Give Ireland Back to the Irish
Encyclopedia
"Give Ireland Back to the Irish" is a Paul
and Linda McCartney
song written in response to the events of Bloody Sunday
in Northern Ireland
on 30 January 1972. The song was released on 25 February 1972 as the debut single by McCartney's new band Wings
, and it was the first recorded song by Wings that included Northern Irish guitarist Henry McCullough
.
It was completely barred from media exposure in the United Kingdom, being banned by the BBC
, Radio Luxembourg
and the Independent Television Authority
. On the BBC Radio 1
chart show Pick of the Pops
, Alan Freeman
had to refer to it as "a record by the group Wings".
"From our point of view," said Paul McCartney, "it was the first time people questioned what we were doing in Ireland
. It was so shocking. I wrote 'Give Ireland Back to the Irish', we recorded it and I was promptly 'phoned by the Chairman of EMI
, Sir Joseph Lockwood, explaining that they wouldn't release it. He thought it was too inflammatory. I told him that I felt strongly about it and they had to release it. He said, 'Well it'll be banned', and of course it was. I knew 'Give Ireland Back to the Irish' wasn't an easy route, but it just seemed to me to be the time. All of us in Wings felt the same about it. But Henry McCullough
's brother who lived in Northern Ireland
was beaten up because of it. The thugs found out that Henry was in Wings."
The song reached number 1 in the singles charts not only in, inevitably, the Republic of Ireland
but also in Spain
, and despite the air-play ban still climbed to number 16 in the UK Singles Chart
and number 21 in the US Billboard
Hot 100
.
The B-side
of the single, "Give Ireland Back to the Irish (version)", is an instrumental version of the song. The A-side was reissued as a bonus track on the 1993 remastered CD of Wings' Wild Life album. It is believed to be Apple records' only single to feature a vocal version on one side and an instrumental version on the other.
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
and Linda McCartney
Linda McCartney
Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney was an American photographer, musician and animal rights activist. Her father and mother were Lee Eastman and Louise Sara Lindner Eastman....
song written in response to the events of Bloody Sunday
Bloody Sunday (1972)
Bloody Sunday —sometimes called the Bogside Massacre—was an incident on 30 January 1972 in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland, in which twenty-six unarmed civil rights protesters and bystanders were shot by soldiers of the British Army...
in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
on 30 January 1972. The song was released on 25 February 1972 as the debut single by McCartney's new band Wings
Wings (band)
Wings were a British-American rock group formed in 1971 by Paul McCartney, Denny Laine and Linda McCartney that remained active until 1981....
, and it was the first recorded song by Wings that included Northern Irish guitarist Henry McCullough
Henry McCullough
Henry McCullough Henry McCullough Henry McCullough (born Henry Campbell Liken McCullough, 21 July 1943, Portstewart, Northern Ireland is an Irish guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, who has played guitar in such bands as Sweeney's Men, Spooky Tooth, Paul McCartney & Wings, and The Grease Band. He...
.
It was completely barred from media exposure in the United Kingdom, being banned by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, Radio Luxembourg
Radio Luxembourg (English)
Radio Luxembourg is a commercial broadcaster in many languages from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is nowadays known in most non-English languages as RTL ....
and the Independent Television Authority
Independent Television Authority
The Independent Television Authority was an agency created by the Television Act 1954 to supervise the creation of "Independent Television" , the first commercial television network in the United Kingdom...
. On the BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
chart show Pick of the Pops
Pick of the Pops
Pick of the Pops is a BBC Radio programme, originally based on the Top 20 UK singles chart and first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in 1955. It transferred to BBC Radio 1 from 1967...
, Alan Freeman
Alan Freeman
Alan Leslie "Fluff" Freeman, MBE was a British disc jockey and radio personality in the United Kingdom for 40 years.-Career:...
had to refer to it as "a record by the group Wings".
"From our point of view," said Paul McCartney, "it was the first time people questioned what we were doing in Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. It was so shocking. I wrote 'Give Ireland Back to the Irish', we recorded it and I was promptly 'phoned by the Chairman of EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
, Sir Joseph Lockwood, explaining that they wouldn't release it. He thought it was too inflammatory. I told him that I felt strongly about it and they had to release it. He said, 'Well it'll be banned', and of course it was. I knew 'Give Ireland Back to the Irish' wasn't an easy route, but it just seemed to me to be the time. All of us in Wings felt the same about it. But Henry McCullough
Henry McCullough
Henry McCullough Henry McCullough Henry McCullough (born Henry Campbell Liken McCullough, 21 July 1943, Portstewart, Northern Ireland is an Irish guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, who has played guitar in such bands as Sweeney's Men, Spooky Tooth, Paul McCartney & Wings, and The Grease Band. He...
's brother who lived in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
was beaten up because of it. The thugs found out that Henry was in Wings."
The song reached number 1 in the singles charts not only in, inevitably, the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
but also in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and despite the air-play ban still climbed to number 16 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
and number 21 in the US Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
.
The B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
of the single, "Give Ireland Back to the Irish (version)", is an instrumental version of the song. The A-side was reissued as a bonus track on the 1993 remastered CD of Wings' Wild Life album. It is believed to be Apple records' only single to feature a vocal version on one side and an instrumental version on the other.
Personnel
- Paul McCartneyPaul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
- Linda McCartneyLinda McCartneyLinda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney was an American photographer, musician and animal rights activist. Her father and mother were Lee Eastman and Louise Sara Lindner Eastman....
- Denny LaineDenny LaineDenny Laine is an English songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, guitarist, and lead singer of The Moody Blues' 1965 debut album "The Magnificent Moodies"; and, later, best known for his role as co-founder of Wings...
- Denny Seiwell
- Henry McCulloughHenry McCulloughHenry McCullough Henry McCullough Henry McCullough (born Henry Campbell Liken McCullough, 21 July 1943, Portstewart, Northern Ireland is an Irish guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, who has played guitar in such bands as Sweeney's Men, Spooky Tooth, Paul McCartney & Wings, and The Grease Band. He...