- Album Songs recorded during this session officially appear on the Red Rose Speedway LP.
- Studio:
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Timeline
More from year 1972
Some songs from this session appear on:
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About
How do you think Wings evolved in the two years from Wild Life to Red Rose Speedway?
“Wild Life was very live-sounding – really, it was kind of what we were doing in our rehearsals. We weren’t trying to make a big-time album. It was very basic and raw, and to this day, a lot of people think that gives it more credibility than they did at the time. On Red Rose Speedway, we were more rehearsed and tighter, since we’d been on the road.
“So it was the first big production that we did, using Glyn Johns as a co-producer with Paul. It was meant to be a double album, and we did record more tracks than we needed. But it never came out that way. In fact, some of those tracks have been released on other packages, and are now on the box set.”
Denny Laine – From Guitar World, January 30, 2023
Your rhythm parts in these songs are rarely just straight strumming. Take Big Barn Bed or the Hold Me Tight medley. There are lots of accents, held chords, rests and double-tracked arpeggiated chords. It’s very dynamic and intricate. Once you learned a song, can you describe how you’d approach the rhythm part?
“My memory of what I actually played on these things is gone. [Laughs] I can just about remember what guitar it was and that’s it. That said, if Paul writes a song on guitar, and it’s a very simple thing, I would probably just try to add to that. I wouldn’t be the main rhythm guitarist, because what the song needed was accompaniment.
“I was always pretty in with what Paul was playing, which probably makes it sound more like one part, probably. We did that a lot, where I would play lead parts in unison with him, like on Helen Wheels [from Band on the Run].
“If Paul was on piano, I’d have a bit more freedom to find my own guitar part. It was quite easy to do that with him. You have to remember – he and I grew up with the same musical tastes. We listened to all the same bits, so we have a very similar style.”
Denny Laine – From Guitar World, January 30, 2023
The sessions started with Glyn Johns – whom Paul had worked with during the Beatles’ Get Back/Let It Be sessions in 1969 – co-producing, then Paul took over.
“There was a clash of some kind. I can’t really go into what the politics were, because I wasn’t involved in it. All I know is Paul likes to be his own producer. He might’ve had some experimental ideas that Glyn wasn’t willing to try. You know, putting the amps in little rooms to get certain sounds. I get it.
“I don’t really work with producers too well either. I worked with Denny Cordell in the Moody Blues days because he was a friend of mine. As far as I’m concerned, I didn’t notice any major tension on Red Rose Speedway. Glyn was just there at Olympic Studios. Then a few weeks later, he wasn’t. It was a little bit of a surprise to me.”
The background vocal blend of you, Paul and Linda is a hugely underappreciated part of the Wings sound. I’m thinking of the counter-melodies and “oohs” on When the Night and Get On the Right Thing, where your three voices are so complementary that they create this fourth sound. Can you talk about how you worked out arrangements and recorded those parts?
“Linda was a very musical person, but she was not a trained professional, if you want to call it that. She hadn’t done any live or studio work. So it took longer, but she could sing in tune, and you give her an idea, she could sing it. Either Paul or me would come up with a line for her to sing. We’d just sit there and say, ‘Where do we need harmonies?’ then work out the parts. Linda took to it quite quickly.
“But that blend became very popular and part of our sound. Even Michael Jackson asked Paul, ‘Who’s singing the harmonies there?’ ‘That’s Denny and Linda.’ There was a sound there that can’t be mimicked. It was a special part of Wings and I’m quite happy about that. It was nice to see Linda learning that stuff and how well she did. Again, on stage, she wasn’t experienced and sometimes had problems. But in the studio, she was spot on.”
Were you usually three around one mic?
“Yes. Often it was just me and Linda around the mic, unless it was a thing where Paul had to throw in a lead vocal and we’d sing around it. We doubled the parts a lot. Or we used ADT, the Automatic Double Tracking that the Beatles invented at EMI. It was a little machine that could simulate doubling. We always wanted to get that bigger, lush harmony sound. Everybody does it these days, but we were kind of pioneers in all that.”
Denny Laine – From Guitar World, January 30, 2023

Last updated on April 20, 2023
Related sessions
Overdubs & mixing "Single Pigeon"
Jan 29, 1973 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
Jan 28, 1973 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
Jan 27, 1973 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
Jan 26, 1973 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
Jan 25, 1973 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
Jan 24, 1973 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway - Archive Collection
Mixing "Get On The Right Thing"
Jan 21, 1973 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
Mixing the medley "Hold Me Tight / Lazy Dynamite / Hands Of Love / Power Cut"
Jan 16, 1973 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
Jan 15, 1973 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
Mixing "Hold Me Tight", "Lazy Dynamite"
Jan 14, 1973 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
Jan 13, 1973 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
Mixing "Loup (1st Indian On The Moon)", "Country Dreamer", "Seaside Woman"
Jan 10, 1973 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
Mixing "Big Barn Bed", "When The Night"
Jan 09, 1973 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
Mixing "Little Lamb Dragonfly"
Jan 08, 1973 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
Dec 11, 1972 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
December 1972 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway - Archive Collection
Nov 27, 1972 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway - Archive Collection
Nov 13, 1972 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
Nov 12, 1972 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
Nov 07, 1972 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Hi, Hi, Hi / C Moon
Nov 06, 1972 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Hi, Hi, Hi / C Moon
Oct 03, 1972 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
Oct 01, 1972 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
Sep 30, 1972 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
Recording "Bridge On The River Suite", "One More Kiss"
Sep 29, 1972 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Walking In The Park With Eloise / Bridge On The River Suite
Sep 28, 1972 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway - Archive Collection
Sep 26, 1972 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Helen Wheels / Country Dreamer
Sep 18 - Sep 20, 1972 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Hi, Hi, Hi / C Moon
Sep 16, 1972 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
Sep 15, 1972 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway
Songs recorded
1.
2.
3.
Sep 15, 1972 • Recording "Hold Me Tight"
4.
Sep 16, 1972 • Recording "Lazy Dynamite"
5.
Sep 18 - Sep 20, 1972 • Recording "Hi, Hi, Hi"
6.
Sep 26, 1972 • Recording "Country Dreamer"
7.
Sep 28, 1972 • Recording "Night Out"
9.
10.
Sep 30, 1972 • Recording "One More Kiss"
11.
Oct 01, 1972 • Recording "Hands Of Love"
12.
Oct 01, 1972 • Recording "Hands Of Love"
13.
Oct 03, 1972 • Recording "Power Cut"
14.
Nov 06, 1972 • Mixing "Hi, Hi, Hi"
15.
Nov 07, 1972 • Mixing "C Moon"
16.
17.
Nov 13, 1972 • Recording "1882"
18.
Nov 27, 1972 • Recording "Jazz Street"
19.
December 1972 • Mixing "1882", "Jazz Street"
20.
December 1972 • Mixing "1882", "Jazz Street"
21.
Dec 11, 1972 • Mixing "One More Kiss"
22.
Jan 08, 1973 • Mixing "Little Lamb Dragonfly"
23.
Jan 09, 1973 • Mixing "Big Barn Bed", "When The Night"
24.
Jan 09, 1973 • Mixing "Big Barn Bed", "When The Night"
25.
26.
27.
28.
Jan 13, 1973 • Mixing "Hands Of Love"
29.
Jan 14, 1973 • Mixing "Hold Me Tight", "Lazy Dynamite"
30.
Jan 14, 1973 • Mixing "Hold Me Tight", "Lazy Dynamite"
31.
Jan 15, 1973 • Mixing "Power Cut"
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
Jan 21, 1973 • Mixing "Get On The Right Thing"
37.
Jan 24, 1973 • Mixing "Night Out"
38.
Jan 25, 1973 • Recording "My Love"
39.
Jan 26, 1973 • Recording "My Love"
40.
Jan 27, 1973 • Overdubs and mixing "My Love"
41.
Jan 28, 1973 • Mixing "Tragedy"
42.
Jan 29, 1973 • Overdubs & mixing "Single Pigeon"
Going further
Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989
With 25 albums of pop music, 5 of classical – a total of around 500 songs – released over the course of more than half a century, Paul McCartney's career, on his own and with Wings, boasts an incredible catalogue that's always striving to free itself from the shadow of The Beatles. The stories behind the songs, demos and studio recordings, unreleased tracks, recording dates, musicians, live performances and tours, covers, events: Music Is Ideas Volume 1 traces McCartney's post-Beatles output from 1970 to 1989 in the form of 346 song sheets, filled with details of the recordings and stories behind the sessions. Accompanied by photos, and drawing on interviews and contemporary reviews, this reference book draws the portrait of a musical craftsman who has elevated popular song to an art-form.
Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium
We owe a lot to Chip Madinger and Mark Easter for the creation of those session pages, but you really have to buy this book to get all the details!
Eight Arms To Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium is the ultimate look at the careers of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr beyond the Beatles. Every aspect of their professional careers as solo artists is explored, from recording sessions, record releases and tours, to television, film and music videos, including everything in between. From their early film soundtrack work to the officially released retrospectives, all solo efforts by the four men are exhaustively examined.
As the paperback version is out of print, you can buy a PDF version on the authors' website
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