Paul McCartney and The Chris Barber Band Record 'Catcall'

Macca: Considerably more Avant Garde than yew.

If you read most Beatles books, Paul McCartney has typically been viewed as more of the straight one of the band. He held out against LSD for a while, wasn't typically as off the cuff and funny during press conferences, preferring to leave the jokes to John, George and Ringo. But Paul had a big interest in the Avant Garde, he liked making experimental 8mm home movies, seeing weird plays and being involved in crazy recordings. His brother Michael enjoyed the avant garde, still to this day he does. Paul I'm sure does too. He also enjoys getting involved with various projects, his workaholic nature coming to the fore.

While not really Avant Garde, Paul was avidly involved in other projects in the mid sixties, including giving his song 'Catswalk', an instrumental he had recorded with the Beatles in the Cavern Club in 1962 but had now retitled 'Catcall', to the Chris Barber Band to record in 1967.

Paul records with Chris Barber on Trombone in Chappell Studios, 1967.

The session was really fun, the Beatles had just released Sergeant Pepper a month before the session took place. Paul's girlfriend at the time, Jane Asher took part in the session too and just before the end, Paul is heard calling out 'Please play it slower!' which the band did. It was released as a single but despite it being written by Paul and having him on the record, it failed to chart. It was later released on 'The Beatles: The Songs They Gave Away' album. Here it is for you to enjoy!

                               

Beatles Interview Series: 1967 - Sgt. Pepper's Launch Party

In keeping with the Sgt. Pepper theme of this week (check out the latest podcast here), part six of our Beatles Interview Series includes an interview that took place on May 19, 1967 at Brian Epstein's flat in London.  Guests of the party included several prominent radio personalities as well as influential music journalists.  Among the guests was Kenny Everett, representing BBC Radio.  According to Jay Spangler of The Beatles Ultimate Experience:

"Everett was part of the program 'Where It's At,' hosted by Chris Denning. Everett would manage to record a few brief conversations with John, Paul and Ringo throughout the evening. Clips from Everett's recording would be used for a special edition of the program the next afternoon -- featuring a sneak preview of select tracks from the not-yet-released album, intercut with Everett's brief interview segments from the night before."

PAUL: (introducing the opening of the program) "This is Paul McCartney saying 'This is where Chris Denning's at.' This is where it's at, Chris. Take it!"
JOHN: (introducing the title track, in hushed announcer voice) "We're sitting in the hushed semi-circular theatre, and waiting for the Seargent Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band to come on. (suddenly louder, excitedly) And here they come now playing the first number, ah let's go! (pauses, then to Kenny) Alright? I can't do it for 'em all or I'll be dizzy."
(Songs heard: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, With A Little Help From My Friends)

KENNY: "Well, by George, in the studio we have old Ringo Starr of The Beatles fame. Ringo, what have you been doing since I last saw you in America a year ago?"
RINGO: "Umm, very much."
KENNY: (mock-disbelief) "Really?"
RINGO: (laughs) "Uhh, well, I went on holiday... We made an LP... We've made a few more tracks, so we've been busy."
KENNY: "What do you think of this new LP? It's a bit strange compared to the others. Would you term it 'Psycho-Deeelic'?"
RINGO: "Only if you want to think of it as psycho-deeelic."
JOHN: "Now we'd like to play you one. It's a sad little song. (pause) Where's it gone?"
PAUL: (giggles)
JOHN: "Oh, this is it, yeah. Picture yourself on an old-fashioned elephant. Lucy in the sky for everyone, now."
(Songs heard: Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, Fixing A Hole)

KENNY: (regarding the effects used in the studio) "How long would you say... you got into technical details like phasing?"
JOHN: (excitedly) "Oh, phasing is GREAT!"
PAUL: "Double-flanging."
JOHN: "Double-flanging, we call it. Now there you go, right? We're on the same thing. Flanging is great. We're always doing it."
KENNY: "You used it on 'Lucy In The Sky'..."
JOHN: (giggling) "You name the one it isn't on! You know, you name it!"
PAUL: (laughing)
JOHN: (giggling) "You spot it, you get a prize! You get a Sgt. Pepper badge!"
KENNY: (jokingly) "I'll pick a moustache."
(Songs heard: Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite, When I'm Sixty-Four)

KENNY: "How many takes did you usually do on this album before you got the perfect take?"
PAUL: "We did quite a few on each one. But, uhh, it's just 'cuz it's changed, you know. In the old days of the LP 'Please Please Me,' we went in and did it in a day, 'cuz we knew all the numbers and we'd rehearsed them and done 'em. We'd been playing them for about a year. But nowadays we just take a song in, and all we've got is the chords on the guitar, and the words and the tune. So we've got to work out how to arrange it, and that. So we do a lot of takes on each one."
(Songs heard: She's Leaving Home, Lovely Rita)

KENNY: "Do you like to have a lot of people in the studio when you're recording, or do you like to do it completely alone?"
PAUL: "It doesn't matter. We had a lot of people on some of the tracks, and sometimes we use 'em, you know, and ask them to clap, and that. Depends if it's good people who don't hassle anyone and don't try and mess the session up. Then it's great, you know, 'cuz it's good company."
KENNY: "I hear you had the Rolling Stones in this session."
PAUL: "They came down 'cuz we had a lot of people there, you know, 'cuz it was a big session and we wanted to make a happening happen. (giggles) And it happened."
(Songs heard: Sgt. Pepper (Reprise), Getting Better, Good Morning Good Morning)



 

Source: Transcribed by www.beatlesinterviews.org from audio copy of the radio program

 

Tea & A Butty Podcast 08 - 'Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'

Here is our first Podcast of 2016 and the eighth one of the Beatles album series! This time we are taking a look at the eighth Beatles album 'Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' Enjoy!

Tea & A Butty Podcast 08 - 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' by Teabutty on Mixcloud

And here is a clip from the BBC One magazine show 'The One Show' and their interview with Melanie Coe and her story that inspired 'She's Leaving Home'

Video: The Beatles Visit Smedley's Fish & Chip Shop.

Shot on 15th September 1967 at James and Amy Smedley's Fish & Chip shop in Taunton, Devon, England. The Beatles and the rest of the cast of the film pile into the shop and munch their way through Fish & Chip lunch. Only a small part of this footage actually made it into the film (The shots of Nat Jackley and Jessie Robbins eating chips) The rest of the footage is wonderful to see as the Beatles eat their fish and chips and drink bottles of Tizer and Corona Orange Pop (Corona is a brand that doesn't exist any more but Tizer is still going strong!)

James & Amy Smedley were the grandparents of "little" Nicola, who was the little girl who John was speaking to in one memorable scene of the film. Amy was a passenger on the bus and when she casually mentioned to the Beatles that she owned a Fish & Chip shop, the bus made sure to make a stop there.


                          

Brian Epstein: 1934 - 1967

Brian with the Beatles in 1964.

On this day in 1967, Brian Epstein, who is perhaps the most successful manager in music history, died from an overdose. There are many theories as to whether Brian meant to commit suicide or whether he accidentally overdosed. My personal thinking is that it was accidental. Sure, Brian had his demons that would cause him to erupt in fits of rage. He was a homosexual man living in a time when homosexuality was illegal in Britain. He was manager to one of the most successful acts on the planet that had just recently announced it was stopping touring to concentrate on their studio output. It must have seemed like he was being sidelined.

Allegedly, the above photo was taken just hours before he died. It shows him looking somewhat sadly at the camera, with his hair in the style of his boys' famous Beatle cut. It's an extremely poignant photo. Does it capture his wish that the Beatles were still those mop tops that sped round the world? Or just his wish that he was actually a Beatle himself?

Whatever it was, we are definitely thankful for Mister Brian Epstein.

Photo of the Day: Paul McCartney Jams With Jefferson Airplane.

In April 1967, Paul flew to the USA to surprise Jane Asher for her birthday. Jane was in Denver with the Old Vic Theatre company on tour. Paul, along with Mal Evans, flew into California and spent two days in Los Angeles and San Francisco. In San Francisco, Paul met up with Jefferson Airplane who were in rehearsals for their show at the Filmore Auditorium. They accompanied the band to their apartment where Paul played an acetate of the Beatles' new album 'Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' for them and briefly attempted to jam with Jorma Kaukonen & Paul Kantner. As McCartney is left handed, he had trouble playing Jack Casady's right handed bass and obviously switched to a guitar (which he could play lefty strung right handed and appears to be a Rickenbacker) when this photo was taken. I'm sure if Jefferson Airplane knew he was coming, a left handed guitar or bass would have been on hand.

Rare Beatles Photographs by Henry Grossman

The Beatles were probably the most photographed band on the planet. There are billions of photos of them that have been published, there's the well known ones like their album cover shots and shots of them live but there are also ones that are less well known. Beatles photographs that you may never have seen? Yes.

Rock Paper Photo is a fantastic website that features a wonderfully rare and largely unpublished Beatles photograph collection by Henry Grossman, who is known for his contributions to Time and LIFE magazines.

Grossman's personal Beatles photo archive contains 6,000 photographs of the Fab Four and has been hidden away, just awaiting rediscovery. Henry began photographing the Beatles during their iconic appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964 and ever since then was allowed exclusive access by the band to their inner circle. The photographs he got are absolutely wonderful and I am privileged to be able to promote these images on this blog.

The Beatles give a press conference in New York City, 1964. Photo by Henry Grossman. (Courtesy of Rock Paper Photo)

These wonderful images capture the Beatles at the height of Beatlemania. Grossman was part of a select few photographers who were trusted by the band to photograph them. His shots of the group during Help are some of the best photographs of the Beatles ever taken, capturing them at a time when they were beginning to tire of the constant screaming and mania that surrounded them everywhere they went.

John Lennon & Paul McCartney during the filming of Help! The Bahamas, 1965. Photo by Henry Grossman. (Courtesy of Rock Paper Photo)

George Harrison and a lucky lady extra during the filming of Help! The Bahamas, 1965. Photo by Henry Grossman. (Courtesy of Rock Paper Photo)

Ringo Starr keeps the beat going during the filming of Help! The Bahamas, 1965. Photo by Henry Grossman. (Courtesy of Rock Paper Photo)

"The problem was that we went to the Bahamas to film all the hot scenes, and it was freezing. We had to ride around and run around in shirts and trousers, and it was absolutely bloody cold!" - Ringo Starr on filming Help! in the Bahamas.

Paul goofing around between scenes. The Bahamas, 1965. Photo by Henry Grossman. (Courtesy of Rock Paper Photo)

George looks like he's had enough of the cold weather. The Bahamas, 1965. Photo by Henry Grossman. (Courtesy of Rock Paper Photo)

The Beatles in Hyde Park, London, 1967. Photo by Henry Grossman (Courtesy of Rock Paper Photo)

John looking fab in a Sgt. Pepper-esque suit at his Kenwood home in Weybridge, Surrey, 1967. Photo by Henry Grossman (Courtesy of Rock Paper Photo)

Paul clears up his stubble at Abbey Road Studios, London, 1967. Photo by Henry Grossman (Courtesy of Rock Paper Photo)

These fabulous shots and more by Henry Grossman can all be purchased here.

Check out Rolling Stone.com for more fabulous shots by Henry Grossman, courtesy of Rock, Paper, Photo.com

What Would Epstein Think About The Boys' Legacy?

Since their first single release, the Beatles have gone down in history as the greatest band of all time, icons of 1960s pop culture and spokesmen for their generation. And their music is equally lauded as being on par with classical composers such as Beethoven and Schubert.
But what about Brian Epstein?
Read the rest of the article here:  http://voices.yahoo.com/50-years-would-brian-epstein-think-the-11832220.html?cat=33

The Beatles In Review: 'Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane' (1967)

Nothing Is Real: The Beatles film their promotional video for 'Strawberry Fields Forever' in Knole Park, Sevenoaks, Kent, England in 1967.

 When the Beatles resurfaced in January 1967 with a double A sided single the public all over the world rushed to buy it. It sounded different. 'Strawberry Fields Forever' and 'Penny Lane' but the accompanying promotional film proved a shock to many fans. The Beatles had grown moustaches and side burns and had cut their hair and styled it differently to the mop tops that had made them so loveable and cute. They had also stopped wearing matching suits and ties that had made them easily identifiable. The Beatles had re-invented themselves and if you weren't on board then you were doomed.

'Strawberry Fields Forever' Promotional Film (1967)

 When the video was previewed on 'American Bandstand' Dick Clark sat amidst his audience to get their comments and more than a few looked shocked and stunned. "What'd ya think of that?" Dick asked a smiling teenage boy next to him "I thought it was great!" the boy enthused. Dick obviously wasn't looking for that kind of reaction so he quickly turned his attention to the girl on the other side who said through a plastered on smile "I don't like their hair, their moustaches" Dick nodded "Didn't dig the moustaches, huh?" he replied and then a slightly conservative looking boy next to her piped up "It makes them look older and ruins their image" then he asked a slightly ditzy looking blonde "I thought it was funny!" she said while nodding her head like a bobble-head. Another girl piped up "They're ugly!" and the audience broke out in laughter and applause. "They went out with the twist" another conservative boy said while the girl next to him said "They look like Grandfathers or something". 

 "They look so much different than they used to"

 'Penny Lane' Promotional Film (1967)

 After a showing of the Penny Lane film, the comments were, again, divided: "It was different" said a girl "It was brighter, they smiled in this one at least" a southern boy drawled. "They're as bad as the Monkees" a decidedly uninformed boy snorted derisively. "They look much different than they used to" said a girl who was obviously pondering what this would mean for her love of the group. "I thought they were good" said a girl who got a round of cheers as the only one so far who had commented on the music. "Not much of a change" commented a boy sarcastically which drew laughs. The consensus was the Beatles had turned weird. But there was a definite change about the Beatles. They'd moved on with these two records and their absence for the latter part of 1966 had made their return a shock to everyone.