In a Rolling Stone interview, McCartney explained how the song came about:
I originally cut it on my farm in Scotland. I went into the studio each day and just started with a drum track. Then I built it up bit by bit without any idea of how the song was going to turn out. After laying down the drum track, I added guitars and bass, building up the backing track.
Then I thought, ‘Well, OK, what am I going to do for the voice?’ I was working with a vari-speed machine with which you can speed up your voice, or take it down a little bit. That’s how the voice sound came about.
— Paul McCartney
John Lennon, who was in the Beatles with McCartney, described “Coming Up” as “a good piece of work”, and it prompted him to return to recording in 1980. Lennon later stated his preference for the studio version over the live version that was released as a single: “I thought that ‘Coming Up’ was great and I like the freak version that he made in his barn better than that live Glasgow one. If I’d have been with him I would’ve said ‘that’s the one’ too. And I thought that the record company had a nerve changing it round on him, and I know what they mean, they want to hear the real guy singing, but I like the freaky one.”
The music video for “Coming Up”, directed by Keith McMillan, features Paul McCartney playing ten roles (himself, two guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, a keyboardist, and four saxophonists) and Linda McCartney playing two (one female backing vocalist and one male backing vocalist). The “band” identified as “the Plastic Macs” on the drum kit.
In his audio commentary on the video collection The McCartney Years (2007), McCartney identified characters that were impersonations of specific artists: Hank Marvin (guitarist from the Shadows), Ron Mael of Sparks (keyboards), a ‘Beatlemania-era’ version of himself (bass), and a drummer vaguely inspired by John Bonham from Led Zeppelin. Others, such as authors Fred Bronson and Kenneth Womack, have suggested that there are other identifiable impersonations in the video, such as Andy Mackay, Frank Zappa and Buddy Holly; McCartney said the other roles were simply comic relief.
The video premiered in the UK on The Kenny Everett Video Show on 14 April 1980 and in the US on Saturday Night Live on 17 May 1980.
The video is an early example of electronic trickery, and was no easy task. Compositing was quite a technical challenge in 1980, so it took McCartney and director Keith McMillan two days to shoot and many more to edit.
“Coming Up” – Single by Paul McCartney from the album McCartney II
Released 11 April 1980
Recorded 7 September 1979
Label Parlophone (UK); Columbia (US)
Songwriter Paul McCartney
Producer Paul McCartney
Charted No.1 in US; No.2 in UK; No.2 in Australia; No.1 in Canada
