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George Martin tours with "Pepper" show Update (3/7/99) A report on the Denver show from Marty and Ann Babicz (thanks, Marty and Ann!)
Ann and I had a great evening tonight. We went to see George Martin at the Paramount Theater in Denver.We got there with enough time to grab dinner nearby, and we decided to eat at the new Denver Hard Rock Cafe. (We've eaten and the NYC Hard Rock, and we've been to the one at Niagara Falls, NY, but the Denver eatery just opened a few months ago, and this was our first visit to it.) We looked at the Beatles memorabilia on display, and we found what is probably a VERY RARE artifact. At first glance, it just looks like a copy of the REVOLVER album autographed by the Beatles. However, the identification plaque said that it was presented to two Denver deejays by the Beatles after their concert in Denver in 1966. Well, since the Beatles only live performance in Colorado occurred at Denver's Red Rocks Amphitheater in 1964, there is obviously an error in the plaque. Which, of course, explains the rarity of the album...it was autographed TWO YEARS BEFORE IT WAS RELEASED!
After dinner, we strolled across the street to the Paramount Theater, and we had a great time. Martin was both interesting and funny. Any fears we had about it becoming a boring lecture were alleviated with his first joke. Of course, the main thrust of his talk was the "Making of Sgt. Pepper," and he provided insight into "Strawberry Fields Forever", "Penny Lane", "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," "With A Little Help From My Friends", "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds," "Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite!", and "A Day In The Life." The talk was fleshed out with film clips, mostly taken from "The Beatles Anthology" and "The Making of Sgt. Pepper." If any of you have the opportunity to see George Martin on this lecture tour, we would both urge you to go.
THe neatest part was when we first walked in, they handed each of us an evelope, that contained two index cards and a pencil. We were each instructed to each write down one question, along with our name and hometown, and later the questions would be screened and a few would be asked of Martin at the end of the program. (We had to write the same question on two different cards, presumably so that, with Martin's hearing difficulties, he could read along while the emcee asked him the question.)
I had thought up a number of potential questions, but I hadn't really decided upon which one to ask until I read an article recently recommended to us by Steve Marinucci. (Editor's note: We're blushing!) The question I asked was "Do you think the mono Sgt. Pepper is "better" than the stereo, and should the mono version be issued on CD?"
Suprisingly, my question was one of the seven selected!
George Martin's answer was "Today, most people are only familiar with the stereo version, but in those days, stereo equipment was very primitive, and not very popular. The Beatles and I spent three weeks mixing the mono version of the album. After it was finished, they left it to Geoff Emerick and myself to mix the stereo version, which we did in four days. So, the mono version was the version the Beatles "authorized." And, yes, given that, I think it should be issued on compact disc." So there you have it! Someone else asked if Paul McCartney would be at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction with him (as you know, both Martin and McCartney will be inducted next week). Martin said that he spoke to McCartney last week, and that yes, McCartney was going to attend. However, Martin added that he feels a bit uncomfortable, as he doesn't feel he, himself, deserves to be inducted, but that George Harrison should be.
"We just returned from Sir George's performance in Red Bank, NJ. What a wonderful show! Though some of the stories (and footage from "The Making of Sgt. Pepper") were probably familiar to avid fans, it was still a very moving, entertaining evening. "Sir George was nicely introduced by Bon Jovi lead guitarist Richie Sambora (who lives nearby). The overall show was basically the same as described in you previous reports: his lecture interspersed with rear-screen projected footage of Paul, George and Ringo further elaborating on the stories. "Some random comments: "The Beatles were a bit of a joke in the industry. I didn't know that. When someone suggested to Brian that he bring the demo tape to me, he knew he'd hit rock bottom!" "I met George Harrison when he was 19 years old - and he's 56 today. Happy birthday George." "It was my idea to release Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane as a "2 A-side" single. What a damned idiot I was to do so! Both songs were so strong, that they stole airplay from each other and neither made #1." "The only minor disappointment was the $50.00 "Golden Circle" seating. Advertised as including "a private press reception and autograph session," it actually turned out to be a wine & cheese party at which Sir George made a brief appearance. Although a bit misleading, they did hand out pre-signed photos, and the wine and cheese was plentiful. "All in all a very nice evening. It was evident that he reflects on his time with the Beatles fondly. We were in the front row to his right, and could see the glimmer in his eyes as he watched the video footage of Paul, George and Ringo. "As an interesting side note... also spotted in the crowd was Andy White, the original session drummer on "Love Me Do". It's a small world after all!"John & Monica in NJ
Mitch Axelrod here! Just got back from the Sir George lecture at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, NJ. GREAT SHOW! Pretty much went like all the rest that have been reported on. Standing ovation at the beginning. Even though the video clips were already seen in the Disney special and "Anthology," it was all used very effectively and the show was well planned and rehearsed!He started a bit late (8:20). Lasted until 10 and then on for fifteen minutes for Q& A and my question was one of five that was chosen!!!!!!!!!!!!! I asked: On "In My Life", you worked with comedians Robin Williams and Jim Carrey, did that bring you back to your days of recording with the Goons? He gave a whole story about Jim and Robin and then finally answered YES that it DID bring him back to those times. My question was given the most amount of time answer wise.
For me, the most poignant thing he said was that in all the years with the Beatles, John always imagined songs greater in his mind than they actually came out on record and Sir George said that he always tried to decipher what John was thinking but he thinks he failed John in that respect. But he emphasized that he always tried his best! ... His show was WONDERFUL and HIGHLY recommended!
"I did see him last night (2/23) at the Birchmere Music Hall in Alexandria, Virginia. He was there presenting a multimedia talk on the making of "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." It was an interesting evening. He spoke for about two hours total, most of it from a podium with Teleprompters. The "multimedia" portion was clips from his "Making of Sgt. Pepper" documentary of a few years ago. He didn't sign autographs afterwards.For real Beatlemanics, there really wasn't any new ground covered, especially if you had already seen the excellent "Making of.." documentary, but it was a kick to be in the same room with him. He spoke a little bit about his pre- and post-Beatles work. The crowd was probably around 400-500, but I'm really bad at estimating those things.
Anyway, we were allowed to ask two questions on file cards before the show. He only answered about 5 questions at the end. To my surprise, one of my questions was the second one he answered. The question was (and here's the relevance to this list): "Did Brian Wilson influence your production of the Beatles?" I have heard Paul McCartney speak about Brian, but never Sir George on his own.
Sir George's reply, loosely: "Undoubtedly! Brian Wilson is like the Beatles and I rolled into one. He was doing things with tracks that no one else was, in those times before sampling and multi-track work." He did say more along the lines that Brian was the one of the best American musicians. Brian's name got a real good cheer from the crowd, also.
The other really interesting tidbit came at the end when the local DJ doing the emceeing got all gushing about Sir George being inducted into the R&R Hall of Fame in three weeks. Well, Sir George quite humbly said something along the lines of "Thank You, but I find it a shame that George Harrison wasn't inducted ahead of me because he deserves it more. I think of myself more as a jazz person."
One more thing about Sir George that I just found out from Colleen Bourland who, like me, was invited backstage to meet Sir George. She told me that Sir George's son, Giles, told her that when his dad came off stage, he realized that he failed to thank our club for the gift we'd given him and he was heartbroken about it. He proceeded to take out the card that all contributing members had signed and COUNTED THE (21) NAMES on the card with the intention of INVITING ALL OF US BACKSTAGE FOR A PERSONAL "THANK YOU". Realizing that security would go bonkers with this idea, he reluctantly settled for just sending someone out to fetch just me. What a guy! We miss him already. P.S. We'l be posting photos on our website this weekend at http://www.daytrippin.com/drivemycar.htm.
Hi Steve,Yeah, I got to see Sir George tonight...I also got to meet him. Read on.
Tonight (Tuesday), the Drive My Car Beatles Fan Club occupied four 12-person tables directly in front on the stage for what proved to be an unforgettable evening.
Even before Sir George came out to do his thing, I received word from "Goldy", the WBIG DJ who was host for the evening, that he was present when Sir George received the club's gift to him, a 24 carat gold pocket watch, decorated with the Kennedy half dollar on its face, and that he was floored by our small token of appreciation.
We also gave him 3 of the club's t-shirts and Goldy pointed out his lovely wife Judy to me in the audience. I approached her to let her know the source of the gift and she was so gracious and lovely and immediately put on the club button I pulled off of my sweater, which surprised me. The presentation was wonderful. For a long while, I felt like Sir George was speaking directly to me - it turned out that I was in line with one of his transparent teleprompters! But the crowd was at the edge of their seat for every word.There was so much humor, too. When Ringo spoke on camera about his hesitance on singing the final high note on "With a Little Help ...," the audience roared with laughter as Sir George had just confessed that Paul's brilliance shined in his ability to write a song within Ringo's range of five notes!!!
Later, we all laughed when the video showed Paul w/ Sir George at the controls, and Paul mentioned that his bass could not be heard. So charming, affable, and sincere was Sir George that we all fell in love with him through the course of the evening.
After answering a few questions which had been solicited before the show and which Goldy asked, he was off to his dressing room and we were all asked to leave.
As I said my "goodnights" to all my old and new friends I found myself loitering in the front of the auditorium. Thank God I did. Because the next thing I know is Goldy pops up to tell me, "Sir George wants to meet you." Yes, that's right. Sir George Martin wanted to meet the president of the Beatles fan club because he was so touched by our modest gift.
So Goldy started to lead me backstage and I managed to drag along one of my most important members, Colleen Bourland, who, in addition to being a fabulous lady and a most enthusiastic Beatle fanatic, also was our club photographer.
Surprisingly, I found myself rather relaxed in my encounter with Sir George. He was so genuinely appreciative and warm and we all chatted comfortably for a few minutes and got some great photos with him. I did manage to tell him that so many people were wondering "Why is he doing this (the tour)?" but that we were so thrilled that he was. I can't remember his response, but he did tell us about his remaining dates and that he would be happy when he returned home.
He also was very thankful that the audience was so welcoming as were his wife and son Giles. It was like a dream come true and I didn't say anything stupid! Best of all, I got to tell him that, honestly, of all that tracks on his new CD "In My Life", my absolute favorites were his two original compositions. I wasn't exxaggerating and I think he sensed it.
I wished him and his family happy and safe travels and Colleen and I quickly made our way out but not before we got some great photos! Knowing Colleen, she'll be on Cloud 9 for weeks. So will I.
Lastly, I must add that Sir George was very clear in expressing the importance of Brian Epstein in making the Beatles the Beatles and that when he died, so did the dream; they all knew it would never be the same. In fact, he ended his show with a mini-tribute to Brian which I hope the people in Cleveland will take notice of especially as Sir George and Sir Paul become members of this exclusive group.
One more thing on that subject: When asked about how he felt about being inducted along with Paul, he admitted to not considering himself a "rock & roller" per se, but especially expressed disappointment that George Harrison did not go first.
What a class act. And what a memory for me and my fan club.
Jorge Bernardo
A SPLENDID TIME IS GUARENTEED FOR ALL!Sir George Martin's multi-media presentation of "The Making Of Sgt. Pepper" February 20th 1999 at the Berklee Performance Center 1140 Boylston St, Boston Massachusetts. The Berklee Performance Center is part of the Berklee College of Music. In 1996 Sir George was presented with an honorary doctorate of music for his long time contribution to our world in the field of music.
We arrived at the theater at 7:40. The lobby was starting to fill up rather quickly. There was a table set up on the right side of the lobby where a woman was handing out a piece of paper that had an envelope stapled two it. Inside the envelope there were two blank index cards. The paper read:
Dear Guest,We had very good seats in the center orchestra and took our seats at 7:55. The 1, 220 seat theater was sold out. I noticed that about 70% of the audience were male and that more than half was over the age of 40. There was a screen up above the stage that had a fixed purple, white and pink psychedelic pattern on it. On the left side of the stage was a raised lecture podium that said Berklee College of Music.Welcome to the multi-media presentation of 'The Making of Sgt. Pepper". We hope that tonight will be a memorable evening for you for years to come.
In the attached envelope you will find two index cards. Clearly write one question you would like to ask Sir George Martin and then rewrite the same question on the second index card. Include your name and hometown on both cards. When you are done, place both cards back inside the envelope and drop the envelope into the raffle box in the lobby by the 8 PM deadline.
All questions will be given to Sir George to review for the "Q&A" portion of the presentation, which will last approximately 20-30 minutes. We will try to answer as many questions as possible during this time period.
Thank You.
At 8:20, a member of the College Board of Trustees took the stage to introduce Sir George. He spent quite a few minutes listing all the bands and comedians that Sir George had worked with and ended the list mentioning the Bee Gee's. This drew quiet a chuckle because the work "Beatle' was never mentioned.
Finally, Sir George was introduced as the man who signed and produced the Beatles and he took the stage. He received a warm standing ovation from everyone there that seemed to go on for four or five minutes. He seemed quite surprised at intensity of this.
Sir George started his talk with the invention of the phonograph and told of his service in the air corps. He told how he began to be involved in the world of music through an educational grant he received after he left the corps. In no time he became the head of Parlophone Records. Parlophone was a very small label that was part of the EMI group. In order to revive the struggling label, Sir George started producing comedy records, which sold quite well. At this point Brian Epstein brought the Beatles to Sir George and the rest was history.
Sir George went on to say how the Beatles were becoming quite frustrated with touring and decided to concentrate on recording. The first song they recorded for the upcoming album was 'Strawberry Fields Forever" He told a story of how he was in the studio with John and John didn't look too well at all. So Sir George took John up to the roof of EMI studios to get some fresh air. When the other Beatles returned they went right up to the roof to get John because they knew that he was under the influence of LSD.As Sir George spoke, the screen would play a portion of the documentary "The Making Of Sgt. Pepper" that he did a few years ago. Sir George then proceeded to tell about the making of "Sgt. Pepper", "With A Little Help From My Friends", "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds", "She's Leaving Home", "Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite", "Penny Lane" and "A Day In The Life".
Sir George told of how since the Beatles were spending so much time in the studio that they had no new music out. Brian Epstein talked Sir George into releasing two songs that were supposed to be on the new album. Sir George said that this was the biggest mistake he had made. Since both "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane" were strong enough to be A-sides, that radio play was split between the two songs and for the first time a Beatle single only made it to #2 on the charts.
The president of Capitol Records flew to England to check on the status of the new album. Sir George played 'A Day In The Life" after which the executive was 'gobsmacked'. He was left speechless by the new music he had heard.
Sir George ended the presentation saying that a "splendid time was guaranteed for all" and left the stage to a standing ovation. He returned a few minutes later to answer questions from the cards that were read by the member of the school's Board of Trustees. Some of the questions were about his work with other bands such as America. Sir George said that he enjoyed working with them as well as Jeff Beck and the Mahavishnu Orchestra.The whole presentation was two hours long and Sir George was a very good speaker. His stories were quite interesting and humorous. A splendid time was had by all!
"I was lucky enough to attend George Martin's Sgt.Pepper program last nite (2/19) at the Calvin Theater in North Hampton, Ma. It was really good. It was a pretty low-tech event. It was just him talking and a video screen. The video he used was the interview bits from the "Sgt. Pepper" TV special from a few years back. Before he came on stage there was a nice introduction given by a local newspaper entertainment writer. Sir George started by talking about life 100 years ago (to demonstrate how far the recording industry has come). The whole thing was delightful, and he shared a couple stories I had never heard before. He said how the boys never liked "Yellow Submarine" at all, and how bad they thought the whole thing was. And after that, whenever a song they recorded came out bad, they'd say, "Well, it'd be good enough for Yellow Submarine!" At the end of the show George answered a few questions taken from the audience beforehand. The theater was pretty packed, a mostly middle-aged crowd. But I wasn't the only under 20 there. I did see a few others.
i Steve, I just wanted to let you know that I had the great fortune to see Sir George's presentation of the making of "Sgt. Pepper" last night at the Calvin Theatre in Northampton, Mass. As expected, the show was very entertaining and informative. He supplemented his speech with clips from "The Making of Sgt. Pepper" documentary shown a couple of years ago. Sir George seemed very relaxed and comfortable during his presentation and conducted himself like the true gentleman he is. According to the MC, his wife and son were accompanying him. He received three standing ovations from what appeared to be a sold-out house. On a side note, at the end of the show as people were exiting the building the MC came back on stage and announced that they just received word that Brian Wilson will perform at the Calvin on June 15, 1999. If there's any official changes to this date I'll let you know.Beatles#1,
Steve Volpe
Update (1/26/99) Tour dates can be found at http://www.pollstar.com. One additional one we found: March 3, Town Hall, N.Y.C.
(1/24/99) Sir George Martin is taking a multimedia lecture called "The Making of Sgt. Pepper" to several American cities. Here's the list of cities he's visiting that we have info on: Feb. 19, Northampton, Mass.; Feb. 20, Berklee Performance Center at the Berklee College of Music, Boston; Feb. 23, Alexandria, VA.; Feb. 25, Red Bank, N.J.; March 4, Chicago; March 5, Denver, Colo. For locations and some ticket info, see our Beatle Calendar of Events page. We'll add to the schedule here and on that page when we learn about them.