Tug of War is the third solo studio album by English musician Paul McCartney, released on 26 April 1982. It was McCartney's first album released after the dissolution of Wings the previous year. Overall, it was his 11th album since the break up of the Beatles. It was also McCartney's first album after the murder of former songwriting partner John Lennon. The cover features an abstract oil painting by the artist Brian Clarke, a frequent McCartney collaborator, incorporating an over-painted transparency of a portrait of Paul taken by Linda McCartney. Tug of War was produced by former Beatles producer George Martin and was a number one hit in many countries, selling over one million copies in the United States in the year of its release. Some critics hailed it as a return to form for McCartney. Its remastered deluxe edition received a nomination for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package at the 2017 Grammy Awards. Recording Following the release of the solo album McCartney II, Wings regrouped in July and October 1980 to rehearse several songs which later appeared on Tug of War and Pipes of Peace. Feeling the need for direction, McCartney called upon his former producer, George Martin, to begin recording a song written for the animated Rupert Bear character (to which McCartney acquired the film rights in 1970), titled "We All Stand Together", among others. The productive sessions continued until 9 December, the morning McCartney woke up to discover his former songwriting partner and fellow ex-Beatle, John Lennon, had been shot and killed in New York City on the previous night. Abandoning that day's session (in which he and Denny Laine were recording future B-side "Rainclouds") part-way through, both Martin and McCartney felt it was best to leave the project for the time being and start anew once they were ready. In February 1981, two months after Lennon's death, McCartney resumed the sessions, recording that month with Stevie Wonder, Stanley Clarke, Carl Perkins and Ringo Starr, and laying down several songs in the process. The sessions were held at AIR Studios in Montserrat, in the Caribbean, and lasted from 3 February to 2 March, ending with "Ebony and Ivory" and "What's That You're Doing", two songs featuring Stevie Wonder. 10cc guitarist Eric Stewart also became a frequent collaborator of McCartney during this period. Further sessions were undertaken that summer at Martin's AIR studios in Oxford Street,