Pretty Little Head (song)
Encyclopedia
"Pretty Little Head" is a 1986 single by Paul McCartney
. It was McCartney's thirty-eighth single, and his first which failed to chart, so, in an attempt to boost sales, he released his first ever cassette
single. It still failed to reach the top 75.
Reviews of the song, and the album as a whole, were mixed. The song has been described as "wild, hi-tech experimentation", and as "computer-laiden, spacey-sounding, boomey-drumming, while Rolling Stone
magazine described it as "dreamily abstract".
).
12" single tracks
A music video
, directed by Steve Barron
, was recorded for the song, which features a girl running away from home after she witnesses her parents in an argument; she then finds herself in a big city. The girl is actress Gabrielle Anwar. McCartney appears only in a short cameo role
, which he filmed in London on 18 October 1986. The beginning of the video contains an excerpt from "She's Leaving Home
" a Beatles
song written and performed in 1967, for the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
album.
"Write Away", the single's B-side, is included only on the CD release of the album, resulting in the back of the single listing the A-side as "From the album" and the B-side as "From the compact disc".
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...
. It was McCartney's thirty-eighth single, and his first which failed to chart, so, in an attempt to boost sales, he released his first ever cassette
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
single. It still failed to reach the top 75.
Reviews of the song, and the album as a whole, were mixed. The song has been described as "wild, hi-tech experimentation", and as "computer-laiden, spacey-sounding, boomey-drumming, while Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine described it as "dreamily abstract".
Versions and video
The single was released at a length of 3:50 on the 7" release, and as a 6:56 remix (mixed by John Potoker) on the 12" release on the same day, 27 October 1986, and an extra track, "Angry", was added to the 12". The cassette version was the same as the 12", and was released on 17 November 1986. Both of these lengths are different from the album version, which has a length of 5:14. (See Press to PlayPress to Play
-Personnel:* Paul McCartney – bass, acoustic and electric guitars, lead vocals* Neil Jason – bass* Eric Stewart – acoustic and electric guitars* Pete Townshend – electric guitars* Carlos Alomar – acoustic and electric guitars* Eddie Rayner – keyboards...
).
12" single tracks
- "Pretty Little Head"
- "Pretty Little Head" (remix by John Potoker)
- "Angry" (remix by Larry Alexander)
- "Write Away"
A music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
, directed by Steve Barron
Steve Barron
Steven "Steve" Barron is a director and producer, best known for directing the films Coneheads , Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the innovative music videos for a-ha's "Take on Me" and Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean"....
, was recorded for the song, which features a girl running away from home after she witnesses her parents in an argument; she then finds herself in a big city. The girl is actress Gabrielle Anwar. McCartney appears only in a short cameo role
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
, which he filmed in London on 18 October 1986. The beginning of the video contains an excerpt from "She's Leaving Home
She's Leaving Home
"She's Leaving Home" is a song credited to Lennon–McCartney and released in 1967 on The Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. McCartney wrote and sang the verse and Lennon the chorus...
" a Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
song written and performed in 1967, for the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by the English rock band The Beatles, released on 1 June 1967 on the Parlophone label and produced by George Martin...
album.
"Write Away", the single's B-side, is included only on the CD release of the album, resulting in the back of the single listing the A-side as "From the album" and the B-side as "From the compact disc".