How the Beatles sessions in Paris went - the events of 1964

When The Beatles landed in Paris в 1964 year, they were already some of the most powerful songwriters the world had ever seen! It was during this period "A magnificent foursome from Liverpool." quickly became the most in-demand band on the planet... The world was literally buzzing with Beatlemania, and as the band embarked on their plan to achieve the title of pop idols, the demands for more and more "content" became stronger and stronger... This meant that the band had to actively write new material while on tour. But back to the subject...

So: 14 January 1964., without Ringo Starr, The Beatles travelled to Paris to play their first concerts in France, having previously performed for a large German audience. During the performance, the band stayed at a prestigious hotel George Vand, to increase productivity, a piano was installed in their room. With John Lennon and Paul McCartney's close songwriting partnership, it was expected that the Beatles would do their best to write several new pop masterpieces. Eventually, in the belly of a Paris hotel, they would write three of them.....

Where it all began: arriving in Paris

In a gruelling set of performances that no artiste could complete today, The Beatles played out 18 days concerts at the Paris theatre "Olympia."playing up to three sets every day... The group's fame grew rapidly, and although France never hosted a "The Magnificent Four." too close to their hearts, when the musicians landed, they were nevertheless greeted by a huge crowd of

During this period, the group was preparing A Hard Day's Night, and expected to submit songs for the album and film over three intensive writing sessions, the first of which took place at the George V Hotel. It resulted in the birth of "Can't Buy Me Love", "If I Fell". и "I Should Have Known Better" - they were all three of the album's favourite songs! They appeared when Lennon and McCartney staring at each other, tapping on the piano keys and trying to find the right tune....

The band's debut film was always going to put pressure on the two main songwriters -. Paul and John. They felt the need to reproduce moments of pop perfection on screen and make sure the album surpassed their previous efforts. The vertical piano set up in the Beatles' hotel room most likely represented the demon looming in the corner, demanding that they sacrifice their blood, sweat and tears in the name of their mastery... And they did, writing three sumptuous tracks....

A bit about the songs themselves

Faced with writing their new album, the band addressed several aspects of songwriting -. Lennon and McCartney wanted to make them upbeat! The new pop songs needed direction, and the Paul McCartneyin particular, has always looked to the past for inspiration:

"The composition 'Can't Buy Me Love' was my attempt to create a blues style. The idea was that all these material possessions are all very nice, but they won't give me what I really want. It was a very interesting song. Ella Fitzgerald later performed her version, for which I was very honoured..."

Although the song was reportedly written by Paul at the hotel George V in conjunction with John, Lennon. used to distance himself from this track:

"It's totally Paul's. Maybe I had something to do with the chorus, I can't remember exactly... Anyway, I always thought it was his song..."

After a dazzling number Paula McCartney seems right that Lennon should have released his ballad. So, the next song, supposedly written in a hotel, was the magnificent "If I Fell"... Speaking of this track, John confesses:

"It's my first attempt at writing a ballad properly... It was the precursor to 'In My Life'. 'If I Fell' has the same chord sequence as 'In My Life': D minor, B minor and things like that. And it's semi-autobiographical, but not consciously so. It shows that I used to write sentimental love ballads, silly love songs, way back when..."

In turn McCartney I've always noted that this song shows a different side of a usually polarising figure John Lennon:

"People often forget that John wrote some good ballads. People tend to think of him as a sharp, aggressive wit, but actually he always had a very warm side that he didn't want to show too much... We wrote 'If I Fell' together, but with the emphasis on John because he sang it. It was a nice harmonised number, very much like a ballad!"

Another song, apparently the last one written to the accompaniment of the piano, was "I Should Have Known Better". Remarkably, this composition was disliked by one of the authors - . Lennon said it's "just a song that doesn't mean a damn thing!" But the track is still an accurate reflection of the pop group finding its power as it was influenced by the peoples of the world New Yorknamely Bob Dylan and his harmonica! It's also one of the cleanest scenes in the film, where the band plays cards on the train while the wife-to-be George Harrison's Patti Boyd. - peacefully observing...

One last thing...

The mad Paris sessions are a truly powerful quintessence of what made the The Beatles such a colossal pop culture! Faced with a busy schedule of live shows and a hysterical audience in Paris, the band still managed to find time to write some of the most fun and popular songs of their early canon... Getting a piano and a few hours a day to share their thoughts and sketches, Paul McCartney and John Lennon could have written a song as popular as "Can't Buy Me Love"under the most unusual circumstances!