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There also happened to be a windup alarm clock set on top of the piano—Lennon had brought it in as a gag one day, saying that it would come in handy for waking up Ringo when he was needed for an overdub. In a fit of silliness, Mal decided to set it off at the start of the 24th bar; that, too, made it onto the finished recording…for no reason other than that I couldn’t get rid of it.
even though John and Paul both had phenomenal pitch, John was quite insecure about his voice. Quite often when he’d come up to the control room and listen to a playback of his vocal, we’d have to tell John how good it was. We’d see that faraway look on his face and know that he was dissatisfied, even if it was a stunning performance; we’d have to keep reassuring him, or he’d insist that we erase it so he could try again.
Paul excitedly suggested employing a full symphony orchestra. George Martin liked the idea, but, mindful of the cost, was adamant that there was no way he could justify charging EMI for a full ninety-piece orchestra just to play twenty-four bars of music. It was Ringo, of all people, who came up with the solution. “Well, then,” he joked, “let’s just hire half an orchestra and have them play it twice.”
