Nothing To Get Hong About

After two concerts in Blokker on June 6th, 1964, John, Paul, George, and Jimmy flew back to London Airport the next morning. Joining them on the next leg of the tour was John's aunt Mimi, who had relatives to visit in New Zealand.

Before arriving Down Under, they had a stop to make for two concerts in Hong Kong. During the June 7th flight from London, Sydney disc jockey Bob Rogers filmed interviews with John, Mimi, and Paul - the latter conducted while John threw pillows at them from across the plane.

On the 8th, they arrived at Hong Kong's Kaitak airport, and drove to the President Hotel in Kowloon. A press conference and lengthy radio interviews occupied the rest of their evening, including a photo opportunity with a pair of Thailand film actresses, Unchuli Anantakul and Busara Narumit.

Sessions (Odeon)

Odeon, 1986

EMI's unreleased Sessions album first appeared in Europe on a Yellow Dog bootleg late in 1985. Early the next year, NEMS (a US-based label) copied the material, repackaging it in a faux-EMI/Odeon cover and labels, with a nice Revolver back cover homage. The songs have been rearranged into near-chronological order compared to the original lineup.

Side 1:

- Besame Mucho

- How Do You Do It

- One After 909

- Leave My Kitten Alone

- That Means A Lot

- If You've Got Trouble

- I'm Looking Through You

- Christmas Time (Is Here Again)

Side 2:

- What's The New Mary Jane

- Not Guilty

- Come And Get It

- While My Guitar Gently Weeps

- Mailman Bring Me No More Blues

Dutch Hooligans

From Copenhagen, The Beatles flew to Amsterdam early in the afternoon of June 5th, 1964. Their arrival was covered by AVRO Radio's Joop van Zijl for Radiojournaal, and they were ushered into Schiphol Airport's VIP Room for a slightly chaotic press conference.

From there, they were driven to the Doelen Hotel, where they filmed a TV interview with a reporter who recognizes Jimmy Nicol but not Paul or George, and calls the fourth Beatle "John Leonard".

That evening, the quartet congregated at the Cafe-Restaurant Treslong in Hillegom, the location for taping a TV special, The Beatles in Nederland. After a lengthy interview with Berend Boudewijn (translating questions from the Dutch audience), The Beatles performed six songs for an increasingly-enthusiastic crowd, who managed to overrun the stage completely by the final song, leaving Jimmy Nicol to mime alone atop his drum riser. Also present at the taping was a correspondent for the radio show Balans, who filed this report.

Outakes 2

TMOQ, 1972

Not outtakes, but BBC Radio performances from Pop Go The Beatles. This and Outakes 1 were initially sold separately, then packaged as a double-disc set, which was in turn split up as two releases (thus the side 3 and 4 designations on this version).

Side 1:

- She Loves You

- Words Of Love

- Devil In Her Heart

- Anna (Go To Him)

- Money (That's What I Want)

- There's A Place

Side 2:

- Honey Don't

- Chains

- I Saw Her Standing There

- Sure To Fall (In Love With You)

- Lucille

- Boys

Wonderful Copenhagen

When Ringo succumbed to an attack of pharyngitis and tonsilitis during a June 3rd, 1964, photo shoot, it was panic stations time in the Beatles' camp.

With the band due to begin a month-long world tour the following day, the call went out for a replacement drummer (much to George Harrison's displeasure). Session man Jimmy Nicol found himself at EMI Studios that evening, quickly rehearsing a few numbers with the others.

The next morning, John, Paul, George, and Jimmy set off from London Airport to Copenhagen, Denmark, the first stop on the tour. The airport arrival was covered by a local reporter, and they also filmed a TV interview prior to their two concerts at KB Hallen that evening.

Last Live Show

Live Records, 1971

The Beatles' real last live show, at Candlestick Park in 1966, would not appear on a bootleg until 1984. This early Beatleg is merely the soundtrack to the 1965 Shea Stadium concert film.

Side 1:

- Twist And Shout

- I Feel Fine

- Dizzy Miss Lizzy

- Ticket To Ride

Side 2:

- Act Naturally

- Can't Buy Me Love

- Baby's In Black

- A Hard Day's Night

- Help!

- I'm Down

Lynette & Rosemary

After seven months of nonstop activity, The Beatles were grateful to have most of May, 1964 free for vacations. Paul and Ringo took their girlfriends Jane and Maureen to the Virgin Islands. George and John flew with Cynthia and Pattie to Honolulu and then Tahiti, returning through Los Angeles.

On May 30th, the group reconvened in London, where they met the press at the Soho offices of NEMS Enterprises. Lengthy recordings of the event have survived from broadcasts on KYW-AM, Cleveland (recorded by Jim Stagg) and WBZ-AM, Boston.

Kaleidoscope

Dreamlab, 1978

A.K.A. Liverpool Alive!, this is a copy of the LP December 1963, featuring the soundtrack of BBC-TV's televised Liverpool concert, It's The Beatles! The last four cuts are BBC Radio performances overlaid (by the bootleggers) with audience cheering to simulate a concert.

Side 1:

- From Me To You

- I Saw Her Standing There

- All My Loving

- Roll Over Beethoven

- Boys

- Till There Was You

- She Loves You

Side 2:

- This Boy

- I Want To Hold Your Hand

- Money (That's What I Want)

- Twist And Shout

- From Me To You (reprise)

- Rock And Roll Music

- Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby

- I'll Follow The Sun

- Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey!

Back And Forth

As noted in an earlier blog post, The Beatles were in Scotland at the end of April, 1964, visiting Edinburgh on the 29th and Glasgow on the 30th. Here is a longer version of their Forth Radio Edinburgh interview than previously posted.

Around this time, they also recorded an open-ended phone interview for use in promoting A Hard Day's Night. And for the heck of it, here are some greetings to Beatles Fan Club members, recorded on an unknown date.

No. 3 Abbey Rd NW8

Box Top Records, 1986

TMOQ's repressing of an Audifon original from seven years prior.

Side 1:

- Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight

- Her Majesty

- You Never Give Me Your Money

- Octopus's Garden

- Maxwell's Silver Hammer

- Oh! Darling

- Something

Side 2:

- "How Do You Do"

- Blackbird

- The Unicorn

- Laleña

- "Heather"

- Mr. Wind

- The Walrus And The Carpenter

- "Land Of Gisch"

Can't Buy Me Gloves

On April 28th, 1964, The Beatles spent all day at Wembley Studios rehearsing for and then videotaping a TV special, Around The Beatles. Backstage, they were interviewed by Swedish radio personality Klas Burling, mostly about the songs in their upcoming movie, A Hard Day's Night.

Murray the "K" had a brief cameo in Around The Beatles, and spent the week prior recording interviews, in between rehearsing and partying with the group at the Ad Lib club. The highlights are John's readings of his own poems, "I Sat Belonely" and "A Surprise For Little Bobby".

The Never Released Mary Jane

Contra Band Music, 1972

The first bootleg to contain a (non-Nagra) studio outtake, although it's only 2 and a half minutes of the 6 and a half minute title track. Some B-sides, outfakes, Top Of The Pops performances, and an "interview" with the French Ed Rudy fill out the bill.

Side 1:

- What's The New Mary Jane

- Shout!

- Ed Rudy phone interview w/George

- People Say

- You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)

Side 2:

- Long Tall Sally

- A Hard Day's Night

- Things We Said Today

- I'm Walking

- Sie Liebt Dich

What Your Loving Man Can Do

April, 1964 finished up at a furious pace for The Beatles, as they finished filming A Hard Day's Night. The 23rd was spent filming at Thornbury Playing Fields, with John taking the afternoon off to attend a literary luncheon, and all four rehearsing for Around The Beatles that evening, all these events being covered by visiting US disc jockey Murray The "K".

Filming wrapped on the 24th with a final location shoot and a cast party, and Around The Beatles rehearsals continued on the 25th. Murray Kaufman was in London to participate in the TV special and to introduce the group at the NME Pollwinners' concert on the 26th at the Empire Pool, Wembley.

Another American DJ visiting England, thanks to the hospitality of George Harrison's sister Louise, was Gene Loving of WGH-AM, Tidewater, Virginia. On the evening of the 25th, he interviewed George in a London hotel, and found himself backstage in Wembley the next afternoon, where he spoke with the other three Beatles and Louise Harrison. George also taped a short promo for Gene's show.

Gene Loving then traveled with Louise to Liverpool, where he recorded interviews with George's parents, Harold and Louise, and Cavern Club doorman Paddy Delaney.

In A Play Anyway

Circuit Records, 1982

The complete soundtrack to Let It Be, taken from a then-recently-released home video release.

Side 1:

- Paul's Piano Theme

- Don't Let Me Down

- Maxwell's Silver Hammer

- Two Of Us

- I've Got A Feeling

- Oh! Darling

- One After 909

- Jazz Piano Song

- Two Of Us

- Across The Universe

- Dig A Pony

- Suzy Parker

- I Me Mine

Side 2:

- For You Blue

- Besame Mucho

- Octopus's Garden

- Blue Suede Shoes/You Really Got A Hold On Me

- The Long And Winding Road

- Rip It Up/Shake Rattle And Roll

- Miss Ann/Kansas City/Lawdy Miss Clawdy

- Dig It

Side 3:

- Two Of Us

- Let It Be

- The Long And Winding Road

Side 4:

- Get Back

- Don't Let Me Down

- I've Got A Feeling

- One After 909/Danny Boy

- Dig A Pony

- Get Back

- Get Back (reprise)

You Can't Chew That

To promote A Hard Day's Night in America, an exclusive outtake from the film ("You Can't Do That", shot March 31st at the Scala Theatre) was aired on The Ed Sullivan Show May 24th, 1964. The clip was prefaced by an exclusive interview with Ed, filmed April 17th in the garden of Les Ambassadeurs club in London.

Five days later, the group put in an appearance at London's Australia House, plugging their upcoming tour Down Under. As well as munching on Tasmanian apples, Ringo was filmed holding up a map of Australia and chatting with reporters.

Have You Heard The Word

Slipped Disc Records, 1979

A TMOQ knockoff of a CBM title from six years earlier.

Side 1:

- Have You Heard The Word

- You Really Got A Hold On Me

- The Long And Winding Road

- Maxwell's Silver Hammer

- Jazz Piano Song

- Besame Mucho

- Octopus's Garden

- I Me Mine

- Don't Let Me Down

Side 2:

- I Forgot To Remember To Forget

- Twist And Shout

- Roll Over Beethoven

- Long Tall Sally

- Dizzy Miss Lizzy

- Lucille

Working Like A Dog

The Beatles' busy April of 1964 continued with daily filming for A Hard Day's Night at Twickenham and various London locations (such as Ringo's Thames-side stroll, shot April 9th). In their spare free hours, they were interviewed by American DJ Tom Clay (April 7th), and Paul appeared on David Frost's TV chat show, A Degree Of Frost (April 15th).

The movie got a name and a title song when John composed "A Hard Day's Night". The Beatles assembled April 16th at EMI Studio 2 to record the number, and during breaks in the action, they took turns on the phone speaking with Chicago disc jockeys Art Roberts and Ron Riley of WLS-AM. About 5 minutes of this interview was released on a promo LP in 1979, but a further 17 minutes exists from a poor-quality off-line recording. Here is a composite recording from both sources.

In Person Sam Houston Coliseum

Tobe Milo, 1978

A 7" single from Tobe Milo meant as a taster of their upcoming LP of the same title, containing the complete evening Houston concert, with excerpts from the opening acts. The fake telephone commercial has no Beatle connection, but is amusing nonetheless.

Side 1:

- intro

- Dizzy Miss Lizzy

Side 2:

- Ticket To Ride

- "New York Telephone"

Don't Be Soft!

On April 3rd, 1964, The Beatles filmed a slightly surreal scene for exclusive use in the A Hard Day's Night movie trailer.

Elsewhere on the set at Twickenham that day, they were interviewed by Adrian Cairns for the Tyne Tees TV series Star Parade. Most of the questions were submitted by fans, who had been filmed in Newcastle reading out the interrogatives; the footage was then intercut with the group's answers.

On Stage In Japan

Concert Series Records, 1984

Another run-of-the-mill reissue of the June 30th, 1966 Tokyo Budokan concert.

Side 1:

- Rock And Roll Music

- She's A Woman

- If I Needed Someone

- Day Tripper

- Baby's In Black

- I Feel Fine

Side 2:

- Yesterday

- I Wanna Be Your Man

- Nowhere Man

- Paperback Writer

- I'm Down

George Harrison Lunacy

A Hard Day's Night filming continued throughout March, 1964 at Twickenham Studios, where The Beatles were interviewed for Movie-Go-Round, and the Scala Theatre, where Paul was interviewed by Dieter Bröer. They also appeared live on Ready Steady Go! for the second time on March 20th.

After wrapping for the day on April 1st, Paul went to Liverpool to visit relatives. John, George, and Ringo stayed in London, where they sat for a lengthy interview at NEMS HQ with Australian journalist Bernice Lumb. During her visit to London, Bernice also interviewed Brian Epstein and DJ Alan Freeman.

BONUS: For all you Eppy fans, here is a recording of Brian being interviewed for BBC-TV's Panorama, broadcast March 30th, 1964.

Collectors Items

Capitol Records, 1979

Not really a Capitol release, of course, but it did inspire Capitol's own Rarities compilation the following year. The first release from a bootleg label better known as NEMS, this is the second pressing, substituting "Paperback Writer" for "I'm Down".

Side 1:

- Love Me Do

- Thank You Girl

- From Me To You

- All My Loving

- This Boy

- Sie Liebt Dich

- I Feel Fine

- She's A Woman

- Help!

- Paperback Writer

Side 2:

- Penny Lane

- Baby You're A Rich Man

- I Am The Walrus

- The Inner Light

- Across The Universe

- You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)

- Sgt. Pepper Inner Groove

Purple Hearts

Let's see, where was I...?

Oh, yes. The Beatles were busy filming A Hard Day's Night in March, 1964. On the 18th and 19th, they recorded special inserts for BBC Radio's The Public Ear. On the latter of those days, George interviewed Paul as they drove to the Dorchester Hotel to pick up awards from the Variety Club of Great Britain.

Chosen as Best Showbusiness Personalities of 1963, the group stayed for lunch and were presented with their awards by soon-to-be Prime Minister Harold Wilson, making a few quips for the multiple newsreel cameras and hurrying back to the film set.

Alf Solo, RIP

On April 1st, 1964, John Lennon met his estranged father, Alfred, for the first time in 17 years. The brief and unhappy meeting took place at the London headquarters of NEMS Enterprises, during a day off from filming A Hard Day's Night.

Until recently, only written accounts have documented the meeting, but amazingly, a short tape recording of the occasion has been found. Apparently taped on a portable recorder and then forgotten, it was uncovered in the Dakota archive at the very end of a reel containing 88 minutes of "Serve Yourself" demos.

Download the recording of the historic reunion here.