"Temporary Secretary" is a song by

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

, released as the third single from his album '' McCartney II'' in September 1980. Dominated by a dissonant sequenced synthesiser line, '' NME'' later described the song as "wonky

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a r ...

that didn't sound so much ahead of its time as out of it altogether." While initially met with highly negative critical reception, it has since become a cult classic and favorite among McCartney fans.

Background

McCartney later said that he had had temporary secretaries, and that there was a real Mr. Marks.

Release

"Temporary Secretary" was released as a third single from the album only in a form of 12" single, along with the ten-minute "Secret Friend" as its

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

, but it was limited to 25,000 copies and therefore failed to chart. A 7" single exists only as a demo for radio stations. It exemplifies both the whimsical nature of the album and McCartney's use of synthesizers and other electronics in the creation of the album. McCartney said the song was an "experiment."

Live performances

McCartney performed "Temporary Secretary" live for the first time 35 years after its release: on May 23, 2015, at the O2 Arena in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He performed it live at some dates during the 2015 legs of his Out There tour and at some dates during his 2016–2017

One on One tour One on One was a concert tour by English musician Paul McCartney that began on 13 April 2016 and traveled through the United States, Canada, Argentina, Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Japan, ...

Reception

Decades after its release, music website

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

.com said of the album, ''McCartney II'': In contrast, music website

popmatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, f ...

.com said, in reviewing the 2011 reissue of ''McCartney II'': Beatles biographers Roy Carr and Tony Tyler described the song as built from an initial, repetitive synthesizer theme, with more substantial instrumental portions added over time, and finally an insubstantial vocal. They said the song was done without commitment and that it "grows irritating towards the end." ''

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. It was first known for its co ...

'' rated "Temporary Secretary" to be McCartney's 36th greatest post-Beatles song. In 2014, "Temporary Secretary" was ranked as the 167th greatest song of all time by '' NME''. They described it as In 2013, ''

'' ranked it the #36 all-time McCartney post- Beatles song, calling it a "cult favorite" and an "oddly catchy

electro-pop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a ...

nugget, about a slightly creepy-sounding guy looking to hire a temp."

Chart history

Track listing

;12" single (12 R 6039) # "Temporary Secretary" – 3:13 # "Secret Friend" – 10:30

Personnel

"Temporary Secretary" *

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gu ...

, keyboards,

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis ...

, sequencer "Secret Friend" *

– vocals, bass, synthesizers, electric guitar, keyboards, drums, shaker, percussion

References

External links

* {{Authority control Paul McCartney songs 1980 singles British new wave songs British synth-pop songs Songs written by Paul McCartney Song recordings produced by Paul McCartney Parlophone singles Music published by MPL Music Publishing 1980 songs Electropop songs