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Fixing A Hole - The Beatles podcast you didn't know you neededBack To MonoJohn Lennon has been quoted as saying "You haven't heard Sergeant Pepper, if you haven't heard it in mono"... and he's right. Yes, the songs are the same, but the mix is very different. Once you hear it in mono, you wont want to go back to stereo.So why did George Martin make mono and stereo mixes of the majority of Beatles recordings between Love Me Do in 1962 and the White Album in 1968? That's what Paul and Mark chat about in this weeks episode of Fixing A Hole. The Beatles podcast you didn't know you needed.2025-07-2543 minFixing A Hole - The Beatles podcast you didn't know you neededThe Beatles On TapLove it or hate it, music streaming is here to stay and for younger listeners is introducing the music of The Beatles to a whole new audience. The collectors out there who cherish their original first pressing vinyl, reel-to-reel tapes and cassettes may well be under the impression that with streaming being a non-physical music media that is stored in the cloud, the medium has nothing to offer them. However, as always in reality streaming does offer Beatles collectors some unique releases. In this episode Mark and Paul...2025-07-1842 minFixing A Hole - The Beatles podcast you didn't know you neededA Whole Lotta Love for The Beatles. A chat with Dave LewisIn 1964 Dave Lewis discovered music courtesy of the Dave Clark Five. But with the arrival of Thunderbirds on the television and football at the local park, music quickly new took a back seat. Then in April 1969, The Beatles released the first new recordings from their January 1969 sessions at Twickenham and Savile Row, Get Back / Don’t Let Me Down. This would be the spark that ignited a lifelong passion for music. Along the way Dave has spent 35 years in music retail. Become part of the inner sanctum of Led Zeppelin through his T...2025-07-111h 03Fixing A Hole - The Beatles podcast you didn't know you neededAcross The UniverseIn this week’s episode Paul and Mark take a peep into the world of alternate mixes. Not those multi-format extended mixes record companies released in the 1980’s. Paul McCartney’s ‘No More Lonely Nights’ comes to mind. No, the alternate mixes of Beatles recordings which EMI inadvertently sent out to affiliated distributors across the globe. Welcome to the world of high-hat intro’s, mysterious whispering, alternate backwards guitars and trumpet codas! Intrigued? Grab a coffee and listen to Fixing A Hole, the Beatles podcast yo...2025-07-0445 minFixing A Hole - The Beatles podcast you didn't know you neededBeatles Bootlegs (Beatlegs!)Following on from last week’s pirate radio edition of Fixing A Hole we carry on with the pirate theme. Looking into the under the counter world of Beatles bootlegs. We trace the origins of these Illegal releases in the late 60’s with the infamous Bob Dylan boot ‘Great White Wonder’ and the plethora of low-fi compilations of Beatles concerts, radio and television appearances which began to surface in the early 70’s. Through to the CD age and the arrival of Ultra Rare Trax which presented unreleased Beatles session recordings in wonderful sound quality. Al...2025-06-2759 minFixing A Hole - The Beatles podcast you didn't know you neededThe Beatles and The PiratesUnlike the United States where you could hear wall-to-wall pop music on the radio 24 hours a day. In early 1960's Great Britain, the airwaves were controlled by the BBC. With numerous restrictions imposed on them including the dreaded 'Needle Time', which impacted on the number of records that could be broadcast weekly by the network. The broadcasting of 'Pop Music' was limited to a few shows per week.Therefore, it was no surprise when Radio Caroline began broadcasting in the spring of 1964 off the coast of Essex. Signalling the arrival of pirate radio in the United kingdom.2025-06-201h 03Fixing A Hole - The Beatles podcast you didn't know you neededIt's Been 'A Hard Days Night'By the summer of 1964 The Beatles had conquered the world. Hot on the heels of their first visit to America, they were back at work. But not in the recording studio. This time it was the film studio, to make their first feature film ‘A Hard Day’s Night’. Back in the 60’s pop acts were fair game for feature films. Be it a cameo appearance or some convoluted storyline. ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ broke new ground with a story based around 24 hours in the life of John, Paul, George and Ringo. However, th...2025-06-1353 minFixing A Hole - The Beatles podcast you didn't know you neededThe Beatles In GermanOn 29 January 1964 while playing an 18-day residency at the Paris’ Olympia Theatre. The Beatles entered the Marconi Studios in Paris, for their first and only session for EMI outside of the United Kingdom. A session with a specific purpose. To rerecord two of their biggest hits ‘She Loves You’ and ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’. However, these weren’t straight rerecording’s, but German language versions with titles that translate as ‘Sie Liebt Dich’ and ‘Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand’. This would be the one and only time they recorded foreign language recording of their hits. 2025-06-0631 minFixing A Hole - The Beatles podcast you didn't know you neededPatrick Humphries Talks BeatlesPatrick Humphries is a well-respected music journalist and author. He worked for both the NME and Melody Maker from the mid-70’s and has written features for Mojo, VOX and Record Collector. In addition, he has authored books about Nick Drake, Bruce Springsteen, and Elton John among many others.In a change to our advertised episode. Patrick joined Mark and Paul to talk about his latest book, ‘With The Beatles, From The Town Where They Were Born To Now And Then’.During this fascinating conversation Patrick discusses the impact John, Paul, George and Ringo had on mus...2025-05-301h 10Fixing A Hole - The Beatles podcast you didn't know you neededSee You In The Clubs - The Beatles In ClublandAt lunchtime on January 10th 1969, George Harrison walked out of Twickenham film studios and out on his band mates. As he left his parting words were, ‘I’ll see you in the clubs’. The Beatles January 1969 ‘Get Back’ sessions were all about throwing aside the excesses of ‘Sgt. Pepper’ and getting back to a more basic sound which would allow them to play live together as a group. Just as they had in the Cavern. In this episode of Fixing a Hole we take a look at the five-year period between 1957 and 1962 when Jo...2025-05-2356 minFixing A Hole - The Beatles podcast you didn't know you neededGetting Back To Where They Once BelongedOn their return from India in the spring of 1968. The Beatles set about recording the ‘White Album,’ a collection of 30 songs, many of which were written in Rishikesh. In between these 6 months of recording sessions, they released their 18th single ‘Hey Jude’ and launched their own record label Apple. In episode 7 of Fixing a Hole we look at the 2021 Peter Jackson documentary ‘Get Back’. Which tells the story of why following this intensive period of work, John, Paul, George, and Ringo decided that 6 weeks after the release of the ‘White Album’, they would go back...2025-05-161h 06Fixing A Hole - The Beatles podcast you didn't know you neededThe Beatles in the BoardroomEver since Paul McCartney announced he was leaving the group on 10th April 1970. Fans desire to hear new, or unreleased Beatles music has never stopped. In this episode we tell the story of how a series of articles published in the New Musical Express back in 1974, lead to EMI searching the tape vault for unreleased Beatles recordings. Compiling two reels of tape of unreleased music and the executive meeting which took please in the Spring of 1976 to listen and determine what if anything was suitable for future release. Amazingly, like all key...2025-01-3139 minFixing A Hole - The Beatles podcast you didn't know you neededFrom Me To You – The Beatles Christmas Records Each year between 1963 and 1969 The Beatles gifted members of the official UK fan club, specially recorded Christmas messages. These exclusive recordings have not only become collectors’ items. They inadvertently trace the story of the group. From the lovable ‘Moptops’ who conquered the world. Through the psychedelic years of peace and love. To John, Paul, George and Ringo starting to drift apart. In this episode we not only discuss the story of these fascinating recordings. We also look at how I discovered and first heard them. Along the way we touch on how EMI schedule...2024-12-1942 minFixing A Hole - The Beatles podcast you didn't know you neededTell Me Why!Like an old family photograph, or a treasured gift. Music has the ability, to instantly transport you back in time to the place where you first heard a certain song. Or trigger a special memory, of a first date, or family gathering. In the first episode of Fixing A Hole, Beatles expert Paul Humbley told the story of how he discovered The Beatles as a 10-year-old and the impact they have had on his life. In Episode 4, we discover how and when he discovered The Beatles albums. From being gifted a couple of original 60s p...2024-11-0742 minFixing A Hole - The Beatles podcast you didn't know you neededThe Walrus Was PaulIn 1968 John, Paul, George and Ringo released their 9th studio album, simply titled The Beatles. But almost immediately it became known as the White Album. Welcome to episode 3 of Fixing A Hole, The Beatles podcast you didn’t know you needed. This time my co-host Mark Wakely quizzes me on the White Album. We discuss the writing and recording. Richard Hamilton’s pop art cover design. The mono and stereo mixes and rare issues of this the most fascinating of all The Beatles albums. Plus, we discuss if John was right when he...2024-09-2630 minFixing A Hole - The Beatles podcast you didn't know you neededLet Me Introduce To YouYou may be of a generation to whom the phrase ‘Gold Top’ describes a bottle of milk. But when it comes to Beatles cassettes that phrase takes on a different meaning. Welcome to episode 2 of Fixing A Hole, The Beatles podcast you didn’t know you needed. In which my co-host Mark Wakely quizzes me on the history of Beatles cassette production in the UK, and in particular, how the album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was released in this format. Along the way we discuss the so called ‘Gold Tops’ an...2024-09-1221 minFixing A Hole - The Beatles podcast you didn't know you neededWhy The Beatles?What is a collector?According to the dictionary definition it is: A person who collects things of a specified type, professionally or as a hobby.That in a nutshell describes me, Paul Humbley, founder of Fixing A Hole. The Beatles podcast you didn’t know you needed.2024 marks the 50th anniversary of my Beatles collecting journey. In this edition my co-host Mark Wakely uncovers the roots of my collecting habit and why four musicians from Liverpool collectively known as The Beatles became the focus of my collecting. Mark also explores the early infl...2024-08-2827 minFixing A Hole - The Beatles podcast you didn't know you neededFixing a Hole - The Beatles podcast you didn't know you needed (Coming August 29th) We live in a world where music has become a commodity. You can have 2 million songs in your pocket and not own any. When the CD arrived in the early 1980s heralding in the digital age of music. No one would have predicted 40 years later new vinyl records would still be being pressed and sales would be in the ascendancy. This new vinyl era has its roots in the early days of rock ‘n’ roll. When people began collecting records by Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry. By the early 60s the music...2024-08-1503 min