Graham Coxon (Photo: Andy Crossland for Live4ever Media)
Graham Coxon, Ian Broudie and Stereophonics helped to successfully complete the re-recording of The Beatles‘ debut album ‘Please Please Me‘ yesterday (February 11th).
BBC Radio 2 marked the anniversary of the Fab Four’s mammoth recording stint in Abbey Road – when the main bulk of their first LP was laid down during a 12-hour period – exactly 50 years ago to the day by inviting a host of acts to recreate the session.
Blur guitarist Graham Coxon offered up his version of the Burt Bacharach-penned track ‘Baby It’s You‘, and told the BBC: “I’m quite pleased to be doing that because it’s not one that people immediately think about a Beatles song, so it’s a sort of a soul song, which has its own challenges.”
“Although I’m not a soul singer, maybe I should have gargled some rice crispies to get a rough voice going, cause I’m not very gravelly.”
Ian Broudie of the Lightning Seeds was also in Abbey Road to lay down an updated take of ‘Do You Want To Know a Secret‘; a delightful sub-two minute pop song written by Lennon and McCartney and performed by George Harrison.
“It was basically their live set,” Broudie said. “This is how they would have sounded at a live gig before they signed with George Martin. It’s a great photo.”
The completed covers were played throughout the day on BBC radio, while a documentary telling the story of the recreation is to be broadcast on BBC Four this coming Friday.