"Coming Up" is a song written and performed by the English rock musician

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

, released as the opening track on his second solo studio album ''

McCartney II ''McCartney II'' is the second solo studio album by the English musician Paul McCartney, released on 16 May 1980. It was recorded by McCartney at his home studio in the summer of 1979, shortly before the dissolution of his band Wings in 1981. L ...

'' (1980). Like other songs on the album, the song has a synthesised sound, featuring sped-up vocals created by using a

vari-speed A variable speed pitch control (or vari-speed) is a control on an audio device such as a turntable, tape recorder, or CD player that allows the operator to deviate from a standard speed (such as 33, 45 or even 78 rpm on a turntable), resulting ...

tape machine. McCartney played all instruments. The single was a hit in the UK, peaking at number 2 on the

Singles Chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

. In the United States and Canada, the live version of the song performed by

Paul McCartney and Wings Paul McCartney and Wings, often billed simply as Wings, was a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in 1971 in London by former The Beatles, Beatle Paul McCartney; his wife Linda McCartney on keyboards; session drummer Denny Seiwell; a ...

in Glasgow the year prior (released as the B-side to the single) saw greater success and reached number one in both countries.

Background

In a ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' interview, McCartney explained how the song came about:

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

, who was in

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

with McCartney, described "Coming Up" as "a good piece of work", and it prompted him to return to recording in 1980. Lennon later stated his preference for the studio version over the live version that was released as a single: "I thought that 'Coming Up' was great and I like the freak version that he made in his barn better than that live Glasgow one. If I'd have been with him I would've said 'that's the one' too. And I thought that the record company had a nerve changing it round on him, and I know what they mean, they want to hear the real guy singing, but I like the freaky one."

Critical reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' called it an "unusually produced but cute track". ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' said that "electronic keyboards, a dance beat and Paul's pop vocals give the contemporary sound." Writing for ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

'', Tom Breihan thought the song was "a weird demo" and "a clumsy attempt to play catchup to the

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.Talking Heads

". He gave the B-side a 5/10, stating that the live horns and vocals were an improvement but the performance was too restrained.

Live version

A live version of the song was recorded in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland, on 17 December 1979 by

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces both lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-drag ratio, which compares the bene ...

during their tour of the UK. An edited version from the performance was included as one of two songs on the B-side; the other song on the B-side was "Lunchbox/Odd Sox", a Wings song that dated back to '' Venus and Mars'' (1975). Both songs were credited to Paul McCartney and Wings.

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

wanted to put the live version on ''McCartney II'' but McCartney resisted the change, wanting to keep it a solo studio album. Instead, a one-sided 7" white-label promotional copy of the Wings version was included with the album in North America. "Coming Up (Live at Glasgow)" has since appeared on the US versions of the McCartney compilations '' All the Best!'' (1987) and '' Wingspan: Hits and History'' (2001), while the solo studio version is included on UK and international releases. The full length version of the song with an additional verse from the 1979 Glasgow show was finally released as bonus track on the ''

Paul McCartney Archive Collection The Paul McCartney Archive Collection is a project to remaster and reissue Paul McCartney's solo catalogue, including various albums released with Wings. These editions feature deluxe packaging and bonus rare tracks. Thus far, there have been 14 ...

'' reissue of ''McCartney II'' in 2011. A different live Wings recording of "Coming Up" appears on the album '' Concerts for the People of Kampuchea'' (1981), also recorded in 1979.

Music video

The music video for "Coming Up", directed by Keith McMillan, features Paul McCartney playing ten roles (himself, two guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, a keyboardist, and four saxophonists) and

Linda McCartney Linda Louise, Lady McCartney ( Eastman; September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, cookbook author, and activist. She was the keyboardist and harmony vocalist in the band Paul McCartney and Wings, Wings tha ...

playing two (one female backing vocalist and one male backing vocalist). The "band" identified as "the Plastic Macs" on the drum kit. In his audio commentary on the video collection '' The McCartney Years'' (2007), McCartney identified characters that were impersonations of specific artists:

Hank Marvin Hank Brian Marvin (born Brian Robson Rankin, 28 October 1941) is an English multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and songwriter. He is known as the lead guitarist for the Shadows. Early life and career Marvin was born as Brian Robson Rankin at ...

(guitarist from

the Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters between 1958 and 1959) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They served as the bac ...

Ron Mael Ronald David Mael (born August 12, 1945) is an American musician, songwriter, composer and record producer. He is the keyboard player and principal songwriter in the band Sparks (band), Sparks, which he founded with vocalist, occasional songwrit ...

of Sparks (keyboards), a '

Beatlemania Beatlemania was the fanaticism surrounding the English rock band the Beatles from 1963 to 1966. The group's popularity grew in the United Kingdom in late 1963, propelled by the singles " Please Please Me", "From Me to You" and " She Loves Yo ...

-era' version of himself (bass), and a drummer vaguely inspired by

John Bonham John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician who was the drummer of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Noted for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove, John Bonh ...

from

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

. Others, such as authors

Fred Bronson Fredric M. "Fred" Bronson (born January 10, 1949) is an American journalist, author and writer. He is the author of books related to number one songs on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and other books related to various music charts as well. He ...

and

Kenneth Womack Kenneth Womack (born January 24, 1966) is an American writer, literary critic, public speaker, and music historian, particularly focusing on the cultural influence of the Beatles. He is the author of the bestselling ''Solid State: The Story of ...

, have suggested that there are other identifiable impersonations in the video, such as

Andy Mackay Andrew Mackay (born 23 July 1946) is an English musician, best known as a founding member (playing oboe and saxophone) of the art rock group Roxy Music. In addition, he has taught music and provided scores for television, while his work as a se ...

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

and

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who was a central and pioneering figure of rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texa ...

;Bronson, Fred
''The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits''
Billboard Books, 2003, p. 526. McCartney said the other roles were simply comic relief. The video premiered in the UK on ''

The Kenny Everett Video Show ''The Kenny Everett Video Show'' (later renamed ''The Kenny Everett Video Cassette'') is a British television comedy and music programme that was made by Thames Television for ITV from 3 July 1978 to 21 May 1981. Overview Philip Jones, Tham ...

'' on 14 April 1980 and in the US on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' on 17 May 1980.

Release

In the UK, the single was an immediate hit, reaching in its third week on the chart. In the US,

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

promoted the live version, which subsequently received more airplay than the studio version. McCartney was unaware of Columbia's move; otherwise, he might have pushed for the A-side, which he thought was the stronger version. An executive from Columbia Records explained the switch by stating "Americans like the sound of Paul McCartney's real voice." The live version reached on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and was certified gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

for sales of over one million copies. Although the live version received more airplay and was considered to be the "hit", ''Billboard'' listed the A-side on the Hot 100 for the first 12 weeks on the chart, including three weeks at , before switching to the more popular B-side for the remaining nine weeks on the chart.Billboard Hot 100
''Billboard'' 12 July 1980: 60

Track listing

7" single (R 6035) # "Coming Up" – 3:49 # "Coming Up" (Live at Glasgow) – 3:51 #* Performed by Paul McCartney and Wings # "Lunch Box/Odd Sox" – 3:54 #* Performed by Paul McCartney and Wings

Personnel

Studio version

– lead vocals, keyboards, guitar, bass, drums

Live version

– lead vocals, bass *

– keyboards, vocals *

Denny Laine Brian Frederick Hines (29 October 1944 – 5 December 2023), known professionally as Denny Laine, was an English musician who co-founded two major rock bands: the Moody Blues and Wings. Laine played guitar in the Moody Blues from 1964 to 1966 ...

– guitar, vocals *

Laurence Juber Laurence Ivor Juber (born 12 November 1952) is an English musician, fingerstyle guitarist and studio musician. He played guitar in the rock band Wings (band), Wings from 1978 to 1981. Biography Early life Born in Stepney, East London, Juber w ...

– guitar *

Steve Holley Stephen Jeffrey Holley (born 24 August 1953) is an English rock drummer. He was a member of Wings from August 1978 to April 1981. In 1984 he played drums and percussion in Julian Lennon's debut album '' Valotte''. He has also toured with Ian ...

– drums * Tony Dorsey – trombone * Thaddeus Richard – saxophone *

Howie Casey Howard William Casey (born 12 July 1937) is a British rhythm and blues and rock saxophonist. He came to prominence in the early 1960s as a member of Derry and the Seniors, the first rock and roll band from Liverpool to play clubs in Germany, a ...

– saxophone * Steve Howard – trumpet

"Lunch Box / Odd Sox"

* Paul McCartney – piano * Linda McCartney –

moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer ( ) is a modular synthesizer invented by the American engineer Robert Moog in 1964. Moog's company, R. A. Moog Co., produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 2014. It was the first commercial synthesizer ...

* Denny Laine – guitar *

Geoff Britton Geoffrey Britton (born 1 August 1943) is an English rock drummer known for his work with Wings from May 1974 to January 1975, where he was featured on the '' Venus and Mars'' album. Career Britton was born in Lewisham, South East London. He ...

– drums * Tony Dorsey – bass

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coming Up (Song) 1980 songs 1980 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Columbia Records singles Music published by MPL Music Publishing Parlophone singles Paul McCartney songs RPM Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by Paul McCartney Songs written by Paul McCartney Paul McCartney and Wings songs Funk rock songs British disco songs American disco songs British funk songs American funk songs British new wave songs American new wave songs

Background

Critical reception

Live version

Music video

Release

Track listing

Personnel

Studio version

Live version

"Lunch Box / Odd Sox"

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

See also

References

External links