Paul McCartney and Wings’ ‘Venus and Mars’ Gets 50th Anniversary Reissue
A new half-speed master edition has been cut from the original 1975 master tapes.
In honor of its 50th anniversary in March, Paul McCartney and Wings’ celebrated fourth album Venus and Mars is getting a special-edition reissue.
Originally released on May 27, 1975, Venus and Mars marked a peak in the band’s creative and commercial success, following the chart-topping success of Band on the Run. The first sessions, held in 1974, highlighted a revamped lineup, with guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and drummer Geoff Britton stepping in to replace Denny Seiwell and Henry McCullough. They joined Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney, and Denny Laine.
Set to release on March 21st, the new half-speed master edition has been cut from the original 1975 master tapes by renowned Abbey Road engineer Miles Showell. The LP set will also feature two posters featuring photography from Aubrey Powell and Sylvia de Swaan, as well as the original Hipgnosis-designed album artwork in a gatefold sleeve. It’s also available in Dolby Atmos for the first time, with a new mix from Giles Martin and Steve Orchard.
The original album was recorded between London’s Abbey Road Studios and New Orleans’ Sea Saint Studios. It featured classics like the No. 1 single “Listen to What the Man Said” and well-loved hit “Letting Go.” Venus and Mars ultimately sold over four million copies worldwide and laid the groundwork for the band’s year-long Wings Over the World tour, which ran through 1976.
This anniversary edition—Wings’ first new release of 2025—arrives less than a year after the release of the 50th-anniversary edition of Band on the Run and the in-studio performance film One Hand Clapping. The latter, which was released alongside a complementary soundtrack, made it onto Best of 2024 lists from publications like Billboard and the Los Angeles Times.
