# Talk to me about (Paul McCartney's) Wings **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 24, 2019, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-paul-mccartneys-wings/832979 "2019-04-24T05:43:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-paul-mccartneys-wings/832979/21 "2019-04-24T19:14:34Z")
For better or worse, I’ve had “Goodnight Tonight” playing on a loop in my head since yesterday morning. That’s what actually prompted this thread. Paul can indeed write the catchy hooks that stick with you. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-paul-mccartneys-wings/832979/22 "2019-04-24T19:51:10Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > For better or worse, I’ve had “Goodnight Tonight” playing on a loop in my head since yesterday morning. That’s what actually prompted this thread. Paul can indeed write the catchy hooks that stick with you. And “Coming Up” (The live Glasgow version) too. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-paul-mccartneys-wings/832979/23 "2019-04-24T21:37:20Z")
Don’t know why, but I’ve had Helen Wheels stuck in me head for days. “Bye bye.” ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-paul-mccartneys-wings/832979/24 "2019-04-25T01:34:28Z")
> [@Fleetwood](#): > > Which bring to mind the old joke, “What do you call a dog with wings?” > > Linda. When did Paul McCartney write Silly Love Songs? All of his life. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-paul-mccartneys-wings/832979/25 "2019-04-25T03:30:28Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ObpcGNCU944/hqdefault.jpg "Ba dum tss") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObpcGNCU944) ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-paul-mccartneys-wings/832979/26 "2019-04-25T03:44:56Z")
I knew [Mull Of Kintyre](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrbuDWit1Co) before I knew who The Beatles were. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-paul-mccartneys-wings/832979/27 "2019-04-25T03:45:13Z")
Apropos of nothing, but…the opening line of “Hi, Hi, Hi” is “Well, when I met you at the station, you were standing with a bootleg in your hand…” I always figured he was referring to a train station but it occurred to me the other day the mention of a bootleg probably meant he was talking about a radio station. Right? ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-paul-mccartneys-wings/832979/28 "2019-04-25T03:48:45Z")
Linda did actually write a few bits here and there, she wasn’t completely untalented. Personally I find the anti-Linda “jokes” as funny as the anti-Yoko “jokes”. Both deserve respect, not abuse. Linda got 50% songwriting credit on some of Paul’s songs at the time because Paul’s publishing was owned by [Northern Songs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Songs) up until (I think) 1973. There was a court case over it. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-paul-mccartneys-wings/832979/29 "2019-04-25T04:16:24Z")
The Beatles were a big part of my adolescence/maturing/radicalization. My friends and I were devastated when they broke up, and we were afraid that was the end for each of them. I had no access to celebrity news, so I was shocked and relieved when I heard _“Maybe I’m Amazed”_ and _“Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey”_ on the (tinny AM) car radio. I remember turning it up, and yelling to the rest of traffic: “McCartney’s still got it!” ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-paul-mccartneys-wings/832979/30 "2019-04-25T05:02:34Z")
I always figured Wings was McCartney and Wings. Other than the Mrs and Laine, the other band members were expendable. He needed them to tour and they were useful in recording, but I don’t think they lasted long. And Denny was certainly not a peer of Paul. John was smarter except for Yoko. He either had STARS\* record and appear with him or unknown hired guns. He didn’t have the control issues Paul had. As for Paul using Linda as part of the band/act, well John did the same with Yoko. No Beatle fan wanted to see or hear either of the wives. \*George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Mitch Mitchell, Keith Richards, Elton John. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-paul-mccartneys-wings/832979/31 "2019-04-25T05:55:44Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Don’t forget that there were two albums before Wings formed. McCartney and Ram. Ram had Uncle Albert. > > I must defend Wings. I loved almost all of it until maybe the 80s. John was just too self-absorbed and too angry (and just too not writing good songs) George was too lost in the far East, and Ringo was too drunk and too limited in talent to sustain a solo career. > > John writes “How Do You Sleep”, and Paul writes “Silly Love Songs.” I know which one I like more. And what’s wrong with that? Whoa whoa whoa…dont drag George into this. His solo stuff is exquisite. I like Wings a lot but George is simply superior. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-paul-mccartneys-wings/832979/32 "2019-04-25T06:07:44Z")
Paul had to pay the bills. > [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > I always figured Wings was to Paul as Crazy Horse was to Neil. Ohhhh! Crazy Horse is a fucking **Entity**! > [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > Whoa whoa whoa…dont drag George into this. His solo stuff is exquisite. I like Wings a lot but George is simply superior. Yep. _All Things Must Pass_. A Masterpiece. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-paul-mccartneys-wings/832979/33 "2019-04-25T06:29:21Z")
> [@saucywench](#): > > Don’t know why, but I’ve had Helen Wheels stuck in me head for days. Years ago, I had a job where a young lady named Helen was the mail clerk. She pushed the mail cart around the office, delivering inbound mail, and taking outbound mail. Thing is, Helen wasn’t as careful as she could have been with the cart. She often ran the mail cart into cubicle walls, file cabinets, and occasionally, people. She was very conscientious with the mail, though, and a pleasant and cheerful person besides, who was quick to apologize for any collisions, so we let such things slide. One day, after she accidentally bumped her mail cart into me, I laughed and said, “I’m going to start calling you ‘Helen Wheels,’ after that Wings song.” That spread, and Helen took it in good humor; and as such things do, she ended up being simply known as “Wheels.” Nowadays, when I hear “Helen Wheels,” I remember that job, and our friend Wheels. As for the OP, I’m unsure what I can say that hasn’t already been said, except that Wings was one of the biggest things in the 1970s. _Band on the Run_ was huge; somewhat less so were _Venus and Mars_ and _Wings at the Speed of Sound_, but they were still pretty big. And the triple-LP _Wings Over America_ was on the “gotta have it” list of every high schooler in those days. Most of Lennon’s stuff was too esoteric for us teens (“Whatever Gets You Through the Night” being an exception), Harrison’s stuff was for fans he gained earlier with his Eastern influences, and Ringo’s stuff (“Photograph,” “The No-No Song”) wasn’t anything special, while “You’re Sixteen” was just plain creepy. McCartney and Wings fit perfectly with 1970s Top-40 AM radio, which we were all plugged into. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-paul-mccartneys-wings/832979/34 "2019-04-25T11:44:24Z")
The pre-punk 70s were a desperate, desolate time. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-paul-mccartneys-wings/832979/35 "2019-04-25T12:16:51Z")
I saw McCartney live twice, the first time with Wings in 1976, and the second time in 1989 or 1990 with the band consisting of Linda, Hamish Stewart, Robbie McIntosh, Paul Wickens, and Chris Whitten. The Wings show was thrilling because I was seeing McCartney for the first time, and he was in fine form. I don’t recall who was in the band other than Linda and Denny, but Paul made it a great show. The second show was one of the best shows I have attended. His supporting players were great musicians. A particular strong point was the keyboard playing of Paul Wickens. I read at the time that he had access to the Beatles’ master tapes to sample things, which made his rendition of things like the horn solo in Penny Lane sound incredible. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-paul-mccartneys-wings/832979/36 "2019-04-25T12:30:20Z")
He certainly wanted them to be a proper band, not just him and some well-rehearsed backing musicians. The [first Wings tour in 1972](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wings_University_Tour) was the whole band in a van, going round some universities asking if they could play at the student union. Cheap tickets, no guarantee of an audience, just the band playing together (and no Beatles songs). ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-paul-mccartneys-wings/832979/37 "2019-04-25T14:01:15Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > The pre-punk 70s were a desperate, desolate time. Agreed, generally (a few megastars–Genesis w/ Gabriel, Bowie, Elton–deserved the accolades), but I still enjoy threads like this one because it’s like anthropology. I’ve never enjoyed the Beatles’ work, and even less their individual efforts. But the fact is they speak to an element of humanity which I either don’t possess or don’t value–and I wonder why _that_ is. This is like therapy for me. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-paul-mccartneys-wings/832979/38 "2019-04-25T14:03:36Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Yeah, anything with McCartney in it was going to be his band unless he teamed up with Clapton or someone else playing at his level. I always thought that one of rock music’s great missed opportunities was that Paul McCartney never got to play in Blind Faith with Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton. When Blind Faith formed out of Winwood and Clapton’s jam sessions, a bassist was their very last hire. Nothing wrong with Rick Grech … but McCartney was maybe three or four months from being done with The Beatles. Ah well. What could have been 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-paul-mccartneys-wings/832979/39 "2019-04-25T14:46:45Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Yep. _All Things Must Pass_. A Masterpiece. Yeah, when it came out in 1970, critics were surprised and prophesied that George would be the most successful solo Beatle. **Plastic Ono Band** isn’t easy on the ears and takes several listens to get comfortable with, and my personal opinion is that “Maybe I’m Amazed” is the most irritating song Paul ever wrote. Okay, “Michelle” is worse. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-paul-mccartneys-wings/832979/40 "2019-04-25T15:54:08Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > I always thought that one of rock music’s great missed opportunities was that Paul McCartney never got to play in Blind Faith with Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton. . . . If he thought John Lennon had an ego, he would have _ **loved** _ working with Ginger Baker. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-paul-mccartneys-wings/832979.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-paul-mccartneys-wings/832979.md?page=3)