" It Was 20 Years Ago Today " * (1987 Sgt. Pepper documentary)

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Gryphon, Mar 13, 2008.

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  1. vinylman

    vinylman Senior Member

    Location:
    Leeds, U.K.
    I think that was a 90-minute Radio 1 special based around the original 1967 show hosted by Kenny Everett.
     
  2. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    The Making of Sgt. Pepper special first aired in the U.S. on the Disney Channel in the U.S. in June of 1992. I was told by some insiders that Neil Aspinall met with several UK documentary producers and basically told them, "we want to do this kind of show as an audition for a much longer project" (which turned out to be the Anthology documentary). The idea was, whoever did the best job on the Sgt. Pepper show would get the job to do the 10-hour Beatles doc.

    In 1994, George Martin also wrote a book (with co-author William Pearson) titled The Making of Sgt. Pepper, so there was a tie-in there, but not for a couple of years. The first Anthology special aired in November of 1995.

    Why they haven't re-released the Sgt. Pepper special is incredible. I expected it would've been out last year, for the 40th anniversary, but I think all those plans got put on hold. They could've put out the mono version, a remastered stereo version, outtakes, interviews, an expanded documentary... it could've been great. :sigh:
     
  3. Gryphon

    Gryphon New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    London, UK
    Update : have made contact with Granada and they dug around their archives and found the documentary, well about 10-20 seconds of it, like titles or something, and that is all that remains :confused: How can something like that happen!!!???
     
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  4. daglesj

    daglesj Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norfolk, UK
    I remember very well indeed watching this the night it aired on TV in 1987.

    Why? Well I was 16 and had the first of my 'O' level exams the next day and was worried sick about it so I dont think I was quite as enthusiastic about it as I would be today.

    I dont have that show but I still have the fantastic SouthBank show from October 1989 about Hendrix on tape. That is a real keeper.
     
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  5. Derek Gee

    Derek Gee Senior Member

    Location:
    Detroit
    Is Granada the original producer of the show? If they didn't produce it, they may not have had the rights to retain the master tape.

    Derek
     
  6. proufo

    proufo Forum Resident

    From the book liner notes: the book was written by Derek Taylor and Taylor used the archives and interviews made by Granada in London for a documentary of the same name.

    The Making of Pepper's documentary is not the same thing at all.
     
  7. egor

    egor Forum Resident

    Location:
    seattle
  8. Evan L

    Evan L Beatologist

    Location:
    Vermont
    If it were possiible, since the Anthology spent so little time on Pepper, then one could just splice this documentary right into that slot.

    Never saw It Was Twenty Years Ago Today.

    Evan

    Evan
     
  9. soulquest7

    soulquest7 New Member

    Location:
    Madison, Wi, USA
    I have two versions of this. First I taped it off the Discovery Channel, but I later found out it was edited a little. Then I got a DVD of it which was originally from Public Television in Chicago. This is, I think, a full version of the documentary. I was obsessed with it and watched it countless times. It's so amazing! I agree with Derek Taylor, that this period was one of best for popular music and Western culture in general.
     
  10. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Wow, a 2-year-old thread mysteriously comes back.

    I'm still amazed that this was never legitimately released on DVD. Pieces of it were included in the later Anthology special, but not all of it.
     
  11. Mister Charlie

    Mister Charlie "Music Is The Doctor Of My Soul " - Doobie Bros.

    Location:
    Aromas, CA USA
    At that time it was the best Beatle doc going. Great animation and behind the scene things that are old hat now but meat for hungry fans.
     
  12. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff

    Ditto. I've got it on the VHS I recorded from PBS, and yes, it has the "animated cover." Not a bad show at all!

    Matt
     
  13. therockman

    therockman Senior Member In Memoriam



    Has this ever seen a commercial release? I really loved this documentary.
     
  14. John B

    John B Once Blue Gort,<br>now just blue.

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
  15. guppy270

    guppy270 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Levittown, NY
    Like others here I taped the "It Was 20 Years Ago Today" special off PBS when it was originally broadcast in the USA in 1987. I *loved* this special...I think it's part of the reason I'm so infatuated with that 1965-1969 time period (I was born in 1970). I'm pretty sure I've seen the "animated Sgt Pepper cover" opening bit here and there since then....I remember that that scene was pretty technologically neat in 1987. The Derek Taylor book is also great.

    I liked the fact that, presumably because of Derek Taylor's involvement, the documentary was presented sort of from the hippies "side" of things, so to speak...so many documentaries (like on A&E, Bravo etc) about the Summer of Love era seem to focus mainly on the negatives of that era, without seeing any of the positives.

    I went to burn my ancient VHS tape onto a DVD-R last year (what's the video equivalent term for needledropping, lol), and all was well until the end, when the VHS tape ran out. D'oh~! I think it's missing about 3-4 minutes of the end, thats all, so it's not TOO bad....but the OCD collector in me is ticked off it's not complete.

    It baffles me that this is unavailable commercially. Perhaps it's a music rights clearance issue?? I wonder if PBS ever offered it on video during a pledge drive?

    By the way, want to feel old?.....it's been 24 years since "It Was Twenty Years Ago Today" first aired. :eek:
     
  16. therockman

    therockman Senior Member In Memoriam




    Wow, cool story. It is a shame that this documentary is no where to be found.
     
  17. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff

    Just to clarify: That's the OTHER documentary, not the one in the title of this thread. Still a good watch, though!

    Matt
     
  18. Evan L

    Evan L Beatologist

    Location:
    Vermont
    They should've just absorbed it into The Beatles Anthogy and re relased it there.

    Evan
     
  19. Jayce

    Jayce Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Guppy,

    Like you, I was always totally infatuated with '65-69. In fact, when I was in the 7th grade (1981), I wrote a term paper that I am sure my parents still have somewhere called "The Classic Era: Rock Music from 1965-1969." My main source was a radio special entitled "The Rock Years," which played on WNEW-FM (102.7) in April/May of '81.

    Three years earlier, my brother had done a research paper based on Nicholas Schaffner's "The Beatles Forever."

    We both had the same cool teacher.
     
  20. matthew5

    matthew5 Forum Resident

    Location:
    canada
    It's on youtube
     
  21. therockman

    therockman Senior Member In Memoriam



    Can you post a link?
     
  22. matthew5

    matthew5 Forum Resident

    Location:
    canada
  23. John B

    John B Once Blue Gort,<br>now just blue.

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Thanks Matt - I missed that. I'll see if I can track down the right one, though it seems challenging.
     
  24. Would have been a nice extra. Maybe if we see it on Blu-ray some day!
     
  25. bekayne

    bekayne Senior Member

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