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7.00am
14 October 2009
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All I can say is this: it was the one thing in my life I wanted to do that I never thought I would…….simply a dream come true!
The place is amazing, just knowing what actually went on inside those four walls.
I’ve taken some photos and will post later……..
"If we feel our heads starting to swell.....we just look at Ringo!"
3.42pm
31 March 2008
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You went to one of the lectures? Please tell us all you can – I was really tempted to go to one but they’re expensive (and now sold out) and I wasn’t sure I could get the time off. Plus I have the Recording The Beatles book, and figured much of the stuff I was interested in would be in that (I don’t really care about the non-Beatles stuff that happened there).
Studio Two is amazing. So glad you got the opportunity to go. There’s a feeling in that room that I’ve never had anywhere else, and I’ve walked the zebra crossing, stood in the Rock ‘N’ Roll doorway, been to the Casbah etc…
Can buy me love! Please consider supporting the Beatles Bible on Amazon
Or buy my paperback/ebook! Riding So High – The Beatles and Drugs
Don't miss The Bowie Bible – now live!
6.52pm
14 October 2009
Offline Hi Joe – yes, the lecture by the authors of Recording The Beatles. I’ll copy & paste what I recorded in my diary – well bits of it anyway!!
The Day A Dream Came True –
I entered the hallowed Studio 2 at Abbey Road Studios. To begin it was kind of weird in a sense that I couldn’t take in exactly where I was. We were allowed to take all the photos we wanted inside the studio and there were many old bits of equipment and instruments there to see. Some more Beatle related than others. I went up the stairs to the outside of the control room (we weren’t allowed in there, but it was so modern now it wouldn’t have been the same).
I was still trying to get some sense as to the occasion when, during the presentation (which was really interesting and all about the history; not just The Beatles) they told us where The Beatles generally set up and played. Then they played a snippet of Twist And Shout . At that point it hit me that here I was in the same room that track was recorded and that forty eight years ago they were ‘there’ stood in ‘that’ corner actually recording this very song. I felt quite emotional……this was actually it – my dream had finally come true: I was in a place that I’d wished I could be in for many, many years thinking it would never be.
During the talk it was announced Ken Scott was present (he was at the back).
The talk lasted for 90 minutes and then I took a few more photos. During the talk we were told that one of the pianos there was the actual one used on The Fool On The Hill , A Day In The Life and Magical Mystery Tour . I couldn’t resist – I had to play a note and so I did. With my left forefinger I hit a key and now I can say that I’ve played in Abbey Road Studio 2 on the very same piano The Beatles had played on!!
Not only that but we also learned that the chairs in the studio are the ones originally bought when the studio was first used as they were ones that didn’t creak when sat on! Sure enough, if you look at photos of The Beatles in the studio you will see them sat on these very same chairs. So the question was – how many times had any one of them sat on the chair I was sitting on, or had lent their guitar on or up against it!!!
Before leaving the premises we went out to do a quick session at the front steps. Never again would I get this opportunity and it was quite funny watching the people outside on the road seeing Tania [that’s Mrs MJB!] take my photo – they were probably thinking “how the hell can he be allowed in there?”.
So that was it………….I think it only really started to sink in what I had just done as we were on our way home on the tube.
That’s it – one of the most enjoyable days of my life! They also had the ‘Mrs Mills’ piano there plus the Celeste that was used on Baby It’s You .
I’ve now ordered the book by the two authors, but waht a killer prtice. Not only $100 for the book but, wait for it, $72 shipping to the UK!
The following people thank mjb for this post:
Mr. Kite, Beatlebug, I was the walrus"If we feel our heads starting to swell.....we just look at Ringo!"
7.52pm
7 November 2010
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That just sounds so incredible! Wowww. 
I think it's great you're going through a phase,
and I'm awfully glad it'll all be over in a couple
of days
2020
1.33am
10 August 2011
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Imagine … a 3-D, holographic movie of the Beatles recording their songs right there in the studio, complete with banter, arguments, laughs, etc… yeah, imagine.
The following people thank Into the Sky with Diamonds for this post:
Mr. Kite, Beatlebug, I was the walrus"Into the Sky with Diamonds" (the Beatles and the Race to the Moon – a history)
6.32am
14 October 2009
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[Image Can Not Be Found]
If this doesn’t work, I apologise, but here goes. This SHOULD be a photo from within studio 2!
Update: whoops – no luck. Waiting to hear from Joe on how to do it!!
"If we feel our heads starting to swell.....we just look at Ringo!"
9.24am
31 March 2008
Offline Sent you an email, but for anyone else wondering, they need to be uploaded to webspace first. I don’t let people upload to my server. There’s a how-to guide here: https://www.beatlesbible.com/f…..ng-images/
Can buy me love! Please consider supporting the Beatles Bible on Amazon
Or buy my paperback/ebook! Riding So High – The Beatles and Drugs
Don't miss The Bowie Bible – now live!
3.08pm
19 September 2010
Offline MJB – two things:
1 – I am ridiculously jealous, you have no idea. Maybe in early twenties *sigh*
2 – Does this mean you’ll be posting at a regular pace from here on in? Cause frankly, you should!
As if it matters how a man falls down.'
'When the fall's all that's left, it matters a great deal.
11.19am
Reviewers
14 April 2010
Offline mjb – thank you for sharing your diary of the visit with us. I have dreamed about such an opportunity so many times and still cannot imagine how it would feel.
To the fountain of perpetual mirth, let it roll for all its worth. And all the children boogie.
2.18pm
14 October 2009
Offline OK…..here goes with some photos!
"If we feel our heads starting to swell.....we just look at Ringo!"
2.37pm
14 October 2009
Offline This is the piano used on The Fool On The Hill and A Day In The Life ….. plus others of course. I’ve actually played it, in Studio 2!!! OK, I know it was one very quick note with my left forefinger when no one was looking but hey, I can say I have played a piano played on a Beatle song in Studio 2 at Abbey Road – so there 🙂 If you look at the image on the piano of the Beatles Book you will see Paul playing this piano. To my memory that was taken during the Paperback Writer sessions…….
The following people thank mjb for this post:
TheBeatlesJohn"If we feel our heads starting to swell.....we just look at Ringo!"
2.41pm
14 October 2009
Offline Another tale: the story of the chairs!
Many years ago these chairs were purchased for Studio 2 as, if you sat on them and moved, they made no noise. This was naturally ideal for a recording studio. If you go through all the old photos of The Beatles in the studio you will see these very same chairs. Her’es one with Paul and George sat on them.
So here’s the ‘anorak’ bit: I sat on a chair that MUST HAVE once, at least, have been sat on by John, or had Paul’s Hofner bass leant against it!
"If we feel our heads starting to swell.....we just look at Ringo!"
2.42pm
14 October 2009
Offline And finaly – the proof. MJB on the steps after the presentation. Notice that big grin on my face 🙂
"If we feel our heads starting to swell.....we just look at Ringo!"
7.28pm
31 March 2008
Offline So jealous. I really wish I’d bought a ticket now. Glad you were able to share the photos – it looks like an amazing day.
Can buy me love! Please consider supporting the Beatles Bible on Amazon
Or buy my paperback/ebook! Riding So High – The Beatles and Drugs
Don't miss The Bowie Bible – now live!
7.31pm
10 August 2011
Offline MJB, that is absolutely awesome.
The closest I’ve come are the steps leading up to the studio; I felt pretty good about that until I saw your post!
"Into the Sky with Diamonds" (the Beatles and the Race to the Moon – a history)
10.24pm
20 September 2011
Offline Wow. So jealous. Sitting on a seat you know they would have sat on. Seeing the piano used for A Day In The Life .
On a side note it’s really weird seeing you guys in real pictures.
"Now and then, though, someone does begin to grow differently. Instead of down, his feet grow up toward the sky. But we do our best to discourage awkward things like that."
"What happens to them?" insisted Milo.
"Oddly enough, they often grow ten times the size of everyone else," said Alec thoughtfully, "and I’ve heard that they walk among the stars."
–The Phantom Tollbooth
11.46pm
Reviewers
14 April 2010
Offline Thanks again mjb – that first picture gives me goose bumps just knowing where Yoko’s bed was in the summer of 1969.
But seriously folks… fantastic pictures! In the second one, I can imagine Ringo in the back doorway shouting “cut the cables!” while recording “Yellow Submarine “.
The ear-to-ear grins on both mjb and ItSwD did not go unnoticed.
The following people thank Zig for this post:
Mr. KiteTo the fountain of perpetual mirth, let it roll for all its worth. And all the children boogie.
3.52pm
1 May 2010
Offline Fantastic pics!! Thanks for sharing!! 
Here comes the sun….. Scoobie-doobie……
Something in the way she moves…..attracts me like a cauliflower…
Bop. Bop, cat bop. Go, Johnny, Go.
Beware of Darkness…
2.40pm
1 December 2009
Offline (sorry for double post)
GEORGE: In fact, The Detroit Sound. JOHN: In fact, yes. GEORGE: In fact, yeah. Tamla-Motown artists are our favorites. The Miracles. JOHN: We like Marvin Gaye. GEORGE: The Impressions PAUL & GEORGE: Mary Wells. GEORGE: The Exciters. RINGO: Chuck Jackson. JOHN: To name but eighty.
2.42pm
1 December 2009
Offline Yeah, thanks for sharing, those are fascinating!
It’s too bad the original recording equipment isn’t there anymore. I wonder whatever became of the 8-track machine and mixing boards and whatnot? Hope they didn’t just dump it all in the Thames when they replaced it with digital stuff…
GEORGE: In fact, The Detroit Sound. JOHN: In fact, yes. GEORGE: In fact, yeah. Tamla-Motown artists are our favorites. The Miracles. JOHN: We like Marvin Gaye. GEORGE: The Impressions PAUL & GEORGE: Mary Wells. GEORGE: The Exciters. RINGO: Chuck Jackson. JOHN: To name but eighty.
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