Back on November 11th, 2011, I featured the promo video for one side of the double A-sided Strawberry Fields Forever c/w Penny Lane single. I decided to follow that up this week with the other side.

The promo clip for Paul McCartney’s “Penny Lane” was shot at a few locations on the 5th and 7th of February, 1967, in preparation for the upcoming mid-February single release (specifically the 13th in the U.S. and 17th in the U.K.).

Although there were a few sequences shot in Liverpool’s Penny Lane (the subject of the song), The Beatles never traveled there to make the video. The footage, where The Beatles are in the city, was shot at a district of London called Angel Lane. This includes the scene where they are riding horseback through the streets (I’ve always wondered if it was a coincidence that George Harrison rode the “dark horse”). These scenes are interspersed with footage of the “real” Penny Lane in Liverpool, which show the #46 bus, the “shelter in the middle of the roundabout,” the barber’s pole, the fireman on the white horse, etc.

The banquet scene at the end, where Beatles assistant Mal Evans serves the band guitars instead of food, was shot at Knole Park, in the Sevenoaks district of Kent, U.K., where the “Strawberry Fields Forever” promo had been shot less than a week earlier.

As was the case with the “Strawberry Fields Forever” promo clip, the video was directed by Peter Goldman, who was given the position as a result of a recommendation by long-time Beatles friend Klaus Voormann, whom The Beatles had met back in their pre-fame days in Hamburg, Germany.

Click the image above to play the video.

Extra info: “Penny Lane,” along with “Strawberry Fields Forever,” was originally intended to be part of the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band LP, but since it was already early 1967 and the band had not put a single out since the previous August’s “Yellow Submarine” c/w “Eleanor Rigby,” it was decided to release it as a single ahead of time. Since singles tracks did not typically end up on albums in the U.K., neither song was included on Pepper. Both songs were later included on the U.S. Magical Mystery Tour LP; however the British double EP package of the same name included only the songs that were in the Magical Mystery Tour film.

Here are some Amazon links to read more on, or purchase, some music related to this post:

1) Magical Mystery Tour (Remastered) – 2009 stereo remaster of original 1967 album, including “Penny Lane”.

2) 1967-1970 (Blue) Remastered – 2-CD 2010 stereo remaster of original 1973 Beatles hits compilation, including “Penny Lane”.

3) 1 – 2011 remaster of Beatles No. 1′s, including “Penny Lane”.

4) More Amazon links for any of your favorite Beatles-related music: The Beatles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

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1. Beatles Rarity Of The Week (Penny Lane/Spot The Oddity, Pt. 5) This will be the last week of the Spot the...
2. Strawberry Fields Forever (original 1967 promo video) This week’s video feature acknowledges this month as the 45th...
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Welcome to your 2011 Holiday-week BROW!

As most fans are aware, each year from 1963 through 1969, The Beatles recorded a special Christmas greeting for their fans. The Official Beatles Fan Club in England sent flexi-discs containing the Christmas messages to its members each holiday season. Last year, I featured the 1965 message, so this year, I move one year ahead to the 1966 message, simply titled “Pantomime: Everywhere It’s Christmas.” It was recorded on November 25, 1966, at Dick James Music, only one day after recording take one of John Lennon’s newest composition, “Strawberry Fields Forever.”

Of course a newsletter was issued with the flexi-disc. It was written by fan club secretary Freda Kelly and signed by Freda, with a second signature for Anne Collingham. Anne Collingham was actually a fictitious entity made up by Beatles public relations man Tony Barrow, to serve as the head of the northern and southern U.K. branches of the fan club.

Instead of a typical script-driven Christmas greeting, as had been done on the previous three Christmas messages, The Beatles came up with a pantomime idea and acted out different humorous skits in a wide array of voices. There are also two songs: “Everywhere It’s Christmas” (the title theme) and “Please Don’t Bring your Banjo Back.” A reprise of “Everywhere It’s Christmas” is presented at the end of the record, which immediately follows a short statement from Beatles assistant Mal Evans.

If you want to follow along while it plays, here is a track listing for the record (although the flexi-disc has no banding between each track):

Song: Everywhere It’s Christmas
Orowayna (Corsican Choir and Small Choir)
A Rare Cheese (Two Elderly Scotsmen)
The Feast
The Loyal Toast
Podgy The Bear and Jasper
Felpin Mansions: Part One (Count Balder and Butler)
Felpin Mansions: Part Two: (The Count and the Pianist)
Song: Please Don’t Bring Your Banjo Back
Mal: Everywhere It’s Christmas
Reprise: Everywhere It’s Christmas

The Beatles Fourth Christmas Record, issued Dec. 16, 1966

It’s been an absolute blast bringing you the BROWs, VOWs, interviews and the newest addition to the site – Collector’s Corners – along with all the other extras this year. I thank each and every one of you for being a part of my web site home for these tributary posts about the world’s best band. Fab holiday wishes go out to you all from me to you.

Yours truly,
Happy Nat

And I still say, Beatles music makes great gifts over the holidays. Here are some Amazon links to read more on, or purchase, some music related to this post, for your favorite Beatlemaniac: The Beatles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

Related posts:

1. Beatles Rarity Of The Week – The Beatles Christmas Record 1963 Welcome to this year’s Christmas BROW. Most Beatles fans realize...
2. Beatles Rarity Of The Week – Another Beatles Christmas Record (1964 fan club record) Welcome to your Christmas-week BROW! As most fans are aware,...
3. Freda Kelly – Beatles Fan Club Secretary, 1963-1972 Liverpudlian Freda Kelly was the Beatles Fan Club Secretary from...

Instant Karma! was John Lennon’s third US/UK single following Give Peace A Chance and Cold Turkey and was released in February 1970, which was still a couple months before The Beatles were disbanded officially. John had Phil Spector produce the record and this could have been a way of trying him out prior to giving him the project of re-working the Let It Be album for release the following May. One of the amazing things about this song is that John wrote it, and had it recorded all on the same day (which was Jan. 26, 1970). It was then released and in the shops only 10 days later. It has gone down in history as one of the fastest released songs. John’s Plastic Ono Band back-up included Billy Preston (organ), George Harrison (guitar – although he is not shown in the video), Klaus Voormann (bass), Mal Evans (claps & chimes) and Alan White (drums).

Click the image above to play the video.

Click to read about or purchase these related items from Amazon.com that that feature Instant Karma! by John Lennon:

1) Power To The People: The Hits – hits compilation featuring Instant Karma!

2) Gimme Some Truth – 4-disc themed hits compilation featuring Instant Karma!

3) Lennon Legend – The Very Best of John Lennon – featuring the Instant Karma! promo video shown here

4) The U.S. vs. John Lennon – motion picture of John Lennon’s battle with U.S. Immigration in the early-mid 1970′s.

…and here’s more Amazon links for your favorite Beatles-related music: The Beatles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

Related posts:

1. Beatles Rarity Of The Week – “Laugh” (Plastic Ono People out-take, 1969) This week’s BROW is available as a podcast. This one...
2. Beatles Rarity Of The Week – You Know My Name (Look Up The Number) (original length) Welcome to this week’s BROW. You Know My Name (Look...

It’s time for this week’s BROW. As you likely know, it was fairly customary for John Lennon and Paul McCartney to pen a song together, for Ringo to sing, on whatever album they happened to be working on at the time. During the Revolver sessions of 1966, John had a verse melody in mind for the “Ringo” song to put with a chorus melody of Paul’s. I’m not sure whose idea it was to write fairy tale-type lyrics, but it fit perfectly with this time of psychedelic influence. It could have even been Donovan, who has no official composition credit but, I understand, did come up with some of the words. Of course, the song is Yellow Submarine. The backing track was recorded and Ringo’s vocal’s added on May 26, 1966 and originally, it was probably just thought of as album filler. Then, possibly with the help of some sort of mind-bending imagination enhancement, the color came to the project.

The idea was to add a “party atmosphere”, and what better way to create it than by having a party in the recording studio? The date was scheduled for June 1, 1966. The invited, who participated in recording the party atmosphere heard in the mix, include Brian Jones (of The Rolling Stones), Marianne Faithful, George’s wife Patti Harrison, Beatle assistants Neil Aspinal and Mal Evans and others. This week’s BROW is a special recording of the effects used in the Yellow Submarine song, with the backing track and Ringo vocal from take 5 heard in the background. In order of appearance (roughly) there is:

1. John blowing bubble in a straw
2. 2 bells
3. a grinding noisemaker
4. party chatter
5. an ocarina (which is an ancient flute-type wind instrument)
6. a propeller cranked up and dunked in the water
7. spilled coins
8. a foghorn
9. a group singalong of the chorus
10. chains swishing in a metal tub of water
11. clinking glasses
12. more coins spilling and party chatter
13. a brass band
14. a tapping noise
15. “full speed ahead” and other mock naval orders
16. some type of submerging “whoosh” sound
17. response shouts from John (“life of ease”, “all we need”, “sky of blue” etc.)
18. Mal Evans playing a marching band bass drum

So, these things livened up the song a bit and instead of being “album filler”, Yellow Submarine topped the charts as a single on both sides of the Atlantic. Things were definitely changing as far as the unorthodox recording process of The Beatles. Their unique ideas and abilities, in that regard, blossomed even further for the next album, when they became Sgt.Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

The Beatles, 1966

Want to make a suggestion for a future Beatles Rarity of the Week? Then let me hear from you. Read about more Beatles rarities and suggest one for me to post. You can begin by searching for different versions of specific tracks right here.
Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

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This week’s Beatles Rarity Of The Week is special because this is the week that BROW is one year old. The Beatles were always big on birthday celebrations as can be felt through this medley of happy and rare birthday recordings that I have assembled for this week. The medley includes:

1) Whit Monday – from the BBC program From Us To You. It was recorded on May 1, 1964 and aired on May 18, 1964 (just a few days after my first birthday).

2) Birthday – The Beatles’ classic performed by Paul McCartney in Stockholm, Sweden on May 5, 2003.

3) Happy Birthday Michael Love – Recorded with Michael Love (of the Beach Boys) while The Beatles were in India during March 1968.

4) Happy Birthday – This recording comes from October 1971 at John’s 31st birthday party in a Syracuse NY hotel room. Eric Clapton, Ringo & Maureen Starkey, Klaus Voormann, Allen Ginsberg, Jim Keltner, Mal Evans and Neil Aspinal were all present and “o-blue-terated” (to borrow a word used by the Blue Meanies in the Yellow Submarine film).

5) Happy Birthday Saturday Club – The Beatles performed this one on the BBC program Saturday Club in honor of it’s 5th birthday. The recording was made on September 7th, 1963 and aired on October 5th, 1963.

6) Happy Birthday John – From John’s 30th birthday celebration on October 9, 1970. Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, Stephen Stills and Klaus Voorman were all present (and once again: O-blue-terated).

The Beatles cutting the cake, late 1964

It’s been “fab” bringing you rare Beatles-related recordings over the past year and a sincere thank you goes out to all the “gear” people out there who have taken an interest.

Want to make a suggestion for a future Beatles Rarity of the Week? Then let me hear from you. Read about more Beatles rarities and suggest one for me to post. You can begin by searching for different versions of specific tracks right here.

Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

Related posts:

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This week’s BROW is available as a podcast.

This one ought to be good for a chuckle. First the background information:

Back in 1969 as The Beatles were falling apart, John came up with his Plastic Ono Band concept. The basic idea was that the Plastic Ono Band was defined as whomever he (or Yoko Ono) happened to be playing with at the time. It could be a bunch of people in a Canadian hotel room (“Give Peace A Chance”, June 1969) or Eric Clapton and Klaus Voormann (Live Peace in Toronto album, Dec. 1969).

This weeks BROW is a recording that was originally over 30 minutes long and was cut down to around 4 minutes with plans to be released as the third Plastic Ono single in December 1969. For variation it was to be accredited to The Plastic Ono People who actually consisted of John with Mal Evans, Anthony Fawcett, Geoff Emerick, Phil McDonald, Malcolm Davies, Eddie Klein and others. The release was scrapped later when John decided to record and release “Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)” instead, the following month.

My apologies for the little bit of vinyl crackle you’ll hear in this but it’s in my only surviving source recording. So listen and enjoy. You might even want to join in.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono, 1969

Want to make a suggestion for a future Beatles Rarity of the Week? Then let me hear from you. Read about more Beatles rarities and suggest one for me to post. You can begin by searching for different versions of specific tracks right here.
Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

Related posts:

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3. Beatles Rarity Of The Week – How Do You Sleep (take 4) Welcome to BROW. There was still a bit of a...