The Beatles on Ed Sullivan...in color?

[Stephen Long]

I am a new member and very excited to submit my first thread. I was looking through my (incomplete) set of Beatles color cards from the 1960s. Number 37 caught my eye. In the extreme right corner we see a fragment of a tv monitor depicting a color image...the blue background of the Sullivan stage set is blue in the monitor. Since this is my first thread I'll try to attach the image but I'm new to this. Also, in the newest Sullivan show dvds, at the end of the final 1965 broadcast Sullivan announces the show after the Beatles taping would be his first in color. Given the above, does anyone think the Beatles 1965 performance might also exist in color?

[Steve Hoffman]

It's not blue, it's just "off". The equipment was in monochrome only.

[Evan L]

Good thing Ted Turner doesn't own the footage, or "colorised" versions would be issued....

Evan

[Joel Cairo]

At the time that Sullivan show was recorded, CBS still had not yet made the leap to making a commitment for every prime time show to be in color... and in fact, the switch to color in 9/65 the Sullivan Show required a trip to CBS Television City in L.A., where most of the the network's color facilites were housed. They taped a series of shows there while the NY studios were being fitted for colorcasting.

So although it could be **possible** that there was a CBS color remote truck on the East Coast at that time to record the Beatles, I seriously doubt that one was used. We should just count ourselves lucky that **any** videotape version of the show still exists!!

-Kevin

[Evan L]

Just as A Hard Day's Night would not have been the same movie if it had been in color, so the same goes for the Ed Sullivan Show footage.

Evan

[JonUrban]

"A Hard Days Night" in color. Holy Cow, don't say that too loudly! YUK!

[Lord Hawthorne]

Ironically, the Beatles last appearance in person on Ed Sullivan (August 1965) was the last black-and-white show for Ed.

[John DeAngelis]

...Given the above, does anyone think the Beatles 1965 performance might also exist in color?

Nice try, Stephen! Those Beatles cards are fun, yes? Welcome aboard.

[Stephen Long]

Thank you one and all for sharing your knowledge regarding the Beatles Sullivan broadcasts. Sorry, not giving up...especially when I hear there might have been a color facility in NYC in August 1965. Very hard to believe the transition was so sudden. I still think we don't have all the facts - wasn't it amazing to see the video tape of the Washington concert recorded by CBS (on the Anthology dvd)vs the kinescope we've endured for years?

I'm a first generation Beatles fan, and I enjoyed the Beatles in concert once in 1965 (3rd row!) and twice in 1966. I am not going to rest until we see all the concerts in their entirety that we've only been dealt fragments of in the "Anthology", as well as all the albums remixed for at least 5.1. The little we have seen and heard is fantastic.

In replying to my Sullivan query regarding the performances possibly being taped in color, several members expressed in revulsion to color! With all due respect and an appreciation of the merits of black and white, like stereo versus mono in the Beatles catalogue, the later color promotional clips are gorgeous. I dare to suggest...release the black and white footage both colorized AND black and white. Anyone not enjoy the Our World "All You Need is Love" footage "colorized"on the Anthology? I gasped in joy - hey I saw it May 25th, 1967 in glorious black and white and recorded the entire audio on my little Philips reel to reel recorder using alligator clips attached to the tv's speaker!

Again, I am thrilled to be a member of this incredible forum!!

[Steve Hoffman]

Glad to have you here.

Remember, it wasn't a plot by CBS to only broadcast the Beatles in black and white. The network resisted color for as long as possible, but caved in 1965. (Their system was the FIRST color system, but not compatible with existing TV's at the time so the FCC denied the system a license; the RCA "compatible color" system was put into use instead. This pissed off CBS greatly.)

If the Beatles had come back to the Sullivan Show in 1966, their performance would have been taped in color.

[reechie]

If the Beatles had come back to the Sullivan Show in 1966, their performance would have been taped in color.

And in fact they did tape those '66 studio performances of "Paperback Writer" and "Rain" for Ed in color.

[Paul G]

Anyone not enjoy the Our World "All You Need is Love" footage "colorized"on the Anthology?

I would have preferred the original black and white with the original mono audio.

Welcome to the forum, Stephen. You'll find lots of intelligent discussion here of mono vs. stereo and all things Beatles (and many other things).

Paul

[Evan L]

It was just in the timing. Remember, the Beatles taped their performance in August, 1965. If it had been as little as a month later, it would have been in color. Just coincidental it was Ed's last B&W broadcast.

Evan

[Steve D.]

As mentioned in previous posts, CBS was providing color programing in NTSC compatible color as soon as the FCC had authorized color broadcasting on Dec. 17, 1953. That day NBC showed their "color chimes" slide at 5:31 pm est. But CBS presented a full live color show at 6:15 pm est. This according to Ed Reitans "History of Color Television" site. Also, CBS provide color telecasts for several years in the mid 50's until 1958 when they mothballed their color equipment. Here in Los Angeles from 1958 until 1962 only NBC channel 4 and independent KTLA channel 5 telecast any shows in color. Color tv's dark ages. Only RCA was still offering color receivers in any quantity at all. In 1962 CBS fired up the color gear and began a very limited color program schedule as did ABC. CBS subsidiary CBS- Columbia also built and marketed a line of color & b&w television receivers in the mid 50's. This was a feeble attempt to compete with RCA.

[Steve Hoffman]

Yeah, 1962 was the turning point for ABC and CBS in regards to color; the year AFTER NBC's Disney's Wonderful World Of Color started. It was time to jump on the bandwagon or left behind in the monochrome dust. Steve D., it's funny to me that CBS wasn't going to be caught dead using any RCA built gear no matter what happened..

[Steve D.]

Hi Steve,

Actually, that first CBS-NTSC color program in Dec. '53, used a hybrid field sequential converted to ntsc system. The system called "Chromacoder" employed a color wheel and an RCA TK-30 B&W camera. For more info search "chromacoder" on Google. And for a history of network color tv facilities check out Ed Reitan's site: http://www.novia.net/~ereitan/

Steve

[Bobo U2]

I would have preferred the original black and white with the original mono audio.

AYNIL is one of the best colorized switch I ever seen. They did a great job on that video. When you consider all the colors that were in that room that night. The 5:1 mix on Anthology is amazing....

I have seen some color photos from the set of AHDN and it does look strange. But if the same people that did AYNIL were to colorized the concert at the end of AHDN it I bet it would look great.

[Nobby]

AYNIL is one of the best colorized switch I ever seen. They did a great job on that video. When you consider all the colors that were in that room that night. The 5:1 mix on Anthology is amazing....
Agreed...

They did it, because the had so many reference stills from the recording so they could get the colours right.

The story goes that after "All You Need Is Love" was colourised it was shown to George who was asked if he noticed anything different about it.

"No", said George...

When it was pointed out it was now in colour George said he was one of the few people in the world that didn't watch it on TV. So he didn't know it was originally in black and white!