LONDON • British pop legend Paul McCartney revealed on Wednesday that he will release the third in a trilogy of self-titled solo albums this year, after resurrecting unfinished music during the coronavirus lockdown.
The former Beatle's latest record, McCartney III, which will be unveiled on Dec 11, follows months of work at his home studio in Sussex, southern England, on previously started and new songs.
They have all been written, produced and performed by the singer, who said he had not been planning to release an album this year, until the pandemic forced him to stay at home for months.
"I had some stuff I'd worked on over the years, but sometimes time would run out and it would be left half-finished, so I started thinking about what I had," he said, in comments published by Britain's Press Association news agency.
"Each day, I'd start recording with the instrument I wrote the song on and then gradually layer it all up, it was a lot of fun," added McCartney, 78.
"It was about making music for yourself, rather than making music that has to do a job. So, I just did stuff I fancied doing. I had no idea this would end up as an album."
Its release coincides with the 50th anniversary of his first selftitled solo endeavour, released as the "Fab Four" went their separate ways in 1970. A follow-up, McCartney II, came a decade later.
The latest collection of tracks is mostly built from live takes of McCartney on vocals and guitar or piano, before overdubbing with his bass playing and drumming, the Press Association reported.
It said the singer had returned to an unreleased track from the early 1990s, When Winter Comes, which was co-produced by The Beatles' late producer George Martin.
Pictures for the album were shot by McCartney's daughter, photographer Mary McCartney, with more images by his nephew Sonny McCartney and some that he took himself on his phone.
Keeping the photography in the family mirrors how the pop icon illustrated earlier solo albums, with his late wife Linda McCartney shooting the artwork for McCartney II.
She also took many of the photos displayed on the gatefold cover of the 1970 McCartney album.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
