Red Rose Speedway
Red Rose Speedway is the second studio album by the English-American rock band Wings, although credited to "Paul McCartney and Wings". It was released through Apple Records on 4 May 1973, preceded by its lead single, the ballad "My Love". By including McCartney's name in the artist credit, the single and album broke with the tradition of Wings' previous records. The change was made in the belief that the public's unfamiliarity with the band had been responsible for the weak commercial performance of the group's 1971 debut album Wild Life.
Red Rose Speedway
4 May 1973
March–June and September–December 1972
EMI, Olympic Sound, Morgan, Trident and Island, London
42:13
Before recording the album, Wings recruited lead guitarist Henry McCullough and released their debut single, "Give Ireland Back to the Irish", which was banned by the BBC for its political message. Recording sessions for the album took place throughout 1972 at five recording studios in London. The group also recorded the non-album singles "Mary Had a Little Lamb", "Hi, Hi, Hi" and "Live and Let Die", the last of which was issued in June 1973. Originally planned as a double album, it was condensed into a single LP at the request of EMI. The company believed that the material was not of a sufficiently high standard and were mindful of the modest sales of Wild Life and Wings' first two singles. Members McCullough and Denny Laine later expressed disappointment in the choice of songs on the single album.
Red Rose Speedway peaked at number 5 on the UK Albums Chart and number 1 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart in the US, while "My Love" topped the US Billboard Hot 100. Although a commercial success, the album was given a mixed response by music critics, with several reviewers considering the songs to be inconsequential and mediocre. Decades later, it continues to receive mixed reviews. The album was reissued in 1987 and 1993 with bonus tracks and remastered in 2018 as part of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection. The 2018 remaster includes the reconstructed double LP version of the album.
Background[edit]
In early 1972, McCartney decided to expand Wings to a five-piece band by adding another guitarist, Henry McCullough, and to begin touring with the group.[2] The band briefly toured British universities in February. They played in small halls, often unannounced, to avoid the media scrutiny that came with performing at more established venues.[2]
Despite not releasing an album in 1972, Wings issued three singles while preparing their follow-up to Wild Life: "Give Ireland Back to the Irish", which was banned by the BBC for its political sentiments;[3] "Mary Had a Little Lamb", based on the nursery rhyme; and "Hi, Hi, Hi", which was banned by the BBC for drug references and sexually suggestive lyrics.[2][nb 1]
Artwork and packaging[edit]
The packaging for Red Rose Speedway included a 12-page LP-size booklet inside a gatefold sleeve.[27][28] The booklet featured photos from Wings' live shows taken by Joe Stevens (credited as Captain Snap) and others by Linda. The artwork for the inside gatefold and part of the booklet was designed by Eduardo Paolozzi, while pop artist Allen Jones contributed drawings, a painting and a photo collage, all variously depicting women, throughout the booklet. The graphics were designed by Gordon House.[27] EMI agreed to pay for the lavish packaging,[29] which was originally intended for the planned double album.[27]
Breaking with the approach taken on the band's previous releases, the artist credit included McCartney's name rather than Wings alone, and instead of a group picture, only his face appears on the front cover.[30] The image shows McCartney in front of a motorbike engine, with a red rose in his mouth, and was taken by Linda.[27] The motorbike was transported from the United States especially for the shoot, which took place at the photographic studio of the Sunday Times building in central London.[31] The back cover featured the foot of a microphone stand and a bouquet of roses, with the image set inside a black background as if spotlit.[27] In the space below this image was a Braille message to Stevie Wonder,[28] reading "We love ya baby".[27]
The name change to "Paul McCartney and Wings" was made in the belief that the public's unfamiliarity with the band had been responsible for the disappointing sales of Wild Life.[32][33] In the US, Capitol Records were concerned that the positioning of the red rose on the front cover might make McCartney's face unrecognisable to record buyers. Since no artist credit was included with this image, the company issued the album with a blue sticker in the top right-hand corner, identifying the band and listing the songs.[27]
Release[edit]
The album was preceded by the March 1973 release of its lead single, "My Love" backed with "The Mess".[34] The latter song was recorded live during the band's summer 1972 European tour.[35] With Apple Records giving precedence to two Beatles compilation albums – 1962–1966 and 1967–1970[36][37] – Red Rose Speedway was not issued until 30 April 1973, in the United States, with the UK release following on 4 May.[38][39] "My Love" peaked at number 9 on the UK Singles Chart,[40] and topped the US Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Adult Contemporary charts.[41] It raised expectations for the album, which peaked at number 5 in the UK and went to number 1 in the US.[41]
The original compact disc version, released by EMI's Fame label on 5 October 1987,[nb 3] contained three bonus tracks: "I Lie Around", "Country Dreamer" and "The Mess (Live at The Hague)". An LP version of this CD edition was also released on the same day, omitting the bonus tracks.[nb 4] In 1993, Red Rose Speedway was remastered and reissued on CD as part of 'The Paul McCartney Collection' series, with "C Moon", "Hi, Hi, Hi", "The Mess (Live at The Hague)" (the B-side to "My Love") and "I Lie Around" (the B-side to "Live and Let Die") as bonus tracks.[23] "Country Dreamer" was later added to the reissue Band on the Run from the same series.
In 2018, Red Rose Speedway was reissued as part of Paul McCartney Archive Collection.[42] The bonus content included the reconstructed original double LP version of the album featuring different mixes of "Seaside Woman" and "I Would Only Smile" as to those released on Linda McCartney's Wide Prairie and Denny Laine's Japanese Tears respectively, the singles "Mary Had a Little Lamb", "Hi, Hi, Hi" and "Live and Let Die" with their respective b-sides, early and rough mixes of several songs as well as previously unreleased studio and live recordings, with the latter taken from the Wings Over Europe Tour. The songs "Country Dreamer" and "Little Woman Love" included on the reissue are the same versions that were previously released on the Band on the Run and Ram editions of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection.
There was a limited-edition half-speed mastered vinyl re-issue in the UK to mark the album’s 50th anniversary. This was released as part of Record Store Day on 22 April 2023.[43]
Original double album track listing[edit]
Early acetate track listing[edit]
Originally planned as a double album,[68] this is the track listing from drummer Denny Seiwell's acetates of the early incarnation of Red Rose Speedway dated 13 December 1972.[21][69] Most tracks left off the released version ended up on B-sides, while others remained officially unreleased (such as "Tragedy", "Night Out", "Jazz Street", "1882") until the release of the 2018 Red Rose Speedway Deluxe remaster reissue.