Paul McCartney entered the '80s with "Coming Up," the first single from his album McCartney II, which like its forebear McCartney (1970), found him playing every instrument himself and handling all the lead vocals, with his wife Linda adding backgrounds. On "Coming Up" he played bass, synthesizer, guitar, drums and piano. The song finds him telling a special someone to stick around because he's coming up - like a flower. It's not his most lyrically intricate song, but it has a memorable chorus and is masterfully crafted. It peaked at #2 in the UK on May 3, 1980 (held back by "Geno" from Dexys Midnight Runners, but went to #1 in America on June 28, staying for three weeks.
McCartney was winding down his group Wings when he recorded this song at his Scotland farm in 1979. After putting out the festive "Wonderful Christmastime" at the end of 1979, he put out "Coming Up" in March 1980, and although he recorded it solo, he performed it with Wings before it was released. One of those performances - in Glasgow on December 17, 1979 - was issued as a single in America (listed as "Coming Up (Live At Glasgow)") and became the hit version. The live version is more energetic with a horn section.
The studio version has an effect on McCartney's voice to change the pitch, so when he sings the "coming up" part, it rises accordingly. He did this using a vari-speed machine in his studio.
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