Beatles Band - The End

Britain and The Beatles had changed dramatically since this story began in 1962.  Hair had grown longer, music had exploded and television was now in colour.  Amongst many stand out shows that included Dr Who, Man In A Suitcase and The Prisoner, The Avengers with Linda Thorson as Tara King replacing Diana Rigg’s Emma Peel was my favourite, with John Steed and Tara regularly encountering a range of villains and foiling their dastardly plots.

The Beatles followed their tumultuous 1967 by going to India in February 1968.  They visited Rishikesh in northern India to take part in an advanced Transcendental Meditation training course at the ashram of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.  Other musicians and celebrities joining them there included Donovan, Mike Love and Mia Farrow.  The course was for three months, but Ringo left after only ten days complaining of boredom and that it was apparently “just like Butlin’s”.  McCartney followed him home soon afterwards and Lennon and Harrison departed in early April following stories that the Yogi was more interested in certain women there than in meditating!

In March, Lady Madonna had been released as the group’s new single.  An exuberant boogie-woogie song, it features well known jazz musician Ronnie Scott on tenor saxophone and seemed to indicate the band were moving back towards more “traditional” sounds following their psychedelic experiments of recent times.

The fab four had been writing a lot of songs in India and sessions began soon afterwards for what was to become The Beatles LP (or the ‘White Album’).  During these sessions, Ringo walked out for a fortnight after Paul got on his nerves resulting in McCartney playing drums on a few tracks.  Ringo returned to much love and contributed his first song (Don't Pass Me By) to a Beatles album.  Starr was not the only trouble Beatle though. George Harrison had been thinking of leaving the group since 1966 and was becoming more frustrated with Paul in particular.  Meanwhile John had brought Yoko to the studios which broke the band’s prior agreement that no wives or girlfriends should attend recording sessions.

It was clear that tensions were rising and the double LP was in effect a collection of solo performances augmented by other band members when required.  But what a collection it was!  Thirty songs that ranged from the opening rocker Back in the USSR to the highly personal Julia and from the haunting Cry Baby Cry to the closing lullaby Good Night.  However,  lurking on on Side Four was Revolution 9 which was indeed a revolutionary (for pop music) soundscape collage of tapes to which Yoko Ono contributed greatly.

There was one song that had been a part of the sessions that was not included on the LP as it had been released as a single in August that year.  Hey Jude had evolved from a ballad called Hey Jules that Paul had written for Julian Lennon to comfort him during his parents divorce.  The final version was over seven minutes long and featured the famous four minute fade out at the end.

Here is their performance of the song which was broadcast on Frost On Sunday on 8th September 1968:

The Beatles next gathered together in January 1969 to record songs for Let It Be.  Originally titled Get Back, the idea was primarily Paul’s attempt to encourage the band to perform a one off live concert.  The sessions were filmed for a motion picture that came out (like the eventual album) in May 1970.  The film shows the group gradually disintegrating as disagreements surface at various points.

George actually left the band in early January following a row with John.  He was persuaded to return a week later on the condition that the live concert be cancelled.  Despite this atmosphere, there are some very good songs on the album including the title track, Two of Us, Get Back and The Long and Winding Road.  On 30 January, The Beatles performed together publicly as a group for the final time on the rooftop of the Apple building (with Billy Preston on keyboards).  They finished with Get Back:

On 22 February 1969, the group got together to start recording what would be their final album, Abbey Road.  It took six months to complete and was overall a happier experience than the Let It Be sessions.  Released in late September, the LP was a fitting end to the band that had helped to shape much of the decade’s pop music and culture.  John’s acerbic Come Together starts things off and the album also features George’s lovely Something, Paul’s frightening Maxwell’s Silver Hammer, Ringo’s charming Octopus’s Garden and of course the famous ‘Long Medley” on Side Two.

The Medley consisted of sixteen minutes of eight short songs featuring the exquisite You Never Give Me Your Money followed by Sun King, Mean Mr Mustard, Polythene Pam, She Came in Through the Bathroom Window, Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight and finally The End.  Except it wasn’t quite the end as after some seconds of silence, Her Majesty crashes in and really does complete The Beatles career together.

Here are the final three songs of the Long Medley:

The Beatles had helped make the 1960s an unforgettable decade.  Their legacy lives on through the marvellous music they made.

Beatles Band - A Magical Mystery Tour

1966 was a memorable year in many ways. Harold Wilson called a General Election and increased Labour’s majority to ninety six!  The World Cup came to England and the hosts actually won it!  And a dog called Pickles became a national hero…

Meanwhile, The Beatles released Revolver. Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys had convinced the Fab Four to up their game even further and their seventh album was indeed a landmark in pop music. Recording began in April and the first song attempted was Tomorrow Never Knows which actually ended up as the final track on the LP.  Featuring tape loops, backward guitars and a constant and unchanging drum beat, it was a whole new world.  Revolver also included classics such as For No One, Got To Get You Into My Life, And Your Bird Can Sing, Good Day Sunshine, Here,There and Everywhere and Eleanor Rigby.

One of the greatest songs of the 1960s, Eleanor Rigby was a sad and moving tale of a woman who   “Waits at the window, wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door”. When she dies, nobody comes to her funeral.   At the time of its release, the UK was in the middle of the ‘Swinging Sixties’, but the decade was far from swinging for everybody.  Eleanor Rigby was a stark reminder of the lives of many people who tried to lead good lives and do their best in very difficult circumstances.

The Beatles toured the United States for one final time soon after Revolver was released, before announcing they were giving up live performances for good.

A few months later in February 1967, Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever were released as a double A-sided single.  Originally meant to be part of the upcoming Sgt. Pepper album, the group’s record company pressured The Beatles for new product.  Penny Lane was a cheerful tale of Paul McCartney’s Liverpool childhood memories, but although Strawberry Fields Forever was John Lennon’s take on the same, it sounded like a whole new type of pop music.  Kept off the top spot by Englebert Humperdink’s Release Me, the single was the band’s first since Love Me Do to not reach Number One.

However, Strawberry Fields especially signaled that The Beatles were again exploring new soundscapes and setting new trends.  Within four months, this was confirmed by the release of what many consider to be their finest LP..Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Beginning with the title track, the album takes listeners on a journey like no other.  From the down to earth With a Little Help From My Friends to the poignant She’s Leaving Home; from the thoughtful Getting Better to the cynical Good Morning, Good Morning; from the psychedelic Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds to the whimsical When I’m Sixty-Four; and from the exotic Within You Without You to the hopeful Lovely Rita, the songs take the form of a carnival.  The band members all later admitted that drugs such as marijuana and LSD influenced the dreamlike quality of their work, but it is also clear that such a focused set of songs was also the result of much hard work and discipline.  

Their producer George Martin must also take huge credit for the stunning arrangements that contribute to the overall success of Sgt. Pepper.  The LP of course finishes with what many consider to be their finest ever song, the staggering A Day in the Life

Soon after this release, The Beatles contributed their new single All You Need is Love to Our World which was the first live and international satellite television production, which was broadcast on 25 June 1967. Basically a sing-a-long, it was a marked deterioration in quality from their recent songs.

In late August that year, the group’s manager Brian Epstein died of an overdose of sleeping tablets. The band were understandably shocked by this and reportedly wondered whether this could be the end for them.  However, McCartney managed to persuade the others back to the recording studio to produce the Magical Mystery Tour double EP.  It was the soundtrack  to their film of the same name which was first broadcast on BBC1 on Boxing Day 1967.  Most critics hated the film, but I enjoyed it and the music was back to their best.  Stand out songs included the title track, Hello Goodbye, The Fool on the Hill, Your Mother Should Know and the incredible I Am the Walrus which took Lennon’s surrealism to new heights.

The Beatles were now indeed the “toppermost of the poppermost”.  They had taken pop music into different and exciting areas that set a new standard for their peers.  We shall see, however, in the final part of this tale how the fab four slowly fell apart before finishing with a final flourish.

Beatles Band - In My Life

Britain in the early 1960s. A land still recovering from the cataclysm of World War Two. Searching for a role as the Empire slipped away, the UK seemed trapped between the United States and the European Common Market.

Elvis had come out of the army and gone into the movies. The Shadows were duelling guitars and Cliff was on a Summer Holiday. And in Northern England, a four piece group were swapping drummers.

“Love, love me do…

At Abbey Road studios, George Martin gave The Beatles the chance to respond to his criticisms of their audition performances “I’ve laid into you for quite a long time,” he said. “You haven’t responded. Is there anything you don’t like?” “Well, for a start,” replied George Harrison, “I don’t like your tie.”

…You know I love you”.

The Fab Four’s first hit was a starkly simple song that is memorable mainly for John Lennon’s haunting harmonica sound.  Released on 5th October 1962, it reached Number 17 in the UK Singles Chart and is one of the first songs I remember hearing on the radio.  Just over three months later, their second single Please Please Me came out. 

This was undoubtedly a step up from their debut and in some charts (though not the “official” one) reached Number 1. The start of a run of fantastic singles that carried on throughout the decade, Please Please Me seemed almost like an electrical storm lighting up the country with its relentless rhythm and canny chord changes. John Lennon’s peerless lead vocals complemented by Paul McCartney’s higher notes (that remain high as the melody descends) were a wake up call to the rest of the pop music industry that suddenly seemed as old fashioned as the rapidly fading Conservative government of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.

March 1963 saw the release of the band’s first LP Please Please Me, which as well as their two singles, featured twelve other “poptastic” songs. The final track on the album was Twist and Shout. Originally an Isley Brothers hit, the Beatles version was a barnstorming performance that featured Lennon’s screaming and shouting the chorus. I saw the fab four in Llandudno in August 1963, and the song brought the concert to a climax in more ways than one as teenage girls screamed their approval!

With The Beatles was the group’s second LP which like their first, featured a mixture of Lennon & McCartney original songs and cover versions. A fine follow up that was released in November 1963, it again showed a band growing in confidence.

However, their next album A Hard Day’s Night was a true milestone. It consisted of thirteen self penned songs ranging from the peerless title track to the stupendous Can’t Buy Me Love, which were both Number 1 singles in their own right. The LP’s A Side was the accompanying  feature film’s soundtrack and the album and movie confirmed The Beatles position at the toppermost of British pop music and culture.

Later that year (1964), Beatles For Sale was released. The cover showed the foursome looking a bit tired and the songs seemed somewhat more downbeat than previous releases. The lead song No Reply was another Lennon classic that set the mood for a more thoughtful set of songs.

The group’s second film Help! came out in 1965, again with an album soundtrack. The movie was a zany tale involving a tale conceding a jewel of Ringo’s wanted by different people. My favourite track remains You’re Going To Lose That Girl, and the LP of course also featured the famous Yesterday.

The Beatles were undoubtedly still at the pinnacle of pop music and had conquered the United States, but since A Hard Day’s Night their songs had in many ways not moved on. However, in late 1965, the band’s sixth album Rubber Soul reaffirmed their desire to explore new and different forms of music. 

Drive My Car was indeed a driving, funky start to the LP, with McCartney’s bass mixed to the fore. Norwegian Wood, Nowhere Man and You Won’t See Me followed on and confirmed the group were indeed progressing in terms of quality and performance. It was on the second side though that the best song on the album (and one of their best ever) was to be found. In My Life was a reflective and extremely moving song that showed Lennon and the band at the peak of their powers.

It had been only three short years since The Beatles had first hit the charts and they had come a very long way. However, little did we know what would come next…