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Mar 19 - Apr 04, 1972

"Red Rose Speedway" sessions at Olympic Studios

For Paul McCartney & Wings

Last updated on April 17, 2022


Location

  • Recording studio: Olympic Sound Studios, London

Timeline

AlbumSome of the songs worked on during this session were first released on the "Red Rose Speedway" LP

Some of the songs from this session also appear on:

The recording of Wings’ second album, “Red Rose Speedway“, began on March 19, 1972, at Olympic Studios. This was the studio to go to work with engineer/producer Glyn Johns. Paul McCartney had previously worked with Glyn Johns during the “Get Back / Let It Be” sessions back in 1969.

The collaboration with Glyn Johns wouldn’t last long, as Glyn left the sessions after only a few weeks due to disagreements with Paul.

From Wikipedia:

[…] Beginning on 19 March, sessions were held at Olympic Studios in London, after which recording continued sporadically throughout the year. Glyn Johns was invited to produce the Olympic sessions, but left after only a few weeks due to disagreements with McCartney. At the start of the sessions McCartney asked Johns to not think of him as Paul McCartney but rather just as “the bass player in the band” but then wasn’t receptive to Johns’ input. Johns was also unimpressed with the quality of the material, reading the newspaper in the control room while the band smoked marijuana and jammed aimlessly in the studio. […]

He and Paul didn’t hit it off at all. Paul always likes to be his own producer anyway, but at least if he’s going to bring one in they’ve got to be able to see Paul’s point of view.

Denny Laine – From “Blackbird: The Life and Times of Paul McCartney” by Geoffrey Giuliano, 1997

One evening they (Seiwell and Laine – author’s note) said, “We’re not happy with you as a producer. You’re not taking any interest in what we are doing”. I said, “If you think that everything you do is a gem of marvelous music, you’re wrong. And if you want to sit and play shit and get stoned for a few hours […] don’t expect me to record everything you’re doing, because frankly it’s a waste of tape and it’s a waste of my energy.

Glyn Johns, in FAB, an Intimate Life of Paul McCartney

The day after I finished with The Eagles, I went straight in with Paul McCartney and Wings to cut the Red Rose Speedway album, which I quit in a puff of steam after a couple of weeks, and then went straight on to work with Ronnie Lane and Ronnie Wood on the soundtrack to the movie Mahoney’s Estate, with our friend, the actor and director Alexis Kanner.

Glyn Johns, in SOUND MAN, 2014
From puremccartney.com – PAUL, OLYMPIC STUDIOS, LONDON, RECORDING ‘RED ROSE SPEEDWAY’, 1972

Related sessions

Session activities

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  2. Thank You Darling

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  3. Mary Had A Little Lamb

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  4. Big Barn Bed

    Mar 06, 1972Recording "Big Barn Bed"

  5. When The Night

    Mar 07, 1972Recording "When The Night"

  6. The Mess

    Mar 08, 1972Recording "The Mess"

  7. Single Pigeon

    Mar 09, 1972Recording "Single Pigeon"

  8. Tragedy

    Mar 13, 1972Recording "Tragedy"

  9. Mama's Little Girl

    Mar 14, 1972Recording "Mama's Little Girl"

  10. Loup (1st Indian On The Moon)

    Mar 15, 1972Recording "Loup (1st Indian On The Moon)"

  11. Seaside Woman

    Mar 20, 1972Recording "Seaside Woman"

  12. I Would Only Smile

    Mar 22, 1972Recording "I Would Only Smile"

  13. Thank You Darling

    Mar 23, 1972Recording "Thank You Darling"

  14. Mary Had A Little Lamb

    Mar 27, 1972Recording "Mary Had A Little Lamb"


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.

Shop on Amazon

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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