End of McCartney's Slump? (1985)

 

End of McCartney's Slump?

By Mike Dion

Daily Hampshire Gazette

November 22, 1985

    A few weeks ago, while listening to a Beatles album (a frequent occurrence in my life), I mentioned to a friend that, except for his appearance at Live Aid in London, Paul McCartney has kept a pretty low profile this year. Wouldn't you know it? A few days later, I received a call from another friend in the music business informing me that he was shipping me McCartney's new single. 

    Yes, Paul McCartney is back. His new single, "Spies Like Us," is the title tune to a new John Landis film starring Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd. "Spies Like Us" is Paul's best single in years. It's hummable and for change at rocks -- unlike some of the sappy, syrupy ballads he's bogged himself down with in recent years.

    I'm only speculating, but I would imagine that 1985 hasn't been the best of years for McCartney. His film, Give My Regards to Broad Street, released last year about this time, was a bomb, savaged by critics and fans alike. The film soundtrack album produced only one hit, "No More Lonely Nights." Not a disaster, but nothing earth-shattering by today's mega hit standards.

     McCartney also ended his six-year relationship with Columbia Records, a union that saw only one number one album and a lackluster singles performance. He is back now on Capitol Records, the label that distributed the Beatles in America, and the one he had recorded for with Wings and as a solo artist until 1979.

     McCartney also said to be distressed that he lost a bidding war this year to Michael Jackson for copyrights to many of the early Lennon and McCartney songs. The copyrights had been owned by ATV Inc. McCartney reportedly wanted to buy them back, but Jackson came along with close to $50 million and won out. Since McCartney could buy and sell Jackson 10 times over, one has to imagine that he wasn't all that interested in the catalog, or that he was simply out hustled by Jackson.

     Paul also received bad press a few weeks ago regarding some comments he made in an interview (done four years previously, but only just published) about the late John Lennon. In defense of McCartney, there seems to be some validity to his statement that Lennon is being made into a saint by his fans and the public in general. Any follower of the Beatles knows Lennon wasn't always the kindest of people when it came to dealing with his friends and family.

     Controversy is nothing new to McCartney in his 20-plus years in the forefront of the music world; he has been both praised and damned, but he continues to crank out his songs. Since he doesn't need the money nor the aggravation, I guess he keeps making music because he likes to, a noble enough reason for me.