After recording Band on the Run as a three-piece with wife Linda McCartney and guitarist Denny Laine, McCartney recruited guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and drummer Geoff Britton to the band in 1974. Recording sessions for the album took place in London, New Orleans and Los Angeles in November 1974 and early 1975. During the sessions, personal tensions caused Britton to quit after six months, forcing the band to recruit American drummer Joe English to finish the album.
Preceded by the single "Listen to What the Man Said", Venus and Mars peaked at number 1 in the US, the UK and other countries around the world. It also received mostly favourable reviews from music critics but was ultimately considered inferior to its predecessor. The album was reissued with bonus tracks in 1987 on CD and in 1993 as part of The Paul McCartney Collection. It was remastered in 2014 and released as a deluxe edition with bonus tracks and unreleased material.
Two additional singles, "Letting Go" and "Venus and Mars/Rock Show", were released. Although the latter almost reached the US top ten,[19] it did not chart at all in the UK.
It was the lead single from Wings’ 4th album Venus and Mars.
The recording was credited to Paul McCartney and Wings, the first time his name had received top billing alongside the group.
Before this album, the song ‘My Love’ was the blockbuster hit Wings needed. It topped the US Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks, and reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart. It was also a top ten hit in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Norway.
