In Paul’s 2021 Hulu documentary series “McCartney 3,2,1,” he relates about his insistence of including “an impossible high note” at the end of the piccolo trumpet solo: “David Mason turns to me and says, ‘Well, that’s officially out of the range of the piccolo trumpet even.’ And I kind of give him a look, like, ‘eh, you can do it, y’know.’ He goes, ‘Ok.’ So he plays it and it haunted him for the rest of his life!”True professional that he was,” Geoff Emerick relates, “Mason played it perfectly the first time through, including the extraordinarily demanding solo which ended on a note that was almost impossibly high. It was, quite simply, the performance of his life. And everyone knew it…except, obviously, Paul. As the final note faded to silence, he reached for the talkback mic. ‘Nice one, David,’ Paul said matter-of-factly. ‘Can we try another pass?’ There was a moment of silence. ‘Another pass?’ The trumpeter looked up at the control room helplessly. He seemed lost for words. Finally, he said softly, ‘Look, I’m sorry. I’m afraid I just can’t do it any better.’ Mason knew that he had nailed it, that he had played everything note-perfect and that it was a prodigious feat that he could not possibly top.”“Quickly George Martin intervened and addressed Paul emphatically, one of the few times in recent weeks that I saw him assert his authority as producer. ‘Good God, you can’t possibly ask the man to do that again…it’s fantastic!’ A dark cloud gathered over Paul’s face. Even though the exchange was occurring in the privacy of the control room, out of earshot of Mason and the other Beatles, George’s remark clearly embarrassed and angered him…For an uncomfortable moment the producer and his headstrong young artist glared at each other. Finally, Paul returned to the talkback mic. ‘Okay, David. You’re free to go now, released on your own recognizance.’ Handled with typical McCartney humor, the confrontation was over.”David Mason recalls, “Although Paul seemed to be in charge, and I was the only one playing, the other three Beatles were there too. They all had funny clothes on, candy-striped trousers, floppy yellow bow ties etc. I asked Paul is they’d been filming because it really looked like they had just come off a film set. John Lennon interjected, ‘Oh no mate, we always dress like this!’”Enjoy “Penny Lane” from US “Rarities” album, which was released on March 24th, 1980. Capitol created a new and unique mix of the song by combining the stereo mix (which US audiences hadn’t heard yet up to this point) with the piccolo trumpet conclusion as heard on the promotion copies of the US single.
