James Paul McCartney 1973 TV Special

Has the 1973 TV special, "James Paul McCartney", been discussed here? I can't find it using the Search function. I have very vague, incomplete memories of watching it when it came on, and thinking that it was not very much fun to watch. Has anyone seen it recently, and if so, what do you think of it?

 

Don't know if it's been talked about before or not. I haven't watched it in awhile. It's typical Paul, so what you think of him is going to determine what you think of it. Most people didn't particularly care for the Gotta Sing Gotta Dance segment, or the pub sequence. But it does serve as a period vehicle for the songs as videos and the live performance segments.

 

I recall it as being very silly at times, almost embarrassing. Has it ever been released on VHS or DVD? I can't find any mention of an official release.

 

It's never been officially released but you can watch it on YouTube.

 

Just so embarrassing at almost every turn. The live stuff is pretty good, but the audience seems to have no interest. Gotta ruin Big Barn Bed with silly on screen messages, and a paino explosion at the end of Live and Let die (gee, didn't see that coming). the only other good thing I could say about it is that it took stones to perform not one, but two b-sides

 

I watched it real time. Can't remember if was after RRS or not. I do remember the Acapulco Gold' though.

 

Watched it when it originally aired and liked it, though some parts were pretty embarrassing. One of my first bootleg purchases was an LP of the soundtrack of the better segments of the show, which made for great listening, especially the live concert "Maybe I'm Amazed." Too bad they just didn't include more live performances like this. A friend sent me a DVD-R of the show and really most of it is still quite enjoyable with the other bits being a quirky and amusing blast from the past. Wonder if this will be included in the RRS reissue?

 

They used to run this on the PBS station in Chicago and I have it somewhere on an old Beta tape. It would be a crime if it weren't part of the RRS set. Yes, it's flawed and corny at times but it's a terrific snapshot of that time.

 

I remember when this was first shown in 1973. I had it on bootleg DVD so I've watched it recently. Its overall rather corny. My favorite segments were with just the band doing" Junior's Farm", "Live and Let Die" and" My love." When you have a talent like Paul , there is no need for over the top production numbers with dancers dressed as half man/women ect. I guess he liked all that stuff from his childhood and wanted it included. The other filmed segment in a Liverpool pub with his family and Jerry Marsden was nice too.

 

They didn't perform Junior's Farm. Perhaps you're thinking about Big Barn Bed.

 

I swear on a stack of Bibles that the version shown in Australia had Hi Hi Hi in it but wiki doesn't list it.

 

There were two versions of the show. The edit shown in the UK and evidently Australia included Hi Hi Hi.

 

IMO, File Under: "Classic 70's Douche Chills".

 

Well in 1973 you might not see the piano explosion coming.

 

Junjor's Farm wouldn't be released until 1974 and hadn't even been recorded. As others mentioned it was probably Big Barn Red.

 

The story goes that McCartney did the show as a favor to Sir Lew Grade, in hopes of convincing Grade to sell him ATV Music when the time came. But for various reasons, it never happened. I remember 40 years ago, this was a pretty cool, happenin' kind of show, almost a decade before MTV. I can't for the life of me figure out why it's never been legitimately released on home video.

The YouTube version clips the first 10 seconds of the show, which showed the curtain raising. I'll have to check and see if we digitized my copy from my old 1970s Betamax tapes.

 

Your correct of course , my DVD had a bonus track on it which was Junior's Farm. Hence my error.

 

Watching the original airing as a 14 year old kid, I was thrilled to death there was an hour McCartney special on TV. Sure, there were portions I probably thought "why in the world did he put that in the show." In those days you happily took what little was offered along the way, because there really was very little opportunity to see new ex-Beatles on US TV. I too would expect this to be included in a Red Rose Speedway deluxe -- the full UK version -- anything less, or not at all, will be a pretty worthless archive release.

 

I was in 7th grade when it premiered. Fell asleep in front of the tv and missed a good chunk of it. Remember waking up to a snowy screen and my mom yelling at me to "go to sleep! ".

 

I thought it was as a favor to Sir Lew Grade over Linda McCartney getting songwriting credits for Ram.

I love this show. It's unbelievably cheesy most of the time in that 1970s variety show way. But it has some really interesting things going for it too.

"Big Barn Bed"/opener - AWESOME! Ridiculous but awesome. I love that the crowd is people on tv implying that those people are watching the show and the screens are 2 way. The goofy text they write about the band just makes you know you are in the 1970s. Really good performance too.

Linda Takes Pictures of Paul playing acoustic - a weird little segment but the acoustic versions are nice. Awkward? Yes. But pleasant.

"Mary Had a Little Lamb" - really nice scene. Very pretty video for a nice little ditty.

"Uncle Albert" - WHY OH WHY WASN'T THIS FLESHED OUT INTO THE COMPLETE SONG!?!?! Great start to what could have been an incredible video.

Liverpool Pub - one of my favorite parts. You see Paul and the band with his dad and relatives all drinking beer and having a good time. At one point it appears that Paul doesn't have money on him or something to pay for the next round. From what I can remember anyway. Real nice fly on the wall stuff.

"Gotta Sing/Gotta Dance" - by far the funniest thing McCartney has ever done. Although it is probably a bit unintentional for how funny it is. The dude can't dance. And not only that he can't dance in platform shoes! It's epic and ridiculous all at the same time. It's like Donny and Marie if they were both acid heads.

"Live and Let Die" - cool video to go with the tune.

Beatles Medley - funny and dorky. A bunch of folks sing Beatles songs really badly. Worth a laugh.

Live in Studio - "The Mess"/"Maybe I'm Amazed"/"Long Tall Sally" - enjoyable live performance. Worth having for "The Mess" at least. The crowd seems slightly subdued although a couple hippy chicks get up and 'get down.'

"Yesterday" - strange inclusion but nice ending for a goofy but enjoyable special. Probably more along the lines of what people were expecting Magical Mystery Tour to be.

 

I always got the impression that Uncle Albert was Linda's segment, something she dreamed up to do something arty.
IIRC, Paul always wanted to have a song and dance number--something he could write AND sing. Sir Lew Grade offered the special as a way for him to 'make his dream come true'. However, when the script reached him and he saw no Beatle songs sung by Paul, there was friction and supposedly the whole thing was going to be killed if no Beatle songs were sung (and not the Michelle fragment, either). There was a lot of negotiating and the compromise was the hokey 'spontaneous' presentation of Yesterday as the credits roll, so you don't see much of Paul actually singing it.

PS I have to cite those light blue boots Linda wears in the photo session. So 70's..........my wife laughed. She said they were too big for Linda's skinny legs (apologies to Joe Tex).

 

Lord, it is painful when people can't contextualize things.

 

Paul also performed "The Long and Winding Road" during the live set but it was cut from all broadcasts. I would hope this first time performance of a Beatles song makes it to the dvd.

 

This broadcast included "Live and Let Die" when it aired in the US two months before the single was released? I would think think that was a big deal.

 

Actually, yes, now that I think about it. ,The film clips were a big deal as well, cuz this was the first Moore Bond. I kind of remember my first impressions of the song were OK, but not blown away, I think the tempo changes were a bit beyond my high school brain.