Beautiful Night

Album: Flaming Pie (1997)
Charted: 25
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Songfacts®:

  • This song finds Paul McCartney singing about his desire to stay the night with the person he loves. Originally recorded in August 1986 in New York City, McCartney redid the track a decade later for his Flaming Pie album.
  • The song features Ringo Starr on drums. McCartney recalled that he'd been meaning to do something with Ringo for years, as at that point they had done little work together outside The Beatles. It was Flaming Pie producer Jeff Lynne who suggested getting Ringo to play on the album. "I had this song 'Beautiful Night' which I'd written quite a few years ago. I'd always liked it but I felt I didn't quite have the right version of it," McCartney said. "So I got this song out for when Ringo was coming in, and right away it was just like the old days."
  • Starr also played on the Flaming Pie track "Really Love You." The pair wrote that song during a jam session the day after they recorded "Beautiful Night."
  • McCartney recorded the song at Abbey Road studios with an orchestra. Former Beatles producer George Martin did the orchestra arrangement.
  • McCartney released the Beautiful Night EP on July 17, 2020. The record features a remastered version of the song, a 1995 demo of the track, an alternate "run through" recording, and "Oobu Joobu Part 5" - a medley of "Beautiful Night"-themed chat segments, alternate mixes and interview recordings of McCartney and Starr talking about the song.
  • The Julien Temple-directed video was Linda McCartney's last appearance in a music video.

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