McGear | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 24 September 1974 | |||
Recorded | January – February 1974 26 April 1973 ("Leave It") | |||
Studio | Strawberry Studios, Stockport, England | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length | 43:30 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Producer | Paul McCartney | |||
Mike McGear chronology | ||||
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Singles from McGear | ||||
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AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
McGear is the second and final solo album by English singer Mike McGear, released in 1974. The album is a collaboration between McGear and his brother Paul McCartney, who co-wrote and produced the record. All backing tracks on the album are performed by McCartney and his band Wings, occasionally accompanied by guest artists. Lead vocals are sung by McGear.
Paul and Mike began planning for the album in July 1973. [2] Soon after, Mike had left the music and poetry group Grimms during a tour after a fight with Liverpool Poet (and fellow member) Brian Patten, and Paul suggested that Mike record a single with Wings to resurrect Mike's solo career. [3] Once the single "Leave It" was recorded at Abbey Road Studios, Paul sent the tape to his in-laws Lee and John Eastman to arrange for its release, but instead they suggested recording an entire album. [3] Mike said of the album that "the whole process was magical" and that the recording "was a truly collaborative process with my older brother." [3] The rest of the album was recorded at Strawberry Studios in Stockport, where Mike had recorded his previous solo album Woman . [4] [3] McCartney used the album's sessions to audition possible members of Wings after the band's lead guitarist and drummer quit the year before. [5]
When Warner Brothers signed McGear and Badfinger with some fanfare, coinciding with McCartney's EMI contract nearing expiration, it was rumoured that Warner Brothers were trying to interest McCartney in signing with them.[ citation needed ]
The front cover shows Mike captured like Gulliver, surrounded by little people. [4] Included in the people are pictures of the band members and photos of other people from McGear's life, as well as a childhood picture of Paul and Mike. [3]
On the original release Paul McCartney is not credited as a musician or backing singer, although he performed both roles during the recordings.
Lead single "Leave It" reached No. 36 in the UK singles chart, [6] becoming the sole charting single by Mike McGear. The opening track on the album, "Sea Breezes", is a Roxy Music cover from their self-titled debut album.
In 1991, McGear was re-released by Rykodisc in the U.S. with a previously unreleased version of the song "Dance The Do" as a bonus track (a different mix had been issued as a stand-alone single on UK Warner Bros).
In 1992, McGear was re-released by See For Miles Records in the U.K. with two bonus tracks, a different mix of "Dance The Do" and "Sweet Baby," which had been the B-side of the single "Leave It". The liner notes to that album quote Mike as saying that "Sweet Baby" had originally been named "All My Lovin'" but "some other group had already done one with that name". Both of these reissues quickly went out of print.
In 2019, Cherry Red Records produced a two-disc remastered reissue on its "Esoteric Records" imprint (which features an "ER" logo duplicative of the Warner Brothers "WB" logo), with one disc the same as the 1992 reissue, and the other disc a collection of alternate takes, outtakes, and a few other songs recorded by McGear between 1973 and 1980 (including his 1976 EMI single "Do Nothing All Day"). [3]
All songs by Mike McGear, Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney except where noted. [7]
2019 reissue bonus tracks:
All songs by Mike McGear, except where noted.
Paul McCartney and Wings, often billed simply as Wings, were an English-American rock band formed in 1971 in London by former Beatle Paul McCartney; his wife Linda McCartney on keyboards; session drummer Denny Seiwell; and former Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine. They were noted for their commercial successes, musical eclecticism, and frequent personnel changes. They went through three lead guitarists and four drummers. The core trio of the McCartneys and Laine, however, remained intact throughout the group's existence.
The Scaffold are a comedy, poetry and music trio from Liverpool, England, consisting of musical performer Mike McGear, poet Roger McGough and comic entertainer John Gorman. They are perhaps most notable for their successful singles "Thank U Very Much" (1967) and the UK number 1 "Lily the Pink" (1968). Since initially disbanding in 1977, the group have occasionally re-formed for performances and projects.
Peter Michael McCartney, known professionally as Mike McGear, is an English performing artist and photographer who was a member of the groups the Scaffold and Grimms. He is the younger brother of former Beatle Paul McCartney.
Mighty Like a Rose is the 13th studio album by the British rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, released in 1991 on compact disc as Warner Brothers 26575. The title is presumably a reference to the pop standard "Mighty Lak' a Rose", and although that song does not appear on the album, the words of its first stanza are quoted in the booklet of the 2002 reissue. It peaked at No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart, and at No. 55 on the Billboard 200.
Ram is the only studio album credited to the husband-and-wife music duo Paul and Linda McCartney, and the former's second album post-Beatles. Released on 17 May 1971 by Apple Records, it was recorded in New York with guitarists David Spinozza and Hugh McCracken, and future Wings drummer Denny Seiwell. Three singles were issued from the album: "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey", "The Back Seat of My Car" and "Eat at Home". The recording sessions also yielded the non-album single "Another Day".
Wild Life is the debut studio album by the British-American rock band Wings and the third studio album by Paul McCartney after the breakup of the Beatles. The album was mainly recorded in seven sessions between 24 July and 4 September 1971, at EMI Studios by McCartney, his wife Linda, session drummer Denny Seiwell, whom they had worked with on the McCartneys' previous album Ram, and guitarist Denny Laine, formerly of the English rock band the Moody Blues. It was released by Apple Records on 7 December in the UK and US, to lukewarm critical and commercial reaction.
Long Player is the second album by the British rock group Faces, released in February 1971. Among the highlights are a live cover version of Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed", the ballads "Richmond" and "Sweet Lady Mary", the party tune "Had Me a Real Good Time", and uptempo saloon bar rocker "Bad 'n' Ruin". Two tracks, "Maybe I'm Amazed" and "I Feel So Good", were recorded live at the Fillmore East, New York City, on 10 November 1970.
"She's Leaving Home" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, and released on their 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Paul McCartney wrote and sang the verse and John Lennon wrote the chorus, which they sang together. Neither George Harrison nor Ringo Starr were involved in the recording. The song's instrumental background was performed entirely by a small string orchestra arranged by Mike Leander, and is one of only a handful of Beatles recordings in which none of the members played a musical instrument.
"Maybe I'm Amazed" is a song written by the English musician Paul McCartney that was first released on his 1970 debut solo album McCartney.
Pipes of Peace is the fourth solo studio album by English singer-songwriter Paul McCartney, released on 31 October 1983. As the follow-up to the popular Tug of War, the album came close to matching the commercial success of its predecessor in Britain but peaked only at number 15 on America's Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart. While Pipes of Peace was the source of international hit singles such as "Say Say Say" and the title track, the critical response to the album was less favourable than that afforded to Tug of War.
CHOBA B CCCP is the seventh solo studio album by Paul McCartney, released on 31 October 1988 exclusively in the Soviet Union. The album consists of live-in-studio recordings of covers, mainly rock and roll oldies. The first pressing contained 11 tracks, the second contained 13 tracks. With a tracklist of 14 songs the album was released internationally on 29 October 1991.
Flowers in the Dirt is the eighth solo studio album by Paul McCartney. The album was released on 5 June 1989 on Parlophone, as he was embarking on his first world tour since the Wings Over the World tour in 1975–76. It earned McCartney some of his best reviews for an album of original songs since Tug of War (1982). The album made number one in the United Kingdom and Norway and produced several hit singles. The album artwork was a collaboration between artist Brian Clarke, who painted the canvas and arranged the flowers, and Linda McCartney, who produced the cover photography.
Off the Ground is the ninth solo studio album by Paul McCartney. It was released on 1 February 1993, through Parlophone in the UK and Capitol Records in the US. The record was produced by McCartney with Julian Mendelsohn. As his first studio album of the 1990s, it is also the follow-up to the well received Flowers in the Dirt (1989).
Tug of War is the third solo studio album by the English musician Paul McCartney, released on 26 April 1982. It is his 11th album overall following the break up of the Beatles in 1970, his first album released after the dissolution of his band Wings the previous year, and his first album following the murder of his former songwriting partner John Lennon. The cover features an abstract oil painting by the artist Brian Clarke, a frequent McCartney collaborator, incorporating an overpainted transparency of a portrait of Paul taken by Linda McCartney.
Magic Christian Music is the second studio album by the British rock band Badfinger, released on 9 January 1970 on Apple Records. It was their first release under the Badfinger name, having previously released the album Maybe Tomorrow in 1969 under the name The Iveys. It includes the band's first international hit, "Come and Get It", written and produced for them by Paul McCartney.
"Give Ireland Back to the Irish" is the debut single by the British–American rock band Wings that was released in February 1972. It was written by Paul McCartney and his wife Linda in response to the events of Bloody Sunday, on 30 January that year, when British troops in Northern Ireland shot dead thirteen civil rights protestors. Keen to voice their outrage at the killings, Wings recorded the track two days later at EMI Studios in London. It was the band's first song to include Northern Irish guitarist Henry McCullough.
"Let 'Em In" is a song by Wings from their 1976 album Wings at the Speed of Sound. It was written and sung by Paul McCartney and reached the top 3 in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. It was a No. 2 hit in the UK; in the U.S. it was a No. 3 pop hit and No. 1 easy listening hit. In Canada, the song was No. 3 for three weeks on the pop chart and No. 1 for three weeks on the MOR chart of RPM magazine. The single was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of over one million copies. It can also be found on McCartney's 1987 compilation album, All the Best! A demo of the song, featuring Denny Laine on lead vocal, was included as a bonus track on the Archive Collection reissue of Wings at the Speed of Sound.
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The Bucks were a band who played music based largely on Irish folk, touring briefly and recording and releasing one album for WEA Records in 1994. While remaining obscure, the band was formed by well-known Irish musicians Ron Kavana and Terry Woods. Paddy Keenan played pipes. James McNally was also a member, as were several members of Kavana's primary group, The Alias Band.