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On the Charts This Day in 1974, Paul McCartney Solidified His Post-Beatles Career With This No. 1 Album
After a decade of unprecedented success and fame, the Beatles made their split public on April 10, 1970. Paul McCartney announced in a press release that he was no longer working with the band, pursuing a solo career instead. Feeling adrift, the legendary bassist initially struggled to find his footing without the other three-fourths of the Beatles. He formed a new band, Wings, but the group’s first two albums paled in comparison to the success of the Fab Four. Still refusing to walk away from music, McCartney released a third album with Wings, Band on the Run, in November 1973. On this day (April 13) in 1974, the ex-Beatle finally found the victory he’d been chasing when Band on the Run topped the Billboard 200.
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Paul McCartney’s First Post-Beatles Success Didn’t Come Without Turmoil
Nevertheless, it was a hard-won victory. Wanting to record in an “exotic” location, Paul McCartney booked time at EMI’s studio in Lagos, Nigeria.
However, just one week before heading to Africa, Wings guitarist Henry McCullough and drummer Denny Seiwell exited the group. That left just three members: McCartney; his wife Linda on keyboards, and ex-Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine.
“That was like a bombshell,” McCartney later told Clash Music. “It was like, ‘Ah, OK. Try and hold your nerve, try and keep it together.’ At that moment [I thought], ‘I’ll show you. I will make the best album I’ve ever made now.’”
Still, conditions would get significantly worse before improving. The trio arrived in Lagos to find the studio in disarray and missing most of the necessary equipment. Later, Paul and Linda were robbed at knifepoint. And the very next day, he suffered a bronchial spasm that his wife initially mistook for a heart attack.
After six grueling weeks, the remaining members of Wings returned to London—where McCartney received a letter from EMI dated prior to the day they left for Lagos. It read, “Dear Paul, under no circumstances go to Lagos. There’s been an outbreak of cholera.”
In the end, Band on the Run would top the Billboard 200 three separate times during 1974. Most still consider it McCartney’s best post-Beatles work ever.
As author Robert Rodriguez wrote, “It was exactly the record fans and critics had long hoped he would make.”
Featured image by David Redfern/Redferns
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