Video: 'The Beatles - Message To Australia (Take 1, 2, 3, and 4)'
(Thursday, September 12, 1963, 2:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. British Summer Time) — After recording a few special messages for broadcast on Australian radio, The Beatles this afternoon recorded “Hold Me Tight” at EMI Studio 2 in London for their second studio album With The Beatles.
The rock music band’s manager Brian Epstein had arranged for the group to undertake a tour of Australia in June 1964. As their popularity was steadily rising there, it was agreed that they would record a series of messages for their fans, to be broadcast on Australian radio.
They began this day by recording four messages for Australia, three of which were addressed to Bob Rogers, a DJ at the Sydney station 2SM.
The fourth was a generic message to be used by any station that wished to broadcast it. The recordings were a mixture of scripted and improvised lines.
After the radio messages were complete The Beatles turned their attention (at approximately 4:00 p.m. BST) to “Hold Me Tight,” a song first attempted on Feb. 11, 1963, during the main session for the Please Please Me LP.
Although 13 takes had been recorded in February it was abandoned after being considered surplus to requirements. By September, however, the group had changed their mind, and they set about recording a remake.
They started the takes at the round number of “take 20” to compensate for the previous 13 takes they recorded of the song on February 11, 1963, and they’re probably not remembering how many takes they had made of that first version.
Before the first attempt, however, Paul McCartney gave Ringo Starr some instructions on how to play the song’s introduction.
Video: 'The Beatles - Hold Me Tight (Take 21 Instrumental)'
“No, you just keep, you just keep the ordinary beat,” he told Ringo, adding, “and try and do a couple fill-ins, just the off-beat…oh yeah, just try the beginning…just go.”
“Take 20” is then announced, this first attempt being called to a halt by Paul who told Ringo, “It’s a bit much, it’s like ‘Running Bear’…just do it on your snare or something.”
The tape then contains a snippet of another attempt at the intro with Ringo concentrating on the snare drum, this apparently being scrapped as well.
After “take 20” is announced again, they give the song another go, an obvious decision being made for Ringo to just play a standard drum beat for the intro instead of any drum fills. However, this attempt becomes a false start as well because of Paul’s flubbed lead vocal. He sings, “Let me, I’m the o…Hang on, let me get it…forgot the words.”
“Take 21” is a complete run-through of the song that was only flawed by an awkward drum fill just before the two-minute mark.
The next take, which was mistakenly called out by engineer Norman Smith as “take 23,” was a complete version that included not only full lead vocals from Paul but also the answering backing vocals from John Lennon and George Harrison at the end of each verse.
This take was deemed unsuitable, however, because of flaws in John and George’s backing vocals and Ringo forgetting the alter his drumming in the second bridge (or “middle eight,” as The Beatles habitually referred to them).
“There’s just two middle eights” George is heard stating before “take 22” begins, this take breaking down after John comes in late with his backing vocals in the first verse.
Video: 'Hold Me Tight (Remastered 2009)'
After “take 22” ends, producer George Martin discusses with John exactly when the backing vocals should begin. Engineer Norman Smith has to call in what was the actual “take 23” twice because of the group having to work out some vocal details.
Just after this take starts, however, Paul once again flubs the lyrics by singing “Let me o…OH BLOODY HELL!” After Norman Smith angrily screams “TWENTY FOUR!” to signal “take 24,” The Beatles launch into the rendition that eventually became the keeper.
It was now time for overdubs, so while the two-track tape of “take 24” was being re-recorded onto another two-track machine, The Beatles simultaneously overdubbed handclaps and additional background vocals, “take 25” immediately breaking down but “take 26” making it all the way through to the end.
However, vocal flaws as well as handclapping mistakes as the song slows down at the conclusion meant that they had to continue work on this overdub.
“Stand by lads, 27 track two,” Norman Smith calls out to signal the next overdub attempt, indicating that their handclapping and background vocal overdub was being captured onto “track two” of the two-track tape. However, they failed to come in on time with the handclaps for this attempt.
“Take 28” made it into the third verse before backing vocal mistakes appeared, thus calling this overdub take to a halt. “Take 29” made it all the way to the end of the song once again, this time with the handclapping slowing down appropriately at the song’s conclusion.
Since Mark Lewisohn’s book “The Beatles Recording Sessions” stipulates that the completed song was an edit of “take 26” and “take 29” and a sudden change in volume can be slightly detected just before the ritardando in the closing seconds of the song, the concluding segment of “take 29” was undoubtedly used as an edit piece to “take 26” to allow for perfecting the song’s conclusion.
This editing by producer George Martin and engineers Norman Smith and Geoff Emerick would take place on Sept. 30, 1963, in the control room of EMI Studio Two.
Although official documents do not mention it, the song was speeded up from the original recording, which elevated the key signature from E major to F major.
