Filming: Magical Mystery Tour

Paul McCartney, Mal Evans and cameraman Aubrey Dewar were woken at 3.30am by a taxi driver, who had been hired to take them to locations in Nice where they could film a sequence for The Fool On The Hill for Magical Mystery Tour.
We just asked the local taxi driver, 'Where is a good place to see the sunrise from?' Nice was fairly easily accessible. It had good mountain scenery and I figured we might get a good clear sunrise down there. It was the right time of the year. We all piled in the taxi and drove up into the mountains behind Nice. It took us about an hour and sunrise was in about half an hour. We unpacked the stuff from the boot, loaded up his camera, set up the tripod where we knew the sun would rise, and waited in the freezing cold. I had a big long black coat on and we just waited until the the sun arose. And I just danced around and he filmed it.

I just ad-libbed the whole thing. I went, 'Right, get over there: Let me dance. Let me jump from this rock to this rock. Get a lot of the sun rising. Get a perfect shot and let me stand in front of it.' I just had a little Philips cassette to mime to and roughly get the feeling of the song. There was no clapper because there was no sound. Just my cassette. I said, 'We'll lay in the sound of "Fool on the Hill" afterwards.' I'm miming sometimes, but of course it should be in synch, that's what clappers are for. I didn't know these small technicalities, and also I wasn't that interested in being that precise.

We stayed until the sun went down. As the day went on, the light got worse. It got to be harsh daylight, so we got less material in the daytime. We basically used all the dawn stuff. And that was it. It was very spontaneous, as was the whole of Magical Mystery Tour. Later, when we came to try to edit it all, it was very difficult because I hadn't sung it to synch.

We shouldn't have really had just one cameraman, it was anti-union. That was another reason to go to France. The unions wouldn't have allowed it in Britain, nor probably in France, but they didn't know we were doing it. It was just the four of us; there was none of this grips, best boy, gaffer, none of that. In fact, our biggest danger was that the film didn't conform with one union rule.

Filming: Magical Mystery Tour

Although the studio recording of The Fool On The Hill was complete, there was no suitable film footage available for the song.

On this day Paul McCartney, Mal Evans and cameraman Aubrey Dewar flew to France to shoot a daydream sequence in various locations in Nice.

McCartney forgot his passport and money, but managed nonetheless to get through customs. "I told them, 'You know who I am so why do you need to see a photograph of me in a passport?'," he later explained.

No filming was done on this day. Instead, the party checked into a hotel and hired a taxi driver, who woke them at 3.30am the following morning.

Filming: Magical Mystery Tour

Another scene was filmed for the Magical Mystery Tour television special on this day, in Battersea in south London.

Ringo Starr and Aunt Jessie were filmed arguing while walking up Acanthus Road and turning into Lavender Hill, where they were greeted by Jolly Jimmy Johnson the courier and Miss Wendy Winters the hostess before boarding the coach.

The Beatles are taking a break.

The Beatles are taking a break.

The Beatles are in-between recordings.

Studio Two, EMI Studio, London

A 7:00 pm to 3:00 am session in which "The Fool On The Hill", now complete, was mixed into mono and edited. And then Paul overdubbed bass onto simultaneous reduction mixdowns of "Hello, Goodbye" - the best being "Take 21".

Source: The Complete Beatles Chronicle - M. Lewishon

The Beatles are taking a break between recordings.

The Beatles taking a break today.

The Beatles are taking a break today.

The Beatles are taking a break today.

Recording: The Fool On The Hill, Hello, Goodbye

Studio Three, EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Producer: George Martin
Engineer: Ken Scott

This session was booked for the overdubbing of flutes and violas onto The Fool On The Hill and Hello, Goodbye.

It took place between 7pm and 3.45am, and began with the overdubbing of flutes to The Fool On The Hill. The flautists were Jack Ellory and brothers Christopher and Richard Taylor.

The flute parts were recorded on a separate tape as take seven, as all tracks on the main tape were full. On October 25, 1967 takes six and seven were mixed in sync to create a final mono master.

Hello, Goodbye still had its working title Hello Hello at this stage. Viola players Ken Essex and Birnbaum had been booked to play between 8pm and 11pm, but the session overran and they were paid a double fee.

Paul McCartney was doodling at the piano and George Martin was sitting next to him writing down what Paul was playing.

Leo Birnbaum
The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Mark Lewisohn

Also during this session, Paul McCartney wiped the guitar solo and replaced it with the line "Why why why why why why do you say goodbye, goodbye?", which was treated with heavy echo.

Recording: Hello, Goodbye

Studio One, EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Producer: George Martin
Engineer: Ken Scott

This was the second session for The Beatles' single Hello, Goodbye, and took place in the huge Studio One at Abbey Road between 7pm and 3.30am. At this time the song was known by its working title Hello Hello.

Two lead guitar parts were overdubbed onto track two of take 16, and tracks three and four were filled with lead and backing vocals.

Also added to track four were handclaps and "Hela, heba, heloa" vocals onto the coda. The session ended with a reduction mix to free up space for further overdubs, by combining tracks three and four. This mix became known as take 17.

The Beatles attend the première of How I Won The War

The Beatles attend the première of How I Won The War
Wednesday 18 October 1967 Film and video

All four Beatles, along with their wives and girlfriends, attended the première of Richard Lester's film How I Won The War at the London Pavilion.

The film, which had been shot in Spain in 1966, featured John Lennon as Private Gripweed. For the premiere Lennon wore a psychedelic outfit, Harrison sported an orange jacket and black velvet trousers, while Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr dressed more conservatively in evening suits.

Other guests at the event were Jimi Hendrix, David Hemmings, his wife Gayle Hunnicut, and singers Cilla Black, Anita Harris and Cass Elliot.

A party was held afterwards at Cilla Black's apartment at 9b Portland Place.

Memorial service for Brian Epstein

Although The Beatles didn't attend Brian Epstein's funeral in Liverpool on 29 August 1967, they did attend a memorial service.

The service was held at the New London Synagogue at 33 Abbey Road, London, close to EMI Studios.

It began at 6pm. Other NEMS artists, including Cilla Black, Gerry Marsden, The Fourmost and Billy J Kramer also attended. The service was officiated by Rabbi Louis Jacobs, who praised Epstein for "encouraging young people to sing of love and peace rather than war and hatred." This was in contrast to the rabbi at Epstein's funeral in Liverpool, who described him as "a symbol of the malaise of our generation".

Oct 16, 1967; London, England, UK; Singer, Songwriter, PAUL MCCARTNEY member of the famous pop group 'The Beatles' on the 'Magical Mystery Tour'.

Nothing to report today. The Beatles were taking a small break.

October 14, 1967, George Harrison and Paul McCartney went to Sweden to visit the Maharishi at the hotel where he was staying in Falsterbo, a seaside resort in southern Sweden near Malmö. They made the trip to persuade the Maharishi to stop using The Beatles' name as PR for himself. Swedish Television recently aired "Året var 1967" ("The Year Was 1967"), where they touched upon the subject and showed these photos.

A couple of Beatles in town of course caused quite a bit of commotion, fans would gather and Swedish Television sent a camera team to interview the two of them together with the Maharishi.

The Sgt. Pepper album was widely perceived by listeners as the soundtrack to the Summer of Love, occupying the number one position of the Billboard Top LPs in the US for 15 weeks, from July 1st to October 13, 1967. Its initial commercial success exceeded that of all previous Beatles albums.

Recording, mixing, editing: Blue Jay Way, Shirley’s Wild Accordion

Studio Three, EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Producer: John Lennon
Engineer: Ken Scott

This was the first recording session for which John Lennon was officially listed as a producer. It saw work on two songs, George Harrison's Blue Jay Way, and some incidental music for the Magical Mystery Tour film known as Shirley's Wild Accordion.

The first task was the creation of mono mixes of Blue Jay Way. Eight mixes were created, numbered 2-9, following which an edit of the sixth and ninth attempts was made.

Shirley's Wild Accordion was a Lennon-McCartney composition, although it wasn't officially a Beatles recording. It featured Shirley Evans on accordion, accompanied by her musical partner and then husband Reg Wale on percussion. Paul McCartney also played maracas and yelled "Go on, Shirl!", while Ringo Starr played drums.

The track was recorded under the working title of Accordion (Wild), and was cut from the final edit of the film. It was recorded in eight basic takes, with Evans playing from a score written by Mike Leander from ideas by Lennon and McCartney.

Two reduction mixes were then made, numbered nine and 10, followed by overdubs. The recording was completed with five additional takes, numbered takes 11-15.

Three mono mixes Shirley's Wild Accordion were then made, numbered 1-3, from takes 10, 7 and 14 respectively. The second was subtitled Waltz, and the third was known as Freaky Rock. The session ended at 2am on the morning of October 13, 1967.

A mix of Shirley's Wild Accordion was included in the bonus material of the 2012 reissue of the Magical Mystery Tour film. It omitted the drums and maracas, but kept various other percussive sounds.

The Beatles were not too busy, but Yoko Ono's "Half A Wind" show opened at the Lisson Gallery. It was basically just a load of stuff chopped in half and painted white - Beds, chairs, tables, etc........

Oct. 10, 1967 - Memorial Service to Brian Epstein: The Beatles and many other show business people paid a final tribute last night to starmaker extra-ordinary Brian Epstein. More than 200 were at the memorial service in the New London Synagogue. Photo shows Beatle John Lennon and his wife, Cynthia, pictured when they attended last night's memorial service.

John Lennon’s 27th birthday

John Lennon celebrated his 27th birthday on this day.

Since September 27th 1967 he had been receiving daily postcards from the artist Yoko Ono, after subscribing to her postal art event 13 Days Do It Yourself Dance Festival. Each morning participants received a short instructional message.

This day's message, the final in the series, said: "Colour yourself. Wait for the spring to come. Let us know when it comes."

The Beatles enjoying a small break today.

Sid Bernstein offered the Beatles One Million Quid to perform at Shea Stadium again - but they turned him down.

Recording: Blue Jay Way

Studio Two, EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Producer: George Martin
Engineer: Geoff Emerick

The recording of George Harrison's Magical Mystery Tour song Blue Jay Way was completed during this session, which began at 7pm and ended at midnight.

The tambourine part was likely to have been performed by a Beatle. The cellist was Peter Willison, who was paid £27 for his contribution.

The Beatles taking a break today.

Television: The Frost Programme

Having made a well-received appearance on The Frost Programme on Friday 29 September, John Lennon and George Harrison returned to Wembley Studios in London to give another interview.

Once again, the subject of the 45-minute show was Transcendental Meditation. Lennon and Harrison answered questions posed by host David Frost, from viewers' letters and by members of the studio audience. They also took part in a discussion with various pro- and anti-meditation people.

The edition of The Frost Programme was recorded from 6-7pm, and was shown on the ITV network from 10.30-11.15pm on the same evening.

The Beatles taking a break today.

Recording, mixing: Your Mother Should Know, Hello, Goodbye

Studio Two, EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Producer: George Martin
Engineer: Ken Scott

This session, which began at 10pm and ended at 2.30am the following morning, saw the creation of final mono mixes of Your Mother Should Know, and the first takes of Hello, Goodbye.

Hello, Goodbye was written too late to feature in the Magical Mystery Tour film, although it did appear over the end credits. It was destined instead to be The Beatles' next single.

The basic track was recorded in 14 takes, with piano, drums, organ and tambourine, under the working title Hello Hello. Take 14 was judged to be the best, and maracas, bongos and tambourine were overdubbed.

Before the end of the session two reduction mixes was made to allow for further overdubs. These mixes were numbered 15 and 16, the latter of which was used for subsequent recording. It featured all the instruments on track one of the tape.