Monday, September 3, 2018

Musical Monday - Coming Up by Paul McCartney


#1 on the Billboard Hot 100: June 28, 1980 through July 12, 1980.
#1 on the Cash Box Top 100: Never.
#1 on the U.K. Chart: Never.

The only two people who appear in this video are Paul McCartney and his then wife Linda McCartney. This is apropos, since they are the only two people who appear on the recording as well. Despite the fact that an alternate version of this song was recorded with McCartney's band Wings, Coming Up more or less signaled McCartney's break from the band, and his first real foray into a solo career since the early 1970s. By 1981, Wings was defunct.

Every instrument on this recording was played by McCartney, and Paul and Linda provided all of the vocals (with Paul's lead vocal track sped up using a vari-speed tape machine). The song is peppy, catchy, and not much more than that. On a side note, this song reached #1 in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100, but it didn't top the charts in the U.K., which is somewhat unusual for McCartney as he tends to do better on the U.K. chart than he does on the U.S. charts.

Previous Musical Monday: Crying by Don McLean
Subsequent Musical Monday: The Rose by Bette Midler

Previous #1 on the Billboard Hot 100: Funkytown by the Lipps, Inc.
Subsequent #1 on the Billboard Hot 100: It's Still Rock and Roll to Me by Billy Joel

List of #1 Singles from the Billboard Hot 100 for 1980-1989
List of #1 Singles from the Cash Box Top 100 for 1980-1989
List of #1 Singles on the U.K. Chart for 1980-1989

Paul McCartney     1980s Project     Musical Monday     Home

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