Tag: BBC

“All You Need Is Love” Worldwide Broadcast

Beatles Our World
On June 25, 1967, the first live, world-wide satellite program was broadcast to an estimated 350 million people around the world. The “Our World” global broadcast ran for a little more than two hours and featured representatives from around the world.  Fourteen countries provided material (after the Soviet Union and six other Eastern Bloc countries pulled out apparently in response to Western nations’ response to the Six Day War).

“All You Need is Love”

The Beatles, the biggest music act of the time, represented Great Britain and the BBC.  The band performed “All You Need Is Love” with a little help from some friends.

The song was written specifically for the “Our World” broadcast.  After the Beatles signed the contract in May for the show, John Lennon wrote “All You Need Is Love” for the broadcast.  Then, the band recorded a rhythm track and some backing vocals. The song was especially powerful considering the Vietnam War was a major issue at the time.

The Beatles performance of “All You Need Is Love” from Studio Two at Abbey Road Studio included The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Graham Nash, and Marianne Faithfull singing along in the audience. According to The Beatles Bible website, Lennon recorded additional vocals after the broadcast.

The entire Beatles performance of “All You Need is Love’ is not currently available on YouTube, but you may check out a portion of the Beatles segment below.

The original broadcast appeared in black and white, but the above video is from 1995’s The Beatles Anthology special, which colorized parts of this segment, using color photographs taken at the event.

Playing for Change

The “Our World” performance is not the only time “All You Need Is Love” went around the world. Although not done with the technological marvel of a live broadcast, Playing for Change put together kids from around the world singing the song about love and harmony.

Check out the Playing for Change version of “All You Need is Love.”


What is your favorite part of “All You Need Is Love”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    BBC Releases All-Star “God Only Knows”

    Charity God Only Knows

    Reminding us of the old days when mega-stars would gather together to sing a song to benefit a charity, the BBC is celebrating the launch of BBC Music with a charity single version of the 1966 Beach Boys classic “God Only Knows” to benefit the BBC’s Children in Need appeal. Produced by Ethan Johns, the song is being released by Sony, and Universal, and Warner Music.

    The singers include the song’s writer, Brian Wilson. Other stars include Elton John, One Direction, Stevie Wonder, Pharrell Williams, Lorde, Emeli Sandé, Chris Martin, Kylie Minogue, Sam Smith, Florence Welch, Chrissie Hynde, Brian May, Dave Grohl, and Baaba Maal. The song also features the Tees Valley Youth Choir and the BBC Concert Orchestra. Check out the “God Only Knows” video, which includes some cool special effects.

    The video was filmed at the Alexandra Palace theatre in London.

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Peter O’Toole and Orson Welles Discuss “Hamlet”

    O'Toole Hamlet
    We are sad to hear of the passing of the great actor Peter O’Toole. One need only to watch the classic Lawrence of Arabia (1962) to see O’Toole’s talent. But it is easy to forget the intelligence of some of the great classic actors. In the following video, O’Toole and Orson Welles discuss William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet in a type of intellectual conversation we do not see enough of on television. Thank goodness YouTube has something besides cat videos.

    The video excerpt is from the October 1963 episode of the BBC program Monitor, which ran from 1958 through 1965. The episode also features the series host, Huw Wheldon. In addition to Wheldon, Welles, and O’Toole, actor Ernest Milton contributes to the conversation too. According to YouTube, at the time of this video, O’Toole was playing Hamlet at the National Theatre in a production directed by Laurence Olivier. RIP.

    What is your favorite Peter O’Toole performance? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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