Wednesday, September 4, 1968
For The Beatles
Last updated on December 7, 2024
Recording studio: Twickenham Film Studios, London, UK
Session September 1968 ? • Recording "Those Were The Days" in other languages
Session Sep 03, 1968 • Recording "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"
Session Sep 04, 1968 • Filming "Hey Jude", "Revolution" promo films
Film Sep 04, 1968 • Shooting of "Hey Jude (Versions 1 to 3)" promo film
Film Sep 04, 1968 • Shooting of "Revolution (Versions 1 and 2)" promo film
Next session Sep 05, 1968 • Recording "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"
AlbumSome of the songs worked on during this session were first released on the "Hey Jude / Revolution" 7" Single
Roy Benson, who edited the “Magical Mystery Tour” TV special in the autumn of 1967, suggested a thirty-eight-scene storyboard for the “Hey Jude” promotional video. Realizing the filming would require several days, The Beatles decided on a more straightforward live-in-the-studio video instead.
On this day, The Beatles recorded the promotional clips for “Hey Jude” and “Revolution” at Twickenham Film Studios, accompanied by a 36-piece orchestra and an audience of 300.
The “Hey Jude” film premiered on September 8, 1968, on the television show “Frost On Saturday“, hosted by David Frost.
David Frost was in the studio that day to film some segments, creating the illusion of a live recording for the audience during the broadcast. This also served as a nice trick to circumvent The Musicians’ Union’s ban on lip-syncing. To this end, only the final singalong was live, all the rest (vocals and instruments) was mimed.
Three versions of “Hey Jude” were captured on film, with the end result film being an edit of the first and third takes.
At one point, The Beatles played the “Frost On Saturday” theme song, composed by George Martin and named “By George! It’s The David Frost Theme“. Afterwards, David Frost made an appearance to introduce the performance of “Hey Jude“:
Beautiful. Absolute poetry. Welcome back to part three, as you can see, with the greatest tea-room orchestra in the world. Right? Beautiful, beautiful. Absolutely, beautiful. As you can see, making their first audience appearance for over a year, ladies and gentlemen, The Beatles!
David Frost
The Beatles also played an impromptu version of Elvis Presley’s “It’s Now Or Never“, but this was edited out of the broadcast.
For the “Revolution” clip, The Beatles overdubbed a new vocal track onto the studio version. It was broadcast on BBC’s Top Of The Pops, on September 19, 1968.
The two films were directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg. The next time The Beatles would be at Twickenham Film Studios with Michael Lindsay-Hogg would be in January 1969 for the “Get Back” sessions.
The “Hey Jude” promo is possibly more important than most fans realise. The Beatles’ unexpected enjoyment at performing for the clip was to be a key factor in the new direction that they were about to take. After shooting, we ran the final edit of the tapes in the recording truck. They were absolutely delighted. Drinking a whisky and Coke with them at four in the morning, we agreed a good night had been had by all. In fact, they had enjoyed it so much they suggested, there and then, that we should make another film. I was elated. That was the start of “Get Back”/ Let It Be.
Denis O’Dell – Head of Apple Films – From “And In The End” by Ken McNab, 2020
Joel Soroka was twenty-one in 1968. Having grown up in New York, he spent that summer travelling around Europe. It was the first time he had ever left North America. ‘In early September, I found myself in a B&B off the Edgware Road. There were no showers or central heating, and we ate rare bacon for breakfast. It was all new to me.’
On 3 September he caught a bus from the Edgware Road to Piccadilly, in order to pick up mail from home. Still new to the complexities of London Transport, he caught the wrong bus back. By chance, an attractive woman sat next to him. ‘We got chatting. Then, out of the blue, she asked, “Would you like to meet the Beatles?” I said something like, “Give me a break.”’ She told him she worked for Apple, and that the Beatles were filming a promotional film for their new single the following night. ‘They were looking for a crowd, and she liked my face.’
Handing him what he describes as ‘an unofficial-looking piece of paper’, she told him to be at Victoria station the next day at 4 p.m: a bus would be waiting.
Joel didn’t believe a word of it, but he turned up on the off-chance. Sure enough, a bus was waiting, and, along with many others, he boarded it. ‘We were a mixed bag of people and ages, everyone chatting excitedly, but there was a sense that no one believed we were actually going to meet the Beatles.’
They were dropped off at Twickenham Studios, which he thought looked like a hangar, and then led into a brightly lit area, with technical people milling around a platform on which drums and other instruments had been arranged. A group of about a hundred people waited around expectantly, under the gaze of the director Michael Lindsay-Hogg. Suddenly the door opened, and in trooped the Beatles. ‘I thought, “Is this really happening?” We were told to hang out while they warmed up. I was in a state of total glee. Despite being a Beatlemaniac, I’d never seen them live.’
From “One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time” by Craig Brown, 2021
Tom Topping was eleven in 1968, on a month’s holiday in London with his parents and his twelve-year-old sister. As they were queuing to see the film of Yellow Submarine in Leicester Square, a man with a clipboard approached his father and invited them all to catch a bus from Victoria station to Twickenham the next day. ‘For two kids from Los Angeles who loved the Beatles, it was an amazing adventure.’
On one of the takes, Tom managed to nip up onstage and sit next to Paul and his piano. ‘I reached over and touched the red velvet dinner jacket like it was the cloak of Turin. Several young women were crowded around, and one was pinching my leg so I would get out of her way. OUCH! She meant business.’
From “One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time” by Craig Brown, 2021
Margaret Morel had an American pen-friend, on holiday in London, who tipped off Margaret and her flatmate Coral about the trip to Twickenham. Margaret arrived at Victoria station in a bright yellow dress. When their coach drew up outside the studios, the girls peered out and saw the Beatles watching them through a window, ‘giving us smiles and waves. Everyone was very excited and happy, of course.’
Inside the studio, they were told to gather round the Beatles the second the chorus began. ‘Paul helped by saying “Now” when it was time to join in.’ Coral and Margaret were quick off the mark: ‘My friend Coral and I got up onto the stage each time and stood next to George Harrison. I don’t know how we managed to do that with all the people who were scrambling to get as near as they could to the Beatles … They filmed lots of takes of “Hey Jude” all day. We seemed to sing our na na nas dozens of times. If I remember correctly, they began filming during the morning and we finished about 10 p.m. or later. My friend’s parents came to collect us with their car. We were exhausted but very happy, our heads full of all that had taken place that day.’
From “One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time” by Craig Brown, 2021
Dear………………………..
This letter is an invitation to you to take part in a T.V. performance by the Beatles on Wednesday Sept. 4th. Regrettably space is very limited and it will not be possible for you to bring a friend or relative. This letter will admit only you so please do not pass it on to someone else and be sure to have it with you on Wednesday.
If you are asked to come in the uniform of your profession would you be kind enough to bring with you a change of clothing so that, if required, you can appear in your normal clothes. This change of clothing should ideally be light and not dark colours, but generally speaking we want to see people as they are when they are working.
Would you please sign this letter at the bottom of the rage, which will confirm that you recognise you will be part of a studio audience, do not object to being seen in the television programme, and that you agree that you do not wish to be paid for your appearance in the programme, wherever and whenever it is televised.
Refreshments will be served at the studio.
You are asked to report at 4.45p.m. on Wednesday Sept. 4th, 1968 outside the Grosvenor Hotel, Buckingham Palace Road S.W.1. The hotel is just outside the main courtyard of Victoria Station. Coaches will be waiting there to take you to the studio and you will be returned later in the evening.
For our record purposes your reference number is…….
MAL’S DIARY
[…] On previous occasions in the past year or two, The Beatles had made little films showing themselves recording, walking around and so forth with their record playing in the background. Naturally, some of these ran into trouble with the telly people because the fellows came pretty close to miming sometimes, and THAT is a terrible Deadly Sin so far as the unions are concerned. You are not allowed to mine to records on telly.
This time The Beatles decided to avoid all the problems by producing a full-scale LIVE performance, done in colour, at Twickenham Film Studios and intended for showing all over the world.
The day before Neil and Suzie got married at the end of August, I was asked to start making all the shooting arrangements with Michael Lindsay-Hogg, a television and film director who has been involved in plenty of big pop shows in the past.
It was Thursday night. By the following Wednesday we had to get together the technical crew, no less than 300 extras and a 36-piece orchestra. In between there was the August bank holiday week-end, which meant it was hard to get hold of half the people we needed to reach to set things up.
How did we get that code of 300 extras together? We got 20 students to distribute invitation leaflets for us. The result was that all sorts of walks of life were represented – postmen, railwaymen, teenagers, senior citizens. I recruited a bunch of Beatle people from outside the recording studio and told them they would be welcome to join us all at Twickenham and bring along a few mates.
Paul decided he would like a ‘twenties atmosphere at Twickenham so the musicians of the orchestra were dressed up in smart white tuxedos and colourful carnations for the occasion.
And very evident amongst the gathered – together 300 was old Billy from Soho. Billy is a real character. If you’ve walked around Wardour Street or Old Compton Street in Soho you may have seen him, possibly with a bottle on his head, selling or giving away flowers. And like as not, he will have pulled out a photograph he’s very proud of. It was taking months ago and shows him with The Beatles in a film cutting room – when the fellows editing “Magical Mystery Tour”. The photo went into the Daily Mirror at the time. So old Billy just had to be in on the “Hey Jude” and “Revolution” filming.
The Beatles arrived at Twickenham around lunchtime – 1:30 PM. The line-up was Paul, playing an upright piano, George on bass, John on guitar and Ringo on drums. PLUS the 36-piece orchestra PLUS 300 singing extras to join in the big build-up on “Hey Jude” towards the end of the number.
While lights and cameras were being set up, Paul entertained on the piano. He hadn’t really planned to do so, but old Billy came up on to the stage and yelled, “Come on, Paul, give us some of the goold old songs”. And Paul did just that!
Mal Evans – From The Beatles Monthly Book, October 1968, N°63
Recording • Take 1
Recording • Take 2
Recording • Take 3
By George! It's The David Frost Theme
Recording
Written by Aaron Schroeder, Wally Gold, Eduardo di Capua
Recording
Recording • Take 1
Recording • Take 2
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