It’s been half a century since Paul McCartney and Wings released their second studio album.
Initially planned as a double record, Macca decided to include some unreleased songs from the 1971 Ram sessions like Get on the Right Thing and Little Lamb Dragonfly, which made it onto what would be a single disc album in the end.
The Red Rose Speedway sessions also included the recording of non-album singles Little Lamb, Hi, Hi, Hi and the iconic James Bond theme Live and Let Die, which was also released in 1973.
The record would peak at No 5 in the UK Albums Chart and make No 1 on the Billboard Top LPS and Tape chart across the pond.
Having a mixed response from the critics for its soft tracks that were kept on at the expense of rock ones, Linda McCartney later told Sounds magazine in 1976: “Red Rose Speedway was such a non-confident record. There were some beautiful songs … there was “My Love” but something was missing. We needed a heavier sound. It was a terribly unsure period.”
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Linda captured Red Rose Speedway’s cover art, which was McCartney solo in front of a motorbike engine with a red rose in his mouth.
The bike was transported from the US especially for the shoot, which took place at the photographic studio of the Sunday Times building in London.
Today, Macca himself has celebrated the album’s 50th anniversary by sharing outtakes from Linda’s shoot.
McCartney wrote on Instagram: “Happy 50th birthday ‘Red Rose Speedway’
“On this day in 1973, Wings’ iconic second album #RedRoseSpeedway was released in the UK! Swipe across to see outtakes from the album cover shoot in London.”
