Thursday 18 July 1968 | Studio Two, EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
On 18 July 1968, The Beatles held two sessions at Studio Two, EMI Studios, Abbey Road, completing the recording of Cry Baby Cry and beginning work on Helter Skelter. Both tracks would appear on The Beatles (the White Album), released in November 1968. The sessions were produced by George Martin and engineered by Ken Scott.
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Session One: Cry Baby Cry (2.30pm – 9.30pm)
The first session began at 2.30pm and lasted seven hours. Just one track was spare on the four-track tape, so The Beatles filled it with a number of simultaneous overdubs:
- John Lennon redid his lead vocals in the verses, with harmonies by Paul McCartney in places
- George Martin played a descending harmonium part in the introduction
- Ringo Starr shook a tambourine
- George Harrison added electric guitar
- Tea party effects were recorded during the “Duchess of Kirkcaldy” verse
Cry Baby Cry was transferred to eight-track tape on 17 September 1968, but no further music was added to the track.
Session Two: Helter Skelter (10.30pm – 3.30am)
The day’s second session began at 10.30pm and ended at 3.30am. The Beatles recorded three takes of Helter Skelter, which were essentially rehearsals. The takes lasted 10:40, 12:35, and 27:11 respectively.
The final take — at 27 minutes and 11 seconds — was the longest recording in the group’s career. An edited mix of take two was later released on Anthology 3 in 1996.
“I made it clear to George Martin when we were doing Anthology 3, that the fans are desperate to hear this and I urged him to listen to it, because I don’t think initially he was going to do so. He listened to it, and he said: ‘Well, why is this important?’ I said forget the quality of the sound, or forget the fact that it’s not quite in tune or whatever, what a producer would normally be looking for, just respect the fact please that it is hailed as the most important outtake of them all, and the fans will go crazy if you don’t include this on the Anthology.”
“So he took all that on board, which George always does, and he’s very good at that sort of thing, he listens. But, the next time I went in there, they said: ‘Here it is,’ and it was like five minutes, and they’d trimmed it right down. And in fact they didn’t use the 27-minute one, there was another one as well that was 12 minutes, which they used, and they’d trimmed it down to five minutes. They said: ‘This is all people will stand, they won’t stand the whole thing.’ And I said: ‘Well, I think a lot of them will actually…’”
— Mark Lewisohn
The takes were recorded over two rehearsal reels of Cry Baby Cry made on 15 July. At this stage Helter Skelter was a blues-based jam, although most of the lyrics and chord changes were already in place. The recordings featured two electric guitars, bass and drums all on the same track, and McCartney’s vocals on another. It is possible that Lennon played bass on these recordings.
“They recorded the long versions of ‘Helter Skelter’ with live tape echo. Echo would normally be added at remix stage otherwise it can’t be altered, but this time they wanted it live. One of the versions developed into a jam which went into and then back out of a somewhat bizarre version of ‘Blue Moon’. The problem was, although we were recording them at 15 ips [inches per second] – which meant that we’d get roughly half an hour of time on the tape – the machine we were running for the tape echo was going at 30 ips, in other words 15 minutes… The Beatles were jamming away, completely oblivious to the world and we didn’t know what to do because they all had foldback in their headphones so that they could hear the echo. We knew that if we stopped it they would notice.”
“In the end we decided that the best thing to do was stop the tape echo machine and rewind it. So at one point the echo suddenly stopped and you could hear ‘bllllrrrrippppp’ as it was spooled back. This prompted Paul to put in some kind of clever vocal improvisation based around the chattering sound!”
— Brian Gibson, technical engineer
The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Mark Lewisohn
Following this session, The Beatles did not return to Helter Skelter until 9 September 1968.
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Session Details
| Date | Thursday 18 July 1968 |
| Studio | Studio Two, EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London |
| Producer | George Martin |
| Engineer | Ken Scott |
| Album | The Beatles (White Album) |
| Session one | 2.30pm – 9.30pm — Cry Baby Cry overdubs |
| Session two | 10.30pm – 3.30am — Helter Skelter (3 takes: 10:40, 12:35, 27:11) |
| Longest take | 27:11 — the longest recording in The Beatles’ career |
| Anthology 3 release | Edited mix of take two (trimmed to approx. 5 minutes) |
| Next Helter Skelter session | 9 September 1968 |
Studio Two, EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London — where The Beatles recorded the majority of their studio catalogue.
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Frequently Asked Questions
When did The Beatles record Helter Skelter?
The Beatles first recorded Helter Skelter on 18 July 1968 at Studio Two, EMI Studios, Abbey Road. Three takes were recorded, lasting 10:40, 12:35 and 27:11. They returned to the song on 9 September 1968 to record the version that appeared on the White Album.
How long was the longest Beatles recording ever made?
The longest recording in The Beatles’ career was a 27-minute 11-second take of Helter Skelter, recorded on 18 July 1968 at EMI Studios, Abbey Road. It was a blues-based jam with most of the lyrics and chord changes already in place.
Was the 27-minute Helter Skelter released?
The 27-minute take of Helter Skelter was not officially released. An edited mix of take two (approximately 12 minutes, trimmed to around five minutes) was released on Anthology 3 in 1996.
Who engineered the Helter Skelter recording sessions?
The 18 July 1968 sessions for Cry Baby Cry and Helter Skelter were engineered by Ken Scott, with George Martin producing.
What is Cry Baby Cry about?
Cry Baby Cry, written by John Lennon, is a whimsical song featuring a cast of aristocratic characters including a King, Queen and Duchess of Kirkcaldy. It appeared on The Beatles (White Album) in 1968.
→ 18 July in Beatles History
→ July in Beatles History
→ John Lennon: Beatles History, Solo Career, Songs & Legacy
→ Paul McCartney: Beatles History, Solo Career, Songs & Legacy
→ George Harrison: Beatles History, Solo Career, Songs & Legacy
→ Ringo Starr: Beatles History, Solo Career, Songs & Legacy
→ The Beatles Knowledge Hub
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