Mull of Kintyre (song)
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"Mull of Kintyre" is a popular 1977 song by former Beatle Paul McCartney and his band Wings. The song was penned by McCartney and bandmate Denny Laine in tribute to the picturesque Mull of Kintyre peninsula in Argyllshire, Scotland, where McCartney had owned a home and recording studio since the late 1960s.
The lyrics 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
Its broad appeal was maximised by the pre-Christmas release and it became a Christmas number one single in the UK, spending 9 weeks at the top. It also became a massive international hit, dominating the charts in Australia and many other countries over the winter holiday period. It went on to become the first single to sell over two million copies in the UK, earning McCartney the first ever 'rhodium disc' 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. The song remains one of the UK's best-selling non-charity singles, beaten only by Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody".
One place where it was not a hit was the United States, where it only managed to make it to number 33 on the pop singles charts, and even that was as the B-side "Girls School", not the A-side. As a consequence, McCartney has not played "Mull of Kintyre" during his subsequent concert tours of America, only adding it back on forays into Canada.
The song has been parodied by Frank Sidebottom as "Mull of Timperley".
Personnel
- Paul McCartney: Acoustic guitar, acoustic bass guitar, vocals.
- Linda McCartney: Percussion, vocals.
- Denny Laine: Electric & acoustic Guitar, vocals.
See also
- List of best-selling singles (UK)
- List of best-selling singles by year (UK)
- List of Christmas number one singles
External links
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