"Getting Closer" is a rock song from the British rock band

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expresse ...

, Paul McCartney's post-

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

band. The song was released on the album ''

Back to the Egg ''Back to the Egg'' is the seventh and final studio album by the British–American rock band Wings, released in June 1979 on Columbia Records in America (their first for the label), and on Parlophone in the UK. Co-produced by Chris Thomas, ...

''.

Background

Despite being released in 1979, Paul McCartney wrote "Getting Closer" in 1974, recording a piano demo for the song later that year. Upon being resurrected by the band for ''Back to the Egg'', the song, originally at a slower tempo, was transformed into a "driving rocker." Like most of the songs off of ''Back to the Egg'', "Getting Closer" bears an influence from punk and new wave music. Author and ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: *Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * '' ...

'' contributor Tom Doyle describes Wings' version as "power-popping" and reminiscent of the English band Squeeze.Doyle, p. 174 Juber said of the guitars used in the song: "I think I played my Martin D28 on the rhythm track and some Les Paul Custom (the one in the video) for the electric."

Personnel

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

– vocals, bass, Epiphone Casino electric guitar, Mellotron *

Linda McCartney Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney ( Eastman; September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, animal rights activist, vegetarian cookbook author and advocate, and entrepreneur. She was the keyboardist in th ...

– keyboards, backing vocals *

Denny Laine Denny Laine (born Brian Frederick Hines, 29 October 1944) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter, known as a founder of two major rock bands: the Moody Blues, with whom he played from 1964 to 1966, and Wings, with whom he played from 1 ...

– electric guitar, Martin D28 acoustic guitar, backing vocals *

Laurence Juber Laurence Ivor Juber (born 12 November 1952) is an English musician, fingerstyle guitarist and studio musician. He played guitar in the rock band Wings from 1978 to 1981. Biography Early life Born in Stepney, East London, Juber was raised and ...

– electric guitar, Ovation acoustic guitar *

Steve Holley Stephen Jeffrey Holley (born 24 August 1954) is an English rock drummer. He was a member of Wings from August 1978 to April 1981. In 1984 he played drums and percussion in Julian Lennon's debut album ''Valotte''. He has also toured with Ian Hu ...

– drums

Release

"Getting Closer," backed with "Spin It On," was released in the US in June 1979 as the first single from ''Back to the Egg''. The single reached #20 on the ''

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

'', as well as #20 on '' Cashbox'' and #22 on ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

''. Despite not being released as the first single in the UK ("

Old Siam, Sir "Old Siam, Sir" is a hard rock single from Wings' 1979 album, ''Back to the Egg''. It was the A-side of the UK version of the single, reaching No. 35. The B-side, "Spin It On" in the UK was also a track from the album, "Back to the Egg". "Old Si ...

" was used instead), the song did see a UK single release in August 1979. Marketed as a

Double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

with "Baby's Request," the single was a relative flop, only peaking at #60. For the release of ''Back to the Egg'', a special was made featuring music videos for multiple songs, including "Getting Closer." "

", "Spin It On" and "

Arrow Through Me "Arrow Through Me" is a song by the British–American rock band Wings, released on their 1979 album ''Back to the Egg''. Background "Arrow Through Me", unlike most songs on ''Back to the Egg'', is more pop-oriented than rock-oriented. ''Ulti ...

" were among the tracks for which videos were made. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' described "Getting Closer" as "an uplifting raker in which McCartney's soaring vocals play off strong guitar, keyboards and drum lines." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' called it "a dynamic, churning pop-rocker," saying that the "slamming guitar and aggressive vocals" were reminiscent of ''

Band on the Run ''Band on the Run'' is the third studio album by the British–American rock band Paul McCartney and Wings, released in December 1973. It was McCartney's fifth album after leaving the Beatles in April 1970. Although sales were modest initially ...

''.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

Paul McCartney songs 1979 singles Paul McCartney and Wings songs Songs written by Paul McCartney Columbia Records singles Parlophone singles Song recordings produced by Paul McCartney Song recordings produced by Chris Thomas (record producer) Music published by MPL Music Publishing {{Beatles-song-stub