First up is the next installment in the ongoing George Harrison/Zoetrope disc back-catalogue series, Living In The Material World:
Featuring the 2024 50th anniversary mix of the album, this will come in a numbered sleeve with an insert of the original cover art. Hopefully it will be easier to secure than the Zoetrope edition of All Things Must Pass from Record Store Day earlier this year! It quickly became as rare as hen’s teeth.
Also on Dark Horse is a Billy Idol 12″ single picture disc. It features the track ’77’ which was on his LP Dream Into Itfrom earlier this year. The song is a collaboration with Avril Lavigne, but the version with her has so far only been available as a digital download. She didn’t make the cut for the version on the physical release. Well, now we get both versions on this 2-sided picture. Side 1 features the duet with Lavigne, while Side 2 is the album version.
A third Dark Horse Records title for RSD Black Friday is only appearing (so far) on the UK list. It looks to be a follow-up to last year’s RSD collaboration between Dhani Harrison and Carmen Rizzo. That was called Dreamers In The Field and featured world music artists Huun-Huur-Tu. This time Ivan Shopov is also involved and special guests are the New Bulgarian Voices and composer/choir leader Georgi Petkov. The album is called Ascending Into Silence. Very interesting stuff:
And lastly, there’s also the now almost obligatory RSD Ringo Starr re-issue on coloured vinyl from Friday Music. It’s his Choose Love from 2005 and it is the first time this record has been available on vinyl, so that makes it interesting. It’ll be on ruby red vinyl:
UPDATE: Despite being published on early RSD Black Friday 2025 lists, this Ringo Starr release seems to have quietly slipped off those same lists in recent days. We’ll keep an eye on it to see if it re-appears and will let you know.
Liveright Books has just announced a special numbered, limited edition of Wings: The Story of a Band On The Run, signed by Paul McCartney. There will be 175 copies available for the US market, and 175 copies for the UK market.
These limited signed edition books are packaged in a deluxe cloth case featuring screen printing, including a 24-page full-colour bound-in booklet of Wings-era album and singles cover artwork (front and back). They also include an exclusive colour vinyl 1 LP (with unique labels) of the forthcoming Wings: The Definitive Collection release. There’s also a special enamel pin and a blue and white embroidered patch.
Each copy will be numbered and signed by Paul McCartney.
On sale from November 25, they’re available now for pre-order (if you can find one). The limited edition has a RRP of £2500 or US$4,000.
This is a lot of money, but they will sell out and become genuine collector’s items for sure.
As has become usual with these limited McCartney book releases various retailers undertake a variety of promotional activities to entice you to secure a copy – and they probably only get one copy each. This bookshop is asking you to enter a competition just to win the right to BUY the only copy they have for sale!
Check out this link for a full list of all US participating bookseller locations.
In Britain it’s the same. For example, the big Waterstones chain there is offering a chance to win the limited edition version in a prize draw. The competition is open to all customers who order the standard hardback online from them.
Meanwhile, here in Australia this record store has this super deluxe edition for sale at an incredible AUD$24,999.00. That’s around US$16,315.00, or £12,397.00 British Pounds, or €14,094.00 Euros. Blimey!
Woke up this morning to a couple of intriguing emails.
First was big news from Apple. Seems they’ve listened to fan reaction and have decided to offer Anthology 4 as a separate purchase:
By popular demand, Anthology 4 is now available as a standalonetriple LP and double CD — 36 tracks including 13 previously-unreleased demos, rare sessions from 1963–69, the band’s 2023 final single ‘Now and Then’, and new mixes by Jeff Lynne of ‘Free As a Bird’ and ‘Real Love’.
This means collectors won’t have to buy the box set just to get the much sought after 4th installment in the Anthology series. Good news!
Then came a mysterious email from the official John Lennon Store saying that the ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’ 7″ single on green vinyl was now available for pre-order:
A “What?”, closely followed by a “Why?” was heard. Hmmm. “Must investigate this some more. There has to be a reason this has randomly appeared out of nowhere.”
Then, scrolling further down the morning’s emails came this, with the headline: Introducing The Classic Holiday’s Singles Box Set!
Clicking through takes you to Universal’s udiscovermusic.com site and the announcement of a box set of 14 coloured vinyl Christmas singles from across the ages:
Of course it includes the John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band green vinyl single, but also in there is the Paul McCartney holiday fave, ‘Wonderful Christmastime’ – on canary yellow vinyl:
The box set is kinda expensive but fortunately for those of you who collect coloured vinyl, as was just announced for Anthology 4, these too are available for purchase separately. Yay!
You can find ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’ here or here, and ‘Wonderful Christmastime’ here or here. Release date is October 31.
And, while we’re on the subject of coloured vinyl, last week Apple announced there’s to be a green vinyl release of Abbey Road:
This comes on heavyweight 180g green vinyl and is pressed using the version remixed from the original 8-track tapes by Giles Martin in 2019. In the UK this is exclusive to HMV stores, Target in the US, JB HiFi in Australia, Bravado in Germany, FNAC in France, Tower Records in Japan, The Circle in Denmark, etc. In other words, there will be one retailer per territory. It is released on October 10.
It’s now been announced. Here is the official press release with all the details on the Anthology Collection audio releases, the Beatles Anthology documentary series on Disney+, and the re-press of The Beatles Anthology book:
THE BEATLES ANTHOLOGY
Award-winning Documentary Series, Music Releases and Iconic Book
All Together Now for Release this Autumn. The Beatles Story… by The Beatles. On screen, on record, and in print.
London – August 21, 2025 – First released three decades ago, The Beatles’ eight-part Anthology series reinvented the music documentary. Instead of a standard treatment centred on an outside narrator and talking heads, The Anthology featured John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr candidly telling their own story, with all its complexities and contradictions. It introduced The Beatles to new generations of viewers and listeners and marked the start of a creative and commercial afterlife that continues to this day.
Now, The Beatles Anthology returns in its ultimate form for a comprehensive global release campaign—on screen, on record, and in print.
Now a Nine-Part Series Featuring a Brand-new Episode Nine Streaming Exclusively on Disney+ Beginning November 26
The Beatles’ landmark Anthology documentary series has been restored and remastered.
The series’ original eight episodes trace the legendary journey that began in Liverpool and Hamburg and soon captivated the world. They bring to life the timeless stories — of Beatlemania, the band’s groundbreaking arrival in the USA, their role at the forefront of the 1960s counterculture, their spiritual exploration in India, and their eventual breakup. And through it all, the constant thread: the music, always the music.
There is now a completely new Episode Nine, including unseen behind-the-scenes footage of Paul, George and Ringo coming together between 1994 and 1995 to work on The Anthology and reflecting on their shared life as The Beatles.
The restoration has been overseen by Apple Corps’ production team, working with Peter Jackson’s Wingnut Films & Park Road Post teams along with Giles Martin, who has created new audio mixes for the majority of the featured music.
The Beatles Anthology Music Collections
Restored & Expanded to Four Volumes: 12LP Vinyl, 8CD & Digital Collections Out November 21
The musical side of The Anthology Collection, originally curated by George Martin, now remastered by Giles Martin, in the form of three double albums of rare material, a shadow story to the one told in the documentaries. They are an enthralling insight into the early development of songs that became the recorded masterpieces that resonate just as loudly today as they did when they were first recorded.
It also has an important new element. Anthology 4, newly curated by Giles, includes 13 previously unreleased demos and session recordings and other rare recordings. It also includes new mixes of The Beatles’ Anthology-associated hit singles: the GRAMMY-winning “Free As A Bird” and “Real Love,” given new life by their original producer, Jeff Lynne, using de-mixed John Lennon vocals.
The original “Free As A Bird” music video has also been beautifully restored:
Both new mixes are placed alongside the band’s most recent UK No. 1 hit single, 2023’s GRAMMY-winning “Now And Then,” the last Beatles song. All three singles were created from rudimentary home demos John recorded in the 1970s, later completed with vocal and instrumental parts recorded by Paul, George and Ringo.
Across all the Anthology albums, there are 191 tracks which will be released on November 21 by Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMG for digital purchase and streaming, and in deluxe 12LP 180-gram vinyl and 8CD box sets. Both box sets include the original sleeve notes for Anthology 1, 2 and 3; the new Anthology 4 includes track notes written by Kevin Howlett and an introduction compiled from 1996 interviews recorded with The Beatles’ close friend and adviser Derek Taylor. The Beatles Store’s exclusive editions for both box sets add four 12-inch band photo art cards in a numbered envelope.
The Beatles Anthology Book
The 25th Anniversary Edition Out October 14
Finally, the 25th Anniversary Edition of The Beatles Anthology book will be released on October 14th by Apple Corps Ltd. and Chronicle Books. Throughout its pages, John, Paul, George and Ringo share their honest, intimate and revelatory recollections of the band’s journey. Their memories are accompanied by impressions from their closest colleagues, including Neil Aspinall, George Martin, Derek Taylor and others. The bestselling 368-page book is beautifully illustrated with more than 1,300 photos, documents, artwork, and other memorabilia from the band’s archives.
Everything The Beatles did involved change. Listening to their songs and watching their story unfold brings us closer to the shifts in culture, ideas and music that they helped shape—and which continue to resonate today. TheAnthology was always about their past, but this new edition confirms its enduring place in the present and future. (ends)
The packaging of the 12LP and 8CD has come in for criticism as being a “low rent” looking for a proper Beatle release. It turns out that they are indeed using Klaus Voormann’s amazing original montage for the box on all editions. The image with that black and white photo is called a “belly band” or “O” card which slides over the outer case and wraps around the whole box. (This “belly band” is also on the Anthology book – if you look closely at the image above you can see it).
Here are some high res images of the Anthology box set configurations:
The four art photos shown in the pack-shot above come in a numbered envelope and are exclusive to the Beatles Store (or if you order through Universal Music). The photo pack:
The 12LP exclusive is limited to 8,500 in the UK and 8,500 in the U.S.
Other editions come without that photo pack:
And here it is with the “belly band” in place:
Below is the 8CD set with art photos only available from the official stores. This is limited to 8000 copies in the UK and 8,000 in the U.S.
And the standard issue, minus the art photo pack. (Click here for the full track listing):
It looks like The Beatles Anthology TV series is destined for a Disney+ streaming release as expected:
When it first aired in 1995 Anthology was a six-part series, so it looks to have been expanded somewhat given the advertising banner says it is now a nine-parter. And that it is due to go to air on November 26 with a three-part premier.
It also looks like those images we got for the accompanying audio box sets are coming true. But what will the final artwork look like? There are currently two different gifs doing the rounds showing variations to the outer box images for the CD set:
As he promised months ago, Sean Lennon and the Lennon Estate have this week formally announced the release (on 10 October, 2025) of a mega box set focusing on John Lennon playing (mostly) live in New York in the years 1971 and 1972.
The big box set comprises 9 CDs and no less than 3 Blu-Ray audio discs, all packaged in the 10-inch sized slipcase size that’s been the hallmark of all the Lennon super-deluxe re-issues so far. This one will come with a cool lenticular cover of John & Yoko’s faces, presenting a “dynamic 3D effect”.
The box set will come with a 204-page hardback book designed and edited by long-time Lennon Estate historian and archivist, Simon Hilton (he’s done all the box sets so far and is great). It will feature an oral history about all the included music through the words of John & Yoko and those involved, sourced from both archival and new interviews.
The book will be illustrated with previously unseen photos, lyrics, drawings, tape boxes and memorabilia. Additionally, the set includes a newspaper print poster, sticker sheets and a VIP envelope containing replica concert tickets plus backstage and after-show passes that have all been uniquely reproduced with textured, archival materials.
The centerpiece of Power To The People is the ‘One To One Concerts’, which were Lennon’s only full-length concerts after The Beatles, and his final shows with Yoko Ono. They raised more than US$1.5 million (2025 equivalent of $11.5 million) to support children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Both the afternoon and evening performances are being released together for the first time, though they’re not complete (see below).
Alongside those two concerts, Power To The People (Super Deluxe Edition) offers an aural time capsule of John & Yoko’s first NYC era, when they traded Tittenhurst Park, their estate in Ascot, England, for a small apartment located at 105 Bank St. in Greenwich Village in Manhattan, and includes the music they were inspired to make during a time of great civil unrest and the deeply unpopular Vietnam War. As a result the set will contain 92 bonus tracks.
Paramount to their recorded musical endeavors at this time was their 1972 political blockbuster album, Sometime In New York City, recorded by John & Yoko with legendary drummer Jim Keltner and New York band, Elephant’s Memory.
For this special collection, songs from the album have been completely remixed from scratch, stripped of the overly heavy production sound that constrained such inspired and inspiring songs as ‘Attica State’, ‘Angela’, ‘New York City’, and ‘Born In A Prison’.
Noticeably missing though is the controversial song (back then and perhaps now even moreso), ‘Woman Is The N***** Of The World’. Some fans are upset about that but the song is still easily available on streaming services and on CD if you want it. Live versions from the ‘One To One’ concerts can also be had on the Lennon Anthology collection from 1998 (evening performance), and on John Lennon – Live in New York City released in 1986 (afternoon performance). For those hoping the song might be a secret hidden track in this new box, a note has been added to the official website pre-order page: NB – This is the full track listing. There are no hidden tracks on the CDs or Blu-Rays.
For this box set the tracks from Sometime In New York City have been re-ordered, rejuvenated and completely re-imagined as a new set of Ultimate Mixes, and is now simply entitled New York City. It includes extended versions of ‘John Sinclair’ and ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’, so while we lose one song we gain longer versions of others.
In addition to the Deluxe 9 CD/3 Blu-Ray box there will be a four LP version with the afternoon and evening ‘One To One’ concerts:
The Beatles have announced this week that the new CEO of their company, Apple Corps Ltd., will be Tom Greene. He replaces Jeff Jones, who ran the company for almost 18 years and decided to step away from the job last year.
In a group statement, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Olivia Harrison and Sean Ono Lennon joined together to say: “We are thrilled to welcome Tom Greene as CEO. We have a lot of exciting plans and Tom’s experience and vision make him the perfect person to join us in making it all happen.”
Variety reports that while Greene (pictured above) has no music business experience, he comes to the role with a strong entertainment background having been Chief Operating Officer of BLAST “a competitive entertainment company working with the biggest video game developers and publishers in the world on the production, commercialization and audience growth of their e-sports programs”.
Prior to that Greene was at Wizarding World Digital and Pottermore, the official hubs and parent companies of the Harry Potter franchise – with “over 50 million members, supported by immersive digital experiences, daily content publishing and an innovative e-commerce offering.” Greene was Group Commercial Director for Pottermore from 2015 through 2018, then moved to Wizarding World Digital, where he acted as COO, then General Manager.
In taking on his new role, Greene will still maintain his position on the board of directors for both BLAST and Pottermore.
Greene, who won’t start until September, said “It is a huge honor to lead Apple Corps into this new phase of its history. Like so many people around the world, I grew up in a household obsessed with the Beatles and their music. At a time when the world might need more of the Beatles’ spirit, there are so many new and innovative ways to bring their unique magic to all generations of fans. I cannot wait to get started.”
It’s going to be very interesting to see where the company goes in the future. With his e-commerce background will this mean that physical product from The Beatles is set to take a back seat? Hope not.
Yes it’s back, but unless you were very quick you might have missed out because The Beatles In Mono 14 LP box set (out of print since 2014) is already showing as SOLD OUT on both the UK and US official stores. However, there is some confusion as to whether this is just the exclusive pre-order allocation made to subscribers to the The Beatles mailing list. There may be more copies available from Friday, 30 May.
Regarded as something a grail item for collectors now, the original box set is super expensive on the second-hand market. This new release will replicate that original exactly with 180-gram LPs in a boxed edition, along with a very nice hardbound book.
To quote the website: “In an audiophile-minded undertaking, The Beatles’ acclaimed mono albums were mastered in 2014 for vinyl from quarter-inch master tapes at Abbey Road Studios by engineer Sean Magee and mastering supervisor Steve Berkowitz.
While The Beatles In Mono CD boxed set released in 2009 was created from digital remasters, for this vinyl project, Magee and Berkowitz cut the records without using any digital technology. Instead, they employed the same procedures used in the 1960s, guided by the original albums and by detailed transfer notes made by the original cutting engineers.
Working in the same room at Abbey Road where most of The Beatles’ albums were initially cut, the pair [used] a rigorously tested Studer A80 machine to play back the precious tapes, the new vinyl was cut on a 1980s-era VMS80 lathe. Manufactured for the world at Optimal Media in Germany, The Beatles’ albums are presented in their original glory, both sonically and in their packaging. The boxed collection’s exclusive 12-inch by 12-inch hardbound book features new essays and a detailed history of the mastering process by award-winning radio producer and author Kevin Howlett. The book is illustrated with many rare studio photos of The Beatles, fascinating archive documents, and articles and advertisements sourced from 1960s publications.”
Check out this (very long) YouTube for more details about the release, and info on if there’ll be more copies for sale soon:
The entertainment bible Variety is reporting that at last there is definite movement on Paul McCartney’s on-again, off-again animated children’s feature film, High In The Clouds.
The magazine says that “Celine Dion, Himesh Patel and Hannah Waddingham will lead the voice cast of High in the Clouds….which [production company] Gaumont (“Ballerina”) is producing and repping internationally.”
“Inspired by the children’s adventure book by Paul McCartney, Geoff Dunbar and Philip Ardagh, High in the Clouds will also bring together Idris Elba, Lionel Richie, Ringo Starr, Jimmy Fallon, Clémence Poésy, Pom Klementieff and Alain Chabat.”
There’ll also be six original songs by McCartney in the film, which – back in 2023 – was budgeted at €28 million (US$31.7 million). It’ll be directed by Toby Genkel (The Amazing Maurice), and will have a screenplay by Jon Croker (Paddington 2), with Patrick Hanenberger (The Croods, Lego Movie 2) as production designer. Paul McCartney will also voice one of the main characters.
And here’s the exciting bit. Oscar winner Michael Giacchino (Ratatouille, Up, Inside Out, Coco) will score the feature with the original soundtrack set to be released by Universal Music Group. So, we’ll be getting at least six new Paul McCartney songs.
The cast and the characters they voice are:
Himesh Patel (Yesterday) as the main character, Wirral Céline Dion (Academy Award winner for Best Song) as Sugartail Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso) as Gretsch Paul McCartney as McKenzie Idris Elba (Luther) as Barrel Lionel Richie as Gladstone Ringo Starr as Roy Jimmy Fallon (The Tonight Show) as Froggo Clémence Poésy (Harry Potter) as Doris Pom Klementieff (Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning) as Mina Alain Chabat (Night at the Museum) as Bigsby
Two things to note:
You’ll notice on the official poster (above) it says “Coming 2027“, so we’ve still got a while to wait.
Secondly, if you’re wondering about someone who is missing in all this latest reporting on the film, you’re not wrong. When we said this has been an on-again, off-again project across a number of years we weren’t kidding.
Way back in 2015 there were prolific reports on social media showing Paul working with none other than Lady Gaga on one of the key songs for the film. This photo from Instagram dates back to February that year. So, High In The Clouds the movie has been on the boil at least 10 years now. In fact first reports of an animated film based on the book date back to 2013.
This doesn’t mean that Gaga’s contribution has been ditched. She’s just not in a speaking role. Maybe her song will be in the opening and closing credits? Here’s a happy-snap from the same 2015 recording session with Gaga, with Paul and all the musicians in the studio. You can also see Paul’s regular drummer Abe Laborial Jr. at his left shoulder.:
As is the way with these things ideas, concepts and themes morph. The synopsis of the book now looks distinctly different to that of the film.
Plot of the book (as per the 2005 book cover): “Forced to leave his woodland home, destroyed by the expansion plans of the evil Gretsch, Wirral the squirrel vows to find the fabled land of Animalia, where all the animals are said to live in freedom and without fear. Wirral’s personal quest turns into a full-blown plan to save enslaved animals everywhere.”
Plot of the film (as per the 202 Variety article): “Follows the journey of a headstrong teenage squirrel, Wirral, who lives in Gretschville, a city where music has been banned by a diva-owl, Gretsch, who wants to be the only singer in town. Determined to overthrow Gretsch and bring music back to his town, Wirral joins forces with an underground band of legendary musicians who hide high in the clouds, in a secret place called Harmonia.”
Quite different, don’t you think?
Still, this promises to be a fun watch with a special soundtrack album as an added bonus.
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