"Real Love"
Single by The Beatles
from the album Anthology 2
B-side(s)	"Baby's in Black"
Released	4 March 1996 (UK) 5 March 1996 (US)
Format	7", CD
Recorded	New York City, 1979 and Sussex, February 1995
Genre	Rock
Length	3:54
Label	Apple Records
Producer(s)	Jeff Lynne, John Lennon (posthomous credit), Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr
Chart positions
#4 (UK Singles Chart) #11 (US)
The Beatles singles chronology
"Free as a Bird" (1995)	"Real Love" (1996)

"Real Love" is a song originally written and performed as a demo by John Lennon, and later reworked by the three remaining members of The Beatles (Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr) in late 1995. The song was released as a Beatles single in 1996 in the United Kingdom, United States and many other countries; it was the opening track on The Beatles' Anthology 2 album. It is the last "new" credited Beatles song to originate and be included on an album. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (678x696, 42 KB) front cover of Real Love (song) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ... The Beatles were an English rock and roll band from Liverpool. ... The Beatles Anthology 2 is an album released in March 1996, and includes rarites and alternatives tracks from the sessions for Help! through the sessions for Magical Mystery Tour and singles they were planning to release before their trip to India in 1968. ... In recorded music, the terms A-side and B-side refer to the two sides of 7 inch vinyl records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. ... Babys in Black is a song by The Beatles, released in the United Kingdom on the 1964 album Beatles for Sale, and in the United States on Beatles 65. ... March 4 is the 63rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (64th in leap years). ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... March 5 is the 64th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (65th in leap years). ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... United States is the current Good Article Collaboration of the week! Please help to improve this article to the highest of standards. ... The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour (1967) as a 33 â…“ LP vinyl record A gramophone record (also phonograph record, or simply record) is an analogue sound recording medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed modulated spiral groove starting near the periphery and ending near the centre of the disc. ... A CD single is a music single in the form of a compact disc. ... Nickname: Big Apple; City that never Sleeps; Gotham Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area    - City 1,214. ... Sussex as a traditional county. ... A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or basic musical language (van der Merwe 1989, p. ... Rock is a form of popular music from the mid 20th century which typically features a vocal melody (often with vocal harmony) that is supported by accompaniment of electric guitars, a bass guitar, and drums, often with a strong back beat. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Apple Records logo, featuring a Granny Smith apple. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the performers, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes . ... Jeff Lynne (born December 30, 1947) in the Shard End area of Birmingham, England, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. ... John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (October 9, 1940 – December 8, 1980), (born John Winston Lennon, known as John Ono Lennon) was an iconic English 20th century rock and roll songwriter and singer, best known as the founding member of The Beatles. ... Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, (born June 18, 1942, Liverpool) is an English songwriter, musician and singer, who is best known as a former Beatle, a member of Wings (with Linda McCartney) and as a solo artist. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Richard Starkey, MBE (born July 7, 1940), known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is a popular English musician, singer, and actor, best known as the drummer for The Beatles. ... A record chart, also known as a music chart, is a method of ranking music according to popularity during a given period of time. ... The UK Singles Chart is currently compiled by The Official UK Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the British record industry. ... The Beatles were an English rock and roll band from Liverpool. ... Free As A Bird is a song, single and video released by The Beatles in December 1995 as part of their reunion and promotion around the release of the video documentary Anthology and their Anthology 1 compilation album. ... John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (October 9, 1940 – December 8, 1980), (born John Winston Lennon, known as John Ono Lennon) was an iconic English 20th century rock and roll songwriter and singer, best known as the founding member of The Beatles. ... The Beatles were an English rock and roll band from Liverpool. ... Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, (born June 18, 1942, Liverpool) is an English songwriter, musician and singer, who is best known as a former Beatle, a member of Wings (with Linda McCartney) and as a solo artist. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Richard Starkey, MBE (born July 7, 1940), known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is a popular English musician, singer, and actor, best known as the drummer for The Beatles. ... The Beatles Anthology 2 is an album released in March 1996, and includes rarites and alternatives tracks from the sessions for Help! through the sessions for Magical Mystery Tour and singles they were planning to release before their trip to India in 1968. ...

"Real Love" was warmly received by some critics, and the single reached #4 and #11 in the UK and US singles charts respectively. The song was not included on the British Broadcasting Corporation's Radio 1 playlist, prompting criticism from fans and members of the British parliament. This article is an overview article about the Crown chartered British Broadcasting Corporation formed in 1927. ... States currently utilizing parliamentary systems are denoted in red and orange—the former being constitutional monarchies where authority is vested in a parliament, and the latter being parliamentary republics whose parliaments are effectively supreme over a separate head of state. ...

After the release of "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love", Starr commented, "Recording the new songs didn't feel contrived at all, it felt very natural and it was a lot of fun, but emotional too at times. But it's the end of the line, really. There's nothing more we can do as The Beatles."^{[citation needed]} Free As A Bird is a song, single and video released by The Beatles in December 1995 as part of their reunion and promotion around the release of the video documentary Anthology and their Anthology 1 compilation album. ...

Early origins

Although the song was first recorded in 1977, when Lennon recorded a song entitled "Real Love" with a handheld tape recorder on his piano at home, according to Beatles biographer John T. Marck, "Real Love" may have actually had its origins as part of The Beatles' last British #1, "The Ballad of John and Yoko". Marck then traces "Real Love" to an eventual combination of "Real Life", a song Lennon would record at least six takes of in 1979, and then abandon, and another Lennon demo, "Baby Make Love To You".^[1] A grand piano, with the lid up. ... The Ballad of John and Yoko is a Beatles song written by John Lennon. ...

According to bootlegs, the first couple of the demo takes' lyrical structure mostly resembled the song eventually released in 1996, but the others featuring "Real Life" altered portions of the song; for example, "don't need to be alone / it's real love / yes, it's real love" became "why must it be alone / it's real / well it's real life". Some takes featured an acoustic guitar, while the eventual Beatles release had Lennon on the piano.^[2] A steel string acoustic guitar is a modern form of guitar descended from the classical guitar, but strung with steel strings for a brighter, louder sound. ... A grand piano, with the lid up. ...

The song was eventually put on the backburner by Lennon, and forgotten until 1988, when the sixth take of "Real Love" appeared on the Imagine: John Lennon film and soundtrack album. The song was also released on the Acoustic album in 2004. The demo with just Lennon on piano was released in 2005 on Working Class Hero: The Definitive Lennon. Acoustic is a live and acoustic album by John Lennon, released on November 2 2004. ...

Reuniting The Beatles again

Beforehand, the closest The Beatles had come to reuniting (while they were all still alive) was during the recording of Starr's 1973 Ringo album when they all worked on tracks, though Lennon and McCartney did not work together. See also: 1972 in music, other events of 1973, 1974 in music, 1970s in music and the list of years in music // January 9 - Mick Jaggers request for a Japanese visa is rejected on account of a 1969 drug bust, putting an abrupt end to The Rolling Stones plans... Ringo is the third solo album by Ringo Starr, released in 1973. ...

The idea of redoing some of Lennon's old songs apparently was inspired by former Beatles road manager Neil Aspinall and George Harrison, who first requested some old demos from Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono. Then, in January 1994, McCartney came to New York City for the induction of Lennon into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. While there, he received reportedly at least four songs from Ono. According to Aspinall, it was "two cassettes" which "might have been five or six tracks". Ono said of the occasion: "It was all settled before then, I just used that occasion to hand over the tapes personally to Paul. I did not break up The Beatles, but I was there at the time, you know? Now I'm in a position where I could bring them back together and I would not want to hinder that. It was kind of a situation given to me by fate."^[3] Neil Aspinall (born in Prestatyn, North Wales, on 13 October 1942) is best known as the road manager and personal assistant for The Beatles. ... Yoko Ono Yoko Ono Lennon (born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese musician and artist best known as the widow of John Lennon of The Beatles. ... Nickname: Big Apple; City that never Sleeps; Gotham Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area    - City 1,214. ... The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at sunset. ...

In an interview, McCartney remarked:

Yoko said 'I've got a couple of tracks I'll play you, you might be interested'. I'd never heard them before but she explained that they're quite well known to Lennon fans as bootlegs. I said to Yoko, 'Don't impose too many conditions on us, it's really difficult to do this, spiritually. We don't know, we may hate each other after two hours in the studio and just walk out. So don't put any conditions, it's tough enough. If it doesn't work out, you can veto it.' When I told George and Ringo I'd agreed to that they were going, 'What? What if we love it?' It didn't come to that, luckily.[3]

The remaining band members focused their attention on three songs: "Free as a Bird", "Real Love" and "Grow Old With Me". Of these, they liked "Free as a Bird" the most, and worked hard on it. McCartney said, "Ringo was very up for it, George was very up for it, I was very up for it."^[3] Eventually the song saw release as the first Beatles single since 1970. The remaining Beatles then turned their attention to "Real Love". Co-producer Jeff Lynne said, "...we thought, we'd work on 'Real Love' which had a complete set of words."^[4] Image File history File links Cquote1. ... Image File history File links Cquote2. ... Jeff Lynne (born December 30, 1947) in the Shard End area of Birmingham, England, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. ...

Working in the studio

Geoff Wonfor, who directed the Anthology documentary, filmed The Beatles recording in the studio with a handheld camcorder. Kevin Godley, who co-directed the music video, stated that it was meant to be a "fly on the wall thing".

The first problem The Beatles had to confront was the low quality of the demo, as Lennon had not used professional recording equipment on the take they were using, but a handheld tape recorder. The Beatles brought in Jeff Lynne (George Martin was not interested in the project), who had worked with Harrison as part of The Traveling Wilburys to co-produce.^[5] Lynne, who had already co-produced "Free as a Bird" said: Image File history File links still from Real Love (song) music video File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links still from Real Love (song) music video File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Kevin Godley (born October 7, 1945) is a British musician and music video director. ... Jeff Lynne (born December 30, 1947) in the Shard End area of Birmingham, England, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Traveling Wilburys were a short-lived supergroup created by George Harrison and Jeff Lynne. ...

We tried out a new noise reduction system, and it really worked. The problem I had with 'Real Love' was that not only was there a 60 cycles mains hum going on, there was also a terrible amount of hiss, because it had been recorded at a low level. I don't know how many generations down this copy was, but it sounded like at least a couple. So I had to get rid of the hiss and the mains hum, and then there were clicks all the way through it. ... We'd spend a day on it, then listen back and still find loads more things wrong. ... It didn't have any effect on John's voice, because we were just dealing with the air surrounding him, in between phrases. That took about a week to clean up before it was even usable and transferable to a DAT master. Putting fresh music to it was the easy part![5]

Although "Real Love" was comparatively more complete than "Free as a Bird", which had required the addition of some lyrics by McCartney, the song also suffered from problems with Lennon's timing. Lynne said: Image File history File links Cquote1. ... A 90-minute DAT cartridge, size compared to a AAA (LR03) battery. ... Image File history File links Cquote2. ...

Well, nobody is [keeping time] when they're just writing a song. You don't think, 'I'd better use a click while I'm putting down this idea.' You just play and enjoy yourself. So it took a lot of work to get it all in time so that the others could play to it.[4]

Ironically, a more complete, higher-quality studio piano version would later be found, that eventually appeared on the Lennon Anthology in 1998. Image File history File links Cquote1. ... Image File history File links Cquote2. ... John Lennon Anthology is a box set of home demos, alternative studio outtakes and unreleased material recorded by John Lennon over the course of his solo career from Give Peace A Chance in 1969 up until the 1980 sessions for Double Fantasy and Milk And Honey. ...

This complicated job was a large part of the reason why George Martin, the traditional Beatles producer, did not produce any of the new, original Beatles songs. McCartney said: This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

George wasn't involved, no. George doesn't want to produce much any more 'cause his hearing's not as good as it used to be. He's a very sensible guy, and he says, 'Look, Paul I like to do a proper job', and if he doesn't feel he's up to it he won't do it. It's very noble of him, actually — most people would take the money and run.[4]

Nevertheless, Lynne and the remaining Beatles did their best to make the song appear very "Beatles-y". Lynne said: Image File history File links Cquote1. ... Image File history File links Cquote2. ...

What we were trying to do was create a record that was timeless, so we steered away from using state-of the-art gear. We didn't want to make it fashionable.[4]

Therefore, The Beatles gathered once more in Sussex, England at McCartney's studio to produce another single. Added to the demo (which was now a semi-tone higher because Lynne and The Beatles had it sped up) were the sounds of a double bass (originally owned by Elvis Presley's bassist, Bill Black), Fender Jazz bass guitar, a couple of Stratocaster guitars, one a modern "Clapton-style one" as Lynne described it, and a "psychedelic" one, as well as a Ludwig drum kit. Surprisingly, McCartney did not use his traditional Höfner bass guitar, as he did during his career as a Beatle.^[4] Other than their traditional instruments, a celeste (used by Lennon on The Beatles song "Because") and a harmonium (which appeared on The Beatles hit single "We Can Work It Out") were also used.^[6] Image File history File links Cquote1. ... Image File history File links Cquote2. ... Sussex as a traditional county. ... Side and front views of a modern double bass with a French bow. ... Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), often known simply as Elvis and also called The King of Rock n Roll or simply The King, was an American singer and actor. ... William Bill Patton Black, Jr. ... The Jazz Bass was the second model of electric bass guitar created by Leo Fender. ... Martin EB18 Bass Guitar in flight case. ... A Fender Stratocaster with rosewood fingerboard and three-tone sunburst finish. ... Karl Höfner GmbH & Co. ... Martin EB18 Bass Guitar in flight case. ... Celeste may refer to: in Music Voix celeste, a musical term Celesta, a musical instrument in Film Celeste (VelvetGeisha), norwegian actress, model, dancer, photographer and performer also known as VelvetGeisha Celeste Celeste (Shemale porn star) — a pornographic film star Other a turquoise color used on Bianchi bicycles Celeste, the Sister... Because is a ballad written by John Lennon (Paul McCartney also received songwriting credits) and performed by The Beatles, featuring a 3-part harmony between Lennon, McCartney and George Harrison (each sings three overdubbed tracks). ... This article is on the musical instrument; for information on other kinds of harmonia, see harmonium (disambiguation). ... We Can Work It Out is a song written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon and released by The Beatles as a double A-sided single with Day Tripper. The song is a classic instance of true Lennon-McCartney collaboration, its authors meeting more closely in a single song only...

The Beatles used Geoff Emerick, who had not only worked with them to great extent in the 60s, but is oft credited with many of The Beatles sound inventions, as the sound engineer. McCartney said of him: Geoff Emerick (born 1946) is a recording studio audio engineer, who is best known for his work with the Beatles albums Revolver, Sgt. ...

[H]e's solid, really great. He knows how Ringo's snare should sound." The attitude in the studio was very relaxed, according to Lynne. "Paul and George would strike up the backing vocals — and all of a sudden it's The Beatles again! ... I'd be waiting to record and normally I'd say, 'OK, Let's do a take', but I was too busy laughing and smiling at everything they were talking about." Starr said that they had to be, in order to avoid being overwhelmed by the thought of being too reverent towards "a fallen hero" (as McCartney put it): "We just pretended that John had gone on holiday or out for tea and had left us the tape to play with. That was the only way we could deal with it, and get over the hurdle, because [it] was really very emotional.[4]

Image File history File links Cquote1. ... The snare drum or side drum is a tubular drum made of wood or metal with skins, or heads, stretched over the top and bottom openings. ... Image File history File links Cquote2. ...

The release

"Real Love" reached #4 in the UK singles chart

Although the song was released as single in both the UK and US on March 4, 1996, the first time the song was publicly aired had come on November 20, 1995, when the American television channel, the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) aired the second episode of The Beatles Anthology. Image File history File links back cover of Real Love (song) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... March 4 is the 63rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (64th in leap years). ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... November 20 is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) operates television and radio networks in the United States and is also shown on basic cable in Canada. ... The Beatles Anthology is the name of a documentary series, a series of three albums and a book, all of which focus on the history of the popular rock band The Beatles. ...

The single jumped into the British charts on March 16, 1996 (three days before the release of Anthology 2, which carried the song and would eventually reach #1 in both the British and American charts) at #4, selling 50,000 copies in its first week. However, the single's progress in the charts was stunted by BBC Radio 1's exclusion of "Real Love" from its playlist. The Reuters news agency, which described Radio 1 as "the biggest pop music station in Britain", reported that the station declared, "It's not what our listeners want to hear ... We are a contemporary music station."^[7] March 16 is the 75th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (76th in leap years). ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... The Beatles Anthology 2 is an album released in March 1996, and includes rarites and alternatives tracks from the sessions for Help! through the sessions for Magical Mystery Tour and singles they were planning to release before their trip to India in 1968. ... BBC Radio 1 is a British radio station operated by the BBC, specialising in popular music aimed at the 16-24 age bracket. ... Reuters Group plc (LSE: RTR and NASDAQ: RTRSY); pron. ...

Beatles spokesman Geoff Baker responded by stating the band's response as "Indignation. Shock and surprise. We carried out research after the Anthology was launched and this revealed that 41% of the buyers were teenagers."^[8]

The station's actions contrasted strongly with what occurred at the launch of "Free as a Bird" the year earlier, when it became the first station to play the song on British airwaves. The exclusion of "Real Love" provoked a fierce reaction from fans, and elicited comment from two members of parliament (MPs). Conservative MP Harry Greenway called the action censorship, and urged the station to reverse what he called a ban. However, the station stayed its course, and the damage was done.^[7] Harry Greenway (born October 4, 1934), is a British Conservative politician. ...

An angry McCartney wrote an 800-word article for the British newspaper, the Daily Mirror about the ban, where he stated that "The Beatles don't need our new single, 'Real Love', to be a hit. It's not as if our careers depend on it. If Radio 1 feels that we should be banned now, it's not exactly going to ruin us overnight. You can't put an age limit on good music. It's very heartening to know that, while the kindergarten kings of Radio 1 may think The Beatles are too old to come out to play, a lot of younger British bands don't seem to share that view. I'm forever reading how bands like Oasis are openly crediting The Beatles as inspiration, and I'm pleased that I can hear The Beatles in a lot of the music around today. As Ringo said to me about all this, who needs Radio 1 when you've got all the independent stations?" The letter was published on March 9, the day after Radio 1 announced the "ban".^[8] Alternate newspaper: The Daily Mirror (Australia) The Daily Mirror is a popular British tabloid daily newspaper. ... Oasis are an English rock band, formed in Manchester in 1991. ... March 9 is the 68th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (69th in Leap years). ...

The station's controller, Matthew Bannister, however denied that the failure to include the song was a ban, but merely meant that the song had not been included on the playlist of each week's 60 most regularly featured songs. The station also hit back by devoting a "Golden Hour" to the group's music as well as music by bands influenced by The Beatles. This "Golden Hour" concluded with a playing of "Real Love".^[9] Matthew Bannister is a British radio administrator and broadcaster. ...

"Real Love" fell out of the British charts in seven weeks. In the US, the single entered the charts on March 23, and reached #11; after four months, 500,000 copies had been moved in the US.^[10][11] March 23 is the 82nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (83rd in Leap years). ...

The single also has a music video to go with it, which featured shots of the three remaining Beatles recording in Sussex, and also mixed in shots of The Beatles taken during their career. Geoff Wonfor, who directed the Anthology documentary, filmed The Beatles recording in the studio with a handheld camcorder, as they did not want to be aware of the camera recording. Kevin Godley, who co-directed the music video, went on the record to state that it was meant to be a "fly on the wall thing".^[5] Kevin Godley (born October 7, 1945) is a British musician and music video director. ...

Lyrics and melody

The song's lyrics focus on describing the euphoria and experience of real love. Lennon describes how all his carefully planned schemes have fallen apart after he falls in love, and joyously declares that there's "no need to be alone" and "no need to be afraid". He appears to already have been involved in a romantic relationship, for he sings that he, "thought I'd been in love before, but in my heart I wanted more".

One reviewer described the song as a, "mature, still hopeful but frightened man less concerned with screaming at life than surviving it."^[12]

The song has been sped up 12% from the demo, apparently to "effect the snappy tempo" as Alan W. Pollack has speculated. The tune is nearly completely pentatonic, comprising primarily the notes E, F#, G#, B, and C#. The refrain is higher than the verse; while the verse covers a full octave, the refrain, at its peak, is a fifth higher.^[13] In music, a pentatonic scale is a scale with five notes per octave. ...

The instrumental intro (performed on a celeste) is four measures long, and the verse and refrain are eight measures. The outro largely comprises the last half of the refrain repeated seven times, slowly fading out.^[13]

A sample (950k) from the song is available.

Track listings

• 7" R6425

1. "Real Love" - 3:54
   • Original composition by Lennon; Beatles version by Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starkey.
   • Produced by Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, Starkey and Jeff Lynne.
2. "Baby's in Black" - 3:03
   • By Lennon and McCartney.

• CD CDR6425

1. "Real Love" - 3:54
2. "Baby's in Black" - 3:03
3. "Yellow Submarine" - 2:48
   • By Lennon and McCartney.
4. "Here, There and Everywhere" - 2:23
   • By Lennon and McCartney.

Jeff Lynne (born December 30, 1947) in the Shard End area of Birmingham, England, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. ... Babys in Black is a song by The Beatles, released in the United Kingdom on the 1964 album Beatles for Sale, and in the United States on Beatles 65. ... Yellow Submarine is a 1966 song by The Beatles and a 1968 animated United Artists film based on the music of The Beatles. ... Here, There and Everywhere is a song by Paul McCartney (though credited to Lennon-McCartney), recorded for The Beatles 1966 album Revolver. ...

Footnotes