Paul McCartney is giving fans the opportunity to listen to—and learn about—his perennial holiday hit in a whole new way. The Beatle partnered with Vevo to share a new Footnotes video annotating his 1979 classic “Wonderful Christmastime.” The video, which is out now, details McCartney’s inspiration behind the track.
McCartney introduces us to the song by telling us about its roots in his own childhood Christmas celebrations. “I like the idea of Christmas songs purely because they only come around at Christmas! They remind us of the fun atmosphere of the whole season, and when I was writing “Wonderful Christmastime” I was trying to capture that party aspect,” writes McCartney at the start of the video. “I’m thinking about Liverpool Christmas parties, that’s really all I’m doing with that song. ‘The mood is right, let’s raise a glass, the spirit’s up’—you know, all the stuff you do at Christmas. Particularly with my old Liverpool family parties.”
The video for the track, which features members of McCartney’s band Wings, was directed by Russell Mulcahy and filmed at the Fountain Inn in West Sussex and The Hippodrome Theatre in Eastbourne. The Fountain still exists today, per the video, though the song has expanded far beyond McCartney’s home country. “Sometimes people will go into a shop and hear the song a little too much, but I don’t care!” he writes. “I’m happy!”
Released in November 1979, “Wonderful Christmastime” has been a holiday season staple since it first debuted. The track achieved a new peak on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2024 when it reached number 26. As with any Christmas classic, the track has since been covered by a number of other artists, including Diana Ross and Hillary Duff. The track has also been around and popular for long enough that it has become the subject of social media rumors, with some suggesting that the song is secretly about witchcraft. “This is completely true and in actual fact I am the head wizard of a Liverpool coven,” writes Paul. “Either that… or it’s complete nonsense. And you know it’s the latter!”
Buy Paul McCartney’s Wonderful Christmastime on 7-inch vinyl now.
