After the highly successful Wings Over America tour in 1976, Paul McCartney planned a follow up tour of the United States for 1977, but this was not to be. Linda McCartney soon discovered that she was pregnant with their third child (James). Although they abandoned tour plans, Linda’s condition did not prevent getting in a little bit of recording. Paul chose a more relaxed atmosphere though, and set up a studio on a yacht called Fair Carol in the Virgin Islands, with the idea of putting an album together called Water Wings. As Linda’s pregnancy progressed, Paul did eventually end up putting the sessions on hold after finishing up both sides of the next single – “Mull Of Kintyre” (written with Wings bandmate Denny Laine) and “Girl’s School”. “Mull Of Kintyre” became a huge hit in the U.K. and historically the first single to sell over two million copies in that country. It barely charted in the U.S. with “Girl’s School” charting higher than the A-side (#33 on Billboard). James was born in September, but also around that time Wings drummer Joe English became homesick for America and ended up leaving the band. Guitarist Jimmy McCulloch also left to join a reunion version of the Small Faces. So by the time the “Mull Of Kintyre” single was released in November, Wings was down to Paul, Linda and Denny. However, this line up worked fine on Band On The Run, so no need to think it would not work again, especially with many of the sessions already completed earlier in the year. The album was finished up by January 1978 and released in March. Even though much of the album was recorded in the Virgin Islands, the Water Wings title was rejected in favor of the ironic title London Town, after the song on the disc that I am featuring here.

The first single from the LP, “With A Little Luck” was a commercial success on both sides of the Atlantic, however the two follow up singles “I’ve Had Enough” and “London Town” barely made a “splash”. Although, the rise of punk kept many songs like “London Town” from getting much recognition during this time, I’ve always placed it as one of my favorite Wings tracks of the period. The promo video features a surprise appearance of one of Paul’s old friends from the Beatles movie-days – Victor Spinetti, who starred in A Hard Day’s Night, Help! and even Magical Mystery Tour. Thanks for stopping by this week…

Click the image above to play the video.

Here are some Amazon links to read more on, or purchase, some music related to this post:

1) London Town – 1993 remaster of original 1978 LP plus bonus material. Of course, it includes the “London Town” title track.

2) The McCartney Years – 2007 3-DVD set by Paul McCartney, the first two DVD’s contain music videos, including “London Town” and “Mull Of Kintyre” mentioned above. The third disc contains concert footage.

3) More Amazon links for any of your favorite Beatles-related music: The Beatles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

11 people think this is FAB!

Click here if this is FAB!

Click here if you change your mind.

Related posts:

1. Beatles Rarity Of The Week – Waterspout (out-take) The BROW series continues this week with a studio out-take from the Wings London Town sessions. Despite the album title,...
2. Beatles Rarity Of The Week – I’ve Had Enough (Wings, Live in ’79) Welcome to the Beatles Rarity of the Week. This week’s BROW hails from late in Paul McCartney’s Wings era. I’ve...
3. Junior’s Farm – Live on ‘Wings Over Australia’ tour 1975 This clip comes from the 1975 Wings Over Australia leg of Paul McCartney & Wing’s 1975-76 World Tour. The date...
4. The Rockestra Theme Wow! How many legends can you spot in this line-up? The Rockestra line up featured Paul McCartney, Wings, David Gilmour,...