Rare, Emotional Wings Track to Be Released

April 1, 2025. Nearly 45 years after their sudden breakup, Wings, Paul McCartney’s award-winning post-Beatles band, is set to release their final song. The song, entitled “Itch and Scratch,” is based on a newly discovered tape of a 1978 Wings demo recording and features the core Wings lineup of Paul, his wife Linda, and Denny Laine.

“I was organizing material for a future London Town box set,” said McCartney archivist Sarah Brown, “when I came across a dusty cassette tape labeled ‘Itch and Scratch’ in Linda’s handwriting. There is no record of a song by that name in the Wings archives, so I got very excited. Unfortunately, when I played the tape for Paul, all we heard was static. But Paul thought he could turn it into a song. And he did!”

Working from the demo tape, McCartney crafted a ballad that would fit comfortably on any Wings album with poignant lyrics on par with McCartney’s best work.

“When Sarah played me the tape,” said McCartney, “it somehow reminded me of the wind blowing across the Scottish hills that surround my farm. I have so many wonderful memories of rehearsing with Denny and Linda in the barn there. It wasn’t hard for me to come up with the lyrics: ‘Old croft house/Roof with thatch/You give me an itch/And I just want to scratch.’”

The original tape was sent to Peter Jackson, who utilized the same technology he employed to turn a John Lennon demo into the Grammy®-winning Beatles song “Now and Then.” Producer Giles Martin was able to extract Linda’s synthesizer parts from other Wings tracks, as well as backing vocals from Laine, to complement the other instruments (all played by Paul).

McCartney invited one additional musician to appear on the track, Ringo Starr. “I had always wanted to play with Wings,” said Starr. “I’m thrilled that I finally get the chance!” The result is another – and most likely final – Wings classic.

“Itch and Scratch” will be released in multiple formats, including an online exclusive 4LP/2 CD/Blu-Ray box featuring multiple mixes of the song (including Dolby Atmos®), a making-of documentary, and a CD of covers of the song by other musicians, such as St. Vincent, Beck, and boygenius.  The box also includes a container of MPL-branded calamine lotion. You can hear an exclusive preview of “Itch and Scratch” here.

-Scott Freiman