JOHN,
PAUL, GEORGE AND RINGO SHAKE UP THE AIRWAVES
New
2CD and Vinyl LP Collections Feature 40 Performances from
The
Beatles’ 1963-1964 BBC Radio Broadcasts
In 1994, The Beatles’ Live at the BBC was released to worldwide acclaim - hitting number
one in the U.K., number three in the U.S. and selling more than five million
copies within six weeks. A new companion
to The Beatles’ first BBC collection, On
Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2, will be released Monday, November 11 in 2CD
and 180-gram vinyl packages with a 48-page booklet. On Air’s
63 tracks, none of which overlaps with The Beatles’ first BBC release, include
37 previously unreleased performances and 23 previously unreleased recordings
of in-studio banter and conversation between the band’s members and their BBC radio
hosts.
 |
| Outside the BBC Paris Theatre, London. 4 April 1963© Apple Corps Ltd |
In the studios of the
British Broadcasting Corporation, The Beatles performed music for a variety of
radio shows. On Air - Live at the BBC
Volume 2 presents the sound of The Beatles seizing their moment to play for
the nation. Thrilled to hear these
exciting recordings again, Paul McCartney said, “There’s a lot of energy and
spirit. We are going for it, not holding back at all, trying to put in the best
performance of our lifetimes.”
 |
| “Top Gear”. BBC Playhouse Theatre, London. 17 November 1964. © Apple Corps Ltd. |
Ten of On Air’s songs were never recorded by
the group for EMI in the 1960s, including two making their debuts with the new
release: The Beatles’ direct-to-air
performance of Chuck Berry’s “I’m Talking About You” and a rocking cover of the
standard “Beautiful Dreamer.” On Air also includes different versions
of six rarities heard on the 1994 BBC collection: Little Richard’s “Lucille,” Chuck Berry’s “Memphis,
Tennessee,” Chan Romero’s “The Hippy Hippy Shake,” Ray Charles’ “I Got A Woman,”
and two songs they learned from records by Carl Perkins, “Glad All Over” and “Sure
To Fall.”
The Beatles’ tribute
to the BBC’s most important pop show of the early ’60s – “Happy Birthday, Dear
Saturday Club” – is another surprise. As
John Lennon recalled in 1980, “We did a lot of tracks that were never on record
for Saturday Club – they were well
recorded, too.” Paul remembers, “We’d
been raised on the BBC radio programs.
One of the big things in our week was Saturday Club – this great show was playing the kind of music we
loved, so that was something we really aspired to.”
 |
| BBC Playhouse Theatre, London. © Apple Corps Ltd. |
Between March 1962
and June 1965, no fewer than 275 unique musical performances by The Beatles
were broadcast by the BBC in the U.K. The
group played songs on 39 radio shows in 1963 alone. Ringo Starr said in 1994, “You tend to forget
that we were a working band. It’s that
mono sound. There were usually no
overdubs. We were in at the count-in and
that was it. I get excited listening to
them.” On their busiest BBC day, July 16,
1963, The Beatles recorded 18 songs for three editions of their Pop Go The Beatles series in fewer than
seven hours.
The group played 88
distinct songs in their BBC sessions – some were recorded many times; others
performed just once. At the time, three
national BBC stations provided all daytime radio broadcasting in the U.K. Only the Light Programme network might
occasionally play a record. Most broadcast
music was live music. Consequently, to
promote their releases, The Beatles had to play live at the BBC. “Everything was done instantly,” remembered
George Harrison, “But before that, we used to drive 200 miles in an old van
down the M1, come into London, try and find the BBC and then set up and do the
program. Then we’d probably drive back
to Newcastle for a gig in the evening!”
On
Air also
features BBC recordings of 30 well-loved songs from The Beatles’ catalogue,
including five number ones and other favorites such as: “I Saw Her Standing
There,” “Twist And Shout,” “Do You Want To Know A Secret,” “Boys,” “Please
Mister Postman,” “Money,” “And I Love Her,” and “If I Fell.”
Like its critically
acclaimed predecessor, On Air - Live at
the BBC Volume 2 includes audio of The Beatles talking to DJs Brian Matthew
and Alan Freeman and Pop Go The Beatles
hosts Lee Peters and Rodney Burke. When
first broadcast, pop fans were amazed to hear such witty irreverence on the
rather formal BBC and it is great fun to hear these extracts now. In addition, On Air releases, for the first time, the group’s candid interviews
for the Pop Profile series recorded
in November 1965 and May 1966.
 |
| BBC Paris Theatre, London. © Apple Corps Ltd. |
Newly
remastered for reissue on November 11, The Beatles’ first Live at the BBC album sounds and looks better
than ever. This collection of the
group’s BBC sessions mixed versions of their hits with a treasure trove of 30
songs The Beatles performed on air but never released on record in the 1960s. The compelling track list ranged from a rare
performance of the little known Lennon-McCartney original “I’ll Be On My Way” to
covers of classic rock ’n’ roll and contemporary rhythm and blues songs. At the time of its release, Live at the BBC was hailed by Rolling Stone as “an exhilarating
portrait of a band in the process of shaping its own voice and vision.” It earned a GRAMMY® Award
nomination for Best Historical Album.
Live
at the BBC
was assembled by George Martin in 1994 and On
Air - Live at the BBC Volume Two was
compiled and researched by producers Kevin Howlett and Mike Heatley. Both albums have been meticulously mastered by
engineers Guy Massey and Alex Wharton at Abbey Road Studios. The booklets for both collections include
Kevin Howlett’s essays on the history of The Beatles’ BBC radio sessions and
his detailed commentaries on all of the tracks.
The Beatles: On Air
– Live at the BBC Volume 2
CD
ONE
1. And Here We Are Again (Speech)
2. WORDS OF LOVE
3. How About It, Gorgeous? (Speech)
4. DO YOU WANT TO KNOW A SECRET
5. LUCILLE
6. Hey, Paul… (Speech)
7. ANNA (GO TO HIM)
8. Hello! (Speech)
9. PLEASE PLEASE ME
10. MISERY
11. I’M TALKING ABOUT YOU
12. A Real Treat (Speech)
13. BOYS
14. Absolutely Fab (Speech)
15. CHAINS
16. ASK ME WHY
17. TILL THERE WAS YOU
18. LEND ME YOUR COMB
19. Lower 5E (Speech)
20. THE HIPPY HIPPY SHAKE
21. ROLL OVER BEETHOVEN
22. THERE’S A PLACE
23. Bumper Bundle (Speech)
24. P.S. I LOVE YOU
25. PLEASE MISTER POSTMAN
26. BEAUTIFUL DREAMER
27. DEVIL IN HER HEART
28. The 49 Weeks (Speech)
29. SURE TO FALL (IN LOVE WITH YOU)
30. Never Mind, Eh? (Speech)
31. TWIST AND SHOUT
32. Bye, Bye (speech)
33. John - Pop Profile (Speech)
34. George - Pop Profile (Speech)
CD
TWO
1. I SAW HER STANDING THERE
2. GLAD ALL OVER
3. Lift Lid Again (Speech)
4. I’LL GET YOU
5. SHE LOVES YOU
6. MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
7. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR SATURDAY CLUB
8. Now Hush, Hush (Speech)
9. FROM ME TO YOU
10. MONEY (THAT’S WHAT I WANT)
11. I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND
12. Brian Bathtubes (Speech)
13. THIS BOY
14. If I Wasn’t In America (Speech)
15. I GOT A WOMAN
16. LONG TALL SALLY
17. IF I FELL
18. A Hard Job Writing Them (Speech)
19. AND I LOVE HER
20. Oh, Can’t We? Yes We Can (Speech)
21. YOU CAN’T DO THAT
22. HONEY DON’T
23. I’LL FOLLOW THE SUN
24. Green With Black Shutters (Speech)
25. KANSAS CITY/HEY-HEY-HEY-HEY!
26. That’s What We’re Here For (Speech)
27. I FEEL FINE (STUDIO OUTTAKE)
28. Paul - Pop Profile (Speech)
29. Ringo - Pop Profile (Speech)
* * *
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