Filming: Mull Of Kintyre by Wings

A promotional film for Wings’ single ‘Mull Of Kintyre’ was made on 13 October 1977.

It was directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who had worked on The Beatles’ promos for ‘Paperback Writer‘, ‘Rain’, ‘Hey Jude’, and ‘Revolution’, as well as the Let It Be film. In 1973 he had directed the video for Wings’ ‘Helen Wheels’, and more recently was working on a film of the Wings Over The World Tour.

Lindsay-Hogg, MPL’s Brian Brolly, and director of photography Tony Richmond travelled to Scotland and settled on Saddell Bay near Campbeltown as the ideal location for the shoot. A crew of 13 people was assembled, and a journalist from the Campbeltown Courier was given access on the strict proviso that the report would not be sold elsewhere.

Filming began at 10am on 13 October, initially focusing on the Campbeltown Pipe Band marching on the beach. The players were paid £30 each for their appearances.

Following a break for lunch, Paul and Linda McCartney and Denny Laine were filmed walking in the area, followed by crowd shots of Campbeltown residents, who had been brought in to sing the chorus towards the song’s end.

The final shots were of the Wings trio performing beside a fire, surrounded by the local residents.

Fortunately, given the month, it was pretty good weather, and it may not have been what the drum major was used to, doing it on the beach, but there’s a wonderful moment when Paul and Denny walk away from the house, and they look down at the beach and the bagpipes come in. There’s a shot of two little girls playing down by the rocks at the water’s edge – that’s Mary and Stella.

The design of the video was not to seem what I’d call sophisticated in any way – it was really to celebrate that part of Scotland, the people who are from there, and the eternal seasonal idea of the place—you know, the waves rolling in. There were a couple of shots we couldn’t get because it was October and the dark came on early. So we went to night a bit sooner than I’d like, but it was very good.