Back on the BBC

Stripes

July 17, 1964

Who do you want to cuddle?

BBC Paris Studios

BBC photo shoot

55 years ago these class Beatles photographs were taken.   They are some of my all-time favorites.  Back in the 1990's I had a "Live at the BBC" T-shirt that I wore ALL the time because I loved the cover photo so much. 

George and John and live at the BBC

Much thanks goes out to one of the best blogs out there---it sure gives this one a good run for it's money!    That Eventuality 

an interview by a Beatles wig

Ummmm.....yeah....

From us to you

I love it when I find a "new" fan story on line and I have the photographs from that day already in my files.   Matching up photos and stories is what started this blog 6 years ago and it is what still gets me excited. 

This is a wonderful story that I found on 12 Bar Blog, which has a lot of interesting stories about famous folks that I recommend checking out.   It seems to be a new blog (and I love the name) written by a man named David.   A think we will be seeing more from this blog in the future!

In the 1960’s  how many people do you think there were  in the entire world who had never heard of the Beatles?  A half  dozen  cave dwellers maybe?   – And me.

I confess  I was too busy listening to, and learning from, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, Errol Garner,  and  Dizzy Gillespie to bother with pop groups. To me, pop groups were just a bunch of musically illiterate kids banging away for the entertainment of an equally musically illiterate bunch of kids.

I was also very busy with my own career. At that time I was doing three TV shows a week in Wales, composing the music for the Revue ‘New Cranks’  and doing solo piano broadcasts on the BBC.
It was while I was in the middle of recording a solo piano programme for the BBC that one of their major producers, Dennis Maine Wilson, came into the studio.  Dennis was of middling height – a thin, balding man of around 60 years of age.

The moment I had finished whatever it was I was playing, he shouted up to the producer in the production suite, “Can I borrow Dave for a couple of minutes?  It will only be a couple of minutes I promise”.

My producer spoke back over the studio PA, “I’ll give you five minutes but that is all.

As we went up the stairs to the studio above, Dennis was explaining:  “I’ve got this pop group upstairs and their manager wants to make sure everything is okay for tomorrow night.  We’ve got this big show to do and I want to get all the balances right at this rehearsal.  And by the way Dave, like most of these damned pop groups,  I don’t  think their guitars are in tune.

In the studio,  Dennis introduced me to this shaggy haired quartet.  He said, “I’ve  brought Dave Lee up from the studio downstairs  to help me get you boys in tune. Dave is a famous pianist”. Then he introduced me to them:   “This is George, this is John and this is Paul and over there” (he pointed to the drummer),  “that  is Ringo – that is your name isn’t  it?”  Ringo nodded.

Whilst shaking their hands  I explained that I am here only for a very short time.  “Dennis wants me to check your tuning, so give me a chord in E please.  I banged out the chord of E major on the studio piano in case they were too musically illiterate to know what I meant.

I was wrong. Not only did they know what I meant but to my surprise they seemed a nice refined bunch of guys.

Later, in the BBC canteen after my recording I was joined by Dennis, who thanked me for fine-tuning the guitars.  (In actual fact, all I had done  was tell John Lennon one string was a bit sharp – which  he probably knew anyway. After all, this was only a rough run through to give the producer some idea of the kind of music to expect so there was no need to be meticulous).

As he sipped his coffee, Dennis said to me,  “You know, I’ve produced symphony concerts, comedy shows,  and serious political programmes.  I never thought I would be lumbered with this pop music stuff” Then he added,  “But you know Dave,  I understand this bunch has a successful record out and apparently they are considered to be something really special”.  Shaking his head he said ruefully he said:  “Whatever happened to good music eh?  Even now I’ve got to go back to discuss with their manager the order of the numbers they are going bang out, and. he’s not coming back until 9 o’clock so I’ll be here half the bloody night!”

Not ever having heard them, I asked him the name of the group.

He said, “They call themselves The Beatles.  They spell  it  B-E-A-T-L-E-S,  not like the insect”  Then he asked me   “David, you should know, are they really better than the all the other pop groups? They are  supposed to be y’know”.

I replied as honestly as I could: “ I don’t know” I said. I’ve never heard them – or of them for that matter. But,” I added, “I suppose they are no better or worse  than  all these other groups”.

I was to learn just how wrong I was that very night.  Over dinner, I mentioned the affair and in a joking way I said to my 12 year-old pop-music-loving  daughter, Laura   “You and your pop music.  I had to tune the guitars of a pop group today.  The Beatles – ha.”

Her knife and fork fell from her hands as she said   “Did you say The Beatles?”

“Yes” I said. “Why? Are they important?”

She stared at me in astonishment.  “Important? Daddy they’re only more important than  the  Queen of England that’s all”

And so I phoned Dennis Maine Wilson to ask if I and my daughter could come to the actual recording of the show.

This was how, on December 18^th 1963, Laura and I were the only visitors sitting in the empty Lower Regent Street BBC theatre – apart from Brian Epstein, their manager, who was sitting next to Laura,  as we listened and watched the Beatles record their Christmas show “From Us to You”.

At one point John’s guitar string broke and he gave me his guitar to tune the string in.   As I handed him back his tuned guitar he offered the broken string to Laura – which she took with great pleasure.  She still has it today, all these years later, as well as the autographs she got at the end of the recording.

They were very good to her. As I was talking with Ringo about the drumming genius of Buddy Rich, Laura was talking away with John Lennon.

As we left I remember them shouting  “’Bye Dave, bye Laura”. My daughter clutched my hand and whispered to me, “They called me Laura”.

BB-C ya

All photos belong to Graeme Leonard and are here with permission

Friend of this blog, Graeme Leonard, sent in these photos that he took of Paul McCartney at the BBC in London in December of 1985.   I really love them!   Look at that yellow sweater!   And the top one is funny.   Thank you Graeme!!!

The Beatles Live at the BBC release in '94

The Beatles Live at the B.B.C a Beatle fan's memory
By Sara Schmidt for Meet the Beatles for Real

There are a few events in your life as a Beatle fan that simply just stand out.   You are more likely to remember these events for years after they occurred because they made a huge impact on your life as a fan.    One of those events for me was the release of The Beatles Live at the B.B.C. on double compact disc on December 6, 1994 (in the United States).

This was a big deal for me.  In 1994, I was a Freshman at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois.   I had been a die-hard Beatle fan for the past five years.   And  essentially during my lifetime, there had not been a new Beatles album released.   The last time a Beatles album had been released was in May of 1977 with "The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl."   I was only 7 months old for that release, so I missed out.   This was the first time I got to personally experience a new Beatles album released and hear "new" Beatles songs. 

As I mentioned, I was 18 years old and going to college at EIU, which is located in the middle of a cornfield.    There are very few places in Charleston, Illinois to buy new things, but Cds were the exception.   There is a great little record shop located on the main strip of the town called "Positively 4th street Records (located on the corner of 4th and Lincoln and with a great Bob Dylan reference for a name).   Of course in 1994, there weren't very many "records" to buy there, but a lot of used Cds and a very small amount of beatlegs.

I had read in the Daily Eastern News that the records shop would be selling Pearl Jam's newest album, "Vitalogy" at midnight on Tuesday the 6th.  They were having some big give-away and prizes and things.   But all I really read from that ad was that 4th street records was going to be open at Midnight and they could legally sell the Beatles to me.   I called them up and asked them if they would be selling The Beatles BBC album at midnight.  The guy on the other end of the line said something like, "uh....yeah we have like 5 copies of that.  I don't see why we couldn't sell it."

So at 11:30p.m. I went to the store alone to await midnight.   I did not realize how many college students were Pearl Jam fans in 1994 (I liked Pearl Jam, but not enough to go out on a Monday night at midnight for them), but the line was long.    And sleet began to come down on me as I waited outside.   And it then hit me.   So many fans over the years had awaited the release of a new Beatles album in all sort of weather and now I was one of them. 

It turned midnight and the line started to move, but it wasn't moving quickly.   About an hour later I made it to the front door.   I was handed a Pearl Jam Cd and I said loudly and proudly, "No I am here for the Beatles."   The guy at the door yelled out, "This girl is here for the Beatles."   And I heard a voice go, "Yeah I talked to her on the phone.   Give her one of those discs."     Suddenly Live at the BBC was in my hands.   The line snakes around the small store and I just stared at the front cover.  The sepia colored cover of the guy looking so adorable.    I wrote a check for $34.85 for the 2 disc set.   That was quite a lot of money for a poor college student.

When I got back to my dorm room, I realized that my evil roommate was asleep (it was 1:30a.m.).  And it was too dark for me to try to find my Sony discman to listen to it.  And so I took the Cd and sat alone in the dorm lounge and read the booklet that came along with the disc.  I just stared at it.  And as strange as it seems now, that was a real moment for me.   First thing in the morning, when it  was daylight, I got my Discman and listened to the Cds.   I was amazed!   I think I listened to "Soldier of Love" 50 times that morning.

And now with a lot less fan fair the BBC part 2 is going to be released.    Having had the Purple Chick BBC set for many years, I most likely have heard the majority of the songs.   Yet I am still excited.   A new Beatles Cd.   How often can you say that?