146-563: Working Classical is Paul McCartney 's third full-length release of original classical music as a double LP and as a single CD, and was issued less than a month after Run Devil Run ' s release in 1999. Following up on 1997's Standing Stone , the concept behind Working Classical was to place pre-existing (and in some cases, very well known) McCartney songs into an orchestral context. Specially for this project, McCartney also unveiled some new pieces, namely "Haymakers", "Midwife", "Spiral" and "Tuesday". A different performance of " A Leaf "
292-837: A Liver bird holding an acoustic guitar in its claw, reflects his background in Liverpool and his musical career. The shield includes four curved emblems which resemble beetles ' backs. The arms' motto is Ecce Cor Meum , Latin for "Behold My Heart". In 2003, the McCartneys had a child, Beatrice Milly. In July 2005, he performed at the Live ;8 event in Hyde Park , London, opening the show with " Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band " (with U2 ) and closing it with " Drive My Car " (with George Michael ), " Helter Skelter ", and " The Long and Winding Road ". In September, he released
438-456: A string quartet . Included on the Help! LP, the song was the group's first recorded use of classical music elements and their first recording that involved only a single band member. "Yesterday" became one of the most covered songs in popular music history. Later that year, during recording sessions for the album Rubber Soul , McCartney began to supplant Lennon as the dominant musical force in
584-630: A tour of small European venues . Although this was the first tour including an ex-Beatle after the Beatles broke up, Wings played no Beatles numbers during the tour, to show that it was a new band in its own right. In February 1972, Wings released a single called " Give Ireland Back to the Irish ", a response to the events of Bloody Sunday . The song was banned by the BBC for its anti- Unionist political stance. Despite limited airplay, it reached number 16 in
730-932: A Beatlefest (renamed Fest for Beatles Fans) convention in Las Vegas . Among other songs, they performed "Band on the Run", "Mull of Kintyre" and "Go Now". Laine and Seiwell appeared again at the Fest for Beatles Fans in Secaucus, New Jersey , in March 2010 and were joined by Juber at the Fest in Chicago in August 2010. Laine, Juber and Seiwell performed together at the Fest for Beatles Fans in Los Angeles, California, in October 2014;
876-451: A TV special, the critically maligned James Paul McCartney , which featured footage of the group performing in outdoor settings and in front of a studio audience. After a successful British tour in May–June 1973, Wings went into rehearsals for their next album. McCullough and Seiwell abruptly left the band in August, however, at the end of rehearsals. Both musicians were disenchanted with
1022-437: A US tour were subsequently dropped. Meanwhile, Denny Laine released the single "Japanese Tears" and formed the short-lived Denny Laine Band with Steve Holley and released a solo album Japanese Tears that December. By 1980, McCartney was growing weary of maintaining Wings and his personal and professional aspirations began to diverge from the group. The McCartneys now had three school-age children and had moved out of London to
1168-536: A bassist with the Beatles, he played a number of other instruments, including keyboards, guitars, and drums, on various songs. After the Beatles disbanded , he debuted as a solo artist with the 1970 album McCartney and went on to form the band Wings with his first wife, Linda , and Denny Laine . Under McCartney's leadership, Wings became one of the most successful bands of the 1970s. He wrote or co-wrote their US or UK number-one hits, such as " My Love ", " Band on
1314-416: A bicycle to her patients; McCartney described an early memory of her leaving at "about three in the morning [the] streets ... thick with snow". On 31 October 1956, when McCartney was 14, his mother died of an embolism as a complication of surgery for breast cancer. McCartney's loss later became a connection with John Lennon , whose mother, Julia , died in 1958 when Lennon was 17. McCartney's father
1460-528: A bit, but it's silly to fight that discipline if it's our own". In March 1969, McCartney married his first wife, Linda Eastman , and in August, the couple had their first child, Mary , named after his late mother. Abbey Road was the band's last recorded album, and Martin suggested "a continuously moving piece of music", urging the group to think symphonically . McCartney agreed, but Lennon did not. They eventually compromised, agreeing to McCartney's suggestion: an LP featuring individual songs on side one and
1606-652: A co-writing credit beside the McCartneys. Band on the Run enjoyed a highly favourable response from music critics and restored McCartney's tarnished post-Beatles image. After Band on the Run , Jimmy McCulloch , former lead guitarist in Thunderclap Newman and Stone the Crows , joined the band. The first Wings project with McCulloch was McGear , a 1974 collaboration between Paul and his younger brother Mike McGear , with session musician Gerry Conway playing drums. Warner Bros. Records chose not to play up
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#17327907658271752-488: A degree of creative freedom. In an interview, Juber, Wings' third lead guitarist, said, "I was a sideman, but the job assignment very much included considering myself a part of the band ... In all its incarnations Wings sounded like a band, not like a solo McCartney project and I think that reflects well not only on Paul's ability to share in the creative process, but also on the importance of Denny and Linda's contributions, too. The other players brought their own personalities to
1898-403: A four-year break, he returned to touring and has since performed over 80 shows. More than forty-five years after the Beatles first appeared on American television during The Ed Sullivan Show , he returned to the same New York theatre to perform on Late Show with David Letterman . On 9 September 2009, EMI reissued the Beatles catalogue following a four-year digital remastering effort, releasing
2044-665: A live version of the McCartney II track " Coming Up " was recorded in Glasgow and became Wings' sixth US number one hit the following year. Paul McCartney and his family arrived in Japan on 16 January 1980 for the planned eleven-date Wings' concert tour of Japan (due to visit Budokan Hall, Tokyo from 21 to 24 January 1980; Aichi-Ken, Taiiku-Kan, Nagoya on 25–26; Festival Hall, Osaka on 28; Osaka Furitsu-Kan, Osaka on 29; Budokan Hall, Tokyo from 31 January to 2 February 1980). McCartney
2190-525: A long medley on side two. In October 1969, a rumour surfaced that McCartney had died in a car crash in 1966 and was replaced by a lookalike, but this was quickly refuted when a November Life magazine cover featured him and his family, accompanied by the caption "Paul is still with us". John Lennon privately left the Beatles in September 1969, though agreed not to go public with the information to not jeopardise ongoing business negotiations. McCartney
2336-531: A markedly softer-rock, synth-based sound than previous Wings albums. " With a Little Luck " reached number 1 in the US and number 5 in the UK, but " I've Had Enough " and " London Town " were commercial disappointments in both countries. Later in 1978, lead guitarist Laurence Juber and drummer Steve Holley joined the band, restoring Wings to touring strength. In 1979, McCartney signed a new record contract, leaving Capitol,
2482-471: A music video game called The Beatles: Rock Band the same day. McCartney's enduring fame has made him a popular choice to open new venues. In 2009, he performed three sold-out concerts at the newly built Citi Field , a venue constructed to replace Shea Stadium in Queens , New York. These performances yielded the double live album Good Evening New York City later that year. In 2010, McCartney opened
2628-506: A musical piece by him to celebrate its sesquicentennial . He collaborated with composer Carl Davis , producing Liverpool Oratorio . The performance featured opera singers Kiri Te Kanawa , Sally Burgess, Jerry Hadley and Willard White with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the choir of Liverpool Cathedral . Reviews were negative. The Guardian was especially critical, describing
2774-438: A nickel-plated trumpet from his father for his fourteenth birthday, but when rock and roll became popular on Radio Luxembourg , McCartney traded it for a £15 Framus Zenith (model 17) acoustic guitar , since he wanted to be able to sing while playing. He found it difficult to play guitar right-handed, but after noticing a poster advertising a Slim Whitman concert and realising that Whitman played left-handed, he reversed
2920-471: A possible loss of well over 100 million yen. The promoters had no option but to cancel all of the tour dates the day after McCartney's arrest. The other band members of Wings, except Linda, left Japan and returned to England on 21 January 1980. McCartney spent ten days in jail before being (unexpectedly) released without charge on 25 January 1980 and deported. After returning to England, McCartney decided to release his solo album McCartney II and plans for
3066-740: A record 32 songs that have topped the Billboard Hot 100 and, as of 2009 , he had sales of 25.5 million RIAA-certified units in the US. His honours include two inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as a member of the Beatles in 1988 and as a solo artist in 1999), an Academy Award , a Primetime Emmy Award , 18 Grammy Awards , an appointment as a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1965, and an appointment as Knight Bachelor in 1997 for services to music. As of 2024, he
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#17327907658273212-501: A reissue in aid of the Terrence Higgins Trust ), and it ranked fourth in the official list of all-time best-selling singles in the UK issued in 2002. In 2001, Wingspan: Hits and History was released, a project spanning an album and a television special retrospective. Founding member Denny Laine died on 5 December 2023, at the age of 79. In 2024, One Hand Clapping , a live-in-studio album recorded in 1974,
3358-465: A selection of acoustic-only songs on MTV Unplugged and released a live album of the performance titled Unplugged (The Official Bootleg) . During the 1990s, McCartney collaborated twice with Youth of Killing Joke as the musical duo "the Fireman" . The two released their first electronica album together, Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest , in 1993. McCartney released the rock album Off
3504-562: A set that included "Let It Be" and "Live and Let Die". He closed the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London on 27 July, singing " The End " and " Hey Jude " and inviting the audience to join in on the coda . Having donated his time, he received £1 from the Olympic organisers. On 12 December 2012, McCartney performed with three former members of Nirvana ( Krist Novoselic , Dave Grohl , and guest member Pat Smear ) during
3650-584: A short promotional film for the song, and another for its B-side, " Rain ". The films, described by Harrison as "the forerunner of videos ", aired on The Ed Sullivan Show and Top of the Pops in June 1966. Revolver also included McCartney's " Eleanor Rigby ", which featured a string octet . According to Jonathan Gould, the song is "a neoclassical tour de force ... a true hybrid, conforming to no recognizable style or genre of song". Except for some backing vocals,
3796-686: A song for the comedic feature film Spies Like Us . He composed and recorded the track in four days, with Phil Ramone co-producing. McCartney participated in Live Aid , performing "Let it Be", but technical difficulties rendered his vocals and piano barely audible for the first two verses, punctuated by squeals of feedback . Equipment technicians resolved the problems and David Bowie , Alison Moyet , Pete Townshend and Bob Geldof joined McCartney on stage, receiving an enthusiastic crowd reaction. McCartney collaborated with Eric Stewart on Press to Play (1986), with Stewart co-writing more than half
3942-544: A song written years before by Paul's father James. Wings (with guest musicians Chet Atkins and Floyd Cramer) recorded it during the sessions for Junior's Farm . Suzy and the Red Stripes was a pseudonym used by the group for the release of the Linda McCartney and Wings single " Seaside Woman " in 1977. It was written and sung by Linda McCartney. It was the only release by Wings under that name. Linda said that
4088-494: A teenager, having been influenced by his father, a jazz player, and rock and roll performers such as Little Richard and Buddy Holly . He began his career when he joined Lennon's skiffle group, the Quarrymen , in 1957, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960. Sometimes called "the cute Beatle", McCartney later immersed himself in the London avant-garde scene and played a key role in incorporating experimental aesthetics into
4234-473: A void, which left the Beatles perplexed and concerned about their future. McCartney stepped in to fill that void and gradually became the de facto leader and business manager of the group that Lennon had once led. In his first creative suggestion after this change of leadership, McCartney proposed that the band move forward on their plans to produce a film for television, which was to become Magical Mystery Tour . According to Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn ,
4380-527: A year earlier. It was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 10 April 1999, and was organised by two of her close friends, Chrissie Hynde and Carla Lane . Also during 1999, he continued his experimentation with orchestral music on Working Classical . In 2000, he released the electronica album Liverpool Sound Collage with Super Furry Animals and Youth, using the sound collage and musique concrète techniques that had fascinated him in
4526-404: Is a one-man album, with McCartney providing compositions, instrumentation and vocals. In 1971, he collaborated with Linda and drummer Denny Seiwell on a second album, Ram . A UK number one and a US top five, Ram included the co-written US number-one hit single " Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey ". Later that year, ex-Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine joined the McCartneys and Seiwell to form
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4672-618: Is one of the wealthiest musicians in the world, with an estimated fortune of £1 billion. McCartney was born on 18 June 1942 at Walton Hospital in the Walton area of Liverpool , where his mother, Mary Patricia ( née Mohin), had qualified to practise as a nurse. Both of his parents were of Irish descent. McCartney has a younger brother, Peter Michael , and a younger stepsister, Ruth, born to his father Jim's second wife, Angie, during her first marriage. Paul and Michael were baptised in their mother's Catholic faith, even though their father
4818-411: Is proud of them. Mirroring this ideology is his pride in his rock and roll songs and willingness to transfer them into the "elevated" classical music genre. Paul McCartney's Working Classical was another success in that genre, even though this time it failed to dent the regular US album charts, and was better received critically than his previous effort, Standing Stone . His subsequent forays into
4964-555: The McGear album, as well as McGear's band the Scaffold on the single "Liverpool Lou" and its B-side "Ten Years After on Strawberry Jam". Paul McCartney also used three unreleased Wings songs as B-sides of his solo singles several years after Wings' break-up. Wings' 1977 single "Mull of Kintyre"/"Girls School" is still the biggest-selling non-charity single in the UK (although Queen 's " Bohemian Rhapsody " sold more, its sales include
5110-642: The Tug of War sessions in Montserrat in February 1981 but his relationship with McCartney had become strained over business and personal matters. Laine had begun to feel that he was not being adequately compensated for his role in Wings, and was particularly bitter that he was employed as a contract writer on "Mull of Kintyre", a song he co-wrote with McCartney. He had been paid a flat fee for his contributions so when
5256-687: The Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania; it was his first concert in Pittsburgh since 1990 due to the old Civic Arena being deemed unsuitable for McCartney's logistical needs. In July 2011, McCartney performed at two sold-out concerts at the new Yankee Stadium . A New York Times review of the first concert reported that McCartney was "not saying goodbye but touring stadiums and playing marathon concerts". In August 2011, McCartney left EMI and signed with Decca Records ,
5402-502: The Ram sessions and was originally intended as a two-record set. After producer Glyn Johns had walked out on the project, however, McCartney conceded to EMI 's opinion that the material was "substandard" and cut it down to a single disc. Among the unreleased songs from the seven-month sessions was the Linda composition "Seaside Woman", which was finally issued in 1977, credited to "Suzy and
5548-487: The Royal College of Music —"kind of amazing for somebody who doesn't read a note of music", commented McCartney. In 1997, McCartney released the rock album Flaming Pie . Starr appeared on drums and backing vocals in " Beautiful Night ". Later that year, he released the classical work Standing Stone , which topped the UK and US classical charts. In 1998, he released Rushes , the second electronica album by
5694-465: The Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band , standing with a host of celebrities . The cover piqued a frenzy of analysis. After Brian died ... Paul took over and supposedly led us you know ... we went round in circles ... We broke up then. That was the disintegration. I thought, 'we've fuckin' had it.' — John Lennon, Rolling Stone magazine, 1970 Epstein's death in August 1967 created
5840-683: The Wings Over the World tour , following a postponement to allow McCulloch to recuperate from a hand fracture. Starting in Bristol, the tour took them to Australia (November), Europe (March 1976), the US (May/June), and Europe again (September), before ending in a four-night grand finale at London's Wembley Empire Pool. For this tour, added to Wings' stage act was a horn section consisting of Tony Dorsey, Howie Casey , Thaddeus Richard and Steve Howard, on saxes, brass and percussion. In between sections of
5986-543: The soundtrack album issued six months later received a less enthusiastic response. By late 1968, relations within the band were deteriorating. The tension grew during the recording of their eponymous double album, also known as the " White Album ". Matters worsened the following year during the Let It Be sessions, when a camera crew filmed McCartney lecturing the group: "We've been very negative since Mr. Epstein passed away ... we were always fighting [his] discipline
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6132-698: The "Suzy and the Red Stripes" pseudonym came about because she had been called "Suzi" in Jamaica because of "a fantastic reggae version of 'Suzi Q'", and Red Stripe is Jamaica's leading brand of beer. In March 1997, Denny Laine, Laurence Juber and Steve Holley did an impromptu "Wings" reunion at a Beatlefest convention in East Rutherford, New Jersey . This was not a planned event, and no further reunions were intended. However, ten years later, in July 2007, Laine, Juber and Denny Seiwell reunited for one show at
6278-490: The "Wings" angle in its marketing for McGear , and the album sold poorly. However, the sessions also generated a single credited to McGear's group the Scaffold , "Liverpool Lou", which became a top-10 hit in the UK. Shortly thereafter, Geoff Britton joined Wings on drums, and the first recording session with this full line-up was held in Nashville , where the band stayed at the farm of songwriter Curly Putman Jr . The trip
6424-401: The 418th spot on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time . In 1974, McCartney hired guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and drummer Geoff Britton to replace McCullough and Seiwell. Britton subsequently quit during recording sessions in 1975 and was replaced by Joe English . Wings followed Band on the Run with the chart-topping albums Venus and Mars (1975) and Wings at
6570-413: The Beatles disbanded, he has explained that by then, he was "a bass player pretty much, who also happened to play guitar" and also considers himself a bassist who happens to play piano. In August 1971, Seiwell and Laine joined Paul and Linda McCartney to record Paul's third post-Beatles album for Apple Records . The result was Wild Life , released 7 December. It was the first project to credit Wings as
6716-401: The Beatles were breaking up in 1969–70, McCartney fell into a depression. His wife helped him pull out of that condition by praising his work as a songwriter and convincing him to continue writing and recording. In her honour, he wrote " Maybe I'm Amazed ", explaining that with the Beatles breaking up, "that was my feeling: Maybe I'm amazed at what's going on ... Maybe I'm a man and maybe you're
6862-403: The Beatles' studio productions . Starting with the 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band , he gradually became the band's de facto leader, providing creative impetus for most of their music and film projects. Many of his Beatles songs, including " And I Love Her ", " Yesterday ", " Eleanor Rigby ", and " Blackbird ", rank among the most covered songs in history. Although primarily
7008-427: The Beatles' partnership on 9 January 1975, though sporadic lawsuits against their record company EMI , Klein, and each other persisted until 1989. I didn't really want to keep going as a solo artist ... so it became obvious that I had to get a band together ... Linda and I talked it through and it was like, "Yeah, but let's not put together a supergroup, let's go back to square one." — McCartney As
7154-627: The Best Albums of the Year for 1973, and in 1975, Paul McCartney and Wings won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance for the song "Band on the Run", and Geoff Emerick won the Grammy for Best Engineered Recording for the album. In 1974, Wings achieved a second US number-one single with the title track . The album also included the top-ten hits " Jet " and " Helen Wheels ", and earned
7300-541: The Dirt ; a collaborative effort with Elvis Costello that included musical contributions from Gilmour and Nicky Hopkins . McCartney then formed a band consisting of himself and Linda, with Hamish Stuart and Robbie McIntosh on guitars, Paul "Wix" Wickens on keyboards and Chris Whitten on drums. In September 1989, they launched the Paul McCartney World Tour , his first in over a decade. During
7446-512: The Fest for Beatles Fans in Jersey City, New Jersey performing songs from the band's final album Back to the Egg . Wings had twelve top-10 singles (including one number one) in the UK and fourteen top 10 singles (including six number ones) in the US. All 23 singles released by Wings reached the US top 40 , and one two-sided hit, "Junior's Farm"/"Sally G", reached the top 40 with each side. Of
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#17327907658277592-507: The Fireman. In 1999, McCartney released Run Devil Run . Recorded in one week, and featuring Ian Paice and David Gilmour, it was primarily an album of covers with three McCartney originals. He had been planning such an album for years, having been previously encouraged to do so by Linda, who had died of cancer in April 1998. McCartney did an unannounced performance at the benefit tribute, " Concert for Linda ", his wife of 29 years who died
7738-683: The Ground in 1993. The subsequent New World Tour followed, which led to the release of the Paul Is Live album later that year. Starting in 1994, McCartney took a four-year break from his solo career to work on Apple's Beatles Anthology project with Harrison, Starr and Martin. He recorded a radio series called Oobu Joobu in 1995 for the American network Westwood One , which he described as "widescreen radio". Also in 1995, Prince Charles presented him with an Honorary Fellowship of
7884-505: The Life " required a forty-piece orchestra, which Martin and McCartney took turns conducting. The sessions produced the double A-side single " Strawberry Fields Forever "/" Penny Lane " in February 1967, and the LP followed in June. Based on an ink drawing by McCartney, the LP's cover included a collage designed by pop artists Peter Blake and Jann Haworth , featuring the Beatles in costume as
8030-547: The Little Richard cover " Long Tall Sally " was the only song that the Beatles had previously recorded. McCartney wanted the tour to avoid large venues; most of the small halls they played had capacities of fewer than 3,000 people. In March 1973, Wings achieved their first US number-one single, " My Love ", included on their second LP, Red Rose Speedway , a US number one and UK top five. McCartney's collaboration with Linda and former Beatles producer Martin resulted in
8176-407: The McCartneys and Laine recorded Band on the Run . The album was the first of seven platinum Wings LPs. It was a US and UK number one, the band's first to top the charts in both countries and the first ever to reach Billboard magazine's charts on three separate occasions. One of the best-selling releases of the decade, it remained on the UK charts for 124 weeks. Rolling Stone named it one of
8322-534: The McCartneys and Laine, however, remained intact throughout the group's existence. Created following the McCartneys' 1971 album Ram , the band's first two albums, Wild Life (1971) and Red Rose Speedway (1973) (the latter featuring guitarist Henry McCullough ), were viewed as artistic disappointments beside Paul's work with the Beatles. After the release of the title track of the James Bond film Live and Let Die , McCullough and Seiwell resigned from
8468-800: The Presidents, the Prime Minister, I never met anyone half as nice as some of the people I know from Liverpool who are nothing, who do nothing. They're not important or famous. But they are smart, like my dad was smart. I mean, people who can just cut through problems like a hot knife through butter. The kind of people you need in life. Salt of the earth. — Paul McCartney, Playboy interview, 1984 Mary McCartney's midwifery paid well, and her earnings enabled them to move into 20 Forthlin Road in Allerton , where they lived until 1964. She rode
8614-549: The Red Stripes". Near the end of the Red Rose Speedway sessions, in October 1972, Wings recorded the theme song to the James Bond film Live and Let Die , which reunited McCartney with Beatles producer/arranger George Martin . Issued as a non-album single in mid-1973, "Live and Let Die" became a worldwide hit and has remained a highlight of McCartney's post-Wings concert performances (often accompanied by pyrotechnics ). That same year, McCartney and Wings filmed
8760-492: The Run , at EMI 's primitive eight-track recording studio in Lagos , Nigeria. The album went to number 1 in both the US and UK and spawned three hit singles: the rockers " Jet " and " Helen Wheels " (originally included only on the US version of the album) and the title track—a suite of movements recalling side two of Abbey Road . It also included " Let Me Roll It " and " No Words ", the first Wings song on which Laine received
8906-682: The Run ", " Listen to What the Man Said ", " Silly Love Songs ", and " Mull of Kintyre ". He resumed his solo career in 1980 and has been touring as a solo artist since 1989. Apart from Wings, his UK or US number-one hits include " Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey " (with Linda), " Coming Up ", " Pipes of Peace ", " Ebony and Ivory " (with Stevie Wonder ), and " Say Say Say " (with Michael Jackson ). Beyond music, he has been involved in projects to promote international charities related to animal rights , seal hunting , land mines , vegetarianism, poverty, and music education . McCartney has written or co-written
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#17327907658279052-534: The Speed of Sound (1976). In 1975, they began the fourteen-month Wings Over the World Tour , which included stops in the UK, Australia, Europe and the US. The tour marked the first time McCartney performed Beatles songs live with Wings, with five in the two-hour set list : " I've Just Seen a Face ", "Yesterday", " Blackbird ", " Lady Madonna " and "The Long and Winding Road". Following the second European leg of
9198-585: The UK that included the live debut of the Beatles songs " Got to Get You into My Life ", " The Fool on the Hill " and "Let It Be". In 1980, McCartney released his second solo LP, the self-produced McCartney II , which peaked at number one in the UK and number three in the US. As with his first album, he composed and performed it alone. The album contained the song " Coming Up ", the live version of which, recorded in Glasgow , Scotland, in 1979 by Wings, became
9344-505: The UK in 1963 , and in the US a year later. The fan hysteria became known as " Beatlemania ", and the press sometimes referred to McCartney as the "cute Beatle". McCartney co-wrote (with Lennon) several of their early hits, including " I Saw Her Standing There ", " She Loves You ", " I Want to Hold Your Hand " (1963) and " Can't Buy Me Love " (1964). In August 1965, the Beatles released the McCartney composition " Yesterday ", featuring
9490-493: The UK, as well as number 1 in both the Republic of Ireland and Spain. Wings released a children's song, " Mary Had a Little Lamb ", as its next single, which reached the top 10 in the UK. Although some critics interpreted it as a sarcastic reaction to the ban on "Give Ireland Back to the Irish", it was in fact a serious effort by McCartney to record a song for children. Wings followed it with December 1972's " Hi, Hi, Hi ", which
9636-445: The US , released internationally in 2003 as Back in the World . The tour earned a reported $ 126.2 million, an average of over $ 2 million per night, and Billboard named it the top tour of the year. The group continues to play together; McCartney has played live with Ray, Anderson, Laboriel, and Wickens longer than he played live with the Beatles or Wings. In July 2002, McCartney married Heather Mills . In November, on
9782-404: The US number one single " Listen to What the Man Said ", and undertook a highly successful world tour over 1975–76 . Intended as more of a group effort, Wings at the Speed of Sound (1976) was issued midway through the tour and featured the hit singles " Silly Love Songs " and " Let 'Em In ". In 1977, the band earned their only UK number one single, with " Mull of Kintyre ", which became one of
9928-571: The addition of guitarist Henry McCullough , Wings' first concert tour began in 1972 with a debut performance in front of an audience of seven hundred at the University of Nottingham . Ten more gigs followed as they travelled across the UK in a van during an unannounced tour of universities , during which the band stayed in modest accommodation and received pay in coinage collected from students, while avoiding Beatles songs during their performances. McCartney later said, "The main thing I didn't want
10074-658: The age of fifteen on 6 July 1957, McCartney met John Lennon and his band, the Quarrymen, at the St Peter's Church Hall fête in Woolton . The Quarrymen played a mix of rock and roll and skiffle , a type of popular music with jazz , blues and folk influences. Soon afterwards, the members of the band invited McCartney to join as a rhythm guitarist, and he formed a close working relationship with Lennon. Harrison joined in 1958 as lead guitarist, followed by Lennon's art school friend Stuart Sutcliffe on bass, in 1960. By May 1960,
10220-630: The album tracks were played in the 1976 portion of the tour, which also included five Beatles songs. One of the Seattle concerts from the American leg of the 1975–76 world tour was filmed and later released as the concert feature Rockshow (1980). The tour's American leg, which also included Madison Square Garden in New York City and Boston Garden in Massachusetts, spawned a triple live album, Wings over America (1976), which became
10366-502: The album, but performed poorly on the charts. During much of 1979, Wings were inactive as McCartney worked on a new solo album ( McCartney II ) without the band. In November and December 1979, Wings toured the UK , once again adding the horns and brass section consisting of Tony Dorsey, Howie Casey, Thaddeus Richard, and Steve Howard. This tour climaxed with a massive " Rockestra " all-star collection of musicians in London in aid of UNICEF and Kampuchean refugees. Also during this tour,
10512-599: The already-completed McCartney–Laine ballad " Mull of Kintyre ", an ode to the Scottish coastal region where McCartney had made his home in the early 1970s. Its broad appeal was maximised by a pre-Christmas release. It became an international hit, dominating the charts in Britain (where it was Wings' only number 1 single), Australia and many other countries over the Christmas/New Year period. Ultimately, it became
10658-399: The artist. The band name is said to have come to McCartney as he was praying in the hospital while Linda was giving birth to their second child together, Stella , on 13 September 1971. Paul McCartney recalled in the film Wingspan that the birth of Stella was "a bit of a drama"; there were complications at the birth and that both Linda and the baby almost died. He was praying fervently and
10804-490: The band Wings . McCartney had this to say on the group's formation: "Wings were always a difficult idea ... any group having to follow [the Beatles'] success would have a hard job ... I found myself in that very position. However, it was a choice between going on or finishing, and I loved music too much to think of stopping." In September 1971, the McCartneys' daughter Stella was born, named in honour of Linda's grandmothers, both of whom were named Stella. Following
10950-686: The band had tried several names, including Johnny and the Moondogs , Beatals and the Silver Beetles . They adopted the name the Beatles in August 1960 and recruited drummer Pete Best shortly before a five-engagement residency in Hamburg . In 1961, Sutcliffe left the band, and McCartney became their bass player. It is disputed whether he did so reluctantly or actively sought out the role. While in Hamburg, they recorded professionally for
11096-453: The band. Musicologist Ian MacDonald wrote, "from [1965] ... [McCartney] would be in the ascendant not only as a songwriter, but also as instrumentalist, arranger, producer, and de facto musical director of the Beatles." Critics described Rubber Soul as a significant advance in the refinement and profundity of the band's music and lyrics. Considered a high point in the Beatles catalogue, both Lennon and McCartney said they had written
11242-431: The band. The McCartneys and Laine then released 1973's Band on the Run , a commercial and critical success that spawned two top-ten singles in " Jet " and the title track . Following that album, the band recruited guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and drummer Geoff Britton , only for Britton to quit shortly afterward and be replaced by Joe English . With the new line-up, Wings released 1975's Venus and Mars , which included
11388-512: The beginning of their marriage that Linda should be involved in his musical projects, notwithstanding her lack of previous experience as a musician, so that they did not have to be apart when he was on tour. Ram was recorded in New York City , where McCartney auditioned a number of drummers and guitarists, selecting Seiwell and guitarist David Spinozza . When Spinozza became unavailable because of other session commitments, Hugh McCracken
11534-553: The best possible album. In November 1980, Holley and Juber were told they would not be needed for the new album and other than sessions in January 1981 to finish work on the Cold Cuts album of previously unreleased tracks, no further activities were scheduled for Wings. Juber has said he could see the "writing on the wall" regarding Wings' future at that point and moved to New York to continue his career there. Laine stayed on for
11680-409: The best-selling singles in history. Wings experienced another line-up shuffle, however, with both McCulloch and English departing before the release of the group's 1978 album London Town . The McCartneys and Laine again added new members, recruiting guitarist Laurence Juber and drummer Steve Holley . The resulting album, Back to the Egg , was a relative flop, with its singles under-performing and
11826-406: The classical realm are 2006's Ecce Cor Meum and 2011's Ocean's Kingdom . All pieces by Paul McCartney . Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles , for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon . One of
11972-495: The closing act of 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief , seen by approximately two billion people worldwide. On 28 August 2013, McCartney released the title track of his upcoming studio album New , which came out in October 2013. A primetime entertainment special was taped on 27 January 2014 at the Ed Sullivan Theater with a 9 February 2014 CBS airing. The show featured McCartney and Ringo Starr, and celebrated
12118-487: The company he had been with in the US and Canada since he was a Beatle, and joining Columbia Records , while remaining with Parlophone in the rest of the world. Influenced by the punk and new wave scenes, Wings abandoned its mellow touch and hired Chris Thomas to help in the production process. The result was a somewhat less polished sound. This new version of Wings released the disco-oriented single " Goodnight Tonight ", backed by " Daytime Nighttime Suffering ", which reached
12264-483: The countryside of East Sussex, desiring that their children have a normal upbringing. Musically, McCartney was dissatisfied by the band's performances during the 1979 UK tour, and when rehearsals for the next album began in October, it was apparent his latest songs were not a good fit for the band. Consequently, he and George Martin, who would be producing the album, decided not to use Wings for recording. Instead, top session musicians and guest artists were brought in to make
12410-556: The critical reception negative. During the supporting tour , Paul was arrested in Japan for cannabis possession, putting the band on hold. Despite a final US number one with a live-recorded version of " Coming Up " (1980), Wings discontinued in 1981 after Laine departed from the band. In total, the band had six number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 . After the Beatles' break-up in 1970, McCartney recorded two solo albums: McCartney (1970), credited to himself, and Ram (1971), with his wife, Linda McCartney. He had insisted from
12556-408: The early 1970s, with critics, fans and McCartney's musical peers alike ridiculing the inclusion of Linda as a keyboard player and backing vocalist. On 24 January 1972, McCartney added to the Wings line-up guitarist Henry McCullough , after he had tried out for the band. The new line-up immediately mounted an impromptu tour of UK universities (with the group driving around in a van), followed by
12702-459: The end of the Beatles' performing career, McCartney sensed unease in the band and wanted them to maintain creative productivity. He pressed them to start a new project, which became Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band , widely regarded as rock's first concept album . McCartney was inspired to create a new persona for the group, to serve as a vehicle for experimentation and to demonstrate to their fans that they had musically matured. He invented
12848-483: The fictional band of the album's title track . As McCartney explained, "We were fed up with being the Beatles. We really hated that fucking four little mop-top approach. We were not boys we were men ... and [we] thought of ourselves as artists rather than just performers." Starting in November 1966, the band adopted an experimental attitude during recording sessions for the album. Their recording of " A Day in
12994-471: The fifth consecutive Wings album to reach number 1 in the US. From this album came a single release of the live version of " Maybe I'm Amazed " originally from the McCartney album. The single's flipside was " Soily ", a previously unreleased rocker that was often used as a closer for the concerts. After the tour, and following the release of "Maybe I'm Amazed" in early 1977, Wings took a break. Later in
13140-727: The fire brigade at night. The growing family was rehoused at a flat in Knowsley in 1944 and then in a council housing development in Speke in 1946. After the war, Jim returned to his job at the cotton merchants with a reduced income. Mary's work as a visiting midwife was much more remunerative. McCartney attended Stockton Wood Road Primary School in Speke from 1947 until 1949, when he transferred to Joseph Williams Junior School in Belle Vale because of overcrowding at Stockton. In 1953, he
13286-549: The first anniversary of George Harrison's death, McCartney performed at the Concert for George . He participated in the National Football League 's Super Bowl , performing "Freedom" during the pre-game show for Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002 and headlining the halftime show at Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005. The English College of Arms honoured McCartney in 2002 by granting him a coat of arms . His crest, featuring
13432-507: The first release from the group on Capitol Records . The album topped the charts and contained the US number 1 single " Listen to What the Man Said ", which also featured Dave Mason , formerly of Traffic , on guitar and Tom Scott on saxophone. When the Venus and Mars recording sessions moved to New Orleans, Britton quit Wings and was replaced by Joe English who won the job at a secret audition before McCartney. In late 1975 Wings embarked on
13578-467: The first single to exceed sales of 2 million in the UK, eclipsing the previous all-time best-seller (the Beatles' "She Loves You"), and remains one of the biggest-selling UK singles of all time. However, it was not a success in the US, where the B-side "Girls School" received most of the airplay but barely reached the top 40. The core trio of Wings then released the album London Town in 1978. Though only
13724-487: The first time and were credited as the Beat Brothers, who were the backing band for English singer Tony Sheridan on the single " My Bonnie ". This resulted in attention from Brian Epstein , who was a key figure in their subsequent development and success. He became their manager in January 1962. Ringo Starr replaced Best in August, and the band had their first hit, " Love Me Do ", in October, becoming popular in
13870-568: The group's last number-one hit. By 1981, McCartney felt he had accomplished all he could creatively with Wings and decided he needed a change. The group discontinued in April 1981 after Laine quit following disagreements over royalties and salaries. In 1982, McCartney collaborated with Stevie Wonder on the Martin-produced number-one hit " Ebony and Ivory ", included on McCartney's Tug of War LP, and with Michael Jackson on " The Girl Is Mine " from Thriller . "Ebony and Ivory"
14016-403: The group's musical direction and Linda's inclusion; McCullough also objected to McCartney's domineering attitude towards him as a guitar player, while Seiwell had long felt aggrieved at the lack of a formalised financial arrangement and his status as a lowly paid sideman. With the band reduced to a trio, the McCartneys and Laine cut what turned out to be Wings' most successful album, Band on
14162-510: The group's official canon of studio albums, the Magical Mystery Tour LP achieved $ 8 million in sales within three weeks of its release, higher initial sales than any other Capitol LP up to that point. The Beatles' animated film Yellow Submarine , loosely based on the imaginary world evoked by McCartney's 1966 composition , premiered in July 1968. Though critics admired the film for its visual style, humour and music,
14308-417: The image of wings came to his mind. He decided to name his new band "Wings." In an attempt to capture the spontaneity of live performances, five of Wild Life 's eight songs were first takes by the band. The album included a cover of Mickey & Sylvia 's " Love Is Strange ". Like Ram , Wild Life left music critics cold, a response that typified the anti-McCartney sentiments that prevailed among
14454-463: The lack of tour plans as the reason. While Laine's departure effectively ended the band, a spokesman for McCartney said that Wings still continued as an active concept. McCartney finally acknowledged the band no longer existed while promoting the release of Tug of War in 1982. The Country Hams was a pseudonym used by the group for the release of the single " Walking in the Park with Eloise " in 1974,
14600-830: The legacy of the Beatles and their groundbreaking 1964 performance on The Ed Sullivan Show . The show, titled The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to The Beatles , featured 22 classic Beatles songs as performed by various artists, including McCartney and Starr. Paul McCartney and Wings Paul McCartney and Wings , often billed simply as Wings , were an English-American rock band formed in 1971 in London by former Beatle Paul McCartney ; his wife Linda McCartney on keyboards; session drummer Denny Seiwell ; and former Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine . They were noted for their commercial successes, musical eclecticism, and frequent personnel changes. They went through three lead guitarists and four drummers. The core trio of
14746-485: The merits of the work." The New York Times was slightly more generous, stating, "There are moments of beauty and pleasure in this dramatic miscellany ... the music's innocent sincerity makes it difficult to be put off by its ambitions". Performed around the world after its London premiere, the Liverpool Oratorio reached number one on the UK classical chart, Music Week . In 1991, McCartney performed
14892-566: The mid-1960s. He contributed the song "Nova" to a tribute album of classical, choral music called A Garland for Linda (2000), dedicated to his late wife. Having witnessed the September 11 attacks from the JFK airport tarmac, McCartney was inspired to take a leading role in organising the Concert for New York City . His studio album release in November that year, Driving Rain , included
15038-511: The most successful composers and performers of all time , McCartney is known for his melodic approach to bass-playing, versatile and wide tenor vocal range, and musical eclecticism , exploring genres ranging from pre–rock and roll pop to classical, ballads, and electronica . His songwriting partnership with Lennon is the most successful in modern music history. Born in Liverpool , McCartney taught himself piano, guitar, and songwriting as
15184-464: The music as "afraid of anything approaching a fast tempo", and adding that the piece has "little awareness of the need for recurrent ideas that will bind the work into a whole". The paper published a letter McCartney submitted in response in which he noted several of the work's faster tempos and added, "happily, history shows that many good pieces of music were not liked by the critics of the time so I am content to ... let people judge for themselves
15330-462: The music for the song " In My Life ". McCartney said of the album, "we'd had our cute period, and now it was time to expand." Recording engineer Norman Smith stated that the Rubber Soul sessions exposed indications of increasing contention within the band: "the clash between John and Paul was becoming obvious ... [and] as far as Paul was concerned, George [Harrison] could do no right—Paul
15476-400: The music press following the Beatles' break-up. In their 1975 book The Beatles: An Illustrated Record , Roy Carr and Tony Tyler called Wild Life "rushed, defensive, badly timed, and over-publicized", and wrote that it showed McCartney's songwriting "at an absolute nadir just when he needed a little respect". Wings similarly struggled to gain artistic credibility, particularly during
15622-419: The music scene. One of the criticisms of Wings was that the other members were little more than sidemen backing up a solo McCartney. Guitarist Henry McCullough quit the band because he grew tired of being told by McCartney exactly what to play, and said that Wings were never a "real band." On the other hand, other former members of Wings such as Joe English and Laurence Juber have said that they were allowed
15768-413: The nine albums released by Wings, all went top 10 in either the UK or the US, with five consecutive albums topping the US charts. Paul McCartney was unquestionably Wings' leader and dominant creative force, but Denny Laine, Jimmy McCulloch, and Linda McCartney all contributed a little in songwriting, and Laine, McCulloch, Joe English, and Linda McCartney all performed a few lead vocals. The success of Wings
15914-430: The only woman who could ever help me; Baby won't you help me understand ... Maybe I'm amazed at the way you pulled me out of time, hung me on the line, Maybe I'm amazed at the way I really need you." He added that "every love song I write is for Linda." In 1970, McCartney continued his musical career with his first solo release, McCartney , a US number-one album. Apart from some vocal contributions from Linda, McCartney
16060-459: The order of the strings. McCartney wrote his first song, " I Lost My Little Girl ", on the Zenith, and composed another early tune that would become " When I'm Sixty-Four " on the piano. American rhythm and blues influenced him, and Little Richard was his schoolboy idol; " Long Tall Sally " was the first song McCartney performed in public, at a Butlin's Filey holiday camp talent competition. At
16206-438: The past and I just rang him and asked him, 'What are you doing?' He said, 'Nothing', so I said, 'Right. Come on then!'" Laine then dropped plans for his album there and then. As he had in the Beatles, McCartney would serve as the chief bassist and lead singer for Wings and he doubled on guitar, keyboards, drums and assorted instruments at various times. When asked why he stayed on bass guitar rather than change back to guitar after
16352-442: The project was "an administrative nightmare throughout". McCartney largely directed the film, which brought the group their first unfavourable critical response. However, the film's soundtrack was more successful. It was released in the UK as a six-track double extended play disc (EP) and as an identically titled LP in the US, filled out with five songs from the band's recent singles. The only Capitol compilation later included in
16498-404: The remaining trio are pictured on the sleeve, much of the album included McCulloch and English, having been recorded before their departures. Laine, however, remained and was co-credited on five of the tracks, including the title song. It was a commercial success, although it became the first Wings album since Wild Life not to reach number 1 in the US (peaking at number 2). London Town featured
16644-493: The rock album Chaos and Creation in the Backyard , for which he provided most of the instrumentation. In 2006, McCartney released the classical work Ecce Cor Meum . The rock album Memory Almost Full followed in 2007. In 2008, he released his third Fireman album, Electric Arguments . Also in 2008, he performed at a concert in Liverpool to celebrate the city's year as European Capital of Culture . In 2009, after
16790-399: The sales of the previous record holder, " She Loves You ", and went on to sell 2.5 million copies and hold the UK sales record until the 1984 charity single, " Do They Know It's Christmas? " London Town (1978) spawned a US number-one single (" With a Little Luck "), and continued Wings' string of commercial successes, making the top five in both the US and the UK. Critical reception
16936-738: The same month that the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences honoured him as the MusiCares Person of the Year , two days prior to his performance at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards . McCartney remains one of the world's top draws. He played to over 100,000 people during two performances in Mexico City in May, with the shows grossing nearly $ 6 million. In June 2012, McCartney closed Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee Concert held outside Buckingham Palace , performing
17082-541: The same record company that famously rejected The Beatles back in January 1962. McCartney was commissioned by the New York City Ballet , and in September 2011, he released his first score for dance, a collaboration with Peter Martins called Ocean's Kingdom on Decca Records. Also in 2011, McCartney married Nancy Shevell. He released Kisses on the Bottom , a collection of standards , in February 2012,
17228-545: The scene." In addition to its own output, Wings recorded several songs that were released through various outlets both before and after the band's break-up. Denny Laine's 1977 solo album Holly Days was a joint effort by Laine with Paul and Linda McCartney; three songs on Laine's 1980 solo album Japanese Tears were performed by Wings with Laine on lead vocals; Laine also contributed to several songs on Paul McCartney's 1982 and 1983 solo albums Tug of War and Pipes of Peace , respectively. Juber's instrumental "Maisie"—which
17374-481: The setlist included "Hi, Hi, Hi", "Live and Let Die" and "Rockestra Theme". In August 2017, the trio performed at the festival once again, this time joined by drummer Steve Holley . Laine, Juber, Seiwell and Holley performed together in January 2018 at Grand Oak Live, a music venue in Upland, California , headlining an event called Imagine Something Yesterday. Laine, Juber and Holley performed again in March 2019 at
17520-490: The song " Freedom ", written in response to the attacks. The following year, McCartney went out on tour with a new band that included guitarists Rusty Anderson and Brian Ray , accompanied by Paul "Wix" Wickens on keyboards and Abe Laboriel Jr. on drums. They began the Driving World Tour in April 2002, which included stops in the US, Mexico and Japan. The tour resulted in the double live album Back in
17666-423: The song " Live and Let Die ", which was the theme song for the James Bond film of the same name . Nominated for an Academy Award , the song reached number two in the US and number nine in the UK. It also earned Martin a Grammy for his orchestral arrangement. Music professor and author Vincent Benitez described the track as " symphonic rock at its best". After the departure of McCullough and Seiwell in 1973,
17812-405: The song became a hit, he did not share in the royalties. Laine was also upset with McCartney over his drug arrest in Japan which meant a loss of extra income from the tour as well as putting future tour plans in doubt. Laine's marriage was also troubled, and his wife and the McCartneys did not get along well, adding to his upset with Wings. In April 1981, Laine announced he was leaving Wings, citing
17958-547: The song included only McCartney's lead vocal and the strings arranged by producer George Martin . The band gave their final commercial concert at the end of their 1966 US tour . Later that year, McCartney completed his first musical project independent of the group—a film score for the UK production The Family Way . The score was a collaboration with Martin, who used two McCartney themes to write thirteen variations. The soundtrack failed to chart, but it won McCartney an Ivor Novello Award for Best Instrumental Theme. Upon
18104-600: The songs on the LP. In 1988, McCartney released Снова в СССР , initially available only in the Soviet Union , which contained eighteen covers ; recorded over the course of two days. In 1989, he joined forces with fellow Merseysiders Gerry Marsden and Holly Johnson to record an updated version of " Ferry Cross the Mersey ", for the Hillsborough disaster appeal fund. That same year, he released Flowers in
18250-411: The success of his initial solo output. Ringo Starr was living in Los Angeles and was writing and recording, but as a solo artist had not been performing onstage other than rare guest appearances. Meanwhile, Wings continued to tour regularly and enjoy much commercial success. According to author Robert Rosen , by 1980, Lennon was envious enough of McCartney's continuing success to make his re-emergence on
18396-643: The top 5 in both the US and UK. However, the subsequent album Back to the Egg was not favourably received by critics and although it went platinum in the US, sales were disappointing in comparison to its immediate predecessors. It contained the Grammy -winning song " Rockestra Theme ", the result of an October 1978 superstar session with members of Wings, the Who , Led Zeppelin , and Pink Floyd , among others. Three singles, " Old Siam, Sir " (UK only), " Getting Closer ", and " Arrow Through Me " (US only), were culled from
18542-470: The tour and extensive rehearsals in London, the group undertook an ambitious US arena tour that yielded the US number-one live triple LP Wings over America . In September 1977, the McCartneys' third child was born, a son they named James . In November, the Wings song " Mull of Kintyre ", co-written with Laine, was quickly becoming one of the best-selling singles in UK chart history. The most successful single of McCartney's solo career, it achieved double
18688-637: The tour, McCartney performed for the largest paying stadium audience in history on 21 April 1990, when 184,000 people attended his concert at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. That year, he released the triple album Tripping the Live Fantastic , which contained selected performances from the tour. McCartney ventured into orchestral music in 1991 when the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society commissioned
18834-431: The tour, Wings recorded Wings at the Speed of Sound , which was released at the end of March 1976, just prior to the US leg of the world tour. It represented a departure from the previous Wings template in that each of the five members of the band (including English) sang lead on at least one song. However, the two singles, " Silly Love Songs " and " Let 'Em In " (the former a US number one), were both sung by Paul. Four of
18980-588: The year, the band started recording their next album in the Virgin Islands , but the sessions were interrupted by Linda's pregnancy and then by the departures of both McCulloch and English. McCulloch, who joined Small Faces , died of morphine and alcohol poisoning in 1979. English joined Chuck Leavell 's band Sea Level and later founded the Christian-oriented Joe English Band. Undeterred by their departure, Wings released
19126-596: Was McCartney's record 28th single to hit number one on the Billboard 100 . The following year, he and Jackson worked on " Say Say Say ", McCartney's most recent US number one as of 2014 . McCartney earned his latest UK number one as of 2014 with the title track of his LP release that year, " Pipes of Peace ". In 1984, McCartney starred in Give My Regards to Broad Street , a feature film he also wrote and produced and which included Starr in an acting role. It
19272-403: Was a former Protestant who had turned agnostic. Religion was not emphasised in the household. Before the war, Jim had worked as a salesman for the cotton merchants A. Hannay and Co., having been promoted from his job as a sample boy in their warehouse; when the war broke out, Hannay's was shuttered, and Jim was employed as a lathe turner at Napier 's defence engineering works, volunteering for
19418-534: Was a trumpet player and pianist who led Jim Mac's Jazz Band in the 1920s. He kept an upright piano in the front room, encouraged his sons to be musical and advised McCartney to take piano lessons. However, McCartney preferred to learn by ear . When McCartney was 11, his father encouraged him to audition for the Liverpool Cathedral choir, but he was not accepted. McCartney then joined the choir at St Barnabas' Church, Mossley Hill . McCartney received
19564-535: Was a vindication for McCartney. His first few post-Beatles albums were highly criticized and often dismissed by critics as "lightweight" next to the more serious nature of his former bandmates' solo output. But by the mid-1970s, the solo careers of the other three former Beatles were in varying degrees of decline, with John Lennon putting his career on hold in 1975 for the first five years of his son Sean 's life. A year later, George Harrison had all but retired from live performances, with his new releases failing to match
19710-436: Was absolutely finicky." In 1966, the Beatles released the album Revolver . Featuring sophisticated lyrics, studio experimentation, and an expanded repertoire of musical genres ranging from innovative string arrangements to psychedelic rock , the album marked an artistic leap for the Beatles. The first of three consecutive McCartney A-sides , the single " Paperback Writer " preceded the LP's release. The Beatles produced
19856-459: Was again banned by the BBC, this time for its alleged drug and sexual references. The B-side, " C Moon ", was played instead. The single peaked at number 5 in the UK. The band were renamed "Paul McCartney and Wings" for the 1973 album Red Rose Speedway (and for the follow-up Band on the Run ), which yielded their first US number 1 hit, " My Love ". The album included two tracks left over from
20002-481: Was arrested immediately upon arriving at New Tokyo Airport for possession of 219 grams (7.7 ounces) of marijuana (with an estimated street value of 600,000 yen ) hidden in Paul's luggage. The arrest put the tour in jeopardy and Wings' music was immediately banned from all television and radio stations across Japan. Wings' Japanese promoters claimed that almost 100,000 tickets for the concerts had been sold, representing
20148-483: Was backed by members of Wings—appeared on his solo album Standard Time . The McCartneys and Laine contributed backing vocals to George Harrison's 1981 tribute to John Lennon, " All Those Years Ago ". Linda McCartney continued to tour and record with her husband up until her death in 1998, after which a compilation of her songs entitled Wide Prairie was released that featured seven Wings songs written or co-written by her. Wings also backed Paul's brother Mike McGear on
20294-460: Was disparaged by critics: Variety described the film as "characterless, bloodless, and pointless"; while Roger Ebert awarded it a single star, writing, "you can safely skip the movie and proceed directly to the soundtrack ". The album fared much better, reaching number one in the UK and producing the US top-ten hit single " No More Lonely Nights ", featuring David Gilmour on lead guitar. In 1985, Warner Brothers commissioned McCartney to write
20440-436: Was enlisted to take his place. After the release of Ram , McCartney decided to form a new group and asked Seiwell and McCracken to join. Seiwell accepted, but McCracken declined, so McCartney invited Denny Laine , whom he had known since the early 1960s, to join. Laine, who was working on a solo album at the time, got a phone call from McCartney enquiring if he would like to work with him, as McCartney said: "I'd known him in
20586-489: Was immortalised in the 1974 non-album single " Junior's Farm ", backed with a straight country track entitled " Sally G ", the group's last release on Apple Records . In a rare occurrence for this era, both sides of the single separately reached the Billboard Top 20 in the US. Wings began recording sessions for their next album in London in November 1974, then moved to New Orleans to complete Venus and Mars (1975),
20732-412: Was in the midst of business disagreements with his bandmates, largely concerning Allen Klein 's management of the group, when he announced his own departure from the group on 10 April 1970. He filed a suit for the band's formal dissolution on 31 December 1970, and in March 1971 the court appointed a receiver to oversee the finances of the Beatles' company Apple Corps . An English court legally dissolved
20878-533: Was one of only three students out of 90 to pass the 11-Plus exam, meaning he could attend the Liverpool Institute , a grammar school rather than a secondary modern school . In 1954, he met schoolmate George Harrison on the bus from his suburban home in Speke. The two quickly became friends; McCartney later admitted: "I tended to talk down to him because he was a year younger." The type of people that I came from, I never saw better! [...] I mean,
21024-626: Was originally released on 21 April 1995 on a CD single, and is presented here in a new recording. Performing the new arrangements are the London Symphony Orchestra and the Loma Mar Quartet, with special orchestrations arranged by noted musicians Richard Rodney Bennett , Jonathan Tunick and Andy Stein . The title of this project is a pun on the phrase "working class", in the sense that McCartney, despite his elevated stature, still cherishes his Liverpool roots and
21170-456: Was to come on stage, faced with the whole torment of five rows of press people with little pads, all looking at me and saying, 'Oh well, he is not as good as he was.' So we decided to go out on that university tour which made me less nervous ... by the end of that tour I felt ready for something else, so we went into Europe." During the seven-week, 25-show Wings Over Europe Tour , the band played almost solely Wings and McCartney solo material:
21316-447: Was unfavourable, and McCartney expressed disappointment with the album. Back to the Egg (1979) featured McCartney's assemblage of a rock supergroup dubbed "Rockestra" on two tracks. The band included Wings along with Pete Townshend , David Gilmour , Gary Brooker , John Paul Jones , John Bonham and others. Though certified platinum, critics panned the album. Wings completed their final concert tour in 1979, with twenty shows in
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