Friday 18 June 1971 | Studio Two, EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London, England
Producer: Paul McCartney | Engineers: Tony Clark, Alan Parsons
On 18 June 1971, a stereo mixing session took place at Abbey Road for Thrillington — an orchestral reworking of Paul and Linda McCartney's 1971 album Ram. The recordings had been made on 15–17 June 1971 in Studio Two. Although McCartney was the producer of the sessions, he did not perform on the recordings at all.
Thrillington was shelved for six years. It was eventually released in 1977, credited to the pseudonymous Percy 'Thrills' Thrillington.
Richard Hewson and the Arrangements
The orchestral arrangements were by Richard Hewson, who had been given free rein by the McCartneys to rework the Ram songs as he saw fit. Hewson was paid £100 per song and conducted the session musicians himself.
Hewson was a natural choice. He had arranged strings for McCartney before — most notably on Another Day, McCartney's debut solo single, released in February 1971. His approach to Thrillington was to treat the Ram material as a vehicle for a lush, slightly tongue-in-cheek orchestral style — somewhere between easy listening, lounge, and light classical — that was entirely his own.
In addition to the twelve Ram songs, Hewson also arranged a version of 'Oh Woman, Oh Why' — the B-side of Another Day — giving Thrillington thirteen tracks in total.
The Musicians
- Vic Flick — electric guitar, acoustic guitar
- Herbie Flowers — bass guitar, tuba
- Steve Gray — piano
- Roger Coulan — organ
- Clem Cattini — drums
- Jim Lawless, Chris Karan — percussion
- The Mike Sammes Singers — vocals
- The Swingle Singers — vocals
- Carl Dolmetsch Family — recorders
- Unknown — strings, brass, woodwind
The lineup is a roll call of some of the most in-demand session musicians in London in the early 1970s. Vic Flick is best known for playing the guitar riff on the original James Bond theme. Herbie Flowers was one of the most versatile and prolific session bassists of the era — he played the bass line on Lou Reed's Walk on the Wild Side (1972) and was a founding member of Sky. Clem Cattini was among the most recorded drummers in British pop history, having played on an extraordinary number of hit records from the early 1960s onwards. The Swingle Singers were the celebrated vocal ensemble known for their jazz-inflected a cappella arrangements of classical music.
Percy 'Thrills' Thrillington
When Thrillington was eventually released in 1977, it was credited not to Paul McCartney but to the fictional Percy 'Thrills' Thrillington — a pseudonym McCartney had invented for the project. The conceit was elaborate: McCartney placed advertisements in newspapers in 1977 presenting Thrillington as a real person, a man-about-town with a biography and a social life. The joke was maintained with some commitment.
McCartney did not publicly acknowledge his involvement in Thrillington until 1989, twelve years after its release. The album has since acquired a cult following, appreciated both as a curiosity and as a genuinely accomplished piece of orchestral pop.
Alan Parsons at Abbey Road
Alan Parsons — one of the engineers on the Thrillington mixing session — was at this point a young Abbey Road staff engineer who had worked on Abbey Road (1969) and Let It Be (1970) as an assistant. He would go on to engineer The Dark Side of the Moon for Pink Floyd in 1973, and later form the Alan Parsons Project. His presence on the Thrillington session is a small but characteristic detail of the Abbey Road world in the early 1970s — a studio in which the same engineers moved between projects of wildly different character and ambition.
Key Facts: 18 June 1971
| Date | Friday 18 June 1971 |
| Studio | Studio Two, EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London |
| Session type | Stereo mixing |
| Producer | Paul McCartney (did not perform) |
| Engineers | Tony Clark, Alan Parsons |
| Arranger / conductor | Richard Hewson (£100 per song) |
| Recording dates | 15–17 June 1971 |
| Source album | Ram (Paul and Linda McCartney, 1971) + 'Oh Woman, Oh Why' (B-side of Another Day) |
| Total tracks | 13 |
| Shelved | Six years |
| Released | 1977, credited to Percy 'Thrills' Thrillington |
| McCartney acknowledged involvement | 1989 |
EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London — where the stereo mixing session for Thrillington took place on 18 June 1971, three days after the recordings were made.
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From Ram to Thrillington. Officially licensed Beatles merch.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Thrillington?
Thrillington is an orchestral reworking of Paul and Linda McCartney's 1971 album Ram, arranged by Richard Hewson. It was recorded at Abbey Road on 15–17 June 1971 and mixed on 18 June. McCartney produced the sessions but did not perform. The album was shelved for six years and released in 1977 under the pseudonym Percy 'Thrills' Thrillington.
Who was Percy 'Thrills' Thrillington?
Percy 'Thrills' Thrillington was a pseudonym invented by Paul McCartney for the Thrillington album. McCartney placed newspaper advertisements in 1977 presenting Thrillington as a real person. He did not publicly acknowledge his involvement until 1989.
Who arranged Thrillington?
Richard Hewson arranged and conducted all the tracks on Thrillington. He was given free rein by the McCartneys and paid £100 per song. He also arranged a version of Oh Woman, Oh Why — the B-side of Another Day — in addition to the twelve Ram songs.
Who was Alan Parsons?
Alan Parsons was an Abbey Road staff engineer who worked on Abbey Road (1969) and Let It Be (1970) as an assistant, and engineered the Thrillington mixing session in 1971. He later engineered The Dark Side of the Moon for Pink Floyd (1973) and formed the Alan Parsons Project.
Who played on Thrillington?
The session musicians included Vic Flick (guitar), Herbie Flowers (bass, tuba), Steve Gray (piano), Roger Coulan (organ), Clem Cattini (drums), Jim Lawless and Chris Karan (percussion), the Mike Sammes Singers, the Swingle Singers, and the Carl Dolmetsch Family (recorders), plus unknown strings, brass, and woodwind players.
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