Beatles Week on the BBC

mike65 · 05-09-2009 12:18pm #1

BBC2 and BBC4 tv starting tonight with 3 progs and a filum that look top notch

BBC 2 7.45 Timewatch: Beatlemania
The story of the Beatles, who had by 1966 played more than 1,400 gigs, had 15 number one singles, made seven albums, toured the world four times and sold 200 million records. At the height of their popularity, they pulled the plug and decided never to tour again. Archive footage and interviews with those who accompanied them on the road reveal the inside story of their career - including death threats, plane crashes, diplomatic wrangles and disillusionmen.

BBC 2 8.35 The Beatles: On Record
In 1962, George Martin received his first visit from rising Liverpool-based band the Beatles at Abbey Road Studios. Over the course of the next eight years, staff at the London recording suite would witness the production of the most popular body of work ever committed to record. This film, which uses rare archive material of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, provides an inside look at the processes through which the group developed their music.

BBC2 9.35 The Beatles: The First US Visit
Documentary following the Fab Four's tour of America in 1964, including their memorable performance on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9 1964, which exposed 73 million TV viewers to the Beatlemania experience for the first time. The visit was captured by pioneering cameramen Albert and David Maysles, who were granted unprecedented access to the musicians both on and off duty.

BBC2 10.45 Help! (1965)
The Beatles are chased around a number of exotic locations by an Eastern religious cult keen to get hold of a valuable sacred ruby ring that has come into Ringo's possession. Musical comedy, starring John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, with Leo McKern and Eleanor Bron.

Latchy · 05-09-2009 3:18pm

Pity the programmes are running same time as the football .Will be flicking between the two tonight .

Perhaps they will be available to view again on catch up tv

DigiGal · 05-09-2009 9:51pm

I'm nostalgic for a decade I wasn't even born in

Wibbs · 05-09-2009 10:50pm

Trust me it's worse when you were born when the Beatles were still a band, Elvis was skinny and music had much to look forward to. Now I've got Lady Gaga(though in fairness she can sing, sadly not so much on her records) and the x factor.

JerryHandbag · 05-09-2009 11:14pm

I caught most of the On Record programme, very good. I now have the White Album on my headphones. And I never even knew that Paul played the drums on the first 2 tracks!

DigiGal · 06-09-2009 12:05am

Wibbs wrote: »

Trust me it's worse when you were born when the Beatles were still a band, Elvis was skinny and music had much to look forward to. Now I've got Lady Gaga(though in fairness she can sing, sadly not so much on her records) and the x factor.

Bring back the legendary musicians I say......Nobody will be talking about Lady Gaga a generation from now

Latchy · 06-09-2009 8:05pm

Must say how much I enjoyed the 4 hr Beatle special last night specialy the fly on the wall footage of their first american tour .I am familiar with the whole Beatlemania phenomenon and have being for many years but watching this was like discovering it all for the first time .The whole diary of events as it happened with the tv news /archive / live concert footage , all mixed together , made it seem like it was all a more recent event .

Also , the look at each album as it was recorded and how they grew as musicians in the studios with George Martin was really great stuff

10 out of 10 .:)