BC the Beatles

This episode is Part Four of our 12-part series, Beneath the Surface: The Beatles in 1966, a year-long, month-by-month look at the band’s most transformational year. In April 1966, the Beatles return from a three-month break and step into the studio with a completely new mindset. What begins with a visit to London’s Indica Gallery and John Lennon’s discovery of The Psychedelic Experience quickly evolves into one of the most radical recording sessions of their career. From the creation of “Tomorrow Never Knows” to the earliest experiments that would define Revolver, this is the moment where the Beatles stop making music for the stage—and start making it for the studio. Along the way, we explore the band’s expanding creative range, Brian Epstein’s growing business empire, the first stirrings of Lennon mythology in the press, and a pivotal behind-the-scenes moment when Robert Whitaker’s infamous butcher photographs collide with the carefully managed Beatles image. About the series: On the surface, 1966 begins like peak Beatlemania: hit records, big plans, and a global machine that still seems unstoppable. But underneath, everything is starting to shift. Over the course of the year, we’ll watch as touring becomes untenable, old identities fall away, new artistic ambitions take hold, and the band slowly, and sometimes reluctantly, becomes something entirely different. Each episode explores one month in 1966, tracing the small decisions, strange moments, cultural collisions, and personal turning points that — piece by piece — reshape the Beatles’ music, image, and inner lives. This isn’t the story of a single break, but of a gradual reveal: the year the surface finally started to crack. Further reading: Want to dive deeper into the fascinating twists and turns of 1966? We highly recommend Beatles ’66: The Revolutionary Year by Steve Turner, which serves as a major source and foundational text for this series — and one of the best deep dives into this pivotal year in the band’s history. 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. Preorder Erika's new book! Meat the Beatles: The Butcher Cover —The Complete, Untold Story of the Fab Four's Most Controversial Album Artwork Buy us a coffee! www.ko-fi.com/bcthebeatles Contact us at bcthebeatles@gmail.com

It's part two of our Mind Games extravaganza, and we're going track-by-track on the new Mind Games Ultimate mix. Listen along with us as we dive into each song on this fabulous new release. And don't forget, enter our giveaway to win your own copy of Mind Games! --------------------- 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 trailer for 'Midas Man' — the new film about Beatles' manager Brian Epstein — dropped this week, and we couldn't be more excited! Scheduled for release on August 29, 'Midas Man' follows Brian's career from 1963 through his death in 1967. It delves deep into Brian's family life, the Liverpool music scene, and his struggles as a closeted gay man in a world where homosexuality was still considered a felony. After noticing how Brian's last name is pronounced in the film (hint: you get bleeped for saying it that way on our podcast), the second half of the show is an encore episode, where we presented our case for the RIGHT way to pronounce his name. Plus, we bring back one of our favorite listener contributions, a delightfully clever way to help us all remember it. Watch the 'Midas Man' trailer More on Brian: our "Eppy-sode" --------------------- 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

On July 3, 1966, the Beatles landed in Manila, The Philippines, for the final stop on the first leg of their world tour. But two days later, after a misunderstanding with the country's first family, the band and their entourage narrowly escaped with their lives. The third part of our touring years series dives into this harrowing moment — an event that would kick off a summer of strife, and reinforce the Beatles' determination to stop touring for good. --------------------- +Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for photos, videos, and more from this episode & past episodes — we’re @bcthebeatles everywhere.+Subscribe to BC the Beatles on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you’re listening now.+Buy us a coffee! +Contact us at bcthebeatles@gmail.com.

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

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.

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.