Studio Two, Abbey Road Studios, London
Producer: Paul McCartney
Engineer: Peter Henderson
Wings began a remake of the Wings At The Speed Of Sound song ‘Wino Junko’ on 12 January 1976.
The music was written by the band’s guitarist Jimmy McCulloch, with lyrics by Stone The Crows drummer Colin Allen.
At around the time I wrote the lyric I was doing some rehearsing with Jack Bruce. Also involved was STC keyboard player Ronnie Leahy. ‘Wino Junko’ was really born out of the fact that Jack – a well-documented heroin user – was also into fine wines, which at the time I thought was a bit of a contradiction. The rest of the lyric is just stringing some words and ideas together. ‘Doctor Tom’ does actually relate to a real doctor. His name wasn’t Tom, I used that ’cos it rhymed with on. He was in actual fact a private doctor used by many musicians and people in showbiz. He would, often without regard for a patient’s well-being, give prescriptions out for whatever pills a person wanted – uppers, downers. So ‘Doctor Tom is getting on/All he does is sign his name’ meant he was getting rich just by signing prescriptions.
Little Wing: The Jimmy McCulloch Story, Paul Salley
Wings had attempted to record the song on 9 January, but the results were deemed dissatisfactory. However, after recording two takes, drummer Joe English walked out of the studio.
English had joined Wings the year before, but was struggling with homesickness – his partner was still living in Georgia. He had began using drugs to cope with the loneliness. The subject of ‘Wino Junko’ exacerbated his anxiety at his growing substance abuses.
With English’s future in the band uncertain, Wings were unsure how to continue. McCulloch suggested bringing in Colin Allen to perform on his song, and Allen arrived just a few hours after English’s departure.
They recorded just one more take of the song, which was marked ‘Wino Junko Remake’ take 1. However, it was clear that the band had issues that required attention, and the session went no further.
Afterwards, Paul and Linda McCartney went to English’s flat to hear him out. Their solution was to arrange for English’s partner Dayle and her daughter Christy to spend some time in London. The Americans agreed to give it a try, but Dayle and Christy found it hard to adjust to the change of pace in the city.