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Mull of Kintyre (song)

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"Mull of Kintyre"
Song
A-side"Girls' School"

"Mull of Kintyre" is a song by the Anglo-American rock band Wings written by Paul McCartney and Denny Laine. The song was written in tribute to the picturesque Kintyre peninsula in Scotland and its headland, the Mull of Kintyre, where McCartney has owned High Park Farm since 1966. The song was Wings' biggest hit in Britain where it became the 1977 Christmas number one, and was the first single to sell over two million copies nationwide.[2][3][4]

History

The lyrics of the first verse, also used as the repeating chorus, 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

McCartney explained how the song came into being:

I certainly loved Scotland enough, so I came up with a song about where we were living: an area called Mull of Kintyre. It was a love song really, about how I enjoyed being there and imagining I was travelling away and wanting to get back there.[5]

"Mull of Kintyre" was recorded in August 1977 in London, during a break in recording the London Town album caused by Linda McCartney's advanced pregnancy, which led to the departure of Jimmy McCulloch and Joe English from Wings. Bagpipes from Kintyre's local Campbeltown Pipe Band were included as a prominent part of the recording. The recording happened on August 9, 1977, with Paul's vocals and acoustic guitar taped outdoors.[6] "Mull of Kintyre" and "Girls' School" (a rocker that had been previously recorded for London Town) were released as a double A-sided single on 11 November 1977, independently of the album. It was included on the Wings compilation Wings Greatest in 1978,[7] and the UK/Canada version of McCartney's 1987 compilation album, All the Best![8] as well as his 2001 compilation Wingspan: Hits and History.

Reception

The song's broad appeal was maximised by its pre-Christmas release and it became a Christmas number one single in the UK, spending nine weeks at the top of the charts. It also became an international hit, charting in Australia and many other countries over the holiday period. It went on to become the first single to sell over two million copies in the UK and become 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 McCartney on the B-side). The song remains the UK's best-selling completely non-charity single, having sold 2.08 million copies.[9] (Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" has sold more in its two releases, but the profits of the 1991 release went to charity.)[3] The single is the biggest seller in the UK of the 1970's, as "She Loves You" is of the 1960's. Making McCartney the only person to perform and/or work on the composition of the #1 seller of three successive decades.

The millionth copy of the disc sold in the UK included a special certificate. It was sold to David Ackroyd, who was presented with a gold disc of the single by Laine.[10]

Despite its international appeal, the song was not a major hit in North America, where the flipside "Girls' School" received more airplay and reached #33 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #34 on the Canadian RPM charts. "Mull of Kintyre" was not a pop hit at all in the US, but did manage to reach #45 on the Easy Listening chart.[11][12]

Meanwhile, in Canada, "Girls' School"/"Mull of Kintyre" was initially tracked as a double A-side, and reached #44 on the pop charts before "Mull of Kintyre" was dropped from the chart listings as of January 21, 1978. "Girls' School" continued its chart climb for a few more weeks, reaching #34 in Canada. After the single fell out of the top 40, it was once again tracked as a double A-side (with "Mull of Kintyre" getting first billing) for one week in April, but it did not better its previous #44 chart peak. "Mull of Kintyre" alone (without "Girls' School") did reach #30 on Canada's Adult Contemporary chart.[13][14]

Live performances

McCartney has played "Mull of Kintyre" only occasionally in concert since Wings' 1979 British tour. Performances include 23 June 1990 in Glasgow, Scotland. He played it in Australia and New Zealand and also Canada in 1993, 2005, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2015. He began playing the song again in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. On 11 July 2009, at a concert at the Halifax Common, he played the song accompanied by the 78th Highlanders (Halifax Citadel) Pipe Band. He played the song at the O2 Arena in London on 22 December 2009, accompanied by the 18-piece Balmoral Highlanders Pipe Band.

The following year, on 20 June 2010 McCartney performed "Mull of Kintyre" at Hampden Park in Glasgow accompanied by the Pipes and Drums of Loretto School. He played the song at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, on the 8 and 9 August 2010 with the Paris Port Dover Pipe Band.[15] On 20 December 2011, Loretto School played with him again in the final concert of his On The Run tour at the Echo Arena in Liverpool. On 25 November 2012 performed "Mull of Kintyre" at the On The Run Tour in Vancouver, British Columbia with the Delta Police Pipe Band, and in Edmonton, Alberta with the Edmonton Police Service Pipes and Drums on 28-29 November. On 7 July 2013, McCartney performed "Mull of Kintyre" on his "Out There" tour to a sell-out crowd at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Canada accompanied by the Ottawa Police Service Pipe Band.[16]

Cover versions

Glen Campbell covered the song on his 1982 album Old Home Town. In concert Campbell would play the bagpipes himself.[17]

Cheyenne Kimball covered the song on the album "Let Us In" Nashville – A Tribute to Linda McCartney, consisting of country-themed covers of Sir Paul McCartney songs by various artists, released on 21 November 2011, a benefit album for The Women and Cancer Fund.[18]

Wings band member Denny Laine covered "Mull of Kintyre" in 2007 on his album Performs the Hits of Wings.[19]

Charlie Gracie and the group Clutch Cargo covered the song as a benefit single in 2012 to help raise funds for the Philadelphia Police and Fire, Pipes & Drums Band. Their version of the single also featured the R&B vocal group The Orlons on backing vocals.[20]

Susan Boyle performed the song to welcome The Queen to the opening ceremony of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on July 23, 2014.

Personnel

  • Paul McCartney – lead vocal, acoustic bass guitar, acoustic guitar
  • Linda McCartney – backing vocal, percussion
  • Denny Laine – backing vocal, acoustic and electric guitars
  • Campbeltown Pipe Band – bagpipes and drums

Chart positions

Chart (1977/1978) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart[21] 1
Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart 1
Austrian Singles Chart[22] 1
Belgian Singles Chart[23] 1
Canada RPM Hot 100 44
Dutch Singles Chart 1
German Media Control Singles Chart 1
Irish Singles Chart 1
Norwegian VG-lista Singles Chart[22] 2
Swedish Singles Chart[22] 14
Swiss Singles Chart[22] 1
Japanese Oricon Singles Chart[24] 69

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Belgium (BEA)[25] Gold 100,000*
Germany (BVMI)[26] Gold 500,000^
Ireland (IRMA)[27] 2× Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[28] 2× Platinum 2,080,000[9]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

References

  1. ^ Vincent Benitez; James E. Perone (2010). The Words and Music of Paul McCartney: The Solo Years. ABC-CLIO. p. 208. ISBN 9780313349690. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  2. ^ "Paul McCartney Biography". NME. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
  3. ^ a b "UK Top 10 Best Selling Singles". UK Charts. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
  4. ^ "Official Charts: Paul McCartney". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  5. ^ Wingspan. p. 129.
  6. ^ Luca Perasi, Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969-2013), L.I.L.Y. Publishing, 2013, ISBN 978-88-909122-1-4, p. 163.
  7. ^ "Wings Greatest". JPGR. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  8. ^ "Paul McCartney - All The Best CD Cover". Cover Dude. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  9. ^ a b Myers, Justin (29 November 2015). "Official Top 20 biggest selling Christmas songs revealed". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  10. ^ "Mull of Kintyre" article, RockAndPopShop.com; retrieved 28 June 2007.
  11. ^ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard Magazine. 14 January 1978. p. 96. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  12. ^ "Billboard Top 50 Easy Listening". Billboard Magazine. 4 February 1978. p. 34. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  13. ^ "RPM 100 Singles". Library and Archives Canada. 28 January 1978. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  14. ^ "RPM Adult Oriented Playlist". Library and Archives Canada. 18 March 1978. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  15. ^ "Paris-Port Dover Pipe Band plays in concert wit... | Paris Star". Parisstaronline.com. 10 August 2010. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  16. ^ "Paul McCartney makes Ottawa concert debut". Cbc.ca. 8 July 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  17. ^ Merv GriffinShow (10 July 2012). "Glen Campbell plays bagpipes on "Mull of Kintyre"- (Merv Griffin Show 1981)". YouTube. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  18. ^ "“Let Us In” Nashville – A Tribute To Linda McCartney Now Available - Country Music Tattle Tale". Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  19. ^ "Performs the Hits of Wings". Allmusic. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  20. ^ Manney, George (11 April 2012). "Mull of Kintyre - Charlie Gracie with Clutch Cargo". YouTube. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  21. ^ "UK Singles Chart". Chartstats.com. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  22. ^ a b c d "Wings - Mull Of Kintyre". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 16 July 2008.
  23. ^ "Mull Of Kintyre / Girls School". Belgian-beatles-society.com. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  24. ^ "Paul McCartney Japanese Singles Chart listings". Original Confidence. Retrieved 16 July 2008.
  25. ^ "Belgian single certifications – Wings – Mull of Kintyre". Belgian Entertainment Association. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  26. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Wings; 'Mull Of Kintyre')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  27. ^ "Irish single certifications – Mull Of Kintyre – Wings". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  28. ^ "British single certifications – Wings – Mull of Kintyre". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 29 September 2015. Select singles in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Mull of Kintyre in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
Preceded by UK number-one Single
3 December 1977 - 28 January 1978 (9 weeks) 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Irish Singles Chart
10 December 1977 - 11 February 1978 (10 weeks) 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Australian Kent Music Report number-one single
12 December 1977 - 20 February 1978 (11 weeks) 		Succeeded by
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