“…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?

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As the 29th anniversary of his unspeakably tragic death recently passed, we honour and celebrate the utter legend that is John Lennon.

Please take a minute to read this message from Yoko Ono: An Affirmation For Planet Earth.

images courtesy of Sir George Martinn and orsorama

It is far too difficult for this inarticulate writer to express any kind of tribute to such a pivotal, brilliant and fascinating character as Lennon with mere words, so instead we let his own words and music paint the picture – and remember him with a few of our favourite clips (see below).

“I believe in everything until it’s disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it’s in your mind. Who’s to say that dreams and nightmares aren’t as real as the here and now?” – John Lennon

The face of music was literally changed forever. John lives on. Peace and love! (and basketballs and cigarettes!)

Some favourite clips from uz EMI’ers &’ ettes:

• Which one are you? (Asha)
• How old are you? (Asha)
• Would the people in the cheaper seats clap your hands (Paul G)
• The Walrus (Asha)
• Power To The People (Meegs)
• Playing basketball with Miles Davis (Craig H)
• The ballad of John and Yoko (Tara)
• Imagine (Pri)
• Beautiful Boy (Nikki)
• Jealous Guy (Nikki)
• Marlboro cigarettes commercial with George Harrison (Asha)

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Riding off the back of the biggest ARIA Awards since Ben Hur (please don’t mention that ARIAs didn’t necessarily operate during the time of Christ), it’s difficult to let the party die down. After all, it’s only 3 weeks til Christmas!

So indeed the good times continue with the news that we (that’s EMI worldwide, not my band) have FIFTY SIX Grammy Award nominations in the whopping one hundred and nine categories – far too many to list, but here are our EMI highlights!

Multiple nominees include our favourite shaggy-haired, bikini-babe-surrounded Frenchman David Guetta (who also produced The Black Eyed Peas’ Grammy nominated album and record of the year), Coldplay, Depeche Mode, Keith Urban and American Classic legend Willie Nelson.

Katy Perry announced the Best Rock Album nominees and discussed the Black Eyed Peas nominations – watch the videos.

And yes, the reason why the Grammy artwork is so cool this year is no other than Shepard Fairey – the man behind THAT Obama / Hope and Obey / Giant artwork – is responsible. OBEY (great music)

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
	Hot N Cold – Katy Perry
Best Dance Recording
	When Love Takes Over – David Guetta & Kelly Rowland
Best Electronic/Dance Album
	One Love – David Guetta
	Yes – Pet Shop Boys Read the rest of this entry »

Not getting enough green in your diet? Well check this out!

On December 4 (Dec 7-8 outside Oz, so we have a head-start), we’re releasing a very limited edition of The Beatles remastered stereo USB apples. Head to www.thebeatles.com for more info or to pre-order.

The apple is loaded with everything a growing boy needs… the full 14 stereo albums, all the new visual elements, 13 mini-docos about the studio albums, replicated original UK album art, rare photos and expanded liner notes.

Very exclusive, very limited, and very nice!

How do you make something sound louder, clearer and bigger without altering the originality and purity of a song…? Add to that, the pressure of remastering the biggest band of all time, nothing is digital and the songs your re-mastering are over 40 years old on tape… NO BIG DEAL RIGHT?

I am of course talking about The Beatles Re-mastered. This art of mixing and mastering is a very personal and subjective process that changes greatly depending on the style of music and sound wanted from the artist. Add on the fact that everyone and their mother has an opinion on the “sound” that is The Beatles plus the passion for that old school original Beatles Mono recordings that every indie band longs for, I would say that the four years it took to remaster all the Beatles albums is quite short when compared to the legacy that is The Fab Four.

The Abbey Rd Engineers

Ok, so let’s get in our Magic School Bus and go back in time to 1963!

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Thanks to http://loveallthis.tumblr.com for this work of absolute genius.

A little birdie told us some very good and some very sad news today…

Electro-glam-pop-oh-so-sensual duo Goldfrapp are set to score the upcoming film Nowhere Boy – a biopic about John Lennon’s childhood and teen years.

“We have written the score for a film called Nowhere Boy. It’s about John Lennon as a boy.” Alison Goldfrapp wrote on her blog.

The film is based on Lennon’s half-sister Julia Baird’s book Imagine This: Growing Up With My Brother John Lennon. Appropriately, the score was recorded with a full orchestra at Abbey Rd studio. As for Goldfrapp’s follow up to last year’s sun-drenched, ethereal Seventh Tree, that’s in the works too – no ETA just yet.

Nowhere Boy was scripted by Matt Greenhalgh, who proved his merits with the stunning Anton Corbijn biopic on Joy Division’s Ian Curtis, Control. Can’t wait for the London Film Fest premiere and local release! It really is Beatle-mania out there…

And in less-cheery Beatles news, the very Lucy of Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds fame has passed away at the age of 46 of the autoimmune disease lupus. Lucy O’Donnell went to school with John Lennon’s son Julian. In 1966, Julian took his painted picture of the three year old Lucy to his father and explained “it’s Lucy in the sky with diamonds”.

Not a bad legacy, eh? Rest In Peace.

You know it’s going to be a good day when Asha at reception is blasting The White Album, the men’s loo is adorned with the sign She Came In Through The Bathroom Window, and the entire population of lvl1 is performing an excitable rendition of Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds on the Beatles Rock Band.

Cos it’s BEATLES DAY – beep-beep, beep-beep, yeah!

In other parts of the country, Jimmy Barnes is feeling the love with our InSound-ers Trent and Steve, who are flying the Beatles flag proudly today:

More updates in store for the rest of the day… but in the meanwhile. turn up Sgt Peppers!!

At some point we have all wished for a time machine…

I was 13 1/2 years of age (it was important to mention the 1/2 back then) and had been in high school for about 6 months. There was a guy I went to school with called Keith who played the drums and although I didn’t realise at the time played them in a way very similar to his namesake in The Who.. We became friends through a mutual love of music.

My musical tastes were completely unformed and I bought 7″ singles of songs that I liked from the radio. One day Keith came to school and handed me a record and I remember thinking at the time how heavy it was obviously because it was a double album. The albums was predominantly red in colour and had a picture of these four guys who were looking over the edge of a balcony in what looked like an apartment block. The album was The Beatles 1962-1966.

I got home that afternoon and immediately put it on my parents radiogram as I didn’t have my own record player at the time. The sound that came out of those speakers was something that transformed and excited me in ways that I previously hadn’t experienced. The energy, excitement and joy that every one of these pop songs was filled with almost made me giddy.

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Today in Brisbane I got to have some fun with my key accounts as I went out and talked about the biggest musical event ever… The Beatles remastered..

I had some great fun with these accounts and the excitement is really starting to kick in….To celebrate this monumental event it seemed like a good excuse to “frock up” for the part (not that I need much cajoling to throw on a Beatles outfit at the best of times)

These accounts were all kind enough to get involved in some pictures which I have added below… I can also say that the outfit made getting a coffee in the Valley this morning a whole new experience.

Chances of seeing me in this outfit again on the 09 09 09 is approximately 100%!

The greatest band of all time and they are on EMI… HELL YEAH

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