If you've been part of the biggest band in the world for ten years, what do you do when that comes to an end? We know how John Lennon coped with it but in Paul McCartney's case, he first recorded a deeply personal solo album on basic home recording equipment in his spare room before disappearing to a remote Scottish farmhouse with his new wife Linda. The album was something of a disappointment to bemused fans, but it wasn't long before he felt the urge to get back to work and spread his musical wings again.
This documentary covers the period from the breakup of the Beatles to the slow winding down of McCartney's band Wings in 1980, using some rare footage and giving insights into Paul and Linda's life together. There's a lot to enjoy here, with music from the various evolutions of Wings as they went from doing surprise gigs in student unions, to recording an album in a ramshackle studio in Lagos, to playing Madison Square Gardens amidst fevered rumours of a Beatles reunion.
I remember some of the cruel jokes about Linda only being in Wings because she was married to Paul, but it's clear from this that she worked extremely hard to make music as well as running a farm and being a mum to their four children. It was also good to learn that after the pain of the Beatles split that Paul and John finally rekindled their friendship in private, although they were robbed of the chance to make music together again.
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