Paul explained in a special interview how the album came about: “I've been thinking about doing a rock and roll album for many years; it was something that Linda and I were talking about and she was very keen on the idea. Linda loved her rock and roll and she loved this idea of me doing some of these rock & roll songs that I never did with The Beatles. So I got together about 25 songs that I just remembered; we hadn't done them with The Beatles, but I just liked them. My fondness for the tracks was the important thing about picking them.
A lot of the songs were obscure B-sides from way back. When we were doing early gigs with The Beatles we were drawn to B-sides, because, we had to be. With The Beatles we'd turn up at a gig and they'd be four or five bands on it. We weren't necessarily topping the bill in the early days, there'd be a couple of bands on ahead of us - and what would happen was that you'd be waiting to go on, only to discover that the bands ahead of you were doing your set! There'd be doing Long Tall Sally or What'd I Say and you'd be in the dressing room thinking 'Oh God, there goes our big number .... oh no, there goes another'. And they would wipe out your whole act. We realized that we had to do something about this, so we took to looking for B-sides, songs that were a little bit more obscure, in the hope that other acts wouldn't play them at gigs before you did.
In actual fact that is the reason why John and I began writing our own songs -there was no other reason for that other than that you knew that then other bands couldn't access our stuff. That's the truth; John and I never sat down and decided 'we must become composers', we just wrote because it was the only way of saving our act. Anyway, I had a whole store of memories of these B-sides, so in preparing for this album I just sat at home with a bunch of cassettes, played them, and wrote down the words to the songs I wanted to do on this album. And doing that was great - I sat at home exactly as I had done when I was a teenager, listening to a new 45 1 wanted to learn up. The only difference was that back then I'd be playing these records on a DancSette, now I was playing them on a cassette. But it was the same feeling; I'd play the first line of the song, stop the tape, write down the words, play the next line, stop the tape, get those words down. I thought 'Wow, I love this! I haven't done this since I was 15!' And you get that same sort of teenage feeling, doing that; you get so proud that you've managed to get down all the words to the song. So that was it, I filled up a manila envelope with the lyrics to all these B-sides and favourites, I took them along with me to the studio on the Monday morning, I'd dip into my envelope, pull out a song and we'd do it. I'd pull out a song and say 'Anybody know No Other Baby?, .... 'No,. So I'd say 'It goes like this' and play it to the band for 15 minutes on an acoustic to show them the song. Then we'd split to our various instruments and would just do it.
Mirroring the hectic rate of the songs, Run Devil Run was recorded at Abbey Road Studio Two in just one week, just like the Beatles did. Paul remembers: 'At the early recording sessions of The Beatles we worked in a very specific way, recording two songs in the morning and two more after lunch. I have a professional nostalgia for that way of recording and I wanted to see if we could do that with this album, and we did. There was no time for thinking; thinking was outlawed for the week. With rock and roll you just do it and by the end of the five days we'd recorded all these songs. What you hear on the album is what happened in that week.'
With McCartney predominantly sticking to lead vocal and his Hofner bass, he's backed on the album by a core band of Dave Gilmour and Mick Green on guitars, Ian Paice on drums and Pete Wingfield on piano.
Paul did not even tell the band which songs they were going to record before they turned up on the first day. Paul says, “That was another which was like the way we recorded with The Beatles early on. Back then John and I would have written the songs a week before and often George and Ringo would not have heard them before we ran them through for them at the studio - they weren't with John and I when we wrote the songs and so it kept it really fresh. It meant that for every new recording, people only having just heard a song for the first time, they really had to think, 'What do I want to do on this one?' You had to make instant decisions, nothing could be left until later, you just have to go and do it - and I wanted to recreate exactly that for this album. So I booked Studio Two at Abbey Road - which was our old Beatles studio - and -I just rang up the band for a 10 o'clock start on Monday morning.
Although the sessions for Run Devil Run didn’t officially begin until early March, Paul was seen at Abbey Road the week before, possibly making arrangements for the recording sessions. On Wednesday 24th February he came out of Abbey Road at about 5.30pm. There were about 25 fans outside so Paul got into his car very quickly and John Hammel drove him away with Paul waving out of the window. My Beatles walk had reached Abbey Road just before Paul came out and most people from the walk stayed to see Paul emerge.
The title track of the album is one of Paul's new songs. He told how it came about: “I was in Atlanta with my son and he wanted to visit the funky side of town. So we went down there and were just wandering around the block and we came across this sort of voodoo shop selling cures for everything. I was looking in the shop window and I saw this bottle of bath salts called Run Devil Run. I thought that was a good title for a song. So when I was on holiday after that I started thing of words for it and it came quite easily - 'Run Devil run, the angels having fun, making, winners out of sinners, better leave before he's done, and when he gets through he'll be coming after you, so listen to what I'm telling you, run Devil run.' I was actually out sailing when I did the verses. It's nothing about sailing, it's about a swamp in Alabama, but imagination Roams. Interestingly, some people have said that the harmonies on the song had a Linda feel to them and I thought that too. She didn't record on it, it was done more recently, but it is like she is singing on it. Well I have no problem with that. It just must be something about my voice and her voice and how it used to match. Living so close together I think you grow into each other a bit. But I have thought that recently; I have thought 'She is singing backing, yeah, magic'
After an incredibly long time, we were summoned up by pair (in line order) to pick up our tickets. The tickets were these beautiful postcard size cards with a picture of Paul on them. The posters in the ballroom were similar. These tickets were the only souvenirs we got.
We were led into the first floor ballroom which was the size of a club with two balconies. We rushed up to the stage; I was about one or two people back from the front. The front people were leaning on the stage. I couldn't have been any more than a few feet away from where Paul was going to be standing (less than Paul's height we were figuring). Our eye level was about a third of the height of the microphone stand. Oldies were playing over the P.A. including the original "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" by C. Berry. A picture of the album cover showing a drug store was on a movie screen in the center and two side large TV monitors. After an hour or more of standing like this, some of us could see Paul up in the rafters of the third balcony walking around.
Shortly after that, John Fugelsang (VH1 representative) came out through the middle of the curtains, with his Matt Le Blanc hairstyle, said a few words. A short movie was shown on the making of the "Run Devil Run" album showing Abbey Road studio 2 with the band members running up and down those famous stairs.
The stage right TV screen was easier to watch as we were too close to the stage to see the movie screen without leaning back a little and staring straight up. John returned and gave a nice introduction to the man we all came to see. Then, Paul came out looking great! He spent a few minutes talking about the album, and why we were invited instead of just a boardroom full of suits. Everybody was losing it falling over each other to get closer. I'd never been closer. For some reason, people wanted me to get even closer as they kept pushing me in their own New York way. Paul left the stage, and they started the album. While the album was playing, a little info on each track was shown as a slide. Also shown were pictures of Paul, and in between songs, the drugstore kept returning. At the end of the album John returned and Paul just came out without any intro to a warm reception. Paul stuck around for questions (some of them kind of lame). One was on the re-release on video of Let it Be to which he responded 'Isn't that out already? I have a copy.' Mark asked about how he enjoyed singing his lungs out again. Paul said, 'That's what I do, man..and I also play bass' He made the point that most of us can't do that. He was right'. He explained the vast difference in singing so high and playing a low frequency instrument. He proceeded to rub his head and belly at the same time. Someone asked about his grandchild. It seemed like he didn't understand the question until it was asked several times. He seemed taken aback. He answered 'Super-Cali-Fragi-Listic-Expi-Ali-Doscious'.
John basically told him time was up. He took a picture of them together with us in the background without looking through the viewfinder at all. Paul said he would sign a few items, but he never did. Then he disappeared.
They played the album again. I hung around to catch up with friends. I picked up some more ticket/souvenirs as they were giving them away. There was a mad rush outside all of a sudden. A line had gathered at the entrance way to see Paul leave. He was still around inside. They wouldn't let me back in. It was a long time before VIPs started leaving. There was a drunken woman making a scene. She kept getting kicked out. What a waste of a VIP badge! Dave and Lou led an acapella McCartney singalong starting with Mull of Kintyre. Judy Collins walked out, but we couldn't think of any of her songs. We also saw Woody Harrelson leaving. We didn't know any of his songs. Paul finally came out, but he would have never heard us sing over the crowd noise. He shook the hand of the guy standing next to me. I had a great view of him walking by. Mary was apparently with him, but I didn't see her.
Vinny Kochhar
P a u l h o s ted t h e VH1 p r o g r a mme , w h i c h h e o p e n ed n o t i n g t h a t i t ' s ' b e e n a v e r y c r u e l c e n t u r y f o r a n i m a l s , b u t a l s o a v e r y e n l i g h t e n e d c e n t u r y . ' P a u l l a t e r i n t r o d u c e d a v i d e o t r i b u t e t o L i n d a , w h i c h was a c c o m p a n i e d b y a t o u c h i n g s o n g , A n g e l , p e r f o r m e d o n p i a n o b y S a r a h M c L a c h l a n . T h e v i d e o f e a t u r e d r a r e h o m e m o v i e c l i p s a n d s t i l l s o f P a u l a n d L i n d a ' s l i f e t o g e t h e r , a s w e l l a s s o m e n i c e s h o t s o f L i n d a w i t h s o m e a n i m a l f r i e n d s . A n g e l , w h i c h w a s b r o u g h t t o P a u l ' s a t t e n t i o n b y h i s s o n , J a m e s , s p oke o f t h e t o u g h f i g h t o n e s t r o n g s o u l h a s l e a d , a g a i n s t t h e o d d s a n d a g a i n s t t h e w o r s t o f d e t r a c t o r s . M c C a r t n e y , c l e a r l y a f f e c t e d b y t h e s o n g ' s p e r f o r m a n c e , c o m m e n ted o p e n l y a f t e r w a r d a b o u t L i n d a ' s c o u r a g e o u s f i g h t o n b e h a l f o f a n i m a l r i g h t s , w i t h d a u g h t e r S t e l l a ( a n a w a r d r e c i p i e n t h e r s e l f t h a t e v e n i n g ) c l e a r l y s h o w i n g h e r s u p p o r t . P a u l t h e n i n t r o d u c e s t h e r e c i p i e n t o f t h e f i r s t a n n u a l L i n d a M c C a r t n e y M e m o r i a l A w a r d , P a m e l a A n d e r s o n L e e .
T h e r e s t o f t h e e v e n i n g ' s a w a r d s we r e s h o w n i n a b r i e f m o n t a g e , i n c l u d i n g S t e l l a ' s o w n a w a r d f o r h e r d r i v e t o e n d t h e u s e o f f u r i n t h e f a s h i o n i n d u s t r y .
A f t e r t h e a w a r d s s h o w , P e T A h e l d a ' b l o c k p a r t y ' o n P a r a m o u n t ' s 'N e w Y o r k S t r e e t , ' w i t h p e r f o r m a n c e s b y t h e B - 5 2 ' s , C h r i s s i e H y n d e a n d , o f c o u r s e , P a u l M c C a r t n e y . P a u l was b a c k e d b y h i s a l b u m b a n d . A l l o f t h e s o n g s f o r t h e n i g h t were r e m i x e d f o r D o l b y S u r r o u n d u n d e r t h e s u p e r v i s i o n o f M c C a r t n e y e n g i n e e r G e o f f E m e r i c k ( t h e p r o g r a m was a l s o t e l e c a s t i n H i g h D e f i n i t i o n T V ) .
P a u l ' s b a n d p e r f o r m e d 6 s o n g s f r o m h i s n e w a l b u m , R u n D e v i l R u n , t h a t e v e n i n g , 3 o f w h i c h a r e i n c l u d e d i n t h e b r o a d c a s t . H o n e y H u s h f e a t u r e s s o m e h o t l e a d g u i t a r w o r k b y P e t e W i n g f i e l d , f o l l o w e d b y B r o w n - E y e d H a n d s o m e M a n . T h e b a n d d idn ' t s t a r t t h e s o n g t i g h t e n o u g h f o r P a u l - s o h e s t o p ped t h e m a n d s t a r t s t h e s o n g a g a i n ! M c C a r t n e y c l o s e s t h e s h o w w i t h a r o u s i n g p e r f o r m a n c e o f t h e a l b u m ' s g r e a t e s t r o c k e r , t h e t i t l e t r a c k , R u n D e v i l R u n , w i t h D a v i d G i l m o u r p l a y i n g l a p s l i d e g u i t a r .
Paul seemed rather nervous to start with, especially during the interview, but by the end of the show was really enjoying himself as he warmed to the reaction of the audience, who were all dancing and cheering.
A week later Paul made another TV appearance on Saturday 13th on the National Lottery Show, presented by Lulu.
As well as TV appearances Paul also made several radio broadcast - and even turned DJ to present his own BBC radio series of programmes about the rock and roll records that inspired him. The shows called 'Paul McCartney's Routes of Rock' were the first time that Paul has a radio show in the UK. The programmes also looked at the making of Run Devil Run. The shows were recorded at Paul's studio in East Sussex and were broadcast on the BBC World Service from October 20. 'It's a real scoop for the World Service," said the spokeswoman. He's an international figure and we will be taking him out to an international audience.'
A two hour special of Routes of Rock was broadcast on BBC Radio Two on Christmas Day.
Paul also gave a great interview to Gary Crowley of Greater London Radio.
Perhaps the best interview that Paul gave to promote Run Devil Run was to Michael Parkinson. Your Webmaster Richard Porter was in the audience and brings you his report below:
Michael Parkinson, perhaps Britain's best interviewer, had appeared on the front cover of Wing's 'Band on the Run' album in 1973. Apparently he agreed to do it only if Paul agreed to be on his show - and 25 years later Paul kept that promise - and it was well worth the wait. The interview took place at the BBC TV Centre in Wood Lane, Shepherds Bush. Paul fans started gathering outside the studios at least four hours before the doors opened to ensure they got in. The tickets to the event said that not everyone with a ticket was guaranteed to get in. Apparently for most TV shows many ticket holders don't turn up and the BBC wanted to ensure that the theatre was full - however this obviously wasn't going to happen for this show and many people were turned away disappointed.
Paul got to the BBC Centre about 3.30pm and lots of fans were there to see him go in. I arrived about 4pm and already there were well over 50 fans outside, including lots of the now famous LIPA scruffs. There was much talk outside about what Paul was going to play on the show and about the forthcoming Cavern Club concert, which, although hadn't been announced yet, seemed to be common knowledge amongst the fans.
Although the tickets said that doors wouldn't open until 7pm we were very glad that we were allowed into a cafe area about 6.15pm. About 45 minutes later we were lead into the studio area. There was raised seating for about 300 people. It became clear straight away that the middle seats were reserved for specially invited guests with us Macca fans on the sides. Before the recording started Michael Parkinson came on and told the audience he was getting the same buzz from doing the show with Paul that he got from his most famous interviews with Mohammed Ali.
When the show started Michael Parksinson introduced Paul who came on to wild applause and screams. Paul went straight over to his 'Run Devil Run' band, was handed his famous bass by John Hammel, and launched straight into 'Honey Hush'. It was a great performance with the band sounding better and better every time I see them.
After the song Paul went to join Michael in some comfy chairs. He started out by saying that he wanted to do a 'back to basics' album partly to get over his grief over the death of Linda. He also said that he didn't want to do the very British thing and just pretend nothing had happened but let his feelings out - which is more Irish.
He then talked about his mother and how it was her who made the family upwardly mobile as she moved into better midwives houses. He also revealed that he had not been inside 20 Forthlin Road since it was bought by the National Trust but had been tempted to climb over the hedge and break in.
Paul revealed that his mother wanted him and his brother to be doctors but they weren't clever enough. Before The Beatles came along Paul wanted to be an English teacher. Paul told the now legendary story of how he met John and sang part of 20 Flight Rock accompanying himself on an acoustic guitar. Paul was asked about what inspired him to write songs and Paul told of when he was visiting Linda in hospital when she was having Mary. There was a print of a Picasso painting on the wall which showed a man playing guitar using just two fingers. Paul then worked out what chords the man was playing and wrote a tune using just two fingers. Paul played the tune on the acoustic guitar and whistled the tune.
Paul told how Yesterday might have been inspired by the death of his Mother and then sang a complete version of Yesterday. Paul's voice seem to crack a few times and it was a very emotional moment. One couldn't help about thinking of Linda while Paul was singing and lots of the people around me were in tears. Michael Parkinson asked Paul about the break up of the Beatles and Paul revealed that after the split he would wake up very late, drink lots of whiskey and be 'out of it' again by 3 o'clock. It was only the help of Linda that got him over it.
Recording then stopped as a grand piano was wheeled on so Paul could play 'The Long and Winding Road'. During the break Michael Parkinson was chatting to Paul but Paul admitted he wasn't listening as he was trying to remember the words.
Still sitting at the piano Paul told how he was recently in New York and was staying on the 31st floor of the Carlisle Hotel. His suite overlooked New York and Central Park and there was a baby grand piano by the side of a big plate-glass window. Paul said he just HAD to write songs with that atmosphere. He played two unfinished, untitled songs he wrote that day. The first, a ballad was about loss and contained the wonderful line 'I can spend eternity in your loving flame'. The second was inspired by seeing Richard Rodney Bennett in cabaret and was a Frank Sinatra-esque song about New York and started with the line, 'The mist that settled on Central Park is clearing up and things are looking brighter now.' Many of us is the audience were clicking our fingers during this song.
During this section Michael was trying to ask Paul about musical training but asked 'have you ever bothered to learn an instrument'. Michael joked in a break that his comment would go down as one of the major bloopers in television history.
Paul and Michael then went back to the comfy chairs when Paul revealed about the Cavern gig. He also told about his Uncle Harry who was a very down to earth scouser. Paul's cousin Betty had just painted their house a mushroom brown colour. When Uncle Harry about the new decoration he remarked 'It looks like boiled shite.'
The show ended on a great note with Paul and the band playing a rousing version of 'All Shook Up' from 'Run Devil Run'. After the recording Paul and Michael remained on set to film a trailer. When Paul was told he would be on camera during this he kept on making faces. After the trailer Paul and Michael posed for a stills photographer and left the stage - the end of a great evening.