"Once Upon a Long Ago"
Single by Paul McCartney
from the album All the Best!
B-side"Back On My Feet"
Released16 November 1987 (7-inch single, CD single)
23 November 1987 (12" single)
Recorded11–12 March 1987
StudioHog Hill, Sussex[1]
GenreRock
Length4:08
LabelMPL Communications
Parlophone Records
Songwriter(s)Paul McCartney
Producer(s)Phil Ramone
Paul McCartney singles chronology
"Only Love Remains"
(1986) 		"Once Upon a Long Ago"
(1987) 		"My Brave Face"
(1989)

"Once Upon a Long Ago" is a song by English musician Paul McCartney, released as his fortieth single on 16 November 1987, from his compilation All the Best!, released two weeks before the single. The track was produced by Phil Ramone and mixed by George Martin, and features violin by Nigel Kennedy.[2]

The song was originally composed for the film The Princess Bride.[3]

Recording

Originally intended to be a duet with Freddie Mercury, Mercury turned it down due to conflicting commitments and the collaboration never materialized.[4]

Music video

Filming for the video commenced on 16 October 1987 (The morning after the Great storm of 1987) in the Valley of Rocks, near Lynton in North Devon and concluded on 17 October. Appearing were McCartney (bass guitar), his wife Linda McCartney (synthesizer), Stan Sulzmann (saxophone), Nigel Kennedy (violin), and Chris Whitten (drums). Actor Fred Evans makes an appearance as Man with Broom. High winds and heavy rain precluded filming on the morning of the 16th so the crew filmed an indoor shot at Lynmouth town hall (this scene was not used in the final cut).

However, by late morning the weather had improved and although still windy, conditions were good enough to film at the Valley of Rocks. A local mountaineering instructor oversaw the rigging of a ladder so McCartney could safely access the top of Castle Rock for the guitar solo scene where a two way radio in McCartney's coat was used to relay a taped recording of the song. McCartney declined the use of a safety rope but did have to ask the helicopter to not fly so close when shooting aerial footage. Nigel Kennedy was only available on the second day of filming so the video was shot out of sequence with the guitar solo and end scene shot on the first day and the band scenes shot on the second day. Castle Air of Treasure Hunt fame were tasked with carrying out the aerial filming.[5]

Release and chart performance

The song was released in four versions: two different 12" singles feature "long" and "extended" versions (mixed by George Martin and Peter Henderson, respectively); the 7-inch single and the CD single (McCartney's first) feature an edit of the long version and a B-side from each of the two 12" singles, as well as "Back on My Feet", a b-side for all four iterations; and the album version featured on All the Best! contains an alternative ending. "Back on My Feet" was also the first released song from the songwriting collaboration between McCartney and Elvis Costello. Both 12" and CD singles also featured songs from McCartney's yet to be released cover album, Снова в СССР.

"Once Upon a Long Ago" reached No. 10 in the United Kingdom Singles Chart.[6] The single was not released in the United States nor included on the US version of All the Best!, although it did appear on the longer UK/Canada version. The song also appeared on the promotional album Never Stop Doing What You Love. It was later included on The 7" Singles Box in 2022, which was the first time it had been included on any major US-released set.[7]

Charts

Track listings

7-inch single (R 6170)
  1. "Once Upon a Long Ago" – 4:12
  2. "Back on My Feet" – 4:20
12" single, version one (12R 6170)
  1. "Once Upon a Long Ago" (Long Version) – 4:34
  2. "Back on My Feet" – 4:21
  3. "Midnight Special" – 3:56
  4. "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" – 2:51
12" single, version two (12RX 6170)
  1. "Once Upon a Long Ago" (Extended Version) – 6:06
  2. "Back on My Feet" – 4:21
  3. "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" – 3:15
  4. "Kansas City" – 4:00
CD single (CDR 6170)
  1. "Once Upon a Long Ago" – 4:12
  2. "Back on My Feet" – 4:21
  3. "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" – 2:51
  4. "Kansas City" – 4:00

Once Upon a Video

Along with the single and the All the Best! album there was also released an 18-minute VHS for sale called Once Upon a Video,[15] consisting of four music videos:

  1. "Once Upon a Long Ago"
  2. "Stranglehold"
  3. "Pretty Little Head"
  4. "We All Stand Together" – the music video was an edit of the songpart from the movie Rupert and the Frog Song

"We All Stand Together" was included on the UK/Canada-release of All the Best! along with "Once Upon a Long Ago".

Personnel

References

  1. ^ "Once Upon a Long Ago (song)". The Paul McCartney Project.
  2. ^ "Once Upon a Long Ago". JPGR. 2000. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  3. ^ Womack, Kenneth (2014). The Beatles Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 694. ISBN 9780313391729.
  4. ^ Luca Perasi, Paul McCartney: Music is Ideas: The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989, L.I.L.Y. Publishing, 2023, ISBN 978-88-909122-9-0, pp.455-456.
  5. ^ "Club Sandwich issue N°47/48, Spring 1988.
  6. ^ "Official Charts: Paul McCartney". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  7. ^ "'The 7" Singles Box' – Out 2 December 2022". PaulMcCartney.com. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  8. ^ "Paul McCartney – Once Upon a Long Ago" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  9. ^ "Paul McCartney – Once Upon a Long Ago" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  10. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 2, 1988" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  11. ^ "Paul McCartney – Once Upon a Long Ago" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  12. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  13. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Paul McCartney – Once Upon a Long Ago" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  14. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1988". Ultratop. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  15. ^ www.discogs.com – Paul McCartney – Once Upon A Video
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