Macca’s back-a
Beatle makes new album as lockdown turns to rockdown
IT’S been a long and winding road but Beatles legend Paul McCartney has finished a musical trilogy he started 50 years ago.
Lockdown became rockdown for Macca as he became a one-man band and recorded McCartney III at his Sussex studio.
He played all the instruments and produced the album, which includes an unreleased track originally recorded with the late Beatles producer George Martin. His album McCartney came out in 1970, shortly after The Beatles split and McCartney II in 1980.
Sir Paul, 78, said: “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 halffinished, 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.” He added: “So, I just did stuff I fancied doing. I had no idea this would end up as an album.”
Like Sir Paul, the instruments he used have quite a vintage. He played the original double bass of Bill Black from Elvis Presley’s band, his own Hofner violin bass and a Mellotron from Abbey Road Studios used on
The Beatles’ Strawberry Fields Forever. The final track on the album, When Winter Comes, was recently rediscovered by Macca and was originally recorded in the early 90s with “fifth Beatle” Sir George, who died in 2016.
The photography for the new album is shot by Paul’s daughter Mary, who was the baby tucked into Paul’s jacket on the back cover of McCartney, which sold more than a million in the US.
McCartney III will be released on December 11 on Capitol Records.