A recently rediscovered 1964 interview with most of The Beatles will be featured on an episode of a new BBC podcast series focusing on the Fab Four called Eras: The Beatles that’s hosted by The Hobbit actor Martin Freeman.
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The radio presentation, which will offer a look at the recently announced new Beatles track “Now and Then,” will feature an interview with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison that took place on February 4, 1964 at London (now Heathrow) Airport.
[RELATED: Final Fab Four: The Beatles’ “Last Song,” “Now and Then,” to Be Released Next Week]
The interview was recorded for BBC’s Radio Newsreel show and captured The Beatles as they returned to the U.K. after performing in France, just days before the band’s historic first trip to the U.S.
The interview was discovered by BBC archivist Elliot Gibson while he was digitizing various vintage tape reels for the news organization’s archives.
“There’s often something surprising to be found in old archive material when you scratch the surface, but I never expected to find something of this quality—a complete Beatles interview,” Gibson said. “Initially I assumed it was a copy of an interview that was widely known, so when I checked and discovered it was unique and hadn’t been heard since its broadcast—almost 60 years ago—I was amazed. It’s extremely rare to unearth material this valuable in the archive.”
Gibson also noted, “What makes [the interview] truly great is that it shows The Beatles on top form—playful and quick-witted—and captures them just before their first visit to America which would turn out to be a pivotal moment in their career.”
The interview will be heard on the sixth and final episode of the Eras: The Beatles podcast series, which will premiere on BBC Sounds on Thursday, November 2, the same day that “Now and Then” will be released.
The episode, which is titled “Now and Then” as well, will also feature a brand-new interview with McCartney and Starr, as they discuss the creation of the new track. Additionally, the podcast will offer conversations with John Lennon’s son Sean; Harrison’s widow, Olivia; and filmmaker Peter Jackson, director of The Beatles: Get Back docuseries and The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films.
As previously reported, “Now and Then” is a track built around a demo that Lennon recorded in the late 1970s, and that the surviving three Beatles all added parts to later on.
The song originally had been meant to be released during the mid-1990s as part of The Beatles’ Anthology series of compilations, but the poor sound quality of Lennon’s vocals led to it being shelved at the time. With advancements in technology, particularly the techniques used to enhance the audio in Jackson’s The Beatles: Get Back series, the track was recently revisited and completed.
The BBC will be airing other Beatles-related shows in the coming days to celebrate the arrival of “Now and Them.” Visit BBC.com for more details.
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