Paul McCartney's Shelved Sci-Fi Musical Rediscovered

In the mid-1970s, Paul McCartney and renowned science fiction author Isaac Asimov collaborated on an ambitious yet unrealized project titled 'Five and Five and One', featuring aliens who shapeshift into members of McCartney's band, Wings. The aliens, from a dying planet, planned to infiltrate Earth and learn about human emotions through music. Despite McCartney's initial enthusiasm, Asimov's expanded treatment deviated from McCartney’s simpler vision, leading to creative discord and the project's eventual abandonment. McCartney's outline, which included room for new songs, revealed a whimsical plot that was both imaginative and humorous, yet ultimately didn't align with Asimov's more intricate narrative. This intriguing tale of creative collaboration has resurfaced in the forthcoming biography 'The McCartney Legacy: Volume 2: 1974-80', set for release on December 10. The partnership's failure is underscored by Asimov's critique that 'nothing ever came of this because McCartney couldn’t recognize good stuff'.