Recording, mixing, editing: Working Class Hero, My Mummy’s Dead – John Lennon, 25 October 1970

Sunday 25 October 1970 | Recording, mixing and editing | Studio Three, EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London

On 25 October 1970, John Lennon worked on “Working Class Hero” and “My Mummy’s Dead” during the final stages of John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. The dated chronology identifies it as the album’s 12th and penultimate studio session.

The two songs reached Abbey Road by different routes. “Working Class Hero” drew on earlier studio takes and a verse recorded on this date. “My Mummy’s Dead” was an earlier home cassette performance from California, treated during the mixing session rather than newly recorded in Studio Three.

The production listing names John Lennon and Yoko Ono as producers, with Phil McDonald and Andy Stephens engineering. These are the date-specific credits, not a replacement for the album’s broader production credits.

25 October 1970: the essential session facts

Working Class Hero: returning to the September performance

Lennon had recorded 12 takes of “Working Class Hero” on 27 September, then made three further takes on 15 October. Returning to the song did not automatically mean that the latest complete attempt would become the master.

He ultimately chose take 9 from the September session as the basis of the released performance. That choice illustrates the difference between a recording chronology and a simple progression in which every later take replaces the earlier ones.

There was a problem, however: the selected performance omitted a verse. The solution was to record the missing passage and edit it into the earlier material, rather than discard the preferred take entirely.

The missing verse and the composite recording

The omitted verse was recorded on 25 October. Mixes of the relevant material and the edit were then prepared, producing a performance assembled from more than one recording.

The important distinction is between the date of the principal take and the date of the inserted passage. Calling the finished song a 25 October recording alone would conceal its September foundation; calling it solely a September performance would omit the later work.

Lennon discussed having to insert a missed verse in his 1970 interview with Jann S. Wenner. That recollection supports the editing story without requiring the article to reproduce a long interview passage or the song’s lyrics.

The composite nature of the recording also explains why a change in sound within a finished performance need not represent a deliberate new arrangement. It can reflect the joining of separately recorded material.

My Mummy’s Dead: a cassette from California

“My Mummy’s Dead”, the album’s closing track, had a different origin. Lennon recorded it onto cassette during his stay with Yoko Ono in Bel Air, California, in the summer of 1970.

The couple were in California while undergoing Primal Therapy with Dr Arthur Janov. This is historical context for the recording period, not a clinical assessment of Lennon or a claim about the effectiveness of that treatment.

The cassette performance was not newly captured at Abbey Road on 25 October. It was brought into the album’s production process as an existing recording, preserving a markedly different scale and texture from the studio material.

The dated account identifies it as the album’s song recorded away from Abbey Road. That geographical difference is central to the track’s production history, not simply a colourful detail about a later studio session.

Speed and EQ: preparing the album closer

During the mixing work, the home recording was slightly sped up and treated with equalisation to give the impression of sound coming from a small radio speaker.

Equalisation changes the balance of frequencies in a recording. Here, the treatment helped shape the intimate, restricted sound of the album closer rather than turn it into a full-band studio production.

The description should not be mistaken for evidence that the song was transmitted over the radio during the session. The radio-speaker comparison concerns the sound being created.

No exact speed percentage or detailed EQ settings are established in the dated account used here, so those technical values are not invented.

Two different kinds of studio decision

The paired songs demonstrate two ways a finished album can be assembled. “Working Class Hero” required a new recording to complete the selected performance. “My Mummy’s Dead” required an existing home recording to be prepared for its place on the record.

Neither process can be reduced to the idea that Lennon simply played both songs from start to finish in Studio Three on this Sunday. Recording, mixing and editing refer to distinct actions across the two tracks.

The album’s broader credits include other musicians and producers, but those credits do not establish that every credited person contributed to these particular tasks. The session-specific account should remain the guide to this date.

Following the Plastic Ono Band sessions

The previous day had involved mixing and editing other album material. Our 24 October 1970 article on “Mother”, “I Found Out”, “Remember” and “Well Well Well” follows that stage of the work.

For a broader view, explore our John Lennon biography and solo discography guide. They provide context beyond the narrow production decisions covered by this entry.

Location map: EMI Studios, Abbey Road

The map identifies the London studio complex where the 25 October work took place. It is not the location of the earlier California cassette recording, and it does not show Studio Three’s 1970 equipment layout.

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Continue exploring: Plastic Ono Band mixing, 24 October 1970 · John Lennon’s story · John Lennon solo discography · On This Day in Beatles History.