George and Ringo with Tom Petty - Almost a Musical Reunion

In March 1989 Ringo Starr joined George Harrison, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne and Mike Campbell to film the video for the Tom Petty solo track, 'I Won't Back Down'. The original recording featured Phil Jones on drums, but since he was unavailable for the video Ringo was called in to fill in. This particular song isn't really a musical reunion as the musicians were miming to the original recording which did not feature Ringo. George did play rhythm guitar and add background vocals to the original track. The distinctive slide guitar on the track that sounds like George is actually Mike Campbell playing. According to Tom Petty, however, when they were recording the video they had guitar amps and were jamming in between takes. A limited edition 7-inch single released in the U.K. featured pictures of George and Ringo on the back cover.

What they said about it:

Tom Petty

David Fricke (Rolling Stone): You played in a partial Beatles reunion. Harrison and Ringo Starr appeared in your video for "I Won't Back Down." 

"It was George's idea to get Ringo. What am I going to say - No? I knew Ringo. He would hang around with us. But I still can't believe that happened. We had amps on the set, and we'd be jamming between takes. I remember playing and looking at Mike, like, 'How about this?'" Source: Rolling Stone, 10 December 2009

"George Harrison, he would come around to visit and we got him to play on one and he helped us with the vocals...." Source: Countdown (Australian TV show) - Tom Petty interview 1989

"We didn't have a drummer and it was just a classic case of George saying, 'Well Ringo could do it maybe,' and we called him up. And he was, you know, he was free that day, came down and hang around with the boys. It was great, really." Source: MTV 1989 - Tom Petty Interview and Full Moon Fever Listening Party for LA Fans.

"George was around a lot during that time. Just socially, just hanging out. His family would come over, and we became close, the two families. So George would sometimes come to the session to hang out. That was a particular time that he was there, and he wound up singing with us.

"I played the piano. Jeff had the melody for the verse, and then I came up with the main riff. We got together, and with all this synergy, we pretty much finished the song - all but one line. Which was "There ain't no easy way out." I didn't have a line for that. And I was singing, 'I'm standing on the edge of the world.' [Laughs] And when we were recording it, George said, 'What the hell is that- "I'm standing on the edge of the world." Surely there's got to be something better than that.' [Laughs] And then I came up with "There ain't no easy way out," which seemed so obvious. But that was George going, 'That line's dumb.' And so I'm really glad that I got all the dumb lines out, because it's a song that apparently a lot of people have been inspired by. I get a lot of people telling me, either through the mail or in person, how that song has played a role in helping them in some way in their life. How it's given them conviction to get over a certain obstacle in their life." Source: 'Conversations With Tom Petty' by By Paul Zollo.

Mike Campbell

TQR: Around the time of “Full Moon Fever”, I remember you playing the solo on the video of “I Won’t Back Down” on what I thought was the George Harrison “Magical Mystery Tour” Stratocaster, which he called “Rocky” Was that actually George’s guitar and do you own it?
"It was… We flew over to England to do that video, and Ringo came down to play in the video, and George brought that guitar down and he said “Here, you wanna play this?” and I was like, “Sure!” (laughs). It was a thrill to hold it and play it, but I don’t own that guitar. George was just like that though, he was very generous." Source: TONEQUEST REPORT V9. N5. March 2008 p.7

Frequently Asked Questions About This Blog

Beatles Involved:

None.

Listenability: 0 out of 5

About Me

I'm a Beatles fan from Australia. Since I was born after the Beatles had already broken up its always been a bit of extra fun to see the former Beatles reunite in different ways, even though there was never a complete reunion of all four living Beatles.

I'm also a fan of John, Paul, George and Ringo as solo artists and to some extent I see their work as a continuation of the body of work they started as The Beatles. I would even go to so far as to say that a few of the solo albums of the former Beatles are superior to a few of The Beatles actual albums.

How do you decide where a song should be in the Top 100?

Things I consider are:

• How many Beatles were involved in the song?
• If the song is by a solo Beatle with a second Beatle guesting on the track, I take into account how much the second Beatle influenced the sound of song? For example, George Harrison plays guitar on John's Instant Karma. He can't be heard clearly and so didn't particularly influence the sound of the song. In contrast George's guitar playing on John's 'Gimme Some Truth' is a key feature of the overall sound of the song.
• Was the song credited to The Beatles? 'Free As A Bird', 'Real Love', the Love version of 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' were all credited to The Beatles. Most songs on 'Liverpool Sound Collage' are co-credited to The Beatles.
• How listenable is the track? This is subjective, but I do try to take into account other people's reviews of the songs to balance up my own biases.

Ultimately my list is subjective, so if you disagree that's fine - I'm not even sure if I agree with it myself!

Who is your favourite Beatle?

Over the years my favourite has changed. Initially it was John, then George and now Paul. I did meet Ringo earlier this year which was unbelievable - but that's another story!

How many "incomplete Beatle reunions" are there?

I don't know - I haven't counted them all yet. I'm pretty sure there is more than one hundred otherwise my Top 100 will be in trouble!

Can I comment on your posts?

Comments are welcome. Constructive criticism is also welcome. If you have some extra information about a track, especially an interesting Beatle quote you are welcome to email me at: peaceloveeverywhere@gmail.com 

Disclaimer:

Please note, this blog is totally unofficial. It is not affiliated with The Beatles or Apple or any of their recording companies in any way. In the end it's just a bit of fun. 

 

1962 Hamburg Tapes

Of course, there wasn't a Beatles reunions in 1962. In fact, these primitive recordings were made only a few months after Ringo joined the band in August of that year.

When it comes to recordings of The Beatles that have not yet been released, these live performances from the Star Club in Hamburg are a bootleg favourite for many Beatles fans. (But if you've never heard them before, be prepared for fairly poor sound quality.)

At this stage of their careers, The Beatles were not yet a world wide phenomenon. Their stage act was still unpolished and the song selection was more varied than what it would later become. These recordings feature a number of songs that The Beatles never recorded at any other time. It also features a lot of hard to decipher announcements and on-stage banter.

So if you've ever struggled to work out what was being said in these recordings, below is a link to a transcript of as much as can be deciphered.

1962 Hamburg Tapes Transcript

Sons of The Beatles

In an interview with a BBC reporter, James McCartney, son of Paul McCartney, contemplated the possibility of forming a band with other sons of The Beatles. Here is the question of reporter, Ian Youngser and James' response:

Q. What would you say to forming The Beatles - The Next Generation, with Sean Lennon, Dhani Harrison and Zak Starkey [Ringo Starr's son]?
"I don't think it's something that Zak wants to do. Maybe Jason [another of Starr's sons and also drummer] would want to do it. I'd be up for it. Sean seemed to be into it, Dhani seemed to be into it. I'd be happy to do it." James McCartney
Taken from BBC Website: http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-17547939

Of course, James' response led to over the top headlines around the world and eventually a bit of a reality check from Ringo, who said, 'as far as I know, neither of my two sons will be in it'. As unlikely as such a scenario is, it is not completely absurd as John, Paul, George and Ringo all fathered some very talented children and it just so happens all the sons are talented musicians.

Here are some of my favourite songs from Julian Lennon, Sean Lennon, James McCartney and Dhani Harrison. Ringo also has two sons who are both drummers. Zac Starkey, is particularly accomplished, having played on an ongoing basis with The Who and as the third drummer of Oasis.

Saltwater - Julian Lennon

Queue - Sean Lennon

Thinking About Rock & Roll - James McCartney

Say - thenewno2 (Dhani Harrison's band)

And here's a little bit of Zac Starkey doing his thing with The Who...

Here's a James McCartney track with Dhani on guitar. It's the closest thing we have yet to the 'Sons of the Beatles' actually forming...

Here's Sean singing a beautiful song about his father...

And here's James singing I Love You Dad...

And finally, here is Ringo Starr, stating that his sons won't be getting together to form a band with the other Beatles sons...

Number 28 to 35 Various songs composed by John, Paul or George for Ringo

Numbers 28 to 35 are various songs composed for Ringo by either John, Paul or George.







Number 26 - Cookin’ (In the Kitchen of Love)
Beatles Involved: John and Ringo.  Listenability: 3.5 out of 5

'Cooking (In the Kitchen of Love)' was the last studio recording John worked on prior to his five year hiatus to look after Sean. The track was written by John, who also played piano on on 12 June 1976. (Badman 1999, p.180)

The song itself is little more than a repetitive three chord piano boogie. Each verse starts in an near identical fashion, and the chorus uses the same chords as the verses. The end result is a bit of non-ground breaking musical fun.

What they said about it:

Ringo:
I asked John and he worked on it and worked on it and came up with ‘Cookin’ (In The Kitchen Of Love)’. You know he’s really into that now – cooking.
Taken from Interview in NME Originals page 112.

Other Bits and Pieces

Initially, after finishing his Rock 'n' Roll album in 1975, it seemed that John planned on making another album in the near future. In an interview with Pete Hamill, published on 5th June 1975, John stated, 'I've just started writing a new one [album]. Got maybe half of it written.' A number of events occurred over the following 13 months, that perhaps all played a part in John taking a break rather than making a new album. These events were:

1) On the 9th October 1975 his son Sean was born. John later stated that the length of his break from the music industry was because he 'wanted to give five solid years to Sean.' (September 29th 1980 issue of Newsweek).

2) On the 26th January 1976, three months after Sean was born, John's contract with EMI expired. Judging by a letter John wrote to EMI director Len Wood in March of 1976, EMI had given some sort of 'offer', which John didn't accept. John also stated, he was 'enjoying my family, And uncommitted freedom'. Lennon didn't sign another record contract until 22nd September 1980.

3) On 27th July 1976, John's application for the green card was approved on 27th July 1976. It seemed during the hearing on this day that John was not planning an extended break, as he stated that  he wished to 'continue to live here [the USA] with my family and continue making music.' Leon Wildes, John's attorney, also argued on this day, that John could make a contribution to the US through his 'new innovations in music' and the 'revenue' that John could generate. Perhaps, once John's green card was actually accepted, he then no longer felt as much pressure to be seen to contributing to the US through his music.

27: (It’s all da-da-down to) Goodnight Vienna
Beatles Involved: John and Ringo.  Listenability: 3 out of 5

Written by John and recorded with Ringo in August 1974, it became the title track of Ringo's album later that year. John contributes an enthusiastic count-in and piano. Musically the song has verses which end in the refrain 'It's all da-da-down to Goodnight Vienna'. It also has a repeated bridge, but lacks anything  that would qualify as a chorus. Ringo's bland singing doesn't help. Amongst other contributors to the recording, Billy Preston plays clavinet. Lyrically, it seems to be about John's insecurities. The Reprise of the song features Lennon's intro, 'OK, with gusto, boys, with gusto!'.

What they said about it:

Ringo:Question: Are any of the ex-Beatles on the LP?
“John is. He wrote a song and played on three. He wrote the title tune. It’s a Northern expression and an old song, which means ‘I’m getting out of here’.”
Taken from Interview in NME Originals page 91.

Number 28: You and Me (Babe)
Beatles Involved: George and Ringo.  Listenability: 3 out of 5

An easy going track that features some very nice slide guitar by George. The song was co-written by Beatles road manager / personal assistant, Mal Evans. Part of the horn arrangement is reminiscent of the riff in Badfinger's song, 'Day After Day'. As the last track on the 1973 'Ringo' album it also features a spoken a thank you to George Harrison, John Lennon and Paul McCartney as well as a host of others involved in making the record.

What they said about it:


Mal:
"We were in LA at the time and George and I were sharing a house and Ringo was doing his album. It was late one nght and I had this song round my head. It was a mediation song of mine I had written when I was in New York previously and I asked George if he would help me out with the chords, because I don’t play very well. He started playing on the piano, it developed and this is what it turned out to be. Ringo was surprised by it, I suppose."
Taken from: The Beatles: Off The Record 2 - The Dream is Over: Off the Record
By Keith Badman

Number 29: Pure Gold
Beatles Involved: Paul and Ringo.  Listenability: 3 out of 5

About a week after John recorded 'Cooking (In the Kitchen of Love) with Ringo, Paul and Linda spent four hours at Cherokee Studios in Hollywood on 19th June 1976 to record this track. Written by Paul and featuring Paul on backing vocals, the song is largely based on the 50's chord progression of C, Am, F, G with a few extra chords thrown in. It's pleasant enough, but its lacks a bridge or anything more than a middle of the road performance. According to the album notes, Ringo shares the drumming duties with Jim Keltner, while the bass guitar is played by Klaus Voorman, a friend of The Beatles from their Hamburg days.

What they said about it:

Ringo:
"Well, Paul asked to write a song..."
Taken from 'The Beatles Diary Volume 2. Keith Badman. p.191

Nancy Lee Andrews (Ringo's girlfriend at the time):
"He [Paul] did write a song for Ringo's Rotogravure, Pure Gold. Paul said it was about me for Ringo, so he recorded it."
Taken from 'A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll - Nancy Lee Andrews Interview'.

Number 30: Wrack My Brain
Beatles Involved: George and Ringo.  Listenability: 2.5 out of 5
This song was George's song writing contribution to Ringo's 1981 album, 'Stop and Smell the Roses'. It features George on guitar, backing vocals and also as producer. While the song is catchy enough to get stuck in your head, this is not necessarily a good thing as the tune itself is fairly repetitive. Nevertheless, it was released as a single, and made it to number 38 in the US music charts. The lyrics seem to be about George being 'dried up' and having to wrack his brain in an attempt to write a song for the executives at his record company would be happy with. A similar theme is also the subject of a George song, 'Blood From a Clone.'

Other bits and pieces

In this alternative version, George's backing vocals are more prominent.

Number 31: Private Property

Beatles Involved: Paul and Ringo.  Listenability: 2.5 out of 5

This is another song from Ringo's 1981 album, 'Stop and Smell the Roses'. Composed and produced by Paul, it features Paul on bass and piano. Linda can be heard on backing vocals and the track also features Wing's lead guitarist Laurence Juber. The prominent saxaphone is played by Howie Casey who had previously tour with Wings. Despite being a lively recording, the song itself is not one of McCartney's best.

What they said about it:

Laurence Juber: 
Question - In July 1980 you recorded "Private Property" and "Attention" with Paul and Linda McCartney for Ringo Starr's Stop and Smell the Roses. What was it like watching Paul and Ringo interact together?
"Simply amazing. The fact that I'm sitting there in the studio watching Paul and Ringo work and I say to myself, "Wow, there's half of the Beatles. How cool is this?" They had a sixth sense about each other and where to go musically. It was magical to watch the two interact. We also did "Sure to Fall" and Linda's tune "Love's Full Glory" that ended up on Wide Praire."

Number 32: Sunshine Life For Me (Sail Away Raymond)
Beatles Involved: George and Ringo.  Listenability: 2.5 out of 5

This track features George on guitar and his clearly distinguishable backing vocals during the chorus. Written by George, Ringo sings lead, and nearly all the members of The Band (Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko and Garth Hudson) also play on the track. Despite the pedigree of musicians, the tune is so bland that the song is instantly forgettable. It is one of the weaker tracks on Ringo's self-titled 1973 album.

What they said about it:

George Harrison:
"Sail Away Raymond was written on an open-tuned guitar when I was with Donovan who was living in Ireland at the time. I wrote it like an old Irish folk song a bit like country music, and the Raymond who was in my mind  at the time was a lawyer who Allen Klein had employed to act on behalf of Ringo, John, me and Apple when Paul was suing us – Sail Away Raymond, Sail Away.

"It was a fun session and a good track with most of The Band, David Bromberg, Klaus, Ringo and me. It appeared on Ringo’s Ringo album."
Taken from 'I, Me, Mine' p. 232

 
Number 33 - Attention

Beatles Involved: Paul and Ringo.  Listenability: 2.5 out of 5

Featuring Paul on bass, piano, percussion and backing vocal it is the second song on Ringo's Stop and Smell the Roses album to be written by Paul. The verses are quite bland, however the bridge that starts just after the one minute mark sounds more melodic and adds a bit more interest to the song. The backing vocals which also features contributions from Linda are quite nice as is Howie Casey's saxophone playing. Like 'Private Property', the track also features Laurence Juber on guitar.

Other bits and pieces
This song also featured in an MPL produced 1982 short film, The Cooler, which featured Ringo, Barbara, Paul and Linda. The film features the two Paul penned songs, from Stop and Smell the Roses, as well as the Paul produced cover, 'Sure to Fall'.

 

Number 27 - Patti and Eric's Party

Beatles Involved:

Paul, George, Ringo

Listenability:

No recording is known to exist.

In May 1979 Paul, George and Ringo all attended a party to celebrate Eric Clapton and Patti Boyd's wedding, which had taken place back in March. Different accounts of Patti's state that Paul, George and Ringo got up on stage all at the same time at and played a number of songs, including Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. This was part of a broader jam session that included other musicians. While the three former Beatles did attend the party, it is not 100 % certain that the three former Beatles all played together at once on stage. None of them have said they did and there are no photos of the three of them on stage. This is an important reunion however, as the three of them did at least hang out together for a photo and it is possible that the three of them did jam together.

What they said about it:

Ringo: Later that month I was at Eric and Pattie Clapton’s wedding. That was a really good day except that Ronnie Lane was there and he had just found out that he had multiple sclerosis. I said, ‘Hey Ronnie. How are you doing?’ He said, ‘I’m melting.’

Zak and Jim Capaldi were playing drums because Eric had a band set up on stage. I have fond memories of that day. (Taken from Postcards From The Boys p.85)

Paul: We were having a booze-up and a laugh and suddenly we were playing together again. It felt pretty good to me...It'll be great to do one like that again, with just the four of us, once Sean [Lennon] is 5 and John starts playing again.
(Taken from The Daily Gazette, January 28, 1994 - A newspaper from Schenectady, New York. Original quote is from 1979 or 1980, although the original source is not stated. 'You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup' p.262 attributes a nearly identical, but shorter version of this quote to Ringo. The language used and the openness about the topic however sounds far more like that of McCartney. McCartney did a lot of interviews during this period.)

Patti Boyd: In May, when Eric was home briefly between tours, Roger organised the most extravagant wedding party for us at Hurtwood Edge. Three hundred people came – Eric’s family, my family, the Ripleyites, the local farmers and tradespeople, and lots of great musicians, who jammed together. We had Jeff Beck, Ronnie Wood, Bill Wyman, Donovan, Robert Plant, Robert Palmer and Jack Bruce. George, Paul and Ringo came – for some reason John wasn’t invited, but he said he would have come if he’d been asked, which was sad because if he had, it would have been the first and last time the Beatles played together since the break-up – the next year he was dead.

Lonnie Donegan turned up, uninvited, and said, ‘Where are they all?’

I took him up to the smallest room in the house where they were smoking joints and said, as I opened the door, ‘Guess who’s here?’

They all jumped up and tried to hide the evidence, then George said, ‘I remember when I was a little boy and I knocked on the door of your house and asked for your autograph,’ and Donegan said, ‘That’s why I’m here. I want it back!’ 

(Taken from Patti Boyd's autobiograph. Woderful Tonight p.211 to 212)

Eric Clapton: One of the first things that Pattie did when she got back to England was set about organizing a party for all our English friends to celebrate our wedding. It was set for Saturday, 19 May, when there was a break in my tour schedule, and was to take place in the garden at Hurtwood, where a huge marquee had been erected.

The first person I remember arriving was Lonnie Donegan,…There was a stage in the marquee, the idea being that the band would consist of anyone who felt like getting up and playing. A succession of great musicians joined in the jam session that took place later in the evening, including Georgie [Fame] and Lonnie [Donegan], Jeff Beck, Bill Wyman, Mick Jagger, Jack Bruce and Denny Laine. I remember Denny’s wife, Jo Jo, getting up to sing and then we couldn’t get her off, so whoever was at the mixing board had to keep switching off whichever mike she was using, and she would just move to another one. George, Paul and Ringo also played, only missing John, who later phoned me to say that would have been there too if he had known about it. How that came about I’ll never know, suffice to say I had little to do with the invitations.

(Taken from: Eric Clapton, The Autobiography p.199 -201)

Denny Laine: It's lucky nobody made a tape. The music was terrible, absolute rubbish.
(Taken from: You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup p.261)

The coloured photo of Paul, Lonnie Donegan, George and Ringo to have surfaced.

Paul, George and Ringo with skiffle musican Lonnie Donegan
(The original of this photo is double exposed with a photo of a baby.)

Paul, George, Ringo and Lonnie Donegan

Paul, Ringo and others.

Number 26 - Oh My Love

 Beatles Involved: 

John and George

Listenability: 

4.5 out of 5

Co-written by Yoko this track is arguably one of John's greatest ballads. It features some delicate, melodic guitar picking by George which adds to the richness of the song. The lyrics, chord structure, John's piano playing (which is augmented by Nicky Hopkins on keyboard) all combine to produce a gentle, affective sound. 

What They Said About It:

John: 

You hear Yoko's classical influence. She was trained as a classical musician all her life, and she only went mad, avant garde, later in life, you know, (laughter) like a lot of people do. And she...
Mike Douglas: Let's be honest, John, when she met you...
No, she went bananas before she met me. (laughter) We're both bananas, that's why we fell in love. But this song, you can hear the classical influence of Yoko . . . has influenced me on this. And this is 80% her lyric and 50% her tune on this, and it really influenced me. You can hear a Japanese influence. Taken from conversation on Mike Douglas Show.

Yoko:

We wrote it together... Taken from conversation on Mike Douglas Show.

In most love songs you're making people feel hot or whatever about each other. But instead of that, he's saying, "I see it clearly for the first time." It's not so much about sexual interest or "I miss you" - it's more to do with true love. Taken from Rolling Stone 2010 - An article in which Yoko placed 'Oh My Love' at the top of her Top 10 John Lennon songs.

 Other Bits and Pieces

• Bono of U2 fame is also a fan of 'Oh My Love'. In a 2005 interview with Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone magazine he said:

I remember John singing “Oh My Love.” It’s like a little hymn. It’s certainly a prayer of some kind – even if he was an atheist. “Oh, my love / For the first time in my life / My eyes can see / I see the wind / Oh, I see the trees/ Everything is clear in our world.” For me it was like he was talking about the veil lifting off, the scales falling from the eyes. Seeing out the window with a new clarity that love brings you. I remember that feeling. Taken from Rolling Stone November 2005

• There is a lot of footage available of this song being recorded. The following clip is one of the most interesting. It includes John playing the piano and calling out the chords to George who is playing along on guitar. John doesn't know the name of one of the chords and has to ask Yoko. Later in the clip George and Yoko briefly converse and then John borrows George's steel guitar and is suitably impressed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qD06sTxFA9w#at=509

•  The 1971 version has little in common with the 1968 demo of the same song, apart from the opening line. You can hear the demo version on the clip below.

• Here's a link to an isolated track of George's guitar playing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRHHb57mqlI