Our World (TV Special) - The Beatles' Sequence

The Beatles' Sequence

The broadcast took place at the height of the Vietnam War, and The Beatles wanted to use the opportunity to convey a positive message expressing a philosophy of love. They gave a live performance, transmitted at 8:54 pm GMT, performing a new song, written primarily by John Lennon, entitled "All You Need Is Love", which was composed especially for the occasion. The Beatles invited many of their friends to the event to create a festive atmosphere and to join in on the song's chorus. Among the friends were members of The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Marianne Faithfull, Keith Moon and Graham Nash. The performance was preceded by just a single rehearsal.

Although the entire program was originally transmitted in black and white (and thus the videotape recording was also in black and white), for its usage in the 1995 TV special The Beatles Anthology, The Beatles' performance on the 1967 programme was colourized – using colour photographs taken at the event as a reference. The sequence opens in its original monochromatic format and rapidly morphs into full colour conveying the brightly coloured "flower power" and "psychedelic"-style clothing worn by The Beatles and their guests that was popular in 1967 during what was subsequently dubbed the "Summer of Love".