The Beatles and Wings and ‘Success’.

For the Beatles, the most famous “we’ve made it” moment was Paris, January 1964. They were three weeks into a residency at the Olympia, holed up at the George V, when Brian Epstein burst in waving a telegram: “I Want to Hold Your Hand” had hit number one in America. By all accounts they jumped on each other’s backs and ran around the room hollering. They’d long since conquered Britain by then-the Palladium in October ‘63, the Royal Variety Performance (“rattle your jewellery”) in November-but cracking America was the prize no British act had ever managed. Paul has pointed to that Paris cable in interview after interview as the moment.

Wings is a more poignant story, because Paul deliberately made it harder for himself. The famous van tour of British universities in February 1972- just turning up at student unions and asking if they could play that night-was him refusing to coast on Beatles credit. The early reviews were savage. Wild Life was dismissed; Red Rose Speedway limped over the line on the back of “My Love.” The moment Wings became Wings rather than “Paul McCartney’s new band” was Band on the Run in December 1973. Number one everywhere, critics suddenly contrite, and Paul has said many times it was the vindication he’d been chasing. The real magic was probably Wings Over America in 1976 -his first US tour since ‘66 -when he could finally walk into a stadium of people who’d come specifically to see Wings, and play “Yesterday” on his own terms.

Two very different arcs: the Beatles ambushed by success, Paul climbing back up the hill on purpose.