0:00:07 > 0:00:10# MUSIC: "Love Me Do" by The Beatles
0:00:14 > 0:00:1650 years ago, something remarkable happened.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20Four young men from Liverpool released a record that changed everything.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23# Love, love me do
0:00:23 > 0:00:26# You know I love you... #
0:00:26 > 0:00:29I was immediately struck by their music.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32Their beat and their sense of humour onstage.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35We never knew that music was going to change
0:00:35 > 0:00:38the world's idea on what kids could do.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42It's similar to when you hear the first and the great songs by anybody.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46It's like hearing Heartbreak Hotel. Elvis's Heartbreak Hotel.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49I mean, it's a moment you know is great.
0:00:49 > 0:00:521962 was definitely great for some
0:00:52 > 0:00:55and a brush with fame for others.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58It was John, Paul, George and Andy.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00Me. Not Ringo.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02This is the story of that momentous year.
0:01:02 > 0:01:07The year where America and Russia played a game of global poker with nuclear weapons
0:01:07 > 0:01:11and the world seemed minutes away from World War III.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14We all stood looking towards the west
0:01:14 > 0:01:16to see if there was going to be
0:01:16 > 0:01:20some kind of major orange explosion in the sky or something.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24A year when a new generation had something to say
0:01:24 > 0:01:26and Liverpool hummed to the beat of 300 pop groups
0:01:26 > 0:01:29as the city became the centre of the pop universe.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31# Love me do. #
0:01:31 > 0:01:331962 changed my life completely.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37One minute, I'm working as a secretary
0:01:37 > 0:01:39in a general office just around the corner,
0:01:39 > 0:01:42next minute, I'm in the hub of Beatlemania.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44If you went abroad and spoke with a Liverpool accent,
0:01:44 > 0:01:47you were treated like God.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50That was how '62 was a momentous year in Liverpool
0:01:50 > 0:01:53and elevated and changed so many people's lives.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55It was absolutely incredible.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59For the Beatles, it was a year of keeping secrets.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01A year of intrigue, tragedy,
0:02:01 > 0:02:04betrayal and ruthless ambition.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07Tonight, we'll be finding out what happened, why it happened
0:02:07 > 0:02:10and why we should all be thankful for 1962.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12# Love me do
0:02:13 > 0:02:16# Oh, oh, love me do. #
0:02:17 > 0:02:23HARMONICA RECITAL
0:02:29 > 0:02:32It's The Beatles!
0:02:32 > 0:02:34MUSIC: "Some Other Guy" by The Beatles
0:02:53 > 0:02:56# Some other guy, now
0:02:56 > 0:02:59# Is taking my love away from me Oh, now
0:02:59 > 0:03:01# Some other guy, now
0:03:01 > 0:03:04# Is taking away my sweet desire Oh, now
0:03:04 > 0:03:06# Some other guy, now
0:03:06 > 0:03:09# I just don't wanna hold my hand Oh, now
0:03:09 > 0:03:10# I'm the lonely one... #
0:03:10 > 0:03:15This is the only surviving film of The Beatles in the Cavern.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18It's August 1962 and one of Ringo's earliest appearances
0:03:18 > 0:03:19with John, Paul and George.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22The kings are in their castle and they're going down a storm.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25In a few weeks, life for The Beatles will change forever.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29But for the moment, the future is uncertain.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33# Oh, now I'm the lonely one As lonely as I can feel, all right. #
0:03:38 > 0:03:41To keep spirits up, they have their own catchphrase.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44John Lennon will ask, "Where are we going, boys?"
0:03:44 > 0:03:48And the band will reply, "To the toppermost of the poppermost, Johnnie."
0:03:48 > 0:03:50The toppermost is still some way off.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53So for the moment, The Cavern will have to do.
0:03:53 > 0:03:58# Some other guy is making me very, very mad, oh, now
0:03:58 > 0:04:00# Some other guy, now
0:04:00 > 0:04:03# Is taking apart all of my past Oh, now
0:04:03 > 0:04:04# Some other guy, now
0:04:04 > 0:04:07# She was the first girl I ever had
0:04:07 > 0:04:09# Oh, now, I'm the lonely one
0:04:09 > 0:04:12# As lonely as I can feel
0:04:12 > 0:04:15# Oh-ho-ho-ho
0:04:15 > 0:04:19# I'm a-talking to you right now. #
0:04:32 > 0:04:34HORN SOUNDS
0:04:36 > 0:04:41# Moon river
0:04:41 > 0:04:45# Wider than a mile
0:04:45 > 0:04:52# I'm crossing you in style some day. #
0:04:52 > 0:04:55Moon River was the number one song as 1962 dawned
0:04:55 > 0:04:58and the New Year brought hope for many in Liverpool.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01The days of the frugal '50s seemed at last to be long gone.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05Beer was ten pence a pint, bread five pence a loaf.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08The average wage was £800 a year.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10There was much to look forward to.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14None more so than The Beatles, who found themselves in London on New Year's Day,
0:05:14 > 0:05:17auditioning for a recording contract with Decca Records.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21# Hello, little girl
0:05:21 > 0:05:24# Hello, little girl. #
0:05:24 > 0:05:25The Beatles had high hopes,
0:05:25 > 0:05:30but a hard day's night drinking in the new year had taken its toll.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33The session did not go well.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35It was a hangover to remember for drummer Pete Best,
0:05:35 > 0:05:38who's just been voted the fans' favourite Beatle.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42Brian Epstein read the riot act to us before we went down.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45"Be good little boys. You mustn't be out after 10 o'clock."
0:05:45 > 0:05:49And there we were in the middle of Trafalgar Square,
0:05:49 > 0:05:54drunk as skunks enjoying New Year's Day.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56Or the advent of New Year's Day.
0:05:56 > 0:06:02And, of course, when we actually got to the Decca studios the next day,
0:06:02 > 0:06:07we were late. Seems to be our history being late.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11Brian, of course, was there before us and he was absolutely livid.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15He tore a strip off us left, right and centre.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18John just basically turned around and said,
0:06:18 > 0:06:21"Brian, shut up. We're here for the audition."
0:06:25 > 0:06:28All the bright hopes for the new year were overshadowed
0:06:28 > 0:06:32as America and Russia went head-to-head in nuclear bomb testing.
0:06:32 > 0:06:33The Cold War was entering an ice age.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37It would become a global crisis later in the year.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44On the dance floors, nobody seemed to care.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48A new dance craze had everyone in a twist.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51RECORDING: 'From Mayfair to Marseille, from Missouri to Manchester,
0:06:51 > 0:06:54'the Twist has set the world's feet a-tapping.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58'Everyone everywhere has danced to the beat that's topped the pops
0:06:58 > 0:07:01'and inspired twist skirts, twist shirts and even twist haircuts.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03'North London barber Tom Ahmed
0:07:03 > 0:07:07'has translated this ding-dong dance into hair.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09'A hairstyle which soon became a share style
0:07:09 > 0:07:12'when the girls liked the look of their boyfriends' sleek locks.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16'Once a male preserve, togetherness is now the order of the day.'
0:07:22 > 0:07:26# Sweet dream, baby... #
0:07:26 > 0:07:30In Liverpool, the place to buy records was at NEMS.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33North End Music Stores, owned by the Epstein family
0:07:33 > 0:07:36and run by Brian Epstein.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38The store boasted they'd find any record you asked for.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42One request for a German single, My Bonnie by Tony Sheridan,
0:07:42 > 0:07:44backed by a group called The Beatles,
0:07:44 > 0:07:47led Epstein to go and see them at the nearby Cavern Club.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51He was so impressed, he offered to manage them.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53They agreed a deal that gave him
0:07:53 > 0:07:5525% of their earnings for the next five years.
0:07:55 > 0:08:00In return, he vowed to get them a record deal in 1962
0:08:00 > 0:08:04and tells everyone he meets they'll be bigger than Elvis.
0:08:04 > 0:08:11The Beatles were then just four lads on that rather dimly-lit stage,
0:08:11 > 0:08:13somewhat ill clad
0:08:13 > 0:08:17and the presentation left a little to be desired,
0:08:17 > 0:08:19as far as I was concerned
0:08:19 > 0:08:23because I've been interested in the theatre and acting for a long time.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25But amongst all that,
0:08:25 > 0:08:28something tremendous came over.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32And I was immediately struck by their music,
0:08:32 > 0:08:36their beat and their sense of humour, actually, onstage.
0:08:36 > 0:08:38And even afterwards when I met them,
0:08:38 > 0:08:40I was struck again by their personal charm.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44And it was there that really, it all started.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48But Epstein was a troubled man.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51Outwardly, he was the genial new manager of The Beatles.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53But he shared with them a secret.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56He was homosexual and ran the risk of being arrested
0:08:56 > 0:08:58and facing a jail sentence.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01For in 1962, it was against the law to have sex with another man.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04Epstein risked everything.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06The more he worked with The Beatles,
0:09:06 > 0:09:09the more his secret life came under the spotlight.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12He had already been badly beaten up and blackmailed.
0:09:12 > 0:09:19There was one particular night that he'd spent in my company.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23And we'd been out to dinner and we had a very nice night.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27And I had a very nice apartment on Princes Road at the time.
0:09:27 > 0:09:32But then he decides to go his own...
0:09:32 > 0:09:34"Good night. See you."
0:09:34 > 0:09:36And he went out
0:09:36 > 0:09:40and er...met somebody who...
0:09:40 > 0:09:45He was quite, um...I would say quite vulnerable, really.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48If somebody said they liked him or made a fuss of him,
0:09:48 > 0:09:51he'd be pleased with that.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55But he would open himself up to the wrong type of people.
0:09:55 > 0:10:00Anyway, eventually, he came back to me that same night.
0:10:00 > 0:10:05When he left me he had a beautiful, white Peter England,
0:10:05 > 0:10:09that was his favourite shirt. He came back to me and it was red.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12As red as could be. He had been knocked about.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16He would enjoy people who are rough. He liked their company.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22Epstein tried to keep his secret life away from The Beatles
0:10:22 > 0:10:23but there was one occasion
0:10:23 > 0:10:27when he made his feelings known to Pete Best on a trip to Blackpool.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30John and Cyndi were in the back seat, I was in the front.
0:10:30 > 0:10:35We'd had a couple of pints and we could see the tower of Blackpool in the distance
0:10:35 > 0:10:39and Brian turned over and very casually turned round
0:10:39 > 0:10:46and said, "How would you enjoy spending the night with me in Blackpool?"
0:10:46 > 0:10:48And it was said in such a tone
0:10:48 > 0:10:51it wasn't just a case of having a couple of drinks
0:10:51 > 0:10:54and I basically turned round and said,
0:10:54 > 0:10:59"You're picking on the wrong kid, Brian. I'm not that way inclined."
0:10:59 > 0:11:04He apologised. John and Cyndi were in the car.
0:11:04 > 0:11:09They just sort of looked when we got out and they turned round and said,
0:11:09 > 0:11:13"Did we hear what we thought we heard?" and I went, "Yeah."
0:11:13 > 0:11:15And John just sort of went...
0:11:17 > 0:11:18And nothing more was said.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20I didn't go around with a great big placard
0:11:20 > 0:11:23saying "Brian's propositioned me!" It was like,
0:11:23 > 0:11:27it's happened, let's push it under the carpet
0:11:27 > 0:11:29and that's the way we were treating it.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34- # Do you love me - I can really move
0:11:34 > 0:11:38- # Do you love me? - I'm in the groove
0:11:38 > 0:11:41- # Now, do you love me? - Do you love me? #
0:11:41 > 0:11:43This is one of the most famous streets
0:11:43 > 0:11:45in the history of popular music.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47People come from all over the world to look
0:11:47 > 0:11:50and to listen to get their photograph taken.
0:11:50 > 0:11:5250 years ago though
0:11:52 > 0:11:58only a select few in Liverpool knew that this was the place to be.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06- # I can mash-potato - I can mash-potato
0:12:06 > 0:12:10- # And I can do the twist - I can do the twist... #
0:12:10 > 0:12:13Not much to look at upstairs but downstairs
0:12:13 > 0:12:17what Brian Epstein called a Cellarful Of Noise -
0:12:17 > 0:12:20dark, dingy, hot, sweaty -
0:12:20 > 0:12:22everything a rock'n'roll club should be.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26MUSIC: "Do You Love Me?" by The Contours
0:12:32 > 0:12:34I think the Cavern was extremely important
0:12:34 > 0:12:36to the groups in Liverpool.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39One of the reasons was they had somewhere to practise
0:12:39 > 0:12:42after the lunchtime sessions,
0:12:42 > 0:12:47plus they could play as loud as they could cos it's a cellar,
0:12:47 > 0:12:52and where it was associated it didn't affect anybody, the noise.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56But there was also the atmosphere in the Cavern itself
0:12:56 > 0:13:00and I suppose you know about the Cavern smell?
0:13:00 > 0:13:04People said it was a horrible smell but I actually liked it.
0:13:04 > 0:13:09It was a mixture of, as I say, body sweat, cleaning fluids...
0:13:09 > 0:13:12But also we had the fruit market opposite
0:13:12 > 0:13:17so you got the smell of fruit mixed in.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27'Once more, Colonel John Glenn was all set to journey into space.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31'He showed no signs of tension despite previous frustrations and delays.'
0:13:31 > 0:13:35While Liverpool had its underground heroes, over in America
0:13:35 > 0:13:40new, cleaner-cut versions were making the dream of space exploration a reality.
0:13:40 > 0:13:46'This time, conditions were perfect. The launching itself without fault.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55'All went well with the giant Atlas Rocket
0:13:55 > 0:14:00'and at 17,545 mph Colonel Glenn went into orbit.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05THEY CHANT: We want work! We want work!
0:14:05 > 0:14:08But back in Liverpool,
0:14:08 > 0:14:12the city was in the grip of one of its worst unemployment crises.
0:14:12 > 0:14:1430,000 men were out of work on Merseyside.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17That's 33 men for every job vacancy.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19More than double the national average.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23It was this lack of jobs, especially for young people,
0:14:23 > 0:14:25that helped create so many groups in the city.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27If you were young in 1962,
0:14:27 > 0:14:30music was the best escape route even if you were still at school.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34I saw the Beatles
0:14:34 > 0:14:38halfway through January that year
0:14:38 > 0:14:39and I left school a couple of days later
0:14:39 > 0:14:41because I knew what I wanted to do.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45I started as a 15-year-old schoolboy,
0:14:45 > 0:14:48only just 15 by the way,
0:14:48 > 0:14:55and ended it playing in one of the biggest groups in Liverpool.
0:14:55 > 0:15:00Also playing on the same bill two or three times week as The Beatles
0:15:00 > 0:15:02at the Cavern and various gigs around Liverpool.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07In Liverpool around that time, we had lots of clubs,
0:15:07 > 0:15:12youth clubs, and in the youth clubs they had boxing, table tennis
0:15:12 > 0:15:14and whatever, football and music.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17So you either boxed or you played music
0:15:17 > 0:15:21and we all had sense and we played music.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23I boxed for a few years and that was enough for me.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26So we thought, right, let's stick to the guitars,
0:15:26 > 0:15:28leave the boxing to the big boys.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30So we'd just form bands,
0:15:30 > 0:15:33and there was hundreds of bands in Liverpool. Great rivalry.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36We were great rivals with the Beatles onstage.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38Offstage, best of mates.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42John was my best pal but onstage - "Let's be better than them!"
0:15:42 > 0:15:45There must be about 300 or so rock'n'roll groups in Liverpool.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47You've only got to mention Liverpool
0:15:47 > 0:15:50and all the fans start screaming and going wild. It's glamour!
0:15:50 > 0:15:52But when you weigh it up it's rather ironic to think
0:15:52 > 0:15:56that there's about twice as many people on the dole here as anywhere else in the country.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59It is a good thing, the fact that they are on the dole,
0:15:59 > 0:16:01as far as they can spend all day practising,
0:16:01 > 0:16:06whereas, if they had a normal job, they wouldn't be able to do that at all.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08Oh, in fact one chap used to play with us -
0:16:08 > 0:16:10he was on and off the dole for about five years in all.
0:16:10 > 0:16:12But, seriously, there's loads of vitality
0:16:12 > 0:16:15and talent ready to break out of Liverpool at any time at all.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19MUSIC: "He's A Rebel" by The Crystals
0:16:23 > 0:16:25The Beatles exploded with energy.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28Trips to Hamburg where they were playing eight hours a night non-stop
0:16:28 > 0:16:30had turned them into savage young Beatles,
0:16:30 > 0:16:36rampant, ready to rock and shock, dressed from head to toe in leather.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40# Cos he's not just one of the crowd... #
0:16:40 > 0:16:43We bought leather pants and we looked like four Gene Vincents,
0:16:43 > 0:16:45only a bit younger, I think.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47And that was it - we just kept those,
0:16:47 > 0:16:50the leather gear, till Brian came along.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54It was the first thing that Epstein changed.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57He put them in suits.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01It was a bit sort of old hat anyway, all wearing leather gear,
0:17:01 > 0:17:04and we decided we didn't want to look ridiculous,
0:17:04 > 0:17:06just going on because, more often than not,
0:17:06 > 0:17:10too many people would laugh. It was just stupid.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13We didn't want to appear as a gang of idiots
0:17:13 > 0:17:16and Brian suggested we just sort of wore ordinary suits.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20So we just got what we thought were quite good suits
0:17:20 > 0:17:23and just got rid of the leather gear.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26- Can I talk to you about Brian Epstein?- Oh, certainly, yes.
0:17:26 > 0:17:31- What does he mean to you as a manager?- Brian? Oh, money!
0:17:31 > 0:17:35No, seriously though, he has done a lot for us.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38He tells us all kinds what to do.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41He made us that were suits and look better and everything.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44But even in our private lives he plays a hell of a lot.
0:17:44 > 0:17:45When we met Brian,
0:17:45 > 0:17:48Brian would say to us, "Slow down when you're talking.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51"I don't know what you're saying." Cos we were Scouse.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54HE SPEAKS IN IMPENETRABLE SCOUSE ACCENT
0:17:54 > 0:17:56"Whoa," he'd say, "If you become famous,
0:17:56 > 0:17:59"how can you go and talk like that on the radio or television?
0:17:59 > 0:18:02"Slow down, take it easy." And we thought, "All right."
0:18:02 > 0:18:05And he said, "If you go out, wear a suit.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08"Don't wear your jeans and an old t-shirt, wear a suit."
0:18:11 > 0:18:14Decca Records weren't impressed by The Beatles in suits or leather.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17They turned down the chance to sign the group.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20The lines of rejection are recorded forever in infamy.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22They told Epstein...
0:18:27 > 0:18:31The news threw Epstein into the depths of despair.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33He was the one who felt the rejection more than anyone else
0:18:33 > 0:18:37because he was the new kid on the block, in a way, if we could put it that way.
0:18:37 > 0:18:42He was the new manager, big hopes, major record company, Decca,
0:18:42 > 0:18:49and more or less thinking to his own sweet self, this one's in the bag.
0:18:49 > 0:18:50We turned round and told Brian,
0:18:50 > 0:18:54"We lost that one. It doesn't change the way we perform.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57"In fact, it makes us a little bit more determined.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00"But it is also going to make YOU more determined as well.
0:19:00 > 0:19:01"YOU'VE got to get over the rejection."
0:19:01 > 0:19:04I think that was the message that we put out.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07Still reeling from the Decca rejection,
0:19:07 > 0:19:12The Beatles were shocked to discover their friend and former Beatle, Stuart Sutcliffe,
0:19:12 > 0:19:15had died from a brain haemorrhage in Hamburg.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17Sutcliffe was the king of cool.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20The boy with the James Dean looks, who dressed in black,
0:19:20 > 0:19:23and who John Lennon said gave The Beatles their style.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26He was also a talented young artist
0:19:26 > 0:19:28and John Lennon's closest friend at art school.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30He'd left the group the previous year
0:19:30 > 0:19:33and gone back to studying art while they were in Hamburg.
0:19:33 > 0:19:34That's all he ever wanted to be.
0:19:34 > 0:19:39He never ever had an ambition to be anything else.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42When parents ask children,
0:19:42 > 0:19:45"What are you going to be when you grow up?"
0:19:45 > 0:19:48He'd always say, "I want to paint." And he did.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52For Stuart, leaving The Beatles was a difficult choice.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56It was over the months that he realised
0:19:56 > 0:19:58that he really couldn't manage both.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02There weren't enough hours in the day.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06I think he was terribly upset and worried about telling John.
0:20:06 > 0:20:07Rightly.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13John felt the loss of Stuart more than the other Beatles.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15I think he felt quite betrayed.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20And, in some ways, he had a right to feel,
0:20:20 > 0:20:27you know, he'd done a lot to ensure that Stuart was with him,
0:20:27 > 0:20:34and part of his passion and what a passion he had.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37So he was generous with his passion
0:20:37 > 0:20:42and Stuart was generous with his with John and I do believe
0:20:42 > 0:20:45he felt that Stuart took that away from him.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48Which to some extent he did.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57Sir Peter Blake, the leading light behind British pop art,
0:20:57 > 0:21:00was a close friend of The Beatles for many years.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03He designed the front cover of the Sgt Pepper album and would later
0:21:03 > 0:21:08paint this portrait of The Beatles from photographs taken in 1962.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10Sir Peter has close links with Liverpool.
0:21:10 > 0:21:15In 1961, he won the prestigious John Moores Young Artist Of The Year award.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18He believes Sutcliffe was a rare talent.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21It was something John Lennon would always champion.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23Oddly enough, the very first thing
0:21:23 > 0:21:26that John Lennon said to me when we first met,
0:21:26 > 0:21:30for some reason the John Moores came up
0:21:30 > 0:21:35and the fact that I'd won the junior prize, and he said,
0:21:35 > 0:21:38"You should never have got that, Stuart should have got that."
0:21:38 > 0:21:43And he meant it. So his first... He was always kind of abrasive
0:21:43 > 0:21:45but his very first statement was that -
0:21:45 > 0:21:49"Stuart Sutcliffe should have won that junior prize, not you."
0:21:49 > 0:21:51In a grumpy way.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05You don't get as many ferries across the Mersey anymore.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08You don't get much craft of any kind really.
0:22:08 > 0:22:09But back in 1962
0:22:09 > 0:22:12Liverpool was one of the world's major seaports.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15The docks would've stretched for miles along here
0:22:15 > 0:22:20and craft of every kind would pour in from all over the globe bringing cargo of every kind
0:22:20 > 0:22:23including one that made Liverpool pop capital of the world.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27Many of the ships were coming from New York.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30For those in Liverpool, America was the land of milk and honey.
0:22:30 > 0:22:35And records. Chunks of vinyl you couldn't get anywhere else.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38And the boys on the boats were bringing them home.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58They'd come from the States with records
0:22:58 > 0:23:03and there was always one person from every family who was in the merchant navy going back and forward
0:23:03 > 0:23:05and they'd bring the records in with them.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09The first one I heard which changed my life was Elvis Presley
0:23:09 > 0:23:12singing Hound Dog and Heartbreak Hotel.
0:23:12 > 0:23:13And I had a skiffle band,
0:23:13 > 0:23:16and when I heard it and heard the piano in it,
0:23:16 > 0:23:19I thought, I want a piano in the band.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21So we got a piano in our band
0:23:21 > 0:23:25and we were the first band in Liverpool with a piano.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28Thanks to Elvis and thanks to all the people bringing the records in
0:23:28 > 0:23:30and that was very important.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32MUSIC: "Good Golly Miss Molly" by Little Richard
0:23:41 > 0:23:45They used to bring furniture back, kitchen furniture in particular,
0:23:45 > 0:23:50because we were refurbishing our homes
0:23:50 > 0:23:55and the American kitchen table and four chairs was Formica
0:23:55 > 0:23:58which we didn't have up to then.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01They were bringing those home.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04And various other things. Boxes of nylons.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08But my brother preferred to bring me in particular
0:24:08 > 0:24:11the records that I wanted.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15# Good golly, Miss Molly
0:24:15 > 0:24:18# Sure like to ball
0:24:18 > 0:24:21# When you're rocking and a'rolling... #
0:24:21 > 0:24:23These records were coming in on the boats
0:24:23 > 0:24:29so then they'd get circulated around the music community in Liverpool,
0:24:29 > 0:24:32kids at home would be learning the lyrics.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34You'd put the needle on the edge of the record
0:24:34 > 0:24:37and you'd play it through, somebody would be jotting down the lyrics
0:24:37 > 0:24:39and get as far as you could
0:24:39 > 0:24:42and then wind the single back on the turntable again,
0:24:42 > 0:24:46let it go, jot down the next set of lyrics.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48That's how a lot of the lyrics were learned,
0:24:48 > 0:24:51cos kids couldn't buy sheet music necessarily.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54It perpetuated, it was fascinating because it perpetuated.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57If you were listening to, I don't know, an old Bobby Darin single or something
0:24:57 > 0:25:00and he mispronounced one of the words
0:25:00 > 0:25:03as everybody was writing it down,
0:25:03 > 0:25:07that missed lyric would then perpetuate into the English version.
0:25:07 > 0:25:12- So, it was, you know... - HE LAUGHS
0:25:12 > 0:25:16All of this demonstrates the innocence of the time really.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24MUSIC: "Town Without Pity" by Gene Pitney
0:25:27 > 0:25:31Liverpool still wore the proud face of Victorian prosperity
0:25:31 > 0:25:33but its body was broken.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35It had the worst housing problems in Britain.
0:25:35 > 0:25:3880,000 homes were regarded as not fit to live in -
0:25:38 > 0:25:40that's slums to you and me,
0:25:40 > 0:25:42and it brought with it its own problems.
0:25:44 > 0:25:50About 15% of the children live in small houses shortly due for demolition.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54Not so long ago, a little boy came to school in great distress
0:25:54 > 0:25:56because his pet dog had been killed
0:25:56 > 0:26:00by a rat at the bottom of his bed that morning.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04Also, they have very little background knowledge.
0:26:04 > 0:26:09We try to take them out to parks and farms.
0:26:09 > 0:26:10This week, some of them
0:26:10 > 0:26:13saw the cow for the very first time in their lives.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16There'd been ambitious plans since the war to rehouse people
0:26:16 > 0:26:19from the city centre in new suburban housing estates.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21Most houses, though, still had an outside toilet,
0:26:21 > 0:26:23no fridges, no central heating.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27# Many problems... #
0:26:27 > 0:26:31We still had the dolly peg in the tub and she'd do the washing
0:26:31 > 0:26:34and she'd say, "Right, Gerry, your turn." Never called me Gerry.
0:26:34 > 0:26:39"Right, Gerard, dolly." "All right, Mam, dolly."
0:26:39 > 0:26:41So I'd get there...for an hour.
0:26:41 > 0:26:43After an hour you've got muscles...
0:26:43 > 0:26:46That's why Liverpool women were hard cases.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50They had big muscles with dollying, going down the wash house.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54But that was life, you didn't think of it being wrong.
0:26:54 > 0:26:59The houses where we lived were slums? They weren't slums at all.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03The steps were spotless, the brasses were clean, the house was great.
0:27:03 > 0:27:08And they'd say, "Where we live, we can leave our doors open."
0:27:08 > 0:27:12And we said, "Yeah, because there's nothing to steal."
0:27:12 > 0:27:17This is the kitchen of a fairly typical Liverpudlian council house,
0:27:17 > 0:27:19built just after the Second World War.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21So there's no microwave or dishwasher obviously
0:27:21 > 0:27:24but there's a twin tub - very smart - Belfast sink.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27It's a good example of the social housing of the day.
0:27:27 > 0:27:31But that's not the only reason the National Trust bought it.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35They bought it because this is the house Paul McCartney grew up in.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43Paul lived here with brother Mike in 1962.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46Paul would write songs while Mike would take photographs.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01So this is where, in some ways, you could say the Beatles story really begins.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05In the garden of Forthlin Road where, it's said during 1958, Paul McCartney,
0:28:05 > 0:28:09playing truant from school wrote the bulk of what would become
0:28:09 > 0:28:13Love Me Do with a little addition of a middle eight by one John Lennon.
0:28:13 > 0:28:15But neither he, nor John,
0:28:15 > 0:28:19nor anyone could have known what that little song would lead to.
0:28:23 > 0:28:28For years, legend has had it that Love Me Do was written about Iris Fenton.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31Iris was the envy of all her friends in 1962.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34She was 17 and a dancer.
0:28:34 > 0:28:36Better still, she was dating Paul McCartney.
0:28:36 > 0:28:42It wasn't until the end of '61
0:28:42 > 0:28:49that I think I started to notice him as a fella, sort of thing.
0:28:49 > 0:28:56Then we went out for quite a long time, until '63.
0:28:56 > 0:29:01But, in saying we went out, I wasn't always in Liverpool,
0:29:01 > 0:29:03he was often in Hamburg.
0:29:03 > 0:29:09There were letters he used to write all the time and everything
0:29:09 > 0:29:14and it was really good fun.
0:29:14 > 0:29:19Initially, we would go out on a Tuesday to the pictures
0:29:19 > 0:29:22and sometimes he would pay and sometimes I would pay.
0:29:25 > 0:29:27It was all so very different. We would get the bus then.
0:29:27 > 0:29:30But I was with him when he got his first car.
0:29:31 > 0:29:35So it all sort of grew from there.
0:29:35 > 0:29:37Some people have asked me about Love Me Do
0:29:37 > 0:29:40and whether it was written about me. It wasn't.
0:29:40 > 0:29:44It was written before I was going out with him
0:29:44 > 0:29:47and it might have been written about his girlfriend before
0:29:47 > 0:29:50but it was definitely not written about me.
0:29:52 > 0:29:54Iris was sister of Rory Storm.
0:29:54 > 0:29:58Rory and his group The Hurricanes were one of The Beatles' closest rivals.
0:29:58 > 0:30:01They had a drummer called Richard Starkey - Ringo to you and me.
0:30:01 > 0:30:04And the bands would meet up after sessions at the Cavern.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07Of a night, whatever groups had been on at the Cavern,
0:30:07 > 0:30:10they all used to come back to our house.
0:30:10 > 0:30:12It was called Stormsville.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15They called me mum and dad Ma and Pa Storm.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18Well, the Beatles used to call me dad the Crusher
0:30:18 > 0:30:20and they called me mum Violent Vi.
0:30:20 > 0:30:25I've got no idea why! But everybody used to come back to our house.
0:30:25 > 0:30:27It was...
0:30:27 > 0:30:30Mum used to make chip butties or cheese barm cakes
0:30:30 > 0:30:31and pots and pots of tea.
0:30:31 > 0:30:35And we just used to laugh all night and people would be strumming guitars
0:30:35 > 0:30:39and me dad would be in bed shouting, "Who's using my electricity?"
0:30:39 > 0:30:43And next door would bang on the wall, but it was absolutely fantastic.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46Anyone who went to Stormsville, ask them
0:30:46 > 0:30:48and they'll say there wasn't a house like it.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02A crime show based at Kirkby, near Liverpool,
0:31:02 > 0:31:06had the nation enthralled, and a new catchphrase was born.
0:31:06 > 0:31:11- Z-Victor 1 to BD. - Go ahead, Z-Victor 1.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14The crime series reflected the key change in police policy
0:31:14 > 0:31:17that many now regret - moving away from bobbies on the beat
0:31:17 > 0:31:20into what became known as panda cars.
0:31:20 > 0:31:22It was recorded live each week and offered
0:31:22 > 0:31:26young actors like Brian Blessed and Judi Dench their TV debuts.
0:31:26 > 0:31:29- What's your name? - Judy Garland.- Oh, aye?
0:31:29 > 0:31:32- Shall I sing a song, like, prove it? - Look, stop messing about, just...
0:31:32 > 0:31:36- Hey!- # Ever since this world began... #- Hey, shut it.
0:31:36 > 0:31:39- Well, you're not long on manners, are you?- What's your name?
0:31:39 > 0:31:43- Marlon Brando.- Oh, come on.- Hey, no!
0:31:43 > 0:31:46- We haven't got time to waste playing games with the likes of you.- Oh.
0:31:46 > 0:31:50# Oh, yes, wait a minute, Mr Postman... #
0:31:50 > 0:31:54The month of May brought the best of news in a telegram for the Beatles.
0:31:54 > 0:31:56Epstein's hard work had paid off.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00EMI Records offered a recording deal on their small Parlophone label,
0:32:00 > 0:32:03working with a young producer called George Martin.
0:32:03 > 0:32:05He asked them to record a demo session of their songs
0:32:05 > 0:32:08to help choose the debut single.
0:32:08 > 0:32:10We had the recording session.
0:32:10 > 0:32:13These were basically to let... as it turned out,
0:32:13 > 0:32:18George Martin, Ron Richards and Norm Smith, that was the crew.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21Er, let them know, you know,
0:32:21 > 0:32:24these were the songs we were possibly considering.
0:32:24 > 0:32:29Let them hear. And in a way it was, er, George Martin's decision.
0:32:29 > 0:32:36I mean, he opted for Love Me Do, with the B-side being PS I Love You.
0:32:36 > 0:32:39And that was the first release, the A and the B-side.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43As August began, there was sad news from America.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46Marilyn Monroe, the golden girl of Hollywood,
0:32:46 > 0:32:49leaves behind a glittering and tragic legend.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52Presentation to the Queen of England was but one climax
0:32:52 > 0:32:55in a life that began drearily as an unwanted child
0:32:55 > 0:32:59and ended in a lonely self-inflicted death 36 years later.
0:32:59 > 0:33:0350 years on, the circumstances of Marilyn's death are still shrouded in controversy.
0:33:03 > 0:33:05The Beatles share a similar mystery,
0:33:05 > 0:33:11a whodunnit that still has no real answer - the sacking of Pete Best.
0:33:11 > 0:33:14The plot thickens because we now know that George Martin
0:33:14 > 0:33:17was unhappy with Best's style of drumming on the demo session.
0:33:17 > 0:33:21He told Epstein he would probably use a session drummer
0:33:21 > 0:33:23when they came to record.
0:33:23 > 0:33:26But nobody was telling Best.
0:33:26 > 0:33:29Lennon and McCartney shared a ruthless ambition to succeed.
0:33:29 > 0:33:33If there was a doubt about Pete's drumming ability, then he was out.
0:33:33 > 0:33:34And out he went.
0:33:34 > 0:33:38Brian Epstein reveals in his book A Cellarful Of Noise,
0:33:38 > 0:33:41"One night the three of them approached me and said, 'We want Pete out and Ringo in.'
0:33:41 > 0:33:46"I decided that if the group were to remain happy Pete Best must go."
0:33:46 > 0:33:49Epstein summoned Best to a meeting.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52And I went in happy as Larry. You know.
0:33:52 > 0:33:54The last thing in me mind
0:33:54 > 0:33:57was that I was going to get kicked out the Beatles.
0:33:57 > 0:34:00And when I walked in...erm...
0:34:00 > 0:34:03Brian was very agitated, flustered,
0:34:03 > 0:34:06he wasn't his normal cool, calm, placid self.
0:34:07 > 0:34:09And he...mumbled
0:34:09 > 0:34:14and basically talked round the subject for a couple of minutes.
0:34:14 > 0:34:15And then he turned round and said,
0:34:15 > 0:34:19"Pete, I really don't know how to turn round and tell you this.
0:34:19 > 0:34:21"The boys want you out."
0:34:21 > 0:34:24And I think the key word was, "It's already been arranged that
0:34:24 > 0:34:29"Ringo will join the band... erm...on Saturday."
0:34:29 > 0:34:32And that was the bombshell. To me it was like disbelief.
0:34:32 > 0:34:36It was like, "Hang on a moment, I'll wake up in a minute
0:34:36 > 0:34:38"and this is all gone."
0:34:38 > 0:34:41Stuck for words, the bombshell had happened,
0:34:41 > 0:34:44I turned round and told Brian, "What's the reason for it?"
0:34:44 > 0:34:49You know, and he turned round and said, "They feel that Ringo's a better drummer."
0:34:49 > 0:34:52Which at that stage didn't make sense, because I had
0:34:52 > 0:34:56the reputation of being one of the best drummers in Liverpool.
0:34:56 > 0:35:01It's fine if people think about me as, you know, the poor guy. That's their impression.
0:35:01 > 0:35:05You know, poor emotions, I can see where it's coming from.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09You know, "You should have been part of the biggest thing in showbusiness."
0:35:09 > 0:35:11What they fail to forget is that, yeah, I mean,
0:35:11 > 0:35:14I have a lot of pride and, you know, hold my head up high,
0:35:14 > 0:35:17the fact that, yes, I did a lot for that band initially.
0:35:17 > 0:35:21You know, I had two years with them. Maybe I would have had more.
0:35:21 > 0:35:24Karma turned round and said it wasn't meant to be.
0:35:24 > 0:35:26You know, but whatever I achieved
0:35:26 > 0:35:29and whatever I achieved afterwards and since then
0:35:29 > 0:35:32I've always been proud of the fact.
0:35:32 > 0:35:37And it's always nice to have been associated with the number-one band in the world.
0:35:37 > 0:35:42You know. Regardless of how people feel, they can't take that honour away from me.
0:35:46 > 0:35:49The drama of the Best sacking was overshadowed by world events.
0:35:49 > 0:35:53In August, Russia places nuclear missiles on Cuba.
0:35:53 > 0:35:55They're pointing one way - at the USA.
0:35:55 > 0:36:00For a few weeks, it seemed the world was on the brink of a nuclear war between the superpowers.
0:36:00 > 0:36:05- NEWSREEL:- At the White House, making the announcement to the waiting world,
0:36:05 > 0:36:09Mr Kennedy said that only a few days before Foreign Minister Gromyko
0:36:09 > 0:36:13falsely assured him that Russia had put no rockets on Cuba.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16Photographic proof to the contrary was soon in the President's hands.
0:36:16 > 0:36:20It was going to happen at three o'clock one afternoon,
0:36:20 > 0:36:23they were going to drop the bomb or...there was going to be
0:36:23 > 0:36:28some kind of, you know, major global event, and I remember...
0:36:28 > 0:36:31we had a rugger match... HE LAUGHS
0:36:31 > 0:36:33..that day...
0:36:33 > 0:36:37and the teams, we ran out onto the pitch
0:36:37 > 0:36:40and we all stood looking towards the west
0:36:40 > 0:36:47to see if there was going to be some kind of major sort of orange explosion in the sky or something.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50So we were very aware of it, cos CND,
0:36:50 > 0:36:55the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, were so active in those days,
0:36:55 > 0:36:59and in Northampton, where I lived, there were a lot of demonstrations
0:36:59 > 0:37:02in the centre of town, so, yeah, we were very aware of it.
0:37:02 > 0:37:04I was in Hamburg when that happened.
0:37:04 > 0:37:08I remember that very strongly, cos we all had a bit...do-do...
0:37:08 > 0:37:12World War Three here we come. And we were there with our band.
0:37:12 > 0:37:15And Kingsize Taylor had just left.
0:37:15 > 0:37:21But his roadie, John Fanning, had stayed to work in the Star Club
0:37:21 > 0:37:25and he had his bags packed ready to come home!
0:37:25 > 0:37:29He said, "Oh, no, I'm going." We said, "Nah, stay."
0:37:29 > 0:37:33We said, "Well, by 12 o'clock tonight we'll know, one way or the other."
0:37:33 > 0:37:37We said, "Right. Two more bottles of whisky, please,"
0:37:37 > 0:37:39and we just carried on drinking!
0:37:39 > 0:37:43So, if World War Three would have happened, we wouldn't have known!
0:37:43 > 0:37:48- NEWSREEL:- American warships blockaded Cuba and Russia took the missiles away.
0:37:48 > 0:37:50The Kremlin bluff was called
0:37:50 > 0:37:55and, for that, 1962 hailed President Kennedy as Man of the Year.
0:38:01 > 0:38:08Now, some people say you can trace the moment when the '60s began to swing back to August '62.
0:38:08 > 0:38:12Birth-control pills are finally available for widespread use in Britain.
0:38:12 > 0:38:16It will be the start of a sexual revolution that empowered women for the first time.
0:38:16 > 0:38:21Ironically, John Lennon's girlfriend Cynthia Powell was pregnant.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24They secretly marry in what John called his shotgun wedding.
0:38:24 > 0:38:27There must have been something in the water in 1962
0:38:27 > 0:38:31because it was a record-breaking year for pregnancies.
0:38:31 > 0:38:34484,000 births were recorded.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37It was the biggest baby boom since the war.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40A third of all births were delivered at home.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43In 1962, to have an illegitimate child was socially
0:38:43 > 0:38:46one of the worst things that could happen to a young woman.
0:38:46 > 0:38:50Well, in those days, you know, if you look at the records, I think,
0:38:50 > 0:38:54there was...quite a few girls who were having babies out of wedlock,
0:38:54 > 0:38:58as it was called in...well, it's still called that, obviously.
0:38:58 > 0:39:04But, erm... And it was all kept quiet and a lot of those babies, erm...
0:39:04 > 0:39:09you know, er, they...they didn't keep, you know.
0:39:09 > 0:39:15Er...I know personally of three of four...babies,
0:39:15 > 0:39:20and roughly that period as well, actually, '62, '63.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23Erm, so obviously it was sinful,
0:39:23 > 0:39:26looked upon as sinful to have a baby out of wedlock.
0:39:26 > 0:39:29And, as John says, he did the right thing marrying Cynthia.
0:39:29 > 0:39:34When...John and Cynthia married it was a bit of a shotgun wedding,
0:39:34 > 0:39:36which...
0:39:36 > 0:39:40Yeah, some people were surprised, but...I suppose at the time
0:39:40 > 0:39:44in Liverpool there was quite a few shotgun weddings then.
0:39:45 > 0:39:49And...I think everybody just wished them luck and love
0:39:49 > 0:39:53and everything else, and it...wasn't a big deal.
0:39:53 > 0:39:55We were far more progressive in Liverpool
0:39:55 > 0:39:58than the rest of the world, you see.
0:40:07 > 0:40:13Epstein brought the Beatles' communication shutters down in a bid to keep John's marriage secret.
0:40:13 > 0:40:16Elsewhere, it was good to talk,
0:40:16 > 0:40:19as a new television satellite brought the world a little closer.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22MUSIC: "Telstar" by the Tornados
0:40:30 > 0:40:34- NEWSREEL:- At the controls, the Post Office engineers directed the aerial
0:40:34 > 0:40:36in line with a signal from Telstar
0:40:36 > 0:40:39more than 2,000 miles out over the Atlantic.
0:40:45 > 0:40:49Captain Booth and his team were happy men.
0:40:49 > 0:40:52A few more Telstars in orbit
0:40:52 > 0:40:56and we could have all-round-the-clock world TV.
0:41:00 > 0:41:05I still remember now the old sort of hazy black-and-white pictures of...
0:41:05 > 0:41:09with Raymond Baxter, erm.... standing by the screen
0:41:09 > 0:41:14hoping to get some kind of signal from the satellite,
0:41:14 > 0:41:18which hazily, eventually, did come through.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21You know, so this was an absolutely massive event, you know,
0:41:21 > 0:41:25a satellite arcing round the Earth sending pictures back.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28You know, this was revolutionary stuff.
0:41:28 > 0:41:33And of course...Telstar provided a massive hit.
0:41:33 > 0:41:34You know, the Tornados, Joe Meek.
0:41:34 > 0:41:38It was a brilliant record and it was the first single by a British band
0:41:38 > 0:41:41ever to top the American charts.
0:41:41 > 0:41:43That was in '62.
0:41:54 > 0:41:58Just three weeks after Pete Best's sacking, the Beatles,
0:41:58 > 0:42:01with new drummer Ringo, went into Abbey Road Studios on September 4th
0:42:01 > 0:42:03to record with George Martin.
0:42:04 > 0:42:08It should have been their moment of triumph. It wasn't.
0:42:08 > 0:42:12To find out why, we travelled to a small town near New York.
0:42:20 > 0:42:22Andy White lives here now.
0:42:22 > 0:42:25He's 82, and was one of the world's top session drummers
0:42:25 > 0:42:26back in the 1960s.
0:42:26 > 0:42:31Ironically, George Martin wasn't happy with Ringo's drumming either,
0:42:31 > 0:42:33so a week later, on September 11th,
0:42:33 > 0:42:37the call went out to Andy to bring his drums to Abbey Road.
0:42:37 > 0:42:41Well, the strange thing was that...
0:42:41 > 0:42:44it wasn't George Martin who booked me.
0:42:46 > 0:42:50It was a guy called Ron Richards. And, er...
0:42:53 > 0:42:57..what happened was that George couldn't make this session,
0:42:57 > 0:42:58George Martin.
0:42:58 > 0:43:04He couldn't get there till the end, so he had Ron Richards...handle it.
0:43:04 > 0:43:05See?
0:43:05 > 0:43:10And meanwhile they'd had, er...Pete Best do...
0:43:10 > 0:43:12you know, have a go at the songs,
0:43:12 > 0:43:16and then Ringo, and they didn't...
0:43:17 > 0:43:22..exactly know what was wrong, you know, but it just didn't feel right.
0:43:22 > 0:43:27When he walked in, he says Ringo was standing there like a spare part.
0:43:27 > 0:43:31Someone gave him a tambourine to play while Andy took over on drums.
0:43:31 > 0:43:35It was OK. He didn't really say anything. You know.
0:43:36 > 0:43:38In fact, I hardly spoke to him.
0:43:38 > 0:43:42I said hello when we were introduced and that was about it.
0:43:42 > 0:43:45First of all, they weren't working from music.
0:43:47 > 0:43:52The stuff had been done, the music had been done by Paul and John.
0:43:52 > 0:43:58So they were the main characters in the recording studio, for me.
0:43:58 > 0:44:00Because they knew what they wanted.
0:44:01 > 0:44:04You know, what sort of beat they wanted.
0:44:04 > 0:44:08And, er...what I was trying to do with the bass drum
0:44:08 > 0:44:11was follow Paul's pattern,
0:44:11 > 0:44:15the same pattern on the bass drum, you know, to enhance it.
0:44:17 > 0:44:19The technology of the recording process
0:44:19 > 0:44:21was so different in those days.
0:44:21 > 0:44:25I mean, you were basically going from floor to tape, mixed,
0:44:25 > 0:44:27that was it.
0:44:27 > 0:44:32You know, through perhaps a maximum of a four-track recording desk.
0:44:32 > 0:44:36So you were basically recording a live performance in the studio. That was it.
0:44:36 > 0:44:41And maybe you could put a bit of overdubbing on one of the channels
0:44:41 > 0:44:43for an extra vocal or whatever it was,
0:44:43 > 0:44:46but basically, therefore, the band is coming in, they're setting up,
0:44:46 > 0:44:50they're playing live and you're recording that moment.
0:44:50 > 0:44:53And, OK, so that take didn't...quite work,
0:44:53 > 0:44:56so the band just played the song through again and you'd record that.
0:44:56 > 0:44:59And then that didn't quite, so they'd play it through again.
0:44:59 > 0:45:02So you've got a whole number of different takes,
0:45:02 > 0:45:06but they're complete, and then you choose which is the best one,
0:45:06 > 0:45:09so, er, you know, you could do a single...
0:45:09 > 0:45:13You'd expect to do three or four sides in three or four hours,
0:45:13 > 0:45:15because that was it, you know.
0:45:15 > 0:45:17You'd set up, the band would play,
0:45:17 > 0:45:20the song lasted two-and-a-half minutes, you'd record it.
0:45:20 > 0:45:22If the tape was great, "Right, do the B side,
0:45:22 > 0:45:25"PS I Love You," "OK, here we go, one, two, three, four, boomph!"
0:45:25 > 0:45:29You do that and that's how recordings were made in those days.
0:45:29 > 0:45:33The first one we did was, er... Love Me Do.
0:45:35 > 0:45:42And then we did PS I Love You and we did a version of, erm,
0:45:42 > 0:45:44Please Please Me.
0:45:47 > 0:45:48So I did three titles that day...
0:45:50 > 0:45:51..in three hours.
0:45:54 > 0:45:57Andy's brief brush with fame was rewarded
0:45:57 > 0:45:59with a payment of five pounds for the session
0:45:59 > 0:46:02and ten shillings to cover bringing his drums in.
0:46:02 > 0:46:05The difference between the early Pete Best demo version
0:46:05 > 0:46:08and Andy's Love Me Do is quite distinct.
0:46:08 > 0:46:11It's amazing when you compare the two versions of Love Me Do
0:46:11 > 0:46:14because the single that was actually released is pretty meaty.
0:46:14 > 0:46:16It's got a lot of punch to it,
0:46:16 > 0:46:20but the original version doesn't really have that if you listen to this for a second.
0:46:20 > 0:46:22SLOW INTRO TO "Love Me Do"
0:46:22 > 0:46:25OK, this was the way that it was originally done...
0:46:27 > 0:46:30..and it sounds OK, you know, it's, er...
0:46:30 > 0:46:34but it doesn't sound special, I don't think, in any way.
0:46:34 > 0:46:37# Love, love me do... #
0:46:37 > 0:46:40It's all pretty flat and OK...
0:46:40 > 0:46:42if I just stop that for a second
0:46:42 > 0:46:45and now listen to the version that was actually released as a single.
0:46:45 > 0:46:47JAUNTY INTRO TO "Love Me Do"
0:46:47 > 0:46:49Instantly, you know, it's got more punch,
0:46:49 > 0:46:52it's got more bottom ends, it's got more drive,
0:46:52 > 0:46:58and then when the lyrics... when the vocals come in, it's more conviction..
0:46:58 > 0:47:00# Love, love me do... #
0:47:00 > 0:47:02See, they mean it now.
0:47:02 > 0:47:04# You know I love you... #
0:47:04 > 0:47:06So...you wouldn't think, would you,
0:47:06 > 0:47:12that there'd be that huge difference, but there is?
0:47:12 > 0:47:17# Love me do... Whoa-oa, love me do... #
0:47:17 > 0:47:20I heard them playing it and I thought it was crap.
0:47:20 > 0:47:22I said, "I don't like that song."
0:47:22 > 0:47:26And then they said, "Well, it's going to be our first record."
0:47:26 > 0:47:28I said, "Oh, you can do better than that.
0:47:28 > 0:47:33For me, at the time, it just didn't stand out as a great song and...
0:47:33 > 0:47:38I don't know, to this day, I still don't particularly like the song.
0:47:38 > 0:47:39I remember buying it.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43I didn't have a record player
0:47:43 > 0:47:45but I wanted it to get in the charts.
0:47:45 > 0:47:48I think the whole of Liverpool bought Love Me Do,
0:47:48 > 0:47:50but I actually preferred the B side,
0:47:50 > 0:47:53because I used to like them playing...
0:47:53 > 0:47:55I remember them playing that a lot,
0:47:55 > 0:47:58PS I Love You, and I liked that and I couldn't understand
0:47:58 > 0:48:00why that wasn't on the A side.
0:48:00 > 0:48:03It got into the charts, I think, at 17,
0:48:03 > 0:48:06and we were all very pleased about that.
0:48:06 > 0:48:09And they were offered How Do You Do It?
0:48:09 > 0:48:13They didn't want it, so we took it and it got to Number One,
0:48:13 > 0:48:16so they weren't too happy about that,
0:48:16 > 0:48:19and the next record, Please Please Me,
0:48:19 > 0:48:21was the best one I think they've ever made.
0:48:21 > 0:48:25Great song, which, of course, went to Number One. Fabulous song.
0:48:25 > 0:48:29George Martin ended up with three versions of Love Me Do -
0:48:29 > 0:48:31Pete's, Ringo's and Andy's.
0:48:31 > 0:48:32The Ringo version made the charts here
0:48:32 > 0:48:34but Martin preferred Andy's track
0:48:34 > 0:48:39and it was later released abroad and went to Number One in America.
0:48:39 > 0:48:42Andy also plays on the B side, PS I Love You,
0:48:42 > 0:48:45and he now claims he was actually the drummer on one
0:48:45 > 0:48:48of the Beatles' biggest hits, Please Please me.
0:48:48 > 0:48:53From the drum sound, I can tell that it's...that I was on it, you know...
0:48:55 > 0:49:01..because it was a vastly different sound to Ringo's drum set at that time.
0:49:01 > 0:49:05This is before he got the Ludwig kit.
0:49:06 > 0:49:12Each drummer gets an individual sound, er...first of all
0:49:12 > 0:49:16by the way they tune the drums and then by the way they play the drums.
0:49:16 > 0:49:21So that's what I recognise, the sound of the drums
0:49:21 > 0:49:23and the way that it was played.
0:49:23 > 0:49:27It's one of the more intriguing Beatle mysteries - for Ringo,
0:49:27 > 0:49:32there would be a lifetime of fame, for Andy, years of obscurity.
0:49:32 > 0:49:36But for a moment in 1962, he can look back and say...
0:49:36 > 0:49:40It was John, Paul, George and Andy - me -
0:49:40 > 0:49:42not Ringo.
0:49:42 > 0:49:45The irony is not lost on Pete Best.
0:49:45 > 0:49:48It was a little bit like I was imagining to myself
0:49:48 > 0:49:50and I had a bright grin on my face when I heard about it.
0:49:50 > 0:49:53I can imagine Ritchie going down there and Ringo,
0:49:53 > 0:49:56sort of like, "I'm the new drummer, right, listen to me.
0:49:56 > 0:50:00"I'm going to knock Pete into a cocked hat." Same thing happened to him.
0:50:00 > 0:50:03Right? It was very much a case of
0:50:03 > 0:50:06"Hear you, don't like what I'm hearing,
0:50:06 > 0:50:09"so I'm going to get Andy White anyway."
0:50:09 > 0:50:11And, of course, when it came back
0:50:11 > 0:50:16and it became public knowledge that Andy had actually recorded on Love Me Do and PS I Love You
0:50:16 > 0:50:19and on quite a few other little bits and pieces
0:50:19 > 0:50:23it was a little bit like, "Well, as far as I'm concerned, serves you right."
0:50:23 > 0:50:25You know. Er...
0:50:25 > 0:50:30It was a little bit like, well, thank you for small mercies.
0:50:45 > 0:50:47This is the living room where Paul would have listened to
0:50:47 > 0:50:49his dad Jim McCartney's collection of records
0:50:49 > 0:50:53by the likes of David Whitfield and Mario Lanza and Mantovani.
0:50:53 > 0:50:58And in 1962 he added proudly to that collection with one of his own.
0:50:58 > 0:51:02Love Me Do by the Beatles, Parlophone Records, R4949.
0:51:02 > 0:51:07And after all the tears and heartache and intrigue,
0:51:07 > 0:51:11Brian Epstein was not going to let this not be a hit.
0:51:12 > 0:51:15# Love, love me do
0:51:15 > 0:51:19# You know I love you
0:51:19 > 0:51:22# I'll always be true
0:51:22 > 0:51:27# So please
0:51:27 > 0:51:30# Love me do
0:51:30 > 0:51:34# Whoa, love me do... #
0:51:34 > 0:51:38Rumours have always circulated that Brian Epstein rigged the charts
0:51:38 > 0:51:40to ensure the Beatles had a hit record.
0:51:40 > 0:51:43The best thing was, it came to the charts in two days.
0:51:43 > 0:51:45And everybody thought it was a fiddle
0:51:45 > 0:51:50because our manager's stores send in...these, what is it, record things?
0:51:50 > 0:51:52- Returns.- Returns.
0:51:52 > 0:51:58And everybody down south thought, "Oh, he's buying them himself or he's just fiddling the charts," you know.
0:51:58 > 0:51:59But he wasn't.
0:51:59 > 0:52:04You could buy a certain amount of records
0:52:04 > 0:52:08and know that that's the chance it got to get in the charts.
0:52:08 > 0:52:11Well, Brian had a golden opportunity because he had friends
0:52:11 > 0:52:17in the business who was buying and selling records at the same time.
0:52:17 > 0:52:19And he knew the shops to put them in.
0:52:19 > 0:52:26And he went and he bought ten thousand copies of, er, Love Me Do.
0:52:26 > 0:52:30And that was in his storeroom in, er, Whitechapel,
0:52:30 > 0:52:33because I've seen them, they were there, ten thousand copies.
0:52:33 > 0:52:37I said, "My God, Brian, what are you going to do with those?" He said, "Don't worry, they'll sell.
0:52:37 > 0:52:41"When we get them in the charts they'll be in demand."
0:52:41 > 0:52:43And, er... He was very...
0:52:43 > 0:52:46He was so enthusiastic about the Beatles that,
0:52:46 > 0:52:52you know...he knew in his head that, er, they were going to be big.
0:52:52 > 0:52:54I remember Brian Epstein,
0:52:54 > 0:52:58because he was more or less managing us at the same time, er...
0:52:58 > 0:53:02and he found out that we were, you know, on tour, he'd look at our gigs.
0:53:02 > 0:53:05Oh, we're playing Sheffield or we're playing Manchester.
0:53:05 > 0:53:06Erm...
0:53:06 > 0:53:10"Well, OK, will you just go into this record shop and buy a few copies?
0:53:10 > 0:53:13"Don't all go in at the same time, you know." Which we did.
0:53:13 > 0:53:18So I like to think that we did help the Beatles, er, get to number 17.
0:53:18 > 0:53:21If he did that with all his bands, the Dakotas,
0:53:21 > 0:53:26Gerry and the Pacemakers, the Big Three, the Fourmost, Cilla...
0:53:26 > 0:53:28You know, they must have been buying 'em.
0:53:28 > 0:53:33Brian was very shrewd and he... he helped by being such a gentleman.
0:53:33 > 0:53:36Everybody loved Brian, the style he had,
0:53:36 > 0:53:40so if he spent ten grand, God bless him, it worked.
0:53:40 > 0:53:42I don't know how much he spent on me but I got three number ones.
0:53:42 > 0:53:44Thank you, Brian! God bless you, son.
0:53:44 > 0:53:48For Brian, the means certainly justified the end result.
0:53:48 > 0:53:50Love Me Do made a brief appearance at number 17 in the charts.
0:53:50 > 0:53:53It dropped out after a couple of weeks
0:53:53 > 0:53:54but it was a crucial breakthrough.
0:53:54 > 0:53:58It gave the Beatles the credibility they needed.
0:53:58 > 0:54:02I think, you know, to put into context its importance, if you like,
0:54:02 > 0:54:06you have to kind of then wind the clock forward by 16 months or so,
0:54:06 > 0:54:12to February 1964, when the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show.
0:54:12 > 0:54:15Now, bearing in mind that prior to that America hadn't really
0:54:15 > 0:54:17been that aware of the Beatles.
0:54:17 > 0:54:21And then suddenly they exploded into the States in that way.
0:54:21 > 0:54:26And all the records they'd put out so far then burst into the charts together.
0:54:26 > 0:54:31So the Beatles had the whole of the top five of the Billboard charts by about May that year,
0:54:31 > 0:54:35they had 14 singles in the Billboard Hot 100,
0:54:35 > 0:54:39and among those records Love Me Do went to number one.
0:54:39 > 0:54:43MUSIC: "Please Please Me" by the Beatles
0:54:47 > 0:54:52# Last night I said these words to my girl
0:54:53 > 0:54:58# I know you never even tried, girl... #
0:54:58 > 0:55:00So how should we remember 1962?
0:55:00 > 0:55:03Perhaps it's best to hear from those who were there.
0:55:03 > 0:55:07'62 was a year of highs and lows. You know.
0:55:07 > 0:55:10Erm...but a year which still sticks in my memory. You know.
0:55:10 > 0:55:13It's 50 years ago, even though it doesn't seem it.
0:55:13 > 0:55:16It never does.
0:55:16 > 0:55:19But, yeah, it was a year full of high aspirations, dreams,
0:55:19 > 0:55:22dreams were shattered and you rebuilt new dreams.
0:55:22 > 0:55:27I'm just so glad I was a teenager in the '60s, in 1962,
0:55:27 > 0:55:29the start of everything.
0:55:29 > 0:55:32I think that was the best era to be a teenager.
0:55:32 > 0:55:36I wouldn't like to be a teenager now, or any other decade.
0:55:36 > 0:55:39I mean, it was just so exciting, the '60s. It opened everything.
0:55:39 > 0:55:41Especially for girls.
0:55:41 > 0:55:44My thoughts on '62. It was certainly a year that changed my life.
0:55:44 > 0:55:47It changed a lot of people's lives in Liverpool,
0:55:47 > 0:55:50and indeed the world, because of what happened in Liverpool in 1962.
0:55:50 > 0:55:55People say, "Ah, do you remember the '60s? Sex, drugs and rock'n'roll."
0:55:55 > 0:56:00Well, cos Rory was me brother I only remember the rock'n'roll, sadly.
0:56:00 > 0:56:03Cos he went everywhere with me!
0:56:03 > 0:56:06But it was a great time, and we didn't know that we were
0:56:06 > 0:56:10going to be such a big part of history. Nobody knew.
0:56:10 > 0:56:15We...we were all just people just growing and...and starting to find
0:56:15 > 0:56:20a freedom that youth hadn't had for...for ever.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23It's all a bit of history now, an ordinary year that became
0:56:23 > 0:56:26a little bit extraordinary and started a wonderful legacy.
0:56:26 > 0:56:29Beatlemania was here to stay.
0:56:29 > 0:56:33Will we still be talking about them in another 50 years? I think so.
0:56:33 > 0:56:37But even the Beatles can't have known what they were starting
0:56:37 > 0:56:41back in Liverpool in 1962 or how long it would last,
0:56:41 > 0:56:45as they took us all on a journey to the toppermost of the poppermost.
0:56:47 > 0:56:51The people demand that you think, how long are you going to last?
0:56:51 > 0:56:53Well, you can't say.
0:56:53 > 0:56:56You can be big-headed and say, "Yeah, we're going to last ten years,"
0:56:56 > 0:57:00but as soon as you've said that you think, we're lucky if we last three months.
0:57:00 > 0:57:06Well, obviously we can't keep playing the same sort of music until we're about 40
0:57:06 > 0:57:11Old men playing From Me To You, nobody's going to want to know, about that sort of thing.
0:57:11 > 0:57:14So, you know, we've thought about it
0:57:14 > 0:57:19and probably the thing that John and I will do will be write songs,
0:57:19 > 0:57:22as we have been doing as a sort of sideline now.
0:57:22 > 0:57:25We'll probably develop that a bit more...we hope.
0:57:25 > 0:57:29Who knows, at 40 we may not know how to write songs any more.
0:57:29 > 0:57:33I hope to have enough money to go into a business of my own
0:57:33 > 0:57:36by the time we...erm...
0:57:37 > 0:57:39..do flop. LAUGHTER
0:57:39 > 0:57:42And, erm... I mean, we don't know, it may be next week,
0:57:42 > 0:57:47it may be two or three years, but I think we'll be in the business,
0:57:47 > 0:57:51either up there or down there, for at least another four years.
0:57:51 > 0:57:55I've always fancied having a ladies' hairdressing salon, you know,
0:57:55 > 0:57:57a string of them in fact.
0:57:57 > 0:58:01And trot round in me stripes and me tails, you know, "Would you like a cup of tea, madam?"
0:58:01 > 0:58:05MUSIC: "Love Me Do" by the Beatles
0:58:11 > 0:58:14# Love, love me do
0:58:14 > 0:58:17# You know I love you
0:58:17 > 0:58:21# I'll always be true
0:58:21 > 0:58:25# So please
0:58:25 > 0:58:28# Love me do
0:58:28 > 0:58:31# Whoa, love me do
0:58:31 > 0:58:34# Yeah, love me do
0:58:34 > 0:58:37# Whoa, love me do... #
0:58:40 > 0:58:43Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd