The Beatles - 2019 - The Beeb's Lost Beatles Tapes

The Beatles 

2019

The Beeb's Lost Beatles Tapes

Moonchild Records

Part 1: A Tendency To Play Music. TX: 1 October 1988.

101. Slate
102. Opening Sequence
103. Richard Skinner
104. Medley Of Show's Excerpts
    Brian Matthew: George Interview
    Listeners Requests
    Soldier Of Love (Pop Go The Beatles #5 / 2 July 1963 / 16 July 1963 / BBC Light)
    Brian Matthew: Paul Interview
    She Loves You Easy Beat / 16 October 1963 / 20 October 1963 / BBC Light)
    Brian Matthew: Ringo Interview
    I Wanna Be Your Man (From Us To You / 28 February 1964 / 30 March 1964 / BBC Light)
    John Dunn: John Interview
    I Got A Woman (Pop Go The Beatles #13 / 3 September 1963 / 10 September 1963 / BBC Light)
    Brian Matthew: Interview
    Long Tall Sally (Pop Go The Beatles #13 / 3 September 1963 / 10 September 1963 / BBC Light)
    Rolf Harris: Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport (From Us To You / 18 December 1963 / 26 December                 1963 / BBC Light)
    I Feel Fine, (Top Gear / 17 November 1964 / 26 November 1964 / BBC Light)
105. Richard Skinner
106. Peter Pilbeam Interview
107. Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream), (Here We Go / 7 March 1962)
108. Richard Skinner
109. Peter Pilbeam Interview
110. Please Mr. Postman (Pop Go The Beatles #7 / 10 July 1963 / 30 July 1963 / BBC Light)
111. Richard Skinner
112. Side By Side Theme Tune (Pop Go The Beatles #7 / 10 July 1963 / 30 July 1963 / BBC Light)
113. Richard Skinner
114. John Dunn
115. Too Much Monkey Business (Pop Go The Beatles #7 / 10 July 1963 / 30 July 1963 / BBC Light)
116. John Dunn: Interview John, Paul, George and Ringo
117. Thank You Girl (Pop Go The Beatles #7 / 10 July 1963 / 30 July 1963 / BBC Light)
118. John Dunn: George Interview
119. From Me To You (Pop Go The Beatles #7 / 10 July 1963 / 30 July 1963 / BBC Light)
120. Richard Skinner
121. I'll Be On My Way (Pop Go The Beatles #7 / 10 July 1963 / 30 July 1963 / BBC Light)
122. Richard Skinner
123. Pop Go The Beatles

Part 2: Bill Toppers. TX: 8 October 1988

124. Slate
125. Opening Sequence
126. Brian Matthew
127. I Saw Her Standing There (Saturday Club / 21 May 1963 / 25 May 1963 / BBC Light)
128. Richard Skinner
129. Brian Matthew Interview
130. Richard Skinner
131. Brian Matthew And John
132. Long Tall Sally (Saturday Club / 21 May 1963 / 25 May 1963 / BBC Light)
133. Richard Skinner
134. Bernie Andrews Interview
135. Richard Skinner
136. Some Other Guy (Easy Beat / 19 June 1963 / 23 June 1963 / BBC Light)
137. Brian Mathew: Paul Interview (Easy Beat / 19 June 1963 / 23 June 1963 / BBC Light)
138. A Taste Of Honey (Easy Beat / 19 June 1963 / 23 June 1963 / BBC Light)
139. Brian Matthew
140. Richard Skinner
141. Boys (Saturday Club / 21 May 1963 / 25 May 1963 / BBC Light)
142. Richard Skinner
143. Bernie Andrews Interview
144. Myna Bird
145. Richard Skinner
146. Brian Matthew: John Interview
147. Memphis, Tennessee (Saturday Club / 24 June 1963 / 29 June 1963 / BBC Light)
148. Happy Birthday Saturday Club, Saturday Club / 7 September 1963 / 5 October 1963)
149. Richard Skinner
150. News Item And Brian Matthew
151. I'll Get You (Saturday Club / 7 September 1963 / 5 October 1963 / BBC Light)
152. Brian Matthew
153. She Loves You (Saturday Club / 7 September 1963 / 5 October 1963 / BBC Light)
154. Lucille (Saturday Club / 7 September 1963 / 5 October 1963 / BBC Light)
155. Brian Matthew
156. Closing Sequence


Part 3: The Something-Something Show. TX: 15 October 1988.

201. Slate
202. Opening Sequence / Pop Goes The Beatles
203. Richard Skinner
204. John Lennon Chat
205. I Got To Find My Baby (Pop Go The Beatles #2 / 1 June 1963 / 11 June 1963 / BBC Light)
206. Richard Skinner
207. Terry Henebery Interview
208. Pop Goes The Beatles (Pop Go The Beatles #4 / 17 June 1963 / 25 June 1963 / BBC Light)
209. Lee Peters
210. A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues (Pop Go The Beatles #4 / 17 June 1963 / 25 June 1963 / BBC Light)
211. Terry Henebery Interview
212. Lee Peters
213. Money (Pop Go The Beatles #3 / 1 June 1963 / 18 June 1963 / BBC Light)
214. Richard Skinner
215. Lee Peters
216. Youngblood (Pop Go The Beatles #2 / 1 June 1963 / 11 June 1963 / BBC Light)
217. Lee Peters Interview
218. Baby It's You (Pop Go The Beatles #2 / 1 June 1963 / 11 June 1963 / BBC Light)
219. Richard Skinner
220. Lee Peters: Paul Birthday Interview (Pop Go The Beatles #3)
221. Sure To Fall (In Love With You) (Pop Go The Beatles #3 / 1 June 1963 / 18 June 1963)
222. Richard Skinner
223. Lee Peters: Paul Birthday Interview II (Pop Go The Beatles #3 / 1 June 1963 / 18 June 1963)
224. Anna (Go To Him) (Pop Go The Beatles #4 / 17 June 1963 / 25 June 1963 / BBC Light)
225. Lee Peters: The Beatles Postcards
226. Twist And Shout (Pop Go The Beatles #4 / 17 June 1963 / 25 June 1963 / BBC Light)
227. Richard Skinner,
228. Lorne Gibson Interview
229. Pop Goes The Beatles


Part 4: With These Haircuts? TX: 22 October 1988.

230. Slate
231. Pop Go The Beatles
232. Richard Skinner
233. Rodney Burke Intro
234. Sweet Little Sixteen (Pop Go The Beatles #6 / 10 July 1963 / 23 July 1963 / BBC Light)
235. Richard Skinner
236. Kieth Bateson Interview
237. That's Alright Mama (Pop Go The Beatles #6 / 10 July 1963 / 23 July 1963 / BBC Light)
238. Richard Skinner
239. Rodney Burke
240. Carol (Pop Go The Beatles #5 / 2 July 1963 / 16 July 1963 / BBC Light)
241. George: Listeners Request
242. Soldier Of Love (Pop Go The Beatles #5 / 2 July 1963 / 16 July 1963 / BBC Light)
243. Rodney Burke Intro (Pop Go The Beatles #5 / 2 July 1963 / 16 July 1963 / BBC Light)
244. Lend Me Your Comb (Pop Go The Beatles #5 / 2 July 1963 / 16 July 1963 / BBC Light)
245. John Lennon Listeners Request (Pop Go The Beatles #5 / 2 July 1963 / 16 July 1963 / BBC Light)
246. Clarabella (Pop Go The Beatles #5 / 2 July 1963 / 16 July 1963 / BBC Light)
247. Richard Skinner
248. Terry Henebery Interview
249. John Chat
250. Lonesome Tears In My Eyes (Pop Go The Beatles #5 / 2 July 1963 / 16 July 1963 / BBC Light)
251. Paul Chat
252. Nothin' Shakin' (But The Leaves On The Trees) (Pop Go The Beatles #5 )
253. Richard Skinner
254. Chat
255. So How Come (No-One Loves Me) (Pop Go The Beatles #5 / 2 July 1963 / 16 July 1963)
256. Closing Sequence


Part 5: We’re Ready to Pop! TX: 29 October 1988.

301. Slate
302. Pop Goes The Beatles
303. Richard Skinner
304. Rodney Burke
305. I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry (Over You) (Pop Go The Beatles #8 / 16 July 1963)
306. Richard Skinner
307. Hippy Hippy Shake (Pop Go The Beatles #7 / 10 July 1963 / 30 July 1963 / BBC Light)
308. Rodney Burke
309. To Know Her Is To Love Her (Pop Go The Beatles #7 / 10 July 1963 / 30 July 1963 / BBC Light)
310. Richard Skinner
311. John Andrews Interview
312. Ringo Intro
313. Matchbox (Pop Go The Beatles #7 / 10 July 1963 / 30 July 1963 / BBC Light)
314. Rodney Burke
315. Please Mr. Postman (Pop Go The Beatles #7 / 10 July 1963 / 30 July 1963 / BBC Light)
316. George Harrison Intro
317. Do You Want To Know A Secret (Pop Go The Beatles #7 / 10 July 1963 / 30 July 1963)
318. Richard Skinner
319. Rodney Burke
320. Crying, Waiting, Hoping (Pop Go The Beatles #8 / 16 July 1963 / 6 August 1963 / BBC Light)
321. George Harrison Intro
322. The Honeymoon Song (Pop Go The Beatles #8 / 16 July 1963 / 6 August 1963 / BBC Light)
323. Rodney Burke
324. Please Please Me (Pop Go The Beatles #8 / 16 July 1963 / 6 August 1963 / BBC Light)
325. Rodney Burke
326. I Got A Woman (Pop Go The Beatles #8 / 16 July 1963 / 6 August 1963 / BBC Light)
327. Richard Skinner
328. Pop Go The Beatles


Part 6: Brackets! TX: 5 November 1988

329. Slate
330. Pop Go The Beatles
331. Richard Skinner
332. Rodney Burke
333. Chains (Pop Go The Beatles #14 / 3 Sept 1963 / 17 Sept 1963 / BBC Light)
334. Richard Skinner
335. Rodney Burke / George: Brackets
336. Glad All Over (Pop Go The Beatles #10 / 16 July 1963 / 20 Aug 1963 / BBC Light)
337. Rodney Burke
338. I Just Do not Understand (Pop Go The Beatles #10 / 16 July 1963 / 20 Aug 1963 / BBC Light)
339. Richard Skinner
340. Ooh! My Soul (Pop Go The Beatles #11 / 1 August 1963 / 27 Aug 1963 / BBC Light)
341. Rodney Burke Interview
342. Don't Ever Change (Pop Go The Beatles #11 / 1 August 1963 / 27 Aug 1963 / BBC Light)
343. Richard Skinner
344. Phil Tate: Pop Chat Interview (Non Stop Pop / 30 July 1963 / 30 August 1963 / BBC Light)
345. Richard Skinner
346. Honey Don't (Pop Go The Beatles #12 / 1 August 1963 / 3 Sept 1963 / BBC Light)
347. Chat (Pop Go The Beatles #12 / 1 August 1963 / 3 Sept 1963 / BBC Light)
348. You Really Got A Hold On Me (Pop Go The Beatles #14 / 3 Sept 1963 / 17 Sept 1963 / BBC Light)
349. Rodney Burke (Pop Go The Beatles #14 / 3 Sept 1963 / 17 Sept 1963 / BBC Light)
350. Lucille (Pop Go The Beatles #14 / 3 Sept 1963 / 17 Sept 1963 / BBC Light)
351. Richard Skinner
352. Rodney Burke Interview ( Pop Go The Beatles #15 / 3 Sept 1963 / 24 Sept 1963 / BBC Light)
353. Twist And Shout ( Pop Go The Beatles #15 / 3 Sept 1963 / 24 Sept 1963 / BBC Light)
354. Fichard Skinner
355. Rodney Burke
356. Pop Go The Beatles


Part 7: The Show Business Jackpot. TX: 12 November 1988

401. Slate
402. Chat
403. Richard Skinner
404. Brian Matthew
405. I Saw Her Standing There (Easy Beat / 16 October 1963 / 20 October 1963 / BBC Light)
406. Richard Skinner
407. Brian Matthew
408. Love Me Do (Easy Beat / 16 October 1963 / 20 October 1963 / BBC Light)
409. Brian Matthew: Paul McCartney Interview (Easy Beat / 16 October 1963 / 20 October 1963)
410. Richard Skinner
411. Michael Colley Interview with The Beatles (The Public Ear / 3 October 1963 / 3 November 1963)
412. She Loves You (Easy Beat / 16 October 1963 / 20 October 1963 / BBC Light)
413. Richard Skinner
414. Interview, The Public Ear / 3 October 1963 / 3 November 1963 / BBC Light
415. Richard Skinner
416. U.S. Report: Malcolm Davis, Saturday Club / 7 February 1964 / 8 February 1964 / BBC Light
417. Richard Skinner
418. U.S. Interview with The Beatles, Saturday Club / 7 February 1964 / 8 February 1964)
419. Richard Skinner
420. Brian Matthew
421. Johnny B. Goode (Saturday Club / 7 January 1964 / 15 February 1964 / BBC Light)
422. Brian Matthew Interview with The Beatles, Saturday Club / 7 February 1964 / 8 February 1964)
423. I Want To Hold Your Hand (Saturday Club / 7 January 1964 / 15 February 1964 / BBC Light)
424. Richard Skinner
425. From Us To You


Part 8: From Fluff to You. TX: 19 November 1988

426. Slate
427.From Us To You
428. Richard Skinnern
429. Alan Freeman Intro
430. All My Loving (Us To You / 28 February 1964 / 30 March 1964 / BBC Light)
431. Alan Freeman Interview (Us To You / 28 February 1964 / 30 March 1964 / BBC Light)
432. Alan Freeman Interview With Paul (Us To You / 28 February 1964 / 30 March 1964 / BBC Light)
433. Till There Was You (Us To You / 28 February 1964 / 30 March 1964 / BBC Light)
434. Alan Freeman Interview With George (Us To You / 28 February 1964 / 30 March 1964 / BBC)
435. Roll Over Beethoven (Us To You / 28 February 1964 / 30 March 1964 / BBC Light)
436. Ringo Intro (Us To You / 28 February 1964 / 30 March 1964 / BBC Light)
437. I Wanna Be Your Man (Us To You / 28 February 1964 / 30 March 1964 / BBC Light)
438. Alan Freeman: John Interview (Us To You / 28 February 1964 / 30 March 1964 / BBC Light)
439. Can't Buy Me Love (Us To You / 28 February 1964 / 30 March 1964 / BBC Light)
440. Alan Freeman (Us To You / 28 February 1964 / 30 March 1964 / BBC Light)
441. From Us To You (Us To You / 28 February 1964 / 30 March 1964 / BBC Light)
442. Alan Freeman Interview
443. Richard Skinner
444. Alan Freeman Intro (Us To You / 1 May 1964 / 18 May 1964 / BBC Light)
445. Honey Don't (Us To You / 1 May 1964 / 18 May 1964 / BBC Light)
446. Alan Freeman Intro (Us To You / 1 May 1964 / 18 May 1964 / BBC Light)
447. I Forgot To Remember To Forget (Us To You / 1 May 1964 / 18 May 1964 / BBC Light)
448. Alan Freeman Interview (Us To You / 1 May 1964 / 18 May 1964 / BBC Light)
449. You Can't Do That (Us To You / 1 May 1964 / 18 May 1964 / BBC Light)
450. Alan Freeman Interview
451. Richard Skinner
452. From Us To You


Part 9: Fab Gear, Top Gear. TX: 26 November 1988.

501. Slate
502. Top Gear Trailer Top Gear / 14 July 1964 / 16 July 1964 / BBC Light
503. Richard Skinner
504. I Got A Woman (Saturday Club / 31 March 1964 / 4 April 1964 / BBC Light)
505. Brian Matthew / The Beatles: Listeners Requests
506. Sure To Fall Saturday Club / 31 March 1964 / 4 April 1964 / BBC Light)
507. Brian Matthew Interviews Saturday Club / 31 March 1964 / 4 April 1964 / BBC Light)
508. Richard Skinner
509. Top Gear Trailer (Top Gear / 14 July 1964 / 16 July 1964 / BBC Light)
510. Long Tall Sally (Top Gear / 14 July 1964 / 16 July 1964 / BBC Light)
511. Brian Matthew (Top Gear / 14 July 1964 / 16 July 1964 / BBC Light)
512. Things We Said Today (Top Gear / 14 July 1964 / 16 July 1964 / BBC Light)
513. Brian Matthew Interview
514. Richard Skinner
515. A Hard Days Night (Top Gear / 14 July 1964 / 16 July 1964 / BBC Light
516. Richard Skinner
517. Brian Matthew Interviews (Top Gear / 14 July 1964 / 16 July 1964 / BBC Light)
518. And I Love Her (Top Gear / 14 July 1964 / 16 July 1964 / BBC Light)
519. Richard Skinner
520. Top Gear Session
521. I Feel Fine (Top Gear / 17 November 1964 / 26 Nov 1964 / BBC Light)


Part 10: Automatic Pier. TX: 3 December 1988.

522. Slate
523. Listener Request And Ringo
524. Beatle Intro
525. Brian Matthew
526. I'm A Loser (Top Gear / 17 November 1964 / 26 Nov 1964 / BBC Light)
527. Richard Skinner
528. George Harrison & Ringo Starr Public Ear / 18 March 1964 / 22 March 1964 / BBC Light 2
529. Richard Skinner
530. Tony Hall Interview
531. George Harrison & John Lennon Public Ear / 18 March 1964 / 22 March 1964 / BBC Light
532. Honey Don't Top Gear / 17 November 1964 / 26 Nov 1964 / BBC Light
533. Richard Skinner
534. Wilfred De’Ath: John Lennon Interview World Of Books 16 June 1965 / 3 July 1965 /Home servie
535. I’ll Follow The Sun Top Gear / 17 November 1964 / 26 Nov 1964 / BBC Light
536. Richard Skinner
537. Brian Matthew: John Lennon Interview Pop Profile / 30 November 1965 / March 1966 / BBC)
538. Richard Skinner
539. Brian Matthew Interviews The Beatles
540. Richard Skinner
541. Top Gear Session
542. She's A Woman Top Gear / 17 November 1964 / 26 Nov 1964 / BBC Light
543. Richard Skinner


Part 11: Green with Black Shutters. TX: 10 Dec 1988

601. Slate
602. Brian Matthew / Ringo Saturday Club / 25 Nov 1964 / 26 Dec 1964 / BBC Light
603. Richard Skinner
604. Rock And Roll Music (Saturday Club / 25 Nov 1964 / 26 Dec 1964 / BBC Light)
605. Richard Skinner
606. Brian Matthew Interviews The Beatles Saturday Club / 25 Nov 1964 / 26 Dec 1964 / BBC Light
607. Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby (Saturday Club / 25 Nov 1964 / 26 Dec 1964 / BBC Light)
608. Richard Skinner
609. Brian Matthew Interviews The Beatles Saturday Club / 25 Nov 1964 / 26 Dec 1964 / BBC Light
610. Kansas City / Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey! (Saturday Club / 25 Nov 1964 / 26 Dec 1964 / BBC Light)
611. Brian Matthew Interviews The Beatles
612. Ticket To Ride (The Beatles (Invite You To Take A Ticket to Ride) / 26 May 1965 / 7 June 1965)
613. Richard Skinner
614. Keith Bateson Interview
615. Richard Skinner
616. MBE Interview Twickenham Film Studios / 12 June 1965
617. Dizzy Miss Lizzy (Invite You To Take A Ticket to Ride) / 26 May 1965 / 7 June 1965 / BBC Light
618. Richard Skinner
619. Brian Matthew: Paul McCartney Pop Profile / 2 May 1966 / May 1966 / BBC Transcription
620. Richard Skinner


Part 12: They Could Almost Hear Us. TX: 17 Dec 1988

621. Slate
622. Brian Matthew Interviews The Beatles The Beatles Abroad / 15-20 Aug 1965 / 30 Aug 1965 / BBC
623. Help! Hollywood Bowl / 30 August 1965
624. Richard Skinner
625. Brian Matthew Interviews The Beatles The Beatles Abroad / 15-20 Aug 1965 / 30 Aug 1965 / BBC
626. Richard Skinner
627. Brian Matthew: Ringo Pop Profile / 2 May 1966 / May 1966 / BBC Transcription Service
628. Keith Fordyce Interviews John & Paul 

    – Plus Excerpts Of… She Love’s You - The Band Of The Irish Guards A Hard Day’s Night – Peggy Lee All My Loving – Matt Monroe And I Love Him – Lena Horne Wait – Frankie Vaughn The Lennon And McCartney Songbook / 6 August 1966 / 29 August 1966 / BBC Light Richard Skinner

629. Richard Skinner


Part 13: A Chrimble Mudley. TX: 24 December 1988

701. Slate
702. Beatles Ad-Lib (Saturday Club / 29 Nov 1965 / 25 Dec 1965 / BBC Light)
703. Richard Skinner
704. John Reads Listeners Requests (Saturday Club / 17 Dec 1963 / 21 Dec 1963 / BBC Light)
705. This Boy (Saturday Club / 17 Dec 1963 / 21 Dec 1963 / BBC Light)
706. Richard Skinner
707. All I Want For Christmas Is A Bottle / Beatles Request (Saturday Club)
708. Roll Over Beethoven (Saturday Club / 17 Dec 1963 / 21 Dec 1963 / BBC Light)
709. Richard Skinner
710. The Beatles Chrimble Medley (Saturday Club / 17 Dec 1963 / 21 Dec 1963 / BBC Light)
711. Richard Skinner
712. From Us To You Intro / Rolf Harris: Beatle Chat (From Us To You / 18 Dec 1963 / 26 Dec 1963)
713. Richard Skinner
714. She Loves You (From Us To You / 18 Dec 1963 / 26 Dec 1963 / BBC Light)
715. Narration
716. Richard Skinner
717. Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport (From Us To You / 18 Dec 1963 / 26 Dec 1963 / BBC Light)
718. Richard Skinner
719. Narration
720. Beatle Intro
721. I Want To Hold Your Hand (From Us To You / 18 Dec 1963 / 26 Dec 1963 / BBC Light)
722. Rolf Harris
723. From Us To You
724. The Beatles Ad Lib / Saturday Club Theme Tune (Saturday Club / 29 Nov 1965 / 25 Dec 1965)
725. Saturday Club Intro / Richard Skinner
726. Richard Skinner
727. Brian Matthew: The Beatles Studio Chat (Saturday Club / 29 Nov 1965 / 25 Dec 1965)
728. We Can Work It Out [7″ Version] / Richard Skinner
729. Richard Skinner
730. Beatle Box Jury (Saturday Club / 29 Nov 1965 / 25 Dec 1965 / BBC Light)
731. Drive My Car
732. Narration
733. Chat


Part 14: No More She Loves You’s TX: 31 December 1988.

734. Slate
735. John Lennon: Kenny Everett Intro The Kenny Everett Show / 6 June 1968 / 9 June 1968)
736. Richard Skinner
737. Penny Lane / Brian Matthew: John And Paul 20 March 1967 / BBC Transcription Service
738. Narration
739. Scene And Heard
740. Flying
741. Narration
742. Where Its At (Interview)
743. Narration
744. Brian Matthew: George Harrison Interview Pop Profile / 30 November 1965 / March 1966)
745. If I Needed Someone [LP Version]
746. The Kenny Everett Show
747. Narration
748. George Harrison Interview
749. Crying, Waiting, Hoping (Pop Go The Beatles #8 / 16 July 1963 / 6 August 1963 / BBC Light)
750. Narration
751. George Harrison Interview
752. Pop Go The Beatles

Eight: Bonus Beeb Cuts

801. Twist And Shout
802. Long Tall Sally
803. Chains
804. Love Me Do
805. Boys
806. Too Much Monkey Business
807. Till There Was You
808. A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues
809. A Taste Of Honey
810. Thank You Girl
811. I Saw Her Standing There
812. PS I Love You
813. I Got To Find My Baby
814. Memphis, Tennessee
815. From Me To You
816. Roll Over Beethoven
817. There's A Place
818. Kansas City
819. She Loves You
820. You Really Got A Hold On Me
821. Words Of Love
822. Slow Down
823. Glad All Over
824. Anna
825. I'll Get You
826. Money (That's What I Want)
827. Roll Over Beethoven
828. Too Much Monkey Business
829. The Hippy Hippy Shake
830. Misery
831. Ask Me Why
832. Devil In Her Heart
833. She Loves You
834. This Boy
835. Please Mr. Postman
836. From Us To You

Notes
This issue has no catalogue number.
Issued as "Executive Version."
Sleeve says "The Award Winning 1988 radio series, now remastered and updated for 2019."
No recording data is mentioned on sleeve.

The Beeb’s Lost Beatles Tapes is an eight cd set documenting the BBC series from the 1980’s. The discs are spread out over two seperate four disc sets, but belong all together since it presents the episodes in order. The sound quality of the actual broadcasts is flawless. The source tapes used by the BBC vary from very good to excellent. In the liner notes, Righteous Rodent replicates an article from the February 1995 edition of Audio Media magazine, published at the time of the release of the BBC sessions officially and which gives an excellent summary of the origin of these tapes.

The Beatles Live At The BBC – Compiling The ‘Lost” Tapes

Indeed, in the case of the recently released Beatles radio sessions, we were informed by news reports on the BBC itself that the vaults in which the tapes were actually ‘dust-encrusted’, which doesn’t say too much for the work of the BBC archivists. Furthermore the tapes were miraculously all found to be in pristine condition, and they contained songs which nobody could recall the Beatles ever performing. Well, to all this I will say just one thing – and, being my usual diplomatic self, I will do so in a typically restrained manner – what a pile of tosh.

Of the 275 Beatles recordings broadcast by the BBC between March 8, 1962 and June 7, 1965, various were in fact re-broadcast by the network in a two hour special entitled The Beatles At The Beeb in 1982. A three hour version was subsequently syndicated in other countries, and in 1988, there was a series of 14 half hour shows entitled The Beeb’s Lost Beatles Tapes. What is more, the fans have had bootleg recordings of many of these sessions since the early 1970’s. during the past year, an Italian company has even put out a nine CD boxed set containing every single number the band committed to tape in the BBC studios. The only reason for the delay was the protracted legal wrangling between the BBC, EMI Records (to whom the Beatles were contracted from 1962 onwards), and the group’s own company Apple Corp. So let’s not talk about the mass rediscovery of long lost masters.

BACK TO THE ARCHIVE

Over the years, it’s been a process of putting the Beatles archive back together really, as more and more stuff has come to light,” says Howlett. “For the series The Beeb’s Lost Beatles Tapes, which included a lot of speech interviews from the times as well as the tracks, we turned up quite a few things. One of the most exciting finds came from the BBC Transcription Department, which was originally set up to distribute programmes to far flung corners of the British Empire.

During the 1960’s, there was a radio show called Top Of The Pops – not to be confused with the television programme of the same name – hosted by Brian Matthew. This fitted onto two sides of a long playing disc and it featured Matthew presenting session tracks that had been recorded for various BBC programmes by groups such as the Hollie, The Swinging Blue Jeans…. and The Beatles.

”The transcription discs were utilised as the source for some of the 1964 material on the Live At The BBC album,” explains Howlett. “On ‘Things We Said Today’, for instance, you can hear Brian Matthew voicing-over some sort of introduction, and that’s actually taken from a Top Of The Pops disc, because the original version without the voice-over doesn’t exist.

There can be no doubt that the shows were well recorded at the time. So it’s just a question as to how well the material has lasted over the years and in what form. I can remember George Martin (the album’s Executive Producer) saying to me that a disc is quite a good storage medium and that he was quite happy to master from it. In fact when I was working on a series called Paul Simon’s Songbook a few years ago I talked to (producer) Roy Halee about his re-mastering of the Simon and Garfunkel material and how the original master tapes were in a bad condition, having been played over and over again and not looked after. he was appalled at the state they were in, and said, ‘if only they could find me a decent mint copy of ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’, at least I would be able to master from that!

So much for disc storage, yet within the BBC Transcription Department there is also a tape library, and it is here that the most exciting find was made for the 1988 series The Beeb’s Lost Beatles Tapes. “We came across two ten-inch reels with ‘The Beatles’ on the spine,” recalls Howlett. “One of these was a half-hour reel featuring them larking around for the ’65 Christmas Show, (an edition of Saturday Club on which the group did not perform any songs). They were being interviewed by Brian Matthew and doing a send up of (the then influential TV pop show) Juke Box Jury, and obviously another version was eventually edited down from this.

At the same time, the other half-hour reel was similar in that it had been left running while the session was in process, but it also included them performing ‘I Feel Fine’ and ‘She’s A Woman’. It had false starts, takes which broke down half-way through, and talk back between the group and the control room. It was fascinating, and that was quite a find, because it’s sort of a pre-master really. From it, a master would have been made – a track would have been dubbed down, edited or whatever.

It’s weird how some things turn up. For instance, I’ve done a programme about the Rolling Stones’ work at the Beeb. Some of their sessions are still missing, but one of those that is still around is probably the most interesting of all. In 1964, they performed tracks in front of a live audience that they never recorded for Decca. it was an experimental stereo broadcast for the BBC, whereby they would broadcast one side of the stereo on the radio and the other side on the television (ie. stereophony). Then there were no television programmes in the early morning, and so they broadcast one side of the stereo on TV only and you would have to position your radio and your TV to get the stereo image! Now, that tape survived because it was of interest technically. You know, some engineer kept it because it was one of the first stereo broadcasts and not particularly because it featured the Rolling Stones”.

ALTERNATIVE SOURCES

Meanwhile, with regard to The Beatles’ radio performances, contact with the original session producers yielded some more tapes, but there were still quite a few gaps to be filled. It was for this reason that contact also had to be made with some…. ahem, ‘alternative sources’. Indeed, since the transmission of the 1988 series, the most recent and valuable discovery has been a recording that a member of the public made off his radio back on January 26, 1963. Now it should be pointed out that this kind of practice was, of course, highly illegal, but in the case of The Beatles sessions, the BBC have had to behave in a manner which could more aptly be described as bloody grateful rather than terribly annoyed, for it is thanks to some eager listeners – and not the hallowed vaults – that certain lost gems have been retrieved.

The 1988 radio series was virtually completed just before it went out on the air”, says Howlett, “but then when it did go out, some people phoned up and said that they has more tapes. Out of all of them one appeared to actually have some stuff that we didn’t have, recorded all those years ago on his little Grundig. While it was too late for the series, I nevertheless kept his letter on file and got back in touch with him when this album project was imminent. he journeyed down to London with his five-inch reels, we went through them, and that’s how ‘Keep Your Hands Off My Baby’ appeared on the album”.

Certainly, a good number of shows were originally broadcast by the BBC in what was then known as VHF, and so, if someone had a half-decent domestic tape recorder and took a direct feed from his radio, the result of his or her endeavours could well be usable, especially with the digital technology now available to clean up such recordings. Peter Mew has been utilising the SonicSolutions computer enhancement system for the past 5 years at Abbey Road. He first became involved in the Beatles project when work on the album started in earnest around the middle of 1992.

SONIC ENHANCEMENT

After George Martin had chosen the tracks that would go on the record, they were passed over to me for de-noising, EQing, and all the rest of it,” he says. “Over the peiod of two and a half years, the album went through various changes – running order changes, title changes and things like that. At each stage I had to re-edit and make adjustments, so that it still sounded OK. In fact, overall it must have gone through seven different versions, and so I can now sing almost every song off by heart!

The masters that the BBC had were in pretty reasonable shape, and they therefore needed much the same treatment that old studio tapes would need. From there, however, things went down the scale in terms of sound quality and some items required a lot more work. Coming from so many different sources, each track had its own problems, and so it wasn’t like a normal studio job where you had a number of studio reductions which basically required noise reduction. Everything had to be approached as a separate entity, and then, having done that, it was a matter of trying to get continuity of sound, and that worked in some cases and probably not in others!”

Undoubtedly, the greatest attraction of the 56 song Live At The BBC album is the 30 numbers which the band never recorded; mostly old rock’n’roll covers from their Hamburg and Cavern Club days, as well as a few contemporary hits and even one of their own compositions, ‘I’ll Be On My Way’, which was a hit for Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas. Again, as with Little Eva’s ‘Keep Your Hands Off My Baby’, several of these performances returned the BBC’s way courtesy of private recordings, yet in a good number of cases they also came from the Transcription Library at Kensington House, but from Bush House, where the World Service programmes are broadcast.

”The show, Pop Go The Beatles, was broadcast in the summer of 1963 on the domestic service,” explains Kevin Howlett. “It featured a guest group and and a presenter and The Beatles reading requests, but it was then re-made for the BBC World Service and put out in ’64 featuring just the songs and an announcer, and so that material went over to Bush House. Now, somebody over there made a tape of the more unusual songs, and due to this I was able to get hold of some of the most interesting tracks”.

Still, there are half a dozen Beatles performances of ‘unreleased’ numbers which George Martin deemed as unsuitable for the album: Roy Orbison’s ‘Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)’, from their very first radio broadcast on March 8, 1962 (featuring Pete Best on drums); The Coasters’ arrangement of ‘Besame Mucho’ and Joe Brown’s ‘A Picture Of You’, both from June 15, 1962 (still with Best on drums); Slim Whitman’s ‘Beautiful Dreamer’ from January 26, 1963; Chuck Berry’s ‘I’m Talking About You’ from March 16, 1963; and Carl Perkins’ ‘Lend Me your Comb’ from the broadcast of July 16, 1963.

Of these, the first five are audibly much too poor to bring up to scratch for the album – listeners’ recordings that were evidently not made via direct feed into a good quality grundig, but rather with a cheap microphone placed next to the radio speaker while Mum was told to be quiet. In other words, items of historic importance that are not quite fit for general public consumption. yet the reason for omitting ‘Lend Me Your Comb’, which originates from the BBC’s Bush House archive, is altogether less obvious.

Officially George Martin’s selection criteria for the material involved both technical quality and the standard of the performance, and on the latter count the number just missed the mark. Unofficially, the powers that be may also wish to keep something in the can, and thus have something in reserve to use as a ‘bonus track’ enticement for some future release along with all of the alternate takes.

DROPOUTS AND MAGIC WANDS

”The Rolling Stones only did about 12 sessions, and so the fact that The Beatles did 52 is absolutely phenomenal”, says Kevin Howlett. “They really worked at it, and of course, they were playing live in the studio, although by ’64 they did get a bit more sophisticated. They certainly didn’t have a multi-track machine at their disposal. The first multi-track to come into the BBC was an eight-track, and that was a very long time after The Beatles had stopped doing sessions here. So, the only way that they could overdub was to put down a backing track and then play the tape back through the mixing desk and perform over the top of it. You can occasionally hear examples of this on some of their ’64 recordings.

30 years later one of the problems which peter mew had to deal with, especially when working on some of the rarer recordings, was that of sound dropouts. For, whilst he was able to repair most of them, a close listen to the album indicates that there were still a few instances where this was just not possible.

The art, if you like, of using computer editing systems these days is that they allow you to take very small slithers of sound from elsewhere and patch them in, much like you would with a painting,” mew explains. “But if you can’t find a matching piece of sound from somewhere else in the song, then you just can’t do it, because you obviously don’t want to apply any new paint!

On ‘A Taste Of Honey’, for instance, there’s an analogue dropout that has bugged me from the word go, but I couldn’t do anything about it, because that piece of sound wasn’t repeated anywhere else in the song. I also couldn’t boost it, because it’s not a particular level that drops for a particular length of time; it might drop a little bit here and then go up and down, and it’s too long to restore using the click removal devices, which work on several milliseconds of sound. This dropout lasts for perhaps half a second and so you can’t use the computer.

So, at the end of the day, contrary to what some people think, the Sonic Solutions system is not a magic wand. It’s a piece of technology, and if you’ve got absolute garbage going in, then you’ll have something better than absolute garbage coming out, but it ain’t going to be perfect.

Anyway, in the case of The Beatles, Live At The BBC album, who really cares? This is vintage stuff and it serves to remind one that, in the final analysis, musical content is of far more importance to the average listener than sheer sonic quality.

SPOTTING TALENT

Brian Willey produced the December 4, 1962 and January 29, 1963 editions of The Talent Spot on which the Beatles first performed before a live audience. The first of these, recorded on November 27, 1962 at the BBC’s Paris Theatre in Central London, featured the soon-to-be fab Four at the bottom of a star spangled bill comprising The Ted Taylor Four, Mark Tracey, Elkie Brooks, and Frank Kelly. Still, it served as a showcase for new talent and broke the mould in as much as no audition was required. In effect, therefore, it was like a broadcast audition.

Willey now recalls that after the first show, Brian Epstein, the Beatles’ manager, “asked me, ‘Do you like them?’ and I said ‘Well, they’re rough, but they entertain me.’ Bearing in mind that it was a live broadcast, a one-take job, they didn’t do too badly. Epstein then asked me if I would have them back on the show. I said ‘Yes’, and by the time that happened, a few weeks later, they had already climbed the charts, and in fact, made a hell of a difference to my audience. This usually consisted of about 30 or 40 people, and now, suddenly, hundreds were packing the Paris and queueing outside on the street.

Full-scale Beatlemania was looming just ahead and the band’s phenomenal rise to superstardom was underway. Yet it is only with hindsight that those who were involved in this story can fully appreciate the significance of what they took part in all those years ago. “Looking back they were great days”, says Brian Willey, “but at the time, I was just doing a job, and I’m sure that none of us ever thought we were making a mark on history.

“Oh well, back to the vaults…”

The sound quality on this release is excellent and the production by Righteous Rodent is likewise very professional. This is an excellent opportunity to not only hear very rare songs and interviews, but to get a good glimpse of the amount of self promotion the Beatles did in their first year of superstardom. It is striking that a band would not only have their own radio show, but play songs by audience request which they did quite frequently. There are both historic and contemporary (c.1988) interviews offering insight into the evolution of the band. Any collector will want both volumes for completeness and listen to more than ten hours of radio shows.

The BBC programs are grouped by chronology, but they also find thematic links between the shows presented in each episode. Thus “With These Haircuts?” focuses upon the early fascination with their hairstyles most prevalent in 1963. Both volumes come complete with a four fold insert with photos, track listing, and liner notes and are packaged in fatboy jewel cases. This is the second massive set by the Righteous Rodent people, following their twelve disc set on the Rolling Stones released before. The Beeb’s Lost Beatles Tapes is an excellent way of obtaining these historically significant broadcasts in an attractive edition.