The Easybeats - BBC Sessions
First released November 2013
1. Made My Bed, Gonna Lie In It
2. Interview with Steve and George*
3. Friday On My Mind (version 1)
4. Pretty Girl (version 1)
5. Friday On My Mind (version 2)
6. Sorry*
7. Saturday Night
8. Mother-In-Law
9. Who’ll Be The One
10. River Deep Mountain High
11. Interview with Harry*
12. Heaven And Hell
13. Pretty Girl (version 2)*
14. Falling Off The Edge Of The World (version 1)*
15. I Keep Forgettin’
16. Hello How Are You
17. Falling Off The Edge Of The World (version 2)
18. Old MacDonald Had A Farm*
19. Down To The Last 500
20. What In The World
* Previously unreleased.
All tracks written by Vanda/Young except: 1 Young; 6 Wright/Young; 8 Toussaint; 10 Greenwich/Barry/Spector; 15 Leiber/Stoller; 18 Trad Arr. Vanda/Young.
==About The Easybeats' BBC Sessions==
Between 1966 and 1968, The Easybeats made seven appearances on BBC radio (excluding repeats or syndications). This collection contains all 20 of their BBC radio recordings.
--Appearance 1--
Saturday Club
Recorded 18 Oct 66. Broadcast 22 Oct 66 on BBC Light Programme.
To promote their new single 'Friday On My Mind', the Easybeats made their first radio appearance in the UK on the long running pop staple Saturday Club. Host Brian Matthew introduced the group to Britain: "This is your resident president Brian Matthew, all set to do the honours in this fabby, raving, groovy show. And we open with a swinging group recently arrived in Britain from Australia - The Easybeats!". The band then performed the B-side 'Made My Bed, Gonna Lie In It'. The performance was followed by an interview with Stevie Wright and George Young:
Brian: "With that kind of success going for you back home, George, why did you decide to come over here?"
George: "Well, eh, the only way we could go from there was down. So rather than go down, we like the limelight, we decided to come here and try".
Matthew then makes a prediction with the next number "...I think this record's going to go big..."
'Friday On My Mind' is then followed by 'Pretty Girl'.
--Appearance 2--
Saturday Club
Recorded 5 Dec 66. Broadcast 17 Dec 66 on BBC Light Programme.
This programme's line-up included Georgie Fame with The Harry South Big Band, Paul Jones, Peter and Gordon, Jimmy James & The Vagabonds, The Easybeats, Jackie Edwards with Wynder K. Frog, Arthur Greenslade & The Gee Men. The Easybeats performed two numbers: 'Friday On My Mind', and their last single recorded in Australia, 'Sorry' ("And now it's overcoats off, for the finale" - Brain Matthew).
--Appearance 3--
Saturday Club
Recorded 21 Mar 67. Broadcast 1 Apr 67 on BBC Light Programme.
With another new single plus an upcoming album, the group returned to Saturday Club. In addition to playing both sides of the new single, 'Saturday Night' and 'Who'll Be The One', the group performed their rendition of Allen Toussaint's 'Mother-In-Law', originally made popular by Ernie K. Doe.
The full list of artists for this week's show was Manfred Mann, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Vince Hill, Helen Shapiro, The Easybeats, The Montanas, The Pete Smith Group.
--Appearance 4--
Saturday Club
Recorded 19 Jun 67. Broadcast 24 Jun 67 on BBC Light Programme.
To promote their latest UK single, the group returned to the BBC Playhouse to record another radio appearance.
The full list of artists for this week's show was Chris Farlowe and David & Jonathan with The Des Champ Orchestra, The Easybeats, Dianne Ferraz and The Ferris Wheel, The Traffic Jam.
The Easybeats performed three tracks: 'River Deep, Mountain High', 'Heaven And Hell' and 'Pretty Girl'. Matthew also discussed with Harry the recent controversy surrounding 'Heaven and Hell'.
--Appearance 5--
The Jimmy Young Show
Recorded 24 Nov 67. Broadcast 29 Jan 68 on BBC Radio 1.
This time the group appeared on the weekly morning Jimmy Young Show. The first of the two songs performed was a re-vamp of their last single 'Falling Off The Edge of The World'. This new version was a more "dramatic" performance, with a faster tempo than the original US single. This new arrangement would later be released in the UK as the B-Side to the single 'Hello How Are You'. However, unlike the released recording, this radio performance was still fairly stripped back and lacked the strings that would later appear on disc. What is interesting is that since this performance was recorded in November, the band wasted no time in altering the arrangement for the European market from the song's original September release. Perhaps this new version was a contender for the next UK single, until 'Music Goes 'Round My Head' was chosen?
The second song was a remarkable cover of Leiber/Stoller's 'I Keep Forgettin'', made famous by Chuck Jackson. The Easybeats' version kept a ska beat with the rhythm guitar throughout the song. Although the performance was less experimental than most, it is still a noteworthy recording.
--Appearance 6--
The Pete Brady Show
Recorded 19 Feb 68. Broadcast 2 Mar 68 on BBC Radio 1.
The Easybeats returned to the BBC Studios to promote their upcoming single 'Hello, How Are You' on the Radio 1 afternoon Pete Brady Show. Their performance of 'Hello...' was live with full band, piano and strings. The other two songs featured in this broadcast were 'Falling Off the Edge of the World', which was now the new faster arrangement that would be released in the UK as the B-Side to 'Hello How Are You', and a bubblegum cover of the nursery rhyme 'Old MacDonald Had A Farm'.
Along with the songs for this programme, two other songs would be recorded during the session: 'Down To The Last 500' and 'What In The World'. These recordings would appear on the show's 2 April edition.
--Appearance 7--
The Pete Brady Show
Recorded 19 Feb 68. Broadcast 2 Apr 68 on BBC Radio 1.
The Easybeats returned to The Pete Brady Show for what would be their final radio performance.
Their performance of 'Hello...', which was first broadcast on 2 March, was repeated. The other two songs recorded at the February session, but not broadcast in March, were featured in this broadcast: 'Down To The Last 500' and 'What In The World'.
'Down To The Last 500' was a looser rendition than the studio recording that would later appear on the Australian compilation 'The Best of The Easybeats Volume 2' in October 1969, having just guitars and drums. 'What In The World' followed more closely with what would be released on the 'Vigil' LP in June.
(Above notes by 'paulisdead', edited by Q)
==About this transfer==
These are not my transfers - I merely restored and mastered for CD. Note that the sources used here are superior to those used on the Raven "Live - Studio and Stage" compilation, being generally clearer, more natural sounding and without bass boost or compression.
==Restored and mastered by Q==
Hardware
- N/A
Software
- Audition 3.0.1 (audio editing and repair)
Artwork included