"Turn Me On Dead Man: The John Barrett Tapes" is a revelatory experience
for Beatles fans, comprising tracks taken directly from the late Abbey
Road engineer's cassette dubs of material he found during the EMI vaults
searches in 1982. Included are previously unavailable tracks and mixes
as well as items featuring significant upgrades in sound quality from
earlier appearances on other collections. The package also includes a
booklet with informative liner-notes and rare photos.
There are 2 collections of John Barrett tapes. The main collection is called "The John Barrett Cassette Dubs" (photos below) is an 8-CD set of nearly everything he collected from his years in the EMI vaults. Another is a set called "Turn Me On Deadman" from Vigotone, which is a 2-CD greatest hits of what he collected from the EMI vaults. Some of these are still available online in blogs and via torrent, but are slowly disappearing. The good news is much of this material has been repackaged on other CD sets on other labels.
Prior to the early 1980's, it was pure hearsay amongst Beatles aficionados as to what was inside the EMI vaults pertaining to the group's residency at Abbey Road and other studios from 1962 until 1970. Also, very little was known about actual recording dates of their album and singles. Most of the information that was available to fans came from contemporary reports in UK music magazines such as "New Musical Express" or "Melody Maker", or fan mags like "Beatles Monthly". This info, some correct, some not, was then regurgitated in many of the earlier Beatles books, such as Roy Carr and Tony Tyler's "An Illustrated Record" or Harry Castleman and Wally Podrazik's "All Together Now".
All of this uncertainty was to change beginning in 1981. That year, an engineer at Abbey Road named John Barrett found he had cancer, and was looking for a way to occupy his time while undergoing treatment. Ken Townsend, the manager of the studios at the time, thought that finally going through the vaults and seeing exactly was and was not there with regards to the Beatles' many recording sessions would be an excellent task for the ailing engineer.
Barrett ripped into his task with gusto, spending weeks listening through every tape and making up a detailed "catalog" of sorts, with multi-colored tabs and dividers for easy access to the various sections, and color codings for the multitudes of mixes and takes which were included. The first fruits of this research was used on the insert for the box of EMI's "The Beatles Singles Collection" issued in December of 1982, which featured for the first time the recording dates for the tracks enclosed. Also, an informative article in "Record Collector" by Nick Piercey in october 1983 included EMI mouthpiece Mike Heatley using Barrett's guide when answering Piercey's queries about various Beatles recording issues.
Throughout 1982, Barrett was also compiling audio material for a Beatles multi-media show that would take place in the famed Abbey Road Studio 2 while it was being refurbished in the summer of 1983. While this cataloging and assemblage for "The Beatles At Abbey Road" (as the show was to be imaginatively titled) was occurring, Barrett was running cassette dubs of some of the more interesting material for his own use. Some of the material was mixed as he was running his tapes, while some tracks where the original mixes done at the time of the recording sessions. Barrett knew what he was doing; he dubbed off lengendary tracks such as "Leave My Kitten Alone", which had never been issued, as well as the more interesting alternate takes in the vaults like "Norwegian Wood" take one. Also, many of the tracks he dubbed where stereo mixes of titles that at the time hadn't seen the light of day in stereo, or had seen limited release, such as "This Boy".
Meanwhile, the late Roger Scott, a well-known UK disc jockey, was enlisted to do the narration for the "Abbey Road" show, and was given copies of these dubs as well. Scott actually used some of the tracks from these dubs in 1984 (the same year Barrett died, in February) for a 12-hour radio show on the Beatles entitled "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". This material subsequently appeared (taken directly from the radio show discs) on the NEMS release "Not For Sale" in early 1985. Copies of some of the tapes made it into other hands one the Continent, who subsequently issued various series such as "Ultra Rare Trax" on Swingin' Pig, and Yellow Dog's "Unsurpassed Masters", based on the Barrett dubs, mixed with other sources.
However, much of the material dubbed off by Barrett went unissued... until now. Taken from the original cassette dubs, here are a bunch o' Beatles tracks you've never heard in this forum. They are all either different mixes, or significant upgrades from previous appearances, or in some cases, completely unissued.
While John Barrett's name may not be as lengendary in the Beatles' world as other researchers such as Mark Lewisohn, his initial work was the cornerstone for all that is now finally known about the Beatles' recording sessions. In tribute, we hope you enjoy these tapes ... hopefully John Barrett would be happy to know that his efforts were not in vain ! Trevor Osmond Williams, June 1999
The Beatles John Barrett's Cassette Dubs Vol. 1-8
The Beatles John Barrett's Cassette Dubs Vol. 1-8
Source discs of 1982 John Barretts remixes on 16CD's
Vol. 1 - That Means A Lot:
01. Twist & Shout (US stereo mix)
02. She Loves You (RS1; Geoff Emerick)
03. She Loves You (RS2, version 2)
04. Please Please Me (UK stereo mix)
05. I'll Get You
06. I Call Your Name (US stereo mix )
07. All My Loving (with hi-hat intro - German "Beatles Greatest" version)
08. That Means A Lot (Take 20 & portion of Take 21)
09. That Means A Lot (Takes 23 & 24)
10. That Means A Lot ("test" take - unnumbered)
11. I'm Looking Through You (Take 4 - complete!)
12. We Can Work It Out (alternate stereo mix)
13. I Live For You - George Harrison (full version)
14. Dera Dera Doon - George Harrison (full version)
15. Gopala Krishna - George Harrison (complete full version)
16. Going Down To Golders Green - George Harrison (full version)
17. Nashville Freakout - Ringo Starr (longer version)
18. Pete Drake's Talking Steel Guitar (longer version)
19. What You're Doing (Take 11 - unedited)
20. Stormy Weather - Ringo Starr (slightly longer)
Vol. 2 - Los Paranoias:
01. Step Inside Love/Los Paranoias/The Way You Look Tonight - 9/16/68
02. Can You Take Me Back (from "I Will" take 19) - 9/16/68
03. Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da (take 5) - 7/5/68
04. It's All Too Much (full version - RM2?) - 5/25, 31 & 6/2/67
05. It's All Too Much ("Yellow Submarine" version) "
06. Old Brown Shoe (take 2 - diff. mix than Anth. 3) - 2/25/69
07. All Things Must Pass (take 2 - mono - diff. mix than Anth. 3) - 2/25/69
08. Teddy Boy (RS1 by Glyn Johns 1/24/69) - 1/24/69
09. Teddy Boy (RS1 by Phil Spector 3/25/70) - 1/24/69
Vol. 3 - She Loves You:
01. She Loves You (RS2 by Geoff Emerick on 11/8/66)
02. She Loves You (released version)
03. From Me To You (vocal intro; stereo mix of 45)
04. From Me To You (harmonica intro; 1982 stereo remix)
05. Thank You Girl (without harmonica in middle - take 14 w/edit from take 30)
06. Thank You Girl (with harmonica in middle - called take 30)
07. That Means A Lot (RS 1 from take 1- done 2/23/65)
08. That Means A Lot (chat + end of Take 2)
09. That Means A Lot (mono - low reverb mix)
10. That Means A Lot
11. This Boy (RS 15 - 11/10/66)
12. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (take 1)
13. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (take 2)
14. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (take 4)
15. What You're Doing (Take 11) - 9/30/64
16. Yes It Is
17. I'm Looking Through You (take 1)
18. I'm Looking Through You (take 4 - alternate stereo mix)
19. Mr. Moonlight (Take 4)
20. Mr. Moonlight (1982 stereo remix)
21. 12-Bar Original (takes 1 & 2; major quality upgrade)
22. Penny Lane (RM6 from 1/9/67 - complete oboe version)
23. Penny Lane (RM11 w/trumpet end)
24. Strawberry Fields Forever (RM 3 from take 7 - 11/29/66; complete)
25. Strawberry Fields Forever (RM 9 from take 26 - 12/15/66; new vocal)69
Vol. 4 - How Do You Do It:
01. How Do You Do It? (unedited mono - diff. mix than Anth. 1) - 4/9/62
02. One After 909 (Take 2) - 5/3/63
03. One After 909 (master edit of Takes 4 & 5) - 5/3/63
04. Leave My Kitten Alone (Take 5) - 8/14/64
05. If You've Got Trouble (alternative original stereo master) - 2/23/65
06. That Means A Lot (mixed mono) - 2/20/65
07. This Bird Has Flown (Take 1 - original stereo master) - 10/12/65
08. I'm Looking Through You (Take 1)
09. Not Guilty (unaltered Take 102 - complete) - 8/12/68
10. What's The New Mary Jane (incomplete; remix w/overdubs)
11. Come And Get It (demo - alternate stereo mix w/double
tracked vocal) - 7/24/69
12. Rip It Up/Shake Rattle And Roll (Get Back session - 1/26/69)
13. Kansas City/Miss Ann/Lawdy Miss Clawdy (Get Back session - 1/26/69)
14. Blue Suede Shoes (Get Back session - 1/26/69)
15. Cannonball/Not Fade Away/Hey Little Girl (Get Back session - 1/26/69)
16. Mailman Bring Me No More Blues (Get Back Session - no fade)
17. 12-Bar Original (Take 2 - complete 1965 mono mix)
18. What's The New Mary Jane ("Sessions" version)
19. Mailman Bring Me No More Blues ("Sessions" version)
20. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (Take 5, complete muddy stereo mix)
21. While My Guitar Gently Weeps ("Sessions" version; Take 1 - edit)
Vol. 5 - Odds & Ends:
01. Plastic Ono Band : "Slow Blues Jam" (studio jam)
02. Plastic Ono Band : "Fast Rocker" Ringo Starr - ""Beaucoups of Outtakes"
03. "The Wishing Book" (Beaucoups Of Blues outtake)
04. "Nashville Freakout" (short version)
05. "Stormy Weather" (Sentimental Journey outtake)
06. "Octopus's Garden" (alternate version for George Martin TV special)
07. "Wine, Women, Loud Songs"
08. "Coochy Coochy"
09. "I Live For You" 1969 (edited finished version)
10. "Dehra Dun" 1969 (shorter edited mix, different verse)
11. "Gopala Krishna" 1969, (shorter edited mix)
12. "Going Down To Golders Green" 1969 (finalized edited version)
13. "Get Back" 1969 (George's demo for Doris Troy)
14. "Pete Drake's Talking Steel Guitar" (edit version)
Vol. 6 - Abbey Road Video Show:
01. Love Me Do (Take 18)
02. How Do You Do It? (Take 2; excerpt)
03. I Saw Her Standing There (Take 2, 11 & 12)
04. Twist & Shout (Take 1 - RS1 - 2/25/63)
05. One After 909 (Take 4; incomplete)
06. Don't Bother Me (Take 11 & 12; incomplete)
07. A Hard Day's Night (Takes 2 & 3 - false starts; Take 9 - RS2)
08. Leave My Kitten Alone (Take 5; excerpt)
09. I'm A Loser (Take 8)
10. She's A Woman (Take 1, excerpt)
11. Ticket To Ride (Take 2)
12. Help! (Take 5; instrumental)
13. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (Take 1; incomplete)
14. I'm Looking Through You (Take 1; incomplete)
15. Paperback Writer (Take 2 - RS3; 10/31/66)
16. Rain (Take 7 - RS1)
17. Penny Lane (Take 9 - RS1)
18. Strawberry Fields Forever (medley - Take 1, 7 & 26)
19. A Day In the Life (with count-in)
20. Hello, Goodbye (Take 22 - RS2)
21. Lady Madonna (Take 4)
22. Hey Jude (Take 9; incomplete)
23. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (unedited Take 1; acoustic)
24. Because (Take 7; alt. mix with a capella first half)
25. #9 Dream (spoken intro by Ringo)
Vol. 7 - Get Back (ver.2):
01. One After 909
02. Link / Rock & Roll
03. Chat / Save The Last Dance For Me
04. Don't Let Me Down
05. Dig A Pony
06. I've Got A Feeling
07. Get Back
08. Let It Be
09. For You Blue
10. Two Of Us
11. Maggie Mae
12. Dig It
13. The Long And Winding Road
14. I Me Mine
15. Across The Universe
16. Get Back (Reprise)
Vol. 8 - Sessions:
01. How Do You Do It
02. One After 909
03. Leave My Kitten Alone
04. If You've Got Trouble
05. That Means A Lot
06. Norwegian Wood
07. I'm Looking Through You
08. Not Guilty
09. What's The New Mary Jane
10. Come And Get It
11. Shake, Rattle And Roll
12. Rock Jam
13. Blue Suede Shoes
14. Mailman Bring Me No More Blues
15. 12-Bar Original (Acetate)
Below are the 8 Volume CD scans:
A 2CD release called "Turn Me on Dead Man" is also available on the Vigotone label:
Track Listing: Disc One: 60:00
1-1 From Me To You 1:56 1-2 From Me To You 1:59 1-3 Thank You Girl 2:08 1-4 Thank You Girl 2:02 1-5 Only After 909 2:48 1-6 She Loves You 2:22 1-7 She Loves You 2:25 1-8 This Boy 2:24 1-9 I'm A Loser 2:23 1-10 Mr. Moonlight 2:32 1-11 What You're Doing 2:03 1-12 That Means A Lot 2:47 1-13 That Means A Lot 0:26 1-14 That Means A Lot 2:30 1-15 That Means A Lot 1:12 1-16 That Means A Lot 2:13 1-17 That Means A Lot 0:23 1-18 That Means A Lot 1:46 1-19 That Means A Lot 0:55 1-20 Help 2:17 1-21 Norwegian Wood 2:10 1-22 Norwegian Wood 2:27 1-23 12-Bar Original 0:32 1-24 12-Bar Original 6:48 1-25 Paperback Writer 2:17 1-26 Rain 2:52 1-27 Tomorrow Never Knows 3:01
Disc Two: 57:11
2-1 Strawberry Fields Forever 3:11 2-2 Strawberry Fields Forever 3:06 2-3 Penny Lane 3:08 2-4 Penny Lane 2:59 2-5 Penny Lane 2:59 2-6 A Day In The Life 5:07 2-7 Hello Goodbye 3:21 2-8 Lady Madonna 2:17 2-9 Hey Jude 2:40 2-10 What's The New Mary Jane 6:05 2-11 Step Inside Love 1:31 2-12 Los Paranoias 3:56 2-13 The Way You Look Tonight 1:11 2-14 Can You Take Me Back? 1:16 2-15 Shake, Rattle And Roll 2:03 2-16 Medley: Kansas City / Miss Ann / Lawdy Miss Clawdy 3:54 2-17 Blue Suede Shoes 2:16 2-18 Not Fade Away 3:52 2-19 Because
The Misterclaudel label has also released a 5 CD collection:
More information is available from the below links:
The John Barrett Bootlegs have been remastered in February 2011 into a 5-CD set. The audio has been cleaned up and speed corrected. Below is information how these tapes were created, and cover scans of the new discs.
"Turn
Me On Dead Man: The John Barrett Tapes" is a revelatory experience for
Beatles fans, comprising tracks taken directly from the late Abbey
Road engineer's cassette dubs of material he found during the vaults
searches in 1982. Included are previously unavailable tracks and mixes
as well as items featuring significant upgrades in sound quality from
earlier appearances on other collections. The package also includes a
booklet with informative liner-notes and rare photos.
Prior to the early 1980's, it was pure hearsay amongst Beatles
aficionados as to what was inside the EMI vaults pertaining to the
group's residency at Abbey Road and other studios from 1962 until 1970.
Also, very little was known about actual recording dates of their album
and singles. Most of the information that was available to fans came
from contemporary reports in UK music magazines such as "New Musical
Express" or "Melody Maker", or fan mags like "Beatles Monthly". This
info, some correct, some not, was then regurgitated in many of the
earlier Beatles books, such as Roy Carr and Tony Tyler's "An Illustrated
Record" or Harry Castleman and Wally Podrazik's "All Together Now".
All of this uncertainty was to change beginning in 1981. That year, an
engineer at Abbey Road named John Barrett found he had cancer, and was
looking for a way to occupy his time while undergoing treatment. Ken
Townsend, the manager of the studios at the time, thought that finally
going through the vaults and seeing exactly was and was not there with
regards to the Beatles' many recording sessions would be an excellent
task for the ailing engineer.
Barrett ripped into his task with gusto, spending weeks listening
through every tape and making up a detailed "catalog" of sorts, with
multi-colored tabs and dividers for easy access to the various sections,
and color codings for the multitudes of mixes and takes which were
included. The first fruits of this research was used on the insert for
the box of EMI's "The Beatles Singles Collection" issued in December of
1982, which featured for the first time the recording dates for the
tracks enclosed. Also, an informative article in "Record Collector" by
Nick Piercey in october 1983 included EMI mouthpiece Mike Heatley using
Barrett's guide when answering Piercey's queries about various Beatles
recording issues.
Throughout 1982, Barrett was also compiling audio material for a Beatles
multi-media show that would take place in the famed Abbey Road Studio 2
while it was being refurbished in the summer of 1983. While this
cataloging and assemblage for "The Beatles At Abbey Road" (as the show
was to be imaginatively titled) was occurring, Barrett was running
cassette dubs of some of the more interesting material for his own use.
Some of the material was mixed as he was running his tapes, while some
tracks where the original mixes done at the time of the recording
sessions. Barrett knew what he was doing; he dubbed off lengendary
tracks such as "Leave My Kitten Alone", which had never been issued, as
well as the more interesting alternate takes in the vaults like
"Norwegian Wood" take one. Also, many of the tracks he dubbed where
stereo mixes of titles that at the time hadn't seen the light of day in
stereo, or had seen limited release, such as "This Boy".
Meanwhile, the late Roger Scott, a well-known UK disc jockey, was
enlisted to do the narration for the "Abbey Road" show, and was given
copies of these dubs as well. Scott actually used some of the tracks
from these dubs in 1984 (the same year Barrett died, in February) for a
12-hour radio show on the Beatles entitled "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts
Club Band". This material subsequently appeared (taken directly from
the radio show discs) on the NEMS release "Not For Sale" in early 1985.
Copies of some of the tapes made it into other hands one the
Continent, who subsequently issued various series such as "Ultra Rare
Trax" on Swingin' Pig, and Yellow Dog's "Unsurpassed Masters", based on
the Barrett dubs, mixed with other sources.
However, much of the material dubbed off by Barrett went unissued...
until now. Taken from the original cassette dubs, here are a bunch o'
Beatles tracks you've never heard in this forum. They are all either
different mixes, or significant upgrades from previous appearances, or
in some cases, completely unissued.
While John Barrett's name may not be as lengendary in the Beatles' world
as other researchers such as Mark Lewisohn, his initial work was the
cornerstone for all that is now finally known about the Beatles'
recording sessions. In tribute, we hope you enjoy these tapes ...
hopefully John Barrett would be happy to know that his efforts were not
in vain !
Trevor Osmond Williams, June 1999
Background There have been many Beatles BBC Sessions sets released over the years. Because of this interest by fans, Apple was forced to release their own two 2CD sets called "Live at the BBC" and "On Air: Live at the BBC-Volume 2". Background From Wikipedia: below.
Recording - The Beatles performed for 52 BBC Radio programmes, beginning with an appearance on the series Teenager's Turn—Here We Go, recorded on 7 March 1962, and ending with the special The Beatles Invite You to Take a Ticket to Ride, recorded on 26 May 1965. 47 of their BBC appearances occurred in 1963 and 1964, including 10 on Saturday Club and 15 on their own weekly series Pop Go the Beatles, which began in June 1963. As the Beatles had not accumulated many original songs by this time, the majority of their BBC performances consisted of cover versions, drawing on the repertoire that they had developed for their early stage act. In total, 275 performances of 88 different songs were broadcast, of which 36 songs never appeared on their studio albums.
Several of the programmes aired live, but most were recorded days (or occasionally weeks) ahead of the broadcast date.[2] The BBC's studio facilities were not as advanced as those at Abbey Road, offering only monaural recording (no multitracking) and basic overdubbing; few retakes of songs could be attempted owing to time limitations. It was not the BBC's practice to archive either the session tapes or the shows' master tapes, owing to storage space and contractual restrictions.
Earlier collections and presentations - The first collection of Beatles BBC performances was the bootleg album Yellow Matter Custard, issued in 1971, consisting of 14 songs that were probably off-air home recordings made during the original radio broadcasts. Some additional performances with similar "tinny" sound appeared on other bootlegs in the following years; then in 1980, the bootleg The Beatles Broadcasts was released featuring 18 BBC songs with superior sound quality.
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of their first BBC appearance, the BBC (nicknamed "the Beeb") aired the two-hour radio special "The Beatles at the Beeb" in 1982, featuring a mix of BBC performances and interviews (the show was expanded to three hours when syndicated to other countries). The more comprehensive series The Beeb's Lost Beatles Tapes was broadcast by BBC Radio 1 in 1988 as 14 half-hour episodes. When gathering material for that series, only a small number of original tapes were found; many more performances were obtained from vinyl recordings of the programmes that the BBC Transcription Department had made to distribute to BBC stations around the world.
By that time, a 13-album bootleg series had appeared under the title The Beatles at the Beeb, featuring many previously unavailable performances. This was surpassed in 1993 by The Complete BBC Sessions, a nine-CD box set released by Great Dane in Italy, where copyright protection for the broadcasts had expired; the set contained performances from 44 of the Beatles' 52 BBC appearances, including many complete shows.
The large BBC collections were released from non-official sources, are difficult to find, and are now out of print and fetching large dollars. Below are several of them with details listed here previously:
6- The Ultimate BBC Sessions 1962-1966 10CD - Secret Trax - from Japan
The Ultimate BBC Sessions 1962-1966 10CD - Secret Trax - from Japan, is one that has not been detailed here before. This collection can now be found on various marketplaces such as eBay, Etsy, and others. It features over 2 hours more music and talking than the earlier releases along with upgraded audio. So below are details and a review on this collection. Original Japanese issued on SECRET TRAX - Released 01-10-2011.
Track Listing: CD1 - TEENAGER'S TURN - HERE WE GO (8 March 1962)
1. intro (unbooted upgrade) 2. Memphis (unbooted upgrade) 3. intro (unbooted upgrade) 4. Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream) (unbooted upgrade) 5. intro (unbooted upgrade) 6. Please Mr. Postman (unbooted upgrade) HERE WE GO (15 June 1962) 7. intro (unbooted upgrade) 8. Ask Me Why (unbooted upgrade) 9. intro (unbooted upgrade) 10. Besame Mucho (unbooted upgrade) 11. intro (unbooted upgrade) 12. A Picture Of You (unbooted upgrade) HERE WE GO (26 October 1962) 13. 13: A Taste Of Honey (artifacts) SATURDAY CLUB (26 January 1962) 14. Some Other Guy (unbooted upgrade) 15. "it won't be long before they're all over the country" (bbc trailer) 16. Love Me Do (bbc trailer) 17. Keep Your Hands Off My Baby (unbooted upgrade) 18. Beautiful Dreamer (unbooted upgrade) HERE WE GO (12 April 1963) 19. intro (great dane) 20. Misery (great dane) 21. intro (great dane) 22. Do You Want To Know A Secret (great dane) 23. intro (great dane) 24. Please Please Me (great dane) 25. outro (great dane) SATURDAY CLUB (16 March 1963) 26. I Saw Her Standing There (unbooted upgrade) 27. "you write songs as well, don't you?" (unbooted upgrade) 28. Misery (unbooted upgrade) 29. Too Much Monkey Business (great dane) 30. I'm Talking About You (unbooted upgrade) 31. "nobody can live on the same stage" (unbooted upgrade) 32. Please Please Me (unbooted upgrade) 33. The Hippy Hippy Shake (unbooted upgrade) EASY BEAT (7 April 1963) 34. brian and gerry marsden intro (great dane) 35. From Me To You (great dane) SWINGING SOUND '63 (18 April 1963) 36. Twist And Shout (great dane) 37. From Me To You (great dane and beeb) SIDE BY SIDE (13 May 1963) 38. Side By Side (bbc trailer and silent sea) 39. Long Tall Sally (great dane) 40. "it came in a vision on a flaming pie" (great dane) 41. A Taste Of Honey (great dane) 42. Chains (great dane) 43. "who had the original idea?" (beeb and great dane) 44. Thank You Girl (great dane) 45. "that's the track that's selling it!" (filler beebs) 46. Boys (great dane) BONUS: 47. Side By Side (edited version) (bbc trailer)
CD2 - SATURDAY CLUB (25 May 1963)
1. intro (beeb and great dane) 2. I Saw Her Standing There (great dane) 3. "...as everything else combined" (great dane) 4. Do You Want To Know A Secret (great dane) 5. Boys (great dane) 6. "their fame it seems has now spread to egypt" (beeb and great dane) 7. Long Tall Sally (great dane) 8. "nearly all the requests were for their big one" (beeb and great dane) 9. From Me To You (great dane) 10. Money (That's What I Want) (great dane) STEPPIN' OUT (3 June 1963) 11. Please Please Me (great dane) 12. I Saw Her Standing There (great dane) POP GO THE BEATLES #1 (4 June 1963) 13. Pop Go The Beatles (short) (bbc trailer) 14. "one they didn't pen themselves" (great dane) 15. Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby (great dane) 16. "just get your guitar and strum it" (beeb and great dane) 17. Do You Want To Know A Secret (great dane) 18. "we got the box, harry" (beeb and great dane) 19. You Really Got A Hold On Me (great dane) 20. Misery (great dane) 21. The Hippy Hippy Shake g(reat dane) 22. Pop Goes The Beatles (longest version) (bbc trailer and beeb) POP GO THE BEATLES #2 (11 June 1963) 23. Too Much Monkey Business (great dane) 24. "love these goon shows" (great dane and apple) 25. I Got To Find My Baby (beeb and great dane) 26. "happy birthday to you ringo" (beeb and great dane) 27. Youngblood (great dane) 28. "now paul has a go..." (great dane) 29. Till There Was You (great dane) 30. "do you do mickey mouse?" (great dane) 31. Baby, It's You (apple) 32. "the dark days of 1962" (great dane) 33. Love Me Do (beeb and great dane) POP GO THE BEATLES #3 (18 June 1963) 34. "all's right will the world" (great dane) 35. A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues (great dane) 36. "better cut down on the jelly babies" (bbc trailer, mythology and great dane) 37. Memphis (unbooted upgrade, based on the great dane) 38. "happy birthday to paul" (great dane) 39. A Taste Of Honey (great dane) 40. "fingering practice pays dividents" (great dane) 41. Sure To Fall (apple and great dane) 42. "more for the joy of living" (beeb and great dane) 43. Money (That's What I Want) (great dane) 44. "but we promised" (great dane) 45. From Me To You (great dane) EASY BEAT (23 June 1963) 46. Some Other Guy (pyramid) 47. "twenty one last week" (pyramid) 48. A Taste Of Honey (pyramid) 49. Thank You Girl (pyramid and beeb) 50. "we don't normally play requests..." (pyramid) 51. From Me To You (pyramid)
CD3 - SIDE BY SIDE (24 June 1963)
1. Side By Side (silent sea and bbc trailer) 2. "up to some no good monkey business" (original masters) 3. Too Much Monkey Business (great dane) 4. "his one and only song" (great dane) 5. Boys (great dane) 6. "one voice noticably absent" (great dane) 7. I'll Be On My Way (great dane) 8. "george playing of course" (great dane) 9. From Me To You (great dane) POP GO THE BEATLES #4 (25 June 1963) 10. I Saw Her Standing There (great dane) 11. "you feel like a man now?" (great dane) 12. "john lets his guitar take second place" (great dane) 13. Anna (Go To Him) (great dane) 14. "i'm very glad you sang that" (great dane and bbc trailer) 15. "oh, very fit" (great dane and bbc trailer) 16. Boys (bbc trailer) 17. "he can sing can ringo" (bbc trailer) 18. Chains (bbc trailer) 19. "thank you georgeous george" (bbc trailer and great dane) 20. "who sings this next song?" (bbc trailer and great dane) 21. P.S. I Love You (masterfraction) 22. "no relation to john, brackets" (great dane) 23. Twist And Shout (masterfraction) SATURDAY CLUB (29 June 1963) 24. I Got To Find My Baby (great dane) 25. "it's also for harry, and his box" (great dane) 26. Memphis (great dane) 27. Money (That's What I Want) (great dane) 28. Till There Was You (great dane) 29. "a couple of quick ones" (beeb and great dane) 30. From Me To You (great dane) 31. Roll Over Beethoven (great dane) THE BEAT SHOW (4 July 1963) 32. A Taste Of Honey (great dane) 33. Twist And Shout (great dane and unbooted) POP GO THE BEATLES #5 (16 July 1963) 34. That's All Right (Mama) (great dane) 35. "that's all right with me, great!" (great dane) 36. There's A Place (great dane) 37. "i couldn't find one for a carol" (beeb and great dane) 38. Carol (great dane) 39. "i haven't got a passport" (great dane) 40. Soldier Of Love (Lay Down Your Arms) (great dane) 41. "that was john lennon who got fell in" (great dane) 42. "with these haircuts?" (great dane) 43. Lend Me Your Comb (great dane) 44. "a little rhyme" (great dane) 45. Clarabella (great dane) 46. "so see you then" (great dane) EASY BEAT (21 July 1963) 47. I Saw Her Standing There (great dane) 48. A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues (great dane) 49. There's A Place (great dane) 50. Twist And Shout (great dane)
CD4 - POP GO THE BEATLES #6 (23 July 1963)
1. "that's your fault" (bbc trailer) 2. Sweet Little Sixteen (bbc trailer) 3. A Taste Of Honey (bbc trailer) 4. "wanna bet?" (bbc trailer) 5. Nothing Shakin' (But The Leaves On The Trees) (bbc trailer) 6. Love Me Do (bbc trailer) 7. "1822" (bbc trailer) 8. Lonesome Tears In My Eyes (bbc trailer) 9. "and the same to you" (bbc trailer) 10. So How Come (No One Loves Me) (bbc trailer) 11. "next week the prize will stand at the beatles" (bbc trailer) POP GO THE BEATLES #7 (30 July 1963) 12. Memphis (apple and great dane) 13. "do you like the flowerpot men?" (great dane and bbc trailer) 14. Do You Want To Know A Secret (bbc trailer) 15. "dear wack" (great dane) 16. 'Til There Was You (great dane) 17. "set fire to that lot" (apple) 18. Matchbox (apple) 19. "something you can't get on the national health" (great dane) 20. Please Mr. Postman (great dane) 21. "back to those old, seasoned campaigners" (great dane) 22. The Hippy Hippy Shake (apple and great dane) POP GO THE BEATLES #8 (6 August 1963) 23. intro (bbc trailer and great dane) 24. I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry (Over You) (apple) 25. "please make George sing" (great dane) 26. Crying, Waiting, Hoping (apple) 27. Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey (apple and great dane) 28. "a very romantic title" (great dane) 29. To Know Her Is To Love Her (great dane) 30. "i've got a terrible nose" (yellow dog and great dane) 31. The Honeymoon (Song apple) 32. Twist And Shout (great dane) 33. outro (bbc trailer and great dane) POP GO THE BEATLES #9 (13 August 1963) 34. intro (great dane) 35. Long Tall Sally (great dane) 36. "pally sally" (great dane) 37. Please Please Me (great dane) 38. "what kind of fool am i?" (great dane) 39. She Loves You (great dane) 40. "21 herberts from raynes park" (great dane) 41. You Really Got A Hold On Me (great dane) 42. "add this one to your collection" (great dane) 43. I'll Get You (apple) 44. I Got A Woman (great dane) 45. "a crafty long quickie" (great dane)
CD5 - POP GO THE BEATLES #10 (20 August 1963)
1. She Loves You (great dane) 2. "you'd never hear the songs" (great dane) 3. Words Of Love (great dane) 4. "beautifuly sung" (great dane) 5. "they can all take five now" (great dane) 6. Glad All Over (apple) 7. "the three beatlettes" (great dane) 8. I Just Don't Understand (apple) 9. "well, you ought to" (great dane) 10. "this is ear catching" (great dane) 11. Devil In Her Heart (apple) 12. "postcards to the Beatles" (great dane) 13. Slow Down (beeb) 14. "and dead stop, I'm afraid" (beeb) SATURDAY CLUB 24 August 1963 15. Long Tall Sally (unbooted upgrade) 16. She Loves You (unbooted upgrade) 17. Glad All Over (mythology) 18. "what box?" (mythology) 19. Twist And Shout (mythology) 20. "dear wack" (mythology) 21. You Really Got A Hold On Me (mythology) 22. I'll Get You (bbc trailer) POP GO THE BEATLES #11 (27 August 1963) 23. Ooh! My Soul (apple) 24. "ooh! my arms" (apple) 25. Don't Ever Change (apple and great dane) 26. "a modest request" (great dane) 27. Twist And Shout (great dane) 28. Anna (Go To Him) (great dane) 29. A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues (apple) POP GO THE BEATLES #12 (3 September 1963) 30. intro (great dane) 31. From Me To You (great dane) 32. I'll Get You (unbooted) 33. Money (That's What I Want) (great dane) 34. "well sir, here you are" (beeb) 35. There's A Place (unbooted upgrade) 36. Honey Don't (apple and great dane) 37. "that was the beatles that was" (beeb) 38. "all right fellas, roll over!" (great dane) 39. Roll Over Beethoven (great dane) POP GO THE BEATLES #13 (10 September 1963) 40. intro (great dane) 41. Too Much Monkey Business (apple) 42. "request for 'Till There Was You" (beeb and great dane) 43. Love Me Do (great dane) 44. "he looks a right prat!" (great dane) 45. She Loves You (great dane) 46. "and why not?" (great dane) 47. I'll Get You (great dane) 48. "sounds like my doctor" (great dane) 49. A Taste Of Honey (great dane) 50. "can't remember him" (beeb and great dane) 51. The Hippy Hippy Shake (great dane) 52. outro (great dane)
CD6 - POP GO THE BEATLES #14 (17 September 1963)
1. intro great dane 2. Chains great dane 3. "to all our chainspotter friends" great dane 4. "nobody ever thanks you" great dane 5. You Really Got A Hold On Me great dane 6. Misery beeb and great dane 7. "i hope i can put a stop to some of that" great dane 8. "dear hot and fruity george" great dane 9. Lucille bbc trailer 10. "love and kisses" great dane 11. From Me To You great dane 12. brackets great dane and beeb 13. ringo's big moment great dane 14. Boys great dane 15. outro beeb POP GO THE BEATLES #15 (24 September 1963) 16. intro great dane 17. She Loves You great dane 18. "the boys feel a little sad" great dane 19. Ask Me Why great dane 20. "exciting and smashing" great dane and beeb 21. Devil In Her Heart great dane 22. "they never read out the requests" great dane 23. I Saw Her Standing There great dane 24. "good old audrey" great dane 25. Sure To Fall great dane 26. for john paul george and ringo great dane 27. Twist And Shout great dane 28. "that really is it" great dane and vttc SATURDAY CLUB (FIFTH BIRTHDAY EDITION) (5 October 1963) 29. saturday club theme and intro bbc trailer 30. I Saw Her Standing There great dane 31. Memphis great dane 32. Happy Birthday Saturday Club great dane 33. "it could be that they've been listening to saturday club" original masters and great dane 34. I'll Get You great dane 35. "if you asked for it" great dane 36. She Loves You great dane 37. Lucille great dane 38. outro great dane EASY BEAT (20 October 1963) 39. intro bbc trailer 40. I Saw Her Standing There bbc trailer 41. "it's almost a year..." bbc trailer 42. Love Me Do bbc trailer 43. Please Please Me bbc trailer 44. "we just called paul over" bbc trailer 45. From Me To You bbc trailer 46. She Loves You bbc trailer THE KEN DODD SHOW (3 November 1963) 47. She Loves You unbooted upgrade
CD7 - SATURDAY CLUB (21 December 1963)
1. "all i want for christmas is a bottle" great dane 2. all my loving cv, edited 3. "what will they do without amplifiers" great dane 4. This Boy great dane 5. "i like it" great dane 6. I Want To Hold Your Hand great dane 7. Till There Was You great dane and beeb 8. "i think..." (beeb) great dane 9. Roll Over Beethoven great dane 10. "that's not a carol - 's a standard" great dane 11. She Loves You great dane 12. Shazam great dane 13. "that mudley, er medley" great dane FROM US TO YOU #1 (26 December 1963) 14. From Us To You great dane 15. "the beatles are here" great dane 16. She Loves You great dane 17. "you know you should be glad" great dane 18. All My Loving great dane 19. Roll Over Beethoven great dane 20. "peggy legg" great dane 21. 'Till There Was You great dane 22. "bass playing beatle" great dane 23. "blue skies by jeanie lamb" unbooted 24. "big chance coming up now" great dane 25. Boys great dane 26. Money (That's What I Want) great dane 27. "the very mercenary john lennon" great dane 28. I Saw Her Standing There great dane 29. outro great dane 30. Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport bbc trailer 31. "a house with love in it" 32. I Want To Hold Your Hand bbc trailer 33. outro great dane 34. From Us To You great dane SATURDAY CLUB (15 February 1964) 35. All My Loving great dane 36. Money (That's What I Want) great dane 37. "that's what they've got aplenty" beeb 38."one that most people know by now" beeb and great dane 39.The Hippy Hippy Shake great dane 40. "amazing that you can hear us" great dane 41. I Want To Hold Your Hand great dane 42. Roll Over Beethoven great dane 43. "he's my favourite" great dane 44. Johnny B Goode great dane 45. "still one more to go" great dane 46. "i hope it's a real swinger" great dane 47. I Wanna Be Your Man great dane 48. "and it was old ringo" beeb
CD8 - FROM US TO YOU #2 (30 March 1964)
1. From Us To You apple and great dane 2. "to open proceedings this morning" great dane 3. You Can't Do That great dane 4. "just a rumour" great dane 5. Roll Over Beethoven great dane 6. "i don't need to tell you" great dane, original masters and filler beebs 7. "what about my book then?" great dane, original masters and filler beebs 8. Till There Was You great dane 9. "another oldie" great dane 10. "ringo... yup" (split) great dane 11. I Wanna Be Your Man great dane 12. "I think Ringo meant every word of that" great dane 13. "...but we know you won't" great dane 14. Please Mr. Postman great dane 15. "the fellas keep him busy pretty regularly" great dane 16. All My Loving apple and great dane 17. "i think that loving's readily accepted" great dane 18. "it's about rubbish - with drawings" great dane 19. This Boy great dane 20. "how much singing do you do in this film" great dane 21. Can't Buy Me Love apple 22. "we can't purchase any more time" great dane 23. From Us To You great dane SATURDAY CLUB (4 April 1964) 24. Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby great dane 25. "i think he sings quite nicely" great dane 26. I Call Your Name great dane 27. "lots more from the beatle boys" great dane and beeb 28. I Got A Woman great dane 29. "was that request really from your mother" great dane and filler beebs and beeb 30. You Can't Do That original masters 31. "it's ringo's turn" great dane 32. Can't Buy Me Love great dane 33. "just about everybody has read about the film" great dane and filler beebs 34. Sure To Fall great dane 35. Long Tall Sally great dane 36. "how about that?" great dane FROM US TO YOU #3 (18 May 1964) 37. From Us To You great dane 38. Whit Monday To You great dane 39. I Saw Her Standing There great dane 40. Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey great dane 41. "it could if you weren't so thick" great dane 42. I Forgot To Remember To Forget great dane 43. outro great dane 44. "i hope you're plugged in mary" great dane 45. You Can't Do That great dane 46. "they did it all right" great dane 47. Sure To Fall great dane 48. "funny place glos." great dane 49. Can't Buy Me Love great dane 50. "i'll think i'll have to hit your ringo" great dane 51. Matchbox great dane 52. Honey Don't great dane 53. outro great dane 54. From Us To You great dane Bonus 55. From Us To You (edited) apple
CD9 - TOP GEAR (16 July 1964)
1. trailer 1 bbc trailer 2. trailer 2 bbc trailer 3. Long Tall Sally great dane 4. "paul doing his highly hirsute hairpiece" great dane 5. Things We Said Today great dane, apple and filler beebs 6. "lots more from the unruly four..." filler beebs and apple 7. "gather 'round famous film stars" apple 8. A Hard Day's Night apple 9. "hold it!" apple and beeb 10. don't pass me by great dane 11. And I Love Her great dane 12. "you should have known better" great dane 13. If I Fell bbc trailer 14. You Can't Do That great dane 15. "and that's it" outro great dane 16. top gear theme great dane FROM US TO YOU #4 (3 August 1964) 17. From Us To You great dane 18. "what should I tell her about?" great dane 19. Long Tall Sally great dane 20. "off the musical launching pad we went" great dane 21. If I Fell great dane 22. "mmmm great" great dane 23. I'm Happy Just To Dance With You great dane 24. "one of those hard day's night offerings" great dane 25. "they might sound like the record someday" great dane 26. Things We Said Today great dane 27. "it's john's turn - right now" great dane 28. I Should Have Known Better great dane 29. "our four morning stars" great dane 30. "bowled over boys" great dane 31. Boys great dane 32. "in answer to all the cards" great dane 33. Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey great dane 34. "no passports required" great dane 35. "ron aged two hundred and eight" great dane 36. A Hard Days Night great dane 37. "what a great note to end on" great dane 38. From Us To You great dane FROM US TO YOU #4 RECORDING SESSION (recorded 17 July 1964) 39. Long Tall Sally great dane and unbooted tape source 40. If I Fell unbooted tape source 41. Boys unbooted tape source 42. I'm Happy Just To Dance With You (instrumental) unbooted tape source 43. I'm Happy Just To Dance With You (vocal) unbooted tape source 44. I Should Have Known Better (false start) unbooted tape source 45. I Should Have Known Better (single tracked) unbooted tape source 46. I Should Have Known Better (with harmonica) unbooted tape source 47. Things We Said Today unbooted tape source 48. A Hard Day's Night unbooted tape source 49. Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey unbooted tape source 50. From Us To You (wrong lyrics) unbooted tape source 51. From Us To You (no overdubs) unbooted tape source Bonus 52. alternate "9: "hold it!"" -1 apple and filler beebs 53. alternate "9: "hold it!"" -2 apple
CD10 - TOP GEAR (26 November 1964)
1. "so hold tight" great dane 2. I'm A Loser bbc trailer and pyramid 3. "let's have a few, hard facts' great dane and filler beebs 4. Honey Don't bbc trailer and filler beebs 5. "a rare ringo vocal" filler beebs 6. She's A Woman bbc trailer and pyramid 7. "even though it is conceited" bbc trailer 8. Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby bbc trailer 9. "brother george beatle" great dane 10. I'll Follow The Sun bbc trailer and great dane 11. "records, that's what were here for" great dane 12. I Feel Fine bbc trailer 13. "i hope you feel fine too" great dane SATURDAY CLUB (26 December 1964) 14. "they're here" pyramid 15. Rock And Roll Music bbc trailer and great dane 16. "like britain only with buttons" great dane 17. I'm A Loser bbc trailer and pyramid 18. outro pyramid 19. Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby bbc trailer 20. "a sort of joint effort" great dane 21. I Feel Fine bbc trailer 22. "we like the old numbers" great dane 23. Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey bbc trailer 24. "so to the last number" great dane 25. She's A Woman bbc trailer 26. "my favouite side too" great dane THE BEATLES (INVITE YOU TO TAKE A TICKET TO RIDE) (7 June 1965) 27. Ticket To Ride Intro bbc trailer and great dane 28. Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby great dane 29. I'm A Loser great dane 30. "double entendre" great dane 31. The Night Before great dane 32. Honey Don't great dane 33. "the producer asked for it" great dane 34. Dizzy Miss Lizzy apple and great dane 35. outro/intro great dane 36. She's A Woman great dane 37. "who leave you as they found you" great dane 38. Ticket To Ride great dane and apple TOP OF THE POPS 39. "the one what who never speaks" bbc trailer 40. "paul's thinking, i'm doing" bbc trailer 41. ticket to ride edit bbc trailer 42. "painting buckingham palace" bbc trailer TOP GEAR RECORDING SESSION (17 November 1964) 43. session talk/ I Feel Fine (false start) bbc trailer 44. I Feel Fine (single track vocal) filler beebs 45. session Talk bbc trailer (note, the 'session' She's A Woman and I Feel Fine (double tracked) are on this disc twice already - they weren't about to be repeated a third time!!) Bonus Tracks 46. Honey Don't (edit) bbc trailer 47. Ticket To Ride (unfettered) apple
Below are a couple reviews of this set:
Below is historical information on compiling the Live at the BBC collections from Wikipedia:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_at_the_BBC_(Beatles_album)
Live at the BBC is a 1994 compilation album featuring performances by the Beatles that were originally broadcast on various BBC Light Programme radio shows from 1963 to 1965. The mono album, available in multiple formats but most commonly as a two-CD set, consists of 56 songs and 13 tracks of dialogue; 30 of the songs had never been issued previously by the Beatles. It was the first official release by the Beatles of previously unreleased performances since The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl in 1977 and the first containing previously unreleased songs since their final studio album, Let It Be, in 1970.
Although the songs were recorded ahead of broadcast, allowing for retakes and occasional overdubbing, they are essentially "live in studio" performances. Most of the songs are cover versions of material from the late 1950s and early 1960s, reflecting the stage set they developed before Beatlemania. Before the album's release, comprehensive collections of the Beatles' BBC performances had become available on bootlegs.
A remastered repackaging of the album was released on 11 November 2013 on the occasion of the release of On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2, a second volume of BBC Radio broadcasts.[1] The two volumes were also released as a double set.
History
Recording
The Beatles performed for 52 BBC Radio programmes, beginning with an appearance on the series Teenager's Turn—Here We Go, recorded on 7 March 1962, and ending with the special The Beatles Invite You to Take a Ticket to Ride, recorded on 26 May 1965. 47 of their BBC appearances occurred in 1963 and 1964, including 10 on Saturday Club and 15 on their own weekly series Pop Go the Beatles, which began in June 1963.[2] As the Beatles had not accumulated many original songs by this time, the majority of their BBC performances consisted of cover versions, drawing on the repertoire that they had developed for their early stage act. In total, 275 performances of 88 different songs were broadcast, of which 36 songs never appeared on their studio albums.[3]
Several of the programmes aired live, but most were recorded days (or occasionally weeks) ahead of the broadcast date.[2] The BBC's studio facilities were not as advanced as those at Abbey Road, offering only monaural recording (no multitracking) and basic overdubbing; few retakes of songs could be attempted owing to time limitations.[3] It was not the BBC's practice to archive either the session tapes or the shows' master tapes, owing to storage space and contractual restrictions.[4]
Earlier collections and presentations
The first collection of Beatles BBC performances was the bootleg album Yellow Matter Custard, issued in 1971, consisting of 14 songs that were probably off-air home recordings made during the original radio broadcasts.[5] Some additional performances with similar "tinny" sound appeared on other bootlegs in the following years; then in 1980, the bootleg The Beatles Broadcasts was released featuring 18 BBC songs with superior sound quality.[5]
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of their first BBC appearance, the BBC (nicknamed "the Beeb") aired the two-hour radio special "The Beatles at the Beeb" in 1982, featuring a mix of BBC performances and interviews (the show was expanded to three hours when syndicated to other countries).[6] The more comprehensive series The Beeb's Lost Beatles Tapes was broadcast by BBC Radio 1 in 1988 as 14 half-hour episodes. When gathering material for that series, only a small number of original tapes were found; many more performances were obtained from vinyl recordings of the programmes that the BBC Transcription Department had made to distribute to BBC stations around the world.[4]
By that time, a 13-album bootleg series had appeared under the title The Beatles at the Beeb, featuring many previously unavailable performances.[5] This was surpassed in 1993 by The Complete BBC Sessions, a nine-CD box set released by Great Dane in Italy, where copyright protection for the broadcasts had expired;[7] the set contained performances from 44 of the Beatles' 52 BBC appearances, including many complete shows.[8]
Compilation and release
An official Beatles BBC album was being planned as early as 1982,[9] and it was reported that "EMI was preparing an album" of the BBC material by late 1991.[10] To supplement the archive he had partially rebuilt for The Beeb's Lost Beatles Tapes, BBC Radio producer Kevin Howlett sought out additional sources, such as tapes kept by people involved in the original sessions; others had contacted him after the series aired to inform him of their own home recordings of additional broadcasts.[4] Remaining gaps were filled by recordings taken from available bootlegs.[7]
The selected songs included "I'll Be on My Way", the only Lennon–McCartney composition that the Beatles recorded for the BBC with no available studio version. The Buddy Holly-style ballad was their first composition to be "given away" without the Beatles attempting to record it for their own release. The song was given to Billy J. Kramer, another artist managed by Brian Epstein recording for Parlophone, who released it in the United Kingdom as the B-side of a cover version of "Do You Want to Know a Secret".[11]
In all, 56 songs were chosen for the album, along with some banter among the group and the hosts. Abbey Road engineer Peter Mew used audio manipulation software to reduce noise, repair minor drop-outs and equalise to a more consistent sound from one track to the next.[4] The resulting sound quality was considered generally better than the best equivalent bootlegged versions available at the time, although a small number of tracks were noted as exceptions.[7]
Live at the BBC was released on 30 November 1994 in the UK (Apple/Parlophone PCSP 726), and on 6 December 1994 in the United States (Apple/Capitol CDP 7243-8-31796-2-6). The track listing on the back of the CD case inadvertently included the word "Top" at the start of the song title "So How Come (No One Loves Me)"; the listing was corrected for the 2001 reissue. When "Baby It's You" was released as a single in March 1995, it contained three other BBC songs that were not included in the album, two of which would eventually be found on volume two.
2013 remaster
The 11 November 2013 remastered reissue features a number of minor changes. The reissue includes two additional speech tracks, "What is it, George?" (track 17 on disc 1), and "Ringo? Yep!" (track 3 on disc 2), and one additional song, the closing version of "From Us To You" at the end of disc 2. The opening version of “From Us To You” has announcer speech over the music, which was not present in the original version. The reissue removes the crossfades between tracks, providing clean starts and endings for each track except one, the crowd noise between Some Other Guy and Thank You Girl. The speech track "Have a Banana!" from the original version was not separable from "A Hard Day's Night", so the song and speech were merged into a single track, though the last few seconds where Ringo is actually offered a banana was cut out.
Live at the BBC debuted at number 1 on the Canadian charts,[16] peaked at number 3 on the US Billboard 200 album chart[17] and reached number 1 on the UK Albums Chart.[18] The album sold an estimated 8 million copies worldwide during its first year of release.[19]
A reviewer for Time said that the collection contained "few buried treasures", but "as a time capsule, the set is invaluable".[20] Another reviewer described it as "worth hearing" even though the album is a "quaint memento" in which The Beatles sound "scruffy and fairly tame".[21] Anthony DeCurtis, writing for Rolling Stone, was more enthusiastic, calling the album "an exhilarating portrait of a band in the process of shaping its own voice and vision" while noting the "irresistible" spirit and energy of the performances.[22]
The album received a Grammy nomination for Best Historical Album.[citation needed]
