"Getting Closer" is a rock song from the British rock band

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 ...

, Paul McCartney's post-

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 ...

band. The song was released on the album ''

Back to the Egg ''Back to the Egg'' is the seventh and final studio album by the British-American rock band Wings, released in June 1979 on Parlophone in the UK and Columbia Records in North America (their first for the label). Co-produced by Chris Thomas, ...

''.

Background

Despite being released in 1979, McCartney was working on "Getting Closer" as early as May 1973, with its first demo recording being made then by actor

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for Dustin Hoffman filmography, his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable charac ...

on holiday in

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Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

. In 1974, McCartney made a piano demo for the song. Upon being resurrected by the band for ''Back to the Egg'', the song, originally at a slower tempo, was transformed into a "driving rocker." Like most of the songs off of ''Back to the Egg'', "Getting Closer" bears an influence from punk and new wave music. Author and ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi * '' ...

'' contributor Tom Doyle describes Wings' version as "power-popping" and reminiscent of the English band Squeeze.Doyle, p. 174 Juber said of the guitars used in the song: "I think I played my Martin D28 on the rhythm track and some Les Paul Custom (the one in the video) for the electric."

Release

"Getting Closer," backed with "Spin It On," was released in the US in June 1979 as the first single from ''Back to the Egg''. The single reached #20 on the ''

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

'', as well as #20 on '' Cashbox'' and #22 on ''

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 ...

''. Despite not being released as the first single in the UK (" Old Siam, Sir" was used instead), the song did see a UK single release in August 1979. Marketed as a

Double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

with "Baby's Request," the single was a relative flop, only peaking at #60. For the release of ''Back to the Egg'', a special was made featuring music videos for multiple songs, including "Getting Closer." " Old Siam, Sir", "Spin It On" and "

Arrow Through Me "Arrow Through Me" is a song by the British–American rock band Wings, released on their 1979 album ''Back to the Egg''. Background "Arrow Through Me", unlike most songs on ''Back to the Egg'', is more pop-oriented than rock-oriented. ''Ulti ...

" were among the tracks for which videos were made.

Reception

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' described "Getting Closer" as "an uplifting raker in which McCartney's soaring vocals play off strong guitar, keyboards and drum lines." ''

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 "a dynamic, churning pop-rocker," saying that the "slamming guitar and aggressive vocals" were reminiscent of ''

Band on the Run ''Band on the Run'' is the third studio album by the British–American rock band Paul McCartney and Wings, released on 30 November 1973. It was McCartney's fifth album after leaving the Beatles in April 1970 and his final album on Apple ...

''. ''

'' called it "another superbly crafted McCartney hook."

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Personnel

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 ...

– vocals, bass, Epiphone Casino electric guitar, Mellotron *

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 ...

– keyboards, backing 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 ...

– electric guitar, Martin D28 acoustic guitar, backing 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 ...

– electric guitar, Ovation acoustic 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

References

Paul McCartney songs 1979 singles Paul McCartney and Wings songs Songs written by Paul McCartney Columbia Records singles Parlophone singles Song recordings produced by Paul McCartney Song recordings produced by Chris Thomas (record producer) Music published by MPL Music Publishing EMI Records singles {{Beatles-song-stub