[Marion Shore]

What about songs they wrote but didn't record?

What about songs by individual ex-Beatles, e.g. John's Imagine?

[Jayne Osborn]

Hi Marion,

I have no idea how 'picky' Lucy is, but with such a plethora of titles from which to choose, it would seem a bit daft (to me) to go for the slightly 'iffy' options you mention. The "If in doubt, don't" adage springs to mind.

Lucy is bound to rule out entries that don't comply with her precise instructions; for instance, Imagine is definitely not a Beatles song.

Jayne

[Chris O'Carroll]

Jayne's take on this makes sense to me. Songs recorded by individual ex-Beatles after the band broke up certainly don't count as "Beatles songs." Neither, I'd imagine, do Beatles covers of songs by other writers, nor songs written by the Beatles but recorded and released exclusively by others. Your best bet is to stick with songs that were both written by and recorded by the Fab Four themselves.

Beatles-authored songs originally released by other artists -- Badfinger, Peter & Gordon, et al. -- are probably eligible on a technicality if there's a Beatles version on one of the Anthology albums. But it ain't necessarily so just because I say "probably." On the other hand, if you write a speech that includes a couple dozen indisputable titles and one or two borderline cases, I doubt that the latter will disqualify your entire entry.

[John Whitworth]

It Won't Be Long. We will be free. For No One Knows our Misery. Don't Let Me Down. Don't Pass Me By. Don't ever change. Don't Ask Me Why. I know you feel The Inner Light. The dawn succeeds A Hard Day's Night. Here Comes the Sun so let it shine. The Rain is over. I Feel Fine. I Need You all to make the weather. Cast off those Chains and Come Together. Run For Your Life and take an axe, man. Tell Me Why we need a Taxman. You Can't Do That was Yesterday. Tomorrow – That'll Be The Day, and We Can Work It Out, Get Back Every Little Thing we lack. Then let us dream Like Dreamers Do, Free As A Bird, From Me to You. Because Tomorrow Never Knows, I Will announce the death of prose. Help! We'll make true poetry. The Revolution – Let It Be!

Thirty-two titles. And they SANG Don't Ever Change though they didn't write it. So thirty-two and a half.

[Marion Shore]

John, bravo!

Actually, thirty-two. "Chains" was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King--(just for the record)

[John Whitworth]

Oh bother.

[Jayne Osborn]

John,

To do this all in rhyme is amazing!

Jayne

[Marion Shore]

Yesterday no doubt you saw the headline: "Give me money – that's what I want!" alleging I have had my hand in the till. There was, you can be sure, no truth to this, any more than to the rumors of my alleged liaisons with this boy, that girl… And then, here comes the Sun-Tribune with its lurid headline “She came in through the bathroom window.” At this point, I seriously considered leaving the race, since I don't want to spoil the Party's chances of success. Nevertheless, I have decided to stay on the ticket, to ride out the storm of my opponent’s smear campaign, for I am certain that, in the end, with a little help from my friends and supporters, we can get back to the long and winding road to victory and send a clear message to my opponent that his dirty politics will get him nowhere, man.