Synopsis

Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder perform "Ebony and Ivory" in a stylized studio setting built around the song's black-and-white piano metaphor. The video alternates between close-ups of the two singers, piano playing, guitars, drums, and a huge keyboard set. McCartney walks across the oversized keys before sitting beside Wonder, creating the impression that they are performing together. Black-and-white costume contrasts reinforce the theme, while the production's layered editing brings the two musicians together despite their scenes having been filmed separately.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was filmed around March 1982, with McCartney's scenes shot in the United Kingdom and Wonder's contribution filmed in the United States. Their appearances were combined during post-production because conflicting schedules prevented them from filming together.

• A specially constructed keyboard measuring about 40 feet long was used for the sequence in which McCartney walks across the keys and sits beside Wonder.

• The black-and-white theme is carried into the performers' clothing. McCartney and Wonder initially wear contrasting black-and-white combinations, then reverse the dominant colors later in the video.

• The duet version was one of two promotional films made for the song. The separate solo version features McCartney in a more narrative setting involving a prison, rather than presenting Wonder as his onscreen partner.

• The duet video premiered on BBC's "Top of the Pops" on April 8, 1982, helping promote a single that reached No. 1 in both the United Kingdom and the United States.

• The recording itself was made with McCartney and Wonder together at AIR Studios in Montserrat in 1981, making the video's visibly assembled performance an unusual contrast with the genuinely collaborative studio track.