Mull of Kintyre

“Mull of Kintyre” is one of Paul McCartney’s most famous songs from his post-Beatles era. Released in 1977, it became one of the biggest hits of the 1970s in the UK.

In late 1976, Paul was sitting with Danney Laine (a member of Wings) by a campfire near a farm. At one point, he began playing a simple folk melody on his guitar. Paul hummed the phrase “Mull of Kintyre…,” and Danney Laine immediately added the rest of the verse. This is how the song came to be, intended as a tribute to McCartney’s beloved place—the Kintyre Peninsula, where he settled with his wife Linda after the Beatles broke up.

To enhance the Scottish character, McCartney invited the Campbeltown Pipe Band—a local bagpipe ensemble—to join the recording. In November 1977, “Mull of Kintyre” was released as a single (with “Girls’ School” on the B-side), becoming the best-selling single in British history (excluding the charity single “Candle in the Wind 1997”).