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Originally released in May 1975, ‘Venus and Mars’ had the momentous task of following the hugely successful ‘Band on the Run’, released a year and a half earlier. Despite commercial success, including two weeks atop the UK album charts, critics and fans had mixed opinions, with criticism focussed around McCartney’s lyrics. 

Jim Bollinger from The New Beatles Fan Club said, “And there’s Paul’s subject matter: who is this man we are or are not supposed to listen to? What do Venus & Mars have to do with a sports arena or a cathedral? Why would Lucifer shine, looking like snow in a Broadway show?” Contemporary reviews have been kinder to the album, with Far Out Magazine describing it as “quintessentially 1970s in tone and feel, yet it never falters.”

‘Venus and Mars’ is always mentioned alongside ‘Wings Over America’, a live album released in 1976. Nine different songs from ‘Venus and Mars’ made it onto the track list of the live album, and some reviews have gone as far as to say that every one of those live versions beats its studio counterpart.

This new remaster has been engineered by Miles Showell, an Abbey Road engineer who is also an expert in half-speed mastering, having worked on many McCartney and Beatles projects, as well as albums from The Rolling Stones and Simple Minds. Listed on the Abbey Road website, some of the highlights of Showell’s work include the 40th anniversary of ABBA’s ‘Arrival’, as well as original recordings such as Dua Lipa’s ‘Illusion’ and the controversial ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas? (2024 Ultimate Mix)’.

The process involves playing back the source material at half its normal speed while the cutting lathe also runs at 16 2/3 RPM, allowing the recording stylus twice as long to carve the groove into the master lacquer, resulting in a much higher quality copy. Showell joked that one drawback is listening to a slowed down version of an album for an hour and half. 

The 50th anniversary edition of ‘Venus and Mars’ follows last year’s remaster of ‘Band on the Run’, which was also released as a half-speed master. That reissue included an additional album of “underdubs”—raw mixes of the original recordings before final overdubs and orchestrations were added. John Heaton, a well-known Beatles YouTuber, was full of praise for the bonus album, and Paul McCartney fans will be hoping that ‘Venus and Mars’ gets the same treatment. 

The new edition of ‘Venus and Mars’ is currently available for pre-order and will be released on March 21 with a price tag of £35.99. It appears that the remaster will be available exclusively on vinyl, mirroring the ‘Band on the Run’ reissue, which remains available for £29.99. However, if ‘Venus and Mars’ follows ‘Band on the Run’, there’s hope that a digital version will be made available as well.

If this pattern continues, ‘Wings at the Speed of Sound’ could be next in line for a half-speed remaster when it celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2026. The link to pre-order can be found here.

From their debut album Wild Life in 1971 to Back to the Egg in 1979, Laine’s musical prowess was evident. Notably, their album Band on the Run in 1973 reached the top of the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, featuring hit singles like “Jet” and the title track.

This album is often regarded as the pinnacle of Wings’ success. However, prior to his collaboration with McCartney, Laine had already established himself through a diverse range of musical experiences. In 1964, he joined forces with Mike Pinder and Ray Thomas to form the Moody Blues. Initially, they focused on covering blues songs before transitioning towards a more pop-oriented direction. Their rendition of “Go Now,” with Laine on lead vocals and guitar, topped the UK chart in 1964.

Laine embarked on some psychedelic experiments with his group, Denny Laine & the Electric String Band. Their utilisation of an amplified cello and violin quartet foreshadowed the approach later adopted by fellow Brummie Roy Wood and Electric Light Orchestra. In 1969, he joined Balls, alongside Trevor Burton, the former guitarist of the Move.

Laine, originally named Brian Hines, was born in the Channel Islands to Herbert Hines and Eva (nee Bassett). However, he spent his formative years in Tyseley, Birmingham, and attended Yardley grammar school. It was during his time there that he developed a passion for playing the guitar, with one of his main influences being the renowned jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. At the young age of 12, Laine performed solo for the first time, and later went on to form his inaugural band, Denny Laine and the Diplomats, alongside drummer Bev Bevan, who would later become a member of Electric Light Orchestra.

It wasn’t until 1971 that Laine finally found a position alongside McCartney. The two had been acquainted since the early days when the Moody Blues toured with the Beatles. McCartney had also witnessed Laine’s talent firsthand when he opened for Jimi Hendrix at the Saville theatre in London. Laine said “Because he was impressed with seeing me trying to do something different onstage with my Electric String Band, and because we became friends, that inspired him to call me because he wanted to do something new and different.”

Red Rose Speedway (1973) brought more success, securing the fifth spot in the UK. However, it was their third album, Band on the Run, that truly skyrocketed to success, claiming the number one position. Despite facing challenges such as recording in basic conditions in Lagos, Nigeria, and the departure of drummer Seiwell and guitarist Henry McCulloch prior to recording, the album was skillfully crafted amidst a whirlwind of creative chaos. Laine recalled “It was basically just me and Paul doing the backing tracks, and it was more of a relaxed approach to doing an album than if you’re going in with a band and there are all these parts. We were thrown into that as a last resort because two of the guys didn’t come to Lagos.”

Between 1997 and 2002, he embarked on a tour alongside World Classic Rockers, a renowned ensemble of rock legends led by Nick St Nicholas from Steppenwolf. Additionally, he undertook tours with his own bands, with renditions of songs by Wings and the Moody Blues. As a testament to his remarkable contributions, he was honored with induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018, recognised as a member of the Moody Blues.

The band took to Twitter to announce the surprise show, writing “London! We’re headed your way for One Night Only at Royal Albert Hall on April 14th. How has it been 3 years since we last played a show for you?!”

London! We’re headed your way for One Night Only at Royal Albert Hall on April 14th How has it been 3 years since we last played a show for you?? pic.twitter.com/ctgVSfSCRI

— Jonas Brothers (@jonasbrothers) March 10, 2023

They also posted “Let’s get it London!”

Let’s get it London! See you 14th April for the show at Royal Albert Hall Pre-order THE ALBUM at https://t.co/IWX6zduLra for early ticket access. Tickets onsale 17th March at 10am GMT! pic.twitter.com/lg14kzUJVV — Jonas Brothers (@jonasbrothers) March 10, 2023

Fans will gain access to presale tickets by preordering the new Jonas Brothers album before 14th March. Standard ticket sale starts on 17th March. Tickets can be purchased here.

The brothers announced their new project earlier this year titled The Album, due to be released on 12th May. This is the band’s sixth studio album and is reportedly “inspired by 70s influences.”

In an interview with E! News, Nick Jonas revealed, “We’re taking the roots of what our sound is, but also going back to our roots and pulling from those ‘70s influences we grew up listening to.”

They have cited The Bee Gees, Stevie Wonder and Boston as influences for their new project and have hinted at a tour to follow. Kevin Jonas said a tour “will be coming very soon.” He continued, “We are going to be doing a bunch of shows leading up to the album release as well. A lot of exciting things this year and the years to come.”

Sharing his brothers’ excitement for their new project, Joe added “A lot of things happened obviously in the last couple of years, so we never got the time to just connect, stay in one room and work on new music. To be able to do that and have that outcome that we had, we are so thrilled.”

The band released “Wings“, the first single from The Album back in February. The track teased their new 1970s inspired approach, coming in at No.91 on the UK Singles Sales chart.

The Album was originally scheduled to be released on 5th May but has been pushed back by a week. The brothers took to Instagram to announce that “Sometimes the best projects take a little longer than originally planned. We’re moving THE ALBUM release date back one week to May 12th and releasing it on vinyl too.”  

 

 

 

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Having documented their tumultuous relationship eventually leading to disbanding, fans are excited to see the Jonas Brothers ushering in another new positive era after the success of their last album, Happiness Begins.

UK fans have already shared their excitement surrounding this one night only performance in London’s iconic Royal Albert Hall.

JONAS BROTHERS AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL DOING A ONE NIGHT ONLY SHUT UPPPP

— sera (@tearsnessa) March 10, 2023

Tickets will be available to purchase here.

Preorder The Album here.

Stream “Wings” here.

And now that the album has just passed its fiftieth anniversary, the LP is due to be reissued this Friday on vinyl. Also, to further aid celebrations, an interview with McCartney from 2018 has been shared on his website, giving us some background on the making of the album and McCartney’s more recent thoughts on it. And one topic that most certainly had to come up was the influence of his old bandmate, John Lennon.

The Beatles had an uncomfortable relationship with one another after their breakup in 1970. Creative and financial disputes saw some bitter things said, both in the press and on their respective solo albums. However, the most bitter fallout was probably between the two lead songwriters, John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

Both a war of words in the press and songs on their solo albums had them locking horns, with McCartney’s Ram album criticising Lennon’s political activism and implying him to blame for the group’s end. Lennon’s response with the song “How Do You Sleep“ was even more damning, dismissing McCartney’s solo career as “muzak“, and even referencing a popular conspiracy theory in implying that McCartney was creatively spent.


By this point in time, McCartney wanted peace. Penning the song “Dear Friend“, it was a call to lay down arms against one another. It became the last track on the Wild Life LP. Speaking about it in the recently revisited interview, McCartney said “that’s sort of me talking to John after we’d had all the sort of disputes about The Beatles break up. I find it very emotional when I listen to it now. I have to sort of choke it back …. This was me reaching out. So, I think it’s very powerful in some very simple way. But it was certainly heartfelt.“

Eventually, the two did see eye to eye, even briefly recording together again for the Toot and a Snore in ’74 sessions. Sadly Lennon was shot dead in 1980 by a crazed fan, but McCartney always had their reconciliation as a source of comfort, writing the song “Here Today” in response.


If you’re interested in Wild Life’s upcoming reissue and want to celebrate it with other fans, you can join a listening party on Friday at 5 pm GMT here. If you want to pre-order it, you can look here. And if you just want to hear an important piece of history from the world’s most acclaimed rock group of all time, follow this link, and enjoy.

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The new cookbook, to be released on 24th June 2021, will feature some of McCartney’s most popular dishes as well as the family’s input of other recipes with which they grew up with. The cookbook will also contain photos of the family’s kitchen, adding an intimate family element to the new release. McCartney’s most popular recipes included in the book include Shepherd’s Pie, Chili non-Carne, Vegetarian Sausage rolls and American style pancakes.

The book’s press release states, “An original food pioneer, Linda believed in great-tasting, wholesome, meat-free food, and embraced kindness and compassion in everything she did.”

McCartney himself had this to say in a recent press release concerning the upcoming tribute to his late wife, “Years ago, before anyone had woken up to the idea of environmental and health and animal welfare issues, Linda was blazing the trail with vegetarianism, telling people about it and promoting it. At home, she would cook for the family and these recipes have been now brought up to date for a modern audience, so they’re all now plant-based and fabulous.” The singer continued to add “In the book, there are family photographs and stories from those days, and of course lots of great, beautiful-tasting healthy recipes, I hope this book inspires conversations about sustainability and about modern living amongst people besides also just giving them some great recipes to eat.”

Linda McCartney was a celebrated photographer, an icon of the ’60s and 70’s, a musician and remained a passionate animal rights activist throughout her life. Her photographs remain synonymous with the era and were published in the book ‘Linda McCartney’s Sixties: Portrait of an era in 1992’. As well as a famed photographer, McCartney was also well known as the keyboardist in Wings. McCartney formed Wings with her husband Paul McCartney after the Beatles broke up in 1971, the band’s debut album, ‘Ram’ was released in May 1971. The single ‘Uncle Albert/Admiral Halesy’ gave the band their first number one hit in America. Linda, who was an avid vegetarian cook, had several cookbooks published and is well known to have brought meat-free cuisine into the spotlight and founded the popular vegetarian food brand ‘Linda McCartney’s Foods’. McCartney was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1995 and tragically lost her life to the disease in 1998 at the young age of 56.

The McCartney’s have always strived to keep Linda’s passion alive and in tribute to Linda’s passion, Paul McCartney and their daughters took the lead with the ‘Meat Free Monday movement’ in 2009. The movement is involved with an international campaign tasked with the mission to introduce meat reduction to the world. In 2016 the family launched a cookbook to accompany their involvement in the campaign titled ‘The Meat Free Monday Cookbook’.

Click here to pre order the book.

She has also announced October tour dates in the UK, with venues in Edinburgh, Manchester and London.

Birdy’s eponymous debut album was released back in 2011, and although most of the tracks on the album were covers of other songs, she says that she’s been working on new material that “come straight from [my] heart.”

Album tracklisting:

Standard 
Wings 
Heart of Gold 
Light Me Up 
Words as Weapons 
All You Never Say 
Strange Birds 
Maybe 
No Angel 
All About You
Standing In The Way of The Light 
Shine
Deluxe
The Same
Dream
Older
Home

Tour dates are as follows:

Oct 28: Queens Hall, Edinburgh

Oct 30: Manchester Academy

Oct 31: Kentish Town Forum, London