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Paul Mc Cartney Wings Clapping

Paul McCartney and Wings announce live album, One Hand Clapping

23 April 2024, 14:13 | Written by Tyler Damara Kelly

Paul McCartney have announced the release of live studio sessions from 1974 newly-mixed and available for the first time as the album, One Hand Clapping.

In August 1974, when Band on the Run was enjoying a seven-week consecutive number stint at the top of the UK album charts, Paul McCartney and Wings headed to Abbey Road Studios for the filming of a video documentary and possible live studio album – One Hand Clapping. Despite overwhelming demand for newly recorded material from the biggest band in the world at that time, One Hand Clapping was never officially released.

Filmed and recorded over four days and directed by David Litchfield, the release of One Hand Clapping is a historic moment for Paul McCartney fans. Over the years, various parts of One Hand Clapping have been bootlegged with varying degrees of success. Some of the material has also appeared on official McCartney releases. However, the forthcoming release of One Hand Clapping, which features the original artwork designed for the project, including a TV sales brochure for the unreleased film at the time, is the first time the audio for the film – plus several additional songs recorded off-camera – have been officially issued.

Opening with an instrumental jam that would become the One Hand Clapping theme song, the album features live-in-studio renditions of Wings mega-hits "Live and Let Die", "Band on the Run", "Jet", "My Love", "Hi, Hi, Hi", "Junior’s Farm", Paul McCartney’s much loved solo song, "Maybe I’m Amazed", reworked extracts of Beatles’ classics "Let It Be", "The Long and Winding Road" and "Lady Madonna", the Moody Blues hit "Go Now" with Denny Laine singing, and a McCartney solo piano version of the Harry Akst/Benny Davis Tin Pan Alley classic "Baby Face".

One Hand Clapping will be released in multiple formats including an online exclusive 2LP + 7” package featuring an exclusive vinyl single of previously unreleased solo performances recorded on the final day of the sessions in the backyard of Abbey Road studios. These include the unreleased track "Blackpool", The Beatles’ iconic "Blackbird", Wings B-side "Country Dreamer", and cover versions of Eddie Cochran’s "Twenty Flight Rock" (the first song McCartney played to John Lennon when they met in 1957) and Buddy Holly’s "Peggy Sue" and "I’m Gonna Love You Too."

One Hand Clapping will be released on 14 June.

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