Thoese adorable Beatles

 

I don't think I have ever seen the complete version of this photo before.  I really like it.  

John's Beatle Book Monthly photoshoot

 June 29, 1967

White Album Q&A with Mal Evans

 

The Beatles Book Monthly is a gift that just keeps on giving.   After sharing what Mal had to say about the Get Back Sessions, I wondered what else, he, had to say about other sessions.   I found this Q&A with Mal from the February 1969 issue where he answers fans' questions about the newest Beatles album at that time, The Beatles.  

Your Album Queries

Answered by Mal Evans

Last month I told you I'd been ploughing through a huge mountain of mail from Beatles Monthly readers on the subject of the recent two-record album set.  Of course, many of you asked the same questions so I've been able to choose just 40 favourite queries from your letters for the WHO-WHAT-HOW piece which follows.

1.  Where was the photograph taken which shows Ringo (bearded) dancing with Elizabeth Taylor?

Answer:  During a party at London's Dorchester Hotel

2. Which Beatle put his lip prints on the album picture poster?

Answer:  The lip prints don't belong to any Beatle (Beatles just don't wear lipstick you know!!)

3.  Is the cat behind a cushion in one of the colour photographs Paul's Thisby?

Answer:  In a word -- No!

4.  On the poster with the album there's a big picture of someone lying back in a bath.  Is it John or Paul?

Answer:  Fellow with soap suds all around his head is Paul.

5.  There's one very old snapshot showing two boys in black leather gear  It looks as though it might be a picture of two Beatles taken in Hamburg days but the heads are cut off. 

Answer:  It is indeed an early Beatle pic but not taken in Hamburg.  That's Paul with John in Paris. 

6.  Who does the high "Beach Boys" voices behind Paul on Back in the U.S.S.R.?

Answer:  John and George together.

7.  Who plays the main guitar accompaniment behind John's voice on "Dear Prudence" and what sort of guitar was used?  

Answer:  John played his own backing here and used his Epiphone guitar.

8.  How was the violin-like effect achieved at the end of "Glass Onion?" 

Answer:  Would you believe -- with violins!

9.  Who played piano on "Ob-la-di Ob-la-da?"

Answer:  Pianist is Paul.

10.  Who says "Thank you" at the end of "Ob la di, Ob la da?"

Answer:  Thankful Beatle concerned is John.

11.  Who sings the line "Not when he looked so fierce" in a sort of childlike voice on "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill?"

Answer:  Wasn't one of the fellows at all, it was Yoko.

12.  Who plays guitar (the introduction and accompaniment) behind George's singing on "While my Guitar Gently Weeps?" 

Answer: Eddie Clayton -- but not the Liverpool Eddie Clayton (remember Ringo was once with the Eddie Clayton Skiffle Group on Merseyside around the first half of 1960 before he began drumming for Rory Storm's Hurricanes).

13. Does Paul play his own piano accompaniment for "Martha my Dear?"

Answer:  Yes he does.

14.  Which album track has Mal Evans playing a bit of trumpet?

Answer:  That's "Helter Skelter" which also has John playing saxophone!

15.  Who plays acoustic guitar behind Paul on "Blackbird?"

Answer:  Paul himself.  He recorded the accompaniment first and then did the vocal.

16.  How does George get that funny nasal effect on his voice midway through "Piggies"

Answer:  I don't want to get too technical about this so let me just say that his voice had to be filtered through special studio equipment to create that effect.

17.  How plays guitar accompaniment behind Paul on "Rocky Raccoon?"

Answer:  Again it's Paul himself and again the singing and playing were recorded at separate times.

18.  Who plays harmonica on "Rocky Racoon?"

Answer:  John

19.  Who plays that honky-tonk piano bit at the end of "Rocky Raccoon?"

Answer:  Our record producer George Martin

20.  Who plays Hammond organ on "Don't Pass me By?"

Answer:  Nobody plays an organ but the sound you mean comes from a specially prepared piano played by Ringo.

21.  What instruments are behind Paul on "I Will?"

Answer:  Normal Beatles line-up here with John on skulls!

22.  Who does the "2-3" count-in at the start of "Yer Blues"

Answer:  Ringo

23.  Did Paul write "Mother Nature's Son" while he was on his farm up in Scotland?  It sounds as though he was inspired by his surroundings.

Answer:  I know what you mean about the atmosphere of the words but John and Paul wrote this while they were in India about this time last year. 

24.  Details please of the backing on John's rocker "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey."

Answer:  No additional musicians here, just the usual Beatles line-up

25.  Whose idea was the extra ending for "Helter Skelter" and who sounds at the very end of it "I've got blisters on my fingers."

Answer:  THe extra ending was a joint idea really and none of the fellows can remember who suggested it.  The blistery voice belongs to Ringo.

26.  Is Ringo's drumming speeded up in some technical way at the end of "Long Long Long" or did he play as fast as that?

Answer:  He really played as fast as that!

27.  Does George Martin play piano on "Revolution 1"

Answer:  No.  It's Paul at the piano again.

28.  How did Paul make his voice sound like an old gramophone record for the words "Now she's hit the big time" in "Honey Pie?"

Answer:  Technical trick.  Highly secret!

29.  What brass instruments are there on "Savoy Truffle?"

Answer:  Two baritones and four tenors

30.  Whose voice says "Number Nine" at the opening of "Revolution No. 9?"  It sounds like John or Mal.  Is it the same voice later on?

Answer:  Yes, the same voice all through but it doesn't belong to me or John.  It was taken from an educational record from library stock.

31.  Before "Revolution No. 9" you hear a bit of conversation with someone saying to George, "I'd have brought some claret for you, George, but I forgot.  I'm sorry.  Will you forgive me?"  The voice didn't sound like Neil's or Mal's.

Answer:  That's because it wasn't Neil's or mine!  It was Alistair Taylor's voice.  Alistair is office manager of Apple.

32.  Did Geroge Martin do that beautifully warm orchestral arrangement for Ringo's "Goodnight?" 

Answer:  Yes he did.

33.  Did Paul make a mistake when he was recording the vocal of "Ob-la-di Ob-la-da?" towards the end Desmond stays home to do his pretty face instead of his wife, Molly, the band singer?

Answer:  No mistake.  Just a twist around of the verse which comes earlier on.

34.  Who plays an organ on "Cry Baby Cry?"

Answer:  Nobody.  It's a harmonium played by George Martin.

35.  Who plays the harpsichord (or is it a doctored piano) on "Piggies?"

Answer:  It is a harpsichord and the player is George Martin's assistant whose name is Chris Thomas.

36.  What are the extra instruments heard on "Dear Prudence?"

Answer:  Apart from the normal line-up of guitars and drums, you hear Paul on the piano and playing flugelhorn, John and I on tambourines, and a whole crowd of us including Jackie Lomax and Paul's cousin John lending pairs of hands for the clapping.

37.  Why did you release the album set in stereo first and not in mono until later?

Answer:  We didn't!  The fact is that for the first week or two at the end of November the factories just could not keep pace with the public's demand for copies of the album.  So in some places, you'd find a record shop had only stereo copies available because fewer people choose stereo and the really big demand is still for mono records. 

38.  Who plays what on "Long Long Long?"

Answer:  Other than the usual instrumentation we had George playing acoustic guitar and Paul on Hammond Organ.

39.  Is the chorus on "Goodnight" just the Beatles singing? It sounds like far more than four voices in the background.

Answer:  It is far more.  Eight in fact.  Four boys and four girls who were brought in to add the backing voices.

40.  Who was the first to make another recording of a song from "The Beatles" to put out as a single?

Answer:  We heard of several all at once.  Including the Marmalade doing "Ob la di, Ob la da", Cliff Bennett singing "Back in the U.S.S.R." and the Vic Lewis orchestra singings doing versions of "Goodnight" and "Julia."  

More of Mal's "Get Back" Memories

 

Mal's Diary

Beatles Book Monthly

Issue 68 (March 1969)

Written by Mal Evans

Going back, I will start on January 2, start of Twickenham fortnight. 

 

Kevin Harrington and I set up all the equipment in the huge bare Stage One at the film studios.  And they started filming us right there from the beginning.   There was no scenery or anything, just the standard white background with lots of different colour lights playing on it as the setting.  So that apart from capturing good sound there would b good things for the camera to see.

At half eight that morning, between bites of breakfast, I telephoned round all four fellows to remind them it was getting up time and they were due at Twickenham by eleven.  On that first day, Paul was last to arrive – half an hour after noon!  Having come by underground, then local train, then taxi from Hampton Court Station.  He’d meant to do the entire journey by public transport but, knowing he was late, he chickened out and caught a cab rather than wait at the bus stop.

During the weeks which followed he often used trains and buses to and from what amounted to routine hours five-day working week!

Toast, cornflakes and tea were ready for each arrival on the open space of Stage One every morning.  Beatles prefer to get where ever they’re going for the day and THEN start the day’s eating!

Kevin and I brought over all the food from the Studios canteen.  For lunch they started off by using some new flats which have been built for film actors and actresses so that they can make themselves at home between takes without leaving the studio area.  That didn’t work because the food was cold by the time we served it so we block-booked a couple of big tables in the canteen and added a bottle or two of good wine to whatever was on the day’s menu!  Of course, we all know that canteen well.  We’d worked there on “A Hard Day’s Night,” “Help!” and more recently on the “Hey Jude” TV film clips which were done on the same stage. So all the crews are old mates too.

During the first week at Twickenham it was Elvis’ birthday.  The following day at lunch I reminded everyone that Elvis had just turned 34.  Where upon John stood up and toasted Elvis and the rest of us joined in. 

One of the first new numbers the fellows got together was an up-tempo item of Paul’s called “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer.  If that title sounds familiar it’s because I mentioned it here in November as one of several numbers which were almost but not quite recorded before we finished “The Beatles” album sessions.  By the way, I play anvil on the finished version!

On Thursday, January 16, we finished at Twickenham and moved all our gear back into town.  On Monday January 20, we used the new Apple Studios in the West End for the first time.  Actually, Alex Mardas hadn’t put in our own studio equipment so EMI brought in an eight track tape machine and console as a temporary measure.  Alex started putting all the new equipment into the studio in the first week of February so that our most recent batch of sessions have made use of all his amazing gadgets!

The engineer for all these sessions at Apple has been Glyn Johns, a name you may well know for he’d got a great reputation and we were pleased we could get him.  He’s done a lot of stuff with The Stones at the Olympic Studios, produced the Steve Miller Band and so forth.  In fact, he’s more of a producer than an engineer although, of course, we had our own producer, recording manager George Martin on hand for that side of things.

First new number to be completed at Apple was something called “All I Want is You.”  Another was “Teddy Boy” and, as I mentioned earlier, there was “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” from the end of last year. 

Although they’d had all the rehearsal time they needed at Twickenham and all their material was written and ready to be recorded, the fellows spent hours each day “limbering up.”  Now that there aren’t regular concerts to keep them in musical and vocal trims, so to speak, they have fantastic jam sessions to get the singing and playing flowing free before they start putting things on tape.  They just go wild and roar into “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” or any of the 10 year old skiffle hits.  Some day we really must release a record of just such a jam session and let you hear what goes on before The Beatles tape their hits!  You should have heard the treatment they gave to “Maggie May!”  

George had a pair of interesting presents to bring into the studio for the first sessions.  One was a splendid rosewood Telecaster guitar from Fender of America.   The other was a Leslie Speaker from Eric Clapton.  It’s a speaker with two revolving horns and a revolving drum.  You can put a guitar or organ through it and with an organ it gives a terrific swirling sound.

The same Thursday morning George decided to buy himself a third present and asked me to round up a complete collection of LP records by The Miracles for him. 

Unlike previous times, The Beatles haven’t been using session musicians during the new series.  The new idea is to bring in regulars instead, regulars from Apple-signed groups or particular individual musicians who will work with them frequently whenever they want an extra guitarist or an extra organist.

One very important guy in this line is Billy Preston, formerly organist with Little Richard and a mate of the fellows since Hamburg days.  Billy was signed up as an Apple artist on January 31.  Although he’s an American he’s worked quite a bit in Britain, was here with the Ray Charles Orchestra not too long ago and had his own colour telly show on BBC-2 a few Fridays back.  So Billy has been a Fifth Beatle at most of the recent sessions.  Watch out for his solo debut on Apple in March or April.  Billy writes most of his own stuff, sings, dances and plays both organ and electric piano.  George will be producing Billy’s first Apple single.

Billy’s first session with The Beatles was on Wednesday, January 22 when he played electric pian. 

During the first half of February Billy went back home to America for a brief tour of Texas but there weren’t many sessions while he was away and Billy was back in time for the latest recording over the past ten days.

Meanwhile the cameras have kept on rolling at every single recording session so that there is colour film, candid sounds and shots of every stage of the album’s production.

One particular day’s work at the end of January caused quite a stir.  To get something a bit different, an open-air sound, we shifted the session from the basement studio to the roof of 3 Savile Row!  With a scaffolding platform for all the gear.  You could hear the singing and playing right out across Regent Street and according to one unofficial spokesman for Savile Row police station, the local constabulary’s switchboard was jammed with dozens of calls from puzzled and/or cross neighbours of Apple’s within minutes!

We’d have loved to get a helicopter shot to show both the fellows on the roof and the crowd in the street but the law won’t let you fly one over London and it was too late to borrow a balloon!

The roof idea came after we’d taken a breath of fresh air on the roof after lunch the previous Sunday.  Anyway it’s certainly the first time The Beatles have recorded an album track on the roof in the middle of London!

While that was going on – at lunchtime on a Wednesday – we had film interviewers chatting to passers-by down below in the street.  Some of these comments just HAVE to fit into the film when it’s all put together!

Around here I have to finish for this month because space has run out on me. 

 

Mal's version of George's walk out

 So much has been talked about the amazing Get Back documentary lately.  There has also been a renewed appreciation for Mal Evans since watching him in the film.   Everyone here knows how much MTBFR loves Mal Evans.  I spoke up for him and called him the 6th Beatle during a panel at the Fest several years ago.   Mal had a special bond with the Beatles fans and he has a very special place here where his fan gather.  

Anyhow -- this got me all thinking about how Mal used to write for the Beatles Book Monthly.  So I dug into my archives and found the March 1969 (issue 68) and typed up this information Mal wrote about George leaving The Beatles recording session.   I always figured that the things Mal wrote for BBM wasn't the 100% story, but the PR friendly version of events.   BBM was the Beatles magazine and they never would want to put the boys in a negative light.   However -- having seen the film, when I went back and read what Mal wrote, I realize that it really wasn't too far from the truth.    I will be sharing the rest of what he wrote for the magazine in issue 68 this week.    I find it fascinating after watching the new documentary.  

Photo taken by Ethan Russel 

Mal's Diary 

Written by Mal Evans

Beatles Book Month Issue 68 (March 1969)

Mind you, when rehearsals started on January 2 the basic idea of the whole project was different.  You might think it was surprising that the fellows should want to plunge straight into making another LP right after Christmas when 30 new tracks had only just gone out on the November double-disc album.  Well, the thinking behind it was this.  They wanted to put something quite new before the public.  The film clip they’d done for “Hey Jude” was such a success that The Beatles wanted to expand the same format of performing “live” in front of an audience, letting the fans join in and get a bit of a party mood going, into a full-length TV show.  An hour of Beatles numbers, one after another, no guests stars and very little filming done outside where the concert performance was to happen.

 So the January work began in the film studios down at Twickenham with January 18 or thereabouts agreed upon for two or three “audience shows” at which all the filming would be done.

 At the same time everyone agreed it would be great to film all the rehearsal work too.  Make a sort of “Beatles at Work” documentary production on the side and quite apart form the TV special, a film which could be saved and shown later, perhaps even 10 years later, to let people see what goes on, what’s to be seen and heard, when The Beatles start off to build up a new set of songs.

 We went out looking at different places to hold to the actual show.  The Roundhouse in North London, for instance.  By the New Year we hadn’t found a suitable venue so Twickenham Film Studios were made the home-base as it were for preparatory work.  We looked at an old flour mill on the Thames quite close to town.  We considered a dozen other alternatives in London and in the provinces.  The ideal place was impossible to find – somewhere good visually and good from the sound point of view, both equally important factors for the show we had in mind.

Michael Lindsay  Hogg who had been brought in as show direction suggested Africa.  Certainly we wanted sunshine and if we had to do the filming outdoors the British winter weather couldn’t be relied upon.  Michael and producer Denis O’Dell knew an old Roman theatre on a shore in Tripoli which sounded just the thing.  But that one had to be blown out too.  On Monday, January 13, I was due to fly over to Africa to look at the Roman theatre.  On Sunday, January 12, the fellows finally gave up all ideas of doing the TV show.  Here is what happened.

If you read certain national newspapers at the time, you may well have believed a load of rubbish about George having a punch-up with the others.  It wasn’t like that at all.  There WASN’T a fight, physical or verbal.  There WEREN’T any tempers or shouting.  I just couldn’t believe it when I saw the press afterwards.  So, to set the record straight, here’s the truth behind George’s “walk out” and the canceling of the TV special.

Of the four Paul was the most enthusiastic all along about doing the “live” show.  John would have gladly taken the whole production unit to Africa or America to find the right location.  John and Ringo had mixed feelings about the plan, agreeing with Paul on a lot of the ideas but feeling this might not be the best way of making a 1969 Beatles TV film.  George wasn’t keen at all.  Ever since the last Beatles tour of America in the summer of 1966 he had considered “one night stands” to be a thing of the past, a backward step for a group he believes should concentrate on perfecting recordings rather than churning out the same programme of too-familiar songs on stages here and abroad.

So on Friday at Twickenham George stated his case.  Singing and playing together would always be fine with him and the last thing he was suggesting was any break up of The Beatles.  So that day, January 10, George didn’t want to stay at Twickenham rehearsing for show he couldn’t believe in.

We were all having lunch when George came over and said very quietly that he was going home. With that he went off, climbed into his car and headed for Esher.   Later he told a bunch of press people, “Look, we’re old enough and wise enough to be past all this punching-up rubbish.  We’ve been through everything together for so long we don’t need that sort of a row.  We discuss things and we finish up agreeing or disagreeing and that’s the finish of it.”

So George’s departure made it impossible to continue with the original project.  If there HAD been a real row the others might have gone ahead.  But Beatles don’t work like that.  If all four are not united on anything it’s dropped in favour of an alternative that everyone likes and wants to be enthusiastic about.

In this case the alternative that George was as happy as the rest about was to continue rehearsing the new stuff, finish writing all the new material which had been intended for the TV performance, but use it for an LP album instead. And to go on with filming all the work both at Twickenham and, later in the month at the Apple recording studies [sic] when the album itself was being put on tape.  One difference was that more than a dozen new songs would be needed instead of the initial eight planned for the TV show. 

Ringo at the Flying Cow

 

May 31, 1966 -  Ringo has a photoshoot at his home, Sunny Heights including his in-home bar called "The Flying Cow."  

Visiting George at Home in 1965

 

All photographs were taken by Sean O'Mahony for Beatles Book Monthly 

Beatles Book Monthy visited John, Ringo, and George and did an extensive photoshoot with them at their homes in 1965-1967.    On October 7, 1965, they went to George's home, Kinfauns, and snapped photos of him on his couch, around his pool and in his back garden and many with his cats.  

Remembering Johnny Dean

 

Sad news came from Mark Lewisohn this weekend.  Sean  O'Mahony aka Johnny Dean passed away on July 21, 2020.    

Sean was the founder of the wonderful Beatle Book Monthly Magazine.   When The Beatles first took off in the U.K.  in 1963, he had the wonderful idea to start a magazine for the band.    The magazine came out every month from 1963 - 1969.   It was full of news, interviews, article, and lots of beautiful photographs.   The Beatle Book Monthly was a mainstay in the life of a Beatles fan in the 1960s, especially the fans in the U.K.   American fans treasured the magazine as well.   It might have white-washed the Beatles, but it still was THE place to get the best Beatles news. 

Sean started re-releasing Beatle Book Monthly in the 1970s and then started publishing new issues until 2003.   To this day, all of the magazines are a treasure trove of information and photos you can't find anywhere else.   

So I want to take the time to remember Sean O'Mahony and thank him for putting out one of the finest Beatles magazines of all time.   Rest in Peace Johnny!  

Chilling at Ringo's place

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!

The latest news

Lovely photo of a fan!   She is really into reading that Beatles Monthly, isn't she? 

Another BBM to sign

The end of this power couple was near

The fan that snapped these photos of Paul and Jane and got the autograph in Beatles Book Monthly had no idea that it wouldn't be too much longer until this lovely couple will call it quits forever. 

Photo from May 31, 1968

Wednesday Review on short hiatus

Over the past month, I have gotten about 10 Beatles books that I am excited to start reading.    I am going to have to put the popular "Wednesday Review" on hiatus to give myself a little time to read through the books I have bought.


This is also a good time to remind you that if you know of a Beatles book or movie that I should review, just drop me a line at meetthebeatlesforreal@gmail.com   with the suggestion.

A Fan Talks About Screaming

A Fan Talks About Screaming
by Irene Gerrard
The Beatles Book
1966 Christmas Extra

Something my friend said recently, made me think seriously of the tremendous effect that your boys have on us teenagers.   We were talking about your next tour -- which I hope will be very soon, and she said, "I'll gok with you, IF you promise not to start screaming."   But I just coulnd't promise.  When you see the Beatles, you can't just say "Oh well, I think I'll scream now!"   Screaming isn't something you can turn off or on, like a TV set.   Nor is it something you do because it's "the thing" or because your best friend does it.  It's something quite natural.   All of  a sudden, something gets you -- you realise -- this is really THEM -- for four tatty ends (sorry!) who have grinned at us from so many  manazines, LP covers, etc.

I'll never forget the day I went into Liverpool with another friend, Imelda, to welcome  you when you came home for the premiere of "A Hard Day's Night."    As we were both thirteen at the time, we considered ourselves quite grown up, and our conversation on the way into Liverpool was interspered with remarks like, "I won't scream, will you?"  "Of course not only the young kids scream" and so on.

So  there we were standing in Bold Street, waiting anxiously for signs of your appearance.  A barrage of screams, from further up the street told us how near you were.  Imelda and I braced ourselves, once more knowing that nothing would induce us to lose our dignity by screaming.

Then, the big black car drew nearer, and, I know this sounds corny, soppy, meldodramatic, etc, but it's the truth, suddenly nothing mattered but the fact that YOU were only a few feet away from us.  I let go with all I had and just screamed my head off.  I suupose Imelda must have done the same, but I couldn't tell at that moment.  I could see Ringo and George, smiling and waving, and, like all the other girls around me, I suppose, I was certain that they were smiling at, and waving to me alone.  I felt a triffle sad, because John, my favorite (he was then, and he still is now) was on the other side of the car, and I couldn't see him, but in a flash, it was all over, and the car had moved on.

Imelda and I just staggered away.  All our promises to retain our dignity, and just wave and smile, had disappeared as if in a puff of smoke.

I know that if ever I see you, in person, again, the same thing will happen, so I don't make promises any more.

I don't quite know why I'm telling you all this, Beatles.  I just thought you may like to know a little of the effect you have on a frantic fan, namely me!  

Autographing Beatle Book Monthly

Photo from Pat Kinzer visit on August 8, 1968

Paul and Geoff

Photo by Leslie Bryce for BBM

Last week, when I wrote my review on the Geoff Emrick book, I was struggling to find photographs of Geoff with the Beatles  (the book didn't have any photos in it).   As things always turn out on this blog, I find this photo of Geoff and Paul working on the Sgt. Pepper album a few days after I made the post.   Might as well share it now!

Beatle Book Monthly backstage

John and Sean

John with Sean from Beatle Book Monthly at Ringo's house on May 31, 1966

The most Fantastic game of billards ever!

More photos from BBM of that interesting game of pool between the Beatles and the Moody Blues.