"Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five" (sometimes written as "1985") is a song by the British–American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Paul McCartney and Wings Wings were a British-American rock band formed in 1971 by former Beatle bassist Paul McCartney, his wife Linda McCartney on keyboards, session drummer Denny Seiwell, and former Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine. Wings were noted for their co ...

, released as the final track on their 1973 album ''

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 ...

''. It has been featured on the 2001 documentary DVD ''Wingspan'' and

' 1974 TV special ''One Hand Clapping''. A 2016 remix of the song was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

. The song was referenced in Brett Easton Ellis’s novel ''

Glamorama ''Glamorama'' is a 1998 novel by American writer Bret Easton Ellis. ''Glamorama'' is set in and satirizes the 1990s specifically celebrity culture and consumerism. ''Time'' describes the novel as "a screed against models and celebrity". Develop ...

,'' driving a group of fictional supermodels to extreme terrorist acts.

Lyrics and music

Paul McCartney has said that the song originated with just the first line. The tune is the climactic track from the album ''

''. It continues the album's theme of escape by describing the singer achieving artistic freedom through love. Author Andrew Grant Jackson calls the lyrics "gibberish" and mere placeholders for the excitement and "cinematic purpose" of the music." The song has a grandiose ending with a full orchestra and the band. Other instrumentation includes

mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...

, organ and horns. The album version ends with an excerpt of the opening song's chorus. This song is featured on several episodes of ''

Trigger Happy TV ''Trigger Happy TV'' is a hidden camera/ practical joke comedy television series. The original British edition of the show, produced by Absolutely Productions, starred Dom Joly and ran for three series on the British television channel Channel 4 ...

''. In its early life, it was simply titled "Piano Thing". ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Dave Swanson rated the song as McCartney's 8th most underrated song, saying that "A funky groove holds the song together as Paul delivers a gritty bluesy vocal."

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 ...

– lead vocals, guitar, bass guitar, piano,

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, drums *

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 ...

– 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 ...

– vocals, guitar *

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

– orchestrations * Beaux Arts Orchestra – horns, strings Personnel per ''The Beatles Bible''.

Live performances

"Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five" was never performed live by Wings. McCartney performed the song live for the first time ever during his 2010–2011

Up and Coming Tour The Up and Coming Tour was a concert tour by Paul McCartney. The tour began on 28 March 2010, at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona, northwest of Downtown Phoenix. As with McCartney's other concert tours as a solo artist, the setlist fo ...

. He played the song live again during his 2011–2012 On the Run Tour, his 2013–2015 Out There Tour, his 2016–2017 One on One Tour, his performance on 26 July 2018 in the Liverpool

Cavern Club The Cavern Club is a nightclub on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England. The Cavern Club opened in 1957 as a jazz club, later becoming a centre of the rock and roll scene in Liverpool in the late 50s and early 1960s. The club became closely assoc ...

, his 2018–2019

Freshen Up Freshen Up was a chewing gum with flavored gels inside manufactured by Cadbury Adams in Brazil. Current flavours include cinnamon, peppermint, spearmint and bubble gum. A fruit variation was offered in the 1970s. History The product was launch ...

tour, at 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief and on his 2022

Got Back Got Back was a concert tour by English musician Paul McCartney, that started on 28 April 2022 and ended on 25 June 2022. The tour was McCartney's first following the COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in the cancellation of a planned European leg ...

tour. On 25 June 2022, a week after his 80th birthday, he performed the song as part of his Saturday night headline act, on the Pyramid stage, at the

Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...

Cover versions

The Golden Dogs The Golden Dogs are a Canadian pop-rock band based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Mark Daniell.T.O.'s Golden Dogs have 'Eye' on road. JAM! Music. Canadian Online Explorer. Quebecor Media. 2007-12-16. Retrieved 2010-12-16. Formed in 2001, the band is ...

included a cover version on their 2006 album ''

Big Eye Little Eye ''"Big Eye Little Eye"'' is the second studio album by the Canadian rock group The Golden Dogs. The album features its first single "Never Meant Any Harm" and follow-up single "Construction Worker". Music videos were released for both songs. It al ...

''. In 2016, German producer

Timo Maas Timo Maas (born July 27, 1969, Bückeburg, West Germany) is a German DJ/ producer and remixer whose career in electronic music spans well over 30 years. His remix of Azzido Da Bass's single "Dooms Night" helped launch his career in 2000. In ...

and Canadian DJ James Teej released a remix of the track with McCartney's approval. Their version received a

Grammy nomination The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

for

Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical The Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical is an honor presented to producers for quality remixed recordings at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in sever ...

at the

59th Annual Grammy Awards The 59th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 12, 2017. The CBS network broadcast the show live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, ...

Tracklisting

;Download single #"Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five" (Radio Edit) – 2:46 #"Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five" – 6:01 #"Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five" (Club Mix) – 5:07 ;Remix download single #"Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five" (Kerri Chandler Kaoz 623 Again Vocal Mix) – 7:25 #"Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five" (Paul Woodford Rework) – 10:03 #"Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five" (Tim Green Remix) – 8:49

References

1973 songs 1974 singles Paul McCartney songs Paul McCartney and Wings songs Songs written by Paul McCartney Songs written by Linda McCartney Song recordings produced by Paul McCartney Music published by MPL Music Publishing Apple Records singles {{Beatles-song-stub