THE BEATLES ‘ON AIR – LIVE AT THE BBC VOLUME 2’ AND ITS ACCLAIMED, REMASTERED PREDECESSOR, ‘LIVE AT THE BBC,’
AVAILABLE NOW FOR GLOBAL DIGITAL PRE-ORDER EXCLUSIVELY ON ITUNES
Both Volumes to Make Their Global Digital Debuts on November 11, Exclusively on iTunes
London – October 21, 2013 – In 1994, The Beatles’ Live at the BBC was released to worldwide acclaim – hitting number one in the U.K., number three in the U.S. and selling more than five million copies within six weeks. The new companion to The Beatles’ first BBC collection, On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2, is available now for digital pre-order exclusively on iTunes (www.iTunes.com/TheBeatles). On Air will be released on Monday, November 11; the Mastered for iTunes LP includes a 48-page booklet.
On Air’s 63 tracks, none of which overlaps with The Beatles’ first BBC release, include 37 previously unreleased performances and 23 previously unreleased recordings of in-studio banter and conversation between the band’s members and their BBC radio hosts.
Newly remastered, The Beatles’ Live at the BBC will also make its global digital debut on November 11 exclusively on iTunes. Sounding and looking better than ever, Live at the BBC’s Mastered for iTunes LP is also available now for pre-order exclusively on iTunes (www.iTunes.com/TheBeatles). This first collection of the group’s BBC sessions mixed versions of their hits with a treasure trove of 30 songs The Beatles performed on air but never released on record in the 1960s. The compelling track list ranges from a rare performance of the little known Lennon-McCartney original “I’ll Be On My Way” to covers of classic rock ’n’ roll and contemporary rhythm and blues songs. At the time of its original release, Live at the BBC was hailed by Rolling Stone as “an exhilarating portrait of a band in the process of shaping its own voice and vision.” It earned a GRAMMY® Award nomination for Best Historical Album.
In the studios of the British Broadcasting Corporation, The Beatles performed music for a variety of radio shows. Live at the BBC and On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2 present the sound of The Beatles seizing their moment to play for the nation. Thrilled to hear these exciting recordings again, Paul McCartney said, “There’s a lot of energy and spirit. We are going for it, not holding back at all, trying to put in the best performance of our lifetimes.”
Ten of On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2’s songs were never recorded by the group for EMI in the 1960s, including two making their debuts with the new release: The Beatles’ direct-to-air performance of Chuck Berry’s “I’m Talking About You” and a rocking cover of the standard “Beautiful Dreamer.” On Air also includes different versions of six rarities heard on the 1994 BBC collection: Little Richard’s “Lucille,” Chuck Berry’s “Memphis, Tennessee,” Chan Romero’s “The Hippy Hippy Shake,” Ray Charles’ “I Got A Woman,” and two songs they learned from records by Carl Perkins, “Glad All Over” and “Sure To Fall.”
The Beatles’ tribute to the BBC’s most important pop show of the early ’60s – “Happy Birthday, Dear Saturday Club” – is another surprise. As John Lennon recalled in 1980, “We did a lot of tracks that were never on record for Saturday Club – they were well recorded, too.” Paul remembers, “We’d been raised on the BBC radio programs. One of the big things in our week was Saturday Club – this great show was playing the kind of music we loved, so that was something we really aspired to.”
Between March 1962 and June 1965, no fewer than 275 unique musical performances by The Beatles were broadcast by the BBC in the U.K. The group played songs on 39 radio shows in 1963 alone. Ringo Starr said in 1994, “You tend to forget that we were a working band. It’s that mono sound. There were usually no overdubs. We were in at the count-in and that was it. I get excited listening to them.” On their busiest BBC day, July 16, 1963, The Beatles recorded 18 songs for three editions of their Pop Go The Beatles series in fewer than seven hours.
The group played 88 distinct songs in their BBC sessions – some were recorded many times; others performed just once. At the time, three national BBC stations provided all daytime radio broadcasting in the U.K. Only the Light Programme network might occasionally play a record. Most broadcast music was live music. Consequently, to promote their releases, The Beatles had to play live at the BBC. “Everything was done instantly,” remembered George Harrison, “But before that, we used to drive 200 miles in an old van down the M1, come into London, try and find the BBC and then set up and do the program. Then we’d probably drive back to Newcastle for a gig in the evening!”
On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2 also features BBC recordings of 30 well-loved songs from The Beatles’ catalogue, including five number ones and other favorites such as: “I Saw Her Standing There,” “Twist And Shout,” “Do You Want To Know A Secret,” “Boys,” “Please Mister Postman,” “Money,” “And I Love Her,” and “If I Fell.”
Like its critically acclaimed predecessor, On Air includes audio of The Beatles talking to DJs Brian Matthew and Alan Freeman and Pop Go The Beatles hosts Lee Peters and Rodney Burke. When first broadcast, pop fans were amazed to hear such witty irreverence on the rather formal BBC and it is great fun to hear these extracts now. In addition, On Air releases, for the first time, the group’s candid interviews for the Pop Profile series recorded in November 1965 and May 1966.
Live at the BBC was assembled by George Martin in 1994 and On Air – Live at the BBC Volume Two was compiled and researched by producers Kevin Howlett and Mike Heatley. Both albums have been meticulously mastered by engineers Guy Massey and Alex Wharton at Abbey Road Studios. The booklets for both collections include Kevin Howlett’s essays on the history of The Beatles’ BBC radio sessions and his detailed commentaries on all of the tracks.
The Beatles: On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2
1. And Here We Are Again (Speech)
2. WORDS OF LOVE
3. How About It, Gorgeous? (Speech)
4. DO YOU WANT TO KNOW A SECRET
5. LUCILLE
6. Hey, Paul… (Speech)
7. ANNA (GO TO HIM)
8. Hello! (Speech)
9. PLEASE PLEASE ME
10. MISERY
11. I’M TALKING ABOUT YOU
12. A Real Treat (Speech)
13. BOYS
14. Absolutely Fab (Speech)
15. CHAINS
16. ASK ME WHY
17. TILL THERE WAS YOU
18. LEND ME YOUR COMB
19. Lower 5E (Speech)
20. THE HIPPY HIPPY SHAKE
21. ROLL OVER BEETHOVEN
22. THERE’S A PLACE
23. Bumper Bundle (Speech)
24. P.S. I LOVE YOU
25. PLEASE MISTER POSTMAN
26. BEAUTIFUL DREAMER
27. DEVIL IN HER HEART
28. The 49 Weeks (Speech)
29. SURE TO FALL (IN LOVE WITH YOU)
30. Never Mind, Eh? (Speech)
31. TWIST AND SHOUT
32. Bye, Bye (speech)
33. John – Pop Profile (Speech)
34. George – Pop Profile (Speech)
35. I SAW HER STANDING THERE
36. GLAD ALL OVER
37. Lift Lid Again (Speech)
38. I’LL GET YOU
39. SHE LOVES YOU
40. MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
41. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR SATURDAY CLUB
42. Now Hush, Hush (Speech)
43. FROM ME TO YOU
44. MONEY (THAT’S WHAT I WANT)
45. I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND
46. Brian Bathtubes (Speech)
47. THIS BOY
48. If I Wasn’t In America (Speech)
49. I GOT A WOMAN
50. LONG TALL SALLY
51. IF I FELL
52. A Hard Job Writing Them (Speech)
53. AND I LOVE HER
54. Oh, Can’t We? Yes We Can (Speech)
55. YOU CAN’T DO THAT
56. HONEY DON’T
57. I’LL FOLLOW THE SUN
58. Green With Black Shutters (Speech)
59. KANSAS CITY/HEY-HEY-HEY-HEY!
60. That’s What We’re Here For (Speech)
61. I FEEL FINE (STUDIO OUTTAKE)
62. Paul – Pop Profile (Speech)
63. Ringo – Pop Profile (Speech)
The Beatles: Live at the BBC (Remastered)
1. Beatle Greetings (Speech)
2. FROM US TO YOU (OPENING)
3. Riding On A Bus (Speech)
4. I GOT A WOMAN
5. TOO MUCH MONKEY BUSINESS
6. KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF MY BABY
7. I’LL BE ON MY WAY
8. YOUNG BLOOD
9. A SHOT OF RHYTHM AND BLUES
10. SURE TO FALL (IN LOVE WITH YOU)
11. SOME OTHER GUY
12. THANK YOU GIRL
13. Sha La La La La! (Speech)
14. BABY IT’S YOU
15. THAT’S ALL RIGHT (MAMA)
16. CAROL
17. What Is It, George? (Speech)
18. SOLDIER OF LOVE
19. A Little Rhyme (Speech)
20. CLARABELLA
21. I’M GONNA SIT RIGHT DOWN AND CRY (OVER YOU)
22. CRYING, WAITING, HOPING
23. Dear Wack! (Speech)
24. YOU REALLY GOT A HOLD ON ME
25. TO KNOW HER IS TO LOVE HER
26. A TASTE OF HONEY
27. LONG TALL SALLY
28. I SAW HER STANDING THERE
29. THE HONEYMOON SONG
30. JOHNNY B GOODE
31. MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
32. LUCILLE
33. CAN’T BUY ME LOVE
34. From Fluff To You (Speech)
35. TILL THERE WAS YOU
36. Crinsk Dee Night (Speech)
37. A HARD DAY’S NIGHT
38. Ringo? Yep! (Speech)
39. I WANNA BE YOUR MAN
40. Just A Rumour (Speech)
41. ROLL OVER BEETHOVEN
42. ALL MY LOVING
43. THINGS WE SAID TODAY
44. SHE’S A WOMAN
45. SWEET LITTLE SIXTEEN
46. 1822! (Speech)
47. LONESOME TEARS IN MY EYES
48. NOTHIN’ SHAKIN’
49. THE HIPPY HIPPY SHAKE
50. GLAD ALL OVER
51. I JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND
52. SO HOW COME (NO ONE LOVES ME)
53. I FEEL FINE
54. I’M A LOSER
55. EVERYBODY’S TRYING TO BE MY BABY
56. ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC
57. TICKET TO RIDE
58. DIZZY MISS LIZZY
59. KANSAS CITY/HEY-HEY-HEY-HEY!
60. Set Fire To That Lot! (Speech)
61. MATCHBOX
62. I FORGOT TO REMEMBER TO FORGET
63. Love These Goon Shows! (Speech)
64. I GOT TO FIND MY BABY
65. OOH! MY SOUL
66. Ooh! My Arms (Speech)
67. DON’T EVER CHANGE
68. SLOW DOWN
69. HONEY DON’T
70. LOVE ME DO
71. FROM US TO YOU (CLOSING)