Mixing, editing: Hello, Goodbye, I Am the Walrus, Your Mother Should Know, Magical Mystery Tour – 6 November 1967

Monday 6 November 1967 · Mixing and editing · Studio Three control room, EMI Studios, Abbey Road · By Beatles Fabdom

George Martin and Geoff Emerick worked on stereo mixes of four Beatles songs on 6 November 1967: “Hello, Goodbye”, “I Am the Walrus”, “Your Mother Should Know” and “Magical Mystery Tour”. The session ran from 2.30pm to 6pm in the control room of Studio Three at EMI Studios.

The work included an unusual solution for “I Am the Walrus”. Its radio dialogue existed within an earlier mono mix rather than on the multitrack tape, so the stereo presentation had to combine a true-stereo first section with a processed mono ending.

Session facts

Hello, Goodbye: the stereo mix

The first task was “Hello, Goodbye”. Two stereo mixes were made, with the second selected as the master.

The work followed the 2 November recording and mono-mixing session. The stereo mix again required material held on two separate tapes: Take 17 contained the viola overdubs, while Take 22 supplied the other parts.

Two four-track tape machines had to run together so those elements could be combined. The stereo work therefore involved synchronising the separate recordings as well as balancing their sound.

I Am the Walrus: the radio-feed problem

The song’s B-side, “I Am the Walrus”, was next. Its production included dialogue from a BBC radio performance of Shakespeare’s King Lear, added during the mono-mixing session on 29 September 1967.

The radio material had been fed directly into the mono mix. It was not preserved as a separate part on the multitrack tape from which a normal stereo mix could be built.

Martin and Emerick therefore used two sources. The opening section came from stereo remix 6. From approximately 2 minutes 3 seconds, the presentation switched to a mock-stereo version of mono remix 22, retaining the radio dialogue.

How the mock-stereo ending worked

Mock stereo, also called fake stereo, created different tonal balances in the left and right channels from one mono source. Reducing treble on one side and bass on the other produced a spread between the speakers without separating the original instruments into independent stereo positions.

For “I Am the Walrus”, that processing allowed the mono ending, including the radio feed, to form part of a two-channel master.

The session account describes seven mixing attempts, with the edit joining the stereo and processed-mono sections made towards the end of the afternoon.

This account concerns the November 1967 mix and edit. Further work on the song’s stereo opening followed on 17 November, so the 6 November version was not the final step in its original stereo preparation.

Your Mother Should Know

“Your Mother Should Know” was the third song mixed. Two attempts were made at its stereo mix.

The song belonged to the film’s musical programme and would appear on the British Magical Mystery Tour double EP. The 6 November work concerned the balance and presentation of the existing recording.

Magical Mystery Tour: four attempts, then more work

The title song followed, with four stereo mixes attempted. These were not accepted as the finished result.

Work continued on 7 November. The fourth stereo mix from the 6 November session was copied to a new tape while McCartney recreated the spoken introduction, leading to further recording and mixing.

The afternoon therefore produced different outcomes across the four titles: an accepted “Hello, Goodbye” stereo master, the composite approach to “I Am the Walrus”, two mixes of “Your Mother Should Know” and a title track still requiring attention.

The afternoon’s work, song by song

The single and Magical Mystery Tour

“Hello, Goodbye” and “I Am the Walrus” were paired for a single. “I Am the Walrus”, “Your Mother Should Know” and “Magical Mystery Tour” also belonged to the film’s soundtrack programme.

The British Magical Mystery Tour release took the form of a double EP, while the American LP added contemporary singles to the film songs. That distinction explains why “Hello, Goodbye” appears alongside the soundtrack material on the expanded album.

Studio Three at EMI Studios

This was a control-room session at the complex now known as Abbey Road Studios. Martin and Emerick worked with the recorded tapes rather than beginning a new band performance.

The studio address is 3 Abbey Road, St John’s Wood, London NW8 9AY. The map identifies the EMI recording complex where the mixing took place.

Open Abbey Road Studios in Google Maps. Explore our Beatles guide to Abbey Road Studios for more of the group’s recording history.

Explore Magical Mystery Tour designs

Browse the Magical Mystery Tour collection for designs based on the record and film artwork.

Frequently asked questions

Which songs were mixed on 6 November 1967?

Hello, Goodbye, I Am the Walrus, Your Mother Should Know and Magical Mystery Tour.

Who produced and engineered the session?

George Martin was the producer and Geoff Emerick the engineer.

Where and when did the work take place?

In Studio Three’s control room at EMI Studios, Abbey Road, from 2.30pm to 6pm.

Why did I Am the Walrus use a mock-stereo ending?

The King Lear radio feed existed within a mono mix rather than on the multitrack tape. A processed mono section preserved it in the stereo presentation.

Where did the Walrus edit occur?

At approximately 2 minutes 3 seconds, joining the true-stereo opening to the processed mono section.

Was the Magical Mystery Tour title track finished that day?

No. Four stereo mixes were attempted, but further recording and mixing followed on 7 November.