The Beatles’ Volume 2 of “On Air – Live At The BBC” Released

Back in 1994, Beatles fans rejoiced when they got a peek into the band’s early history with the release of Live at the BBC, a collection of songs and interview snippets with DJs, all from the band’s prime early-to-mid 60s “mop top” era.

And now those who wanted to hear more are in luck with the appearance of On Air—Live at the BBC Volume 2. None of the performances on the new record, which spans the years 1962-65, are repeats from the first Grammy-winning compilation. Instead, it presents a new set of performances, all recorded—as the title notes—live at BBC studios. These songs come from an era when hundreds of live Beatles performances were played on the BBC.

After hearing the recordings, Paul McCartney said, “There’s a lot of energy and spirit. We are going for it, not holding back at all, trying to put in the best performance of our lifetimes.”

This new set of songs features alternate versions of a few tunes found on the 1994 release, some completely new covers like a rock-and-roll take on the classic, “Beautiful Dreamer,” and of course, early Beatles hits and staples of the band’s early live shows, from “Money” to “If I Fell.”

In addition to this new record, the 1994 set has been re-released in a newly remastered edition.

On Air—Live at the BBC Volume 2, compiled and researched by Kevin Howlett and Mike Heatley, is being released in a 2-CD set and 180-gram vinyl packages, each with a 48-page booklet featuring essays on the BBC sessions and track commentaries.

The Beatles: On Air – Live At The BBC Volume 2 Track List:

Disc 1:

1. And Here We Are Again (Speech)
2. Words of Love
3. How About It, Gorgeous? (Speech)
4. Do You Want To Know a Secret
5. Lucille
6. Hey, Paul… (Speech)
7. Anna (Go To Him)
8. Hello! (Speech)
9. Please Please Me
10. Misery
11. I’m Talking About You
12. A Real Treat (Speech)
13. Boys
14. Absolutely Fab (Speech)
15. Chains
16. Ask Me Why
17. Till There Was You
18. Lend Me Your Comb
19. Lower 5E (Speech)
20. The Hippy Hippy Shake
21. Roll Over Beethoven
22. There’s A Place
23. Bumper Bundle (Speech)
24. P.S. I Love You
25. Please Mister Postman
26. Beautiful Dreamer
27. Devil In Her Heart
28. The 49 Weeks (Speech)
29. Sure To Fall (In Love With You)
30. Never Mind, Eh? (Speech)
31. Twist And Shout
32. Bye, Bye (speech)
33. John – Pop Profile (Speech)
34. George – Pop Profile (Speech)

Disc 2:

1. I Saw Her Standing There
2. Glad All Over
3. Lift Lid Again (Speech)
4. I’ll Get You
5. She Loves You
6. Memphis, Tennessee
7. Happy Birthday Dear Saturday Club
8. Now Hush, Hush (Speech)
9. From Me To You
10. Money (That’s What I Want)
11. I Want To Hold Your Hand
12. Brian Bathtubes (Speech)
13. This Boy
14. If I Wasn’t In America (Speech)
15. I Got A Woman
16. Long Tall Sally
17. If I Fell
18. A Hard Job Writing Them (Speech)
19. And I Love Her
20. Oh, Can’t We? Yes We Can (Speech)
21. You Can’t Do That
22. Honey Don’t
23. I’ll Follow The Sun
24. Green With Black Shutters (Speech)
25. Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!
26. That’s What We’re Here For (Speech)
27. I Feel Fine (Studio Outtake)
28. Paul – Pop Profile (Speech)
29. Ringo – Pop Profile (Speech)