Tuesday, February 21, 1967
Recording "Fixing A Hole"
For The Beatles
Last updated on February 7, 2024
Tuesday, February 21, 1967
For The Beatles
Last updated on February 7, 2024
Recording "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"
Nov 24, 1966 - Apr 20, 1967 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (UK Mono)
Recording studio: EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Interview Feb 18, 1967 • The Beatles interview for Disc And Music Echo
Session Feb 20, 1967 • Recording "Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite!", mixing "Good Morning Good Morning"
Session Feb 21, 1967 • Recording "Fixing A Hole"
Article Feb 22, 1967 • Northern Songs doubles their half-yearly earnings
Session Feb 22, 1967 • Recording and mixing "A Day In The Life"
Some of the songs worked on during this session were first released on the "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (UK Mono)" LP.
On February 9, 1967, all the studios at EMI Studios in Abbey Road were booked, so The Beatles went to Regent Sound Studio to start recording Paul McCartney’s “Fixing A Hole.” They recorded the basic tracks and some overdubs; the resulting work was labelled Take 2.
On this day, February 21, from 7 pm to 12:45 am, they continued working on the track and completed it. They attempted a remake of the song at the start of the session, but after only one take, labelled Take 1 despite Take 1 already existing from the Regent Sound session, they decided to stick to the results of the earlier session.
As the four-track tape from Regent Sound was full, they first freed up track two by doing a reduction mix of Take 2 and combining the double-tracked guitar by George Harrison into one track. The resulting work was labelled Take 3, even though a Take 3 already existing from the February 9 session.
Next, The Beatles recorded another rhythm track, doubling Paul McCartney’s bass, George Martin’s harpsichord, and Ringo Starr’s drums on track two.
“Fixing a Hole” was then mixed in mono from Take 3. Five attempts were made, numbered Remix Mono 2 to 6 (there was no RM1). An edit of RM3 and RM6, which can be heard at the 2:06 mark, was then done and this served as the mono release version of the song on the “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album.
The stereo mix of “Fixing A Hole” was created on April 7, 1967.
Recording • Take 1
Tape copying • Tape reduction take 2 into take 3
Recording • SI onto take 3
Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 2 from take 3
Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 3 from take 3
Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 4 from take 3
Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 5 from take 3
Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 6 from take 3
Editing • Editing of mono remix 3 and mono remix 6
AlbumOfficially released on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (UK Mono)
The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions • Mark Lewisohn
The definitive guide for every Beatles recording sessions from 1962 to 1970.
We owe a lot to Mark Lewisohn for the creation of those session pages, but you really have to buy this book to get all the details - the number of takes for each song, who contributed what, a description of the context and how each session went, various photographies... And an introductory interview with Paul McCartney!
The Beatles Recording Reference Manual: Volume 3: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band through Magical Mystery Tour (late 1966-1967)
The third book of this critically - acclaimed series, nominated for the 2019 Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) award for Excellence In Historical Recorded Sound, "The Beatles Recording Reference Manual: Volume 3: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band through Magical Mystery Tour (late 1966-1967)" captures the band's most innovative era in its entirety. From the first take to the final remix, discover the making of the greatest recordings of all time. Through extensive, fully-documented research, these books fill an important gap left by all other Beatles books published to date and provide a unique view into the recordings of the world's most successful pop music act.
If we modestly consider the Paul McCartney Project to be the premier online resource for all things Paul McCartney, it is undeniable that The Beatles Bible stands as the definitive online site dedicated to the Beatles. While there is some overlap in content between the two sites, they differ significantly in their approach.
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