2020s3 ALBUMS
1 TOUR
3 BOOKS
1 ROCKDOWN
- 2020
- 2021
- 2022
- 2023
- 2024
The 2020s
In every corner of the world the early 2020s were defined by one phenomenon: COVID-19. In the isolation of “Rockdown” Paul found himself fleshing out McCartney III, the stripped back, self-produced solo work which scored him his first UK #1 album in 31 years. It also marked a period of reflection, as Paul revisited key moments in his life for the candid book THE LYRICS: 1956 to the Present; in the documentary The Beatles: Get Back; and in the Rick Rubin-produced McCartney 3,2,1. The moment circumstances allowed, Paul announced new live dates with the GOT BACK tour and a headline performance at Glastonbury Festival.
2020
Flaming Pie (Archive Collection)
Album • PAUL McCARTNEYThe thirteenth instalment in Paul’s Grammy Award-winning Archive Collection series Flaming Pie (Archive Collection) comprised of the original 1997 album remastered at Abbey Road Studios, 32 bonus audio tracks including unheard home recordings and demos, alternative studio recordings, rough mixes and B-sides including selections from Oobu Joobu parts 1-6. This release saw a strictly limited edition 4LP/5CD/2DVD Collector’s Edition box released which features ‘The Ballad of the Skeletons’ – Paul’s 1996 collaboration with Allen Ginsberg, also featuring Philip Glass and Lenny Kaye.
PaulI remember just having a laugh with Jeff Lynne, and the various people I worked with on the album. We had quite a lot of fun making it - Steve Miller, Jeff Lynne and I, and Ringo was there too. So, I think those are my favourite memories, just working with them all.
McCartney III
Album • PAUL McCARTNEYPaul hadn’t planned to release an album in 2020, but in the isolation of “Rockdown,” he soon found himself fleshing out some existing musical sketches and creating even more new ones. Before long an eclectic collection of spontaneous songs would become McCartney III : a stripped back, self-produced and, quite literally, solo work marking the opening of a new decade, in the tradition of 1970’s McCartney and 1980’s McCartney II.
PaulI realised there were some songs that I half worked on, so I started finishing those up. Then there were songs that I’d never worked on, but I'd written year or so ago, and I enjoyed going back to them because it wasn't for anything. It felt homemade...
PaulThis song is kind of an idealistic thing, a hippy existence on a farm, planting trees, mending fences and living the good life which is something I like. I love nature and I love that idea of getting down and getting your hands dirty.
2021
McCartney III Imagined
Album • PAUL McCARTNEYPersonally curated by Paul, McCartney III Imagined features an A-List assortment of friends, fans and brand new acquaintances, each covering and/or reimagining their favourite McCartney III moments in their own signature styles. Featuring Anderson .Paak, Beck, Blood Orange, Damon Albarn, EOB, Josh Homme, Khruangbin, 3D RDN from Massive Attack, Phoebe Bridgers, St. Vincent & more
PaulI loved people reimagining these songs. Every time one came in it was like a Christmas gift! I’m really glad that the artists had a free shot at what they wanted to do with it. Nobody was given any strict briefs, so it was really interesting to see who did what...
Royal Mail and Paul McCartney release of a set of limited special Stamps
Working in collaboration between Royal Mail, Paul and his team at MPL, this limited collection of stamps feature some of Paul’s most loved album covers and his passion for studio recording.
Linda McCartney's Family Kitchen
Book • LINDA, PAUL, MARY AND STELLA McCARTNEYOver thirty years ago, Linda McCartney first blazed the trail for meat-free cooking, and she shared the pleasure of eating compassionately around her family table. In 2021 Paul, Mary and Stella brought Linda’s kitchen up to date, re-inventing her best-loved recipes for the plant-based cook, alongside their favourite family stories and the dishes that they now eat at home.
PaulLinda was blazing the trail with vegetarianism, telling people about it and promoting it. At home, she would cook for the family and these recipes have been now brought up to date for a modern audience, so they’re all now plant-based and fabulous.
From UPDATED: 'Linda McCartney’s Family Kitchen' by Linda, Paul, Mary and Stella McCartney out now!
McCartney 3,2,1
Film • Zachary HeinzerlingMcCartney 3,2,1 showed a rare, in-depth, one on one discussion between Paul and legendary producer Rick Rubin. Across a six-part documentary series the pair discussed Paul’s groundbreaking work with The Beatles, the emblematic 70s arena rock of Wings and his 50-plus years as a solo artist.
Grandude's Green Submarine
Book • WRITTEN BY PAUL McCARTNEY AND ILLUSTRATED BY KATHRYN DURSTThe sequel to Paul's internationally bestselling picture book, Hey Grandude! landed arrived on shores in 2021. Grandude’s Green Submarine continues the adventures of Grandude and his Chillers as they set off on a quest to find their music-loving grandmother, Nandude!
PaulWriting Grandude’s adventures is something I love, so it made sense to keep going and write more of his story. I hope parents, grandparents and Chillers alike get a lot of pleasure from this new book!
The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present
Book • PAUL McCARTNEYDescribed as a self-portrait in 154 songs THE LYRICS gave an extraordinary look into Paul's life and art from all stages of his career. Presented across two volumes the book explored Paul's earliest boyhood compositions through the legendary decade of The Beatles, to Wings and his solo albums to the present.
PaulI hope that what I’ve written will show people something about my songs and my life which they haven’t seen before. I’ve tried to say something about how the music happens and what it means to me and I hope what it may mean to others too.
From 'THE LYRICS: 1956 to the Present' to be published in November
2022
Got Back Tour - North American Leg
TourFollowing more than a year of speculation, Paul GOT BACK on the road in 2022 with a 13-city return to stages. Kicking off April 28 with Paul’s first ever show in Spokane and running through to June 16 in East Rutherford NJ, where Paul played MetLife Stadium for the first time since 2016.
Women and Wives
Single • PAUL McCARTNEYA limited edition 12" single of 'Women and Wives' was released for Record Store Day 2022, featuring a B-side of St. Vincent's McCartney III Imagined remix of the song. The single was Record Store Day's inaugural Song of the Year.
Live In Frome
ConcertPaul warms up for his Glastonbury headlining performance with an intimate set, full of wonderful surprises. Performing live in Frome, Somerset at the 'Cheese and Grain'. Tickets for this extraordinary experience are available only at the 'Cheese and Grain' box office - in-person only - and is available on a strictly first-come first-served basis.
Glastonbury
ConcertPaul headlined the Pyramid Stage on Saturday night of Glastonbury Festival 2022, with an exhilarating performance featuring special guests Bruce Springsteen and Dave Grohl. Paul previously headlined the Festival in 2004.
The 7” Singles Box
Album • PAUL McCARTNEYThe 7” Singles Box is the ultimate package for any McCartney fan. From 1971’s 'Another Day' to a 7” version of 2022’s Record Store Day Song of the Year, 'Women and Wives' (taken from 2020’s chart-topping McCartney III) - the 80 singles included represent half a century of Paul’s life showcasing his prolific creativity and relentless innovation. An absolute treasure trove of music, the box set features recreations of 65 singles – complete with their original B-sides (using restored artwork from 11 different countries) as well as 15 singles never before released on 7”.
2023
Never-before-heard music by Jeff Beck and Paul discovered in the archive
After the sad loss of music legend Jeff Beck in January 2023, Paul reminisced about their studio collaboration from three decades ago. An unreleased guitar track featuring both Jeff and Paul was discovered, along with messages from Jeff Beck, Elvis Costello, Chrissie Hynde, and Mike Myers. In 2023, the McCartney family's Meat Free Monday campaign shared these treasures for the first time.
1964: Eyes of the Storm
Book • PAUL McCARTNEY1964: Eyes of the Storm presents 275 of Paul’s photographs from the six cities of these intense, legendary months – Liverpool, London, Paris, New York, Washington, D.C. and Miami – and many never-before-seen portraits of John, George and Ringo.
'Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm' Exhibition opens at National Portrait Gallery, London
Between November 1963 and February 1964, Paul captured 250 portraits using his personal camera. These were displayed for the first time during the reopening of the National Portrait Gallery in London. Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm offered a uniquely personal and previously unseen perspective on the life of a 'Beatle' during the onset of 'Beatlemania'.
PaulThey’ll see the sort of images that we [The Beatles] would see pretty much every day, all the screaming crowds and so on. I hope the visitors will get a sense of history and the sense of being allowed behind the scenes all these years later. From what I've seen in the preparation of it, it's going to be a good-looking exhibition, because we've got some prints that are really quite big! I’ve never seen my prints printed that big before.
From You Gave Me The Answer – ‘Eyes of the Storm’ Exhibition and Book Special!
Paul and Stanley Tucci take part in livestream event at the National Portrait Gallery
As part of the National Portrait Gallery's First Look Festival, marking the gallery's reopening, Paul was joined by Stanley Tucci, the Academy Award-winning actor, at a headlining in-conversation event. They discussed Paul's photography and his recollections of a unique period in history.
Paul McCartney and Paul Muldoon release ‘McCartney: A Life in Lyrics’ Podcast
Paul teamed up once again with his collaborator on the #1 bestseller The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, poet Paul Muldoon, to create McCartney: A Life in Lyrics. This series is a blend of master class, memoir, and improvised journey, with each episode focusing on songs from Paul’s iconic catalogue – spanning from early Beatles to his solo work. The podcast was recognised as one of the best podcasts of 2023 by TIME magazine, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and the Financial Times.
Got Back Tour - 2023
TourPaul took his Got Back Tour on a global jaunt that spans three continents. Dazzling fans in Australia, two nights in Mexico City at the iconic Foro Sol, before getting 'Back in Brazil'. Closing the 2023 Got Back tour with his return to the Maracanã stadium in Rio, where he once made history by drawing a record-breaking audience of 184,000 in 1991.
'Now And Then’, The Last Beatles Song
'Now And Then', the final Beatles song, was initially written and sung by John Lennon in the seventies. It was later developed and worked on by Paul, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr in the nineties. Finally, after over four decades, it was completed by Paul and Ringo. The song subsequently achieved the number one position in the UK official charts.
The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present
Book • PAUL McCARTNEYA one-volume paperback edition of The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present was published in November 2023, featuring seven additional song commentaries spanning Paul McCartney's unparalleled musical career. This edition subsequently charted on the New York Times Bestseller list for over seven weeks.
Say Hello to Paul McCartney on Yoto
Three new Yoto Cards featuring music from The Beatles and Paul were released. These include the Beatles collections, 1962-1966 (‘The Red Album’) and 1967-1970 (‘The Blue Album’), along with Paul McCartney: Say Hello to Paul McCartney, a Yoto-exclusive collection of tracks from Paul’s solo career, curated by Paul himself. The card also includes two new instrumental tracks that have never been released in full, the 'Hey Grandude' and 'Nandude' Themes.
'Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm' Exhibition opens at 'Chrysler Museum of Art'
Travelling from the National Portrait Gallery in London to Norfolk, Virginia, the Chrysler Museum of Art was the first venue in the United States to host Paul's major photography exhibition, featuring moments captured using his own Pentax camera. The exhibition, showcasing over 250 photographs taken between November 1963 and February 1964, illuminated the period in which The Beatles became international superstars. It was available for viewing from December until April 2024.