Songfacts®:

• Forget catchy hooks and upbeat lyrics, "Bill McCai" dives deep into the well of bittersweet nostalgia. The Coral frontman James Skelley sings of a man yearning for simpler times, his present life a stark contrast to a childhood filled with friends and Sunday school memories.
  
  Bill McCai's monotonous sales job leaves him unfulfilled, and a growing distance from his wife amplifies his loneliness. Skelley's lyrics paint a haunting picture of quiet desperation, a longing for escape that tragically climaxes in a moment of despair when he hangs himself in the rain.
• The Coral recorded "Bill McCai" for their second studio album Magic and Medicine. Released on July 28, 2003, the record is a blend of pop-rock and psychedelic pop influences.
• Ian Broudie, the creative force behind The Lightning Seeds, has a knack for spotting talent. When he saw The Coral live, they were an up-and-coming band from his hometown of Liverpool, and he knew there was something special. Picking up the phone, he offered to be their producer. After helming The Coral's eponymous debut album, he sat in the producer's chair again for Magic and Medicine. The recording sessions took place between October 2002 and April 2003, with co-production contributions from the band members themselves.
• Magic and Medicine topped the UK Albums chart. It also charted in several other countries, including Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden.
• The Coral bassist Paul Duffy discovered that Magic and Medicine had gone to #1 a mere 20 years after it happened. "When we first found out, he'd nipped off the tour bus and we forgot to tell him," grinned Skelly to Uncut magazine. "Then the other day we were talking about #1s and he said we'd never had one, so we put him right. He went, 'F---ing hell that's amazing, that!' He was floating on air for days. We were so made up for him we had a party."