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The Beatles (Hosted by Abram)

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The Beatles (Hosted by Abram)

Episode Transcript

Abram: Welcome to Prime Factors. This week, Frederick North, Part 2. William Legge, yay! April Fools!

Joe: Welcome to Prime Factors. This week, the Beatles.

Journalist (interview): How long do you think Beatlemania will last?

John Lennon (interview): As long as you all keep coming.

Joe: Hello and welcome back to Prime Factors. I'm Joe and I'm here with my son. We're discussing the history of the Beatles from the Quarrymen to Abbey Road's "The End."

Abram: And furthermore, to "Now and Then," because my plans have gone all the way up to "Now and Then" being the last topic and "John Meets Paul" being the first topic according to my script. So yeah, I would call it the Quarrymen to "Now and Then," but okay.

Joe: All right, we are discussing the history of the Beatles from the Quarrymen to "Now and Then." This week is episode one, "A Brief History of the Beatles and a Bit More."

Abram: After 32 episodes, I'm just excited that I get to host one. This week I'm gonna tell you all about the Beatles.

Joe: That's right. This episode is Abram, all Abram. I'm noticing that he doesn't have a script, but he does have a lot of outlines.

Abram: There's gonna be seven parts to this episode. The first one, um, it's going to be like the Quarrymen, the early days.

Joe: And don't spoil it, let them find out.

Abram: I'm not going to say all of them, but like, I'm going to say that goes from 1956 to 2023 is where I took them.

Joe: So he's going to be doing a lot of this from memory.

Abram: So yeah, but I wrote down like a bajillion different topics.

Joe: Great. So if you happen to be coming to our podcast for the first time, this isn't one of our usual episodes. There are plenty of other episodes about Georgian prime ministers and William Legge, and apparently William Legge. So check those out.

Joe: Don't forget that you can find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and at primefactorspodcast.com. We're also on Facebook, BlueSky, and for some reason, Instagram. If you enjoy listening, please like, subscribe, comment, and review. So without further ado, Abram. Why don't you start our episode? We have a topic heading.

Abram: I'm going to call this Chapter 1.

Chapter 1

Abram: Okay, so the first Beatle to be born was Stuart Sutcliffe. You might be asking, wait, who's Stuart Sutcliffe? He isn't John, Paul, George, and Ringo, but he was a Beatle. He was born in June of 1940, followed by Ringo Starr in July, John Lennon in October — that closed out 1940.

Abram: Pete Best was born in 1941, I don't know when, and followed by Paul McCartney in June 1942 and George Harrison in February 1943. But that's the earliest we're ever going to get to, as by 1956 John had a band known as the Quarrymen, and after one of his shows this boy came up to him. His name was Paul, and he asked if he could join the Quarrymen. John accepted.

Joe: What kind of music did the Quarrymen play?

Abram: They were a '50s band who only recorded one song together, "In Spite of All the Danger," which actually appeared on one of the Anthologies. However, soon after, they met this guy, Stuart Sutcliffe. He was older than them and suggested something. Why don't they change the band name to the Beatles? That's a great idea.

Abram: But first, they went through a whole bunch of iterations in 1960. However, realizing that they, like, need a drummer in order to do, like, a successful act, they hire this guy Pete Best and soon enough meet a manager named Brian Epstein.

Abram: So with them in hand, they go to meet their new producer George Martin. However, George Martin has something he wants to say, which is that he doesn't think Pete Best is worthy, especially when recording their most recent song, "Love Me Do."

Joe: So they had already done "Love Me Do" with Pete Best?

Abram: Yeah, but that isn't the final version.

Joe: I see. So how did they get introduced to their producer? Do you know?

Abram: Brian Epstein introduced them.

Joe: Oh, that's very cool. But they were still so small. How did they get a producer?

Abram: Brian Epstein liked them, found a producer. George Martin actually wasn't extremely into them. He was just like, oh, they're worth a shot. And that paid off in the end.

Chapter 2

Abram: Okay, so Chapter 2 begins with them hiring their new drummer, Ringo Starr. They had him perform at some of their recent gigs, and they liked him so much that they removed Pete Best on George Martin's request, and they recorded their newest song, "Love Me Do." Fun fact: Ringo actually wasn't fit for "Love Me Do," so they got Andy White to do it.

Abram: So there's actually — you can tell the difference between the album version, which has Ringo on tambourine, and the single version which has Ringo on drums. Soon after, they came together to record their next single, "Please Please Me," which is only two minutes long, shorter than "Love Me Do," but perhaps packs a bit more of a punch. George Martin really liked that and suggested they record a live album.

Abram: However, he found the Cavern Club not to be fit, so they recorded a studio album instead, Please Please Me. Okay, so Please Please Me was actually recorded very fast. It was recorded in just one day for eight of its songs and the majority of two more.

Abram: "I Saw Her Standing There" was recorded there. "Misery" had overdubs done later, but it was mainly recorded there. "Anna (Go to Him)" was recorded there. "Chains" recorded there. "Boys" recorded there. "Ask Me Why" had previously been recorded with "Please Please Me." "Please Please Me" had previously been recorded. "Love Me Do" had previously been recorded, and "P.S. I Love You" had previously been recorded with "Love Me Do."

Abram: "Baby It's You" was recorded there with future overdubs. "Do You Want to Know a Secret" was recorded there. "A Taste of Honey" was recorded there. "There's a Place" was recorded there. And "Twist and Shout" was recorded at the very end where John had a cough, so that's why his voice sounds so raw in that song. This is actually before, like, raw was, like, a good thing.

Joe: And so this is all well after, like, the Hamburg stuff.

Abram: And yeah, the Hamburg stuff ended in, like, 1962. They still went to the Cavern Club until, like, halfway between Please Please Me and With the Beatles.

Joe: Okay, because I just thought that some of those songs that you just mentioned, they did German versions for.

Abram: No, they did German versions for — I'm gonna get to that later.

Joe: Okay.

Abram: So after the album, this is what I consider to be the true start of Beatlemania and the end of their early days period. So Beatlemania is a period that was categorized by a lot of screaming fans and the Beatles constantly being on tour. On one of those tours, Paul wrote "All My Loving" sort of as a poem and later applied music to it. It would later end up on With the Beatles.

Abram: With the Beatles was their second album done in late 1963, which featured R&B covers, and the originals were of a genre that I call Beatlepop, which is my opinion, like the Beatles genre that they pretty much invented and used in a lot of their early stuff. They didn't really use it on their first album. That one was sort of like basically a live performance album just in the studio with a few overdubs but not many.

Abram: So yeah, With the Beatles produced a single, "I Want to Hold Your Hand," which was later in German along with "She Loves You," which was in between Please Please Me and With the Beatles. Later on, they were invited onto The Ed Sullivan Show, where they performed "All My Loving," "Till There Was You," "I Want to Hold Your Hand," and I think "Twist and Shout" and "She Loves You." I'm not exactly sure. And that ends Chapter 2.

Joe: So how important was Ed Sullivan?

Abram: He was really important. Like, he was like a third of the country was watching you if you're on The Ed Sullivan Show. It was what kicked them off as being a famous act.

Joe: So they were not as famous in the US prior to Ed Sullivan?

Abram: They'd been popular in the UK since like here, maybe even a bit before, but weren't popular in the US till Chapter 3. Now let me locate this. This one's a bit of a long one.

Joe: So the Beatles were famous in Britain, but were they like super famous or just a little famous?

Abram: They did get like number one singles, but they were like considered like a band that was good enough to get number one singles, but not like one that would still be known in like a few years.

Joe: Got it, got it, got it.

Abram: Does that make sense?

Joe: Makes sense. So—

Abram: You have to say Chapter 3.

Chapter 3

Joe: Abram has to teach me Chapter 3.

Abram: So next, what they did was some filming. They had been offered a request to appear in three films, which they accepted. First film was A Hard Day's Night, where they filmed, and apparently Ringo got like hungover, so he was miserable during a scene, and apparently that's why people like the movie. I'm not really clear. I would rate the movie three stars.

Abram: However, half of the album plus some songs recorded at that time made their next album, perhaps their best early days album, A Hard Day's Night, packed with songs like "A Hard Day's Night," "If I Fell" — Jamie really likes that one — "And I Love Her," "Can't Buy Me Love" — Jamie really doesn't like that one, or one of them doesn't really like, I think it's both — and many more hidden gems like "Anytime at All" and "Things We Said Today."

Abram: This album is what I consider to be the peak of Beatlepop. But during that period, they were under constant touring from Beatlemania and were so tired their next album was just, eh. It featured covers, something they hadn't done since With the Beatles. So they made an album, Beatles for Sale.

Joe: Do you think they were trying to send a message by using that title?

Abram: I'm pretty sure. The Beatles for Sale CD is actually really funny. I would read it to you except I don't have it on CD here. I have Abbey Road and With the Beatles on CD like that I could just get, but I don't.

Joe: We probably don't need it.

Abram: Yeah, but Beatles for Sale did contain a little Beatlepop, not nearly as much as previous albums. It contained "Eight Days a Week" as its main Beatlepop song, though I would also consider "Every Little Thing" and "What You're Doing" to be Beatlepop songs. Beatlepop is characterized by its like bright guitar and like 12-string.

Abram: But Beatles for Sale was the start of innovation, just because Ringo went "pop pop" on "Every Little Thing," apparently. Yeah, they're definitely progressing. Shortly after, they started filming again for their next film, Help! That film is actually funny and features Ringo running from an Indian cult. Yay, who knew it'd be good? And there's mad scientists there too. Half of the film's songs except for "She's a Woman" were included on the Help! album.

Abram: The Help! album contained "Help!," a Beatlepop song, and a few others. "Help!" is the last, like, main Beatlepop song. I guess "Ticket to Ride" is also a Beatlepop song. I would say it's their last, like, main Beatlepop album.

Abram: So at the end of the album, on the songs not featured in the film, there's a scandal.

Joe: A scandal?

Abram: "Yesterday" was placed as 13th instead of the last track. Instead, it was "Dizzy Miss Lizzy." Dun dun dun! A lot of people don't like that, and many people think they should have swapped them or removed "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" entirely. "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" works okay, I think they should have removed it. "Yesterday" I think deserves the last spot.

Abram: However, that album was released in August, and they needed to release one by the end of the year. So they only had one month to record Rubber Soul. Rubber Soul had no covers, which means they had to work hard and fast. That may be why "I'm Looking Through You" is so messy, I'm not sure. And they even had to take a song they scrapped from Help!— "Wait." Rubber Soul was released on December 3rd, 1965. And that ends this chapter.

Joe: I have a question.

Abram: What?

Joe: So were they still touring during this period? So they had to do all that and tour?

Abram: You'll see.

Joe: Okay, you're holding — you're making me wait. I see.

Abram: I'll get to that.

Chapter 4

Abram: So in early 1966, Yesterday and Today was released. You might not know that album. It's famous for having the so-called butcher cover. Dun dun dun! And that brings me to a topic, as it's one of their more famous Capitol albums, which brings me to the topic: Capitol albums.

Abram: In the US, they hadn't released the normal Beatles albums, or maybe they did, but with different tracklists. They'd released albums like Meet the Beatles, Something New. They'd released a different version of A Hard Day's Night. They've released Beatles '65, a different version of Help!, and a different version of Rubber Soul.

Joe: Ah, this is because in the US they had 12 tracks per album instead of 14.

Abram: Yes, they had 11 or 12 instead of 14.

Joe: See, I learned things.

Abram: No, you don't.

Joe: Okay.

Abram: And it wasn't until Revolver — actually, no, not even until Sgt. Pepper where they actually had the same album.

Abram: Around this time, they released their most psychedelic song so far, "Rain." They were psychedelic because the Beatles used drugs. A lot of drugs and even, even, even more drugs for their entire lives.

Abram: Yeah, they used a lot of drugs. So "Rain" was really psychedelic, featuring pounding drums, and the entire song was slowed down, by the way.

Abram: And unfortunately, it didn't end up in their next psychedelic album, Revolver, which featured songs like "Taxman," "Eleanor Rigby," "I'm Only Sleeping," "Tomorrow Never Knows," and the first sitar-focused song as George Harrison discovered the sitar on the set for Help!. It was titled "Love You To" and was on Revolver.

Joe: So I just want to say, as a parent, just because the Beatles did drugs, don't do drugs.

Abram: I won't.

Joe: Okay, so they were still touring?

Abram: Yes, but Revolver was the end of it. They decided not to play any of the Revolver songs on tour and only toured the Rubber Soul songs and before. Does that make sense?

Joe: Makes sense.

Abram: On Revolver is a really good track titled "Tomorrow Never Knows," featured weird vocals from John and tape loops that included Paul laughing sped up and a bunch of mellotron sounds sped up and the sitar sped up and reversed, which created a very weird song that you don't like.

Joe: Oh yeah, is it "Maxwell's Silver Hammer"?

Abram: No. Don't worry. I have a question for you.

Joe: Yes?

Abram: Would you rather listen to "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" or "Cambridge 1969"?

Joe: You're not even to 1969 yet. We can't answer the question.

Abram: Okay, I'll ask it again. So after Revolver, they decided to go on a break where George Harrison learned to actually play the sitar and John wrote "Strawberry Fields Forever," which would later end up on Magical Mystery Tour.

Abram: They reconvened again and had three new songs that they were planning to release: "Strawberry Fields Forever," "Penny Lane," and "When I'm 64." But they didn't have something to do with them yet. They released "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane" as singles. However, "When I'm 64" was yet to be released.

Chapter 5

Adrienne D'Onofrio (interview): I love them! I don't care what anybody thinks. I love the Beatles for them, and I'll always love them, even when I'm a 105-year-old grandmother. I love them. And Paul McCartney, if you are listening, Adrian from Brooklyn loves you with all her heart. I love you, Paul, and please come to the window so I can just see you.

Abram: They reconvened and decided to record this Sgt. Pepper thing, and it was a huge success, and it featured many cool songs like "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," and "A Day in the Life."

Abram: "A Day in the Life" specifically is often cited as their single masterpiece, featuring a John section as the main part, Paul's section, "The World Ending" as an orchestra section, and a weird chord, and someone saying "Never could be any other way" at the end.

Joe: Never could be any other way.

Abram: Yeah, you wanna know how to sing them.

Joe: Okay.

Abram: However, shortly after Sgt. Pepper, something sad happened. Brian Epstein died. He was only 32.

Joe: Yeah, that is sad.

Abram: However, in order to get their minds off of it, the cameras rolled. They decided to record question mark, question mark, question mark and hired people to do it. And they went on a bus and they went around places and did absolutely nothing or question mark, question mark, question mark, depending on which side you're on. However, those songs would end up being on the film Magical Mystery Tour and the album Magical Mystery Tour.

Joe: Okay, you gotta explain this question mark joke because I don't get it.

Abram: Magical Mystery Tour makes zero sense.

Joe: Okay, got it.

Abram: So they released them on their next album Magical Mystery Tour, which included songs like "I Am the Walrus," "Blue Jay Way," "Magical Mystery Tour," and some singles: "Strawberry Fields Forever," "Penny Lane," "All You Need Is Love," "Baby You're a Rich Man," and "Hello, Goodbye."

Abram: So the band was starting to get a lot more interested in Indian stuff around this time and were planning on going to India. But before that, they needed to record "Lady Madonna." However, John insisted they record a different song instead. "Hey Bulldog," the best song they ever made.

Joe: Is it really the best song they ever made?

Abram: Yeah, it's pretty good. I like it.

Joe: It's definitely like nobody knows about it.

Abram: It's awesome. That was also the last session to just feature the four Beatles without Yoko Ono.

Joe: Really?

Abram: Yeah.

Joe: She's here already?

Abram: It was the last session before that.

Joe: If we didn't talk about any of their relationship drama, that's probably okay.

Abram: "Hey Bulldog" is the last song they did before their relationship drama, in my opinion.

Joe: Makes sense.

Abram: And it would later end up on their Yellow Submarine album, along with "Only a Northern Song," "It's All Too Much," which is a really good song, by the way, and "All Together Now" as well as "Yellow Submarine" previously on Revolver and "All You Need Is Love" previously on Magical Mystery Tour. And that ends Chapter 5.

Joe: Wait, I have a question.

Abram: Okay.

Joe: Didn't George Harrison only make "Only a Northern Song" because he was upset at the other band members?

Abram: Yeah, he was so upset that he deliberately sabotaged his own song because he knew he would still get nothing even if it was good. So he had John play glockenspiel, Paul play trumpet.

Joe: That's gonna work.

Abram: It's gonna be amazing, isn't it?

Abram: This is Chapter 6.

Chapter 6

Abram: So after that, the Beatles decide to go to India, which was probably their most productive period, but unfortunately it wasn't very productive for the members actually liking each other. They were growing apart, especially with John Lennon's new person, Yoko Ono, who after the trip he continuously was with.

Abram: Speaking of that, Yoko Ono may have caused him to start screaming and turning that into an album. Yeah, it's the first of their screaming albums, Two Virgins, which we actually listened to part of today.

Abram: John was the second one to embark. Actually, George Harrison had made an Indian-inspired album before that, but John was the first one that actually gets talked about. One of the first things they did when they got back was record "Revolution." Well, first I'm going to talk about its A-side, "Hey Jude," which was a comforting song to John's son Julian after the divorce of his mom.

Abram: "Hey Jude" is famous for its "na na na na na na na na na na hey Jude" coda that lasts four minutes long after the song. Yeah, it's seven minutes long of a song that's a long song. Yeah.

Abram: However, I'm going to talk about its B-side, which actually has a way cooler history in my opinion, "Revolution." First conceived as a slower song, one of John's protest songs, this version would later end up as "Revolution 1."

Abram: However, that said version contained a coda that was really obsessed with a number. That became "Revolution 9," and they added some more overdubs to that.

Abram: However, the version that you're probably most familiar with is known as just "Revolution." And it was released as the B-side to "Hey Jude," and it's personally one of my favorite songs. However, neither "Revolution" or "Hey Jude" would end up on The White Album, only "Revolution 1" and "Revolution 9."

Abram: Some other songs on The White Album would be "Back in the USSR," which is a cool song, "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da," which is a cool song, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," which is a cool song. Yeah, and a bunch of other cool songs.

Abram: Shortly after, George Martin composed a score for Yellow Submarine Side 2, which would eventually be released as the third of three films on their, like, the Beatles contract. However, shortly after that, they decide to record another film, one that makes even less sense than Magical Mystery Tour.

Joe: Not possible.

Abram: Yeah, possible. Let It Be. The film is literally just them rehearsing in a randomized order. Makes zero sense. Don't watch. Let It Be.

Abram: Their plan was to perform live after like 20 days and rehearse a bunch of songs in their earlier style. However, on day 15 of that, George Harrison quit. He had gotten mad at Paul. Yeah, George Harrison was pretty much arguing with everyone at this period. He wanted to not do the rooftop concert. They convinced him back five days later.

Abram: But they took away like pretty much all of their Let It Be plans except for the rooftop concert, which is about the only thing of their original plans they kept after that point. Speaking of, the Beatles went to the roof and they performed like "Get Back," "Don't Let Me Down," "One After 909," "I've Got a Feeling," and "Dig a Pony." And that ends Chapter 6.

Chapter 7

Abram: So they decided to work on Abbey Road, and they released some singles, which I'm going to talk about first, even though I think they're released afterwards. "Something," a song written by George Harrison about his then-wife. It's pretty popular and features a famous guitar solo, I guess.

Abram: Then "Come Together," John's song, and it featured good chorus, bad verse, in my opinion. They were the first two tracks on Abbey Road. Track 3 is the best song ever. You want to guess what it is?

Joe: "Maxwell's Silver Hammer"?

Abram: Now it's time. Is this or "Cambridge 1969" better?

Joe: "Cambridge 1969" is the worst abomination of a song ever. "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" is just actively dysfunctional. I don't know. It's a tough choice. I think I'd rather listen to "Maxwell's Silver Hammer," but just barely.

Abram: Mwahaha. "Oh! Darling" also ended up on Abbey Road. "Octopus's Garden," "I Want You (She's So Heavy)," "Here Comes the Sun" is a big one, it's actually the most Spotify'd song that the Beatles made, and "Because," which features some really good harmonies.

Abram: However, there's something that comes after, starting with "You Never Give Me Your Money." The medley, the Abbey Road medley, contains "You Never Give Me Your Money," which has some weird noises to lead into "Sun King." Has a drum fill, leading into "Mean Mr. Mustard."

Abram: "Polythene Pam," because it hard edits. Then "Polythene Pam" is a guitar thing that leads into "She Came In Through the Bathroom Window," which ends. And then "Golden Slumbers" is still considered the medley. So "Golden Slumbers," that's a drum fill, into "Carry That Weight," which — "Carry That Weight" into "The End," it hard edits.

Abram: Do you get it?

Joe: Yes.

Abram: I don't finish saying them. And then "The End" ends. Fourteen seconds later, "Her Majesty" plays and ends. Like, "Her Majesty" just hard ends. That's why "Mean Mr. Mustard" hard edits into "Polythene Pam." They just didn't do a good job for "Carry That Weight" into "The End." They did the worst transition ever.

Abram: So after Abbey Road, something unfortunate happens. John Lennon quits for good.

Joe: Oh no.

Abram: This was kind of the end for the Beatles, but not really, as in January 1970, Paul, George, and Ringo returned to the studio to record eight songs they hadn't done yet on Let It Be. "I Me Mine," "Mine Me I," and "Mine Me Eyes."

Abram: So after that, they did their solo projects. John did stuff with Yoko Ono and became an activist and didn't really do music.

Abram: George Harrison became like the hidden gem guy, and he made some very good albums and was very spiritually inspired in his solo career. Paul had the most interesting one. He formed a band, Wings, with his wife and Denny Laine and some other people.

Abram: They released a really good album, Band on the Run, and were pretty good. And Ringo Starr mostly just did covers and, eh, songs. He didn't actually write songs in his solo career for the most part. Mostly just did covers.

Abram: In December 1980, John Lennon was murdered.

Joe: Yeah, that's sad.

Abram: Yeah. The remaining three Beatles came back together in the '90s to record some stuff. They recorded "Free as a Bird," which ended up on Anthology 1, a compilation album, and "Real Love," which ended up on Anthology 2 album. But George wasn't convinced with the third song and let it stay abandoned. He died like six years later in 2001. He died of cancer.

Joe: Yeah.

Abram: In 2022, I think, Paul and Ringo came together to record "Now and Then," with very, very, very, very, very little guitar from 1995. It's almost inaudible, and they really should have had more of a contribution from George. And vocals from John from the '70s, like "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love." And that ends the Beatles story covering all of their songs from start to finish.

Beatle (interview, 1964 American tour): We were told as soon as we got here last night by the police, don't look out of the windows and don't wave. And if we do that, you know, then we get the police chief coming up and saying, "Well, we're finished, boys." And he goes away and he won't look after us. You know, so we can't do anything.

Joe: Wow, Abram, that was a lot. And to do that all out of your head is, well, very, very impressive. I'm not as good at color commentary as you, obviously, but I think I need you to say one thing for me.

Abram: What?

Joe: Picture this.

Abram: Why?

Joe: Because.

Picture This

Joe: It's January 30, 1969, and the winter sky is gray over Mayfair in central London. Local office workers, men and women dressed in their wintry but somehow still hip '60s clothing, amble around the Savile Row office buildings. High above them, piercing the London sky, is music. Beatles music.

Joe: Our camera rises up from the street level, up several stories of squat London offices. There, on a wooden deck on the Apple Corps rooftop, four legends played their hearts out.

Joe: The music, for anyone listening below, was new, but to us, these tracks are legendary. "Get Back," "Don't Let Me Down," and "I've Got a Feeling," to name just three.

Joe: Mustached George Harrison played lead guitar while John Lennon played rhythm, his round glasses glinting on his face as he sang. He was wearing Yoko Ono's heavy fur coat over his black sweater because it was too cold for him to play otherwise. George was the baby of the group at 25, while John at this point was 28.

Joe: Bearded Paul McCartney in a really nice black suit played bass. He was 26. Ringo, well, he was wearing his wife's bright red raincoat, played the drums.

Abram: They really liked wearing their wives' clothes.

Joe: They really did. That's a question.

Abram: Yeah.

Joe: And joining them—

Abram: Not to mention George was wearing green pants for some reason.

Joe: Mhm.

Joe: And joining them was Billy Preston on the keyboard, looking like he's having the time of his life playing with his friends. Looking at them now, they just seem so young, vibrant, and full of life, willing to break rules like playing an unannounced rooftop recording session in the middle of the day.

Joe: The concert was electric, but it was also loud and repetitive. Songs were repeated until they had the takes just right, and before long, police were called. And as John and Paul sang for the third time that day of Jojo from Tucson, Arizona, the round-helmeted bobbies summited the roof.

Abram: If someone knows, why do like the British police officers wear their straps like below their mouth instead of below their chin? Like, wouldn't they just fall off? Why do they do that? If someone British knows, please tell me.

Joe: You have to imagine that for a moment or two, even the police just listened before the order to stop inevitably came. If they had known that this would be the last time the Beatles would ever play together in public, could it have gone on just a little longer?

Joe: The gig regretfully was up, and as they began to pack away their instruments, John got the last word.

Abram: "I'd like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves, and I hope we've passed the audition."

Joe: Abram, you did a really great job pulling this together. I want to say thank you for—

Abram: You're welcome.

Joe: —hosting an episode for the first time. I hope it's a learning experience. I hope you had fun. Did you have fun?

Abram: Yep.

Joe: Okay. So, don't forget to follow us on Facebook and BlueSky and Instagram and other things.

Abram: I have something to tell you, Dad.

Joe: William Legge. Of course it is William Legge. Oh my God. Anyway, I think you need to ask me something.

Abram: What?

Joe: Say good night, Dad.

Abram: Good morning, Dad.

Joe: All right, we're good.

Bibliography

Joe: We don't really have a bibliography today. Abram has absorbed so many dozens of books about the Beatles and web pages and YouTube videos that who the heck knows where any of the information came from at this point.

Joe: I do want to thank Totalus Rankium for recommending the Beatles All the Songs book, which Abram has read from cover to cover at least twice. He is really deeply in love with the Beatles. Thank you all for supporting and indulging him in this special episode today. I know it's not quite what you might have intended and is only vaguely British history, but it was really fun to let him just go and to see the excitement as he is telling me these things is really fantastic as a parent.

Joe: And I'm positive that with practice, he will be a good podcaster someday if that's what he would like to do. Our editor this week is, of course, the always patient and indulging Paley Bowe of Radio Guru. Please check him out. And with that, we should be back to a regular episode next time, hopefully about the Boston Massacre.

Abram: See you next time.

RadioGuru: Produced by radioguru.co.uk.