The Beatles - Live At Stowe School (4th April 63)

I have made a listenable 18 track album from the available Stowe School recordings. Using the superb bootleg "Rockin' Roxborough" as my starting point, I have re-eq'd, de-clicked & popped, and carefully tamed the massively fluctuating sound levels and distortion for the smoothest possible listen. This sounds great loud.
00:00 I Saw Her Standing There, 02:46 Too Much Monkey Business, 04:59 Love Me Do, 07:38 Some Other Guy, 09:53 Misery, 11:53 I Just Don't Understand, 14:43 Shot Of Rhythm & Blues, 17:35 Matchbox, 20:43 From Me To You, 23:01 Thank You Girl, 25:12 Memphis Tennessee, 27:52 Anna, 31:02 Please Please Me, 33:12 Hippy Hippy Shake, 35:09 Talking About You, 37:25 Ask Me Why, 39:32 Till There Was You, 41:49 Twist & Shout.
EARLY BEATLES REMASTERED playlist here • EARLY BEATLES REMASTERED

[@hyatguy]

Glad to say I was there...only about 600 of us

[@jtym6349]

Please tell us more about what happened on that day. Did any of you get their signatures?

[@kentfletcher7532]

WOW, yes, please tell us more.

[@lamper2]

We need a term paper from you!

[@brenthooton3412]

George Martin said that, when they were trying to figure out what they could record quickly for their first album, the answer was their stage act. (You hear half of that first album in this show... not necessarily because they're playing the album, but because the album was full of stuff they already regularly played.) This may be the best sounding representation of their stage act at that time... and the audience response before Beatlemania when they were just a popular band.

[@billlonee9470]

I'm a curious guy, so I tracked down the original, just to hear the comparison. I have to say, WOW! Seriously, the difference is night and day. I could only stand to listen to snippets of it, before the work you did. This is phenomenal. I'd been wondering, ever since I heard Now and Then, and the Get Back doc, if this technology might be applied to all the boots and demos out there. You've not only managed to entertain, but to give me some hope for the future of rare music. Thank you, so much!

[@prueba9348]

This is the first time I hear Anna or Misery live. They almost did the whole of Please Please Me Live. Fantastic!

[@billdowney1487]

Hats off to Peter Jones for his awesome work and presenting this historic recording.

[@baselinesweb]

When Paul sings Till There Was You, it sounds as if he isn't even playing the bass - what a talent to have. His delayed vocal phrasing doesn't affect his great timing on the bass line. Not many people can do that type of thing.

[@prschuster]

The original Beatles sound was already in place by this time.

[@christopherschulten2998]

"There was nobody to touch us in Britain, when we played straight rock."

[@BarrySmith70]

The Star Club sound and vibe is all over this recording

[@ВасилийГаньшин-о8ф]

У меня тоже есть чувство, что в этом концерте чувствуется переход из Гамбурга в Ливерпуль- такой мостик и просто духоподъемный Битлз😂!!!!!!!

[@lamper2]

6:47 They go Reggae! Should've kept it on the record. THANKS FOR MAKING THIS VERY LISTENABLE! TWO Arthur Alexander songs! John Bloomfield deserves a Grammy for greatest historic recording.

[@mysterymac38]

I never knew the Stowe School recordings existed. This is probably the best sounding recording of their early cover songs next to the BBC sessions.

[@kingscote1900]

I was at Stowe yesterday and thought I should try to see if this concert was on You Tube. Brilliant.

[@isotopefeeney]

One of the things that interesting about this performance in general is that it's c. 45 long. One of the things I've always wondered (and as far as I'm aware no Beatlebook ever addressed the issue) is Who made the Command Decision once The Beatles got massive and started playing huge venues, that their set would be less than half an hour. A lot of contemporary reviews in US newspapers pointed out that it seemed kinda short shrift for kids who were so keyed up and invested in the event. Shea Stadium, at the time The Biggest Rock Show Ever = what? 25 minutes?

[@vonbontee]

But don't forget that there were regularly three or four support acts who played their own sets before the headlining Beatles would climax the show - all that time added up!

[@thumbsaloft]

Harrisons guitar solo on Too Much Monkey Business is one of the best I've ever heard by him!

[@frankbartoszak7637]

I actually loved George's vocals on "do you want to know a secret ? "In the early days

[@juliancee2317]

On that number, it was Lennon who provided the solo on “Too Much Monkey Business,” while Harrison plays a driving rhythm. Fantastic trade off.

[@michaelorenstein9165]

What's your source, please, on who played what on TMMB?

[@tomasm.4928]

@@michaelorenstein9165 i believe i've seen it that way in the Live at the BBC recording description

[@須藤伸-n6q]

That　was John's play

[@tomklenk9573]

Thank you Peter for your hard work on this historic show! You did a fantastic job of giving it the "Giles Martin" treatment!

[@darwinblinks]

like how it's a longer set with more song diversity than after they made it big

[@gabrielgonzalez4894]

Dido WOW,WOW,WOW like damn you can truly hear what they sounded like on stage without all the screams that interfered with their performances this recording sounds better than their Hamburg recordings and is on par with their BBC versions.

[@johnhuteson4779]

Thank you very much for allowing us to hear these recordings. A very historic recordings of the band before fame thrusted them into the line light and became house hold names. They were the Beatles, just another rock band at this time. As John said “we were just a bar band that got lucky” their talent shines through. And I’ll be listening to this over and over as I did with the Hamburg album. Mahalo once again. Oahu Hawaii 1/23/24

[@peterjones9700]

It's really not a case of "allowing" you to hear this. I did this for myself initially. It's a fascinating and great concert and I wanted to make something I'd listen to regularly. It turned out well so I thought I'd share it here. But this is simply a re-EQ/re-edit/remaster of a very wonderful bootleg.

[@optimizer6488]

Wow. Just WOW. Thanks for taking the time and effort to make this not only listenable, but early concert quality. Combining the best of their Hamburg sets with the absolutely electric originals that delivered the wildest audience responses.

[@RobBarton-np1nq]

This is sensational. The best pre Beatlemania (British concert) insight into their sound and onstage banter. Great audio clean up. Well done.

[@Dave-er2pn]

Impressive clean up, somebody should send this to Peter Jackson for further a.i. work

[@slaphead8835]

This is an extraordinary post capturing them at the cusp of mega super stardom. So enjoyable. Thank you so much!

[@alanr4447a]

Fascinating, even historic, to hear the Beatles when their set still included songs only otherwise heard in their BBC sessions!! And those are wild instrumentals in "Hippy Hippy Shake" and "I'm Talking About You"!

[@leftygeezer]

The definition of Paul's bass is better than most of their early records!

[@hankdusommeil1065]

Quite a promising garage rock act, possibly heralding some kind of 'new wave'...!

[@adrinathegreat3095]

By April their second single was riding high in the charts, this was halfway through their first UK tour, so we're the next big act in the UK

[@iancurtis1152]

I think it’s a pity the boys didn’t record “Some Other Guy” on the PPM or Meet the Beatles albums.

[@mariuspoppFM]

True

[@cezarduarte1954]

Twenty Flight Rock is another cover that could have been on the first albuns.

[@chriskroll4166]

David Essex redid that song for the movie he was in called stardust and it's on the soundtrack. 😊

[@petermacmillan6756]

Short of the full Peter Jackson/AI remix, this is the best this tape could sound. It was so good I thought it was going to turn out to be a fake. THANK YOU.

[@mjemigh3304]

WOW! Best I've ever heard. I can't imagine anyone who would disagree. Thank you!!

[@carlosperrone1]

Yes, great solo, Beatles are great players, but they dont show off, they play for the song, real musicians.

[@franklinwaggoner222]

Fantastic Garage Rock

[@brentweir4651]

If you could show the boys what they would become in just a few short months. Further, if you told them that they would change how the world felt about music, period. This is an amazing piece of history. Thank you.

[@lloydcarlinsky2836]

They walked around saying "where are we going? To the top"!? They freakin' knew exactly what they were doing! THEY KNEW! Wrote it! Played it! Practiced it! Lived it! Walked it! Talked it! IT'S YOU who didn't know! Maybe they didn't know their top notch Decca demo would be trashed by the CEO who said guitar band's were on the way OUT and the BEATLES would NEVER catch on!

[@brentweir4651]

@lloydcarlinsky2836 "To the toppermost of the poppermost"!!!!

[@baselinesweb]

Surprised at how good George sounds. Usually his early live performances were questionable.

[@stormytempest6521]

BEST ROCKNROLL BAND IN THE WORLD ! NO IFS NO BUTS .🇬🇧

[@franktaconelli9095]

So many cool things about this; a transitional show In terms of cover material. Sounds like Ringo singing Matchbox (John used to sing it) And, of course, here are the early Beatles, with no screaming audience; for more of the same, look up, live in Paris from early 1964; great post; will definitely add to my extensive live Beatles collection

[@JonnyRollin]

Hypnotic, historic, musical treasure!

[@mrlakuda]

Very exciting recording.

[@isotopefeeney]

I've done a lot of this sort of thing (audio restoration). Not on anything this epic, mostly on stuff I recorded myself, but I know what's involved. You gotta go slow, not get impatient. You did a great job.

[@TrueBlueOdie]

Wow, great job, please please don’t stop. Your work awakened my memory of this music. It was 1964 and my dad and I were watching The Beatles on Ed Sullivan. It felt like the birth of my spirit, l became alive for the first time. The music opened my mind. My pop said “they’re just a fad, in two weeks you’ll never hear em again” With a confidence, l’m positively sure came from music, for the first time in my life I told his I disagreed and replied “ Pop, you’ll be listening to this music in stores and elevators for the rest of our lives”. The year he died, I played him The Traveling Wilburys. I think he remembered,because he smiled at me and said “ I heard this at the store today”. “In my life I’ve loved you more”

[@nankypooh655]

Great sound quality, all things considered. I'm gonna LOVE THIS! Thanks for posting and sharing, you God among men, you!😁❤👍🤟🤘

[@klausgeltl5654]

This is simply fantastic!! When this took place I was two months old, and didn't know I'd become obsessed with The Beatles thirteen years later (or, that, later again, I'd leave Germany, and live in England). I expected some weird noise, but this is so great I'd buy the record straight away! 😃💯

[@Zamboni-d7f]

Embryonic Beatles,Great for Us lifers! Found gold

[@juliancee2317]

Great Post!

[@marcoscu]

Good work, well done.

[@bassmanjez3842]

The thing is they were using the school's PA and no monitor speakers (which even the most basic band today would have). Plus the acoustics of a school hall isn't great so I think they did a good job considering. Plus Peter's efforts

[@adrinathegreat3095]

Ever stood behind an open back ac30 amp, you are probably 5 or 6 ft away from the amp, and the crowd is about 20ft at least from where you are stood. With 4 of those amps on the stage they'd have no problem hearing themselves.

[@tubergetrude333]

Wow! you are bringing us history

[@Sugarnaut]

Unbelievable! Thank you so much for your hard work.

[@allenf.5907]

I'd read about this show but never imagined a recording of it! How was this "cleaned up" as much to hear the guitars so clearly? This is as important a live recording of the early Beatles as Live At The Star Club (just a few months prior). They had just recorded the Please, Please Me album here ^ VERY tight in the playing!!! Thanks for sharing.

[@anthonya.p.dellaquila8183]

thanks

[@alexdelfingomezmontoya2323]

INSPIRACION PARA UN FANS DE ELLOS. DEDICACION Y TRABAJO PARA OBTENER POSICION Y RESPETO. 60 años oyendolos, y viendolos. GENIAL.........................................................................

[@chilidogruss]

Ringo slips into a Pete Best-like shuffle in the Love Me Do middle; I had to double check dates!

[@simonjager9259]

Appreciate always when there is a hyperlinked timestamps tracklist 🍀👍👏🙏🎶

[@alexdelfingomezmontoya2323]

[HOY 04 de abril, disfrutando de este concierto espectacular. alrededor mis compañeros de colegio . Me compro una soda y disfruto mi show. con esos chicos de mi edad que tocan y cantan increible. mejor que los variados que he visto ultimamente. Llegaran lejos?¨

[@klaatuklaatu1]

Nice job.. it was such a pleasure listening to this… thanks for your hard work…

[@garthkolbeck8674]

Finally!!! George turned up his fucking amp!!!

[@mikek5958]

"Some Other Guy" is too damn good!

[@emmanuelsantana3369]

awasome thanks you very much best regards from france

[@larrybloss1918]

solid GOLD loved it

[@bryanweis]

i think they passed the audition

[@herbmaaster]

31:02 Beatles doing what would eventually become Houkago Tea Times "Fuwa Fuwa Time"

[@cristiantagoreacuna9206]

Cuando la "BEATLEMANIA "...comenzaba a expandirse por todo el Reino Unido , un registro notable , excelente calidad de sonido...cómo toda la obra musical de The Beatles, hasta su consagración Mundial...

[@gingermegs138]

Love it.

[@immaterialimmaterial5195]

Wow! Excellent! Love it!

[@larrydiaz505]

Great sound inprovement!

[@planetludwig]

Super job, Peter!

[@bradparker9664]

Wow! You have done some serious work on this! Outstanding job! Ever think of seeing what you can do with the very short Quarrymen "Puttin' On The Ritz" recording? That one is unlistenable.

[@DarrylBullock]

Stunning work, Peter. Thank you!

[@fjcara]

Great job bro! This is great!

[@etagsibuna]

Impressive restoration work ❤

[@Beatgeneration2010]

Peter Jackson should work his MAL Sound system on this gig!

[@大泉学園707-t4o]

このLIVEをみたこの学校の生徒の感想をもっともっと知りたい！！😍(先生でも！！)コメントの書き込みお願いします〜🙏🙏🙏 FromJapan🇯🇵💝

[@charlyW34]

Terrific job! Very cool of you to put in the time.

[@VIDEOCHROMA]

wow you really made this listenable! how long did it take you to do this? its the best version I ever heard

[@frankbartoszak7637]

I think these guys may have a future !😅

[@arricammarques1955]

I predict they will be bigger than Elvis.

[@BrianRoberson-k7g]

Well two of them still do.

[@netmusicdotcom]

Nice work! :-)

[@germanpasti3394]

Good work! I had heard this recording when it had been discovered and it was very difficult to listen to.

[@jamesmoore3694]

i was 5 years old at this time

[@bsastarfire250]

Bloody racket ! it will never catch on !

[@petermacmillan6756]

Guitar bands are on the way out.

[@HTJB60]

I'm no Beatle's fan and for once, I'm enjoying the Beatles ! This is a good example of what many band's were playing around the club's at the time. Few band's were playing their own song's, which made the Beatle's unique..... In my mid 20's I went to Stow School dance's a few time's, when I lived in Buckingham.

[@AHoundOnAHonda]

Why all the apostrophes? Beatles. Bands. Clubs. Songs. 20s. Dances. Times. 🙄

[@HTJB60]

@@AHoundOnAHonda What are apostrophes? So SOLLY, have an ailment. MUST BE NICE TO MOCK THOSE WHO CAN'T HELP NOT BEING PERFECCT.

[@AHoundOnAHonda]

@@HTJB60 You were not mocked. You were educated. I'm curious - what is the name of the ailment that causes you to apostrophise every plural?

[@HTJB60]

According to my teacher's in the 1950's, STUPIDITY.@@AHoundOnAHonda

[@AHoundOnAHonda]

@@HTJB60 Bit harsh that! 😯 Shame on them.

[@snacklofter]

👍👍

[@vinylman1973return]

Mixed with Star Club tapes and some BBC recordings.

[@slouhend]

Great job, but I think "Boys", "A Taste of Honey", "Money" and reprise of "I Saw Her Standing There" are omitted...

[@BrianRoberson-k7g]

It's nice to hear The Beatles at the top of their game as a live act before they had to start playing music with thousands of screaming teenagers and no PA system.

[@teacherrussell5206]

It doesn't seem like Ringo, but he was in the band by now, so I suppose it is. Probably just the recording.

[@micolsen9824]

As much as I really like this restoration, I instantly scenced noise reduction and the cymbals were sacrificed. I felt like Ringo shined more on the original. I'll have to check the version I heard last year. Update! The cymbals sound better on the original. I wish this restoration had better high end without any harshness getting through.

[@papercup2517]

Great job - this is SO much clearer than the first, virtually inaudible version I heard of this performance here on YT. Thank you so much for all the work that must have gone into cleaning it up. It's reminiscent of the Hamburg tape/s, with much the same repertoire mixing old rockers with original offerings. These choppy, dirty, 'in yer face', exuberant/ high energy performances in those early days were like nothing else that was around at the time, and are what got everyone on their feet, cheering and stamping and having a good time, from the Cavern to the Kasbah to the Kaiserkeller! And soon... the world.... From what I remember, the story of this performance / how it came about was interesting too. Are you by any chance the boy who wrote and asked Brian Epstein if the Beatles could come and play at your school? I believe I read he, or another boy, described this event as a 'life-changing' experience...

[@sinatramike123]

How did you ever pull the bass out of the original recording? It was practically nonexistent in the version I heard when the existence of the recording was first announced.

[@peterjones9700]

The bootleg I used (Rockin' Roxborogh) had already received a huge amount of incredible restoration work (from a Beatleg legend) to improve the sound. This is a re-EQ / re-edit / re-balancing of that source.

[@sinatramike123]

So enough bass originally existed for it to be brought up exponentially? Amazing. Thanks for this. It’s a great recording - and a great document of the Beatles at a certain stage of their evolution.

[@seerofallthatisobvious1316]

These guys will never amount to anything, besides, guitar groups are on their way out......they seem very clean though.

[@emmanuelsantana3369]

hi the original tape had 22 songs,please can you do the same thing for the 4 missing tracks ? thanks best regards from france

[@peterjones9700]

There are only 20 complete tracks. Everything after "Till There Was You" is fragmentary, or uses BBC sessions to "finish" the concert according to the setlist. KZbin wouldn't let me include A Taste Of Honey for incorrect copyright reasons, and Boys was just a bit too distorted so I left it off this upload. I moved Twist & Shout to the end to finish the concert on a bang.

[@kay61100]

Thank you for this, but the best Beatles Album ever is Abbey Road....Greeting from Germany

[@johnp515]

This is not an album. It’s a concert.

[@bottlerocket3218]

The Beatles were performing at a school? It's too bad their career never took off, they were good.

[@chrisst8922]

Tomorrow morning (Saturday) if you're up early enough you might catch the BBC's Newswatch programme at just before eight. Its presenter, Samira Ahmed might not strike you at first as someone who'd have any connection with this recording but you'd be wrong. She's one of the people who got this tape wider audience, she says it's her greatest scoop.

[@gordonmorris6359]

THANKYOU! Is the one that's titled 'Matchbox' mistitled? It sure doesn't sound like Matchbox!

[@peterjones9700]

It's definitely Matchbox. You can just hear Ringo's voice. It sounds like the Rolling Stones here. Dirty and heavy.

[@inkey2]

would pete best be drumming on this?

[@johnblackett6279]

No it was Ringo.

[@malcolmtent5186]

GREAT restoration job! Back in the days of snap, crackle, and pop boot LP's a recording like this would have been unfathomable. But I'm curious to know why some songs are missing. Were they too far gone sonically?

[@malcolmtent5186]

My inner 16 year old, who suffered through many CBM, Contraband, King Kong, and WCF lp's back in the 70's is very happy right now. Thank you @@peterjones9700 !

[@Carter-c5e6w]

How much were they paid ?💰🤑💰

[@robertknight5429]

I don't know, but a couple of years earlier my mate's uncle paid them a fiver for a show in Liverpool which was a fair amount for a group in a youth club. By the next time he,asked he couldn't afford 'em!

[@BrianRoberson-k7g]

Six bob.

[@BioFactory1]

Most songs synchronize perfectly with BBC and Decca sessions, Wierdest sounding two types of crowd that fade in and out, sometimes both at the same time. Editing out I sae Her Standing There solo and adding extra verse and middle and sloppy edits Memphis Tennessee is actually two versions combined. Take a 70's reel to reel with poor mic and a blank reel and record similar computer edited concerts and auction them - soon we'll have tons of 'real 60's Beatles concerts!

[@peterjones9700]

None of this is correct. Hundreds of adjustments were made to the sound levels throughout, literally from bar to bar. This is why the hiss levels fluctuate so much. EQ was used, not only on the whole tape, but on individual sections of particular songs, sometimes literally just on one guitar stab. I did no editing on I Saw Her Standing There, Memphis Tennessee, or any of the other songs here. The only editing I did was snipping out sections of near silence (air conditioner hum) between songs.

[@BioFactory1]

@@peterjones9700 not saying you did. Whoever made the reel did. The BBC ones are just the middle eq faded down with reverb added and everything I said. Anyone with audacity program can make an exact same sounding g live show.hey everyone wanna hear the encore to this show? Hey Jude and Bungalow Bill before they were ever written?gimme a few days and I'll put on bootleg zone a bootleg exposing how this recording was made. I have all the recordings.

[@urasam2]

@@BioFactory1 You are just wrong. If you really want confirmation go and listen to the original tape in the British Library

[@BioFactory1]

@@urasam2 .... I'm so wrong that I so far have 9 songs perfectly matched to BBC recordings to start exposing...and Money alone is Decca with a goofy crafted ending. Why do so many endings change frequencies as do the crowd sound effects? I can pinpoint two of the crowd loops so far.

[@urasam2]

@@BioFactory1Money is not even on the tape

[@jiyujizai]

段違いの演奏力。🙄

[@GuyTunes]

I doubt The Beatles sounded like this in April 63, also they wouldn`t be playing a school. They were top, polished recording artists with number 1 records by this date, so make up your own minds, but to me, this is around 1961 or early 62.

[@peterjones9700]

This gig was probably booked months in advance. The Beatles always committed to their bookings. I Saw Her Standing There wasn't written until late 62. And it's clearly Ringo on drums (and vocals on Matchbox).

[@urasam2]

How long would it take you to research this before making guesses? It was actually all over the news back in April last year. I mean - how likely is it that they performed songs in 1961 or 1962 that weren't written until 1963?

[@paullad3919]

Too bad the vocals are so poorly recorded.

[@CarolYost]

Why is the sound balance so bad? The vocals are almost inaudible. The instruments drown out the voices.

[@peterjones9700]

Because this is a mobile-phone recording of a playback in a room (with the air conditioning whirring away), of a tape recorded over 60 years ago by an amateur audience member with one microphone and a domestic tape-recorder, of a band playing very loudly through a school PA system with no monitors.

[@robertknight5429]

Cos it's 1963, recorded on one little mic, into a tape player.

[@mrgalaxyman57]

they werent really all that good folks.they were luckey mostly.

[@johnp515]

Ludicrous comment.

[@michaelantoine9604]

Bloody awful live at this point in their career

[@peterjones9700]

I disagree. They are probably near their peak, performance wise, here. As the screaming took over shorty after this, their performances became sloppier and sloppier. Compared to the 1966 Japan tapes or the January 69 rehearsals, this is much tighter, and much more heartfelt. I actually think they were at their performing peak in December 62 at the Star Club kzbin.info/www/bejne/hom4c2aGr7Gar6M

[@lloydcarlinsky2836]

This IS the tightest, heaviest live combo the world had seen (pre- British Invasion) and they are CONQUERING Germany!! Most definitely paying their dues! Honing their craft! Sweating it out!! Blowing minds like early RAMONES at CBGB! Right here, something AMAZING is happening, and captured here! And if anyone (that guy) can't see this, that's THEIR PROBLEM if they want it digital on 24 track, custom Gibson Les Pauls, Marshall stacks, autotune, with pyro and lights, with hot girls twerking! Plus back up players, big screens, pro soundman & stage monitors.

[@lloydcarlinsky2836]

Michael Antoine says "bloody awful"? I take THAT equal to the highest praise from Simon Cowell!

[@lloydcarlinsky2836]

The best things to see are ALL live TV from UK & Europe '63 thru '64-- thru Shindig & Sullivan! Bloody awful?

[@micolsen9824]

Ridiculous comment 😅