Paul McCartney Explains Why Forming Wings Was the Biggest Risk of His Career
After The Beatles disbanded, many fans were curious to see where each member would go musically. Initially, they all began successful solo careers, but Paul McCartney wanted the experience of being in a band again. With his wife, Linda McCartney, Paul formed his second band, Wings, which he says was the biggest risk of his career.
Paul McCartney wasn’t sure what to do after The Beatles broke up in 1970
The Beatles are one of the most successful music acts of all time, dominating the music industry in the 1960s. When they went their separate ways in 1970, Paul McCartney knew it would be an incredibly difficult act to follow. In an interview with his website, the “Blackbird” singer said he contemplated quitting music after The Beatles split.
“The main question I had was whether to keep going after The Beatles because it was a hard act – some might say, an impossible act – to follow,” McCartney shared. “The ingredients in the Beatles were so unique. You had John right there, who could have made any group brilliant. Then you had George’s talent, and Ringo’s, and then me.”
Paul McCartney took an enormous risk when forming Wings
McCartney released his first two solo albums, McCartney and Ram, in 1970 and 1971. However, he wanted to get back to playing with a band. In 1971, he formed Wings with drummer Denny Seiwell, guitarist Denny Laine, and Linda on keyboards.
McCartney said having Linda in the band was a risk since she wasn’t a “musician,” and many reviews asked why she was there. He compared it to the early days of The Beatles when they were all still amateurs at their instruments. Starting Wings was a risk, but it ultimately paid off.
“In the early days of Wings, we decided to go right back to square one, taking a van up the motorway and playing little spontaneous gigs at universities for students, rather than jumping straight in with big live shows. I’d doubled back to almost being nothing – just some guy in the band – and now I was earning my fame again. By the time the mid-70s came around when we were doing a big American tour, that was the vindication of it. We were so tight and had come up together, as it were. The risk paid off.”
The risk paid off as Wings was tremendously successful
Paul McCartney and Wings were an influential band of the 1970s. The band had an edgier sound, leaning closer to hard rock than The Beatles. While they didn’t have the same level of success as The Beatles, Wings still dominated the charts with six No. 1 singles and five No. 1 albums, including Band on the Run, Venus and Mars, and At the Speed of Sound.
Like The Beatles, Wings only lasted for around a decade, but it was an excellent run and proved that McCartney wasn’t dependent on the rest of The Beatles. In fact, all four members of The Beatles had or are still having tremendous solo careers, but it’s nothing compared to when they played together.
