Paul McCartney & Wings are set to release their 1974 live studio album "One Hand Clapping" for the first time.
The album was recorded back in August 1974, while the band were enjoying their seventh week in a row at the top of the UK album charts with "Band On The Run". It was recorded when McCartney and Wings headed to Abbey Road Studios for the recording of a documentary and possible live studio album – "One Hand Clapping".
Filmed across four days and directed by David Litchfield, the album was never officially released despite overwhelming demand, although various bootleg versions emerged over the years.
Set to arrive on June 14, the upcoming version of the LP marks the first time in 50 years that it has received an official release.
“’One Hand Clapping’ showcased Wings‘ new line-up, fresh off their return from Nashville where they recorded the classic single "Junior’s Farm",” read a press release. “Following the sudden departure of Denny Seiwell and Henry McCullough the previous year on the eve of recording the Wings masterpiece "Band on the Run", Paul, Linda and Denny Laine were now joined by guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and drummer Geoff Britton.”
It also highlights how the band were joined in the studio by orchestral arranger Del Newman and saxophonist Howie Casey – both of whom had previously played with McCartney, and would go on to join the Wings touring band.
The album opens with an instrumental jam, which would soon become the ‘One Hand Clapping’ theme song, and features live-in-studio renditions of hits "Live and Let Die", "Band on the Run", "Jet", "My Love", "Hi, Hi, Hi", "Junior’s Farm", Macca’s much loved solo song "Maybe I’m Amazed".
Reworked extracts of Beatles’ classics are also featured, including "Let It Be", "The Long and Winding Road" and "Lady Madonna", alongside the Moody Blues hit "Go Now" and a solo piano version of the Tin Pan Alley classic "Baby Face".
"One Hand Clapping" will be released in multiple formats including an online exclusive 2LP + 7” package. This features an exclusive vinyl single of previously unreleased solo performances recorded on the final day of the sessions in the backyard of Abbey Road Studios.
Within are the unreleased track "Blackpool", The Beatles’ iconic "Blackbird", Wings B-side "Country Dreamer", cover versions of Eddie Cochran’s "Twenty Flight Rock" – the first song McCartney played to John Lennon when they met in 1957 – and Buddy Holly’s "Peggy Sue" and "I’m Gonna Love You Too".
“‘One Hand Clapping’ serves as a celebration of the enduring legacy of Paul McCartney and Wings. It captured a moment when Wings had found and defined their signature sound – just as Paul had shaped popular culture the decade before with The Beatles, he was doing it once again in the 70s with Wings,” continues a press release. ‘This recording gives an insight into the inner workings of the band as they work and play together in the studio. It also underscores Paul’s incredible talent as a live performer: 50 years on, Paul is still performing many of these songs in packed stadiums across the world.”
In other Paul McCartney news, last week it was announced that Disney+ will be releasing a restored version of The Beatles’ classic 1970 documentary film Let It Be on May 8.
The film, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, was first released in cinemas 54 years ago and has been difficult to obtain since – prompting considerable bootlegging. It features footage of the Fab Four while they were writing and recording their 12th and final studio album of the same name in January 1969 at London’s Twickenham Film Studios.
