# Wings-"1985" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [December 13, 2021, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wings-1985/955958 "2021-12-13T03:16:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wings-1985/955958/1 "2021-12-13T03:16:58Z")
What is Paul doing with his voice here? Sounds like he’s imitating someone or…SOME…kind of affected style. Or am I wrong? And thats his normal singing voice? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/utMD5GDkLk8/maxresdefault.jpg "Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five (Remastered 2010)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utMD5GDkLk8) ---
**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:** [December 13, 2021, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wings-1985/955958/2 "2021-12-13T04:20:07Z")
To me, it sounds similar to the voice he used a few years later on “Coming Up.” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/g5nzLQ63c9E/maxresdefault.jpg "Paul McCartney - Coming Up (Official Music Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5nzLQ63c9E) McCartney’s a very versatile vocalist and has used a number of different vocal personas over the years. Compare, for example, [“Let Em In”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=re61B8sKQWk&ab_channel=PAULMcCARTNEY) vs [“Monkberry Moon Delight”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O83CrS-KElk&ab_channel=perfumesybaratchos) vs [“So Bad”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycXpx46plpQ). I don’t know if there’s a particular name or description for that style, or if he’s imitating anyone in particular. ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wings-1985/955958/3 "2021-12-13T04:36:11Z")
Holy shit…I _think_ I’ve heard “So bad” before, but I havent seen that video. That was lovely. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wings-1985/955958/4 "2021-12-13T04:42:28Z")
I’ve always thought that, in “1985,” Paul was, generally, mimicking old-time vocalists, maybe from the '30s or '40s – there’s a little bit of a nasal, “yowzah yowzah yowzah” tone to his voice in it. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wings-1985/955958/5 "2021-12-13T05:08:27Z")
There’s a little bit of Sammy Davis Jr. in that voice. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wings-1985/955958/6 "2021-12-13T11:21:48Z")
Thanks for posting that (Coming Up). Haven’t heard it in a long time, and it’s been even longer since I last saw the video. It does sound similar. The [Wikipedia entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coming_Up_(song)) says he used a vari-speed tape machine to speed up the vocals. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wings-1985/955958/7 "2021-12-13T12:10:06Z")
I suggest combining all the threads: > [@Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nineteen-hundred-and-eighty-five/939814/2): > > Well, could be the [Mellotron](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mellotron) which Wikipedia says was an instrument used in the song. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wings-1985/955958/8 "2021-12-13T15:52:04Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I’ve always thought that, in “1985,” Paul was, generally, mimicking old-time vocalists, maybe from the '30s or '40s – there’s a little bit of a nasal, “yowzah yowzah yowzah” tone to his voice in it. Yeah, thanks to his father, McCartney grew up with the influence of British dance hall music from the 30s, and a lot of that influence showed up in his music-- what John Lennon disparagingly called “granny music” (‘Honey Pie’ and ‘When I’m 64’ being a couple of the granniest examples). ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wings-1985/955958/9 "2021-12-13T16:28:38Z")
I saw a video in which he called his father’s music “ragtime.” (not refuting your post) ---
**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 13, 2023, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wings-1985/955958/10 "2023-09-13T18:41:35Z")
I know this is an old thread, but if anyone’s still interested in analyzing Paul’s vocals on “1985,” I ran across this video: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/b4bkY4ZmFqc/maxresdefault.jpg "Voice Teacher Reacts to Paul McCartney "1985" from One Hand Clapping 1974") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4bkY4ZmFqc) ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wings-1985/955958/11 "2023-09-13T20:11:59Z")
Thanks that looks fun.