UK Release date : Friday, May 16, 1980
McCartney II
By Paul McCartney • Official album • Part of the collection “Paul McCartney • Studio albums”
Last updated on July 25, 2023
UK Release date : Friday, May 16, 1980
By Paul McCartney • Official album • Part of the collection “Paul McCartney • Studio albums”
Last updated on July 25, 2023
Previous album Mar 24, 1980 • "Rarities (US - 1980)" by The Beatles released in the US
Single Apr 15, 1980 • "Coming Up" by Paul McCartney released in the US
Album May 16, 1980 • "McCartney II" by Paul McCartney released in the UK
Album May 22, 1980 • "McCartney II" by Paul McCartney released in the US
Article May 23, 1980 • "Seaside Woman" wins the "Palme d'Or - Best Short Film" at Cannes Film Festival
This album was recorded during the following studio sessions:
June - July 1979
September - October 1979
Overdubs and mixing "Summer's Day Song"
October 1979
Written by Paul McCartney
3:55 • Studio version • A
Paul McCartney : Backing vocals, Bass, Drums, Electric guitars, Electric piano, Mixing engineer, Percussion, Producer, Recording engineer, Synthesizers, Tambourine, Vocals Eddie Klein : Mixing assistant
Session Recording: June - July 1979 • Studio Home Studio, Peasmarsh, Sussex, UK
Session Recording: June - July 1979 • Studio Spirit Of Ranachan Studio, Campbeltown, Scotland
Session Mixing: September 1979 • Studio EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • From the books "Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs" • Buy Volume 1 (1970-1989) and Volume 2 (1990-2012) on Amazon
Written by Paul McCartney
3:13 • Studio version • A
Paul McCartney : Acoustic guitar, Bass, Drums, Keyboards, Mixing engineer, Producer, Recording engineer, Sequencer, Synthesizers, Vocals Eddie Klein : Mixing assistant
Session Recording: June - July 1979 • Studio Home Studio, Peasmarsh, Sussex, UK
Session Recording: June - July 1979 • Studio Spirit Of Ranachan Studio, Campbeltown, Scotland
Session Mixing: September 1979 • Studio EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • From the books "Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs" • Buy Volume 1 (1970-1989) and Volume 2 (1990-2012) on Amazon
Written by Paul McCartney
3:40 • Studio version • A
Paul McCartney : Bass, Drums, Electric guitars, Mixing engineer, Producer, Recording engineer, Vocals Eddie Klein : Mixing assistant
Session Recording: June - July 1979 • Studio Home Studio, Peasmarsh, Sussex, UK
Session Recording: June - July 1979 • Studio Spirit Of Ranachan Studio, Campbeltown, Scotland
Session Mixing: September 1979 • Studio EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • From the books "Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs" • Buy Volume 1 (1970-1989) and Volume 2 (1990-2012) on Amazon
Written by Paul McCartney
4:46 • Studio version • A
Paul McCartney : Acoustic guitar, Electric piano, Mixing engineer, Producer, Recording engineer, Synthesizers, Vocals Eddie Klein : Mixing assistant
Session Recording: June - July 1979 • Studio Home Studio, Peasmarsh, Sussex, UK
Session Recording: June - July 1979 • Studio Spirit Of Ranachan Studio, Campbeltown, Scotland
Session Mixing: September 1979 • Studio EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • From the books "Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs" • Buy Volume 1 (1970-1989) and Volume 2 (1990-2012) on Amazon
Written by Paul McCartney
2:54 • Studio version • A
Paul McCartney : Bass, Drums, Electric guitar, Mixing engineer, Producer, Recording engineer, Vocals Eddie Klein : Mixing assistant
Session Recording: June - July 1979 • Studio Home Studio, Peasmarsh, Sussex, UK
Session Recording: June - July 1979 • Studio Spirit Of Ranachan Studio, Campbeltown, Scotland
Session Mixing: September 1979 • Studio EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • From the books "Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs" • Buy Volume 1 (1970-1989) and Volume 2 (1990-2012) on Amazon
Written by Paul McCartney
3:34 • Studio version • A
Paul McCartney : Bass, Drums, Electric guitars, Keyboards, Mixing engineer, Producer, Recording engineer, Synthesizers Eddie Klein : Mixing assistant
Session Recording: June - July 1979 • Studio Home Studio, Peasmarsh, Sussex, UK
Session Recording: June - July 1979 • Studio Spirit Of Ranachan Studio, Campbeltown, Scotland
Session Mixing: September 1979 • Studio EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • From the books "Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs" • Buy Volume 1 (1970-1989) and Volume 2 (1990-2012) on Amazon
Written by Paul McCartney
3:26 • Studio version • A
Paul McCartney : Keyboards, Mellotron, Mixing engineer, Producer, Recording engineer, Synthesizers, Vocals Eddie Klein : Mixing assistant, Recording engineer
Session Recording: June - July 1979 • Studio Home Studio, Peasmarsh, Sussex, UK
Session Recording: June - July 1979 • Studio Spirit Of Ranachan Studio, Campbeltown, Scotland
Session Overdubs: October 1979 • Studio Replica Studio, Soho Square, London
Session Mixing: October 1979 • Studio Replica Studio, Soho Square, London
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • From the books "Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs" • Buy Volume 1 (1970-1989) and Volume 2 (1990-2012) on Amazon
Written by Paul McCartney
3:41 • Studio version • A
Paul McCartney : Bass, Drums, Keyboards, Mixing engineer, Producer, Recording engineer, Synthesizers Eddie Klein : Mixing assistant, Recording engineer
Session Recording: June - July 1979 • Studio Home Studio, Peasmarsh, Sussex, UK
Session Recording: June - July 1979 • Studio Spirit Of Ranachan Studio, Campbeltown, Scotland
Session Mixing: September 1979 • Studio EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • From the books "Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs" • Buy Volume 1 (1970-1989) and Volume 2 (1990-2012) on Amazon
Written by Paul McCartney
3:28 • Studio version • A
Paul McCartney : Bass, Drums, Electric guitars, Mixing engineer, Producer, Recording engineer, Synthesizers, Tambourine, Vocals Eddie Klein : Mixing assistant
Session Recording: June - July 1979 • Studio Home Studio, Peasmarsh, Sussex, UK
Session Recording: June - July 1979 • Studio Spirit Of Ranachan Studio, Campbeltown, Scotland
Session Mixing: September 1979 • Studio EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • From the books "Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs" • Buy Volume 1 (1970-1989) and Volume 2 (1990-2012) on Amazon
Written by Paul McCartney
2:20 • Studio version • A
Paul McCartney : Bass, Drums, Electric guitar, Mixing engineer, Producer, Recording engineer, Shaker, Synthesizers, Vocals Eddie Klein : Mixing assistant
Session Recording: June - July 1979 • Studio Home Studio, Peasmarsh, Sussex, UK
Session Recording: June - July 1979 • Studio Spirit Of Ranachan Studio, Campbeltown, Scotland
Session Mixing: September 1979 • Studio EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • From the books "Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs" • Buy Volume 1 (1970-1989) and Volume 2 (1990-2012) on Amazon
Written by Paul McCartney
3:45 • Studio version • A
Paul McCartney : Acoustic guitar, Mixing engineer, Producer, Recording engineer, Vocals Eddie Klein : Mixing assistant
Session Recording: June - July 1979 • Studio Home Studio, Peasmarsh, Sussex, UK
Session Recording: June - July 1979 • Studio Spirit Of Ranachan Studio, Campbeltown, Scotland
Session Mixing: September 1979 • Studio EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • From the books "Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs" • Buy Volume 1 (1970-1989) and Volume 2 (1990-2012) on Amazon
Somebody asked me what I thought of Paul’s last album and I made some remark like I thought he was depressed and sad. But then I realised I hadn’t listened to the whole damn thing. I heard one track – the hit, Coming Up, which I thought was a good piece of work. Then I heard something else that sounded like he was depressed.
John Lennon, 1980, All We Are Saying, David Sheff
From Wikipedia:
Paul McCartney in The Beatles – The Dream is Over: Off The Record 2, by Keith Badman:McCartney II is the second completely solo album by Paul McCartney, and the first since the formation of Wings in 1971. It was released in 1980, a year before the band’s dissolution and while their future lay in limbo. The album is a significant departure for McCartney, as much of it relies heavily on synthesizers and studio experimentation. It was reissued on 13 June 2011 as part of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection.
Background
After the release of what turned out to be Wings’ final album, Back to the Egg, McCartney went north to his farm in Scotland to begin some private recordings in July 1979. The first song he recorded was “Check My Machine” as a way to test the equipment, hence its title. The track also samples dialogue from the 1957 Tweety and Sylvester cartoon Tweet Zoo. By sessions’ end, he had recorded over 20 songs. With no immediate use for the recordings, he put them aside for the time being and returned to work with Wings to prepare for a UK tour that November and December. Simultaneously with the performances (which included the new “Coming Up“), McCartney released his first solo single since 1971, the Christmas-themed “Wonderful Christmastime“, backed with “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reggae“, which charted at No. 6 in the UK, but only No. 83 in the U.S. The A-side was recorded during the McCartney II sessions, while its flip side had been cut in 1975. However, upcoming events were about to change McCartney’s plans with Wings.
After years of visa refusals due to his past arrests for marijuana possession, Japan had finally allowed McCartney, and thus Wings, to perform. It would be McCartney’s first time playing there since 1966 with the Beatles, and anticipation was running high with Wings’ tour completely sold out. However, upon his arrival in Tokyo on 16 January 1980, a search of McCartney’s luggage revealed a bag containing 219 grams of marijuana, prompting his immediate arrest and eventually cancelling the tour. After a nine-day jail stay, McCartney was released and returned home to his Scottish farm. Deciding to put Wings on hold while he contemplated his future, he now decided to issue his solo recordings from the previous summer.
Music and lyrics
The record has been described as “airless proto-electronica.“
Coming Up
“Coming Up” – an uplifting dance number – appeared that April with a video (Paul playing all the bandmates, dubbed ‘The Plastic Macs‘, except for the backing singers (played by Linda)) and with two B-sides by Wings: “Coming Up (Live at Glasgow)“, recorded during Wings’ December 1979 show there, and the piano laden instrumental “Lunch Box/Odd Sox” (a Venus and Mars outtake). An immediate UK No. 2 hit, “Coming Up” was flipped over for the live Wings version in the US where it became another No. 1 for McCartney, greatly raising hopes for his first solo album proper in years. The live Wings version of “Coming Up” was also issued as a white-labeled, one-sided 7″ vinyl bonus record in many copies of McCartney II within the US and Canada.
Temporary Secretary
“Temporary Secretary” features frantic synthesizer lines and lyrics about requiring a secretary of any skill level for a short period of time. McCartney dubbed the song an “experiment,” saying that he found the concept of a temporary secretary humorous. “Temporary Secretary” was released as a 12″ single in Britain, backed with the experimental non-album track “Secret Friend.” The single was only released in a quantity of 25,000 copies, failing to make an impact on the charts. The single artwork was created by Jeff Cummins of Hipgnosis.
The song was performed live for the first time at the London O2 Arena on 23 May 2015.
Critical reception
McCartney II was released in mid-May to mixed reviews; many critics found the album, with its experimental, synth-based compositions and its handful of instrumentals, slight. That did not stop it from reaching number 1 in the UK and number 3 in the US. The next single, the introspective “Waterfalls“, charted at number 9 in the UK, but failed to make an impact in the US.
The initial issue of this album on compact disc featured “Check My Machine” and “Secret Friend” as bonus tracks. The two songs were originally released as the B-sides of “Waterfalls” and “Temporary Secretary“, respectively. In 1993, McCartney II was remastered and reissued on CD as part of “The Paul McCartney Collection” series with Wings’ 1979 hit “Goodnight Tonight” added as a third bonus track.
When the new remastered version was released on 13 June 2011 as part of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection, the album re-entered the UK charts at number 108.
Accolades
In 2003, Mojo placed the album at number 26 on their list of the “Top 50 Eccentric Albums“. […]
After we had done the last Wings album, Back To The Egg, I was fed up with the idea of making albums, you know, just churning them out. So I hired a 16-track machine and got an engineer friend, Eddie, to fix me up a thing where I just took one microphone into the back of the machine direct and I put it into the front parlour of my old farmhouse… We didn’t use a big console. It’s very difficult if you’re trying to work on your own with a big console, so we bypassed it. People said McCartney II was McCartney fiddling the knobs and twiddling, but it wasn’t in my mind. It was me experimenting. It was me getting into synths and me seeing what I could do. I wanted to have some private fun and I thought I’d produce a cassette we could play in the car. I was in total control. I had no echo chambers, no drum machines. I’d play the snare drum in the tiled kitchen to get an echo or fiddle with the machine and guess what interval was needed on my voice to do the effect. I made everything up, except for one song. I’d go along on my bike and a song might spring out of what I had seen on TV the night before. It was like being a sculptor, chopping and changing as I went along… It wasn’t an amazingly successful album, I don’t think. It was definitely an experiment. It was me at home, multi-tracking, like McCartney had been. But I’m glad I did that… I started it down in Sussex, then during the summer I went up to Scotland so I just carried on doing it up there.
Notice any inaccuracies on this page? Have additional insights or ideas for new content? Or just want to share your thoughts? We value your feedback! Please use the form below to get in touch with us.
