Let's start with an old joke. Some kid too young to know is in a music store flicking through stuff. Turns to their friend and says .. "There's a photo of Paul McCartney on this record by some group called The Beatles. When did he leave Wings?"
After the Beatles broke up in 1970, McCartney started recording again under various line-ups. His first album 'McCartney' (1970) was mainly a solo effort - 'Ram' (1971) was him and Linda - 'Wild Life' (1971) was credited to Wings, then 'Red Rose Speedway' (1973) as Paul McCartney and Wings.
Then came, IMHO, his best post-Beatle album ever - 'Band on the Run' - again credited to Paul McCartney and Wings. Nothing before or after comes within a mile of this album.
By now, after having up to 5 members, Wings was down to Linda and Denny Laine. Denny had joined in 1971 at the formation of Wings. He's probably best remembered for being a guitarist with the Moody Blues in their early years, taking lead vocals on their 1964 hit 'Go Now!' (see my Moody Blues entry).
If you took a glance at the album cover you'd think that the group was a lot bigger. There's 9 people depicted, all caught in the searchlight escaping from prison.
In fact, the design, (concept by Linda) almost takes a teeny-tiny leaf out of the Sgt. Pepper cover, sticking famous people in amongst the real band. This time around there's talk show host Michael Parkinson, singer Kenny Lynch, actors James Coburn and Christopher Lee, boxer John Conteh, and Member of Parliament Clement Freud, the son of Sigmund Freud.
Here's my take on it ....
The title song opens the album and carries on the jail theme - the first verse gives a hopeless feel to things ..
'Stuck inside these four walls
Sent inside forever'
Then the next verse has the hope of release ..
'If I ever get out of here
Thought of giving it all away'
And the third verse opens up as this fictional 'band' goes on the run
'And the jailer man and sailor Sam
Were searching every one'
By the end of the song they may have got away ... but ..
' ... the county judge who held a grudge
Will search for evermore
For the band on the run'
This wasn't a concept album. Well, I've never found a theme running through it. After the prison break photo and title track, the rest of the album just consists of really good songs !! The other single to make the charts was 'Jet'
Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me) has a bit of a reprise to 'Jet' but reminds me more of 'Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey'.
I first saw McCartney live at Western Springs in Auckland on 27 March 1993 on his New World Tour. It wasn't classed as a Wings tour, but he did still have Linda with him.
Whether you think Linda was a talent in her own right or just got the job because she was the bosses wife, I have to admit she did well at the concert.
I saw him again in Atlantic City here in New Jersey on 28 September 2002. This time I was with Tracy.
Tracy was and is a Beatles fan of the first magnitude. She was born singing their songs. Our first internet 'conversation' (typing only) in 1995 was testing each other on Beatles trivia. She LOVED and still LOVES Paul McCartney. She maintains that marrying me was a godsend. She can call out Paul's name and I don't suspect a thing.
That 2002 show was the first time she saw him live. Back in the day, girls screamed. Tracy just sang and cried and cried and sang.
In 2007 she won 2 tickets to see him in NYC at a pop-up surprise show at the Highline Ballrom - an intimate concert for only 300 people. She took Nora with her and they both sang and cried and cried and sang.
So - Paul McCartney. I can thank him for 'Band on the Run' and for making my wife happy through his music and also for having the good taste to own an Old English Sheepdog. (Her name was Martha and she was the inspiration for the song 'Martha My Dear'.)
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