Original subtitles

n't done so

is because it's not just a guitar that's playing.

(CHORD)

A piano's being hit.

If I just play the electric guitar, you hear this.

(CHORD) It sounds like A Hard Day's Night

but it's not, it's just a chord.

If I play all four, two guitars and two pianos,

you get the depth of that chord.

(CHORD)

# It's been a hard day's night

# And I've been working like a dog

# It's been a hard day's night

John Lennon wrote A Hard Day's Night

with a little help from one of his friends.

# When I get home to you

It was one of Ringo's little funny sayings.

He just said, "It's been a hard day's night."

# You know I work all day

John looked at him and said, "That's it.

That's the title we want."

Ringo's saying also gave us the title of the Fab Four's first film,

nominated for two Oscars,

and setting records in the first week of its release in Britain.

# You know I feel OK

I thought they were very funny in the film.

I thought they were naturals.

They found an identity in the film which was very real.

It was sort of, "Yeah, they were the boys I knew. That's fantastic."

# It's been a hard day's night

They didn't get them to play roles they weren't comfortable with,

they were basically playing themselves.

A very clever thing for them to do.

# I should be sleeping like a log

# But when I get home to you, I find the things that you do

Ringo and his character is really well captured

in that film. You've got an inferiority complex, you have.

I know, that's why I play the drums.

Paul's 'cheeky-chappy, everybody's friend' feel

is also brilliantly caught.

And John's rather sardonic feel.

How did you find America?

Turn left at Greenland.

And George is allowed a few rather wicked asides.

What would you call that hair style you're wearing?

Arthur.

For its Liverpool premiere on July 10th, 1964,

the four international movie stars returned home...

..to a reception even wilder than those in the film.

200,000 people were in Castle Street and Dale Street alone.

When they opened the doors to go out onto the balcony

the noise was horrendous.

(MASS SCREAMING) REPORTER: And there they are.

Just listen to those screams.

The police are having a pretty tough time.

It's certainly one of their hardest day's nights.

Looking out and seeing the whole street just full.

That's when I realised they were famous. (LAUGHS)

At No.8, the last of The Beatles' amazing run of chart-toppers.

An undoubted classic, but one which splits opinion to this day.

In April 1970,

the same journalist who had been following their progress

since the days of Beatlemania

broke the news that the greatest band in history

had decided to go their seperate ways.

From a journalist's point of view it was a great scoop.

But it was kind of sad in many, many ways

cos we'd travelled the road a long time

and those poor lads, it was the end of the long and winding road.

We'd reached it and I knew we'd reached it.

# The long and winding road

# That leads to your door

The Long And Winding Road is the most outstanding record.

# Will never disappear

The melody, the voice. Haunting vocal. Magic.

# I've seen that road before

But by the time it gave The Beatles their 20th US number one

in June, 1970, the band were no longer together.

And even this song was cause for dispute.

The Long And Winding Road is a very strange story.

First of all, the artist had no idea

that it was going to sound like what it sounded like

because Phil Spector got it.

Its writer, Paul McCartney,

had no idea that maverick producer Spector had been brought in.

# Has left us full of tears

His task, to tidy up the unfinished tracks

that George Martin had originally recorded

for what would become the Let It Be album.

And this was how it sounded when Phil Spector first got hold of the song.

# Why leave me standing here? (GENTLE, LOW-KEY MUSIC)

# Let me know the way

Long And Winding Road sounds better with a piano and very little else.

# Many times I've been alone

# And many times I've cried

Because it's a real personal song.

# Anyway, you've always known

# The many ways I've tried

# But still they lead me back

So to put all that Spector rubbish on it was wrong.

(LOUD ORCHESTRATION PLAYS OVER SONG)

Paul rang me up one day and said,

"They've taken it to America and given it to Phil Spector.

They've put heavenly choirs and all sorts of syrupy strings on it.

On my songs!" He was furious.

# A long, long time ago

I got a call, "Could you come and do an arrangement

for this song The Long And Winding Road?"

# Don't leave me waiting here

I started off quite modestly, you know.

Six violins, three violas, three cellos.

# Lead me to your door

But then I kept getting calls from Phil saying,

"I'd like a few more violins, a few more strings.

Some brass and some horns and some harps and even a choir."

I thought, "Oh..." So I did it.

And then the final snub was that EMI said,

"We wouldn't have your name - My name - on the album."

Because Phil Spector had now produced it.

And I said, "Let's have a compromise.

Why don't you say, "Produced by George Martin. Overproduced by Phil Spector"?"

But they didn't get that one.

# You left me waiting here

# A long, long time ago

# Don't leave me standing here

# Lead me to your door... #

The story of the next Beatles number one

in our exclusive countdown begins here, in London,

at the family home of Paul McCartney's then-girlfriend,

actress Jane Asher.

Paul was living at the time in our guestroom.

One particular day, John came over and joined him.

They were down there a couple of hours

and then Paul stuck his head up the stairs and asked if I wanted to come down

and hear what they were working on, what they'd finished.

They were sitting side-by-side on the piano bench

hammering away at the piano and played I Want To Hold Your Hand

for the first time to anybody anywhere.

You kind of go, "Am I going mad

or is this just about the best pop song I've ever heard in my life?"

# Yeah, I'll tell you something

# I think you'll understand

# When I'll say that something

# I want to hold your hand

Landing UK number ones was becoming business as usual for the Fab Four.

This was their third in 1963 alone.

But this song also started to climb the American charts

and so, by early 1964...

# Please say to me

..it had conquered the Billboard Hot 100.

# Let me hold your hand

Just seven weeks earlier, they were performing the song

on Granada's local magazine show.

Now The Beatles were playing it to what seemed like the whole of America.

In the first week of February they appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show

to the largest television audience to date, which was 73m people.

# It's such a feeling that my love that I can't hide

I did see The Beatles play the Ed Sullivan Show.

And it was amazing.

I fell in love with them.

We were all saying who liked who.

"I like Paul." "I like John." "I like George."

# You've got that something

"I like Ringo." # I want to hold your hand

# I want to hold your hand

The feel of I Want To Hold Your Hand

was like something that came from the moon.

# And when I touch you, I feel happy inside

It was very, very, very different.

# It's such a feeling that my love, I can't hide

It was more than just the song that was making them so popular.

They had a look, the personality,

there was something about them that kids just gravitated and loved.

# I think you'll understand

# When I'll say that something

# I want to hold your hand

It was so quick, it was so deep, it was so impactful.

And during the year 1964, they had 25 hit singles in America.

# I want to hold your hand #

(SCREAMING) We're moving on three years now, to 1967

and the great Beatles album that got away.

# Strawberry Fields Forever

The Beatles decided to make a concept album.

About their life and early days in Liverpool.

The first song for it, which Paul wrote, was Penny Lane.

And then John wrote Strawberry Fields Forever.

But sadly, the Liverpool-themed album was not to be.

Instead, the two songs were brought together

for what many consider the greatest double-A side ever.

It's amazing to think that this classic combination

was the first Beatles single for four years

not to reach number one in the UK.

But Penny Lane's slice of Liverpool life

did strike a chord in the States

where it reached the top of the charts.

And tonight, it's No.6 in our countdown.

# In Penny Lane, there is a barber showing photographs

# Of every head he's had the pleasure to know

# And all the people that come and go

# Stop and say hello

Penny Lane is such a beautifully crafted song.

# On the corner, there's a banker with a motorcar

# The little children laugh at him

Every little bit of it is so catchy.

# And the banker never wears a mack in the pouring rain

Really fantastic production as well.

# Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes

It was a bus terminus, Penny Lane,

in South Liverpool where we all lived.

# There beneath the blue suburban skies

And we'd all sort of meet at Penny Lane and go to places.

# In Penny Lane, there is a fireman with an hour glass

# And in his pocket is a portrait of the Queen

# He likes to keep his fire engine clean

# It's a clean machine

All those beautiful images of the people in Penny Lane

captivated Americans' imaginations

and to think of - And I honestly mean this -

Liverpool as some exotic place with all of these wonderful images

because The Beatles made these images come to life.

# Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes

50 years on, tourists still flock to see the places mentioned in the song.

Where we are now is at the very top end of Penny Lane.

And just over on the other side

you'll see the famous things that The Beatles sang about.

# Behind the shelter in the middle of a roundabout

The shelter in the middle of a roundabout

where pretty nurses sold poppies from a tray.

Just over to the right you'll see the bank

where the banker never wore a mack in the pouring rain.

And just a little bit further up is the famous barber's shop.

# In Penny Lane, the barber shaves another customer

# We see the banker sitting waiting for a trim

I used to live just behind Penny Lane hill.

# Then the fireman rushes in

I spent many, many months, years of my life

walking up and down Penny Lane.

# Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes

It brings a tear to one's eye, almost.

I thought it just captured the atmosphere there.

# There beneath the blue suburban skies

# I sit and meanwhile back

All You Need Is Love was their great Imperial moment

because it was written specially for this television show, Our World.

Broadcast in June 1967, this was the first TV programme

to be beamed around the world by satellite.

Good evening. This should be a moment in television history

because this programme will bring together

more places throughout the world than has ever been possible before.

19 countries provided performances

and representing the UK were The Beatles

with their latest single live from Abbey Road.

I remember watching this as a kid and what was so exciting

was we were told this was gonna be a global broadcast.

The entire world was gonna be watching.

In the next two hours, everything will be live.

No film or recordings.

This commission, really, "Can you write a song

the whole world is gonna sing?"

And only The Beatles would have accepted that.

Terrifying challenge. Probably only The Beatles would have succeeded.

OK, Geoff? Right, here we go.

Here comes the tape.

# French National Anthem

I felt really nervous on The Beatles' behalf.

I remember watching it live and thinking, "The whole world's watching!"

# Love, love, love

And eventually the camera alights on John Lennon

who, if I remember rightly, had his hands on his headphones

and his eyes shut, and was completely self-possessed.

# There's nothing you can do that can't be done

# Nothing you can sing that can't be sung

And was chewing gum.

# Nothing you can say, but you can learn how to play the game

# It's easy

And I can remember thinking, "This is brilliant.

How cool are The Beatles?"

# Nothing you can make that can't be made

# No-one you can save that can't be saved

The broadcast came just as the Summer of Love was in full swing.

With a song that summed up an era of optimism.

# All you need is love

Love used to be talked about a lot in the 1960s.

There should be a better way of living

and everybody just cooperating with each other.

# All you need is love, love

And The Beatles were very influenced by that.

# Love is all you need

In the build-up to this moment of history,

fellow Cavern graduates The Merseybeats

were allowed a rare glimpse of The Beatles at work in the studio

as the song came together.

They'd done the backing track - # Love, love, love

# Love, love, love # Love, love, love

That's all they had. And they said to us, "What do you think?"

What did you say? "I like the words..."

# All you need is love

But then Paul kept popping his head outside and said,

"John, have you written any lyrics to this song yet?"

And John said, "We've got two days. It doesn't go out live till Friday."

# Nothing you can know that isn't known

# Nothing you can see that isn't shown

# There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be

It's this ultimate singalong song.

It was uplifting and it meant something and it really worked.

# All you need is love

I just felt so incredibly proud that this wonderful band

were performing a breathtaking song and representing our country.

I thought, "I bet all the other countries in the world

are probably a little bit jealous, actually."

# All you need is love # All together now

# All you need is love

# Everybody

At No.4, the McCartney classic from the Revolver album

that topped the singles chart in 1966

as a double-A side with Yellow Submarine.

# Ah, look at all the lonely people

What I loved about Eleanor Rigby is the fact you follow her journey

and they made her feel very real.

# Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice in a church

# Where a wedding has been

It's so heartbreaking.

# Lives in a dream

It's verging on poetry.

# Wearing a face that she keeps in a jar by the door

It's a poetic lyric, but then it's got a massive punchline.

# All the lonely people

"All the lonely people, where do they all come from?"

Oh, it's the lyric of a lifetime, that.

# All the lonely people

Eleanor Rigby's very unusual.

It's the first time The Beatles didn't play any instruments on their records.

# Father McKenzie, writing the words of a sermon that no-one will hear

What they did is they recorded a double string quartet

and my dad talked to Paul about it

and they listened to Bernard Hermann.

Bernard Hermann was a famous film composer

who is famous for Psycho.

As the woman is attacked in the shower, there's -

(MIMICS HIGH-PITCHED VIOLIN STRINGS)

# All the lonely people

It's an incredibly aggressive sound.

It's almost like a 24-year-old Liverpudlian saying,

"I want a string quartet to sound like this"

and using my dad as a translator for that.

Paul has said the name Eleanor Rigby

came from combining the names of actress Eleanor Bron

with a Bristol wine shop.

But intriguingly, a stone's throw from where John and Paul

first met in 1957, this gravestone can be found.

# Eleanor Rigby died in the church

# And was buried alone with her name

The majority of fans love the idea that there is a true Eleanor Rigby

so they're not that particularly bothered

that Paul says it's to do with the actress Eleanor Bron.

They still want to come and see this grave in St Peter's church.

# No-one was saved

# All the lonely people

It's strange to have a number one that is only a string quartet and vocal.

And it's just the thought of being able to come into a studio,

tear up the rule book, break the mould,

and then move onto something else. It was just very Beatles.

# Here Comes The Sun

Welcome back as we're nearing the end of our incredible journey

to reveal the nation's favourite Beatles No.1.

And we're now into our top three

and the epic title track from the Fab Four's final album and film...

..based on a dream Paul McCartney had about his late mother, Mary.

# When I find myself in times of trouble

# Mother Mary comes to me

# Speaking words of wisdom, "Let it be"

# And in my hour of darkness

# She is standing right in front of me

# Speaking words of wisdom, "Let it be"

Paul has said the dream came to him

during a difficult time in the band's history

when Mary appeared to him saying,

"It will be all right. Just let it be."

# Whisper words of wisdom, "Let it be"

The dream that he had about his mother,

I can imagine him having an experience like that.

It's quite mystical, isn't it?

# There will be an answer, let it be

When she died, it was a big, big thing to him.

He was very, very close with his mum.

The fact that he wanted to put that into music,

trying to sort it out in some kind of creative way through a song,

that's very him.

# Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be

# There will be an answer, let it be

# Let it be

They allowed men to be able to go, "You know what?

This is OK to be emotional, to talk like this."

We've a lot to thank them for.

# Whisper words of wisdom, "Let it be"

They wrote those songs, the kind of early anthemic songs,

that we all wanted to get behind and put our hands up in the air

and say, "Yep, that's part of me."

It just sounded very spiritual. Like a gospel song.

It's a very kind of stripped back, simple way

of delivering that message.

It says it all needs to say and there's no need for elaboration.

It pretty much sums up how to deal with any situation

when you're really struggling.

# Let it be, let it be let it be, yeah, let it be

This would be the final single released before McCartney left the band

and The Beatles were no more.

Let It Be has a finality to it.

It almost sounds like a song for the critics.

The end of the film. # Whisper words of wisdom,

# "Let it be"

We're now just one Beatles classic away from the end of our countdown.

And at No.2, the most recorded song in pop history.

3,000 cover versions so far and counting.

# Yesterday

# All my troubles seemed so far away

# Now it looks as though they're here to stay

# Oh, I believe in yesterday

Yesterday is one of those songs where you could have taken it a number of ways.

Ultimately it had to be stripped back.

It had to just sing to you, like, you know, like a lullaby.

# There's a shadow hanging over me

# Yesterday came suddenly

# Why she had to go, I don't know

# She wouldn't say

# I said something wrong

# Now I long for yesterday

It's got a very identifiable sentiment.

# Yesterday

# Love was such an easy game to play

# Now I need a place to hide away

Slightly yearning for what's gone by.

# Oh, I believe in yesterday

It's a beautiful song that connects with people.

# Why she had to go, I don't know

# She wouldn't say

Just like Let It Be,

this was another song that came to Paul in a dream.

# Now I long for yesterday

And another song born at the family home

of Paul's girlfriend, Jane Asher.

He woke up with the song in his head, finished, the melody.

He assumed it was a pre-existing song.

# Now I need a place to hide away

My mum remembered him wandering down to breakfast as it were saying,

"What is this song I've got stuck in my head?"

She said, "It's very nice, but I've never heard it before."

And it eventually dawned on him that he'd written it in his sleep.

Yesterday is a really special song.

I just can't imagine a world where the song doesn't exist.

Thank you, Ringo. That was wonderful.

Thank you, John. But the time for joking is over

as we reach the end of our journey through the extraordinary career

of the Fab Four.

It's finally time to reveal the song ITV viewers have voted

as the greatest Beatles number one ever.

Tonight we've enjoyed songs that summed up the '60s.

Songs of pure genius.

Songs that changed the world.

And at No.1, it's an anthem that's moved millions of us

since 1968.

A seven-minute epic written by Paul for John's son Julian.

Prepare to sing along with the nation's favourite Beatles number one.

# Hey, Jude

# Don't make it bad

# Take a sad song

# And make it better

# Remember to let her into your heart

# Then you can start to make it better

# Hey, Jude

# Don't be afraid

# You were made to go out and get her

John Lennon loved that song because it was written for Julian.

It was Paul's way of saying, "I know your parents are divorced

but things are gonna be OK."

What a present to give to someone.

And it was a beautiful gift in our lifetime, for us.

# And any time you feel the pain

# Hey, Jude, refrain

# Don't carry the world

# Upon your shoulders

The song has open arms in the way that it's saying, "Don't worry."

You want to sing it with each other and to each other, whoever you're with.

# By making his world a little colder

It's one of the true pop anthems.

It's one of the oldest and...and greatest.

But recording this great pop anthem wasn't all plain sailing.

# Hey, Jude

# Don't let me down

The first two days spent on it at Abbey Road were caught on camera.

Great for us now, but not at the time.

There was a film crew in. Typical of a film crew,

they said, "Don't worry, you won't know we're there."

Well, we did. They were in everyone's faces.

Everyone was quite irate.

We finished up not getting anything.

# So let it out and let it in

It eventually took six days to record Hey Jude,

the longest time needed for any Beatles single.

It would also be the longest Beatles number one.

A running time of over seven minutes

meant the band were breaking yet more rules.

# Don't you know that it's just you?

# Hey, Jude

Back then, radio was two-and-a-half, three minute songs.

I don't think that anyone thought that Hey Jude

would get the amount of play that it did get, but it was The Beatles.

Who's not going to play The Beatles?

When The Beatles premiered the song on The David Frost Show on ITV

in September 1968, this was a real TV occasion.

# Don't make it bad

And for the big singalong chorus at the end,

director Michael Lindsay-Hogg decided to pull out all the stops.

We realised that just being on The Beatles

for the four-minute closing chorus wouldn't sustain.

And so Paul and I thought wouldn't it be interesting

to get people in as an audience, to represent the world?

# Nah, nah, nah-nah-nah

Housewives, students.

Certainly multi-cultural.

They just sang the song and when they got to the "Nah, nah, nah" part

we all had to run on.

I was about two people away from Ringo

and singing my heart out.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime. It's a really lovely memory.

# Nah, nah, nah, nah-nah-nah-nah

Nothing beats the end.

When it's the big singalong, 'hands in the air'.

At that point as well, if you've got a room full of people

it doesn't matter if they can sing or not.

If they want to shout along, that works.

If you don't join in on Hey Jude there's something wrong with you.

I love it. Neverending, "Nah, nah, nah, nah-nah-nah..."

# Nah, nah, nah, nah-nah-nah

The legacy is their music.

Those songs that we all join hands and sing along to at the end of the night.

God bless The Beatles.

It's now over 50 years since The Beatles

first came, saw and conquered the world.

Today, sadly, it's a world without John.

A world without George.

But the legacy of the greatest band in history

remains as strong as ever.

# Nah-nah-nah-nah

# Nah-nah-nah-nah, hey, Jude

To go from Love Me Do to Hey Jude in seven-and-a-bit years is staggering.

You know, it's staggering.

I've had holidays longer than that, do you know what I mean?

# Hey, Jude

The Beatles are the Shakespeare of popular music.

# Nah, nah-nah-nah

There's a quality and a longevity to what they did

that will outlast all of them and all of us.

Their songs will go on and on and on.

Like the music of Mozart, it'll stand the test of time cos it's so unique.

# Nah-nah-nah-nah, hey, Jude

You listen to a Beatles record and generally

it will make your day a little bit better.

They've given the world a huge amount of enjoyment

and it's as simple as that.

# Nah, nah-nah-nah, hey, Jude

On behalf of the band,

I'd like to thank everyone in the UK

for their continuing love and appreciation for our music.

Our early success was all down to your wonderful support

and we have never forgotten that.

Thank you.

Paul, you're up next.

Hello, there. This has been a great programme

and I'm very happy to be part of it.

I can't believe that after all these years,

people are still listening to The Beatles, still playing the music

and I send my best.

# Nah, nah-nah-nah

Have a great one.

Peace and love.

# Nah, nah-nah-nah

# Nah, nah-nah-nah hey, Jude

# Nah, nah, nah, nah-nah-nah-nah,

# Nah, nah-nah-nah hey, Jude

# Nah, nah, nah, nah-nah-nah-nah,

# Nah, nah-nah-nah hey, Jude

# Nah, nah, nah, nah-nah-nah-nah,

# Nah, nah-nah-nah hey, Jude

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