Band on the Run

Band on the Run is the third studio album by the British rock band Paul McCartney and Wings, released on 30 November 1973 in the United Kingdom and 5 December 1973 in the United States. It was Paul McCartney's fifth album after leaving the Beatles in April 1970 and his final album on Apple Records. A rock and pop rock album, Band on the Run's songs reflect themes of escape and freedom.

The album was mostly recorded at EMI's studio in Lagos, Nigeria, as McCartney wanted to make an album in an exotic location. Shortly before departing for Lagos, drummer Denny Seiwell and guitarist Henry McCullough left the group. With no time to recruit replacements, McCartney went into the studio with just his wife Linda and Denny Laine. McCartney therefore played bass, drums, percussion and most of the lead guitar parts. The studio was of poor quality, and conditions in Nigeria were tense and difficult; the McCartneys were robbed at knifepoint, losing a bag of song lyrics and demo tapes. After the band's return to England, final overdubs and further recording were carried out in London, mostly at AIR Studios. The cover photograph by Clive Arrowsmith was taken at Osterley Park, West London, and features the McCartneys and Laine with six celebrities dressed as convicts, and posed as though caught by a prison searchlight.

Although sales were modest initially, its commercial performance was aided by two hit singles – "Jet" and "Band on the Run". McCartney did not want any singles at first, but agreed due to the modest sales. At the request of Capitol Records, Apple's US distributor, the non-album single "Helen Wheels" was added to the American version of the album, for commercial reasons. Enhanced by the success of the singles, Band on the Run topped the album charts in the UK and the US and became the top-selling studio album of 1974 in the UK and Australia. It remains McCartney's most successful album.

After a string of poorly received projects, Band on the Run revitalised McCartney's critical standing, becoming his best-reviewed album following the break-up of the Beatles. It remains celebrated as one of McCartney's best solo albums and one of the best by a Beatle. It appeared on lists of the greatest albums of all time by Rolling Stone in 2012 and by NME in 2013. The album has been reissued numerous times with bonus tracks, including in 1993 as part of The Paul McCartney Collection, in 1999 for its 25th anniversary, in 2010 as part of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection and in 2024 for its 50th anniversary.