An “unholy argument” between music legend Paul McCartney and the rest of The Beatles led to him playing drums on a Steve Miller hit.
Looking to blow off some steam after a falling out with John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, McCartney set out to clear his head by playing loud. The Wings founder would link up with the veteran guitarist and Steve Miller Band frontman for some time in the studio. McCartney would use this time to cool off, and would feature on a Steve Miller track under the name “Paul Ramon”. McCartney’s daughter, Mary, would confirm the appearance was after McCartney had argued with the rest of The Beatles over the involvement of Allen Klein. The trio had suggested him as their new manager to replace Brian Epstein, a decision McCartney was vehemently against.
Though he would be at odds with the rest of the band, their decisions at the time left him infuriated. McCartney would confirm in The Beatles Anthology book a “big argument” left him in the studio with Miller, who just happened to be around.
He said: “There was a big argument and they all went, leaving me at the studio. Steve Miller happened to be around: ‘Hi, how you doing? Is the studio free?’ I said: ‘Well, it looks like it is now, mate.’ He said: ‘Mind if I use it?’ So I ended up drumming on a track of his that night. It was called My Dark Hour – a good track actually. He and I made it alone. I had to do something, thrash something, to get it out of my system.”
A similar story was told by McCartney to biographer Barry Miles. McCartney shared: “Steve Miller happened to be there recording, late at night, and he just breezed in. ‘Hey, what’s happening, man? Can I use the studio?’ ‘Yeah!,’ I said. ‘Can I drum for you? I just had a fucking unholy argument with the guys there.’ I explained it to him, and it took ten minutes to get it off my chest.
“So I did a track, he and I stayed that night and did a track of his called My Dark Hour. I thrashed everything out on the drums. There’s a surfeit of aggressive drum fills; that’s all I can say about that. We stayed up until late. I played bass, guitar and drums and sang backing vocals. It’s actually a pretty good track.”
McCartney’s daughter, Mary, also shared in a conversation with GQ her father’s decision to play was a way to let out “a lot of tension.” She shared: “Mum introduced me to a song [Paul McCartney] played drums on years ago, called My Dark Hour, by the Steve Miller Band. He’s credited as Paul Ramon and he does backing vocals, guitar, bass and drums.
“It was recorded in Olympic Studios in London towards the end of 1969, after an argument Dad had had with the others over Allen Klein becoming their manager. The others had gone off and he said Steve Miller walked in and asked if he wanted to play the drums on this track he was recording. I think the drumming on it is so good, but you can tell he’s letting out a lot of tension.”
