UnBeatled

The Beatles had been signed for a cash grab film deal. It was filmed and ready to be released as Beatlemania continued to rise but they still didn't have the title and the producers wanted one FAST. Overnight John Lennon wrote 'A Hard Day's Night' in a few hours and that was it. It would go on to become one of their most loved hits and the title of one of the best music films of all time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1967, John Lennon and his childhood friend, Pete Shotton, were diving into and reading a bag of fan mail that was lying around John's house. John pulled out a letter from a pupil at his former high school in Liverpool which said that teachers were now giving lessons on the content of his lyrics. Laughing at the absurdity of this, John went about writing a song that was utter nonsense exclaiming, "let the f**kers work that one out!" It was not initially accepted by George Martin but with Paul taking the lead, the song became one of their most intriguing pieces of work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to episode 24 of UnBeatled, a channel where we take a deep dive into every single song The Beatles ever recorded. In our discussion we unpick the music, the lyrics, the cultural context at the time, and the impact the song had on the band's success in the UK and the world.

In 1966, The Beatles were stars at the forefront of music and culture, rubbing shoulders with other bright sparks from the worlds of literature, drama, photography, and fashion. A lot of them were also from working class backgrounds. Meanwhile, Paul McCartney's aunt has tasked him to write a song that isn't about love. They interrupt their recording sessions for Revolver to record their next hit single about the story of a man who wants to make his millions as a... Paperback Writer.
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John Lennon's son, Julian, brought home a painting he had done at school that day and showed it to his dad. To say John was impressed is an understatement. He was immediately taken by the psychedelic painting of Julian's classmate flying in the sky surrounded by diamonds. To a drug addled John Lennon this was the inspiration he'd been waiting for. They completed the song in 24 hours with Paul McCartney taking the reins from an increasingly unmotivated John Lennon. The song would be the most overtly psychedelic track on their Summer of Love masterpiece, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paul McCartney leaped out of bed one morning with a tune in his head. He sat down at the piano and found the chords, drumming the melody into his memory with a canny rhyme. He couldn't believe he'd written it. After figuring out it was his doing, The Beatles' producer, George Martin, posed the question... should this be the first Paul McCartney solo record? It would have been a financially prudent move for Macca... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.