Macca’s rockdown album
50 years after his first solo record, Paul makes third in pandemic
IT has been a long and winding road since he released his first solo album 50 years ago.
Now Sir Paul McCartney is releasing the final LP in his solo trilogy – following a ‘rockdown’ where he recorded songs at home in the pandemic.
The former Beatle, 78, has confirmed McCartney III will be available in December, ending weeks of teasing on social media and music streaming service Spotify. Sir Paul, worth an estimated £800million, made the album alone while in isolation at his Sussex farm, recording sections on different instruments before ‘layering it up’.
The two previous albums were released in 1970 and 1980, with the belated followup now 40 years later in 2020.
The first two albums – McCartney and McCartney II – were also recorded at home and featured vocals from his late wife Linda, who was also the photographer.
Speaking about McCartney III, Sir Paul said the process was sparked when he returned to an unreleased track from the early 1990s, When Winter Comes, which was co-promain duced by ‘fifth Beatle’ George Martin. He said: ‘I was living lockdown life on my farm with my family and I would go to my studio every day. I had to do a little bit of work on some film music and that turned into the opening track and then when it was done I thought what will I do next?
‘I had some stuff I’d worked on over the years but sometimes time would run out and it would be left half-finished so I started thinking about what I had.
‘Each day I’d start recording with the instrument I wrote the song on and then gradually layer it all up – it was a lot of fun. It was about making music for yourself rather than making music that has to do a job. So, I just did stuff I fancied doing. I had no idea this would end up as an album.’ The photos for III were shot by Sir Paul’s daughter Mary, 51 – who was pictured as a baby with him in an iconic 1970 photo – and nephew Sonny. Sir Paul also took photos on his phone. The star had been dropping hints ahead of the announcement, posting images of objects in numbers of three. The website name mccartneyiii.com was also registered in August. The third solo album comes two years after Egypt Station – McCartney’s 17th post-Beatles LP. It reached No1 in the US and No3 in the UK.
The original solo record, which Sir Paul described as being about ‘home, family, love,’ was released on April 17, 1970, just nine days after the Beatles’ final LP Let It Be came out.
Asked at the time about his break from the group, he said: ‘Personal differences, business differences, musical differences, but most of all because I have a better time with my family. Tem
‘Living lockdown life on my farm’
‘I just did stuff I fancied doing’
porary or permanent? I don’t really know.’
McCartney II came out at the end of a decade where he had global success with his second band Wings. It featured songs including Coming Up, Temporary Secretary and Waterfalls.
Sir Paul had been due to headline Glastonbury for its 50th anniversary celebrations in June, but the festival was scrapped amid the pandemic. McCartney III will be released December 11.