transcript of 30 minute audio tape
The first evidence that proved there was indeed a filming session
came to light in 1987, with the release of approximately 30 minutes of off-line
audio tape from the vocal booth that night. This audio was released on a bootleg
record called "Before Play" on a record label called "Gnat Records". This audio
tape was a revelation indeed, as John and the Double Fantasy band were not only
playing "I'm Losing You" and "(Just Like) Starting Over" from the album, but in
between camera takes were jamming on rock and roll oldies such as "Dream Lover",
"Stay", "Mystery Train" and "I'm A Man", not to mention the Beatles' "She's A
Woman". What was truly intriguing about this tape, proved to be the dialogue
between John, Yoko and the film director Jay Dubin, about camera angles and
other details of the shoot.
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John : "Have to bring the nanny in to tune up for me."
Director Jay Dubin : "Give us a couple..."
Guitarist Hugh McCracken plays "She's A Woman" riff...
John : "What key do you keep playing that thing in?"
McCracken : "E."
John : "Oh, E, my God, it's too high."
John sings along...
"My love don't bring me presents", "She don't know where it isn't".
John : "C'mon, get out of there..." (as the band continued playing)
Lennon photographer Bob Gruen : "The wallet shots will be in on Friday."
John : "Yes?"
Gruen : "Friday, the wallet shots. The wallet size shots on Friday."
John : "Wallets? So we carry them around on little TV's you mean?"
John to Jay Dubin : "OK, are we waiting for you or are you waiting for us?"
Dubin : "We're ready. I think they're just running back to the start."
John starts playing and singing "C'mon Everybody".
Producer Jack Douglas : "Do you want anymore of John's vocal?"
John : "What?....OK".
McCracken plays "She's A Woman" riff again, and John reacts.
John : "Stop playing that f***ing thing!".
NOTE : At this point, there is an edit on the tape, and we hear John and the band performing "(Just Like) Starting Over", with the prerecorded backing track and a live lead vocal by John. This is believed to be the soundtrack of the filming of a video for "(Just Like) Starting Over".
John to guitarist Hugh McCracken : "Hughie! Look you're old enough to get tothe 50's, get out of here! I don't go back to the 60's, I come from the 50's."
McCracken once again plays the riff to "She's A Woman", and John sings a few lines.
Jay Dubin : "John?"
John : "Yeah."
Jay Dubin : "Do you want to see this? They're playing it back with audio."
John : "No, if you want to do more, do more. I know what I look like..like a f***ing bird."
John to the band as they continue to jam : "Let's do it! Let's do it!"
The band starts playing "C'Mon Everybody" & "Rip It Up".
After John sings a verse and a chorus...
Jay Dubin : "OK, John. We're just gonna record color standard, 'cause everything is just fine."
John : "OK, just tell me what to do."
Jay Dubin : "Just hang out for about a minute and a half, while we record color standard."
John : "OK, we'll hang, this is the only time we get to boogie, you know, we're never allowed!"
The band starts to play "I'm A Man" and John sings most of the song...
Jay Dubin : "How about your hat? Do you want to do it with the hat?"
John : "Does it make any difference to you?"
Jay Dubin : "No, we can't use the first shot we took."
John : "Of course, we can. Oh, you can't use it anyway?"
Jay Dubin : "No, we'll lose continuity. If you put the hat on, we'll lose continuity."
John : "Don't worry about it. We'll cut between the hat and no hat. I don't believe in continuity."
John to Yoko : "Right, Mother? It doesn't matter if we cut from the hat to no hat?"
John then launches in "Be Bop A Lula"... After a few verses, John directs the band.
John to guitarists Earl Slick & Hugh McCracken : "OK, we're going back to A minor.
Get ready you two, they're doing it on film, not on there,
so these are the guys who are going to say go."
John : "I looked like Jerry Rubin for a minute. Hold on. I've got to get me green card again?"
Jay Dubin : "John, did you like that last performance?"
John : "Yes, I mean who knows? I don't know, with all the double tracking,
of course it sounds great. I don't know what it's really like."
Jat Dubin to camera crew : "Do we have speed?"
Jay Dubin to Producer Jack Douglas : "Jack, can you roll audio?"
Jack Douglas : "Here we go."
John : "When you think we've got one, just keep it you know."
The band launches in with the playback of "I'm Losing You"....
NOTE : At this point, there is an edit on the tape, and we hear John and the band performing "I'm Losing You", with the prerecorded backing track and a live lead vocal by John. This is believed to be the soundtrack of the filming of a video for "I'm Losing You". The complete performance is not heard here, and is cut to the end of the song, where John is singing quite animatedly.
John : "That one was for the cameras!" (laughs)Jay Dubin : "Cut tape."
John : "Jesus! Did I do it for you?"
Jay Dubin : "Yeah, we'll get one more closeup and that's it for the closeups."
John : "OK. If I lost you I'm sorry, you told me to jump about. You said jump, I jumped!"
Jay Dubin : "How high? Animation, animation!"
John : "Hey, these shoes are great for it, just like rolling around on them...Jesus!"
Drummer Andy Newmark starts playing the opening to "(Just Like) Starting Over".
John : "A request from the drummer. OK."
John and the band continue to play through 3/4 of the song then John stops.
John : "It's too much energy."
Jay Dubin : "Don't put too much energy into the vocals. It's not necessary anymore."
John : "OK. I guess I'll just jump around now, what is it?"
Jay Dubin : "It look great when you're jumping around."
John : "I can't fake it, you know."
Jay Dubin : "OK. What you're doing is looking good."
John : "I'll try to fake it close." " I'll do the face without the throat this time."
Jay Dubin : "The throat we can't see."
John : "Yeah, but I can't. I use to do that on lip synching even,
otherwise it always looked s***ty then."
Jay Dubin : "You can just come into the lens, 'cause I can keep it
in focus right up to this far in the lens."
John : "So what do you want me to do?"
Jay Dubin : "Just play to the lens more."
John : "OK, I'll do it this way".
Jay Dubin to the camera crew on positioning the monitor for John to see :
"Yeah, can we have that turned around please?"
Jay Dubin to John : "See how I'm in focus?"
John : "Yes."
Jay Dubin : "I'm in all the way."
John : "Ooh...I love it when you talk dirty!"
John : OK. Just keep doing it lads. I might get completely lost, cause I'm trying
to do it without doing it and all that."
John : "Let me hear the original vocal, then I won't have to concentrate so much.
A bit more of the original vocal please, in my ears."...pause...
"No, wrong song, c'mon, c'mon. We're gonna do it again.
The sooner we do it, the sooner we can get out or just boogie."
Jay Dubin : "We're rolling. Drop sticks, rolling audio. Roll audio."
NOTE : At this point, we hear John and the band performing "I'm Losing You", once again with the prerecorded backing track and a live lead vocal by John. The coda is extended with John repeatedly singing "Don't wanna lose you now." This is believed to be the backing track for a 2nd take of the "I'm Losing You" video.
Yoko : "Listen, you've got enough of this song."Jay Dubin : "John, very good."
John : "I got lost, but it doesn't matter. I got it on the tape."
Yoko : "They're not gonna use all that you know."
John : "Yeah, I know, I know."
Earl Slick : "You took my solo away!"
John : "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I was completely lost, you know. I was just singing
to my own mouth, was in the mike, or light, there. The lens!"
Jay Dubin : "John, you can take off now. We're just gonna shoot the band."
John : "I will any minute. Yeah, we've got enough there."
Jay Dubin : "Oh yeah, we've got plenty. We don't have many real closeups
of the hands playing guitar as much though."
John : "OK. you got them last time, didn't you?"
Jay Dubin : "Not that many."
John : "When you wanna do it, tell me when, anytime. It's easy."
Jay Dubin : "Do you wanna do a few of them now, while we're still here?"
John : "I think, let's get these guys, give me a break, and then do me when they're finished.
Before you set up for the next one."
Jay Dubin : "Fine, that's what we'll do."
John : "Oh good, I want to hear this."
NOTE : At this point, there is an edit in the tape, while John is taking a break. John and the band are now ready to do closeups and edit shots of the hands playing guitar for the "I'm Losing You" video.
John : "Did you get the 'boop'?"Jay Dubin : "I don't think I did. His knuckle was no more than a half inch from the lens."
John : "OK, so this will be just my hands, so I don't have to put them here...
Although, I had my sleeves rolled up in some peculiar fashion.
As long as they give me the earphones, I don't care."
Jay Dubin : "Alright, roll cam."
NOTE : At this point, we hear John and the band performing "I'm Losing You" once again, but not for long, as John loses his place in the middle of the song.
John : "F*** it! F*** it. I'm all back to front. Was it going well?"Jay Dubin : "Yeah it was, but I think we'll get that groove right away."
John : "OK. I don't know why I think there is a solo there. Because now we took the 2nd verse out, that's why the solo probably should go there anyway. Because it goes - 2 chorus - 2 middle eight - solo - 2 verses - and out. That's the classic construction."
Hugh McCracken : "Right. Where's the solo now, it's where the 3rd verse is right?"
John : "Yeah, after the 2 verses, middle 8, verse, solo, verse, out.
It sort of should naturally come out of the solo. Right? Let's do that."
Hugh McCracken : "OK."
John : "And if it's too long, we can just edit it. OK, take the solo
after the middle 8 now, Slick... Has he gone?"
Hugh McCracken : "He's putting a string on."
Jay Dubin : "John, are you in tune?"
John : "No." (tuning)
John to Hugh McCracken : "What? Play me that one again. What's that?"
John : "But the tone's good." " It's out of tune, but it sure sounds fine!"
Tony Levin : "Hugh, are you in tune? OK. Will somebody, give somebody,
George, will you give Slick a note please?" (tuning)
John : "OK."
Jay Dubin : "OK. We're rolling, here we go."
John : "OK, nice, thank you."
NOTE : At this point, we hear John and the band performing "I'm Losing You", once again with the prerecorded backing track, live instruments, and live lead vocal by John. John counts in "2-2-2-2-3-4" and the song is performed completely.
John : "OK."Jay Dubin : "OK, that was good."
John : "Yes...And? Was it it?"
Jay Dubin : "I'd like to listen to it. I think that's it."
John : "Anybody got any secrets? Nobody's got no secrets."
Jay Dubin : "OK, come on in guys."
John : "I've got a secret. I'm sick of it!"
John and the band make their way to the control room.
John : "Hey, just in time to film us wrapping up, right? Those guys are waiting
to get in there with those cameras. It's all over."
Hugh McCracken : "No solos are for keeps."
Earl Slick : "Never...I know. I can get a live one though occasionally."
NOTE : At this point, we hear some indecipherable studio chat in the control room, then an edit in the tape. What follows next is material from earlier in the night, just as the filming session is to begin.
John and the band play "Dream Lover" & "Stay", but soon John stops.John : "No, I'm a spoiled sport. If I can't reach the note we have to stop."
Earl Slick : "I was just enjoying myself."
John : "Yeah, I know. It's terrible isn't it. We're having fun and we're not allowed to."
John to Earl Slick : "What you in?"
Earl Slick "Key?"
John : "Ha. Ha. I hear you."
Earl Slick : "You know what I'm talking about."
John : "What key are we in?"
Earl Slick : "The one from the other night."
John : "Enough of that.....key, key, key??"
John and the band launch into "Mystery Train", while a playback of
"I'm Losing You" is heard in the background.
John : "Can we put on the headphones yet?"
Jay Dubin : "Yeah, the phones are on."
John : "I mean, am I allowed to put them on? Nothing dangerous is gonna..."
"If it's a funny buzz, put it on a separate track, it might be great."
John : "Yes, sir. I can't wait to overdub. All by meself one afternoon."
Jay Dubin : "OK. Are we ready? Bring the studio lights up."
John : "Hear them notes?" John plays the "I'm Losing You" riff. "God it's great."
"Is Fred back yet?" " I want to be putting a cap on, because by the time this goes out,
I'll have different hair and we might want to fake it. So it's just a white baseball cap
and if it gives you a problem, f*** it, we'll just leave the hair, but otherwise it would
be nice if we can, 'cause then you can't really tell what it is."
END OF TAPE
