Today is Paul's birthday, and I've been listening and thinking about his work a lot (largely because One Hand Clapping released this past weekend) and in particular his post-Beatles career which I think occupies an odd space.

Paul is/was a Beatle and as one of The Beatles he wrote/co-wrote many well-regarded and beloved songs, and many of his songs (Let it Be, Hey Jude, Yesterday) occupy a large place in not just the music world, but the world in general.

However, the same is not quite true of his post-Beatles work (and tbf, this applies to all 4 really), that's not to say his work is a complete absence, he had quite the number of hits, including multiple no 1s, and Mull of Kintyre became the UK's biggest selling single and is still in the top-5 (non-streaming, so maybe unfair to include it) and he does have a few songs that have remained in the public conciousness, though of course not to the extent as his Beatle days (I mean, no artist does really)

Anyway, all that is to say, that I recently have become quite the fan of Paul's solo (and Wings) work. Band on the Run and Ram are well-regarded generally but he's got a lot of good material beyond that, both in terms of albums and individual songs. I think Red Rose Speedway is particularly (ugh) underrated, and I have even come to appreciate Wings at the Speed of Sound beyond the hit singles.

It would be hard to call it a return to form, given it's now the status of quo, but his 21st century work has been pretty strong as well, and I think he has a number of songs that would be well-regarded if released during his peak eras (Jenny Wren, Mr Bellamy etc.)

And the release of One Hand Clapping has cemented the idea in my head that Paul has one of the best voices in popular music, especially in the mid-70s.

So what's your opinion on Paul McCartney's post-Beatles career, are you a fan? are you not a fan? Are you indifferent but have a couple of songs you really like?

What are your favourite Paul songs from outside The Beatles