ON AIR - LIVE AT THE BBC VOLUME 2 - sides five & six

In 1965, the Beatles made numerous appearances on BBC Radio, yet only one of them was actually a musical program - a special entitled The Beatles Invite You to Take a Ticket to Ride which was broadcast in June.  Two selections from that program are on Live at the BBC, but none appear on this second collection.  Every time the Beatles, either collectively or individually, were heard on the radio from this time forward, it was in the form of an interview, most of them pre-recorded.

While some of these interviews were of the silly, off the cuff style of those on earlier programs, more and more of them were of a serious nature, as the Beatles began to be seen as interesting young men with ideas and opinions worthy of discussion, rather than simply shallow pop stars.  Mind you, pop/rock journalism still had a long way to go.  It was in its infancy at this point, but it, too, would soon grow in stature.  

Brian Matthew had developed a nice rapport with the boys on programs such as Saturday Club and Top Gear.  Now, he put that relationship to good use and met with each of them individually for Pop Profile, a series of in-depth interviews which were recorded, edited and shipped out on discs to radio stations worldwide.

The interviews on side five were conducted by Matthew with John and George on November 30th, 1965, only a few days before the release of the LP Rubber Soul and the single We Can Work it Out/Day Tripper.

John - Pop Profile - Matthew kicks off this interview by asking John about a recent quote which stated that he didn't care about anything.  At first, John doesn't mention anything specific, but he finally states that he does care about his family.  The talk goes on to material possessions such as his house, which he admits is much larger than the places he lived in back in Liverpool, and his black Rolls Royce.

They discuss the education of his son (Julian and Cynthia are never mentioned by name), with John expressing his preference for a French school rather than conventional public or private schools.  He hopes that as a parent he would allow his son to be whatever he chooses to be, though he feels the influence of music in Julian's life would be undeniable. 

When the subject of politics is brought up, John states that he has no political leanings.  As we know, that would definitely change in the ensuing years.

George - Pop Profile - When asked what else he might have done with his life, George admits that he was a bad pupil in school.  He reveals that he worked for a few months as an apprentice electrician before quitting to go on a brief tour of Scotland with the band.

He states that he became the quiet Beatle because he got fed up with answering stupid questions at press conferences quicker than his mates.  With his chief interest being music, the impetus to begin writing his own songs came, of course, from the influence of John and Paul.  Now, he was becoming more interested in arrangements so that each instrument served the song as a whole.

He was enjoying living in a quiet area outside of London.  He states that at present he was not ready to be a father.  And, as we know, he and Pattie never did have a child together.

The interviews on side six with Paul and Ringo were conducted by Matthew on May 2nd, 1966, a few weeks into sessions for the album Revolver.

Paul - Pop Profile - After briefly touching on the difference between being "Beatle" Paul and a regular person, Paul talks about Indian music, which George had introduced him to, and the theatre, as two examples of things which he had previously dismissed but which now interested him.

He states that he would be interested in making a film, though not a big budget production.  Of course, this idea would blossom in the next year into the Magical Mystery Tour project.

He also expresses a dislike of traveling, foreshadowing the end of touring in the coming months.

Ringo - Pop Profile - He likes the group's new schedule in early '66 with more time off, though he admits that he easily becomes bored doing nothing.

He enjoys material possessions such as his house and cars, and his role as a family man.

At age fourteen, while he was in hospital, a music teacher came around with various percussion instruments, resulting in his interest in music in general and the drums in particular.

As you can see, there is nothing earth shattering here along the lines of other interviews such as Paul admitting that he took LSD or John's infamous "we're bigger than Jesus" quote.  I'm sure many fans only listened to these once, if at all.  With each of these running roughly eight minutes in length, they take up quite a bit of space on this collection which otherwise might have been used for more musical selections or amusing interactions between the Beatles and the presenters of the various BBC programs. 

ON AIR - LIVE AT THE BBC VOLUME 2 - side four

Though the year 1964 brought worldwide fame to the Beatles, the relentless schedule coordinated for them by manager Brian Epstein continued unabated.  A three-week series of concerts in Paris, a whirlwind trip to America and a seven week shoot of the group's first feature film kicked off a year that would also include their first international and North American tours, not to mention multiple recording sessions which produced two albums and a handful of singles.  

Sandwiched in between all of these other activities, the group still managed to make numerous trips to BBC Radio, even during the filming of A Hard Day's Night.  Several of these appearances were now solely for the purpose of interviews rather than musical performances.  And, as the group's catalog continued to grow, they tended to spend more time promoting their latest records rather than playing their old favorites. 

The bulk of the selections on side four are from a new program called Top Gear, which the Beatles helped to launch in the summer of 1964. 

I Got a Woman - Unlike the version of this Ray Charles number presented on the previous collection, John's vocal is double-tracked for this Saturday Club performance.  While the band is in fine form, the double tracking is rather sloppy.

Long Tall Sally - Paul delivers the goods, as usual, on this Little Richard tune that the Beatles kept in their repertoire for most of their performing career.  By the time of this July 1964 broadcast, fans were probably already missing producer George's Martin's driving piano part as heard on the recently released EP.

If I Fell - John double tracks his vocal introduction before Paul joins in for their perfect duet.  I find it surprising that the band added this delicate ballad to their live set list for their tours soon after this.

A Hard Job Writing Them - On the inaugural broadcast of Top Gear, host Brian Matthew asks the boys about writing the songs for the film soundtrack on a tight deadline.

And I Love Her - Paul double tracks his vocal throughout for this performance.  The instrumentation is different from the record, with George playing electric instead of acoustic guitar and Ringo tapping on his drum kit in place of bongos.  Unlike If I Fell, they never played this ballad live.

Oh, Can't We?  Yes We Can - The second From Us to You special was broadcast on Easter Monday, March 30th, 1964.  Here, host Alan Freeman asks John about his book release In His Own Write.

You Can't Do That - John snarls his way through his nasty rocker.  Paul's pulsing bass line sounds great, but John's guitar solo and George's backing vocal part get a bit lost in the mix.  And, of course, something is missing from the record - no cowbell!

Honey Don't - The boys returned to Top Gear for their second and final appearance on the program in November of 1964 to promote their fourth album Beatles for Sale.  Ringo got to sing a truncated version of this Carl Perkins tune, which gave George another opportunity to show off his rockabilly chops.

I'll Follow the Sun - This performance of this ballad by Paul was previously released on the EP Baby It's You.

Black with Green Shutters - A brief but wide-ranging interview with Brian Matthew for Top of the Pops.

Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey! - A good rendition of a Little Richard medley that the group had been performing for years, with a free form guitar solo from George, not nearly as good as the one he plays on the album track on Beatles for Sale.

That's What We're Here For - Talking about the latest single, host Brian Matthew states his preference for the B-side She's a Woman, much to Paul's delight and John's chagrin, I'm sure.

I Feel Fine (Studio Outtake Sequence) - The earlier collection, Live at the BBC, featured this same performance of the latest A-side, with John's lead vocal double-tracked.  Here, we get a fascinating listen to the unedited tape before that double tracking.  It takes four attempts for the boys to get the feedback right at the top of the song.

ON AIR - LIVE AT THE BBC VOLUME 2 - side three

Manager Brian Epstein set up two very important auditions for the Beatles in early 1962.  The first was the infamous, unsuccessful one for Decca Records on New Year's Day.  Nine days later, he submitted an application form to the BBC in an attempt to get the group on one of that esteemed organization's radio programs.  Epstein realized that this would be almost as important as securing a recording contract in his drive to gain national recognition for the band. 

On February 12th, the Beatles passed the audition at the BBC's Broadcasting House in Manchester, something other Liverpool groups such as Gerry and the Pacemakers, Billy J Kramer and the Big Three failed to do.  John, Paul, George and Pete made their BBC Radio debut on March 8th on the program Teenagers Turn - Here We Go.  (Pete Best would make only one more radio appearance with the group in June before being replaced by Ringo.)

Once their records hit the charts, their popularity quickly grew and the Beatles made frequent appearances on various BBC programs, culminating in their own series Pop Go the Beatles in the summer of '63.  It was a television appearance, however, on Val Parnell's Sunday Night at the London Palladium on the ATV network, that truly sparked Beatlemania that October.  TV naturally became more prominent from that moment on, and visits to BBC Radio became fewer and further between.

Most of the selections on side three of this collection are from those latter months of 1963, and primarily from the programs Saturday Club and Top Gear.

I Saw Her Standing There - This great rocker which opens the first album Please Please Me was one of the numbers they most frequently played on the BBC.  Paul counts the band in as on the record.  They choose not to repeat the bridge, however, thereby slightly truncating the song.

Glad All Over - As usual, George excels on this cover of a Carl Perkins rockabilly tune.  Host Brian Matthew announces the song over the instrumental introduction.

Lift Lid Again - Paul opens an elaborate box sent in by a listener to make a request.

I'll Get You - As on most BBC recordings, this one lacks John's harmonica part as heard on the B-side of the group's fourth single.

She Loves You - All of the good-natured, boyish enthusiasm of early Beatlemania is on display in this monster hit.  George seems to join in here vocally more than on the record.

Memphis, Tennessee - John sang this Chuck Berry classic several times on the BBC.  This version seems a bit shaky compared to the one previously released on the earlier collection.

Happy Birthday Dear Saturday Club - The Beatles celebrate the fifth anniversary of what was probably the most prominent pop program of its time in the UK by playing a rocked up version of this song we all sing to one other.

Now Hush, Hush - Before a live studio audience on the program Easy Beat, Paul confirms that the group has been chosen to appear in the upcoming Royal Variety Performance.  The boys then launch into...

From Me to You - ...the song they performed more than any other on BBC Radio.

Money (That's What I Want) - The first of four special programs called From Us to You was broadcast on Boxing Day 1963.  To promote their recently released second album With the Beatles, they performed this raucous cover of the Barrett Strong number which closes that album.

I Want to Hold Your Hand - On the same program, they played their latest hit single, the one which would soon kick the door wide open not only for themselves but for the entire British Invasion in the USA.  On this occasion, they overdubbed handclaps onto the song, as they had on the record, then applauded themselves at the end of the number.

Brian Bathtubes - The boys give a good amount of grief to host Brian Matthew while reading more requests.

This Boy - This Saturday Club performance of the great three-part harmony B-side is more relaxed and assured than the one heard on Anthology 1 for the television program Morecambe and Wise.  Some reverb is added, John double tracks his vocal part in the bridge, and the song fades out as on the record.

If I Wasn't in America - While some BBC appearances were presented live, most were recorded in advance.  Here, the boys talk about relaxing in Miami once this edition of Saturday Club is eventually broadcast.  

ON AIR - LIVE AT THE BBC VOLUME 2 - side two

Most of the songs on sides one and two of this collection are from various editions of Pop Go the Beatles.  The fact that BBC Radio gave the group their own fifteen-week series is remarkable, especially considering that they only had three singles and one album out at the time.  Their most recent release was, in fact, the single From Me to You.  It wasn't until the series was nearing its end in September of 1963 that the monster fourth single She Loves You arrived, soon followed by the full-blown national explosion which the press dubbed as Beatlemania.  Being featured on a weekly basis on the BBC Light Programme throughout the summer surely aided the group in the buildup to that cultural phenomenon.

In the booklet that comes with this collection, Kevin Howlett (who is right up there with Mark Lewisohn among the best Beatles scholars) states that, with six or so songs required for each program, the boys intended to play many of their old favorites from their stage act, including a strong emphasis on American R & B.  While pulling out these numbers from their Hamburg and Liverpool setlists, they also discovered songs that they might want to record for their next album, such as...

Till There Was You -  This standard from the Broadway show The Music Man had been in the band's stage act for a couple of years, as a welcome change of pace during long sets.  After playing it here on July 10th, 1963, they returned to it a mere ten days later at the first session for the album With the Beatles.  On the record, George played acoustic guitar and Ringo shifted to bongos, but this Pop Go the Beatles performance features electric guitar and a gentle Latin beat on drums.

Lend Me Your Comb - This rendition of a Carl Perkins number by the boys was previously released on Anthology 1.

Lower 5E - A fan letter has Paul and George reminiscing about several old mates from the Liverpool Institute, which they both attended.

The Hippy Hippy Shake - This is a different version of a Chan Romero rocker than the one which appeared on Live at the BBC.

Roll Over Beethoven - In this instance, the group had recorded this song for With the Beatles two days prior to this slightly slower, uneven performance of the Chuck Berry classic.

There's a Place - Once again, George has to play a part on guitar which John had played on harmonica on the original recording of this number from Please Please Me.

Bumper Bundle - All four of the boys and Lee Peters read requests for the same number...

P.S. I Love You - The group's very first B-side.  Ringo faithfully recreates Andy White's drum part from the original.

Please Mister Postman - Performed on the same edition of Pop Go the Beatles as Till There Was You, this merely hints at the urgency of the version on With the Beatles, recorded on July 30th at the second session for that album.  Other differences include a brief guitar introduction and a tidy ending, yet none of the breathless breaks near the end of the song which make the record so exciting.

Beautiful Dreamer - Here we have a real gem for a number of reasons.  Goffin and Keller added some new lyrics for this rocked up version of the old Stephen Foster standard for a teenage singer by the name of Tony Orlando - yes, that Tony Orlando.  Only weeks after hearing it, the Beatles were playing it as part of their first appearance on Saturday Club.  Recorded on January 22nd, 1963, this has the distinction of being the earliest performance on either of their official live BBC collections.

Devil in Her Heart - This song by a girl group named the Donays was recorded for With the Beatles only a few days after an earlier Pop Go the Beatles performance.  Here, we have another version from the final show of the series.

The 49 Weeks - John salutes Rodney Burke, who actually hosted the program for eleven weeks.

Sure to Fall (In Love with You) - This is a more laid back performance of a Carl Perkins number than the one on the first Live at the BBC collection.

Never Mind, Eh? - The boys dedicate the final number of the series to each other.

Twist and Shout - The group performed this great cover of an Isley Brothers tune ten times for the BBC.  This rendition was from July 16th, 1963, a date on which they recorded an astonishing eighteen songs for three full editions of Pop Go the Beatles.

Bye, Bye - The boys sing an amusing little farewell at the end of the final episode.

ON AIR - LIVE AT THE BBC VOLUME 2 - side one

As I was busy writing a series of entries for this blog about the first Live at the BBC collection back in 2013, the news broke that a second such compilation was in the works, and that it would be released before the end of that year.  Though I was expressing my admiration for the original at the time, I found it hard to believe that another edition could possibly be as good as the first and questioned whether it was even necessary.

Once it was released and I had a chance to peruse the tracklist, I put off buying it for quite a long time.  For one thing, it replicated some of the performances previously issued on the first collection, on the Baby It's You EP and on Anthology 1.  It also featured far fewer cover versions of songs by other artists who had influenced the Beatles, which had been one of the strongest reasons I had come to love Live at the BBC.  And it contained much more of the banter from the boys with the hosts of the various programs which, enjoyable as that sometimes is, leaves less space for actual music from the group.

I eventually gave in to temptation and purchased a used copy in near perfect condition when I came upon it in one of the shops I frequent.  And, while I was happy that I finally had it in my possession, my initial misgivings about it were largely confirmed, though there are a few delights to be had in its sixty-three tracks.  While the copy I possess is on 2 CDs, I will discuss the contents as they appear on the 3-LP vinyl edition, as I have done in past entries for other collections.

And Here We Are Again - Host Rodney Burke introduces the group at the top of an episode of their own program Pop Go the Beatles, which was broadcast for fifteen weeks in the summer of 1963, long before we even knew who they were here in the USA.

Words of Love - The boys played this Buddy Holly number on Pop Go the Beatles more than a full year before recording it for their fourth album Beatles for Sale.  Paul and John perform the breathy harmonies and George replicates Holly's guitar part exactly as they did on that later occasion.

How About It, Gorgeous? - Rodney Burke and George read letters from listeners, one of them making reference to a children's BBC television program called The Flowerpot Men for some odd reason.

Do You Want to Know a Secret - A brisk rendition of a song Lennon wrote for George to sing on the group's first album Please Please Me.  Instead of fading out as on the original, a suitable ending is played by the band.

Lucille - Paul does his best Little Richard impersonation on Pop Go the Beatles.

Hey, Paul... - Paul chatting with a host by the name of Lee Peters.  Off the air, the Beatles referred to him as Pee Litres.

Anna (Go to Him) - As on the album Please Please Me, John puts his all into this torch song by Arthur Alexander.

Hello! - More nonsense from John and Lee Peters.

Please Please Me - The group's exciting second single and the title song of their first album was performed often on the BBC, always without John's harmonica.  Instead, George plays the distinctive riff on guitar, as he had done on the demo/first version of the number.

Misery - An early performance of this McCartney/Lennon original for the program Here We Go in front of a studio audience that would not yet be familiar with the number in advance of its release on Please Please Me.

I'm Talking About You - One of the true highlights of the collection is this live-on-the-air performance of a Chuck Berry number from an early appearance on Saturday Club.

A Real Treat - While reading a fan letter, Ringo cracks everyone up with some off the cuff remarks when they interrupt him.  "College?...You're posh."

Boys - Though they played this Shirelles number seven times on various BBC programs, this is the very same one previously released on the EP Baby It's You.

Absolutely Fab - More of Lee Peters, this time with George.

Chains - A fine rendition of a song by a girl group called the Cookies that the boys covered on Please Please Me, with George handling the solo verses.  

Ask Me Why - This performance is a truncated version of the group's second B-side, a rather old-fashioned composition by Lennon.          

You've Got to Hide Your Love Away

Bob Dylan was already a huge influence by early 1965 on many other singers and songwriters, and the Beatles were definitely among them.  George Harrison wound up becoming close friends with Dylan over the years, spending time with him and the Band in late '68, coaxing him to appear at the Concert for Bangladesh in '71, and recording two albums with him as members of the Traveling Wilburys.  On the other hand, John Lennon's relationship with Dylan was somewhat uneasy, like two combatants with mutual respect who are nonetheless determined to both impress and outdo each other. 

In late '64, Lennon had written I'm a Loser for the album Beatles for Sale, singing a set of self-reflective lyrics and altering his style of harmonica playing to sound an awful lot like Dylan.  Now, in February of '65, during sessions for the soundtrack of the film Help!, Lennon brought in a composition with even more of a Dylanesque feel to it - You've Got to Hide Your Love Away. 

The Beatles recorded the song on February 18th, but Lennon must have met with producer George Martin earlier than that, resulting in the hiring of musician Johnnie Scott for the date of the session.  Lennon did not want to play harmonica on the track this time, desiring a different sound.  Scott played flute instead, providing more of a lilting feeling to the end of the song.

Before Scott could play his tenor and alto flute overdubs, however, the Beatles ran through nine takes of the basic track (though only two of them were complete), featuring John and George on acoustic guitars, Paul on bass, and Ringo playing gently on his snare drum with brushes.  Anthology 2 allows us to hear take five - the only other complete take - after the false start of take one and some amusing banter from John before take two.  Onto take nine, the master, Ringo added tambourine, Paul played maracas, and George played an additional acoustic guitar part.  John deliberately chose not to double track his lead vocal, knowing he had captured the proper mood in a single go. 

Director Richard Lester had presented two ballads - Lennon's If I Fell and McCartney's And I Love Her - imaginatively in A Hard Day's Night.  For Help!, he set You've Got to Hide Your Love Away in the group's fictional shared flat.  John sings the song straight while Paul winks at the priestess Ahme, which George eyes jealously in between attempts to impress her while strumming his guitar.  At the end of the number, the live-in gardener, who had been seen earlier trimming a patch of grass in a corner of the flat with some joke chattering teeth, produces a flute and mimes Johnnie Scott's part.

The song appears on both the US and UK versions of the album Help!  It became prominent enough to be chosen as one of the few album cuts on the Red Album in 1973.  It was also featured on the 1977 collection Love Songs and the 1982 compilation Reel Music.  

Eddie Vedder recorded a great cover version of the song for the soundtrack of the film I Am Sam.  Vedder chose to play harmonica on the track, confirming for me, at least, that Lennon should not have shied away from sounding too much like Dylan on the original. 

This brings to a close my alphabetical look at the song catalog of the Beatles, which has surprisingly taken much longer that I anticipated.  In the dozen years since I began this blog, I have purchased a few more collections which have been released, and which will now become the subjects of my next series of entries.  Please stay tuned, if you are so inclined.  

You're Going to Lose That Girl

In the week of Monday, February 15th through Saturday, February 20th, 1965, the Beatles recorded eleven songs for director Richard Lester's consideration for the soundtrack of their second feature film, though only seven were required.  John Lennon's final offering of the week was the only song attempted on February 19th.  Not only was this composition good enough to eventually make the cut, it surely would have been good enough to be a hit record if released as a single by either the Beatles or any other act.

While You're Going to Lose That Girl was primarily written by Lennon, Paul McCartney probably had a hand in crafting the number, which features prominent backing vocals from Paul and George.  Many have pointed out over the years how this song is a mirror image of She Loves You - in place of the earlier singer generously encouraging a friend to pursue a relationship, this singer threatens to step in and selfishly steal the other's girlfriend away.

Due to an error in the booth, the first take was called take two, and it was a false start.  With everyone playing their usual instruments, John singing his lead vocal, and Paul and George singing their backing vocals, the very next take - the one and only complete take - proved to be the keeper.  John then double-tracked his vocal and Paul added a piano part to the track.  It took a few attempts for George to successfully nail his overdubbed lead guitar solo.  The most interesting overdub, however, featured Ringo flailing away on a set of bongos.

For some reason, the boys returned to the song and recorded some additional overdubs on March 30th.  A new stereo mix was even created a few days later incorporating these unknown overdubs, but it was never used.

The song appears on both the UK and US versions of the album Help!  Capitol Records originally misprinted the title on both the cover and on the label of the American album as You're Gonna Lose That Girl (which is how the boys actually sing it).  This was corrected on the label on later pressings, but not on the album's cover.

The song is featured early on in the film Help! in a sequence set in a recording studio.  Cigarette smoke swirls around as the boys perform the number in the darkened studio.  Some shots even show Paul playing the piano and Ringo with the bongos.  Unbeknownst to the Beatles, the evil Clang and his thugs are cutting a hole in the floor with a chainsaw, and poor Ringo and his entire drumkit fall straight down through it after the song is complete.

The only post-career release of You're Going to Lose That Girl was on the 1977 double album Love Songs.  Unlike most of the other songs on this collection, it is not a ballad, and the spiteful nature of the lyrics really make it an odd choice for this compilation.