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.