“…if it wasn’t for the music there wouldn’t be a bloody t-shirt.”

Richard lush tells it like it is… and I don’t know about you, but I have definitely spent a few drunken nights with my mates pondering, ‘what it would have been like to record the Beatles at Abbey Road Studios, to sit on a sessions, like a fly on the wall watching Lennon and McCartney bicker about lyrics and melodies… if not for a few moments?’ I’ve even debated what it would have been like to be an engineer in the late 60’s, early 70’s in the heart of the revolution that was Beatles Mania. Sadly at the end of the day, I like most people can only speculate, for I was not even a thought in my parents mind at that stage of the game. However Mr Richard Lush will tell you all about it. Why?? Because this man actually lived it!!! 2nd engineer for about half The Beatles’ back-cat, Mr Richard Lush moved to Australia in the 70’s to continue his engineer career after working for the biggest band that ever was. He’s won numerous platinum and gold albums. He’s done it all, from pop, to classical, film, soundtrack, jazz and even opera. I had the pleasure of extracting as much as I could from this living legends brain… So let’s hear what the man has to say.

TheInSound) Richard, you clearly love what you do! Have you always known you want to be an engineer or is it something you fell into?
RL) I remember quite distinctly my last year at school: my father was very ill passing away just before my final exams… My father, however always wanted me to go into real-estate but I was interested in music and after getting my first guitar from my parents (a nylon classical from Spain) I became much more excited about the possibilities of music. My favorite band at that time was The Shadows. They had an album out at the time and on the back of the cover I remember there was a little blurb between the engineers introducing the album, and I thought “Oh all right!”

I always wondered how music got onto vinyl… if I could work with someone like the Shadows that would be great!! So I wrote a letter to Abbey Rd Studios asking if they had any jobs going, and about a week later I got a letter in the mail saying, “we don’t actually have any jobs available at the moment but we will keep your name on record if anything comes up will be in touch… 3 months later I got a call saying they had something for me and I guess the rest is history… I have been very lucky along the way.

TheInSound) So it started out as a on the job training??
RL) Yah that’s right… It was an apprentice really… I started off in the tape library which is where everyone started. Our job was to work in the tape library 100’s of 1,000 of tapes. Log tapes, take tapes to cutting room, deliver tapes, all 4 and 2 track of course.

TheInSound) Rumours put to rest? I was told that engineers in the early Abbey Rd days used to wear white lab coats like a doctor would… is that true?RL) – Not really what actually happened. The assistant and engineers didn’t wear coats. The technical staff, like the ones plugging in the microphones, lugged tape machines around used wore lab coats but it was only to protect them from getting dirty. Then later on in time. A manager at the time ‘ALLAN STAGG’ came in, tried to make it compulsorily for the assistance and engineers to wear white lab coats… but we rebelled, haha… We wore the coats while we were setting up the microphones and then took them off as soon as possible… haha …eventually it died off.

TheInSound) You’re listed at the Second Engineer for Sgt. Peppers What were your main responsibilities as second Engineer?
RL) I worked on pepper, did a track on Revolver, about half The White Album, some of Magical Mystery Tour.

TheInSound) Wow so you were pretty much there for a lot of it??
RL) Well, The Beatles were the main artist for EMI at the time and I guess they choose the person who was most suited, most responsible and flexible and I suppose there was someone there at Abbey Road thought I was the guy… so I got the gig. I think somebody did say I did a 105 sessions; 105 days I walked across Abbey Road and went to work for the Beatles….

TheInSound) How old were you at the time?
RL) I was 18 years old and I had been there for 6 months. Before I started on Revolver, when we did A Day In The Life… Geoff and I, Geoff was 2 years older then me… Geoff would have been 20 and I was 18. I remember us in the control room joking to one another… isn’t amazing…they are actually trusting us… (We laughed)

TheInSound) And the Beatles would have been quite young. Were they respectful about you guys and your age?
RL) They were about 24 years old. I can’t remember them thinking much about it. It’s weird thinking about it now… it took a while for them to get used to us but that was more because they were quite private so it took a few days. Eventually it just turned into “Morning Richard… morning.”

Well actually it would be more like afternoon Richard… People often ask me: “What’s the worst thing about working for the Beatles?” And I always said… The fact that they would always start late. Most bands in those days started in the morning (10am) but they would start around 2pm. So you would show up just before 2… There would be no fans, no screaming girls, so you knew they had not arrived yet. Then George Martin would show up about 4 o’clock, we would set up, still be waiting, and then the Beatles would roll in about 7 or 8pm and go to about 8 in the morning. There was no canteen in the building and we couldn’t leave, we had to be there the entire time… so it was really frustrating at times.

I know this is totally off the subject but I used to know someone who did an album with Robert Palmer and they recorded an album in Milan. He used to start at midday then go to 7am. They would start on the cocktails about 8 and then go out for dinner and God forbid anyone be late the next day for recording at 12 sharp.

TheInSound) You have used Analogue desks and a Digital desks… Quick question: digital or Analogue man?
RL) ANALOGUE, I love the pure sound… well, the valve sound. You go and look at any rock star today and see what they are playing… either an Vox AC 30, a Marshall or an Orange. Guitarist still love that tube sound and nothing has come out since the tube amp that compares. Yes I am defiantly pro-analogue. I love the warmth it uniquely provides.

I’ve gone back to mic’n'bass. A lot of people get really lazy and just DI it. DI’s really happened because if you had a bass player with a shitty sound, YOU PLUG A DI IN and you have a good sound… 9/10 most people are plugging a DI in but personally you cant beat the sound of air moving on a guitar or bass amp… there’s nothing like it. Where DI clinically speaking takes a lot of the personality out of the playing tones and feel of the bass… but you can use a combination, (when dealing with effect etc) a little bit of amp and a little bit of Di.

TheInSound) So would you always recommend mic’n up the bass?
RL) I would always want to try it first… I guess I did spend a few years just automatically using DI which is kind of a cop-out, lots of times you would get a bass player who doesn’t show up with an amp so you don’t have an option… but yes I like to mic up instruments when ever possible…

TheInSound) I was told McCartney couldn’t read music?
RL) Well yes, but you can be quite musical and not read. Lionel Bark who wrote Oliver, he couldn’t scribe or chart music but then again he wrote one of the most popular and celebrated musicals of all time. I think one does need to have some basics, if you don’t know the range and the basic rules it makes the writing process more difficult for the. I am a stickler for the real and also for hearing it… the whole thing about hearing it not seeing it. Actually hearing it, hearing the coloration of what the instrument actually does is much more important then watching wave files. Kids just look at their screen and don’t use there ears… if it sounds good it is good.

TheInSound) Do you have your own studio??
RL) I skip from place to place, whatever studio will have me… haha.

TheInSound) Is it hard figuring out the vibe of the room and getting the right sound, especially if it’s a room you have never been in before?
RL) Yes, it is a bit of a worry if your doing a mix, but as long as you have a reference point. I think that’s the most important thing. If I go to a studio I don’t or have never used I take something with me as a reference so I can asses the highs and lows properly.

TheInSound) Do you prefer to get a demo or an EP of the band your recording first before you start the recording process?
RL) Yes, that’s is always helpful but not essential.

TheInSound) You have Gold records, ARIAs, Platinum records and I am sure many plaques explaining your achievement and honours. Besides The Beatles, what do you feel is your biggest achievements as an engineer you are most proud of? Not necessarily something you have been awarded for, and why?
RL) Sherbet’s single Howzat went to # 2 in the UK… that’s probably it. Working here with an Australian band and having a record in England was the icing on the cake for me.

TheInSound) When recording The Beatles… what were some of your favorite microphones used in the recoding sessions?
RL) All the microphones used that are so perishes now. It was only after that era they became so famous. Nowadays they are collectors items, but back then they were just the standard mic’s we used. Wish I would have kept one, haha.

TheInSound) So Richard, what Mic’s specifically did you use with those original Beatles recordings?
RL) Everything was Neumann… everywhere, everywhere. A C12 AKG on the bass but the most popular/used was the Neumann’s, which is funny cause they are just so rare and expensive these days. The amazing thing was we used to complain about the noise on a 4 track compared to tape. But really a 4 track doesn’t compare at all to the noise you get from a 24 track makes.

• Vocals: U47 directional condenser…with 3 mic patters option
• Guitar: U47 Neumann, or a 67 Neumann
• Vocals: Neumann 67 or 9 times our of 10 it was a U47 Condenser
• Drums: 4038 Coles Ribbon on over heads and a thing called a D19 – Dynamic mic/AKG
• Basic Mic Set-up: C-12 AKG

TheInSound) Would Lennon use a different microphone set up then Harrison to get a different tone?
RL) Sometimes yes. Sometimes he would get fed up with sounds – he would use cheaper mics. So I would do something, screw up the patters and mess with the mic’s just to make him happy and sometimes you would think “hey, that’s not too bad.”

TheInSound) Who was the most contributing member of the Beatles in the studio??
RL) Depends on who song it was. If it was George’s song, he had total control. A lot of the times the rest of the guys wouldn’t show up. Nobody used to turn up for his session. Like something like Within You Without You there was a token bit of tambourine on it done by Paul who had just showed up at the time. Not sure how it was pre-Pepper but that’s how it was then. But I guess Paul was a lot more interested in the engineering process at the time.

TheInSound) Is that because Paul sang a lot of the back up melodies and played more on the albums?
RL) No. I think it’s because he had more patience. John was very impatient. He would fiddle with my effect and fiddle with something I had going, but he was very hard to pin down and he would get bored easily. But it was kind of the Paul show most of the time. unless it was something like Julia which was John’s song. Then John would take control – but yes he was a very impatient man.

TheInSound) It would be fair to say the younger generations of musicians are somewhat spoiled with machines that auto tune, programs with file sharing and internet capabilities, state-of-the-art software with internal digital effects, EQ’s, Reverbs, Quality Pre-amps for all types of instruments, or even the fact you don’t need to have a musical ear anymore, rather 2 double-A batteries and an electric tuner… When Abbey Road studios was recording the Beatles, there were no digital effects, no Pro-Tools endless tracks or filing sharing…..
RL) We never had any of that. Lead, bloody going into a guitar amp into the bloody desk (laughs). Bit of gain bit of reverb. Wah wah I think came out in ‘66 but that was about it… All those sounds we got were created on tapes. All we could do in those days is slow something down or speed it up, or maybe we would distort it.

TheInSound) How do you think the Australian Music scene is progressing in 2009 compared to when you first got to Australia? (ie the effect of pokies vs live music, the evolution and introduction DJ’s appealing to mainstream audiences, playing venues instead of bands, and the ongoing struggle that live venues face to keep afloat?
RL) Especially for jazz – and there is only a few places you can go – you used to be able to go to the Strawberry Hills for jazz. And it seems nowadays you need to go to an underground warehouse just to find some. Nowadays it seems they sell more T-shirts at gigs these days than CD’s, but if it wasn’t for the music there wouldn’t be a bloody t-shirt.

TheInSound) How do you know enough is enough when recording tracks?
RL) Funnily enough you could talk about that until the cows come home, but a great sounding record no matter what genera is a blend of the right instruments. It just needs a lot of thought and the right combination of sounds and frequencies… There is nothing wrong with the Phil Specter sound. EVEN working with Phil you can see how is mind works. It’s not a question of just putting reverb on everything, he had a way of getting that sound. And there was no such thing as 1 guitar with Phil. He’d want 5 guitars. and that’s why my sweet Lord has that huge guitar sound. Because he has 5 guys playing, all playing a different pattern, all playing different guitars that all sound different. And then its double tracked so that’s 10 guitars. But you have to do it live and get that perfect take. That’s just one of the many ideas Phill would create and make work.

TheInSound) Would Phil Spector create these crazy little ideas and then go off on a tangent?
RL) Yes sort of. I’ve never worked with anyone with such an amazing ear… a very good ear. Just a wild person all around and I loved working with him. We had a ball together!

TheInSound) Some important advice you would give to the aspiring engineers of the world out there?
RL) DON’T LOOK AT THE SCREEN. LISTEN. DON’T LOOK. I DON’T CARE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE. JUST LISTEN.

TheInSound) And finally, What are some other engineers you have worked with that have inspired you and why?
RL) Living or dead?

TheInSound) Good question, your choice?
RL) I will give you one of each. Living (cause I know Al Schmitt I might just do this one day) but I’ve been to Capitol a couple times and it’s a fabulous building. Like Abbey Road, Capitol has this amazing history in it’s walls. But I would love to see Dianna Krall recording at Capitol. If I’m going back in time – Elvis, Sinatra or Glen Miller. I would love to have herd the Glen Miller band live.