The Beatles: 10 Incredible Rarities You Can Listen To Right Now

Paul McCartney plays every instrument on this demo of a song he wrote for the soundtrack to The Magic Christian, a movie starring Ringo Starr.

The final version was recorded by Welsh group Badfinger with Paul supposedly telling them to record it exactly like the demo, changing nothing and it would be a hit. He was right.

The lyrics directly address the plot of the film. However, Paul wrote and recorded the track around the time The Beatles were working on their last recorded studio album and on the verge of splitting. It’s tempting to imagine lines like, “will you walk away from a fool and his money,” are in part written with longtime collaborator John Lennon in mind. Will he really walk away from their songwriting partnership and the band’s success?

This catchy, mid-tempo number might be even better with some classic Ringo drumming, George slide guitar licks or a Lennon backing vocal but Paul’s solo version here could have been released just as it is. The Badfinger version is fine but this incredibly polished demo sounds like a lost Beatles Number one hit. You can find it on Anthology 3 or Abbey Road 50th Anniversary (Super Deluxe).