Artwork that an artist claimed was banned by Paul McCartney for being “too unflattering” is now headed to auction. However, it has since emerged that The Beatles‘ icon has never seen the piece.
The artwork in question is a wooden sculpture created by Wilfrid Wood, which was originally set to be released as part of the 2024 ‘Secret 7’ vinyl project – in a bid to raise money for War Child.
The project runs alongside the host of gigs that War Child puts on to raise money for the charity, and consists of various artists releasing a limited edition 7” record for a specific track, which are later auctioned off.
Between 2012 and 2020, it has raised over £500,000 for good causes. Previous sleeve designers include the likes of Ai Weiwei, Sir Peter Blake, Yoko Ono, David Shrigley, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Martin Parr and more.
This year, musicians including Celeste, Hozier, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Specials, The Chemical Brothers, Aurora and Paul McCartney were all involved in the campaign, and all records were exhibited and free to view at the NOW Gallery between March 2 to 17.
However, for the latter, the single artwork was withdrawn. Wood claimed that the wooden sculpture was banned from the exhibition after the rock veteran deemed it “too unflattering”, according to the artist. Wood then took to Instagram to share that he will be auctioning the piece off personally anyway, and donating the proceeds to War Child UK.
However, a spokesperson for McCartney has since revealed the NME that McCartney “never saw this artwork”.
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“This year I sculpted Paul McCartney but my contribution was BANNED by Macca the gang because it was TOO UNFLATTERING,” he wrote. “So I’m auctioning it myself on eBay with ALL proceeds going to War Child UK, a charity for children affected by conflict in Gaza, Ukraine and other war zones globally.”
Elsewhere in the post, Wood also discussed how it was ironic that McCartney’s decision to ban the cover has only increased peoples’ interest in it.
“If they’d left it alone it would have been lost in the 700-odd Secret 7” sleeves,” he wrote. “But now they’ve banned it, it’s getting all this extra attention!”
In other Paul McCartney news, it was recently announced that the singer, songwriter and bassist would be taking part in an upcoming tribute concert in honour of Jimmy Buffett, alongside members of Eagles.