The Beatles- Tell Me What You See
Page 4
00-11-65 – Promo Video #2
Help!
For this 2nd video of ‘Help!’ (following the one made for the movie of the same name 7 months earlier), the group all sit astride a workman’s bench, with Ringo holding an umbrella while the others play their usual instruments. Again, this was on ‘Top Of The Pops’ on 25-12-65, and is on ‘1+’.
00-11-65 – Promo Videos #1 and #2
Day Tripper
These first two videos are both very similar, and feature The Beatles dressed in black while doing a straight mime with their usual instruments. At least one of them was broadcast on ‘Top Of The Pops’ on 02-12-65, 25-12-65 and 26-12-66 and on ‘Thank Your Lucky Stars’ on 04-12-65, while a montage of difference performances are featured on ‘Anthology’ and one of these is on ‘1+’. ‘Day Tripper’ got to No. 1 on both sides of the Atlantic, along with ‘We Can Work It Out’ as a double A-side in the UK.
00-11-65 – Promo Videos #3
Day Tripper
For this 3rd video, The Beatles wear their famous light ‘Shea Stadium’ jackets while miming among props of a railway carriage and aeroplane, though Ringo quickly dispenses with his drumsticks and starts cutting away at the railway carriage with a saw. This video was broadcast in the USA on ‘Hullabaloo’ on 03-01-66, and can also be seen on ‘1+’.
00-11-65 – Promo Videos #1 and #2
We Can Work It Out
Like the 1st and 2nd ‘Day Tripper’ videos, the first two performances of ‘We Can Work It Out’ are very similar, featuring straight mimes by the group while dressed in black, all playing their usual instruments with the exception of John, who plays an organ. One of these videos was shown on ‘Top Of The Pops’ on 02-12-65, 09-12-65, 30-12-65 and 26-12-66, on ‘Thank Your Lucky Stars’ on 04-12-65, and on ‘Hullabaloo’ on 03-01-66. A montage of different performances is on ‘Anthology’, while a complete performance is on ‘1+’.
00-11-65 – Promo Videos #3
We Can Work It Out
Playing the same instruments as on the first two videos, the big difference here is that they wear their ‘Shea Stadium’ jackets. The video can be seen on ‘1+’. Incidentally, on The Beatles’ final tour of the UK in December 1965, it was Paul, not John, who played organ on ‘We Can Work It Out’, as well as, strangely, on ‘Yesterday’. Frustratingly, no professionally-filmed videos and no audios are known to exist from this tour.
16-12-65 – ‘The Music Of Lennon and McCartney’ (UK)
I Feel Fine [Performed by The George Martin Orchestra] / A World Without Love [Performed by Peter and Gordon] / I Saw Him Standing There [Performed by Lulu] / A Hard Day's Night [Performed by Alan Haven and Tony Crombie] / Medley: She Loves You – I’ll Get You [Performed by Fritz Spiegl's Barock and Roll Ensemble] / Day Tripper / Yesterday [Clip only by Paul McCartney, then Performed by Marianne Faithfull] / She Loves You [Performed by Antonio Vargas] / Things We Said Today [Performed, in French, by Dick Rivers] / Bad To Me [Performed by Billy J. Kramer] / It's For You [Performed by Cilla Black] / Ringo's Theme (This Boy) [Performed by The George Martin Orchestra] / If I Fell [Performed by Henry Mancini] / And I Love Him [Performed by Esther Phillips] / A Hard Day's Night [Performed by Peter Sellers] / We Can Work It Out
Taped on 02-11-65, and hosted by both (John) Lennon and (Paul) McCartney, this is an enjoyable, albeit mimed, TV special. Admittedly some of the guests are a little tedious, but Lulu, Cilla Black, Peter and Gordon, Billy J. Kramer, Esther Philips and Peter Sellers are all more than worthy guests. The Beatles themselves take the opportunity to plug both sides of their current single, and Paul also performs a snippet of ‘Yesterday’ preceding Marianne Faithfull’s rendition of the song. ‘Day Tripper’ from this show is on the ‘1+’ DVDs.
19-05-66 – Promo Videos #1, #2, #3 and #4
Paperback Writer
Following the success of the 23-11-65 session, when then they taped no less than 10 different promo video in a day, they decided to repeat the exercise for their forthcoming single. Doing straight mimes while playing their usual instruments, they cut 4 similar videos for ‘Paperback Writer’, one of them in colour, and three in black and white. The colour video, along with a specially taped message from the group, was shown on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ on 05-06-66, while in the UK, where there was no colour TV yet, black and white videos were shown on ‘Ready, Steady, Go!’ on 03-06-66, and the final episode of ‘Thank Your Lucky Stars’, re-titled ‘Goodbye Lucky Stars’, on 25-06-66. The colour video can be seen on ‘1+’. ‘Paperback Writer’ b/w ‘Rain’ was another UK and US No. 1.
19-05-66 – Promo Videos #1, #2 and #3
Rain
As with ‘Paperback Writer’, several similar videos for ‘Rain’ were made, this time one of them in colour and two in black and white. The colour video was shown on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ on 05-06-66, while black and white videos were broadcast on ‘Ready, Steady, Go!’ on 03-06-66, and ‘Goodbye Lucky Stars’ on 25-06-66. A montage of different videos was shown on ‘Anthology’, while one of the black and white videos is on ‘1+’.
20-05-66 – Promo Video #5
Paperback Writer
If any videos are the true precursor to those from the late ‘70s onwards, then it is the two that were shot on location at London’s Chiswick House today, in particular the one they made for ‘Rain’. For ‘Paperback Writer’, the band mime while playing their usual instruments, with the exception of Ringo, who simply sits around looking a little bored. This was shown on ‘Top Of The Pops’ in black and white on 02-06-66 and 23-06-66, and can be seen in full colour on both ‘Anthology’ and ‘1+’.
20-05-66 – Promo Video #4
Rain
Again at Chiswick House, this is a surreal combination of intercut shots, sometimes playing instruments and sometimes without, sometimes sitting and sometimes walking, and sometimes wearing shades and sometimes without. It was first shown, in black and white, on ‘Top Of The Pops’ on 09-06-66, and can be seen in all its colour glory on ‘1+’. Incidentally, on all of the May 1966 videos Paul looks a little different from usual, as he’d recently broken a front tooth in a moped accident (it was repaired in time for the summer ’66 world tour). Despite this, the band never looked cooler than on here.
16-06-66 – ‘Top Of The Pops’ (UK) – MISSING/LOST
Rain / Paperback Writer
Despite deciding in late 1965 that they didn’t want to perform on TV anymore, for this show The Beatles agreed to make an appearance, their first time ever in the actual ‘Top Of The Pops’ London studio. Broadcast live, they mimed to both sides of their current single. A few years back, much excitement was made when footage of The Hollies performing ‘Bus Stop’ on this very episode surfaced. Sadly, this didn’t mean that The Beatles’ only true appearance on the show was imminent, though a poor quality, 11-second clip, filmed from the TV screen, did surface recently.
24-06-66 – Circus Krone, Munich (Germany)
Rock and Roll Music / Baby’s In Black / I Feel Fine / Yesterday / Nowhere Man / I’m Down
Judging by surviving videos and audios, up until 1965 The Beatles remained a great live act, despite an unfair later reputation to the contrary. By their final trek around Germany, the Far East and the USA in the summer of 1966 however, it was becoming clear that The Beatles clearly didn’t want to do this anymore, and they made little effort to disguise it. Despite this apathy towards performing and clear under-rehearsal, they still seem to be genuinely pleased to be back in front of a German crowd for the first time since their pre-stardom days, though ‘I’m Down’ is particularly messy. A US No. 3 single, ‘Nowhere Man’ can be seen on ‘Anthology’.
30-06-66 – ‘Top Of The Pops’ (UK) – MISSING/LOST
Paperback Writer
This is a repeat of the 16-06-66 performance.
30-06-66 – Budokan Hall, Tokyo (Japan)
Rock and Roll Music / She’s A Woman / If I Needed Someone / Day Tripper / Baby’s In Black / I Feel Fine / Yesterday / I Wanna Be Your Man
/ Nowhere Man / Paperback Writer / I’m Down
Long gone down in history as examples of the band performing at their very worse, these Japanese concerts aren’t THAT bad, though they can’t be compared to the live peaks of ‘Drop In’ in 1963 or in Melbourne in 1964. It is easy to identify the difference between this show and the footage the next day thanks to the dark suits and red shirts worn here. ‘Paperback Writer’ from this show is on ‘Anthology’.
01-07-66 – Budokan Hall, Tokyo (Japan)
Rock and Roll Music / She’s A Woman / If I Needed Someone / Day Tripper / Baby’s In Black / I Feel Fine / Yesterday / I Wanna Be Your Man / Nowhere Man / Paperback Writer / I’m Down
Now wearing light striped jackets, this performance is a little better than the previous one, though, again, it’s the more recent material such as ‘If I Needed Someone’, ‘Day Tripper’ and ‘Paperback Writer’ that comes off worst. ‘Rock and Roll Music’ and ‘Yesterday’ can be seen on ‘Anthology’. Following these shows, there would be some final concerts in the USA, culminating in San Francisco’s Candlestick Park on 29-08-66, and then The Beatles as a group would never perform on a concert stage again.
11-08-66 – ‘Top Of The Pops’ Video (UK) – MISSING/LOST
Yellow Submarine
The Beatles’ 1966 album ‘Revolver’ is rightly considered one of the finest collection of songs ever made, not only by the group but by anyone. So, it is ironic that The Beatles as a group never performed any of the songs from it, whether in concert, on TV or as Promo Videos. There were cartoons, both in the US TV series ‘the Beatles’, and, a couple of years later, in the movie ‘Yellow Submarine’, but the closest there were to Promo Videos were two unofficial and low budget films made for ‘Top Of The Pops’, and they are long lost. The first of these specially commissioned videos was this one, broadcast on 11-08-66, and repeated on 25-08-66 and 01-09-66. It features no direct involvement from The Beatles, instead incorporating aqua club divers in a London swimming pool. As for the single it was promoting, ‘Yellow Submarine’ b/w ‘Eleanor Rigby’ was another double A-side, and was a UK No. 1 and a US No. 2.
08-09-66 – ‘Top Of The Pops’ Video (UK) – MISSING/LOST
Eleanor Rigby
Again made for ‘Top Of The Pops’, and broadcast just the once on 08-09-66, this features a montage of still images of an actor dressed as a priest while in a Manchester churchyard. Even at the time, viewers must’ve found this underwhelming, despite the undoubted high quality of the accompanying soundtrack.
26-12-66 – ‘Top Of The Pops’ (UK) – MISSING/LOST
Paperback Writer
This is a repeat of the 16-06-66 performance.
00-02-67 – Promo Video
Penny Lane
Since the beginning, The Beatles had developed at an unbelievable rate, but even by their standards, ‘Penny Lane’ b/w ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’, their first single since they gave up touring, is extraordinary, and this is equalled by the accompanying Promo Videos. Taped in Stratford, London, on 05-02-67, and in Sevenoaks, Kent, on 07-02-67, this colourful footage also had filmed inserts (without the band) from Liverpool, giving the illusion that they were actually in the real Penny Lane. Famously ‘only’ getting to No. 2 in the UK though another US No. 1, this was shown, in part, on ‘Juke Box Jury’ on 11-02-67, it was broadcast in the UK in full on ‘As You Like It’ on 11-02-67, and on ‘Top Of The Pops’ on 16-02-67 and 23-02-67, while in the USA, it was shown on ‘Hollywood Palace’ on 25-02-67, ‘Clay Cole’s Diskotek’ on 11-03-67, ‘American Bandstand’ on 11-03-67 and ‘Where The Action Is’ on 14-03-67. The video can be found on ‘Anthology’ and ‘1+’, with the latter featuring inserted outtake footage.
00-02-67 – Promo Video
Strawberry Fields Forever
A strong candidate for one of the finest music videos ever made, this was taped in Sevenoaks’ Knole Park on 30-01-67 and 31-01-67. The video was shown on ‘Top Of The Pops’ on 16-02-67 and 02-03-67, ‘Hollywood Palace’ on 25-02-67, ‘Clay Cole’s Diskotek’ on 11-03-67, ‘American Bandstand’ on 11-03-67 and ‘Where The Action Is’ on 14-03-67. The video is on ‘Anthology’ with inserted home movie footage, and, in its original form, on ‘1+’. Incidentally, while in Sevenoaks John Lennon bought an old circus poster, which quickly became the inspiration for the song ‘Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!’.
00-06-67 – Promo Video
A Day In The Life
Although not released as a single, a video for the penultimate track from ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ was taped on 10-02-67, during a recording session with the orchestra, primarily for a proposed TV special on the album that failed to materialise. Not broadcast at the time but circulating in unofficial circles for years, it can be seen, in slightly re-edited form, on ‘Anthology’, and, the way it was originally intentioned, on ‘1+’.
25-06-67 – ‘Our World’ (UK)
All You Need Is Love
‘Our World’ was the first live, international, satellite TV production, broadcast to an estimated 500 million people in more than 30 countries. There was no better way to publicise a new single, so ‘All You Need Is Love’ was The Beatles memorable contribution to the show, and was pretty much guaranteed to reach No. 1 on both sides of the Atlantic. Taped in black and white, and subsequently broadcast on ‘Top Of The Pops’ on 06-07-67, 03-08-67 and 26-12-67, it was colourised for the ‘Anthology’ TV series, videos and DVDs, and is also featured in colour on ‘1+’.
13-07-67 – ‘Top Of The Pops’ Video (UK)
All You Need Is Love
‘Top Of The Pops’ only had permission to repeat the ‘Our World’ footage a limited number of times, so for some editions of the show, a specially commissioned video was shown instead. This was first broadcast on 13-07-67, and repeated on 20-07-67 and 27-07-67.
00-11-67 – Promo Video #1
Hello Goodbye
Following the surreal Promo Videos they made for ‘Penny Lane’, ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ and ‘A Day In The Life’ earlier in the year, The Beatles decided to return to the more straightforward mimed-in-the-studio videos of earlier times. Taped in London’s Saville Theatre on 10-11-67, this 1st version features the band in their ‘SGT. Pepper’ outfits, the only time they wore them on TV, though George would wear his again for solo videos in 1974 and 1988. Another No. 1 in the UK and USA, this was shown in the states on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ on 26-11-67 and ‘Hollywood Palace’ on 27-11-67. A montage of the 3 videos, though mainly using footage from this 1st one, is on ‘Anthology’, and it is included in its original form on ‘1+’.
00-11-67 – Promo Video #2
Hello Goodbye
For this one, The Beatles wear standard (1967) clothes, as well as featuring Ringo playing a proper drum kit rather than the toy one he used in the 1st video. Again it is on ‘1+’
00-11-67 – Promo Video #3
Hello Goodbye
Often referred to as the ‘twisting’ video owing to some brief but manic dancing sequences, this video is compiled from outtake footage of the 1st and 2nd videos. As with the other videos, this is on ‘1+’.
23-11-67 – ‘Top Of The Pops’ Video #1 (UK) – MISSING/LOST
Hello Goodbye
By 1967, there was a ban on miming on UK TV, even in Promo Videos, so ‘Top Of The Pops’ refused to broadcast any of the 3 videos that were made on 10-11-67. For the 23-11-67 edition of the show, they used re-dubbed footage of the group in ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ in 1964, much to the annoyance of the group.
00-12-67 – Promo Video #4
Hello Goodbye
As ‘Top Of The Pops’ wouldn’t/couldn’t show any of the other videos, NEMS supplied them with footage of The Beatles working on ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ in the film cutting room. Intercut with recent photos, this ‘4th’ video was broadcast on 07-12-67, 14-12-67, 21-12-67, 25-12-67 and 28-12-67, though following this, ‘Top Of The Pops’ came up with a couple of new videos – see the entries for 11-01-68 and
25-12-68.
26-12-67 – ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ movie (UK)
Magical Mystery Tour / The Fool On The Hill / Flying / I Am The Walrus / Blue Jay Way / Your Mother Should Know
Although planned before Brian Epstein’s death on 27-08-67, the ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ TV movie was the first project The Beatles did without his guidance. Long dividing critics and fans, both the TV movie and the soundtrack are a bit hit-and-miss, though few can deny the brilliance of performances like ‘The Fool On The Hill’ and ‘I Am the Walrus’. Filmed on location in Hampshire, Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, Kent and London from 11-09-67 to 01-10-67, it was first broadcast in the UK, in black and white, on 26-12-67, and repeated in colour on 05-01-68, though few people in the UK had colour TV sets at the time. ‘The Fool On The Hill’ was broadcast on ‘Top Of The Pops’ on 28-12-67, ‘Magical Mystery Tour’, ‘The Fool On The Hill’, ‘Flying’, ‘I Am The Walrus’ and ‘Your Mother Should Know’ are all in ‘Anthology’, and the whole movie is available on DVD.
11-01-68 – ‘Top Of The Pops’ Video #2 (UK) – MISSING/LOST
Hello Goodbye
Despite having a 4th video supplied to them by NEMS, ‘Top Of The Pops’ used dubbed footage from ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ for this edition of the show.
00-02-68 – Promo Video
Lady Madonna
To get around the UK miming ban for their latest video, filmed on 11-02-68, The Beatles chose to be filmed randomly working in the studio, where they used the time to record the new song ‘Hey Bulldog’. It wouldn’t be until 1999 that the footage synced to ‘Hey Bulldog’ would be issued, but meanwhile two, very similar, edits of the ‘Lady Madonna’ video was released. A UK No. 1 and a US No. 4, the video was shown on ‘Top Of The Pops’ on 14-03-68, 28-03-68, 04-04-68 and 25-12-68, ‘All Systems Freeman’ on 15-03-68, and, in the USA, ‘Hollywood Palace’ on 30-03-68. A new edit was issued on ‘Anthology’, while one of the 1968 edits is on ‘1+’.
00-06-68 – Studio Rehearsals, EMI Studios, London (UK)