"Coming Up" is a song written and performed by English musician Paul McCartney, released as the opening track on his 1980 solo album McCartney II. Like other songs on the album, the song has a synthesised sound, featuring sped-up vocals created by using a vari-speed tape machine. McCartney played all instruments. The single was a hit in Britain, peaking at on the singles chart. In the United States and Canada, the live version of the song performed by Paul McCartney and Wings in Glasgow the year prior (released as the B-side to the single) saw greater success. Background In a Rolling Stone interview, McCartney explained how the song came about: John Lennon described "Coming Up" as "a good piece of work" and it prompted him to return to recording in 1980. After hearing it on the radio for the first time, Lennon reportedly stated “Fuck a pig! It’s Paul!” Lennon later stated his preference for the studio version over the live version that was released as a single: "I thought that Coming Up was great and I like the freak version that he made in his barn better than that live Glasgow one. If I'd have been with him I would've said 'that's the one' too. And I thought that the record company had a nerve changing it round on him, and I know what they mean, they want to hear the real guy singing, but I like the freaky one." Cash Box called it an "unusually produced but cute track". Record World said that "electronic keyboards, a dance beat and Paul's pop vocals give the contemporary sound." Live version A live version of the song was recorded in Glasgow, Scotland, on 17 December 1979 by Wings during their tour of the UK. An edited version from the performance was included as one of two songs on the B-side; the other song on the B-side was "Lunchbox/Odd Sox", a Wings song that dated back to Venus and Mars. Both songs were credited to Paul McCartney and Wings. Columbia Records wanted to put the live version on McCartney II but McCartney resisted the change, wanting to keep it a solo album. Instead, a one-sided 7" white-label promotional copy of the Wings version was included with the album in North America. "Coming Up (Live at Glasgow)" has since appeared on the US versions of the McCartney compilations All the Best! (1987) and