1973 BBC reports on the Star-Club tape
A clip taken from Nationwide, originally broadcast on BBC One, 17 September, 1973, has been made available again by the BBC Archives.
The story is about the origin of the “Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany;1962” double LP, which was eventually released in 1977 with many more incarnations to follow, and which the Beatles fought to stop the production of, eventually succeeding in the nineties.
Here is the description of the clip.
“This was The Beatles’ sound before they actually hit the big time – it’s the greatest thing I’ve ever heard them do.” – Allan Williams.
Bernard Falk – yes, he of the celebrated Merseybeat combo Cock and his Roaches, and laterly Tony Snow and the Blizzards fame – reports on an exciting musical discovery, believed to be the earliest known live recording of The Beatles.
The tape is in the mighty hands of one Ted “Kingsize” Taylor – the founder of Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes – and is a recording of a 1962 performance by the Fab Four when they shared the same bill as Ted, at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany.
Now, with a little help from nightclub owner Allan Williams – who holds the distinction of being the Beatles’ first manager, and the indignity of being forever known as “the man who gave the Beatles away” – Ted hopes to officially release the tapes, which he reckons could be worth millions.
I hope Peter Jackson’s team can salvage something from these recordings using the MAL technology. Might take a few years but will be worth the wait
Do we reckon Allan and Ted made a few bob from the recordings or is the record company again?
*or is it the record company making the cash again
Apologies.
From my observations it’s the Half Price Bookstore making the money from it these days.
I must admit, I quite like giving it a spin now and again!
Me too. Despite the technical limitations.
Fascinating… Over the years since the fab4 split up, there have been so many high profile media reports covering newly discovered tapes, photos, footage, instruments (eg Macca’s bass), discs and other artefacts and I think perhaps this news article was the first of all of those stories? Can anybody think of an earlier one? Listening to them talk in this clip reminds you that at that time the Hamburg days were just 11 years previous. These days, when we discuss anything about the Beatles its all 50 / 60 years ago.
I love the Star Club album and I was lucky enough to meet Allan Williams at a Beatles convention in (I think) Stoke-on-Trent in the late summer of 1979 – seemed like a lovely guy. He and Ted seem very optimistic to me in this clip about how much they could make out of the tape!
Didn’t Allan try and sell them to the Beatles in Jan ’69, hence his blink and you’ll miss it cameo in ‘Get back’, or am I getting mixed up?
I don’t think he had the tapes in his possession in 1969, did he?? I’m very rusty on the whole Hamburg tapes story. I’m sure its very welll covered elsewhere in this blog! I didn’t realise AW was in Get Back so I must have blinked at the wrong time while I was watching that 🙁
It really is a blink and you’ll miss it moment!
It would be great to have the tapes updated with modern technology