When The Beatles broke up, fans worldwide were heartbroken, but it meant that the separate members of the band were able to pursue solo careers. While they worked fantastically together and were responsible for some of the biggest hits the world had ever seen, they were starting to grow apart creatively, so it was exciting for people to ponder over what direction they might take on these solo ventures.
John Lennon was always keen on writing the most honest music possible. When asked about his favourite Beatles tracks, he cited the likes of ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ and ‘Help’, saying that they’re the songs he was most transparent with the listener. Subsequently, when he became a solo artist, he laid his soul bare on songs like ‘Mother’.
George Harrison was finally in a position where the songs he had been writing for years but that had never entirely made it to the Beatles’ forefront because they didn’t fit the Lennon-McCartney criteria could finally have a home. His album All Things Must Pass was a critical masterpiece and showed his unbelievable versatility as a songwriter.
Meanwhile, Paul McCartney carried on writing hit after hit, as he was accustomed to, and branched out in terms of those he worked with. He was always happy to collaborate with other artists, which led to the success of the band Wings. It also birthed a couple of side projects, one of which was with Elvis Costello and gave rise to the track ‘Back On My Feet’.
The track was released as a B-side to McCartney’s single ‘Once Upon A Long Ago’ and was the first time he and Costello worked together. It’s a great song, upbeat and quite rock-heavy. McCartney and Costello came together really well to write a song with a great feel and an interesting narrative attached.
“It was his manager of the time who suggested we write together. I took a train down to his studio near Rya and we just went to work,” said Costello, “We brought bits and pieces of songs we had been working on that weren’t quite complete. He had one called ‘Back On My Feet’. That was pretty much written. I just sort of made a couple of suggestions, if that’s not too absurd an idea!”
Costello proceeded to talk about the theme behind the song, which he helped the former Beatle put together. “We then worked on a beautiful melody that Paul had brought into our first writing session,” he said, “’Back On My Feet’ developed into a song about a holy fool or hapless vagabond whom people either pity or pass by. I added just a few details to the lyrics, mostly cinematic directions to change the point of view, and a countermelody, in which the words of an unsympathetic chorus of onlookers could be heard.”
