"Queenie Eye" is a song by Paul McCartney, and written by McCartney and producer

Paul Epworth Paul Richard Epworth (born 25 July 1974) is an English record producer, songwriter, musician, and remixer. He has worked with artists including Adele, Florence and the Machine, Rihanna, and Maxïmo Park, among many others. He is a member of th ...

. It is the second single from McCartney's solo album '' New'', released in 2013. McCartney explained that the song name and chorus lyrics were from a children's game he would play when he was young called " Queenie, Queenie, who's got the ball?" (the "Queenie" was alternatively called "Queenie Eye" or "Queenio"), and used the version of the chant he remembered from the game in the song.

Music video

The music video for the song was directed by Simon Aboud, husband of McCartney's daughter Mary. The video is notable for the array of famous people that appear in it including: actors

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, George Ezra, Jeremy Irons, Chris Pine,

Jude Law David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He received a British Academy Film Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. In 2007, he received an Honorary Césa ...

, Sean Penn, Alice Eve, actor-comedian

James Corden James Kimberley Corden (born 22 August 1978) is an English television host, actor, comedian, and singer. In the United Kingdom, he is best known for co-writing and starring in the critically acclaimed BBC sitcom ''Gavin & Stacey''. In the Un ...

, Meryl Streep, actress-comedian Tracey Ullman, models

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, Laura Bailey, singers

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, Gary Barlow, artist Peter Blake, designer Tom Ford, comedian Howard Long, and many others who are shown dancing to the lyrics. Members of the public were also invited to participate in the video by way of a Twitter post on Paul McCartney's newsfeed. The Tweet asked people to send a photograph taken that day (Saturday) alongside their name and day's date. They were also asked to wear clothing that they would then wear at the video recording the following week (Wednesday) "somewhere in Central London". After a selection process by McCartney and his team, participants were advised by telephone on the Monday and Tuesday that they had been selected to appear in the music video. At that stage, they were advised of the location - ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS and then had to agree to a social media embargo until the video shoot was complete. They were also issued with the lyrics to the song which they were requested to learn ahead of the video shoot. Participants then spent the day at Abbey Road studios alongside the stars being filmed that day. Some were featured prominently in the video with others appearing in background shots.

Live performances

McCartney performed "Queenie Eye" on the

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telecast in 2014, with fellow former Beatle

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

on drums as well as during his Out There and One on One tours. The song was also included in the setlist of Freshen Up tour as the only song from " New". Freshen Up (tour)#Typical set list

Personnel

* Paul McCartney – vocals, guitar, bass guitar,

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, piano,

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synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

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 ...

, tambourine *

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Chart positions

References

{{Paul McCartney singles 2013 singles 2013 songs Paul McCartney songs Song recordings produced by Paul Epworth Songs written by Paul Epworth Songs written by Paul McCartney Universal Music Group singles