Tuesday 2 November 1965 | Television recording | Granada TV Centre, Manchester | By Beatles Fabdom
On 2 November 1965, The Beatles completed the second of two days at Granada TV Centre in Manchester, recording their contributions to The Music of Lennon & McCartney. The special celebrated John Lennon and Paul McCartney as songwriters, placing performances by The Beatles alongside interpretations by a varied guest cast.
John and Paul supplied spoken links, while George Harrison and Ringo Starr joined them for filmed performances of “Day Tripper” and “We Can Work It Out”. Other contributors included Cilla Black, Peter and Gordon, Lulu, Marianne Faithfull, Henry Mancini, Esther Phillips, Peter Sellers and the George Martin Orchestra.
The programme was first broadcast on 16 December 1965, followed by its network showing on 17 December. The recording date and transmission dates are separate events: 2 November marks the completion of the Manchester filming, not the television premiere.
| Date covered | Tuesday 2 November 1965 |
|---|---|
| Recording period | 1–2 November 1965 |
| Location | Granada TV Centre, Quay Street, Manchester |
| Studio | Studio 6 |
| Producer | Johnny Hamp |
| Director | Philip Casson |
| Beatles songs | Day Tripper; We Can Work It Out |
| First broadcast | 16 December 1965 |
| Network broadcast | 17 December 1965 |
A television special about the songwriting partnership
The programme’s organising idea was the music written by Lennon and McCartney, rather than a conventional Beatles concert. It brought together artists from pop, jazz, orchestral music and comedy to present different approaches to the same songwriting catalogue.
Granada producer Johnny Hamp conceived the special, which was directed by Philip Casson. Bill Harry’s account identifies Studio 6 as the recording space and describes specially constructed sets for the production.
The guest list made room for songs The Beatles had released themselves and compositions associated with other performers. Peter and Gordon’s “A World Without Love”, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas’ “Bad To Me” and Cilla Black’s “It’s For You” showed how Lennon–McCartney songs had also become part of other artists’ repertoires.
John and Paul appeared between performances with scripted commentary. Their role therefore extended beyond singing: the programme asked them to introduce and respond to a succession of interpretations of their work.
The second recording day at Granada
The Beatles spent 1 and 2 November at the Manchester television centre. Their visit came during the recording period for Rubber Soul, making the television production an interruption to their studio schedule in London.
The two Beatles numbers were filmed as mimed performances. They were television presentations of the recordings, rather than a live concert set played through before a touring audience.
After the Manchester recording work was complete, the group returned to London. The completed special remained to be transmitted in December, by which time viewers could also hear the two songs on the band’s new single.
Day Tripper and We Can Work It Out
The Beatles’ contributions centred on “Day Tripper” and “We Can Work It Out”, the two sides of their forthcoming single. Their inclusion gave the programme new Beatles material as well as a retrospective selection of earlier compositions.
These songs had been receiving attention in the recording studio shortly before the Granada visit. Our account of the stereo mixing of Rubber Soul material and Day Tripper on 26 October 1965 follows that work, while the mixing of We Can Work It Out on 28 October covers another step in the single’s preparation.
The distinction between the single and the album is important. The two songs belong to the same late-1965 working period as Rubber Soul, but neither was included on the original British album.
For “We Can Work It Out”, Lennon appeared at a harmonium. Accounts of the production identify it as an instrument associated with Granada’s Coronation Street, linking the Beatles sequence with another familiar part of the television company’s output.
Collecting the Rubber Soul era
The television recording took place during the making of Rubber Soul. The Rubber Soul ukulele offers a collectible connection with that period through its purple finish and repeated orange album-logo design.
Programme line-up and musical contributions
The table follows the programme’s musical sequence, including the orchestral introduction. Fuller programme accounts identify Alan Haven and Tony Crombie’s instrumental as “A Hard Day’s Night”; the supplied date summary instead lists “From Me To You”.
| Performer | Contribution |
|---|---|
| The George Martin Orchestra | Opening medley including I Feel Fine |
| Peter and Gordon | A World Without Love |
| Lulu | I Saw Him Standing There |
| Alan Haven and Tony Crombie | A Hard Day’s Night |
| Fritz Spiegl’s Ensemble | She Loves You / medley |
| The Beatles | Day Tripper |
| Paul McCartney and Marianne Faithfull | Yesterday |
| Antonio Vargas | She Loves You |
| Dick Rivers | Things We Said Today |
| Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas | Bad To Me |
| Cilla Black | It’s For You |
| The George Martin Orchestra | Ringo’s Theme / This Boy |
| Henry Mancini | If I Fell |
| Esther Phillips | And I Love Him |
| Peter Sellers | A Hard Day’s Night |
| The Beatles | We Can Work It Out |
Yesterday, Marianne Faithfull and Paul McCartney
“Yesterday” was presented through a handover between Paul McCartney and Marianne Faithfull. Paul began the song before the camera moved to Faithfull, who continued it.
That staging placed the writer and another interpreter within the same sequence. It was a different format from simply introducing a guest to perform an entire song independently, and one of the programme’s clearest connections between its hosts and performers.
Elsewhere, the altered titles “I Saw Him Standing There” and “And I Love Him” reflected Lulu’s and Esther Phillips’ versions of familiar Beatles material.
Peter Sellers turns A Hard Day’s Night into theatre
Peter Sellers’ contribution approached the catalogue through comedy and spoken performance rather than conventional singing. He delivered “A Hard Day’s Night” in the style of Laurence Olivier’s Richard III.
The segment used the lyrics as a theatrical monologue. Its presence alongside orchestral, jazz and pop interpretations made the programme more than a succession of straightforward cover versions.
The song also appeared in Alan Haven and Tony Crombie’s instrumental contribution. Two treatments of the same composition demonstrated the programme’s range without requiring a new Beatles performance for each selection.
George Martin, Henry Mancini and the instrumental arrangements
The instrumental contributions offered another perspective on the songs. The George Martin Orchestra featured in the opening and in “Ringo’s Theme”, the instrumental treatment of “This Boy”, while Henry Mancini played “If I Fell”.
Martin’s appearance connected the tribute to the producer who worked with The Beatles on their recordings. Our biography of George Martin explores that wider relationship and his role in shaping the group’s recorded sound.
Fritz Spiegl’s ensemble brought a different orchestral presentation to “She Loves You”, using period-style dress and a Baroque framing. Together, these sections placed the melodies in settings distinct from The Beatles’ own guitar-band recordings.
When was The Music of Lennon & McCartney broadcast?
The first transmission took place on 16 December 1965, with the wider network broadcast following on 17 December. This explains why both dates appear in accounts of the special.
The November filming dates should not be confused with either transmission. The sequence is: recording at Granada on 1–2 November, first broadcast on 16 December and network showing on 17 December.
The programme therefore reached viewers after the filming had been edited into a completed television special, rather than being broadcast live from the Manchester studio on 2 November.
Granada studio location map: the historic Manchester site
The recording took place at Granada TV Centre’s original Manchester complex on Quay Street. The former complex is now known as Old Granada Studios, with a present site address at 2 Atherton Street, Manchester, M3 3GS.
The map targets that historic television-centre site. It is not a pin for Granada’s later Salford facilities or an assertion that a particular surviving entrance was used by The Beatles.
Open Old Granada Studios in Google Maps.
The album-cover look of late 1965
The green Rubber Soul album T-shirt features the cover photograph and orange title lettering associated with the album being made around the Granada visit.
Frequently asked questions
What happened on 2 November 1965?
The Beatles completed their second day of filming for The Music of Lennon & McCartney at Granada TV Centre in Manchester.
Which songs did The Beatles perform?
They filmed mimed performances of “Day Tripper” and “We Can Work It Out”. Paul McCartney also began the “Yesterday” sequence before Marianne Faithfull continued it.
When was the special first broadcast?
It was first broadcast on 16 December 1965, followed by the network showing on 17 December.
Who produced and directed the programme?
Johnny Hamp produced it and Philip Casson directed it.
What did Peter Sellers perform?
He delivered “A Hard Day’s Night” as a comic theatrical monologue in the style of Laurence Olivier’s Richard III.
Were Day Tripper and We Can Work It Out on the original British Rubber Soul album?
No. They were the two sides of a separate single from the same late-1965 recording period.
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