Sticking Out Of My Back Pocket: ‘With A Little Luck'

Sticking Out Of My Back Pocket: ‘With A Little Luck'

From time-to-time the music world has a bit of a reset and it’s out with the old, in with the new. Such a year was 1977 with punk in full tilt and The Sex Pistols releasing their debut album. Bob Marley put out ‘Exodus’ the same year, as did Fleetwood Mac with ‘Rumours’. But electronic music was also turning heads: Bowie was in the middle of his “Berlin Trilogy” and Kraftwerk were just months away from releasing ‘The Man Machine’.

Wings ended 1977 on a high with their ‘Mull of Kintyre’ single going on to sell more than 2 million copies in the UK alone, a feat few songs have done since. But the upheaval in the music world was mirrored in the band with both Jimmy McCulloch and Joe English moving on, returning Wings to a three-piece for the first time since ‘Band on the Run’.

But as with ‘Band on the Run’ - which was recorded in Lagos, Nigeria -  the band chose another interesting location to record the follow up to ‘At The Speed Of Sound’ and their  ‘Wings Over The World’ tour: a yacht!

Anchoring their activities on the ‘Fair Carol’ yacht in the Virgin Islands which had been kitted out with a 24-track mixing desk, the band finished work on the ‘London Town’ album in early 1978 releasing it at the end of March, preceded by a few weeks earlier by the single ‘With A Little Luck’. Paul recently told us that part of him wished he had included ‘Mull of Kintyre’ on ‘London Town’ and it would have fitted perfectly. The album flawlessly combined a melting pot of styles, from upbeat rock to synth pop. It also features the track ‘Girlfriend’, which Michael Jackson covered on his 1979 album ‘Off The Wall’.

‘With A Little Luck’ combines expectant synths (an A major chord with a B in the bass!) intertwined with vocal harmonies, alongside an optimistic lyric that codas with a soulful lead vocal from Paul. The single reached number 1 in the US and is one of twelve tracks that appeared on the 1978 collection ‘Wings Greatest’, which will be reissued on vinyl this May18th.

Fans can PRE-ORDER all four 2018 edition catalogue reissues via MPL/Capitol:
[Titles and corresponding limited edition vinyl colours as follows]

NEW - PINK - Click HERE!
Chaos and Creation in the Backyard - GOLD - Click HERE!
Wings Greatest - BLUE - Click HERE!
Thrillington - MARBLED - Click HERE!

Let us know your favourite 'deep cuts' from Wings Greatest in the comments below...