Video: 'James Paul McCartney TV Special 1973'

(Thursday, February 22, 1973) — Former Beatle Paul McCartney and his new British-American group, Wings, gathered today at Elstree Studios, in the London suburb of Borehamwood, to begin rehearsing for the production of James Paul McCartney, a television special produced by ATV.

At this point, rehearsals were mainly a matter of running through the songs that Wings would perform in the show, both in staged studio performances and in a concert sequence that was scheduled to be filmed live at Elstree on Mar. 18, 1973.

The studio performances were to be lip-synched, so these rehearsal sessions were recorded for the show’s soundtrack. A letter from the Wings Fun Club went out on March 8, inviting members to request tickets for the live concert.

Video: '"JAMES PAUL McCARTNEY" - (1973 TV Special)'

McCartney agreed to star in a television special for the British ATV company in order to settle his two-year legal dispute with Sir Lew Grade. As the owner of the network and its music publishing division – and, by extension, the Beatles’ Northern Songs catalog – Grade had objected to McCartney crediting his wife Linda as his co-writer since 1971, citing her lack of professional experience as a songwriter and musician.

McCartney’s commitment to the television project allowed him to retain the second composer’s publishing royalties, which otherwise would have been assigned to Grade’s company.