{"id":654707,"date":"2025-12-25T20:59:42","date_gmt":"2025-12-25T20:59:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/654707\/"},"modified":"2025-12-25T20:59:42","modified_gmt":"2025-12-25T20:59:42","slug":"sir-paul-mccartney-says-hes-head-wizard-of-liverpool-coven-as-he-addresses-witchcraft-rumours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/654707\/","title":{"rendered":"Sir Paul McCartney says he&#8217;s &#8216;head wizard of Liverpool coven&#8217; as he addresses witchcraft rumours"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Beatles legend has addressed witchcraft rumours following his Christmas classic hit<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2_Sir-Paul-McCartney-arriving-for-the-LIPA-Graduation-Ceremony-at-Liverpool-Philharmonic-HallPic-And.jpeg\" alt=\"Sir Paul McCartney at the LIPA Graduation Ceremony at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall\" loading=\"eager\"  \/>Paul McCartney&#8217;s &#8220;Wonderful Christmastime&#8221; was released on November 16, 1979(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Sir Paul McCartney says he is &#8220;head wizard of a Liverpool coven&#8221; as he opened up on the rumours surrounding his Christmas classic song. Conspiracies have been circulating in recent years that his song &#8220;Wonderful Christmastime&#8221;, which is heard in millions of homes around the world each December, is actually about witchcraft.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Some listeners have taken the lyrics and read into a hidden meaning, questioning if they are actually about people practising witchcraft. Others also considered if<a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/paul-mccartney\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\" Sir Paul was actually a wizard Link opens in a new tab.\" rel=\"follow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\"> Sir Paul was actually a wizard <\/a>himself.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">In the festive hit, he sings: &#8220;The mood is right, the spirit\u2019s up, we\u2019re here tonight, and that\u2019s enough&#8221;. Sir Paul recently opened up on the rumours and has finally put the theory to bed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">In a video on YouTube titled &#8220;The Making Of \u2018Wonderful Christmastime\u2019,&#8221; a text on-screen says: &#8220;There is a theory online that the song is about people practising witchcraft, getting found out and trying to cover it up.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/news\/liverpool-news\/how-much-paul-mccartney-make-33079048\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"The Beatles legendLink opens in a new tab.\" rel=\"follow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\">The Beatles legend<\/a> joked: &#8220;Thank goodness they found me out. This is completely true, and in actual fact, I am the head wizard of a Liverpool coven.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">He added: &#8220;Either that&#8230;or it&#8217;s complete nonsense. And you know it&#8217;s the latter!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/news\/liverpool-news\/how-much-paul-mccartney-make-33079048\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Wonderful ChristmastimeLink opens in a new tab.\" rel=\"follow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\">Wonderful Christmastime<\/a> is played out every Christmas as part of a rundown of classic festive tunes which return year after year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">According to Channel 5&#8217;s research, the track lands Sir Paul \u00a3260,000 per year &#8211; and as that research is now nine years old, it is likely to be even higher today.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1_Paul-McCartneyDave-Grohl.jpg\" alt=\"Paul McCartney, left, and Dave Grohl performing at the Glastonbury Festival in Worthy Farm, June 25, 2022\" loading=\"lazy\"  \/>Paul McCartney, left, and Dave Grohl performing at the Glastonbury Festival in Worthy Farm, June 25, 2022(Image: Joel C Ryan\/Invision\/AP)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/the-beatles\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"BeatlesLink opens in a new tab.\" rel=\"follow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\">Beatles<\/a> legend, 83, recorded Wonderful Christmastime in 1979 at his Lower Gate Farm property in Sussex while working on his second solo album &#8216;McCartney II&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">It was released in November of that year, shortly after Wings&#8217; final album <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/the-beatles\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Back to the Egg hit shelves.Link opens in a new tab.\" rel=\"follow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\">Back to the Egg hit shelves.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">On its original run, Wonderful Christmastime peaked at six in the UK charts and was also a top ten hit in Ireland, Germany, Austria, Latvia and the Netherlands. It was <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/paul-mccartney\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Paul&#039;sLink opens in a new tab.\" rel=\"follow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\">Paul&#8217;s<\/a> first solo single since Eat at Home in 1971 and has since become a staple in Christmas playlists.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">According to Magic Radio&#8217;s 2024 list UK\u2019s most-streamed Christmas songs, Wonderful Christmastime was the 18th most popular holiday song last year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">That&#8217;s just behind his friend John Lennon whose song with The Plastic Ono Band, Merry Xmas (War is Over), came in at number 17.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">All I want For Christmas is You was, unsurprisingly, the most streamed Christmas tune, followed by Last Christmas by Wham!, and Fairytale of New York by The Pogues ranking at number three.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Wonderful Christmastime earned a reputation as quite a divisive song despite its success, with many taking against its mellow synth-pop stylings. Whether you consider the song catchy, merry and bright, or dull and repetitive is largely a matter of personal opinion.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Music writer Robert Rodriguez said of the song: &#8220;Love it or hate it, few songs within the McCartney oeuvre have provoked such strong reactions.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Paul played Wonderful Christmastime during the UK gigs of his Got Back tour in December last year, and fans at the Manchester and London shows <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/whats-on\/music-nightlife-news\/sir-paul-mccartney-stuns-audience-30590043\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"were largely delighted to hear itLink opens in a new tab.\" rel=\"follow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\">were largely delighted to hear it<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Beatles legend has addressed witchcraft rumours following his Christmas classic hitPaul McCartney&#8217;s &#8220;Wonderful Christmastime&#8221; was released on&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":654708,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8815],"tags":[748,393,4884,179,11693,4162,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-654707","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-liverpool","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-liverpool","12":"tag-paul-mccartney","13":"tag-the-beatles","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115782228585622400","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=654707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654707\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/654708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=654707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=654707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=654707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}