1) Paul McCart… Read Full Bio ↴There is more than one artist sharing the name Wings;
1) Paul McCartney and Wings (also known by their original name Wings) were a British–American rock band formed in 1971 by former Beatle Paul McCartney, his wife Linda McCartney on keyboards, session drummer Denny Seiwell, and former Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine. Wings were noted for frequent personnel changes along with their commercial successes, going through three lead guitarists and four drummers. However, the core trio of the McCartneys and Laine remained intact throughout the group's existence.
Created following the McCartneys' 1971 album Ram, the band's first two albums, Wild Life (1971) and Red Rose Speedway (1973) (the latter featuring guitarist Henry McCullough), were viewed as artistic disappointments beside Paul's work with the Beatles. After the release of the title track of the James Bond movie Live and Let Die, McCullough and Seiwell resigned from the band. The McCartneys and Laine then released 1973's Band on the Run, a commercial and critical success that spawned two top ten singles in "Jet" and the title track. Following that album, the band recruited guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and drummer Geoff Britton, only for Britton to quit shortly afterwards and be replaced by Joe English. With the new line-up, Wings released 1975's Venus and Mars, which included the US number one single "Listen to What the Man Said", and undertook a highly successful world tour over 1975–76. Intended as more of a group effort, Wings at the Speed of Sound (1976) was issued midway through the tour and featured the hit singles "Silly Love Songs" and "Let 'Em In".
In 1977, the band earned their only UK number one single, with "Mull of Kintyre", which became the then-best-selling UK single in history. Wings experienced another line-up shuffle, however, with both McCulloch and English departing before the release of the group's 1978 album London Town. The McCartneys and Laine again added new members, recruiting guitarist Laurence Juber and drummer Steve Holley. The resulting album, Back to the Egg, was a relative flop, with its singles under-performing and the critical reception negative. During the supporting tour, Paul was arrested in Japan for cannabis possession, putting the band on hold. Despite a final US number one with a live-recorded version of "Coming Up" (1979), after Laine departed from the band, Wings discontinued in 1981.
Wings had twelve top-10 singles (including one number one) in the UK and fourteen top 10 singles (including six number ones) in the US. All 23 singles released by Wings reached the US top 40, and one two-sided hit, "Junior's Farm"/"Sally G", reached the top 40 with each side. Of the nine albums released by Wings, all went top 10 in either the UK or the US, with five consecutive albums topping the US charts. Paul McCartney was unquestionably Wings' leader and dominant creative force, but Denny Laine, Jimmy McCulloch, and Linda McCartney all contributed in songwriting, and Laine, McCulloch, Joe English, and Linda McCartney all performed lead vocals.
The success of Wings was a vindication for McCartney. His first few post-Beatles albums were highly criticized and often dismissed by critics as "lightweight" next to the more serious nature of his former bandmates' solo output. But by the mid-1970s, the solo careers of the other three former Beatles were in varying degrees of decline, with John Lennon putting his career on hold in 1975 for the first five years of his son Sean's life. A year later, George Harrison had all but retired from live performances, with his new releases failing to match the success of his initial solo output. Ringo Starr was living in Los Angeles and was writing and recording, but as a solo artist had not been performing onstage other than rare guest appearances. Meanwhile, Wings continued to tour regularly and enjoy much commercial success. According to author Robert Rosen, by 1980, Lennon was envious enough of McCartney's continuing success to make his re-emergence on the music scene.
One of the criticisms of Wings was that the other members were little more than sidemen backing up a solo McCartney. Guitarist Henry McCullough quit the band because he grew tired of being told by McCartney exactly what to play, and said that Wings were never a "real band." On the other hand, other former members of Wings such as Joe English and Laurence Juber have said that they were allowed a degree of creative freedom. In an interview, Juber, Wings' third lead guitarist, said, "I was a sideman, but the job assignment very much included considering myself a part of the band ... In all its incarnations Wings sounded like a band, not like a solo McCartney project and I think that reflects well not only on Paul's ability to share in the creative process, but also on the importance of Denny and Linda's contributions, too. The other players brought their own personalities to the scene."
In addition to its own output, Wings recorded several songs that were released through various outlets both before and after the band's break-up. Denny Laine's 1977 solo album Holly Days was a joint effort by Laine with Paul and Linda McCartney; three songs on Laine's 1980 solo album Japanese Tears were performed by Wings with Laine on lead vocals; Laine also contributed to several songs on Paul McCartney's 1982 and 1983 solo albums Tug of War and Pipes of Peace, respectively. Juber's instrumental "Maisie"—which was backed by members of Wings—appeared on his solo album Standard Time. The McCartneys and Laine contributed backing vocals to George Harrison's 1981 tribute to John Lennon, "All Those Years Ago". Linda McCartney continued to tour and record with her husband up until her death in 1998, after which a compilation of her songs entitled Wide Prairie was released that featured seven Wings songs written or co-written by her. Wings also backed Paul's brother Mike McGear on the McGear album, as well as McGear's band the Scaffold on the single "Liverpool Lou" and its B-side "Ten Years After on Strawberry Jam". Paul McCartney also used three unreleased Wings songs as B-sides of his solo singles several years after Wings' break-up.
Wings' 1977 single "Mull of Kintyre"/"Girls School" is still the biggest-selling non-charity single in the UK (although Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" sold more, its sales include a reissue in aid of the Terrence Higgins Trust), and it ranked fourth in the official list of all-time best-selling singles in the UK issued in 2002.
In 2001, Wingspan: Hits and History was released, a project spanning an album and a television special retrospective.
2) Wings: A Rock band from Malaysia. Their history began on the establishment in 1985 the Secondary School Sri Ampang in Kuala Lumpur. There, four young men who are still demanding joined forces to form a school band. As motivated and very interested in Rock music, especially rhythm, they agreed to singing rock'n'roll participating during their presentations. When it began the birth of WINGS although this group has no name.
Wings' original members are Awie, Jojet, Jo and Sham. The break-hit group when Jojet migrate to GERSANG while Arid and Jo resigned. While Syria set up new groups, named Group CRK.
Members:
Vocalists:
1) Awie (Ahmad Azhar Othman) 1985 - 1993. 2002 - Now
2) Mel (Ismail Zainuddin) 1995 - 1996
3) Mus (Mustafa Din) 1996 - 2001
Guitarists
1) Sham (Sham Baharom) 1985 - 1987
2) Tham Wing Kwan 1987
3) Joe (Abdul Zamin bin Abdul Kadir) 1988
Bassist
Eddie (Samsaidi Haji Ulong Idris) 1985 -Now
Drummer
1)Black(Azmi Hashim) 1985 - 1990. 1994 - Now
2) Jojet 1990 - 1993
3) Wings was also a Finnish death metal band which started in the early 90’s as a side project of Cartilage’s Gabriel Suoraniemi. This incarnation of Wings released a demo and a 7’‘EP. In 1994 Suoraniemi found a full line-up and the style changed to a more modern direction. They released one demo and a full-lenght album through Woodcut Productions (run by Suoraniemi’s ex-Cartilage comrade Mikki Salo) before splitting up. Most of the Wings line-up played in Enochian Crescent as well.
4) A duo in Korea is also using the name Wings (윙스).
Backwards Traveller
Wings Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Always Going Back In Time
Rhyming Slang, Auld Lang Syne My Dears
Through The Years
I Am The Backwards Traveller
Ancient Wool Unraveller
Sailng Songs, Wailing On The Moon
Wailing On The Moon.
In the song "Backwards Traveller" by Wings, the lyrics are cryptic, but there are still some clear themes and ideas being conveyed. The first two lines are particularly interesting, as they seem to suggest that the singer is constantly revisiting the past. Perhaps this refers to nostalgia, or regret for past mistakes. The next line "Rhyming Slang, Auld Lang Syne My Dears" is a reference to the Scottish song "Auld Lang Syne", which is often sung at New Year's celebrations. Rhyming slang is a type of slang that originated in the East End of London, and involves using a phrase that rhymes with a word instead of the word itself.
The singer then says "Through The Years, I Am The Backwards Traveller", which seems to reinforce the idea that they are constantly looking back, rather than forward. The next line "Ancient Wool Unraveller" is a bit more obscure, but could be interpreted as a metaphor for unraveling the threads of history, or perhaps even the universe itself. The final line "Sailing Songs, Wailing On The Moon" is a bit more straightforward, and seems to suggest a dreamy, almost otherworldly state of mind.
The refrain "And We Were Sailing Songs, Wailing On The Moon" serves to reinforce this dreamlike, spacey feeling. It's not entirely clear who the "we" is supposed to be - perhaps the singer is addressing a group of people, or perhaps they are referring to themselves and a romantic partner. Overall, the song seems to be about the passage of time, memory, and the way we approach the past.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey, Did You Know That I'm
Did you know that I regularly engage in time travel?
Always Going Back In Time
I consistently revisit the past through time travel.
Rhyming Slang, Auld Lang Syne My Dears
I utilize rhyming slang and refer to the old times, my loved ones.
Through The Years
Throughout the span of my existence and all its phases.
I Am The Backwards Traveller
I am the person who moves backward in the timeline of events.
Ancient Wool Unraveller
I undo the knitted wool of antiquated situations and events through time travel.
Sailng Songs, Wailing On The Moon
I am sailing through time while singing songs, grieving under the influence of the moonlight.
And We Were Sailing Songs, Wailing On The Moon
Together we were traversing time, singing melodies and lamenting in the presence of the moonlight.
Wailing On The Moon.
Crying out in grief under the illumination of the moon.
Contributed by Grayson G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Broderick Harper
Love this track. Another one of Macca's instrumental's way ahead of its time. Imagine this with the 90's technology
Raylan Givens
The 90’s technology would have ruined it.
skyprop
Love the Lead guitar with the Envelope follower on it great effect WINGS
Pam and Rob Trust
I just wish that this had a better middle and ending to the!! ending of backwards traveler song.
skyprop
Slight phase but really clear very nice
Giuliano Di Buti
great
balalau
I didn't understand it: "2011 remaster"?
Andrew Vincent
It sucks Joe and Jimmy left the band in 1977. This was no doubt the best lineup of Wings. They were a tight band. I hate to say it but the two guys that replaced them just couldn't compare. I was never a fan of Laurence Juber's style of guitar playing and Steve Holley's drumming didn't have anywhere close to the style and spirit that Joe English had. Back to the Egg was a great album but I feel like it could have been better with Jimmy and Joe.
Broderick Harper
'London Town' and 'Back to the Egg' are easily the best Wings albums after 'Band on the Run' and 'Ram'. Joe and Jimmy's contributions, basically amount to 'Speed of Sound' - the worst of the lot (still OK) only saved by the two famous singles
Amazed you criticise Juber's guitar, when you think of 'Spin it On'