10-10-2013 @ 22:20
JOHN, PAUL, GEORGE AND RINGO SHAKE UP THE AIRWAVES
Exclusive 5 Track Sampler including lead track ‘Words Of Love’
In 1994, The Beatles’ Live at the BBC was released to worldwide acclaim - hitting #1 in the U.K., #3 in the U.S. and selling more than five million copies within six weeks. A new companion to The Beatles’ first BBC collection, On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2, will be released Monday, November 11. On Air’s 63 tracks, none of which overlaps with The Beatles’ first BBC release, include 37 previously unreleased performances and 23 previously unreleased recordings of in-studio banter and conversation between the band’s members and their BBC radio hosts.
The Beatles: On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2 (5 Track Sampler)
1. WORDS OF LOVE
2. PLEASE MISTER POSTMAN
3. I SAW HER STANDING THERE
4. DO YOU WANT TO KNOW A SECRET
5. BOYS
The sampler kicks off with lead track ‘Words Of Love’. Recorded in the Paris Theatre 16th July 1963, it was originally released in the UK by Buddy Holly in July 1958. This BBC recording was broadcast fifteen months before the song’s inclusion on Beatles For Sale. John and Paul sang the two-part harmony which, through primitive but effective overdubbing, Buddy had sung with himself.
The second track, recorded 10th July 1963 in Studio Two, Aeolian Hall, London, is another cover from this period. ‘Please Mister Postman’ was originally released by The Marvelettes and it was the first pop #1 in the US for Berry Gordy’s Motown company. During this time, the BBC failed to play Motown hits and it was only with the success of the Beatles and their championing of Motown that brought the music to the masses in the UK.
The third track is a Beatles original and perhaps one of their most famous songs. ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ was recorded 7th September 1963 at the BBC Playhouse Theatre in London, and having recorded it 11 times over their career for the BBC, this particular version was taped for the fifth anniversary of Saturday Club.
The fourth track is another Beatles original, ‘Do You Want To Know A Secret’ went to #2 in the U.S.A and later to number one in the UK when covered by the Dakotas. This version was recorded at Studio Two, Aeolian Hall, London on the 19th July 1963.
The final track, ‘Boys’ is a cover of the Shirelles’ flipside of their biggest hit ‘Will You Love Me Tomorrow’. Recorded on 17th June 1963 at Studio Five, BBC Maida Vale, London, the Beatles version was later released in 1995 on an EP of four BBC performances called Baby It’s You.
Between March 1962 and June 1965, no fewer than 275 unique musical performances by The Beatles were broadcast by the BBC in the U.K. The group played songs on 39 radio shows in 1963 alone. On their busiest BBC day, July 16, 1963, The Beatles recorded 18 songs for three editions of their Pop Go The Beatles series in fewer than seven hours.
On Air - Live at the BBC Volume Two was compiled and researched by producers Kevin Howlett and Mike Heatley. Both albums have been meticulously mastered by engineers Guy Massey and Alex Wharton at Abbey Road Studios. The booklets for both collections include Kevin Howlett’s essays on the history of The Beatles’ BBC radio sessions and his detailed commentaries on all of the tracks.