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)
This song was recorded during the following studio sessions:
August 1985
September 1985
Officially appears on Music From Vanilla Sky
Officially appears on (I Want to) Come Home
Officially appears on Ethel & Ernest (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Officially appears on Live And Let Die / I Lie Around
Dec 07, 1985 • From The Times
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.
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…
7" Single • Released in 1985
4:47 • Studio version • A
Paul McCartney : Backing vocals, Bass, Drums, Electric guitar, Keyboards, Percussion, Producer, Tambourine, Vocals Linda McCartney : Backing vocals Eric Stewart : Backing vocals Phil Ramone : Producer Eddie Rayner : Synthesizers Kate Robbins : Backing vocals Ruby James : Backing vocals Hugh Padgham : Producer
Session Recording: September 1985 • Studio Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
Session Mixing: September 1985 • Studio Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
12" Single • Released in 1985
7:10 • Studio version • A2 • Party Mix
Paul McCartney : Backing vocals, Bass, Drums, Electric guitar, Keyboards, Percussion, Producer, Tambourine, Vocals Linda McCartney : Backing vocals Eric Stewart : Backing vocals Phil Ramone : Producer Eddie Rayner : Synthesizers Kate Robbins : Backing vocals Ruby James : Backing vocals Hugh Padgham : Producer John Potoker : Remixing
Session Recording: September 1985 • Studio Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
Session Mixing: September 1985 • Studio Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
12" Single • Released in 1985
3:56 • Studio version • A3 • Alternative Mix (Known To His Friends As "Tom")
Paul McCartney : Backing vocals, Bass, Drums, Electric guitar, Keyboards, Percussion, Producer, Tambourine, Vocals Linda McCartney : Backing vocals Eric Stewart : Backing vocals Phil Ramone : Producer Eddie Rayner : Synthesizers Kate Robbins : Backing vocals Ruby James : Backing vocals Hugh Padgham : Producer John Potoker : Remixing Art Of Noise : Remixing
Session Recording: September 1985 • Studio Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
Session Mixing: September 1985 • Studio Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
12" Single • Released in 1985
3:46 • Studio version • A1 • DJ Version
Paul McCartney : Backing vocals, Bass, Drums, Electric guitar, Keyboards, Percussion, Producer, Tambourine, Vocals Linda McCartney : Backing vocals Eric Stewart : Backing vocals Phil Ramone : Producer Eddie Rayner : Synthesizers Kate Robbins : Backing vocals Ruby James : Backing vocals Hugh Padgham : Producer
Session Recording: September 1985 • Studio Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
Session Mixing: September 1985 • Studio Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
Official album • Released in 1993
4:45 • Studio version • A1993 • 1993 remaster
Paul McCartney : Backing vocals, Bass, Drums, Electric guitar, Keyboards, Percussion, Producer, Tambourine, Vocals Linda McCartney : Backing vocals Eric Stewart : Backing vocals Phil Ramone : Producer Eddie Rayner : Synthesizers Kate Robbins : Backing vocals Ruby James : Backing vocals Hugh Padgham : Producer
Session Recording: September 1985 • Studio Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
Session Mixing: September 1985 • Studio Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
The Art Of The 12", Volume Two (A Promotion Of A Way Of Life)
Official album • Released in 2012
5:36 • Studio version • A4 • Art Of Noise Remix
Paul McCartney : Backing vocals, Bass, Drums, Electric guitar, Keyboards, Percussion, Producer, Tambourine, Vocals Linda McCartney : Backing vocals Eric Stewart : Backing vocals Phil Ramone : Producer Eddie Rayner : Synthesizers Kate Robbins : Backing vocals Ruby James : Backing vocals Hugh Padgham : Producer John Potoker : Remixing Art Of Noise : Remixing
Session Recording: September 1985 • Studio Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
Session Mixing: September 1985 • Studio Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
7" Single • Released in 2022
4:47 • Studio version • A2022 • 2022 remaster
Paul McCartney : Backing vocals, Bass, Drums, Electric guitar, Keyboards, Percussion, Producer, Tambourine, Vocals Linda McCartney : Backing vocals Eric Stewart : Backing vocals Phil Ramone : Producer Eddie Rayner : Synthesizers Kate Robbins : Backing vocals Ruby James : Backing vocals Hugh Padgham : Producer Mark Wharton : Remastering
Session Recording: September 1985 • Studio Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
Session Mixing: September 1985 • Studio Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
Unofficial album
0:56 • Demo
Session Recording: August 1985 • Studio Rude Studio, Campbeltown, Scotland
Unofficial album • Released in 1995
4:24 • Demo
Session Recording: August 1985 • Studio Rude Studio, Campbeltown, Scotland
Unofficial album
4:47 • Alternate take • Early take 1
Session Recording: September 1985 • Studio Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
Unofficial album
3:55 • Studio version • A3 • Alternative Mix (Known To His Friends As "Tom")
Paul McCartney : Backing vocals, Bass, Drums, Electric guitar, Keyboards, Percussion, Producer, Tambourine, Vocals Linda McCartney : Backing vocals Eric Stewart : Backing vocals Phil Ramone : Producer Eddie Rayner : Synthesizers Kate Robbins : Backing vocals Ruby James : Backing vocals Hugh Padgham : Producer John Potoker : Remixing Art Of Noise : Remixing
Session Recording: September 1985 • Studio Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
Session Mixing: September 1985 • Studio Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
1985 • For Paul McCartney • Directed by John Landis
Paul McCartney has never played this song in concert.
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.
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