Studio Two, EMI Studios, London
Producer: Paul McCartney
Engineer: Geoff Emerick
Wings recorded an advertising jingle for Mother’s Pride bread on 22 September 1974.
The instrumental piece, titled ‘Proud Mother’, was written by Paul McCartney. It was completed during a session at Abbey Road that ran from 6pm to 2.30am the following morning.
The session involved the members of Wings plus a number of brass players. The ensemble was billed as The Whippets to allow them to record incognito.
Two versions were recorded, one lasting 30 seconds and the other two minutes. The first was completed in six takes, with the first marked best. It was followed by 14 takes of the longer version, the last of which was selected as the master.
McCartney was considering releasing the longer version as a single. To that end, an instrumental version of the Wild Life song ‘Tomorrow’ was also re-recorded in five takes on this day as a potential b-side.
A cassette copy of both recordings was made for the McCartneys to take away. The following day a tape reel was assembled, and eight acetate discs containing the recordings were pressed by EMI. They were distributed to the musicians on the recordings.
The Mother’s Pride advertisement was made, and a screening took place at MPL’s offices on 13 November 1974. However, the ad campaign was scrapped after 33,000 workers at the bread factory went on strike, causing a shortage in supplies in Britain.