Mike McGear - Do Nothing All Day (1981)

Peter Michael McCartney, known professionally as Mike McGear, is a British musician and rock photographer who was a member of the groups The Scaffold and GRIMMS. Oh, and by the way he's Paul McCartney younger brother. When the Beatles became successful, he was working as an apprentice hairdresser alongside future actor Lewis Collins, and was also a member of the Liverpool comedy-poetry-music group The Scaffold, which included Roger McGough and John Gorman. McCartney decided to use a stage name, so as not to appear to be riding his brother's coattails, and after first trying out Mike Blank, he settled on Mike McGear, 'gear' being the Liverpudlian equivalent of 'fab'. The Scaffold recorded a number of UK hit singles between 1966 and 1974, the most successful being the 1968 Christmas number one 'Lily the Pink', and in 1967 he composed the band's next biggest hit 'Thank U Very Much'. In 1968, he and McGough released the album 'McGough & McGear', which included the usual Scaffold mix of lyrics, poems, and comedy, after which he signed a solo deal with Island Records, releasing 'Woman' in 1972, as well as another album with The Scaffold, 'Fresh Liver'. The Scaffold then added several more members and released two albums on Island as GRIMMS, an acronym for (John) Gorman / (Andy) Roberts / (Neil) Innes / McGear / McGough / (Vivian) Stanshall), but after the second album McGear quit due to tension between himself and one of the poets in the group, signing to Warner Brothers Records and releasing what is generally regarded as his finest album, 1974's self-titled 'McGear'. The record was a collaboration with his brother and his band Wings, and mixed melodic pop, hard rockers, heartfelt ballads, and a dose of eccentricity, as well as containing one of his best ever songs in 'The Man Who Found God On The Moon'. 'Leave It' had already been released as a single and paved the way for the album to become his biggest success, and when it was recently re-issued McGear raided his vaults to uncover a number of previously unreleased recordings - enough in fact to make up a companion album to 'McGear'. It includes the earlier single 'Dance The Do' (with Vivian Stanshall), as well as subsequent singles 'Do Nothing All Day' and 'All The Whales In The Ocean', to which I've tagged on his 1981 tribute to Princess Diana as Mike McGear & The Monarchists, 'No Lar Di Dar'. Add in a few choice out-takes, a couple of road safety ads and an alternative take of 'Leave It' and you have a great little collection which shows just how much talent runs through the family. 

Track listing

01 Sweet Baby
02 Dance The Do
03 Leave It (alternative version)
04 Do Nothing All Day
05 A To Z
06 Keep Cool (Version 1)
07 Girls On The Avenue
08 All The Whales In The Ocean
09 Blowin' In The Bay
10 Keep Cool (Version 2)
11 I Juz Want What You Got - Money
12 Let's Turn The Radio On
13 No Lar Di Dar (Tribute To Diana, Princess Of Wales)
14 God Save The Gracious Queen