I remember sitting in my Grade 11 English class in the early 1970's and the teacher was playing a recording of King Lear so we could hear how it sounded before we began preparing for our own performance of the play. As usual, I was trying hard not to fall asleep as I sat there half listening -- when suddenly it began to sound very very familiar. It now had my undivided attention as I kept thinking "why do I know this???" -- and then, as it got to the "serviceable villain" part, I suddenly shouted out "I Am The Walrus" -- most of the class (and the teacher) just laughed at me.. but one guy on the other side of the class slammed his hand on his desk and shouted "YES!!" as he was also trying to figure out why he knew this. I still chuckle at the memory. Thanks for posting this!
I read King Lear four times, and I got the same eureka moment when reading "Sit you down father" (In King Lear, I had heard "Get your grandfather"!). A very satisfying discovery. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/35b48e4301ea4b88930ecaaec05a127f
That's about the most amazing story one could truthfully tell about a school days recollection. That is a memory to share with many. I'm glad you commented here.
Oh wow, I had exactly the same experience. Teacher had a TV in the late 80s with the play and the lights turned off in class. Grade 11. I was drifting off and the last lines jolted me awake. Took me a little while to figure out where I had heard it! This is how I ended up on this video.
While listening to this part of the song as a kid over 50 years ago I thought he was saying "Edgar Allan Poe" since Lennon himself referenced him in the song lyrics.
The fact that they recorded this after Brian had passed, with these lines from King Lear about 'untimely death', makes the whole song a lot more eerier and stranger. Superb.
OH WOW - I've _always_ been dying to know where those mysterious voices at the end of the song came from!! I could tell it was something from Shakespeare, but I had no clue what it was exactly. Goo-goo Good Job! :D (I am totally posting this on Facebook now...)
Interesting that The BBC didn't consider legal action. The actors on this broadcast might have had some justification in claiming royalties if they knew their voices were being used on a rock recording. . Of course if there had been any descendants of Shakespeare alive then he would have got a joint song writing credit!
Sigh. You're not a lawyer by any chance? Do you think those still-then-living actors were not made aware of their voices being on a Beatles recording at some point? The band was hardly obscure, you realize? In any event, I am sure Parlaphone/EMI/Capitol cleared things. Oh, and copyrights do not extend back for several centuries, at least not until Disney keeps fighting to do such a thing. Nevermind the fact that first you would have to get concrete evidence as to whom the "Shakespeare" who wrote the plays actually was, as that's been in question for so very long.
Astonishing as it sounds now, prior to the 1991 Gilbert O'Sullivan vs. Biz Markie lawsuit, there really wasn't much of a legal precedent for successfully suing someone for unauthorised sample use. I imagine it didn’t even occur to the sampled thespians to get litigious with The Beatles. I mean, the Beastie Boys never cleared the Led Zeppelin samples in their early material because nobody told them they had to.
If you read up via the books that document all the Beatle's recording at EMI you will find that George Martin had already cleared the use of material recorded live off the radio during the final mix down of the track
Listen to the line "If ever though will strive, bury my body": There is a voice-splice between the word 'strive' and 'bury' (which occurs at 0:27). Are you sure this was live? Thanks.
The original broadcast of 'The tragedy of King Lear' on 29th September 1967 was itself a recording and may well have had edits in it for various reasons, the 'live radio feed' was exactly that, a live BBC Third Programme transmission mixed into 'I am the walrus'.
@@binghamguevara6814 Thank you for your kind words about the video, It was actually produced by my son who is a videographer, he's now 22 and loves the Beatles and their music, strange to think The Beatles had already been gone 27 years the day he was born !
Hopefully this is what you are looking for, The first actor to speak is John Bryning playing the part of Oswald, the second actor speaking is Philip Guard playing Edgar, and thirdly it is Mark Dignam playing the Earl of Gloucester. with the final line 'Sit you down father rest you' again by Philip Guard.
They were exploring, experimenting, trying things. Using live radio broacasts is an idea that was floating around among avant-garde musicians at the time, although as early as 1951 John Cage had written a piece ('Imaginary landscape #4') for 24 performers operating (live) 12 radios.
I remember sitting in my Grade 11 English class in the early 1970's and the teacher was playing a recording of King Lear so we could hear how it sounded before we began preparing for our own performance of the play. As usual, I was trying hard not to fall asleep as I sat there half listening -- when suddenly it began to sound very very familiar. It now had my undivided attention as I kept thinking "why do I know this???" -- and then, as it got to the "serviceable villain" part, I suddenly shouted out "I Am The Walrus" -- most of the class (and the teacher) just laughed at me.. but one guy on the other side of the class slammed his hand on his desk and shouted "YES!!" as he was also trying to figure out why he knew this. I still chuckle at the memory. Thanks for posting this!
I read King Lear four times, and I got the same eureka moment when reading "Sit you down father" (In King Lear, I had heard "Get your grandfather"!). A very satisfying discovery.
genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/35b48e4301ea4b88930ecaaec05a127f
That's about the most amazing story one could truthfully tell about a school days recollection. That is a memory to share with many. I'm glad you commented here.
@FAV21 LINTAO, Rafael Let me guess.. you're a math wizard lmao
Oh wow, I had exactly the same experience. Teacher had a TV in the late 80s with the play and the lights turned off in class. Grade 11. I was drifting off and the last lines jolted me awake. Took me a little while to figure out where I had heard it! This is how I ended up on this video.
Splendid Story!
My brain keeps hallucinating the I Am The Walrus noises onto this.
Same
0:34 iconic. What an odd delivery. So musical.
While listening to this part of the song as a kid over 50 years ago I thought he was saying "Edgar Allan Poe" since Lennon himself referenced him in the song lyrics.
There is a certain "music" to it, particularly when he says "o, untimely death". Thanks for sharing
When I was a kid, I used to think it was, "Oh, I'm tired, yeah."
Shakespeare was a musican.
The fact that they recorded this after Brian had passed, with these lines from King Lear about 'untimely death', makes the whole song a lot more eerier and stranger. Superb.
It’s so weird to hear this as an isolated track !!!
Brilliant eding to the song, it suits incredibly; never ceases to amaze me how it fits so well
I was watching the reduced 2018 version of King Lear on BBC 4 last night with Anthony Hopkins as Lear and much of this scene and dialogue was cut out.
OH WOW - I've _always_ been dying to know where those mysterious voices at the end of the song came from!! I could tell it was something from Shakespeare, but I had no clue what it was exactly. Goo-goo Good Job! :D (I am totally posting this on Facebook now...)
This was fantastic...Great Upload!!!
A great treat to be able to hear this isolated, after all these years.
This is incredible. Until this day, I didn't know exactly what was being said at the end of the song. Nor did I know the source. Thank you for this.
Not only is this audibly informative, but the visual portion is well done as well! I always thought this was Paul reading at the end.
Give it a few years and he'll probably claim it was . The egotistical cunt.😂
Thank you, serviceable villain
Roger Delgado was in that radio production?! The first Master in Doctor Who?!
My first Metal album is going to be called: Vices of Thy Mistress!
Man, is that a perfect title or what.
Thank you SOOOO much for that.
Now it makes sense.
Interesting that The BBC didn't consider legal action. The actors on this broadcast might have had some justification in claiming royalties if they knew their voices were being used on a rock recording. . Of course if there had been any descendants of Shakespeare alive then he would have got a joint song writing credit!
Sigh. You're not a lawyer by any chance? Do you think those still-then-living actors were not made aware of their voices being on a Beatles recording at some point? The band was hardly obscure, you realize? In any event, I am sure Parlaphone/EMI/Capitol cleared things. Oh, and copyrights do not extend back for several centuries, at least not until Disney keeps fighting to do such a thing. Nevermind the fact that first you would have to get concrete evidence as to whom the "Shakespeare" who wrote the plays actually was, as that's been in question for so very long.
Astonishing as it sounds now, prior to the 1991 Gilbert O'Sullivan vs. Biz Markie lawsuit, there really wasn't much of a legal precedent for successfully suing someone for unauthorised sample use. I imagine it didn’t even occur to the sampled thespians to get litigious with The Beatles. I mean, the Beastie Boys never cleared the Led Zeppelin samples in their early material because nobody told them they had to.
If you read up via the books that document all the Beatle's recording at EMI you will find that George Martin had already cleared the use of material recorded live off the radio during the final mix down of the track
Thank You!!!
How has this recording emerged? Someone looked for the BBC archives? Recorded his radio in September 1967?
this has been floatring around on youtube for a long time
Good work, sir!
Is the rest of this play anywhere?
Listen to the line "If ever though will strive, bury my body": There is a voice-splice between the word 'strive' and 'bury' (which occurs at 0:27). Are you sure this was live? Thanks.
The original broadcast of 'The tragedy of King Lear' on 29th September 1967 was itself a recording and may well have had edits in it for various reasons, the 'live radio feed' was exactly that, a live BBC Third Programme transmission mixed into 'I am the walrus'.
Thank you for replying so quickly. Do you know the name of the actor who delivered these lines? Thank you.
@@binghamguevara6814 I believe its John Bryning an English actor who died in 1998
Thank you for the info. And thank you for this beautifully edited video. Goo goo goo job.
@@binghamguevara6814 Thank you for your kind words about the video, It was actually produced by my son who is a videographer, he's now 22 and loves the Beatles and their music, strange to think The Beatles had already been gone 27 years the day he was born !
Does the BBC have the actual recording of this production of "King Lear" in the archives?
Yes, and George Martin acquired it when he did the proper stereo remix of the song for Cirque de Soleil.
It's so bizare.
You would even dare that The Beatles themselves were playing these parts.
They sound a bit like them.
I always thought that he said Oswald on 0:38 instead of O untimely death
I always thought he said "Did your grandfather...left you"
Smoke pot, smoke pot, everybody smoke pot....
The 'smoke pot' line was apparently created by fans over the years.
Everybody’s Got One. Well known UK comedy catchphrase at the time.
It starts with Oompa oompa stick it up your jumpa, then the higher voices say everybody’s got one. Crazy song!
Never knew Shakespare is soo funny !😅
You definitely don't read Shakespeare in that case. His work was full of puns, including even raunchy sex jokes!
Can someone explain this to me? I'm having a hard time understanding the context in the video and what the significance is.
There's a snippet of King Lear in the Beatles song "I am the Walrus."
Does anyone know who voice that is?
Hopefully this is what you are looking for, The first actor to speak is John Bryning playing the part of Oswald, the second actor speaking is Philip Guard playing Edgar, and thirdly it is Mark Dignam playing the Earl of Gloucester. with the final line 'Sit you down father rest you' again by Philip Guard.
@@dippey Thank you so greatly appreciated
Paul is dead, ha ha!
But like
Why
They were exploring, experimenting, trying things. Using live radio broacasts is an idea that was floating around among avant-garde musicians at the time, although as early as 1951 John Cage had written a piece ('Imaginary landscape #4') for 24 performers operating (live) 12 radios.
Why not? It's art!
I know thee well