Paul McCartney Gears Up For Band On The Run Reissue

Paul McCartney and Wings’ Band On The Run is one of the most celebrated albums of their career. On November 2, Band On The Run will be re-released (in three separate versions) via Concord Music Group.The album, which went to #1 upon release in 1973 and would become the band’s highest-selling LP, has been remastered at Abbye Road Studios, under Paul McCartney’s supervision, using the same team that remastered the Beatles’ catalog.

Band On The Run will come in a standard version, a special version featuring nine bonus tracks and a DVD with a documentary on the album’s creation and the vintage “One Hand Clapping”  television special, and a deluxe version which includes at 120-page book.

The reissue’s press release tells the chaotic story of the album’s creation:

Intrigued with recording abroad in the summer of 1973, McCartney searched for a list of studios around the world. Spotting one in the remote location of Lagos, Nigeria, he became enthralled with the idea of recording in Africa. Days before departure, lead guitarist Henry McCullough and drummer Denny Seiwell quit the band leaving the entire project to the three core members, Paul, his wife Linda McCartney and band-member Denny Laine (along with recording engineer Geoff Emerick). Recorded in August and September of 1973 (with further work done at AIR Studios in London in October 1973), they persevered through a tumultuous, yet creatively invigorating 2 month recording process battling difficult studio conditions, oppressive heat and a dangerous mugging at knife point. The thieves made off with the demo tapes (among other valuables), forcing the band to record the entire album from memory.

The Band On The Run cover featured McCartney and a few band mates posing as criminals with some British celebrities, including actors Christopher Lee and James Coburn, and boxer John Conteh.

Read on article on Paul’s son, James McCartney, stepping into his father’s shoes here.

BAND ON THE RUN TRACKLIST:

1. Band on the Run
2. Jet
3. Bluebird
4. Mrs Vandebilt
5. Let Me Roll It
6. Mamunia
7. No Words
8. Picasso’s Last Words (Drink to Me)
9. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five

Bonus Audio Tracks

1. Helen Wheels
2. Country Dreamer
3. Bluebird [from One Hand Clapping]
4. Jet [from One Hand Clapping]
5. Let Me Roll It [from One Hand Clapping]
6. Band on the Run [from One Hand Clapping]
7. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five [from One Hand Clapping]
8. Country Dreamer [from One Hand Clapping]
9. Zoo Gang

Audio Documentary

Remastered documentary disc originally produced for the 25th Anniversary release of Band on the Run. Featuring interview contributions from Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney, Denny Laine, Geoff Emerick, Tony Visconti, Al Coury, Clive Arrowsmith, James Coburn, John Conteh, Kenny Lynch, Michael Parkinson, Christopher Lee, Clement Freud, and Dustin Hoffman.

DVD

1. Band on the Run Music Video
2. Mamunia Music Video
3. Album Promo Featuring Band on the Run, Mrs Vandebilt, Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five, Bluebird
4. Helen Wheels Music Video
5. Wings In Lagos
6. Osterley Park
7. One Hand Clapping