Real Love: Introduction
“Real Love” is a John Lennon song, but we include it on the Beatles Fan Club because it appears on the Anthology 2 album. In fact, it was a Beatles’ single in 1996. The song has an interesting background, which we shall explain further.
In Detail
- Release Date: March 4, 1996 (UK), March 5, 1996 (US)
- Recorded: July, 1980 and February, 1995
- Studio/Location: Bermuda (1980), Sussex, UK (1995)
- Format: 7-inch record, also CD single (A-side) (B-side being “Baby’s in Black” (Live))
- Genre: Rock
- Track Duration: 3:54
- Record Label: Apple 58544
- Songwriter: John Lennon
- Producers: George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and Jeff Lynne
- Engineers: Geoff Emerick, Jon Jacobs
Performers And Instruments
- John Lennon: double-tracked lead vocals, also the piano
- Paul McCartney: backing vocals, acoustic guitar, piano, bass guitar, double bass, harmonium, harpsichord, percussion
- George Harrison: backing vocals, electric guitars, acoustic guitar, percussion
- Ringo Starr: backing vocals, drums, and percussion
Other Performer
- Jeff Lynne: backing vocals, also the guitar
Where To Find “Real Love”
Real Love: Background
John Lennon first recorded the song in 1977, long after The Beatles broke up. However, this recording was on a handheld tape recorder while he was playing his piano at home. He went on to record six takes of the song in 1979.
In January 1994, Yoko Ono gave Paul McCartney a cassette tape with this song as well as “Free As A Bird,” “Grow Old With Me,” and “Now And Then.”
John Lennon died on December 8, 1980, of course. However, the surviving Beatles reworked the song and released it as a single in 1996.
By now, CDs were the format of choice instead of the old 7″ vinyl records. The resulting CD single had 3 “B-sides”. Firstly, there was Baby’s In Black (live) (Hollywood Bowl, August 1965, version). Secondly, we get Yellow Submarine (new mix including more sound effects). Thirdly, there was Here, There And Everywhere (an alternative version).
In Anthology 2, Real Love is the first song on the album. Indeed, the Beatles Anthology was going to be a three-album set with one new song on each album from the tape Yoko Ono gave to Paul McCartney. However, the song Now And Then was put on the back burner because George Harrison objected.
Recording Studio
George Martin decided not to produce the recording, so the band called upon ELO‘s Jeff Lynne to help out. After all, he was co-producer of “Free as a Bird,” the previous Beatles’ single. He was also part of The Traveling Wilburys with George Harrison.
The original demo proved difficult to work with.
“The problem I had with Real Love was that not only was there a 60-cycle mains hum going on, there was also a terrible amount of hiss because it had been recorded at a low level. I don’t know how many generations down this copy was, but it sounded like at least a couple. So I had to get rid of the hiss and the mains hum, and then there were clicks all the way through it.
When we saw the graph of it on the computer, there were all these spikes happening at random intervals throughout the whole song. There must have been about 100 of them. We’d spend a day on it, then listen back and still find loads more things wrong. But we could magnify them, grab them, and wipe them out.
It didn’t have any effect on John’s vice because we were just dealing with the air surrounding him in between phrases. That took about a week to clean up before it was even usable and transferable to a DAT master. Putting fresh music to it was the easy part.”
Jeff Lynne
Sound On Sound, December 1995
Although most people were happy with the result, it appears that George Harrison wasn’t. Indeed, this may have helped him make a decision not to appear on another song, Now And Then. Moreover, the Anthology 3 album had to do without a new Beatles song because of Harrison’s concerns.
Updated Information: In November 2023, almost six years after we wrote this article, the single “Now And Then” became available. Indeed, its impact was massive. So click the link provided to read the article.
Real Love: Chart Success
The heady days of Beatlemania were long gone when The Beatles released this single in March 1996. However, there is always going to be widespread interest in the release of new Beatles’ material.
In the UK, BBC Radio One decided not to play the single “It’s not what our listeners want to hear … We are a contemporary music station.”
This is in contrast to the early 1960s, when they couldn’t get enough of The Beatles! Be that as it may, the song aired on many other radio stations.
Thirty years after the height of Beatlemania, the song made it to the top ten in many countries. Australia couldn’t get enough of The Beatles, so this single got to a respectable sixth place. It reached tenth place in America’s Cash Box chart. In the UK, it reached number four in the official charts.
The subsequent video shows Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr recording in Sussex. There’s also many shots of The Beatles, including John Lennon, during their career together.
Take A Listen To “Real Love.”
Finally, press the play button and take a listen to the song. Then, when you are done, why not leave a comment below?
