Cover artwork
The photograph on the cover of Band On The Run was taken by Clive Arrowsmith, a Welsh photographer who had known The Beatles since their Quarrymen days in Liverpool.
Years later, Linda McCartney spotted Arrowsmith’s pictures in Vogue magazine and invited him to shoot the cover of Wings’ album. The shoot took place on 28 October 1973 against a wall of the stable block in Osterley Park, Hounslow, London.
There had been a few different ideas banging around when Paul came up with concept of a jailbreak scene, with each of the escaping prisoners caught in the glare of a guard’s spotlight. I remember shooting it against a wall of a 16th century Tudor mansion in west London and I hired an old post van and put an theatre light on top of it.The only problem was that the light wasn’t that powerful which affected the exposure and meant every one had to strike a pose and hold it for a moment.
Linda McCartney came up with the concept for the cover shoot, which featured the members of Wings alongside talk show host Michael Parkinson, singer Kenny Lynch, actors James Coburn and Christopher Lee, boxer John Conteh, and Member of Parliament Clement Freud. Each of the cast were dressed as convicts, in keeping with the album’s title track.
Prior to the shoot, the McCartneys had thrown a party for the guests, and Arrowsmith had to stay sober in order to maintain decorum.
I was the only there who wasn’t wasted, I was too scared. This was my first really big job and the responsibility was way too great to join in the fun.I really didn’t know what I was doing and used the wrong film, so all the pictures all came out yellow. On top of that only about three of the shots weren’t blurry from everyone moving about, so when it came to showing Paul I was freaking out too much to say anything – I just held my breath.
Arrowsmith convinced Paul McCartney that the yellow photographs were intentional. The photo shoot was also filmed on 16mm by Bary Chattington, and the 26 minutes of footage were later edited down to eight minutes. The edit, made by Storm Thorgerson and Gordon House, was used as a backdrop during Wings’ 1975-76 world tour.
The release
Paul McCartney decided not to tour in support of Band On The Run, but he did grant a number of interviews to promote it. The most extensive of these was with Paul Gambaccini for Rolling Stone magazine, and was published in January 1974. Gambaccini recounted his efforts in obtaining the interview in the sleeve notes of the 2010 reissue of the album.
‘Helen Wheels’ was released as a standalone single a month ahead of Band On The Run, and was a worldwide top 10 hit. Capitol Records executive Al Coury persuaded McCartney to include it on the second side of the US album release, in between ‘No Words’ and ‘Picasso’s Last Words (Drink To Me)’, to ensure an even 10 tracks and improve its chances of being a hit.
Band On The Run proved a slow burner following its 3 December 1973 release in the US, but reached number one in the US in early 1974 following the single release of ‘Jet’.
Although sales declined after the single peaked, the album returned to number one several months later after the title track was released. In all, Band On The Run had three spells at the top of the US album chart, and was eventually certified triple platinum. In early 1975 Wings were also given the Grammy award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus.
In the United Kingdom the album was issued on 30 November 1973. Again its success was slow, and it took eight months before it topped the album chart on 27 July 1974. It spent seven weeks at the top, was on the charts for a total of 124 weeks, and became the UK’s biggest-selling album of 1974.
By the end of 1974 Band On The Run had sold more than six million copies worldwide, making it Wings’ most-successful album. The slow climb up the charts and continued high placing allowed McCartney to reconsider the direction of Wings and to recruit a new guitarist and drummer prior to more recordings and world tours.
In 1975 a quadrophonic mix of Band On The Run was issued on eight-track cartridge. The mix was created by Geoff Emerick and Alan O’Duffy, and was the first quadrophonic release by Wings.
Band On The Run was first issued on CD in February 1985, and a remastered version appeared in 1993. This included the bonus tracks ‘Helen Wheels’ and ‘Country Dreamer’. The quadrophonic version was reissued on compact disc in 1996.
A 25th anniversary edition was released in March 1999, with a bonus disc titled The Story Of Band On The Run. This was essentially a continuation of the McCartney-sanctioned Oobu Joobu US radio series of outtakes and rarities, and featured rehearsals, television performances, alternative mixes and different takes of the Band On The Run songs. The 1999 release also included Helen Wheels as part of the main album.
The anniversary edition was housed in a cardboard sleeve, and contained a 24-page booklet, and a smaller version of the poster of Polaroid snapshots that came with the original album. It also carried the dedication: “This anniversary edition of Band On The Run is dedicated to my beautiful Linda and her indomitable spirit – Paul McCartney”
In November 2010 four separate editions of Band On The Run were issued, as the opening salvo in the Paul McCartney Archive Collection reissue campaign. In addition to the remastered CD and a vinyl pressing, there were two additional versions with extra DVD and audio recordings.
The 2010 Special Edition contained two CDs and a DVD. The first CD featured the remastered album, while the second contained bonus audio tracks: ‘Helen Wheels’, ‘Country Dreamer’ and ‘Zoo Gang’, plus six performances from the One Hand Clapping documentary – ‘Bluebird’, ‘Jet’, ‘Let Me Roll It’, ‘Band On The Run’, ‘Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five’, and ‘Country Dreamer’. The Special Edition also had lyrics, photographs from the recording sessions in Lagos, liner notes by Paul Gambaccini, and a DVD of bonus footage.
The DVD included the promotional videos for ‘Band On The Run’, ‘Mamumia’ and ‘Helen Wheels’; an album promo featuring the title track, ‘Mrs Vandebilt’, ‘Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five’, and ‘Bluebird’; Wings In Lagos and the Osterley Park photoshoot footage; and the complete One Hand Clapping documentary. This was recorded over four days at Abbey Road’s Studio Two in August 1974, and captured Wings rehearsing new and old songs for their forthcoming live appearances. The 55-minute documentary was completed in 1975 but was rarely seen prior to 2010.
Most lavish of the 2010 reissues was the Deluxe Edition. This contained the same material as the Special Edition, contained within a 120-page hardback book containing photographs by Linda McCartney and Clive Arrowsmith, as well as a history of the album, album and single artwork, a new interview with McCartney, and extensive track-by-track information for each disc. It also included an extra CD containing the same material as the 1999 bonus disc, titled The Story Of Band On The Run.
I was definitely influenced by Clive Arrowsmith’s photographic technique, and more recently, as an astronomer for most of my life, I’ve taken group shots of people observing through my telescopes at night under ambient inner city street lighting. Reading this today, it’s apparent that I’ve used his exact technique, many times without ever really knowing it until I just read it now here in this site. Thank you for posting this great information. I would also like to see the video that was made with this album cover shoot. I’m hoping that someone can indicate where that video is possibly in YouTube, or other video venues as a rare excerpt. As I also work in video motion pictures at times that I produce myself or have acted for others, in recent years as a background extra actor, I’m now invited to act as a lead character
Can anyone tell me what is so fantastic about the Band on the run LP? I find it extremely overrated.
damn catchy tunes from start to finish
Same here. I like bluebird, let me roll it (best one by far) and that’s all…
“Band On The Run” and “Jet” are two of the biggest hits that any Beatles member wrote about they busted up. “1985” and “Let Me Roll It” might be the two most underrated songs that any Beatles wrote during his solo career. It’s a very good album (not GREAT – it needed McCartney and Lennon on it to be GREAT), but for me clearly one of the 5 best solo records that any of the Fabs did after their implosion.
It’s coherent thematically and musically overall. It’s very much the sound of the day of the day, had several big hits on it and was everywhere, bought by many younger and older folks than who weren’t necessarily Beatles or Wings fans. It was a backbone for the big Wings over America tour which was the biggest money grossing tour of the seventies. While Ram has been now re-evaluated and is now preferred by many, BOTR shot McCartney out in front of the other solo Beatles, though George had good seventies singles which were hits, none of his albums sold like BOTR after his ATMP. John was on the way down commercially after Imagine album. BOTR is a great listen years later. As for the song, I prefer the one hand clapping version.
Had McCartney not had the great success with BOTR album, his career would have been completely different and he may have given up which would have been a pity as he’s done some interesting stuff throughout the decades and is a survivor with a very long career. Many by then had lost interest in solo Beatles, but this album and later his extraordinarily successful tour brought renewed interest not just in him but in the other solo Beatles and to a younger generation to the Beatles in general. Tastes are a matter of opinion, but this album and what it accomplished should not be questioned on a Beatles forum of all places. He wasn’t even my favorite Beatle when this came out, but I and two siblings as well as two different friends each had a copy of this album. All Beatles fans should be happy at the success of any Beatle.
Great lp one of my all time favorites. Great tunes great production all voices in fine form very Beatlesque in scope. While Paul says this was not conceived as a concept album it sure comes off that way. Almost all of its songs convey a sense of travel and searching from Band breaking out of confinement to flight, Jet with its propulsive production that actually feels like a jet in flight, Bluebird an escape to a tropical island where the singer actually takes flight, Mrs Vanderbilt is maybe a deeper dive into said island trying to escape society, Let Me Roll It again movement in the title, Mamunia we’ve now traveled to Africa, Helen Wheels road song, No Words no lyrics of movement or travel but like many of the songs it’s dynamics are of forward moving momentum, Picasso shifting time signatures leaps back and forward in time of memories and snippets of songs that have come before, moving on to the next life, 1985 again another propulsive song moving forward in time wrapping up with a reprise if the title song. Sorry Paul this sure feels like a concept album not a story centric lp but a loose concept of freedom personal and physical and travel, that’s not to say you couldn’t easily make a jukebox musical out of this the themes are all laid out needing only a narrative to tie them together.
Just as John Lennon said: this is a great album.
And I see how It’s creative and a fun collection of good songs/melodies.
@marc seibold
Heres the footage of Band on the run cover: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cp1mIu-xwg0
When I was little, I heard this album for the first time at a record store that was playing it constantly in the Sears Department store when it came out. At that time we were visiting my grandparents and they often wondered where I was during the days. I was at the department store listening to this album.
Also I thought all the persons featured on the jailbreak scene were members of McCartney’s band. At that time I had know idea that Paul was playing the drums on all the songs. I thought it was a different drummer. But Paul can sure keep a beat. A much better drumming performance than he did on his first album.
I own an original first release vinyl copy of the album, which has been looked after and this afternoon played it on my recently upgraded record deck and phono preamp and boy, didn’t it sound good! My audio system has somewhat improved since the 1970s and some of the properly cared for vinyl from that era can still give the recent 180gm re pressings a run for their money.
Band On The Run & Red Rose Speedway are my favourites from Paul McCartney..
I really love the album “Band on the Run” and it is the best album that Wings ever created. Even under less than favourable circumstances, Paul was still able to create his most celebrated post-Beatles masterpiece, and despite that Wings were temporarily without a drummer and lead guitarist, that was not a problem, as the multitalented Paul could easily overdub the drums and lead guitar parts when he needed to in addition to bass guitar – I’m not sure if Paul and Denny shared lead guitar duties or if Paul played all the lead parts himself.
I know that the American pressings of the album had “Helen Wheels” added to the running order, but unlike in the 1960’s, this time around Capitol had the decency to not remove or replace any of the songs, so the running order otherwise remained unchanged.
I know that Paul used a Fender Jazz Bass at the recording sessions in Lagos (I have seen photographs taken by Linda or other photographers to confirm this), but I don’t know which songs he used his Rickenbacker bass on – either way, his bass really stands out on “Mrs. Vandebilt”, “Band on the Run”, “Jet” and “Let Me Roll It”.
It never occurred to me that Linda played the Moog solo on “Jet” as well as the bass drones, but she had obviously come a long way since the earliest days.
All in all, “Band on the Run” is the best album that Wings ever made.
BOTR was a very coherent type album with all songs seen as basically good and was very much in the musical style of the day, as someone above asked what’s so great about the album, the same person who gets on many Paul threads dumping on him, sometimes in multiple posts on the same thread. It was a huge breakthrough album for him. However, I notice online that youngsters and hipsters far prefer the earlier Paul/wings albums because of their earthiness, indie sound and simpler less polished type of recording techniques and lyrics they say.
I find BOTR way overrated too. But then again I didn’t listen to the whole album until the 90’s. Maybe I would feel differently about it if it was associated with my youth like the songs on the radio we’re. As a kid I thought the song Band on the Run was a masterpiece. Jet was a masterpiece too. Let Me Roll it was great! But that’s it for me on this album. Everything else is bland. It’s tough to live up to The Beatles output.
No words is one of my favourite McCartney/Wings songs and in my opinion the best track on Band on the run. For me it holds Beatles quality.
Does anyone agree? If not, why?