Paul McCartney fans praise lesser-known project as ‘weird in the best way’

Paul McCartney fans were full of praise for a lesser-known project that featured ex-Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr and Pink Floyd legend David Gilmour. The Wings frontman had dipped his toes into feature filmmaking before this, appearing in several films during his tenure in The Beatles. He, along with John Lennon, George Harrison, and Starr, would find themselves involved in film to varying degrees. McCartney’s biggest leap into filmmaking came with a project hailed and derided by fans in equal measure, as they turned their attention to the ill-forgotten Give My Regards to Broad Street. McCartney’s dedication to the project has been praised by members of the r/PaulMcCartney subreddit.

But others were less-than convinced by the film, which had McCartney re-recording some of his biggest songs. A fan took to the forum and asked: “What are your thoughts on Give My Regards to Broad Street?” One person replied that the film is solid enough until a particular scene drags on and tanks the momentum McCartney and the team had built up to that point.

They wrote: “I thought it was okay until it reached the drearily long Eleanor Rigby dream sequence. The musical sequences are nice; I liked the Silly Love Songs remake especially. On a side note, I wish Paul had just done whatever he needed to get a Rupert the Bear film made, instead of doing Give My Regards to Broad Street. I remember reading that Rupert and the Frog song was a pilot for a feature-length film, but I think he would’ve been more likely to get funding for a TV special with a companion album.”

Another suggested viewing Give My Regards to Broad Street not as a film, but as a music video. They wrote: “The movie is bad plot wise, but viewing it as a long music video makes it better. The soundtrack is amazing, and many songs are better than the original to me. I hope they release it on a double LP someday. Best version of The Long and Winding Road.”

Give My Regards to Broad Street released in 1984 and also marked the sixth solo album of McCartney. It was made up predomenantly of Beatles and Wings covers, but also featured the original single, No More Lonely Nights. Guitar legend Gilmour featured on the song, though the album was panned at the time of its release.

Some fans were left wholly unimpressed with the state of the film. One wrote: “Yeah, the plot is just dumb. But I went to see it when it opened and I enjoyed it mainly because I saw Paul on the big screen. It honestly made no sense whatsoever. But I’m appreciative of it as a McCartney vehicle.”

Another joked: “Give My Regards to Broad Street is the Citizen Kane of mid-80s movies starring a former Beatle in the leading role.” A third wrote: “It’s not a good film, but has some nice music video segments with good remakes of Beatles songs. Unfortunately, it looms largely as the moment Paul’s solo career really started to stall its momentum in terms of mainstream success.

“Until that film, Paul had a series of pop successes with Tug of War, Ebony and Ivory, Pipes of Peace, Say, Say, Say, which were all pop hits. Although No More Lonely Nights is a classic, and was a hit, the film was such a critical and commercial failure that it really hurt Paul’s mainstream solo career until the late 80s when he really started to embrace his Beatles legacy more with My Brave Face and his world tour.”

Not everyone was as upset by the contents of the film, though, as some suggested McCartney had offered up a fantastic piece of work that reflected his time as a solo musician. One fan wrote: “I love it! Honestly, I have seen Citizen Kane and Give My Regards to Broad Street, and I have only rewatched one of them. It’s good fun, and it’s cute to see Paul writing a script – you kinda get into his head, you know? And then the acting and music numbers are great! My favourite is the dream sequence, even though technically it’s a dream in a dream. Like Alice in Wonderland.”

Another fan shared: “Saw it in the theatre with friends when it was released, and we enjoyed it very much while also realising that as a film it wasn’t incredibly awesome. The music was and is still fantastic, and there are some very nice scenes in it. Loved the dream scene with Paul, Linda, Ringo and Barbara all dressed up like olden tymes (and Linda’s old camera and photos!), the studio medley of Beatles songs, and the drive through London at night. If I still had ‘regular TV’ and it showed up on TBS or something, I’d definitely have it on.”

A third added: “It was Paul’s passion project and it had great potential if there were some other writers involved. This often happens to celebrities with a close circle, as nobody can challenge their ideas because they don’t want to ruin the relationship. I think George was the only one who recommended that Paul hire a screenwriter. The critics roasted it when it came out, and Beatles fans also hated it (they were disappointed). Paul was heartbroken and you can even see it in his interviews from that era.

“I was ecstatic to have that movie at home. I remember watching Paul on a larger type of TV, which was amazing, and all I cared about is that he had fun making it. I had no idea this was considered a flop until later in life. I also remember growing up watching Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club movie on repeat, also having no idea that it was a flop. At the end of the day, everything that went out into the world reached the people it was meant for.”

A fourth agreed with the comment above, replying: “Agreed; Paul should have realised his limitations in that area and brought in more people with experience to really have a shot at making a truly good movie, although I do like some of its sequences. The soundtrack, however, was one of my earliest Paul records that I had on repeat.”