| Take It Away | |
| Cover: | Take It Away.jpg |
| Border: | yes |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Paul McCartney |
| Album: | Tug of War |
| Released: | (Tug of War album) (7") (12") |
| Recorded: | 16–18 February 1981[1] |
| Studio: | AIR Studios, Montserrat |
| Genre: | Pop |
| Length: | 4:13 (album version) 3:59 (single/video version) |
| Label: | Parlophone/EMI |
| Producer: | George Martin |
| Prev Title: | Ebony and Ivory |
| Prev Year: | 1982 |
| Next Title: | Tug of War |
| Next Year: | 1982 |
"Take It Away" is a single by the English musician Paul McCartney from his third solo studio album Tug of War (1982). The single spent sixteen weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, reaching #10 and spending five consecutive weeks at that position.[2] [3] It reached #15 in the UK.[4] The music video, directed by John Mackenzie, features former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and long-time producer George Martin, both of whom played on the track, as well as actor John Hurt, Linda McCartney and Barbara Bach.[5]
Although there is a segue from "Tug of War" into this song on the album, the single version instead starts cleanly but fades out earlier at the end.
7" single
12" single (black vinyl everywhere else; clear yellow vinyl in Japan)[6]
"Take It Away"
"I'll Give You a Ring"
"Dress Me Up As A Robber"
Billboard called it "a superior single that fuses a driving rhythm with a sleek, polished production" and said it was McCartney's "most assured, seamless, irresistible" single since the mid-1970s.[7] Cash Box said that it's a "dense, multi-layered pop confection" that "keeps the listener on his/her toes throughout the song, going from a lazy tropical-type rhythm to a galloping brass section."[8] Ultimate Classic Rock critic Nick DeRiso rated it as the best song on Tug of War, stating that it starts "with an off-kilter rhythm courtesy of Ringo Starr and all of the tasteful hallmarks of a George Martin production" and becomes "one of McCartney's patented pop confections, featuring a feverish horn counterpoint, deceptively intricate bass, and an utterly indecipherable narrative."[9] DeRiso also praised Eric Stewart's backing vocals.
| Chart (1982) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Kent Music Report[10] | 18 | |
| Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders)[11] | 28 | |
| Canadian RPM Top 100 Singles[12] | 17 | |
| Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary[13] | 2 | |
| Dutch Singles Chart[14] | 43 | |
| Irish Singles Chart[15] | 26 | |
| Luxembourg (Radio Luxembourg)[16] | 11 | |
| New Zealand Singles Chart[17] | 30 | |
| Norwegian VG-lista Singles Chart[18] | 7 | |
| UK Singles Chart | 15 | |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 10 | |
| US Billboard Adult Contemporary | 6 | |
| US Billboard Mainstream Rock | 39 | |
| US Cash Box Top 100[19] | 6 | |
| West German Media Control Singles Chart[20] | 46 |
| Chart (1982) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100[21] | 70 |
| US Billboard Top AC Singles | 47 |
| US Cash Box Top 100[22] | 45 |
. Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book. St Ives, NSW. 1993. 0-646-11917-6 .