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Released in 1985

Spies Like Us

Written by Paul McCartney

Last updated on August 10, 2020


Album This song officially appears on the Spies Like Us / My Carnival 7" Single.

Timeline This song was officially released in 1985

Timeline This song was written, or began to be written, in 1985, when Paul McCartney was 43 years old)

Related sessions

This song was recorded during the following studio sessions:

Other original film songs by Paul McCartney

Related interview

From Wikipedia:

“Spies Like Us” is the title song to the 1985 Warner Bros. motion picture of the same name, starring Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, and Donna Dixon. It was written and performed by Paul McCartney, and reached #7 on the Billboard singles chart in early 1986, making it McCartney’s last US top ten hit until 2015. It also reached #13 in the UK.

Recording and release

Multiple releases were issued in the UK: a regular 7″ single, a 7″ shaped picture disc, a regular 12″ single featuring extended mixes and the B-side “My Carnival” (a Wings track from the Venus and Mars sessions) and a 12″ picture disc.

The minute-long outro is uptempo while the title is being sung repeatedly. When the movie Spies Like Us hit the theaters, producers opted to play the outro first in the closing credits before playing the entire song.

“Spies Like Us” was released on CD in 1993, as part of the release of The Paul McCartney Collection, as a bonus track on the album Press to Play. The B-side, “My Carnival“, was released as a bonus track on Venus and Mars, and the 12″ single was an exclusive to iTunes.

Music video

The video for the song, directed by John Landis (who also directed the film), was not aired by the BBC because Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase appeared in it playing instruments. British labour rules at the time prohibited non-musicians from performing in videos, and Aykroyd and Chase did not actually play on the record, though both have worked as professional musicians. The video ends with McCartney, Chase, and Aykroyd walking across Abbey Road, parodying the famous album cover.

The video was however played on the long running BBC show Top Of The Pops on 2 January 1986 having already briefly featured in its Top 40 Breakers section during December 1985.[…]

John Landis rang me and said he wanted an uptempo rock ‘n’ rolly thing. I thought I might have done a Bondy type song — the 75-piece orchestra, more melodic, with maybe an Eastern touch, the known ingredients for a ‘spy’ type of song. (But) I think one of the fun things about what I’m doing now is varying those things a bit.

Paul McCartney, from the press release

The song barely appears in the movie; it is only included at the very end of the credits sequence. It is also not included in the movie’s soundtrack released in the UK on February 21st, 1986.


Lyrics

Ooh ooh what do you do

No one else can dance like you

So what's all the fuss

There ain't nobody that spies like us

Hey hey what do you say

Someone took your plans away

So what's all the fuss

There ain't nobody that spies like us

Hey don't feel afraid

Of an undercover aid

There's no need to fuss

There ain't nobody that spies like us

Spies like us

We don't know the meaning of fear

We play every minute by ear

One for all and all for one

Everybody's on the run

Especially at this time of year

Ooh ooh what do you do

No one else can dance like you

So what's all the fuss

There ain't nobody got spies like us

Hey hey what do you say

No one else can look that way

So what's all the fuss

There ain't nobody got spies like us

We get there by hook or by crook

We don't do a thing by…

Officially appears on

Bootlegs

See all bootlegs containing “Spies Like Us

Related film

  • Spies Like Us

    1985 • For Paul McCartney • Directed by John Landis

Live performances

Paul McCartney has never played this song in concert.


Going further

Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989

With 25 albums of pop music, 5 of classical – a total of around 500 songs – released over the course of more than half a century, Paul McCartney's career, on his own and with Wings, boasts an incredible catalogue that's always striving to free itself from the shadow of The Beatles. The stories behind the songs, demos and studio recordings, unreleased tracks, recording dates, musicians, live performances and tours, covers, events: Music Is Ideas Volume 1 traces McCartney's post-Beatles output from 1970 to 1989 in the form of 346 song sheets, filled with details of the recordings and stories behind the sessions. Accompanied by photos, and drawing on interviews and contemporary reviews, this reference book draws the portrait of a musical craftsman who has elevated popular song to an art-form.

Buy on Amazon

Paul McCartney writing

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