| "Rockestra Theme" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Wings | ||||
| from the album Back to the Egg | ||||
| B-side | "Old Siam, Sir" | |||
| Released | 1979 (France) | |||
| Recorded | 3 October 1978 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:37 | |||
| Label | Parlophone/EMI (Europe only) | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Paul McCartney | |||
| Producer(s) |
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| Wings singles chronology | ||||
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"Rockestra Theme" is the fourth and final single on Wings' final studio album Back to the Egg .
"Rockestra Theme" was recorded on 3 October 1978 at Abbey Road Studios [1] by an all-star collection of musicians dubbed "Rockestra", although the song is technically credited to Wings. It was recorded as part of Wings' 1979 album Back to the Egg and released as a single in France. [2]
Musicians who performed on both this song and on "So Glad To See You Here" included: Denny Laine, Laurence Juber, David Gilmour, Hank Marvin, Pete Townshend (guitars), Steve Holley, John Bonham, Kenney Jones (drums), Paul McCartney (piano, bass [3] ), John Paul Jones, Ronnie Lane, Bruce Thomas (basses), Gary Brooker, Linda McCartney, Tony Ashton (keyboards), Speedy Acquaye, Tony Carr, Ray Cooper, Morris Pert (percussion), Howie Casey, Tony Dorsey, Steve Howard, Thaddeus Richard (horns). [4]
One person taken out of the Rockestra supergroup was Jeff Beck. After being asked by McCartney to participate, Beck requested to be able to have veto power over his own guitar contributions. McCartney subsequently withdrew Beck's invitation. [5]
In a 2001 interview on VH1, McCartney said Keith Moon was to have taken part in "Rockestra" but died one month before the recording sessions took place. Kenney Jones, who replaced Moon on drums within The Who, appeared instead. Wings' drummer Steve Holley described the recording session as "daunting". [6]
The song was performed again at the Concerts for the People of Kampuchea and released on the album and EP of the same name. This was a series of concerts featuring Queen, The Clash, the Pretenders, The Who, Elvis Costello, Wings, and many more artists which took place at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, England during December 1979 to raise money for the victims of war-torn Cambodia. The event was organized by McCartney and Kurt Waldheim, and it involved older artists such as McCartney and The Who as well as younger new wave acts like The Clash and the Pretenders. The last of the concerts was the last concert of Wings.
Most of the Rockestra wore silver suits for this performance. On the Concerts for Kampuchea home video, McCartney can be heard making a comment about Townshend before playing the song, making reference to Townshend being a "poof" (gay in British slang). "Thank you, Peter. Only lousy sod who wouldn't wear the silver suit. Cuz he's a poof." Townshend made comment about it in several interviews following the performance. [7] Juber can be seen walking up behind Townshend after McCartney's comment, and placing a silver top hat on his head. Townshend quickly grabs the hat and flings it into the audience. James Honeyman-Scott and Robert Plant filled in for Marvin and Gilmour as the former was in New Zealand while the latter was in Los Angeles, California as a tax exile with the rest of Pink Floyd rehearsing for the concerts in support of the then newly released album The Wall.
"Rockestra Theme" won the 1980 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. [8] In France it was used as the opening theme of Chlorophylle, a pop-rock programme on the radio station Europe 1.
The Concert for George was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 29 November 2002 as a memorial to George Harrison on the first anniversary of his death. The event was organised by Harrison's widow, Olivia, and his son, Dhani, and arranged under the musical direction of Eric Clapton. The profits from the event went to the Material World Charitable Foundation, an organisation founded by Harrison.
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.
Back to the Egg is the seventh and final studio album by the British–American rock band Wings, released in June 1979 on Parlophone in the UK and Columbia Records in North America. Co-produced by Chris Thomas, the album reflects band leader Paul McCartney's embracing of contemporary musical trends such as new wave and punk, and marked the arrival of new Wings members Laurence Juber and Steve Holley. Back to the Egg adopts a loose conceptual theme around the idea of a working band, and its creation coincided with a period of considerable activity for the group, which included making a return to touring and work on several television and film projects.
James McCulloch 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 in a Million, Thunderclap Newman, and Stone the Crows.
Give My Regards to Broad Street is the fifth solo studio album by Paul McCartney and the soundtrack to the film of the same name. The album reached number 1 on the UK chart. The lead single, "No More Lonely Nights", was BAFTA and Golden Globe Award nominated. It was also to be his final album to be released under Columbia Records, which had been his US label for over five years.
"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.
Concerts for the People of Kampuchea is a double album credited to Various Artists and released in March 1981. It contains live performances by Wings, the Who, Queen, Elvis Costello, Pretenders, the Clash, the Specials and other artists from the Concerts for the People of Kampuchea, held at London's Hammersmith Odeon in December 1979 to raise money for the victims of war-torn Cambodia. The event was organised by Paul McCartney and Kurt Waldheim.
Wide Prairie is a posthumous compilation album by Linda McCartney, compiled by her husband Paul McCartney and released in October 1998, roughly six months after her death due to breast cancer. The idea for the album was inspired by a fan who wrote Paul McCartney inquiring about "Seaside Woman", a song Wings released under the name Suzy and the Red Stripes featuring Linda on lead vocals.
On 23 November 1979, Paul McCartney's band Wings began a 19-date concert tour of the United Kingdom to promote their recent album, Back to the Egg.
"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.
"Old Siam, Sir" is a hard rock single from Wings' 1979 album, Back to the Egg. It was the A-side of the UK version of the single, reaching No. 35. The B-side, "Spin It On" in the UK was also a track from the album, "Back to the Egg". "Old Siam, Sir" was also the B-side of the US single "Arrow Through Me".
"Arrow Through Me" is a song by the British–American rock band Wings, released on their 1979 album Back to the Egg.
"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.
Concerts for the People of Kampuchea was a series of concerts featuring Wings, Queen, The Clash, The Pretenders, The Who, Elvis Costello, and many more artists which took place at the Hammersmith Odeon in London during December 1979 to raise money for the victims of war-torn Cambodia. The event was organised by Paul McCartney and Kurt Waldheim, and it involved artists such as McCartney and The Who as well as punk acts like The Clash and the Pretenders. The last of the concerts was the last concert of Wings. An album and EP were released in 1981, and the best of the concerts were released as a film, Concert for Kampuchea.
Japanese Tears is the third album by guitarist Denny Laine, released shortly before the demise of Paul McCartney's band Wings, of which Laine was a member. The album was released in 1980.
"Daytime Nighttime Suffering" is a song written by Paul McCartney and recorded by Wings. It was the B-side to the 1979 single "Goodnight Tonight," which was a top-five hit in both the UK and USA. It was released on CD in 1993 as part of the release of The Paul McCartney Collection, and can be found as a bonus track on the album Back to the Egg. It is also included on the CD collection Wingspan: Hits and History. It was also included on The 7" Singles Box in 2022.
"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.
Tommy is a soundtrack album by The Who with contributions from numerous artists. The soundtrack was used in the 1975 Tommy film that was based on the original album that was released by The Who in 1969. Pete Townshend oversaw the production of this double-LP recording that returned the music to its rock roots, and on which the unrecorded orchestral arrangements he had envisaged for the original Tommy LP were realised by the extensive use of synthesiser.
Standard Time is the debut album by former Wings guitarist Laurence Juber, released in 1982 on vinyl and re-released digital. Some of the songs were recorded when Juber was still a member of Wings. For instance, "Maisie" was recorded during the Back to the Egg sessions. Fellow Wings members Paul McCartney, Denny Laine and Steve Holley also performed on the album.
