Friday, December 26, 2014

Live At The "Cow Palace" 65

On August 31 1965 The Beatles performed at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, California, USA. They played two shows (one in the afternoon and one in the evening) and it was mayhem where some of the girls seemed to have stormed the stage for this evening.
Some video footage was taken of the afternoon performance as well as some footage of young girls backstage going crazy with the medical team somewhere backstage.
The footage was taken by television station KGO-TV for their news report. The set list was the same as the previous shows and some fragments of "Twist And Shout", "She's A Woman", "I Wanna Be Your Man" and "A Hard Day's Night" can be heard. You can see one of the female fans being dragged off the stage and the Beatlemania in full force. I've included the "Youtube" footage for your viewing pleasure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPkNAP8AQtk

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Live At The "Hollywood Bowl" 65

The Beatles performed two concerts at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California, USA in 1965. The first show was performed on August 29 1965 while the second show was conducted the next evening on August 30 1965.
Both shows were recorded by Capitol Records (as was the previous 1964 concert) in order to issue a live LP sometime down the road. Of course, there would be no live album during the Beatles' 1960s era and the live album would be issued down the road in the 1970s instead.
The August 29 show consists of an introduction "Twist And Shout"/ "She's A Woman"/ "I Feel Fine"/ "Dizzy Miss Lizzie"/ "Ticket To Ride"/ "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby"/ "Can't Buy Me Love"/ "Baby's In Black"/ "I Wanna Be Your Man"/ "A Hard Day's Night"/ "Help!" and "I'm Down". The sound was recorded on a three track machine with vocals on one track, bass and drums on another track and the guitars and keyboard on the last track. There were issues with the microphones in which Paul and George's microphone was not functioning during the first four tunes (it took them that long to figure it out? Didn't the technicians do line checks back then?). Also, it seems that Paul was having issues with his bass amp as there is a point in the recording where Mal Evans is brought out to check the amp while John is stalling just before they play "Baby's In Black".
The next night's concert on August 30 1965 went much more smoothly with no vocal glitches although there seemed to be a problem with the guitar amps in some capacity. Otherwise, Capitol Records got a good recording from both shows and they were both used on the commercial recording although the liner notes do not indicate that the August 29th show as used when it was (in parts). The songs performed at both shows are the same.
The master tapes for both shows remained at Capitol Records until 1971 when they were shipped to Abbey Road. They remained there during the first half of the 70s as Apple had no plans to release the tapes. In early 1977, George Martin took the tapes to AIR studios in London and transferred them to 24 track and re-mixed, edited, and generally tried to clean up as much as possible on the 1964/1965 live tapes from the Hollywood Bowl.
The commercial Capitol LP "The Beatles At the Hollywood Bowl" was released in June of that year containing the last half of "Dizzy Miss Lizzie" (Aug 29), "Ticket To Ride" (Aug 29), the intro to "A Hard Day's Night" (Aug 29), "Help!" (Aug 29), the main intro/ "Twist And Shout"/ "She's A Woman (all Aug 30), the intro and the first half of "Dizzy Miss Lizzie" (Aug 30), "Can't Buy Me Love"/ "A Hard Day's Night" and the intro to "Help!" (all Aug 30).
"Baby's In Black" was released on the CD single "Real Love" in 1996 from the August 30 performance yet the intro to the song is from the August 29 performance.
Performances of both shows as well as the August 23 1964 performance can be found in it's entire form on the 2-CD bootleg "The Complete Hollywood Bowl Concerts 1964-1965" on the Midnight Beat label. There is also a 2-LP bootleg set entitled "The Beatles At the Hollywood Bowl - The Complete Shows" with the performances from the August 23 1964 and the August 30 1965 shows on the fake Electrola label.

Saturday, December 13, 2014

Live at the "Metropolitan Stadium" Minneapolis 65

The North American Beatles road trip continued on in 1965 with a stop in Bloomington,
Minneapolis on August 21 1965. This time the Beatles played at the Metropolitan Stadium. There was a press conference held at the stadium and sponsored by radio station WDGY. The press conference is available on Youtube with various clips shown from the day.
The concert itself was recorded but it is one of the least impressive recordings of the tour. The sound is bad and it seems to be an audience tape of some sort. There is no vinyl copy of this recording as far as I know but there are allegedly some MP3 files floating around and perhaps these were copied onto silver discs and distributed. I've never seen one, though.
The set list is the same as the previous entries for the North American Tour with the exception of the first tune "Twist And Shout" which was not performed at this particular show due to problems with John's Lennon sore throat.
I did find a version of "Can't Buy Me Love" online which claims to be from this show and I've included it for your listening pleasure:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emp8tk9Jm8Q


Friday, December 5, 2014

Live at "Sam Houston Coliseum" 65

On August 19 1965, The Beatles appeared live for two shows at the Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston, Texas. The two shows were sponsored by radio station KILT and both shows were introduced by one of their DJs: Russ "Weird Beard" Knight.
The song listing for both concerts was the same as the previous Atlanta concert (see previous post) and both full show are available (including "A Hard Day's Night" this time).
It was supposedly quite hot and humid that day and John Lennon had problems with his voice as is evidenced by the bootleg tape of the two concerts (the one in the afternoon shows problems when Lennon tries to reach the high notes, but the evening performance has him straining his voice to the point of breaking!).
There was also an interruption of the afternoon show near the end of the performance right after "A Hard Day's Night" where the DJ had to go on stage and tell people to move back as the patrons closer to the stage were allegedly getting crushed. The show then picks up again and The Beatles finish the set.
In the evening show, the introduction by the same DJ "Weird Beard" includes his instructions to the fans to remain seated and behave (yeah, like that's going to happen). There also seems to be tuning problems with one of the guitars probably due to the high temperatures of the day. As a side note, Ringo's microphone has issues during both performances.
The audio of these performances can be found on the 2-LP vinyl bootleg: "Live From the Sam Houston Coliseum" and on CD as "The Ultimate Live Collection".
Here is a sample of the afternoon show:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5D40482D5C1CC569


Saturday, November 29, 2014

Live at "Atlanta Stadium" 65

During the Beatles 1965 North American tour, they played the Atlanta Stadium on August 18 1965. This particular concert was recorded by the local radio station WQXI on this date.
The songs for this show consists of "Twist And Shout", "She's A Woman", "I Feel Fine", "Dizzy Miss Lizzy", "Ticket To Ride", "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby", "Can't Buy Me Love", "Baby's In Black", "I Wanna Be Your Man", "Help!" and "I'm Down". Note that "A Hard Day's Night" was also on the set list but it was not recorded that night / or it was not broadcast probably.
The only song change from the Shea Stadium show was Ringo's number. When at Shea, he sang "Act Naturally" but it would seem that the crowd was a little baffled by the number. When it was performed, the song had not yet been released in North America and this is probably why the number was changed back to "I Wanna Be Your Man". Too bad.
This show can be found on various CD bootlegs including: "Atlanta 65", "Atlanta/Munich/Seattle" as well as "Vinyl To The Core".
Here's the audio of the show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdQh8jol39k


Saturday, November 22, 2014

Live At "Shea Stadium" 65

The Beatles started their 1965 North American tour at Shea Stadium in New York City, USA on August 15 1965. This particular performance was recorded and filmed for an upcoming television special to be shown on the ABC network and on BBC1 in the UK. The broadcast was shown in the UK on March 01 1966 and it was shown in North America on January 10 1967.
The delay of the broadcast was due to the overdubbing of bass, keyboards, and entire songs "sweetened" for the soundtrack. This task was undertaken in January of 1966 (this is in a later post). For the August 15 1965 show, the video remains true to the performance.
The songs performed at the Shea Stadium concert for approximately 55,000 fans was as follows: "Twist And Shout", "She's A Woman", "I Feel Fine", "Dizzy Miss Lizzy", "Ticket To Ride", "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby", "Can't Buy Me Love", "Baby's In Black", "Act Naturally", "A Hard Day's Night", "Help!" and "I'm Down".
Two of the songs: "She's A Woman" and "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby" did not appear on the television special. The audio for "Act Naturally" is the studio version from the "Help!" LP. This song was not available in North America at the time of the concert so it must have been a huge surprise to the fans !!
Of all the songs performed, none of the original audio was used. The Beatles overdubbed either separate instruments or entire songs in January of 1966 and these were all eventually mixed in stereo. The only exception to this was the tune "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby" which is the only song currently available commercially in it's original Shea Stadium performance audio with no overdubs. The song can be found on the Apple 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 2". It's in mono although it's been said that there is a stereo mix available. The video of this performance was restored in the late 80s/early 90s and is currently sitting the vaults of Apple gathering dust.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmynC0Qopdw


Friday, November 14, 2014

"The Ed Sullivan Show" in '65

The Beatles taped a performance at CBS Studio 50 in New York City on August 14 1965. This show would be the premiere show of the series once it aired almost a month later on September 12 1965. The show featured the same tracks as the "Blackpool Night Out" performance. In fact, it is exactly the same line up of tunes: "I Feel Fine", "I'm Down", "Act Naturally", "Ticket To Ride", "Yesterday" and "Help!"
Two days after the performance, the single "Yesterday /Act Naturally" was released in North America. This means that both tunes were heard for the first time by a North American audience during the television performance.
This show can be seen on the commercial DVD of the Ed Sullivan performances released by Sofa Entertainment, but early audio of the show is available on the bootleg vinyl: "Peace of Mind" and "The Beatles Conquer America".
Here's a link to the video:
http://vimeo.com/99987916


Saturday, November 8, 2014

Blackpool Night Out in '65

The Beatles made a television appearance in the UK on August 01 1965 in order to promote the new single. They played at the ABC Theatre in Blackpool in the UK. The show was entitled "Blackpool Night Out". The show's hosts for the evening were Mike and Bernie Winters. The show was broadcast live from the venue.
The setlist for this show is the same as the future "Ed Sullivan" show in the upcoming post. The setlist also highlights a short selection of what the US 1965 tour (including Shea Stadium) would feature.
The first song performed for the show was "I Feel Fine", a number one original single featuring John on vocals. This was followed by the current (for the time) B-side of the new single "I'm Down" featuring Paul on vocals and John on elbow-keyboard. Ringo then gets a turn on the vocals with his song from the upcoming LP : "Act Naturally". This is followed by the previous A-side single "Ticket To Ride" with John on vocals, a new song from the upcoming LP "Yesterday" played by only Paul and a string quartet hired for the occasion and finally the closing song being the new A-side single "Help!" - as well as being the title of the new LP and the new film.
The audio for this performance can be found on the bootleg CD "Pollwinners Go To Blackpool" although the Apple 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 2" : namely "I Feel Fine", "Ticket To Ride", "Yesterday" and "Help!" were released commercially.
The entire performance can be seen here:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xttbor_the-beatles-on-blackpool-night-out-1965_music


Saturday, November 1, 2014

The Beatles Live in Rome, Italy

The Beatles continued their European tour by playing Rome, Italy with two shows on June 27 and June 28 1965. The afternoon show of the 27th is available for our sensitive ears as well as a little bit of footage from the evening show of the same date.
The songs of the show consist of the same set list as the previous Paris show of the same time frame: "Twist and Shout/She's A Woman/ I'm A Loser/ Can't Buy Me Love/ Baby's In Black/ I Wanna Be Your Man/ A Hard Day's Night/ Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby/ Rock and Roll Music/ I Feel Fine/ Ticket To Ride/ Long Tall Sally.
The afternoon show can be found on the vinyl bootleg Arrivano I "Capelloni" as well as the vinyl bootleg "Roma" and the bootleg CD "The Beatles In Italy 1965".
The evening show can be found as audio for the intro, "Twist And Shout", "She's A Woman" and "I'm A loser" which is also included on a bootleg EP "Live In Italy".

Friday, October 24, 2014

The Beatles Live in Paris - Palais Des Sports

The Beatles played Paris, France at the Palais Des Sports on June 20 1965 for two shows: one of them around three in the afternoon while the other was the evening performance at nine at night. Both shows have audio counterparts as they were both recorded for radio and the evening show is available on video as well as audio.
This was the first show for the 1965 tour. The Beatles would be playing some dates in the early months of summer in Europe before making their way to North America for the rest of the tour. The set list for the two Paris concerts contained the following song: They opened with "Twist And Shout" leading into "She's A Woman". They followed this by performing "I'm A Loser" and "Can't Buy Me Love". "Baby's In Black" was next and then the spotlight was on Ringo for a live version of "I Wanna Be Your Man". This was followed by the first movie title "A Hard Day's Night" and the spotlight lit on George for a version of "Everybody's trying To Be My Baby". "Rock and Roll Music" was performed and then "I Feel Fine". The latest single of the era was performed via "Ticket To Ride" and they concluded the concert with "Long Tall Sally". The introduction to the songs were mainly in English although there was an attempt by Paul to speak French for some introductions to the songs as well.
The two main sources for both concerts are available on the following titles: "A Paris" is a double bootleg LP containing both the afternoon and evening show. The LP also contains some of the opening acts. The Swinging Pig CD "Live In Paris 1965" also contains both shows although the afternoon show is mislabeled as the evening show and visa versa.
The video of the evening show has been edited as follows and I have included a link to the entire show: "Twist and Shout", "She's A Woman", "Ticket To Ride", "Can't Buy Me Love", "I'm A Loser", "I Wanna Be Your Man", "A Hard Day's Night", "I Feel Fine", "Baby's In Black", "Rock And Roll Music", "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby" and "Long Tall Sally".
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xzpj2_the-beatles-live-at-paris-1965_music


Saturday, October 18, 2014

The Beatles (Invite You To Take A Ticket To Ride)

On May 26 1965, The Beatles recorded their last performance of live music for the BBC radio. The title of the show was "The Beatles (Invite You To Take A Ticket To Ride)" which was an attempt at an original title and was based on the fact that their latest title was also "Ticket To Ride".
The show was recorded at Studio One/ BBC Piccadilly Studios in London and the host for the show was Denny Piercy. The music featured was from the upcoming LP "Help!" as well as some tracks from the "Beatles For Sale" LP and the b-side of the previous single as well as the latest single.
The first song performed was the latest single A-side "Ticket To Ride" in an edited form as the introduction to the show was voiced over. This was followed by George singing the Carl Perkins classic "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby" from the "Beatles For Sale" (UK) and/or "Beatles '65" LP (North America). The next song performed is written mainly and sung by John entitled "I'm A Loser" which was also featured on the above two mentioned LPs. The highlight of the show in my opinion is a smoking version of the "Help" album track "The Night Before" written mainly and sung by Paul. This also include the electric keyboard that is heard on the commercial version. An awesome track.
Ringo gets in on the action with his version of Carl Perkin's "Honey Don't". This is followed by a cover of "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" which is sung by John and again features not only the line up of guitars, bass and drums but also has the keyboard thrown in. The previous single B-side from the "Beatles For Sale" sessions is performed as the guise "She's A Woman" - an amazing performance with Paul on vocal for this one. The Beatles end the show with a reprise of the latest single at that time - "Ticket To Ride" - this time in full.
The entire show can be found on the bootleg LP "The Beatles At the Beeb Volume Thirteen" as well as on the box set from Great Dane entitled "The complete BBC Sessions" - disc 09, number 09, number 09.
Commercially, both "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" and "Ticket To Ride" were included on the Apple 2-CD/2-LP and 3-LP re-issue.

Friday, October 10, 2014

"Help!" Outtakes

On April 13 1965, The Beatles entered EMI Studio2 to begin working on their latest movie title track "Help!". We have a lot of the various takes used during the recording process. I have included some of them at the bottom of the post via "Youtube".
The first take 1 breaks down and has all four Beatles playing on the song with John on acoustic, George on electric, Paul on bass and Ringo on drums.
Take 2 has Paul fiddling on bass before the song starts and then they get through half the first verse before stopping. The guitars fiddle a bit and another take is attempted. This time they get through the first verse, chorus, second verse and chorus, third verse and chorus and end. Take 3 ends at the second verse when John changes his chords a little early. Take 4 makes it through the entire song without George on electric due to the fact that he has problems trying to fit in the chorus arpeggios and it is suggested that he fit them in as an overdub (which he eventually does). Take 5 is also good although it is realized that the acoustic is starting to go out of tune. Take 6 stops less than a minute into the attempt. The guitar is tuned and The Beatles resume with take 7. Unfortunately, his guitar keeps going slightly out of tune and take 8 is stopped as well. Take 9 would become the basic track for overdubs. Both vocals (double tracked) and George's guitar are overdubbed to take 9. Tambourine is added to the vocal tracks as well.
There are various mixes available and a different vocal is heard for the mono mixes on the single and LP (in the UK). Three mono mixes include the production mix including tambourine and the original vocals in the introduction of the song, the second mix is the film mix whereby the intro is double tracked. The third is single tracked in the intro and no tambourine which is the single mix. The stereo mix has single track-original vocals and tambourine.
The entire session can be found on various bootlegs including "Turn Me On Dead Man" (CD), "The Beatles At Abby Road" (LP), "Ultra Rare Trax, Volume 3 and 4"(LP), "Hold Me Tight" (CD), "Unsurpassed Masters, Volume 6"(CD", etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wUTQ4W3V7Y

Saturday, October 4, 2014

1965 NME Pollwinners Concert

The Beatles performed  in Wembley at the Empire Pool Stadium for the NME Pollwinners concert which took place on April 11 1965. The Beatles had been filming their second feature and took a break to perform this unique concert. For the occasion, the "Shea Stadium" suits were worn for this concert.
The songs performed for this set include the number one smash single "I Feel Fine" and the B side "She's A Woman" in a row featuring John on the A side vocal and Paul on the B side vocal. The next song performed is a track from the latest UK Beatles "For Sale" LP; namely "Baby's In Black" with both John and Paul shared the vocal on this one.
Next up is the latest single, so fresh in fact it had been released in the UK only two days before: "Ticket To Ride" which would show up on the second film soundtrack as well. The last song of the set was the title to the previous year's all original EP in the UK, "Long Tall Sally" belted by Paul.
This would end the concert before awards were handed out namely to John Lennon for "Runner Up in British Vocal Personality" and the entire group for "Top British Vocal Group". The awards were handed out by none other than Tony Bennett !
I've included the entire concert and award presentation below for your viewing pleasure:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COSSsu1GSCk


Saturday, September 27, 2014

"That Means A Lot" Session - Second Attempt

On the evening of March 30 1965, The Beatles decended back into Studio Two at EMI studios in order to try once again to salvage the original composition "That Means A Lot". This was a remake of the previous attempt a month earlier. It says something about this song in that there were not that many remakes of tunes during the Beatles' recording career. They are far and few between. The band must have seen potential in this number although judging by the outtakes, it's clear that this tune became a bit of a lost cause after a few takes. Too bad, it's a great melody and may have fit well on the soundtrack.
Take 20 is played in a different key (the original key is E and this one moves up three semi-tones to G making it quite high). I don't know why the band decided to try it in this key as it is obviously way to high for McCartney to sing, but they get through it OK. Take 22 has a nice riff at the beginning and in the verses and is back in the key of E. Takes 23 and 24 are played in the higher key again and they both consist of abandoned attempts with the band eventually purposely playing sloppy near the end of both takes.
All of this can be heard on the excellent CD compilation bootleg "Turn Me On Dead Man: The John Barrett Tapes" in excellent sound.
It should be noted that overdubs for "You're going To Lose That Girl" were also completed at this evening's sessions.
I've included takes 20-24 from Youtube for your listening pleasure:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjGSzBROz1A

Saturday, September 20, 2014

"That Means A Lot" Session - First Attempt

The Beatles gathered back to Studio two at EMI studios on February 20 1965 ostensibly to finish this portion of recording as they would be starting to act in the second film as yet untitled but eventually becomding "Help!". This day was spent working on a new original Lennon/McCartney composition - written mainly by Paul- entitled "That Means A Lot".
The band rehearsed a few takes and then a proper take (take 1) was completed and some piano/ maracas were later overdubbed as well as some double tracked vocals. A second attempt at this number would also be recorded a month later but we'll deal with that in a later post.
This first attempt yielded a place on the commercially released Apple 2-CD/3-LP "Anthology 2" project but the mix that was used is full of reverb and a little muddy for my liking. This same mix also appears on various bootlegs including the "Sessions" CD and the "Unsurpassed Masters, Vol. 2" CD as well. The best mix for this tune can be found on the "File Under" vinyl bootleg which uses an earlier mix done in the mid 1970s whereas the former mix was done in the 1980s especially for the aborted "Sessions" LP/CD.
The song was "given away" to PJ Proby to cover and his version is horrible. Here's a nice clean stereo mix from take 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsGj32Vp7vc




Saturday, September 13, 2014

"You're Going To Lose That Girl" production acetate.

On February 19 1965, The Beatles were in the midst of recording the soundtrack for their upcoming second movie eventually entitled "Help!" at EMI Studios number two and created a rarity.
After three takes, "You're Going To Lose That Girl" (an original Lennon/McCartney tune written and sung mainly by John) was completed and a production acetate for the film was mixed in mono. This production version of the song is missing the piano and the overdubbed bongos (added the next month). There is also a completely different Harrison guitar solo in the middle of the song. Whether The Beatles intended to leave this song as it is for the moment or not is pure speculation. The released commercial version has the further overdubs as well as a new guitar solo. The song can be found on the vinyl bootleg "Not Guilty" as well as on the CD bootleg "Help! Sessions".
Here it is on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp6fJOZ2yaM


Saturday, September 6, 2014

"If You've Got Trouble" plus one.

The second half of the Beatles recording session for February 18 1965 featured two tunes recorded in the evening. Both of the songs were original Lennon/McCartney spectaculars.
The first song was given to Ringo for vocals and entitled "If You've Got Trouble". The band ended up only performing the song for one take and then some vocals and a bit of guitar were added to the backing. Very early in the session the song was deemed weak and thus did not appear commercially for over twenty years.
It was eventually mixed in mono on April 21 1976 simply for reference. Eight years later, EMI decided to try and release an album of studio rarities so "If You've Got Trouble" was once again mixed and edited. This version was also not released and ended up on various bootlegs.
Finally, the song was remixed for stereo and was released commercially on the EMI/Apple 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 2" project.
The other tune recorded and completed at this session was written mainly by Paul and entitled "Tell Me What You See" which ended up on side 2 of the UK Parlophone LP/CD "Help!". It took four takes and addition vocals and percussion were overdubbed.
"If You've Got Trouble" can be found with early mixes on the following bootlegs: the vinyl "File Under: Beatles", "Sessions" and the CD "Unsurpassed Masters, Volume 2".
Here is a sample of the Unsurpassed version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmkJpBNRSV4

Friday, August 29, 2014

"You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" Outtakes

A very busy day over at EMI studios on February 18 1965. It always amazes me as to the speed of productivity during this period in the Beatles' career. Essentially, six songs were given final mono mixes - yes, you read that right - six songs (almost half a side of an LP in those days). Plus three new songs recorded. The six songs given final mono mixes consist of  "Ticket To Ride", "Another Girl", "I Need You", "Yes It Is", "The Night Before" and "You Like Me Too Much". Amazing. All mixes were supervised by the team of George Martin/Norman Smith.
In between this in the afternoon, a new Lennon/McCartney original was recorded. Mainly written and sung by John, this was used on the "Help!" soundtrack: "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away". Two takes have been commercially released: takes 1 and 5. Both can be found on the Apple 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 1" release.
Take 1 is merely a false start with John counting in the song and Paul who has "broken a glass". Take 5 has a nice performance with vocals but without overdubs. The commercially released version used take 9 as the basic take for overdubs including an outside musician who played flute - Johnnie Scott. Also noted is the use of a Framus acoustic 12-string by John for this song.
The other new song recorded on this day plus a soundtrack song will be featured in the next entry and wasn't released nor heard by the public for almost 20 years. Stay tuned.
In the meantime, here's takes 1 and 5 brought to you by youtube for your enjoyment:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xJqnt9ndjA


Friday, August 22, 2014

"Yes It Is" Outtakes

On the evening of February 16 1965, The Beatles were working on the soundtrack to their next movie which would eventually be entitled "Help!" (although at the time of the sessions, the name for the movie was not official). "Ticket To Ride", "I Need You" and "Another Girl" were already recorded and completed the previous afternoon/evening and the afternoon of the 16th as well (how's THAT for productive?).
The new song was entitled "Yes It Is" - an original Lennon/McCartney composition written mainly by John - this was originally meant for the film but was not used and instead released as the B-side of the next single.
Some of the takes recorded this evening do exist - note that all takes were recorded at EMI Studios in number 2.  The first take is more of a "run through" but it is complete and you can hear the members of the group trying to figure out the arrangement and what will be played. Take 2 features an attempt at a backing track but John breaks a string on his acoustic during the middle of the song so the band stops playing. Take 3 starts and stops, while take 4 also ends at the first verse when there is a discussion about the arrangement of the song once again. Take 5 has a wrong chord being played and is discarded. Takes 6, 7 and 8 are loose and there are mistakes during the attempt at the backing track. Take 9 is good due to the fact that the entire song is played through and is an acceptable backing (although this is eventually improved on).
Both takes 10 and 11 finish abruptly at the beginning of the song, by take 14 The Beatles complete the backing track with no mistakes and this is the take used for the commercial version of the song. The three part harmony vocals and percussion are overdubbed.
The song was mixed for mono two days later on February 18, with a lot of reverb added to the backing and the vocals. Oddly enough, whenever this song was released, it remained in mono or fake stereo for the longest time and it wasn't until 1988 and the release of the commercial Apple/EMI 2-LP/CD "Past Masters Volume One" did we get to hear the track in true stereo when it was originally mixed on February 23 1965. Takes 1, 2 and 14 appeared on the bootleg vinyl LP "Ultra Rare Trax, Volume 3 and 4" as well as having all of the outtakes on the bootleg CD "The Ultimate Collection, Volume Three Studio Sessions, 1965/66".
Take 14 mixed in with the commercial version appears on the Apple 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 2" from the stereo mix. The Youtube mix below states take 13 but it is actually takes 1 to 8. (For your
pleasure, dear reader).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ5nhyYShtM

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Saturday Club For the Last Time In 1964

On November 25 1964, The Beatles recorded a couple of songs for the upcoming "Saturday Club" radio show in order to promo the new LP and single for the approaching holiday season. The radio show would be aired a month later on Boxing Day of the year (December 26 1964).
There seems to be a bit of confusion linked to this show. There were only two new performances aired for the show and the rest of the tunes had been previously aired on "Top Gear". Since records show that the Beatles were indeed present for the recording of a radio show in November at Studio Two, Aeolian Hall in London, the question becomes why did they not record an entire show?
The show starts with an intro with Ringo who in turn introduces "The Beatles" to much laughter and then the tape is edited to feature a performance of the Chuck Berry cover "Rock And Roll Music" sung by John and from the latest LP (Beatles For Sale). After a long intro which talks about visiting other countries such as America and Australia and the second film to be produced in the next year, the show features the original Lennon/composition "I'm A Loser" which is from the previous "Top Gear" radio show (see former post). The next song we hear is also from the previous "Top Gear" radio show which is a cover of Carl Perkin's "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby" which is sung by George and is also from the "For Sale" LP.
After wishing everyone holiday greetings by the band, the A-side of the new single is featured; the Lennon/McCartney original "I Feel Fine" is played which is also from the previous "Top Gear" show. The Beatles launch into another cover from the "For Sale" LP, mainly Little Richard's "Kansas City/ Hey Hey Hey Hey" sung by none other than Paul. The show ends with a performance of the B-side of the current single; another Lennon/McCartney original which features Paul's voice "She's A Woman" and the final re-broadcast from the "Top Gear" show.
All of these numbers can be found on the bootleg LP "Beatles At the Beeb, Volumer Twelve" as well as on the Great Dane Complete BBC Sessions box set (CD 9).
Commercially, you can find the performance of "Rock And Roll Music" on the Apple 2-CD/ 2-LP "Live At the BBC" (3-LP if it's the remastered version.). "Kansas City/ Hey Hey Hey Hey" can also be found commercially on the Apple 2-CD/3-LP "On Air - Live At the BBC Volume 2".

Friday, August 8, 2014

Ready, Steady, Go! (For The Final Time)

On November 23 1964, The Beatles appeared on the Rediffusion TV series "Ready, Steady, Go"! with hosts Keith Fordyce and Cathy McGowan. This was the final mimed performance on this show for the group.
The Beatles mimed to four tunes: the latest single (of course) with both the A-side "I Feel Fine" written mainly by John and "She's A Woman" written mainly by Paul. The other two songs mimed on the show included "Baby's In Black" and the cover version of Little Richard's "Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey!".
The show was broadcast four days later on November 17 1964
The entire can be found on a Japanese import laserdisc but I've found a view of the song "She's A Woman" form this particular performance on youtube and I've included the link for your viewing pleasure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKm1wF5cM2c


Wednesday, July 30, 2014

BBC "Top Gear" Radio Show 20

On November 17 1964, The Beatles entered the Playhouse Theater in London England in order to record a BBC radio show. This was mainly to promote the new LP and single which were to be released shortly after the broadcast (which was transmitted on November 26 1964. The host for this "Top Gear" show was none other than Brian Matthew.
On this show, both side of the new single were performed as well as some of the LP tracks: The show starts with the original composition "I'm A Loser" (written mainly by John) and then a Carl Perkins cover is performed "Honey Don't" (sung by Ringo). This is followed by the B-side of their upcoming single - "She's A Woman" (written mainly and quickly by Paul). Following this is another Carl Perkins cover entitled "Everybody's Trying to be My Baby" (sung by George). The original composition "I'll Follow The Sun" (written mainly by Paul) is then performed and they finish with the A-side of the upcoming single "I Feel Fine" (written mainly by John).
There are various audio clips of the show available: The vinyl bootleg "Broadcast" has "I'm A Loser", "She's A Woman", "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby", "I'll Follow The Sun" and "I Feel Fine". The vinyl bootleg "Beatles At the Beeb, Volume 12" has the entire show as does CD number 09 of the "Complete BBC Sessions" Great Dane CD box set.
The Apple 2-LP (3-LP for the 2013 remasters)/ 2-CD "Live At The BBC" commercially contains: "I'm A Loser", "She's A Woman", "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby" and "I Feel Fine". Some of the chat from this show is also included on the first track. The Apple 3-LP/ 2-CD "On Air - Live At The BBC Volume 2" contains "Honey Don't" and "I'll Follow The Sun" from this particular broadcast.

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Lucky Stars Special

On November 14 1964, The Beatles had an upcoming new single and an upcoming new LP to promote. The single would be released later in the month ( a week after the broadcast) and the LP would be released early in the month of December (the 4th to be exact).
This caused The Beatles to perform on the "Thank Your Lucky Stars" series although the special for the promotion was eventually re-titled as "Lucky Stars Special".
The Beatles mimed to four songs: the A and B Side of the single and two album tracks. The songs that were mimed: "I Feel Fine" (written mainly by John), "She's A Woman" (written mainly by Paul) "I'm a Loser" (written mainly by John) and "Rock And Roll Music" (the classic cover originally written and performed by Chuck Berry).
The show was taped in the afternoon of November 14 without an audience in attendance. The location for the taping was at Teddington Studio Centre for ABC-TV in the UK. The performance was broadcast a week later on November 21 1964.
All of the songs mimed/ performed are the commercial versions which is why audio only bootlegs are moot. I've included the performance of "She's A Woman" (since it's one of my favourites) although all four are available on "youtube".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWyNMWzK1vw
 

Friday, July 18, 2014

Another Beatles Christmas Record Outtakes

On October 26 1964, The Beatles entered EMI studio two in order to complete two things: one was the completion of their fourth official LP - eventually titled "Beatles For Sale" by finishing the last song recorded for the LP; a re-make of "What You're Doing" after nineteen takes.
The second task was to make their annual Christmas record. As this was the last studio session of the year, it made sense to complete the Christmas record using the available studio time (although I'm sure at this point EMI would have probably let the Beatles record endlessly due to the sales of their music all over the world).
The interesting this about this session is that there are available outtakes to the speech used for the eventual release of "Another Beatles Christmas Record" on flexi-disc (LYN 757) in December 1964.
The outtakes are available on various bootleg CDs and were first broadcast on the radio documentary "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band: A History of the Beatle Years 1962-1970. This included a rendition of "Hello Dolly" with John on Harmonica, Paul on the piano and George on the Kazoo. There is also some speech by all four Beatles reading off the script supplied by them with points of interest although on the outtakes they sound a little lifeless compared to the official release put out a couple of months after the recording.
The "Hello Dolly" segment and take one can be found on the CD: "Complete Christmas Collection 1963-1969" of which I have included a youtube recording below. Takes 2, 3 and 4 are contained on the bootleg CD " The Seven Years of Christmas" although only take two seems to be complete while 3 and 4 are false starts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it7n63biUBQ


Thursday, July 10, 2014

"I Feel Fine" Outtakes

On October 18 1964, The Beatles had a "Power Session" and recorded eight songs within one day. One of the songs included in the session was the next single written mainly by John entitled "I Feel Fine". This tune would be recorded specially for the single and would not appear on the latest LP.
There are various outtakes available on bootleg that start with the song one key higher than the commercial release, then the current key is attempted after that. Take 1 is in the key of A and all other takes are in the key of G. Takes 1,2,5,6,7 and 9 can be found CD as "The Ultimate Collection, Volume three: Studio Sessions 1964". Takes 6, 7 and 9 can also be found on vinyl as "Ultra Rare Trax, Volume 3 and 4" as well as on CD as "Unsurpassed Masters, Volume 07".
"I Feel Fine" was mixed three days later. The UK mono mix for the single has a touch of reverb on the vocals and the instruments are dry but the stereo mix is mainly dry. The US mix - on the other hand - is absolutely drenched in reverb with the effect on everything !! (Thanks Dave Dexter Jr; I say sarcastically). Also there is a strange mix that can be found on the compilation Apple vinyl LP 1962-1966 that has a bit of whispering at the beginning.
Also released on the recent Apple 3-LP/2-CD "On Air - Live At the BBC Volume 2", there are some unnumbered outtakes of "I Feel Fine" being recorded on November 17 1964 for BBC radio for the show "Top Gear" (although these had already shown up on the bootleg CD "The Beatles Broadcast Collection Trailer 1". I've included the commercial version below.
As an aside, another outtake for the EMI session included "Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey" (take 2) and this version can be found on the Apple 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 1".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JaBrxwFWGk

Friday, June 27, 2014

"She's A Woman" Outtakes

The Beatles entered EMI studio 2 on October 08 1964 in order to record their new Lennon/McCartney original entitled "She's A Woman". There were six (or seven) takes recorded in the afternoon. Some of the outtakes have made their way onto bootleg:
The first take for this song can be found on the soundtrack to the "Beatles At Abbey Road" presentation source and can also be found on the bootleg CD "Abbey Road Video Show". Most of the other takes can be heard on the "Ultra Rare Trax" series on LP and on CD. For instance, you can find take two on the "Ultra Rare Trax , Volume one" series or "Unsurpassed Masters Volume six". Takes three and four (including a false start) can be found on "The Ultimate Collection, Volume Three: Studio Sessions 1964" and take 5/7 which includes a long jam can be found on "Ultra Rare Trax, Volume 3 and 4" as well as the bootleg CD "Unsurpassed Masters, Volume 2``.
This tune was mixed once the master was chosen (take six, actually) and an addition vocal from Paul was added, some guitar from George and a chocalho shaker was added by Ringo along with piano by George Martin to complete the song. All of this done in one day. Mixed for mono and stereo on October 12 1964
On October 21 1964, the song was once again mixed with addition echo and reverb for the North American version and sounds awful. If you have the EMI EP blue box set, check the bonus disc and you can hear the count-in of the song by Paul.
This song ended up as the B-side for Ì feel fine (single) and also ended up on the `Beatles `65`LP. I`ve added all of the takes below as well:



Friday, June 20, 2014

Shindig !

On October 03 1964, The Beatles appeared on the US television show "Shindig!" which in this case was presented to the world from London, England. The performance was taped at the Granville Studio and was shown in North America four days later on October 07 and was on the ABC network.
The Beatles performed three songs: "Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey!" ( a cover of Little Richard), "I'm A Loser" ( a Lennon/McCartney original which had been recorded back in Mid-August of that year), and the chestnut from the first LP "Boys" (another cover sung by Ringo). The Beatles also participated in the closing credits while the song "Swanee River" is played.
I've included the youtube clip of the performance. The audio can also be found on the vinyl bootleg "The Beatles Conquer America".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig3n19Y5bOs

Saturday, June 14, 2014

"For Sale" Studio Outtakes

After the North American tour, The Beatles headed back to the UK and to EMI studios to continue working on the follow up LP to the first film soundtrack. The LP would eventually be titled "Beatles For Sale".
On September 30 1964 from Studio 2, we have two outtakes from this session. The first outtake being a completely different arrangement of "What You're Doing" (take 11) (Lennon/McCartney) which heavily features a 12 string Rickenbaker and a key change in the middle before reverting back to it's original key. We also have a different, faster version of "No Reply" (take 2) and also (Lennon/McCartney).
"What You're Doing" is in stereo and can be found on the John Barrett tapes entitled "Turn Me On Dead Man" from bootleg CD. The take 2 version of "No Reply" is commercially available on the 3LP/2CD Apple "Anthology 1" recordings.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH8iGKWB1JI 

Friday, June 6, 2014

The Beatles Live in Montreal

On September 08 1964, The Beatles performed twice on the same day at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The set list is the same as the other shows and this was supposedly the show where a death threat was put out for Ringo and he was escorted by a policeman crouching down beside him as he played! (As Ringo relates the story on the "Anthology" DVD).
I've included a "youtube" video of the press conference between the afternoon show and the evening as well as footage of the arrival by the group at Dorval airport. There seems to be a circulation of the show although it's incomplete - I haven't heard the tape but it seems to not be the best quality; the track listing is as follows: "Twist and Shout/ You Can't Do That/ All My Loving/ She Loves You/ Things We Said Today/ Roll Over Beethoven/ Can't Buy Me Love/ If I Fell/ Boys/ A Hard Day's Night".  Missing from the tape are the performances for "Long Tall Sally" and "I Want To Hold Your Hand".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLJSQOTCiD0

Saturday, May 31, 2014

This Hour Has Seven Days Documentary

The Beatles were on tour and they stopped in Toronto Canada on September 07 1964 and played Maple Leaf Gardens. They stayed over and left the next day on route to Montreal. During their stay in Toronto, documentary footage was obtained of the press conference, reaction to The Beatles via their fans and foes, a little bit of footage from the concert (mainly bits of "She Loves You" and "All My Loving" as well as their departure at the airport.
The set list for the Toronto show was basically the same as the previous shows in the tour. I have included the Toronto footage below from "Youtube".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyWNz3UUchg

Friday, May 23, 2014

The Beatles Live in Indianapolis

The 1964 Beatles North American tour had a stop in Indianapolis on September 05 of same year. They played a show at the Indiana State Fair Coliseum. There were two "houses" performed that day and the earlier show was fortunately recorded by the local radio station WIFE-AM. The entire show featured the same songs as the previous shows namely  "Twist And Shout/ You Can't Do That/ All My Loving/ She Loves You/ Things We Said Today/ Roll Over Beethoven/ Can't Buy Me Love/ If I Fell/ I Want To Hold Your Hand/ Boys/ A Hard Day's Night/ Long Tall Sally".
The show can be heard on bootlegs such as the CD "State Fair to Hollywood". The quality of this show is deemed fine although I have not heard it in a long time.
I've also included a news report from the 1990's whereby the local news talks about and shows footage of The Beatles during their visit to Indianapolis. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB59g0z4BnU

Friday, May 16, 2014

The Beatles Live in Philadelphia

The Beatles performed at the Convention Hall in Philadelphia on September 02 1964 as part of their North American tour. The entire concert was taped by the local radio station at the time WIBG - AM. This performance was also one of the first live Beatles concert to appear on vinyl bootlegs as the "Whiskey Flats" show which was/is a fictional location.
The songs performed at this show are basically the same ones as the previous concerts for this tour; "Twist and Shout/ You Can't Do That/ All my Loving/ She Loves You/ Things We Said Today/ Roll Over Beethoven/ Can't Buy Me Love/ If I Fell/ I Want To Hold Your Hand/ Boys/ A Hard Day's Night/ Long Tall Sally".
I've included a bit of filmed footage from the show as well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjbCK5AO7HQ

Saturday, May 3, 2014

The Beatles Live In Los Angeles

The Beatles played one show at the Hollywood Bowl, L.A. California, USA on August 23 1964 during their North American tour.  It was decided at the time that the show would be professionally recorded and Capitol brought over a three track machine (?) to record the drums, bass, guitars and vocals by putting both the drums and bass on a single track, guitars on two and vocals on three.
This particular show has the same song order as the previous shows thereby as such "Twist and Shout/ You Can't Do That/ All My Loving/ She Loves You/ Things We Said today/ Roll Over Beethoven/ Can't Buy Me Love/ If I Fell/ I Want To Hold Your Hand (re-instated)/ Boys/ A Hard Day's Night/ Long Tall Sally".
The first song was released in mono and stereo with echo added (only the first minute or so) on the commercial terrible so-called "documentary" "The Beatles Story" Capitol 2-LP/ remastered CD (stereo only on CD). On side four (of the LP) you can hear the beginning of "Twist And Shout" before it fades.
There were acetates made of the entire show and it was mixed in stereo a month after the performance but was never released commercially until 1977 when EMI released "The Beatles Live At The Hollywood Bowl" - released on LP but as of this writing not yet available commercially on CD - which featured parts of the performance; namely "All My Loving", "She Loves You", "Things We Said Today", "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Boys" and "Long Tall Sally".
The entire show can be found on various bootleg LPs including "Shea, The Good Old Days", "Back in 1964 At The Hollywood Bowl"; and can be found with the entire intro and outro on such bootleg CDs such as "The Complete Hollywood Bowl Concerts 1964-1965" and "The Beatles At the Hollywood Bowl -The complete Shows" (on LP). I've included a Youtube clip of some of the show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtOX4HSO2Dc

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Beatles Live In Vancouver

The Beatles performed live at the Empire Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on August 22 1964 in the evening. The attendance for this show was around twenty thousand fans so the place was packed. There also seems to be quite the turbulence surrounding the group as the security for this place was lacking for a better term.
We have the entire show available and the sound is pretty good. There are a couple of interruptions between songs by the host DJ Red Robinson and eventually by their press agent at the time Derek Taylor. Red Robinson urges the crowd to get back just before "Can't Buy Me Love" is performed and Derek Taylor relays the same message before "A Hard Day's Night". The songs performed during this evening show include: "Twist and Shout/ You Can't Do That/ All My Loving/ She Loves You/ Things We Said Today/ Roll Over Beethoven/ Can't Buy Me Love/ If I Fell/ Boys/ A Hard Day's Night/ Long Tall Sally". Essentially, it's the same line up as Seattle but "I Want To Hold Your Hand" is absent from the set list.
The entire concert can be heard on the bootleg LP "Vancouver 64". I've added the youtube link below (which is available in three parts) and you can hear the audio for this performance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PPO-ANOKHM

Friday, April 18, 2014

Beatles Live in Seattle

The Beatles played at the Seattle Coliseum on August 21 1964 as part of their first North American Tour. The entire show exists; as well as the arrival and departure interviews and chat with some of the members and the audience. A bit of the press conference is also available.
As far as the music performed, the Beatles essentially played the same set list every night on this tour. For Seattle, the songs performed included the following: "Twist And Shout/ You Can't Do That/ All My Loving/ She Loves You/ Things We Said Today/ Roll Over Beethoven/ Can't Buy Me Love/ If I Fell/ I Want To Hold Your Hand/ Boys/ A Hard Day's Night/ Long Tall Sally".
This particular show has a lot of noise and screaming during the audio and is not recommended as the best recording of the tour. The future shows available are much better. You can find the show on CD bootlegs such as "Atlanta/Munich/Seattle" and "Northwest Nights".
I've included some chat and interview material below from the "youtube" channel. You can also see some chapters of songs with the audio from the above bootlegs interspersed within the site.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8YoNx2Wz5o


Saturday, April 12, 2014

Beatles Live in Frisco

The Beatles hit the USA in a big way. They were unstoppable at this point and this was their first proper American/Canadian tour.
The first inlking of this tour was a performance at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, California on August 19 1964. Lucky for us, there is footage of the show that exists. This was footage prepared by the local television station KCRA. As you can see below, there are fragments of the live show including "Twist And Shout", " You Can't Do That" and "A Hard Day's Night" whereby you can see the Beatles performing on stage at this point. Since it was 1964, there was still the uniform of the dark suits and white shirts typical of this era.
I've included a youtube video which may or may not be the actual audio since it includes a lot of other tunes in between the above mentioned titles. Otherwise, the audio can be found on such CDR titles as in "Live: Make As Much Noise As You Like".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eKb-BRt7Dw

Saturday, April 5, 2014

"Leave My Kitten Alone" Session.

On August 14 1964 during recordings for the upcoming fourth LP to eventually be titled "Beatles For Sale", the lads entered EMI Studio 2 to record a cover version of a Little Willie John tune entitled "Leave My Kitten Alone".
Five takes were accomplished with a tambourine, piano and doubled John Lennon vocal as overdubs for the recording. The song was never issued commercially for the fourth LP, and it was never properly mixed until much later after the group had disbanded and EMI decided to take another look at the recording for future use.
There are now two mixes available for your listening pleasure. Both mixes are from the same recording (take 5 with the overdubs) but the earlier mix has a quick false start at the beginning and is not as long as the second mix. Both mixes are also mono (with a bit of stereo-ish reverb added).
You can find the earlier mix on any of the "Abbey Road Video Show" presentation bootlegs such as "File Under" and "Not For Sale"
(this is the rare one with the false start) and the later mix is found on various "Sessions" bootlegs on vinyl and CD. The song was eventually released on Apple's 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 1" set. It's always been a mystery to me why the band decided not to release this. It's a smokin' song and it rocks !!

Saturday, March 29, 2014

"I'm A Loser/Mr. Moonlight" session.

The Beatles entered studio two at EMI (Abbey Road) in order to record a couple of songs for their upcoming fourth LP eventually titled "Beatles For Sale" in the UK. This evening session outtakes have been available from various sources.
The first song attempted was the Lennon/McCartney original "I'm A Loser" mainly written and sung by John with assistance from Paul. The first two takes can be found on the bootleg CD "Unsurpassed Masters Volume 6"; the next take (3) can be found on the next volume of "Unsurpassed Masters Volume 7". Finally, the next four takes of the song can be found on the bootleg CD "The Ultimate Collection, Volume 3, Studio Sessions 1964".
The next song attempted in the studio by The Beatles was a cover version of the Dr. Feelgood song "Mr. Moonlight". The intro and outtake has been commercially released on the Apple 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 1" (in mono) although there is a stereo version of the song which can be found on the bootleg "Turn Me On Deadman".

Saturday, March 22, 2014

"Blackpool Night Out" - Another Plug For the Film

On July 19 1964, The Beatles performed live on stage for television. The performance took place at the ABC Theatre in Blackpool, England. The title of the television show was "Blackpool Night Out". This was another opportunity for the band to promote their latest LP, single and film "A Hard Day's Night".
The show starts off with a comedy sketch featuring The Beatles, Bernie and Mike Winters. Something about Ringo being a patient in a hospital (ironically) and the Winters act as surgeons. I 've never heard the sketch, so I can't really tell you much about it.
The show - as far as I know - does not exist on tape of any other visual form but it does exist as an audio recording. There are various bootlegs of the show as well as a link to "youtube" which I have kindly provided below for your entertainment. You can find the recording on the bootleg CDs: "Holly Bowl Complete (sic)" as well as the box set "Mythology, Vol. 2" and "Blackpool Night Out '64 - upgraded".
The songs performed during the show include four of five songs from the soundtrack LP to "A Hard Day's Night" as well as the title song from the EP "Long Tall Sally" (in the U.K.). The songs are: "A Hard Day's Night", "Things We Said Today" (the A and B sides of the UK single); "Things We Said Today", "You Can't Do That", "If I Fell" and "Long Tall Sally".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tWMtSNZn7w

Saturday, March 15, 2014

"From Us To You" For The Fourth and Final Time

On July 17 1964, The Beatles appeared at BBC Paris Studios in London to record a performance for the last "From Us To You" radio show broadcast a couple of weeks later on August 03 1964. This is a very unique BBC broadcast in the sense that we have the performance as well as having the rehearsal tape as well on bootleg.
Starting with the rehearsal tape, this can be found on the 10 inch vinyl record entitled "From Us To You, A Parlophone (sic) Rehearsal Session". The record contains two versions of "From Us to You" (the theme song), "Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey", "Long Tall Sally", "If I Fell", "Boys", two takes of "I'm Happy Just To Dance With You" with George Harrison overdubbing vocals on the second version, three takes of "I Should Have Known Better" with a false start, harmonica and vocals overdubbed, "Things We Said Today" and "A Hard Day's Night". My copy is a green wax copy on an unknown blank label.
The actual broadcast featured all of the above tunes and the host was Don Wardell. The show starts with the theme song "From Us To You" with the introduction, a bit of Happy Bank Holiday wishes and the second tune performed is "Long Tall Sally" from the Beatles' new EP in the UK and the title song. Next up is a tune from the first movie soundtrack LP; a nice version of "If I Fell" with John and Paul harmonizing throughout. Three more songs from the first movie soundtrack LP are also performed: "I'm Happy Just To Dance With You" featuring the great George Harrison on vocals; Paul McCartney's haunting composition "Things We Said Today" is then performed after his own introduction,  and we have John's turn with "I Should Have Known Better". Ringo also gets his turn on vocals with a performance of "Boys" from the first LP in the UK and the first Vee-Jay LP in the United States. A cover tune is played as well; an early rendition of Little Richard's "Kansas City/ Hey Hey Hey Hey" with Paul on vocals. This song would eventually be released at the end of 1964 for the Beatles' fourth LP on Parlophone. The Beatles finish up this show with the title from the film, the single and the LP title "A Hard Day's Night" and then the theme is once again played as an outro and the credits are read out as narration by John Lennon.
The show (as broadcast) is available on the vinyl bootleg LP "The Beatles At The Beeb, Volume Eleven" as well as being available on the Great Dane box set "The Complete BBC Sessions" on disc 08. The box set also contains highlights from the rehearsal session. As far as I can see, nothing from this session has been released commercially.

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Top Gear BBC Light Programme

On July 14, 1964 The Beatles assembled to Studio S2, Broadcasting House, London in order to record a radio show for the BBC. This show being entitled "Top Gear".The show would be broadcast to the UK two days later on July 16, 1964.
The main focus for this show as the New LP (at the time) "A Hard Day's Night" as well as the new EP "Long Tall Sally". Both were promoted for this broadcast. It's interesting to note that one of the songs is the commercial version and one of the songs has the commercial instrumental break edited in.
The show starts with version of the Little Richard cover: "Long Tall Sally" sung by Paul. The next number performed was the B-side of the latest single (in the UK); the original Lennon/McCartney "Things We Said Today" once again with Paul on vocals. The next song performed is the title track of the movie/ the LP/ and the A-side of the latest single "A Hard Day's Night" with both John and Paul sharing vocals on this one. The middle instrumental is the commercial version edited in. The ballad from the film is also undertaken for this broadcast; the original Lennon/McCartney acoustic "And I Love Her" sung and written mainly by Paul.
The show continues with the commercially released version of "I Should Have Known Better". Next up is another ballad from the film, this time it is "If I Fell" sung by both John and Paul in harmony and written mainly by John. The show ends with the B-side of the previous single as well as being on the soundtrack LP "You Can't Do That" sung and mainly written by John.
The show can be heard on the following discs: A copy of "The Beatles At The Beeb" radio show has "Long Tall Sally", "Things We Said Today", "A Hard Day's Night" and "And I Love Her". The entire show can be found on the bootleg vinyl LP "The Beatles At The Beeb, Volume Eleven". The Great Dane box set "The Complete BBC Sessions" contains the show as well on CD (number 08).
"Things We Said Today" and "A Hard Day's Night" were commercially released on the 2-LP/2-CD Apple "Live At the BBC". "Long Tall Sally", "And I Love Her", "If I Fell" and "You Can't Do That" were also released commercially on the 3-LP/2-CD Apple "On Air - Live At the BBC Volume 2".

Saturday, March 1, 2014

"It's For You" Recording Session.

On July 02, 1964 The Beatles had returned to England and the evening saw both John Lennon and Paul McCartney attending a recording session for Cilla Black (who was managed by Brian Epstein).
The recording took place at EMI studios, Abbey Road, St. John's Wood, London in the large Studio 1. The song was written by Lennon-McCartney (mainly by Paul) and Paul contributes some piano playing for the song as well.
It was released as a single in the UK and the US but was not a hit in the sense that it reached the lower rungs in the US (#79) but became a top ten hit in the UK (#8). It was also commercially released in the UK as the title track of an EP. It a good song although I've personally never liked Cilla's voice because her tone reminds me a bit of Ethel Merman !!
I've added a "youtube" recording of the song below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNgiZsg4z_k

Saturday, February 22, 2014

The Beatles Live In Melbourne (Evening Show)

On June 17 1964, the second concert of the day was performed in Melbourne, Australia by The Beatles. This show was recorded at the Festival Hall and was the final performance in the city (a final six of six). Fortunately, this show was taped for broadcast and the sponsor was Shell oil, thereby this performance is also known in circles as "The Beatles Sing For Shell" and can be viewed in both audio and video form. In fact, portions of this performance have been commercially released on the "Anthology" DVDs including bits of "You Can't Do That", "All My Loving" and the intro to the latest single "Can't Buy Me Love".
The line up of hits performed on that evening are similar to the afte
rnoon show (still no vocal showcase for Ringo). This includes "I Saw Her Standing There"/ "You Cant' Do That"/ "All My Loving"/ "She Loves You"/ "Till There Was You"/ "Roll Over Beethoven"/ "Can't Buy Me Love"/ "This Boy""/ "Twist And Shout" and "Long Tall Sally". The show was eventually broadcast on television July 01 1964 on TCN Channel 09.
The audio portion of the concert can be heard on various bootlegs including the LP "Tour Years 1963-1966" as well as the "Candlestick Park/ Beatles Sing For Shell" vinyl LP. The audio can also be found on the bootleg CD "Live In Melbourne 1964 and Paris 1965" as well as the CD "All The Best From Australia".
I've included an edited version of the broadcast from the youtube channel below for your amusement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntyajiPZV9k

Saturday, February 8, 2014

The Beatles Live In Melbourne (Afternoon show)

On June 17, 1964 The Beatles performed at the Festival Hall in Melbourne Australia. The Beatles ended up playing an afternoon show and an evening show for three nights and the last two shows have ended up being recorded for radio.
The tape for this afternoon show has been edited and fragments of the show have been released in various forms over the years. Ringo Starr is back on drums but due to his throat problems he does not sing. Jimmy Nicol has left the scene and basically vanished from this point on.
The songs performed are as follows: "I Saw Her Standing There", "You Can't Do That", "All My Loving", "She Loves You", "Till There was You", "Roll Over Beethoven", "Can't Buy Me Love", "This Boy" and "Twist And Shout" ("Long Tall Sally" is missing).
This show can be found on the bootleg album "Live In Melbourne, Autralia 7/16/64 (sic)" as well as the bootleg CD "All The Best From Australia" and "Australian Tour 1964".

Sunday, February 2, 2014

The Beatles Live in Adelaide

On June 12 1964, The Beatles performed as part of their tour in the city of Adelaide, Australia. Once again Jimmy Nicol is on drums temporarily replacing Ringo for the first half of the tour. The Beatles set list for this concert performance is basically the same as the previous Copenhagen entry with the final song added:
They start off with "I Saw Her Standing There" from the first LP, "I Want To Hold Your Hand" which is the fifth single, "All My Loving" from the second LP, "She Loves You" which is the fourth single, "Till There Was You" also from the second LP, "Roll over Beethoven" featuring George on vocal, the current single at the time being "Cant' Buy Me Love", the B-side to the fifth single "This Boy", they conclude with two Rock and Roll covers: "Twist and Shout" and Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally".
The best way to hear this performance is on the bootleg LP and CD with the title: "300,000 Beatle Fans Can't Be Wrong".

Saturday, January 25, 2014

The Beatles Live in Blokker

On June 06 1964, The Beatles performed at an auction house in the town of Blokker near Amsterdam. the location is the Veilghal Op Hoop Van Zegen. There were two shows, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. The afternoon show exists on bootleg and the following songs were performed by the band:
The music contains "I Saw Her Standing There" (from the first LP), "I Want To Hold Your Hand", "All My Loving" (from the second LP), "She Loves You", "Twist And Shout" and ending with "Long Tall Sally".
These tunes can be heard on the LP "De Bietels Tussen De Bollen" as well as the CDR "Vinyl To the Core" as well as the CD "Jimmy Nicol and The Beatles".
I've also included a Youtube video of one song shown in this Dutch newsreel from the evening show: "I Saw Her Standing There" which is interesting watching Jimmy Nicol fill in for Ringo on drums.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p032arXM7wU

Sunday, January 19, 2014

The Beatles Live in Hillegom (Amsterdam)

On June 05 1964, The Beatles appeared at the Cafe-Restaurant Treslong in Hillegom near Amsterdam continuing their European promotional tour. The drummer is this case was still Jimmy Nicol as Ringo Starr was back in London resting in hospital.
The television appearance for VARA-TV was called "The Beatles In Nederland" (very original) and included an interview as well as a semi-live performance on a stage surrounded by bleachers. I say semi-live because the instrumental/vocal tracks were from the recordings and The Beatles simply mimed their instruments but since the vocal mikes were left on in order to hear the introductions, this created a sort of artificial double vocal tracking for the show.
The interview itself is about 12 minutes long and appears on the Dutch fan club LP "De Bietels Tussen De Bollen" as well as a bootleg CD entitled "Telecasts Three". Snippets of the interview can also be seen commercially on the Apple DVD/VHS set "Anthology".
The performance is also about 12 minutes long and The Beatles mimed to "She Loves You" followed by "All My Loving". Next up is the Isley Brothers' cover of "Twist and Shout" followed by the Chuck Berry cover of "Roll Over Beethoven". The last two songs of the set are "Long Tall Sally" and the latest single "Can't Buy Me Love". During "Long Tall Sally" various members of the audience decide to get on camera and start to dance near John as the cameramen try to focus on the Beatles' images. During the last song, all turns to mayhem as the crowd empties from the bleachers and start dancing and just screwing around surrounding the Beatles (John, Paul and George) until they are whisked off the stage before the song is over! It's quite funny to watch and I've included a clip below. The first clip is the final two songs, the second clip is earlier.
The performance can be found on the vinyl bootleg LP "John, Paul, George and Jimmy" and on the CD "The Beatles and Jimmy Nicol". Parts of "Long Tall Tally" can also be seen commercially on the Apple DVD/VHS documentary "Anthology".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz-mq4aDiXo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p95-lNqYogA