Number 18 - When We Was Fab

Beatles Involved:

George and Ringo

Listenability: 3.5 out of 5

This song about the Beatles is produced in the style of the Beatles. Jeff Lynne was involved and adds his pseudo-Beatles style to the track. Ringo plays drums and Paul was even asked to covertly take part in the film clip (which he didn't do). The lyrics are humorous and there's not much to dislike about the track, except for the one finger piano line in the chorus which sounds a bit tacky and out of place. Perhaps they liked it that way.

What they said about it:

George:

I had this guitar that somebody loaned me and I don't know why, I thought I'd like to write a song like that period. And I could hear Ringo in my head, going, one, two...da-ka thump, da-ka thump.  Taken from: Rolling Stone February 1988.

The last song on Side One is a complete indulgence in nostalgia. Again, it's a song I wrote with Jeff Lynne, based on some idea reminiscent of '67 - '68. This song has a couple of very reminiscent chord changes that I've used in previous old Beatle tunes. And because it's a trip down memory lane, it's also very tongue in cheek. It's supposed to be humorous and it's called 'When We Was Fab'. 

Question: Fabs as in referring to the Beatles?

It's not just meant to be related to the Beatles as the 'Fabs'. It's everybody in that period. Everybody was 'Fab', so I wrote the song to sound like one of those. Jeff and I got all the little bits, crazy backing vocals and cellos. There's even the sitars on the end. I think it's my favourite because it's the first song I've really written with somebody else that was a total collaboration that we were both really pleased with. 

Taken from: Ticket To Ride (S.Muni, D.Somach, K.Somach) p.240 

Question: You've already documented your own anthology. For the benefit of Aussies, tell us about "When We Was Fab".
Yeah, 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. Who knows ... maybe next time, we'll attempt it. We'll try it in the rehearsal and see. 

Taken from: George Harrison Gets "Undercover" By Paul Cashmere.

Question: Does he [Ringo] play on "When We Was Fab"?Oh, yeah. I mean, before I wrote the song, or when I sat down to write it, I thought, "This one’s gonna start with Ringo going, ‘One, two, DUHtabumb, DUHtabumb.’" That was the intro in my head; that was the tempo it was always going to be.Taken from: The George Harrison Interview CREEM  December 1987 and January 1988.

Those fills are just pure Ringo.  

Taken from: Rolling Stone February 1988.

 Ringo:

Question: You also worked on George's Cloud Nine, something he said he enjoyed doing very much.

Oh, yeah, I think it's the best album George has done in a year. It's up and it's good and he has some great songs, like 'Fish on the Sand'. Let's see, what else does he do? Ah, 'When We Was Fab', which is the one I think should be the single. But it'll be left up to the powers that be who'll do whatever they want.

He did it with Jeff Lynne. Jim Keltner was on it, I was on it, Gary Wright, Eric's on it, Elton's on it. You know, all of us people who are out of work, we get together. 

Taken from: Ticket To Ride (S.Muni, D.Somach, K.Somach) p.182

Paul:

Question: Did you appear in George Harrison's video for "When We Was Fab"? There were stories that it was you inside the walrus costume. 

No. George wanted me to be in it but I wasn't available. So I suggested that he put someone else in the walrus and tell everyone that it was me. We've always had fun with the walrus thing. We don't lay many false trails but the walrus has always been one of them. Anyway, it was me in the walrus costume in 'Magical Mystery Tour', it wasn't me in "When We Was Fab" - it was a joke between George and me, which we purposely decided not to tell anyone. 

Taken from: Record Collector. Feb 1995 No.186 p. 21

Bits and Pieces

• 'When We Was Fab' was released as a single. Longtime Beatles' friend, bass guitarist and artist Klaus Voorman did the cover art for the single. It was Klaus who did the cover art for The Beatles' Revolver album.
• George talks about using "a couple of very reminiscent chord changes that I've used in previous old Beatle tunes". What could these chord changes be? The first line of the song (Back then long time ago when / grass was green) features an Am chord changing to an F7.  These are the two chords in the opening line of Glass Onion (I told you about / strawberry fields). When We Was Fab then goes to an Am chord with with a changing bass note. Here, the line "Woke up in a daze" has the chord change Am, Am/B, Am/C, Am/D.  A chord change like this can be done on guitar by moving one finger around while keeping the rest of the fingers in place. This was a trick The Beatles used several times in their songs. For example, in I'm So Tired the sound of the chord change of A, Eaug, F#m (played in the line, "I wonder should I call you, but I know what you would do") can be achieved by moving one finger up the fret board while keeping the other fingers in place. Similarly, in While My Guitar Gently Weeps the first chord change from Am to Am/G is done by moving one finger. In Something George uses a variation of this trick in the opening line of the verses although in this case the changing note is not the bass note. Once you know this little trick anyone can write your own Beatles sounding song on guitar or piano. Neil Innes from The Rutles did it in his song 'How Sweet To Be An Idiot.' And of course Oasis did it in their similar sounding 'Whatever'. Heck, even I've written a couple of brilliant Beatles inspired songs using this trick!