Mull of Kintyre (song)
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| "Mull of Kintyre" | ||
|---|---|---|
| Image:Wings mull.jpg | ||
| Single by Wings | ||
| Released | 11 November 1977 | |
| Format | 7' | |
| Recorded | September 1977 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 4:44 | |
| Label | Parlophone/EMI | |
| Writer(s) | Paul McCartney and Denny Laine | |
| Producer(s) | Paul McCartney | |
| Chart positions | ||
| Wings singles chronology | ||
| "Maybe I'm Amazed" (1977) | Mull of Kintyre (1977) | "With a Little Luck" (1978) |
"Mull of Kintyre" is a popular 1977 song by former Beatle Paul McCartney and his band Wings. The song was penned by McCartney and bandmate Denny Laine in tribute to the picturesque Mull of Kintyre peninsula in Argyll, Scotland, where McCartney had owned a home and recording studio since the late 1960s.
The lyrics are an ode to the area's natural beauty and sense of home:
- Mull of Kintyre
- Oh mist rolling in from the sea,
- My desire is always to be here
- Oh Mull of Kintyre
The song was recorded in August 1977 as part of the sessions for what would become the London Town album. Bagpipes from Kintyre's local Campbeltown Pipe Band were a prominent part of the recording. The advancement of Linda McCartney's pregnancy brought a halt to the overall sessions, and "Mull of Kintyre", backed with B-side "Girls School", was released as a single on 11 November 1977 independently of any album.
Its broad appeal was maximised by the pre-Christmas release and it became a Christmas number one single in the UK, spending 9 weeks at the top. It also became a massive international hit, dominating the charts in Australia and many other countries over the winter holiday period. It went on to become the first single to sell over two million copies in the UK, earning McCartney the first ever 'rhodium disc' and becoming the UK's best-selling single of all-time (eclipsing The Beatles' own "She Loves You") until overtaken by Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas" in 1984 (which also featured Paul). The song remains one of the UK's best-selling non-charity singles, beaten only by Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" (which topped the charts twice).
One place where it was not a major hit was the United States, where it only managed to make it to number 33 on the pop singles charts, and that was as the B-side of "Girls School", not the A-side. As a consequence, McCartney has not played "Mull of Kintyre" during his subsequent concert tours of America, only adding it back on forays into Canada. The millionth copy of the disk included a special certificate to meet Paul. However, it was sold to actor Dan Aykroyd, who would meet Paul many times in the future anyway (such as when McCartney contributed the title track to Aykroyd's 1985 film Spies Like Us).
The song has been parodied by Frank Sidebottom as "Mull of Timperley".
[edit] Personnel
- Paul McCartney: Acoustic guitar, acoustic bass guitar, vocals.
- Linda McCartney: Percussion, vocals.
- Denny Laine: Electric & acoustic Guitar, vocals.
[edit] See also
- List of best-selling singles (UK)
- List of best-selling singles by year (UK)
- List of Christmas number one singles
[edit] External links
| Preceded by: "The Name Of The Game" by ABBA | UK number one single December 3 1977 | Succeeded by: "Uptown Top Ranking" by Althea and Donna |
