Did Paul McCartney Ban This ‘Unflattering’ Cover Artwork?

An artist who created a new sculpture for a Paul McCartney benefit single says the piece was banned because it was “unflattering.”

Wilfrid Wood is a regular contributor to a vinyl charity project called Secret 7 in which seven songs by seven acts are paired with unique artwork and pressed on 700 records. They’re then auctioned to raise money for War Child, which provides aid to kids impacted by armed conflict in places like Ukraine and Gaza.

McCartney’s title song from 1983’s Pipes of Peace is a limited-edition featured track, along with songs by Siouxsie and the Banshees, Hozier, the Chemical Brothers and others. Wood was once again tapped to create a piece of cover art – but then says something shocking happened when McCartney saw his submission.

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“This year, I sculpted Paul McCartney but my contribution was BANNED by Macca and the gang because it was TOO UNFLATTERING,” Wood says in the Instagram post announcing a separate auction of the piece. Proceeds would also go to War Child, Wood said.

The other Secret 7 pieces have been on display at the Now Gallery in London with the acts and artwork obscured until each is sold.

Paul McCartney Says He Never Saw the Sculpture

McCartney has since issued an official statement to NME denying that he’s ever seen Wood’s sculpture. But not before the piece was snatched up by a collector. Bidding quickly soared to “over £800” before a final price of £1,355 was paid.

Elsewhere in the same Instagram post, Wood said it was ironic that this rejection only increased interest in the sculpture. “If they’d left it alone, it would have been lost in the 700-odd Secret 7-inch sleeves,” he wrote. “But now they’ve banned it, it’s getting all this extra attention!”

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