Recording: Don't Let It Bring You Down by Wings – 25 May 1977

Wednesday 25 May 1977 | Paul McCartney, Studio, Wings
Fair Carol, St John, US Virgin Islands

Producer: Paul McCartney | Engineers: Geoff Emerick, Mark Vigars

Wings continued recording 'Don't Let It Bring You Down' — a track destined for the London Town album — on 25 May 1977, aboard the yacht Fair Carol anchored off St John in the US Virgin Islands. Work on the song had begun the previous day, though those early attempts were closer to rehearsals than serious recording. On 25 May, the group filled three tape reels with new attempts. McCartney initially declared none of them satisfactory — but one was later identified as the master take. The session closed with an extended jam that ranged from McCartney originals to jazz standards and folk songs.

Recording on the Water: Fair Carol and the London Town Sessions

The London Town sessions were among the most unconventional in Wings' recording history. Rather than working in a conventional studio, McCartney chartered the Fair Carol — a large motor yacht — and had it fitted with a mobile recording setup. The group recorded in the Caribbean, anchored off the Virgin Islands, in a deliberate attempt to escape the pressures of the music industry and find a more relaxed, creative environment.

The approach had precedent in rock history — the Rolling Stones had famously recorded Exile on Main St. in a mobile studio in the south of France in 1971 — but recording on a yacht in the Caribbean was a distinctly McCartney-esque variation on the theme. The logistical challenges were considerable: maintaining equipment in a humid marine environment, managing power supplies, and working around the rhythms of life aboard a boat. The results, however, were some of the most atmospheric recordings in the Wings catalogue.

Engineer Geoff Emerick — who had been The Beatles' balance engineer at Abbey Road from Revolver onwards and had worked closely with McCartney throughout his solo career — handled the technical side alongside Mark Vigars. Emerick's ability to capture clean, professional recordings in unconventional environments was a significant asset to the sessions.

'Don't Let It Bring You Down'

'Don't Let It Bring You Down' is a McCartney original — a warm, melodically generous song that fits comfortably within the softer, more reflective register of the London Town album. The recording process illustrated a familiar McCartney dynamic in the studio: an instinctive dissatisfaction with takes that were later reassessed more favourably. His initial verdict that none of the 25 May attempts were satisfactory proved incorrect — one of the three reels recorded that day contained the master take that would appear on the finished album.

London Town was released in March 1978. It reached number four in the UK and number two in the US, and produced the hit single 'With A Little Luck', which reached number one in the US and number five in the UK.

The Jam Session

The session on 25 May ended with an extended jam — a loose, exploratory run through a wide range of material that gives a vivid picture of the musical world Wings inhabited when the tape was rolling informally. The songs performed included:

• 'Wide Prairie' — a Linda McCartney composition that would eventually be released posthumously on her 1998 album Wide Prairie, the year after her death
• 'Easter Parade' — the Irving Berlin standard from 1933, a perennial favourite in the McCartney household
• 'Rock Away The Blues'
• 'Till There Was You' — the Meredith Willson song from The Music Man (1957), which The Beatles had recorded for With The Beatles in 1963 and performed on the Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964
• 'You Are My Sunshine' — the American folk and country standard, written by Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell in 1939
• 'Monkey Song'
• 'Train Song'
• 'The Lady Is A Tramp' — the Rodgers and Hart standard from the 1937 musical Babes in Arms, a staple of the American songbook

The range of the jam — from a Linda McCartney original to Irving Berlin, Rodgers and Hart, and a song The Beatles had recorded fourteen years earlier — is characteristic of McCartney's musical omnivourousness. He has always moved freely between rock and roll, music hall, jazz standards, and classical influences, and informal sessions like this one reveal the breadth of the repertoire he carries.

The London Town Lineup

By the time of the London Town sessions in 1977, Wings had been reduced to a trio. Jimmy McCulloch and Joe English had both left the group in September 1977 — after the Virgin Islands sessions but before the album was completed — meaning that London Town was largely a McCartney, Linda, and Denny Laine record, augmented by session musicians. The core recording trio on the Fair Carol sessions were:

• Paul McCartney — vocals, bass guitar, guitar, keyboards
• Linda McCartney — vocals, keyboards
• Denny Laine — vocals, guitar, bass guitar
• Jimmy McCulloch — guitar (still with the group at this point)
• Joe English — drums (still with the group at this point)

Key Facts: 25 May 1977

• Song: 'Don't Let It Bring You Down'
• Album: London Town (released March 1978)
• Location: Fair Carol (yacht), St John, US Virgin Islands
• Producer: Paul McCartney
• Engineers: Geoff Emerick, Mark Vigars
• Tape reels recorded: 3
• Master take: Identified retrospectively from the 25 May recordings
• Session end: Extended jam including 'Wide Prairie', 'Easter Parade', 'Till There Was You', 'You Are My Sunshine', 'The Lady Is A Tramp'
• London Town UK chart peak: Number 4
• London Town US chart peak: Number 2

Frequently Asked Questions

What is London Town?

Wings' sixth studio album, released in March 1978. Largely recorded aboard the yacht Fair Carol in the US Virgin Islands in 1977, it reached number four in the UK and number two in the US, and produced the US number one single 'With A Little Luck'.

Why did Wings record on a yacht?

McCartney chartered the Fair Carol and had it fitted with a mobile recording setup as a way of escaping the pressures of the music industry and working in a more relaxed, creative environment. The Caribbean location was both a practical and an aesthetic choice.

Who was Geoff Emerick?

Geoff Emerick (1945–2018) was The Beatles' balance engineer at Abbey Road from Revolver (1966) onwards, and one of the most important figures in the history of recorded sound. He worked closely with McCartney throughout his solo and Wings career. He won four Grammy Awards for engineering.

What is 'Wide Prairie'?

A song written by Linda McCartney, performed during the jam session on 25 May 1977. It was released posthumously on Linda McCartney's album Wide Prairie in 1998, the year after her death from breast cancer.

What is the connection between 'Till There Was You' and The Beatles?

The Beatles recorded 'Till There Was You' — from the 1957 musical The Music Man — for their 1963 album With The Beatles, and performed it on the Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964. McCartney sang lead. Its appearance in the 1977 jam session reflects his enduring affection for the pre-rock American songbook.

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