Alright, maybe some diehard Paul McCartney fans have heard this tune. But, considering the fact that I’ve been writing about The Beatles’ famed bassist and principal songwriter for years now, and I’ve never heard this song, I’ll assume that most of the masses today haven’t heard it, either.
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The song in question is the mysterious 1999 electronic dance song titled “Clean Machine”. Honestly, it doesn’t even sound like a Paul McCartney tune at all. Though, once those reverberated vocals come in, Macca’s voice is instantly recognizable. The song seems quite similar to McCartney’s turn-of-the-millennium collaboration with Youth, best known as The Fireman. “Clean Machine” also features samples from “Penny Lane” by The Beatles, released way back in 1967.
So, what’s the deal with this song? Why did McCartney experiment with electronica, and what was the purpose of this little club tune? Let’s dive in, shall we?
The Origins of the Y2K Electro-Jam “Clean Machine” by Paul McCartney and Why You’ve Probably Never Heard It Before
“Clean Machine” was released in 1999. It was created by Paul McCartney to serve as the promotional song for the Linda McCartney Racing Team. The song was made available on the team’s website.
The Linda McCartney Racing Team was a vegetarian cycling team in the UK that was sponsored by Linda McCartney Foods, a brand of vegan and vegetarian food items launched by Paul McCartney’s late wife, Linda McCartney, in the 90s. In fact, the words “clean machine” were used as a sort of nickname for the team, referencing their clean lifestyle and cycling skills.
Sadly, Linda passed away from cancer in 1998. And just a year after her passing, Paul wanted to preserve her legacy with music, as one would expect from the former Beatle. He put together the theme song “Clean Machine” to add to the team’s website.
Because of the similarities between “Clean Machine” and the work McCartney did with Youth in their collaborative project known as The Fireman, many believe that “Clean Machine” is a track from that project. It’s not, though. “Clean Machine” is 100% Paul McCartney in his club music era, and I’m honestly loving it.
The Linda McCartney Pro Cycling Team would later disband in 2001, and “Clean Machine” seemed to be more or less lost to time. Thankfully, nothing on the internet ever truly disappears.
Photo by Andre Csillag/Shutterstock
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