''One Hand Clapping'' is a live-in-studio album by the British rock band

Paul McCartney and Wings Paul McCartney and Wings, often billed simply as Wings, was a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in 1971 in London by former The Beatles, Beatle Paul McCartney; his wife Linda McCartney on keyboards; session drummer Denny Seiwell; a ...

, released on 14 June 2024, nearly fifty years after it was recorded. The album began as a

rockumentary A concert film or concert movie is a film that showcases a live performance from the perspective of a concert goer, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert, by either a musician or a stand-up comedian. Early history One ...

starring

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

and his then-band,

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces both lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-drag ratio, which compares the bene ...

, and directed by David Litchfield. It was recorded over four days in August 1974 at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

in London. The film features the band performing live in the studio and recording a potential live album, as well as

voice-over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique used in radio, television, filmmaking, theatre, and other media in which a descriptive or expository voice that is not part of the narrative (i.e., non- ...

interviews with the band members. Songs featured include numerous McCartney, Wings and

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

hits, as well as some covers. Although a TV sales brochure was made, the film and album went unreleased at the time. In the decades since, they have been frequently bootlegged, and various tracks have been released on special editions of other McCartney and Wings albums. The film was finally released on 2 November 2010 as part of the box set reissue of ''

Band on the Run ''Band on the Run'' is the third studio album by the British–American rock band Paul McCartney and Wings, released on 30 November 1973. It was McCartney's fifth album after leaving the Beatles in April 1970 and his final album on Apple ...

'', the first release in the

Paul McCartney Archive Collection The Paul McCartney Archive Collection is a project to remaster and reissue Paul McCartney's solo catalogue, including various albums released with Wings. These editions feature deluxe packaging and bonus rare tracks. Thus far, there have been 14 ...

. It was announced in August 2024 that the film had been remastered in 4K, and was released in cinemas on 26 September 2024.

Background

The performance was recorded in Abbey Road Studios (known at the time as EMI Studios) over four days in August 1974, during ''

s seventh week in a row at the top of the UK album charts. Paul McCartney,

Linda McCartney Linda Louise, Lady McCartney ( Eastman; September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, cookbook author, and activist. She was the keyboardist and harmony vocalist in the band Paul McCartney and Wings, Wings tha ...

and guitarist

Denny Laine Brian Frederick Hines (29 October 1944 – 5 December 2023), known professionally as Denny Laine, was an English musician who co-founded two major rock bands: the Moody Blues and Wings. Laine played guitar in the Moody Blues from 1964 to 1966 ...

were joined by new members guitarist

Jimmy McCulloch James McCulloch (4 June 1953 – 25 September 1979) was a Scottish musician best known for playing lead guitar and bass as a member of Paul McCartney's band Wings from 1974 to 1977. McCulloch was a member of the Glasgow psychedelic band One i ...

and drummer

Geoff Britton Geoffrey Britton (born 1 August 1943) is an English rock drummer known for his work with Wings from May 1974 to January 1975, where he was featured on the '' Venus and Mars'' album. Career Britton was born in Lewisham, South East London. He ...

, who were recruited after previous members

Henry McCullough Henry Campbell Liken McCullough (21 July 1943 – 14 June 2016) was a musician and singer-songwriter from Northern Ireland. He was best known for his work as a member of Spooky Tooth, the Grease Band and Paul McCartney and Wings. He al ...

and

Denny Seiwell Denny Seiwell (born July 10, 1943) is an American drummer and a founding member of the rock band Wings. He also drummed for Billy Joel and Liza Minnelli and played in the scores for the films ''Waterworld'', ''Grease 2'', and '' Vertical Lim ...

had left just prior to recording ''Band on the Run''. The band had just returned from

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, where they recorded their then-upcoming single "

Junior's Farm "Junior's Farm" is a song written by Paul McCartney (though credited to Paul and Linda McCartney) and performed by Paul McCartney and Wings. It was issued as a non-album single by Apple Records in November 1974; it peaked at No. 3 in the United S ...

". The band were also joined in the studio by orchestra

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

Del Newman Derrick Martin "Del" Newman (5 October 1930 – 10 August 2020) was a British conductor, orchestral arranger and music producer. His orchestral arrangements appeared on songs by many rock and pop artists from the 1960s to the 1990s, including Ca ...

and saxophonist

Howie Casey Howard William Casey (born 12 July 1937) is a British rhythm and blues and rock saxophonist. He came to prominence in the early 1960s as a member of Derry and the Seniors, the first rock and roll band from Liverpool to play clubs in Germany, a ...

, both of whom had previously played with McCartney and would go on to join the Wings touring band. The film was abandoned until it was released in 2010 in the box set reissue of ''

'' as part of

. Some songs from the ''One Hand Clapping'' sessions were previously released, mostly as bonus tracks on the Paul McCartney Archive Collection reissues: *" Live and Let Die" appears on the soundtrack album to the film '' The In-Laws'' from 2003. *"

Bluebird The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous passerine birds in the genus ''Sialia'' of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas. Bluebirds lay an ...

", " Jet", "

Let Me Roll It "Let Me Roll It" is a song by the British–American rock band Paul McCartney and Wings, released on their 1973 album '' Band on the Run''. The song was also released as the B-side to " Jet" in early 1974, and has remained a staple of McCartney's ...

", "

", " Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five" and " Country Dreamer" appear in the special and deluxe editions of ''Band on the Run'' from 2010. *"

Maybe I'm Amazed "Maybe I'm Amazed" is a song written by the English musician Paul McCartney that was first released on his 1970 debut solo album '' McCartney''. Although the original recording has never been released as a single, a live performance by McCartne ...

" appears in the special and deluxe editions of '' McCartney'' from 2011. *" Soily", "

Baby Face Babyface or Baby Face can refer to: Nicknames * Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber * Roosevelt Baby Face Willette, "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician * "Baby Fa ...

" and "Love My Baby" (digital download) appear in the special and deluxe editions of '' Venus and Mars'' from 2014.

Album release

The album was released on 14 June 2024, on CD, LP and digital platforms. A special edition 2-LP containing an additional 7" record features six additional songs performed solo by McCartney in the backyard of the Abbey Road Studios on the final day of recording. The album was mixed by

Giles Martin Giles Martin (born 9 October 1969) is an English record producer, songwriter, composer and multi-instrumentalist. His studio recordings, stage shows, TV and film works have been critically acclaimed and commercially successful around the world ...

and Steve Orchard.

Critical reception

In the 2013 McCartney biography ''Man on the Run: Paul McCartney in the 1970s'', author Tom Doyle calls the performances "tight and strong" and quotes drummer Geoff Britton as "being surprised to discover that, 'seeing us play, we were a good band. However, Doyle believes the film is less favourable in how it depicts the personality clashes within the band. AP critic Scott Bauer praised the "spirited performances" on the album, calling it "a fine snapshot" of McCartney's "post-Beatles creative high". Andrew Korpan of

ClutchPoints ClutchPoints is an American sports news website. It was founded by Nish Patel in 2015. ClutchPoints covers the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, WNBA, NCAA football, and NCAA basketball among other sports through a focus on team-specific fans across their edi ...

similarly commented that "all of the songs are performed well and with plenty of energy", but noted "an overwhelming amount of synthesizers" throughout the album.

Track listing

All songs written by

and

, except where noted

Disc 1

Disc 2

"The Backyard" Bonus 7-inch

Personnel

Paul McCartney and Wings *

– vocals, bass, piano, electric piano,

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

, celeste,

harmonium The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ (which employs a va ...

, acoustic guitar *

– Moog, electric piano,

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...

, tambourine, backing vocals *

– vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass * ⁠

– electric guitar, backing vocals *

– drums Additional personnel *

– saxophone *

Tuxedo Brass Band The Tuxedo Brass Band, sometimes called the Original Tuxedo Brass Band, was one of the most highly regarded brass bands of New Orleans, Louisiana in the 1910s and 1920s. The band was led by Papa Celestin in around 1910. Many noted jazz greats were ...

– brass *

– orchestra conductor, arranger *

Geoff Emerick Geoffrey Ernest Emerick (5 December 1945 – 2 October 2018) was an English sound engineer and record producer who worked with the Beatles on their albums ''Revolver'' (1966), '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (1967) and ''Abbey Road' ...

–

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a sound recording, recording or a Concert, live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization (audio), equalization, Dynamic range ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1970s live video albums 1974 films 1974 in British music 2024 live albums British documentary television films British musical documentary films Paul McCartney and Wings albums Paul McCartney live albums