Mike McGear
b. Peter Michael McCartney, 7 January 1944, Liverpool, England. The younger brother of the Beatles’ Paul McCartney, McGear adopted his tongue-in-cheek appellation in order to avoid unwarranted associations. In 1962, he joined John Gorman and Roger McGough in the Scaffold, a satirical revue which later enjoyed success as a pop group with Thank U Very Much (1967) and the chart-topping Lily The Pink (1968). With Gorman in absentia and Paul as producer, the remaining pair recorded McGough And McGear (1968), a mixture of songs and poetry which featured support from Jimi Hendrix, Dave Mason, John Mayall and Graham Nash. McGear later joined the multi-faceted troupe Grimms, many of whom appeared on the artist's solo debut WOMAN. A subsequent single, Sweet Baby, led to the recording of *MCGEAR. Paul not only produced this set, but wrote or co-wrote all but one of its songs, adding bass, guitar and backing vocals, before inviting Wings to provide further support. A critical success, the album failed commercially and McGear, who reverted to his McCartney surname, has since pursued an informal career, including work as a photographer.