Category: Beatles

Mom’s Favorite Beatles Record

I missed getting this post done in time for Mother’s Day, but here it is anyway. The “double A-side” single “Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane” was a familiar sound in my house in 1967. Not only was it played frequently on Musicradio 77WABC, one of my sisters had the record. The world had changed quite a lot in the short three years since the Beatles first appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show!

This record belonged — belongs? — to my sister Liz, as you can see by clicking to enlarge the picture.

One time when I was playing the record (without permission), my mother stopped and listened. Then she said, “This is the most original and creative music I have ever heard.” Her offhand comment has always stayed with me as a favorite memory. Six months later she threw out my comic books, which is my least favorite memory!

Audio from the original Capitol mono single that my mother heard is below, followed by the restored music videos that were released in HD a couple of years ago.

Here’s something to consider. This is the Strawberry Field Manor that was a fixture for John Lennon when growing up.

Strawberry Field Manor, Liverpool, England — Now open to tourists!

Thanks to his Aunt Mimi taking him in after he was abandoned by his parents, John did not have to live there, as it was an orphanage that began accepting boys in the 1950’s. Here is the Dakota Building, where John spent his final years, and where Yoko still lives.

The Dakota, New York City

Sculptress of Sound

Once again I turn my attention to the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. BBC Radio 4xtra is repeating a 2010 feature on workshop creator Delia Derbyshire. One point about Delia’s incomparable interpretation of Ron Grainer’s Doctor Who theme that seems obvious, but isn’t mentioned, is that one of the sounds is evocative of a Ben Franklin glass harmonica. The programme is also available on this YouTube video.

A few years after this documentary was produced, Paul McCartney revealed that he had a great interest in the Radiophonic Workshop, and had even made a point of meeting Delia, with the intention of trying an electronic backing to “Yesterday.” Nevertheless, the most experimental Beatles production to be released isn’t by Paul, but is John Lennon’s “Revolution 9.” One of Delia’s recordings in the documentary, with voices and a heartbeat, sounds as though it could have been an inspiration for Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon.”

Deaf Lennon, Dudley, (and Norm)

Dudley Moore, John Lennon, Norm Rossington

At the request of Dudley Moore, John Lennon made several appearances on “Not Only… But Also,” a mid-60’s BBC-TV show by Moore and his “Beyond the Fringe” partner Peter Cook. On November 20, 1964, Lennon and his pal Norm Rossington, from “A Hard Day’s Night,” joined Moore in filming a visualization of John’s poem “Deaf Ted, Danoota, (and me).”

Prue in Words and Picture

A while back I was contacted by Gary James, who has a Web site called Classic Bands. He asked to interview Prue Bury, and after checking some of his previous interviews I put him in touch with her. Gary transcribes his interviews, rather than posting audio, and here is the link to his conversation with Prue.

Prue Bury, March 4, 1964

I bought the original print of this photo on an eBay/UK auction. It should be here in a couple of weeks. The Australian seller says the date on the back of the picture is March 4, 1964, which places it during the filming of “A Hard Day’s Night.”

I wrote to Prue and said, “I don’t know what pictures you might be missing in your collection. I’m hoping that seeing this one is a surprise for you. It certainly is for me!” Prue replied, “Very much so! Never seen it before, where did it come from?” I don’t know, but perhaps the seller has more information. I’ve had a similar experience a couple of times, where I was shown a photo of myself I’d never seen before, and I had no recollection of it being taken. One of them was from my business trip in Saudi Arabia. I should see if I can find it.

Something worth emphasizing is that knowing everything I do about Prue, her connection to the Beatles may not be the least interesting thing about her, but it is far from the most interesting. Even Prue’s birth is compelling, with her mother carrying her during the family’s flight from occupied Belgium to England. She was born during the last of the Nazi Blitz attacks on London.