Paul McCartney’s second solo album, McCartney II, was released in the United States on 26 May 1980.
McCartney II was a completely solo recording, made during six weeks in the summer of 1979. The recordings began in a farmhouse on the McCartneys’ estate in Peasmarsh, East Sussex, and continued at the Spirit of Ranachan Studio at his farm in Campbeltown, Scotland.
In the United Kingdom, McCartney II was released on 16 May 1980.
The album’s first single, ‘Coming Up’, reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, and number two in the UK, following its release in April 1980.
McCartney II topped the album charts in the UK and reached number three in the US, and sold more copies than its predecessor, Wings’ Back To The Egg.
Also on this day...
- 2024: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Venetian Theatre, Las Vegas
- 2023: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Venetian Theatre, Las Vegas
- 2013: Paul McCartney live: FedExForum, Memphis
- 2000: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: The NorVa, Norfolk
- 1993: Paul McCartney live: Folsom Field, Boulder
- 1975: US single release: Listen To What The Man Said by Wings
- 1973: Wings live: Hammersmith Odeon, London
- 1969: John and Yoko’s second bed-in for peace: Montreal
- 1969: US album release: Unfinished Music No.2: Life With The Lions by John Lennon and Yoko Ono
- 1969: US album release: Electronic Sound by George Harrison
- 1966: Recording: Yellow Submarine
- 1965: The Beatles (Invite You To Take A Ticket To Ride) – the final BBC radio session
- 1964: John and Cynthia Lennon, George Harrison and Pattie Boyd fly to London from Tahiti
- 1963: The Beatles live: Empire Theatre, Liverpool
- 1962: The Beatles live: Star-Club, Hamburg
- 1961: The Beatles live: Top Ten Club, Hamburg
- 1960: The Silver Beetles live: Town Hall, Forres, Scotland
Want more? Visit the Beatles history section.