| The Music of Lennon & McCartney | |
|---|---|
 The opening title used for the special | |
| Directed by | Philip Casson[1] |
| Starring | John Lennon Paul McCartney George Harrison Ringo Starr Cilla Black Peter Sellers Marianne Faithfull |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Production | |
| Producer | Johnnie Hamp |
| Running time | 44 minutes[2] |
| Original release | |
| Network | Independent Television |
| Release | 16 December 1965 (1965-12-16) |
The Music of Lennon & McCartney is a 1965 Britishtelevision special honouring the songwriting partnership ofJohn Lennon andPaul McCartney of the English rock bandthe Beatles. It was produced byGranada Television and aired on that station on 16 December 1965 before receiving a national broadcast across the entireITV network, of which Granada was a part, the following evening. The programme mainly consisted of other artists miming to their recordings ofLennon–McCartney songs,[3] interspersed with scripted commentary from Lennon and McCartney. In addition, the Beatles performed both sides of their current single, "Day Tripper" and "We Can Work It Out".Peter Sellers performed a comedic interpretation of "A Hard Day's Night", in the style of stage actorLaurence Olivier's portrayal ofRichard III.
The special served as further recognition for the Beatles, particularly Lennon and McCartney, outside the usual parameters of pop music. It followed the band members being presented with theirMBEs in late October 1965 and led to a surge in the number of cover versions of Lennon–McCartney songs. The special was not shown again until December 1985, when it aired as part ofChannel 4's celebration of 30 years of Granada Television.
The Music of Lennon & McCartney was a project initiated byJohnnie Hamp,[4] who had championedthe Beatles onGranada Television in 1962, a year before the band achieved national fame. Hamp intended the 1965 special to be a tribute to theLennon–McCartney songwriting partnership. Negotiations to ensure the Beatles' participation were held for two months.[5] The format was avariety special.[6]Paul McCartney later said that the show "wasn't really our thing", and that he andJohn Lennon only agreed to participate out of loyalty towards Hamp.[7] While the band committed to the Granada project, they turned down an invitation to perform at theRoyal Variety Show and refused to reprise the Beatles Christmas Shows they had held over the 1963–64 and 1964–65holiday seasons.[6]
Filming took place at Granada's studios inManchester on 1–2 November 1965.[8][9] The Beatles interrupted the recording sessions for their albumRubber Soul, which they were under pressure to complete for a pre-Christmas release, in order to appear on the programme.[10] Lennon and McCartney's contributions included delivering the scripted links between other artists' performances of their songs.George Harrison andRingo Starr joined their bandmates to film mimed performances[6] of both sides of the Beatles' forthcoming single, "Day Tripper" and "We Can Work It Out".[11] The set design featured scaffolding around the walls, and steps and ladders.[11] Theharmonium played by Lennon during "We Can Work It Out" was the same instrument seen in Granada's popular soap operaCoronation Street.[12] The Pamela Devis Dancers provided thechoreography for some of the musical segments.[13]
Peter Sellers filmed his contribution in advance at a studio in London,[11] due to his other film commitments. The Beatles admired R&B singerEsther Phillips and had her flown over from America to give her first performances in the UK.[14]
All information per John Winn's bookWay Beyond Compare: The Beatles' Recorded Legacy, Volume One, 1962–1965,[15] unless otherwise noted.
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Melody Maker announced the TV special, along with the imminent release of "Day Tripper" / "We Can Work It Out" andRubber Soul, and the dates for the band's1965 UK tour, on the front page of its 4 December issue.[20] The special aired on the Granada network in the north of England between 9.40 and 10.35 pm on 16 December,[11] and then received a nationwide broadcast onITV on 17 December.[21] It was the only television appearance the Beatles made in conjunction with the release of their new music, as promotional films for "Day Tripper" and "We Can Work It Out" were used to promote the single onTop of the Pops and other TV shows.[22]The Music of Lennon & McCartney inspired the band's decision to make these clips, which served as forerunners tomusic videos becoming the standard means of promoting pop singles.[23]
At the time, Lennon said of his and McCartney's songs: "There are only about a hundred people in the world who really understand what our music is all about. Ringo, George, and a few others scattered around the globe ... The reason so many people use our numbers and add nothing at all to them is that they do not understand the music. Consequently they make a mess of it."[24]
The recognition afforded the Lennon–McCartney partnership followedBBC Radio'sSongwriters programme on the pair's achievements,[16] whileMike Hennessey, writing in the same issue ofMelody Maker, said the Beatles were "a pop music phenomenon which may very well never recur on such a monumental scale", adding: "But unquestionably the biggest single factor in their unprecedented success is the superb songwriting partnership of John Lennon and Paul McCartney."[25] In his book1965: The Making of Modern Britain, Christopher Bray writes that such was the band's ascendancy that year, the Beatles were "everywhere", as not only leaders of a "new aristocracy" but also recipients ofMBEs. The latter was an unprecedented appointment for pop stars at the time and a reflection of British politicians' recognition of the Beatles' influence and mass appeal.[26] Combined with the critical and public acclaim given toRubber Soul, the show resulted in a surge in cover recordings of works from the Beatles'Northern Songs publishing catalogue. In authorBob Spitz's description: "By mid-1966, an astounding eighty-eight Lennon–McCartney songs had been recorded in over 2,900 versions.Gershwin finally had competition."[27]
The Music of Lennon & McCartney was not aired again until 30 December 1985. It was shown onChannel 4 as part of an evening of programmes recognising 30 years of Granada Television.[28] Due to this broadcast, the programme began circulating amongbootleg collectors for the first time.[29] The "Day Tripper" segment was included in the Beatles1+ CD and DVD set, released in November 2015.[12][30]
Among Beatles biographers, John Winn describes the Granada special as a "semisuccessful attempt to spotlight John and Paul's songwriting abilities". He says that the pair's "scripted banter is delivered awkwardly" and "neither are comfortable with the whole idea of the show, let alone the corny manner in which they are participating."[11][nb 2]Hunter Davies similarly finds Lennon and McCartney's spoken contributions "corny", although he gives the programme a score of seven out of ten with the assessment: "Great tribute show, with two fine Beatles performances as well."[12]Rolling Stone criticRob Sheffield recognises Sellers' segment as an "offbeat highlight" in which the comedian renders "the lyrics as a Shakesperean monologue ... making them sound even filthier".[31]
