“All My Loving” TV documentary broadcast on UK TV

On this day, the music documentary “All My Loving,” directed by Tony Palmer, was aired on BBC1 in the UK, showcasing the contemporary pop and rock music scene. Although filmed in colour, it was broadcast in black and white, as BBC1 did not transition to colour broadcasting until November 15, 1969.

The documentary includes interviews with the Beatles. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr gave individual interviews at Abbey Road Studios on May 23, 1968. John Lennon appears in a segment from an interview conducted by Larry Kane in New York, also in May 1968.

All four Beatles are also shown in silent clips from the “Lady Madonna” promotional video and footage from the Beatlemania period of 1964. Songs such as “Lovely Rita,” “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds,” “Flying,” and “Money (That’s What I Want)” are included in the soundtrack.

Additionally, interviews with George Martin, Derek Taylor, and Louise Harrison (George’s mother) are featured.

I was always frightened of classical music. And I never wanted to listen to it because it was Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, and sort of, big words like that… and Schoenberg. I mean, like… A taxi driver the other day had some sheet music of a Mozart thing, and I said ‘What’s that?’ And he said ‘Oh, that’s the high-class stuff. You won’t like that. No no, you won’t like that.’ And I said, ‘well, what is it?’ (giggles) He said ‘No, you won’t like it. It’s high-class, that. It’s very high-brow!’ And uhh, that kind of way I always used to think of it. I used to think ‘Well you know, that’s very clever, all that stuff.’ And it isn’t, you know. It’s just exactly what’s going on in pop at the moment. Pop music is the classical music of now.

Paul McCartney – Interviewed for the “All My Loving” documentary. Read the entire transcript

Beatles and many more in mighty BBC-TV pop music documentary

The Beatles are to appear in an ambitious BBC-TV documentary about the current pop scene. The hour-long programme – plans for which were exclusively revealed in the NME in February – is being produced and directed by Tony Palmer. It will be screened by BBC-1 in September, with a colour repeat by BBC-2 shortly afterwards. Title of the show is “All My Loving”.

Also taking part in the production are Donovan, the Who, Eric Burdon and the Animals, Jimi Hendrix, Lulu, Manfred Mann, Cream, the Pink Floyd and Simon Dupree and the Big Sound. Several of these artists were films in America, when Tony Palmer and a camera crew visited the States in March.

The Beatles’ contribution to the programme is in the form of lengthy interviews, in which they give their opinions of recent developments in pop. They are not seen performing in the show – but all the other artists have been filmed in action.

Tony Palmer told the NME that plans for his projected “My Generation” BBC-1 series in which the Who will be resident, have now been completed. “The series could well be scheduled for screening in the very near future”, he added.

From New Musical Express – June 1, 1968

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