Sir James Paul McCartney is an English musician, singer-songwriter who gained worldwide recognition for his time with The Beatles, where he originally joined in 1957 when the band who at this point where a skiffle band were known as The Quarrymen. The musician made controversy back in 1970, being the first of the Fab Four to announce the band were breaking up and used this time to promote his self-titled, first solo album which at the time garnered negative criticism for the 'unpolished' final product and tasteless time in which it was released, being mere weeks after the band broke up and prior to the release of The Beatles final album, Let It Be.
McCartney since then has gone on to launch his second and last band, Wings which lasted for a decade where he released some of his most popular work to this date in his solo career such as Band on the Run and tracks like Live and Let Die and Silly Love Songs. He is known for experimenting with new sounds like on his album Ram, and his track Coming Up where he played every instrument on the track. Even at the age he is, being 81 years old, the musician is still touring and releasing new work relevant to his time at The Beatles, but also his solo work through the Paul McCartney archive collection where his early solo work has finally earned
the recognition it deserves.
Music Video: Coming Up
The music video for the musicians song Coming Up released in 1980, and can be found on his first solo album, McCartney II after his second band, Wings broke up. As mentioned in the introduction, McCartney's commitment to experimenting with sound is notable in this track for he played on every instrument featured, which the music video is self-referential to as it features Paul and Linda McCartney dressed up as various different musician caricatures, playing along jovially, revealing the videos intent to spread positivity and not to be taken entirely seriously. This could also be a nod to the musicians who he has been personally inspired by, as he impersonates the likes of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham and The Shadows guitarist Hank Marvin, implying there is a love-letter here to not only the medium of music, but the music McCartney had released prior with Wings, his first two solo albums and the music he made with The Beatles. This self-reflection makes sense considering the artist was in his mid to late 30s at this point only a decade after quitting the most influential and recognisable band in the world, and he would go on to make his first and only attempt of a movie where he re-recorded old tracks of his, and also recorded the voices for a Rupert the Bear short which was a huge part of his childhood.
The countless CU shots of the musicians face still reveal his charming looks that a lot of teenage girls admired him for in the 1960s, telling us just how far he has become as a musician and how influential he is, since he is still experimenting even by 1980 and still instantly recognisable, emphasising how anyone can easily be hooked onto his music, whether it's a Beatlemania teenager, or someone who was born later on at that point.
The video also spreads positivity through the vibrant rainbow colours of the set the video was recoded on, which is a very simplistic but impactful beacon of light and wholesomeness. It can also be found with the comic reliefs of the video, with the weird faces McCartney pulls off during the video and monkey like posture of the drummer, something audiences are likely to find amusing. The experimental, but bouncy nature of the song and video was even impactful enough on Beatles founder John Lennon, crediting this as one of the few songs that brought him back to the recording studio in 1980, only months before he was assassinated, another example of the videos intent of creating + spreading positivity.
Magazine: Rolling Stone
This edition of Rolling Stone released on September 11th, 1986. To be featured on such a recognisable and prestige music magazine already tells us of the influence the musician has had to deserve front page credit. Featured is the copy that reads 'SPECIAL ISSUE and below WHERE ARE THEY NOW? as listed are other artists from the 1960s that were popular around the time of the height of McCartney's career as a musician, listed here also is Gerry & the Pacemakers, another Liverpudlian band who played at the Cavern Club. This tells us not only how far McCartney has become as a career, for other musicians of his time being reminiscent on, but also just how much of an impact they have had on the music industry and the way we listen to music.
The choice to position McCartney facing forward and make eye contact with the audience implies a few things, one idea could be that his music has had an impacting on all of us, from his work making children's songs like Yellow Submarine and more recently at his point his work on Rupert and the Frog Song, to his work with The Beatles in the 1960s, or Wings in the 1970s and by 1986 the solo work he was doing, or collaborations with other highly popular musicians at the time like Michael Jackson with songs like The Girl is Mine and Say Say Say. His wide eyes emphasise the drastic influence he has had in our lives and the media itself, showing how important he has led himself to become. This positioning could also be another example of the artist still maintaining his charming looks that were admired in his younger days, implying how far time has come since then, which can also be self-reflective of the audience who may consider how far they have come also since their youth days. This can also be seen with the copy HOW CD'S ARE CHANGING ROCK & ROLL, another example of how far the musician has become and even in a new era of music, he still has a significant influence.
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