The Beatles Decca sessions .......UGH!

That boot would be "L.S. Bumble Bee". And yes, I think the song is about a minute longer there (and very, VERY muffled quality).

 

God bless the late Joe Pope. If you weren't around at the time, you can't imagine the thrill of the unreleased tracks issued on colored vinyl with color pic sleeves every few months. It was 1977/78 and the Fabs were so sorely missed. I too remember the Love Of The Loved boot (with PS!) Compared to a lot of the other unauthorized stuff out there at the time Joe's Decca singles were manna from heaven (* "from heaven" would seem to be redundant, where else does "manna" come from?--Publix?)

 

I first heard the songs on this boot.

 

Depressing thought. I've put off buying a bootleg in hopes that Apple would eventually do a good quality official release..

 

In signing Brian Poole & the Tremeloes instead?

 

I don't know if the Tremeloes audition tape is "out there" so we can't compare the performances of the two bands. But the Tremeloes were a very good, solid band. Lots of Youtube video is available.

Brian Poole and the Tremeloes had a couple of hits in 1963, by covering R&B songs - Twist and Shout and Do You Love Me, the latter going to #1. They were a good band and could sing and play well. They had chart success in England in 1963-1966, but really hit their stride in 1967 with big hits that were also successful in the U.S. - Here Comes My Baby and Silence is Golden, but by then they had left Decca.

Poole left the band in 1966, but they actually got more successful after that.

Listen to this live performance with intricate harmony:

 

I can appreciate that... to a very small degree.

January 1st was a business day -- and Decca probably called the shot on when this session would happen -- take it or leave it.

Think about it -- It's 1961, you're in a struggling band from the North, who no one really cares about or has even even heard of south of Garston, and your new manager has set up a recording audition with one of the largest record labels in the country down in London... a major coup if there ever was one in English rock 'n' roll management history at the time ... and you decide to drink 10 pints of Watney's the night before.

Now this is just me, of course, and there is no true documentation or evidence of just what the Beatles did on the night of 12/31/61, but... f*** the Beatles if they couldn't keep their heads on straight and their boozing affected what was the most important moment of their music career at this point. Jeez, they all wanted music to be their occupation, right? They're not kids at this point, right? They were all over the age of 18...

 

Nearly all...

 

Well George was still 18; not over 18....

 

When I was 18 I would have done exactly the same thing. But that's just me as well.

 

Wasn't there somebody from Decca who had the opportunity to see them in The Cavern but decided not to go because the weather was lousy?

 

I can't say I really blame them. All things considered I'd probably not want to go out in bad weather to see some unknown club band, either!

 

No. Unlike George Martin and Parlophone, someone from Decca did actually see them live before they arrived at the studio -- Dick Rowe had sent A&R assistant Mike Smith up to the Cavern to see a gig.

 

Isn't there a Beatles BBC session "interview" in which the announcer refers to the man that turned them down (no names mentioned) as "kicking himself", and John says something like "I hope he kicks himself to death"? I don't recall exactly and my great BBC Archives book is at home, but I recall hearing that and thinking "oof, that's a bit harsh..."

 

I believe that there is an account in Hunter Davies' Beatles authorized biography from 1968 where one of the Beatles talks about going to Trafalgar Square on the evening of December 31,1961 and watching the drunks fall into the fountain.
Of course, it's an authorized biography, so those drunks could have been the Beatles!

 

This was my first exposure to the Decca material. I remember buying this at my local Zellers (a Canadian department store similar to K-Mart) or A&A Records for $8.99 in 1983. I was 11 at the time. Later on, in 1997, when I went to see the Pete Best Band play a live show in my town, I got this signed by Mr. Best, along with 2 more records, both of Sheridan material. All the songs are in their original form (not edited to make them longer) but more than likely off-speed.

 

I really like that cover! It would make for an awesome t-shirt.

 

Is it likely there will be an Apple release of these recordings eventually? After all, it's an album's worth of Beatles studio recordings.

 

Highly, highly unlikely. The material isn't very commercial or marketable. The Decca material is not The Beatles that they want the public to think of.

 

I really doubt it. Apple is pretty picky about what they do release, and the material is substandard. Plus, ten of the tracks are in public domain in the EU already.

 

Whoa. 'Bout time someone spoke the truth. Excellent review! Now go practice your cursive.

 

Eh wot? Have you written elsewhere about this?

 

The Decca sessions falls under "i like them because it's Beatles history" for me.

I don't ever listen to it in it's entirety but when my iPod shuffles to one of the Decca songs i enjoy it for the historical value.

 

The MacLen compositions are the only things I really like on this session, particularly Love Of The Loved. The guitars just sound so lightweight and tinny, there's no power to any of the performances in general. Almost sounds like they were given instructions not to play too loud. Biggest Beatles mystery of all time has to be how they improved exponentially in just 6 months by the time of their EMI audition.