| Artist: | Paul McCartney and Wings |
| Studio: | 7 |
| Compilation: | 2 |
| Live: | 1 |
| Video: | 1 |
| Singles: | 29 |
| Music Videos: | 19 |
The discography of the British-American rock band Wings, also known as Paul McCartney and Wings, consisted of seven studio albums, one live album, two compilation albums, 29 singles and 19 music videos. Founded in 1971 by former Beatle Paul McCartney, his wife Linda McCartney, Denny Laine and Denny Seiwell after the release of the McCartneys' album Ram, the band made their debut with Wild Life, released in December that year.[1] The album garnered minimal commercial success and received generally poor reviews.[2] In 1972, the band added Henry McCullough to the lineup and released several non-album singles, including "Give Ireland Back to the Irish", "Mary Had a Little Lamb", and "Hi, Hi, Hi", before releasing their second album, Red Rose Speedway, in 1973. While receiving mixed reviews, the album and its lead single, "My Love" were huge commercial successes, both reaching number one in the US charts.[3] Wings' continued their commercial success with the title track to the James Bond film Live and Let Die. At the beginning of the recording sessions for their next album, McCullough and Seiwell left the band prompting the McCartneys and Laine to record their next album as a trio. Backed by the successful singles, "Jet" and the title track, the album, Band on the Run, became Wings' most successful album, reaching number one in both the US and the UK.[4] The album also garnered highly positive reviews from critics and significantly restored McCartney's tarnished post-Beatles reputation.[5]
Following Band on the Run, Scottish musician Jimmy McCulloch and English drummer Geoff Britton joined the band and recorded their next single, "Junior's Farm". During the sessions for their follow-up album, Britton left the band and was replaced by American musician Joe English. Backed by the number one single "Listen to What the Man Said", the album, Venus and Mars, wasn't as well-received as Band on the Run, but was nevertheless a commercial success, reaching number one. After Venus and Mars, the band embarked on a highly successful world tour in 1975. Their fifth album, Wings at the Speed of Sound, was recorded and released in between legs of the tour. The album saw the first time a Wings' album featured every member on lead vocals at least once.[6] While the album received lukewarm reviews, it was a commercial success, supported by the number one singles, "Silly Love Songs" and "Let 'Em In". The live album Wings over America was released after the tour's end and was a huge commercial success, becoming the band's fifth number one album.[7]
In late 1977, Wings' released "Mull of Kintyre" as a double A-side with "Girls' School". The single reached number one in the UK and remains one of the best selling UK singles of all time.[8] [9] After "Mull of Kintyre", the band released their next studio album, London Town, in 1978. Preceded by the successful hit, "With a Little Luck",[10] the album was another commercial success for the group, and received positive reviews from critics.[11] Despite strong album sales, the post-album singles, "I've Had Enough" and "London Town", were not as successful. After the album's release, McCulloch and English both left the group. The band followed London Town with the successful single "Goodnight Tonight" in 1979. The band's next album, Back to the Egg, saw the addition of Laurence Juber and Steve Holley to the lineup. Released in 1979, Back to the Egg was a major failure, received very negative reviews from critics and failed to produce any hits.[12] After the band toured the UK, McCartney was arrested in Japan for possession of marijuana, cancelling a planned tour in 1980. After McCartney released his second solo album, McCartney II, Wings officially disbanded in 1981.
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [13] | AUS [14] | CAN [15] | GER [16] | ITA [17] | JPN [18] | NLD [19] [20] | NOR [21] [22] | US [23] | ||||
| Wild Life |
| 11 | 3 | 5 | 47 | 25 | 15 | 6 | 4 | 10 | ||
| Red Rose Speedway (Paul McCartney & Wings) |
| 5 | 1 | 2 | 56 | 2 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 1 | ||
| Band on the Run (Paul McCartney & Wings) |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 18 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
Gold[30]
| |
| Venus and Mars |
| 1 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| |
| Wings at the Speed of Sound |
| 2 | 2 | 1 | 32 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||
| London Town |
| 4 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| Back to the Egg |
| 6 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 5 | 8 |
| |
| Title | Album | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | AUS [42] | CAN | GER | JPN | NLD | NOR | NZL | SWE [43] | US | |||
| Wings Greatest |
| 5 | 8 | 25 | 18 | 24 | 18 | 20 | 16 | 32 | 29 |
|
(Paul McCartney) |
| 5 | 14 | 4 | 20 | 13 | 32 | 5 | 13 | 49 | 2 | |
| One Hand Clapping (Paul McCartney & Wings) |
| |||||||||||
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | US | US AC | CAN RPM 100/AC | NLD | NOR | GER | NZ | AUS | JPN | |||||
| 1972 | "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" (instrumental) | 16 | 21 | — | 46 | — | — | — | — | 17 | 31 | non-album single | ||
| "Mary Had a Little Lamb" "Little Woman Love" | 9 | 28 | 29 | 41 | 13 | — | — | 13 | 17 | 41 | non-album single | |||
| "Hi, Hi, Hi" "C Moon" | 5 | 10 | — | 5 | 6 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 29 | 26 | non-album single | |||
| 1973 | "My Love" "The Mess" (live) | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 7 | 43 | 3 | 5 | 39 |
| Red Rose Speedway | |
| "Live and Let Die" "I Lie Around" | 9 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 29 | 4 | 31 | 20 | 5 | 25 |
| Live and Let Die | ||
| "Helen Wheels" "Country Dreamer" | 12 | 10 | — | 4 | 23 | — | 33 | 14 | 17 | 56 | Band on the Run (US only) | |||
| "Jet" "Let Me Roll It" (UK & 2nd pressings of US) "Mamunia" (US 1st pressings only) | 7 | 7 | — | 5 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 2 | — | 39 |
| Band on the Run | ||
| "Mrs Vandebilt" (Not a US/UK single) "Bluebird" | — | — | — | — | 7 | — | 33 | 9 | 41 | — | ||||
| 1974 | "Band on the Run" "Zoo Gang" (UK) "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five" (US) | 3 | 1 | 22 | 1 | 7 | — | 22 | 1 | — | 58 |
| ||
| "Junior's Farm" "Sally G" | 16 | 3 | — | 10 | — | 9 | — | 3 | 12 | 77 | non-album single | |||
| "Walking in the Park with Eloise" "Bridge On the River Suite" (both sides credited to The Country Hams) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | non-album single | |||
| 1975 | "Listen to What the Man Said" "Love in Song" | 6 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 18 | 3 | 42 | 7 | 14 | 46 |
| Venus and Mars | |
| "Letting Go" "You Gave Me the Answer" | 41 | 39 | — | 62 | — | — | — | — | 34 | 64 | ||||
| "Venus and Mars/Rock Show" "Magneto and Titanium Man" | — | 12 | — | 12 | — | — | — | — | 34 | 99 | ||||
| 1976 | "Silly Love Songs" "Cook of the House" | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 66 |
| Wings at the Speed of Sound | |
| "Let 'Em In" "Beware My Love" | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 25 | — | 29 | 13 | 65 | — |
| |||
| 1977 | "Maybe I'm Amazed" (live) "Soily" (live) | 28 | 10 | — | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | 61 | Wings over America | ||
| "Seaside Woman" "B Side to Seaside" (both sides credited to Suzy and the Red Stripes) | — | 59 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | non-album single | |||
| "Mull of Kintyre" "Girls' School" | 1 | — 33 | 45 — | 44 34 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 69 |
| non-album single | ||
| 1978 | "With a Little Luck" "Backwards Traveller/Cuff Link" | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 14 | 11 | — |
| London Town | |
| "I've Had Enough" "Deliver Your Children" | 42 | 25 | — | 24 | 13 | — | — | — | 99 | — | ||||
| "London Town" "I'm Carrying" | 60 | 39 | 17 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1979 | "Goodnight Tonight" "Daytime Nighttime Suffering" | 5 | 5 | 30 | 2 | 24 | — | 34 | 6 | 6 | 77 | non-album single | ||
| "Old Siam, Sir" (UK/Europe single only) "Spin It On" | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Back to the Egg | |||
| "Getting Closer" "Baby's Request" (UK) "Spin It On" (US) | 60 | 20 | — | 18 | 29 | — | — | — | 57 | — | ||||
| "Arrow Through Me" (US/Canada single only) "Old Siam, Sir" | — | 29 | — | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1980 | "Coming Up" (Paul McCartney) "Coming Up (Live at Glasgow)" (Paul McCartney & Wings) "Lunchbox/Odd Sox" (Paul McCartney & Wings) | 2 | 1 | 48 | 1 | 20 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 66 |
| McCartney II | |
| 1985 | "Spies Like Us" (Paul McCartney) "My Carnival" (Paul McCartney & Wings) | 13 | 7 | — | 24 | — | — | — | — | 55 | — | non-album single | ||
| 1990 | "Put It There" (Paul McCartney) "Mama's Little Girl" "Same Time Next Year" (12" single only) (Paul McCartney & Wings) | 32 | — | 11 | 9 | 82 | — | 60 | — | — | — | Flowers in the Dirt | ||
| 2016 | "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five" remix (Wings vs. Timo Maas and James Teej) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | non-album single | ||
| "—" denotes singles that did not chart or were not released in respective region | ||||||||||||||
| Year | Album | Artist | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Live and Let Die | George Martin | The soundtrack album from the James Bond film includes the title song performed by Paul McCartney & Wings. |
| 1974 | McGear | Mike McGear | Paul McCartney's brother Michael (then known as Mike McGear of The Scaffold) album that featured him on lead vocals and as co-lyricist with Wings being a backing band. |
| 1975 | Sold Out | The Scaffold | Paul McCartney produced and Wings was the uncredited backing band on "Liverpool Lou" and the non-album B-side "Ten Years After on Strawberry Jam". |
| 1977 | Holly Days | Denny Laine | An album of Buddy Holly covers recorded by the core Wings threesome (Paul, Linda McCartney and Denny Laine), with Laine on lead vocals. |
| 1980 | Japanese Tears | Three songs on the album, "Send Me The Heart", "I Would Only Smile" and "Weep For Love", were recorded by different incarnations of Wings, with Denny Laine on lead vocals. | |
| 1981 | Concerts for the People of Kampuchea | Various Artists | A live album recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon, London in December 1979 to benefit Cambodian refugees, the album includes three songs performed by Wings ("Got to Get You into My Life", "Every Night", "Coming Up") and three songs performed by supergroup Rockestra ("Lucille", "Let It Be", "Rockestra Theme") |
| 1982 | Standard Time | Laurence Juber | The song "Maisie" is performed by Wings. |
| 1998 | Wide Prairie | Linda McCartney | Eight of the tracks featured different versions of Wings: previously unreleased "Wide Prairie", "New Orleans", "Love's Full Glory", "I Got Up" and "Oriental Nightfish", two tracks that were originally attributed to and released under Suzy and the Red Stripes, "Seaside Woman" and "B-Side to Seaside", and "Cook of the House" from Wings at the Speed of Sound |
| 2003 | Music from the Motion Picture The In-Laws | Various Artists | The soundtrack to the 2003 re-make of the film, The In-Laws includes three songs performed by Wings: previously unreleased "A Love for You", an alternate version of "Live and Let Die", and "I'm Carrying" from London Town album. |
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | "Hi, Hi, Hi" | Steven Turner |
| "C Moon" | ||
| 1973 | "My Love" | Mick Rock |
| "Helen Wheels" | Michael Lindsay-Hogg | |
| 1974 | "Mamunia" | Jim Quick |
| "Band on the Run" | Michael Coulson | |
| 1976 | "Silly Love Songs" | Gordon Bennett |
| 1977 | "Mull of Kintyre" | Michael Lindsay-Hogg |
| 1978 | "With a Little Luck" | |
| "I've Had Enough" | Keith "Keef" MacMillan | |
| "London Town" | Michael Lindsay-Hogg | |
| 1979 | "Getting Closer" | Keith "Keef" MacMillan |
| "Baby's Request" | ||
| "Old Siam, Sir" | ||
| "Winter Rose/Love Awake" | ||
| "Spin It On" | ||
| "Again and Again and Again" | ||
| "Arrow Through Me" | ||
| "Goodnight Tonight" | ||
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Wings Over the World
| Documentary |
| 1980 | Concert for Kampuchea
| Concert film that covers the concerts in Hammersmith Odeon to raise money for Cambodia. |
| 1981 | Back to the Egg
| TV special |
| 2001 | Wingspan – An Intimate Portrait
| Documentary about Paul McCartney's musical career. It covers the period after the Beatles' split up until the disbanding of Wings. |