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Pipes of Peace (song)
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Wikipedia article
"'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 and reached number 1 on the UK singles charts for two weeks. The song also reached number 1 on the Irish singles chart.
Recording
The basic track was recorded on 10 September 1982 at AIR Studios,'Pipes of Peace' Archive Edition, 2015 with orchestral overdubs added later, probably at the same studio. Paul McCartney plays piano, bass and knee-percussion, while tabla was added by James Kippen, who tried "something like 2030 takes" before McCartney was satisfied.Luca Perasi, 'Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (19692013)', 2013, L.I.L.Y. Publishing, p.232. A special session was organized 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
*Pestalozzi Children Choir choir
Charts
In the United States, "Pipes of Peace" was issued as the B-side, and its British B-side, "So Bad", was issued as the A-side. "So Bad" reached number 23 at the US 'Billboard' Hot 100
and reached number 3 on the 'Billboard' Adult Contemporary chart. "So Bad" peaked at 11 on the Canadian RPM Chart (and two weeks at #2 AC).[https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.6298&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.6298.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.6298 RPM Top 100 Singles, March 24, 1984]
Video
At Chobham Common, Surrey, a video was shot for "Pipes of Peace", depicting the famous 1914 Christmas truce between British and German troops.[https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/dec/24/christmas.features113 "When peace broke out"]. The Guardian. Retrieved 18 November 2014 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. 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 advertArchived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/NWF2JBb1bvM Ghostarchive] and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20141112225406/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWF2JBb1bvM Wayback Machine]: whose look and narrative were widely recognized 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!', and the 2001 compilation 'Wingspan: Hits and History'.
See also
*List of anti-war songs
Notes
Category:1983 singles
Category:Paul McCartney songs
Category:Peace songs
Category:Anti-war songs
Category:UK Singles Chart number-one singles
Category:Parlophone singles
Category:Song recordings produced by George Martin
Category:Songs written by Paul McCartney
Category:Music published by MPL Music Publishing
Category:1983 songs
Category:Christmas truce
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