At The Apple's Core: The Beatles From The Inside

by Denis O'Dell with Bob Neaverson

‘A few days after Brian Epstein's death I was having lunch with Richard Lester at Isleworth Studios, London, when I received a telephone call that was to have an enormous impact on my life for the next three years. It was John and Paul.
"Denis, it's us! Can you come and meet us in the next few days?"
"Sure. What about?"
"We've been thinking. We want you to come and run us."’


These are the memoirs of Denis O'Dell, one of the four original non-Beatle directors of Apple Corps, head of Apple Films and a close friend of the Beatles from the early days of Beatlemania through to the group’s demise and beyond. He is the last remaining senior Apple executive likely to publish a record of his experiences.

Heavily illustrated with fascinating and previously unpublished photographs — including ones of Paul, George and other celebrities at the Maharishi's ashram in India — it contains a plethora of stories and anecdotes untold until now. O'Dell’s position as a key figure in the Beatles’ history enables him to provide genuine insights into the group's personal, commercial and artistic motivations which few other books can touch.

At the Apple's Core is by turns an amusing, moving, controversial and revealing dissection of the Fab Four’s experience as perceived by a genuine insider. It is essential reading for any true fan of the group and an indispensable addition to any Beatles library.

‘Denis O'Dell was a valuable friend during some of the craziness that happened in our Apple years, a man with a heart as big as his smile. I remember our association with great pleasure.’ - Sir Paul McCartney

'An entertaining first-hand account of the pain and the pleasure of working at the core of Apple Corps in those heady years . . . O'Dell gives a vivid account of the disparate and conflicting strands within Apple . . . puts flesh on the bones of Lennon's famous remark that Apple's business ventures were "like playing Monopoly with real money" . . . A must buy if only for O'Dell's previously unpublished photographs. Its strength lies in its portrayal of a day in the lives of the biggest band that ever was.' - Variety (USA)

' . . . gives fans exactly what they crave — an insider's view of the fab Four at the height of their careers . . . An invaluable edition to the Beatles' ever-growing library.' — Film Review

'With 64 pages of unpublished photos, At the Apple's Core is a sure winner for any Beatles fan.' — The Latest

DENIS O'DELL was already an established film producer when he first became involved with the Beatles in 1964. He was central to the production of such Beatles-related films as A Hard Day’s Night, How I Won the War, Magical Mystery Tour, Let It Be and The Magic Christian. Throughout a long and illustrious career as a writer, producer and assistant director from the 1940s to the 1990s, he has also worked closely with many of the greatest directors and actors of the twentieth century.

BOB NEAVERSON is a writer and lecturer in film and media studies. His first book, The Beatles Movies, was published in 1996, and he has contributed to a number of publications about the group.

Denis O'Dell is interviewed on the film trailer of the Miramax re-release on DVD of A Hard Day's Night.

Excerpt

From Chapter 8
Another Day at the Office

Thirty years after the Beatles’ split I am still responding to a steady stream of questions about the group by friends and fans. I thought that the interest in the group would eventually wane, but, if anything, it has grown. The fascination that the Beatles generate is, it seems, destined to continue forever. Many of the queries I receive are so general or banal that they are virtually impossible to answer. Here, together with my usual responses, are some of the most common.

Question: ‘Who was the most talented Beatle?’
Rather weary reply: ‘All of them. They were all incredibly talented in their own ways.’

Question: ‘Which one did you like the most?’
Weary reply: ‘I liked them all very much, in different ways.’

Question: ‘What were they like?’
Weary reply: ‘They were great.’

Question: ‘Yes, but what about John. What was he like?’
Very weary reply: ‘He was a great guy.’

Question: ‘And Paul? What was he like?’
Very, very weary reply: ‘He was great, too.’

Question: ‘What about Ringo?’

I’ve usually dropped off to sleep by this point. (For the record, both Ringo and George were ‘great’, too.)
I say this not to criticize those earnest fans who are genuinely intrigued by what was, after all, a fascinating phenomenon. I simply mention it to illustrate the fact that one is most often asked questions that are fundamentally unanswerable. I suppose I should take a lesson from the Beatles and come up with witty or cutting responses, but I would rather avoid offending the fans and keep my friends.
I was recently asked one question, however, that I don’t think I had ever been asked before. It was a simple one, but it made me stop and think. It was: ‘Can you describe a typical day at Apple?’ My immediate response was: ‘No, there was always something different happening’, and in a way that is God’s honest truth. But in a way the ‘typical’ or ‘ordinary’ was paradoxically the untypical, the extraordinary or the just plain fantastic. There was no typical, ordinary day working for the Beatles at Apple, but, for what it’s worth, here’s a recollection of a day in 1968 that summarizes the ‘ordinary’ extraordinariness of it all, one that demonstrates all the hassle, frustrations, happiness and exhilaration rolled into the space of less than twenty-four hours.

One summer morning, shortly before Apple relocated to its Savile Row offices, I was wading through a pile of scripts when Paul walked into my office.
‘Denis, we’re going to a wedding this morning.’
‘Oh,’ I responded nonchalantly. ‘Anyone I know?’
‘Yeah, Magic Alex.’
‘Very nice.’
‘The only thing is,’ Paul continued, ‘we’ve got to sort out a wedding party for him.’
‘When for?’
‘Today. Straight after the service. For about fifty people.’
My heart sank, knowing that the ‘we’ in Paul’s plans really meant me. ‘You must be joking,’ I said. ‘We’ll never sort out anything at this short notice.’ I explained to him that you cannot organize a dinner for fifty guests ten minutes before you want to arrive; it simply wasn’t a realistic request.
‘See what you can do,’ he said and made his exit.

This was typical of them. They had no real perspective on the planning that was needed to arrange something like this. This attitude was not born out of arrogance and, as I’ve mentioned, Paul in particular made a concerted effort to lead as normal a life as possible under the circumstances. Rather, it was a product of celebrity conditioning. They were simply out of touch with the workings of the real world and were not used to organizing anything for themselves. They just assumed that you could say the magic word ‘Beatles’ and any doors would simply be charmed open. However, Paul was, as I was about to find out, absolutely right.
The only place I could think of where I felt I might be able to pull any sort of rank was the exclusive Arethusa Club, which I had frequented many times and which was an occasional haunt of the Beatles. I phoned them without much hope, asked for the manager and relayed my request, making no reference to the Fab Four. I suppose I wanted to see how far I could get without resorting to celebrity name- dropping or grovelling, two things I have always hated.
‘I’m very sorry, sir,’ the Arethusa’s manager told me evenly, although he obviously thought I was barking mad or had been living in a mud hut for the past ten years. ‘These things have to be booked months in advance.’
‘Is there nothing you can do?’ I implored, with all the desperation I could muster.
‘Absolutely not,’ came the predictable and rather smug reply. ‘We’re completely, totally, fully booked.’
There are times when you simply have to put any principles of fairness and decency to one side and blatantly exploit the few genuine privileges celebrity brings. ‘There will be some very important guests,’ I continued, moving in for the kill.
‘Oh yes?’ was the rather non-committal response. He had obviously heard this sort of thing a thousand times before.
‘It’s for the Beatles,’ I told him, stooping to conquer.
There was a brief pause while the word worked its magic and the manager’s personality was transformed from detached jobsworth to flattering toady of the first division.
‘One moment please, sir,’ he gushed. Another brief silence was followed by some distant muttering in the background. ‘We would be most happy indeed to fit you in for lunch this afternoon.’
‘That’s very kind,’ I replied, barely bothering to conceal my own insincerity.
Paul and the other Beatles were delighted with the news and, after Alex’s Greek Orthodox wedding, at which John was best man, a superb party was had by all.
After the celebrations Paul and I drove back to Apple’s offices and drank whisky and coke.
‘Come and listen to this, Denis,’ he said, ushering me into a side office. Setting up a tape recorder in the room, he played me a demo of a new song that he had just recorded. It was a long, powerful track, beautifully structured with an irresistible sing-along refrain, perhaps the prototype of what DJs now refer to as a ‘power ballad’. It had a melody to die for, with a melancholic quality that was somehow simultaneously uplifting. Desperate yet assured, forlorn yet optimistic, the song had an emotional resonance that went far beyond anything I’d heard before on a pop record. It had a magic that only a Beatle could conjure. I felt then, and still feel today, that Hey Jude was the apotheosis, the pinnacle of Paul’s songwriting as a Beatle and one of the most glorious pieces of music of the past century.
As the song came to a close, Paul’s voice brought me back down to earth. ‘Do you think it could be a single?’ he asked. Although not finished, the song was pretty long and he was concerned that EMI would reject it on these grounds.
‘It’s a wonderful song, Paul. I’m sure they’ll make an exception.’
And that, believe it or not, was just another day at the office!

Hey Jude/Revolution was the first single by the group to be released on Apple Records and required promo clips to market it internationally. As head of Apple Films it was down to me to produce the clip. We never had any serious discussions on how to film the promos, but a couple of days before the shoot an instruction from Paul appeared on my desk. It was vague and non-constructive. I felt that since the A-side was essentially a sing-along this should be echoed visually in the promo clip, with a studio audience joining in live for the final extended refrain.
The problem, however, was that the Beatles didn’t want to have anything to do with a conventional live performance. By 1968 they were genuinely terrified of playing in front of an audience and had refused to undertake any live work for two years. Although their last concert performance had taken place at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, the turning-point had come the month before, after a particularly bad experience in the Philippines. Following a misunderstanding with the palace in Manila, the Beatles were hounded out of the country after failing to appear at a dinner hosted by President Ferdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda, and their terrifying exit from the country had been the final straw. Aside from the ever-present concerns over security, playing live had also become pointless artistically anyway, since most of their recordings after Rubber Soul involved far more than a four-piece ensemble. Looking back, it is genuinely surprising that they remained a live band for as long as they did, although of course the Beatles’ decision to become entirely a ‘studio band’ was itself unprecedented at the time.
That did not change the fact that I envisaged Hey Jude as a song that would lend itself visually to some kind of live concert footage. After serious consideration I hit on the idea of arranging the shoot at Twickenham Studios with the group performing to an invited audience. Michael Lindsay-Hogg was hired to direct the filming. To be honest, I had never been a particular fan of his work, but I reasoned that he was familiar with the form (he had already directed the Paperback Writer/Rain clips back in 1966) and was not the kind of director whose presence would invite clashes of ego.
My assistant, Tony Bramwell, was dispatched to invite an impromptu audience of fans literally from off the streets and to transport them in three or four coaches to the studio for the shoot. Leaflets were also handed out around Twickenham, and Mal rounded up a crowd of ‘Apple scruffs’ from outside the recently acquired Savile Row offices. Tony did a great job, and we ended up with a terrific range of ages and nationalities. With some trepidation we began shooting late in the afternoon, with David Frost taping an intro that would make the performance appear as if it had been specially arranged as part of London Weekend Television’s Frost on Sunday show. As a further precaution to ease the Beatles’ acute anxiety about being mobbed, I placed them on rostrums to keep them at arm’s length from the audience. As it turned out I needn’t have worried, and as the group’s anxiety abated they became less and less self-conscious, finally allowing the audience on to the rostrum with them for the final sing-along. My young son Kevan made it into the final cut of the video, smiling from behind Ringo’s drum kit. The intention was that we should finish filming early that evening. As it happened, everyone was having so much fun that the filming went on into the early hours of the next day.
Hey Jude became the Beatles’ biggest-selling single and was included in the Our First Four promotional box sets put together by Apple Records. Comprising the Beatles’ Hey Jude, Mary Hopkin’s Those Were the Days, the Black Dyke Mill’s Band’s Thingumybob (both produced by Paul) and the George Harrison-produced Jackie Lomax track Sour Milk Sea, the collection made an impressive package. For publicity purposes we sent copies to 10 Downing Street and Buckingham Palace. I’m not sure what the Queen made of it all!

The Hey Jude promo is possibly more important than most fans realize. The Beatles’ unexpected enjoyment at performing for the clip was to be a key factor in the new direction that they were about to take. After shooting we ran the final edit of the tapes in the recording truck. They were absolutely delighted. Drinking a whisky and coke with them at four in the morning, we agreed that a good night had been had by all. In fact they had enjoyed it so much they suggested, there and then, that we should make another film. I was elated.
That was the start of Let It Be.

New Video - John Lennon Peace Seminar, 1969

Previously unreleased, this peace seminar/press conference with John Lennon and Yoko was recorded at the University of Ottawa on June 3, 1969.

When Beatle Authors Get Conned

Mistakes, beyond the careless ones, happen when an author trusts the wrong source or hears something that isn't really there. Here are some of my favorite examples of Beatle authors getting conned:

• Glass Onion: Geoffrey Giuliano's interview compilation contained a doozy: an extremely rare conversation between John Lennon and Samuel Beckett! Trouble was, it was the invention of someone's imagination and the meeting never happened. Posted originally on the Hapless Dilettante website, it originally came with some fictional introductory text, but Giuliano stripped that out and presented only the "interview" portion, where Lennon reveals, among other things, that the eggman was Jerry! You can still read the fake interview here.
• Off The Record: Keith Badman collected enough material to fill three large books on the Beatle and solo years, and mistakes were bound to creep in. Probably the biggest error was the inclusion of (fake) original lyrics for "Yesterday," which had the working title of "Scrambled Eggs." While it's true Paul called the song "Scrambled Eggs" before coming up with the title "Yesterday," the lyrics are pure fantasy, posted originally on a newsgroup on April Fool's Day, no less. If April 1 wasn't enough of a giveaway, Badman should have zeroed in on the poster's reference to the source of the information: a non-existent Jane Asher book entitled Things He Said Today! But Badman didn't clue in to the humor, and to compound the joke he asked permission from Northern Songs to reprint the fake lyrics in Off The Record, and, oddly enough, they granted permission for these lines they don't own and Paul didn't write.
• Revolution in the Head: I admit that I haven't verified this in print (having little interest in actively seeking out what I know to be errors), but early editions of Ian Macdonald's tome reportedly (according to a 1997 Amazon customer review) covered the fake track "Peace of Mind," which for decades bootleggers have attempted to pass off as a Beatles home recording. The song is anything but the Beatles and apparently Macdonald removed any reference to "Peace of Mind" in later editions of the book, as it was not present in the version I read. The true identity of the recording artists on the track remains a mystery to this day.
• The Beatles Recording Sessions: Mark Lewisohn, in writing about the sessions for Abbey Road, was taken in by a bootleg recording purporting to have Paul McCartney singing lead vocal on "I Want You (She's So Heavy)," when it was in fact an unknown cover band (likely coming from the B-side of their own composition "Oh, I Need You," also bootlegged alongside of it). Lewisohn later removed any mention of this recording in his later book The Complete Beatles Chronicle. Ironically, a version of Paul singing lead on "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" from the Get Back sessions later surfaced, and not surprisingly, it sounds completely different from the previous fake bootlegged version.
  

John Lennon Sings the Greatest Rock & Roll Hits

Label: Chime Records, BDCD160

1. Be-Bop-A-Lula
2. Ain't That A Shame
3. Stand By Me
4. Sweet Little Sixteen
5. Rip It Up
6. Angel Baby
7. Do You Want To Dance
8. You Can't Catch Me
9. Bony Moronie
10. Peggy Sue
11. Bring It On Home To Me
12. Slippin' & Slidin'
13. Be My Baby
14. Ya Ya
15. Just Because
16. Slippin' & Slidin'
17. Stand By Me
18. Be My Baby
19. Just Because
20. Slippin' & Slidin'
21. Stand By Me
22. Be My Baby

The Beatles - The Birth Of Apple

Label: DarthDisc, DD 013

John Lennon and Paul McCartney in the Big Apple, to announce Apple Corps. to the world. May, 1968

1) Press Conference at the Americana Hotel to announce Apple Corps. 1:30 P.M. - 5/14/68
2) WNET Newsfront taped 5/14/68 at E. 46th St. Studio (or was it at W. 55th St. and 9th Ave.). Broadcast 5/15/68 at 10:00-11:00 P.M. on Channel 13.
3) The Tonight Show taped early evening on 5/14/68 at Studio 6B, Rockefeller Center and broadcast between 11:30 and 1:00, later that night, on Channel 4.
4) David Frost Presents...Frankie Howerd taped 6/16/68 at Intertel TV Studios, Wembley. Paul explains Apple to Frankie and introduces budding songstress, Mary Hopkin (Mary sings "House of the Rising Sun"). Shown in U.S. - 10/9/68.

Liner Notes

Apple, you may recall, was meant to be the Beatles' -- and in a way, the world's -- creative playground. It was to be a manifestly non-corporate place where artists and dreamers could find the support for projects that establishment companies turned down. And in a small way, for the briefest time, it was. Its record division got off to a promising start with Mary Hopkin, Badfinger, the Modern Jazz Quartet, James Taylor and the composer John Tavener -- not a bad roster. Apple Films produced the weird cult classic El Topo. And okay, so Magic Alex's electronics division ran mainly on fumes and hemorrhaged money -- it was a great concept. That was, of course, long before Apple became what it is today -- one of the world's leading employers of attorneys, barristers, solicitors and lawyers, creatures Apple has unleashed unsparingly, like the bulldogs in the scene recently restored to Yellow Submarine, on everything from similarly named computer companies, Broadway musicals, fans who hoped to celebrate the Beatles on their websites, and scholars working on books about the group and its music. But let us forget all that for an hour or so, and look back to the halcyon days when Apple was a fresh, pure and wonderfully naive idea.

This CD begins with a few important mementos of John Lennon's and Paul McCartney's May 1968 visit to New York to announce their new company. The first is a reconstruction of the May 14 press conference, compiled from excerpts broadcast on WABC radio, with additions from The Compleat Beatles and The Beatles Anthology stitched in when they were more complete than the WABC versions, or included material that WABC didn't air at all.

The two major appearances of the week -- the Newsfront interview, from WNET television, and the visit to The Tonight Show -- are included in their entirety. And filling out the disc is an appearance by McCartney, with protege Mary Hopkin, on David Frost Presents...

--Neo, 2001

George Harrison - Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver BC 11/2/74

Label: Black Cat, BC 012

1. The Lord Loves The One That Loves The Lord
2. Who Can See It
3. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
4. Give Me Love
5. Soundstage Of Mind
6. In My Life
7. Tom Cat
8. Maya Love
9. Outa-Space
10. Dark Horse
11. Nothing from Nothing
12. What Is Life
13. My Sweet Lord

The REAL John Lennon: The Newsweek Interview

Label: Black Cat, BC 011

Dennis Elsas with Barbara Graustark
WNEW FM New York City
September 25, 1980

1. To What Do I Owe This Honor?
2. "It's Me!"
3. Oh Yoko
4. What Was He Doing?
5. "Picasso Didn't Go To Museums"
6. Whatever Gets You Through The Night
7. A Funny Comment
8. "Picasso Didn't Go To Museums"
9. Clearing Out The Channels
10. "Quack Quack Quack"
11. Good Morning Good Morning
12. The Ballad of John And Yoko
13. Letting It All Hang Out
14. "A Lot Of Things Worked"
15. All You Need Is Love
16. Love
17. Scenes From A Marriage
18. "Elvis Beatle"
19. Remember
20. There's An Edge To It
21. "Do You Mind Ringing First?"
22. Instant Karma
23. Does He Need The Magic?
24. "I've Chosen To Go With Yoko Ono"
25. The End

Starting Over Premiere, WNEW FM
October 17, 1980
26. Starting Over

The Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Story Of The Abbey Road Years 1962-1970

by Mark Lewisohn

Introductory Interview with Paul McCartney

One of the most important documentaries on rock music ever published, this is EMI Records' official diary-format history of every Beatles recording session.

"A definitive account of the Fab Four at work from 1962 to 1970." - Musician

"With this wealth of detail, Mr Lewisohn vividly conveys a sense of the atmosphere at the sessions and shows how the band evolved during its brief but productive recording career." - New York Times

"It's the next best thing to a new Beatles album." - Boston Globe

"It is an absolute must for hardcore Beatles fans, surely the best book on the Fab Four in well over a decade." - Gainsville Sun

The Beatles: Recording Sessions is EMI Records' official diary-format history of every Beatles recording session, from the first in 1962, when the group was auditioned, to the last recordings in 1970, shortly before the Beatles split up.

Introduced by a rare and exclusive interview with Paul McCartney.

Researched from hundreds of unreleased Abbey Road archive tapes, thousands of previously unpublished studio documents, and interviews with scores of key recording personnel.

More than 350 full-color and black-and-white photographs and illustrations, including rare photos by Linda McCartney and the first facsimile reproductions of Abbey Road recording sheets, tape boxes, album-sleeve roughs, memos, contracts, press releases, and much more.

Author Mark Lewisohn has long been recognized as the leading authority on the Beatles, his books on the Fab Four include the definitive Complete Beatles Chronicle. Based in Hertfordshire, England, he also writes for a number of magazine publications.

"An oustanding reference book. The volume reveals scores of previously undocumented private moments." ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE

"Excellent... recounts all the available data from the Fabs' shirt-sleeved days and chain-smoking nights inside the celebrated EMI Studios. The facts are embellished with much photographic material and an informed narrative that casts a fascinating light upon the sessions." Q MAGAZINE

"A staggeringly detailed document of the Beatles at work." CREATIVE REVIEW

"Superb photographs." DAILY TELEGRAPH

"Definitely a book no Beatles fans will want to be without." SUNDAY POST

"A superbly presented book. A Beatles fan's dream, filled with information which can be found nowhere else." INTERNATIONAL MUSICIAN

"The ultimate word on the subject... one of the most important rock books of all time. Absolutely essential purchase for everyone interested in the Beatles." RECORD COLLECTOR

Foreword

Picture yourself as a motorist driving down Abbey Road, a quiet northwest London suburb when suddenly in the pouring rain you are confronted by a strange sight. In front you standing on a zebra crossing are four tourists, one minus shoes and socks, being photographed by some poor bowler-hatted city gent holding an umbrella looking for all the world as though he has been hijacked especially for the occasion.

This is no rare event. Come rain, hail or shine, never a day goes by when one does not rush to the window following the screech of brakes to witness a similar sight. Why you ask yourself, some twenty years on from the time the Beatles used this same zebra crossing for their album cover, should there still be so much interest? Why also should our mail at Abbey Road Studios contain so many letters asking for information about the Beatles, and why should we have to paint over all the Beatles-related graffiti on our front wall every six months?

It was back in 1931 that the studios officially opened, having been built in the back garden of an old property in St John's Wood. The list of artists, conductors and orchestras who have used the facility reads like a who's who of recording but none has ever captured the imagination of the entire world so much as the Fab Four.

This book really began in the early 1980s when one of our highly talented young balance engineers, John Barrett, became seriously ill. During the time he was undergoing chemotherapy, John asked if there was anything he could do to keep his mind occupied. My suggestion was that he listened through every Beatles tape and logged all relevant details; a job which he did to perfection. He produced a wonderful catalogue with all information colour coded with an attention to detail which was quite incredible.

The story continued in 1982 when Brian Southall, author of the book Abbey Road, and myself were asked to give a talk at the annual Beatles' convention in Liverpool. We took John along to sit on the platform and used his new catalogue to respond to any tricky questions. The audience were so enthralled at some of the information given that they asked if a book could be published.

Tragically, in 1984, John Barrett died. But Abbey Road's Kathryn Varley was determined that John's work should be published, and eventually Mark Lewisohn was commissioned to write the book. He has worked tirelessly in his quest for information, interviewing virtually everybody who had any association with the Beatles' recording schedules. Apart from his own extensive research, he has had to filter very carefully all he has been told, for it is amazing how quickly memories get tarnished with age. He has listened to hours and hours of playbacks, and the contents of this book are a tribute to his diligence. Finally it is thanks to Norman Bates, a key figure in EMI Records' Strategic Marketing, that a publishing deal was eventually concluded.

This is not just another Beatles' book It is the first and only one to tell the story of their recording career. It will, I feel sure, become the definitive reference book for Beatles' fans everywhere. We at Abbey Road sincerely hope you enjoy it.

Ken Townsend
General Manager, Abbey Road Studios

Paul McCartney - Admit One

Label: Black Cat, BC 007/008

Disc One
Cliffs Pavilion
Westcliff-on-Sea, UK July 19, 1991
Acoustic Set

1. Mean Woman Blues
2. Be Bop A Lula
3. We Can Work It Out
4. San Francisco Bay Blues
5. Every Night
6. Here There and Everywhere
7. That Would Be Something
8. Down to the River
9. And I Love Her
10. She's A Woman
11. I Lost My Little Girl
12. Ain't No Sunshine
13. Hi Heeled Sneakers
14. I've Just Seen A Face
15. Maybe May Time (Singalong Junk)*
16. Hot Pursuit*
17. Good Rocking Tonight

(* With guest poet Adrian Mitchell)

Disc Two
Cliffs Pavilion
Westcliff-on-Sea, UK July 19, 1991
Electric Set

1. Twenty Flight Rock
2. Band on the Run
3. Ebony and Ivory
4. I Saw Her Standing There
5. I Saw Her Standing There (Reprise)
6. Coming Up
7. Get Back
8. The Long and Winding Road
9. Ain't That A Shame
10. Let It Be
11. Can't Buy Me Love
12. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Bonus Tracks: "Surprise Gigs" Tour Scrapbook
13. Prisma, June 9, 1991
14. Naples, Italy News Report #1 June 6, 1991
15. Naples, Italy News Report #2 June 6, 1991
16/17. Festa Per Una Scudette June 9, 1991
18. Entertainment Tonight June 12, 1991
19. TVS News July 20, 1991
20. MTV Europe News July 23, 1991
21. Copenhagen, Denmark Press Conference July 24, 1991
22/23. I Kobenhaven July 24, 1991

Liner Notes

It's a surprise gig and you're invited! Here's your ticket to relive Paul McCartney's July 19, 1991 performance at Cliffs Pavilion, located in scenic Westcliff-On-Sea, just a few miles down the coast from Southend.

More than 1000 fans have packed their way onto the dance floor, many having consumed a pint or two! And tonight, we are in for a treat, for not only will Paul perform a selection of treasured songs, but he has also brought along a friend: acclaimed poet Adrian Mitchell! This evening marks a rare occasion in which Paul will back a non-musical act.

A few other surprises are in store for us: a performance of the then-unreleased song Down To The River and a special, choreographed reprise to I Saw Her Standing There (reprised because they forgot to do it the first time around!).

But wait, there's more! As a special bonus, a scrapbook of memories from the "Surprise Gig" tour rounds out the second disc.

From the Italian TV program Prisma, Paul fills us in on why he chose Naples as the Italian stop on this 1991 mini-tour. Not being able to resist, he treats us to brief versions of O Sole Milo and Volare! A pair of news reports provides us with inline excerpts of Mean Woman Blues and We Can Work It Out from the June 5th performance at the Teatro Tendo in Naples. Another Italian TV program, "Festa Per Una Scudette", yields complete recordings of We Can Work It Out and San Francisco Bay Blues.

Next stop on our itinerary is the Cornwall Coliseum in St. Austell, UK. The American TV program Entertainment Tonight caught up with Paul before the June 7th concert where he reminisces about playing small clubs. The show offers us a long excerpt of We Can Work It Out.

Returning to Westcliff-On-Sea, a report from TVS News provides a bit of Be Bop A Lula, while a report from MTV Europe gives us hamming it up on "I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside" and bits of We Can Work It Out and Get Back.

Moving on to Copenhagen, Denmark, a local news report offers a glimpse of Paul's press conference before the July 24th show at the Falkoner Theater, while the TV program "Paul McCartney I Kobenhaven" treats us to complete performances of Mean Woman Blues and We Can Work It Out.

So, sit back, grab a pint (or two) and join Paul and friends on the 1991 "Surprise Gig" Tour!

Paul McCartney - Poetry Corner

Label: Black Cat, BC 006

Fresh Air: April 30, 2001
1. Introduction
2. Blackbird
3. Inspiration for Blackbird
4. Ivan Vaughn
5. Ivan
6. The Rise of Skiffle Groups
7. Meeting John
8. Here Today
9. Crying in Key West
10. Expressing Pain in Songs
11. Comparing Styles with John
12. Writing Poetry as a Child
13. Lennon and McCartney
14. McCartney and Lennon
15. Choosing Material for Blackbird Singing
16. Why Don't We Do It In The Road?
17. The Story of Dinner Tickets
18. Dinner Tickets
19. Being Influenced by his Father
20. His Love of Music
21. I Lost My Little Girl & Yesterday
22. Blocking in Lyrics
23. Gaining Acceptance from Elder Musicians
24. I Lost My Little Girl
25. Expressing Grief in Poems
26. Lost
27. Cancer
28. Closing

Good Morning America: May 1-4, 2001
29. Maxwell's Silver Hammer
30. Her Spirit
31. Blessed
32. To Be Said
33. Dinner Tickets
34. Masseuse Masseur

Charlie Rose: June 11, 2001
35. Ivan
36. In Liverpool
37. Maxwell's Silver Hammer
38. Here Today
39. Blessed

Larry King Live: June 12, 2001
40. Here Today
41. Jerk of All Jerks

The John Lennon Story: Volume Five

Label: Black Cat, BC005

The John Lennon Story
Volume Five: 1980
Broadcast WNEW FM NYC April 10th, 1981

1. Introduction
2. Selecting a Record Company
3. Selecting the Musicians
4. Fawlty Towers
5. On Starting Over
6. Starting Over
7. Poetic Lyrics
8. On Walking on Thin Ice
9. Walking on Thin Ice
10. On Kiss Kiss Kiss
11. Kiss Kiss Kiss
12. Interpreting Visions
13. Being Prolific Again
14. Dear Yoko
15. Writing About Sean
16. Sean's Interest in Music
17. Beautiful Boy
18. LP Packaging
19. On I'm Losing You
20. I'm Losing You
21. The Beatle Track
22. Woman
23. New Wave
24. Reggae
25. American Radio
26. Going to Discos
27. Yoko's New Audience
28. Feeling Safe in New York City
29. Farewell and Thank You
30. Closing

Bonus Track:
31. Radio One Christmas Message 12/8/80

The John Lennon Story: Volumes Three and Four

Label: Black Cat, BC003/004

The John Lennon Story
Volume Three: 1972-1974
Broadcast WNEW FM NYC April 8th, 1981

1. Introduction
2. The Deportation Case
3. Playing with Frank Zappa
4. Well
5. Sometime in New York City
6. On Woman is the Nigger of the World
7. Woman is the Nigger of the World
8. On Sisters O Sisters
9. Sisters O Sisters
10. Dick Cavett
11. Children's Rights
12. On Happy Christmas War Is Over
13. Happy Christmas War Is Over
14. The Real Plastic Ono Band
15. The BBC World Service
16. On Mind Games
17. Mind Games
18. Music Radio
19. Feeling the Space
20. Men Men Men
21. Feminists
22. The Lost Weekend Begins
23. Elton John
24. Whatever Gets You Through the Night
25. Playing Madison Square Garden
26. I Saw Her Standing There
27. Closing

The John Lennon Story
Volume Four: 1975-1980
Broadcast WNEW FM NYC April 9th, 1981

1. Introduction
2. On Number Nine Dream
3. Number Nine Dream
4. Working with Bowie
5. Across the Universe
6. John Lennon: King of Rock
7. The Rock N Roll LP
8. Stand By Me
9. Saying Farewell to the Business
10. Be Bop A Lula
11. Shaved Fish
12. Reissuing Beatles Records
13. You've Got to Hide Your Love Away
14. Going Underground
15. Cooking
16. Raising Sean
17. Not Writing Songs
18. Peer Pressure
19. Watching the Wheels
20. Closing

The John Lennon Story: Volumes One and Two

Label: Black Cat, BC001/002

The John Lennon Story
Volume One 1966-1969
Broadcast WNEW FM NYC April 6th, 1981

1. WNEW FM Introduction
2. Introduction
3. Remembering the BBC
4. Three Cool Cats
5. Ticket to Ride
6. John Meets Yoko
7. Bored with the Beatles
8. Rape and Bagism
9. On the Ballad of John and Yoko
10. The Ballad of John and Yoko
11. The Beatles and Yoko
12. Englishmen
13. England
14. Having a Baby
15. The Bed Ins
16. Give Peace a Chance
17. Mastication
18. Live Peace in Toronto
19. Blue Suede Shoes
20. Dizzy Miss Lizzie
21. A Beatle Record
22. The Rock N Roll Circus
23. Yer Blues
24. Performing Without the Beatles
25. The Wedding Album
26. Amsterdam
27. Gibraltar
28. The Ballad of John and Yoko
29. Closing

The John Lennon Story
Volume Two 1969-1971
Broadcast WNEW FM NYC April 7th, 1981

1. Introduction
2. On Cold Turkey
3. Cold Turkey
4. Drug Use
5. The Lyceum Concert
6. Don't Worry Kyoko
7. Plastic Ono Band
8. Mother
9. Wishing Bells
10. Self Indulgence
11. Phil Spector
12. Remembering Criticism
13. God
14. Interacting with Fans
15. Instant Karma
16. Artistic Control
17. Supporting Each Other
18. On Power to the People
19. Power to the People
20. Releasing Imagine as a Single
21. Imagine
22. Resenting Paul
23. How Do You Sleep?
24. Closing

MissHimMissHimMissHim...

Label: DarthDisc, DD016-23

Volume One: The Start of the Rumor

Disc One
1. Introduction
2. from WABC-AM, NYC: Roby Yonge's Last Night -- October 21, 1969
3-7. material from WKNR, Detroit, with Russ Gibb, October, 1969 including:
Interview with Derek Taylor
Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono
The Beatle Plot - Part 1: Clues
The Beatle Plot - Part 2: Voiceprint Analysis
The Beatle Plot - Part 3: Derek Taylor Tries Again
8. Footnote: CFNY rebroadcast of The Beatles Plot, from WKNR, with David Marston and John Small.

Disc Two
1. from WNEW-FM, NYC: News Close-Up, with Christopher Glenn, November 1969
2. from WPLJ-FM, NYC: Introduction to the mid-1970's rebroadcast of its Paul is Dead special.
3. WPLJ-FM's analysis of the clues, from 1969
4. WPLJ-FM takes another look at the clues, from the mid-1970's.

Volume Two: The Rumor Examined

Record One:
Side One . .
1-7. From WMCA-AM, NYC, late October or early November, 1969: Alex Bennett special, (Part 1): (Derek Taylor - Neil Aspinall - Trash - Fans outside Apple - Thomas Nutter, tailor - Iain Macmillan, photographer - Leslie Cavendish)

Record Two:
Side One . .
1-3. From WMCA-AM, NYC, late October or early November, 1969: Alex Bennett special, (Part 2): (Ringo Starr - From the BBC: Chris Drake interviews Paul and Linda McCartney on October 24, broadcast October 27, 1969 - Paul Krassner)

4-9. News clips (4. from the BBC: Paul and Linda in Scotland - 5. from ABC TV: October 22, 1969 - 6. from ABC TV: October 23, 1969 - 7. from ABC TV: October 24, 1969 - 8. from NBC TV: October 24, 1969 - 9. WABC-AM Radio: includes an interview with Richard DiLello, October, 1969)

10-20. RKO syndicated TV special: "Paul McCartney: The Complete Story, Told For the First and Last Time," a mock trial with F. Lee Bailey and the following "witnesses": (10. Russ Gibbs, DJ, WKNR-FM, Detroit - 11. F. Lee Bailey introduces the program - 12. Russ Gibbs discusses clues - 13. Doc Segal, a recording engineer - 14. Fred LaBour, student record reviewer - 15. Paul Cannon, program director, WKNR-FM, Detroit - 16. Stell, a former Apple secretary - 17. Peter Asher, Apple record producer (etc.) - 18. Sal Ianucci, President, Capitol Records - 19. Allen Klein - 20. F. Lee Bailey's conclusion)

21. A word from John Lennon, from Emperor Rosko Midday Spin, Feb. 15, 1970.

Volume Three: Ends and Odds

Disc Five
1-9. Paul Is Dead special from WKBW-AM, Buffalo, NY

Disc Six
1-3. The Mike Douglas show, late October or early November, 1969
Christopher Glenn
Mike McGear
Mike Douglas's closing comments
4. Clue Number 1, from the National Lampoon's Radio Dinner (Banana/Blue Thumb BTS-38, 1972)
5. Terry Knight - Saint Paul (Capitol 2056, 1969)
6. Werbley Finster - So Long Paul (RCA 74-0290, 1969)
7. Mystery Tour - Ballad of Paul (MGM 10097, 1969)
8. Mystery Tour - Ballad of Paul (Following the Bouncing Ball)
9. Billy Shears and the Pallbearers - Brother Paul (Silver Fox 121, 1969)
10. Clue Number 2, from the National Lampoon's Radio Dinner
11. Give Ireland Back to the Irish, from the National Lampoon's Radio Dinner
12-13. Lou Yeager radio special, source unidentified (1970s)

Volume Four: Perpetual Post-Mortem

Disc Seven
1-11. Radio special by Dave Fox, based on Joel Glazier's 1978 article for Strawberry Fields Forever
12. excerpt from The Long and Winding Road radio documentary, with a Derek Taylor quote.
13. excerpt from The Beatles Story, BBC, 1972, with comments from George Martin and John Lennon

Disc Eight
1. Chris Farley and Paul McCartney, Saturday Night Live (rehearsal), February, 1993
2-13. The Beatle Years, Westwood One: from show 93-46 (week of November 8, 1993) and 93-47 (week of November 15, 1993).
14. Interview with R. Gary Patterson, author of The Walrus Is Paul, from The Beatle Years, using segments from shows 96-43 (week of October 21, 1996) and 00-44 (week of October 28, 2000)
15. Paul McCartney on "Glass Onion," 1984, from The Beatle Years show 00-44
16. Chris Farley and Paul McCartney, Saturday Night Live, February 13, 1993


Liner Notes
The "Paul Is Dead!" mania of October and November 1969 is a decidedly peripheral area of Beatles collecting, and far be it from me to suggest that it is anything more than a footnote in Beatles history -- no matter how many books have been written about it. But what an interesting and peculiar footnote it was. For those of us who were still digesting the newly released Abbey Road, in that autumn of 1969, it didn't matter whether we actually believed that Paul McCartney had been killed in a car crash in 1966, and replaced by a look-alike, one William Campbell: there was simply no way not to get caught up in the business of finding and discussing the clues and symbolism said to be embedded in the group's recent work. The story took on a life of its own, as conspiracy theories tend to do.

And then, just about as suddenly as it started, the story vanished, only to be taken up again years -- even decades -- later by writers and collectors who had made the business of clue-finding into a specialty, documented in a handful of books and parodied by McCartney himself on his 1993 album, Paul Is Live.

On MissHimMissHimMissHim... we have assembled some vintage material that show this madness as it unfolded, as well as some explanatory material from 1970's rebroadcasts of the original shows -- and even new looks at the material from the 1990's.

It's all quite a circus. One DJ, manifestly unfamiliar with Shakespeare's King Lear, hysterically proclaims that someone can be heard saying "services for Billy" at the end of "I Am the Walrus." Another thinks that "Your Mother Should Know," played backwards, sounds like "Bach funeral music" for organ. (And which of Bach's non-existent funeral works would that be, exactly?) A third misidentifies the author of "The Passover Plot," which he also clearly hasn't read. But most stunning of all is how little everyone seems to know about the Beatles and their music. One DJ with a short memory tells us (in 1969!) that Sgt. Pepper was released after Epstein's death. A Capitol Records executive refers to "the Abbey album," and Allen Klein claims Abbey Road is not a real Beatles album at all!

But don't get me started. It's all here for you to parse on your own -- eight CDs worth, including, just about every clue unearthed at the time, backwards and forwards.

So there you have it -- !yojnE

- Neo

Read the Beatles: Classic and New Writings on the Beatles, Their Legacy, and Why They Still Matter

Edited by June Skinner Sawyers
Foreword by Astrid Kirchherr

A must-have book for all Beatles fans--a career-spanning selection of writings about the Fab Four

There are, of course, many books on the Beatles, but this is the only one available that is a comprehensive collection of journalism about the legendary band, together and apart. Consisting of fifty articles, essays, interviews, record and movie reviews, poetry, and book excerpts--many of them rare and hard to find--Read the Beatles is an unprecedented compilation that follows the arc of the Fab Four's iconic and idiosyncratic career, from their early days in Liverpool to their tragic and triumphant histories after the group's split. This is a must-have for all Beatles fans.

Meet the Beatles: A Cultural History of the Band That Shook Youth, Gender, and the World

by Steven D. Stark

Here they are--John, Paul, George, Ringo--the band that inspired and changed popular culture forever. In this revealing and provocative new account, Steven D. Stark puts their impact into unique perspective by revealing both the personal details and the larger events that made them into the twentieth century's greatest cultural force.

"They were magic," said their producer George Martin, and most of us would agree. But the band has become so shrouded in cultural mythology that it is difficult today to really understand how or why. This book explains that why--unpacking the legendary band's aura and examining the ways in which the Beatles own lives were inextricably tied to the cultural, youth, and gender revolutions they helped create and lead during the 1960s.

Based on extensive research and more than a hundred new interviews, Meet the Beatles offers a compelling fresh interpretation of their story, beginning with their childhoods in England and the profound effect on their outlook and music caused by the deaths of Paul's and John's mothers when they were young. It documents their subsequent special bond with women--from their teenage fans to the mothers of their friends to close partners Linda and Yoko. It illustrates the central importance of drugs, both for them and the youthful counterculture they led; why their unusual hairstyles set off a cultural revolution; how the band came to create a new vision of the role of women; and the unique conditions that allowed these four to conquer America faster than any other cultural phenomenon in history. It explains why the group's popularity has never faded--even now, more than four decades after they first hit the charts.

From Liverpool and Hamburg to Ed Sullivan and Shea Stadium, it's all here--from the improbable decision to fire their original drummer and bring Ringo into the band to why they broke up and who was responsible. After reading Meet the Beatles, you'll never think about the Beatles or listen to their songs the same way again. Live the magic once more.

Steven D. Stark is a writer and cultural commentator. He has been the popular culture analyst for National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Sunday; a contributor to The World, a daily public radio show coproduced by WGBH and the BBC; and a commentator for CNN's Showbiz Today. The author of Glued to the Set and Writing to Win, he has written extensively for the Boston Globe, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and the Atlantic Monthly. He has been a Beatles fan since he was a boy and the Beatles first hit America on February 7, 1964.

Lifting Latches: The Beatles' Recorded Legacy Volume Three - Inside the Beatles Vaults

by John C. Winn

Imagine being given the keys to The Beatles' tape vaults. What would you listen to first, and which mysteries could you solve?

"Lifting Latches" gives you access to the contents of every reel of tape The Beatles recorded for EMI from 1962-1970.

Discover how the songs and albums were assembled, which tapes are now lost forever, and find out about unused sessions and releases not widely reported elsewhere.

Supplementary chapters break new ground on topics such as:

- How several hours of Beatles studio outtakes were liberated from EMI's vault and sold to bootleggers
- How Glyn Johns compiled four different rejected "Get Back" compilations, and how two of them ended up with American DJs
- Why BBC Radio's Beatles archive was nearly empty, and how it was rebuilt over the decades
- Which Beatles demos, rehearsals, and bootlegs John Lennon retained in his private tape collection

All this, plus updates to "Way Beyond Compare" and "That Magic Feeling"!
If you're a Beatles scholar, collector, or fan, you'll be amazed by "Lifting Latches".

DarthDisc Discography

Audio
DD001/002 - The Beatles - Northwest Nights
DD003-006 - John Lennon - Lennon Remembers
DD007/008 - The Beatles - City of Light
DD009 - Paul McCartney & Wings - Live in Groningen August 19, 1972
DD010/011 - Led Zeppelin - One More for the Road
DD012 - The Byrds - High Above Cayuga's Waters
DD013 - The Beatles - The Birth of Apple
DD014/015 - John Lennon - The Unedited RKO Interview
DD016-023 - The Beatles - MissHimMissHimMissHim
DD024 - Ringo Starr & The Roundheads - It's All About the Bottom Line
DD029-031 - The Rolling Stones - Five English Gentlemen Spend a Day in a New York Garden
DD032 - Ringo Starr - Choose Ringo
DD033-036 - The Beatles - Turn Left at Greenland!
DD037 - The Beatles - Abbey Road N.W.8 - The Source Tape
DD038/039 - Paul McCartney - 2007-06-13 Highline Ballroom, NYC

DD/MCP - George Harrison & Paul McCartney - The Little Girl Tape Vol. 2
DD/MR 01/02 - Paul McCartney & Wings - Over @tlanta
RAR0001 - The Beatles - As It Happened Baby!

Video
RAR007 - The Beatles - Video 1
DD-DVD 8-10 - The Beatles - Turn Left at Greenland
DD-DVD 11 - The Beatles - Live at Shea Stadium

The Beatles - City of Light

Label: DarthDisc, DD 007/8

DISC ONE

1. Beatles Interview at Le Bourget Airport
OLYMPIA MUSIC HALL - January 19, 1964
2. If I Had A Hammer (Trini Lopez)
3. Robert Marcy's Comment
4. From Me To You
5. She Loves You
6. This Boy
7. I Want To Hold Your Hand
8. Twist And Shout
9. Robert Marcy and Outro
10. I Saw Her Standing There
11. This Boy (Intro Only)
12. Twist And Shout
13. From Me To You (Instrumental)
14. Long Tall Sally
15. From Me To You (Instrumental)
16. From Me To You
17. Michel Lemaire Interviews the Beatles at The Olympia
18. Michel Lemaire Interviews Sylvie Vartan at The Olympia
19. Interview for Armed Forces Network's "Weekend World" - Jan. 24, 1964
PATHE-MARCONI STUDIO - January 29, 1964
20. Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand (Announcements)
21. Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand (Stereo, "Something New" version)
22. Sie Liebt Dich (Breakdown)
23. Sie Liebt Dich (Stereo, U.S. "Rarities" version)
24. Can't Buy Me Love (Take Two)
25. Can't Buy Me Love (Take Three)
26. One And One Is Two (Demo, probably recorded in Hotel George Cinq)
27. Interview with Bernard Redmont, for WINS Radio, NYC
28. Interview at London Airport - February 5, 1964
THE 1965 OPENING ACTS
29. I'm All Right (Les Pollux)
30. Memphis Tennessee (Evy)
31. Joy, Joy, Joy (Moustique)
32. Les Copains D'Abord (Les Haricots Rouges)
33. I Wish You Would (The Yardbirds)

DISC TWO

PALAIS DES SPORTS - June 20, 1965 (Afternoon Show)
1. Twist And Shout
2. She's A Woman
3. I'm A Loser
4. Can't Buy Me Love
5. Baby's In Black
6. I Wanna Be Your Man
7. A Hard Day's Night
8. Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby
9. Rock And Roll Music
10. I Feel Fine
11. Ticket To Ride
12. Long Tall Sally
PALAIS DES SPORTS - June 20, 1965 (Evening Show)
13. Twist And Shout
14. She's A Woman
15. I'm A Loser
16. Can't Buy Me Love
17. Baby's In Black
18. I Wanna Be Your Man
19. A Hard Day's Night
20. Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby
21. Rock And Roll Music
22. I Feel Fine
23. Ticket To Ride
24. Long Tall Sally
25. Interview By Jacques Ourevitch in Rolls Royce and at Hotel George Cinq
26. George and Ringo interviewed by Chris Denning
27. A French fan interviewed by Chris Denning
28. A French interview about the M.B.E., in London (Probably October 1965)

Audio: Neo
Research: Mr. Ron Obvious
Design: Corbeau
Special thanks to all who lent a hand. You know who you are...

Liner Notes

"There were more boys than girls in the audience," appears to have been the main impression Paris made on the Beatles: they said it at the time, and in retrospective interviews as recently as the "Anthology." Yet some of their best live recordings come from their two visits to the City of Light, the first in January and early February 1964 just before their first visit to America, and the second on June 20, 1965, their first live shows after finishing work on "Help!"

Paris also has the distinction of being the only city outside London where the Beatles held a formal recording session, that being the January 29, 1964 session at Pathé Marconi studios that produced "Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand," "Sie Liebt Dich" and "Can't Buy Me Love." And it was in Paris that they wrote and probably recorded the demo for "One And One Is Two," a song that they did not revisit in the studio, leaving the demo as the only available performance. And of course, during both visits they gave interviews. All of their recordings that have survived and have come to light -- including snippets made available in the "Anthology" and on Beatles.com -- are included here.

TECHNICAL NOTES / EDITING DISCLOSURES: Most of this material has been available before, although the 1965 evening show here is derived mostly (all but "I Feel Fine") from a first generation copy of the original video master. Considerable work has been done on all of the recordings, however. The 1964 performances, derived from "The Lost Paris Tapes," have had any clicks or other anomalies removed, but more importantly, we have tried to restore the broadcast section to the original running order. On the original, there audible edits, one of which we had to retain: the split introduction of "She Loves You" -- half by Paul, half by John -- probably didn't happen that way, but the existing material did not allow for it to be corrected.

On the other hand, we found that restoring the songs to their normal performance order only fully worked when we also moved the applause and comments preceding or following the songs in question. So, the applause and the "Merci" formerly heard after "From Me To You" is now after "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and the applause (and another "Merci") formerly after "I Want To Hold Your Hand" now separates "From Me To You" and "She Loves You." If it sounds confusing or nefarious, compare the running orders of the two versions and you'll see what we did; compare the discs and you'll hear why.

The newly discovered material from "The Lost Paris Tapes" has been left as it was: since these extra songs were likely from different shows, inserting them into the broadcast order seemed unwise. The other 1964 recordings are self-explanatory except for the two brief interview snippets preceding the Armed Forces Network interview, one with the Beatles, the other with Sylvie Vartan (with the Beatles playing "I Want To Hold Your Hand" in the background). These were conducted at the Olympia by Michel Lemaire for his "Les Moins de 20 ans" program on RTBF, Belgian radio.

The 1965 shows posed special problems too. The best sources for the afternoon show were missing some of the introductory comments -- often not much more than the odd "Merci," although among the missing were the guitar intro to "Baby's In Black." The missing bits, long available on the poor quality "Paris Sports Palais" LP, had been moven into a better quality source on "Et Maintenant Une Chanson," but the edits were crude and the "Paris Sports Palais" sections had a high-pitched whine. In truth, there is no way to make the sound of the "Paris Sports Palais" material match that of the better source, but we have eliminated the whine (and crackle) and remade the edits. The result is a complete but somewhat less jarring version of the afternoon show.

The running order of the evening show, also skewed on the original videotape -- what is it with French broadcasters? -- is here restored to the running order of the Beatles' spring 1965 set, and "I Feel Fine," from a different video source (and with a moment of tape-drag near the start restored to normal sound by way of an edit) has been reconnected with its ending, left on the videotape where the song was excised. This collection is rounded out with interviews, the last of which doesn't actually belong here: it was recorded in London several months after their Paris visit. But it was done for French radio, and leaving it off would have made it the only track from "Les Beatles A Paris" not included here.

And hey, completeness are us...

Neo, 2001

The Beatles - Turn Left at Greenland!

Label: DarthDisc, DD33-36

CD ONE - ARRIVAL + DAY TWO
(TOTAL TIME 76:24):

7 February
01) MBS "The World Today": 1:18
02) Fans at Kennedy Airport: 2:41
03) WINS Paul Parker at Kennedy Airport: 1:35
04) Kennedy Airport press conference: 6:27
05) WINS Jim Gordon at Plaza Hotel: 1:58
06) Fans at Plaza Hotel: 3:23
07) "Meet The Beatles": 4:09
08) "Saturday Club" with Brian Matthew: 6:04
09) In The Beatles' Suite at Plaza Hotel: 6:36
10) Malcolm Davies "Saturday Club" report: 8:42

8 February
11) WOLF interview w/Bud Ballou: 0:45
12) Driving to "Ed Sullivan Show" rehearsal: 4:07
13) "The Ed Sullivan Show" promo: 0:04
14) Ed Rudy phone interview w/George: 13:35
15) "Swingin' Soiree": 7:23
16) WMCA promos: 4:37

CD TWO - ED SULLIVAN + MEETING THE PRESS
(TOTAL TIME: 74:41):

9 February
"Ed Sullivan Show" first taping: 9:04
01) Ed Sullivan intro
02) Intro
03) Twist and Shout
04) Intro
05) Please Please Me
06) Outro
07) Intro
08) I Want To Hold Your Hand
09) Outro
10) Plaza Hotel w/Murray The "K": 8:02
11) CBS "White Christmas" interview: 0:40

"Ed Sullivan Show" first live broadcast: 16:23
12) Ed Sullivan Intro
13) Intro
14) All My Loving
15) Intro
16) Till There Was You
17) She Loves You
18) Outro
19) Intro
20) I Saw Her Standing There
21) I Want to Hold Your Hand
22) Outro
23) Ed Sullivan Outro
24) Carroll James backstage at "The Ed Sullivan Show": 0:54

10 February
25) AP Plaza Hotel interview: 1:33
26) CBS Plaza Hotel interview: 2:35
27) Ed Rudy Plaza Hotel interviews: 6:37
28) "Assignment: Hollywood," Fred Robbins for Radio Luxembourg: 20:12
29) CBS fan interviews: 5:32
30) Year In Review 1964: 1:00
31) Ed Rudy w/Mal Evans: 0:27
32) Ed Rudy promos: 1:02

CD THREE - WASHINGTON D.C.
(TOTAL TIME 79:50):

11 FEBRUARY 1964
01) Train to Washington DC: 11:31
02) Ed Rudy at Union Station: 0:40
03) Washington DC press conference: 5:59
04) Washington DC TV interviews: 4:52
05) WCAO interviews: 3:46
06) WMUC promos: 0:25
07) WWDC interview: 9:05
08) WWDC fan interview: 0:44
09) Murray The "K" w/Ringo: 3:09

Washington Coliseum concert: 34:33
10) Intro
11) Roll Over Beethoven
12) Intro
13) From Me To You
14) Intro
15) I Saw Her Standing There
16) Intro
17) This Boy
18) Intro
19) All My Loving
20) Intro
21) I Wanna Be Your Man
22) Intro
23) Please Please Me
24) Intro
25) Till There Was You
26) Intro
27) She Loves You
28) Intro
29) I Want To Hold Your Hand
30) Intro
31) Twist & Shout
32) Intro
33) Long Tall Sally
34) Outro

35) British Embassy TV Interview: 1:04
36) Ed Rudy at British Embassy: 3:33

CD FOUR - CARNEGIE HALL & MIAMI
(TOTAL TIME 79:22 or so):

12 February
01) Train ride to New York: 6:36
02) Ed Rudy at Carnegie Hall: 2:25

16 February
03) WQAM Miami reports: 4:55
04) Ed Rudy with Ed Sullivan: 0:42

"Ed Sullivan Show" rehearsal: 16:02
05) She Loves You
06) Intro
07) This Boy
08) Intro
09) All My Loving
10) Outro
11) Intro
12) I Saw Her Standing There
13) From Me To You
14) Intro
15) I Want To Hold Your Hand
16) Outro

17) Ed Rudy in Miami: 1:04

"Ed Sullivan" live broadcast: 18:04
18) Ed Sullivan Intro
19) Intro
20) She Loves You
21) Intro
22) This Boy
23) Intro
24) All My Loving
25) Outro
26) Intro
27) I Saw Her Standing There
28) Intro
29) From Me To You
30) Intro
31) I Want To Hold Your Hand
32) Outro
33) Ed Sullivan Outro

13-17 February
34) "Swingin' Soiree": 8:12

19 February
35) Lee Alan interview: 6:09

21 February
36) A Farewell To Miami: 3:09
37) Deauville Hotel, Miami: 8:04
38) Ed Rudy w/Neil Aspinall: 3:15
39) Ringo at Kennedy Airport: 0:07

Liner Notes

"HOW WOULD YOU LIKE A BEATLES SWEATSHIRT WORTH FIVE DOLLARS!!!!!?"

Some time ago, probably around the time "City of Light" was compiled, one of the Dartharchivists came up with the idea of compiling every circulating bit of audio (later the notion of including video was added) from the Beatles' first visit to America in February 1964. The idea was clearly a Winner; but facing the task of compiling it another thing. So okay, it took us about as long as Apple takes to do anything that doesn't involve a lawsuit -- but here it is, "Turn Left at Greenland," the story of...how the Beatles found America, basically.

There's some spectacular material here. Great bits of on-the-scene reporting by newsmen working without the wisdom of hindsight, and generally either immune, puzzled or simply amused by all the madness. The man-(or more often than not, girl)-on-the-street interviews prove to less tiresome than you might imagine: they capture a fascinating, and sometimes surprising variety of reactions to the Beatles, both from fans and their elders.

The interviews with the Beatles are fantastic as well: Murray the K pretty much caught on to what they were doing in his first interview: witness his comments about getting their ad-libbing into their soon-to-be-filmed "A Hard Day's Night." And Murray's February 6 interview with Malcolm Davies, for Saturday Club, gives a measure of the Beatles' impact in the United States even before anyone had a chance to see them. The Beatles' own reactions to the madness they've caused are striking as well: it's still new to them; the weariness evident in later tours is a long way down the road. There's a bit of commercial naivete as well: included here are lots of personalized radio station promos, something Brian Epstein clamped down on before the second tour.

But surely if you've got your hands on this set, you don't need to be told why this material is important. It was the Beatles' first visit to America, undertaken when, however confident the Fab Four were, they could have no way of knowing the degree to which the country would fall at their feet. It was one small step for four men ... never mind.

Perhaps what we should explain is how the set is laid out and why we made some of the decisions we did. You may be wondering, for example: if the idea here was to present every available audio and video recording of the visit, why are the three Ed Sullivan Show performances not included on the DVDs? And why are they included on the CDs? The same goes for material from the Maysles Brothers documentaries.

Easy. In a roundabout way. We didn't want to include anything that's commercially available - that is, that you should have in your collection in its official version - in the form in which it has been released. The Ed Sullivan Show performances and the Maysles Brothers film (or at least, a new version of it) are available on commercial DVD, but not on CD, and we felt that including the material on the CDs served a purpose - it helps tell the story, and it offers the material in a handy audio form for those who, for example, want to hear it on their iPods. In the case of the Maysles material, we haven't simply presented the soundtrack: we've broken it up and put its important components into the chronological sequence. We also included, on the third DVD, "What's Happening! The Beatles in the U.S.A." -- the Maysles film as it was seen in 1964, and quite different from the newly recompiled and expanded version in "The Beatles: The First US Visit" -- which, of course, you should own.

Beyond that, a few notes about the compilation. This material, audio and video, has been around for years, spread over compilations and documentaries and specials of all kinds, or just lying in the archives of AP, CBS, the BBC and other organizations, just waiting for the Darthelves to come along and do their thing. In some cases, considerable reconstructive surgery had to be done. The famous Kennedy Airport press conference, for example, has been stitched together from many sources - as of course, you'll hear, because the sound quality varies. But it's the most complete version you'll hear in a single sitting. (The video version, by contrast, leaves the sources as they were - in newsreels, for example, which we've left intact, repetitive though they sometimes are). The Brian Matthew Saturday Club interview, similarly, was stitched together from several sources (mostly, the BBC broadcast and Maysles material - much as was done in "The Beatles Anthology," which, of course, you should also own.)

The four CDs are filled to capacity, so what we left off - rather than go to a fifth disc - is material from the Beatles' arrival back in London. That material, however, is all sourced from video anyway, and is included on the third DVD. In compiling the DVDs, we tried to keep as close as we could to a one hour limit, to avoid quality loss. And it works out this way: DVD 1 includes newsreels and raw footage - some of it silent - from the first part of the group's visit, from their arrival on February 7 through their Carnegie Hall concert on Feb. 12. Okay, we don't have the Carnegie Hall concert, in either audio or video. Believe me, the Darthelves have tried everything, including sending attractive young elvettes to try to sweet talk the tape out of retired stagehands rumored to have a copy. No dice.

The second DVD brings together the best quality video we've seen of the Washington Coliseum show (augmented with the recently discovered video version of "Long Tall Sally" and a video excerpt from "From Me To You") and the Miami rehearsal for the Ed Sullivan Show. And the third DVD gives you "What's Happening!" and the return to London.

As for the source details - too much to include here. Get yourself a copy of John Winn's marvelous "Way Beyond Compare: The Beatles' Recorded Legacy, Volume 1: 1957-1965." Everything you need to know is on pp.130-160. (And you might as well get the successor volumes, "That Magical Feeling" and "Lifting Latches," while you're at it. And for another perspective on the time, it's worth getting hold of Michael Braun's "Love Me Do.")

- Neo, 2006

My Meetles with the Beatles

by Valerie Lloyd

If anyone ever asked me what was the most thrilling day of my life, I would say, without a doubt, Tuesday, November 19, 1963. Why? Because that is the day I met the Beatles.

I was lucky enough to be one of the winners of a competition run by a musical paper. The prize was two tickets to see the Beatles' show in Wolverhampton, and to meet them beforehand, in their dressing-room.

The winners' names were printed on the Thursday, and I was thumbing through at the tea-table, when suddenly I caught sight of my name at the top of the list.

"Mum!" I screamed through a mouthful of cream cake, "I've won!" . . . My mother picked herself up from the floor, and went straight to phone my father (who was still at work) and my brother (who lives near Wolverhampton), and just about anyone else she could think of!

I tried to keep sane over the weekend, but I was such a mixture of excitement, apprehension and sheer shock, that I don't know how I survived till Tuesday.

Tuesday Came

Well, Tuesday came. I didn't go to school; I would never have been able to concentrate on lessons, anyway.

My parents took me down to Wolverhampton by car, and I met my brother (who was coming with me) and the other two winners and their companions, in the theatre.

After what seemed an eternity we were taken to meet The Beatles. Their dressing-room was so small that we had to go in three at a time. My brother and I, and another boy, went last.

The first thing I saw was an orange face (stage make-up) almost completely veiled by a floppy mop of hair. This was George. I shook hands with him and the rest of The Beatles, and Ringo, because he's rather small, got up on a chair and started shaking hands with everyone (including John, Paul and George) all over again! Paul said, "It's still him, only he's grown a bit!"

Oh, yes, and Paul, with the sexiest of voices, said "How ya doin' luv?" Well! What would you do? I couldn't think of anything to say, and just turned a muted shade of puce!

Paul was doing a "Caruso" act, and someone said, "I thought John was the singer", and John, with shattering gusto, bellowed out some unintelligible tune (and by no stretch of the imagination could it have been the latest Lennon-McCartney composition!). George handed round a tin of humbugs "as eaten by Ma-somebody-or-other (I think it was Cooper) in the eighteenth century".

Questions from Paul

Paul asked me what relation Christopher (my brother) and I were, and where we came from.

When I told him "Shrewsbury" he said. "That's a long way, isn't it? How did you come?" I said that Dad had brought me, and he replied, "Oh, very posh, got a car!" I laughed and he repeated, in pure Liverpudlian, "A CA-A-A-AR!"

What struck me about the Beatles was the way they put people at ease. They made us feel really welcome, and seemed really interested in us. There was nothing "uppity" about them. They were a normal, ordinary, down-to-earth bunch.

I gave them a drawing I'd done of all four of them, and Paul said it was the best he'd seen. My head's never been quite the same size ever since!

Remember

By the way, Beatles, do you remember all this? I suppose it's a bit much to ask, but I've heard that you've got good memories. What became of the drawing? Have you still got it? I remember when I gave it to you George said "Yoo've woon anoother 'oom-boog!" That made me laugh!

Anyway, soon it was time to go, and after collecting their autographs (John put "The balancing dog" next to his--I never did know what that meant!)--we had our photos taken on the steps outside the dressing-room. That's one of them you see here. I'm on Ringo's right, and my brother is on his left.

Oh, yes, and before we went George said "Try and keep 'em (the kids) quiet". He must have been joking!

We said goodbye and went to our seats in the front row. The Kestrels, the Vernons Girls, and the Brook Brothers were on the bill. You can guess that when the Beatles came on, and throughout their act, there was continual screaming; so loud that you had a job to hear what The Beatles were singing. And we were in the front row!

When the show was over my head was spinning like a top, but in spite of that it was a wonderful evening, one that I shan't forget for a long, long time.

Record Labels

• Black Cat
• DarthDisc
• His Master's Choice
  
• Madman
  
• Purple Chick
• Silent Sea
• Vigotone
• Yellow Dog
  

Black Cat Discography

BC 001/002 - John Lennon - The John Lennon Story: Volume One: 1966-1969, Volume Two: 1969-1971
BC 003/004 - John Lennon - The John Lennon Story: Volume Three: 1972-1974, Volume Four: 1975-1980
BC 005 - John Lennon - The John Lennon Story: Volume Five: 1980
BC 006 - Paul McCartney - Poetry Corner
BC 007/008 - Paul McCartney - Admit One
BC 009/010 - David Bowie - The Serious Moonlight Rehearsals
BC 011 - John Lennon - The REAL John Lennon: The Newsweek Interview
BC 012 - George Harrison - Pacific Coliseum
BC 013/014 - Ringo Starr - The Robert Klein Radio Show
BC 015/016 - John Lennon - The Man, The Memory Volume One and Two
BC 017 - John Lennon - The Man, The Memory Volume 3
BC 018 - The Beatles - I Read The News Today: The WPLJ FM Paul Is Dead Special
BC 019 - Paul McCartney - Talking About Freedom
BC 020/021 - John Lennon - The WFIL AM Helping Hand Marathon
BC 022 - Paul McCartney - We're Open Tonight
BC 023/024 - Paul McCartney - Falkoner Theatre
BC 025 - Paul McCartney - The Scott Muni Birthday Show
BC 026 - John Lennon - Come Together: A John Lennon Christmas
BC 027 - George Harrison - Money Is The Root Of All Evil
BC 028 - George Harrison - A Conversation With George Harrison
BC 029/030 - Paul McCartney - Driving Radio
BC 031/032 - Paul McCartney - Up Close January 2002
BC 033 - Keith Richards - Rockline Encore March 6, 2002
BC 034 - Ringo Starr - My Top Twelve
BC 035/036 - George Harrison - An Exclusive Conversation With George Harrison
BC 037 - Harry Nilsson and Ringo Starr - Son Of Drac
BC 038 - John Lennon - Have You Had Your Breakfast Yet?
BC 039/040 - Wings - Searching For Us Everywhere
BC 041 - David Bowie - Rockline June 12, 2002
BC 042 - Glenn Tilbrook - The Morning And The Night
BC 043/044 - Paul McCartney - Let's Go For A Drive!
BC 045/046 - John Lennon - A Conspiracy Of Silence
BC 047 - George Harrison - A Day At The Races
BC 048 - George Harrison - Roundtable
BC 049/050 - Pete Townshend - Off The Deep End
BC 051 - Paul McCartney - Rockline: November 20th 2002
BC 052 - Squeeze - The First Farewell: Reggae Sunsplash Nov 27, 1982
BC 053 - Paul McCartney - It's A Secret...
BC 054 - John Lennon - This Is Not Here
BC 055/056 - Squeeze - The Separation Didn't Work Out
BC 057 - Glenn Tilbrook - Tea And Sympathy
BC 058 - George Harrison - All About Brainwashed
BC 059/060 - Squeeze - Tortoise Vandalism
BC 061/062 - Paul McCartney - The Midnight Matinee
BC 063 - Ringo Starr - The Scott Muni Show 3/25/03
BC 064 - John Lennon - Why and Why Not?
BC 065 - The Beatles - Beatles USA 1966
BC 066 - The Beatles - Avalanche!
BC 067/068 - The Beatles - Sgt Pepper: A History Of The Beatle Years: Volume One 1962, 1963
BC 069/070 - The Beatles - Sgt Pepper: A History Of The Beatle Years: Volume Two 1964, 1965
BC 071/072 - The Beatles - Sgt Pepper: A History Of The Beatle Years: Volume Three 1966, 1967
BC 073/074 - The Beatles - Sgt Pepper: A History Of The Beatle Years: Volume Four 1968, 1969
BC 075 - The Beatles - Sgt Pepper: A History Of The Beatle Years: Volume Five 1970
BC 076 - The Beatles - They're Here!!!
BC 077 - The Beatles - When The Bubble Bursts...
BC 078 - David Bowie - Rockline 9/24/03
BC 079/080 - The Beatles - A Hard Year
BC 081 - The Beatles - The Making Of Let It Be Naked
BC 082 - David Bowie - Live Atlantis Theater Paradise Island 12/20/03
BC 083 - The Beatles - On The Beatle Beat
BC 084 - The Beatles - Delmonico
BC 085 - John Lennon - On The Cannes (remastered)
BC 086 - The Beatles - Views Of The Road
BC 087 - The Beatles - Custom Pressing
BC 088 - George Harrison - The Smith Collection May 1970
BC 089/090 - John Lennon - The Smith Collection December 1969
BC 091/092 - John Lennon - The Smith Collection December 1970
BC 093 - John Lennon - The Smith Collection June 1971
BC 094 - John Lennon - The Smith Collection September 1971
BC 095/096 - John Lennon - The Smith Collection January 1972
BC 097 - Ringo Starr - Sink The Magic Christian
BC 098 - John Lennon - Reminiscing
BC 099/100 - The Beatles - Beatlemania!
BC 101/102 - Squeeze - East Village Story
BC 103/104 - Squeeze - What A Lovely Garden
BC 105 - The Beatles - Meet The Beatles Again
BC 106 - Squeeze - The Boston Orpheum June 19, 1982
BC 107 - Squeeze - KBCO Live At The Ogden Theater
BC 108 - Squeeze - Rockstage
BC 109 - Squeeze - Labelled With Love: The Story Of Squeeze
BC 110 - John Lennon - Please Hang Up And Try Again: The Rock N Roll Conference Call
BC 111/112 - George Harrison - Playing For 70,000 Yabbos: The 1974 North American Tour Volume One
BC 113/114 - George Harrison - Ready For The Broom: The 1974 North American Tour Volume Two
BC 115/116 - George Harrison - Is Anybody Out There: The 1974 North American Tour Volume Three
BC 117/118 - John Lennon - The Weekend Starts Here
BC 119/120 - The Monkees - Monkees On The Air
BC 121 - Ringo Starr - Ring-O's
BC 122 - Paul McCartney - All The Way To Edinburgh
BC 123/124 - Ringo Starr - The Coolest Radio Show In The World
BC 125/126 - John Lennon - An Evening With John Lennon
BC 127/128 - Paul McCartney - Confessions of a Japanese Jailbird Volume One
BC 129/130 - Paul McCartney - Confessions of a Japanese Jailbird Volume Two
BC 131/132 - John Lennon - Oh Yeh?
BC 133 - Ringo Starr - A Conversation With Ringo Starr
BC 134 - Wings - Mulligan's Tires
BC 135 - Paul McCartney - Paul McCartney Breakup
BC 136 - George Harrison - Dark Horse Radio Special
BC 137/138 - John Lennon - For The Record: The Lost Tapes
BC 139/140 - Ringo Starr - Ringo's A Passing Picture Show Volume One
BC 141 - Ringo Starr - Ringo's A Passing Picture Show Volume Two
BC 142 - Ringo Starr - A Few Moments With... Ringo Starr
BC 143 - Paul McCartney - Nineteen Hundred And Seventy Four
BC 144 - Paul McCartney - Desert Island Discs
BC 145/146 - George Harrison - Up Close February 11 and 18, 2001
BC 147/148 - John Lennon - AUGUST: August 5 - 21, 1972
BC 149/150 - John Lennon - AUGUST: August 21 - 30, 1972
BC 151/152 - John Lennon - AUGUST: August 30, 1972
BC 153 - John Lennon - AUGUST: DVD
BC 154 - Paul McCartney - Music and Conversation
BC 155/156 - George Harrison - Wonderful Friends DVD
BC 157 - George Harrison - Rockline 24 August 1992
BC 158 - The Beatles - Carnival of Light
BC 159/160 - George Harrison - '92 DVD