Walking the dog

 

On my way to work...

 

Photo Auction happening now

 Heritage Auction is having a photo auction right now and part of the photos up for bid are amazing shots taken by Linda (Eastman) McCartney during The Beatles era.   Every so often Paul will release a photo of him and George together in the recording studio during the recording of Abbey Road.  Well -- the entire negative sheet is up for auction.  Take a look at that!    There are some other gems there, especially if you are someone who likes an almost-naked Paul McCartney. 

Take a look

https://entertainment.ha.com/c/search-results.zx?N=53+793+794+791+792+2088+4294938613&Nf=&Ntk=SI_Titles-Desc&Nty=1&Ntt=shepard&ic4=KeywordSearch-A-K-071316

From sorting fan mail to seeing Abbey Road being made: my life as a teenage Beatles employee

 https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/aug/24/from-sorting-fan-mail-to-seeing-abbey-road-being-made-my-life-as-a-teenage-beatles-employee?fbclid=IwAR1poeeJzUNdEe3gge4YOLIC-67vAPZkGv9fjRXH5E7ck0OiFJPQIr69hjQ

Merele sitting at John's desk in his Apple Office on Savile Row in 1969.

I briefly spoke to the author of this artile, Merele Frimark when I was writing my current book "Dear Beatle People:  The Story of the Beatles North American Fan Club."  I thought her story was extremely interesting and I am happy to see that she has written some of her story for The Guardian and also publish some of the photos she took for the Official Beatles Fan Club in the United States.   Only 2 of her photos (2 of John Lennon) were sold through the club.   Other photos she has taken have been leaked over the years (incorrectly said to have been taken from Yoko Ono's stolen camera).  So few photos are available of The Beatles recording Abbey Road, so these are amazing.   

Merele had a very interesting story in the Official Beatles Fan Club in the United States.   If this story interests you, then you might be interested in buying a copy of my book.   I currently have hardcopies and paperbacks available directly from me.   Let me know if you are interested in buying one.   beatlesbusch66@gmail.com

Photos are taken and belong to Merle Frimark

From sorting fan mail to seeing Abbey Road being made:  my life as a teenage Beatles employee

Written by Merele Frimark

The Guardian

August 24, 2023

On the afternoon of 23 July 1969, I was a nervous 18-year-old American on my way to EMI Recording Studios on Abbey Road in St John’s Wood. Inside, the Beatles were putting the finishing touches on the song Come Together which would end up on Abbey Road . An endless stream of pilgrims would soon arrive at the pedestrian crossing on the cover, and the studios would be renamed to match.

As I entered, I heard voices and wailing guitars. Their assistant Mal Evans greeted me and put me at ease. John, Paul, George and Ringo were scattered around the studio. The place was bustling, with crew setting up, moving equipment and microphones, placing towels over the drum heads. Then came the introduction. The boys – as everyone seemed to refer to them – were reminded that I was from the New York office. They all smiled; I felt warmly welcomed. Then they got down to business. Not wanting to be intrusive, I took some candid photos; I was by no means a professional photographer, and this is the first time they’ve been published.

How did I get here? Two years earlier, I was a young fearless teen growing up in Queens, New York, who wanted to be Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane.  I had been to both Beatles concerts at Shea Stadium in 1965 and 1966, and was totally enamoured the minute their songs began playing on the radio and their now historic February 1964 appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Mine and so many other lives changed forever in that moment.

In high school, I heard the Beatles had an office in Manhattan. I took the subway to the office building in the heart of Times Square and took the elevator to the 18th floor. The sign on the door read Beatles (USA) Limited and Nemperor Artists, Ltd. I knocked and went inside. “Hi, are you here to be interviewed?” asked the woman at reception and I immediately said yes, having no idea what I would be interviewed for.

They were looking for teens to help sort the sacks of fan mail and hired me immediately. Each day after school I would hop on the subway and go to the office, and after graduating high school in 1968, they offered me a full-time job. I will never forget the excitement the day the demo of Back in the USSR arrived in the office before it was released – we were all so thrilled and played it immediately, over and over, blasting it out.

In July 1969, I paid to take a two-week vacation to London. I spent time in the Savile Row HQ of Apple Corps, with fans waiting outside for a glimpse of any Beatle that might pop in. I watched the moon landing on a small black and white TV at the office alongside Donovan.

Then Derek Taylor, the Beatles’ press officer and a great mentor to me, arranged for me to go to EMI Studios, and in I wandered. Bearded George, dressed in blue jeans and matching shirt sat atop the organ; John in all white, with beard and beads, sat in front of the drum kit area; Paul was dressed casually in a white T-shirt and barefoot, constantly moving around the studio, with Ringo in bright red trousers at his drums. George Martin was there too, checking just about everything.

As they began to rehearse sections of Come Together, Paul seemed to be taking the lead. At certain points he would stop, suggesting “it’s four beats, Ringo,” and walk over for a pow-wow: “All good.” Paul and George harmonised together as George worked on his wailing guitar solos. John ran his fingers along the neck of his guitar as he tuned up.

Paul was the most animated that day; John was rather quiet as he had recently returned to the studio following a car accident in Scotland. I brought some white flowers for him and he placed one on the amp next to him. George remained rather pensive, while Ringo had great patience and calm.

I continued to tiptoe around. Trying to take it all in, listen to what they were playing while being invisible. I made eye contact with John and Paul a few times. I remained cool and smiled. Time stood still.

It was time to leave. I waved goodbye and ventured out and down those famed steps.

At that time, I had no idea what was to come: Within a year the band would split up.

In 1970, with the breakup imminent, I left the New York office (though I remain in touch with my former office mates to this day). Fate continued to shine on me, as my maternal grandfather predicted. A Russian immigrant and musician in the early 1900s, he would tell fortunes and read tea leaves, and my mother asked him if her very active little girl would be a musician. He replied: “No, she’ll be involved in show business, but behind the scenes.” Not wanting to influence me, my mother hadn’t told me this. I then took a job at one of the city’s top theatrical PR firms, working on the original Broadway production of the musical Hair and more – the start of a successful career in entertainment marketing and PR.

Later, in August 1980 while biking in Central Park, I happened upon John sitting on a bench with his baby son, Sean. I approached, said hello and chatted for a bit. He was so very happy. Four months later he was gone. What a privilege and honour to have come together with him and his bandmates for that brief, momentous time in history.

Unbelievable!

 This is one of those stories that sounds like it never really happened.  However, it DID because there is photo proof!   Much thanks to Gus from the Solo Beatles Photo Forum for posting this story and photographs.   It is a great one!

Highland Haven’s Jim Higgins recreated the famous album cover image with Paul McCartney. Here’s his Brush with Fame story:

In April 1973, I was working in London when my friend Joe came to visit. We decided to skip the museums and pursue a pilgrimage to the famous Abbey Road crosswalk. Beatles fans since high school, we had a simple quest: get photos of each other strutting across like John, Ringo, Paul, and George did on the front cover of the “Abbey Road” album. 

We set out one early spring evening and wandered lost until some locals gave us directions to “the crosswalk.” The spot was in front of EMI Recording Studios (now Abbey Road Studios) at 3 Abbey Road in London, where almost all of The Beatles’ albums were recorded.   Like a couple of goofy tourists, we set about the business of photographing each other in between a steady flow of heavy traffic on Abbey Road. I waited for a break in traffic to get a shot of Joe crossing.

Then, it was my turn.  As Joe was setting up for the shot, we noticed a familiar face turning the corner and walking toward us.   Joe uttered — almost disbelieving — “Paul McCartney?” 
It was him!  And he walked right up to us.

“Yeah, you taking a picture of your friend crossing the road there?” he asked Joe with a playful smile.

“Yes! Is that where you guys crossed?” Joe asked.

“Yeah. Do you want me to be in the picture with him?”

“Sure!” Joe said.


Then, McCartney walked over to where I was standing.
“What a stroke of luck,” Paul said. “The folks back home will never believe this.” (And the intervening 50 years have proved that out.)

I could hardly move a muscle, let alone a foot, as Paul nudged me on.  “You can cross now,” he said.

The two of us scuttled across Abbey Road — Paul McCartney smiling broadly and waving his arms and me in front with an ear-to-ear grin.

We spoke briefly on the other side waiting for traffic to let up. He wanted to know where we were from (Massachusetts) and how we liked London (unforgettable!). We crossed back to the EMI side, but I could tell he was in a hurry to get going, so I asked for a quick photo of him with my pal Joe.

“Yeah, sure,” he said obligingly. “But just one more. I’ve really got to be getting along to work.” (The work he was getting back to was recording with his new group, Wings.)

I got the shot, thanked him, and watched as he walked through the door at EMI and disappeared inside.

Wow! I had just crossed Abbey Road with Paul McCartney!

Paul is Live album shoot

 

July 22, 1993 

The Paul is Live album isn't one of my favorite live albums that Paul made, but it sure has my favorite album cover!  Paul and Arrow are so cute crossing Abbey Road!  

Sign right here....

 

The dangers of crossing Abbey Road

 

Jetting across Abbey Road

 

Abbey Road

 

Practice walk

 

Here are some Apple employees taking a walk across Abbey Road as a test run for the Beatles to do the same for the album cover.   Notice that the same Beetle car is in the background.   

Playback

Paul talks to Ringo about drumming....

Inside the hottest party of the year

Quite a party was thrown on September 26, 2019!   Inside Abbey Road Studios anyone who was important in the world of the Beatles was inside to hear the new release of Abbey Road.   Family, friends and of course Paul, Ringo and Olivia were all there to celebrate 50 years of an amazing album. 

50 Years of photos crossing a street

50 years ago today the wonderful Beatles album,  Abbey Road was released.   Before September 26, 1969, the zebra crossing at Abbey Road in St. John's Wood was just like any other crosswalk in London.    Overnight became a Mecca for Beatles fans and rock music fans around the globe to come to and get that photo of themselves crossing the street made famous by the four Beatles walking across it on the album cover.    Motorists have been annoyed about Abbey Road's zebra crossing ever since. 

Something else all fans must do while on Abbey Road is get a photograph with one of the street signs.  Early on, you could snap a photo of the same sign in the bricks that was shown on the back of the album cover.   

I know that crossing Abbey Road was one of my bucket list items and I am so happy that I got to fulfill that dream.   I am sure that many of you have also crossed Abbey Road in London as well.  It is almost a magical feeling to cross that zebra crossing just like the Beatles did on the album cover.   It is almost impossible to think that Abbey Road was just a regular crossing that fans and other people crossed all the time and never gave it a thought until 50 years ago today.     I am sure that many of you, like me, have crossed "fake" Abbey Roads through the years at various Beatles events.   It is easy to recreate and people have fun pretending that they are on the real Abbey Road. 

While every other blog is commemorating the album of Abbey Road -- let's take a moment to remember the fun times that have been had crossing Abbey Road by fans from everywhere over the past 50 years.   Here Here to Abbey Road! 

Me and my Arrow

Photo taken by Linda McCartney 

Paul walks James' dog (and one of Martha's pups), Arrow across Abbey Road.

In the Studio

With all the current hype about the Abbey Road album going on right now,  I thought it would be fun to see how it was reported in Beatle Book Monthly / Datebook at the time. 

In the Studio
By Frederick James

Beatle people could not be blamed for being more than a bit confused about the current year's recording policy of Messrs. Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr.  Over Easter the four made a sudden holiday-weekend decision to rush out "Get Back" as a single.  Very soon afterward, while that worldwide chart-topper was still being collected by fans everywhere, out came "The Ballad of John and Yoko" to be followed not too much later by the Plastic Ono Band's "Give Peace a Chance" which was issued just a couple of months ago.

But still no 1969 LP release, still no fresh album program to follow up on last autumn's pair of LP discs which carried tracks that are now between 10 and 18 months old.  True there have been Beatle-associated LP records -- Paul's production of Postcard for Mary Hopkin, George's much anticipated Billy Preston LP bundle and the rather less commercial works of John, Yoko and George on their pair of Zapple LP discs.  We thought they'd be a full scale "Get Back" LP by the Beatles -- but it's been postponed.  We thought there'd be a special rock n' roll LP - but there's no scheduled issue date for the wealth of rock material like Shake, Rattle and Roll, Blue Suede Shoes and the re-vamped Love Me Do which the lads started putting on tape as long ago as January 26, 1969.

Now at last Apple HQ have told us that the boys' first 1969 album, "Abbey Road" will be released in September.  John, Paul, George, and Ringo have been recording material for the new LP since the beginning of July when "Get BAck" release plans were shelved.

On the other hand latest rumours, whispers and press statements from the Apple HQ suggest that any moment now there WILL be another new Beatles' album in the record stores, one for which John, Paul, George, and Ringo have been recording material since the beginning of July when "Get Back" release plans were shelved.

So here's what's been happening during all these recent recording sessions.  Quite a few entirely new compositions have been written and recorded.  In other cases it has been a matter of digging out tapes of unissued titles made earlier in the year, changing some of the arrangements, starting from scratch again or just adding extra sounds to existing stuff "in the can."

By the end of July, six new numbers had been completed.  Paul contributed You Never Give Me Your Money, Golden Slumbers and a quickie item called Her Majesty.  George contributed Here Comes the Sun (The Sun King) which has finished up a group effort from the vocal viewpoint and john weighed in with Come Together and Mean Mister Mustard.

In addition, six other numbers where had been worked on earlier were brought back into play during the July sessions.  These were Paul's Maxwell's Silver Hammer (written last year and the very first title the lads worked on in 1969 during a January 13 session at the Apple studio), Paul's Bathroom Window (which also dates back to January 13 and the same Apple studio session), Paul's Oh Darling, John's Polythene Pam (which goes back to autumn '68 and was a track which almost went on the double LP at that time), George's Something (first worked on in the Apple studio during January and February) and Ringo's Octopus Garden (which was started on April 26 and which I believe we've mentioned once or twice in earlier issues of Beatles Monthly under the title "Octopussy's Garden).

As I write this piece, the idea is to fill most of, or even the whole of, one LP side with one marathon series of songs all woven together into a fairly spectacular performance.  the marathon set -- Paul's idea-- looks as though it will include about half-a-dozen different numbers.

Let's look at the marathon material in recording date order.  The first song involved is "You Never Give Me Your Money" upon which the group started work on Tuesday, July 15.  The one is about a boy talking to a girl -- "you never give me your money, only your funny papers."  Like most of the marathon set numbers, it's a bit like "Hey Jude" in general mood and it has Paul singing slowly and in sweet voice.  In addition, Paul is featured on piano here and on the other marathon track items.

John's "Mean Mister Mustard" was started nine days later.  This is John in his best jiving suit telling the tale of a mean old man.

Also on Thursday, July 24, they went to work on "Here Comes the Sun (The Sun King)", although the track had been started initially nearly three weeks earlier with George singing lead vocals and playing acoustic guitar, Paul on bass and Ringo on drums - in John's absence.  Later John and the other three other added some intricate vocal harmony to the original recording.

Paul's "Bathroom Window" was started on Friday, July 25.  The lyrics of this one tell a strange little story about a rich girl ("she came in through the bathroom window Protected by a silver spoon, but now she sucks her thumb and wonders By the banks of her own lagoon") who claimed to have been a club dancer and who has a boyfriend who quit the police department to get himself a steady job!

John's "Polythene Pam" went into production on Monday, July 28, with John playing maracas as well as handling the lead vocal.  Paul and George providing background singing, Paul playing a cowbell and George banging upon a tambourine.  This is a medium-tempo number all about the curious Pam who is "so good looking she looks like a man."!

Perhaps Paul's best ballad contribution to the set of six marathon numbers is "Golden Slumbers," obviously about someone sleeping and given a suitable dreamy McCartney treatment.  This one was started on the last day of July.

In John's absence at the beginning of July, Paul started work on his own "Her Majesty" number.  This is a very brief item so far, the type of mini-track of just about eight lines which could be used as a link between two full-length numbers anywhere on the other side of the new LP.  On July 2 Paul recorded his vocal and accompanied himself on acoustic guitar.  In gist, the words tell of a boy who would like to get his girl to know he loves her, but her moods change all the time and he never gets around to it unless he's got a few drinks inside him.  To the first solo tape Paul made, he, George and Ringo added vocal accompaniment the next day with Geoge playing his red Gibson and Paul on Epiphone.

Paul started a new version of "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" on July, accompanying his vocal on guitar and joined by George's 4-string guitar and Ringo playing anvil.  Actually, when the Beatles made their first earlier version of this title many months back, Mal was on anvil, but by this time he and Neil were away on holiday so Ringo deputized!!!

Two days later vocal backing by Paul, George, and Ringo was added.  George used his acoustic guitar and George Martin played the organ.  The story of Maxwell Edison, a student majoring in medicine, is a rather bizarre one, to say the least of it.  His girlfriend, Joan (who studied science --"late night all alone with a test tube) finishes up being killed by a blow to her head from Maxwell's silver hammer.  Despite the theme of muder, this is a jolly up-tempo presentation.

George's "Something" is a track which has been tried, changed and tried again a few times during the year.  As early as May 2 it was re-vamped and recorded, although it was not until July 12 that George dubbed on his final vocal.  Several days later Paul and Ringo added handclapping and background singing.  This has turned out to be a very fine track, a great, slow, easy George number which just flowers along,   It has George describing the nice things about a girl.

On Thursday, July 17, the group returned to Ringo's specialty piece, the novelty number he'd brought into the studio back towards the end of April.  The story of his self-penned solo vocal item, Octopus Garden is not unlike that of Yellow Submarine, the number John and Paul gave Ringo to sing several years ago.  It's all about a garden at the bottom of the sea where people can play happily and know they're safe.  In addition to singing, Ringo plays drums on this track with Paul on piano, John and George on guitars and Paul adding his usual bass guitar contribution.  Halfway through Paul and George do some high-pitched vocal acrobatics, letting their voices gurgle through special amplifiers until they come out sounding like mermen in not mermaids!  Meanwhile, Ringo blew bubbles into a glass for additional atmosphere effect!


Paul's "Oh Darling" completed on Friday, July 18, is an exceptionally strong McCartney presentation, a real tear-jerker of a ballad to bring back memories.

And finally, we come to John's "Come Together" which was started on Monday, July 21.  Very, very freaky lyrics to this one and I won't even attempt to explain the theme of them -- but it's a song that has to be heard in its finished form to be fully appreciated.  Bluesy but up-tempo, it's typically John all the way through.

And that's as much as I can tell you about all the new recordings.  Most of them -- plus, perhaps, some last-minute material put on tape within the last fortnight of the current session series will appear on the Beatles' much delayed but eagerly awaited First LP album of 1969.  Curiously, since a lot of earlier recording work, this year was done at Apple's own studio beneath the Savile Row Apple HQ offices in London's West End, all the July, and August stuff has gone on tape at EMI Studios up in Abbey Road, St. John's Wood.   That's because the fellows have been waiting for new Apple Studio equipment to be put in working order and it was unthinkable that their summer LP session should be delayed still further just because a mixer and a few other pieces of electronic mechanism were still in the installation stage.

On the other hand, the Beatles' return to Abbey Road was greatly welcomed by more than a few Beatle People vacationing in London during July and August.   It was quite like old times outside the EMI studios with day-long bunches of fans waiting outside the doors (or out on the pavement beyond the sets of iron gates if they didn't manage to sneak in behind an arriving or departing car) to get a glimpse of a favorite Beatle.   Most days at least half the assembled fan crowd was made up of touring Americans who will have taken home to the USA treasured memories of brief chats with Paul or much fingered Polaroid snpas of themselves with Ringo, George or John!

Harrison at the microphone

Linda at the crossing

Photo by Linda McCartney