Paul McCartney’s Biggest Professional Risk, According to the Artist Himself

Paul McCartney wouldn’t describe himself as a risk taker. In fact, the musician feels his career has been pretty tame–despite the oodles of success he has amassed. However, there is one massive risk McCartney is glad he took. Find out what that is, below.

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Paul McCartney’s Biggest Professional Risk, According to the Artist Himself

The Beatles were a tough act to follow. The fervor around the band was unprecedented. They became emblematic of a new age where musicians didn’t have passive listeners, but active, life-centering fans. When they decided to hang up their hats, there was a few million fans out there who’s dreams were dashed.

But, life must go on. A musician must play music. But, the question of how to go about that could’ve proved disastrous. Truthfully, it did for a moment in McCartney’s career. His follow up band to the Beatles, Wings, wasn’t popular upon their debut. Listeners still had the golden age of the Beatles to compare everything to. Wings didn’t seem to measure up.

Eventually, McCartney’s second leg proved profitable. Wings earned a fanbase in their own right, producing a host of beloved hits. According to McCartney, the decision to start Wings was his riskiest professional move–one that ultimately paid off.

“The main question I had was whether to keep going after The Beatles, because it was a hard act – some might say, an impossible act – to follow,” McCartney once said. “The ingredients in the Beatles were so unique. You had John right there, who could have made any group brilliant. Then you had George’s talent, and Ringo’s, and then me.”

“Once that band had finished, I didn’t know what to do with myself, and trying something new was really risky,” he continued. “Then, of course, having Linda in Wings, when she was not a ‘musician,’ was a risk too. When the reviews started to come in a lot of them focused on her, asking, ‘What’s she doing in the band?’ And that was hurtful. But I rationalized it by thinking about when we started The Beatles and none of us knew our chords – over time we got better and picked things up.”

In McCartney’s mind, he had “doubled back to almost being nothing” after the Beatles. He knew he had to earn respect as an artist again in this new light. He stood his ground, replacing his old band with a new one. We agree. We can’t think of a riskier move than that.

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“I’d doubled back to almost being nothing – just some guy in the band – and now I was earning my fame again,” he added. “By the time the mid-70s came around when we were doing a big American tour, that was the vindication of it. We were so tight and had come up together, as it were. The risk paid off.”

(Photo by Chris Walter/WireImage)