The basic track was recorded on 10 September 1982 at AIR Studios, with orchestral overdubs added later, probably at the same studio. Paul McCartney plays piano, bass and knee-percussion, while tabla was added by James Kippen, who tried "something like 20–30 takes” before McCartney was satisfied. A special session was organized to have the Pestalozzi Children Choir adding their voices.
Personnel
Paul McCartney – vocals, bass, piano, knee-percussion, drums, orchestra arrangements
In the United States, "Pipes of Peace" was issued as the B-side, and its British B-side, "So Bad", was issued as the A-side. "So Bad" reached number 23 at the US Billboard Hot 100. "So Bad" also reached number 11 on the Canadian RPM Charts and number 3 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. McCartney had previously had seventeen UK number one singles as a member of The Beatles, one as a member of Wings, and one with Stevie Wonder, but this was his first and only UK number one as a solo artist. He later appeared on five charity singles that reached number one: Band Aid, Ferry Aid, Ferry Cross the Mersey, Band Aid 20 and The Justice Collective. As the 1969 single Get Back was formally credited to 'The Beatles with Billy Preston' this makes McCartney the only person to have had a number 1 single as a solo artist and as a member of a duo, a trio, a quartet and a quintet.
Video
At Chobham Common, Surrey, a video was shot for "Pipes of Peace", depicting the famous 1914 Christmas truce between British and German troops. It portrays a British and a German soldier, both played by McCartney, who meet up in No Man's Land and exchange photos of their loved ones while other soldiers fraternise and play football. When a shell blast forces the two armies to retreat to their own trenches both men realise that they still have each other's pictures. The video was produced by Hugh Symonds, featured more than 100 extras, and for added realism McCartney had his hair cut short especially for the shoot. In November 2014, the British supermarket chainSainsbury's, in partnership with the Royal British Legion, produced a Christmas advert whose look and narrative were widely recognized as being based on McCartney's "Pipes of Peace" video. As in "Pipes of Peace" the British and German soldier return to their trenches to discover that they have inadvertently swapped their gifts from home.
Other
singer-songwriter Sergio Denis recorded a Spanish version of the song re-titled Pipas de la paz on his album La Humanidad. The McCartney recording was included on the UK and Canada version of the 1987 compilation All the Best!, and the 2001 compilation . Tabla was played by James Kippen.
