A rock game changer is celebrating his 50th birthday. Once in your best Sunday suit – and once in just your underwear.
The album that would establish Paul McCartney as the most successful ex-Beatle was not an easy birth: immediately before departure to record in Lagos, Nigeria, the departure of lead guitarist Henry McCullough and drummer Denny Seiwell caused the Wings to shrink to a trio. In the studio, McCartney, his wife and keyboardist Linda and Denny Laine (who died on December 5, 2023, the very day this re-release was announced – note) struggled with both the rudimentary technology and health problems; Excessive smoking caused McCartney to collapse from bronchospasm.
The McCartneys were threatened with a knife one evening and robbed. The loot included a cassette with song demos. Finally, Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti also attacked the band, accusing them of exploiting local culture. After the sometimes devastating reviews of McCartney’s first two albums, expectations were low when BAND ON THE RUN was released in November 1973.
McCartney’s most successful work was not an easy birth
Eight months would pass before the record reached the top of the UK charts. The hit singles, the stormy “Jet” and the three-part title song were responsible for this. McCartney, in keeping with the old Beatles tradition that was gentle on fan wallets, initially didn’t want to release any singles. Alarmed by sluggish sales, Al Coury, Capitol’s marketing chief, persuaded him to take this step and to include the pre-released one-off single “Helen Wheels”. Macca’s essential album found its way into six million households.
For the 50th anniversary, it is being released remastered and supplemented with the original rough mixes without Tony Visconti’s defining orchestral sounds – McCartney calls this “underdubbed”. Certainly not uninteresting for historians, but one would never want to miss the dramatic orchestral use in the opener, which hears Paul’s concerns “If we ever get outta of here” and transforms it into grandiose singalong pop. Even the “Jet” never really takes off with reduced thrust; the instrumental “Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five” is as appealing, detached from the cinematic finale, as sex without a climax. Without all these moments of urgency, McCartney plays into the constant criticism that his solo work is too well-behaved and smooth.