Paul McCartney and Wings for Band On The Run 50th anniversary reissue

5 December 2023, 11:00 | Updated: 5 December 2023, 18:07

Band on the Run is set for a 50th anniversary reissue. Picture: Press

By Radio X

The iconic 1973 album is set for a special re-release to mark 50 years since its release.

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Paul McCartney and Wings have announced a special 50th anniversary edition of Band on the Run.

The Beatles legend teamed up with then-wife Linda McCartney and Denny Seiwell on the iconic 1973 album - which featured hits such as Jet and its memorable title track - and a new reissue is set for release on 2nd February 2024.

The special re-release, Band on the Run (Underdubbed) gives listeners a chance to listen to the nine-track collection "without any orchestral overdubs," while a stripped back version of the title track will drop this year on 7th December 2023.

McCartney explained in a statement: "This is Band on the Run in a way you’ve never heard before. When you are making a song and putting on additional parts, like an extra guitar, that’s an overdub. Well, this version of the album is the opposite, underdubbed.”

The newly ordered tracklist - which includes the likes of Bluebird, Let Me Roll It, Picasso’s Last Words (Drink to Me) and Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five - also mirrors the original analogue tapes which were discovered in the MPL archives.

This previously unreleased mixes were created by Geoff Emerick - with the assistance of Pete Swettenham - at AIR Studios in October, 1973.

The 50th anniversary release will be available in several formats, including the 1LP edition, which "was cut at half speed using a high-resolution transfer of the original master tapes from 1973 by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios, London".

A press release adds: "The single vinyl album configuration mirrors the US tracklist which features the song ‘Helen Wheels’, and includes a Linda McCartney Polaroid poster."

Band on the Run packshot. Picture: Press

2LP / 2CD Track list

Disc One – Band on the Run

1.Band on the Run
2.Jet
3.Bluebird
4.Mrs. Vandebilt
5. Let Me Roll It
6.Mamunia
7.No Words
8.Helen Wheels
9.Picasso’s Last Words (Drink to Me)
10.Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five

Disc Two Band on the Run (Underdubbed Mixes)

1. Band on the Run
2.Mamunia
3.No Words
4.Jet
5. Bluebird
6.Mrs. Vandebilt
7.Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five
8.Picasso’s Last Words (Drink to Me)
9.Let Me Roll It

1LP Band on the Run

1.Band on the Run
2.Jet
3.Bluebird
4.Mrs. Vandebilt
5. Let Me Roll It
6.Mamunia
7.No Words
8.Helen Wheels
9.Picasso’s Last Words (Drink to Me)
10.Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five

Digital FormatsBand on the Run (Underdubbed Mixes)

1.Band on the Run
2.Mamunia
3.No Words
4.Jet
5.Bluebird
6.Mrs. Vandebilt
7.Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five
8.Picasso’s Last Words (Drink to Me)
9.Let Me Roll It

Band on the Run will also be available to stream in Dolby ATMOS.

Paul McCartney & Wings 'Band on the Run' (Lyric Video)

Paul McCartney is currently performing songs from Band on the Run amidst his extensive back catalogue at shows on his acclaimed Got Back tour.

First launching in February last year, the famous Beatle completed 16 huge shows across the US before performing his history-making headline set at Glastonbury 2022- a show which also saw him invite Bruce Springsteen as special guest and saw Macca team up with Foo Fighters' frontman Dave Grohl for a special duet of Band on the Run.