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McCartney II
a yellow-tinted photograph of Paul McCartney at shoulder-length giving a confused or ambivalent expression.
Studio album by
Paul McCartney
Released16 May 1980 (1980-05-16)
RecordedJune–July 1979
StudioMcCartney's home (Sussex)
Spirit of Ranachan (Campbeltown)
Genre
Length37:59
LabelParlophone (UK)
Columbia (US)
ProducerPaul McCartney
Paul McCartney chronology
Back to the Egg
(1979) 		McCartney II
(1980) 		The McCartney Interview
(1980)
Paul McCartney studio album chronology
Thrillington
(1977) 		McCartney II
(1980) 		Tug of War
(1982)
Singles from McCartney II
  1. "Coming Up"
    Released: 11 April 1980
  2. "Waterfalls"
    Released: 13 June 1980
  3. "Temporary Secretary"
    Released: 19 September 1980

McCartney II is the fourth solo studio album by the English musician Paul McCartney, released on 16 May 1980. It was recorded by McCartney at his home studio in the summer of 1979, shortly before the dissolution of his band Wings in 1981. Like his debut solo studio album, McCartney (1970), he performed all the instruments himself. It yielded three singles: "Coming Up", "Waterfalls", and "Temporary Secretary".

The album was a significant departure for McCartney, as much of it relies heavily on synthesisers and studio experimentation, while its music style embraces new wave and elements of electronica. It was initially released to largely unfavourable reviews by critics, though retrospective reception has been more positive[1] and the album has become a cult favourite.[2] In 2011, an expanded edition of McCartney II was issued with over a dozen bonus tracks. In 2020, the album was succeeded by McCartney III. In 2022, the trilogy was reissued in the McCartney I II III box set.

Background

[edit]
Paul McCartney being interviewed by two reporters holding microphones.
McCartney being interviewed at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, January 1980

After the release of what turned out to be Wings' final album, Back to the Egg, McCartney went north to his farm in Scotland to begin some private recordings in July 1979.[3] "Check My Machine" samples dialogue from the 1957 Merrie Melodies cartoon featuring Tweety and Sylvester entitled Tweet Zoo. By sessions' end, he had recorded over 20 songs. With no immediate use for the recordings, he put them aside for the time being and returned to work with Wings to prepare for a UK tour that November and December.

Simultaneously with the performances (which included the new "Coming Up"), McCartney released his first solo single since 1971, the Christmas-themed "Wonderful Christmastime", backed with "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reggae", which charted at No. 6 in the UK[4] but initially only at No. 83 in the US.[5] (The song later reached No. 28 in 2020.[6]) The A-side was recorded during the McCartney II sessions, while its flip side had been cut in 1975. However, upcoming events were about to change McCartney's plans with Wings.

After years of visa refusals due to his past arrests for marijuana possession, Japan had finally allowed McCartney, and thus Wings, to perform. It would be the first instance McCartney had performed in the country since he had done so with the Beatles in 1966, and anticipation was running high with Wings' tour completely sold out. However, upon his arrival in Tokyo on 16 January 1980, a search of McCartney's luggage revealed a bag containing 219 grams of marijuana, prompting his immediate arrest and eventually cancelling the tour. After a nine-day jail stay, McCartney was released and returned home to his Scottish farm. Deciding to put Wings on hold while he contemplated his future, he now decided to issue his solo recordings from the previous summer.[7]

Music and lyrics

[edit]

McCartney II was named in follow-up to his debut album McCartney (1970) because McCartney plays all instruments on both albums;[8] he has also since stated that he had specifically hired a 16-track machine and "a couple of microphones" with which to record this album, adding that he had himself alternately played the drums used in several recording in either the kitchen or bathroom in order to achieve the echo he sought on particular songs.[1]

Featuring arrangements that are heavy on synthesisers, McCartney II has been said to represent McCartney's "acceptance of new wave",[8] and has been described as "airless proto-electronica".[9] The album is often experimental, with most of its songs having been described as strange "eccentric synthpop".[10] Although McCartney denies any direct influences on the album,[2] he admired the "eccentricity" and "not-mainstream attitude" of Talking Heads' David Byrne.[11] McCartney was also inspired by experimental composers John Cage, Cornelius Cardew and Luciano Berio; McCartney explained: "I went to their concerts in London because I had plenty of time on my hands so it was the kind of thing I would go and see. Again, just to see what it was about, not necessarily because I was a massive fan. It was more like: what is a prepared piano? Oh, that's what it is. You know, funky stuff like that."[11]

According to Stephen Dalton of The Quietus, parts of the album are reminiscent of krautrock and "the whole post-punk disco boom", and described most of the album as "an alluringly weird mash-up of trip-hop, Krautrock and synth-pop."[2] McCartney said that, "rather than me emulating anyone, it was more a question of me seeing what I could do with it. And again, not necessarily thinking I was making an album, just to have some time to experiment. These days I would say that with The Fireman project. So I've always been into that – if you go from 'Tomorrow Never Knows' through McCartney I, McCartney II, The Fireman…"[2] Many of the most synthesised tracks are instrumentals which have been described as ambient; journalist Stephen Thomas Erlewine compared them "to a sprightly variation" of the instrumentals from the second side of Low (1977) by David Bowie, albeit with a warmer, less menacing sound.[12] The instrumental "Frozen Jap" came about as McCartney was experimenting with synths and stumbled upon, in his words, an "Oriental"-sounding melody. The title was meant to be a placeholder as McCartney found earlier song names like "Crystalline Icicles Overhang the Little Cabin By the Ice-Capped Mount Fuji" and "Snow Scene in the Orient" to sound clumsy. On Japanese copies of the album, the title was changed to "Frozen Japanese" because McCartney was unaware that "jap" was seen as a racial slur.[13]

Lead single "Coming Up" – an uplifting dance number – appeared that April with a video (Paul playing all the bandmates, dubbed 'The Plastic Macs', except for the backing singers played by Linda) and with two B-sides by Wings: "Coming Up (Live at Glasgow)", recorded during Wings' December 1979 show there, and the piano laden instrumental "Lunch Box/Odd Sox" (a Venus and Mars outtake). An immediate UK No. 2 hit, "Coming Up" was flipped over for the live Wings version in the US where it became another No. 1 for McCartney, greatly raising hopes for his first solo album proper in years. The live Wings version of "Coming Up" was also included as a one-sided 7-inch single in copies of McCartney II within the US and Canada.[citation needed]

"Temporary Secretary" features frantic synthesiser lines and lyrics about requiring a secretary of any skill level for a short period of time. McCartney dubbed the song an "experiment", saying that he found the concept of a temporary secretary humorous. "Temporary Secretary" was released as a 12" single in Britain, backed with the experimental non-album track "Secret Friend". Author Howard Sounes thought it a "sexy" track.[14] The single was only released in a quantity of 25,000 copies, failing to make an impact on the charts. The single artwork was created by Jeff Cummins of Hipgnosis.[15] The song was performed live for the first time at the London O2 Arena on 23 May 2015.[16] It was sampled in the 3D RDN remix of "Deep Deep Feeling" on McCartney III Imagined.

Release and critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Contemporary reviews
Review scores
SourceRating
Robert ChristgauC[17]
Marshall Fine(unfavourable)[18]
Los Angeles Times(unfavourable)[19]
Rolling Stone(unfavourable)[20]
Smash Hits5/10[21]
SoundsStarStarStarStar[22]

McCartney II was released in mid-May. The album debuted in UK at number one on the UK Albums Chart, becoming McCartney's first number-one there since Venus and Mars in 1975.[4] EMI reported that the album was on track to equal the sales of Band on the Run.[23] The second single from the album, "Waterfalls", peaked at number nine in the singles chart.[4]

In the US, initial sales were strong thanks to the hit single "Coming Up" and the album reached number three in its second week on the Billboard album chart where it remained for five weeks.[24] "Waterfalls" went virtually unnoticed in the US, only "bubbling under" the Billboard Hot 100 at number 106 for one week. The album quickly dropped down the charts and was off the Billboard chart after 19 weeks, McCartney's shortest run since Wild Life. It was one of his lowest-selling albums in the US up to that point.[25]

The critical reception to McCartney II was mostly negative. Many critics found the album slight, with its experimental, synth-based compositions and its handful of instrumentals. Record World magazine described it as "arguably the least well-received solo work of any Beatle".[26]

Retrospective reviews and legacy

[edit]
Professional ratings
Retrospective reviews
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStar[8]
The Encyclopedia of Popular MusicStarStarStar[27]
The Essential Rock Discography5/10[28]
MusicHoundStarStarStar[29]
Pitchfork7.2/10[10]
QStarStar[30]
The Quietus(favourable)[31]
Record CollectorStarStarStarStar[32]
The Rolling Stone Album GuideStarStar[33]

Retrospective reviews have rated the album more highly.[34][35] Some writers credit it as a forerunner to the sound of 1980s pop.[36]

In 2003, Mojo placed the album at number 26 on their list of the "Top 50 Eccentric Albums".[37] In 2014, NME included the album on their list of "101 Albums to Hear Before You Die", whose list entries were chosen by different musicians; McCartney II was picked by Austin Williams of Swim Deep.[38]

In 2018, Pitchfork ranked it at number 186 in their list of "The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s". They called it a "strange, guileless wisp of a synth-pop record" and wrote that although "[o]riginally derided as a novelty, McCartney II is now remarkable in its prescience of the lo-fi and bedroom pop movements."[39]

Reissues

[edit]

The initial issue of McCartney on compact disc featured "Check My Machine" and "Secret Friend" as bonus tracks. The two songs were originally released as the B-sides of "Waterfalls" and "Temporary Secretary", respectively. In 1993, McCartney II was remastered and reissued on CD as part of "The Paul McCartney Collection" series with Wings' 1979 hit "Goodnight Tonight" added as a third bonus track.

When the new remastered version was released on 13 June 2011 as part of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection,[40] the album re-entered the UK charts at number 108.[41]

The album was reissued on 5 August 2022 in a boxset entitled McCartney I II III, consisting of 3 LPs or 3 CDs, along with the first and third albums of the trilogy.[42]

Influence

[edit]

McCartney II was described as an influence on Hot Chip's album Made in the Dark (2008), especially with songs like "Wrestlers", "Bendable Poseable", "Whistle for Will" and "We're Looking for a Lot of Love".[43] "Now There Is Nothing" from the band's later album In Our Heads (2012) has been described as a homage to McCartney II, with their guitarist Al Doyle explaining the song has "quite deliberately quirky time signature changes and key changes and these sort of very wandering harmonies—very typical of that period and McCartney productions."[44] Alexis Taylor of the group has described McCartney II as one of his favourite albums of all time.[11] The album has also been championed by multiple other musicians such as disc jockey Erol Alkan, Chris Carter of Throbbing Gristle, Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals and Ty Bulmer of New Young Pony Club.[11]

Track listing

[edit]

All songs written by Paul McCartney.

Side one

  1. "Coming Up" – 3:53
  2. "Temporary Secretary" – 3:14
  3. "On the Way" – 3:38
  4. "Waterfalls" – 4:43
  5. "Nobody Knows" – 2:52

Side two

  1. "Front Parlour" – 3:32
  2. "Summer's Day Song" – 3:25
  3. "Frozen Jap" – 3:40
  4. "Bogey Music" – 3:27
  5. "Darkroom" – 2:20
  6. "One of These Days" – 3:35

Additional tracks on the 1993 CD reissue

  2. "Check My Machine" – 5:50
  3. "Secret Friend" – 10:31
  4. "Goodnight Tonight" – 4:15

Archive Collection reissue

[edit]

In 2011, the album was re-issued by Hear Music/Concord Music Group as part of the second set of releases, alongside McCartney, in the Paul McCartney Archive Collection. It was released in various formats:[45]

  • Standard edition 1-CD; the original 11-track album
  • Special edition 2-CD; the original 11-track album on the first disc, plus 8 bonus tracks on a second disc[46]
  • Deluxe edition 3-CD/1-DVD; the original 11-track album, the bonus tracks disc, a limited and numbered 128-page book containing many previously unpublished images by Linda McCartney. The book features album and single artwork and a full history of the making of the album, complete with a new interview with Paul and expanded track by track information. The DVD features rare and previously unseen footage (including rehearsal footage of "Coming Up" and a new video for the unreleased track "Blue Sway")[47]
  • Remastered vinyl 2-LP version containing the Special Edition and a download link to the material[48]
  • High Resolution 24bit 96 kHz limited and unlimited audio versions of all 27 songs on the remastered album and bonus audio discs

Disc 1 – The original 11-track album

Disc 2 – Bonus Audio 1

  1. "Blue Sway" (with Richard Niles Orchestration)[a] – 4:35
  2. "Coming Up" (live at the Apollo Theatre, Glasgow – 17 December 1979) – 4:08
  3. "Check My Machine" (regular single B-side edited version) – 5:50
  4. "Bogey Wobble"[a] – 2:59
  5. "Secret Friend" (full length version) – 10:31
  6. "Mr H Atom" / "You Know I'll Get You Baby"[a] – 5:55
  7. "Wonderful Christmastime" (regular A-side version) – 3:47
  8. "All You Horse Riders" / "Blue Sway"[a] – 10:15

Disc 3 – Bonus Audio 2

  1. "Coming Up" (full length version) – 5:34
  2. "Front Parlour" (full length version) – 5:15
  3. "Frozen Jap" (full length version) – 5:43
  4. "Darkroom" (full length version) – 3:45
  5. "Check My Machine" (full length version) – 8:58
  6. "Wonderful Christmastime" (full length version) – 4:15
  7. "Summer's Day Song" (original without vocals) – 3:25
  8. "Waterfalls" (DJ edit) – 3:20

Disc 4 – DVD

  1. "Meet Paul McCartney"
  2. "Coming Up" (music video)
  3. "Waterfalls" (music video)
  4. "Wonderful Christmastime" (music video)
  5. "Coming Up" (live at the Concert for the People of Kampuchea, 29 December 1979)
  6. "Coming Up" (from a rehearsal session at Lower Gate Farm, 1979)
  7. "Making the Coming Up Music Video"
  8. "Blue Sway" (music video)

Note

^[a] signifies previously unreleased material.

Personnel

[edit]

Charts and certifications

[edit]

Weekly charts

[edit]

Notes

  • A^ Until January 1987, Japanese albums chart had been separated into LP, CD, and cassette charts. McCartney II also entered the cassette chart, peaking at number 13.

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

McCartney II

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
McCartney II is the second solo studio album by English musician Paul McCartney, recorded and released as a largely self-performed work in 1980.[1] The album was produced by McCartney during a period of seclusion in 1979, utilizing home recording techniques at his residences in East Sussex and Scotland, where he played most instruments himself, including synthesizers and drum machines, to create an experimental sound blending pop structures with electronic and lo-fi elements.[2][3] Released on 16 May 1980 through Parlophone in the UK and Columbia in the US, it marked McCartney's return to solo production following the dissolution of Wings, echoing the DIY ethos of his 1970 debut McCartney.[4] Commercially, McCartney II achieved number one status on the UK Albums Chart and peaked at number three on the US Billboard 200, driven by singles such as "Coming Up," which topped the US singles chart.[5] Critically, it faced divided responses upon release for its unpolished, avant-garde style diverging from polished rock conventions, though subsequent reevaluations have highlighted its prescience in anticipating synth-pop and home-recording trends.[6][7] The album's defining characteristics include quirky tracks like "Temporary Secretary" and its overall emphasis on musical innovation over commercial formula, underscoring McCartney's penchant for boundary-pushing experimentation independent of band dynamics.[4]

Background

Events leading to creation

On 16 January 1980, Paul McCartney was arrested at Tokyo's Narita International Airport upon arrival for Wings' scheduled 11-date Japanese tour, after customs officials discovered approximately 219 grams of marijuana in his luggage.[8][9] He was immediately transferred to the Tokyo Narcotics Detention Center, where he remained for nine days under strict conditions, including confinement in a small cell, before being released and deported on 25 January 1980.[8][10] The arrest prompted promoters to cancel the tour within hours, as McCartney's detention made performance impossible.[9][11] The cancellation inflicted substantial financial losses on Wings, which had relied on touring for significant revenue following a period of reduced live activity since their 1975–1976 world tour.[10] Combined with preexisting internal frictions—exacerbated by lineup instability, such as the 1977 departure of guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and the band's stagnant momentum after their final studio album Back to the Egg—the incident eroded cohesion.[12] These pressures contributed to Wings' cessation of operations, culminating in the departure of longtime member Denny Laine in April 1981, which effectively dissolved the group.[13] In response to these mounting professional disruptions, McCartney withdrew to his family farm in Kintyre, Scotland— a retreat he had used since the Beatles' breakup for creative seclusion—shifting from band collaboration to self-reliant production.[14] This isolation mirrored the approach of his 1970 solo debut and directly addressed the logistical and interpersonal challenges of maintaining Wings, enabling unencumbered experimentation amid uncertainty about the band's viability.[14]

Conception and artistic intent

McCartney II was conceived as a sequel to McCartney's 1970 self-titled debut, reviving the do-it-yourself ethos of solo home recording after years of collaborative band efforts with Wings. In the summer of 1979, amid uncertainty about Wings' future following their recent tours and lineup changes, McCartney retreated to his farm in Scotland to experiment freely without external pressures.[14] This project marked his first solo album since forming Wings in 1971, prioritizing spontaneous creativity over the structured, polished productions of his band-era work.[14] McCartney articulated his intent to return to a "homemade way" of music-making, playing all instruments himself as a counterpoint to conventional studio processes. He explained, "I made a couple of albums, the normal way you make albums, and I felt like doing it the homemade way again because I quite like recording like that – where I play all the instruments."[14] This approach sought to strip away rock band conventions, embracing unfiltered personal expression amid ongoing post-Beatles scrutiny and the era's emphasis on high-production rock albums.[15] The album's artistic vision centered on artistic independence, using the home setting to explore new sonic possibilities without commercial expectations, positioning it as a deliberate act of creative renewal.[14] Originally envisioned as a double album with around 20 tracks recorded across locations including East Sussex, it reflected McCartney's desire to delve deeper into self-reliant experimentation during a transitional phase.[4]

Recording and Production

Home studio setup

McCartney II was recorded using a portable home studio setup initially assembled at Lower Gate Farm, an old farmhouse in Sussex, England, before being dismantled and relocated to a barn on the Spirit of Ranachan farm in Scotland. This self-contained configuration, engineered by technician Eddie Klein, emphasized simplicity and portability to facilitate solo experimentation without reliance on external facilities. The choice reflected McCartney's preference for immediate, iterative recording processes, drawing from his earlier home-based work on the 1970 McCartney album, and avoided the delays and costs associated with professional studios.[3] Central to the setup was a Studer A80 16-track analog tape machine, with microphones such as Neumann U47 and U67 models plugged directly into its inputs, bypassing a traditional mixing console to streamline capture and minimize signal degradation. Additional core equipment included a custom 16-channel mixer built by Klein, a Teac A-480 cassette deck for auxiliary tasks, and headphones like Beyerdynamic DT 100 for monitoring. For electronic elements, McCartney employed analog synthesizers including the Yamaha CS-80, paired with an ARP 1601 step sequencer on tracks like "Temporary Secretary," alongside a Roland CR-78 drum machine for rhythmic foundations. Acoustic components featured standard drums such as Pearl wood-fiberglass kits and Gretsch toms.[3][16][17] This economical assembly, limited to readily available consumer and semi-professional gear costing far less than commercial studio investments, enabled McCartney to prototype and refine ideas in isolation during the summer of 1979. By prioritizing direct-to-tape methods and multifunctional instruments, the setup demonstrated early viability of home production for high-profile artists, prefiguring broader accessibility through advancing affordable technology in subsequent decades.[3][18]

Technical methods and self-performance

McCartney recorded McCartney II entirely by himself in his home studio during June and July 1979, performing all vocals, bass, drums, guitars, and synthesizers through extensive overdubbing on a Studer 16-track tape machine, with microphones plugged directly into the machine to bypass a conventional mixing console.[17] This one-man-band approach echoed his earlier solo work on McCartney (1970) but incorporated updated electronic elements, allowing him to layer tracks sequentially while monitoring via headphones.[19] The process emphasized improvisation and real-time experimentation, as McCartney described it as "just an experiment" driven by fascination with emerging affordable synthesizers and sequencers.[19] For percussion, McCartney combined acoustic drumming—sometimes achieved with unconventional placements like recording a snare in a toilet for a distinctive reverb-laden sound—with primitive drum machines to program beats on tracks such as "Front Parlour" and "Frozen Jap."[20] Synthesizers formed the core of the album's electronic texture, with overdubs building dense, looping patterns; vari-speed tape manipulation altered playback speeds for sonic effects across multiple songs.[21] In "Temporary Secretary," he employed an ARP step sequencer to generate the track's insistent, whooshing riff, drawing inspiration from earlier sequencing techniques like those in The Who's "Baba O'Riley" while adapting it to real-time programming.[22][23] The solo setup introduced technical hurdles, including imperfect synchronization between layered elements due to the limitations of home equipment and lack of professional engineering support, which imparted a raw, unpolished quality to the final mixes reflective of the album's experimental ethos.[19] Despite these constraints, McCartney's method demonstrated the feasibility of solo production for complex multi-instrumental arrangements, prefiguring broader adoption of home recording technologies.[16]

Musical Style and Content

Instrumentation and sonic experimentation

McCartney II emphasizes synthesizers as the core of its sonic palette, with McCartney employing instruments like the ARP sequencer to generate rhythmic patterns and melodic lines, as heard in "Temporary Secretary."[24] This approach yields new wave and synth-pop hybrids, evident in the upbeat, sequencer-driven propulsion of tracks such as "Coming Up," where layered electronic elements underpin the composition, and the instrumental "Frozen Jap," derived from McCartney's improvisation on synthesizer settings that evoked an Oriental melodic motif.[22][25] These choices represent a marked departure from the guitar-driven rock arrangements of McCartney's Wings era, favoring electronic textures over traditional band instrumentation.[22] Unconventional sound sources further define the album's experimentation, including manipulated vocal samples from the 1957 Merrie Melodies cartoon dialogue ("Morning, Terry," "Hi, George") integrated into "Check My Machine," alongside ambient synthesizer noodling in tracks like "Bogey Music" and "Darkroom."[26][27] McCartney's solo performance of all parts via multitracking on four-track tape introduced inherent production artifacts, such as audible tape hiss and fluctuating tempos from unquantized playback, which preserved the immediacy of home-recorded spontaneity rather than pursuing studio-polished uniformity.[27][18]

Lyrics, themes, and song structures

The lyrics of McCartney II emphasize whimsy and everyday absurdity, often through lighthearted vignettes that eschew deep narrative complexity in favor of playful observation. In "Temporary Secretary," McCartney adopts the perspective of an employer seeking a temporary hire who is "strong and sweet, fitting on my knee," portraying office automation and hiring as a satirical pretext for fleeting companionship, inspired by percussive typewriter sounds.[28][29] Similarly, tracks like "On the Way" depict mundane travel routines with repetitive affirmations of optimism, underscoring individualistic resilience without political undertones. These motifs align with McCartney's post-arrest seclusion following his January 1980 detention in Japan for marijuana possession, during which he recorded the album in rural Scotland, channeling isolation into apolitical escapism rather than confrontation.[30][31] Introspective elements emerge in pastoral imagery evoking personal refuge, as in "Waterfalls," where lyrics caution against "jumping waterfalls" in favor of safer "lakes," using metaphors of risky pursuits—like chasing polar bears or motor cars—to symbolize the need for grounded love amid life's hazards.[32] This reflects a theme of self-preservation and emotional simplicity, prioritizing relational stability over ambition. The album avoids overt messaging, focusing instead on individualistic playfulness; McCartney later described such writing as experimental fun unbound by commercial expectations.[14] Song structures prioritize catchy, repetitive hooks over elaborate progression, often employing verse-chorus forms with minimal variation to emphasize melodic immediacy. "Coming Up" features a looping electro-funk groove with insistent vocal refrains building to layered climaxes, its simplicity amplifying the hook's infectious quality.[33] In contrast, shorter sketches like "Summer's Day Song" function as instrumental interludes without lyrics, relying on cyclical motifs for brevity, while vocal tracks such as "Nobody Knows" use basic AABA patterns with echoed choruses to convey understated mystery. Overall, these constructions favor accessibility and spontaneity, mirroring the album's home-recorded ethos of intuition over formal complexity.[34]

Release and Commercial Performance

Launch and promotion challenges

McCartney II was released on 16 May 1980 in the United Kingdom via Parlophone Records and on 22 May 1980 in the United States via Columbia Records.[35][14] The album's promotion faced significant constraints due to the absence of live tour support, as Wings' scheduled 11-date Japanese tour was abruptly canceled following Paul McCartney's arrest for possession of approximately 219 grams of marijuana at Tokyo's Narita Airport on 16 January 1980.[9][8] McCartney was detained for nine days in a Tokyo jail cell before being deported on 25 January, an event that not only halted immediate touring plans but also cast a shadow over global marketing efforts amid ongoing legal and public scrutiny.[8][10] With Wings effectively dissolved in the aftermath and no alternative band performances feasible, promotional reliance shifted to radio exposure for the lead single "Coming Up," issued in advance of the album to drive airplay and generate buzz through its upbeat, synth-driven sound.[1] The single adopted a double A-side format, pairing the studio version with a live recording from a December 1979 Wings concert in Glasgow, underscoring McCartney's self-reliant approach without additional live promotion.[21] The physical packaging further emphasized this DIY ethos, featuring a gatefold sleeve with custom artwork and photography by McCartney himself, presented as a self-contained artifact rather than leveraging extensive label-driven advertising campaigns.[35] The staggered UK-US rollout, spanning just six days, minimized coordinated transatlantic hype, while releases in markets like Japan were postponed amid lingering sensitivities from the narcotics conviction and deportation.[35][36]

Sales figures and chart achievements

McCartney II entered the UK Albums Chart at number 2 upon its release on 16 May 1980 and ascended to number 1 the following week, holding the top position for one week.[37] In the United States, the album debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 16 on 14 June 1980 and peaked at number 3 for three consecutive weeks starting 21 June. The lead single "Coming Up" propelled these achievements, reaching number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks from 28 June to 12 July 1980, marking McCartney's first solo chart-topper there since 1975.[38] Sales figures reflected a reliance on McCartney's established post-Wings audience amid the album's lo-fi, experimental approach, which contrasted with the polished production of prior releases. The album earned a gold certification in the United Kingdom for 100,000 units shipped by 4 June 1980.[39] While exact global totals remain unverified in official reports, aggregated data from major markets indicate combined sales across the UK, US, and Japan exceeding 675,000 units by the early 1980s.[39] Compared to Wings' Band on the Run (1973), which achieved number 1 positions in both the UK and US alongside global sales surpassing 9 million units, McCartney II experienced a commercial dip, with lower unit shipments attributed to its unconventional style yet sustained by core fan loyalty rather than broad critical or radio consensus.[40][41] This resilience underscored McCartney's market draw independent of traditional promotion, as EMI noted early trajectory aligning with prior successes despite minimal touring or singles beyond "Coming Up."[40]

Critical Reception

Initial reviews and detractors

Upon its release on May 16, 1980, McCartney II faced widespread dismissal from rock critics who viewed its lo-fi home recordings and synthesizer experiments as a betrayal of rock authenticity. Stephen Holden in Rolling Stone described the album as "an album of aural doodles designed for the amusement of very young children," critiquing its rudimentary production and perceived lack of sophistication as emblematic of McCartney's retreat into whimsy rather than robust songcraft.[42] This reflected a broader purist aversion to the album's embrace of electronic textures and new wave influences, which clashed with expectations for guitar-driven rock rooted in Beatles-era polish or Wings' arena anthems. The New Musical Express (NME) echoed this scorn, declaring the record "isn't worth the plastic it's printed on," charging it with disposability and failure to meet standards of musical gravity amid the era's punk and post-punk ethos that prized raw edge over McCartney's playful domesticity. Critics frequently accused the album of self-indulgence, pointing to its solo-multitracked construction and inclusion of unfinished sketches as evidence of unchecked caprice, despite McCartney's explicit framing of the project as raw demos intended to capture spontaneous creativity rather than polished artifacts. Such rebukes often stemmed from an institutional preference for conventional rock formalism, undervaluing the album's pioneering home-studio minimalism in favor of ensemble grandeur. While a few contemporaneous voices noted glimmers of innovation in tracks like "Temporary Secretary" for their proto-electronic propulsion, the dominant narrative among establishment outlets panned McCartney II as incomplete and frivolous, prioritizing adherence to genre norms over experimentation with affordable technology that foreshadowed DIY recording trends. This critical consensus underscored a resistance to McCartney's shift from band dynamics to solitary synth noodling, interpreting it as artistic dilution rather than bold reinvention.

Achievements highlighted in early responses

The lead single "Coming Up," released on April 11, 1980, was frequently praised in early coverage for its upbeat rhythm, layered vocals, and enduring pop craftsmanship, reaching number 2 on the UK Singles Chart and prompting a live Wings rendition that topped the US Billboard Hot 100 on June 28, 1980.[43][44] John Lennon, commenting in a 1980 Playboy interview, specifically lauded the song as "a good piece of work," crediting its vitality for reigniting his own recording interest after a hiatus.[45] This acclaim underscored McCartney's ability to channel melodic intuition into an experimental framework, preserving his core songwriting strengths amid sonic novelty.[46] Certain early commentators recognized McCartney's pioneering integration of synthesizers—like the EDP Wasp and vocoder effects—as a prescient nod to burgeoning electronic trends, evident in tracks such as "Temporary Secretary" that anticipated sequencer-driven textures before their widespread pop dominance later in the decade.[47] The album's full DIY execution, with McCartney handling all instrumentation and production in his Sussex home studio during a Wings break, was noted by some as a resourceful personal reset, infusing the project with raw, unmediated vigor unburdened by band dynamics.[48] This self-reliant approach highlighted technical proficiency in multitracking and effects processing, yielding a distinctive lo-fi immediacy that contrasted with polished Wings output.[49]

Legacy and Retrospective Views

Modern reevaluations and cultural reeappraisal

In the years following its initial release, McCartney II experienced a gradual reevaluation, transitioning from a perceived eccentric outlier to a recognized cornerstone of Paul McCartney's solo oeuvre, particularly as archival reissues highlighted its DIY ethos amid his career transitions. The 2011 Archive Collection edition, by restoring and expanding access to the album's home-recorded experiments, prompted critics to revisit its innovative spirit, with reviewers noting its prescient blend of analogue synths and lo-fi intimacy as a bold pivot from Wings-era polish.[50] This shift aligned with broader cultural appreciation for auteur-driven recordings, countering earlier dismissals of self-indulgence by emphasizing McCartney's technical ingenuity and unfiltered creativity.[48] The release of McCartney III in December 2020 further catalyzed acclaim for the album's place in a self-titled trilogy spanning five decades, underscoring thematic consistency in introspective, self-produced solitude during personal and professional upheavals—such as McCartney's 1980 retreat from band dynamics mirroring the 2020 pandemic isolation. Critics drew parallels to McCartney (1970) and II's raw, bedroom origins, praising the latter's experimental tracks like "Temporary Secretary" for anticipating electronic pop textures while maintaining melodic accessibility, thus reframing it as a deliberate artistic statement rather than whimsy.[51] The 2022 boxed set McCartney I II III amplified this narrative, positioning II as the connective tissue in McCartney's pattern of alchemical home demos into polished yet vulnerable works.[52] Anniversary retrospectives in outlets like The Quietus lauded the album's forward-thinking prescience, with 2011 analyses highlighting its "beautifully alien experiments" that defied 1980s expectations and now resonate in an era valuing analogue revival and unvarnished authenticity over studio sheen.[19] Similarly, a 2020 40th-anniversary piece on Medium celebrated its escapist ethos—"see what's there and breathe fresh air"—as a counterpoint to contemporary burnout, arguing its quirky synth-pop and ballads like "Waterfalls" embodied resilient introspection amid McCartney's post-Wings reinvention. These views culminated in scholarly framing, as The McCartney Legacy: Volume 2 (1974–80) detailed the album's undervalued role in McCartney's 1970s-1980s evolution, portraying it as a pivotal artifact of artistic autonomy amid commercial pressures.[53] This reeappraisal reflects empirical evidence from sustained cult following and peer endorsements, evidenced by artists citing its influence in interviews and its inclusion in curated solo retrospectives, establishing McCartney II as a respected emblem of McCartney's uncompromised vision rather than a mere footnote.[54]

Influence on genres and home recording practices

McCartney II exemplified early adoption of home-based electronic production, employing synthesizers such as the EML 200 and basic multi-tracking to create an entire album without external collaborators or professional studios. This self-reliant method, executed in McCartney's Sussex home during 1979, highlighted the feasibility of achieving polished, innovative results with accessible technology, thereby challenging the prevailing reliance on expensive studio facilities and session musicians dominant in the late 1970s music industry.[55][56] The album's experimental ethos directly shaped synth-pop and DIY electronic trends, with Hot Chip explicitly acknowledging it as a key influence on their indietronica sound, as evidenced by vocalist Alexis Taylor's 2011 interview with McCartney probing the record's production techniques.[54][55] Similarly, Super Furry Animals' Gruff Rhys engaged McCartney on the album's synth-driven innovations in the same series, underscoring its resonance in indie and alternative circles.[54] Tracks like "Temporary Secretary" further propagated these influences through later adaptations, including Riton's 2014 remix for promotional use and samples in works by artists such as Extreme Animals, fostering hybrids of new wave, electronica, and proto-techno that echoed McCartney's sequencer-heavy experimentation.[57][58] This democratization of tools prefigured the bedroom producer movement, where affordable digital workstations enabled similar solitary creativity, as retrospectively noted in analyses of 1980s electronic shifts.[22]

Reissues

2011 Archive Collection edition

The 2011 Archive Collection edition of McCartney II was released on 13 June 2011 in the United Kingdom and 14 June in the United States, supervised by Paul McCartney as part of his broader reissue program for early solo works.[59][60] The album underwent digital remastering at Abbey Road Studios by the engineering team responsible for The Beatles' catalogue remasters, aiming to preserve and enhance the original analogue recordings' fidelity while highlighting McCartney's home experimentation with synthesizers and multi-tracking.[59] Available formats included a standard single-CD remaster of the original 11 tracks, a special two-CD edition appending eight bonus audio tracks such as the live "Coming Up (Live at Glasgow, 1979)" and an edited "Wonderful Christmastime," and a deluxe four-disc set (three CDs and one DVD) for deeper archival exploration.[59][60] The deluxe edition's third CD featured eight rare selections, including B-sides like "Mr. H Atom / You Know I'll Get You Baby" (a 5:55 experimental piece with proto-new wave elements recorded during the album sessions) and full-length versions of tracks such as "Secret Friend" and "Check My Machine," many of which originated as unreleased home demos or alternate mixes from 1979–1980.[61][59] These additions emphasized the reissue's focus on expanding access to McCartney's solitary production process, with some tracks clocking in longer than their single or album counterparts to reveal extended improvisations.[60] The accompanying DVD in the deluxe package offered visual bonuses, including rare performance footage of "Coming Up," a newly produced video for the unreleased "Blue Sway" (featuring orchestral elements arranged by Richard Niles), and making-of segments tied to the album's promo era.[62][59] Housed in a numbered hardbound book with 128 pages of Linda McCartney's unpublished photographs, liner notes on recording techniques, and track-by-track annotations, the deluxe format elevated the release's collectible appeal and provided contextual depth to the remaster's sonic upgrades.[60] A limited 180-gram vinyl edition also included MP3 download codes for digital access, facilitating broader dissemination of the enhanced audio.[60]

Subsequent releases including 2022 trilogy box and 2025 SHM-CD

In 2022, McCartney II formed part of the McCartney I II III box set, released on August 5, which collected Paul McCartney's three self-recorded solo albums from 1970, 1980, and 2020 in a limited-edition package marking their first joint availability.[63] The set offered options in limited-edition color vinyl, black vinyl (180-gram pressings), and CD formats, with the vinyl editions including photo prints and emphasizing the albums' lo-fi, home-production aesthetic without appending bonus tracks to McCartney II.[64][65] A Japanese SHM-CD edition of McCartney II followed in 2025, announced on June 4 as part of a series targeting audiophiles with Super High Material discs engineered for improved sound clarity, depth, and definition over standard CDs.[66] This limited remaster from 2011 included a miniature poster, printed inner sleeve, and booklet with Japanese lyric translations, released to capitalize on demand for high-fidelity formats in that market.[67][68] Subsequent vinyl reissues have maintained fidelity to the original 1980 artwork, featuring 180-gram pressings paired with digital download cards for accessibility.[69] These pressings, available through official channels post-2011, supported ongoing collector interest without altering the core album content.[70]

Track Listing

Original LP configuration

The original long-playing record configuration of McCartney II, released on 16 May 1980 by Parlophone in the United Kingdom (catalogue PCTC 258) and Columbia in the United States (FC 36503), divided its ten tracks across two sides with a total runtime of approximately 38:09.[27][71] Side one (18:13)
  • "Coming Up" – 3:52[71]
  • "Temporary Secretary" – 3:13[71]
  • "On the Way" – 3:36[71]
  • "Waterfalls" – 4:41[71]
  • "Nobody Knows" – 2:51[71]
Side two (20:52)
  • "Front Parlour" – 3:30[71]
  • "Summer's Day Song" – 3:24[71]
  • "Frozen Jap" – 3:38[71]
  • "Darkroom" – 4:48[71]
  • "Check My Machine" – 5:32[71]
Runtimes reflect those documented for the initial vinyl pressings, with minor variations possible across individual copies due to manufacturing tolerances.[71] The album was issued in a standard gatefold sleeve without designated B-sides for singles promotion within the LP format itself.[27]

Personnel

Core contributors and roles

Paul McCartney performed all instruments, lead vocals, and production duties on McCartney II, executing the album as a one-man band project recorded primarily at his home studio in Sussex, England, between June and August 1979.[14][71] This self-contained approach extended to engineering the recordings and composing every track, with McCartney handling bass, drums, guitars, keyboards, synthesizers, and percussion across the sessions.[1] Linda McCartney contributed backing vocals on select tracks, including harmonies on songs such as "Check My Machine" and "Waterfalls," providing supplementary vocal layers to Paul's lead performances.[14] No external session musicians or additional performers were credited, reinforcing the album's emphasis on McCartney's individual capabilities without reliance on collaborators beyond his immediate family input.[17][1]

Charts and Certifications

Peak positions by region

McCartney II reached number one on the UK Albums Chart upon its release in May 1980, holding the position for two weeks. The album spent 18 weeks on the chart overall.[72] In the United States, it peaked at number three on the Billboard 200, debuting at number 16 on June 14, 1980, and remaining on the chart for 19 weeks.[73][74]
Chart (1980)Peak
UK Albums (OCC)1
US Billboard 2003
The lead single "Coming Up" peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks in 1980 and number two on the UK Singles Chart, where it charted for nine weeks.[75][76]

Sales certifications and estimates

In the United States, McCartney II received a Gold certification from the RIAA on October 16, 1980, for shipments exceeding 500,000 units.[77] In the United Kingdom, the album was awarded Gold status by the BPI for sales over 100,000 copies. Other markets, including Japan, contributed additional certified units, with combined verified sales across major territories totaling approximately 675,000 as of aggregated certification data.[39]
RegionCertifying BodyCertificationUnitsDate
United StatesRIAAGold500,000October 16, 1980
United KingdomBPIGold100,000Unknown
JapanRIAJUnknownIncluded in aggregateUnknown
Beyond certified figures, independent analyses estimate McCartney II's worldwide performance at around 4 million equivalent album units, incorporating physical sales, downloads, and streaming equivalents through the 2020s; this reflects cumulative totals rather than initial 1980s shipments, which were closer to 1.2 million by 2001.[40] Reissues, such as the 2011 Archive Collection edition and the 2022 McCartney I II III trilogy box set, provided sales boosts, with the latter generating renewed interest amid McCartney's experimental trilogy narrative. Relative to contemporaries like Wings' Band on the Run (over 9 million global sales), McCartney II achieved solid mid-tier success for a solo experimental release amid the post-disco era, without blockbuster dominance.[40]

References

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  2. US album release: McCartney II by Paul McCartney | 1980
  3. "McCartney II" sessions #1
  4. Paul McCartney's 'McCartney II' Turns 35 Years Old - NME
  5. Paul McCartney (artist)
  6. The 50 Best 10th Albums of All Time - Rolling Stone
  7. Paul McCartney: McCartney II - Only Solitaire blog
  8. Paul McCartney is released from a Tokyo jail and deported from Japan
  9. Paul McCartney in Japan 1980: drugs, jail, deportation - A Pop Life
  10. Paul McCartney's Nine Days in a Tokyo Jail - Performing Songwriter
  11. Wings '80 Japan tour cancelled - The Paul McCartney Project
  12. When Paul McCartney Went It Alone Again on 'McCartney II'
  13. Why did Paul McCartney and Wings split up? - Far Out Magazine
  14. McCartney II
  15. Why Paul McCartney's 'McCartney II' Is an Experimental Delight
  16. McCartney II home studio gear - Gearspace
  17. Paul McCartney experiments on his second solo album - A Pop Life
  18. McCartney II Album
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  20. Paul McCartney recording a drum in a toilet for 'McCartney II' (1979)
  21. McCartney II | Paul McCartney | The Beatles Bible
  22. Paul Plays Synths: When Classic Rockers Embraced the New Wave
  23. Paul McCartney talks about using a sequencer on his 1980 track ...
  24. McCartney II - Vintage Synth Explorer Forums
  25. Frozen Jap | Paul McCartney | The Beatles Bible
  26. Check My Machine by Paul McCartney - WhoSampled
  27. McCartney II - The Beatles Complete U.K. Discography
  28. Temporary Secretary | Paul McCartney | The Beatles Bible
  29. The Wacky Paul McCartney Lyric Celebrating Part-Time Help
  30. Paul McCartney – II | In Sheeps Clothing
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  32. Paul McCartney - Waterfalls lyrics | Musixmatch
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  34. Slow Music Review: Paul McCartney – McCartney II - The Appraisal
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  36. Paul is Live (on SHM-CD): Five New McCartney Titles Follow Nearly ...
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  40. Paul McCartney albums and songs sales - ChartMasters
  41. Paul McCartney's Best Selling Album Revealed: Band on the Run
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  43. Timeline | 1980 - Paul McCartney
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  45. John Lennon Called This Paul McCartney Song 'a Good Piece of ...
  46. The McCartney song made John Lennon start recording again
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  49. McCartney II (1980) - WarewolfReviews
  50. Paul McCartney — McCartney, McCartney II (reissues) | The Quietus
  51. ALBUM REVIEW: Paul McCartney - McCartney III - XS Noize
  52. Paul McCartney's "I/II/III" Reissues: A Review - CultureSonar
  53. Review | Do we need another book about Paul McCartney? Yes.
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  55. Remember When: Paul McCartney Was His Own Backing Band on ...
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  62. McCartney and McCartney II reissue details announced
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