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Is Wings Paul McCartney's Back-Up Band!
5 June 2013
2.10am
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Inner Light
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There may be a thread on this topic but I couldn’t find it. 

I know McCartney’s idea of having a full fledged band with Wings is what he was trying to accomplish but how many of you out there feel that Wings was a band and not a back-up band for McCartney. I am mentioning this because I feel he did his best work during the 1070’s and most was with Wings so is it WINGS or Paul McCartney and his back-up band Wings? 

The further one travels, the less one knows

5 June 2013
2.13am
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Inner Light
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Hi Joe, could you please move this into the McCartney section. I accidentally added it to George’s page. Thanks. 

The further one travels, the less one knows

5 June 2013
2.52am
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Gerard
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Wings is really a power-house thanks to the presence of Denny Laine, Paul McCartney aside. The only problem was the rest of the band got sub-standard payment and no royalties at all.

5 June 2013
6.49am
LongHairedLady
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The lineup changed a few times, too.  It almost became like a joke.  

"Please don't bring your banjo back, I know where it's been..  I wasn't hardly gone a day, when it became the scene..  Banjos!  Banjos!  All the time, I can't forget that tune..  and if I ever see another banjo, I'm going out and buy a big balloon!"

 

5 June 2013
8.04am
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Funny Paper
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I know I’m the oddball on this account, but my favorite thing about Denny Laine is his clarinet playing (e.g., “The Last Picasso”).

 

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5 June 2013
9.58pm
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fabfouremily
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I’ve always thought of them as his back-up band rather than band because he was the most talented, the directioner (leader?), wrote the songs (except a few by Laine?) and sand lead most the time. Whether that’s fair to say or not, I don’t know. Also ’cause you think of a band having the same people in it, more or less, during their whole career but Wings…. you can’t say that about them at all.

Moving along in our God given ways, safety is sat by the fire/Sanctuary from these feverish smiles, left with a mark on the door.

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5 June 2013
10.13pm
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HeyTrud
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I certainly don’t know the answer to your question…but here’s my 2 cents worth! a-hard-days-night-george-10

When I think of the Beatles…they were a BAND.  Of course they had more than one “lead singer” too – which was unique, but John, Paul, George & Ringo WERE the band…were the Beatles :)

I always thought (and correct me if I’m wrong…like you wouldn’t!! HA! a-hard-days-night-george-10 ) it was sort of slated as “Paul McCartney & Wings”.  Now, I know some concert tours, etc. were simply called “Wings Over America “…and not “Paul McCartney & Wings Over America “…but I always saw them as his back-up band.  I agree Denny Laine was a huge talent and really had some great creative input in Wings, but I still see him/them as the back-up band. Maybe that is unfair?

"....take a sad song & make it Meilleur"....

11 June 2013
5.44pm
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DrBeatle
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I don’t consider Wings his backing band, although let’s face it, they benefited mightily from having Paul in the band as the writer and singer. If he was some random guy, there’s no way they would’ve had a record contract beyond Wild Life ! But, while he was the dominant force in the band, I still consider them a legit band.

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12 June 2013
1.44am
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IMDeWalrus
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I’ve always considered Wings simply a backing band for Paul…. other than Denny Laine, the members of the band were interchangeable, and didn’t really put their own stamp on the sound, in my opinion.  McCartney dominated every aspect of their music, and not just because he sang nearly all of their songs.  

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12 June 2013
3.04am
LongHairedLady
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I LOVE Wings… just sayin’.  a-hard-days-night-paul-7heart

"Please don't bring your banjo back, I know where it's been..  I wasn't hardly gone a day, when it became the scene..  Banjos!  Banjos!  All the time, I can't forget that tune..  and if I ever see another banjo, I'm going out and buy a big balloon!"

 

12 June 2013
9.12am
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meanmistermustard
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Back-up band for me as all the changes didnt make a blind bit of difference when drummers and guitarists left, if anything the core base of Paul, Linda and Denny were all that was required. Truth be told Paul could easily have continued Wings if/after Denny left using session musicians and it wouldnt have mattered.  

"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)

12 June 2013
10.30am
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fabfouremily
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I disagree, I think Denny had a slight creative input in the group. I’m not saying that they wouldn’t have made it without him, obviously Paul is the only one they definitely couldn’t have done without, but they would have been at least a little less popular/succesful, I think.

Moving along in our God given ways, safety is sat by the fire/Sanctuary from these feverish smiles, left with a mark on the door.

(Passover - I. Curtis)

12 June 2013
11.06am
Ben Ramon
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My Rockshow DVD arrived yesterday so I sat down to watch with a few friends in the evening. I expected to be somewhat bored by the inclusion of tunes like Go Now, Time to Hide, Medicine Jar and Spirits of Ancient Egypt, having previously felt that the other members of Wings were pretty dispensable. Actually, I found it was rather refreshing when Paul handed over lead vocal to Denny or Jimmy. Plus Joe English is a genuinely superb drummer. If you ever wanted evidence that Wings were more than just a backup band to Paul, their live performances from that era are the proof. It’s a real shame that incarnation of the band didn’t stay together longer to be honest, the quintet had real personality and were extremely tight musically.

SHUT UP - Paulie's talkin'

12 June 2013
11.20am
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meanmistermustard
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They were good musicians and good singers (Medicine Jar, Time To Hide, Must Do Something About It are all very good songs) but you could replace them with other musicians who could sing as well and i doubt the difference would have been lower or noticeable. And Paul did up til 1980 when supposedly Wings were over even before Paul got busted before the Japan tour depending on what you read and believe.

"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)

12 June 2013
11.48am
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DrBeatle
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^That is absolutely true and I agree with you. *BUT*, I do think Paul made an effort for it to come across as a band and not just a backing group. It’s a much different feel than, say, what Bruce Springsteen or Dave Mathews (two musicians I loathe, BTW) do with their groups. Even something as simple as the name (Paul did not name the band “Paul McCartney and Wings”, EMI did, and only because Wild Life bombed. After Band On The Run was a hit, they reverted it back to simply “Wings”).

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12 June 2013
12.06pm
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robert
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To me here’s the easy way to answer the question if Wings was merely Paul’s back up band.

Could you imagine a “Wings Reunion”? I couldn’t because I wouldn’t know what would be reuniting. It’s why no one ever really calls for a “Wings Reunion” – Paul on tour is the same thing.

 

 

 

"She looks more like him than I do."

12 June 2013
3.01pm
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DrBeatle
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You couldn’t have a Wings reunion for the same reason you couldn’t have a Beatles reunion…one of the members is dead :P (actually, 2 of them are…)

"I know you, you know me; one thing I can tell you is you got to be free!"

 

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13 June 2013
2.47am
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Gerard
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Plus Wings had a lot of different drummers, what would all of them do on-stage?

13 June 2013
10.17am
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meanmistermustard
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Each drummer plays on their own songs replacing the other, they have to stand in a que with the guitarists who are also waiting in the wings.

"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)

9 February 2014
11.31pm
tulane
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meanmistermustard said
Each drummer plays on their own songs replacing the other, they have to stand in a que with the guitarists who are also waiting in the wings.

“Waiting in the wings” – what a pun!

 

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