1981 was a tough year to be a Beatles fan. John was gone and Paul was nowhere to be seen and the only Beatles music in the chart was the ‘Stars on 45’ medley. However, there was no shortage of stories top report by the press. In this video, the second of our scrapbook series, we cover all the major Beatles-related stories year via contemporary UK news and music paper cuttings – many of which may be new to you.
Some of our other YouTube videos you may enjoy:
Scrapbook collection unboxing: https://youtu.be/QyplKZWtSv4
Beatles stories from 1980: https://youtu.be/XqHbxLjIDME
‘Beatles World Records Box Set’ review: https://youtu.be/J8aGHPi-JOc
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24 Comments
I'd like to tell a true story regarding John's death. Summer 1980 I joined the British Army. After my passing out parade, I went for driver training in Leconfield Humberside. I took my Guitar & met a couple of Squaddies who also played. It wasnt long before the other blokes in our Barrack room new I was a Beatle fan. Sometime in November after ablutions i returned to the Barrack room and one of the blokes said "Your mate in the Beatles has been shot" (words to that effect) yes , It was NOVEMBER! Afterwards he said "I'm just Joking" , a few weeks later on the morning of December 9th, someone came in the wash room , again telling me a Beatle had been shot, thinking it was another bad joke I walked into my Barrack room to all my fellow Squaddies telling me it was true.. I couldn't believe it, I admit I cried there and then. One man asked me "Did you know him?" . This is true, and still cannot believe how someone predicted John's death in such a terrible way (as a joke) just 2 or 3 weeks before it happened.
You didn't mention the Stop And Smell The Roses album though
Thanks Andrew. Another brill sort through the cuttings. It's a slightly strange experience for me, 'cause I encountered the Beatles so much earlier. I probably first encountered them on Brian Matthews Saturday Club in 1963 ( I was 9) and the next big memory was Sunday Night at the London Palladium in October 1963. WOW!!!. Did I watch them on Juke Box Jury? I think I must've done. The big event was Mum taking us to our local cinema to see A Hard Days Night in 1964. I'd just turned 10. I can still hear the noise!!!!! For me the real tragedy was the breakup in 1969. There was still so much there. I love Abbey Road, but I also love bits of Let It Be, especially Get Back. Anything afterwards was just for me irrelevant. I didn't even know about the film Birth of the Beatles…or that 45. I bought Double Fantasy as a Christmas present for my sister for Christmas 1980 and we opened it the night after his death and listened to it and cried. It's wonderful that their music and fame still attracts young people today.
Fantastic !!! Thank you so muh ! it's unic!!!
I remember buying "Season of Glass" when it came out and thought that as an album it was much better than any of Yoko's work on Double Fantasy or Milk and Honey and played it a lot. It is a great artistic statement and I will have to pull the record out this week and have another listen to it and reassess. I was one of the few who loved Walking on Thin Ice and was saddened that there would be no more new recordings from the two of them together.
I saw Birth of the Beatles when it first came on Television in NY in 81 or 82… and I recorded it around 84. Saw it many times.
Are these old news articles available to view for free online? I'm trying to search for them.
I hope Andy won't mind me raising this subject here, but I don't know where else to forward this Beatles related data. For a few years in the late 1990s and early 200s I did much research into the history and methods of compiling old UK record charts. Contacting surviving staff members of music & trade papers was a big part of it.
What rather shocked me was the paucity of size of the `returns` that each compiler worked with (In the early 1960s there were 6.000 plus varying types of stores retailing records to choose from).
The so called `official` placing of "Please Please Me" at No 2 in the `Record Retailer` chart (Also published in `Record Mirror` from March 1962) was actually based on just Thirty (30) returns (From a larger pool) phoned by Record Retailer Editor Roy Parker and his secretary Ann Smith. The data was passed to staffer Jeremy Wilder who actually compiled a Top 50 from just these 30 returns, using a graded `countback` system to eliminate `tied` positions.
This chart was audited by accounting firm `Chantrey, Button & co` then printed in Record Retailer and Record Mirror.
Now despite certain claims, this chart was `Never` an industry chart-just for independent retailers to display in their stores. It was never printed by any UK national or regional papers in its lifetime – March 1960 to February 1969. Only in mid 1966 when Billboard Publications took a major share was it published in the USA trade `Billboard.
Only at the start of 1964 did Record Retailer increase its sample size to between 75 to 80. When the `Please Please Me` single was in all charts in late winter early spring 1963, Record Retailer sampled just Thirty shops. I got confirmation via Official Chart co who kindly sent me photo copies of chart sample data. Also, staff member Norman bates (Sorry- but it really is his name) also backed this up.
What about the other chart compilers? Well, Disc (later Disc & Music Echo) sampled about 60 to 80 retailers in early 1963, New Musical Express had a team lead by Fiona Foulger getting returns at about the 150 sample size. Melody Maker, had even more compiling their chart including Editor Jack Hutton, Assistant editor Ray Coleman, staffers Roy Burchill, Alf Martin, Mike Benson, Jeff Stars, and Secretary Sandra Coleman. The MM chart sample for 9th February 1963 was precisely 245 returns making it the largest of the various compilers. The M.M charts were audited by Middlesex County Council.
"Please Please Me" was No 1 for Two weeks in each of the `Disc` `New Musical Express` and `Melody Maker` charts – but No 2 on the compiler using the smallest number of returns (30) `Record Retailers`.
Finally, `Please Please Me` was also No 1 on the BBCs own `weighted average chart "Pick of the Pops" for Three weeks- the third a `Joint No 1` with Cliff Richards `Summer Holiday` . Hope you find this of interest.
For me, 1981 was the year I only listened to the Beatles. Thanks to my recording on cassette a multi-part radio show Beatles radio special that year, giving me the opportunity to delve deep into their catalogue beyond the U.S. 8-track tape of Rubber Soul and the Red and Blue albums a friend taped for me.
I also had that McCartney interview album. It was where I first became aware of the tensions involved in the making of the White Album and there was that eerie coincidence of the sound of a siren when Paul started talking about the Beatles.
Yes I too remember 'Birth of the Beatles' and thought it was great! Steven McKenna played a very memorable John. I was rather disappointed later when I went to see 'Backbeat'. Not half as good, I remember thinking.
-981i felt stars on45was it’s own post disco nightmare and am radio bell😫😫,record demand and ales were boosted since the grieving wandered crying to the record stores hoping somehow to make it not be true and be there waiting for new news that somehow they were wrong and John is still alive the record store playing the albums gave a brief imagination everything was a mistaken identity we standing heads down with sunglasses filling up inside with tears
The exact year where Paul McCartney started to fight to keep his legacy and the true story of his partnership with John Lennon, against those who endangered it to rewrite it and make less and less of his contribution during the Beatles years.
Starsound's Stevie Wonder medley was great. Apparently, even Stevie Wonder thought it was himself singing — the soundalike was that good.
Well done on the 1981 retrospective. I find myself wondering if the documentary, "The Complete Beatles" should receive its own video on your channel or is it best suited as part of the 1982 retrospective? Could go either way….
This is a great series Andrew and really brings things back…..Birth of The Beatles is unintentionally funny in lots of ways….but no worse or embarrassing than any other Beatles/Lennon biopic. Nasty Nick Cotton playing George and John Lennon’s character looking about 37 with a hybrid Scouse/Yorkshire accent!
I bought Season of Glass and Walking on thin ice at the time but have honestly not listened to them since I bought them! I will have to revisit. Looking forward to 1982
PROTECT AND SURVIVE BEGINS SHORTLY
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I LOVE these videos! I find them fascinating. Please do more. Also, a big thank you to the person who made all of these scrapbooks
Great video Andrew, thanks for sharing
This was such a pleasant document! Respectful, critical, humorous! Can't wait for part 3!
Also did people notice one of the press features from Europe spoke about George's relationship with Patti but called her Paddy.
This was great! 1981 saw me living in New York. I got to see the constant press output from my side of the pond, but I can't ever remember Capitol records here in the states experiencing a shortage of Lennon material, it gave me the opportunity to replace my original Lennon albums which were worn beyond belief. Also, the Live Peace In Toronto album finally saw the light of day again, as that album had been deleted for many years prior to December 8th. I have live audio from the New York rock stations shortly after the tragedy and I made the trip to the Dakota the very next morning. It was a madhouse! This posting Brough me back to that time all over again.
Fab vid!! Rock and roll!!
Danny
Hi I enjoyed this