Return to Pepperland
Return to Pepperland is the name given to an unfinished recording project by English musician Paul McCartney with American record producer Phil Ramone. The songs recorded during these sessions have been the basis of bootleg albums usually titled "Return to Pepperland". Background. While promoting the release of "Press To Play" in New York City in August 1986, McCartney hooked up with Billy Joel's producer Phil Ramone, who had first worked with him the previous year on the titular song of the movie soundtrack for "Spies Like Us". Using Joel's backing band players, they recorded two  songs, “Beautiful Night” and “Loveliest Thing”. Further songs were recorded at McCartney's Hog Hill Studios which included: “Atlantic Ocean”, “Big Day”, “This One” and "Love Come Tumbling Down". During these sessions, the song "Return To Pepperland" was produced as a tribute to the 20th anniversary of The Beatles' 1967 album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" as well as the mash-up of Lennon–McCartney-written songs "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You". Aftermath. In the end, only two songs from the sessions; "Once Upon a Long Ago" and "Back On My Feet" were released at  the time. "Once Upon a Long Ago" and "Beautiful Night" were originally submitted to director Rob Reiner for the 1987 film "The Princess Bride", but were rejected for being 'too sentimental'. In January 1988, McCartney took the remaining songs from the Ramone sessions and compiled a cassette, along with other songs he had been working on since the early 80s; this was the source of many of the bootlegs associated with the Phil Ramone sessions. McCartney continued to work with other producers, the results of which would eventually become the 1989 album "Flowers In The Dirt". "Beautiful Night" would be  re-recorded and released on the 1997 album "Flaming Pie". Other songs from his work with Ramone would be released as B-sides and included on his "Archive Collection" releases in the following years. Songs associated with "Return To Pepperland". All songs written by Paul McCartney, except where noted. Compilation cassette tracklisting. A studio compilation cassette was made, on January 21, 1988, of songs recorded between 1981 and 1988. Two of these tracks, "Rough Ride" and "Figure of Eight", were from the initial sessions with Trevor Horn and Steve Lipson that were the beginnings of "Flowers In The Dirt". This  cassette is one of the sources to the bootlegs of "Return to Pepperland".