Filming “Help!” at Cliveden House • Day 1

On May 10, filming for Help! shifted to Cliveden House, a sumptuous country mansion built between 1850 and 1851 and situated by the River Thames in Berkshire. Unable to secure permission to film inside Buckingham Palace itself, the production team used the elegant exterior rooms of Cliveden as a substitute. The Beatles filmed scenes at windows overlooking the grounds, played cards in the house’s French dining room, and shot the brief Intermission sequence in Bluebell Wood within the estate’s extensive grounds. That evening, the group returned to London for a recording session at EMI Studios, where they recorded two songs by American rock and roller Larry Williams: Dizzy Miss Lizzy and Bad Boy. Both tracks were completed and mixed into mono and stereo formats in a session that ran from 8:00 pm to 1:15 in the morning.

Going further

The Beatles Diary Volume 1: The Beatles Years

With greatly expanded text, this is the most revealing and frank personal 30-year chronicle of the group ever written. Insider Barry Miles covers the Beatles story from childhood to the break-up of the group.

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