Paul McCartney Knew Wings Would Never be as Good as The Beatles
The Beatles reached a level of success that hasn’t been matched by many other artists. Even Paul McCartney couldn’t replicate the same success in his solo career. However, Paul McCartney knew his second band, Wings, would never be as good as The Beatles, and he accepted that before Wings formed.
Paul McCartney formed Wings shortly after The Beatles broke up
George Harrison, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr were shocked when John Lennon announced he would leave The Beatles. While tensions were already high within the band, the other band members had to deal with the reality that the immensely successful band would be ending.
The Beatles dispersed in 1970, and McCartney released his first album McCartney shortly after. Eventually, McCartney formed Paul McCartney and Wings, with the former Beatle as the main attraction and Wings as his backing band. In an interview with The Guardian, McCartney recalled becoming depressed after The Beatles broke up and wanted to form another band after developing an unhealthy drinking habit.
“I was depressed. You would be. You were breaking from your lifelong friends,” he shared. “So I took to the bevvies. I took to a wee dram. It was great at first, then suddenly I wasn’t having a good time … I wanted to get back to square one, so I ended up forming Wings.”
Paul McCartney knew Wings would never be The Beatles
In an interview with NPR, Paul McCartney talked about starting Wings. Following his time with The Beatles, the “Live and Let Die” singer wasn’t sure how to move forward. He accepted that he would never form a band as good as The Beatles, so he simply decided to form another band anyways, despite knowing that reaching the same level as his previous band was virtually impossible.
“I didn’t really have any brainy ideas, except if I want to continue in music, maybe I’ll form another band. But then, how do you do that after The Beatles? How could anything I do be as good as The Beatles? The Beatles had a very special combination of talents … as has been proved by its longevity. The stuff we did together still sounds good and still lives today. So it was a question of how can you get better than that? And I think I just have to say, ‘Well, you can’t. But if you want to keep going, you should maybe think about starting something else.’ So I did.”
Wings still had plenty of success during their run
Wings began in 1971 and rotated out several musicians during the band’s run until 1981. While Paul McCartney was correct in stating that Wings would not become The Beatles, the band still had plenty of success. McCartney’s most successful albums were recorded with Wings, including Band on the Run, Wings Over America, At the Speed of Sound, and Venus and Mars. All of these albums reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200.
Paul McCartney and Wings also had several top-10 hits, including “Band on the Run,” “Silly Love Songs,” “My Love,” and “With a Little Lick.” Wings had an excellent run, even if it never reached the same peak that The Beatles did.
