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1.50pm
1 December 2015
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A while back while doing research for a paper I was writing on The White Album , I stumbled across a documentary on youtube wherein a guy was talking about John writing All You Need Is Love on the acoustic guitar while sitting right next to him. Now, I have been unable to find this documentary again, as I think the video was pulled from YouTube (as many Beatles videos have been recently), so I unfortunately can’t share it here to show you the part I mean. The reason I am looking for it is that, in the background, there is a short audio clip of what sounds to me to be John demoing “All You Need Is Love ” on acoustic guitar. Since hearing it, I’ve been trying to find that recording, in full ideally, but have had no luck. I am 99% sure it was a legit recording.
I was hoping someone on here could help me locate the full recording of that demo. If not, perhaps one of you cna help me figure out what documentary that was. It was an official documentary I believe, from the late 80s I’d say. I remember reading it was one of the pre-Anthology attempts to make a comprehensive documentary, but I may be confusing it with “A Long And Winding Road”, which I do not think has the scene I’m talking about in it. The only other think I remember from the documentary is there’s a segment where they talk about John’s island, and each little “segment” of interviews has it’s own title (ie. the documentary is presented as a series of vignettes).
4.51pm
12 November 2015
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@Cheese Nip 2
Well, I did some research and unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find any kind of demo recordings of All You Need Is Love .
At least not any that were actually recorded by The Beatles. I did learn that it was most likely written between June 7-14, 1967 however, so maybe that’ll help. That would be a really cool demo to hear though!
However, I might have found the documentary you were talking about. There was an official documentary made in 1982 called The Compleat Beatles. I think it was made for TV, but it did see a release on VHS and Laserdisc. Unfortunately, when the Anthology project was started, Paul bought the negatives for the movie to make way for his new documentary. So this means that it will probably never be rereleased. The good news is that it sold pretty well back then, so if you still have a VCR, you could probably snatch up a VHS copy from eBay for pretty cheap.
I think this is the documentary you were talking about, but I could always be wrong. It could’ve been a documentary about John Lennon or maybe the BBC from around that time period. Anyway, that’s what I could dig up, and I hope it’s helpful to you, Cheers!
Grooving some cookie spaghetti since 1968.
12.01am
1 December 2015
Offline @limitlessundyinglove
That could be it! I’ll watch through it tomorrow and see if I can find the clip to see if it is in fact the documentary I saw. And of course, I’ll share the demo if I find it!
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limitlessundyinglove2.48am
Reviewers
Moderators
1 May 2011
Offline No demo of ‘All You Need Is Love ‘ has been booted or surfaced, the only alternates we have are
- Rehearsal & Take 58 – broadcast on ‘Our World’ on the 25th June 1967
- RM11 – Unused extended mix prepared for the ‘Yellow Submarine ‘ film (in the end a shorter edit was used)
- 2009 Rock Band (which has generated a thousand and three remixes)
- Very brief excerpts of dialogue from the studio sessions used on ‘Anthology’, ‘Love’ and ‘Rock Band’
An early basic take acetate of ‘All You Need Is Love ‘ was auctioned years ago and sold (and may be the one that appeared on ebay back in 2008) has never surfaced in the underground market.
An alternate ‘All You Need Is Love ‘ was included in a working list of possible tracks for ‘Anthology 2 ‘ but obviously was overlooked.
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12.05pm
12 November 2015
Offline @Cheese Nip 2
I do hope you find what you’re looking for. In The Beatles Recording Sessions by Mark Lewisohn, it says that The first 33 takes of All You Need Is Love were recorded on June 14, but I couldn’t find any earlier recordings of the song. That’s not to say they don’t exist though. Let us know if anything else that’s cool comes up. 
Grooving some cookie spaghetti since 1968.
1.00pm
1 December 2015
Offline @limitlessundyinglove I definitely will! Still trying to track down the documentary I was talking about. I skimmed through Compleat Beatles, but it wasn’t the one. I think you had the right idea though and it may have been a John Lennon documentary. Whatever the film was though, it was licensed, as it had actual Beatles music in it. Hopefully I find it cause I’m starting to feel like a crazy person!
@meanmistermustard Thanks for the info! Perhaps what I heard was from the rehearsal or was a snippet rom the sessions. In the film, it was only in there very briefly, and John was singing the “Love love love” part with some guitar strumming if I remember correctly. Perhaps it wasn’t a demo at all, and what they used in the film was all there was
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limitlessundyinglove12.12am
31 July 2014
Offline I saw “The Compleat Beatles” in a movie theater back around 1982. Sad thing is that it ended with the sound of four gunshots. I remember that very distinctly. Have never seen it anywhere else or online.
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9.20am
22 December 2013
Offline limitlessundyinglove said
There was an official documentary made in 1982 called The Compleat Beatles. I think it was made for TV, but it did see a release on VHS and Laserdisc.
I remember this documentary very well. ‘All You Need Is Love ‘ is showcased, but the footage is from the ‘Our World’ broadcast.
Interesting enough, the single’s B-Side ‘Baby You’re A Rich Man ‘ was said to have been played on acoustic guitar by George Harrison while he, his wife Patti & Derek Taylor were tripping around Haight-Ashbury that summer on LSD, too bad nobody recorded THAT…:-)
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