Coming Up by Paul McCartney
Artist: Paul McCartney Weeks at #1: 3 weeks Chart dates: June 28, 1980 – July 12, 1980
About
“Coming Up” is the lead single from Paul McCartney’s second solo album. He recorded it himself on a farm in Scotland. The studio version was originally released as the A-side with a live version on the B-side. In the UK, Norway and New Zealand, the studio version peaked at #2. In the US, the live version (credited to Paul McCartney & Wings) went to #1 in the summer of 1980. Its music video features McCartney and his wife acting as several different members of the band, many of them parodies of other famous musicians including The Shadows’ Hank Marvin, Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour and Sparks’ Ron Mael. The ‘band’ is named The Plastic Macs, a parody of John Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band. McCartney shared he’d been told that “Coming Up” inspired Lennon to break a five-year dry spell and begin recording music again. Lennon told Playboy he thought “Coming Up” was “a good piece of work”.
