Please Please Me: Sixties British Pop, Inside OutThe Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the Who, and numerous other groups put Britain at the center of the modern musical map. Please Please Me offers an insider's view of the British pop-music recording industry during the seminal period of 1956 to 1968, based on personal recollections, contemporary accounts, and all relevant data that situate this scene in the economic, political, and social context of postwar Britain. Author Gordon Thompson weaves issues of class, age, professional status, gender, and ethnicity into his narrative, beginning with the rise of British beat groups and the emergence of teenagers as consumers in postwar Britain, and moving into the competition between performers and the recording industry for control over the music. He interviews musicians, songwriters, music directors, and producers and engineers who worked with the best-known performers of the era. Drawing his interpretation of the processes at work during this musical revolution into a wider context, Thompson unravels the musical change and innovation of the time with an eye on understanding what traces individuals leave in the musical and recording process. |
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American Andrew Oldham arrangement backing vocal band bass guitar Beatles Blackwell Brian Britain British pop British songwriters Charts chords Columbia DB corporate Decca F demo Denmark Street disk Donovan drummer EMI’s Geoff Emerick George Harrison George Martin guitarist instruments jazz Joe Meek John Carter John Lennon Johnny Keith Richards lead vocal Lennon and McCartney Lennon and Paul Les Reed London Love Malcolm Addey McCartney’s Meek’s Melody Maker Mick Jagger Mickie microphone Mike music director Music Ltd Norman Smith Norman Smith balance Parlophone Paul McCartney performance Peter piano play player pop music Produced by George professional Ray Davies Recorded at EMI recording session Recording Studios Reed Regent Sound Released as Columbia Released as Decca Released as Parlophone remembers rock and pop Rolling Stones session musicians Shel Talmy singer singing sixties skiffle Smith balance engineer songwriters success tape operator Tony touring Townshend vocal and guitar wanted workingclass