1968

Paul McCartney celebrates his 26th birthday at Apple

With George Harrison and Ringo Starr flying back from America, and John Lennon preparing for the première of the In His Own Write stage play, Paul McCartney spent his 26th birthday without the other Beatles at the Apple offices in London.

Recording, mixing: Blackbird, Revolution 9

Studios Two and Three, EMI Studios, Abbey Road Producer: George Martin Engineer: Geoff Emerick George Harrison and Ringo Starr were both in America on this day, but John Lennon and Paul McCartney made the most of the studio block-booking throughout June to continue work on the White Album.

Recording: Revolution 9

Studio Three, EMI Studios, Abbey Road Producer: George Martin Engineer: Geoff Emerick John Lennon spent this session, which took place from 2.30-5.45pm, assembling sound effects for Revolution 9.

George Harrison films a scene for Ravi Shankar's Raga

George Harrison, accompanied by his wife Pattie, plus Ringo Starr, Maureen Starkey and Mal Evans, had travelled to California on 7 June 1968. The purpose of the visit was the filming of scenes for Ravi Shankar's feature film Raga.

Radio: The Kenny Everett Show

During the session for Don't Pass Me By, The Beatles were interviewed in the studio by the presenter of BBC radio's weekly The Kenny Everett Show.

Recording, mixing: Don't Pass Me By

Studio Two, EMI Studios, Abbey Road Producer: George Martin Engineer: Geoff Emerick Work continued on Ringo Starr's song Don't Pass Me By during this session, which also saw John Lennon assemble a series of audio effects tapes.

Recording: Don't Pass Me By

Studio Three, EMI Studios, Abbey Road Producer: George Martin Engineer: Geoff Emerick The second song to be recorded for the White Album was Ringo Starr's first published composition, Don't Pass Me By.

Recording, mixing: Revolution 1

Studio Three, EMI Studios, Abbey Road Producer: George Martin Engineer: Geoff Emerick The third session for Revolution 1 featured vocal overdubs and the creation of tape loops, marking the beginning of the sound collage Revolution 9.

Recording: Revolution 1

Studio Three, EMI Studios, Abbey Road Producer: George Martin Engineer: Geoff Emerick The second session for the White Album saw work continue on Revolution 1, which at this time was known simply as Revolution.

Recording: Revolution 1

Studio Two, EMI Studios, Abbey Road Producer: George Martin Engineer: Geoff Emerick The Beatles began recording their double album, simply titled The Beatles but more commonly known as the White Album, on this day. The session lasted a little over 12 hours, beginning at 2.30pm and ending at 2.40am the following morning, and saw the... Read more »

Demo recordings for the White Album

The precise date is unknown, but towards the end of May 1968 The Beatles met at Kinfauns, George Harrison's bungalow in Esher, Surrey. There they recorded demo versions of a number of songs written in India, 19 of which later appeared on the White Album.

Television: Omnibus - All My Loving

In the spring of 1968 an edition of the BBC television series Omnibus was made about the British rock scene. On this day The Beatles appeared in a short sequence for the programme.