Move over, Ms L!

Hi all, wondering why you are looking at this jumbled up page? This is due to the fact that Facebook didn't like our url since it starts with wog, so we have been forced to move the blog. This was some time ago, and we have placed a script which would automatically send you to our new location. Obviously, this hasn't worked for all of you, since we have just finished moderating some of your comments which appeared on this site recently, and not on our new (and improved!) site. So what we're saying is head on over to our new site, and update your bookmarks!

Wednesday 25 February 2009

A new Revolution


John Lennon recorded the vocals for Revolution lying on the floor

It seems the newly leaked take 20, Remix mono 1 of "Revolution" that we blogged about Sunday has created quite a stir - not only in the Beatles fan community, but has also gotten some mileage in the mainstream media. The uninformed have also questioned the authenticity of the tape, they are probably worried that it might be a fan-made creation. However, the track has been verified as genuine by Beatles scholars and the fact that EMI have taken steps to remove the track from YouTube also speaks volumes. It's likely that this version of "Revolution" is the one Tony Barrow (under his pseudonym Frederick James) described in The Beatles Monthly Book No. 60, July 1968.
"Revolution" was started very promptly at two-thirty in the afternoon - and each day's sessions afterwards took the form of a three-hour afternoon stint and, later, a second long spell in the studio from half seven until well after midnight. "Revolution" was more than TEN MINUTES in its original form. It's unfinished as I write these pages. Who knows - it might be issued as the Beatles' longest-ever track. It depends what the fellows decide to add to the existing tape. So far they have guitars, drums and Paul's organ and piano playing. As it stands the arrangement drags a bit in the middle. There are two alternatives - either the whole middle chunk will be scrapped and the finished version of "Revolution" will be four or five minutes shorter, OR John and Paul will get together with George Martin to think up extra ideas to add to the centre part of the recording.
Here's what Mark Lewisohn writes about this version of Revolution #1 in his book Recording Sessions:
Thursday 30. May:
On this first day, takes one through to 18 were recorded of the 'Revolution' (ie 'Revolution 1') rhythm track - piano, acoustic guitar and drums - each of varying length but averaging about five minutes. There were no takes numbered 11 or 12. Take 18 was different, substantially different, and it was the basis of the final LP version. It began so soon after the previous take that Geoff Emerick, in punching the talkback button simultaneously with the start of the song, announced "Take 18" over John Lennon's vocal, the first take with vocals, in fact. John deliberately kept Emerick's words as part of the song and thus they appear on the album. Secondly, this take did not stop after five minutes. It kept on and on, eventually running out at 10'17 with John's shout to the others and to the control room "OK, I've had enough!" The last six minutes were pure chaos - the sound of a 'Revolution', if you like - with discordant instrumental jamming, plenty of feedback, John Lennon reportedly screaming 'alright' and then, simply, repeatedly screaming, with lots of on-microphone moaning by John and his new girlfriend Yoko Ono, with Yoko talking and saying such off-the-wall phrases as "you become naked" and with the overlay of miscelleaneous, home-made sound effects tapes.
There can be no doubt: take 18 of "Revolution" was riveting. But in its present length there was no way it could be released as a single, something the Beatles were actively considering at this point. Before very long the last six minutes would be hived off to form the basis for 'Revolution 9'.
Friday 31. May:
The overdubbing of two separate John Lennon vocals and Paul's bass guitar onto take 18 of 'Revolution 1' and tape reduction of this into take 19. Then further overdubbing of Paul and George's backing vocals.
Tuesday 4 June:
A day of curious overdubs and experiments for 'Revolution 1'. John re-recorded his lead vocal during this session, opting for the 'in/out' answer to whether he should or shouldn't participate in destruction as a form of revolution. To alter his vocal in some way, John recorded the vocal lying flat on the floor of studio three.

John's floored vocal wasn't the only unusual vocal overdub recorded on this day. One of the session's tape boxes details "vocal backing mama papa". This was not a guest appearance by the Mamas and the Papas, however, rather a description of a persistent backing vocal (actually "Mama ... Dada ... Mama ...Dada ... Mama ... Dada") sung by Paul McCartney and George Harrison dozens upon dozens of times towards the end of the ten minute recording - but therefore cut out of the truncated version which appeared on the LP.
And also taped on this day was another drum track and various percussive clicks by Ringo, a tone-pedal guitar part by John and an organ part played by Paul.
...
A rough mono remix of take 20 was made and was taken away on a plastic spool by John Lennon at the end of the session.
Meanwhile, here are some real fan-made creations based upon the newly found version.

Monday 23 February 2009

Purple Dollars

When there's a buck to be made... someone's gonna make it. It's only days since the Purple Chick Live series was completed, and today I found this digipack version of the last volume for sale.

Sunday 22 February 2009

Revolution Take 20 RM1


This amazing 11-minute version of Revolution has surfaced in the last few days on the new double CD on His Master's Choice label (see the flyer in a previous post). It's truly astounding and bridges the gap between Revolution #1 and #9.

Thursday 19 February 2009

Final PC Live out


The final volume of Purple Chick's Live series is out and brings us to the end of The Beatles' touring career. Unfortunately, the website we made for Purple Chick's Beatles-related releases has fallen victim to a faulty server. We hope to bring the site back at a new url some time in the future. Feel free to contact me if you are able to provide free hosting for this underground Beatles site.


Disc art.
Purple Chick has now brought us all available recordings of The Beatles' appearances on BBC radio, studio sessions, Get Back sessions and live concerts. This has eliminated the need for the official 1987-88 Beatles CD releases and any previously released bootlegs from other companies, except for one category: The Beatles own home demos.
For a Purple Chick discography, see our previous post about the penultimate volume in this series .

Monday 16 February 2009

The Threetles and Lonnie


Paul McCartney, Lonnie Donegan, George Harrison & Ringo Starr at Eric Clapton's wedding party - May 19th, 1979.
This photo was taken by Linda McCartney. Unfortunately, there was a fault with the camera and another image is exposed on top.

Friday 13 February 2009

Paul Is Live in London this summer?


The Daily Star is reporting that Paul is to headline the Saturday concerts at the Hard Rock Calling festival in Hyde Park, which is slated for June 27-28. Bruce Springsteen is headlining the Sunday concerts. Tickets for the Boss are already sold out, at £45. They went on sale early this morning. Make sure to visit the Hard Rock Calling website for details about the McCartney event, and for tickets.

Wednesday 11 February 2009

Penultimate PC Live


The next-to-last double CD in the Purple Chick live series is now available on the internet, we are told. The title of this one is "Far East Men", no doubt based on the George Harrison solo tune "Far East Man". This release deals with the short german tour of 1966 and over to Tokyo. The recent Misterclaudel release "Bravo Beatles Blitztournee" has been looted, as well as other sources. A pleasant surprise is the inclusion of hitherto unreleased material from a german radio broadcast of the Ernst-Merck-Halle, Hamburg, Germany - 26 June, 1966 (afternoon) concert.
Disc art:



Purple Chick Beatles Discography:

PC-31/40 The Complete BBC Sessions Upgraded

PC-60 Meet The Threetles

PC-67 I Hope We Passed The Audition
PC-68 Strong Before Our Birth

PC-71-80 The Complete BBC Sessions Upgraded for 2004

Deluxe
PC-102/3 Please Please Me
PC-104/5/6 With The Beatles
PC-107/8/9 A Hard Day's Night
PC-110/11/12 Beatles For Sale
PC-113/14/15 Help!
PC-116/17/18 Rubber Soul
PC-119/20/21 Revolver
PC-122/23/24/25/26/53 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
PC-127/28/29/30 Magical Mystery Year
PC-131/32/33/34/35/36/37/38/39/40/41/42 The Beatles (aka White Album)
PC-152 From Then To You
PC-154 VARIOUS ARTISTS - The Songs The Beatles Gave Away
PC-155/56 Live At The Hollywood Bowl

Live series
PC-157/58 Live At The Star Club, Hamburg, Germany
PC-159/60 Live before America
PC-161/62 Conquering America
PC-163/64 Adelaide Reaction
PC-165/66 Seattle Down
PC-167/68 Convention Hall Wisdom
PC-169/70 Les Beatles en Europe
PC-171/72 Sheaken, not Stirred
PC-173/74 Bowled Over
PC-175/76 Far East Men
PC-177/78 The Final Tour (aka The Last Tour)

A/B Road: Complete Get Back Sessions
PC 2-1/2 [1969.Jan.02]
PC 3-1/2/3/4 [1969.Jan.03]
PC 6-1/2/3/4/5 [1969.Jan.06]
PC 7-1/2/3/4 [1969.Jan.07]
PC 8-1/2/3/4 [1969.Jan.08]
PC 9-1/2/3/4/5 [1969.Jan.09]
PC 10-1/2/3/4 [1969.Jan.10]
PC 13-1/2/3 [1969.Jan.13]
PC 14-1/2/3 [1969.Jan.14]
PC 21-1/2/3 [1969.Jan.21]
PC 22-1/2/3/4 [1969.Jan.22]
PC 23-1/2/3/4 [1969.Jan.23]
PC 24-1/2/3/4 [1969.Jan.24]
PC 25-1/2/3/4/5/6 [1969.Jan.25]
PC 26-1/2/3/4/5/6 [1969.Jan.26]
PC 27-1/2/3/4/5/6 [1969.Jan.27]
PC 28-1/2/3/4/5/6 [1969.Jan.28]
PC 29-1/2/3/4 [1969.Jan.29]
PC 30-1/2 [1969.Jan.30]
PC 31-1/2/3/4 [1969.Jan.31]

Purple Dog
PDD 065/66 Day By Day Vol. 33
PDD 067/68 Day By Day Vol. 34
PDD 069/70 Day By Day Vol. 35
PDD 071/72 Day By Day Vol. 36
PDD 073/74 Day By Day Vol. 37
PDD 075/76 Day By Day Vol. 38

Tuesday 10 February 2009

HMC flyer


This flyer from "His Master's Choice" came flying by me, so I thought I'd better post it!

All This And World War II

All this and world war II DVD cover
A fantasy DVD cover for a 70's film that hasn't been released on DVD. Footage of World War II and clips from old movies put to music by Lennon&McCartney, sung by artists of the seventies.

Paul McCartney Concert tickets 2009


Tickets for all the McCartney European dates can be found at Worldticketshop.com.


It's time to get your Paul McCartney tickets for 2009. So far, three concerts have been announced in the USA, and we're awaiting the announcement of a London concert.


  • David Lynch Foundation the WORLD HARMONY CONCERT
    Radio City Music Hall, New York, NY April 4. Also featuring Ringo Starr!

    Tickets on sale March 9th.
    General Admission Tickets, $79.50 – $504.50, will go on sale on Monday, March 9th, at 11:00 a.m. EST. To purchase these tickets go to ticketmaster.com or call (866) 858-0088.

    If tickets are not sold out through TicketMaster (not very likely), they will also be available at the Radio City Music Hall Box Office beginning Tuesday, March 10th, 1260 Avenue of the Americas, New York City. BUT, people who registered their email address at the official concert page earlier will get an email from the David Lynch foundation with a code which allows them to call and buy tickets on Sunday.
    $25,000 will get you 10 premier front orchestra seats for the concert, 10 tickets to the post-concert celebration at the Four Seasons, 2 day-of-show rehearsal passes, 2 tickets for the pre-concert cocktail reception at Radio City, 2 tickets for the Sunday celebratory brunch and acknowledgment in the concert program. AND the deductible portion of this package is $20,650, since it's a registered charity. All I need is a pint a day... Oh by the way: anybody got a spare?

  • Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
    Indio, CA April 17th.
    Tickets on sale now

  • The New Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
    Las Vegas, NV April 19. $195 standing room. The venue has a 4.000 capacity, so it will sell quickly!
    Tickets go on sale Saturday, February 14 at noon / The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Website SOLD OUT!



Looking for tickets to the Halifax Concert? Try this post.
Two, possibly three concerts at New York's Citi Field Stadium are announced for July 17th and 18th (and maybe 21st), detailed here.
Good Evening Europe -December tour here.

Monday 9 February 2009

No Grammy For Beatle Paul

McCartney & Grohl
Paul McCartney was nominated for two grammies in this year's Grammy Awards, but lost them both to John Mayer.
In the category "Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance" Paul was nominated for the old Beatles number "I Saw Her Standing There" from Paul's recent live release "Amoeba's Secret", but lost it to "Gravity" by John Mayer from "Where The Light Is — Live In Los Angeles". In the category "Best Male Pop Vocal Performance" Paul participated with another track from "Amoeba's Secret", "That Was Me". The song "Say" from Mayer's album "Continuum" won the award.
Ringo Starr's album "5.1 The Surround Sound Collection" was nominated for "Best Surround-sound Album", but that category was won by a classical album, "Mussorgsky: Pictures At An Exhibition; Night On Bald Mountain; Prelude To Khovanshchina".

Macca arrived at the grammies wearing his daughter's t-shirt designed for Britain's "Red-nose Day", featuring an image of The Beatles (Photo by Linda Eastman) decorated with red noses. If you live in Britain, you can order one of these t-shirts from here.
Paul McCartney performed "I Saw Her Standing There" live at the Grammy Gala, along with Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters. Here's a clip.

Friday 6 February 2009

Beatles History Online


A friend of us, Trina Yannicos of Daytrippin' magazine, has set up a new and exciting website. It aims to tell the story of The Beatles. The history of The Beatles is divided up chronologically by year in connection with the release dates of their original British albums. Within each main album page are links to several sub-sections which go further in-depth about specific topics. She relies heavily upon books about the particular time she's discussing in each chapter, and the books are presented with links to where you can get them. Trina promises to add additional pages in the coming months of 2009, so don't be a stranger!

Link: Beatles History

Tuesday 3 February 2009

The Making of Sgt. Pepper

The Making of Sgt Pepper
The Making of Sgt Pepper was a 50 minutes long 1992 documentary produced by London Weekend Television for ITV. Broadcast as part of the series "The South Bank Show", the documentary was hosted by Melvyn Bragg and featured separate interviews with Paul McCartney (filmed on 9th April 1992), George Harrison (12th April) and Ringo Starr (19th April). The show also featured George Martin playing back some of the Sgt. Pepper's recordings directly off the original studio 4-track master tapes. Sir George was to reprise this excercise for the 'Sgt Pepper' segment of The Beatles Anthology TV series a few years later.
When the Disney Channel aired The Making of Sgt. Pepper a few months later in the USA, it excised a segment dealing with the influence of drugs on that album, with George Harrison reminiscing (not unfondly) about pot and LSD, and Paul McCartney cautiously distinguishing the recreational drugs of that era from today's "crack ... glue-sniffing ... life-threatening things. If you could get everyone back to the period and everyone could understand how the period was and kind of how innocent it was," McCartney says, "then it is easier to talk about."

Monday 2 February 2009

Live at Savile Row 2009


The Bootleg Beatles may have been banned from celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Beatles famous rooftop gig on 30th January. However, Bootleg George Harrison (Andre Barreau - on the left) and Bootleg Paul McCartney (David Catlin-Birch - wearing cap) gained access and performed an acoustic version of One After 909...

For full details of the band's forthcoming tour dates, go to www.bootlegbeatles.com

Ex-policeman Ken Wharfe recounts his memories up on the roof of the Beatles' old Apple building at 3 Savile Row, London, on 30th January 1969, on the 40th anniversary of the band's last-ever performance. Ken can be briefly seen in the Let It Be film with a full beard, and in later years achieved fame as the bodyguard of Princess Diana. In the background is former Beatles engineer Dave Harries. (Exclusive footage © 2009 David Stark, all rights reserved).

Links to all the wogblog posts about the Concert at Savile Row Anniversary:


1. Beatles Apple Rooftop Concert


2. Rooftop concert confirmed


3. Police cancels Beatles anniversary


4. No go for Savile Row


5. BBC celebrates Apple rooftop concert


6. Celebration at Savile Row


7. Live at Savile Row 2009

Sunday 1 February 2009

Ed Sullivan in colour

February 9, 2009 will be the 45th anniversary of The Beatles on Ed Sullivan Show. We are celebrating with some colour photos from the occasion for your enjoyment.
Click on the above photo, it's been adjusted to make a wallpaper for your computer desktop.
And here it is in normal size, uncropped
The one above is actually a b/w photo that has been retouched.

"THE BEATLES" in big letters was the backdrop at the rehearsal, but was obviously dropped for the actual broadcast. "Fifth Beatle" Neil Aspinall filled in for the sick George Harrison at these rehearsals.


This historic DVD uniquely chronicles the inside story of the two remarkable weeks when Beatlemania first ignited America. Includes the Maysles Brothers 81-minute film revealing the 1964 US arrival of the Beatles, following the band off-guard and off-duty, in hotel rooms and nightclubs, at photo sessions, press conferences, travelling side-by-side in limos, more. Includes film from the famed Washington Coliseum concert and their historic performances on the Ed Sullivan Show. Also a 50-minute Making-of including material never seen before, along with Albert Maysles commentary.

Tracks - The Ed Sullivan Show (NYC #1):
1. All My Loving
2. Till There Was You
3. She Loves You
4. I Want To Hold Your Hand
Tracks - The Washington Coliseum Concert:
5. I Saw Her Standing There
6. I Wanna Be Your Man
7. She Loves You
Tracks - The Ed Sullivan Show (Miami):
8. From Me To You
9. This Boy
10. All My Loving
Tracks - The Ed Sullivan Show (NYC #2):
11. Twist And Shout
12. Please, Please Me
13. I Want To Hold Your Hand