Behind the Album: ‘Back to the Egg,’ the Last Album Paul McCartney Recorded With Wings

The title suggests a return to the start, but in actuality, Back to the Egg turned out to be a farewell set from Wings, Paul McCartney’s ever-mutating 1970s band. It wasn’t supposed to be the end, mind you, so it might not have the air of finality that you’d expect.

Back to the Egg now stands out as an interesting addition to McCartney catalog, one that was clearly influenced by the punk and new wave sounds of the day. Here’s a look back at how the Wings era ended.

We Are the Egg Men

Was it because Paul McCartney was a more demanding bandleader than anyone could have guessed? Or was it all part of Macca’s master plan to keep things fresh and unexpected? Whatever the reason, Wings, the band he started in 1971 in the wake of The Beatles’ implosion, couldn’t seem to keep a steady lineup for very long.

Lead guitar and drums were the two fungible spots in the Wings lineup. During the making of their 1978 album London Town, Jimmy McCulloch and Joe English departed from those positions in the band. That left in the band the stalwart trio of McCartney, wife Linda, and Denny Laine, soon to be joined by guitarist Laurence Juber and drummer Steve Holley.

One other hallmark of Wings’ career: McCartney’s tendency to have them record in unusual locations. In the case of Back to the Egg, that meant sessions in a castle in Kent, England, as well as a studio Macca had constructed in his London offices to the exact specifications of what could be found in EMI Studios (which he called, naturally, Replica).

For the most part, McCartney and his new cohorts locked into an uptempo, brash groove on the new songs he had written. Macca’s ideas kept coming, however, which is why the album included a couple of songs with the “Rockestra,” an all-start assemblage including David Gilmour, Pete Townshend, John Bonham, and many other rock luminaries.

After a brief tour in late ’79, Wings went on hiatus as McCartney prepped a solo album in 1980. When he attempted to reassemble them for his follow-up record, the sessions went poorly. The band was scrapped for good, meaning Back to the Egg was their finale.

The Musical Legacy of Back to the Egg

It would have been interesting to see what Back to the Egg might have been if McCartney had stayed focused on the fast and sharp material. Juber and Holley were solid additions, and the new five-piece showed solid chemistry on the driving “Getting Closer” and the dramatic “Old Siam, Sir.”

Instead, the album brims with perhaps more ambition than it can handle. A few spoken-word connecting pieces seem beamed in from another concept album. And after all the modern sounds, it’s a bit odd to hear the record end with the antiquated “Baby’s Request.”

Then again, if McCartney had stuck too closely to the plot, we might have missed out on some of the album’s best moments. While it’s a bit odd that he took all those big-name players and blended them together instead of giving them individual chances to shine, “Rockestra Theme” still brings the thunder and the fun. And “Arrow Through Me,” an out-of-nowhere piece of horn-filled soul, is the album’s finest track.

Back to the Egg lacked the big hit singles that were found on every Wings album save the first (Wild Life), so maybe there was a bit of symmetry there. In any case, it’s an album that surely sounded like it could be the start of a new direction for this band, although fate would insist on making it their unceremonious sayonara.

Photo by David Redfern/Redferns