Released in 1967
Catswalk (or Catcall)
Written by Paul McCartney • Instrumental
Last updated on March 22, 2023
Released in 1967
Written by Paul McCartney • Instrumental
Last updated on March 22, 2023
Album This song officially appears on the Catcall 7" Single.
Timeline This song was officially released in 1967
Timeline This song was written, or began to be written, in 1958, when Paul McCartney was 16 years old)
This song was recorded during the following studio sessions:
Jul 20, 1967
Get Back sessions - January 24, 1969 - Day 13
Jan 24, 1969
Around late 1958, Paul McCartney wrote a jazz-style instrumental titled “Catswalk“. While it was never formally recorded by The Beatles, a rehearsal from late 1962 at the Cavern Club was recorded and released on bootlegs.
In 1967, Paul McCartney gave the song away to jazz band The Chris Barber Band, and participating in the recording, singing
By then the tune had been recorded and released by another act. McCartney knew band leader Chris Barber, who played trombone with his trad jazz group, The Chris Barber Band, and in 1967 offered him the ‘Catswalk’. The band recorded a version at London’s Marquee Club in July 1967, but McCartney felt it could be done better.
The session took place on 20 July 1967 at Chappell Recording Studios at 52 Maddox Street, London. Retitled ‘Catcall’, the tune was given an over-the-top arrangement complete with a chorus of catcalls: McCartney and Jane Asher were among the people taking part in what was evidently a fun session.
McCartney can also be heard calling “Please play it slower” before the half-speed coda, and singing the chorus of “For he’s a jolly good fellow”.
From earlybeatlessongs:
One of several instrumentals, this one is principally by McCartney and was probably written in late-1958. The song was one of a few originals incorporated into the group’s live act, where it stayed until 1962. By luck, a tape of the Beatles rehearsing the song twice was captured in late-1962 at the Cavern Club, and these recordings have circulated on bootleg CDs. These versions have the song arranged Shadows-style, with dominant lead guitar figures.
McCartney wasn’t done with it however, and in July 1967, assisted Chris Barber with the recording of a rather different version which came out as a single that October, with the song re-titled as “Catcall”. (It didn’t chart.) In a break from protocol, the song was formally copyrighted without Lennon’s name being added.
A tiny fragment of the song also turns up in bootlegged tapes from the 1969 Get Back sessions (January 24). More recently a legal edition of the Beatles’ Cavern performances has appeared on the double LP, I Saw Her Standing There on the Rock Melon label. This collection of miscellaneous 1962 material was made possible by the expiry of the 50-year legal protection period on unreleased recordings, which made these and other tapes fair game in 2013.
7" Single • Released in 1967
3:00 • Studio version • A
Paul McCartney : Cat calls Chris Barber : Cat calls, Trombone Brian Auger : Cat calls, Organ Barry Jenkins : Cat calls Vic Briggs : Cat calls Viv Prince : Cat calls Madeleine Hirsiger : Cat calls Ottilie Patterson : Cat calls John Ryan : Cat calls Gustav Karl Lovenz Schneeweiss-Moody : Cat calls Pat Halcox : Cat calls, Trumpet John Crocker : Alto sax (?), Cat calls Ian Wheeler : Alto sax (?), Cat calls, Harmonica John Slaughter : Cat calls, Guitar Stu Morrison : Banjo, Cat calls Jackie Flavelle : Bass, Cat calls Graham Burbidge : Cat calls, Drums
Session Recording: Jul 20, 1967 • Studio Chappell Recording Studios, London UK
LP • Released in 1969
3:00 • Studio version • A
Paul McCartney : Cat calls Chris Barber : Cat calls, Trombone Brian Auger : Cat calls, Organ Barry Jenkins : Cat calls Vic Briggs : Cat calls Viv Prince : Cat calls Madeleine Hirsiger : Cat calls Ottilie Patterson : Cat calls John Ryan : Cat calls Gustav Karl Lovenz Schneeweiss-Moody : Cat calls Pat Halcox : Cat calls, Trumpet John Crocker : Alto sax (?), Cat calls Ian Wheeler : Alto sax (?), Cat calls, Harmonica John Slaughter : Cat calls, Guitar Stu Morrison : Banjo, Cat calls Jackie Flavelle : Bass, Cat calls Graham Burbidge : Cat calls, Drums
Session Recording: Jul 20, 1967 • Studio Chappell Recording Studios, London UK
The Songs Lennon and McCartney Gave Away
LP • Released in 1979
3:00 • Studio version • A
Paul McCartney : Cat calls Chris Barber : Cat calls, Trombone Brian Auger : Cat calls, Organ Barry Jenkins : Cat calls Vic Briggs : Cat calls Viv Prince : Cat calls Madeleine Hirsiger : Cat calls Ottilie Patterson : Cat calls John Ryan : Cat calls Gustav Karl Lovenz Schneeweiss-Moody : Cat calls Pat Halcox : Cat calls, Trumpet John Crocker : Alto sax (?), Cat calls Ian Wheeler : Alto sax (?), Cat calls, Harmonica John Slaughter : Cat calls, Guitar Stu Morrison : Banjo, Cat calls Jackie Flavelle : Bass, Cat calls Graham Burbidge : Cat calls, Drums
Session Recording: Jul 20, 1967 • Studio Chappell Recording Studios, London UK
A/B Road Complete Get Back Sessions - Jan 24th, 1969 - 3 & 4
Unofficial album • Released in 2004
0:08 • Rehearsal • Jan.24 - D3-21 - Catswalk 24.64
Session Recording: Jan 24, 1969 • Studio Apple Studios, 3 Savile Row, London
Paul McCartney has never played this song in concert.
If we modestly consider the Paul McCartney Project to be the premier online resource for all things Paul McCartney, it is undeniable that The Beatles Bible stands as the definitive online site dedicated to the Beatles. While there is some overlap in content between the two sites, they differ significantly in their approach.
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Martin Beasley • 5 years ago
Who played lead guitar on Catswalk?
Theodor Ache • 3 years ago
Most probably George played lead guitar because there is also a bass on the record (which obviously is by Paul - this was a rehearsal played live). I have heard an arrangement by string trio recently (not by McCartney).