With the Beatles

Background

The Beatles were an English rock band that formed in Liverpool in 1960. With John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they became widely regarded as the greatest and most influential act of the rock era.

[Wikipedia]

See also:

Pat Heigham (and David Brunt)

I have a story about the Beatles.

On (possibly)  “Pops and Lenny” on 16th May 1963 (a live TX) from the TV Theatre (TVT), Crew 3 regularly miked up the current week’s pop group who were appearing (yawn, yawn).

I was working the side set boom, a mini Fisher mounted on the TVT circle.

Towards the end of the group’s set, I was aware that the whole circle was vibrating – looking round, all the teenage audience were legging for the exits, presumably to get to the stage door.  I only discovered afterwards that this week’s pop group were the Beatles.

My one delight was to relate this story to Paul McCartney when I interviewed him for an American channel in the offices of Apple!

Whilst at the BBC, we were very much lectured against fraternising with artistes – this didn’t stop Crew 3 from instituting a ten pin bowling match versus the Black and White Minstrels!

I recall that the standard sound rig for lead/rhythm/bass guitars and drums were mics on the lead amp and drums, and a 4038 with the rhythm/bass speakers either side and the balance adjusted on the amps.
Whether we went and thumped them if they dared to change the amps settings I do not know, but Mike Cotton was an impressive presence!

Derek Martin

When BBC2 started, Jimmy Young had his own early evening show which was staged in TC2 as I recall.  He had the Beatles, The Searchers, Billy J Kramer, Gerry & The pacemakers and many more big pop names as guests.  I was a callow 18/19 year old on, I think, crew 11 – Colin Reid – at the time and found it all very exciting! 

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Gary Critcher and Bill Jenkin

Beatles_1

The camera is an EMI 203 (aka the ‘Green’ EMI)

Beatles_2

Again, the camera is an EMI 203 (aka the ‘Green’ EMI)

 

Beatles_3

The camera is a Marconi Mk IV.

Geoff Hawkes

… mounted on a Heron.  TC2 and TC33 had those cameras whereas TC4 and TC5 had the green EMIs,

David Brunt

The Beatles “Paperback Writer” performance was their only live “Top of the Pops” appearance. Thursday 16th June 1966 in TC2.

Beatles_4

They did pre-record an insert of ‘Ticket To Ride’ on 10th April 1965, that was in Riverside 2. 

Peter Cook

Beatles_5

Chances are that this camera is an LDK 3 (possibly. LDK1 but the cue light on the 1 was further back) not a Pye badged PC 80 as there is no Pye logo.

Shame you can’t see the cable entry, LDK1 (PC60) used 2x Mk 4 cables and certainly in the Beeb, LDK 3 (PC 80) used single G101, and the photo is low res so you cannot read the Philips logo which would be on the centre strip

ianfootersmall