Mull of Kintyre

"Mull of Kintyre"
Single by Wings
B-side	"Girls' School"
Released	11 November 1977
Format	7"
Recorded	August 1977
Genre	Scottish, waltz, folk[1]
Length	4:45
Label	Capitol
Writer(s)	Paul McCartney, Denny Laine
Producer	Paul McCartney
Wings singles chronology
"Maybe I'm Amazed" (1977) "Mull of Kintyre" (1977) "With a Little Luck" (1978)

"Mull of Kintyre" is a song written by Paul McCartney and Denny Laine and performed by Wings. The song was written in tribute to the picturesque Kintyre peninsula in Scotland, where McCartney has owned High Park Farm since 1966, and its headland, the Mull of Kintyre.

The song was Wings' biggest hit in the United Kingdom where it became the 1977 Christmas number one, and was the first single to sell over two million copies in the UK.^[2][3][4]

History

The lyrics of the first verse, also used as the repeating chorus, are an ode to the area's natural beauty and sense of home:

Mull of Kintyre
Oh mist rolling in from the sea,
My desire
Is always to be here
Oh Mull of Kintyre

McCartney explained how the song came into being:

"Mull of Kintyre" was recorded in August 1977 in London, during a break in recording the London Town album caused by Linda McCartney's advanced pregnancy, which led to the departure of Jimmy McCulloch and Joe English from Wings. Bagpipes from Kintyre's local Campbeltown Pipe Band were included as a prominent part of the recording. "Mull of Kintyre" and "Girls' School" (a rocker that had been previously recorded for London Town) were released as a double A-sided single on 11 November 1977, independently of the album. It was also included on the Wings compilation Wings Greatest in 1978, and the UK/Canada version of McCartney's 1987 compilation album, All the Best!.

Success

The song's broad appeal was maximised by its pre-Christmas release and it became a Christmas number one single in the UK, spending 9 weeks at the top of the charts. It also became a massive international hit, dominating the charts in Australia and many other countries over the holiday period. It went on to become the first single to sell over two million copies in the UK and becoming the UK's best-selling single of all-time (eclipsing The Beatles' own "She Loves You") until overtaken by Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" in 1984 (which also featured McCartney on the B-Side). The song remains the UK's best-selling completely non-charity single. (Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" has sold more in its two releases, but the profits of the 1991 release went to charity.)^[3]

The millionth copy of the disk sold in the UK included a special certificate. It was sold to David Ackroyd, who was presented with a gold disk of the single by Laine.^[6]

However, one place where the song was not a hit was the United States, where the flipside "Girls' School" received more airplay and reached No. 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 while "Mull of Kintyre" only managed to reach No. 45 on the Easy Listening chart.

McCartney has only played "Mull of Kintyre" occasionally in concert since Wings' 1979 British tour. Performances include 23 June 1990 in Glasgow, Scotland, 11 July 2009 at a concert in Halifax, Nova Scotia, accompanied by the 78th Highlanders (Halifax Citadel) Pipe Band. He played it in Australia and New Zealand and also Canada in 1993. He played the song at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, on the 8 and 9 August 2010 with the Paris Port Dover Pipe Band.^[7] He also played the song at the O2 Arena in London on 22 December 2009, accompanied by the 18-piece Balmoral Highlanders Pipe Band. On 20 June 2010 McCartney performed "Mull of Kintyre" at Hampden Park in Glasgow accompanied by the Pipes and Drums of Loretto School. On 20 December 2011, Loretto School played with him again in the final concert of his On The Run tour at the Echo Arena in Liverpool.

In popular culture

The song was adopted soon after release by fans of several popular football clubs in the United Kingdom and is still played before and sung during games, most notably since the 1970s by fans of Nottingham Forest F.C.; the song's lyrics were adapted for the now firmly established crowd favourite 'City Ground'. The adapted lyrics read:

"City Ground, Oh mist rolling in from the Trent, my desire, is always to be here, oh City Ground"

Laine sang the song at the Birmingham Heart Beat Charity Concert 1986.

The song was also parodied as "Mull of Timperley" by comedian Frank Sidebottom.

The song was released for download for the Xbox 360 karaoke game Lips on 19 November 2010 and includes the music video.

Cover versions

Glen Campbell covered the song on his 1982 album Old Home Town. In concert Campbell would play the bagpipes himself.

Ashley MacIsaac covered the song on his self-titled 2003 album with vocals from Dallas Smith of the band Default.

Celtic Thunder covered the song on their Act Two album.

The tune was used in 1992 for the song "Valley Floyd Road" which was written for Charlton Athletic F.C. in celebration of their return to their home ground The Valley.^{[citation needed]}

The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards band covered the song on their Spirit of the Glen album.

Cheyenne Kimball covered the song on the album "Let Us In" Nashville – A Tribute to Linda McCartney, consisting of country-themed covers of Sir Paul McCartney songs by various artists, released on 21 November 2011, a benefit album for The Women and Cancer Fund.^[8]

Wings band member Denny Laine covered "Mull of Kintyre" in 2007 on his album Performs the Hits of Wings.^[9]

Personnel

• Paul McCartney – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, acoustic bass guitar
• Linda McCartney – backing vocal, percussion
• Denny Laine – backing vocal, electric guitar, acoustic guitar
• Campbeltown Pipe Band – bagpipes

Chart positions

See also

• List of best-selling singles by year (UK)
• List of Christmas number one singles (UK)
• List of Dutch Top 40 number-one singles of 1977
• List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1970s
• List of number-one singles from the 1970s (UK)
• List of number-one hits of 1978 (Germany)
• List of number-one hits of 1978 (Switzerland)
• Mull of Kintyre test

Notes

External links

• MPL Communications - Song Archive
• Paul McCartney - Mull of Kintyre at Graham Calkin's Beatles Pages.