News

SDE marks the 35th anniversary of Paul McCartney’s Press to Play with keepsake booklet

Limited edition 35th anniversary publication

By Paul Sinclair

Comments

83

Press to Play at 35 / SDE keepsake booklet

Number 10 in SDE’s booklet series. 1000 copies signed and numbered

Paul McCartney‘s Press to Play was released in the UK exactly 35 years ago today! The 1986 album was co-produced with Hugh Padgham and saw Paul embrace a more ‘modern’, and at times, experimental approach to his music.

Opinion is divided on the creative merits of the album but it was not a commercial success. It spent one solitary week in the top ten of the UK album charts (at number eight), peaked a a lowly number 30 in America and delivered zero top 20 hit singles on either side of the Atlantic. In short, the public were not enamoured with Paul’s new music.

Press to Play at 35 is a new SDE-exclusive 32-page ‘keepsake’ booklet that features a satisfying ‘deep dive’ exploration of the album. It includes an exclusive, and very candid, interview with Hugh Padgham who goes into some detail about how he got the job and what it was like working with an artist of Paul McCartney’s stature. He also addresses the confusion over who was supposed to be co-producing the album: him or Eric Stewart!

It also features an in-depth 9,000 word review and track-by-track examination of Press to Play by my good self (SDE editor, Paul Sinclair) and an exclusive interview with John ‘Tokes’ Potoker, who remixed ‘Pretty Little Head’ and non-album single ‘Spies Like Us’.

The booklet offers a stunning, newly commissioned front-cover illustration of Paul McCartney by US artist Brianna Ashby. Brianna also tackles Hugh Padgham inside the booklet which is further illustrated by product images from the era (from the author’s own collection) and period advertising of the various singles. The booklet is completed by a full Press to Play UK singles discography. 

Press to Play at 35 is a limited edition of 1000 numbered copies which all come signed by SDE editor Paul Sinclair.

We have reprinted the acclaimed ‘McCartney: 10 Years of Archive Reissues’ 52-page booklet (not signed or numbered this time) and in an attempt to soften the blow of international shipping, we have created some special money-saving booklet bundles which bring together McCartney booklets and/or offer the new Press to Play at 35 with DECADE: The Best of SDE 2011-2021. You can order directly from the buttons below, or head over to the SDE shop. Cheapest UK shipping is £3 for the booklet, cheapest US shipping is £6.

Shipping starts in a matter of days, on Monday 6th September 2021.

Praise for SDE’s ‘McCartney: 10 Years of Reissues’:

“Bloody brilliant” • “Superb and very professionally done” • “Really well written and an absolute must have for a Macca fan” • “Thoroughly enjoyable and an excellent read” • “A labour of love”

Praise for SDE’s ‘The Producers on Paul McCartney’s Flowers in the Dirt‘

“Will go down as one of the greatest insights into Paul’s working methods in his solo career.” • “Invaluable document” • “Stupendous article” • “One of the best McCartney articles I’ve ever read. And I’ve read LOTS!” • “Fantastic work” • “Incredible work”

SuperDeluxeEdition.com helps fans around the world discover physical music and discuss releases. To keep the site free, SDE participates in various affiliate programs, including Amazon and earns from qualifying purchases.

Related Content

83 Comments

83 thoughts on “SDE marks the 35th anniversary of Paul McCartney’s Press to Play with keepsake booklet”

  1. Finally got my copy via the Beatlesmuseum in Germany. No sticker and “only” signed by Paul.
    Press To Play is still one of my favourite Macca albums, even if there are two songs that are not so good. This album is so interesting in terms of the production. There is so much going on, listen to all the percussion elements, some really great bass lines, also many songs creating a special feeling and special mood. Also have a look at the really nice drawings of the mixing layout per song! Just because of that one song where Oklahoma was never like this, the rest tends to get overlooked. I totally agree that Footprints is a winner (love that overall melancholic feeling), also Pretty Little Head (there are so many psychedelic things going on). I also really like Good Times Coming/Feel The Sun (that bass! Also like the bootleg version with extra verse) and Talk More Talk (blazer and grey flanel trousers ;-) ). Only Love Remains – upon first listen it was more like “oh, yet one more of those Macca standard ballades” but it is one of those great ones, although maybe the final mix or the vocal track should maybe have been re-considered. It’s Not True is another great one (B-Side of single). Also like Tough On A Tightrope (where I always feel Paul is singing about his then personal situation) and Hanglide (great psychedelic instrumental, I can never get enough of this kind of instrumentals). I could never really warm up to Stranglehold nor Angry. Of course I love all the outtakes that are out on bootleg.

    So, naturally, this booklet is a “must-have” for me. The great Hugh interview reveals quite a few (so far) unknown stories and facts. Also very interesting to read how our beloved Paul S. judges each particular track.

    So glad to have it, although a bit pricey in Germany (20 €), probably due to extra costs that Brexit brought us.

    Looking forward to the next one!

  2. I received my bundle (Press To Play/Macca Archives/Decade) over the weekend. I have to say, I was already familiar with the album and have always enjoyed it for sentimental reasons. I was 16 when it came out, and it was fun taking a deep dive back into the album. I appreciate the unbelievable, super speedy service, and look forward to the Decade and the Macca Archives. I may need to check out those Tears For Fears, Arcadia, and Duran Duran booklets next. Thanks Paul.

  3. What an amazing read! Thanks so much for this wealth of information and informed opinion about an album I’ve cherished for (what I’d like to think) not only sentimental reasons (which we seem to share, partly at least). And a huge thanks to Anne at the SDE shop’s team who was incredibly helpful when there were delivery hickups with my first order and I had to place a second one. You’ve made my day.

  6. Too bad I missed out on the first 500. Oh well. Ordered the Press to Play and Archives bundle and they arrived yesterday.

    Good timing on this, by the way. I’ve been infatuated with the Take It Away podcast and recently finished listening to Ryan and Chris’ in-depth look at Press to Play, a disc I never gave much attention to, until now. I’ve enjoyed rediscovering it, looking forward to reading your booklet.

    Cheers! Thanks for all the great work!

  7. I love the way you fearlessly tackle not-necessarily-the-most-popular entries in artists’ canons (see also: Liberty!!), and always come up with something fascinating and very entertaining. Without giving too much away, the Hugh Padgham interview is brilliant – seems very honest, insightful and grounded in real life – and I love the story about, erm, food smuggling past Paul and Linda by the production team! Great job, as ever.

  8. Got my copy this morning with a low number. Many thanks Paul. Sadly the cardboard envelope had been folded almost in two on its journey to my address affecting the spine and the first 20 pages of the booklet

  9. Another great booklet. And I was pleased to get both signatures. I really enjoyed the track-by-track analysis – it made me see this very flawed record in a different light. Amazing he’s never really played anything from it live. It would be worth an Archive reissue – like Dylan’s Another Self-Portrait set or the upcoming 80s box – for the chance of a re-evaluation. But I can’t see it happening, even though – as the booklet points out – many of the outtakes are better than the things that made it on to the album. The problem with Press To Play is simple – too many duff songs – but the fact that there was a genuine attempt to be more adventurous makes the project truly fascinating. Here’s to the next one!

    2. My “Press To Play ” + Decade bundle arrived today….undamaged….this is not normally how it goes!

      Have to say Decade looks fantastic…the design, the spot-varnishing, and the sheer thickness of it…it’s heftier than I expected, but that means more to read.

      Also delighted to get Hugh’s scribble on my Macca booklet…now to delve back into the album once I’ve finished the interviews.

  10. Wonderful booklet and delighted I got in for a Hugh signature. Any plans for any other macca booklets like this Paul? Something to accompany the last two Wings albums perhaps?

  11. The booklet arrived today signed by Hugh and Paul (not that one) and it’s a cracking read. Just as impressive as the other SDE booklets.

    I still have a soft spot for Press To Play as it was the first album Paul released after I’d become a huge Macca fan. I was 16 and absolutely loved it at the time but I haven’t listened to it for a few years … that Eighties production leaves me a bit cold. I have similar problems with Dylan’s Empire Burlesque.
    I bought Press To Play on vinyl on it’s day of release (from HMV in Liverpool) and it was the first CD I bought when I invested in a player a few months later.

    I can’t say that I agree with all your judgments but that’s the point – they’re your opinions and well-argued. The booklet’s a terrific piece of work, Paul, and I do appreciate that sticker on the cover! Might have to root out my old 12″ Press single now.

    It’s unlikely we’ll ever get an Archive release of this rather uneven offering, unfortunately, so this booklet is the next best thing.
    Thanks for all your hard work.

    1. I think an archive collection would be more than worthy . It certainly deserves reappraisal so like Wild life would suit this kind of release. I would not be surprised we get this before London Town / Back to the Egg myself

  13. A quick question for you Paul (and I guess I should just wait and see) but…
    Does the keepsake include a mention of One Upon A Long Ago? I ask because I get the impression that it is not really a contemporaneous track but for some reason it is on my edition of Press to Play (which is the Paul McCartney Collection edition which I think is from 1993). I love the track but not really sure what era of McCartney it really belongs to.

  15. Ordered! Met McCartney when he was filming some stuff for the album’s promotion at Abbey Road Studios. He even helped me fix my camera so we could take photos together!

  17. Hi! I just ordered my copy of the “Press To Play” book (and the reprint, the “Flowers In The Dirt” book and the Decades book). I don’t see anywhere that I’m getting a copy signed by Hugh Padgham. Did I miss out?

  18. Ordered it today. It’s not my favourite McCartney album by far and it was released at a time when McCartney’s inspiration and public profile was at an all-time low, then again the 80s never really offered a smooth ride to artists from the 60s, considering them passé and twee, at least for the late teenager I was in the mid-80s. I’m surprised to see Hugh Padgham happy to be reminded of his job as a producer on that album (and signing the booklet) after everything he said in interviews over the years (one of the worst times of his career, not being particularly impressed by the material on offer and being rather critical of McCartney, not only as an artist, but as a person too). Has he buried the hatchet?… I think the album is not as bad as what most people say although I tend to disagree with what people consider a good track from that album. The cover photo was a big mistake at the time (still is) and is rather at odds with the content with big drums, synths and a sound typical of the 80s. At least back in 85/86 McCartney still had a good voice but he was trying too hard to belong to that era. At the time of release I didn’t have any notion that it had failed so badly as critics were rather ok with it,many guest appearances on the songs as well. McCartney did a lot of promo for it, with many singles taken from the album, promo videos. Over the years all those guests started to be a little bitchy about the album, their contribution and McCartney himself (boring family man, TV watching pot-head, with no conversation except talking about his Beatle past, no real friends except for his work acquaintances, and unable to come up with good songs anymore), yet I remember that radio interview special with Simon Bates on Radio 1 one afternoon in August 1986 where McCartney went through all the songs from the album, which was rather enjoyable even though at the time my artists of choice were Peter Gabriel, David Sylvian and Cocteau Twins, all of whom released masterpieces that same year. Favourite tracks are the whole of Side One. Side Two was just awful from start to finish. I always thought that Pretty Little Head should have been an instrumental with a different title. As a song it has one of Macca’s naffest lyrics.

  19. Ordered all 3 McCartney booklets. Early Christmas for me!

    On a different note, I bought the ‘Press To Play’ CD soon after it came out. Think it was his first album back on Capitol/Parlophone in the US after having been on Columbia Records for a number of years. Also purchased ‘Double Fantasy’ the very same day which had just been re-released on CD by the Geffen label. While not a horrible album, I’ve definitely not listened to ‘PTP’ as much as I have ‘DF.’ Always thought “Stranglehold” was a gem. Should have been a hit but reached only #81 in the US where it was a single.

  20. Great to see this album getting this treatment and I’ll be ordering it today. Any reason why you didn’t do a new interview with Eric Stewart for the booklet, Paul?

  22. That’s an album I really waited for ! Still remember getting it the day of its release in France, think it might have been a Tuesday, so September 2nd after looking it up ;-) I really liked it, especially after the rather lightweight/silly/nonsense (“Oklahoma was never like this” anyone ?!) “Press” song…also remember getting the “Press to Play Sessions” boot CD sometime in the fall of 1990 and discovering the longer “Feel the Sun” and “Yvonne”. ..
    I’m surprised you didn’t include the Eric Stewart interviews you did a few years ago where you’d asked him about the P2P sessions and he’d given you his…”thoughts” that somewhat contradicted what he told the author of a book on Macca whose name escapes me right now.
    Unfortunately like others I’m finding it hard to justify paying £11.50 shipping for a £12.50 book :-(

    1. The Eric Stewart interview is in DECADE:The Best of SDE 2011-2021 (128-page book), so you could buy that too! The bundle saves you £10 which nearly covers shipping!

  23. Oh my. £11.50 for shipping to Germany? And on top of that VAT, customs plus post office fees which will add up to a total close to €50! I know it’s not your fault Paul – but this Brexit thing is a bl**dy nightmare! I used to order a lot of records and books from the U.K. and have all but stopped now because of the insane additional costs… Pity, would have loved to have this!

    1. In the same boat as I live in Denmark, and I will unfortunately also not order this due to high shipping costs, local VAT on top and fees to the local postal service. F.ex. this booklet at £12,50 will become roughly £48 after shipping to Denmark, local VAT and import fees.
      Important to note that this is not Pauls fault, but the outcome of Brexit and the new VAT-rules.

  24. I have the Flowers In The Dirt book from years ago and was quite impressed. So I was slightly interested in the bundle of the Press To Play book and the Archives one for£25. However shipping to Canada is £18 which puts it from the “interested” column to the “Thank you, but, no” column. I’ll stick with the single book where the shipping is £6.

  25. Preordered! Could this be the next archive collection release perhaps? Can’t help thinking this will be great to revisit. It seems like opinion has grown in recent times and although maybe not classic McCartney I do think it has some really good tracks on it.

  26. Hi Paul, I’ve bought most of your booklets over the last couple of years and they’re all really well done. The postage costs have really jumped though and £11.50 to Ireland is just too dear. Know it’ll be a quality product so best of luck!

  27. Probably my second favourite McCartney solo album (just pipped by McCartney II).
    Dont know why I love it so much but I do – from the wonderful portrait photo on the cover and the interior’s stereo positioning sketches (which I have often replicated myself for my own home recordings – such a great tip!) to the slightly more experimental songs like ‘Talk More Talk”.
    Admittedly there are weak songs on the album (never been much of a fan of ‘Angry’, for example) and the production definitely puts it in that era. But Hugh Padgham is fantastic producer – his work on English Settlement (as an engineer) and Ghost in the Machine are two albums that really made me aware of what a good producer can bring to a set of songs.

    And I haven’t even mentioned Eric Stewart!

    Slightly apprehensive about reading your track by track review Paul, as I suspect your views won’t match mine, but I promise not to send any hate mail :-)

    Really glad you’ve picked this non-SDE McCartney album to focus in on.

    Oh and just to be clear : ordered without hesitation!

    1. Thanks! Someone said on Saturday that it was a weird album to ‘laud’ over, but that is something I definitely don’t do! But in my opinion you don’t have to think an album is amazing to be interested in it, and how it was recorded, and perhaps why it didn’t connect with a wider audience…

  28. Ordered! The cover is indeed stunning. First thing I noticed. It’s beautiful. Sir Paul will be happy with that if he ever sees it.
    I don’t own “Press To Play” and read many negative reviews. I decided to buy this booklet anyway since I want to support SDE.com and I’m assuming that “Press To Play” will be released in SDE format one of these days and since I bought all Macca’s boxes, I will have to buy this one too. The booklet will be a great companion piece. Maybe I will be pleasantly surprised by the music.

  29. Sure, its somewhat fashionable to crap all over ‘Press to Play’. But it really is worth a listen, a great spinner since I picked her up on release day…way back in the day. Underrated and undeservingly bashed. McCartney trying something new has never been a bad thing, nor should it be for any artist.

  30. I hope this isn’t a pre-cursor to a deluxe version of this album later this year?? Give the public what they want Paul(s!) Back to the egg!!! and to a lesser extent for me London town.
    Will order this though as it sounds pretty comprehensive…

  31. Tempted. Not particularly keen on this album nor Macca’s solo output in general, but Hugh Padgham is a legend – one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) producers of the 80s – The Police, Genesis, Phil Collins, Bowie (and more, I’m sure)…..

  33. For next year, you’ve got to get ahold of Jeff Lynne and Steve Miller, and do one of these for the 25th anniversary of “Flaming Pie”. I’d be in for that, especially if you got Jeff Lynne to sign some.

  34. Could you be missing a trick by not making it available in 20 different colours and then getting a load of people to ‘re-interpret’ the text in a tribute volume… and then make that available in a variety of colours and through exclusive, obscure outlets?

  35. Pre-ordered! Great collectable stuff! Would be great to have “Press to Play” on deluxe CD very soon! I like this album since 86! Unfortunately such an underrated album.

  36. I consider myself as a huge Beatles/Macca fan, but I’ve never dared to listened to Press to play, because I’ve heard a lot of negative things about it. Maybe it’s time now…

  44. Ordered! The earlier SDE McCartney publication was excellent. Press To Play, while not the most musically memorable McCartney record, certainly has an interesting story behind it – and Padgham is always great value as an interviewee. Looking forward to this!

    1. Loved the Flowers In The Dirt keepsake, so this was a no-brainer. Bought the gatefold LP on the day of release in 1986, and have multiple versions now. In fact I’m in the process of attempting a homemade Super Deluxe of PTP, but it’s something of a minefield with all the different mixes out there, and I think the booklet will shed some helpful light on the whole project. So I am keen to read it!

        1. Blast! Was visiting my mom in hospital and it looks like I was about 25 minutes late in getting the order through! Oh well I guess you have to prioritise. Mom needed me more than you! Hope the booklet goes well. Have enjoyed your previous publications. Keep up the good work.

        2. Mine made it all the way to colonies today and must have made the 8.50 pm deadline for ordering at #596!!!
          It was in perfect shape [vs. my Amazon.FR shipment of Feel Flows. : ( ]

Leave a Reply