The Beatles Anthology
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The Beatles Anthology is the name of a documentary series, a series of three albums and a book which focus on the history of the popular rock band The Beatles.
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The television specials and video collection
Literally thousands of hours of footage were viewed in consideration for inclusion in the documentary, which originally aired in Britain on ITV, beginning November 19, for an hour a week until Christmas Eve. The series was produced by Apple Corps and Granada Television.
It appeared in America on ABC as a five-hour miniseries over three nights (November 19-21, 1995). ITV's version of Anthology runs 25-30 minutes longer than the one screened on US television, with most of that time spent on more complete song sequences (Interestingly, the American broadcast featured a slightly alternate version of the 'Real Love' video than the one included on the official DVD release).
All of the surviving Beatles members filmed new interviews to add to older interviews with John Lennon, who was shot and killed by Mark David Chapman in 1980. The first episode ended with a promotional video of the brand new Beatles track, "Free as a Bird," created from a recording supplied by Lennon's widow Yoko Ono.
The entire documentary was released sometime after on video as an eight-tape set with additional material not seen in the television specials, clocking in at 10 hours total. The entire set was released worldwide on DVD on April 1, 2003.
The Beatles Anthology video release won a Grammy for best long-form music video. "Free as a Bird" won two: one for best short-form music video, and one for best pop performances by a duo or group.
The albums
Three Anthology collections were released, each containing 2 CDs of never before released Beatles material.
Two days after the first The Beatles Anthology television special had aired, The Beatles Anthology 1 was released to stores. The first collection included music recorded by the Quarry Men, the famous Decca Records audition tapes, and various out-takes and demos from the band's first four albums. The song "Free as a Bird" was included in the two-CD collection. 450,000 copies of Anthology 1 were sold in its first day of release, the most single day sales ever for an album.
On March 18, 1996, The Beatles Anthology 2 was released. The second collection included out-takes and demos from the Beatles sessions for Help!, Rubber Soul, Revolver and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Especially interesting is the early demos and takes for Lennon's "Strawberry Fields Forever", previously available only to bootleg collectors. The new song "Real Love", like "Free as a Bird" based on a John Lennon recording, was also included in the two-CD collection.
On October 28, 1996, The Beatles Anthology 3 was released. The third collection included out-takes and demos from The White Album, Let It Be and Abbey Road.
The success of the Anthology albums was parodied by the release of The Rutles' Archaeology some months later. This album even included a spoof of "Free as a Bird", entitled "Don't Know Why". In Anthology style, the album included both outtakes from the original Rutles LP and new material.
Official Anthology releases
- The Beatles Anthology 1 (Apple, 1995)
- The Beatles Anthology 2 (Apple, 1996)
- The Beatles Anthology 3 (Apple, 1996)
The book
In October 2000, The Beatles Anthology book was released, which included interviews with all four band members and others involved, plus rare photos. The book went straight to the top of the New York Times bestsellers list.
External links
| The Beatles |
|---|
| John Lennon | Paul McCartney | George Harrison | Ringo Starr Pete Best | Stuart Sutcliffe |
| Management |
| Brian Epstein | Allen Klein | Apple Records |
| Production |
| George Martin | Geoff Emerick | Norman Smith | Abbey Road Studios |
| Official Studio Albums |
| Please Please Me (1963) | With the Beatles (1963) | A Hard Day's Night (1964) | Beatles for Sale (1964) | Help! (1965) | Rubber Soul (1965) Revolver (1966) | Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) | Magical Mystery Tour (1967) | The Beatles (1968) | Yellow Submarine (1969) | Abbey Road (1969) | Let It Be (1970) |
| Films |
| A Hard Day's Night (1964) | Help! (1965) | Magical Mystery Tour (1967) | Yellow Submarine (1968) | Let it Be (1970) |
| Related Articles |
| History | Discography | Bootlegs | Long-term influence | Beatlemania | Beatlesque | Fifth Beatle | Paul Is Dead | British Invasion | Yoko Ono | 1960s | Apple Corps |