Ron Howard, who was once Richie Cunningham (ask your dads, kids), has directed some great films. Apollo 13, Splash, Cocoon, the Da Vinci code to name but a few. He has a new movie out now called The Beatles: Eight days a week, which chronicles their career in live music.
Like Danny Baker, I believe the Beatles were hugely underrated. You read that right. Not overrated because that would just be silly. Underrated.
One of the first albums my mum ever bought for me was Hard Day’s Night which was released in 1964. I don’t know how old I was at the time but I do know I played it over and over again. And when I had finished doing that, I played it again. What I do remember that whilst I had my favourite tracks – I had some boy love for George Harrison, it must be said, so his vocal on “I’m Happy Just to Dance With You” was made for me – there was no filler. Every single tune on the album was a belter. Look at this:
Side one
No.
1. “A Hard Day’s Night”
2. “I Should Have Known Better”
3. “If I Fell”
4. “I’m Happy Just to Dance with You”
5. “And I Love Her”
6. “Tell Me Why”
7. “Can’t Buy Me Love”
Side two
No.
1. “Any Time at All”
2. “I’ll Cry Instead”
3. “Things We Said Today”
4. “When I Get Home”
5. “You Can’t Do That”
6. “I’ll Be Back”
Whilst I love the whole album and try to play it in its entirety out of due respect for the band, I do have some favourites. I remember lifting the needle on my record player to replay Things We Said Today, still my favourite Beatles song to this day, except when it isn’t. (Getting Better from Sgt Pepper usually gets that honour.)
Even if you don’t like the Beatles – and I do not see how that is possible! – there is no escaping their importance in the history of popular music. As the legendary drummer Joe Vitale once said to me about Paul McCartney, “he’s the reason we’re all here”, here, by the way, being the Royal Albert Hall where Joe was drumming for Crosby, Stills and Nash.
It’s a serious source of embarrassment to me that I do not have the full set of Beatles albums. Far from it, actually. But I do have the full set of AC/DC albums which are packed mostly with filler and even the full set of Beach Boys albums despite their alarming deterioration after 1973. I will put that right one day, although the fact that Beatles albums are rarely sold below top dollar.
That their last real gig was 50 years ago is almost beyond belief because, my god, they could all play a bit too.
The greatest band of all time? It’s subjective, but yes they were! A band who can write tunes like Yesterday, In My Life and Hey Jude couldn’t be anything else. And Things We Said Today, of course.
