143-483: " This One " is a single from Paul McCartney 's 1989 album, Flowers in the Dirt . The song reached number 18 on the UK singles chart . It also reached number 8 on the Ö3 Austria Top 40 in Austria, number 31 in the Dutch Top 40 in the Netherlands, number 40 on the Media Control Charts in Germany and number 14 in Japan. The single includes two songs recorded during the sessions for CHOBA B CCCP album: "I Wanna Cry" and " I'm In Love Again ". The latter appeared in
286-837: 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
429-456: 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
572-416: 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
715-581: 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
858-460: A black background, the front cover image consisted of a bowl of cherry-red liquid placed on a cream-coloured wall and surrounded by loose red cherries , as if the fruit had been emptied from the bowl. On the back cover, a photo taken by Linda in Scotland showed her husband with Mary tucked inside his fur-lined leather jacket. Madinger and Easter comment that, unlike Lennon, McCartney did not feel
1001-474: A design concept by McCartney. Photos by Linda McCartney featured throughout the packaging, including a collage of 21 family snapshots in the jacket's inner spread. The images depicted Paul, Linda, seven-year-old Heather (Linda's daughter by her first marriage), newborn Mary , and the McCartneys' sheepdog , Martha. The gatefold cover of McCartney was the first of close to 30 years of albums by her husband to feature Linda McCartney's photography. Set against
1144-453: A favourable assessment, for the NME , Alan Smith wrote that while on first listen he found McCartney "too harmlessly mild", his view had changed with time, such that: "Listening to it is like hearing a man's personal contentment committed to the sound of music. Most of the sounds, effects and ideas are sheer brilliance; much of the aura is of quiet songs on a hot summer night; and virtually all of
1287-458: 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
1430-546: 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 the Beatles' studio productions . Starting with
1573-525: 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
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#17327805019961716-471: 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
1859-506: 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
2002-438: 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
2145-479: A recently delivered Studer four-track tape recorder , without a mixing desk , and therefore without VU displays as a guide for recording levels. McCartney described his home-recording set-up as "Studer, one mic, and nerve". He played all the musical instruments on the album – from acoustic and electric guitars and bass to keyboards, drums and various percussion instruments – with Linda supplying backing vocals on some songs. The album's recordings eschewed
2288-788: 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
2431-465: 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
2574-509: 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
2717-584: 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,
2860-489: A slightly edited form than the version released on 1991 international edition of CHOBA B CCCP . Like other songs from Flowers in the Dirt , despite the song's modest chart success, it was not included on any McCartney compilation album until The McCartney Years was released in 2007. Allmusic called the song "lovely". Rolling Stone opined that the song "extends its cute, lyrical conceit for too long and winds up taxing
3003-476: 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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#17327805019963146-686: 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
3289-593: A song recorded by the band in January 1969 for their forthcoming Get Back film project . On 12 February, McCartney took his Studer tapes to Morgan Studios , in the north-west London suburb of Willesden , in order to copy all the four-track recordings onto eight-track tape, to allow for further overdubbing . To maintain the project's secrecy, McCartney worked at Morgan under the pseudonym "Billy Martin". By this point, he had also taped " Junk " and " Teddy Boy " at Cavendish Avenue, two songs he began writing during
3432-480: A vocal to the previously instrumental "Oo You". While at Morgan, he also taped "Hot as Sun", a " Polynesian -influenced" instrumental dating from the late 1950s, according to author Bruce Spizer , and "Kreen-Akrore", which Sounes describes as an " experimental percussion track". Recorded on 15 February, "Kreen-Akrore" was McCartney's attempt to describe sonically a hunt by the Kreen-Akrore tribespeople of
3575-473: 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 ,
3718-527: 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
3861-404: 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
4004-552: Is boastfully casual … He seems to believe that anything that comes into his head is worth having. And he's wrong." John Gabree of High Fidelity magazine similarly bemoaned the expectation that "we should dig his every little noise" and found the reasons for the album's failure evident in the Let It Be film, where McCartney appeared to be "the only Beatle who has stagnated as a human being", as well as "incredibly arrogant" in his treatment of his bandmates. Gabree added that "Perhaps
4147-492: 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 a teenager, having been influenced by his father,
4290-618: 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
4433-417: Is the track on the album on which Linda's vocals are most audible. Final mixes of songs such as "Junk" and "Teddy Boy" were completed at Morgan Studios along with the remaining tracks on the album. During this process, "Hot as Sun" and "Glasses" were segued into a medley , ending with a snippet of McCartney performing the song "Suicide" on piano. Unacknowledged in the track listing for the album, "Suicide"
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4576-465: The Let It Be documentary, a necessity in order to fulfil the Beatles' contractual obligations to film company United Artists . McCartney privately agreed to a mid-April release date for McCartney with Apple Records executive Neil Aspinall , one of the few people associated with the Beatles who was aware of the project. Its late addition to Apple's schedule clashed with the imminent release of
4719-655: 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 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
4862-687: 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 ,
5005-589: The Let It Be album was almost complete, meaning that it could be issued to coincide with the film's world premiere, which was scheduled for 28 April, in New York. Doggett writes that "the solution was obvious", since Let It Be was "a multimedia package" and, as a band venture rather than a solo album, it "should automatically take precedence". Harrison and Lennon therefore wrote to McCartney on 31 March to say that they had instructed EMI , Apple's parent label, to postpone his album until 4 June; they also explained
5148-411: The Let It Be album, and of Starr's solo debut, Sentimental Journey , which was due out on 27 March. On 25 March, after discovering that Klein arranged to have the release of McCartney postponed, McCartney received an assurance from Harrison, as a director of Apple Records, that his solo album would be issued on 17 April, as planned. The situation then changed when Spector reported that work on
5291-568: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and praised McCartney , saying: "I loved that record because it was so simple. And there was so much to see and to hear. It was just Paul. There was no adornment at all ... There was no attempt made to compete with the things he had already done. And so out he stepped from the shadow of the Beatles." McCartney subsequently told Rolling Stone that, given the album's homemade qualities, he considered it to be rock music's first indie album, adding: "Y'know, it's now what would be called an 'indie' thing. To me, then, it
5434-535: 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
5577-465: 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
5720-488: 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
5863-490: 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 a bassist with the Beatles, he played a number of other instruments, including keyboards, guitars, and drums, on various songs. After
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6006-401: 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
6149-401: 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
6292-407: The Beatles were crap. The sooner I get this album out and get it over with the better. – McCartney commenting after finishing work on his debut solo album McCartney said that he "boycotted" Apple's offices after Klein's arrival in 1969. His continued isolation in 1970 led to Lennon, Harrison and Starr making business decisions without McCartney's input. One decision concerned the release of
6435-539: The Beatles" would be temporary or permanent and that it was based on business, personal and creative differences. He also said that he had not missed Starr's drumming, nor any of his bandmates' contributions, when making the album, and could not envisage a time when he and Lennon would write together again. When asked whether Klein and his company ABKCO would be "in any way involved with the production, manufacturing, distribution or promotion of this new album", McCartney said, "Not if I can help it", and he stressed that Klein
6578-497: The Beatles' 1968 visit to India and had rehearsed with the band in January 1969. The other recordings transferred to eight-track included "Glasses" – a sound effects piece featuring "wineglasses played at random", in McCartney's description – and "Singalong Junk", an instrumental version of "Junk" to which he now added a strings part played on a Mellotron . Among other overdubs on these eight-track mixes, McCartney supplied
6721-427: 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
6864-547: The Beatles, by writing or finishing songs for his first solo album, McCartney . I was like a professor in his laboratory. Very simple [set-up], as basic as you can get ... Even now that album has an interesting sound. Very analogue, very direct. – McCartney, 2001 McCartney and his family returned to London shortly before Christmas 1969, and he started work on the album at his home in Cavendish Avenue , St John's Wood . The recordings were carried out on
7007-627: 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
7150-696: The Brazilian Amazon , after he had watched an ATV documentary on their way of life. Amid musical interludes featuring electric guitar, organ and piano, McCartney used a bow and arrow he purchased at the Knightsbridge department store Harrods , according to engineer Robin Black. The latter was among the few people who knew that McCartney was making a solo album. Linda contributed the breathing and animal-like sounds, with McCartney, on "Kreen-Akrore". On 21 February 1970, McCartney moved to
7293-528: The British press, in which he explained his reasons for making his solo album and described its overall theme as "Home, Family, Love". Compiled with the help of Apple executives Derek Taylor and Peter Brown , the self-interview also contained questions McCartney imagined he would be asked regarding the possibility of the Beatles splitting up. While stopping short of saying that the band was finished, McCartney stated that he did not know whether his "break with
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#17327805019967436-490: 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
7579-507: 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
7722-555: The Flowers in the Dirt Archive Collection LP liner notes. 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 the most successful composers and performers of all time , McCartney
7865-683: 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
8008-561: 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
8151-547: 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
8294-407: 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
8437-407: The McCartneys' exile at High Park: "This was grim for Linda. She had a seven-year-old and a baby to look after, with a husband who was depressed and drunk. She later told friends it was one of the most difficult times in her life, while Paul reflected that he might have become a rock 'n' roll casualty at this point in his career." With Linda's encouragement, McCartney began to consider a future outside
8580-800: 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
8723-534: 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
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#17327805019968866-585: 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
9009-448: 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
9152-551: The UK, McCartney debuted at number 2, where it remained for three weeks behind the best-selling album of 1970, Simon and Garfunkel 's Bridge Over Troubled Water . By 15 May, McCartney had sold over 1 million copies in the US, and from 23 May, began a three-week stay at number 1 on the Billboard Top LPs chart, eventually going double platinum. Despite "Maybe I'm Amazed" receiving considerable airplay on US radio, McCartney refused to issue it or any other song from
9295-497: 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
9438-571: 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
9581-658: 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,
9724-470: The album as a single. McCartney's former bandmates viewed his making the band's break-up public as a betrayal in light of how Lennon had acquiesced to the group's interests by staying silent about his departure the previous year, and as McCartney using the end of the Beatles as a way to promote his solo album. When asked for his opinion of the album shortly after its release, Harrison described "Maybe I'm Amazed" and "That Would Be Something" as "great", but
9867-465: The album in its own terms, McCartney stands as a very good, although not astounding, piece of work." Winner admitted to being repelled by the "tawdry propaganda" surrounding the release, however, about which he emphasised: "Remember, this is all stuff that Paul himself deliberately included [in the album's press kit], not just some idle comments he let slip to a probing journalist." The reviewer concluded: "I like McCartney very much. But I remember that
10010-478: The album receiving a "critical lambasting" and that the "general sentiment" among reviewers was "something to the effect of 'He broke up the Beatles for this ?!?'" Richard Williams of Melody Maker suggested that "With this record, [McCartney's] debt to George Martin becomes increasingly clear ..." Williams found "sheer banality" in all the tracks save for "Maybe I'm Amazed" and described "Man We Was Lonely" as "the worst example of his music-hall side". In
10153-458: The album's release to allow for Apple's previously scheduled titles, notably the Beatles' album Let It Be . A press release in the form of a self-interview supplied with UK promotional copies of McCartney led to the Beatles' break-up . McCartney received mostly negative reviews, while McCartney himself was vilified for seemingly ending the Beatles. The record was widely criticised for being under-produced and for its unfinished songs, although
10296-476: The back cover portrait as a possible reference to Ono's recent miscarriage; instead, he read it as an example of the McCartneys slavishly following his and Ono's lead by releasing a family-oriented album. McCartney was followed by two sequels, McCartney II (released in 1980), and McCartney III (released in December 2020), both sharing the same recording technique as this album. On release, McCartney
10439-646: The ballad " Maybe I'm Amazed " was consistently singled out for praise. Commercially, McCartney benefited from the publicity surrounding the break-up; it held the number 1 position for three weeks on the US Billboard Top LPs before yielding that position to Let It Be . It peaked at number 2 in Britain. In later years, the album was credited for influencing DIY musicians and lo-fi music styles. McCartney also recorded two successor albums: McCartney II (1980) and McCartney III (2020). In 2011,
10582-490: 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
10725-686: 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
10868-453: 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
11011-512: The charts in the UK, the Netherlands, France and Japan. On 17 November 2017, McCartney was re-released by Capitol/UMe without bonus tracks as part of McCartney's 2016 return to Capitol Records and a catalogue service agreement taking over from Concord Records and Hear Music. McCartney received a special 50th anniversary release in a limited edition half-speed mastered vinyl pressing for Record Store Day on 26 September 2020. The album
11154-550: 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
11297-449: The disappointment, and the sorrow of losing this great band, these great friends ... I was going crazy. – McCartney to daughter Mary , 2001 McCartney's two months in Scotland created an estrangement between him and his bandmates, further to the division caused by their appointment of Allen Klein as business manager in May that year. McCartney later cited Klein's appointment as
11440-459: 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
11583-483: 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
11726-517: The finished album, given its position as track 4, following "Valentine Day". On 15 February McCartney recorded " Maybe I'm Amazed ", a piano-based ballad dedicated to Linda, and, in Madinger and Easter's description, "the most elaborate instrumental track on the LP ". The final new recording for McCartney was "Man We Was Lonely", which he taped on 25 February, having composed it earlier that day. It
11869-727: 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
12012-599: The first McCartney record was reissued with bonus tracks as part of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection . After John Lennon requested a "divorce" from the Beatles in a band meeting on 20 September 1969, Paul McCartney withdrew to his farm in Campbeltown , Scotland. Author Robert Rodriguez describes his frame of mind as "brokenhearted, shocked, and dispirited at the loss of the only job he had ever known". While Lennon's departure
12155-470: The first "irreconcilable difference" within the Beatles, since he continued to favour New York lawyers Lee Eastman and John Eastman – father and brother, respectively, of his wife Linda . For McCartney, the period following Lennon's departure was also marked by a bout of severe depression, during which, in his own estimation, he came close to suffering a nervous breakdown . In his book Fab: An Intimate Life of Paul McCartney , Howard Sounes writes of
12298-549: 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
12441-487: 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
12584-437: The greatest disappointment lies in the songs, although most of them could have been saved by better performances, especially the instrumentals." Writing for Rolling Stone , Langdon Winner found the songs "distinctly second rate" relative to McCartney's best compositions as a Beatle, with only "Maybe I'm Amazed" "even com[ing] close" to matching that high standard, but he admired McCartney's vocals and added: "if one can accept
12727-568: 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"
12870-561: 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,
13013-796: 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. McCartney (album) McCartney is the debut solo studio album by the English rock musician Paul McCartney , released on 17 April 1970 by Apple Records . McCartney recorded it in secrecy, mostly using basic home-recording equipment at his house in St John's Wood . Mixing and some recording took place at professional London studios. In its loosely arranged performances, McCartney eschewed
13156-688: The listener's patience." Cash Box reviewed the single quoting from McCartney's song " Silly Love Songs " and claiming that McCartney "does them better than anyone I’ve heard since the ’60s." The song reached number 76 on the Eurochart Hot 100 . This song was released as a 7-inch single, a 12-inch maxi-single in three versions, a cassette single, and a CD single. All songs were written by Paul McCartney except where noted. 7-inch and cassette single 7-inch single UK limited edition 12-inch single 1 12-inch single 2 12-inch single 3 (Club Lovejoys mix) CD single Personnel are taken from
13299-485: The material ... has become charming in retrospect", Erlewine adds: "Unfortunately, in retrospect it also appears as a harbinger of the nagging mediocrity that would plague McCartney's entire solo career." Record Collector has highlighted "Every Night", "Junk" and "Maybe I'm Amazed" as songs that "still sound absolutely effortless and demonstrate the man's natural genius with a melody". Among Beatle biographers, Robert Rodriguez includes McCartney in his chapter covering
13442-485: 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
13585-566: 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
13728-470: The more familiar EMI Studios, with the booking again under the name of Billy Martin. There, he carried out further mixing on the previously recorded material, as well as taping new selections. On 22 February, McCartney recorded " Every Night " – another composition rehearsed during the Get Back sessions, and a song that authors Chip Madinger and Mark Easter note as the "first 'professional' recording" on
13871-464: 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
14014-462: 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
14157-507: The musical sophistication that distinguished the Beatles' work with producer George Martin , particularly the band's 1969 release Abbey Road . According to The New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll , McCartney is "a one-man-studio-band LP" with "a pronounced homemade quality; it was spare and sounded almost unfinished". Rodriguez writes that in his avoidance of the Abbey Road studio aesthetic, "In his own way, [McCartney]
14300-461: The need to include his wife on the cover, and her back-cover photo was a "stunning" contribution from the former professional photographer. In a 2013 news article recalling the album's release, the Philadelphia radio station WMMR described the photo of McCartney and his baby daughter as "iconic" and reflective of "his ultimate message: 'Home, family (and) love'." Maybe John was right. Maybe
14443-581: The need to stagger the various new releases, particularly in America, where the Hey Jude compilation had been issued on 26 February. Rather than have a member of staff deliver the letter to McCartney at Cavendish Avenue, Starr decided to take it to him personally. McCartney later described the tone of Starr's message as "the party line", to which he reacted badly: "I told [Starr] to get out. I had to do something like that in order to assert myself because I
14586-430: 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
14729-459: 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
14872-752: The people of Troy also liked that wooden horse they wheeled through their gates until they discovered that it was hollow inside and full of hostile warriors." In the 2004 edition of The Rolling Stone Album Guide , Greg Kot deems the album "so modest it barely registers" in comparison with Lennon's Plastic Ono Band , adding: "Only the white soul of 'Maybe I'm Amazed' distinguishes otherwise unbearably slight confections such as 'Lovely Linda.'" Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic writes that McCartney possesses "an endearingly ragged, homemade quality", with "That Would Be Something", "Every Night", "Teddy Boy" and "Maybe I'm Amazed" all "full-fledged McCartney classics". Although he notes that "the throwaway nature of much of
15015-476: The polish of the Beatles ' past records in favour of a lo-fi style. Apart from occasional contributions by his wife, Linda , McCartney performed the entire album alone by overdubbing on four-track tape. McCartney recorded the album during a period of depression and confusion, following John Lennon 's private departure from the Beatles in September 1969. Conflicts over the release of McCartney's album further estranged him from his bandmates, as he refused to delay
15158-442: 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
15301-430: The reports about the Beatles' break-up resulted in McCartney's standing among Beatles fans to plummet, they also ensured that the album was highly publicised. Adding to this exposure in the US, McCartney commissioned a second set of print advertisements for the album, to counter what Doggett describes as Klein's "incendiary statement of fact" in the official advertisements that Apple was "an ABKCO-managed company". In
15444-670: The rest, he said, "just don't do much for me". Harrison added that, unlike Lennon, Starr and himself, McCartney was probably too "isolated" from other musicians, such that: "The only person he's got to tell him if the song's good or bad is Linda." In a December 1970 interview with Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner , which was re-published the following year as the book Lennon Remembers , Lennon dismissed McCartney as "rubbish" and " Engelbert Humperdinck music"; he said that his primal therapy-inspired album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band would "probably scare [McCartney] into doing something decent". Lennon rejected Wenner's interpretation of
15587-493: 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
15730-399: 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
15873-689: 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
16016-541: 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,
16159-490: 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
16302-481: 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,
16445-547: 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
16588-600: 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
16731-484: The spot", he later claimed, along with the similarly rock -oriented "Momma Miss America" and "Oo You". On 3 January 1970, he interrupted work on McCartney to participate in the Beatles' final recording session, when he, George Harrison and Ringo Starr recorded the Harrison composition " I Me Mine " at EMI Studios (now Abbey Road Studios ). The next day, the three musicians revisited McCartney's " Let It Be ",
16874-522: 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
17017-637: 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
17160-408: The tracks reflect a kind of intangible roundness. 'Excitement' is not a word to use for this album ... 'warmth' and 'happiness' are." In his combined review of all the former Beatles' 1970 solo releases, Geoffrey Cannon of The Guardian dismissed it as an album that had "no substance". Cannon continued: "Paul reveals himself in it as a man preoccupied with himself, and his own situation. The music
17303-415: The world reduced the story to screaming variations of PAUL BREAKS UP THE BEATLES". It's a simple fact that [McCartney] can't have his own way, so he's causing chaos. I put out four albums last year, and I didn't say a fucking word about quitting. – John Lennon, May 1970 McCartney was released in Britain on 17 April 1970 (as Apple PCS 7102), and three days later in America (Apple STAO 3363). While
17446-433: The worst solo albums issued by the former band members between 1970 and 1980, saying: "For anyone wanting to get to the root of the most common rap against Paul's solo output, look no further …" While bemoaning the lack of quality control that allowed "charmless ditties" such as "Teddy Boy" to go under-developed, Rodriguez writes: "What made McCartney so frustrating a listen was not the absence of compelling musical ideas; it
17589-596: 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
17732-634: Was a composition that he had intended for Frank Sinatra to record. He also edited two separate instrumental pieces into one for "Momma Miss America"; McCartney can be heard shouting the first portion's original title, "Rock 'n' Roll Springtime", on the recording. On 23 March, while American producer Phil Spector began mixing the Get Back tapes for release as the Beatles' Let It Be album in EMI's Studio 4, McCartney completed work on his album in Studio 2. Although McCartney has frequently maintained that he
17875-403: 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
18018-534: 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
18161-436: 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
18304-460: 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
18447-586: Was fulfilling the 'as-nature-intended' theme of the aborted 'Get Back' sessions, albeit as a one-and-a-half man band." McCartney first taped a 45-second portion of a song he wrote in Campbeltown, " The Lovely Linda ". As with much of the album, McCartney sang the composition accompanied by acoustic guitar before filling the remaining tracks on the Studer with a second guitar part, bass and percussive accompaniment. Although this performance of "The Lovely Linda"
18590-401: Was ignorant of Spector's involvement until receiving an acetate copy of Let It Be for approval, author Peter Doggett writes that after "several weeks", McCartney had finally "answered the string of messages he'd received about Phil Spector" and had agreed to let him prepare Let It Be for release. For the album's gatefold cover, artist Gordon House and designer Roger Huggett worked on
18733-508: Was in no way his business representative. Although McCartney later recalled that he was responding to questions put to him, Brown said that McCartney wrote all the questions, as did Taylor. That same day, McCartney called Lennon at the clinic where he was undergoing primal scream therapy with his wife, Yoko Ono . McCartney told him that he was following Lennon's example and leaving the Beatles, but he made no mention of making his departure public. Doggett suggests that McCartney's intention
18876-464: 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
19019-420: Was just ... knockin' around experimentin' with some sounds and not worrying how it was gonna turn out. I think that was one of the secrets." Citing its home recording and mixing, Brent Day of Paste felt that McCartney was arguably "one of the first big lo-fi records of its day." It was one of McCartney's two post-Beatle albums that was included in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . McCartney
19162-401: Was just sinking ... I was getting pummelled about the head, in my mind anyway." According to Starr, McCartney "went crazy", threatening: "I'll finish you now. You'll pay!" Although the other Beatles backed down over the release of McCartney , the confrontation initiated what Rodriguez terms "a three-against-one war" within the band. On 9 April, McCartney released a Q&A package to
19305-419: Was not made official, partly for business reasons, McCartney's period in seclusion with his family coincided with widespread rumours in America that he had died – an escalation of the three-year-old "Paul Is Dead" rumour. The rumour was dispelled by journalists from BBC Radio and Life magazine, who tracked him down at his farm, High Park. I nearly had a breakdown. I suppose the hurt of it all, and
19448-465: Was not necessarily to break up the band, and cites Beatles confidant Ray Connolly 's recollection that McCartney was "devastated" by the media's interpretation of his self-interview. The first reaction from the press was a piece by Don Short of the Daily Mirror , on 10 April, titled "PAUL IS QUITTING THE BEATLES". From there, in author Mark Hertsgaard 's description, "newspaper headlines around
19591-533: 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,
19734-466: Was only intended as a test of the new equipment, it would be included on the official release, as the opening track, complete with the sound of McCartney giggling at the end of the recording. Reflected in the sequencing of the album, the second and third songs McCartney taped were " That Would Be Something ", also written in Scotland, and the instrumental "Valentine Day". The latter was one of three selections on McCartney that its creator " ad-libbed on
19877-412: Was released on CD on 7 June 1993, along with six other studio albums McCartney made during the 1970s, including Ram (with Linda) and Band on the Run (with their band Wings ). On 13 June 2011, the album and McCartney's second official solo work, McCartney II , were reissued together by Hear Music / Concord Music Group as part of The Paul McCartney Archive Collection . The album re-entered
20020-431: Was the abundance of them. Had melodies like 'Momma Miss America' been teased out into compositions with a beginning, middle, end, and point, McCartney could have ended up as highly regarded in its own way as Plastic Ono Band : a full slate of focused, listener-friendly pop confections that might very well have given fans far less cause for bitterness at the Beatles' breakup." In 1999, Neil Young inducted McCartney into
20163-456: 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:
20306-496: 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
20449-430: Was widely criticised for being under-produced and for its unfinished songs. In addition, according to Nicholas Schaffner in his 1977 book The Beatles Forever , McCartney's attempt to use the Beatles' break-up to promote his solo album, while presenting himself as a happy family man, "apparently backfired", since "many observers found the whole thing contrived, tasteless, and rather vicious." Madinger and Easter write of
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