One Hand Clapping

After the success of the album “Band on the Run,” recorded by Paul and Linda McCartney and Denny Laine, Paul recruited guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and drummer Geoff Britton to form a new Wings line-up. To put the group together, they went to Nashville where they spent a few weeks recording new tracks.

Back in London, they started filming a documentary at Abbey Road Studios in late August. The documentary, “One Hand Clapping,” directed by David Litchfield, showcased the band working together and Paul’s musical talent. It featured performances of several tracks from “Band on the Run,” along with other familiar and unreleased songs, including some Beatles tracks.

Despite its promise, “One Hand Clapping” was never officially released. There have been speculations about this, including Paul’s dissatisfaction with the final product and the changing dynamics within the band. Geoff Britton left Wings in March 1975, which may have contributed to the decision to shelve the documentary.

Although “One Hand Clapping” was unreleased, bootleg copies of the soundtrack have been circulated among fans, and some parts of the film have been included in special editions of Paul’s albums. For example, the 2010 reissue of “Band on the Run” includes excerpts from the film, sparking renewed interest in this hidden gem.

Finally, in 2024, a more complete soundtrack album was released to the public.

One Hand Clapping is a video documentary, directed by David Litchfield, concerning five musicians working in a recording studio. The five musicians were Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney, Denny Laine, Jimmy McCulloch, Geoff Britton and form a rock and roll band called Wings. Also in the studio were two other musicians, an orchestra and a dog. One of the musicians was called Howie Casey and played a saxophone. The other was called Del Newman and he conducted the orchestra. The dog was called Poppy and didn’t really do much at all. The studio at number 3 Abbey Road, London is where The Beatles recorded their first album Please Please Me in 1963 and the studio hasn’t been painted since then. Geoff Emerick, the recording engineer, said it would ruin the acoustics.

From the liner notes of “One Hand Clapping“

The first thing we want to know is: “What is the sound of One Hand Clapping?” Where does the title come from?

Originally it is a Zen question. But then of course, I realised you could kind of do it with a certain hand motion, and it turned out to be a very good hand exercise! It’s really good if my hands feel a bit stiff – then I will do that.

We’ve seen you do that in meetings before! And how did come to use that title for this project?

I think it came from David Litchfield, who was the director of the One Hand Clapping film. There’s no particular lightbulb moment that I can think of, we just thought it’s a nice phrase, and makes people think.

Paul McCartney – From Paul McCartney | News | You Gave Me The Answer – ‘One Hand Clapping’ Special!, June 19, 2024

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