Band on the Run (song)

" Band on the Run " is the title song of Paul McCartney and Wings' 1973 album Band on the Run. The song was released as a single in 1974, following the success of "Jet", and became an international chart success. The song topped the charts in the United States, also reaching number 3 in the United Kingdom. The single sold over one million copies in 1974 in America.[ 3 ] It has since become one of the band's most famous songs.

A medley of song fragments that vary in style from folk rock to funk, "Band on the Run" is one of McCartney's longest singles at 5:09. The song was partly inspired by a comment that George Harrison had made during a meeting of the Beatles' Applerecord label. The song-wide theme is one of freedom and escape, and its creation coincided with Harrison, John Lennon and Ringo Starr having parted with managerAllen Klein in March 1973, leading to improved relations between McCartney and his fellow ex-Beatles. The original demos for this and other tracks on Band on the Runwere stolen shortly after Wings arrived in Lagos, Nigeria, to begin recording the album. With the band reduced to a trio consisting of McCartney, his wife Linda, andDenny Laine, "Band on the Run" was recorded at EMI's Lagos studio and completed at AIR Studios in London.

Background
It was symbolic: "If we ever get out of here … All I need is a pint a day" … [In the Beatles] we'd started off as just kids really, who loved our music and wanted to earn a bob or two so we could get a guitar and get a nice car. It was very simple ambitions at first. But then, you know, as it went on it became business meetings and all of that … So there was a feeling of "if we ever get out of here", yeah. And I did.

– Paul McCartney, toClash Music[ 5 ]Paul McCartney noted the drug busts musicians of the late 1960s and early 1970s experienced as an inspiration for the "Band on the Run", also referencing the "desperado" image he attributed to bands like The Byrds and Eagles as an influence. McCartney, who had been having legal trouble involving pot possession, said, "We were being outlawed for pot ... And our [Wings'] argument on ['Band on the Run'] was 'Don't put us on the wrong side ... We're not criminals, we don't want to be. So I just made up a story about people breaking out of prison. ' "

In a subsequent interview, McCartney stated that the lyric"If we ever get out of here" was inspired by George Harrisonsaying these words during one of the Beatles' many business meetings.[ 7 ] McCartney recalled: "He was saying that we were all prisoners in some way [due to the ongoing problems with their company Apple] … I thought it would be a nice way to start an album."[ 8 ][ nb 1 ] McCartney added, referring to his inspiration for "Band on the Run": "It's a million things … all put together. Band on the run – escaping, freedom, criminals. You name it, it's there."[ 9 ]

According to Mojo contributor Tom Doyle, the song's lyrics, recalled through memory following the robbery of the band's demo tapes for the Band on the Run album, were altered to reflect on the band's then-current status, "stuck inside the four walls of the small, cell-like studio, faced with grim uncertainty."[ 10 ]

"Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five", the closing track of the Band on the Run album, concludes with a brief excerpt of the chorus.[ 11 ]

Composition
"Band on the Run" is a three-part medley, with the first section being a slow ballad, the second featuring a funk rock style,<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-allmusicReviewSong_13-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 12 ] and the final a country-esque section.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-allmusicReviewSong_13-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 12 ] The lyrics of the entire song, however, are related, with all being based around a general theme of freedom and escape.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTERodriguez2010160_14-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 13 ]<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEJackson2012108.E2.80.93109_15-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 14 ]

Recording
<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">The original demo recording for "Band on the Run", as well as multiple other tracks from the album, was stolen from the McCartneys by a group of thugs while Paul McCartney and Wings were recording in Lagos, Nigeria.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEHarper2010_5-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 5 ] Robbed at knife-point, they relinquished the demos, only recovering the songs through memory.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDoyle201492_11-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 10 ] Paul McCartney later remarked, "It was stuff that would be worth a bit on eBay these days, you know? But no, we figured the guys who mugged us wouldn’t even be remotely interested. If they’d have known, they could have just held on to them and made themselves a little fortune. But they didn’t know, and we reckoned they’d probably record over them."<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEHarper2010_5-2" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 5 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">The song was recorded in two parts, in different sessions. The first two were taped in Lagos while the third section was recorded in October 1973 at AIR Studios in London.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPerasi2013103_16-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 15 ]

Release
<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">Originally, Paul McCartney planned not to release any singles from Band on the Run, a strategy he compared to that used by The Beatles.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEBadman_17-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 16 ] However, he was convinced by Capitol Records promotion man Al Coury to release singles from the album, resulting in the single release of "Jet" and "Band on the Run".<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEMcGee200359.E2.80.9360_18-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 17 ] <p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;">Al [Coury, promotion man for Capitol Records] released 'Jet,' which I wasn't even thinking of releasing as a single, and 'Band on the Run' too. He single-handedly turned [Band on the Run] around.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEMcGee200359.E2.80.9360_18-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 17 ]

– Paul McCartney<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">"Band on the Run", backed with "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five", was released in America on 8 April 1974 as the follow-up single to Paul McCartney and Wings' top-ten hit "Jet". The song was a smash hit for the band, becoming McCartney's third solo American chart-topping single and Wings' second.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-chart_3-2" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 3 ] The single was later released in Britain (instead backed with "Zoo Gang", the theme song to the television show of the same name), reaching number 3 on the British charts.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-UK_4-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 4 ] The song was also a top 40 single in multiple European countries, such as the Netherlands (number 7),<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-NLD2_19-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 18 ] Belgium (number 21),<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-BEL_20-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 19 ] and Germany (number 22).<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-GER2_21-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 20 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">The US radio edit was 3:50 in length. The difference was largely caused by the removal of the middle or the second part of the song, as well as the verse that starts with "Well, the undertaker drew a heavy sigh …"<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWiener1994396_22-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 21 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">The single was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of over one million copies.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-RIAA_23-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 22 ] It was the second of five number-one singles for the band on the Billboard Hot 100.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-chart_3-3" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 3 ] In 1974, Billboard ranked it number 22 on its Top Pop Singles year-end chart.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-24" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 23 ] Billboard also listed the song as Paul McCartney's sixth most successful chart hit of all time, excluding Beatles releases.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-BillboardBiggestHits_25-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 24 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">"Band on the Run" has also been featured on numerous McCartney/Wings compilation albums, including Wings Greatest,<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-wingsgreatest_26-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 25 ] ''[https://www.wikiwand.com/en/All_the_Best! All the Best!],<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-allthebest_27-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 26 ] and Wingspan: Hits and History.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-wingspan_28-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 27 ] The song is also performed in many of McCartney's live shows, with a live version being included on the 1976 live album Wings over America''.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-wingsoveramerica_29-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 28 ]

Videos
<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">An official video, directed by Michael Coulson, was released along with the song. It served mostly as a tribute to The Beatles, featuring montages of still pictures from their career. Present-day McCartney and Wings were not shown. The video ends with a collage of Beatles pictures much like the album cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-30" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 29 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">In 2014, a new video for "Band on the Run" was created. The video designed by Ben Ib, an artist who created tour visuals for Paul McCartney (as well as Roger Waters and The Smashing Pumpkins) and the cover for Paul McCartney's 2013 solo album New.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-PM_music_video_31-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 30 ] In the video, all of the objects, including the "band on the run" itself, are made up of words.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-ucrBOTRvideo_32-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 31 ]

Reception
<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">The song was praised by former bandmate and songwriting partner, John Lennon, who considered it "a great song and a great album".<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDoyle2014100_33-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 32 ] In 2014, Billboard praised "Band on the Run" for having "three distinct parts that don't depend on a chorus yet still manage to feel anthemic."<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-BillboardBiggestHits_25-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 24 ] AllMusic critic Stewart Mason called the track "classic McCartney", lauding the song for "manag[ing] to be experimental in form yet so deliciously melodic that its structural oddities largely go unnoticed."<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-allmusicReviewSong_13-2" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 12 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">"Band on the Run" also won the "Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus" at the 17th Annual Grammy Awards.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Grammy_Awards_34-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 33 ]NME ranked the song as the tenth best song of the 1970s, as well as the fifteenth best solo song by an ex-Beatle.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-NME_rank_35-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 34 ]<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-NME_post-beatles_36-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 35 ] In 2010, AOL Radio listeners voted "Band on the Run" the best song of Paul McCartney's solo career, achieving a better ranking than "Maybe I'm Amazed" and "Silly Love Songs".<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-AOL_37-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 36 ] In 2012, Rolling Stone readers ranked the song as McCartney's fourth best song of all time, behind "Maybe I'm Amazed", "Hey Jude", and "Yesterday".<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-RS_McCartney_best_38-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 37 ] Rolling Stone readers also ranked the song the fifth best solo song by ex-members of The Beatles.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-RS_Beatles_solo_39-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 38 ]

Personnel

 * Paul McCartney – lead and backing vocals, electric guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar, bass guitar, drums
 * Linda McCartney – backing vocals, keyboards
 * Denny Laine – backing vocals, electric guitar

<span class="mw-headline" id="Chart_positions" style="box-sizing:border-box;">Chart positions
{| class="multicol" role="presentation" style="box-sizing:border-box;border-collapse:collapse;border:0px;margin:0px0px10px;padding:0px;width:1010px;background:transparent;" ===<span class="mw-headline" id="Weekly_singles_charts" style="box-sizing:border-box;">Weekly singles charts [ edit ]  ===
 * - style="box-sizing:border-box;"
 * style="box-sizing:border-box;width:505px;vertical-align:top;"|
 * style="box-sizing:border-box;width:505px;vertical-align:top;"|

<span class="mw-headline" id="Year-end_charts" style="box-sizing:border-box;">Year-end charts [ edit ]

 * }

<span class="mw-headline" id="Other_appearances" style="box-sizing:border-box;">Other appearances

 * The song is featured on Guitar Hero World Tour on the main set list.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-45" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.6em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 44 ] Both the master recording and a live version were added to the Rock Band series as downloadable content.
 * "Band on the Run" appeared in the critically acclaimed film Boyhood.

<span class="mw-headline" id="Cover_versions" style="box-sizing:border-box;">Cover versions

 * A cover version of "Band on the Run" was recorded in 2007 by Foo Fighters as their contribution to the Radio 1 Established 1967album.
 * On 1 June 2008 McCartney was joined onstage by Foo Fighters lead singer Dave Grohl for a special performance in Liverpool.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-46" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.6em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 45 ] Grohl played guitar and sang backing vocals on "Band on the Run" and then played drums on Beatles songs "Back in the U.S.S.R." and "I Saw Her Standing There". Grohl later performed the song with Paul's band in 2010 at the White House, when Paul was given the Gershwin Award.
 * Tori Amos performed a snippet of this song at a number of shows during the Plugged '98 Tour.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-47" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.6em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 46 ]
 * Wings band member Denny Laine covered "Band on the Run" in 2007 on his album Performs the Hits of Wings.