When Paul McCartney flies to Lagos on 30 August 1973 to record Band on the Run, two members of his band Wings have just decided to leave. McCartney still isn’t aware that Africa will be a unique experience.

With him are his wife Linda, the loyal Denny Laine and engineer Geoff Emerick. The stay in Nigeria would prove to be an epic adventure: an unfinished recording studio, tensions with local musicians, press and activist/Lagos guru Fela Ransome-Kuti, challenging weather conditions, a robbery still shrouded in mystery, and a collapse that prompts fears for Paul’s life.

Enriched by colour images and with an exclusive interview by the author with Pete Swettenham, assistant engineer to Geoff Emerick in London, Paul McCartney & Wings: Band on the Run. The Story of a Classic Album tells of McCartney’s masterpiece in an engaging and original way.

Based on archive material and on many contemporary accounts by the people who participated in the sessions, the book analyses in detail all the songs, their vocal and instrumental parts (with a special focus on the role of the drums), takes a look at the equipment used for the recordings and debunks some of myths that were always part of the narrative of the album. What was really stolen from Paul in Africa? Music tapes? When did the robbery take place? And what happened when they were recording at AIR Studios in London? An historical account with a narrative touch that makes it a must for all Paul McCartney fans and rock music lovers alike.

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