A 50th anniversary vinyl reissue of Paul McCartney and Wings’ chart-topping Venus and Mars album is due out March 21. As the release of the half-speed-mastered LP approaches, McCartney has posted online a restored version of a TV commercial he and the band shot to promote the 1975 album.
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The minute-long ad features McCartney and Wings playing snooker at a house in West London. During the promo, snippets of five different tracks from Venus and Mars play in the background. The songs featured in the commercial are the title track, “You Gave Me the Answer,” “Listen to What the Man Said,” “Treat Her Gently,” and “Medicine Jar.”
McCartney appears alongside his wife, Linda, as well as singer/multi-instrumentalist Denny Laine, guitarist Jimmy McColloch, and drummer Joe English.
As the clip comes to an end, footage shot from above the snooker table showing a bunch of balls segues into an image of the red and yellow balls that appear on the Venus and Mars album cover.
The ad, which was shot on 35-mm film, first aired on the U.K. channel ITV in June 1975.
About Venus and Mars
Released in May 1975, Venus and Mars was McCartney’s fourth studio album with his post-Beatles band Wings.
Venus and Mars topped the Billboard 200 for one week in July of 1975. It became Wings’ third consecutive No. 1 album in the U.S., following Red Rose Speedway in 1973 and Band on the Run in 1974.
The album yielded three Top-40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including the chart-topping “Listen to What the Man Said.” The other hit singles were “Letting Go” and “Venus and Mars/Rock Show,” which reached No. 39 and No. 12, respectively.
Wings began recording Venus and Mars at Abbey Road with their post-Band on the Run lineup of Paul and Linda McCartney, Laine, McCulloch and drummer Geoff Britton. During the making the album, tensions between Britton and McCulloch led to Geoff quitting Wings. He was replaced by English.
The sessions then shifted to New Orleans and later to Los Angeles. In New Orleans, recorded was done at legendary New Orleans musician, songwriter, and producer Allen Toussaint’s Sea-Saint Studio.
“Listen to What the Man Said” featured guest guitar work by former Traffic member Dave Mason. Acclaimed session saxophonist Tom Scott also played on the track. Toussaint played piano on “Rock Show.”
In 1991, Venus and Mars was certified platinum by the RIAA for sales of 1 million copies in the U.S.
More About the Venus and Mars Vinyl Reissue
The 50th anniversary vinyl edition of Venus and Mars was created using a high-resolution transfer of the original 1975 master tapes by engineer Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios in London. The reissue features a recreation of the original album’s U.K. packaging, including a gatefold sleeve, with artwork by Hipgnosis. The LP comes packaged with collectible stickers and two posters featuring photography by Aubrey Powell and Sylvia de Swaan.
A Dolby Atmos version of Venus and Mars, created by Giles Martin and Steve Orchard, also will be made available.
You can pre-order the Venus and Mars reissue now.
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