Anthology era guitar

 

Anthology Director - Rest in Peace

 

Joe Wisbey posted this photo in the "Nothing is Real" group on Facebook along with the information that Geoff Wonfor, who directed The Beatles Anthology, has passed away.    The Beatles Anthology is still a masterpiece as far as I'm concerned.  Sorry to hear that he is no longer with us.  

Three Cool Cats -circa 1995

 One question:  does Paul have his finger in Ringo's ear?

George shows Paul how to play

 

George, Ringo and Paul

 

Foreshadowing?

Real Love

Paul and Ringo are listening to a playback of "Real Love" in 1995.  They are in Paul's home studio.   I'm so thankful for these two guys right now. 

"I think we need to do Anthology 4...."

It was 20 years ago today (no really it was!)

How many of you know what you were doing 20 years ago at this very moment?   If you were a Beatles fan in 1995, then I know exactly what you were doing---the same thing I was doing:  watching the Beatles Anthology on A "Beatles" C.    We were anxious to hear the world premiere of "Free as a Bird."  

The advertisement for the Anthology really pushed for it to be watch by not just as serious fans, but by the casual fan as well.   I was 19 at the time and in college.   When I was in high school, just a few years earlier, being a Beatles fan was not considered "cool."    I was teased and picked on because I liked "hippie music."   Suddenly, with the Anthology on TV,  the people who used to think the Beatles were terrible were asking me questions about them.   For once (and maybe the only time), being a Beatle fan was considered cool.      I was a moderator on a popular Beatles chat room at that time and I remember the chat room being filled with people who were new fans.  Those who just discovered the Beatles and were wanting to know where to turn for more music and information.   It was an exciting time in my life as a Beatles fan.  

It was exciting to see the Anthology video on television and hear new interviews from George, Ringo and Paul (and to see what new place Paul was going to be interviewed...a campfire?  On a boat?  Where next?).  It was exciting to see the pristine footage of film that had never or rarely been seen before, especially the home movie footage.   And most of all it was exciting to hear Beatles music!   To hear "In Spite of all the Danger" on Anthology 1 for the first time left me awe struck.   Who would have through we'd ever been able to hear a Quarry Men recording?  

 

Did any of you actually see a Beatles Anthology advertisement on a bus?

 

Swim and Sun

There aren't a whole lot of photos of the Beatles during their break from touring in 1965.   However there is a sequence of the Beatles swimming and laying around in the sun found on the Beatles' Anthology (disc 5) set.     I made some screen caps from the home movie footage.  It isn't great, but it is all we have!  It is well worth looking at again---I love seeing John and Mal splashing around.  

I HATE the yellow submarine animation in the sequence--but I couldn't leave this great shot of Mal out!

Peter and Paul

For many years I have been curious about these photos of a man and Paul McCartney making music together at "The Mill."  Who is this guy?  What were they playing?   Was this a recording session?  Well, I should have know because it guy's name is one that I have heard of on many occasions.   I guess I just never put two and two together.   Anyhow, the guy is Peter Hodgson who is a Beatles fan.  And he has an amazing story.   I found an article in the Tokyo Beatles Fan club magazine (which I think really was the most profession fanzine ever published) from issue 16 from 1997 written by Kenji Maeda that tells it better than I can.  Although Peter if you are a reader of this blog, please feel free to chime in and add to your amazing story!

Peter and Paul just playing "Let it Be" together.   Photo taken by Geoff Baker

Peter met Paul again in 1996

The Liverpool convention was as exciting as ever, the most enthusiastic moment was when I met Peter Hodgson.  Peter was the owner of the early Beatles tapes from 1960.  As we wrote in the 13th issue of this magazine, Anthology 1 album had a mystery, the three songs from the tape - "Hallelujah, I love her so,"  "You'll be Mine" and"Cayenne" have been first released on the album but actually these have been available on bootleg for years.  Peter told me the following story, which may unravel the  mystery.  When Paul McCartney borrowed the Grundig tape recorder from Peter's grandfather, he made 2 or 3 copies of the tape for himself.  After he returned the tape and the tape recorder back to Hodgson, he brought the copies to Germany with him.  Many years have passed since then and eventually one of them was passed to a bootlegger.

The original tape included unusual tracks which Paul McCartney failed to copy.  They included the early versions of "Ask me Why" and "When I'm 64"!  Of course, they were not featured in any of the bootlegs.  It is well-known that they often played "When I'm 64" in the early 1960's but nobody ever heard it, it must be a valuable recording.

However, we may not have an opportunity to hear the songs for awhile, as the original tape is now owned by Paul McCartney.  Peter had a great experience whilst handing over the tape to the ex-Beatle.  He was invited to Paul's private studio in East Sussex on 27 March 1995 and he enjoyed talking about good old times and playing instruments with Paul.  Photos were taken by Paul's publicist, Geoff Baker while Peter was playing "Let it Be" on the piano with Paul.  Peter was also lucky enough to hear the rough mix of "Free as a bird" in the studio.

Anthology at Abbey Road

Paul entering Abbey Road studios in 1995 to work on the Beatles Anthology

Beatles Anthology

A anniversary of sorts has came and past and I didn't see any mention of it. 15 years ago the Beatles Anthology premiered on ABC. I would guess that for you first generation fans, the Beatles Anthology was neat and exciting for you, but the excitement of it all wasn't something new for you. I guess if you waited outside Abbey Road Studios or even waited for the radio to play a new Beatles song for the first time, seeing the count-down at the end of Anthology for Free as a Bird wasn't as big of a deal for you as it was for me.

But you see I am a 2nd generation fan. I always had to live vicariously through my mom and others like her who were 1st generation fans. Hearing about how exciting it was to see the Beatles on Ed Sullivan or the excitement that built up when Sgt. Pepper was going to be released. And for the first and most likely only time in my life, I got to have that experience.

In 1995 I was 19 years old and a sophomore at Eastern Illinois University. The Anthology was going to be on during my week-long Thanksgiving break, so I lugged my T.V. back home to my parent's house. The buzz about the Anthology was crazy and I got all wrapped up in it. Finally Sunday night came. The first part of the Anthology was going to be on ABC! There was a scare for awhile because Paul refused to allow the program to show if there were any meat restaurant commericals. But things went as planned and I sat with my VCR player ready to record. When I watched the program, I was amazed. I screamed as "new" footage and photos were shown on the screen. I sang along. I listened intensely as all four Beatles told me old information and new things that I never knew. And lastly I cried when I first heard and saw the video for "Real Love."

It was a really awesome time to be a Beatles fan. Sure it wasn't 1964 all over again, but there was a renewed interest in all thing FAB. When I went back to college after the break, people I barely knew wanted to ask me all sorts of things about The Beatles. Suddenly being a Beatles fan was "in."

For me November 1995 was a great time as a Beatles fan. I even started to write a book about the history of the Beatles Anthology. I did a lot of research and then came to the realization that I have no clue how to write and publish a book. Maybe someday I will look again at that project.

Maybe I am crazy for even bothering to write this and you all just think I am totally off my rocker. Did the Anthology project bring any excitement to your Beatle fan life?

Sara the Beatle fan

While digging through some Beatles stuff tonight I found this photo from my local newspaper, The Alton Telegraph, from 1995. It is me being the first person in my town to buy the Beatles Anthology 1 on Cd! My mom is standing in the background and you can see that Iam wearing a Beatles Live at the BBC T-shirt. This made me smile and laugh and I just felt like sharing it.