BC the Beatles

The Beatles' Historic Stance Against Segregation, with Dr. Kitty Oliver

Today is Juneteenth, a day that has held significance for the Black community for many years and one that, for the past four, has become a national holiday in the United States. It’s a day for education, listening, learning, and increasing awareness of the Black experience. Though we are two white women who are still doing a lot of learning and listening ourselves, we wanted to celebrate Juneteenth by exploring the Beatles’ connection to civil rights, especially during their 1964 tour.  

1964 was time of continuing segregation and heightened racial tensions in America's southern states. But racial segregation, as it was in America, didn’t exist in England. The Beatles were famously appalled at the idea that any of their concerts would take place in front of audiences separated by race, and they refused to play to segregated crowds. John Lennon famously remarked, “We never play to segregated audiences and we aren’t going to start now. I’d sooner lose our appearance money.” The city was resistant but eventually relented, resulting in Jacksonville's first integrated concert.

Our guest today is Dr. Kitty Oliver, who has firsthand experience of this moment. As a Black Beatles fan growing up in Jacksonville, Florida, Dr. Oliver jumped at the opportunity to attend the integrated concert; she was one of few Black teens in the audience. 

Beatles fans will recognize Dr. Oliver from her appearance in the Ron Howard-directed documentary Eight Days A Week: The Touring Years. She joins us today to recount her story of attending the first integrated concert in Jacksonville history, against the backdrop of growing up in a segregated city.

Dr. Oliver is a veteran journalist, an academic, an author, an oral historian, producer, and professional singer. She holds a PhD in Comparative Studies focusing on race and ethnic communication. She calls herself “a product of the civil rights era who came of age with integration in the US,” and is the founder of the cross-cultural Race and Change Oral History Archive, which is housed in Special Collections at the African American Research Library and Cultural Center. She has written and/or compiled three books focusing on race, change, and her own memories of growing up Black in the South. 

• Learn more about Dr. Oliver and follow her on Instagram
• See her appearance in Ron Howard's Eight Days a Week: The Touring Years

---------------------

• Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter/X for photos, videos, and more from this episode & past episodes — we’re @bcthebeatles everywhere.
• Follow BC the Beatles on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you’re listening now.
• Buy us a coffee! www.ko-fi.com/bcthebeatles
• Contact us at bcthebeatles@gmail.com

The Sound of ‘One Hand Clapping’ Track-By-Track, with Sam Whiles of the Paul Or Nothing Podcast

Paul McCartney and Wings’ One Hand Clapping is one of the most bootlegged albums in rock history. Fifty years later, the album is being officially released for the first time, with a fabulous new mix by Steve Orchard (and Giles Martin collaborating on the Atmos version).

We’re joined by Sam Whiles, host of the Paul or Nothing podcast and the Macca in your Attic YouTube series. Join us as we nerd out over one of the most interesting and exciting Paul McCarrtney releases in recent history! 

Plus, we discuss Mark Lewisohn’s letter to the Times regarding Tony Bramwell’s obituary, the recent rise in anti-Lewisohn rhetoric online, and the latest casting rumors around the Sam Mendes Beatles biopics. 

• Listen to the Paul or Nothing podcast
• Watch Sam’s Macca in Your Attic YouTube series

---------------------

• Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter/X for photos, videos, and more from this episode & past episodes — we’re @bcthebeatles everywhere.
• Follow BC the Beatles on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you’re listening now.
• Buy us a coffee! www.ko-fi.com/bcthebeatles
• Contact us at bcthebeatles@gmail.com.

John’s Not-So-Lost Weekend, with May Pang

Our guest today is the wonderful May Pang, who we’re so excited to welcome onto BC the Beatles! May began her career in the music industry at ABKCO and Apple Records before transitioning into being John and Yoko’s personal assistant. Three years later, Yoko came to her with a strange request: to be John’s lover and companion during a period of their separation. This became his “Lost Weekend” in 1974-1975, in which he and May split time between NYC and LA. May was witness to many of the tall tales that populate the period including John’s infamous heckling of the Smothers Brothers at the Troubadour with Harry Nilsson, the recording of John’s Rock And Roll album with Phil Spector (and Spector firing a gun in the studio), among many more of John’s drunk escapades. 

Although they technically broke up in early 1975, May and John continued to see each other through 1978, having their last conversation during Memorial Day weekend in 1980. In 1983, May wrote about her time with John in her book Loving John and in 2022, her story hit the big screen in the documentary feature The Lost Weekend: A Love Story. She’s also a photographer whose photos of her time with John are now on tour around the country as well as being featured in the book Instamatic Karma. 

• Watch The Lost Weekend: A Love Story on Amazon Prime
• May's upcoming photo exhibition dates
• May's YouTube channel
• Learn more about May at her website

 

---------------------

• Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter/X for photos, videos, and more from this episode & past episodes — we’re @bcthebeatles everywhere.
• Follow BC the Beatles on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you’re listening now.
• Buy us a coffee! www.ko-fi.com/bcthebeatles
• Contact us at bcthebeatles@gmail.com.

The Beatles and Doctor Who: A Shared Timeline, with Ed Chen and James Ryan

This month, two behemoths of British culture crashed into one another, when the new season of Doctor Who featured a much-anticipated Beatles episode called “The Devil’s Chord.” Both fandoms have been hoping for this crossover episode for years, and we finally got it, complete with an incredible new villain played by Jinkx Monsoon.

Erika is joined by James Ryan and Ed Chen, who both have one foot solidly planted in both of these fandoms, giving us an excuse to nerd out over these worlds colliding. With their love of Doctor Who, the Beatles, and alternate history stories, there are few people more qualified to talk about this topic. 

James (Jim) Ryan is the author of the novels Raging Gail and Red Jenny and the Pirates of Buffalo, as well as the popular history The Pirates of New York and short stories in numerous anthologies. He writes the column “Fantasia Obscura” for Forces of Geek, continuing on from his initial run at REBEAT. A lifelong Beatles fan, his alternate-history stories of the Beatles have been published in a collection called Alt Together Now. 

Ed Chen is the co-creator and co-host of the When They Was Fab and the Toppermost of the Poppermost podcasts. He tells us that somewhere, buried in his deep dark past is a Beatles/Doctor Who fanfic, where he “Mary Sue’d” himself and his friends into the companion roles. 

We’ll be talking about just some of the many connections between the Beatles and Doctor Who, including their shared timeline, actors who played both Doctors and Beatles, and the many Beatles references over Doctor Who’s 60-year history. We’ll also recap the Beatles-specific parts of the Doctor Who/Beatles episode, “The Devil’s Chord.”

We’ve kept this episode focused on the Beatles-related elements of both the history and the episode, and we’ll be discussing spoilers for “The Devil’s Chord.” 

If you want more Doctor Who, the When They Was Fab podcast has an extended cut of this conversation with a deeper dive into the Doctor Who side of things.

 

---------------------

• Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter/X for photos, videos, and more from this episode & past episodes — we’re @bcthebeatles everywhere.
• Follow BC the Beatles on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you’re listening now.
• Buy us a coffee! www.ko-fi.com/bcthebeatles
• Contact us at bcthebeatles@gmail.com.

The Redhead on the Roof, with Kevin Harrington

Our very, very special guest today is the great Kevin Harrington, who most Beatles fans will recognize as the “redhead on the roof” in the Let It Be and Get Back films. At the time, Kevin was only 18 years old(!) but had been working for the Beatles, in some capacity, for years, first as an errand boy at NEMS and then as an assistant to Brian Epstein. He worked alongside Mal Evans as the Beatles’ “roadie,” as he’s billed in the Let It Be credits.

After the Beatles broke up, Kevin stayed closely in the fold, even living at Friar Park with George and Patti during the recording of All Things Must Pass. Then, he finally struck out on his own in the ‘70s and beyond and was a roadie with some of the biggest names in music, including Wishbone Ash, Motorhead, Petula Clark, Ted Nugent, Tina Turner and more.

To learn more about Kevin's time with NEMS and the Beatles, check out his memoir, Who's The Redhead on the Roof?

---------------------

• Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter/X for photos, videos, and more from this episode & past episodes — we’re @bcthebeatles everywhere.
• Follow BC the Beatles on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you’re listening now.
• Buy us a coffee! www.ko-fi.com/bcthebeatles
• Contact us at bcthebeatles@gmail.com.

A ‘Let It Be’ Roundtable with the Blotto Beatles, Ranking the Beatles, Fans on the Run, and Paul or Nothing Podcasts

This week, Erika participated in a roundtable discussion of the newly-released Let it Be film with some of our favorite Beatles podcasters. Enjoy this supersized episode about all things Let it Be. And if you like what you hear, please head on over to our the other participants’ podcasts:

• Blotto Beatles, hosted by Becker, RB, Scotty C., and Tommy
• Ranking the Beatles, hosted by Jonathan and Julia Pretus
• Fans on the Run, hosted by Ethan Alexanian
• Paul or Nothing and Macca in Your Attic, both hosted by Sam Whiles

---------------------

• Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter/X for photos, videos, and more from this episode & past episodes — we’re @bcthebeatles everywhere.
• Follow BC the Beatles on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you’re listening now.
• Buy us a coffee! www.ko-fi.com/bcthebeatles
• Contact us at bcthebeatles@gmail.com.

‘Let It Be’ Revisited with Director Michael Lindsay-Hogg

We’re thrilled to welcome the incredible Michael Lindsay-Hogg to the podcast. Michael is, of course, the director of the Beatles’ film “Let it Be,” now fully restored and available worldwide on Disney Plus.

Michael joined us to talk about his original vision for "Let it Be," its relationship to "Get Back," and give us the details on how he originally wanted the film to end. And of course we couldn’t resist asking him about one our favorite films that Michael directed, "Two of Us."

After the interview, we chat about our experiences at the New York and Los Angeles advance screenings of "Let it Be," and our impressions of the film now, especially in the context of "Get Back."

Warning: we'll be discussing plot points for "Let it Be," so if you wish to remain spoiler-free until you've seen the film, that discussion begins at approximately 27:00. 

---------------------

• Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter/X for photos, videos, and more from this episode & past episodes — we’re @bcthebeatles everywhere.
• Follow BC the Beatles on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you’re listening now.
• Buy us a coffee! www.ko-fi.com/bcthebeatles
• Contact us at bcthebeatles@gmail.com.

 

A "Let it Be" Teaser with Giles Martin and a Track-by-Track Recap of the 2021 Remixes [Encore]

The trailer for the restored version of Michael Lindsay-Hogg's "Let it Be" film dropped this week, and we couldn't be more excited! So in anticipation of the big day, we combined two of our favorite "Let it Be" episodes from the archives.

1. Giles Martin on Remixing a #NextGen "Let it Be" — our first interview with Giles from 2021, where he tells us about everything from making the Beatles sound “fresh” for a new generation to dealing with critics.
2. The "Let it Be" Remixes, Track-by-Track — our analysis and impressions of Giles Martin's 2021 Let it Be remixed album

And stay subscribed for next week's episode, all about the film, and featuring a very special guest!

---------------------

• Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter/X for photos, videos, and more from this episode & past episodes — we’re @bcthebeatles everywhere.
• Follow BC the Beatles on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you’re listening now.
• Buy us a coffee! www.ko-fi.com/bcthebeatles
• Contact us at bcthebeatles@gmail.com

Behind the Scenes at Abbey Road on the River, with Melissa Brumm

This week, we welcome Melissa Brumm, Co-Producer and Creative Director for the Abbey Road on the River music festival.

Abbey Road on the River (AROTR) is the world’s largest Beatles-inspired music festival (and is very close to Allison's heart!). Since 2002, AROTR has celebrated the best in Beatles music, hosting Beatles and other classic rock tribute bands, as well as many of the original bands themselves.

Now taking place in Jeffersonville, Indiana, AROTR presents over 250 Beatles and ‘60s-themed concerts featuring bands from all over the world. Each year, more than 20,000 Beatles fans gather to reunite with their AROTR family and celebrate the music of the Fab Four over Memorial Day weekend.

Melissa previews this year’s AROTR, and gives us a look into the many elements that go in to producing a huge music festival. And Allison and Melissa reminisce about their history with the festival, as well as the Beatles tribute band scene.

• Learn more about Abbey Road on the River and get tickets
• Listen to the AROTR podcast, Something will Happen

---------------------

• Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter/X for photos, videos, and more from this episode & past episodes — we’re @bcthebeatles everywhere.
• Follow BC the Beatles on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you’re listening now.
• Buy us a coffee! www.ko-fi.com/bcthebeatles
• Contact us at bcthebeatles@gmail.com

Nutopia: John and Yoko's Conceptual Country

In an April 1973 press conference, John Lennon and Yoko Ono declared the birth of Nutopia, a "conceptual country" founded in response to John's ongoing immigration struggles. In past weeks, Nutopia has resurfaced online through a new website.

We look at the history of Nutopia's founding, born out of John's wild journey to U.S. citizenship. And we explore the newest incarnation of Nutopia as an online presence, just in time for the  50th anniversary release of John's album, Milk and Honey.

Plus, we dive in to the brand new Lennon/McCartney song—Sean Lennon and James McCartney, that is! And we answer the age-old question: "does a Maccarita contain orange juice?"

• Become a citizen of Nutopia
• For an in-depth dive into John's U.S. immigration journey, check out John Lennon vs. the USA, by John's immigration lawyer, Leon Wildes

---------------------

• Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter/X for photos, videos, and more from this episode & past episodes — we’re @bcthebeatles everywhere.
• Follow BC the Beatles on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you’re listening now.
• Buy us a coffee! www.ko-fi.com/bcthebeatles
• Contact us at bcthebeatles@gmail.com