Happy Birthday Sir Paul!
Eighty-three years ago today, Paul McCartney came into the world in Liverpool, England and to celebrate I thought it might be fun to take a look at my copies of his Columbia Records output on vinyl.
Several blogs ago I took a look at his CBS CD’s that I own but recently I’ve stumbled upon a few really cheap pressings of his CBS vinyl so I thought it was time to share what I found and what I own from McCartney’s short tenure on the Columbia label – specifically reissues of his Apple/Capitol albums and not new recordings.
For me, sharing McCartney’s recorded output is the best way to celebrate his life so what better way than on his birthday to delve into his Columbia Records pressings and post some photos here as you rarely see them online.
For those who don’t know, Paul McCartney was signed to Columbia Records exclusively for the North American market from 1979 to 1984.
Not only did he release new albums on Columbia (“Back to the Egg”, “McCartney II”, “The McCartney Interview” (not a studio album, it contained interviews), “Tug of War”, “Pipes of Peace” and “Give My Regards to Broad Street”) he also released his eight of his albums that originally came out on Apple/Capitol Records from 1970 to 1977.
The Apple/Capitol albums he reissued on Columbia include: “McCartney”, “Ram”, “Wild Life”, “Red Rose Speedway”, “Band on the Run”, “Venus and Mars”, “Wings at the Speed of Sound” and the triple Lp set “Wings Over America”.
The initial Columbia issues of McCartney’s Apple/Capitol albums that had goodies like booklets and posters and special labels (“Red Rose Speedway”, “Band on the Run”, “Venus and Mars” and “Wings at the Speed of Sound”) were issued exactly as the originals but were then replaced a couple of years later with copies with just the basic red Columbia label and no frills.
One exception is the “Wings Over America” triple album that was reissued in 1984 shortly before McCartney went back to Capitol in North America and it was issued just like the original issue but without the poster.
I own Columbia issues of the “Venus and Mars” album both with the posters and stickers and the issue with the same fold out cover but no extras (see photos below).
I believe the Columbia reissues of McCartney’s Apple/Capitol albums first started appearing around 1980/81 and continued until that last Columbia reissue of the “Wings Over America” album in 1984.
I have to say that while it’s not common to find the Columbia albums they aren’t too terribly hard to find out in the wild except for maybe the “Wings Over America” set which I’ve only seen once and bought.
Weirdly enough I’ve just recently come across two different Columbia pressings of the “Wild Life” album (one a promo copy and one a pressing from Canada) so the Columbia pressings do turn up unexpectedly from time to time. They must have sold relatively well especially “Band on the Run” and “Venus and Mars” which are the ones I see the most.
One thing I can say for sure is that these Columbia pressings of McCartney’s albums sound very good, and in some cases, excellent. I found the Columbia pressings of “Band on the Run” and “Ram” to sound the best of the Columbia issues but the others aren’t far behind.
All of the Columbia pressings I own are in excellent shape with quiet vinyl and are a joy to listen to compared to some of my Apple/Capitol pressings which are a bit more worn.
Well, that’s all for now. There are a ton of photos above and below of my Columbia pressings so feast your eyes if you’ve never seen them.
Again, Happy Birthday Sir Paul and may you have many more!
Until next time be happy, healthy and well and see you soon.
Records, CDs and Music: 