Studio Two (control room), EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Producer: George Martin
Engineer: Geoff Emerick
In preparation for the release of the US compilation Hey Jude, stereo mixes of two of the songs were prepared on this day.
The songs were ‘Lady Madonna’ and ‘Rain’, which had previously only been mixed in mono. Each was mixed just once in this 2.30-5.30pm session.
A new stereo mix of ‘Octopus’s Garden’ was also made, but for a different purpose. Ringo Starr had agreed to take part in an hour-long television special about George Martin, With A Little Help From My Friends, which was shown in the UK on 24 and 26 December 1969.
The mix of ‘Octopus’s Garden’ omitted The Beatles’ bass guitar, lead guitar and piano, plus most of the vocals. These were re-recorded – with Starr and three session musicians – on 8 December at EMI Studios. The reason for this was a Musicians’ Union ban on miming to records; because the new parts were different from those on Abbey Road, it was enough to fool the union into thinking the show contained a live take.
Also on this day...
- 2017: Paul McCartney live: nib Stadium, Perth
- 2009: Paul McCartney live: Color Line Arena, Hamburg
- 1991: George Harrison live: Osaka-jō Hall, Osaka
- 1979: Wings live: Brighton Centre, Brighton
- 1974: US single release: Walking In The Park With Eloise by Paul McCartney
- 1969: George Harrison live: Colston Hall, Bristol with Delaney & Bonnie
- 1969: Television: 24 Hours: The World Of John And Yoko – day one
- 1969: John Lennon is interviewed for Man Of The Decade
- 1968: US album release: Wonderwall Music by George Harrison
- 1966: Mixing, editing: Pantomime: Everywhere It’s Christmas
- 1965: George Harrison’s Gretsch guitar is destroyed
- 1964: Ringo Starr’s tonsils are removed
- 1963: The Beatles live: Grosvenor House, London
- 1963: Television: The Morecambe And Wise Show
- 1962: The Beatles live: Embassy Cinema, Peterborough
- 1961: The Beatles live: Cavern Club, Liverpool (evening)
Want more? Visit the Beatles history section.
The stereo remix of Rain is also at standard pitch (i.e. faster in tempo and higher in pitch than the original mono version) – listen to them back-to-back and you’ll hear. I can’t find any info on this online or in Lewisohn’s book. Anyone know why this was done? Or if it was intentional.
The stereo mix of “Rain” sounds very bad: the backing track is placed dead center and so loud it drowns the vocals which were panned all the way to left (John’s main vocal) and right (backing vocals).
The new stereo mix made in 2015 for the 1+ video collection is much better.