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| Photo by Linda McCartney |
By Rosemary Horide
Disc
December 1, 1973
As part of one of the greatest groups there has ever been, or as the motivating force behind a relatively new outfit, Paul McCartney has always had a vast amount of charisma as well as talent. To those who would quarrel with that, all I can say is, how many other artists do you know who could get a collection of stars on the cover of their new album that makes Hollywood films at their height look like home movies?
But Band on the Run has, on its cover, one or two luminaries such as James Coburn, Christopher Lee, Michael Parkinson, Clement Freud, Kenny Lynch, and, just for good measure, John Conteh (the boxer) all dressed as convicts.
How did he do it?
"I just rang him up and asked him," said the man himself, grinning up at me from behind one of the desks in our office. "We had an idea of what we wanted, then drew up a list of names, and to our delight, they all said they'd do it. John's on there because he's a fellow Liverpudlian, and we chose all the people because they look the part. We thought it would be more interesting than just having unknown faces. give people something to look at."
The piece of black vinyl inside the cover has a lot to commend it too. The songs are written and recorded in a great variety of locations. "Some Linda and I wrote together, some are mine alone, and there's one Denny and I wrote together. He's got half a song, so I finished it off for him."
The majority of the songs were recorded in Lagos by the much-depleted Wings. "Denny Seiwell left about an hour before the plane took off, so we just went aboard, had a few drinks, and then waited until we got to Nigeria. Then we thought, 'What are we going to do?' So I played drums, Linda played piano and Mellotron, Denny Laine added some extra guitar parts, and between us, we managed to make the sound a bit fuller."
Now that the album is over, Paul says there's no real need to have a new band. "At this second, we're going to have a holiday, then Christmas, and think about it. After that, we will be looking for a drummer and a guitarist, but they'll have to be pretty good."
Interesting to note in that context that Jimmy McCulloch and Davy Lutton of Ellis, a guitarist and a drummer, have just been recording in Paris with Paul, but he wouldn't be drawn on the subject of their becoming part of Wings Mark II. It's obvious no final decisions have been made as yet.
The sudden departure of two-fifths of the band wasn't the only snag the McCartneys hit while in Africa. "For one thing, we thought it would be warm and sunny over there. Instead, we caught the end of the rainy season, and there were tropical storms all the time. There were power cuts too.
"What's more, we went there intending to use some of the local musicians. Thought we might have some African brass and drums and things. So we asked around. After a day or two, this guy, Fela Ransome Kuti, came round and said, 'You're trying to steal the Black African music.' We said, 'No, we're not. We just want to use some of your guys.' But he got so heavy about it in the end, we thought, 'blow you then. We'll do it all ourselves.' So we did, and the only guy from Africa we used was someone we met in London, then discovered he came from Lagos, but that was purely coincidental."
As always, critical opinion is sharply divided about this album. One journalist has described it as "The best thing any of the Beatles have done since Abbey Road." Paul disassociates himself from such generalizations.
He says, " It's fine -- we're happy with it, but I wouldn't say anything like that. In fact, the album was more of a fun thing to do." In line with a new McCartney philosophy of not taking himself too seriously.
"If you are the subject of too much adoration, with people talking about you as if you're God, you can end up believing it yourself, then you're frightened to do or say anything in case it doesn't fit your image. I think that might have been what happened to Eric Clapton."
So Paul, in the light of this attitude, wasn't too worried about those people who didn't like the TV spectacular he did, James Paul McCartney, with some reservations. He was pleased with it. "There were a lot of things we'd like to put into it, and couldn't, because it was sponsored in the States by a firm that makes nice family cars. So they wanted a nice family film.
"For example, we wanted to do a drag sketch. Do you remember the bit at the end with the dancers? At that point, I was going to come on stage dressed as Diana Ross, and Linda was going to be dressed as a man. They didn't think that was a very good idea.
"We did it because it was something we wanted to do and it hadn't been done before. What's more, a lot of people did like it. Elton John had it showing on his last plane trip. Although there was a choice, he was watching our movie."
Rather than get screwed up about criticism, as he and his ex-colleagues did when Magical Mystery Tour was panned, Paul now accepts adverse criticism with resignation and prefers to dwell on that which is favorable. "After all", as he said, "a lot of people did like the show. The Osmonds, for example, were great when we met them. You can tell all the girls, Donny is a dish. Seriously, he's a great guy, and Jimmy is a real little trooper for his age. People say he's frightening for a kid that age, but if you're in a normal home and a little kid comes up and does a tap dance, you don't think that's frightening, do you? He comes from a show business family, and he's a performer. We asked him if he was going to do "Long Haired Lover from Liverpool", and he said, 'Sure, Paul, you bet!' He's a professional already. Anyway, I'm sick of people knocking the Osmonds. I love them for their whole teeny bop thing. Really, they're like an American version of the early Beatles. I think they're great. We found out they were on the floor above us in the hotel in Paris, so we had to take the kids up to see them. And they said, ;Hey, we really like your special.'
"I definitely think it can all be too precious ----if we take too much notice of the bad things people say, we'd never do anything ever again." In the past, critics have given the McCartneys a hard time. The press, especially, were less than kind when Wings first started. "When the Beatles split, I just bombed off to Scotland. I had more than enough of everyone. And I really didn't see why I had to talk to the press. I didn't feel there was anything I wanted to say.
"I think that all started to build up--- people thought, 'What's he up to with that?' And the fact that Wings weren't very good from the beginning (how can you be from the word go?), this is not surprising. They knocked us, but the British tour was incredible. By then, the band was going great."
It's a shame that a band which was finally fulfilling some of its potential should suddenly disintegrate. But Paul doesn't seem disillusioned. He obviously realizes that musicians all over the world would be delighted to fill in the gaps in Wings.
In the meantime, the project he's entertaining himself with is a film. "Yeah, we filmed the last four concerts of the European tour, and we're currently working on making them into a film. But it's not just us performing. The story is that there's a family of animated mice living under this stage we're working on." That will be the first venture for the McCartneys outside music since they formed their own company outside Apple.
Yet again, it's not something that's being taken too seriously. McCartney has the valuable gift of being able to laugh gently at himself these days. And although he's a highly talented musician and writer, he finds time to play happily with youngest daughter, Stella, who was running around the office while we talked--- a happy family man.
Soon, Paul says he will be back with his new band on the road, where he's happiest. He seems to have found a settled level at last. I'd invite anyone to listen to the Band on the Run, and then say he's finished or even losing his knack. Paul McCartney won't be finished until he's dead, and even then, his music will live on.
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