ABBEY ROAD FILM FESTIVAL
SAT 19 MARCH - SUN 3 APRIL 2005

WHEN WE READ IN THE PRESS THE NEWS THAT THE MOST FAMOUS RECORDING STUDIOS OF THE WORLD, ABBEY ROAD, LEGENDARY HOME OF THE BEATLES RECORDING SESSIONS, WERE GOING TO OPEN ITS DOORS TO THE PUBLIC TO PRESENT A TWO WEEK SEASON OF FILMS, BECAUSE OF THE ABBEY ROAD FILM FESTIVAL, WE DECIDED THAT WE COULD NOT LEAVE TO ESCAPE THE OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT THAT SANCTUARY BEATLE, WHERE PRACTICALLY THEY RECORDED THE TOTALITY OF THEIR SONGS BETWEEN 1962 AND 1970, AND EVEN VARIOUS ALBUMS ALONE.

ALTHOUGH ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS WERE INAUGURATED IN 1931, NOVEMBER 12TH, THE PUBLIC WAS ABLE TO VISIT THEM ONLY ONCE, IN 1983, FROM JULY 18TH TO SEPTEMBER 11.

TWENTY-TWO YEARS LATER THEY HAVE OPENED AGAIN THE DOORS TO THE PUBLIC. THE “LEIT MOTIV” (OR EXCUSE, WE WE WOULD SAY), HAS BEEN TO CELEBRATE THE TWENTY-FIVE ANNIVERSARY OF ITS FILM SCORING WORK. WE MUST REMEMBER THAT MANY OF THE LAST MOST SUCESSFUL FILM SOUNDTRACKS HAVE BEEN RECORDED IN THE STUDIO 1 (THAT IS THE LARGEST ONE). AMONG OTHERS “THE LAST EMPEROR”, “RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK”, “THE RETURN OF THE JEDI”, “GREYSTOKE”, “BRAVEHEART” (THAT WAS RECORDED WHILE THE BEATLES WERE REVIEWING THE ANTHOLOGY, AND PAUL, GEORGE AND RINGO WENT TO THE STUDY 1 WITH THE SURPRISE OF MEL GIBSON). MORE RECENT SOUNDTRACKS ARE “SHREK”, “HARRY POTTER”, “LORD OF THE RINGS” AND THE NEW VERSION OF “ALFIE”.

THE FESTIVAL BEGAN MARCH 19 AND WILL FINALIZE THE NEXT APRIL 3, THAT IS TO SAY THE STUDIOS WILL REMAIN OPEN DURING ONLY 16 DAYS. EACH DAY THREE MOVIES ARE PROJECTED (AT 12:00, AT 15:00 AND AT 19:30). THE DOORS ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC ONE HOUR BEFORE THE PROJECTION. AMONG THE MOVIES THAT ARE PROJECTED THERE ARE SOME OF BEATLEFAN INTEREST, AS “A HARD DAY' S NIGHT” (FIVE PASSES), “YELLOW SUBMARINE” (A PASS), “LIVE AND LET DIE” (TWO PASSES) AND “BACKBEAT” (FOUR PASSES). AND OTHER ARE NOT BEATLE-RELATED AS “RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK” (THE FIRST FILM TO HAVE IT'S MUSIC SCORE RECORDED AT ABBEY ROAD). , THE TRILOGY OF THE “LORD OF THE RINGS”, “NOTTING HILL”, “BRAVEHEART”, “CHICKEN RUN”, “SHREK”, “PINK FLOYD: THE WALL”, “ALIENS”, “THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY”, “THE LAST EMPEROR”, “THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE”, “GANGS OF NEW YORK”, “BRAZIL”, “THE ENGLISH PATIENT”, AND “BRASSED OFF “.

AFTER STUDYING ALL THE POSSIBLE OPTIONS AND ON ACCOUNT OF VARIOUS “MISFORTUNES”, AS FOR EXAMPLE OUR LABORAL DUTIES, THE ONLY DATE WE CAN GO WAS ON SATURDAY, MARCH 26. IT WAS GOING TO BE A LIGHTNING TRIP. ... LEAVING THE 26 IN THE MORNING FROM BARCELONA TO GO DIRECTLY TO ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS, AND THEN DOING A COUPLE OF “FORCED” VISITS , AND THE SAME NIGHT, AT THE LAST MOMENT, RETURN TO THE AIRPORT, SINCE AT SIX O'CLOCK OF THE EARLY MORNING, OUR AIRPLANE HAD TO TAKE US BACK TO BARCELONA. THE MOVIES THAT WERE PROJECTED THAT DAY THEY WERE “PINK FLOYD: THE WALL” AT 12:00, “BRASSED OFF”, AT 15:00, AND “THE ENGLISH PATIENT” AT 19:00. WE DECIDED THAT IF WE DESIRED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR TRIP TO SHOP (YOU CAN NOT GO TO LONDON AND NOT VISIT ITS MEGASTORES AS HMV, VIRGIN. ..), WE SHOULD CHOOSE THE MOVIE OF THE 15:00. THUS THEREFORE, THROUGH INTERNET, WE ACQUIRED THE TICKET, WHICH WOULD MUST COLLECT THE SAME DAY OF THE PROJECTION.

FINALLY, THE GREAT EXPECTED DAY ARRIVED. ON SATURDAY, MARCH 26, WE LEFT BARCELONA AT 11:15 AND WE ARRIVED AT LUTON AT 12:15, ENGLISH TIME. AFTER CATCHING THE TRAIN AND THE UNDERGROUND, WE ARRIVE AT ST. JOHN' S WOOD, AND AFTER A BRIEF, AND SO MANY TIMES TRAVELED THROUGH, WALK, WE ARRIVED AT ABBEY ROAD, ABOUT 13:45. THE WHITE WALLS OF THE ENTRANCE WERE AS ALWAYS FULL OF SIGNATURES AND MESSAGES TO THE BEATLES, AND ON THE UPPER RAILINGS THERE HAVE BEEN PUT UP IN THIS OCCASION A HUGE BLACK BANNER TO PROMOTE THE FESTIVAL, IN WHICH YOU COULD READ: ABBEY ROAD FILM FESTIVAL, SAT 19 MARCH-SUN 3 APRIL 2005 – TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW, IN ORANGE AND WHITE LETTERS.

AFTER COLLECTING THE TICKETS IN THE IMPROVISED TICKET WINDOW WE HAD TO QUEUE, ANXIOUS BEFORE THE IMMINENT VISIT. THE ENTRANCE WAS NOT THROUGH THE FAMOUS MAIN DOOR, IN WHICH ALL THE FANS TAKE THEIR USUAL PHOTOGRAPHS, BUT A SIDE DOOR, TO THE LEFT OF THE BUILDING. BEFORE ENTERING, AND AS WE HAD ALREADY IMAGINED, THEY COMMUNICATED THAT THERE WAS NO PERMISSION TO TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS NEITHER TO RECORD. A TRUE GRIEF! !!.

AT LAST, AT 14 O'CLOCK, WE WERE ABLE TO ENTER IN THE MYTHICAL STUDIOS. THE LATERAL ENTRANCE LED US TO A CORRIDOR IN WHICH THE WALLS WERE FULL OF POSTERS OF MOVIES. TURNING RIGHT, WE ARRIVED TO ANOTHER CORRIDOR, IN THE WALLS OF WHICH WE COULD SEE FRAMED BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOS OF DIFERENT ARTISTS THAT HAD RECORDED AT THE STUDIOS OVER THE YEARS AS CLIFF RICHARD, CLIFF AND THE SHADOWS, EARTHA KITT, PETER SELLERS, MORECAMBE & WISE, ADAM FAITH AND ELLA FITZGERALD AMONG OTHERS. BY THE WAY, THESE PHOTOS (WITH A MEASURE OF 26” x 26”) WERE SOLD (100 POUNDS EACH ONE). TO LEFT HAND THE STUDIO 1, THE LARGEST, WHERE THE BIG ORCHESTRAS RECORD AND THE FILM SOUNDTRACKS ARE RECORDED TOO, NOW TRANSFORMED DURING THESE TWO WEEKS INTO THE CINEMA FOR THE FILM SCREENING. TO RIGHT HAND, THE TOILETS AND A STAIR TO GO TO OTHER FLOORS, CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC. AT THE END OF THE CORRIDOR, THE CANTEEN, AND. .., TURNING LEFT. .., AT LAST THE STUDIO 2. REALLY, WHILE WE WALKED TOWARD IT, OUR HEARTS BEAT STRONGER AND FASTER. AND THE MOMENT ARRIVED....WE ACHIEVED OUR AIM, TO ENTER INTO THE PLACE WHERE OUR BELOVED BEATLES HAD PASSED TOGETHER SO MANY HOURS. IT WAS AN ONCE IN A LIFETIME EXPERIENCE.

IN FACT, YOU ONLY COULD VISIT THE STUDIO 2 IN THIS HOUR BEFORE THE FILM, BECAUSE AS WE COULD READ IN OUR TICKETS, THERE WOULD BE NO CHANCE AFTER IT (“ALL EXIT WHEN FILM ENDS”), THE FIST THING WE DID WAS LOOK UPWARDS, TO THE CONTROL ROOM. CLOSING OUR EYES, WE COULD IMAGINE GEORGE MARTIN, AS IN THE UNSURPASSED MASTERS OUTTAKES, SHOUTING ENERGETICALLY: TAKE TWO!!, TAKE THREE!!. BUT, UNFORTUNATELLY, THE STAIRS TO THIS CONTROL ROOM WERE NOT ACCESIBLE, CORDONED OFF WITH A ROPE.

IN THE STUDIO, A SMALL EXPOSITION WITH THREE PIANOS HAS BEEN CREATED:
- THE FIRST ONE WAS THE “CHALLEN PIANO”, USED FOR THE SESSIONS OF “A DAY IN THE LIFE” , FROM JANUARY 19 TO MARCH 1, 1967 .
- NEAR, THE “UPRIGHT STEINWAY PIANO”, USED BY PAUL, DURING THE RECORDING OF “LADY MADONNA”, IN 1968, FEBRUARY 3 AND 6.
- AND FINALLY, THE “HAMMOND ORGAN RT 3”, USED BY JOHN IN THE RECORDING OF “DIZZY MISS LIZZY”, LATER USED BY BILLY PRESTON DURING THE RECORDING OF “LET IT BE”, AND RECENTLY USED BY MICK JAGGER FOR THE RECORDING OF “ALFIE”.

ALSO WE COULD SEE A PAIR OF MICROPHONES (A NEUMAN U47, FROM 1952 AND A STC 4038, FROM 1954), AND A SHOWCASE WITH A GUITAR MANUFACTURED SPECIALLY FOR THE STUDIOS: THE SPECIAL ABBEY ROAD CUSTOM LES PAUL, WITH A LIMITED THROW OF 100 UNITS. NEAR THE PIANOS, IT WAS PROJECTED A BRIEF 15 MINUTES DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE STUDIOS, TITLED “THE ABBEY ROAD STORY”, RELATED BY PAUL JONES, AND WITH COPYRIGHT EMI 1994. THE TRUTH IS THAT THE ORGANIZERS COULD HAVE DONE BETTER WITH THE EXHIBITION. THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO EXERCISE GREAT CARE IN THE EXPOSED MATERIAL AND THE SHORT FILM WAS RATHER POOR. THE FACT THAT IT WAS FROM 1994 IT IS A PROOF THAT THEY DID NOT OCCUPY THEMSELVES DOING SOMETHING BETTER OR MORE ELABORATED.

STUDIO TWO WAS TURNED INTO A PHOTOGRAPHIC GALLERY, WITH THE WALLS FULL OF POSTERS OF THE ALBUMS OF THE BEATLES AND FULL OF PHOTOS OF DIFERENT ARTISTS FROM THE STUDIOS HISTORY. OF BEATLES INTEREST WAS A PHOTO OF THE BEATLES AROUND GEORGE MARTIN IN STUDIO 2 IN 1963, A PHOTO OF JOHN AND RINGO WITH ANOTHER PEOPLE DURING THE DAY IN THE LIFE SESSIONS, IN 1967, AND WE MUST POINT UP A PHOTO OF PAUL MCCARTNEY VISITING THE CANTEEN IN 1977, COLLECTING HIS FOOD.

THE FLOOR WAS OF PARQUET, THE WALLS WERE WHITE AND A ROUND CLOCK WAS STILL IN THE BACK WALL. ALL WAS ILLUMINATED BY SPOTLIGHTS OF DIFFERENT COLORS. IT WAS WONDERFUL AND STRANGE TO BE THERE AND IT WAS REALLY A PITY THAT WE WERE NOT ABLE TO GO UPSTAIRS TO THE CONTROL ROOM, WHERE GEORGE MARTIN AND COMPANY WORKED SO MANY HOURS, CONTROLLING OUR BELOVED BEATLES.

IN THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STUDIO THEY HAD MOUNTED A SMALL STORE OF SOUVENIRS. WE COULD FIND PROGRAMMES OF THE FESTIVAL (FIVE POUNDS), COMMEMORATIVE T-SHIRTS OF THE EVENT (25 POUNDS), KEYS RINGS, CUPS AND THE BOOK “ABBEY ROAD”, AS WELL AS SOME CDs.

A SHORT TIME BEFORE OF 15:00 WE WENT INSIDE STUDIO 1, RECONVERTED IN A CINEMA, WHERE, AFTER A BRIEF FILM ABOUT THE STUDIOS, FROM ITS STABLISHMENT TO THE PRESENT DAY, AND THE ARTISTS AND SOUNDTRACKS RECORDED THERE (BETTER THAN THE FILM SEEN IN THE STUDIO 2), BEGAN THE PROJECTION OF “BRASSED OFF”. AFTER THE FILM, WE WERE REALLY NOT ABLE TO VISIT NOTHING AGAIN, THEREFORE THEY CONDUCT YOU DIRECTLY ON THE WAY OUT.

AS CURIOSITY, WE MUST TELL YOU THAT EMI PAID ATTENTION TO THE BEATLES, THAT COMPLAINED OF TOILET PAPER, BY BEING HARD AND PRINTED WITH THE NAME OF EMI. THE TOILET PAPER USED NOW IS A NORMAL ONE.

ON LEAVING THE STUDIOS, WE WALKED DOWN CAVENDISH AVENUE, BUT… WE WERE NOT LUCKY: PAUL WAS NOT AT HOME THEN WE TOOK THE UNDERGROUND IN ORDER TO DO TO THE BEATLES STORE IN BAKER STREET, BUT AS ALWAYS, WE WAS A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED WITH IT. THE MOST PART OF THE ITEMS ARE MANUFACTURED IN RECENT DAYS AND THE ORIGINAL MATERIAL FROM THE SIXTIES IS REALLY VERY EXPENSIVE.

AFTER WE WENT TO “MUSIC & VIDEO EXCHANGE” IN NOTTING HILL, WHERE WE ALWAYS FIND SOMETHING THAT IS WORTHWHILE, AND THEN TO “VIRGIN” AND “HMV” WHERE YOU CAN ACQUIRE THE LAST NEWS IN DVDs AND BOOKS THAT WE ARE NOT ABLE TO FOUND IN SPAIN. THEN A FAST SUPPER AND … THE RETURN TO THE AIRPORT. WHILE WE EXPECTED THE DAWN IN ORDER TO TAKE THE PLANE FOR RETURNING HOME, AND ANALYZING THE VISIT, WE ARRIVE AT A CONCLUSION: THE TRIP HAD BEEN WORTHWHILE. THIS VISIT WILL REMAIN MARKED IN OUR MEMORY FOREVER!!

JORDI AND AMPARO