jfn Beatles Music & Memories

It comes in a box

In this multi-platform, multi-device, thousand-channel age we live in, it must seem almost unbelievable to imagine an era when a national broadcasting system consisted of just three radio channels and two TV stations. But that was the set-up in Britain in 1962, when The Beatles made their first appearance on BBC Radio. By 1946 the British Broadcasting Corporation (the "Beeb") had reconfigured its radio operations into three nationwide stations: the Home Service (set up in 1939 as the channel focused on news, information, talk programmes, drama, and educational programmes for schools); the Light Programme (established in 1945 as the home for popular music and light entertainment); and the Third Programme (set up in 1946 as the purveyor of classical music and "high-brow" culture).

BBC Radio recording studio at Paris Theatre in Lower Regent Street

The BBC - a non-commercial public broadcaster - had been granted total control of the radio airwaves in Britain by a Royal Charter on January 1st., 1927. Its mandate - according to the first managing director, John Reith - was to "inform, educate and entertain". Up until the late fifties, popular music on the radio (the "wireless" as it was called back then) was dominated by crooners and dance-bands. Most of this middle-of-the-road pop music was heard on the Light Programme. Rock 'n' Roll music was almost completely absent from the airwaves. Part of the problem was "needle time" - an agreement between the BBC and both the Musicians' Union and Phonographic Performance Limited (a performance-rights organization and music-licensing company set up in the UK by EMI and Decca in 1934). The agreement struck between them stipulated that the BBC could only play up to five hours of commercial gramophone records during each broadcast day. This meant that a lot of popular songs and pieces that had been released on records were heard on the BBC not in their original form, but interpreted by one of several in-house orchestras and bands - like the BBC Radio Orchestra and the Northern Dance Orchestra, based in Manchester. Middle-of-the-roads-ville!

The BBC Northern Dance Orchestra (based in Manchester) - rock 'n' roll it ain't!

So it was hard to get access to rock 'n' roll music back then. You might get to listen to new records at friends' houses; or people would bring their collection to a party; or you could listen to discs in the "browseries" at record shops - like Brian Epstein's NEMS record shop in Liverpool; or listen to them on a coffee shop jukebox; or blasting from a tinny loudspeaker at a seaside fairground.

It wasn't until the late fifties that the national broadcaster began to consider the kind of pop music that excited the kids. On weekdays in 1962 there was just one thirty-minute radio programme devoted to the rock 'n' roll sounds the teenagers were desperate to hear. These programmes - broadcast at 5 p.m. (soon after the kids were home from school) - were known collectively as Teenagers Turn. Each day's programme had a different title: the Thursday edition, for example, was known as Here We Go - recorded at the Playhouse Theatre in Manchester, under the production of Peter Pilbeam. It was on this programme that The Beatles made their radio debut on March 8th., 1962.

Lee Peters hosting Pop Go The Beatles - summer of 1963

The only ways for The Beatles to develop their popularity across the nation then - they still hadn't secured a recording contract - were through live stage performances and appearances on radio and television. The media work began slowly in 1962 - they did four radio shows that year - but by the time they had released their second hit single, in early 1963, they were in constant demand. And by the end of that year that had made almost 50 appearances on BBC radio. Once they hit their peak of this early fame - which the press soon dubbed Beatlemania - they were given their own radio series. Through the summer of 1963 they hosted Pop Go The Beatles, a fifteen-week run of thirty-minute programmes for which they would have to provide six songs per show. Of the 56 different songs they performed on Pop Go The Beatles, 26 of them were never released during their career. And so it went throughout their time on "the wireless". Between March 1962 and June 1965 they played 88 different songs on 53 radio programmes - a total of 275 musical performances. 36 of those songs were never released on record. But they are of tremendous interest, because many of them were staples of their live performances - cover versions which reveal some of the main influences on their style and repertoire.

Chuck Berry was their favourite. They did nine of his songs. And - except for "Roll Over Beethoven", which featured George - John took lead vocals on all of them. They did six covers of Carl Perkins on Pop Go The Beatles. Perkins was one of George's favourites. They did four each of Elvis and Little Richard - interesting, because they recorded all of those Little Richard songs, but never covered Elvis on disc. They loved his early phase, but seemed to have become disenchanted with the post-army Elvis.

The legacy that The Beatles left to the BBC only really began to get its due in 1982. To honour the twentieth anniversary of the band's first radio broadcast (March 8, 1962), BBC producers Jeff Griffin and Kevin Howlett put together a special programme called The Beatles at the Beeb. They managed to dig up from various different sources tapes and records (from BBC Transcription recordings released to radio stations around the World) that included songs and voice-only interludes featuring the Fab Four in playful conversation with various well-known BBC "comperes" (hosts) of the period. The response to this one-off special was so favourable that Howlett returned to the source material in 1988 - by then a lot more material was unearthed - and produced a series of 14 half-hour shows called The Beeb's Lost Beatles Tapes. And then in November 1994 a double-CD collection titled "The Beatles - Live at the BBC" was released. It contained 56 of the BBC sessions from the 60s, and sold five million copies in just six weeks.

Howlett's first book about the Fab Four at the BBC (radio only)

After the success of the first radio special - The Beatles at the Beeb - Kevin Howlett prepared a modest book to accompany the programme. Published by the BBC in 1982, the book - also called The Beatles at the Beeb - tells "the story of their radio career 1962-65". The first section of the book describes their radio work at the BBC during those four frenetic years. The second section provides information and commentaries about the 88 songs they performed on radio - the most important part of the book for serious fans. And the final part charts the dates and details of the individual programmes. I picked up a copy of The Beatles at the Beeb when it was first released. It's a small, 128-page paperback, but packed with precious and little-known - at that time - details about a very important element of the band's career.

From 1982 we flash forward to November, 2013 - a second double-CD of Beatles radio recordings was released, called On Air - Live at the BBC, Volume Two. But more importantly, the CD release was coordinated with the publication of a new book by Kevin Howlett. This one is titled The Beatles: The BBC Archives 1962-1970, a lavishly-illustrated, 336-page hardcover published by Harper Design. In addition to fleshing out the material covered in his first book, in this volume Howlett documents their performances on BBC-TV and the non-performing appearances - mostly interviews - on both radio and TV in the late 60s. It's a comprehensive and detailed account - clearly the definitive treatment of the subject.

The Beatles with BBC Radio producer Bernie Andrews

Any fan of The Beatles who grew up through the 1960s listening to BBC Radio, and recognizes the names of programmes like Saturday Club, 625 Special, Top of the Pops, and recalls the names of hosts like Brian Matthew, Alan Freeman, Rodney Burke, Lee Peters, and David Jacobs will get a lot of pleasure out of this book. Newcomers to this aspect of the Fab Four's career might also find this day-by-day, week-by-week story of their work on BBC Radio and TV of interest.

The main body of the text consists of nine chapters - one for each year running between 1962 and 1970. Each chapter begins with an introductory essay that summarizes the main social and political events of the year; that's followed by a full account of how The Beatles and the Beeb interacted that year; and the chapter concludes with precise details about each radio or TV programme they appeared on (date of recording, date and time of broadcast and rebroadcast, and channel of transmission). It's a complete inventory.

BBC Radio audition in Manchester (Stuart Sutcliffe on bass; Pete Best on drums)

How did it all begin? The Beatles travelled to Manchester for their first audition with BBC Radio on February 12, 1962. They performed McCartney's "Like Dreamers Do", Lennon's "Hello Little Girl", and covers of "Memphis, Tennessee" and "'Til There Was You". Producer Peter Pilbeam wrote this astute comment about the band on the official BBC audition form: "an unusual group, not as "Rocky" as most, more C&W, with a tendency to play music." About the relative merits of the prime vocalists, he wrote: "John Lennon - Yes; Paul McCartney - No."

Having passed that formal appraisal from Mr. Pilbeam, The Beatles returned to Manchester on March 7th., 1962 and were recorded live in front of a studio audience at the Playhouse Theatre. They wore their new suits for the first time. John did "Memphis, Tennessee" again, and The Marvelettes'"Please Mr. Postman"; Paul did Roy Orbison's "Dream Baby". The performance went well and was broadcast the next day. Pilbeam booked them for two more shows in 1962 - broadcast on June 15th. and October 26th. By the time of that last appearance in Manchester, they had a new single to promote ("Love Me Do") and a new drummer, replacing Pete Best.

"Some Other Guy" - The Beatles filmed by Granada TV at The Cavern

The Beatles' first performance in front of TV cameras happened at The Cavern in Liverpool on August 22nd., 1962. But it wasn't filmed by the Beeb. Granada Television, the regional station in north-west England that was affiliated with ITV (Independent Television - a commercial alternative to the BBC), recorded the lunchtime show on Mathew Street. The footage showed the band doing one of their standout songs - "Some Other Guy", with John and Paul doing a dual lead-vocal throughout. The performance was good, but the quality of the picture was not. Granada decided not to broadcast it at the time, but they unearthed the footage much later, after the band had made it very big - airing it first on November 6th., 1963.

The Beatles did their first audition with BBC-TV on November 23rd., 1962. They passed the audition with no problem, but they were so busy now, and the options for performances on BBC-TV were less numerous and more competitive than for the radio, that the band had already done 11 shows for ITV before they put in their first BBC appearance on the 625 Special on April 16, 1963. This discrepancy between the two TV systems continued throughout 1963: only 9 of their 36 TV appearances that year were on the Beeb's television channel.

Weekly guide to BBC Radio and TV

The Beatles started to make regular appearances in BBC's RadioTimes - the Beeb's weekly programming guide - on the cover and inside. The cover of one edition in December, 1963, promoted their appearance on the TV programme Juke Box Jury. It was their most significant TV gig for BBC-TV that year. Juke Box Jury was a very popular staple of Saturday-evening viewing. By 1963 it averaged about 10 million viewers per episode. Each week a new panel of four celebrities - usually from the world of entertainment - would hear excerpts from brand new 45 rpm records ("singles"). Each would then be asked to make a brief comment and vote on whether they thought the disc would be a "Hit" or a "Miss". Lennon had actually been on the programme before - without his bandmates - on June 29th. The jury was usually an eclectic mix of personalities; so it was a groundbreaking event to have all four members of the same pop group serving at the same time.

Posing as Juke Box Jury with host David Jacobs (7 December 1963)

Juke Box Jury was normally recorded in London at the BBC-TV Theatre in Shepherd's Bush Green, hosted by David Jacobs. For the special Beatles edition on December 7th., 1963, the programme was filmed at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool in front of an invited audience - members of The Beatles' Northern Area Fan Club. The show was a huge success - drawing an incredible viewership of 23 million - including me (11 yrs old)! Incredibly, in the early to mid-60s, the bulk of TV programmes filmed by the BBC, and most of the audio recordings done for the "wireless" were not saved. The film and tape were reused. The Beatles appearance on Juke Box Jury is gone - just a memory for people like me, who tuned in between 6:05 and 6:35 that early December evening.

"All You Need is Love" - and satellite transmission (25 June 1967)

Another memorable Beatles' event on BBC-TV was their appearance on the special "One World" telecast. It was the first TV programme to link five continents live via satellite. The two-hour programme was to contain short features from 14 contributing countries around the globe. The BBC wrote to Brian Epstein in February, 1967 explaining an idea that they had come up with for the British feature: "We would like to offer from Britain the subject of The Beatles at work ... in a recording studio making a disc." The band agreed. An remote broadcast was organised from EMI's Abbey Road - Studio One. Lennon wrote (or finished, perhaps) a song just for the occasion - "All You Need Is Love". The band prepared a basic rhythm track; for the broadcast Lennon sang the lead vocal live (nonchalantly chewing gum at the same time) to the pre-recorded track, and the group was accompanied by a symphony orchestra. The historic broadcast took place on June 25th., 1967 - at the height of the "summer of love". An estimated global audience of 500 million people watched this first significant use of satellite broadcasting.

The Beatles with ubiquitous BBC Radio host Brian Matthew

By 1964 BBC Radio was being hard-pressed by the "pirate stations" - commercial radio enterprises that were set up on boats in the North Sea and English Channel, just beyond the territorial limits and the control of the British government. Radio Caroline was the first, but lots more floating stations followed. BBC executives realized that they had to respond to the demographic shift. They could not continue to limit "pop groups" (rock 'n' roll bands) to a few brief radio programmes, and the occasional spin of a hit record on Childrens' Favourites (with Uncle Mac), Housewives' Choice, and Two-Way Family Favourites. Bernie Andrews, one of the Beeb's more forward-thinking radio producers of pop music programming, had been pushing for a late-night pop show. He was finally recruited to establish such a show. It was called Top Gearand it would be hosted by the affable and ubiquitous Brian Matthew. The programme featured straight rock music, not a bland middle-of-the-road mixture of "light entertainment". The Beatles appeared on the very first edition of Top Gear on July 16th., 1964. They engaged in some typical repartee with the host. One of the topics of discussion was the band's songwriting. And it came up that Ringo was now attempting to pen a song - at which point Paul breaks into the opening lyric of "Don't Pass Me By", a country-flavoured ditty not recorded by the band until four years later for the "White Album". Another interesting titbit from Top Gear (this from November, 1964) reveals a never-to-be broken policy of the band to keep singles and albums as separate entities. Brian Matthew muses about the group releasing tracks from an album as singles. John quickly corrects him: "You can't release singles off an LP after the LP has been out." Brian responds: "A lot of people do." But not The Beatles. It did become de rigueur in the 70s, however, to exploit a hugely successful album by releasing three or four of the tracks later as singles.

A vinyl LP from the BBC Transcription Service

Amongst the many radio and TV interviews transcribed for this book, there are four that Matthew did for the BBC Transcription Service. This division of the Corporation was set up in the mid-1930s in order to distribute British culture to the Empire and, later, the Commonwealth. BBC offices were set up in countries all around the World. Radio stations in those countries could buy the rights to broadcast BBC Radio programmes (music, comedy, current affairs, drama, etc.) twice within a limited period. These programmes were shipped to the interested stations on discs - shellac 78s in the early days, and then vinyl LPs. In the mid-60s Brian Matthew began interviewing rock stars for the Transcription Service. They were given the old-fashioned name of Pop Profiles. He talked to John and George in November, 1965, and then did the same with Paul and Ringo in May, 1966. These interviews have recently been released in their entirety on the double-CD BBC release On Air - Live at the BBC, Volume Two.

One interesting, and amusing, feature that runs through this book are samples provided of detailed Audience Research Reports. After most significant programmes - on both the Radio and TV services - a department at the Beeb would do comprehensive research about the audience's reaction. This research was not restricted to the demographic that one might expect that programme to be aimed at. Media back then were not "narrow-casting"; they were doing true broadcasting. All sorts of age-groups and many different social types would be listening to what the BBC was offering.

Here's a choice example. The Beatles made their 53rd. and final musical broadcast for BBC Radio on May 26th., 1965. It was heard later on June 7th., Whit Monday - a Bank Holiday - on a show called The Beatles Invite You to Take a Ticket to Ride. Did everyone by now just love the Fab Four? About 25% of the audience were characterized as negatively disposed to the entertainment on offer. They described pop music, in general, as "ghastly", "insane", and "jungle music". The Beatles tracks, in particular, were dismissed as "monotonous bangings". As one listener expostulated: "Oh, the deadly monotony of this kind of music!"

The affable Brian Matthew again - host of Easy Beat, Saturday Club, Top Gear

The interviews - both individual and group - featured in this book show a steady change in tone and content. In the early days the band were playful, cheeky, and irreverent. The between-song banter with the radio hosts was full of laughs and send-ups. This was new, at the time, and very refreshing. Most of the interview snippets heard on the two double-CD sets of BBC radio performances are of this type (except thePop Profiles material I mentioned earlier). But as time went on, especially after the band stopped touring and stopped performing live on radio and TV, the interviews (more often done as solo conversations with individual Beatles) became more thoughtful, decidedly serious - and sometimes, even, a bit weary. Two interesting examples of this tendency stand out for me in this book.

Victor Spinetti discussing The Lennon Play:In His Own Write

There is a fascinating dual interview done by Peter Lewis with John Lennon and Victor Spinetti for the BBC2 TV programme Release. Spinetti has the distinction of appearing as an actor in all three Beatles' films - A Hard Day's Night, Help! andMagical Mystery Tour. Amazing, really! He was also involved with a 1968 National Theatre production called The Lennon Play: In His Own Write, a dramatized version of material from Lennon's two books of surreal and absurdist writings called In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works. The interview revolves around John's fascination with how well the dramatization catches the mood and meaning of his acerbic work. With his typical lack of restraint, Lennon declares at one point: "I think our society is run by insane people for insane objectives."

And then there are excerpts from a BBC Radio 1 programme called Scene and Heard, hosted by David Wigg. Ten of its editions in 1969 featured Wigg in conversations with each of the individual Beatles. The talk is relaxed and each of the soon-to-be-ex-Beatles is candid about their current opinions, and the state of their relationships with each other. The best of this material was released on vinyl in 1976 by Polydor Records as The Beatles Tapes - a double album sporting an all-black cover with sparse white lettering. It could be called "The Black Album"! Of course, I bought it back then, as soon as it came out - adding it to my quickly-expanding Beatles collection of recordings, movies and books.

They were even on Grandstand!

Here are a few other things covered in the book that I found of interest. When The Beatles made their historic first visit to the U.S. - primarily to appear on the Ed Sullivan Show - Brian Matthew phoned them soon after their arrival in New York City on February 8th., 1964.. The interview - done via the trans-Atlantic telephone cable - was aired on Saturday Club. The band returned to the U.K. on February 22nd. It happened to be early on a Saturday morning. For BBC-TV, Saturday afternoons were devoted to sports programming; from 1:00 - 5:15 they would broadcast Grandstand, hosted by the versatile David Coleman. On that particular Saturday, Coleman had been dispatched to Heathrow airport at 7:00 a.m., in order to greet the band and interview them exclusively for BBC-TV. So there they were, at the beginning of that week's Grandstand broadcast talking to a sports journalist about their triumphant visit to The States. In the midst of this exuberant interview, Coleman asked the lads if they supported Liverpool Football Club (what about Everton, David?). Paul - on behalf of "plastic fans" everywhere - declared: "We support whoever's winning all the time." Speaking of sports, The Beatles concert at Shea Stadium, in Queens, New York City, on August 15th., 1965, was eventually broadcast on BBC-TV 1 on March 1st., 1966. The production team cheated with the sound - bringing in the band to CTS Studios in London, in order to do some post-production overdubs.

First and last appearance on Top of the Pops - miming to "Paperback Writer" and "Rain"

BBC-TV's flagship pop-music programme was the weekly Top of the Pops. It had been running every Thursday evening since January 1st., 1964. The Beatles had never appeared live on the show - for their most-recent singles they had supplied the programme with filmed performances. But finally they did do the show - miming to both sides on their new "Paperback Writer / Rain" single. Coincidentally, it was not only their first live appearance, it was also their last; in fact, it turned out to be their last "performance" on a TV pop programme.

"I Am the Walrus" from Magical Mystery Tour

The Beatles ran afoul of the BBC censors twice during their career. The first time was when the track "A Day in the Life" (from Sgt. Pepper) was banned from airplay because of the refrain "I'd love to turn you on." There was an interesting exchange of letters between the "brass" at the Beeb and Sir Joseph Lockwood, the Chairman of EMI Records - the company that owned Parlophone, The Beatles recording label. [The only other track banned outright during the 60s was "We Love the Pirates" by The Roaring 60s. It was a single released in 1966 as a protest against government plans to outlaw pirate radio stations broadcasting into Britain from outside its territorial waters. It was the popularity of the pirate stations, by the way, which led to the establishment in September, 1967 of BBC Radio 1 - a channel devoted, unlike the Light Programme, almost entirely to pop music] The ban against "A Day in the Life" continued into the early 70s. The other Beatles track banned by the BBC Controller was "I Am the Walrus". He thought that the line "Boy, you been a naughty girl, you let your knickers down" was unacceptable. The song was recorded for The Beatles self-produced film Magical Mystery Tour in late-1967. Interestingly enough, it was that same BBC Controller who negotiated with Paul McCartney (in the absence of the late-Brian Epstein) the rights to broadcast the film on BBC-TV 1 on Boxing Day, 1967. Despite some good music featured in it, the rather experimental and surrealistic film did not meet the "light entertainment" expectation for early-evening Boxing Day viewing. The programme got a critical drubbing - probably the worst reception ever given to a major project undertaken by the band. The fact that the psychedelically-charged film was shown on BBC 1 in black-and-white probably didn't help. It was rebroadcast on BBC 2 in colour ten days later - not that that did much to improve the majority opinion. The Beeb's Audience Research Report said that 75% of people had a negative reaction. A typical quote from the report: "It was a complete jumble, with no shape or meaning."

In addition to the main text, The Beatles: The BBC Archives (1962-1970) is appended with a 10-page detailed section of broadcast information and commentaries on all the songs performed by The Beatles on BBC Radio or TV. This section includes five pages of pictures of LP and single covers by the artists who did the original recordings.

Detailed info in the book about all the songs the band performed on BBC Radio and TV

There is also a brief, but important, essay at the back of the book which outlines how the producers and engineers recorded The Beatles for radio broadcast - and how their methods differed from the way things were done at EMI's Abbey Road studios. When The Beatles were recording for the BBC, for example, they didn't have a lot of time. EMI gave them three hours to do two songs. At the BBC it was six songs in as little as ninety minutes. There was no multi-tracking at the BBC, which used mono tape recorders. They could do occasional overdubs - or "cut in" an instrumental solo that was impossible to do live (George Martin's keyboard solo in "A Hard Day's Night", for example). And they often spliced together the best sections of different takes - so a song might be made up of three different takes of a song. This sort of editing was a specialty of Bernie Andrews. Most recordings, though, were done live - direct to tape. And, occasionally, the band was forced to perform live to air - which never seemed to bother them.


Bernie Andrews manipulating tape in the BBC Radio production studio

A lot of experimenting was done with microphone placement. The drums were recorded with ribbon mics. Sometimes the ribbons would break when the sounds got excessively loud. They put a 4033 mic - dubbed the "gin bottle" - right inside the bass drum. To get vocals from Ringo they had to suspend a cylindrical, silver-coloured C12 microphone (12" long, 2" in diameter) from elastic strings - they didn't have the modern steel booms to hold mics suspended over large distances. For vocals and guitars they generally used condenser mics, in order to get a fresh, bright sound. Guitar amps had microphones dangled in front of the speaker cabinets - attached from the amps' handles! They experimented with reverb, and were able to exploit the natural echo generated inside the cavernous Paris Theatre in Lower Regent Street. Whatever it took to improve the sound, and obtain some interesting effects - Bernie Andrews was willing to give it a try.

The complete package: book, glossy photo and facsimile documents

The Beatles: The BBC Archives (1962-1970) by Kevin Howlett is published by Harper Design (2013). It contains 32 years of history into the BBC Beatles' broadcasts. The 336-page, hardcover book comes in a box cover shaped like a film canister. The pages have a 10" x 10" design. The book is lavishly illustrated with wonderful photographs of the band at the Beeb with the likes of Brian Matthew, Bernie Andrews, Alan Freeman, and David Jacobs. Included in the box, with the book, is a beautiful 9" x 9" glossy black-and-white photograph of the band, suitable for framing. There are also facsimiles of key documents related to the band's BBC career:

· a 4-page audition report for BBC Manchester by Peter Pilbeam

· a two-page Audience Research Report from 1964

· It's The Beatles! programme sheet

· a note from John about hearsay he had heard that the TV show Release, featuring interviews with him and Victor Spinetti, had been cut

· the letter to Sir Joseph Lockwood at EMI from BBC brass about their decision to ban "A Day in the Life" because of the drug reference

· a two-page Audience Research Report from December, 1967 about Magical Mystery Tour

The Beatles: The BBC Archives (1962-1970) is a unique and definitive work. Much of the material found here has been released before in other formats - but this project collects all of this related stuff together in a well-organized and beautifully-illustrated book. It fills a particular niche - probably of more real interest to Beatles' fans who grew up during the 60s in the grip of the Beeb and all her multifarious works. It would be a fascinating eye-opener, though, for those new to the scene, who would like to explore what it's like to live in a more closed and conservative society - in which the media are limited, very tightly controlled, and, therefore, of enormous influence. The Beatles not only took advantage of this narrow and concentrated scene to advance their career; they also helped to loosen its rigid and autocratic grip.

In the BBC Radio studio - pointing at the BBC logo

The Beatles are to release a remixed edition of their bestselling "Beatles 1" singles collection and restored versions of their promotional films.

The Beatles - 1 CD/DVD edition artwork (2015)There will be a 27-track audio CD with new stereo mixes, as well as CD/DVD and CD/Blu-ray editions containing new stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes, released on 6 November 2015. A two-disc, 180-gram vinyl edition will also follow.

A special deluxe edition, titled 1+, will contain a second bonus disc of 23 videos, containing alternative versions, rare videos and TV appearances. Four of the videos feature exclusive audio commentary or filmed introductions by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. The deluxe edition also includes a 124-page hardback book.

The deluxe edition gives a total of over 200 minutes of video content in 50 individual films (20 of which did not appear in The Beatles' Anthology.

The Beatles - 1+ CD/Blu-ray deluxe edition artwork (2015)

The promotional films were digitally restored from the original 35mm negatives scanned in 4K, with audio produced from the original analogue tapes by Giles Martin and Sam Okell at Abbey Road Studios. Jeff Lynne and engineer Steve Jay have reportedly remixed Free As A Bird and Real Love.

Here's the full press release:

THE BEATLES' VIDEOS AND TOP HITS COME TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME
All-New Editions of The Beatles 1 Pair Beautifully Restored Promotional Films and Videos with Brand New Stereo and Surround Audio Mixes

Beatles 1+ Deluxe Edition Celebrates the Sight & Sound of The Beatles in 50 Films & Videos
London – September 15, 2015

After The Beatles stopped touring, and because travelling around the globe to promote new releases was impossible, the band increasingly made what could be described as “mini movies”. These pioneering promotional films and videos helped to define the way we have come to watch music, not least because The Beatles approached filming with the same ease and innovative spirit they brought to the recording studio, exploring new creative possibilities with infectious delight. Showcasing the band's filmed work to accompany their 27 No.1, U.K. and U.S. singles, The Beatles 1 is newly restored and expanded in multiple configurations for global release on November 6 by Apple Corps Ltd/UMG.

The 27-track CD/DVD and CD/Blu-ray pairs beautifully restored videos for each song, with new stereo and 5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS HD surround audio mixes. The brand new Beatles 1+ celebrates their career in over 200 minutes through 50 promotional films and videos. This includes the 27 No.1s, with the restored videos, along with a second disc of 23 videos, including alternate versions, as well as rarely seen and newly restored films and videos; all include new audio mixes in deluxe CD/2-DVD and CD/2-Blu-ray packages. The 27-track audio CD is also being made available with new stereo mixes. A 2 LP, 180-gram vinyl package will follow.
The new editions of The Beatles 1 have been made possible following extensive research, and restoration of the original promo films, classic television appearances and other carefully selected videos spanning the band's history. Apple Corps dug deep into The Beatles' vaults to select a broad range of films and videos for their rarity, historical significance and quality of performance. An 18-person team of film and video technicians and restoration artists was assembled by Apple Corps to undertake painstaking frame-by-frame cleaning, colour-grading, digital enhancement and new edits that took months of dedicated, ‘round-the-clock work to accomplish.
The result is a visual run down of The Beatles' number one records, as well as the additional tracks on the bonus disc of Beatles 1+ that show the band in previously unseen standards of clarity and quality; many of the films and videos have never before been commercially released, in whole or in part.
Beatles 1 and Beatles 1+ offers the restored films, including 35mm negatives scanned in 4K and digitally restored with new stereo and 5.1 surround audio remixes, produced from the original analogue tapes by the GRAMMY® winning team of Giles Martin with Sam Okell at Abbey Road Studios. For four of the videos, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have provided exclusive audio commentary and filmed introductions, respectively. The 1+ Deluxe Edition, presented in an expanded 124-page illustrated hardcover book includes ‘an appreciation' of The Beatles' ground-breaking films and videos by music journalist and author Mark Ellen and extensive, detailed track/video annotation by music historian and author Richard Havers.
“These videos and films are spectacular reminders of the era we lived in. They also rock!”
Paul McCartney
“I think it's really interesting to see the videos we made, some of them incredible and some of them really incredible. How else would we have got to sit on a horse?”
Ringo Starr
Between 1962 and 1970, The Beatles released 27 No.1 hit singles in the U.S. and the U.K. In 2000, these timeless songs were collected for The Beatles 1, which topped the charts in 35 countries and became that decade's bestselling album worldwide. 15 years later, 1 is revisited for this entirely new, visually-inspired presentation.
It's The Beatles, as you've never seen them before.
The Beatles 1
[CD: DVD: CD+DVD: Blu-Ray: CD+Blu-Ray]
DISC 1 AUDIO (CD) + DISC 1 VIDEO
(DVD or Blu-ray)
Love Me Do
From Me To You
She Loves You
I Want To Hold Your Hand
Can't Buy Me Love
A Hard Day's Night
I Feel Fine
Eight Days A Week
Ticket To Ride
Help!
Yesterday
Day Tripper
We Can Work It Out
Paperback Writer
Yellow Submarine
Eleanor Rigby
Penny Lane
All You Need Is Love
Hello, Goodbye
Lady Madonna
Hey Jude
Get Back
The Ballad Of John And Yoko
Something
Come Together
Let It Be
The Long And Winding Road
DISC 1 VIDEO EXTRAS
Paul McCartney audio commentary
Penny Lane
Hello, Goodbye
Hey Jude
Ringo Starr filmed introductions
Penny Lane
Hello, Goodbye
Hey Jude
Get Back
The Beatles 1+
CD/2-DVD: CD/2-Blu-ray]
DISC 1 AUDIO (CD) + DISC 2 VIDEO (DVD or Blu-Ray)
(same as above)
DISC 2 VIDEO (DVD or Blu-Ray)
Twist And Shout
Baby It's You
Words Of Love
Please Please Me
I Feel Fine
Day Tripper *
Day Tripper *
We Can Work It Out *
Paperback Writer *
Rain *
Rain *
Strawberry Fields Forever
Within You Without You/Tomorrow Never Knows
A Day In The Life
Hello, Goodbye *
Hello, Goodbye *
Hey Bulldog
Hey Jude *
Revolution
Get Back *
Don't Let Me Down
Free As A Bird
Real Love
DISC 2 VIDEO EXTRA
Paul McCartney audio commentary
Strawberry Fields Forever
* alternate version
NOTES ON THE VIDEOS
BEATLES 1 DVD
DISC ONE
1. LOVE ME DO
Newly edited clip, featuring material from BBC TV's The Mersey Sound, with performance footage filmed on 27 August 1963 at the Little Theatre, Southport.
2. FROM ME TO YOU
A live performance at the 1963 Royal Variety Show, filmed at The Prince Of Wales Theatre, London, on 4 November 1963.
3. SHE LOVES YOU
A live performance from the Swedish Television show Drop In, recorded on 30 October 1963 during a short Scandinavian tour.
4. I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND
From the Granada TV programme Late Scene Extra filmed on 25 November 1963.
5. CAN'T BUY ME LOVE
First broadcast in the TV show Around The Beatles, filmed on 28 April 1964 and broadcast the following month. It features a different audio track to that of hit single, recorded by The Beatles on 19 April 1964.
6. A HARD DAY'S NIGHT
Live performance at the Palais des Sports, Paris on 20 June 1965, while on a short European tour.
7. I FEEL FINE
Filmed at Twickenham Film Studios on 23 November 1965. One of ten films shot that day to satisfy global TV demand for broadcast material to accompany The Beatles' hit records.
8. EIGHT DAYS A WEEK
A brand new clip edited from material filmed at the Shea Stadium concert in New York City on 15 August 1965, during which the band performed twelve songs, but ‘Eight Days A Week' was not among them. The clip says so much about the band's frenetic lifestyle in 1965, at the height of Beatlemania.
9. TICKET TO RIDE
Filmed at Twickenham Film Studios on 23 November 1965.
10. HELP!
The less frequently seen clip of those filmed at Twickenham Film Studios on 23 November 1965.
11. YESTERDAY
Paul performing on The Ed Sullivan Show, videotaped in New York City on 14 August 1965 and broadcast the following month, the day before the single was released in America.
12. DAY TRIPPER
Three versions of this clip were filmed at Twickenham Film Studios on 23 November 1965. This is version 2, in which all of the group are wearing polo neck sweaters, except for Paul, who wears a black shirt.
13. WE CAN WORK IT OUT
There were three versions of the ‘We Can Work It Out' video filmed atat Twickenham Film Studios on 23 November 1965. This is version 2 in which all four Beatles are wearing black polo neck sweaters.
14. PAPERBACK WRITER
Filmed in 35mm, and in colour, in Chiswick Park, West London, by director Michael Lindsay-Hogg.
15. YELLOW SUBMARINE
This clip is newly created from original Yellow Submarine footage.
16. ELEANOR RIGBY
This clip is taken directly from the Yellow Submarine movie.
17. PENNY LANE
A ground-breaking clip by Swedish director Peter Goldmann that captures The Beatles in Stratford, London, and at Knole Park in Kent, with additional material shot in Liverpool.
18. ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE
Filmed in Studio One at Abbey Road, on 25 June 1967, and beamed around the globe as a part of the TV programme Our World. This colourised version was created for The Beatles Anthology TV programme in 1995.
19. HELLO, GOODBYE
London's Saville Theatre was the location for this promo film, shot on 10 November 1967; The Beatles wear their Sgt. Pepper outfits.
20. LADY MADONNA
Just prior to leaving for India, The Beatles met up in Studio Three at Abbey Road, on 11 February 1968. They were filmed while recording ‘Hey Bulldog'.
21. HEY JUDE
Filmed at Twickenham Film Studios on 4 September, for broadcast on David Frost's TV show, Frost On Sunday. The introduction by David Frost is different from that on disc 2.
22. GET BACK
The promo clip made available at the time of the original release of the single featured performances from the Apple rooftop synched to the record. This new clip has been rebuilt to replicate the original but with improved picture quality.
23. THE BALLAD OF JOHN AND YOKO
This original promo clip features outtakes from the Let It Be movie, with other private footage shot in Amsterdam, London, Paris and Vienna.
24. SOMETHING
The video features George and Pattie, John and Yoko, Paul and Linda, and Ringo and Maureen. and was filmed at locations in Berkshire, Surrey, and the Mull of Kintyre.
25. COME TOGETHER
The clip was created in 2000 by Melon Dezign for the launch of thebeatles.com and the original Beatles 1 album.
26. LET IT BE
A 1970 promo clip was made available to support the release of the single and it was different to the one featured in the Let It Be movie; this clip has been rebuilt from the original footage.
27. THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD
This clip is taken straight from the Let It Be movie.
DISC TWO
1. TWIST AND SHOUT
From the Granada Television programme Scene At 6.30, which was videotaped on 14 August 1963.
2. BABY IT'S YOU
One of two clips used to promote the single taken from the 1995 Live At The BBC album. The clip is enhanced by the inclusion of unique colour footage of The Beatles filmed outside the BBC's Paris Studio on Lower Regent Street, London.
3. WORDS OF LOVE
When On Air – Live At The BBC Volume 2 was released in 2013, it included ‘Words Of Love', a Buddy Holly composition that the band recorded for radio. This new clip is a mix of existing footage and innovative animation.
4. PLEASE PLEASE ME
A live performance videotaped on 9 February for The Ed Sullivan Show, which was screened on 23 February 1964.
5. I FEEL FINE
Filmed at Twickenham Film Studios on 23 November 1965, this clip shows The Beatles eating fish and chips during their lunch break.
6. DAY TRIPPER
From the TV special The Music Of Lennon & McCartney that first broadcast in mid-December 1965.
7. DAY TRIPPER
Filmed at Twickenham Film Studios on 23 November 1965, with the group wearing their Shea Stadium Jackets with the ‘Nehru' collars.
8. WE CAN WORK IT OUT
Filmed at Twickenham Film Studios on 23 November 1965 – showing The Beatles wearing the Shea Stadium jackets.
9. PAPERBACK WRITER
Shot on videotape at Abbey Road, on 19 May 1966, this studio version is prefaced by a short introduction by Ringo. It was broadcast on The Ed Sullivan Show in America.
10. RAIN
‘Rain', the B-side of ‘Paperback Writer', was filmed in colour at Chiswick House, West London, on 20 May 1966.
11. RAIN
This black and white clip is a new edit from several takes of ‘Rain' videotaped at Abbey Road on 19 May 1966.
12. STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER
Directed by Peter Goldmann and with newly restored footage, this was filmed at Knole Park, Kent on 30 and 31 January 1967.
13. WITHIN YOU WITHOUT YOU/TOMORROW NEVER KNOWS
The merging of these two tracks, one from Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the other from Revolver, was created for The Beatles Love show by Cirque du Soleil, which opened in June 2006 in Las Vegas. This video was created to promote the Love album released later that year.
14. A DAY IN THE LIFE
Filmed in Studio One at Abbey Road on 10 February 1967, this includes classical musicians, who were asked to wear evening dress, fake noses and funny hats for the recording session.
15. HELLO, GOODBYE
This clip is another shot at London's Saville Theatre on 10 November 1967; The Beatles wear their ‘street clothes'.
16. HELLO, GOODBYE
This third version was also shot at London's Saville Theatre on 10 November 1967; it includes elements from the first two films but with additional footage unique to this edit.
17. HEY BULLDOG
The original footage from a 1968 shoot for the ‘Lady Madonna' promo film was unearthed in the mid-1990s. It was revealed that The Beatles were recording ‘Hey Bulldog' and is an edit done to promote the reissue of the Yellow Submarine movie in 1999.
18. HEY JUDE
This is an edit of the two other takes filmed on 4 September 1968 for the Frost On Sunday TV show. This has a different David Frost intro to the clip on disc 1.
19. REVOLUTION
One of two versions, this was shot the same day as ‘Hey Jude'. John's lead vocal is completely live, as are most of Paul and George's backing vocals. The instrumentation, including Nicky Hopkins' electric piano, is from the master tape.
20. GET BACK
This clip was assembled in 2003 to support the release of the album Let It Be…Naked and utilises studio footage from the famous Get Back/Let It Be sessions.
21. DON'T LET ME DOWN
This was the B-side of ‘Get Back' and this clip is a composite of two live performances from the Apple rooftop in 1969. It was made available to support the release of Let It Be…Naked in 2003.
22. FREE AS A BIRD
The 1995 video is a work of art by director Joe Pytka, who used the concept of a bird's-eye view to pay homage to many Beatles songs and images.
23. REAL LOVE
This video directed by Geoff Wonfor and ex-10cc and leading pop promo-maker Kevin Godley, this video was made in 1996 to support the release of the single.

Source: http://www.beatlesbible.com/2015/09/15/beatles-1-promotional-videos-films-remixed-stereo-surround-sound/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheBeatlesBible+%28The+Beatles+Bible%29

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