Band on the Run
Band on the Run is a 1973 Wings album recorded mostly at EMI’s eight-track studio in Lagos, Nigeria, after drummer Denny Seiwell and guitarist Henry McCullough departed shortly before departure. With no time to recruit replacements, Paul and Linda McCartney and Denny Laine made it — McCartney playing bass, drums, percussion and most lead guitar. The studio was ramshackle and under-equipped. Conditions were tense and difficult; the McCartneys were robbed at knifepoint, losing song lyrics and demo tapes. After returning to England, final overdubs and additional recording took place at AIR Studios in London, where orchestral arrangements and saxophone solos were added. The album reflects themes of escape and freedom and features a structure recalling Abbey Road’s side two. It reached number 1 in both the US and UK and restored McCartney’s post-Beatles reputation.