Relatively rare Beatles.

June 7, 2007 6:27 AM

I thought I'd seen pretty much every bit of performance footage (whether live or lip-synched) featuring the Beatles, but lately I discovered some clips on YouKnowWhere that I hadn't seen before, and I'd wager there's more than a few folks out in MefiLand who've also missed these: a proto-psychedelic promo clip for Rain, and another promo clip for Hey Bulldog, and finally, this rarity, an alternate take of the promo clip for Hello Goodbye. Just for good measure, here's the more familiar (but still somewhat obscure) version.
posted by flapjax at midnite (43 comments total)

I think the Beatles on the front page are always good. Having said that, the Rain clip and the Hey Bulldog clip have been around for awhile. Had not seen the alternate Hello Goodbye, thanks for that. Good lord, how high were they when they filmed that?

My current favorite had not seen it before Beatles video is the complete performance of Some Other Guy from the Cavern Club in 1962. They showed a portion of it on the Anthology deal, but the complete performance is here.
posted by marxchivist at 6:37 AM on June 7, 2007 [2 favorites]

Rock stars to recreate Sgt Pepper
posted by chuckdarwin at 6:44 AM on June 7, 2007

wow that film is great, marxchivist. multiple cameras, good sound recording, a/v mostly in sync. that perf must have been right before or after they signed with EMI. who would have predicted what would happen to them in the next 18 months...

also thanx flapjax at midnight for the fpp. rain is one of my alltime fav songs. love that bass!
posted by jmccw at 6:44 AM on June 7, 2007

Yeah, chuckdarwin, we heard the news, oh boy.
posted by cortex at 6:58 AM on June 7, 2007

cortex, it's something of a relief to see someone besides myself self-linking to songs on MeFi Music...
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:01 AM on June 7, 2007

I hadn't seen the Hey Bulldog footage before -- really nice work on the syncing.

That Rain clip always cracks me up. Paul's chipped tooth is so obvious! He looks like a hick.
posted by jeffxl at 7:04 AM on June 7, 2007

IIRC, the Hey Bulldog footage is from the Lady Madonna sessions.

Domo arrigato, f@m!
posted by fingers_of_fire at 7:07 AM on June 7, 2007

cortex, I only reposted that link because said songs are now beginning to clog the airwaves here. Until recently, this 'remake' was more theoretical in nature.

Now, I've got to listen to Bryan Adams singing Sgt Pepper every five minutes.
posted by chuckdarwin at 7:11 AM on June 7, 2007

Great stuff—thanks, flapjax and Marxchivist! (That 1962 film from the Cavern is amazing. Once again I bless YouTube.)
posted by languagehat at 7:25 AM on June 7, 2007

That Rain video made my morning, thank you. It's one of my favourite songs. So happy and innocent.
posted by Nelson at 8:02 AM on June 7, 2007

Thanks flapjax! I'd seen all these before, but it's always good to see them again. I can never get over how young they are in that Cavern clip. And "Hey Bulldog" is a particular favorite song of mine- that clip is far better than the (deservedly) cut sequence from Yellow Submarine.
posted by oneirodynia at 8:13 AM on June 7, 2007

Had not seen the alternate Hello Goodbye, thanks for that. Good lord, how high were they when they filmed that?

Heh. Every time I see the "Rain" clip, I can't get over how stoned they are.
posted by oneirodynia at 8:16 AM on June 7, 2007

IIRC, the "Hey Bulldog" footage was originally used for the "Lady Madonna" promo video. The record label needed some footage to promote the "Lady Madonna" single, so they visited the studio and filmed the Beatles at work that day.
I have a bootleg VHS tape I acquired at Beatlefest back in 1993, which includes that same studio footage set to the music of "Lady Madonna". It doesn't make a lot of sense, because none of the footage syncs up in any way with the song.
Only when the Yellow Submarine movie + "songtrack" was re-released back in 1999 did the Beatles salvage the footage and sync it up to the "Hey Bulldog" audio.
It's a real treat to watch actual footage of the Beatles at work in the studio (besides the Let It Be sessions, of course)...
posted by Lord Kinbote at 8:16 AM on June 7, 2007

I just fucking love the Beatles. That is all.
posted by Devils Rancher at 8:33 AM on June 7, 2007

ah, thanks for the correction, Lord Kinbote!
posted by fingers_of_fire at 8:42 AM on June 7, 2007

I once had an argument with a friend about the very existence of "Rain," because I commented that my favorite Beatles song was the early one they wrote about rain. This argument occurred long ago, somewhere without computer or Wikipedia access, and pre-YouTube. So it's fantastic to see the video linked here. I had never seen the video before. I'm surprised there is no rain in it.
posted by Tehanu at 8:45 AM on June 7, 2007

These clips obviously don't stand up to as flapjax at midnight's, but they're good for a smirk: Paperback Believer (warning: tinny audio, Monkees) and A Hard Day's Night of the Living Dead.
posted by oneirodynia at 8:50 AM on June 7, 2007

The "Rain" video is sooo good. (I forgot how much I loved that song.) And I actually agree with a YouTube comment: "the best beatle look".
posted by Atom Eyes at 9:02 AM on June 7, 2007

In their day the Beatles sang an emotional life, that most girls could only daydream about, their cherubic faces in the crowds, look as if they are only just waking up to life.

Seeing the boys sing, first thing in the morning...ah I would recommend it to anyone.

I forget about The Beatles for years, and then some musical phrase, lights up entire years of my life that I have forgotten as well. How my private youth was enlivened by them. How the comatose early sixties quickened, both recoiling and blooming, at their wanton intrusion. I could have seen them perform in Wiesbaden, Germany in 1965 but, before I could, my parents saw footage of the screaming girls, and the answer was a firm no.
posted by Oyéah at 9:02 AM on June 7, 2007

Anyone know any detail about the Rain promo vid (above) shot location? The conservatory looks familiar.

My fave part? The fact that John, George and Paul have to do the obligatory instrument play miming and Ringo just gets to be stoned and take a walk.

Seriously, though - Ringo was an AWESOME backbeat drummer - I can think of no better.
posted by mctsonic at 9:08 AM on June 7, 2007

Chiswick Gardens- Paperback Writer promo was filmed there as well.
posted by oneirodynia at 9:15 AM on June 7, 2007

Seriously, though - Ringo was an AWESOME backbeat drummer - I can think of no better.

Just watching him swinging those long-ass sticks in the Hello Goodbye video, even if he was miming, reinforces what a pro he was. I also noticed for the first time, because I was only just now paying proper attention to the drumming in that song, how good those drums sound on tape. Meat & potatoes all the way, but those were some good meat & potatoes. The best.
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:37 AM on June 7, 2007

actually, Devils Rancher, I have to disagree... what I love most about Ringo's playing is that, until you really pay attention to it, it sounds like the parts are really basic, or meat and potatoes. But upon reflection, you realize that what he's playing is so idiosyncratic. The verses of "Hello Goodbye" are a perfect example - there's virtually NO meat on those bones, just the most bare-bone playing. He spends a good part of the time just playing quarter notes on the floor tom - SO many other drummers would play way more over that - needlessly, in my opinion.

Methinks, though, that the OP might have an opinion on this... what say ye, flapjax?
posted by fingers_of_fire at 9:56 AM on June 7, 2007

Oh here we go. Overthinking a plate of Beatles.
posted by oneirodynia at 10:23 AM on June 7, 2007

Everyone loves a drum solo.
posted by Nelson at 10:39 AM on June 7, 2007

Except for Ringo, who refused to play any until the other Beatles and George Martin bugged him to on "The End".

Speaking of "Rain" and drumming:

Ringo: My favorite piece of me is what I did on "Rain." I think I just played amazing. I was into the snare and hi-hat. I think it was the first time I used this trick of starting a break by hitting the hi-hat first instead of going directly to a drum off the hi-hat. But I couldn't do that anymore because that came out of something that could only happen back then."
posted by oneirodynia at 11:10 AM on June 7, 2007

There's lots of jokes and snickering about Ringo (hell, I've told many myself) but in truth it is unlikely that 3 truly gifted musicians would saddle themselves with an incompetent drummer.

He was exactly the drummer they needed for their style.
posted by Ynoxas at 11:30 AM on June 7, 2007

but in truth it is unlikely that 3 truly gifted musicians would saddle themselves with an incompetent drummer.

Indeed, it's precisely the opposite: Paul and John courted Ringo away from his previous band (Rory Storm & the Hurricanes) precisely because Ringo was esteemed as the best drummer in Liverpool. John and Paul knew how good the Beatles were, and so they also knew they needed someone better than Best (*rim shot*).

And thanks for the clips, flapjax at midnight! Delightful stuff. God, they were so young and beautiful...
posted by scody at 11:47 AM on June 7, 2007

God, they were so young and beautiful...

At the risk of ruining my macho reputation these clips made me really sad I felt like crying. Especially when I saw John and George. So young.

I have been plagued with waves of crippling nostalgia lately. Must be midlife.
posted by tkchrist at 12:32 PM on June 7, 2007 [1 favorite]

Ringo was the best drummer for the Beatles, like Charlie Watts was the best drummer for the Rolling Stones and Keith Moon was the best drummer for The Who.

"Hey Jude" live (the vocals, at least).
posted by kirkaracha at 12:45 PM on June 7, 2007

I love me some Beatles. (In the early days especially) they just look like they're having such a blast.
posted by maxwelton at 12:46 PM on June 7, 2007

these clips made me really sad I felt like crying. Especially when I saw John and George.

Definitely bittersweet for me, too. I get choked up pretty easily whenever I see old footage of John and George.
posted by scody at 1:03 PM on June 7, 2007

OK, this is totally obsessive, I realize - but listen to Paul's vocals in the outro of kirkaracha's link - you will clearly hear him sing "take a load off Annie/put the load right on me".

I think that's kind of cool.
posted by fingers_of_fire at 1:07 PM on June 7, 2007

Checks out, too. According to Ian MacDonald (Revolution in the Head), recording for Hey Jude began on July 29, 1968. Music from Big Pink was released on June 26.
posted by fingers_of_fire at 1:12 PM on June 7, 2007

what I love most about Ringo's playing is that, until you really pay attention to it, it sounds like the parts are really basic, or meat and potatoes. But upon reflection, you realize that what he's playing is so idiosyncratic. The verses of "Hello Goodbye" are a perfect example - there's virtually NO meat on those bones, just the most bare-bone playing. He spends a good part of the time just playing quarter notes on the floor tom - SO many other drummers would play way more over that - needlessly, in my opinion.

Methinks, though, that the OP might have an opinion on this... what say ye, flapjax?

I'm with you on that, f_o_f. Ringo is one of the GREAT rock drummers, period. People who think he isn't, well, I suppose they just need something more from a drummer? Although more what, I don't know. I mean, with Ringo you've got:

1) rock solid but very relaxed feel. check.
2) never overplays. check.
3) judicious use of fills, and when they are used they're almost always elegantly simple as well as musical. check.
4) great sound: knows how and where to hit the drum. check.
5) has a distinct and instantly identifiable musical personality. check.
6) is the undisputed rhythmic anchor of the band (see reason #1). check.

Folks that need more than that? Hey, you've got Neil Peart, so quit yer yappin'!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:28 PM on June 7, 2007

cough*Jim Keltner*cough
posted by chuckdarwin at 4:43 PM on June 7, 2007

No need for coughing there, chuck! Keltner gets all the points that Ringo got! Except that he was a freelancer, a session guy, and thus we can't know what he would've brought to a band that played together constantly and uninterruptedly for years. That would've been intersting to see and hear, though. For my money, if he'd been the drummer for, say, the Stones, they'd have been a better band by a large percentage. And they were already a, y'know, none-too-shabby little band.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:01 PM on June 7, 2007

flapjax: thanks for the post.

RE: Ringo, I bet that if he wanted to record some speed metal he could do that too. (Well, maybe not in his later years, but you know.)
posted by snsranch at 5:07 PM on June 7, 2007 [1 favorite]

a proto-psychedelic promo clip for Rain, and another promo clip for Hey Bulldog, and finally, this rarity, an alternate take of the promo clip for Hello Goodbye.

Hey, old people, where were promotional films like these played? There was of course no MTV or the equivalent, and as far as I can remember the TV rock shows were mostly live (or lip-synched, anyway). So did they play promotional films before the movies (or kinographs or whatever they were called back then) but just not happen to say what they were promoting (new film, new album, new single)? Or did video-wireless programmes like Top of the Pops also play recorded films of musicians?
posted by pracowity at 5:46 AM on June 8, 2007

Well, I'm not an old person, in that I wasn't around to see these clips on TV, but I do know that the Paperback Writer/Rain promo was shown on the Ed Sullivan Show. I imagine that once the Beatles decided they were not going to go on concert tours anymore the pre-recorded clip was a much easier way to make US television appearances. Especially since they seem to have made it a habit to be as utterly stoned as possible while lip-synching the songs.
posted by oneirodynia at 9:47 AM on June 8, 2007

cough*Jim Keltner*cough

No need to cough. The resemblance between their playing styles is actually uncanny. Ringo could have fit well on Bring the Family.

I won't play in a band with a drummer who doesn't like Ringo. I played in a band once with a guy who didn't like Bonham, but it was a mistake.
posted by Devils Rancher at 3:20 PM on June 8, 2007

Devils Rancher: that's an interesting quip about the non-Bonham guy. I guess it's not uncommon for musicians to want to work on and develop their own "style". Sadly, most of the time, they suck because they haven't worked their way through everything else available to listen to while they are "developing" their own thing. Ego uber allis?
posted by snsranch at 4:18 PM on June 8, 2007 [1 favorite]

Effing great stuff, I have sought out before.

you could have thrown in the Lady Madonna clip. A hippie update of the Fats Domino sound.
bootleg mixes of the drums on that are eye opening - you can hear the chains on Ringo's drum pedal squeaking. hee hee ( Really)


“Hello Goodbye” - classic McCartney work, startlingly accomplished bass / drums arrangement as any music, ever created including all the classical stuff most of us are too lazy to be intimate with .


This 1966-68 era proves they had just has much balls/ muscle/ thrust as ANYOne - Hendrix / Stones. Cream etc. but because their
vocals were so ..... pretty or on key, they have been strangely discredited as less
Real "rock and roll," or "punk". Maybe because of the A.M radio exposure an wide acceptance in their day. I call bullshit. .. Beatles were the Shakespeare’s of 20th century pop music.
posted by celerystick at 9:54 PM on June 8, 2007