Category: Beatles

British Band Before Beatles

Paul McCartney’s new CD, Kisses from the Bottom, features old songs that he knew from his father, who had been a musician in a Jazz band. From listening to Clare Teal, Sundays on BBC Radio 2, I know the names of two big name British band leaders that I assume must have been familiar to Paul’s father — Ray Noble, who I’ve mentioned before, and Benjamin “Bert” Ambrose, who did a really catchy instrumental version of Caravan.

I love that arrangement. It reminds me a bit of Raymond Scott’s sound.

http://youtu.be/tZACT4UgBog

Flash in the post

I don’t do very much video capturing anymore, partly because it’s a royal pain, but mostly because YouTube has most everything anyway. But I have some video clips I’d like to post later that aren’t on YouTube, so tonight I spent way too much time testing a new video editor. As is always the case, there are good and bad things about the software, but at least I got it working.

This is a comparison between the 1987 LD (LaserDisc) release of HELP! and the 2007 DVD edition. The LD is full frame, the way the film was shot.

[jwplayer config=”std” mediaid=”17311″]

And this is from the DVD. The movie has been cropped top and bottom to create a wider image, as it would have been shown in movie theaters in 1965. The color has been corrected, but it has much harder video contrast and louder sound than the LaserDisc.

[jwplayer config=”wide” mediaid=”17305″]

Abbey Road notes

A few Beatles-related items:

  • Mike Smith has passed away. He was the A&R man who, on January 1, 1962, signed Brian Poole and the Tremeloes to Decca Records, instead of the Beatles.
  • Back in October I noted that EMI was going to be bought by the rich Russian who bought Warner Music. But a last-minute deal between EMI and Universal Music was worked out.
  • Kevin Ryan and Brian Kehew, co-authors of Recording the Beatles, have sold out four talks at EMI’s Abbey Road recording studios on the 80-year history of the facility.

Hunter Davies chats about the lads from Liverpool

BBC Radio 4 has this interview with Hunter Davies, who wrote the only authorized telling of the story of the Beatles, other than their own Anthology, and he did it while they were still together as the Beatles.

[audio:http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio4/openbook/openbook_20120101-1750a.mp3|titles=BBC Radio 4 podcast: Hunter Davies]