Release
The song was released as a single (with "Country Dreamer" on the B-side) prior to Band on the Run and was not included on the British release of the album. However, Capitol Records vice president of promotion Al Coury persuaded McCartney to include it on the American release. The song peaked at number 10 in the US chart on 12 January 1974 and at number 12 in the UK chart. [1] [2]
In the book Paul McCartney In His Own Words published in 1976, McCartney said:
"Helen Wheels is our Land Rover. It's a name we gave to our Land Rover, which is a trusted vehicle that gets us around Scotland. It takes us up to the Shetland Islands and down to London. The song starts off in Glasgow, and it goes past Carlisle, goes to Kendal, Liverpool, Birmingham and London. It's the route coming down from our Scottish farm to London, so it's really the story of the trip down. Little images along the way. Liverpool is on the West coast of England, so that is all that means." [3]
The music video was directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg (who also directed the Beatles' final movie Let it Be ) and shows McCartney singing and playing his left-handed Rickenbacker 4001 bass, Linda playing a Minimoog synthesizer and singing backing vocals, Denny Laine playing his Fender Telecaster Thinline and singing backing vocals while additional footage shows McCartney doubling on drums and lead guitar in place of departed members Denny Seiwell and Henry McCullough, both of whom quit the band prior to the sessions for Band on the Run, and the trio in a car. [4]
Billboard described "Helen Wheels" as a "driving rock tune" with a "catchy chorus." [5] Cash Box called it "a savage rocker from a band that has become more proficient at rock with each outing." [6] Record World predicted that this "rock and rolling number should drive to number one in a matter of weeks." [7]
It was later included on The 7" Singles Box in 2022. [8]
Paul McCartney and Wings, often billed simply as Wings, were an English-American rock band formed in 1971 in London by former Beatles bassist and singer Paul McCartney, his wife Linda McCartney on keyboards, session drummer Denny Seiwell, and former Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine. Wings were noted for their commercial successes, musical eclecticism and frequent personnel changes; going through three lead guitarists and four drummers. However, the core trio of the McCartneys and Laine remained intact throughout the group's existence.
Band on the Run is the third studio album by the British–American rock band Paul McCartney and Wings, released by Apple on 30 November 1973. It was McCartney's fifth album after leaving the Beatles in April 1970. Although sales were modest initially, its commercial performance was aided by two hit singles – "Jet" and "Band on the Run" – such that it became the top-selling studio album of 1974 in the United Kingdom and Australia, in addition to revitalising McCartney's critical standing. It remains McCartney's most successful album and the most celebrated of his post-Beatles works.
"All Those Years Ago" is a song by the English rock musician George Harrison, released in May 1981 as a single from his ninth studio album Somewhere in England. Having previously recorded the music for the song, Harrison tailored the lyrics to serve as a personal tribute to his former Beatles bandmate John Lennon, following the latter's murder in 1980. Ringo Starr is featured on drums, and Paul McCartney overdubbed backing vocals onto the basic track. The single spent three weeks at number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100, behind "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes, and it peaked at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart. It also topped Canada's RPM singles chart and spent one week at number 1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary listings.
Brian Frederick Arthur Hines, 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, and he sang their hit cover version of “Go Now”. While the Moody Blues were on tour with The Beatles in 1965, Laine befriended Paul McCartney, who later asked him to join his band Wings.
"Coming Up" is a song written and performed by the English rock musician Paul McCartney, released as the opening track on his second solo studio album McCartney II (1980). Like other songs on the album, the song has a synthesised sound, featuring sped-up vocals created by using a vari-speed tape machine. McCartney played all instruments.
"Mull of Kintyre" is a song by the British-American rock band Wings. It was written by Paul McCartney and Denny Laine in tribute to the Kintyre peninsula in Argyll and Bute in the south-west of Scotland and its headland, the Mull of Kintyre, where McCartney has owned High Park Farm since 1966.
"Hi, Hi, Hi" is a song written by Paul and Linda McCartney and performed by Wings. It was released as a double A-side single with "C Moon" in 1972. The song was recorded around the same time as "C Moon", in September 1972.
"Jet" is a song by Paul McCartney and Wings from their third studio album Band on the Run (1973). It was the first British and American single to be released from the album.
"Band on the Run" is a song by the British–American rock band Paul McCartney and Wings, released as the title track to their 1973 album Band on the Run. The song was released as a single in April 1974 in the US and in June 1974 in the UK, following the success of "Jet", and became an international chart success. The song topped the charts in the United States, also reaching number 3 in the United Kingdom. The single sold over one million copies in 1974 in America. It has since become one of the band's most famous songs.
"Junior's Farm" is a song written by Paul McCartney and performed by Paul McCartney and Wings. It was issued as a non-album single by Apple Records in October 1974; it peaked at No. 3 in the United States and No. 16 in the United Kingdom.
"Venus and Mars"/"Rock Show" is a medley of two songs written by Paul and Linda McCartney and originally performed by Wings that make up the first two songs of the album Venus and Mars. The single was released in the United States on 27 October 1975 and in the United Kingdom on 28 November 1975. The B-side is "Magneto and Titanium Man", another track from the album. The single version is considerably shorter than the album version of the songs; in the single "Rock Show" is cut by more than 3 minutes and "Venus and Mars" is cut by a few seconds. "Venus and Mars/Rock Show" peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, but did not chart on the UK singles chart, the first McCartney penned single to do so. In the book The Rough Guide to the Beatles, Chris Ingham praised both songs, describing "Venus and Mars" as "atmospheric" and "Rock Show" as "barnstorming".
"With a Little Luck" is a single by the band Wings from their 1978 album London Town.
"London Town" is a song by the British-American rock band Wings. The title and opening track of their 1978 album London Town, it was the third of three single releases from the album, reaching No. 39 in the US, No. 43 in Canada and No. 60 in the UK. It also reached No. 17 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart in the US.
"Goodnight Tonight" is a song by the British–American rock band Wings. Written and produced by Paul McCartney, it was released as a non-album single on 23 March 1979 by Parlophone in the UK and Columbia Records in the US. It was recorded during the sessions for the band's 1979 album Back to the Egg and is notable for its disco-inflected sound and spirited flamenco guitar break.
"Getting Closer" is a rock song from the British rock band Wings, Paul McCartney's post-Beatles band. The song was released on the album Back to the Egg.
"Spies Like Us" is the title song to the 1985 Warner Bros. motion picture of the same name, starring Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, and Donna Dixon. It was written and performed by Paul McCartney, and reached #7 on the Billboard singles chart in early 1986, making it McCartney's last US top ten hit until 2015's "FourFiveSeconds". It also reached #13 in the UK.
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"I Lie Around" is a song by Paul McCartney and Wings that was released as the B-side to the "Live and Let Die" single in 1973. The first two verses are sung by Wings guitarist Denny Laine, while Paul McCartney sings the third verse.
"Country Dreamer" is the B-side song to the single "Helen Wheels" released by Paul McCartney and Wings on 26 October 1973 in the UK and 12 November 1973 in the US. It was recorded in September 1972, and its country ambiance is similar to "Heart of the Country" from Paul McCartney's 1971 album Ram.
"Girlfriend" is a song by English rock band Wings, from their 1978 album London Town. It was written by Wings frontman Paul McCartney, who originally intended it to be sung by Michael Jackson. Jackson then covered the song the following year on his 1979 album Off the Wall, and in 1980 it was released as the 5th and final single of that album.
