On This Day in 1988, 'When We Was Fab' entered the UK chart.
“When we was fab.” Say it with a Liverpudlian accent and it
can only be referring to one thing, for that matter said with any accent
it can only ever be referring to the Beatles. This was George
Harrison’s hook line, and title, for his 1988 single, the second to be
taken from his Cloud Nine album. It’s a perfect evocation of those heady
days of Beatlemania when those loveable Mop-Tops, the Fab Four, ruled
the world and we all thought they would go on forever.
George co-wrote the song with Jeff Lynne, who also co-produced the
album that shortly pre-empts the two of them forming The Travelling
Wilburys with Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and Roy Orbison. ‘When We Was Fab’ is
a musical nod to the psychedelic sound that the Beatles had made their
own in 1967, through its use of sitar, string quartet, and backward tape
effects. According to George, "...until I finalized the lyric on it, it
was always called 'Aussie Fab'. That was it's working title. I hadn't
figured out what the song was going to say ... what the lyrics would be
about, but I knew it was definitely a Fab song. It was based on the
Fabs, and as it was done up in Australia there, up in Queensland, then
that's what we called it. As we developed the lyrics, it became 'When We
Was Fab'. It's a difficult one to do live because of all the all the
little overdubs and all the cellos and the weird noises and the backing
voices."
Besides being such a catchy song there’s fun to be had just referencing the little musical motifs that reference Beatles songs. Much credit must go to Jeff Lynne who had himself been so obviously inspired by the Beatles during his time with Electric Light Orchestra – just as Take That were inspired by ELO on their ‘comeback’ album, Beautiful World.
Ringo Starr is among the other musicians on the track and he appears
in the video directed by 10CC’s Godley and Crème. It also features Jeff
Lynne, Elton John, putting the coin in the cup and Neil Aspinall, the
Beatles's road manager, holding a copy of John Lennon's Mind Games album.
There’s Paul Simon, pushing a cart, percussionist, Ray Cooper and Paul
McCartney is rumoured to have be playing the bass dressed in the walrus
suit. George in a 1988 interview said, "here's another clue for you all,
the walrus was Paul." Come on Paul, spill the beans, was it really you?
It was released at the end of January 1988 and a week later on 6
February it made the UK chart for the first time. Despite the fact that
it only reached No.25 in the UK and two places higher in the US chart it
endures as one of George’s most popular songs. The single art
incorporates Klaus Voormann's 1966 drawing of George that was used on
the cover of Revolver, along with a ‘new’ drawing by Voormann showing
George, 22 years later.
‘When We Was Fab’ is available on Let It Roll: Songs of George Harrison at Amazon
Watch the video here:
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