''Paul McCartney: In the World Tonight'' is a 1997 documentary about the making of

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 ...

's ''

Flaming Pie ''Flaming Pie'' is the tenth solo studio album by English musician Paul McCartney, released on 5 May 1997 by Parlophone in the UK and Capitol Records in the US. His first studio album in over four years, it was mostly recorded after McCartney's ...

'' album. The film takes its name from the album's second track, "

The World Tonight ''The World Tonight'' is a British current affairs radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4, every weekday evening, which started out as an extension of the 10 pm news. It is produced by BBC News and features news, analysis and comment on domes ...

Summary

The film mostly consists of footage of McCartney working at his recording studio at Hogg Hill Mill during the production of ''Flaming Pie'', including video footage of a tour round the studio originally recorded for McCartney's '' Oobu Joobu'' radio show in 1995. McCartney openly admits the influence of ''

The Beatles Anthology ''The Beatles Anthology'' is a multimedia retrospective project consisting of a television documentary, a three-volume set of double albums, and a book describing the history of the Beatles. Beatles members Paul McCartney, George Harrison an ...

'' project on the album. His wife Linda McCartney, then suffering from breast cancer, is featured recording backing vocals for the album. McCartney also discusses the album in footage shot at the woods in Sussex near where he lives. Guests shown recording for the album include Steve Miller and

Jeff Lynne Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970. As a songwriter, he has cont ...

, as well as McCartney's former bandmate Ringo Starr, who is featured recording drums and backing vocals for the song " Beautiful Night". The camera crew later follow McCartney to Abbey Road Studios, where he works with

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the " Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the ...

on recording orchestration for the song, intended as the album's epic finale. As well as the production of the album, the film also shows McCartney working on the animated film ''Tropic Island Hum'', for which he conceived the story and screenplay, and recorded all the character's voices with his wife Linda. The film's

title song A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

was eventually released as a single in 2004. McCartney also briefly discusses his work in classical music — 1991's ''

Liverpool Oratorio ''Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio'' is a live album by Paul McCartney and Carl Davis, released in 1991. It is McCartney's first major foray into classical music. Composed in collaboration with Carl Davis to commemorate the Royal Liverpool ...

'' and the then-upcoming '' Standing Stone'', which was released in September 1997. The extended version of the documentary includes clips from ''McCartney's Town Hall Meeting'', a live broadcast on VH1 from Bishopsgate Memorial Hall in which McCartney answered fan questions from around the world, broadcast the day after the premiere of the documentary in the USA.

Broadcast and release history

The documentary was first broadcast in the USA on 16 May 1997 on VH1, as part of their special themed McCartney week to tie-in with the album release. It was broadcast in the UK two days later on 18 May 1997 on ITV. An extended 73 minute version was released on home video in October 1997, and later on DVD. It was also included on DVD as part of the deluxe edition of ''Flaming Pie'', released in 2020.

References

External links

*
In the World Tonight
at PaulMcCartney.com 1997 films Paul McCartney 1997 documentary films Films directed by Geoff Wonfor British documentary films 1990s English-language films 1990s British films {{Music-documentary-film-stub