Bravo! Paul McCartney & Wings’ 1974 ‘One Hand Clapping’ Live Album is Finally Released
by Best Classic Bands Staff
Paul McCartney & Wings’ One Hand Clapping, one of the most bootlegged live albums in musical history has finally received a proper release. The recordings, from August 1974, took place at London’s Abbey Road Studios when Band on the Run was enjoying a seven-week stint at #1 on the U.K. album chart, as the band were filming a video documentary and possible live studio album. Despite overwhelming demand for newly recorded material from the biggest band in the world at that time, One Hand Clapping was never officially released. Fifty years later, the wait is over: it arrived June 14, 2024, via UMe and is available in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here. Listen to the rocking version of “Junior’s Farm,” some Beatles and Wings favorites, classic covers, and many others below.
[An online 2-LP + 7” package features 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 Paul played to John Lennon when they met in 1957) and Buddy Holly’s “Peggy Sue” and “I’m Gonna Love You Too.”]
From the original April 23 announcement: 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 2024 release, 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—will be officially issued.
One Hand Clapping showcased Wings‘ new line-up, fresh off their return from Nashville, where they recorded the classic single “Junior’s Farm.” Following the sudden departure of Denny Seiwell and Henry McCullough the previous year on the eve of recording the Wings masterpiece Band on the Run, Paul, Linda, and Denny Laine were now joined by guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and drummer Geoff Britton. Additionally joining the band in the studio were orchestral arranger Del Newman and saxophonist Howie Casey, who had previously played with Paul in Hamburg and would go on to join the Wings touring band.
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,” and “Hi, Hi, Hi.”
Also featured is Paul’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 Paul solo piano version of the Harry Akst/Benny Davis Tin Pan Alley classic “Baby Face.” The sessions were produced by Paul McCartney. See the complete track listing below.
One Hand Clapping serves as a celebration of the enduring legacy of Paul McCartney and Wings. It captured a moment when Wings had found and defined their signature sound – just as Paul had shaped popular culture the decade before with The Beatles, he was doing it once again in the 70s with Wings. This recording gives an insight into the inner workings of the band as they work and play together in the studio. It also underscores Paul’s incredible talent as a live performer: Fifty years on, Paul is still performing many of these songs in packed stadiums across the world.
On February 2, 2024, UMe released a 50th anniversary edition of Band on the Run. The collection is available on 2-CDs [U.S., U.K.], and features the original album plus a second disc of “Underdubbed” mixes. There’s also a half-speed mastered LP [U.S., U.K.]. A new book, The McCartney Legacy Volume 2, from a noted Beatles author, is coming later this year. It’s available for pre-order in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here.
Paul McCartney & Wings One Hand Clapping Track List
2LP + 7”
Disc 1
Side One
One Hand Clapping* 02:15
Jet* 03:59
Soily* 03:55
C Moon/Little Woman Love* 03:19
Maybe I’m Amazed* 04:52
My Love* 04:15
Side Two
Bluebird* 03:27
Let’s Love* 01:09
All of You* 02:04
I’ll Give You a Ring* 02:03
Band on the Run* 05:20
Live and Let Die* 03:26
Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five* 05:50
Baby Face* 01:56
Disc 2
Side One
Let Me Roll It** 04:28
Blue Moon of Kentucky 03:05
Power Cut 01:33
Love My Baby 01:13
Let It Be 01:02
The Long and Winding Road/Lady Madonna 02:10
Side Two
Junior’s Farm 04:17
Sally G 03:28
Tomorrow 02:12
Go Now 03:35
Wild Life 04:30
Hi, Hi, Hi 03:57
Disc Three (7”)
Side One
Blackpool 01:43
Blackbird 02:27
Country Dreamer** 02:17
Side Two
Twenty Flight Rock 02:08
Peggy Sue 01:24
I’m Gonna Love You Too 01:10
*Previously released 2010 Band on the Run Archive Collection DVD
** Previously released as bonus audio on various Archive Collection releases
Paul McCartney: vocals, bass, piano, electric piano, Hammond organ, celeste, harmonium, acoustic guitar
Linda McCartney: Moog, electric piano, Mellotron, tambourine, backing vocals
Denny Laine: vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar
Jimmy McCulloch: electric guitar, backing vocals
Geoff Britton: drums
Featuring Tuxedo Brass Band and Howie Casey
Orchestra conducted by Del Newman
Related: Our Album Rewind of Band on the Run
2 Comments so far
Jump into a conversation50 years has passed by and they release TV show soundtrack without video content? Maybe they’ll release it, when it’s time for the 100th birthday of the show!
So spot on and geeze, if they do that 50 years from now all the people who lived through it will be dead! A HD DVD would be great, but I’m dating myself, or maybe I should have said VHS, as Youtube has so many of great, great videos of some just fantastic live recordings of the greatest musicians we’ll, you and I, will ever see.