A five-hour documentary on the Beatles, produced with the cooperation of the band's former members, is to have its American television premiere in November on ABC.
The show, which does not yet have a title, is to be presented in two parts. The broadcast dates have not been set, but it is tentatively scheduled for sometime during the November sweeps.The show, to be released in a 10-hour home video version after the broadcast, includes "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love," unreleased John Lennon recordings to which Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr have added vocal and instrumental tracks, effectively creating the first new Beatles recordings since 1970.
Also included will be concert and studio segments, and interviews in which the former Beatles look back on their work.
For the project, Apple, the Beatles' own company, acquired the rights to films from television archives around the world, including concerts broadcast in France, Japan, Germany and the United States. The company also drew on the performers' personal film collections, which included home movies.
The project is also to include a book and a six-CD collection of previously unreleased recordings currently being assembled in London by the band and George Martin, the producer of their original sessions.