The Beatles. Made In Merseyside

[nimnarb]

Absolutely fantastic documentary from the very early days. Never seen some of this material before. For true Beatles fans and in particular, seeing Pete Best, describe in detail what went on, an absolute must as far as history is concerned. Not to be missed. Probably have about 20 days left to see this.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m ... merseyside

[Redmires]

It was a good programme. I didn't learn much but then again I've been a fan for over 40 years. One thing worth mentioning is that the Casbah is open to the public and is a must see when visiting Liverpool. The vast majority of fans head for the Cavern (a replica) when the real thing is a couple of miles away. Also on the must see list are the childhood homes of John & Paul.

[forrado]

Absolutely fantastic documentary from the very early days.

Agreed if one wasn’t around during those formative early days and requires some background. But, as “Redmires” comments, nothing out of the ordinary for Beatles devotees who were there from more or less the start.

As for me, I grew up on what is now Merseyside and, as a 16-year old back in 1961, saw them up close and live, not yet the finished article. Believe me they weren’t considered anything special back then. It wasn’t until their return (for the second time) from Hamburg when Brian Epstein got hold of them, scrubbed ‘em up and made them wear suits that the group started to come good.

The Beatles may have started in Liverpool, but it was all the Hamburg playing hours that made them a unit and, as a unit, the unfortunate Pete Best simply wasn’t up to the job. John, Paul and George all progressed in terms of musicianship and personality – Pete didn’t. Unlike that of his replacement, Pete Best had neither the talent nor the ability to improve.

Back then the thing that always struck me when watching those early Liverpool club performances was the group’s confidence and willingness to take chances with adaptations of seemingly unlikely set numbers that nobody else was covering. Such as …

‘Ain’t She Sweet’ - a 1927 popular music composition from the US
‘Bésame Mucho’ (Kiss me a lot) - a Mexican-Spanish ballad from 1940
‘Matchbox’ - a 1957 Rockabilly number by Carl Perkins
‘Till There Was You’ – a number from the 1957 musical ‘The Music Man’

I think very much a case of having to mix-it-up and occasionally do something different during those countless hours performing in Hamburg.

[stevensfo]

BBC iPlayer only works in the UK. Sorry, it’s due to rights issues.

When I brought our eldest to see unis, we spent a whole day in the Beatles museum in Liverpool and surrounding area. He was crazy about them, as was I, only I kept it quiet. Most people in the museum were French, German or American.

But the great BBC won't allow people outside the Daily Mail area of influence ( i.e. UK) to watch it.

No matter. One of them will stream it from their laptops as they always do.


Steve

[monabri]

Another BBC documentary on the iPlayer

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b ... rd-goodall

I found this documentary by Mr Goodall very interesting & entertaining, it looks at the recording techniques used on the album.

"Howard gets under the bonnet of Sgt Pepper. He takes the music apart and reassembles it, to show us how it works - and makes surprising connections with the music of the last 1,000 years to do so. "

"In this film, Howard Goodall shows that it is the sheer ambition of Sgt Pepper - in its conception, composition, arrangements and innovative recording techniques - that sets it apart."