Paul McCartney: Ode to a Koala Bear (1983)

 |   |  <1 min read

Paul McCartney: Ode to a Koala Bear (1983)

Okay, at a time when Paul McCartney's whole recording career has been given serious consideration at Elsewhere, this seems frivolous and cruel.

But fun.

This odd song appeared on B-side of the single of Say Say Say -- McCartney with Michael Jackson -- and again on the 12" remixes of SSSay by Jellybean.

And perhaps that's all that needs to be said about it . . .

Except that the sleeve featured this hilariously bad illustration of the former pals (they never spoke again after Jackson bought the Beatles catalogue) . . . and to wonder what George Martin the producer must have been thinking.

He'd been there for all those classic McCartney songs in the Beatles era and beyond but now was sliding the faders on this?

Ah well, truth to tell he'd heard worse from the same source.

And the clip for Say Say Say could be read as an unconscious reference to what snake-oil salesmen they had all become by this time.

For more unusual music or songs with a back-story see From the Vaults.

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   From the Vaults articles index

Tall Dwarfs: Ride a White Swan (1998)

Tall Dwarfs: Ride a White Swan (1998)

In the course of researching the folksy-hippie sound of Tyrannosaurus Rex of the late Sixties, before they morphed into the brilliant pixiefied glam rock of T. Rex, I was turning up some... > Read more

Al Stewart: Clarence Frogman Henry, Audrey Hepburn and The Year of the Cat (1980)

Al Stewart: Clarence Frogman Henry, Audrey Hepburn and The Year of the Cat (1980)

He may be a bit of a bore in interviews (see here), but Al Stewart did tell a great shaggy-dog story in concert -- and of course wrote Year of the Cat among many other fine songs. So here you... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

THE HALLOWEEN HORROR SERIES ON DVD: You can't keep a bad man down

THE HALLOWEEN HORROR SERIES ON DVD: You can't keep a bad man down

Let's get these killers and their thrillers matched up right: the murderous baddy in Nightmare on Elm Street was Freddy; in Friday 13th it was Jason; the guy with the buzzing blades in Texas... > Read more

Joanne Shaw Taylor: Almost Always Never (Ruf/Yellow Eye)

Joanne Shaw Taylor: Almost Always Never (Ruf/Yellow Eye)

Until you are told otherwise, just on listening to this tough, sassy and earthy blues singer and fiery guitarist you'd assume she was black American, probably forged in the fires of Chicago clubs... > Read more