"Pipes of Peace"
Single by Paul McCartney
from the album Pipes of Peace
B-side"So Bad"
Released5 December 1983
Recorded10 September 1982[1]
StudioAIR, London
GenrePop
Length3:56 (album version)
3:24 (7" version)
LabelParlophone
Songwriter(s)Paul McCartney
Producer(s)George Martin
Paul McCartney singles chronology
"Say Say Say"
(1983)		 "Pipes of Peace"
(1983)		 "No More Lonely Nights"
(1984)
Music video
”Pipes of Peace” on YouTube

"Pipes of Peace" is a song written by English musician Paul McCartney, released as the title track on his 1983 album of the same name. It was also released as a single in December 1983, reaching No. 1 on the UK singles charts for two weeks and No. 1 on the Irish Singles Chart for two weeks in January 1984.[2][3]

Recording

The basic track was recorded on 10 September 1982 at AIR Studios,[4] with orchestral overdubs added later. McCartney plays piano, bass and knee-percussion, while tabla was added by James Kippen, who tried "something like 20–30 takes" before McCartney was satisfied.[5] A special session was organised to have the Pestalozzi Children Choir adding their voices.

Personnel

  • Paul McCartney – vocals, bass, piano, synthesizer, knee-percussion, drums, orchestra arrangements
  • Linda McCartney – backing vocals
  • Eric Stewart – backing vocals
  • Adrian Brett – pan flute
  • James Kippen – tabla[6]
  • Pestalozzi Children Choir – choir

Charts

In the United States, "Pipes of Peace" was issued as the B-side as its British B-side, "So Bad", was the A-side.[7] "So Bad" reached number 23 at the US Billboard Hot 100[8] and reached number 3 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. "So Bad" peaked at 18 on the Canadian RPM Chart (and two weeks at No. 2 AC).[9][10]

Video

At Chobham Common, Surrey, a video was shot for "Pipes of Peace", depicting the famous 1914 Christmas truce between British and German troops.[11] It portrays a British and a German soldier, both played by McCartney, who meet up in No Man's Land and exchange photos of their loved ones while other soldiers fraternise and play football. When a shell blast forces the two armies to retreat to their own trenches both men realise that they still have each other's pictures.[12] The video was produced by Hugh Symonds, featured more than 100 extras and, for added realism, McCartney had his hair cut short especially for the shoot.

In November 2014, the British supermarket chain Sainsbury's, in partnership with the Royal British Legion, produced a Christmas advert[13] whose look and narrative were widely recognised[14] as being based on McCartney's "Pipes of Peace" video. As in "Pipes of Peace" the British and German soldier return to their trenches to discover that they have inadvertently swapped their gifts from home.

Other

Argentine singer-songwriter Sergio Denis recorded a Spanish version of the song re-titled Pipas de la paz on his album La Humanidad (1984).

The McCartney recording was included on the UK and Canada version of the 1987 compilation All the Best!, the 2001 compilation Wingspan: Hits and History and the 2016 compilation Pure McCartney.

In 2017, the band MUNA covered the song for Capitol Music Group’s compilation Holidays Rule Vol. 2.[15][16]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Pipes of Peace (song)". The Paul McCartney Project.
  2. ↑ "Official Charts: Paul McCartney". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  3. ↑ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". www.irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  4. ↑ Pipes of Peace Archive Edition, 2015
  5. ↑ Luca Perasi, Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969–2013), 2013, L.I.L.Y. Publishing, p.232.
  6. ↑ Claudio Dirani (5 December 2005). "The Stunning Percussion On Pipes Of Peace". Archived from the original on 9 November 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  7. ↑ "Paul McCartney– So Bad / Pipes Of Peace (Vinyl) at Discogs". discogs.com. 1983. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  8. ↑ "Pipes of Peace > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". allmusic. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
  9. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Singles - February 18, 1984" (PDF).
  10. ↑ "RPM Top 50 AC - March 17, 1984" (PDF).
  11. ↑ "When peace broke out". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 November 2014
  12. ↑ Daphne Lee (12 July 2009). "Monsters in our minds". Malaysia Star. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2010.
  13. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "1914 | Sainsbury's Ad | Christmas 2014". YouTube.
  14. ↑ "Sainsbury's Christmas ad is basically just a rehash of Pipes of Peace". 13 November 2014.
  15. ↑ "The 50 Best Paul McCartney Covers Ever". Cover Me. 18 June 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  16. ↑ Kaufman, Gil (22 September 2017). "Jimmy Fallon & Paul McCartney Cover 'Wonderful Christmastime' on 'Holiday's Rule Vol. 2' Album Featuring Norah Jones, Roseanne Cash, MUNA & Others". Billboard. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
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