which was the B-side of the UK release, replaced "Mamunia" on 15 February.[49] The single's success provided new impetus for the album,[50][51] which hit number 2 in the UK at the end of March[52] and topped Billboard's listings on 13 April.[46] Apple issued "Band on the Run" as a single in America on 8 April, backed by "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five";[53] the UK release followed on 28 June, with the non-album instrumental "Zoo Gang" as the B-side.[54] Due to the popularity of "Band on the Run",[26] the album returned to number 1 on the Billboard chart on 8 June, when the single simultaneously topped the Hot 100.[55] In Britain, the album finally hit number 1 on 27 July,[56] and it stayed there for seven consecutive weeks.[57][58] On the alternative UK listings compiled by Melody Maker, Band on the Run remained in the top ten from 26 January through 23 November 1974. During that time, its chart performance similarly reflected the popularity of the two singles, with the album spending three weeks at number 2 in April, and six weeks at number 1 throughout August and the first week of September.[59]
The album topped the Billboard chart on three separate occasions during 1974,[46] and was the top selling album of that year in Australia[60] and Canada.[61] In Britain, it came second in the year-end standings, behind the compilation The Singles: 1969–1973 by the Carpenters.[62] Through this success with Wings, McCartney established himself as the most commercially successful of the four former Beatles.[23][42] Author Robert Rodriguez views the album's arrival at number 1 in America in April 1974 as the moment when McCartney usurped George Harrison as the "ex-Beatle Most Likely to Succeed", and the beginning of a period of public acclaim that reached its zenith with the Wings Over America Tour in 1976.[63]
Band on the Run was eventually certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and would go on to sell 6 million copies worldwide,[53] becoming EMI's top selling album of the 1970s in the UK.[42] Its continued success through 1974 was also beneficial in allowing Wings to recruit a new guitarist and drummer, and to integrate them into the band before beginning new recordings.[64]
According to Bruce Spizer:[90]
Band members
Additional personnel