The Beatles Anthology exclusive behind the scenes with Jools Holland as remastered series with new episode arrives

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The Beatles’ story is never truly finished, and thirty years after Paul, George, and Ringo released the comprehensive “Beatles Anthology” – featuring an eight-part TV series, three double albums of unreleased recordings, and a large book – they’re now releasing a refreshed, remastered version.

The release includes a bonus section with footage from the making of the Anthology project, showing the band – playfully dubbed “the Threetles” at the time.

This film doesn’t reveal anything groundbreaking, but it gives Beatles fans exactly what they want: a glimpse of the band members simply interacting with each other. It’s endlessly captivating to see these three men, all over 50 at the time, trying to appear ordinary – drinking tea and playing with whatever’s nearby – while also suggesting they shared a uniquely powerful bond from their past.

George recalls being 17 when he was in Hamburg, and just six years later, at 23, they had finished recording ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’. It’s a reminder of how quickly they achieved success, especially compared to today’s pop stars. Like many men of their generation, who grew up during a more reserved time, the Beatles weren’t naturally affectionate, but they would offer a hug when appropriate. However, they didn’t engage in the demonstrative displays of emotion common among bands today after long concerts.

Their performances were usually short, lasting no more than thirty minutes. Also, their manager, Brian Epstein, taught them to always finish with a polished bow. Footage shows them doing this signature move at the end of every show, whether they were playing for formal audiences like royalty or wildly enthusiastic teenagers.

Playing as just three members, they never quite recapture their old magic. The playful back-and-forth they used to do in interviews feels incomplete without John. In recent interviews – at Abbey Road Studios and George Harrison’s home – Paul seems reserved around George, who is sensitive to any hint of disrespect as the youngest. They seem most at ease when they have a task to focus on with their hands.

During a summer get-together at George’s house in 1994, Paul and George played acoustic guitars, and Ringo kept the music at a low volume using his brushes – they sounded like a classic skiffle group, reminiscent of where their musical journey started. They naturally fell into playing songs they all knew well: “Ain’t She Sweet,” a popular tune from the 1920s, “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” a bluegrass waltz from the 1940s, and “Baby What You Want Me to Do,” a blues song that predated their first record release. This broad musical background was typical for bands of that era.

When the group reminisces, they fondly recall the small moments: experimenting with hairstyles, getting their boots from Anello & Davide, a generous £100 birthday gift for John, and the thrill of getting away with something. As George puts it, their style and connection were largely unplanned. They just clicked – a combination that created something special, ‘like fire or dynamite’ when certain people come together. Looking back at a photo from 1963 – the four of them in old-fashioned bathing suits on the beach at Weston-super-Mare – Paul jokes that they were ‘the hippest group in history!’

As the three Beatles listen with George Martin to the individual tracks of “Tomorrow Never Knows” being pulled apart on the mixing desk, they find the quirky, makeshift nature of the sounds funny. Unlike the respectful silence you’d expect today, they’re amused because they know exactly how the song was created. Paul smiles, remembering a time when they experimented freely, simply because no one had told them it couldn’t be done, and they enjoyed the challenge.

Everyone remembers the past a little differently. Ringo feels his version of the Anthology project would have been unique, and Paul discovered new things about his bandmates through it. This is because bands often avoid discussing difficult topics, leading to surprising revelations even after years together.

Their memories of how the project started don’t just differ when recalling events from a long time ago. Paul McCartney remembers Yoko Ono suggesting the idea after mentioning an old recording of John Lennon she possessed. George Harrison, however, believes it stemmed from a plan by the Traveling Wilburys to use recordings of Elvis Presley’s voice to fill the void left by Roy Orbison’s passing – a suggestion Elvis’s estate was reportedly very enthusiastic about.

Jeff Lynne, who helped turn John Lennon’s demo into a finished song for 1995, recalls being amazed when he first heard Lennon’s voice blended with harmonies from George Harrison and Paul McCartney. He says the moment they started singing together, it instantly sounded like The Beatles.

When the Beatles’ Anthology was released in 1995, it finally addressed a long-standing debate in the music industry: could any artist surpass the Beatles in popularity? The answer, it turned out, was no. In the year of its release, the Anthology CDs generated more revenue for EMI than any other artist – a remarkable feat considering that just two years prior, producer George Martin had doubted the material was good enough to even release.

Things were in their favor at the time, as 1995 also saw the rise of Britpop. Oasis’s hit song, Wonderwall, actually took inspiration from a record by George Harrison. This new wave of British bands all shared a common belief: they could never measure up to the Beatles.

Just two years later, a guitar-playing prime minister took office at Downing Street and enthusiastically championed the Beatles as prime examples of British creativity, alongside literary giants like Shakespeare and Dickens. The release of Anthology cemented the Beatles’ place in history, ensuring their lasting legacy.

George Harrison passed away in 2001, not long after surviving a violent home invasion. It’s a tragic irony that the fame of the Beatles – the band known for promoting peace and love – ultimately made two of its members targets of deadly attacks.

Even three decades after the release of Anthology, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr remain incredibly well-known, perhaps even more so than during the 1960s. Both have always said their greatest desire was simply to play music together as a band. Watching Paul and George Harrison collaborate on guitar parts during the recording of “Real Love” highlights how their creative process thrived on mutual inspiration, and like most musicians, they’d always choose playing music over everything else.

Paul playfully defended his dedication, saying he enjoyed working with the Beatles and wasn’t embarrassed about it. He explained that making music was simply what he loved to do, even if his friends teased him about his work ethic.

He explained that connecting with someone you can truly talk to is rare and valuable. Sharing music with another person is even more special. Musicians often spend their entire careers searching for the ideal bandmates – a perfect drummer, bassist, or guitarist. He felt lucky to have found that kind of connection.

George feels it’s sad that John didn’t get to experience the Beatles’ reunion. He explains that the band had a lot of internal struggles and that they all grew tired of each other before they broke up. George, Paul, and Ringo have since reconnected and enjoyed being together again, and he wishes John could have been a part of that. He believes John would have truly appreciated the chance to play with them once more.

Thirty years ago, George Harrison famously said The Beatles had taken on a life of its own and would continue even without the original members. He was right, but it’s easy to overlook the hard work of the team at Apple Corps who consistently create new films and other Beatles-themed content to keep the band’s legacy alive.

The music industry is currently obsessed with nostalgia. While popular acts like Oasis, Abba, and older boy bands continue to draw huge crowds, The Beatles still represent the ultimate classic pop experience that everyone wants a piece of.

Jools Holland: The man who put the questions

Jools Holland, who interviewed the band for a TV special in the early 1990s, explains the series’ appeal: “It really captures who they were as people.” He adds that the loss of both George Harrison and Neil Aspinall – often called the ‘fifth Beatle’ and the band’s longtime assistant and later CEO of Apple Corps, who passed away in 2008 – makes the series even more poignant.

I remember when we were talking about all this, George Harrison made a really good point. He said you can’t really trust history, because even when you read about something that happened a long time ago, like a battle, different people always have different versions of what happened. It’s like, you can’t even be sure what people say about things that happened just a short time ago – and we were talking about events that were only about 20 years in the past! Everyone just seemed to contradict each other.

It was really amusing—if I asked them about something specific, like a police inspector, their stories would completely contradict each other. For example, when talking about meeting Elvis, one person might say Priscilla was there, looking beautiful in a black dress with a veil, while another would insist she wore a red and white gingham dress. And then a third person would claim she wasn’t there at all.

What truly sets the Beatles apart isn’t just their amazing music, but how they essentially defined what a band could be. They were also genuinely funny – a subtle, dry wit typical of their English, specifically Lancashire, background. But beyond the lightheartedness, there was a surprising strength and resilience. You realize how much they overcame, and they talk about it in such a straightforward way, which is fantastic. An American band facing the same challenges might have been much more dramatic about it!

It’s incredible to watch them discuss how everything came together. You begin to see that the best things often happen spontaneously, rather than being carefully planned. The story behind the ‘Rubber Soul’ album cover perfectly illustrates this – someone was showing them potential photos when the slide projector malfunctioned, creating a distorted, stretched image. They immediately loved it and decided to use it, which shows how often happy accidents play a role in great work.

Mark Braxton believes this remains the most insightful film about the subjects, as it’s their own story told with genuine honesty.

Discover more about Jools Holland’s journey back to New Orleans, his efforts to overcome obstacles, and a particularly memorable moment.

The Beatles Anthology will begin streaming on Disney+ with a staggered release schedule.

  • Episodes 1–3 start streaming Wednesday, 26 November

  • Episodes 4–6 start streaming Thursday, 27 November

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2025-11-18 04:24