First mentions in the press of the “Get Back / Let It Be” sessions

Beatles plan five new LPs – one ‘live!’

BEATLES are to record their first-ever LIVE album. And a special package of FOUR separate LPs — each one the individual choice of John, Paul, George and Ringo — is also planned.

Beatles were meeting at their London Apple headquarters this week to choose and consider brand new Lennon-McCartney numbers for the LP, which will be recorded at the same time as they tele-record their live TV spectacular.

Says their press officer Derek Taylor. “It will be their first-ever LIVE album. All the songs will be new and fresh. There’ll be no hangover numbers from a year ago or anything like that.“

They will probably record the new tracks AND the TV show around January 15 or 18. But a suitable venue for the show had still to be found.

The “Beatles’ Choice” album — although this isn’t necessarily the title — is the idea of America’s Capitol label.

John, Paul, George and Ringo will each be invited to choose their favourite Beatles songs, and they will be released in a special four-LP package.

Added Taylor: “This multi-album will be done mainly for America. But, like everything, there is a strong possibility it will come out in Britain also.”

No definite choice of tracks has been made yet, but favourites like “Yesterday,” “Michelle,” “Hard Day’s Night” and “I Want To Hold Your Hand” are expected to be included.

This week their current chart-topping “double” album was approaching the four-million world sales mark. But the “Hey Jude” single — at nearly six million sales — still has a long way to go to catch “I Want To Hold Your Hand” at 11 million.

From Disc & Music Echo – January 4, 1969

BEATLES NEW SONGS ON LIVE LP

AS exclusively forecast in the NME two weeks ago, the Beatles are to record their first live album — consisting of 12 or 14 original new songs by Lennon-McCartney and George Harrison — at their London concert on January 18. The show will not now be open to the public, but will last at least 90 minutes and will be taped in colour for screening on British and American TV. An Apple album is likely to be released in March or April. No new venue for the performance has yet been decided, although it is definite that no other artists will appear with the Beatles. Discussions have also taken place with a view to the group appearing with Donovan on a future edition of Andy Williams’ U.S. TV series.

The live concert will be taped for the group’s own Apple Films, and will be produced by Dennis O’Dell and directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, former director or “Ready Steady Go.”

Andy Williams is taping an hour-long special for U.S. screening on March 19 and, according to the singer’s manager Alan Bernard, the Beatles and Donovan will guest. An Apple spokesman agreed that discussions took place during Williams’ pre-Christmas visit to London, but added that no definite decision had yet been reached.

From New Musical Express, January 4, 1969

BEATLES PLAN FIRST LIVE ALBUM FROM NEXT TV SHOW

The Beatles are to record their first-ever “live” album. Just a few weeks after the release of their phenomenally successful double LP “The Beatles,” Apple Records announce that the next Beatles LP will be recorded in front of an audience.

The album will be taped at the special live TV show, before an invited audience, which has been planned for some time.

Apple press officer Derek Taylor told MM at presstime: “The group start writing and rehearsing a number of songs this weekend. There is no shortage of material — Paul has eight or nine songs finished, John has a few and George also has some material. They are writing all the time. It’s a question of selecting the right material for the show.”

The Beatles’ first live appearance for over two years was scheduled to take place on January 18. The plan was to have a run-through, a rehearsal and then a complete show — each with a different audience so as many people as possible could see the group in action again.

But, said Taylor, this date was now doubtful. And the venue has still to be fixed. Places mentioned have included the Roundhouse In London and Liverpool’s Cavern, but Derek Taylor stressed this week that the venue still had not been selected.

“The date that we originally stated for the spectacular, which was to be recorded for television, was our own date,” said Taylor. “Because of that, we are not fixed by it. If we can’t do it then, it doesn’t matter. The best thing I can say at this moment, is that we hope the shows will happen before the end of the winter.”

The Beatles will do at least 12 songs for the album, and it will probably be 14.

It will be the first live album to be released, although one of their concerts in America — at the Hollywood Bowl – was recorded but never released. The only other live recordings they have made were with singer Tony Sheridan in their early days in Hamburg.

From Melody Marker, January 4, 1969

BEATLES REHEARSE

The Beatles were this week writing new songs and rehearsing in London for their long-awaited first public appearance together since 1966 – and, as reported in last week’s NME, the January 18 concert will be recorded for an Apple album for release in the spring. The performance will be staged at Twickenham Studios.

From New Musical Express – January 11, 1969

BEATLES FILM

A ONE-HOUR documentary film of the Beatles in the recording studios is currently being shot at London’s Twickenham Studios, where the Beatles are rehearsing the songs for their projected live concerts.

Dennis O’Dell, former head of Apple Films, is producing the film for Apple. He is shooting film of the Beatles writing songs, rehearsing them, and recording them, as well as casual dialogue and action in the studios.

“It’s never been done before,” said press officer Derek Taylor. “There’s never been a film of the Beatles actually at work. It’ll all be there — the work, the breaks, everything. When the shooting is finished and the thing’s been edited it will be offered for sale to world TV companies.”

The Beatles have completed work on eight new songs for their “TV concert,” said Taylor.

He also said that the concerts would definitely not take place on Saturday (18) as originally planned. “The only I can say now is that it will take place, perhaps abroad.”

A recent rumour was that the concerts would take place at a Roman amphitheatre in North Africa. This was denied at the time, but this week Taylor said: “There may now be some truth in this. It’s an idea around at the moment, to do the shows abroad and take the fans along. It would certainly be expensive, but an idea is to rum some form of competition and take the winners.”

He said thet Apple’s idea was to create an album, and a documentary film out of the live appearances.

He also said that they had shelved plans to release an EP of the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine music.

From Melody Maker, January 18, 1969

BEATLES CALL OFF ‘LIVE ALBUM’ TV

As the NME closed for Press this week an Apple spokesman said there was now “no date and no place” fixed for the Beatles’ TV concert, which had been expected to take place tomorrow (Saturday).

The proposed event was first announced last autumn, and was originally to have been staged on December 16 at London’s Roundhouse. There were to have been three shows.

Then it was decided to produce a TV special on January 18 and the Beatles spent a week rehearsing new songs at a Twickenham Studio.

It is now thought that they believe themselves not ready to do the show – which was to also have been recorded as The Beatles’ first live album – and will make new plans at a later date.

From New Musical Express, January 18, 1969

NEW LENNON SONG ON EP

The Beatles are still rehearsing new songs for their next album, but plans for a public or TV concert seem to be growing dimmer. More definite is a full-length TV documentary, which has been produced by Dennis O’Dell during the group’s rehearsals. There is sufficient material for the film to last one hour and, when completed, it will be offered to the major companies for consideration.

From New Musical Express, January 25, 1969

TV SPECIAL & ALBUM: Beatles First Live Concert in 2 Years

LONDON — The Beatles will make their first live LP — and perform before an audience for the first time in two years — at a TV special taping session tentatively scheduled for January 18. It will be an invited audience, though the site for the concert has not been chosen. (Among the places mentioned are London’s Roundhouse and Liverpool’s Cavern.)

No less than a dozen new songs, and probably 14, will be debuted, with eight or nine from Paul, a few by John and some material by George to draw from. “There is no shortage of material,” says Apple PR man Derek Taylor. “They’re writing all the time. It’s a question of selecting the right material for the show.”

There will be a run-through of the show, then the actual taping, each with a different audience to afford as many people as possible the opportunity to see the boys back in action again.

Some question has developed concerning the January 18 date, a date set by the Beatles. “Because we set it, we are not fixed by it,” Taylor says. “It may take a bit longer than that to get it together. If we can’t do it then, it doesn’t matter. The best thing we can say at this moment is that we hope it will happen before the end of the winter.”

It is the first public appearance for the Beatles since August of 1966 at San Francisco, and the first in Britain since May of 1966. No release date has been given for the album. (Though a 1965 live recording from the Hollywood Bowl also exists, it has never been issued. The only other live recordings were with singer Tony Sheridan in Hamburg, long ago.)

Meanwhile, Apple is laying plans for the invasion of the United States. The Beatles’ business enterprise will soon open a Los Angeles office which will function as the American counterpart of the British firm.

“We are going into the U.S. in exactly the same way as American companies are establishing themselves in Europe,” says Apple chief Ron Kass, an American himself. “Our American company will not just be a branch of the London office, but a fully operational record and publishing company, one hundred per cent involved in the U.S. market with an entirely American image.”

Kass adds that no other European record company has taken this direct route of exploiting the U.S. market, “a massive source of potential revenue” which “dominates the world.” More than 60 per cent of the sales of Mary Hopkin’s Apple single “Those Were the Days” were made in America.

The name of Apple in Los Angeles will be Apple Music Publishing Co. (ASCAP) to be headed by an American, Michael O’Connor; with a smaller affiliate, Python Music (BMI), mainly to deal with American writers. A basic staff of six will be situated in a house (as yet unlocated) similar to Apple’s $1 million-plus Savile Row headquarters. A residence for George Harrison and Paul McCartney, both of whom intend to spend six months a year in the States, is also being house-hunted.

Apple A&R man Peter Asher is already in the U.S. on a two-month organizational trip to initiate the massive push for American Apple. He is signing artists, studying the industry and producing records from his temporary headquarters, the Capitol Tower in Los Angeles.

“The U.S. publishing company will become bigger than the U.K. company in time,” Kass predicts.

Apple also projects a series of “disposable records” — the phonographic equivalent of paperback books — selling for about $2, to begin sometime during 1969.

Kass says: “The John Lennon–Yoko Ono album would have been the first in this series if we had thought of it earlier. The idea arose from a meeting with Paul, George and John. They want to produce cheap albums of esoteric material covering a wide range of music and the spoken word. We’ll be including such things as interviews with Daniel Cohn-Bendit and Picasso. We have approached Norman Mailer and Eldridge Cleaver and writer Michael McClure will be recording an album of his own songs for the series.

“The albums will have simple black and white art work and will be available on subscription, like a magazine. This series has tremendous possibilities because people who won’t talk to major record companies will often talk to us. The Beatles themselves will be featured in discussion on some records. It will be a sort of underground label, but it will not be enclosed and obscure — it will be open to all.”

From Rolling Stone – February 2, 1969

ALLEN KLEIN TO HELP BEATLES

Rehearsals for the group’s previously-planned concert have now definitely become the basis of a TV documentary; some of the specially-written songs were heard by startled passers-by in London’s Savile Row last Thursday, when the Beatles gave a spontaneous performance on the roof of Apple and were filmed for the programme.

It is understood that almost all 12 tracks of the new album, centred around the documentary, are now complete. Final recording will take place within the next fortnight, with a view to the LP being released in April or May.

From New Musical Express – February 8, 1969

BEATLE SPLIT RUMOR – Apple Is Alive & Healthy in the UK

LONDON — The latest Beatle break-up brouhaha is rubbish. Ominous wire service stories claiming that Apple Records is going broke and that George Harrison and John Lennon are having fist-fights are untrue. No one has a black eye and Apple Records looks like it is enormously successful.

This latest break-up story was based on two separate incidents connected by an over-anxious news bureau of Associated Press in London. John Lennon gave a short interview to one of the smaller London pop papers, in which he said that if the Beatles went on spending money at the present rate, “all four of us will be broke in six months.” The pop paper (Disc and Music Echo) used this quote as their headline, calling the story something like “We’re Going Broke!”

At the same time, rumors were flying about activities inside London’s Twickenham Studios where the Beatles were working every day in preparation for their now-cancelled “live” concert and a filming project still in the works. Rumor had it that there was a fist fight between George and John.

“There was no punch-up,” George claims. “We just fell out. We got over the punch-up bit when we were in Liverpool. We just stopped speaking. When we fall out, we say more by keeping quiet.”

The two items were put together into a story claiming great tension inside the group, especially between George and John over the possible bankruptcy of Apple and the Beatles themselves.

The story about Apple is on the surface absurd. With two huge hit singles (“Hey Jude” and “Those Were The Days”) and the enormously successful “The Beatles” set, Apple’s problem is what to do with all the money.

There is a disagreement, though, on how to operate Apple and what direction it should take, and it is John and George who stand at opposite sides. The dispute is over the style and purpose of operations, and is one that will likely take some time to resolve.

Meanwhile, the Beatles indefinitely postponed their “live” concert, but have gone ahead with the filming of their rehearsals for it, recording and writing new material for a one-hour documentary film. Dennis O’Dell, formerly the head of Apple Films, is producing the show. This may end up being their “TV concert,” and they have already completed eight new songs for it.

From Rolling Stone – February 15, 1969

TV SHOW MYSTERY

After a magical mystery tour of on-and-off press stories, January 18 was finally cancelled as the latest and most frequently quoted date for the making of The Beatles’ much-delayed TV show.

The Beatles spent more than a fortnight from January 2 in Twickenham Film Studios preparing for the colour videotaping of what promised to be a 90-minute TV spectacular in the form of a “live” performance given to an invited audience. Within the first 12 days at Twickenham the group had written and rehearsed eight new songs for the show.

Although an earlier plan to have a full-scale audience of up to 1,500 people present during the making of the programme was scrapped, special arrangements were made to provide seating for 50 pairs of Lucky Dip contest winners (readers of The Beatles Monthly Book) plus about the same number of Fan Club Area Secretaries and their guests.

During the first week of January Paul was talking about the possibility of making the show on location in Africa or ‘‘somewhere just as sunny”. Indeed it was The Beatles’ strong desire to make the show out of doors which led to the cancellation of the January 18 production date. Nowhere suitable could be found in good time. Various other possible locations abroad have been mentioned but Beatles Monthly understands that there is NO likelihood of the performance and TV show being recorded in America despite a wild spate of rumours to that effect.

Even after the January date had been put off, The Beatles went on working at Twickenham, readying their eight new numbers and other TV show material. This suggests that whilst everything was shelved so far as an immediate production is concerned, the group continues to be keen on the theory of making such a show.

THE FIFTY WINNERS

Here are the names and addresses of the fifty winners who should each have received a double ticket for the Beatles live performance in January.

However, as we have already reported on the previous page, the show has now been put off.

I am very happy to tell you that the Beatles have decided that each winner will receive a consolation gift, if no new show date is fixed.

From the Beatles Monthly Book, N°67, February 1969