Recording: Yellow Submarine film score

Studio One, EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Producers: George Martin, Ron Richards, John Burgess
Engineer: Geoff Emerick

The Yellow Submarine album, containing a mixture of Beatles songs and original film score by George Martin, was released in January 1969, six months after the film went on general release.

The delay was for two main reasons: The Beatles were focused on the completion of the White Album, and Martin wished to re-record his orchestral score. The initial sessions for the latter took place at Olympic Sound Studios, and were engineered by Keith Grant and George Chkiantz.

The date(s) of the Olympic sessions are not known, although the results were included in the Yellow Submarine film, which premiered on 17 July 1968. The first part of the film score to be re-recorded was ‘A Beginning’, which was remade on 22 July as an introduction for ‘Don’t Pass Me By’.

On 22 and 23 October 1968 Martin conducted the 41-strong George Martin Orchestra in Studio One at EMI Studios. He co-produced the sessions with Ron Richards and John Burgess, with Geoff Emerick engineering and Nick Webb the tape op.

Each of the sessions lasted for three hours. The results were mixed in stereo and edited for release on 24 and 25 October. The mono album was a fold-down of the stereo mix.