McCartney: Why Mull of Kintyre still holds a special place in my heart

SIR Paul McCartney has expressed his enduring love for his song Mull of Kintyre as the festive hit marks its 40th anniversary.

He said he regarded the whole of Kintyre and Argyll as special because of the memories it holds for him and his family.

High Park Farm, near Campbeltown, became something of a retreat for McCartney, right, his late wife Linda and their children.

First released in November 1977 by McCartney’s post-Beatles project, Wings, the song spent nine weeks at the top of the charts and has sold an estimated nine million copies worldwide, making it the biggest-selling single McCartney has ever written.

‘It’s really nice to think that the love we have for the area was captured in a song and brought to the attention of so many people around the world’, he told The Big Issue.

‘It was a great experience recording it with the local pipe band, and really exciting to see the success it had in the charts at the time, so those memories mean I still love it and it’s a very special song for me.’

McCartney went to the farm less and less following Linda’s death, but said: ‘We had such great times there and I like to think from time to time that we’ll be able to get back again.’

The Big Issue will publish its interview in Monday’s edition.