OTR: ‘Band on the Run’ cover features a plethora of people – The Sanford Herald

Q: Can you give me the identities of the people on the cover of Band on the Run? Ive always liked the cover.

A: Paul McCartney & Wings 1974 album is widely considered to be one of McCartneys finest releases as a solo artist. The nine people caught in a prison spotlight are Michael Parkinson, Kenny Lynch, Paul McCartney, James Coburn, Clement Freud, Linda McCartney, Christopher Lee, Wings guitarist Denny Laine, and John Conteh. Now 86, Parkinson is a British journalist and is considered to be among the greatest British talk-show hosts. Lynch, who died in December 2019 at the age of 81, was a British actor and singer who had a few hits in the 60s. In 1963, he was part of the Beatles first British tour and recorded the first cover version of a Lennon/McCartney song, Misery. Coburn was an American actor who enjoyed a 45-year career in movies and television. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1998 for his performance in the movie Affliction. He died in 2002 at the age of 74. Freud was the grandson of Sigmund Freud and enjoyed a varied career as a chef, writer, Member of Parliament, and star of the British radio show Just a Minute. He died in 2009 at the age of 84. Lee was a British actor who starred as Scaramanga in the James Bond movie, The Man with the Golden Gun, Saraman in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Count Dooku in the Star Wars movies. He died in 2015 at the age of 93. Conteh, 70, is a former boxer from Liverpool who became the world light-heavyweight champion in the mid-70s. He retired from boxing in 1980 with a record of 34 wins, 1 draw and 4 losses. Laine, 76, remained with Wings until it disbanded in 1981. He was inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame in 2018 as a former member of the Moody Blues, of which he was a member from 1964-66. The photo that appears on the cover was taken in October 1973 at Osterley Park in London.

Q: Ive always loved the song Alison by Elvis Costello. Do you know if Alison is a real person or not?

A: Elvis Costello, whose real name is Declan MacManus, has always been cagey when discussing the creative inspiration for this song. Its repeated refrain served as the title to his excellent 1977 debut album, My Aim Is True. The album opens with the snarling, Welcome to the Working Week, and features such standout songs as (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes, Watching the Detectives, and Less Than Zero, among others. In the liner notes accompanying his 1989 double CD collection entitled, Girls Girls Girls, Costello cryptically wrote, Much could be undone by saying more, but this track does contain a secret tribute to The Detroit Spinners. In May 1996, Costello appeared on VH1s Storytellers show. When introducing Alison, he reportedly said that it was about a girl he knew who worked in a grocery store. However, in his 2015 memoir, Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink, Costello offers his most detailed, public explanation of the song. He confirms the song was written in a daydream about a beautiful checkout girl at the local supermarketlooking as if all the hopes and dreams of her youth were draining away. He chose the name Alison because he needed a name that sounded like a girl anyone might know. But Costello goes further and acknowledges that he now regards the song to be a premonition, my fear that I would not be faithful or that my disbelief in happy endings would lead me to kill the love that I had longed for.

Send your questions about songs, albums, and the musicians who make them to MusicOnTheRecord@gmail.com..

Whats the name of that song? Where are they now? What does that lyric mean? Send your questions about songs, albums, and the musicians who make them to MusicOnTheRecord@gmail.com. Bradford Brady and John Maron are freelance music writers based in Raleigh.

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OTR: 'Band on the Run' cover features a plethora of people - The Sanford Herald

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero