Remember When: Paul McCartney Disbands Wings and Makes 'Tug of War'
Paul McCartney the solo artist has done quite well for himself over the years. But it’s easy to forget there was a time when he hadn’t fully ventured out on his own, considering he almost immediately followed up his time with The Beatles by forming Wings. The 1982 album Tug of War proved a major turning point in his transformation from band member to fully fledged solo entity.
The album proved a triumph for McCartney, albeit a bittersweet one, as he was still reeling from the death of John Lennon when he made it. Let’s look back at how Macca ventured into a new portion of his career, which required him jettisoning an old one.
The history books show that the experimental 1980 solo album McCartney II was followed up by Tug of War in the McCartney catalog. That might lead you to believe that Wings were done by the end of the ’70s. But McCartney intended McCartney II as a one-off and was ready to jump back in with his backing band to start the new decade.
He decided he would work with Beatles producer George Martin for his new album. Martin agreed, but insisted that he would only helm an album of high-quality material, meaning McCartney would have to prune until he was left with the cream of his songwriting crop. Macca began to run through rehearsals of the new songs with Wings throughout 1980.
However, these sessions proved fruitless. McCartney decided that he would pick whichever players he wanted for the album. Although Denny Laine, the only member of Wings beside Linda McCartney to last the entire run of the group, played on a few songs on the Tug of War album, the band was essentially kaput. There was never any formal announcement, but Wings never recorded or played live again.
Source: Jim Beviglia/americansongwriter.com
