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Thrillington

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Thrillington is a 1977 album by Paul McCartney, under the pseudonym of Percy "Thrills" Thrillington. The album is an instrumental cover version of Paul and Linda McCartney's 1971 album, Ram.

History

Arranger Richard Hewson was asked to arrange the orchestration before Ram had yet been released and it was recorded in June 1971—with McCartney as producer—and with an intended release shortly thereafter.[3] Paul and Linda's decision to form Wings resulted in the album being shelved until 1977.

In preparation for the release of Thrillington, McCartney invented the fictitious socialite Percy Thrillington, and even took out ads in various UK music papers announcing Thrillington's so-called comings and goings to generate curiosity and interest.

Released in April 1977, McCartney's name was mentioned only in the main liner notes where he is described as a friend of Percy. Thrillington went mostly unnoticed upon its release except for a mention in the Random Notes page of Rolling Stone magazine. It became a sort of collector's item although not a hot one for there was some doubt as to whether Thrillington was really Paul McCartney and the role he played in it. McCartney was never asked about his role in that album until he finally admitted it to journalist Peter Palmiere at a Los Angeles press conference on 27 November 1989 during the second leg of his world tour. McCartney told Palmiere "What a great question to end the conference. The world needs to know! But seriously it was me and Linda—and we kept it a secret for a long time but now the world knows!— you blew it!" After the admission, the album nearly tripled in value.

Paul McCartney in 1990 also admitted to Palmiere via an autograph request that he indeed was Clint Harrigan – the liner notes writer for Thrillington and Paul McCartney and Wings Wild Life album. Oddly enough the first person to reveal the identity of Clint Harrigan was John Lennon, who stated as much during a well-publicised letter feud in the New Musical Express in 1972.

The full story of the "Thrillington" album was told in detail in music journalist Ian Peel's book, "The Unknown Paul McCartney" (Reynolds & Hearn, 2002). Peel tracked down various musicians who brought McCartney's vision to life – including Richard Hewson, Herbie Flowers and The Mike Sammes Singers – as well as those that were responsible in creating its mythology.

Re-release

"Thrillington" was issued on CD in 1995 and 2004. No accompanying vinyl version were released. Sales were limited mainly because the actual appeal of the project itself was limited.[citation needed]

Thrillington was reissued as part of the deluxe edition of Ram on 21 May 2012.[4]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Paul and Linda McCartney, except where noted

Side One
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Too Many People"Paul McCartney4:31
2."3 Legs"Paul McCartney3:41
3."Ram On"Paul McCartney2:49
4."Dear Boy" 2:50
5."Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" 4:56
6."Smile Away"Paul McCartney4:39
Side Two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."Heart of the Country" 2:27
8."Monkberry Moon Delight" 4:36
9."Eat at Home" 3:28
10."Long Haired Lady" 5:44
11."The Back Seat of My Car"Paul McCartney4:51

Personnel

It is widely, and incorrectly, reported that the Swingle Singers provided backing vocals on this album.[5][6] It is also noteworthy that the Mike Sammes Singers also made uncredited appearances on several recordings by the Beatles most famously "Good Night" and "I Am the Walrus".

Production

References

  1. ^ Thrillington at AllMusic
  2. ^ Gary Graff & Daniel Durcholz, MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, Visible Ink Press (Farmington Hills, MI, 1999), p. 731.
  3. ^ Sounes, Howard (2010). Fab: An Intimate Life of Paul McCartney. London: HarperCollins. p. 284. ISBN 9780007321551.
  4. ^ "Paul and Linda McCartney's Legendary Album RAM Set for Deluxe Reissue". paulmccartney.com. 2 June 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  5. ^ Allmusic.com
  6. ^ Mcbeatle.de
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