Lennon would've been "excited" about RB

By Oli Welsh Published 7 September, 2009

McCartney, Ono and Harrison speak out.

Sir Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison have said that John Lennon and George Harrison would have approved of The Beatles: Rock Band - and shed some light on how they came to agree to going ahead with the game.

"I think they would have been amused," McCartney said in yesterday's Observer Music Magazine feature. "I think they would have seen the point of it.

"For us, let's remember that the central thing is our music is getting played. That's the bottom line. I'm sure John and George would have thought, 'Hey, what  a clever idea.'"

"[John] would have been excited about the Rock Band concept, and very happy with how the music and the visuals of the Beatles were represented," said Lennon's widow Ono.

"It will inspire and encourage the young generation to be intimately involved in music making," she added. "You can't ask for more. It will be another musical revolution created by the Beatles to make our planet a planet of music."

"I hate to say, but I know I'm [George's] biggest fan and biggest critic, and I'm happy with it," Olivia Harrison said. "I think they did a great job, and if I didn't like it I would feel very uncomfortable."

Getting their approval wasn't plain sailing, however, the Beatles "shareholders" revealed.

McCartney's initial impression of Rock Band was of "a couple of grown-ups standing looking very foolish with these little plastic guitars playing to a screen", he said. "And we're going, 'Yeah, all right… It just looks like a really bad band.'"

He was eventually won around by Harmonix's dedication to presenting the Beatles' music. "They've done it very respectfully, and so they should," said Sir Paul. "Not just because you should respect the Beatles, but mainly because there are a lot of people out there who are going to notice if you don't."

But McCartney, Ringo Starr and Lennon and Harrison's widows still presented Harmonix with plenty of hoops to jump through. "We did get very hands-on," McCartney said.

They were particularly concerned with the visual representations of the Beatles. Ono and Harrison gave the animation teams "quite a hard time", according to Harmonix's Alex Rigopulos, as did McCartney, an animation fan, who insisted the work should be of feature film quality.

"We said: 'Look, the eyes don't work.' They said: 'No, eyes are very hard to do...' Then: 'Wait a minute, John's too wooden...' I started to say, 'Look, Shrek's good. There's this great thing, Arthur and the Invisibles, the Luc Besson film.' So I started to give them things to aim at," he said.

There were other hurdles to overcome before Apple Records could give their approval, notably a technical solution to splitting out the instrumental parts on the basic early recordings, and a stipulation that "it needs to feel analogue, it needs to feel British, and even though it's a videogame, it shouldn't feel computery," according to Harmonix's Josh Randall.

Giles Martin, son of Beatles producer George and a key figure in the project, revealed that he was initially quite sceptical.

"I was thinking, 'Am I making a Beatles Zippo lighter or a Beatles plastic tray?' I was snooty about it at first – 'Oh God, we're just making a game,'" he admitted. But he came to see the value of music videogames in making the player pay attention to the way songs are constructed.

"There's part of me, being a musician, that wants to say, 'Why don't you go and play a proper guitar and not play a plastic one?' But what I do like about it is that it makes us listen to the music again and again, in the way that we used to when we bought albums. As opposed to having 3,000 songs on your iPod which you flick through with obsessive button pressing. These days we do hear a lot of music, but we don't actually listen to it very often."

The game is released on Wednesday, 9th September. Read our Beatles: Rock Band review to find out why it's "the pinnacle of the series' and the genre's achievements".

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About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (37) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Ignatius_Cheese #1 3 years ago

    Would've been less "excited" about this article...

    B0rked!! :oP

  • b00n #2 3 years ago

    Lots of white space increases readability, but there are limits ;)

  • matrim83 #3 3 years ago

    Is this article in Braille?

  • JayScott #4 3 years ago

    Clearly it's The White Album...

  • Oli Verified Reviews Editor, Eurogamer.net #5 3 years ago

    Monday. Sorry.

  • skillian #6 3 years ago

    I'm going to comment on the headline alone without reading the article, like I always do:

    Like f**k he would.

  • terminalterror #7 3 years ago

    I have to say that this article was actually worth waiting for.

  • schnide #8 3 years ago

    I think Lennon would've been very snobbish about the idea, at best. But hey (Jude)..

    The argument about plastic instruments versus real ones is ridiculous. Who in their right mind has ever had to make a choice between the two, ruling one out from the other? Games like RB might lead to someone wanting to learn to really play, but they'll never stop anyone who might have otherwise been Hendrix's spiritual successor.

  • AbracadaverAK #9 3 years ago

    "You can't ask for more. It will be another musical revolution created by the Beatles to make our planet a planet of music."

    You sure about that, Yoko?

  • space_ace #10 3 years ago

    but is it socialist enough?

  • BBIAJ #11 3 years ago

    Very interesting read, cheers for that one EG!

  • M_of_the_sys #12 3 years ago

    But McCartney, Ringo Starr and Lennon and McCartney's widows still presented Harmonix with plenty of hoops to jump through. "We did get very hands-on," McCartney said.

    Am I reading this wrong or are they suggesting that McCartney is dead? Conspiracy theories start again?

  • Golgo #13 3 years ago

    @Space Ace?
    Socialist enough?! Are you referring to the same Tory-voting Lennon we all know and love?
    I'm sure he would have loved it.
    = more loot.

  • Oli Verified Reviews Editor, Eurogamer.net #14 3 years ago

    M_of_the_sys: Haha. Monday. Sorry.

  • Earlyflash #15 3 years ago

    Shame they didn't find this 'enthusiasm' at the E3 conference, where they were still in the 'awkward' stage of their relationship with the game.

    Now that pre-orders and reviews are through the roof, they're on board. What a surprise.

  • TravisTouchdown #16 3 years ago

    Paul also revelaed that he'd not actually played it "yet".

  • Rufus #17 3 years ago

    I like how some people have commented on how Lennon *actually* would have felt about this game. So you guys knew him better than McCartney and Ono then? :)
    Edited by Rufus at 07/09/09 @ 10:36

  • skillian #18 3 years ago

    I think both McCartney and Ono both know he wouldn't have liked it. But neither are likely to say that in a press release designed to sell the game.

  • curtlikesmeat #19 3 years ago

    I suspect he wouldn't have been bothered about it. Anyway, I feel like there's too many of these games about now. I bought Guitar Hero 1,2 and 3 and then Rock Band 1 and 2..... I mean when the concept first came around I remember sitting there with my mate and thinking this was the best invention ever made, but they really are milking it hardcore. I actually haven't unlocked all the songs on RB2 yet, there's just too much to get through.

    So in summary, no more of these games for me unless there's some big technological leap in them, like having something more resembling a real guitar that teaches you how to play it.

  • Skorms-Boss #20 3 years ago

    Have to quote Skillian on this one

    "I'm going to comment on the headline alone without reading the article, like I always do:

    Like f**k he would. "

    Bravo, John Lennon would have seen this game for what it really is, the two remaining Beatles in all their money grabbing glory! John Lennon would have been excited to know that the growth rate of kids playing the guitar is at an all time high, I doubt that John or George for that matter would be that giddy about a £350 price tag for three plastic guitars and a drum kit!

  • WinterSnowblind #21 3 years ago

    The price tag is a little high, but in all fairness the game has clearly cost a lot of money to develop and liscence everything out.. You can be pretty sure it wouldn't be this expensive if it wasn't for the Beatles themselves and the controlling of their music being so tight.

    That's not necessarily a bad thing, but yeah. Don't blame Harmonix there.

  • jaxon58 #22 3 years ago

    I reckon Lennon would have been more of a Guitar Hero man ;)

    I don't think it serves much of a purpose to speculate on whether or not he would have been "excited" about RB:B.

  • Fab4 #23 3 years ago

    I'm not sure about 'excited' but he did prophetically sing about giving 'piss a chance'. So i'm saying he was open-minded about it.

  • youhavenomail #24 3 years ago

    Never mind about dead people, what do you think about it, Macca? You think it's shit, don't you?

  • skillian #25 3 years ago

    Never mind about dead people, what do you think about it, Macca? You think it's shit, don't you?

    How would he know? Despite all the talking up he keeps doing, he hasn't even tried the game yet. Ironically, he's using the "I'd rather play real guitar" defence.
    Edited by skillian at 07/09/09 @ 15:09

  • layleeloo #26 3 years ago

    LENNON WAS AN OVERRATED TWAT

    Whats next? Aqua Rock Band? 2 Unlimited Rock band while we're at it (despite the fact they're a dance act). What utter shite. Once our parents generation has passed we will finally get over Beatle praise and finally have recognition that they were not as good as people make out. Being the first does not mean good. Atari Jaguar? 3DO? I rest my case.

    Best thing to come out of the beatles was Thomas The Tank Engine. You cant deny that much.
    Edited by layleeloo at 07/09/09 @ 21:46

  • busboy33 #27 3 years ago

    With all the love and respect this Beatles fan can muster . . .

    Damn if they don't come off as pretentious jackholes. "Oh, how amusing."

    Y'know what's amusing? Thinking "Yellow Submarine" is a great pop song rather than the title track to a Saturday Morning "Learn to Love Fingerpainting" kiddie show.

  • Slipstream #28 3 years ago

    After seeing the game in action for the first time today I must say it is simply a work of great craftsmen.
    Okay I'm not the biggest Beatles fan, but I have friends who are, and they were explaining to me the amount of depth and detail Harmonix have put into this game.
    It was absolutley glaring, they didn't have to say anything, the art direction, the accuracy of the stadiums, crowds and even the unique set ups (Like the way they taped 2 Microphones together to sort of, buffer their voices) the Beatles would perform with were all present and correct!

    I don't own Guitar Hero or Rockband, but the love and sheer amount of dedication that has gone into this is ever present throughout the whole expereince. I am SERIOUSLY considering buying this to be part of something that I would love to have experienced had the Beatles not preceded my existence ;)

    Edited by Slipstream at 08/09/09 @ 08:46

  • GooseUK #29 3 years ago

    I dont think that they would have allowed this, if they didnt approve, at the end of the day they could have profited off the name many times before, but they chose not to.

    As for the "Beatles were shit", and "Lennon was a twat" comments, seriously? How misguided and childish of you.

  • CARL05 #30 3 years ago

    "I think they would have seen the point of it."

    Advertising and making money?
    Edited by CARL05 at 08/09/09 @ 00:26

  • Royal Fool #31 3 years ago

    GooseUK: I think those are called "opinions".

  • metallicorphan #32 3 years ago

    @layleeloo 'LENNON WAS AN OVERRATED TWAT'

    Ha Ha Fuck off you Cunt...anyone who writes Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,Norwegian Wood,Come Together or even Jealous Guy is a Fucking Genius ....so,sit the fuck down

    and what the fuck are you comparing Jaguar or Atari video game systems with The Beatles for ...just because they were 'first'???...cock knockers don't come much more evident than you,LOL

  • Skorms-Boss #33 3 years ago

    "Whats next? Aqua Rock Band?"

    I'm just hoping and praying that this is next! lol

  • Shadders #34 3 years ago

    Nice article, I like that they were putting Harmonix under pressure to deliver a high quality product.

    But where do Harmonix go from here? Surely there's no place to go but down now?

  • Shadders #35 3 years ago

    Also, I'm not in the least bit surprised that Macca and Ringo didn't want to play the game, they'll likely need to play on Easy or Medium at first and why in god's name should they suffer that indignation? This is for people who aren't The Beatles.

  • layleeloo #36 3 years ago

    @metallicorphan

    And gay boy beatle fan boys dont come more evidently that you who probably dreams of taking the talentless fuckwit up the shitter each night. Fag.

  • metallicorphan #37 3 years ago

    lovely comeback ..couldn't think of anything else and went the gay way,well done...and you have a go at John Lennon for being talentless,LOL