Throwback Video Of The Week: Paul McCartney “Wonderful Christmastime”
Following the release of Wings’ final album, Back to the Egg, in 1979, Paul McCartney began working on his second solo album, McCartney II. In the midst of those sessions,…
English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer Paul McCartney performing with the Wings during their ‘Wings UK Tour’ at the Rainbow Theatre, London, UK, 5th December 1979. (Photo by Mike Moore/Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Mike Moore/Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesFollowing the release of Wings' final album, Back to the Egg, in 1979, Paul McCartney began working on his second solo album, McCartney II. In the midst of those sessions, McCartney retreated to his farm where he laid down all the tracks himself for "Wonderful Christmastime."
At that time in his career, Paul had been experimenting with a synthesizer called the Sequential Circuits Prophet-5. That's what made the "boing-ing" sound that you hear throughout the song. According to Songfacts, that synthesizer was also used on Kim Carnes' "Bette Davis Eyes" and the Doobie Brothers' "What a Fool Believes."
Most of the video for "Wonderful Christmastime" was filmed at a pub called the Fountain Inn in Ashurst, West Sussex. Some footage was also filmed at the Royal Hippodrome Theatre in Eastbourne, where Paul McCartney rehearsed for his 1979 UK tour. Although the members of Wings are not on the recording, they do appear in the video, as does Paul's late first wife, Linda.
