On this day in Beatles History...December 26, 1967

If you happened to be sitting around watching TV on the day after Christmas in London 48 years ago today (December 26, 1967), you could have watched the very first broadcast of The Magical Mystery Tour film on the BBC!  The reaction at the time from critics and fans wasn't all that favorable.  To be honest, the reaction was absolutely terrible.  In fact, the reaction was so bad that no one bothered to keep a proper negative of the film so copies of prints were used when the film was distributed later theatrically and on video.

Although the initial reaction was harsh, part of the problem was probably that the vividly colorful film was original broadcast only in Black and White!  It was re-broadcast a few days later in color, but at the time not everyone had color televisions, so many people saw the film for the first time in Black and White.  That probably wasn't the only issue with the film, but it didn't help.  

There was also no script.  The band had a rough idea of what they wanted to accomplish, but the film was mostly improvised.  Almost everything I've read about the film suggest that the entire project was mainly Paul's idea, though he has stated that he's not sure he wants to take the blame for coming up with it.  He also has stated that he thinks the film is better now looking back than it was at the time.  It may not have been the best day to release a film that, at the time, was very strange.  Although some fans think this wasn't The Beatles' finest hour, the album did give us some neat songs and the film gave us our only opportunity to see the band performing some of that music.  What do you think of The Magical Mystery Tour?  I'd love to read your comments below!

Have a Merry Beatles Christmas!

To all of my fellow fans of The Beatles, have a very merry Christmas!

...and just a bit of Beatles trivia, it was on Christmas day of 1959 that Ringo received his very first drum set.  He certainly didn't waste any time considering that in less than 4 years he was in a band at the top of the charts!

On this day in Beatles History...December 19, 1964

It was 51 years ago today on December 19, 1964 that Beatles For Sale reached #1 on the UK charts.  What album did they knock out of the top position?  Their own album A Hard Day's Night!  The band had been working harder than ever in 1964 and Beatlemania was in full swing.  In fact, the recording sessions for Beatles For Sale began in August of 1964 only about a month after A Hard Day's Night was released.  However, most of the recording was done in September.  The record company wanted to release a new record in time for Christmas, so the band was in a rush to write and record this album.  The previous album, A Hard Day's Night, featured all original music, but with pressure to complete the album quickly, the band went back to recording cover songs for Beatles For Sale.  Although there were 6 cover songs on the album along with the 8 songs written by the Lennon/McCartney songwriting team, the album was considered by many to be a turning point for the band in terms of songwriting.  More serious themes were creeping into the lyrics with songs like No Reply, I'm A Loser and Baby's In Black.  Even the wonderful cover photo presents a more serious look at the band.  Photographer Robert Freeman took the picture during a photo shoot in Hyde Park.  This is one of my favorite album covers of all time.  Beatles For Sale remained in the charts for 46 weeks in 1964 and 1965.  Then it returned to the charts for another 2 weeks over 2 decades later when it was released on CD in 1987.

On this day in Beatles History...December 15, 1964

The Beatles release Beatles '65 in the USA on December 15, 1964.  It is difficult to follow The Beatles releases, especially in the USA where a completely different set of records were released mixing and matching songs from various Beatles UK releases.  Side one of Beatles '65 was basically the same as Beatles For Sale except Beatles '65 didn't include Kansas City / Hey Hey Hey Hey.  Side two included Honey Don't and Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby both from Beatles for Sale along with I'll Be Back from the UK release of Hard Day's Night and I Feel Fine and She's A Woman which were released as the two sides of a single in the UK.  The remaining 6 songs from Beatles For Sale were not included.  It sounds like a strange and messy way to release albums, but to say Beatles '65 was a success would be an understatement.  It sold over 3 million copies and stayed at #1 on the charts for 9 straight weeks!

On this day in Beatles History...December 5, 1965

On December 5, 1965 The Beatles performed for the last time in their hometown of Liverpool at a 2,500 seat venue called The Empire Theater.  The Beatles had performed at this venue on several occasions prior to this performance.  In fact, even The Quarrymen performed there three times before The Beatles - once with John and Paul and twice after George had joined The Quarrymen as well.  Playing at The Empire Theater was an quite an achievement for local groups at the time.  It meant that a band had a large enough draw to be worthy of performing at such a large venue.

By 1965, Beatlemania had swept the world and by this point, The Beatles were no longer simply a local group with enough fans to justify performing at a 2,500 seat venue.  They were now a genuine sensation and could have easily sold out a much, much larger venue at the time.  There were reportedly thousands of disappointed fans who weren't able to acquire tickets to what would turn out to be The Beatles' last hometown performance.

(The photo below is from their performance at The Empire Theater in 1963.)

On this day in Beatles History...December 3, 1965

50 years ago today The Beatles release Rubber Soul in the UK.  They had taken about a month away from touring to record the album all at once instead of recording piece by piece as they had done in the past.  Rubber Soul was their sixth album and like the ones before, it went to #1 on the charts!  It was the first album The Beatles released without the band's name on the cover which was unusual for 1965.  It was also a shift in direction for The Beatles.  The songs were more mature than on previous albums.  Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys was so affected by this album that he said it was his inspiration for their album Pet Sounds.  Wilson believed that Rubber Soul was the first time in pop music that an album was a complete piece of artistic work rather than a collection of hit songs supplemented with filler.

Also on December 3, 1965, The Beatles single for We Can Work It Out & Day Tripper was released.  It too went to #1.  It was the sixth Beatles single in a row to reach #1 on the charts.

The Beatles Revell Model Kits

During the Beatlemania craze The Beatles paved the way for merchandise associated with bands.  It seems like just about anything that could have the words "THE BEATLES" stamped on it could be sold to teenage boys and girls growing up listening to John, Paul, George and Ringo.  One interesting piece of Beatles merchandise was the set of Beatles model kits manufactured by Revell.  I love the artwork of the times featured on each package!  I must admit that when I see this set of models it makes me wonder, was John truly "The Kookiest of them All?"