Wings

“Widmer does an expert job of stitching this into a compelling narrative that includes cultural context – like what else was in the charts at the time – and plenty of photographs, many previously unseen. The result is a portal into a more eccentric age of pop, a fable about the tension between celebrity and creativity, and a story with elements of Spinal Tap and Wacky Races… .Under McCartney’s contrarian, impulsive, endlessly generative leadership, it blended imperial rock grandeur with a homemade ethos and a certain stoned nonchalance. Wings was always bound to be a spin-off from the Beatles universe – but what a spin-off it was.” – Ian Leslie - The Guardian
“What is there left to know about Paul McCartney in 2025? Actually, quite a bit… .There is still much to be excavated from what is the most examined life in pop music history, especially when it comes from the horse’s mouth… . Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run is a smooth, frictionless ride across the arc of McCartney’s ’70s career, when he continued to mint more hits, and secured a lock on a massive career that is presently in its 55th year.” – Marc Weingarten - Los Angeles Times
“The first decade of Paul McCartney’s second act is fully illuminated in ‘Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run,’ an oral history drawn from interviews with band and family members, as well as other interested parties, and edited by Ted Widmer… The story is augmented by timelines that add a contextual charm all their own… . The book brims with often captivating details.” – Dave Shiflett - Wall Street Journal
“It’s an impressive undertaking that follows the band from their founding in the 1970s to their dissolution in 1981, featuring extensive commentary from McCartney as well as co-founding members, the late Linda McCartney and Denny Laine, and many more. For the Beatles fan in your life and then some.” – Maria Sherman - Associated Press
“A comprehensive oral history of the outfit, ‘Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run’ (out now, Liveright/ W.W. Norton & Company) unfurls 42 hours of new interviews, historical records, and previously unheard interviews from McCartney’s archives… . Some stories, such as Wings losing the master tapes to ‘Band on the Run’ after being robbed and mugged while recording the album in Lagos, Nigeria, might be familiar to Wings aficionados. But most other tales are newly shared and offer fascinating insight even for casual fans.” – Melissa Ruggieri - USA TODAY
“A must-read for fans of The Beatles in general and their solo careers in specific. And the story of Wings is a doozy, to put it mildly… . Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run takes readers on an inspiring journey from the rudimentary efforts behind Wings’ Wild Life in 1971 through the apex of arena rock in the mid-1970s and beyond. The book includes a vast assemblage of band member recollections as collected by Academy Award-winning director Morgan Neville. And they don’t disappoint… . A powerful rejoinder to the band’s critics—and there were many in the 1970s who queued up in hopes of seeing McCartney’s post-Beatles experiment fail.” – Kenneth Womack - Salon
“Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run is the astonishing, unruly story of how [Paul McCartney found] a way to exist alongside his inescapable past. Structured as an oral history … interleaved with rich archive material [and] elegantly annotated with timelines and discographies … this book skillfully patchworks together testimony from all the Beatles, McCartney’s family, friends and bandmates, and external sources … demanding re-evaluation, fostering revelation. [It] is … the story of a man who climbed every mountain, then set out to do it all over again.” – Victoria Segal - Sunday Times [UK]
“An exhaustive, forensic and fascinating inside story of the band who achieved the impossible.” – John Aizlewood - i Paper
“A weighty new oral history …. crammed with fascinating details and amusing observations.” – Neil McCormick - Telegraph

Born in Liverpool in 1942, Paul McCartney was raised in the city and educated at the Liverpool Institute. Since writing his first song at fourteen, McCartney has dreamed and dared to be different. He lives in England.

Ted Widmer is a historian, writer, librarian, and musician who writes about American history in various publications. He has taught at Harvard, Brown, and Washington College. In 2022 he was awarded a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship.

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