Paul McCartney Won’t Release His ‘Eleanor Rigby’-Style Songs
Paul McCartney said he’s written a number of songs in the style of his Beatles classic “Eleanor Rigby,” but he has no plans to release them.
He looked back on the success of the 1966 Revolver hit, saying he still liked the idea of inventing a story in that manner.
“It’s quite a fun thing to do, to just dream up a name of a character and try and write the story of that character and then make it fit with another character,” McCartney told Uncut in a new interview. “‘Eleanor Rigby,’ I did it with just … Father McKenzie and Eleanor. ... With my story songs, a lot of them besides ‘Eleanor Rigby,’ tend to be comedy. It’s me doing the tongue-in-cheek thing, whereas ‘Eleanor Rigby’ was more serious. I think that’s why it was more successful.”
He noted that other “story songs” do exist in his archives. “I’ve still got a few that I haven’t released, because I don’t think they’re that good," he said.
Listen to the Beatles' 'Eleanor Rigby'
Meanwhile, an unidentified rock artist has put a Beatles demo recording up for auction, saying that the new owner will discover an unusual twist in an early version of “Fool on the Hill” on the tape.
Auctioneers Sworders said the recording was “gifted to the vendor, a bass guitar player in a rock band that has sold over 20 millions albums.” He’s written a personal note explaining: “Even though there are some minor dropouts, please enjoy the tongue-in-cheek ending to ‘Fool on the Hill’ and the almost final version of ‘I Am the Walrus.’” It’s expected to sell for $690-$970.