SIR PAUL McCARTNEY admits THE BEATLES weren't much cop when they first formed.

Realising they sounded average at best, Macca wasn't surprised in 1962 when record label Decca refused to sign the band - who went on to become the biggest of all time.

In an interview with Xfm's IAN CAMFIELD, he said: "We obviously weren't that good. We were formulating it all.

"You wouldn't have thought we were that great. You'd have turned us down if you were a record company. And they did - Decca turned us down!"

Soon after Decca snubbed the Fab Four, producer GEORGE MARTIN signed them to EMI's Parlophone label and the band - prior to sticksman RINGO STARR's arrival - went on to play a 48-night residency in a Hamburg, Germany, club.

It was during this formative era that they honed their sound and learned the art of wowing crowds.

Macca said: "When we first went to Hamburg, and there'd be no-one in the club.

"You'd see a couple of students, maybe a guy and his girlfriend, and they'd look in a bit tentatively, look up at the price of the beer, see it was too much and start walking out.

"So we'd go, 'Come on, everybody, get back in here! It's all happening!'

"So we'd learned to attract an audience. After a few weeks, we'd be really packing those clubs.

"It taught us that game of how to win over an audience.

"We learned loads of songs, so by the time we got back to England, we had quite a big repertoire.

Having played packed stadiums in The Beatles, WINGS and as a solo artist since the 60s, Macca says nothing beats the adrenaline rush of playing in a little pub.

So much so, he's often tempted to bash out a few songs down the local boozer when he's on a break.

"I've never felt bored, I've never felt like staying at home," he added.

"I always said, if I wasn't allowed to do it, it'd be my hobby.

"I'd show up at some pub, saying, S'cuse me, can I play? I'd love to do that.

"Those are some of my happiest memories, being there among a group of people and having someone buy you a beer."

You can listen to the entire interview on Ian Camfield's Xfm Breakfast Show, week beginning November 16

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They learned in Hamburg...I like that!!

And I would really love to see him bash out a few songs down the local boozer when he's on a break....that reminds me of that trip he made with Tony Bramwell (and Martha), when they stopped in a small town and he played some songs in the pub with the people. I wish I could have been there!

Astrid

Definitely one of my favorite albums (not because it went on sale the year I was born....), Abbey Road was the last thing the Beatles made. After it the greatest band on earth was history....
Here are some interesting memories by Geoff Emerick, the engineer (written down by someone who talked to him some time ago.....)

BEATLES? WE WERE NOWEHERE MAN

Sunday August 30,2009

JOHN LENNON has gone down in history as one of the most successful songwriters of modern times. Yet right up to his death he wanted to scrap the recordings he had made with The Beatles and start all over again.

According to the band’s producer Sir George Martin, Lennon always felt their records fell short of the musical vision he had in his head.

“John always thought in his mind that the music was there and the reality never pleased him,” revealed Sir George.

“It was so much better in his head. I don’t think he was ever satisfied and in fact we were having a chat one night just before he died and he said, ‘You know George if I could I would record everything again that we did.’

“I groaned and I said, ‘You can’t be serious?’ I said, ‘We did some great stuff, John,’ and he said, ‘No, it could be better’. I said, ‘What about Strawberry Fields Forever? And he looked at me, lowered his glasses and said, ‘Especially Strawberry Fields’. So I thought, ‘Oh God’.”

In BBC Radio 2’s The Record Producers, Sir George, 83, who came from a classical music background, says he was initially unimpressed with The Beatles’ musical abilities when they went into the studio for a test session in June 1962.

“They did things like Over The Rainbow... and they threw in a few of their own which weren’t spectac­ular. The best of the bunch was Love Me Do.

“But what turned me on was the guys themselves because they had this great charisma. They made me laugh and they made me feel good to be with them. They had that quality where you feel rewarded by their presence and when they leave you, you feel as though you’ve lost a little.

“I thought if they have charmed the pants off me what will they do in front of a big audience? On the strength of that I gave them a lousy contract.”

The collaboration of Sir George and The Beatles went on to bring us some of the most memorable music of the Sixties, including songs such as Eleanor Rigby, Yesterday and She Loves You.

The programme will give listeners the first chance to hear a newly restored version of Please Please Me one of the Beatles classics that EMI have recreated from the original master tapes using sophisticated software. The remastered Beatles albums are due for release next month.

The Record Producers – Sir George Martin is on BBC Radio 2 tomorrow at 7pm.

It's the story of four lovable monsters from Monsterpool, England. Riff, Lefty, Mojo and Sticks. Now forever set to rhyme. And it's the story of all their timeless music that generations have come to know and love.

Forgive the lads if they get a little carried away. After all, they are monsters you know...

 This is something I found some minutes ago..the unusual Beatle gift-giving!