The Beatles Thread

[Dr Winston O Boogie]

Just thought I would start a thread on a subject close to my heart The Beatles, so as not to clog up the White Album thread, feel free to post love em or not on all things fab four related. :band:

[The Black Adder]

I've grown up with them... to late to know of them in the charts etc... But I loves em, I do.

I don't have a bad album, I love every one.

[struth]

Talent is God given, Be humble.....
Fame is man-given, Be grateful.....
Conceit is self-given. Be careful........ a great quote from John Wooden I think....

the Beatles had all 3, but most folk do in that position.
I came to like the Beatles around the time they released Abbey Rd; before that I couldn't stomach their pap. My sister was an avid fan and had all their singles, so that alone might have been the reason, although I like to think it was because i was, even at a young age into blues and then R&B... so the stones, Led Zep etc were my loves.
Hard to think of any musicians who had more fame tbh, Elvis and Michael Jackson were perhaps as famous; Elvis maybe more so....But both they and the Beatles went a bit odd shall we say...some more so than others.
Music wise they were, and probably still are an icon and without them the world would be a worse place. Ive got numerous albums on vinyl and cd, and listen a lot even to this day so they cant be half bad :cool:

[martian sunrise]

i inherited a load of beatles vinyl from my ma in the summer, some of it quite collectable. I have recently been listening to it and really enjoying it. not given them that much time in the past. i have one version of Help! which would be worth billions, if it didn't have her homework written on the back...

[Bigman80]

As a kid, my old man would be playing their entire back catalogue, pretty much daily. When I learned to play the guitar, it was a Beatles song that i first learnt. Now my boys are aged 4 & 6 and I'm doing the same to them.

They were more than a band making music, they are THE example of how songwriting and musical influence still find relevance in today's world.

Timeless.

[WESTLOWER]

Being born in 1970, I've not properly listened to the Beatles....
The tunes are SO familiar it is actually hard to listen to the music subjectively.
So prompted by the recent reissue discussions here and the availability of good quality streams via Tidal, i'm going to give the Albums a fair crack.

Being a Jazz nut, I must say they had quite an impact on Jazz recording artists over the decades, as many producers tried to taste the Gravy from the Beatles epidemic. Many Jazz Lps feature at least 1 Fab Four cut, normally pretty shite if I'm honest.
One of my favourite Lps is George Benson's The Other Side of Abbey Road. It's wonderful and I actually knew this record before becoming familiar with the Beatles tunes. It was recorded just 3 months after Abbey Road was released.
Brad Mehldau does some great versions of Beatles tunes and really uses them as a spring board to go off in other directions. And I Love her on 10 years solo live, all 16 minutes of it... is an Epic! IMHO unmissable!

A strange connection to the Fab Four...
I'm actually extremely good friends with son of the 5th Beatle!! Jimmy Nicol, great session drummer who sat in for sick Ringo in 1964, on The Beatles' Australasian tour, (although i quite like to believe my own fantasy that they twigged Ringo couldn't drum so drafted Jimmy in :eyebrows:) Subsequently it ruined Jimmy's life. He eventually went to ground and his son still has Journalists outside his London home hoping to get Jimmy Nicol's Beatle story..

The son, coincidentally and rather ironically, went on to win a BAFTA for his work as a sound man on the 'Beatles Anthology'. Strange world!

[Pigmy Pony]

I believe John Lennon was once asked in an interview: "Why Ringo Starr? He's not the best drummer in the world". To which John replied, "Ringo isn't the best drummer in The Beatles". Caustic bugger!

I think Ringo did a sterling job, plenty good enough for what needed doing.

[struth]

Ringo is always a target lol but i thought him a decent drummer... not a genius but well good enough for what is, or were a pop band.

[Macca]

My uncle Rod used to tell us this story: In 1958 he was the drummer in a jazz band until he was drafted into the Military Police and sent to Germany for 2 years. He had his own drum kit which he stored in the cubby hole in the local church hall. It was distinctive because the drums were painted with pictures of camels and palm trees. (This somehow related to the name of the band which I forget now).

In any case he gets out of the services and goes down to the church to get his drum kit. It isn't there. So he goes to the vicar and the vicar says 'Oh you know that Richard Starkey? He took it, said you wouldn't mind.'

Any road up we never really believed this story but about ten years ago some lost footage of the Beatles playing the Cavern Club came to light and was shown on TV. It's pretty grainy but you can just make out the camels and the palm trees on the drum kit Ringo is playing.

Anyway that's my claim to fame. Oh and I was at school with Pete Best's nephew.

[Pigmy Pony]

My uncle Rod used to tell us this story: In 1958 he was the drummer in a jazz band until he was drafted into the Military Police and sent to Germany for 2 years. He had his own drum kit which he stored in the cubby hole in the local church hall. It was distinctive because the drums were painted with pictures of camels and palm trees. (This somehow related to the name of the band which I forget now).

In any case he gets out of the services and goes down to the church to get his drum kit. It isn't there. So he goes to the vicar and the vicar says 'Oh you know that Richard Starkey? He took it, said you wouldn't mind.'

Any road up we never really believed this story but about ten years ago some lost footage of the Beatles playing the Cavern Club came to light and was shown on TV. It's pretty grainy but you can just make out the camels and the palm trees on the drum kit Ringo is playing.

Anyway that's my claim to fame. Oh and I was at school with Pete Best's nephew.

That's a pretty good claim to fame!

Mine is that I had a mate at school whose uncle went to see The Beatles but missed his train so went to the pub instead. Actually the lad was a friend of my brother's, not me. So a bit tenuous.

I once met Gary Glitter in a hotel lift...does that count?

[struth]

That's a pretty good claim to fame!

Mine is that I had a mate at school whose uncle went to see The Beatles but missed his train so went to the pub instead. Actually the lad was a friend of my brother's, not me. So a bit tenuous.

I once met Gary Glitter in a hotel lift...does that count?

hope you got out alive :ner:

[WESTLOWER]

I once met Gary Glitter in a hotel lift...does that count?

Good God Man!, how awful!

[GrahamS]

I once remarked to a well known conductor / composer during a recording session "Where are the Beethovens and the Strauss' of today?" and he replied "Listen to The Beatles!"

[Pigmy Pony]

hope you got out alive :ner:

I was 19 at the time, so not really his target demographic. And he was about five foot nothing. The guy with him was the size of a house though.

[Dr Winston O Boogie]

Studio two Abbey Road had a go at Ringo's drums, grainy pic but that is my ugly mug many, many years ago.

http://i1285.photobucket.com/albums/a595/tele19621/002_zpsk34spasc.jpg (http://s1285.photobucket.com/user/tele19621/media/002_zpsk34spasc.jpg.html)

[Pigmy Pony]

The sixth Beatle! Or seventh, or eighth, I've lost count...

[Macca]

I suppose one advantage in those days was you didn't need 15 mikes just for the drum kit.

So what year was the photo taken?

[Dr Winston O Boogie]

I suppose one advantage in those days was you didn't need 15 mikes just for the drum kit.

So what year was the photo taken?

That would be 1982.

[Dr Winston O Boogie]

Fantastic book and a must have for any Beatles fan:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Beatles-Recording-Sessions-1962-1970/dp/0600612074

[Dr Winston O Boogie]

This is amazing:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_XgMggNfa8

[Sherwood]

OK! So it's tenuous connections to the Beatles. I spent a month working on a project in Montserrat in 1989. George Martin, whose Air Studios were located on the Island, was staying at the same hotel as I was. We exchanged nods every morning over breakfast, but in those nods was a huge sub text about production techniques and audio engineering.

Half way through my stay we ate lunch in the same restaurant in the capital Plymouth. Whilst queuing for the buffet I grunted my recognition for his contribution to music. His shrug said more than words could say.

Geoff

[Macca]

Not sure many Beatles fans would think actually meeting George Martin was a tenuous connection!


Have you been back to Montserrat since the eruption? There's not a lot left. Really sad.

[struth]

had a pint with Jack Bruce once; he was a decent guy. not beatles obviously.....

[Sherwood]

Not sure many Beatles fans would think actually meeting George Martin was a tenuous connection!


Have you been back to Montserrat since the eruption? There's not a lot left. Really sad.

The Islanders had it really tough. Just after we completed our report Montserrat was hit by Hurricane Hugo. There was extensive infrastructure damage and hardly a leaf left on any tree. I went back a few years later (1994?) to advise the government on the feasibility of a local social health insurance scheme. That was not long before the volcano erupted. Of course, at that time, the volcano was thought to be benign and visitors (myself included) were encouraged to visit the Soufriere Hills: a steamy smokey sulphurous outcrop. Unfortunately, the eruption hit the most developed part of the island leaving most of the infrastructure including Glendon Hospital under 40ft of volcanic ash and mud.

George Martin's studios were actually closed after Hugo rather than the volcano but the Island had a strong musical ethos. It was home to Soca musician (Arrow) who was brother to one of the senior health department officials I worked with. Midge Ure had a home on the island and would often be seen chilling or playing darts in the Green Gecko bar in Plymouth. The entire south of the island is now an exclusion zone and the population has fallen to around 5,000. Although tourism has restarted, it is unlikely to ever return to the island paradise it was twenty odd years ago.

Geoff

[Macca]

I was there in 2014, they are slowly getting it back together. But the volcano is still very active as we found out when we flew in too close.

[Sherwood]

I was there in 2014, they are slowly getting it back together. But the volcano is still very active as we found out when we flew in too close.

Is the Vue Pointe Hotel running again? That was where all the celebs stayed including Sting, the Stones and of course GM. Did the get to try the Montserrat Roti and "Mountain Chicken". The latter is a huge frog with legs that resemble drumsticks.

Geoff

BTW: This is somewhat anachronistic but interesting glimpse into a former time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GtUE7QFUzA

[Macca]

Is the Vue Pointe Hotel running again? That was where all the celebs stayed including Sting, the Stones and of course GM. Did the get to try the Montserrat Roti and "Mountain Chicken". The latter is a huge frog with legs that resemble drumsticks.

Geoff

]

I don't know, it was just a quick trip over from Antigua, not much time to look around. Plymouth is completely gone, just ruins, and all that is left of the original airport is one of the markers that was at the far end of the runway.

[Joe]

Not sure many Beatles fans would think actually meeting George Martin was a tenuous connection!

I can do tenuous. Cilla Black used to visit my grandmother's sweetshop when she was a nipper. (Cilla, that is, not my grandmother). Even more tenuously, one of the Searchers went to my primary school.

[Dr Winston O Boogie]

had a pint with Jack Bruce once; he was a decent guy. not beatles obviously.....

:stalks:

[struth]

:stalks:

Jack was a decent bloke; Was Scottish too. forgot what they called themselves, Clem Clemson was there too..he was good.

[Sherwood]

That's a pretty good claim to fame!

Mine is that I had a mate at school whose uncle went to see The Beatles but missed his train so went to the pub instead. Actually the lad was a friend of my brother's, not me. So a bit tenuous.

I once met Gary Glitter in a hotel lift...does that count?

Did you want to be in his band? His band? :scratch:

[Pigmy Pony]

That's a pretty good claim to fame!

Mine is that I had a mate at school whose uncle went to see The Beatles but missed his train so went to the pub instead. Actually the lad was a friend of my brother's, not me. So a bit tenuous.

I once met Gary Glitter in a hotel lift...does that count?

Did you want to be in his band? His band? :scratch:

Oh yeah!

[Dr Winston O Boogie]

I received a copy of The Beatles ( 2014 white album, mono, analog) the other day, but sadly another warped example of a new record being exchanged.:(

[Pigmy Pony]

I wonder if maybe the record manufacturers aren't taking the 'vinyl revival' seriously, of just see it as a passing fad, and so aren't prepared to commit any money to improving/replacing equipment, and training up staff.

One of my new purchases this Christmas was so warped along its edge, my pickup was nodding more than Noddy Holder in the land of Nod. Oi Churchill, is this yet another crappy pressing? Ooh, yes!

[Dr Winston O Boogie]

I wonder if maybe the record manufacturers aren't taking the 'vinyl revival' seriously, of just see it as a passing fad, and so aren't prepared to commit any money to improving/replacing equipment, and training up staff.

One of my new purchases this Christmas was so warped along its edge, my pickup was nodding more than Noddy Holder in the land of Nod. Oi Churchill, is this yet another crappy pressing? Ooh, yes!

I am begining to wonder, it seems more and more modern releases (bearing in mind this is 180g vinyl) are for some reason warping.

[struth]

storage and transportation is often an issue too. most warps are caused by being stored flat often near a heat source