Recording: Girls School, Famous Groupies by Wings – 3 August 1977

August 4, 2026

Wednesday 3 August 1977 | Spirit of Ranachan Studio, Low Ranachan Farm, Campbeltown, Scotland

On 3 August 1977, following a two-month break, Wings resumed sessions for their sixth studio album London Town at the newly converted Spirit of Ranachan Studio on the McCartneys' Low Ranachan Farm in Campbeltown, Scotland. The session was produced by Paul McCartney, with engineers Geoff Emerick and Mark Vigars. Overdubs were recorded for Girls School and Famous Groupies.

The Spirit of Ranachan Studio

The previous month, Paul McCartney had commissioned designers Steve Thomas and Tim Whitmore to convert a barn on Low Ranachan Farm into a recording studio. The pair had recently renovated MPL's offices in Soho Square, London, and McCartney gave them one month to complete the Scottish conversion. Thomas oversaw the project, contracting local building firm Weir, Ferguson, Martin Ltd to finish the work on time.

The building work was completed by the final weekend of July 1977, but the installation of recording equipment would take longer. In the interim, McCartney hired the RAK Mobile Recording Unit from producer Mickie Most, run by Doug Hopkins and Tim Summerhayes. Although the RAK studio was normally housed in an air-conditioned truck, Hopkins and Summerhayes were able to install it in a second location within a single day, working with Emerick and Vigars to ready the studio control room.

An afternoon jam session on 2 August 1977 was held to iron out any technical issues and allow Wings to acclimatise to their new surroundings before the formal sessions began the following day.

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What Was Recorded

Date	Wednesday 3 August 1977
Studio	Spirit of Ranachan Studio, Low Ranachan Farm, Campbeltown, Scotland
Producer	Paul McCartney
Engineers	Geoff Emerick, Mark Vigars
Songs worked on	Girls School (overdubs on 14 March remake), Famous Groupies (overdubs)
Album	London Town (released March 1978)

Girls School

Wings began the session by recording overdubs for the 14 March remake of Girls School. The track would later be released as the B-side to Mull of Kintyre in November 1977 — one of the best-selling UK singles of all time.

Famous Groupies

Work then turned to Famous Groupies. Jimmy McCulloch added lead and slide guitar parts, Denny Laine recorded acoustic guitar during the choruses, and Joe English performed a bongo overdub. McCartney then double-tracked his lead vocals, and the whole band added harmony vocals.

The session was not without tension. Engineer Geoff Emerick later recalled a confrontation with McCulloch over the guitar solo:

“Paul and I were discussing the guitar solo, and there was an issue with the guitar solo that Jimmy had started. And I said, ‘Well, he should do this, or he should do that.’ Paul said, ‘Go out and tell him.’ I made a remark to Jimmy [and] he was very obnoxious. He swore at me, because he’d been drinking and I asked him to do something… I didn’t take it personally because these musicians are under so much pressure, they need an outlet, whether it’s drinking or drugs. You’ve seen it happen to so many artists.”

— Geoff Emerick, The McCartney Legacy: Volume 2: 1974–80

Low Ranachan Farm, Campbeltown, Kintyre, Scotland — home of the Spirit of Ranachan Studio, where Wings recorded parts of London Town in August 1977.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Where was the Spirit of Ranachan Studio?

The Spirit of Ranachan Studio was a recording studio converted from a barn on the McCartneys' Low Ranachan Farm in Campbeltown, Kintyre, Scotland. It was built in the summer of 1977 for the London Town recording sessions.

What Wings album was recorded at Campbeltown in 1977?

Wings recorded parts of their sixth studio album London Town at the Spirit of Ranachan Studio in Campbeltown in August 1977. The album was released in March 1978.

What happened to Girls School after the London Town sessions?

Girls School was released as the B-side to Mull of Kintyre in November 1977. The double A-side single became one of the best-selling UK singles of all time, spending nine weeks at number one.

Who was Jimmy McCulloch?

Jimmy McCulloch was the lead guitarist of Wings from 1974 to 1977. He played on the Band on the Run tour, Wings at the Speed of Sound, and the London Town sessions before leaving the band in September 1977. He died in September 1979 at the age of 26.