@rustybearden1800

This album is fused into my DNA and holds a special place in my heart and in my memories, least of which is that it was my mother's favorite.  I cannot hear it without thinking of her, singing the lyrics to the 8 track turned up, the windows rolled down in her Cadillac Eldorado and the wind blowing on her hair.  We bought BOTR just before a magical 2 week trip to Pawleys Island in the summer of '74 and listened to it the entire time.  I was 12 years old. I get a lump in my throat sometimes when I hear it and the wonderful memories it evokes. I've always thought that the album has a very tropical, summery world traveler, off the beaten path vibe and very British. I'll listen to it til the day I die. Wonderful stuff - thank you

@gregsug1640

1973 was McCartney's most Beatlesque year. Not only Band on the Run, But Live and Let Die.  And My Love was a summertime hit as well.

@robertgosselin14

Thanks Andrew.  R.I.P. Denny. 🌹

@jackroberts9401

I got the album for xmas 1973 as a 10 year old. i loved it. I still have my original Australian copy, and it has Helen Wheels on it, thankfully!

@Homebrew58

I was 15 years old when this came out. It was the first solo Beatles album and to this day is among my favorites. It didn't hurt that three years later I had a girlfriend who adored Band on the Run but didn't have a copy so we would listen to mine continuously.

@TheNedH

I cannot get over the fact that Denny Laine died on the very day of the 50th Anniversary.  I had just re-listened to the entire album, and texted a friend saying how much I had loved "No Words" in particular in that sitting, when that same friend texted me back with the news.  Band On the Run is such a brilliant, fantastic album.  The first Wings album I owned was London Town, which I realized later has something like 4 or 5 Denny Laine compositions or co-compositions.  I love the album and have been sorely disappointed that it and Back To the Egg never got the remaster treatment that much of the rest of Paul's solo catalog got.  On another note, in some ways, we can "thank" Jann Wenner for the lukewarm reception to Ram.  The album reviewer for Rolling Stone wrote a glowing review (because it's great) and that bum Wenner made him re-write it.

@BryanCallaghan168

Brilliant, as usual. And a very nice tribute to Denny at the end. Keep up the good work, Andrew. It's important to so many of us.

@slowpawstevet3676

"Band on the Run" is a true masterpiece and ranks up there with the Beatles :-)

@jb2einziger

Absolutely love Band on the Run ! Also I think RAM is an amazing solo record too

@TheHutt

Thanks for pointing out the Soviet connection!

@errolfouquet7381

As much of a Beatles fanatic as I am, and indeed was from a very early age, I didn't collect many of the solo records. That said, Band On the Run was one of the exceptions and a huge favorite of mine back in the 70s. Thanks so much, Andrew, for providing your usual amazing job of diving in deep and bringing the history to life! I'm really looking forward to the 2024 reissue!

@markwinters3079

I would listen to my AM clock radio in Ohio to catch "Band on the Run" being played on the Top 10 stations. I still remember getting chills hearing "Helen Wheels" and trying to locate the 45 single; it reminds me of John Lennon talking about hearing his first Elvis record. My parents let me buy two singles at the end of my seventh grade year (1974) for having good grades: "The Locomotion" by Grand Funk (still a great version) and "Band on the Run". I still have the 45s. The summer of 1974 my brother brought home a copy of "Band on the Run" album and I got a stereo portable record player by cleaning out a burned-out apartment next door (I also bought a copy of "1962-1966" from that job). Hearing those records in true stereo was such a revelation. Up until that time, I didn't know what stereo separation was in radio and record players. I still have that copy of BOTR, along with one I bought in Germany in 1984 (and still sounds fantastic) and of course, the CD re-releases. It was Paul's best of the 1970s. "Tug of War", and "Flaming Pie" were his best subsequent releases, but nothing tops "Band on the Run".

@jrussellcase

This is a great album. đź‘Ť
As an aside, RIP Denny Laine. He will be missed.

@danswan1047

Thank you for the lovely tribute to Denny Lane at the end of your video. He was a truly gifted musician, and from all accounts… a wonderful human being.

@markstevenson6635

I had this on vinyl and 8-track. Played that tape a million times in the car starting when it came out. Still love it. The tape is gone but the album is still with me 50 years later!

Thanks for the many details.

@snapfinger1

Finally made a record that garnered Lennon’s approval. Might be having James Coburn & Jason(Humphrey Bogart) Robards in the band.

@markjamesmeli2520

This is a beautiful example of how well Paul, Linda and Denny all worked together.  It's a wonderful work that couldn't be done now, as both of Paul's "wings" have left us.  It's amazing the criticism of this record when it came out.   My brother, and all of his "Beatle buddies" just consumed this album when it came out.  By 1974,  BAND ON THE RUN was considered a classic.

@evanstair1262

First, prayers for Denny Laine and his family and thanks for your tribute.

Second, and in answer to your question Andrew, I offer an emphatic YES! to more solo Beatles content.

Third, thanks again for a fantastic video.

Now for my recollection of the first time I heard the song, "Band on the Run."  While George Harrison's "Thirty Three & 1/3" was my entry into purchasing Fab material (1977), I remember first hearing "Band on the Run" on the radio in 1973.  I was 8 years old, and had just begun listening to my parent's 1960s era console stereo.  

For my taste, "Band on the Run" was the closest Paul McCartney came to recreating his success with The Beatles.  It is a masterpiece and is my favorite solo McCartney, album.  Well... solo as in post Beatle of course.  It stands up to what many critics consider the best solo effort, Harrison's "All Things Must Pass."  

Isn't it interesting that McCartney finally got to travel to record an album?  Recall that was part of the vision for the 'Get Back' sessions.  

The parallels to Sgt. Pepper are many as you mention with the "Band on the Run" reprise.  No song on the album sounds like any other, another Sgt. Pepper / Beatles trademark.  You can tell McCartney had overcome his post-breakup depression.

I consider, "Bluebird" an answer song to "Blackbird," but likely in name only with less social content.

@Xtrade6344

The song "Band on the Run" was one of the first Paul songs i ever heard as a kid as my dad enjoyed it. Since then i have become a massive fan of Wings' whole discography. McCartney Legacy Volume 1 is an exceptional book on this era of Paul for anyone who's interested in learning more about 1970-1973 solo McCartney
The tribute to Denny was quite beautiful and i'm still processing his passing days later. Had the fortunate opportunity to see him in concert this past February and he was such a character during it. He played a beautiful acoustic rendition of Mull of Kintyre, truly a wonderful memory that i will cherish forever. I was listening to BOTR to celebrate 50 years of the album and Picasso's Last Words were playing when news of his passing were reported by his wife on Instagram.

@bpabustan

A perfect video to pay our final respects to Denny Laine. R.I.P. Denny, by the way this album is my age!