Laurence Juber auditions for Wings

Guitarist Laurence Juber auditioned for Wings on 28 April 1978.

He had met Denny Laine during an appearance on the BBC TV show David Essex on 27 September 1977. Juber was part of the house band that backed Laine for a performance of ‘Go Now’.

They bumped into one another again at a mixing session at AIR Studios in London on 24 February 1978. Juber was invited into the control room and was introduced to the rest of Wings.

The audition took place in the basement at MPL in central London. In addition to Paul and Linda McCartney and Denny Laine, Wings’ new drummer Steve Holley was also present.

They played several reggae songs and rock ‘n’ roll oldies before Paul McCartney asked him about his availability, and whether he would like to join Wings.

At that point I really had to make a decision, because I’d spent many years getting myself to the point where I had a successful studio career. And then, for a nanosecond, I had to think about it, but I wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity to work with Paul. So I said, ‘Well, I guess I’m working with you.’

I think what Wings were looking for was versatility. And Steve is a versatile drummer, but still basically kind of an English heavy backbeat rock player, which actually kind of set a direction for the band that became apparent when we started recording.