"Throat sweets keep us going" say Beatles

The following article appeared in New Musical Express on April 19, 1963, page 9

A never-ending supply of throat sweets is one of the secrets behind the continued success of The Beatles, who come crashing into the NME Chart this week with "From Me To You" at No. 6!-writes Alan Smith.
"We couldn't go on without them," said guitarist and vocalist John Lennon.
"It's quite a strain, singing numbers like 'Twist And Shout' night after night. 'From Me To You' isn't so bad. But I still sometimes lose my voice for days on end.
"Thankfully, it doesn't affect our act in the slightest. We've got such a big repertoire of songs, we just arrange it so that the others fill in. The same would happen if, say, Paul had a bad throat. George and I would take over."
Most of the group's throat troubles stem from the marathon recording session at which they made their first LP, "Please Please Me". Says John: "Just lately things have been getting better. But my voice wasn't the same for a long time after. Every time I swallowed it was like sandpaper.
"We sang for 12 hours, almost non-stop. We had colds and we were concerned how it would affect the record. And by the end of the day, all we wanted to do was drink pints of milk.
"You know, waiting to hear that LP played back was one of our most worrying experiences. We're perfectionists. If it had come out any old way, we'd have wanted to do it all over again.
"As it happens, we were very happy with the result-or to put it more eloquently, dead chuffed! Now it's in the NME Album Chart we know we worried too much.
"I suppose we'll never stop worrying. It's just one of those things. Still, don't get the idea we're a crowd of miseries. If there's anyone who knows how to see the funny side of life, it's us!
"Take last night. We'd been performing in a ballroom and we were soaking wet with heat.
"A fan grabbed hold of my tie and-laugh!-the knot got so tight I couldn't take it off. I was dead tired, so I left my tie on all night. Matched by pyjamas a treat! Come this morning, the only thing I could do was cut it off.
Songwriting is now one of The Beatles' biggest off-stage interests. Apart from "Love Me Do", "Please Please Me" and "From Me To You" for themselves, they penned "Misery" for Kenny Lynch. Other John Lennon-Paul McCartney compositions coming up include discs by Duffy Power and fellow "Liverpoplian" Billy J. Kramer.
They've even formed their own company, Northern Songs Ltd., in association with manager Brian Epstein and music publisher Dick James.
Smiles John: "One of these days we must sort through our old compositions. We might be sitting on a goldmine! Some of them might stand a chance. Meanwhile, we do on writing-mainly for our next LP.
"Will our next single have that harmonica sound? Well, honestly I don't know. I tried to get rid of it after 'Love Me Do,' but it's kind of stuck as a Beatles' trademark. One thing I am sure of, if I play the harmonica on our next disc it'll be a bit better! I think the way it's sounded in the past has been deadly!"

Email Sarah

Return to Vintage Articles & Interviews

Home

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1