Bip Bop (song)

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Album This song officially appears on the Wild Life Official album.

Timeline This song has been officially released in 1971

Timeline This song has been written (or started being written) in 1971 (Paul McCartney was 29 years old)

Related sessions

This song has been recorded during the following studio sessions

Home recording at Campbeltown

Jun 06, 1971

Jul 24, 1971

Aug 06, 1971

Oct 15, 1971

February 1972

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Song facts

“Bip Bop” is the second track from Wings’ debut album, “Wild Life“, released in 1971. It was the first song of the album to be recorded (July 24th), one of the last ones to be mixed (October 17th) ; and strange thing, has been recorded in mono.

Aside the version recorded with the full band, there is also one acoustic & instrumental version that has become “Bip Bop Link” placed towards the end of the album.

If “Wild Life” has often been considered as a low-point in Paul McCartney’s career, “Bip Bop” is likely to be the low point of the album; to such extent that Paul doesn’t keep the song high in his own esteem.

[…] The weakest song I have ever written in my life […]
Paul McCartney

[…] It just goes nowhere. I still cringe every time I hear it. […]
Paul McCartney

[…] It’s the one our baby likes. […]
Paul McCartney

When you allow yourself to be playful, the morning after or the month after or the year after, you can just think, Oh, maybe that was a bit too playful.
Paul McCartney

I remember saying to Trevor Horn that I really hated the songs from that period. And he asked which ones. “There’s a terrible little thing on Wild Life called Bip Bop”, I said, “It’s just nothing”. And he said “You’re kidding, man, that’s one of my favourites!”. My son’s been playing it recently and I think it’s a cracking little track. I’d gone with the current opinion at the time, that it wasn’t much good.
Paul McCartney, Record Collector, June 1997

Paul McCartney in "Conversations With McCartney", by Paul Du Noyer:

That’s my theory, that in years to come, people may actually look at all my work rather than the context of it following the Beatles. That’s the danger, as it came from Here, There And Everywhere, Yesterday, The Fool On The Hill, to Bip Bop, which is such an inconsequential little song. I must say, I’ve always hated that song.

Conversations with McCartney • Paul du Noyer

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From paulmccartney.com, October 29, 2018:

PM.com: You mentioned while you were remastering the track that you were perhaps a little embarrassed by the lyrics?
Paul: Well, definitely ‘Bip Bop’, I was, yeah. I mean, you know, we didn’t get good reviews for this because I think people were expecting something more sort of Beatle-like and I was purposefully digging my heels in saying, ‘We’re not gonna do that’. Just like an imitation of The Beatles. I didn’t feel like that was a good way to go.

Last updated on November 26, 2018

Lyrics

Bip bop, bip bop, bop,
Bip bop, bip bop, bam.
Bip bop, bip bop, bop,
Bip bop, bip bop, bam.

Take your bottom dollar, hold it in your hand,
(And you go) Bip bop, bip bop, bop.
Try to hide your handbag, underneath the stand,
(And you go) Bip bop, bip bop, bop.
Bip bop, bip bop, bam,

Try to hide your handbag, underneath the stand,
Wip wop, wim and wop,
Wip wop, wim and wam.
Wip wop, wim and wop,
Wip wop, wim and wam.
Bip bop, bip bop, bop
Bip bop, bip bop, bam.
Wip wop, wim and wop,
Wip wop, wim and wam,
Wip wop, wim and wop,
Wip wop, wim and wam.

Try to hide your handbag underneath the stand,
(And you go) wip wop, wam and wop,
Wip wop, wim and wam.
Put your hair in curlers, we're goin' to see a band
Wip wop, wim and wop,
Wip wop, wim and wam.

Treat me like a good boy, treat me like a man.

Take me hair in curlers, treat me like a man.

Officially appears on

Wild Life

Official album • Released in 1971

4:10 • Studio version • A • Mono

Paul McCartney :: Bass, Electric guitar, Producer, Vocals

Linda McCartney :: Tambourine (?), Vocals

Denny Laine :: Electric guitar

Denny Seiwell :: Drums, Tambourine (?)

Tony Clark :: Mixing engineer, Recording engineer

Alan Parsons :: Mixing engineer assistant

Chris Blair :: Recording engineer assistant

Session Recording:: Jul 24, 1971

Studio :: EMI Studios, Abbey Road

Session Mixing:: Oct 15, 1971

Studio :: EMI Studios, Abbey Road

Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969-2013) on Amazon

Wild Life (1993)

Official album • Released in 1993

4:10 • Studio version • R1993 • 1993 remastering

Paul McCartney :: Bass, Electric guitar, Producer, Vocals

Linda McCartney :: Tambourine (?), Vocals

Denny Laine :: Electric guitar

Denny Seiwell :: Drums, Tambourine (?)

Tony Clark :: Mixing engineer, Recording engineer

Alan Parsons :: Mixing engineer assistant

Peter Mew :: Remastering

Chris Blair :: Recording engineer assistant

Session Recording:: Jul 24, 1971

Studio :: EMI Studios, Abbey Road

Session Mixing:: Oct 15, 1971

Studio :: EMI Studios, Abbey Road

Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969-2013) on Amazon

Wingspan Hits And History

Official album • Released in 2001

3:37 • Studio version • D • 2001 remaster

Recording :: Jun 06, 1971

Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969-2013) on Amazon

Pure McCartney (Deluxe)

Official album • Released in 2016

4:13 • Studio version • R2016 • 2016 remastering

Paul McCartney :: Bass, Electric guitar, Producer, Vocals

Linda McCartney :: Tambourine (?), Vocals

Denny Laine :: Electric guitar

Denny Seiwell :: Drums, Tambourine (?)

Tony Clark :: Mixing engineer, Recording engineer

Alan Parsons :: Recording engineer assistant

Alex Wharton :: Remastering

Chris Blair :: Recording engineer assistant

Session Recording:: Jul 24, 1971

Studio :: EMI Studios, Abbey Road

Session Mixing:: Oct 15, 1971

Studio :: EMI Studios, Abbey Road

Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969-2013) on Amazon

Wild Life - Archive Collection

Official album • Released in 2018

4:10 • Studio version • R2018 • 2018 Remaster

Paul McCartney :: Bass, Electric guitar, Producer, Vocals

Linda McCartney :: Tambourine (?), Vocals

Denny Laine :: Electric guitar

Denny Seiwell :: Drums, Tambourine (?)

Tony Clark :: Mixing engineer, Recording engineer

Alan Parsons :: Mixing engineer assistant

Alex Wharton :: Remastering

Chris Blair :: Recording engineer assistant

Steve Orchard :: Remastering

Session Recording:: Jul 24, 1971

Studio :: EMI Studios, Abbey Road

Session Mixing:: Oct 15, 1971

Studio :: EMI Studios, Abbey Road

Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969-2013) on Amazon

Wild Life - Archive Collection

Official album • Released in 2018

4:21 • Rough mix • B

Paul McCartney :: Bass, Electric guitar, Producer, Vocals

Linda McCartney :: Tambourine (?), Vocals

Denny Laine :: Electric guitar

Denny Seiwell :: Drums, Tambourine (?)

Tony Clark :: Mixing engineer, Recording engineer

Alan Parsons :: Mixing engineer assistant

Alex Wharton :: Mastering

Chris Blair :: Recording engineer assistant

Session Recording:: Jul 24, 1971

Studio :: EMI Studios, Abbey Road

Session Mixing:: Aug 06, 1971

Studio :: EMI Studios, Abbey Road

Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969-2013) on Amazon

Wild Life - Archive Collection

Official album • Released in 2018

3:17 • Demo • C • Home Recording

Performed by :
Paul McCartney • Linda McCartney

Paul McCartney :: Producer

Alex Wharton :: Mastering

Session Recording:: Jun 06, 1971

Studio :: Campbeltown, Scotland

Wings Over Europe

Official album • Released in 2018

2:25 • Live • L1

Performed by :
Paul McCartney • Linda McCartney • Denny Laine • Henry McCullough • Denny Seiwell

Paul McCartney :: Producer

Alan Parsons :: Recording engineer

Alex Wharton :: Mastering

Steve Orchard :: Mixing

Jeremy Gee :: Recording engineer assistant

Graham Fleming :: Recording engineer assistant

Concert From the concert in The Hague, Netherlands on Aug 21, 1972

Bootlegs

Studio Rarities Vol. 1

Unofficial album • Released in 2014

1:52 • Outtake • acoustic

MoMac's Hidden Tracks Vol. 3

Unofficial album

3:22 • Live

Concert From the concert in Montreux, Switzerland on Jul 22, 1972

Wings Over Switzerland

Unofficial live

3:23 • Live

Concert From the concert in Montreux, Switzerland on Jul 22, 1972

First Live Show

Unofficial live

2:47 • Live

Turkey In The Straw

Unofficial live

4:12 • Live

Concert From the concert in Rotterdam, Netherlands on Aug 17, 1972

See all bootlegs containing “Bip Bop”

Live performances

“Bip Bop” has been played in 29 concerts.

Year	Soundchecks	Concerts
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