Category Archives: Beatles Music

Congratulations on a Grammy Win, and Good Luck for the Oscars

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The Beatles have won a Grammy in the 66th annual awards.

It was for Best Music Video for the song ‘I’m Only Sleeping’ – the film clip made to promote last year’s re-issue of the Revolver album.

The award went to Em Cooper, video director, and Jonathan Clyde, Sophie Hilton, Sue Loughlin and Laura Thomas, video producers.

Artist and director Em Cooper explored the space between dreaming and wakefulness, working on an animation rostrum on sheets of celluloid. She painted every frame individually in oil-paint, a labourious process which took many months.

(Interestingly Revolver won an award for Best Album Cover in 1966. That honour went to Klaus Voormann. And the Song of the Year Grammy in 1966 went to John Lennon and Paul McCartney for ‘Michelle’. McCartney also won the Best Contemporary Solo Vocal Performance, Male or Female, for ‘Eleanor Rigby’.)

Also in the hunt for awards recognition is another short animated film with Beatle connections – this time for Sean Ono Lennon and War Is Over!, a film inspired by the music of John and Yoko.

War Is Over! is nominated in the 96th Oscars, to be announced on Sunday, March 10. You can view the trailer here:

Set in an alternate WWI reality where a senseless war rages on, two soldiers on opposite sides of the conflict play a joyful game of chess. A heroic carrier pigeon delivers the soldiers’ chess moves over the battlefield as the fighting escalates. Neither soldier knows his opponent as the game and the war builds to its climatic final move. Whoever wins the game, one thing is for certain: there are no winners in war.

The eleven-minute short animated film is made by the animation company ElectroLeague. Its anti-war story is by Sean Ono Lennon and Dave Mullins, and it features original music composed by Thomas Newman plus the song ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’. The film is directed by Dave Mullins and produced by Brad Booker. It is executive produced by Yoko Ono and Sean Ono Lennon, and is created as a production of Lenono Music, ElectroLeague, WetaFX and Epic Games.

Here’s some more background on how the project came about, and what to expect when you get to see it:

And check out this filmmakers’ panel discussion about the Oscar-nominated War Is Over! It features writer/director Dave Mullins, producer Brad Booker, executive producer Sean Ono Lennon, and composer Thomas Newman. They’re in conversation with executive producer Karen Dufilho:

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.

Official Beatle Podcast – The Beatles’ Legacy – Red & Blue

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Just in time for some holiday listening The Beatles have quietly launched a new official 6-part podcast celebrating the legacy of the band.

Written, produced and presented by someone close to the band, music historian Kevin Howlett, it features interviews with John, Paul, George and Ringo, as well as many other musicians and producers including George and Giles Martin, Dave Grohl and Mark Ronson,

The podcast documentary ties in with the 50th anniversary reissues of the ‘Red’ and ‘Blue’ compilations and also unpacks the story behind the band’s final single, ‘Now And Then’.

Part 1 of The Beatles’ Legacy is divided into three chapters and deals with The Beatles 1962-1966. You can find it here.

Part 2 is also in three distinct chapters and covers off The Beatles 1967-1970. You can find those three episodes here.

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 – Revisited?

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What does it mean?

Mysterious teasers begin to appear. www.mccartneyiii.com

‘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

‘Living The Beatles Legend’ – Out Now

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Very much looking forward to reading and reviewing Kenneth Womack’s latest – an authorised biography of the Beatles’ ever-present minder, Mal Evans.

If you live in the USA the book is published by Harper Collins and is called Living The Beatles Legend – The Untold Story of Mal Evans. It comes with this cover:

If you’re in the UK it is also published by Harper Collins, but has a slightly different title Living The Beatles Legend – On The Road With The Fab Four The Mal Evans Story, and comes in this cover variation:

In Australia it looks like we’ll be getting the UK edition.

The New York Times has a review headline which neatly sums up exactly what this book is about:

The publisher’s press release has a bit more:

The first full-length biography of Mal Evans, the Beatles’ beloved roadie, assistant, confidant and friend. A towering figure in horn-rimmed glasses, Malcolm ‘Mal’ Evans was an invaluable member of the Beatles’ inner circle. Serving as their long-time roadie, personal assistant and protector, he was a sometime lyricist, occasional performer and regular fixer at the height of the group’s fame and beyond.

But Mal’s dedication to his beloved ‘boys’ and his own desire for stardom took its toll, leading to the dissolution of his marriage and his untimely death in January, 1976.

Until now, Mal’s extraordinary life has remained shrouded in mystery. Drawing on hundreds of exclusive interviews and with full access to Mal’s unpublished archives – including his personal diaries, manuscripts and memorabilia – renowned Beatles scholar Kenneth Womack paints the first complete portrait of this complicated figure at the heart of the Beatles’ story.

Living the Beatles Legend is a fascinating but ultimately tragic tale about life at the edges of superstardom. 

The book is out now.

See also: A Beatle Book Bonanza; Womack’s impressive biography of George Martin Part One and Part Two; and The Beatles Encyclopaedia: Everything Fab Four.

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:

John Lennon ‘Mind Games Ultimate Collection’ Confirmed for June 2024

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And the hits just keep on coming….

Hot on the heels of a huge two weeks of Beatle announcements and expectation comes just a little bit more vital detail on the John Lennon Ultimate Collection box set of his 1973 album Mind Games.

This blurry image has now appeared on the official Lennon website:

Along with it are these words:

This builds on the scant detail in an October 9 Tweet (for John’s birthday) teasing that the Lennon estate would indeed be releasing “….a brand new, completely remixed Mind Games (The Ultimate Collection) in the summer of 2024, featuring an incredible six albums worth of material, followed by even more surprises later in the year.”

Today’s news makes it very clear that the June 2024 box set follows in the format footsteps of Imagine and Plastic Ono Band, two highly acclaimed reissues already out there. Good news for Lennon fans and collectors!

We can also confirm that, as was done for Imagine and Plastic Ono Band, there will be a separate accompanying hardback book to go with Mind Games.