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Paul McCartney Releases 'Wings' Oral History, Reframing His Post‑Beatles Years

Drawing on 42 hours of interviews, the oral history reexamines his lowest point after The Beatles, the 'Paul is dead' myth, the creative path that led to Wings.

Overview

  • Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run was published Tuesday, Nov. 4, presenting McCartney’s curated oral history of the 1970s.
  • The book compiles more than 42 hours of new and archival interviews plus about 150 photographs, diary pages and handwritten lyrics, with contributions from family, former bandmates and collaborators.
  • McCartney writes he felt “dead” during the Beatles’ breakup, revisiting how U.S. radio chatter and a 1969 student article fueled the 'Paul is dead' rumor as he retreated to a remote Scottish farm to recover.
  • He says early criticism left him considering quitting before forming Wings, which built to major success with Band on the Run and the UK record‑setting single Mull of Kintyre.
  • Accounts of rebuilding include seat‑of‑the‑pants university gigs and a reflection on learning of John Lennon’s 1980 murder, and he notes he is finishing 25 new songs in the coming months.