Paul McCartney’s 1970s group Wings had a hard time keeping its lineup together aside from its core trio of McCartney, his wife Linda, and Denny Laine. The band’s 1978 release London Town featured a typically chaotic period of creation, as two band members left in the process of making it.
Videos by American Songwriter
None of that strain shows on the album, which is one of the most easygoing and lighthearted in the McCartney catalog. Here’s how London Town came together even as Wings was starting to come apart.
Five Minus Two
Due to a variety of unexpected circumstances and distractions, the recording period for London Town encompassed nearly an entire year (February 1977 to January 1978). The sessions began at EMI Studios on Abbey Road with a five-member Wings band. When they ended in the same location at the start of the following year, there were only three members left.
Part of the problem might have been McCartney’s somewhat unorthodox approach to recording the album. After the initial sessions in London, Macca and company headed for a yacht in the Virgin Islands, which they rented and then fitted with portable studio equipment. Although they did record a bunch of material during that span on the boat, the revels they enjoyed while not recording took their toll, with several members of the band, including McCartney, suffering injuries or illnesses.
In addition, with Linda McCartney pregnant at the time, that meant the band wasn’t going to be touring. As a result, several breaks in the schedule meant the album would be completed at a much slower pace than usual.
One of these developments just might have been the last straw for either or both guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and drummer Joe English. Although both men had only been part of Wings for just a couple of years and a pair of albums, they both skedaddled in 1977 after the sessions on the yacht. Wings was a trio once again.
After time spent in Scotland recording the single “Mull of Kintyre,” which would be a huge hit in late ’77, the remaining three members of Wings finished off London Town by adding some fresh songs and finishing up overdubs on the others. Paul, Linda, and Denny Laine had gone through this once before when making Band on the Run right after two other band members quit, so there wasn’t any panic on their end.
Calling London
London Town is the ideal Wings album for fans who like Paul McCartney at his most free-spirited and fun-loving. It’s also very much a studio-centric album. As opposed to other Wings’ records that had more of a live-take feel, this feels very much assembled via overdubs and plug-ins. (And in that respect, it’s done well by McCartney, who self-produced the record).
McCartney’s melodic side gets a showcase throughout. Hit single “With a Little Luck” features a can-do tune that matches the spirit of the lyrics. The opening title track, with its stately horns, sounds like an update on “Penny Lane.” “I’m Carrying” is Paul at his most delicate and romantic.
London Town doesn’t rock out frequently, and some of the songs that do (“I’ve Had Enough” and “Name and Address”) feel half-hearted. Still, “Cafe on the Left Bank” works up a good lather, and closing track “Morse Moose and the Grey Goose,” while a bit absurd, brings a blast of energy.
The album also stands out as one where Laine made a heavier impact than normal, co-writing five songs and singing lead on the pretty “Children Children.” Perhaps it’s his influence that pushes the album as a whole into a folky, twee place, one full of woodwinds and mostly devoid of serious stakes.
London Town was, in many ways, the last gasp for Wings. Their 1979 followup Back to the Egg added new members and tried to rock out again, but it was a commercial disappointment, and Paul went solo from there. It might not be the most memorable album in the McCartney catalog. But the good vibes that pervade this somewhat forgotten disc can’t be denied.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Photo by Wood/Evening Standard/Getty Images/Hulton Archive
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.