2019

He’s back, and with a terrific topic: each of us choosing 7 moments in the history of The Beatles that we would’ve liked to have been around to witness as a fly on the wall. The criteria being, occasions where the history is unclear, or simply moments that would’ve been amazing to witness. This ended up as an interesting Rorschach exercise, mapping out our respective concentrated areas of interest as well. You’ll hear ours but we want to hear yours: leave ’em for consideration on Twitter, Facebook or on the site. We’ll take ’em up for a future show.

You know him as the photographer responsible for one Beatles album cover (two in the US); their last group photo shoot, and as the official photographer on the “Get Back” / Let It Be project (his photos filled the book packaged with the original issue). But Ethan Russell also produced iconic images for the Rolling Stones and The Who, as well as album covers and short films for an array of artists, plus wrote several books (including Dear Mr. Fantasy). His latest is in the works as part of a Kickstarter campaign – check out EthanRussell.com for details. In this first conversation, we present an overview of his life and career. More detailed Beatle-centric recollections will come in the second installment.

This is the second part of a discussion begun with Doug Sulpy (co-author of Drugs, Divorce and a Slipping Image/Get Back), this time with blogger Dan Rivkin. His blog, They May Be Parted, is a detailed examination of the Nagra tapes of the “Get Back”/Let It Be project. Dan adds detail, analysis and context to the recordings, and we dive deep into what all there is to be gleaned from the extant record (and speculate on what to expect from Peter Jackson). Part one of January 1969 here. Dan’s blog: https://theymaybeparted.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheyMayBeParted Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theymaybeparted/

You know him as the human music stand kneeling before John Lennon for “Dig A Pony” during the rooftop session of January 1969. But Kevin Harrington was much more than that: coming into The Beatles’ orbit beginning in January 1966 as an office boy at NEMS; an employee of the Saville Theatre the following year, and lastly, a roadie/gofer at Apple from 1968 on, setting up their musical gear for recording sessions (and hanging out otherwise). Kevin’s stories are entertaining and insightful: The Beatles as seen up-close from day-to-day through the eyes of a teenager. “What a Beatle wants, a Beatle gets!” Some links for Who’s The Redhead on the Roof? US: https://www.amazon.com/Whos-Redhead-Roof-life-Beatles-ebook/dp/B00XRCZDD2 UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Whos-Redhead-Roof-life-Beatles-ebook/dp/B00XRCZDD2 plus https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/KevinHarrington and https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/who-s-the-redhead-on-the-roof

Back in 2000, Chip Madinger and Mark Easter produced an exhaustive study of every extant recording of the solo Beatles, up to that very year: studio sessions, live concerts and broadcasts. Eight Arms To Hold You was a one-of-a-kind detailed examination of what the four ex-Beatles did musically, when and with whom. The book went out of print, but the good news is, it’s back (in PDF form) and updated with another 20,000 words, further detailing the ground covered (though it still ends at 2000). I talked with Mark and Chip about the lay of the land, unreleased recording-wise; what else is out there and what we can make of what we have been given. Eight Arms To Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium (2018 edition) can be found here. Lennonology: A Scrapbook of Madness, by Chip and Scott Raile, can be found here.

Two words: Peter Jackson Remember the “Winter of Discontent”? My guest today is Doug Sulpy, co-author (with Ray Schweighardt) of Drugs, Divorce and a Slipping Image (AKA Get Back: The Unauthorized Chronicle of the Beatles’ “Let It Be” Disaster.) With the announcement of the long-desired fresh look at the Let It Be project being in the works, we discuss what can be learned from a close study of the Nagra reels, and where the common perceptions have missed the mark. This episode is an overview: we take a deeper dive in January 1969 part two. The revised version of Drugs, Divorce and a Slipping Image can be found at dougsulpy.com Check out Doug’s 910 newsletter here  

  It’s the return of Jerry Hammack – creator of the Beatles Recording Reference Manual series. Volume 3, covering the end of 1966 (“Strawberry Fields Forever”) through the whole of Sgt. Pepper (plus Magical Mystery Tour) has just been published. Producer Ben Rowling and I discuss the high level of studio innovation that typified the post-touring era, and though we didn’t get to Magical Mystery Tour in this conversation (part two to come), we did discuss elements of their work habits through the White Album, Let It Be and Abbey Road. (Plus, Jerry tips his hand as to what’s next…) Check out Jerry’s work here Twitter Facebook

In a slight departure from the SATB norm, I present an account of the career of a Beatles peer: session guitarist Vic Flick, whose work appeared in 1960s music charts alongside The Beatles. Every Fab fan will know his soundtrack work on their first two United Artist films, but in addition to this, he contributed to a McCartney solo project, worked with George Martin (and Beatle acolytes Peter and Gordon), as well as scores of other “British Invasion” acts. And yes – it was he who played the iconic 007 James Bond theme guitar riff. Check out his memoir, Guitarman, on Amazon or direct from Vic (http://vicflick.com/). Special thanks to Bob Rush!

First off, listeners: kindly indulge the first 15 minutes, which represents an audio document of 1968 (January through end of August). It’s one thing to know what happened that year, but it’s quite another to hear the immediacy of actual sound, both news and music. 1968 was a convulsive stream of history and it is with that context in mind that we can come to a better understanding of the world The Beatles operated in. Second: this conversation was an attempt to discuss how the Beatles and their audience interacted at a critical moment: between the triumph of Sgt. Pepper and the year of breakdown. Candy Leonard, author and sociologist, is ideally suited to illuminate this dynamic. Her book, Beatleness, explores “how The Beatles and their fans remade the world.” As always in such discussions, a certain amount of meandering occurs, and therefore a lot more than 1968 is fair game in this conversation. Check out more of Candy’s writings here: http://beatleness.com/beatleness-blog/