How should you listen to the Beatles?Howeveryou like, and as often you can. But faced with all that material, how – to coin a phrase – do you do it? In the aim of offering something like a benign, George Martin-style guiding hand, we’ve put together this series to put Beatles songs in your weekly calendar – hopefully bringing some fresh takes on their music, and on the hectic nature of their lives and creative development along the way.
This week, smarten yourselves up: it’sOctober 26th,1965and we have a meeting with Her MajestyTheQueento receive achivalric award, theMBE.In the mist of Beatle mythology, this has become a tale about The BeatlesAndDrugs(John Lennon claimed the four smoked a joint somewhere in Buckingham Palace; George Harrison denied this)whenreallyit’s more aboutThe Beatlesand the establishment.
To judge by the amusing, slightly shell-shocked press conference held afterwardsat the Savile Theatre, the Beatles wereactually quiteimpressed by theexperience. An equerry told them how todo itallproperly.The Queen shared a small joke with Ringo. John Lennon, for all his seditious memories of the event (and subsequent return of the award in 1969)actually seems quite blown away.It’s quite a week.
“Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey”
A year earlier,October 26th,1964and the Beatles arein the control room:reworkingthe pastin order tomove forward.Often held as asetback on an irrepressibly upward creative trajectory, BeatlesForSale– which is being mixedat EMI studiostoday, with all Beatles present – ismore a fascinating insight into their internal dialogue. On the one hand,howdisappointment and self-examinationopened upnew moods in their own songs. On the other,showingtheir continuedbelief in the power of rock ‘n’ rollto rouse the spirits– to cheer themselves up.
“Kansas City”is a case in point.A Leiber and Stoller tune, as covered and retooled by Little Richard(the “heyheyheyhey” bit), this is a song which the band had been playing in Hamburg at their final engagements at the Star-Club, two years previously. Ratherthan an admission of defeat, a cover like this was more an act of grounding themselves in known quantities when things might otherwise have completely spun out of control.The poetPhilip Larkin observed that the Beatles attained a height from which they could not get down, and he may well have been right. Butthey certainly never lost sight of the power of gettingback, anddid so whenever they felt the need.
Tonight, Paul and Ringo will check out the Ad Lib Club,as they enjoysome free time.In a couple ofdaysthe ABC Cinema Exeter beckons.
“Don’t Bother Me”
On October 29th, 1963, the Beatles aremixing theWithTheBeatlesalbum for stereo.Hiding among the latest Lennon/McCartney classicsand cover versions is a new addition to the Beatles songwriting team: George Harrison.
“Don’t Bother Me”,George’sfirstcontribution to an album,adds a welcome newcolourtoa record characterized by speedynew compositions– “All My Loving”, say –whichcharge along with the same kind of artful grace under pressure as The Beatles themselves in the period.
Writtenin very British circumstances – in bed with a cold,on tour thatsummer–George’s song is on the surface no different.It’s a good tune, and it proceeds at a fair clip.However, both the mood(grumpy,dumped,actively disappointed)and mode(it’s Merseybeat, but with a folky tinge)are a little differentto what the band has attempted sofar.In amoment dominated by thecrowd-pleasing of thegroup’s huge singles,George showed us thatyou didn’t need to steal the scene to exert an influence on themovie.
“Long Tall Sally”
The Beatles first foreign touris to Sweden andcomprisesfive gigs, a radio session andon October 30th1963– an important one forFab footage fans,a spot on Drop-In.Film of the band’sappearance on this pop showis hilarious.To a studio which seems more set up for an evening of literary talk– an intimate space withserious-lookingyoung students, the Beatles bring high spirits which,in spite oftheir weird sound mix, are in danger of breaking out elsewhere.
It’sworth watching the whole thing. After some jazzy vocalistsand what looks like a general knowledge contest, the groupgoes down very well.So much so that after their scheduled number of songs, the Beatles are asked to come up with another one.It’s a lovely moment ofspontaneity, as the show attempts to wring as much fun as possible out of proceedings, without crashing the show into the news or weather or whatever follows it.
With seemingly no communication whatever, the group break into “Long Tall Sally”. For Paul in particular – who has been giving it loadsto the camerathroughout the performance–this1950s rockmusic, on whose existence The Beatles have effectively called time, remainsboth inspiration and muscle memory.
“Till There Was You”
There is still no effective shorthand for the phrase “it wasquite ahectic week for the Beatles”, so we will have to observe with continuedadmiration thatdirectlyafter completing a Swedish tour, The Beatlesmade straight for CheltenhamOdeon cinemato begin a British oneon November 1st 1963.
Online sleuths, loving the texture,will enjoy themurky and hand-heldfootage from60 years ago which has miraculously made its wayfrom that nightto YouTube. Setlist-wise, wecannote with some surprise that the band seem to haveleft behind “Love Me Do”– yetwere still playing a cover song like this one. It’s fair enough:as sung by Paul this MeredithWilson compositionfrom the musical The Music Manis delightful.Check it out onLiveAtThe BBC!
What do you mean stillplaying? It’s on WithTheBeatles and that didn’t come out for another couple of weeks at least!Well, we’ll explain whatwe mean. “Till There Was You” has animportant role inBeatle history.Long on their setlist, it, along with “Hello Little Girl” it was one of the songs pressedfrom a demo tapeonto a78 rpmrecordby Brian Epsteinat HMV on Oxford Street, Epstein mistakenlythinking the songto bea McCartney composition. Jim Foy, the cutting engineer, suggestedEpstein approach Sid Coleman at EMI’s publishingcompany ArdmoreAnd Beechwood(upstairs in the same building). Coleman, in turn, suggestedhe try George Martin– something might come of it.
One of these 78s(complete with Brian’s handwriting)was auctioned about 15 years ago.It went for an entirely reasonable £77,000.
“We Can Work It Out”
First the civichonour, then the ITV special.Comeand joinJohn and Paulon November 1st1965, as they step up ladders and across the duckboardswhichhave(it seems)been assembled tohonourthe scaffolding oftheir songwriting achievements.
This isthe set forGranada TV’sThe Music Of Lennon And McCartney, an hour-longbash which featuressome mildly sardonic intros from John and Paul,and performances by Lulu, Esther Philips, Peter And Gordon,Billy J Kramer– evenPeter Sellers declaiming “A Hard Day’s Night” in the manner of a Shakespearian actor.
Oh, andthere areThe Beatles themselves, here to offer performances of both sides of their new single.No-one needs an excuse to listen to the exquisite John/Paul double header “Day Tripper”/“We Can Work It Out”but it’s the latter whichis especially noteworthy here. With their studio lives in danger of colliding with their live engagements, TV shows, filmsetc,they aremiming here to asong whichonlya couple of days previouslythey were still tinkering with.
Before it comes out, they’ll do more to it – but if you track down the version we’re talking about then you’ll be hearing a unique mix.Not to mention seeingJohn Lennon miming on a harmonium which was a prop fromthe soap operaCoronation Street.