Category Archives: Beatles Collecting

More Dark Horse News

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Regular readers will know that we like to keep up with news about the Dark Horse label – the Beatle-related record company started by George Harrison, but now run by his son Dhani.

The revitalised label signed a distribution deal with BMG and has been slowly re-releasing in physical form some of the original Dark Horse titles. It’s also embarked on an eclectic series of reissues and new titles from a range of other artists. These range from to Joe Strummer to Leon Russell, and from Billy Idol to Yusuf/Cat Stevens.

As the number of titles is starting to add up we’ve put together a catalogue of all the records and CDs released since Dhani Harrison took over in 2020. You can see that below.

In researching the list one Dark Horse title from the good old days snuck completely under our radar. It actually came out last year in strictly limited numbers through the Vinyl Me Please record club. It was Ravi Shankar’s Music Festival From India, issued on bright orange vinyl and given the new catalogue number of DH0020:

Two other Dark Horse titles are due in the next month or so. They are the reissue of a jazz LP by Nina Simone, originally released 1959:

The other is the black vinyl version of the Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros LP Live at Acton Town Hall, previously reissued by Dark Horse on clear vinyl in July last year:

Then in April we’ll finally see the long-awaited Mobile Fidelity audiophile pressing of Ravi Shankar’s Shankar Family and Friends. This one has been such a long time coming. We first reported on it back in January 2022! It has clearly been an on-again/off again prospect. So much so that Dark Horse itself seemed to get fed up and put out their own re-issue last year…..

Now it seems the Mobile Fidelity is back on again as we got this in an email last week:

Finally, another strange Dark Horse-related title that you may not have heard about. It is the mysterious duo Dick and Mary and their debut, a self-titled LP which came out late last year. It is on the Bunbun Records label, but on the shrink there’s a Dark Horse hype sticker.

Dick and Mary doesn’t get a Dark Horse catalogue number. We’d suggest its being supported by Dark Horse because people are pretty sure that the “Mary” in the band is Mereki Beach, Dhani Harrison’s partner. (She’s also Australian btw). In a separate project Mereki recorded her solo album Death of a Cloud at the Harrison’s Friar Park studio. You can see her in the studio in a series of ‘live sessions’ videos she’s released. One is here, but there are several others: 

Also, her video for the single ‘Presence’ was shot in the gardens of Friar Park:

Her solo album is only available on streaming services at the moment but there’s talk it will be released in physical form this year, so we guess it is likely to be another Bunbun Records and Dark Horse support deal. So watch out for that one too! 

For those interested, here’s a catalogue of Dark Horse releases to date, starting at catalogue number DH001. We’re still unsure of the mysterious DH0017. Could it be assigned to the long-delayed but much-anticpated album by Benmont Tench called The Melancholy Season?

DH0001 Ravi Shankar – Chants of India (RSD) (2LP Red vinyl)

DH0002 Joe Strummer – Assembly (2LP Red vinyl)
DH0002 Joe Strummer – Assembly (2LP Black vinyl)
DH0002 Joe Strummer – Assembly (CD)
DH0002 Joe Strummer – Assembly (Cassette)

DH0003 Joe Strummer – Junco Partner (12” single Picture Disc) (RSD)

DH0004 Billy Idol – The Roadside EP (12” EP Blue vinyl)
DH0004 Billy Idol – The Roadside EP (12” EP Black vinyl)
DH0004 Billy Idol – The Roadside EP (CD)

DH0005 Billy Idol – Happy Holidays (LP White vinyl)
DH0005 Billy Idol – Happy Holidays (LP Black vinyl)

DH0006 Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Johnny Appleseed (RSD) (12” single
Pink vinyl)

DH0007 Shankar Family & Friends – I Am Missing You (RSD) (12” single Blue vinyl)

DH0008 Billy Idol – The Cage EP (12” EP Red vinyl)
DH0008 Billy Idol – The Cage EP (12” EP Black vinyl)
DH0008 Billy Idol – The Cage EP (CD)

DH0009 Joe Strummer – 002: The Mescaleros Years (7LP Box Set)
DH0009 Joe Strummer – 002: The Mescaleros Years (7CD Box Set)

DH0010 Shankar Family & Friends – Shankar Family & Friends (LP Orchid vinyl)
DH0010 Shankar Family & Friends – Shankar Family & Friends (CD)

DH0011 Leon Russell – Signature Songs (LP Black vinyl)
DH0011 Leon Russell – Signature Songs (CD)

DH0012 The Best of Dark Horse 1974-1976 (RSD) (LP Black vinyl)

DH0013 Joe Strummer – Live at Music Millennium (RSD) (12” EP Black vinyl)

DH0014 Stairsteps – 2nd Resurrection (RSD) (LP Gold vinyl)

DH0015 Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Streetcore (RSD) (LP White Vinyl)

DH0016 Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Live at Acton Town Hall (2LP Clear vinyl)
DH0016 Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Live at Acton Town Hall (CD)

DH0017 ?

DH0018 Ravi Shankar & Ali Akbar Khan – In Concert 1972 (50th Anniversary) (RSD)
(2LP Black vinyl)

DH0019 Leon Russell – Hank Wilson Vol. II (RSD) (LP Red vinyl)

DH0020 Ravi Shankar – Ravi Shankar’s Music Festival From India (Vinyl Me Please
exclusive/numbered vinyl/1000 copies) (LP Orange vinyl)

DH0021 Splinter – The Place I Love (RSD) (LP Clear vinyl)

DH0022 Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Streetcore (20th Ann.) (LP Black vinyl)
DH0022 Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Streetcore (20th Anniversary) (CD)

Associated:

4 050538 868876 Yusuf/Cat Stevens – King of a Land. (Cat-O-Log Records)
(LP Green vinyl). Dark Horse Records logo on rear cover and labels.
538856902 Yusuf/Cat Stevens – King of a Land. (Cat-O-Log Records) (CD).
4 050538 856301 Yusuf/Cat Stevens – King of a Land. (Cat-O-Log Records)
(LP Black vinyl).
4 050538 874006 Yusuf/Cat Stevens – King of a Land. (Cat-O-Log Records)
(LP White vinyl) (Artist Store Exclusive).
4 050538 885453 Yusuf/Cat Stevens – King of a Land. (Cat-O-Log Records)
(LP Blue vinyl) (Barnes & Noble Exclusive).
4 050538 899870 Yusuf/Cat Stevens – King of a Land. (Cat-O-Log Records)
(LP Purple vinyl) (Spotify Fans First Exclusive)

BB0002 Dick and Mary – Dick and Mary (Bunbun Records) Dark Horse hype sticker
(LP Orchid vinyl)

Coming in 2024:

FEB: Nina Simone – Little Girl Blue (Barnes & Noble Exclusive) (LP Pink vinyl)

MAR: Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Live at Acton Town Hall (2LP Black vinyl)

APR: Ravi Shankar – Shankar Family & Friends (Mobile Fidelity) (LP Black vinyl)

Weird Sgt. Pepper “Radio Station Promo” – Anyone Seen It Before?

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One of our readers has been in touch asking about how to get a valuation on a very unusual promo copy of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

They write: “I have a radio station promo copy of Sgt. Pepper I won from them in a contest in 1967. Black/white label, songs in a different order from the released album. Etched serial numbers are SS10077-01A and SS10077-01B. Have you any suggestions for getting it appraised?”

While we don’t know the exact name of the radio station which ran the promotion, you can see some handwriting on the label that indicates it might possibly have come from a station called WCFL. According to Wikipedia WCFL is located in Chicago and is today on the airwaves there broadcasting as a Christian Adult Contemporary station. However, there’s also an online WCFL run by some nostalgia buffs with a sound similar to what it would have sounded like when it was one of Chicago’s leading Top 40 music stations. Back in the sixties WCFL’s coverage of the Beatles 1965 and 1966 U.S. tours was provided by a disc jockey named Jim Stagg, who traveled extensively with the group.

The station also began a weekly British Countdown program with British DJ Paul Michael, so it is quite feasible they had some sort of exclusive record giveaway competition in 1967.

The mystery around this one though is that no one else seems to have ever seen this record. It is not listed amongst Discogs’ 1176 versions for example and, having asked around the community, others have doubts about its authenticity and also can’t find any information about it. Some of the concerns raised include:

  • no promo markings of any kind on the labels
  • no performers printed anywhere
  • no record company, composers, or publishers listed
  • a minor spelling mistake in the LP title itself
  • several not quite correct song titles
  • two tracks missing (‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)’ & ‘A Day In The Life’)
  • and several song timings that differ with the originals

One friend thinks it’s not even a «Not For Sale» record, but simply a pirate vinyl.

It would be interesting to know if the music on the disc is actually the Beatles, and not a cover group or even orchestral/instrumental versions of the songs – though that would have been difficult to pull off quickly if the album was genuinely a 1967 radio “giveaway” at the same time as the Pepper LP US release.

As you can see, the disc looks like it has had a hard life but would probably clean up and play OK if you had a record cleaning machine.

So, what do you think? Very interested to hear your thoughts! Is this a genuine collectors item?

P.S. We suggested the owner get in touch with Perry Cox, the well-regarded valuation expert in all things Beatle. If anyone has any other suggestions on who to speak to, thoughts or knowledge about this one please chime in.

New Dark Horse Title is an Unusual Choice but a Great Album

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From Olivia Harrison’s socials:

“Nina Simone is recognised as one of the most authentic and captivating artists of our time. She recorded some of George’s songs with powerful conviction. We are privileged to have this album on the Dark Horse label.” – Olivia Harrison

“Nina Simone’s music has always held a special place in the hearts of my family. Her unique talent and profound artistry not only resonated with us but also left an indelible mark on our musical journey. Nina’s legacy continues to be an enduring source of inspiration, a reminder of the power of music to touch the soul and inspire the spirit.” – Dhani Harrison

Dark Horse Records is proud to release a very limited pressing of Nina Simone’s debut studio album Little Girl Blue, celebrating the album’s 65th anniversary.

Originally released in February 1959, this limited pink vinyl reissue is available exclusively from Barnes & Noble on February 23rd.

Pre-order now at barnesandnoble.com

This is a great album.

The pre-order details say it will include a 12×12 insert with an introduction written by Dhani Harrison. Little Girl Blue includes some of Simone’s best-known tracks, including ‘My Baby Just Cares for Me’, ‘I Loves You, Porgy’ and ‘Love Me Or Leave Me’, and even at this early stage in her career, you can hear the profound impact she would go on to have on the musical landscape in the ensuing decades.

For those of us outside the US though this is going to be a tricky one to secure……however, Barnes & Noble now ship internationally (previously they did not), so it should be possible.

Oh, and it looks like it has the catalogue number DH0024.

A Happy Crimble and a Very New Year!

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Thank you for following us all year. Here’s hoping you have a very happy festive season, and we will see you again next year!

Collecting ‘Now and Then’ – and beyond….

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There’s no doubt about it.

It has been a busy couple of weeks for collectors and completists in the Beatle community!

Not only have we had the release of the new/last Beatle single, ‘Now and Then’, but also a newly expanded Beatles 1962-1966 [Red] and Beatles 1967-1970 [Blue] in double CD and triple LP form.

One of our readers (Guy in the USA) prides himself on securing every possible variation and often sends us a tantalising image or two. For ‘Now and Then’ he points out that most collectors only show pictures of the outer covers. Here, he says, are the contents – photographed all together:

For collectors in the west there are no fewer than 9 variations to seek out. If you add in unique Japanese editions that number creeps up to 14.

Because there are enough different pressings we thought we’d create another visual representation to capture them all (we have previously created these for McCartney III and McCartney III Imagined too):

(Click on the image to see a larger version)

The Japanese ‘Now and Then’ vinyl pressings are unique in that they have a rear cover written in Japanese. They also come with a special lyric sheet with the lyrics in English and Japanese:

Additionally, the SHM-CD single comes with an OBI strip (and also the extra lyric insert):

To add to the onslaught on collector wallets there was also Black Friday Record Store Day.

No Beatle records that day, but for completists who also go for the George Harrison-affiliated Dark Horse Records label, we had music on vinyl from Splinter, Leon Russell, and Ravi Shankar.

Also released on that day were further coloured vinyl editions (in “Yellow Submarine Yellow”) of Ringo Starr’s Old Wave and Stop and Smell the Roses. Here’s Guy again:

You can see there on the bottom row the little Yoto kids toy card editions of the 2023 Red and Blue albums, plus a unique Paul McCartney card containing a selection of his hits for kids which also contains two hard-to-get instrumentals.

McCartney also weighed in with pre-sales of the 50th anniversary, Half Speed Mastered editions of Band On The Run, and then followed that up a week later with the 3rd anniversary release (yes, that’s right 3rd anniversary….) of McCartney III, which comes in a limited edition choice of 3 coloured vinyls with new artwork and inserts.

Phew.

McCartney III – 3×3 Edition

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Well, we knew that all the previous marketing for McCartney III (and McCartney III Imagined) has revolved around the number 3.

After all, the first (and very limited) release of McCartney III was made at Jack White’s Third Man Records. Symbolically, 333 copies were pressed. Then came the myriad of coloured vinyl editions, many limited to 3000 copies (again to tie into the 3 theme). There were also the dice sets you could buy from the official McCartney store, which had the number 3 on all sides, etc, etc.

So the marketing gurus thought (no doubt over a long lunch), “Why not celebrate 3 years since McCartney III came out with yet another limited edition? And while we’re at it, let’s not make it just one limited edition, but three limited editions!”

And so we have the answer to last week’s question…..

Yes. Three more variations will be joining the 32 iterations already out there of this title across vinyl, CD, and cassette. That’s right, we said 32 variations (see the table below).

Today the McCartney camp announced that the McCartney III 3×3 Edition will be joining them:

The idea is you place your order for a limited edition coloured vinyl disc. One of the three variations available will then be randomly selected and sent to you. Your LP will come in a newly designed Ed Ruscha cover. It will have a lyric printed inner sleeve plus an Ed Ruscha sketch poster for the cover design of McCartney III included:

Also randomly included will be a smaller replica Paul McCartney handwritten print. From the images released so far this will either be the handwritten lyric to ‘Pretty Boys’, ‘The Kiss of Venus’, or what looks like an early sketch of McCartney’s album logo/cover ideas.

So, to summarise: each customer gets 1 LP, a handwritten replica print and a poster in the newly designed cover, with the record in a lyric/credits inner sleeve. However, the colour of the LP and the print pairing is random. If you purchase more than one copy, the store won’t guarantee you will receive two or three different variants.

If you want to have all three unique colours and all three prints you will have to take your chances. Most stores are limiting pre-sales to 4 copies per customer. However, here in Australia the official store limit was initially set at two copies per customer (though this seems to have been removed entirely now).

At this stage we don’t know how “limited” these sets are.

McCartney III 3×3 Edition ships on December 15, 2023 (but for Australia make that January 12, 2024).

Do we really need another three McCartney III coloured vinyl in the world? No. Here’s our running total of all the variations to date (click on image to see a larger version):

The first YouTube unboxing of McCartney III 3×3? Got to admit, he was quick:

McCartney III – Revisited?

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What does it mean?

Mysterious teasers begin to appear. www.mccartneyiii.com

‘Give Peace A Chance’ – Another Charity Acetate From Yoko & Sean

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Yoko Ono and Sean Ono Lennon have donated specially created Limited Edition acetates to 50 charities for them to raise money for peace and love this holiday season.

The pair, in association with Abbey Road Studios and Universal Music, commissioned 50 rare and strictly limited 12″ vinyl acetates of the Ultimate Mixes of the Plastic Ono Band single ‘Give Peace A Chance’/’Remember Love’.

This is a repeat of what they did in 2021 when 50 ultra-rare 12″ copies of ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’ acetates where made. They sent these discs to 50 independent record stores, asking each to sell, auction, or creatively fundraise in any way they saw fit and donate the money to a charity of their choice. We tried to follow what happened to each of those discs and you can read about that here.

This time the discs are going direct to 50 charitable organisations to use as they please. In a note accompanying each record, Sean Ono Lennon says:

‘Happy Holidays. To raise the spirit of Peace and Love this December, here is one of only fifty Limited Edition acetates that have been hand-cut at Abbey Road. It’s yours – to sell, auction, raise money to help your charity or to fund your Xmas party – to GIVE PEACE A CHANCE and REMEMBER LOVE.

We’d like to follow the journey these acetates take and the goodwill that they spread – please use the hashtag #GivePeaceAChance and we’ll re-tweet and share their progress on social media to help promote the good causes and good vibes.’

The 50 double-sided 12” acetates have been individually hand-cut on the lathe at Abbey Road Studios by mastering engineer Sean Magee. The acetates use the latest ‘Ultimate Mix’ version of the songs, produced by Sean, mixed by Paul Hicks, engineered by Sam Gannon and executive produced by Yoko Ono.

Each edition is stickered and numbered out of 50 and includes a machine printed signature from Yoko Ono Lennon, making them incredibly collectable.

As we said back in 2021, we reckon this is a fantastic initiative by Yoko, Sean, Abbey Road Studios, UME, and the John Lennon Estate to do some good and promote some much-needed peace in the world this particular holiday season. Good on them for using ‘Give Peace A Chance’ in this creative way.

You can read more and find a list of the 50 chosen charities on the official John Lennon website.

‘Band On The Run’ at 50

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To mark the 50th anniversary of its release in December of 1973, most fans were expecting an LP of Paul McCartney and Wings’ Band On The Run in Half Speed Mastered form. This would follow the pattern of previous releases for McCartney, RAM, Wings Wild Life and, earlier this year, Red Rose Speedway.

What we didn’t expect was that Band On The Run would be accompanied by a whole bonus LP featuring previously unheard music that is being termed “underdubbed mixes”. In other words, early mixes without overdubs.

These “underdubs” aren’t newly created in 2023. They come from 1973 and were prepared by the album’s engineer, Geoff Emerick. They’re basically a previously unreleased mix of Band On The Run, but without any of the orchestral and string overdubs written by Tony Visconti that were used on the final release. Interestingly, the tracklisting for these “underdubbed mixes’ doesn’t follow the original sequencing of album. The bonus LP mirrors the original analogue tapes as discovered in the MPL archives (see the changed running order below).

As Paul McCartney said:

“This is Band on the Run in a way you’ve never heard before. When you are making a song and putting on additional parts, like an extra guitar, that’s an overdub. Well, this version of the album is the opposite, underdubbed.”

There’ll be three physical releases for the 50th Anniversary, and these will be available from February 2, 2024.

You can get a stand-alone Half Speed Master of the original LP, cut from the original master tapes from 1973 by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios. The single vinyl album configuration mirrors the US tracklist, which added the song ‘Helen Wheels’ to the end of the LP. The 50th anniversary album includes the original inner sleeve and poster featuring a series of Polaroid photos taken by Linda McCartney during the making of Band On The Run :

Then there’s the 2 LP edition featuring the original US album, remastered at half speed as above, plus a second LP titled Underdubbed Mixes Edition. The two LPs are housed in a premium slipcase. The set includes two Linda McCartney Polaroid posters:

The 2 LP slipcase version can only be purchased from Universal Music’s own online stores around the world, as well as from Paul McCartney’s own online store.

And there’ll be a 2 CD set, with one disc containing the original US album, and a second disc with the “underdubbed” mixes. There’s a double-sided fold-out poster of Polaroids taken by Linda included:

Band on the Run (Underdubbed) will also be released digitally. The album itself has also been newly mixed in Dolby Atmos by Giles Martin and Steve Orchard – but there is no physical edition of this mix.

Here’s the running order for Disc Two – Band on the Run (Underdubbed Mixes):

1. Band on the Run
⁠2. Mamunia
⁠⁠3. No Words
4.⁠Jet
⁠5. Bluebird
⁠6. Mrs. Vandebilt
⁠⁠7. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five
⁠⁠8. Picasso’s Last Words (Drink to Me)
⁠9. Let Me Roll It

A ‘Red’ and ‘Blue’ for the Collector Who Must Have Everything

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Ever heard of Yoto, the children’s educational toy?

Me either, until one of our readers named Tom pointed out that they exist, AND they have a couple of items that will be of keen interest to the absolute Beatle completists among us.

Yoto is a digital player that accepts specially pre-recorded cards (slightly larger than a credit card) which kids slot into the player to hear stories, podcasts, games and……..music:

The big news is that Yoto has just added two very special music cards.

One is for the The Beatles 1962-1966 Red Album (Yoto Edition), and one for the The Beatles 1967-1970 Blue Album (Yoto Edition):

Yoto describes the contents of their unique 12-track Red Album like this:

An introduction to The Beatles for kids. Enjoy timeless hits from their early years, 1962-1966.

Twelve special chosen tracks from the early years of The Beatles, 1962-1966. The perfect introduction for music-loving kids to the fab-four.

Discover the songs that broke them onto the world stage. Sing, dance and play along to these timeless classics, some of the most popular and indelible rock songs of all time.

Tracklist:

  • Love Me Do (2023 mix)
  • Please Please Me (2023 mix)
  • From Me To You (2023 mix)
  • She Loves You (2023 mix)
  • Can’t Buy Me Love (2023 mix)
  • Ticket To Ride (2023 mix)
  • I Want To Hold Your Hand (2023 mix)
  • If I Needed Someone (2023 mix)
  • Drive My Car (2023 mix)
  • Got To Get You Into My Life (2022 mix)
  • I’m Only Sleeping (2022 mix)
  • Yellow Submarine (2022 mix)

And their 12-track Blue Album like this:

An introduction to The Beatles for kids. Enjoy timeless hits from their later years, 1967-1970.

The second curated collection of tracks from the most iconic band of all time. Charting the later part of their career where they experimented with new sounds and created some songs that are loved across generations and around the world.

The perfect way to share music as a family and the ultimate inspiration for all the music-loving, dancing and singing little ones out there.

Tracklist:

  • Penny Lane (2017 Mix)
  • Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (2017 Mix)
  • With A Little Help From My Friends (2017 Mix)
  • All You Need Is Love (2015 Mix)
  • Hello, Goodbye (2015 Mix)
  • Magical Mystery Tour (2023 Mix)
  • Hey Jude (2015 Mix)
  • Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (2018 Mix)
  • Blackbird (2018 Mix)
  • Here Comes The Sun (2019 Mix)
  • Octopus’s Garden (2019 Mix)
  • Let It Be (2021 Mix)

But that’s not all the original Beatle content Yoto has. Also recently added is a unique Paul McCartney card, Say Hello To Paul McCartney:

Yoto says: Dance, sing and play along to a selection of songs, especially chosen for Yoto.

Say Hello To Paul McCartney is a unique collection of timeless songs from one of the greatest ever songwriters and performers. Paul McCartney has curated this collection of tracks from his legendary catalogue and it’s sure to get all of your family singing and dancing along.

Sway and jump to ‘Dance Tonight’, take a trip to the Scottish Coast with ‘Mull of Kintyre’ or sing along in chorus to ‘We All Stand Together’ – these and many more songs await you on this ultimate Yoto music card! This card also includes two tracks never before released on a music product – the ‘Hey Grandude’ and ‘Hey Nandude’ themes, from Paul’s highly acclaimed children’s books.

Tracklist:

  • Grandude Theme
  • Dance Tonight
  • Little Willow
  • Heart of the Country
  • Mary had a Little Lamb
  • We All Stand Together
  • Great Day
  • Mama’s Little Girl
  • Calico Skies
  • Let ‘Em In
  • Mull of Kintyre
  • Winter Bird, When Winter Comes
  • Who Cares
  • Nandude Theme

So, this is one way for you to get clean versions of two rare original McCartney tracks – the instrumental ‘Grandude Theme’ and ‘Nandude Theme’, taken from the audiobook recordings of his two children’s books Hey Grandude (2019), and Grandude’s Green Submarine (2021).

Sincere apologies if this news is going to cost you more money!

The official press announcement is up on the Paul McCartney site now as well.

Techmoan has done a great video explaining just how these little players and the cards work (you don’t have to have a player):

Our readers Tom and Guy have both confirmed that you don’t need a stand alone Yoto player. The Yoto app can be downloaded for free to your phone, and a simple tap of the card gives you access to the contents. The cards are the size of a credit card: