Nothing Is Real - A Beatles Podcast

S03E03: Revolution - Part Two Once the Beatles had recorded the song that would become known as Revolution 1, they were only getting started. Revolution 9 is crafted from in-studio jamming, and with the usual need for a single looming, John sets out to record the song again from scratch.  Live on tape from Dublin & Belfast, it’s Nothing Is Real.  Follow us on Twitter: @BeatlesPod Fac...

In 1968 the world was in a tumultuous state while The Beatles remained the biggest band in the world What would they have to say about it all? In the Indian foothills, John Lennon crafted a response.   The only problem was figuring out how to present the song to the world.  Live on tape from Dublin & Belfast, it’s Nothing Is Real.  Follow us on Twitter: @BeatlesPod Fac...

S03 Bonus Episode: Yoko Ono / Plastic Ono Band In December 1970, Yoko Ono began a run of remarkable albums by releasing Yoko Ono / Plastic Ono Band. Mostly recorded on one evening in October, it’s an album that remains out of time.  Live on a cloud from Dublin & Belfast, Everything Is Real.  Follow us on Twitter: @BeatlesPod Facebook Group: http://tiny.cc/NIRFBG Support this show htt...

S03E01: John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band In December 1969 John Lennon was feted as one of the men of the decade. One year later in December 1970, he released John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, his stark and confrontational solo debut.  How did he get through those 12 months and how did this album Come Together? Well Well Well Hold On because Steven & Jason Found Out.  Live on tape from Dubl...

S02E12: Beatles For Sale The Beatles fourth album from December 1964 didn’t even get a proper release in the USA, and for the longest time has been treated as the runt of the litter. It is an essential album from a group who in a year had become the most famous people in the world; an album born from touring the world and meeting Bob Dylan. It’s time to listen to it again.  Live on tape...

S02E11: The Beatles Anthology at 25 - The Making Of, 1992-1995 After 25 year long & winding road of The Long & Winding Road documentary, The Beatles Anthology starts to become a real thing at the end of 1992. But there are mountains to climb, decisions to be made, egos to soothe... this long & winding road remains a bumpy one.   Live on tape from Dublin and Belfast,...

S02E10: 1974 - Part Two The second half of 1974 and it’s all go for the Fab Four: George starts a label, Ringo starts a label, John sees a UFO, and Paul’s drummer breaks his foot practising karate. As a group, are they are moving back together, or further apart?  Live on tape from Dublin and Belfast, it’s Nothing Is Real.  Follow us on Twitter: @BeatlesPod Facebook Group: http://tin...

S02E09: 1974 - Part One At the end of 1973, the stage was set for a year of Beatle activity. The Ringo album had shown a way for the Fab Four to work together, and a little record called Band On The Run came out. John & Paul were communicating again, and George is going out on the road. What could possibly go wrong..? Live on tape from Dublin and Belfast, it’s Nothing Is Real.  Follow us...

S02E08: Fifth Beatles There have been many claims to the title of Fifth Beatle since the phrase first appeared in 1964. Is it possible to define what it means and who is the most deserving of the accolade? Can there really be only one true Fifth Beatle? Did the Fab Four themselves ever agree on the true Fifth Fab? Live on tape from Dublin and Belfast, it’s Nothing Is Real. Follow us on Twitter: @B...

S02E07: Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band - Part Two Once the Beatles had Sgt Pepper recorded, the album still had to be delivered to the outside world. The album appeared all over the world at the perfect time, in the perfect sleeve. For 53 years the question has been: Is Sgt Pepper perfect? The answer... Live on tape from Dublin, it’s Nothing Is Real. Follow us on Twitter: @BeatlesPod Faceboo...

S02E06: Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band - Part One When the Beatles put out their eighth album in May 1967, the consensus was that nobody needed to release any more records ever - it was just that good. In this episode, the first of two parts, Steven & Jason look at how the album came together. Live on tape from Dublin, it’s Nothing Is Real. Follow us on Twitter: @BeatlesPod Facebook Grou...

S02E05: Ringo: The Album In 1973, Ringo gave the people what they wanted: an album that featured the Fab Four, just not all necessarily playing on the same song at the same time. Ringo (the album) is the manifestation of everything Ringo (The Beatle) does best. Hugely successful at the time, it looked like the dawn of a new era ... Live on tape from Dublin & Belfast, it’s Nothing Is Real. Foll...

S02E04: The Robyn Hitchcock Interview Robyn Hitchcock is an acclaimed English singer-songwriter whose work demonstrates a singular talent which is infused with influences, including our beloved Beatles. When he visited Dublin in January 2020 he sat down with Steven & Jason for a chat. Live on tape from Dublin, it’s Nothing Is Real. Follow us on Twitter: @BeatlesPod Facebook Group: http://tiny....

S02E03: Paperback Writers 2: More Beatle Books It’s been a year since we looked at books about the Beatles, and still there’s a lot more to talk about. What’s new; what’s coming soon; what did we forget to mention last year; books about people who were about the Beatles; and of course, the books to avoid. Live on tape from Dublin & Belfast, it’s Nothing Is Real. Follow us on Twitter: @BeatlesP...

Only seven weeks separated the television premiere of Magical Mystery Tour on Boxing Day 1967 and the Beatles decamping to India in February 1968. In those weeks we got to see the group work one last time as a unified Fab Four: The four-headed monster equally able to record a movie came and knock-out a song a day in Abbey Road. Live on tape from Dublin & Belfast, it’s Nothing Is Real. Follow u...

By the time The Beatles Anthology finally appeared in 1995, it had taken over 25 years to produce. To celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2020, Nothing Is Real will have a few episodes scattered throughout the series that will look at the project through the lens of the last quarter-century. In this episode Steven and Jason navigate the years from 1968, when the idea arose through to 1992 when the c...

Episode 22 - The Nothing Is Real Review of 2019 The last Nothing Is Real for 2019 gives yours hosts Steven & Jason a chance to look back on all the Beatle activity from the previous 12 months. And since it’s also the last episode of season one, Producer Ado is allowed on the microphone to go through Q&As sent in by listeners. Live on tape from Dublin, it’s Nothing Is Real. Follow us on Twitter: @B...

Episode 21 - The Beatles at Christmas: Part Two In the second and final part, Steven and Jason look at the fortunes of the Fab Four at Christmas from 1965 to 1969: Reaching new highs before it all comes crashing down. Live on tape from Dublin, it’s Nothing Is Real. Follow us on Twitter: @BeatlesPod Facebook Group: http://tiny.cc/NIRFBG Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/nothing-is-real-a...

Episode 20 - The Beatles at Christmas: Part One Christmas is often a time for looking back. Steven and Jason examine the fortunes of the Fab Four at every Christmas in the sixties starting in 1960, when they almost stop being The Beatles, through to 1964 when they have become the biggest global music phenomenon in history. Live on tape from Dublin, it’s Nothing Is Real. Follow us on; Twitter: @Bea...

Episode 19 - The Double A-Sides The Beatles invented a lot of things, including the Double A-Side single. Out of the original canon of Beatles singles, four of them were Double A-Sides. Each one was released in different circumstances, with a different view of their history every time. Which one was the best? Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane of course! Live on tape from Dublin, it’s Nothing Is...

“Nothing Is Real is filmed before a live studio audience” As part of the 2019 Dublin Beatles Festival, Steven & Jason tackle *the* burning question: Paul vs. George. Over six rounds, with a little help from their friends in the crowd, will they emerge with a winner? Live on tape from Dublin, it’s Nothing Is Real. Follow us on Twitter: @BeatlesPod Facebook Group: http://tiny.cc/NIRFBG Support this...

1980 was the year that everything changed. In the second of two parts, Steven and Jason look at how the rest of 1980 unfolded. In May, John Lennon is listening to the radio, semi-retired and without a contract. By November he’s written, recorded and released a brand new album with Yoko. Paul, George, and Ringo are also busy. Live on tape from Dublin, it’s Nothing Is Real. Follow us on Twitter: @Be...

There were many revolutionary years in the Beatles’ history, but no one year changed everything as much as 1980. In the first of two parts, Steven and Jason look at the state of affairs of the Beatles at the end of 1979 and how the first half of 1980 played out for John, Paul, George, and Ringo. Live on tape from Dublin, it’s Nothing Is Real. Follow us on Twitter: @BeatlesPod Facebook Group: http:...

Episode 15 - The Mark Lewisohn Interview, Part Two. Mark Lewisohn is the world’s leading Beatles historian and writer. As every Beatles fan knows, he is also in the middle of the “30 year project” that is All These Years, the definitive Beatles biography. In the second of two parts, Mark talks about working for the Beatles during the Anthology project in the 1990s, and working on All These Years v...

Mark Lewisohn is the world’s leading Beatles historian and writer. He is currently touring Hornsey Road, an in-depth 2-hour presentation about the Abbey Road album. As every Beatles fan knows, he is also in the middle of the “30-year project” that is All These Years, the definitive Beatles biography. In the first of two parts, Mark talks about Hornsey Road, and how he went from the pen pals sectio...