LIVE AT ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS

COMMENTS

This important LP gave listeners the complete soundtrack to the EMI’s Abbey Road studios show “The Beatles at Abbey Road’’, during which some unreleased master tapes were played for the first time (though mostly not in their entirety and usually talked-over). Unfortunately, it was an audience tape and was mastered too fast. An excellent quality version was released in 1990 on the CD ABBEY ROAD SHOW 1983, although the CD omits the narration and non-Beatles performances.

This album was recorded by the Tobe Milo guys but pressed by the New York bootlegger responsible for the NEMS knock-offs, a large number of counterfeits of other bootlegs, various picture discs and the Verzyl limited edition records on multicolor vinyl.

The Tobe Milo guys published some comments on the web page rarebeatles.com, which we reproduce here with permission: "In 1983, for the first and only time, the doors to Abbey Road's famous studio were opened to the public, for a tour and audio-video presentation. Fans were treated to a tour of the famous Number 2 Studio, which had remained virtually unchanged from the days of the sixties where the Beatles recorded from 1962-1969.

Starting July 11th, the doors were opened seven days a week through September 11th, with three shows per day at 10:30 am, 3:30 pm and 7:30 pm. Tickets were sold for £4.50 (about $7.00 U.S.). In all, the presentation and tour was given 168 times. (...) This was the first time that EMI had ever permitted the public performance of Beatles outtakes. Free refreshments were served, and in one corner was a booth offering T-shirts, posters, stickers, road signs, postcards and other Beatles souvenirs. Fans being determined, and with word out from previous visitors about how great the outtakes were, three U.S. collectors managed to sneak in a compact Sony cassette player and record the entire show from start to finish, in stereo. (...) They had each taken with them a shopping bag filled with "tourist" items, as if they had been shopping all day. Hidden inside one bag was the Sony tape recorder. In another, the microphone and batteries, and in the third, blank tapes. Amazingly, when they got to the search point, the guard looked in the bags quickly, passed them AROUND the metal detector, and directed them through the detectors - sans bags(!) and then handed the bags BACK to them on the other side of the detector!!! They could not believe that they got into the Abbey Road presentation with a tape recorder! At this time, of course, they were ecstatic, as they KNEW they would soon have a recording of the entire show. (...) Upon being seated for the show, they all sat together and carefully pulled the parts from their bags to prepare recording. One of them sat perfectly still holding the microphone for the entire ninety minute presentation. If you listen closely to the tape at the beginning and end, you can hear the rustling of paper - people next to them were eating and putting their souvenirs into bags. The tape was reviewed in the cab on the way back to the hotel and all three fans were blown away, the recording had turned out incredible. Upon their return to the U.S., a cover was designed and in November of 1983 the recording was issued as a double album gatefold set, The Beatles Live at Abbey Road Studios (ARS 2 9083)."