THE BEATLES ANTHOLOGY : THE PRODUCTION

The story begins in the monochrome surroundings of wartime Liverpool and concludes in a world transformed by the revolutions of the 1960s. Along the way, the narrative moves across Hamburg, London, cities across the USA, India, and countless locations besides. But what really matters are the four people at the heart of everything, their recollections of both their own incredible experiences, and how much the world changed around them.

This is the core of The Beatles’ “Anthology” series. Three decades ago, it reinvented the art of the music documentary and set a new standard of storytelling. Instead of an orthodox treatment centred on an outside narrator and talking heads, “Anthology” featured the four Beatles candidly telling their own story. It introduced them to new generations of viewers and listeners, and began a hugely successful phase of their creative and commercial afterlife that is still ongoing. Put simply, the way we now understand The Beatles and what made them so special all started here.

“Anthology’s” history began in the early 1970s. In the immediate aftermath of The Beatles’ break-up, their close friend and associate Neil Aspinall set about amassing as much historic footage as he could find and eventually finished a feature-length rough-cut provisionally titled “The Long And Winding Road.” It lacked any new contributions from its four principal subjects, but even at a time when everything it portrayed was still recent and raw, it proved one thing beyond doubt: that here was a story which would sooner or later have to be told in full.

Through the 1970s and 1980s, the project remained in a state of suspension, until everything finally started to align, a decade or so after John Lennon’s murder. “When we got over our business troubles, we decided that we might do the definitive story of The Beatles,” said Paul McCartney. Everyone involved knew what would set it apart: “Seeing as other people had had a go at it, we thought it might be good from the inside-out, rather than the outside-in.”

For Ringo Starr, this essential idea had huge appeal: “You’ve heard it from everybody else. Now you can hear it from us.”

And so it started. Circa 1991, Paul, Ringo and George Harrison began to share each other’s company and talk about the work ahead. Eventually, while a trove of John Lennon’s archive interview material was put together, the three of them sat—in various locations—for long interviews with the British musician and broadcaster Jools Holland. There were also contributions from three key insiders: Neil, George Martin and their ally and former advisor Derek Taylor. The UK filmmakers Geoff Wonfor and Bob Smeaton began building on what Neil had begun, meticulously weaving together archive footage.

If the early Beatles had sometimes seemed in danger of becoming distant and fuzzily defined, all their vitality and excitement suddenly came roaring back. The garish colours and exotic flavours of their later incarnations were more vivid than ever. Better still, the eight-part “Anthology” format created space to explore both their music and all the stories that swirled around it.

And the time felt right. “I’m glad it didn’t get made till now,” said George. “I think it’s been nice for us—and the public—just to forget about The Beatles for a while and let the dust settle, and now we’ve gone back to it with a fresh point of view.”

The passing years had provided a lot of clarity and context. But the fact that Anthology materialised in the mid-1990s also represented a brilliant feat of accidental timing. As George said, for a time, certainly in their home country, The Beatles and their history and legacy had receded from the cultural foreground to the point that it had all almost seemed unfashionable. But now, a new generation of musicians and fans were tuning in again.