A look back through the blistering lens of Heartland Reggae, where Marley, Tosh, Judy Mowatt, Jacob Miller, and U-Roy lit up the stage while Kingston burned outside. In the […]
Linda and Paul McCartney meet Lee “Scratch” Perry at Black Ark Studios

File under: Unlikely musical collaborations that actually worked…
On January 16th of 1980, Paul McCartney was famously arrested at Tokyo Narita International Airport after customs officials found 7.7 ounces of cannabis in the former Beatle’s bags. While Paul spent a yet-to-be-determined amount of time in Tokyo jail, a letter of support from a secret friend would be sent to Tokyo’s Minister of Justice…
Arriving from “Ark of the Covenant” aka “Earth Moon Base” aka Black Ark Studios in Kingston, Jamaica:
“Dear Sirs, I LEE PIPECOCK JACKSON PERRY would LOVE to express my concern over your consideration of one quarter kilo to be an excessive amount of herbs in the case as it pertains to master PAUL McCARTNEY. As a creator of nature’s love LOVE, light, life and all things under the creation sun, positive feelings through songs, good times, and no problems. I find the herbal powers of marijuana in its widely recognized abilities to relax, calm, and generate positive feeling a must. Herbs is his Majesty’s. All singers positive directions and liberty Irrations. Please do not consider the amount of herbs involved excessive. Master PAUL McCARTNEY’s intentions are positive.”

Paul McCartney and Lee “Scratch” Perry’s unlikely friendship began just a few years prior to the marijuana debacle that ended in McCartney spending nine days in prison and cancelling Wings’ tour of Japan.
In the late ’70s, Linda and Paul McCartney traveled to Kingston, Jamaica to work with the “Mighty Upsetter” Lee “Scratch” Perry, who had just produced The Clash’s 1977 single “Complete Control.” The McCartney family had been visiting the Caribbean for some time before then. In 1971, Linda famously wrote her first song “Seaside Woman” during a family visit to Jamaica after ATV sued the McCartneys for their co-writing credit on the song “Another Day,” claiming Linda was “incapable of writing.”
A loving tribute to the close-knit family lifestyle in the Caribbean, “Seaside Woman” would later be made into a Cannes Film Festival award-winning animated short with celebrated Argentinian director Oscar Grillo.
In 1977, Bob Marley was charting around the world with his album Exodus, and it makes sense that the McCartneys would seek out the enigmatic “Scratch,” an early mentor to Marley and the producer perhaps most responsible for developing his sound, to help with Linda’s music.
At the mystical Black Ark Studios, the McCartneys and “Scratch” would end up recording a selection of ’50s bubblegum pop covers, including “Mister Sandman” by The Chordettes and “Sugertime” by The Maguire Sisters. The tracks feature legendary musicians in “Scratch”‘s orbit including keyboardist Winston Wright, who is recognized as Jamaica’s master of the Hammond organ, brothers Boris and Billy Gardiner, drummer Mikey Boo of the Upsetters, along with Paul on guitar and Wurlitzer electric piano.
From the liner notes: “During the early days of reggae when the Tighten-Up albums were pumping out the good news, we asked Lee “Scratch” Perry to make some backing tracks for us. Mister Sandman was recorded at Black Ark Studios, Kingston, Jamaica, in 1977 when the radio station RJR was still rocking the airwaves and the sun was always hot! Linda’s vocal was done later in great style at Rude Studios UK.”
Paul’s lead guitar gives this track a unique Beatles / Brit-pop catchiness that works surprisingly well with the deep, Black Ark studios groove. Also, Linda’s vocals, while not perfect, have that sort of honest and vulnerable quality that diggers of rare lost vinyl look for. The bits of spoken word and backing vocal sounds are great as well and you can imagine “Scratch,” who was known to include all manners of strange noises in his tracks, enjoying the McCartneys playfulness.
Linda, with her multitudes of talents (photographer, musician, chef, activist), was constantly criticized for her creative endeavors (see above accusation from ATV). John Lennon recalls: “She got the same kind of insults, hatred, absolute garbage thrown at her for no reason whatsoever other than she fell in love with Paul McCartney.” Perhaps for this reason, the two tracks recorded with “Scratch” at Black Ark Studios would never see the light of day until 1998, appearing on the posthumous 1998 album Wide Prairie after Linda passed away from breast cancer.
The two tracks remain as a treasured time capsule into a rare meeting of musical giants…
