It’s safe to assume that any Beatles documentary without Beatles music is unauthorized. Some of them have an interesting clip or two. One of the worst I’ve seen is “Beatles Biggest Secrets.” Don’t bother. A BBC DVD called “Unseen Beatles” is pretty good. The use of Classical music is odd and unnecessary, but the narrative is strong, because it does a good job of explaining why the Beatles had to quit touring. I’ve spliced together a couple of minutes from “Unseen Beatles” about the aftermath in America of Lennon’s infamous Jesus quote.
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/2009/DEC/UnseenBeatles.flv 512 384]
The guy telling the story about the show in Memphis is Barry Tashian, of the legendary Boston garage band, The Remains, who were on the Beatles’ final concert tour.
Tashian recounts the summer of ’66 in his excellent book, “Ticket To Ride: The Extraordinary Diary of The Beatles’ Last Tour.” I scanned Tashian’s journal entries for the Memphis show.
There’s a movie about The Remains called “America’s Lost Band” that I hope finds its way to DVD. Here is a preview with related clips.
Let’s finish with “Why Do I Cry,” by the Remains. We’ll never see another time like the mid- to late-60’s, folks!
[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2009/DEC/WhyDoICry.mp3]