US album release: McCartney II by Paul McCartney ā 26 May 1980
Monday 26 May 1980 | Release, Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney's second solo album, McCartney II, was released in the United States on 26 May 1980. It had been released in the United Kingdom on 16 May 1980. The album topped the UK charts and reached number three in the US, selling more copies than its predecessor, Wings' Back To The Egg. Its lead single, 'Coming Up', had reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number two in the UK following its release in April 1980.
Campbeltown, Argyll and Bute, Scotland ā home of Paul McCartney's Spirit of Ranachan Studio, where parts of McCartney II were recorded in summer 1979.
The Recording
McCartney II was a completely solo recording ā every instrument played by McCartney himself, with no other musicians involved. The recordings were made over six weeks in the summer of 1979, beginning in a farmhouse on the McCartneys' estate in Peasmarsh, East Sussex, and continuing at the Spirit of Ranachan Studio at his farm near Campbeltown in Scotland.
The album was largely experimental in character ā McCartney exploring synthesisers, drum machines, and home recording techniques in a way that was more akin to a private musical diary than a conventional album. It was not originally intended for release; McCartney later said he had made the recordings for his own amusement and was persuaded to release them commercially.
The result was an album that divided critics at the time but has been substantially reassessed since ā now widely regarded as a prescient piece of work that anticipated the synth-pop and electronic music that would dominate the early 1980s.
'Coming Up'
'Coming Up' was released as the album's lead single in April 1980. The studio version ā a dense, multi-tracked McCartney production featuring synthesisers and drum machines ā was the album version. But it was the live version, recorded by Wings at the Glasgow Apollo in December 1979, that was released as the b-side in the US ā and it was the live version that received the most radio airplay and drove the single to number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
John Lennon later said that hearing 'Coming Up' on the radio in Bermuda in June 1980 had inspired him to return to recording after five years of near-silence ā a direct line from McCartney's single to the sessions that produced Double Fantasy.
The Context: Wings' Dissolution
By the time McCartney II was released, Wings had effectively ceased to exist. Denny Laine ā the last remaining non-McCartney member ā had left the group in April 1981, though the dissolution had been underway since the Japanese drug bust of January 1980, when McCartney had been arrested at Tokyo's Narita Airport for possession of cannabis and spent ten days in a Japanese jail before being deported. The Japanese tour had been cancelled, and Wings never performed together again.
McCartney II was therefore both a solo album in the conventional sense and a signal that the Wings era was over. McCartney would not release another album until Tug Of War in 1982, by which time Lennon had been murdered and the landscape of popular music had changed entirely.
The Peasmarsh and Campbeltown Recordings
The two recording locations reflect the dual geography of McCartney's private life in the late 1970s. Peasmarsh in East Sussex was the location of the McCartneys' main English home, a working farm where the family spent much of their time. Campbeltown in Argyll and Bute ā a remote town on the Kintyre peninsula ā was the location of their Scottish farm, where McCartney had been a regular visitor since the early 1970s and which had inspired 'Mull Of Kintyre' (1977). The Spirit of Ranachan Studio was a private recording facility McCartney had built on the Scottish property.
Key Facts: 26 May 1980
- Album: McCartney II
- US release date: 26 May 1980
- UK release date: 16 May 1980
- Recorded: Summer 1979, Peasmarsh (East Sussex) and Spirit of Ranachan Studio (Campbeltown, Scotland)
- All instruments: Paul McCartney
- UK chart position: Number 1
- US chart position: Number 3
- Lead single: 'Coming Up' (US number 1, UK number 2)
- Outsold: Wings' Back To The Egg (1979)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is McCartney II?
Paul McCartney's second solo album, released in the UK on 16 May 1980 and the US on 26 May 1980. A completely solo home recording made over six weeks in summer 1979, it featured McCartney playing all instruments himself, exploring synthesisers and drum machines.
Where was McCartney II recorded?
In a farmhouse on the McCartneys' estate in Peasmarsh, East Sussex, and at the Spirit of Ranachan Studio at McCartney's farm near Campbeltown in Scotland.
Did 'Coming Up' reach number one?
Yes ā it reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number two in the UK. In the US, it was the live Wings version (b-side) that received the most airplay. John Lennon later said hearing 'Coming Up' inspired him to return to recording after five years.
What happened to Wings around the time of McCartney II?
Wings had effectively dissolved. McCartney was arrested in Tokyo in January 1980 for cannabis possession and spent ten days in a Japanese jail. The planned Japanese tour was cancelled and Wings never performed together again. Denny Laine officially left in April 1981.
How did McCartney II perform commercially?
It topped the UK album charts and reached number three in the US, outselling its predecessor Wings' Back To The Egg (1979).
ā Tape copying: Wings London Town sessions ā 26 May 1977
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