On we go from Shea Stadium to Sgt Pepper. We see how George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Neil Aspinall remember the incident in Manila differently to Paul McCartney, and we put forward the idea that these episodes contain the Beatles' two imperial phases. We ask why George in the 1990s is still annoyed with Paul for making himself LSD spokesman in 1967, and we look in detail at Paul's chipped tooth: did it change everything?
Links
If you want to watch the original version of The Beatles Anthology you can buy the DVD box set pretty cheaply.
Read more about the idea of a band's imperial phase.
Of course, only an idiot would confidently claim George won Best Rock Video at the 1988 MTV Music Video Awards for Got My Mind Set On You, not least because that award didn't exist until 1989. He was nominated for both Best Male Video and Best Special Effects in a Video for that song but he won nothing, despite When We Was Fab also picking up several nominations.
John Bishop is a Liverpudlian comedian and presenter.
Maybe this is Meryl Streep at Shea Stadium, maybe it isn't. Why not spend your valuable time arguing with strangers on the internet in an attempt to resolve the matter?
Guide to our Beatles Anthology episodes
This series of episodes discusses the 2003 DVD box set release, which expanded the original 1995 TV broadcasts.
The Beatles Anthology: episodes 1 and 2 (original version)
Why were the three Beatles interviewed separately? Did they get the name from Marlon Brando's The Wild One? And how are Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best treated?
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The Beatles Anthology: episodes 3 and 4 (original version)
It's the Beatlemania and touring years: but why is Paul McCartney interviewed in a tugboat? And how did Ringo Starr feel when he was replaced by Jimmie Nicol?
The Beatles Anthology: episodes 5 and 6 (original version)
We see how George Harrison and Ringo Starr remember Manila differently to Paul McCartney, plus: Shea Stadium and Sgt Pepper: the Beatles' two imperial phases?
The Beatles Anthology: episodes 7 and 8 (original version)
How does the series treat the Beatles' breakup? Does it tell a coherent story around the White Album? And did All You Need is Love make them religious icons?
The Beatles Anthology: DVD special features (original version)
We look at the 1994 Threetles footage, and their behaviour when interviewed together versus apart. And we talk about the making of the Free As a Bird video.
We've also covered the 2025 remaster released on Disney+.
The Beatles Anthology (2025 remaster): episodes 1 to 8
How have the episodes been altered: what's new, what's been removed and why? Plus: what are the implications of AI upscaling the early performance footage?
The Beatles Anthology (2025 remaster): episode 9
We look at the decision not to include any new interviews with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. What effect does it have on how this rounds off the series?