New Beatles Interview Film

Reuters ^ | 7-1-2008 | Mike Collett - White

[Mariner]

LONDON (Reuters) - A film enthusiast has discovered a long lost interview with The Beatles from 1964 which has not been broadcast since.

Richard Jeffs came across 64 canisters of film stored in a damp garage in South London, and when he started to go through them he stumbled across a piece of pop history.

The conversation with Scottish television dates from April 30, 1964, according to the BBC, which played excerpts from the nine-and-a-half minute interview on the radio on Tuesday.

It came shortly after the Fab Four's trip to the United States during which they were besieged by fans and watched by a television audience estimated to be about half the country's population when they played The Ed Sullivan Show.

During the interview, Paul McCartney and John Lennon discussed how they came up with their tunes, and Jeffs said it shed light on the songwriting process within arguably the biggest band ever.

When asked how they collaborated, Lennon replied: "Well, you know, it depends. Sometimes we write them on old pianos, anything that's lying around."

McCartney added: "Normally we sit down and try and bash one out. But then again, there's no formula, because he (Lennon) can come up with one day completely finished. We still say we both wrote it, though."

[Mariner]

Interesting. John wrote songs in a day.

It shows he was the creative force behind the success of this great band.

[Borges]

Countdown to the ‘Beatles were no-talent hacks’ posters. The musicianship was always Paul’s department. John envied his natural ability.

[Mariner]

I don’t think you can cite a reference to support your contention.

[mysterio]

All four of the Beatles were great. Wonderful group.

[Enchante]

"Interesting. John wrote songs in a day. It shows he was the creative force behind the success of this great band."

I wouldn't go that far -- my impression (though I certainly don't claim any expertise) has been that Paul McCartney often came up with some of the best of the Beatles songs ("Yesterday" and "Hey Jude" and "Let It Be" were his alone, IIRC). Also, remember that spring of 1964 is still early in their period of song-writing collaboration, though they certainly had achieved renown by then - but many/most of their best songs were still to come, and Paul McCartney had a lot to do with those, I believe. Speed of output is far from the only criterion - in fact it's certainly not an aesthetic category at all.

In their post-Beatles careers I never thought much of John Lennon's song output at all. Certainly none of them did apart anything like what they did together, so I think the collaboration was key. But I never cared for much of John Lennon's solo output at all (I know that's sacrilege in some quarters).

[Borges]

John always said that he didn't have Paul's melodic facility. And the avant garde aspects of their later work were mostly Paul's ideas. Macca attended Stockhausen's exhibits at Darsmstadt and incorporated some of the ideas into the records. Lennon hated the ‘artsy’ stuff. He wanted straight ahead rock and roll.

[Holicheese]

A Hard Days Night was not the original title. They didn’t like what the movie was being called so they went into a room and came out with teh Song A Hard Days Night.

What was the original title?

[Clemenza]

“Hey Paul, let’s get rid of Clarence and steal all of his ideas.”

[Enchante]

"The musicianship was always Paul’s department. John envied his natural ability."

Yes indeed, and I don't think John's post-Beatles career shows much musicianship...... (though I am only a casual fan).

[Clemenza]

Paul and John provided a necessary check and balance on eachothers relative weaknesses as songwriters (John's choppiness, Paul's tendency toward the maudlin, etc). On their own, however, they had no such controls.

Nevertheless, Paul produced Band on the Run. Lennon never got within a 10th of producing such a great LP as Paul did with that classic.

[Nonstatist]

It shows he was the creative force behind the success of this great band.

LOL.. McCartney was just being kind. Lennon wrote bits which he had trouble staring and ending. ..There have been a dozen books on the beatles. The latest one is one of the best , especially with regard to the songwriting.

[weegee]

said it shed light on the songwriting process within arguably the biggest band ever

In 9 minutes of footage?

There are whole uncut bootleg tapes of recording sessions of the Beatles working out arrangements.

Hyperbole at its finest. The Beatles' interviews are widely available even to this day. While this one is "new", they were often called upon to make "funny" answers to stupid questions or say the same things they'd already said to 20 other cities' media.

[weegee]

I think that the Beatles had talent. And John was also able to work quickly, I don’t recall the timeframe but “Help!” was given to “the Beatles” as a film title (by others) and a song by that title was needed. I think he wrote it in about a day.

That is some constraint to actually come up with something meaningful from what first sounds like an improv contest.

[dfwgator]

That was the great thing about Lennon-McCartney, as their solo careers clearly showed, they both needed each other to filter out the other’s crap.

[Disciplinemisanthropy]

who are the beatles?

[weegee]

Rock and Roll PING

[AppyPappy]

The movie’s working title initially was “The Beatles”, then “Beatlemania”, until Ringo Starr who was exhausted after a long day coined a phrase ‘A Hard Day’s Night’, that was accepted by the studio.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058182/trivia

[Holicheese]

The title I had heard was “8 Arms to Hold You” but none of them liked the name.
I will check your story.

[PetroniusMaximus]

‘Beatles were no-talent hacks’

Not true. Clearly Ringo had a lot of talent.

[GSWarrior]

Paul McCartney was in a band before Wings?

[weegee]

Yeah, the Quarrymen.

[Clemenza]

Don’t laugh. Ringo was a solid time keeper, unlike that sloppy fool Pete Best who preceded him. Remember that Richard Starkey also cut his teeth backing strippers at Liverpool gentleman’s clubs.

[SuziQ]

who are the beatles?

*snort*
The man ain't got no culture. ;o)

[Steve_Seattle]

"In their post-Beatles careers I never thought much of John Lennon's song output at all."

Lennon and McCartney were at their best as collaborators. On their own, their worst tendencies went unchecked: Lennon's pretentiousness and McCartney's superficiality. I preferred Lennon's post-Beatles stuff to McCartney's, which I thought was mostly drivel, e.g., "Silly Love Songs."

[Old Professer]

I find myself liking Lennon more with each passing year...

[kinghorse]

Little piggies will tax the pennies on a dead man’s eyes. Good timing for a Beatles revival.

[Mr. Dough]

I find myself liking the others better...

[Old Professer]

I meant the passing part.

[Cincinatus]

The title I had heard was “8 Arms to Hold You” but none of them liked the name.

That was the provisional title of the second movie, Help!. In the US, that unused title was printed on the labels of 45 singles of "Ticket to Ride", released before the movie.

[Holicheese]

I stand corrected!

[weegee]

They did collaborate one more time (2 nights in the studio I believe) in the 1970s.

The session, which included Stevie Wonder, was called something like a Toot and a Snort. Cocaine use can be heard in the background.

The bootlegged recording has been out there for awhile. I only learned of it last year but have not heard it.

[Pharmboy]

This is a great album--33 or so different artists do Lennon's songs (yeah, yeah, Amnesty International--I know).

Pretty cheap through iTunes and well-worth it.

[boop]

Do they have the interview where John says: “We’re bigger than Obama now”.

[Reaganwuzthebest]

Try as I might for some reason I could never get the guitar riff down just right on “And your bird can sing”. It’s such a wonderful song to this day and shows how good the Beatles were, especially John Lennon as long as he stayed out of politics.

[Mr. Dough]

Do they have the interview where John says: “We’re bigger than Obama now”.

ROFL! ROFL!

[Mariner]

That song, and the album Revolver highlighted Lennon's genius.

to this day both the song and the album are my favorite of all time.

[Reaganwuzthebest]

The Revolver album was awesome, great work by the Fab Four.

[dennisw]

The Stones were ten times better and the Beatles knew that

[WVKayaker]

The Stones were ten times better and the Beatles knew that

Not! They didn't come close... Beatles, Forever!

[Finny]

Don’t laugh. Ringo was a solid time keeper ...

I used to laugh about Ringo and figured he probably had the least identifiable (sound-wise) influence on the band. Then I heard one time when he sat in with some R&R group for a quick tune, not even a Beatles' tune, long after the Beatles had broken up. MAN O MANISCHEVITZ, I could really hear his influence. I realized how much of the Beatles' "sound" was because of Ringo.

I used to laugh at the bumper sticker slogan, Ban Drum Solos. (Well, okay, I still do!) But I've acquired a taste for drummers over the years. A good drummer is rare and delightful, especially live with a smokin' non-vocal fusion quartet or quintet.

[dennisw]

Bill Wyman wrote better songs than those cutsie pie idiots

[WVKayaker]

$$$$$$$$$$$$################

[dennisw]

I can think of maybe two Beatle songs I can listen to. About the same as Bruce Springsteen. The Stones and Doors had a lot more memorable songs plus were much better musicians

When I’m driving the old Stones and Doors sound great. Like LA Woman and Sway

[WVKayaker]

I was DJ in our high school lunchroom (ooooohhhh!). I got more requests for the Beatles. As they say, "different strokes, for different folds."

If we all liked the same stuff, it would be a gray world!

[KevinB]

I saw Ringo with his All-Starr band in Atlantic City on Saturday. Very entertaining show.

[Skooz]

Try as I might for some reason I could never get the guitar riff down just right on “And your bird can sing”.

You're not alone. It's a tough riff. I gave up.

[Reaganwuzthebest]

It’s a song I would’ve loved to have heard them play live.

[Rebelbase]

In 1964 the Beatles repertoire was mostly three chord progressions of Verse/Chorus/Bridge.

Not hard to knock out a rhyme and put it to music in short order.

[Mariner]

If so easy, one would wonder why thousands have not done it so well before and since.

[Rebelbase]

Your reply reflects their excellent musicianship and knack for arrangement. They cut their teeth on the American blues genre, Elvis, Buddy-Holly, etc. and put their style to many of those songs before writing their own.

The pre-1964 stuff is phenomenally less complex than their later works.