McCartney mourns death of Wings guitarist Henry McCullough

Paul McCartney has paid tribute to former bandmate, Henry McCullough who died yesterday, aged 72.

The Northern Irish guitarist and songwriter spent two years with McCartney’s group Wings in the early 1970s and along with Denny Seiwell was infamously one of two members of the band who quit just before they were supposed to fly out to Lagos to record Band on the Run.

In Garry McGee’s 2003 book Band On The Run: A History of Paul McCartney and Wings, Paul is quoted as saying “Henry preferred to lead a more bluesy way of life and he left over musical differences. He was very good at the other stuff, but more into blues.”

McCullough played lead guitar on Hi Hi Hi, Live and Let Die and most memorably the 1973 single My Love. It’s his voice that can be heard at the end of Pink Floyd‘s Money, saying “I don’t know; I was really drunk at the time”.

Henry joined the Frankie Miller Band in 1975 and thereafter enjoyed a successful career as a session musician, playing live with artists such as Roy Harper, Ronnie Lane, Marianne Faithful and Donovan. He released a number of solo albums over the years, including 2002’s Unfinished Business and Poor Man’s Moon from 2008. His last was Shabby Road in 2012, the year he suffered a heart attack from which he would, ultimately, never make a full recovery.

Paul McCartney left this message on his website yesterday:

“I was very sad to hear that Henry McCullough, our great Wings guitarist, passed away today. He was a pleasure to work with, a super-talented musician with a lovely sense of humour. The solo he played on ‘My Love’ was a classic that he made up on the spot in front of a live orchestra. Our deepest sympathies from my family to his.“