# Paul McCartney's "Mull of Kintyre" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 25, 2005, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-mull-of-kintyre/323385 "2005-09-25T22:31:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2005, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-mull-of-kintyre/323385/1 "2005-09-25T22:31:36Z")
When it was first released, this was a massive hit (one of the biggest selling singles in the UK). What’s it about exactly? ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2005, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-mull-of-kintyre/323385/2 "2005-09-25T22:39:11Z")
Just a WAG, but maybe it’s about the [Mull of Kintyre](http://www.kintyre.org/mull-of-kintyre-guide.html). ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2005, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-mull-of-kintyre/323385/3 "2005-09-25T22:45:02Z")
Simple enough. Why did it become such a huge hit? ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2005, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-mull-of-kintyre/323385/4 "2005-09-25T23:38:52Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Simple enough. > > Why did it become such a huge hit? Because it filled the vast pent-up demand for bagpipes in pop music, of course. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2005, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-mull-of-kintyre/323385/5 "2005-09-25T23:46:26Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > What’s it about exactly? It’s about 4:44. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2005, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-mull-of-kintyre/323385/6 "2005-09-25T23:51:17Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > It’s about 4:44. Ah, comedy! HA! HA! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-mull-of-kintyre/323385/7 "2005-09-26T01:29:34Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Simple enough. > > Why did it become such a huge hit? Probably because it had a “hook-ey” melody and lyrics and it played on a longing for something one can’t have. In other words, sorta like most ballads that are popular. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-mull-of-kintyre/323385/8 "2005-09-26T01:45:07Z")
It was a hit in lots of places where there are Scottish people, but Capitol AR in the US said it wasn’t what Americans wanted and so did not promote it. This is one of the reasons why Paul took his portfolio and went to Columbia records from 1979 to 1985. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-mull-of-kintyre/323385/9 "2005-09-26T09:42:16Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > > [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > > > Simple enough. > > > > Why did it become such a huge hit? > > Because it filled the vast pent-up demand for bagpipes in pop music, of course. More! bring on more! polkas on the pipes! pop on the pipes! loves and laluaths! duets and doublings! A day without pipes is a day without sunshine! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-mull-of-kintyre/323385/10 "2005-09-26T10:03:16Z")
IIRC, some Scottish pipe band had a hit with Amazing Grace a year or two before, so that may have whetted the public’s appetites for bagpipe music. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-mull-of-kintyre/323385/11 "2005-09-26T11:03:00Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > IIRC, some Scottish pipe band had a hit with Amazing Grace a year or two before, so that may have whetted the public’s appetites for bagpipe music. Some Scottish pipe band? You mean the pipe band of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, my friend. But why on earth MoK should ever have proved a volume seller… ---
**Author:** ![RumMunkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@RumMunkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RumMunkey)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-mull-of-kintyre/323385/12 "2005-09-26T11:14:55Z")
> [@](#): > > Why did it become such a huge hit? I ask that of most McCartney singles… :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-mull-of-kintyre/323385/13 "2005-09-26T12:10:19Z")
Which album was it on? ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-mull-of-kintyre/323385/14 "2005-09-26T12:24:28Z")
It wasn’t on an album. It was a double-A-side single with _Girls’ School._ ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-mull-of-kintyre/323385/15 "2005-09-26T12:24:42Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > Which album was it on? I think it was a standalone single. According to Allmusic, it was first on _All the Best_, a greatest hits package. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-mull-of-kintyre/323385/16 "2005-09-26T12:37:54Z")
It was on all non-US pressings of _All The Best_. The US version has a different track lineup, specifically omitting _Mull Of Kintyre_ because they didn’t promote it, and it wasn’t a hit in the US. Look for a Canadian or British issue. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-mull-of-kintyre/323385/17 "2005-09-26T12:55:33Z")
_Mull of Kintyre_ came out at about the same time as Rod Stewart’s _I Am Sailing_. My guess, having lived through both and enjoying them too, is that they just hit a chord with the easy-listening crowd. Now please explain the popularity of _Maggie_ by Foster and Allen, because that one’s got me dumbfounded. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-mull-of-kintyre/323385/18 "2005-09-26T13:07:02Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > I think it was a standalone single. According to Allmusic, it was first on _All the Best_, a greatest hits package. It was on _Wings Greatest_, an earlier, apparently now out of print, “best of” collection, which is the only place I’ve ever heard it. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-mull-of-kintyre/323385/19 "2005-09-26T13:11:16Z")
> [@Thudlow Boink](#): > > It was on _Wings Greatest_, an earlier, apparently now out of print, “best of” collection, which is the only place I’ve ever heard it. :smack: I had forgotten about that one. I have the UK version and that’s where I got it from. ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-mull-of-kintyre/323385/20 "2005-09-26T17:25:38Z")
I read a biography of Paul McCartney that said there was a contest run with the “Mull of Kintyre” single where they put a special notice in the one millionth copy of the single. I forget what the prize was, but the book said the millionth copy was coincidentally purchased by Dan Ackroyd. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-mccartneys-mull-of-kintyre/323385.md?page=2)