New Book Sheds More Light on Paul McCartney’s Abandoned Sci-Fi Collaboration with Isaac Asimov

There have been a series of instances in the history of art where true legends collaborated on something great. Sadly, there have been instances where such collaborations failed and this report is about one such failed endeavor, which would have been an amazing outing if you ask us, and we are now going to explain how and why.

Sci-fi fans will know Isaac Asimov, as he is one of the greatest sci-fi writers of all time, whose works are exceptionally important and have changed the genre for the better. At the same time, former Beatle Paul McCartney is considered to be one of the greatest musicians of all time.

And did you know that the two of them almost made a movie together? The new book, The McCartney Legacy, Volume 2: 1974–80, by Adrian Sinclair and Allan Kozinn, reveals more details about this abandoned project, and from what we can see, the world lost something epic when this collaboration failed.

The project, which was a proposed film, had a unique and ambitious storyline. Tentatively titled Five and Five and One, the story was to involve McCartney’s band Wings—comprising him, his wife Linda McCartney, and guitarist Denny Laine—being caught up in a sci-fi plot involving aliens.

These aliens were not your typical invaders; they were ‘energy-beings’ from a dying planet who wanted to take over the bodies of the band members. However, these beings had trouble understanding human emotions like love, which added a philosophical angle to the tale. An excerpt from the book reveals more:

A ‘flying saucer’ lands. Out of it get five creatures. They transmute before your very eyes into ‘us’ [Wings]. They are here to take over Earth by taking America by storm and they proceed to do this supergroup style. Meanwhile — back in the sticks of Britain — lives the original group, whose personalities are being used by the aliens…

Source: Billboard

McCartney first approached Asimov about the project in 1974 when he was in New York. Asimov, who had a fear of flying, agreed to meet McCartney there. McCartney originally wrote a brief treatment for the story, just about 400 words long. Asimov then took this and expanded it into a more detailed version, about 1,800 words long.

The story concept evolved, and McCartney seemed excited about the possibilities. But by early 1975, the project stalled. Despite the intriguing concept, McCartney never followed through on the film, and Asimov was said to have been frustrated by the lack of progress.

The new book is the second volume in a series chronicling McCartney’s career, following the first volume, which covered his life between 1969 and 1973. Authors Sinclair and Kozinn interviewed former Wings members and many other people close to McCartney during this era to provide readers with a deep dive into McCartney’s post-Beatles years.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!