Figure of Eight (song)

For the song of the same name by Status Quo, see In Search of the Fourth Chord.

1989 single by Paul McCartney

"Figure of Eight"

Single by Paul McCartney
from the album  Flowers in the Dirt
B-side| "Où est le Soleil?"
Released| 13 November 1989
Recorded| 9 November 1987
Studio| Hog Hill Mill (Icklesham, UK)
Genre| Rock
Length| 3:25 (album version)
5:11 (single version)
Label| Parlophone
Songwriter(s)| Paul McCartney
Producer(s)|

* Chris Hughes
* Paul McCartney
* Ross Cullum

Paul McCartney singles chronology
| "Où est le Soleil?"
(1989)  | "Figure of Eight"
(1989)  | "Put It There"
(1990)

|
|

"Figure of Eight" is a song from Paul McCartney's 1989 album, Flowers in the Dirt.

## Single version

[edit]

After the completion of the album, McCartney recorded a new version for single release, using his newly formed touring band.[1][2] The new version is unusual in running nearly two minutes longer than the album version, rather than following the typical radio edit pattern of shortening the track for single release. Some versions of the single included an edit of the new version.

Despite this quirk, the single — which was released in seven formats including a 7", a 12", a cassingle, a CD and a 3" CD single — reached number 42 on the UK singles chart[3][4] and number 92 on the Billboard Hot 100.[5]

On various editions the single was labeled "Figure Of Eight" / "Ou Est le Soleil?" making it as double A-side.

## Other versions

[edit]

"Figure of Eight" was the opening song throughout McCartney's 1989–1990 world concert tour. A version recorded in Rotterdam on 10 November 1989 appeared on the live album from the tour, Tripping the Live Fantastic.[6]

## Music video

[edit]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2015)

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The official music video for the song was directed by Andy Morahan and shows footage from the concert at Hallenstadion, Zurich on October 29, 1989.[7]

## Track listings

[edit]

All tracks written by Paul McCartney except "The Long and Winding Road" written by McCartney / Lennon

7" single

1. "Figure of Eight" – 5:16
2. "Où Est le Soleil?" – 4:50

7" promo single

1. "Figure of Eight" (7" edit) – 3:59
2. "Où Est le Soleil?" – 3:57

CD, 3" CD single

1. "Figure of Eight" (7" edit) – 4:04
2. "The Long and Winding Road" – 3:54
3. "Loveliest Thing" – 3:59

12" single

1. "Figure of Eight" – 5:11
2. "The Long and Winding Road" – 3:51
3. "Loveliest Thing" – 3:58

12" single

1. "Figure of Eight" – 5:16
2. "This One" (Club Lovejoys mix) – 6:10

12" single

1. "Figure of Eight" – 5:16
2. "Où Est le Soleil?" (remix by Shep Pettibone) – 7:10
3. "Où Est le Soleil?" (Tub Dub mix) (remix by Shep Pettibone) – 4:30

Cassette, Limited edition one sided 12" single

1. "Figure of Eight" – 5:16
2. "Où Est le Soleil?" – 4:50

3" Special collector's CD single

1. "Figure of Eight" – 5:13
2. "Rough Ride" (Extended Version) – 4:54
3. "Où Est le Soleil?" (7" mix) – 4:50

## Personnel

[edit]

Personnel are taken from the Flowers in the Dirt Archive Collection LP liner notes[8]

* Paul McCartney – lead vocals, harmony vocals, bass, celesta, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, tambourine, handclaps
* Linda McCartney – synthesizer, handclaps
* Chris Whitten – drums, handclaps
* Trevor Horn – keyboards, handclaps
* Stephen Lipson – guitar

## Charts

[edit]

Chart (1989)  | Peak
position

|

Ireland[9] | 25
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[10] | 42
UK Singles (OCC)[11] | 42
US Billboard Hot 100[12] | 92
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[13] | 47
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[14] | 8

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Madinger, Chip; Mark Easter (2000). Eight Arms To Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium. Chesterfield, MO: 44.1 Productions, LP. p. 305\. ISBN 0-615-11724-4.
2. ^ Blaney, J. (2007). Lennon and McCartney: together alone: a critical discography of their solo work. Jawbone Press. pp. 190–191, 194. ISBN 978-1-906002-02-2.
3. ^ "Official Charts: Paul McCartney". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
4. ^ "UK Singles - 1952-2009". Archived from the original on 10 March 2010. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2000). Top Pop Singles 1955–1999. Menomonee Falls, WI: Record Research, Inc. p. 418\. ISBN 0-89820-140-3.
6. ^ Madinger, Chip; Mark Easter (2000). Eight Arms To Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium. Chesterfield, MO: 44.1 Productions, LP. p. 334\. ISBN 0-615-11724-4.
7. ^ Garcia, Alex S. "mvdbase.com - Paul McCartney - "Figure of eight"". Music Video DataBase. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
8. ^ Paul McCartney - Flowers In The Dirt, 2017, retrieved 13 November 2023
9. ^ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". www.irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
10. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Paul McCartney" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
11. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
12. ^ "Paul McCartney Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
13. ^ "Paul McCartney Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
14. ^ "Paul McCartney Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard.

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Paul McCartney singles discography

1970s|

* "Another Day" / "Oh Woman, Oh Why" (with Linda McCartney)
* "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" / "Too Many People" (with Linda McCartney)
* "The Back Seat of My Car" / "Heart of the Country" (with Linda McCartney)
* "Eat at Home" / "Smile Away" (with Linda McCartney)
* "Wonderful Christmastime"

1980s|

* "Coming Up"
* "Waterfalls"
* "Temporary Secretary"
* "Ebony and Ivory" (with Stevie Wonder)
* "Take It Away"
* "Tug of War"
* "The Girl Is Mine" (with Michael Jackson)
* "Say Say Say" (with Michael Jackson)
* "Pipes of Peace"/"So Bad"
* "No More Lonely Nights"
* "We All Stand Together"
* "Spies Like Us"
* "Press"
* "Pretty Little Head"
* "Stranglehold"
* "Only Love Remains"
* "Once Upon a Long Ago"
* "Ferry Cross the Mersey"
* "My Brave Face" / "Flying to My Home"
* "This One"
* "Figure of Eight"

1990s|

* "Put It There" / "Mama's Little Girl" (with Wings)
* "Birthday" (live) / "Good Day Sunshine" (live)
* "All My Trials" (live)
* "Hope of Deliverance"
* "C'Mon People"
* "Off the Ground"
* "Biker Like an Icon" / "Things We Said Today"
* "A Leaf" (with Anya Alexeyev)
* "Come Together" (The Smokin' Mojo Filters)
* "Young Boy"
* "The World Tonight"
* "Beautiful Night"
* "No Other Baby" / "Brown Eyed Handsome Man"
* "Run Devil Run" (promo)

2000s|

* "From a Lover to a Friend"
* "Freedom" / "From a Lover to a Friend"
* "Hello Goodbye" (promo)
* "Tropic Island Hum" / "We All Stand Together"
* "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (with U2)
* "Fine Line"
* "Jenny Wren"
* "Really Love You" (Twin Freaks)
* "This Never Happened Before" (promo)
* "Dance Tonight" / "Nod Your Head"
* "Ever Present Past"
* "Heal the Pain" (with George Michael)
* "Walk with You" (with Ringo Starr)

2010s|

* "(I Want to) Come Home"
* "My Valentine"
* "Only Our Hearts"
* Christmas Kisses: "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" / "Wonderful Christmastime"
* "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" (The Justice Collective)
* "New"
* "Queenie Eye"
* "Only One" (with Kanye West)
* "FourFiveSeconds" (with Rihanna & Kanye West)
* "All Day" (with Kanye West)
* "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five" (with Timo Maas & James Teej)
* "I Don't Know" / "Come On to Me"
* "Fuh You"
* "Who Cares"
* "Back in Brazil"
* "Get Enough"
* "Home Tonight / In a Hurry"

2020s|

* "Find My Way"
* "The Kiss of Venus (Dominic Fike remix)"

* Category

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Paul McCartney

* Paul "Wix" Wickens
* Rusty Anderson
* Brian Ray
* Abe Laboriel Jr.

* Linda McCartney
* Hamish Stuart
* Robbie McIntosh
* Chris Whitten
* Blair Cunningham

Studio albums|

* McCartney
* Ram
* Thrillington
* McCartney II
* Tug of War
* Pipes of Peace
* Give My Regards to Broad Street
* Press to Play
* Снова в СССР
* Flowers in the Dirt
* Off the Ground
* Flaming Pie
* Run Devil Run
* Driving Rain
* Chaos and Creation in the Backyard
* Memory Almost Full
* Kisses on the Bottom
* New
* Egypt Station
* McCartney III

with Wings|

* Wild Life
* Red Rose Speedway
* Band on the Run
* Venus and Mars
* Wings at the Speed of Sound
* London Town
* Back to the Egg

The Fireman|

* Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest
* Rushes
* Electric Arguments

Classical|

* Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio
* Standing Stone
* Working Classical
* Ecce Cor Meum
* Ocean's Kingdom

Live albums|

* Wings over America (with Wings)
* Tripping the Live Fantastic
* Unplugged (The Official Bootleg)
* Paul Is Live
* Back in the U.S.
* Back in the World Live
* Amoeba's Secret
* Good Evening New York City
* Live in Los Angeles
* Amoeba Gig
* One Hand Clapping

Remix albums|

* Liverpool Sound Collage
* Twin Freaks
* McCartney III Imagined

Compilations|

* Wings Greatest
* All the Best!
* The Paul McCartney Collection
* Wingspan: Hits and History
* Never Stop Doing What You Love
* Pure McCartney
* McCartney I II III
* The 7″ Singles Box

Books|

* High in the Clouds
* Hey Grandude!
* The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present
* 1964: Eyes of the Storm

Filmography|

* A Hard Day's Night (1964)
* Help! (1965)
* Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
* Yellow Submarine (1968)
* Let It Be (1970)
* James Paul McCartney (1973)
* Wings Over the World (1979)
* Back to the Egg (1979)
* Concert for Kampuchea (1980)
* Rockshow (1980)
* Rupert and the Frog Song (1984)
* Give My Regards to Broad Street (1984)
* Put It There (1989)
* MTV Unplugged (1991)
* Get Back (1991)
* Liverpool Oratorio (1991)
* Paul Is Live (1993)
* In the World Tonight (1997)
* Standing Stone (1997)
* Tropic Island Hum (1997)
* Live at the Cavern Club (1999)
* Working Classical (2000)
* Wingspan (2001)
* The Concert for New York City (2001)
* Back in the U.S. (2002)
* Paul McCartney in Red Square (2003)
* The Music and Animation Collection (2004)
* Between Chaos and Creation (2005)
* The Space Within US (2006)
* Memory Almost Full – Deluxe Edition (2007)
* The McCartney Years (2007)
* Ecce Cor Meum (2008)
* Good Evening New York City (2009)
* The Love We Make (2011)
* A Rendez-Vous with Paul McCartney (2013)
* New – Collector's Edition (2014)
* A MusiCares Tribute to Paul McCartney (2015)
* Pure McCartney (2016)
* Carpool Karaoke: When Corden Met McCartney Live from Liverpool (2018)

Bootlegs|

* Cold Cuts
* Costello Album
* A Toot and a Snore in '74
* Return to Pepperland

Tours|

* The Paul McCartney World Tour
* The New World Tour
* Driving World Tour
* The 'US' Tour
* Summer Live '09
* Good Evening Europe Tour
* Up and Coming Tour
* On the Run
* Out There
* One on One
* 2018 Secret Gigs
* Freshen Up
* Got Back

Tributes|

* The Beatles Statue
* The Art of McCartney
* Let Us in Americana: The Music of Paul McCartney
* Pure McCartney (2013 album)

Lists|

* Awards
* Discography
* Music contributions and appearances
* Song recordings

Related media|

* "Cut Me Some Slack"
* The Family Way
* A Garland for Linda
* "Lisa the Vegetarian"
* The McCartney Interview
* Many Years from Now
* Oobu Joobu
* Paul McCartney Archive Collection
* Paul McCartney's Glastonbury Groove
* Two of Us (film)
* Wide Prairie

Other topics|

* 20 Forthlin Road
* The Beatles
* Brian Clarke
* The Fireman
* Lennon–McCartney
* Heather Mills
* MPL Communications
* "Paul is dead"
* Paul McCartney's band
* Personal relationships
* The Quarrymen
* Wings

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