Category Archives: Beatles Related

The Beatles Ballads Cover – by ‘Patrick’

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We recently moved offices at work and I needed something to brighten up my new space. So I got onto Ebay and found this Beatles poster, which I’ve had framed. Here’s the Ebay image (its not my office!):

I got it because it’s the painting used on the front cover of “The Beatles Ballads” which, when it was released back in 1980, spent some seven weeks in the number one spot on the Australian charts:

The cover art is by an artist simply known as ‘Patrick’ (you can see his signature at the bottom left in the image above).

‘Patrick’ is actually Scottish artist and playwright John Byrne. His art was popular with the Beatles and in 1968 they commissioned him to create a possible cover for what would become “The Beatles” (also known as “The White Album”). Byrne’s style and concept appears to support the original working title of that album which was “A Doll’s House”. Turns out it wasn’t used then, but the work re-surfaced as the cover for the compilation album “The Beatles Ballads” twelve years later.

John Byrne (b.1940) has had an interesting and varied life. He grew up on a notoriously tough housing estate in Paisley, not far from Glasgow in Scotland. He escaped work in a carpet factory to study at the Glasgow School of Art, and carved out a successful dual career as both an artist and a writer.

John ‘Patrick’ Byrne’s biography reflects his diverse talents. He’s designed theatre sets and record covers. His play “The Slab Boys” (1978) won him the Evening Standard’s most promising playwright award. The very successful, six-time BAFTA award-winning television series “Tutti Frutti” appeared in 1987. These writing achievements developed alongside his prolific artistic career, which took off in 1967 when Byrne assumed the identity of ‘Patrick’ for a solo show at the Portal Gallery in London. A prolific painter, illustrator and print-maker, Byrne today boasts a range of works held in many prestigious public collections.

His record cover credits include works for Donovan, Gerry Rafferty and Billy Connolly:

Two weeks ago, at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Beatles fans got to catch up with Byrne who was there to publicise his new illustrated childrens book called “Donald and Benoit: A Story of a Cat and a Boy“. He signed this copy of “The Beatles Ballads” as John ‘Patrick’ Byrne:

* Photo credit: John Byrne portrait by Trevor Yerbury

Beatles Engineer Geoff Emerick Interview

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ABC Radio in Australia has done a lengthy interview with the man often referred to as “the sixth Beatle” –  studio engineer extraordinaire Geoff Emerick. As a 21 year-old he was George Martin’s right-hand man in the control room on albums such as “Revolver”, “Sgt Pepper”, “The Beatles (White Album)” and “Abbey Road”.

702 ABC Sydney Evening Show presenter Robbie Buck spoke to Geoff for over twenty minutes about his career recording the greatest band in the world. Visit the 702 ABC Sydney site to read about the interview. You can play it from that site – or you can listen here:

Geoff Emerick will be in Australia this week to attend “Integrate 2011“, a sound, music and light industry convention where he’ll give a special presentation that is being billed as a “world first”.  Geoff will be interviewed live on stage with another legend from the industry, Australian Richard Lush, who also worked extensively with the Beatles in the 1960’s. And they’ll play examples of how they came up with some of the unique and ground-breaking sounds we hear on the Beatles recordings.

The Beatles with Records – Part Three

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The Beatles With Records posts (Part One and Part Two) have prompted quite a few people to send in additional photographs, and also to do some pretty amazing detective work on some of the records that the Beatles are holding in photos. More on that below, but first some additional photos. These first four come from Robert. He says: “In the first one Paul seems to be holding an acetate, from the “Sgt Pepper” sessions most likely”. Hmmm. Its pretty hard to tell. What do you think?:

There are a couple of John signing copies of “Sgt Pepper” for some lucky fans. The top one is clearly on the steps outside the Abbey Road Studios. :

This next one of John has him holding what looks very much like an album under his arm – but what is it? If anyone knows please contact me at beatlesblogger@gmail.com :

And finally from the “Sgt Pepper” era here’s another photograph from the official launch of  for the press at Brian Epstein’s house in London:

Next come a couple more of Paul. The first one is him signing what must have been his latest release at the time, “Wings At The Speed of Sound” from 1976. In the second photograph he’s emerging from a car clutching a copy of the same album, only this time we can see the rear cover image:

These next photographs come from a reader named Istobal. First is the Beatles in a nice publicity shot holding copies of “Please Please Me”, “A Hard Day’s Night”, “Beatles For Sale” (in the British gatefold sleeve) and “Help!”:

The second shot Istobal sent is Ringo holding a copy of his 1972 single, “Back off Boogaloo“. This looks like it could have been taken in the Apple offices. Ringo is with Mark Bolan from the band T-Rex:

“Back Off Boogaloo” was also famous for its unique blue Apple label:

Also in a photograph with a solo, post-Beatles project is John Lennon. Its a  photograph taken during a visit to radio station WNEW-FM in New York. The fellow in the lower right holding up the rear cover of Lennon’s “Rock’n’Roll” album is Scott Muni, a well known New York radio host:

John made guest appearances on Muni’s WNEW-FM afternoon show several times in the 1970s. They became quite good friends, and after Lennon’s murder Muni vowed to always open his show with either a Lennon or Beatles record, a pledge that he kept for the rest of his career.

Signing albums features fairly prominently – and this next photograph is no exception. Its quite an early one with John signing four or five copies of 1964’s US album “Meet the Beatles!”:

Now for some very smart detective work from readers of the two previous posts. In The Beatles With Records – Part Two  I featured this great photo of Ringo:

The three records I could identify in this photograph were “Little Stevie Wonder – The 12 Year Old Genius”, The Shirelles “Foolish Little Girl”, and possibly a 45 single of The Shirelles “Baby It’s You”. Then I get a comment on the blog from a reader named Lammert with more information saying the record immediately behind the Stevie Wonder LP is The Orlons “Not Me, Not Me, Not Me”:

Check it out. I reckon he’s right! And I reckon he’s also right about the LP just under The Shirelles one. Lammert says it is The Marvelettes – “Live on Stage”, and again, I believe he’s hit the nail on the head:

Pretty good detective work. But it doesn’t stop there. This picture appeared in the post The Beatles With Records – Part One:

I identified the LP’s “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan”, and underneath that Ben E. King’s “Don’t Play that Song!”. But Lammert has gone one better. Right at the very bottom of the stack on Paul’s lap is this LP:

You can only see the start of the lettering at the very top left-hand corner and part of his yellow shirt in the middle of the cover, but I agree with Lammert that it is Chuck Jackson’s “I Don’t Want to Cry!”.

Don’t forget – if you have any further photographs of the Beatles with records you can send them to:  beatlesblogger@gmail.com

You can see the other parts in “The Beatles with Records” series here:  Parts 1, 2, 4, 5 , 6, 7 , 8, 9 , 10 , 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17.

The Beatles and Why Music Matters

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The Beatles are up for the fight against music pirates. The surviving members of the band, and the estates of the late members, have pledged support for the anti-piracy campaign Music Matters by sanctioning a special animated short film featuring a selection of original Beatles music.

You may have seen this already (it’s been out for about a week now), but its so cute and catchy I’m adding the Beatles film below.
 
An eclectic range of recording artists are featured in this new online campaign. The Music Matters group describe themselves as “a collective of artists and people from across the industry, which has formed to remind music fans of the significance and value of music.” The group works to promote legal digital music and have posted a series of great little animated videos featuring the music of some big hitters including: The Beatles, Elbow, Kate Bush, Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone and Sigur Ros – to name just a few on the international site. There’s also an Australia/New Zealand sitewith a much smaller selection of videos using the music of Nick Cave, Eskimo Joe, Dave Dobyn and others. The Beatles’ film was animated and directed by Lee Gingold. According to Paul McCartney’s website, “The film focuses on the message that music is a shared experience and as such brings us all together, and for him that’s why music matters.”
 

Ocean’s Kingdom – McCartney Ballet Music

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Paul McCartney’s first ballet score, “Ocean’s Kingdom“, with choreography by the New York City Ballet’s Ballet Master in Chief Peter Martins, will premiere at the Lincoln Center in New York on September 22.

“Ocean’s Kingdom” marks the first time that McCartney has composed for dance, and Martins’ choreography will follow the music’s libretto of a romance between lovers from conflicting kingdoms. The production’s costumes are designed by another McCartney, daughter and leading fashion designer Stella. Its also the first time she has done costume design for the theatre.

The album containing the music from the work is to be released on October 4.
It is performed by the London Classical Orchestra, directed by John Wilson. According to Amazon there will be a CD and vinyl versions available, and it is released on the Hear Music/MPL/Telarc label:

There are four movements to the work:
1.  Movement 1 Ocean’s Kingdom
2. Movement 2 Hall of Dance
3. Movement 3 Imprisonment
4. Movement 4 Moonrise

Sir Paul will be attending the premiere in New York on September 22.

The Beatles With Records – Part Two

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Since my earlier post about the Beatles being photographed actually holding the things they sold so many of – LP and single records – a few more photos have come to light. This first one is a very early publicity shot of the band with a copy of their very first album for Parlophone Records – from 1963 “Please Please Me“:

Trawling the web I came across a great photo of an obviously happy Ringo Starr with a pile of LPs and singles:

Here you can clearly see Ringo holding the Motown Record “Little Stevie Wonder – The 12 Year Old Genius” (from 1963):

He’s also got a copy of The Shirelles “Foolish Little Girl“, which again dates from 1963 leading to the conclusion that this photograph was taken in that year. The record is lying down, just near Ringo’s left hand:

And on top of that LP are a couple of 45 rpm singles. Its impossible to make out the title of the one we can see, but you can clearly make out the distinctive red and white label of Top Rank records. I wonder if it’s also The Shirelles? In Britain they were released on Top Rank – so it could very possibly be a copy of  “Baby Its You“, a song the Shirelles recorded in 1961 and which the Beatles themselves covered on “Please Please Me“:

I’ve also found  a photograph of Ringo with wife Maureen. They’re sitting at home in a flat they rented for some time in London’s Montague Square. Behind Ringo you can see on the shelf quite a large collection of LP’s, and if I’m nor mistaken Maureen is sitting on what, for the times, would have been quite a sophisticated “radiogram” or record player:

Here’s another of Ringo, once again with Maureen, clutching a copy of the Beatles “Yellow Submarine” LP:

I had a  a photo sent to me after the earlier blog post. It’s Paul with a copy of 1965’s “Rubber Soul“:

George Harrison features on the web photographed with records, some with easily identifiable discs and some not. This one is pretty easy to see. Its a lucky fan getting an autographed copy of “Help“:

Here’s George again, this time a shot taken in what looks to be the Apple offices. It’s him holding a copy of his second solo outing “Electronic Sound“, released on the Zapple label:

You can clearly see the rear artwork for the LP in the photo above. Below is a shot of the back cover of the LP:

And here’s another one of George again signing albums, but this time its very difficult to see just what they are:

In 1970 John and Yoko posed for some photographs to publicise their new records. John had “John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band”, and Yoko had “Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band”. Both titles, on Apple Records, were released simultaneously. The front covers were almost identical, but the rear artwork of Yoko’s album showed her as a young girl, while John’s showed him as a young boy:

In the photo is also “The Wedding Album” box set, which came out in 1969. The photo below is taken at the same session:

As I said, the front cover artwork of these two LP’s is difficult to tell apart. “John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band” has John leaning against Yoko:

While “Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band” has Yoko leaning against John:

Very subtle.

Finally, a photograph of Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein. He’s holding a copy of the controversial 1966 US Capitol Records release “Yesterday and Today“. This is the famous “Butcher Cover” LP. Maybe he’s contemplating the new photograph that Capitol was forced to paste over all the original issues of the album:

This is the more acceptable “trunk” cover shot that Capitol put on over the top of the original artwork:

And this is what it replaced:

The interesting thing about the Epstein photograph is that what he is holding appears to be an early mock-up of the replacement artwork. If you look closely there is no song list at the top and the font for the words “Yesterday and Today” is different to that used on the final version. Interesting.

Don’t forget, if you have any other photographs of the Beatles actually listening to or holding singles or LP’s you can send them to me at:  beatlesblogger@gmail.com

You can see the other parts in “The Beatles with Records” series here:  Parts 1, 3, 4, 5 , 6, 7 , 8, 9 , 10 , 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17.

Thinking About Abbey Road Studios at 80

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I stumbled today upon an article on (of all places) the computer/gadget specialist site CNet. It is about the famed EMI Abbey Road studios in St. John’s Wood, London – the site of so much fantastic recorded music including just about all the songs recorded, in one way or another, by the Beatles. The studios have just turned 80 years old and it got me thinking about what an important role this particular pile of bricks and mortar on a nondescript street has played in the history of popular and classical music – not the least of which is the music of the the Beatles.

If George Martin is often referred to as “the fifth Beatle” then surely Abbey Road could be regarded as one of the instruments they played – with as much importance to the Beatles sound as the Gibson acoustics, the Gretsch and Epiphone electrics, the Ludwig drums, and the famous Hofner bass.

The CNet article has some very interesting observations made during a recent tour of the famous building and it’s numerous rooms – so many of which are associated with Beatles tracks. You have got to scroll through the thirty photographs taken during CNet’s visit. Its a terrific tour with some great shots for both Beatles fans and technical nerds alike.

The studio itself has a website which is worth a visit every now and again to catch up on their news – one of the latest of which is the remastering of the Beatles “Anthology” series for digital download.

So much happened at this one address – including the Beatles themselves honoring their home-away-from-home with an album bearing the studio’s name.

Abbey Road photo session - August 8, 1969

Then there was the heritage listing for that famous zebra crossing out the front….and the zebra crossing web cam, now complete with live street sounds. Its no longer in exactly the same spot as the photo on the front of the “Abbey Road” album having been moved down the road a bit from the studios – but countless fans still come each day, month, and year to be photographed striding across it.

Happy 80th birthday Abbey Road Studios. Here’s to 80 more years.

Concert for Bangladesh at 40

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The official Beatles site, the George Harrison site, the iTunes Store, and a special site created just for the purpose all have it: that the 40th anniversary of the staging of “The Concert for Bangladesh”, and the subsequent release of the film and the records of the same name, will be suitably celebrated – only this time monies raised will go to UNICEF to assist those facing the 2011 disaster of famine in the Horn of Africa.

Forty years after the historic concert, which in 1971 raised so much to help the starving in Bangladesh, comes the first digital download of the music. The Beatles site carries this press release:

To celebrate the anniversary and honor Harrison’s legacy of giving back, the U.S. Fund for UNICEF today announces a special ‘Month of Giving’ donation campaign in August for the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF, helping to provide emergency relief for children in famine and drought-stricken regions in the Horn of Africa. All after-tax proceeds from sales of The Concert for Bangladesh album on iTunes will directly benefit the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF. iTunes, Apple Records Inc., and all artists, songwriters and publishers associated with the concert will keep no income from each sale and have waived all fees.

The iTunes release of The Concert for Bangladesh album includes Harrison’s “Bangla Desh” studio single, originally released July 5, 1971, as an exclusive bonus track. A 5-minute video trailer for the album and a 49-minute radio program about The Concert for Bangladesh are also now available as free streams on iTunes.

In a worldwide, 72-hour online event, The Concert for Bangladesh feature film will be available for free streaming in its entirety from Saturday, July 30 through Monday, August 1 on iTunes.com/thebeatles, GeorgeHarrison.com and TheConcertForBangladesh.com.

When George Harrison was asked in 1971 why he chose to focus his time and talents on The Concert for Bangladesh, he replied, “Because I was asked by a friend if I would help, that’s all.” Monday, August 1 marks 40 years since Harrison and his friend Ravi Shankar, along with several other top music stars, including Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Leon Russell, and Billy Preston, shared the stage at Madison Square Garden for two history-making concerts to alert the world to the plight of the Bangladeshi people, victims of simultaneous floods, famine and civil war.

The groundbreaking Concert for Bangladesh and its award-winning double album and feature film releases have since inspired other major, entertainment-led charitable initiatives, including Bob Geldof’s LIVE AID and LIVE8, Willie Nelson’s Farm Aid, and Hope For Haiti Now.

During the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF’s Month of Giving in August, all donations to the Fund will benefit UNICEF’s life-saving programs for children in the Horn of Africa. To jump start this fundraising initiative, the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF is immediately releasing $1 million to UNICEF for emergency efforts in the Horn of Africa.

The Horn of Africa is facing what is being called the worst drought in 60 years, and famine has been declared by the United Nations in two regions of southern Somalia. More than 2 million children are acutely malnourished, including half a million children who are at imminent risk of death if they do not receive immediate lifesaving assistance.

“Forty years ago this August, the friendship between George Harrison and Ravi Shankar forever changed music and the lives of countless Bangladeshi children. Today millions of children in the Horn of Africa desperately need our help. We are humbled by the outpouring of support from the music community led by Olivia Harrison, Apple Records and our friends at iTunes,” said President and CEO of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF Caryl Stern.

Says Ravi Shankar, “I’m so moved that this concert, which emerged from my close friendship with George, is regarded as historically significant 40 years on and continues to inspire musicians of all generations.”

A brief video message with information about how to help is available for streaming on georgeharrisonfundforunicef.org and on iTunes. In the U.S., supporters can text FRIEND to UNICEF (864233) to give $10 to the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF (messaging and data rates apply), or visit TheConcertForBangladesh.com to donate and learn more.

Go there. See what you can do to help.

See also this unusual LP copy of “The Concert for Bangladesh”.

McCartney and McCartney II Finally Arrive

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I’ve been very patiently awaiting the arrival (from Amazon in the US) of my copies of “McCartney” and “McCartney II“.

I’d ordered the Deluxe hard back book versions of both titles, along with the 2 LP set (got to have the vinyl!), and the Special Edition CD packs as well. (I had already purchased locally the single CD versions which are only being released in certain markets).

These were all ordered online on May 24th. They were officially released on June 14th, and then had to make the LONG journey via the postal service down under to Australia. I didn’t receive them until last week – on July 12th. That’s almost a two month wait….

As they they were very heavy, I got a notification in the mailbox that had to collect them from the local Post Office. I’ve got to admit when I saw the box my heart sank. As you can see below it was pretty bashed around. On that two month journey it had clearly been thrown around and had frequently been at the bottom of piles of other packages. Postal workers obviously don’t have much regard for “Fragile” and “Handle With Care” stickers. I was particularly  worried about the two LP sets in there. They are the most fragile. Could they have survived intact?

With great trepidation I opened up the box, expecting the worst. Inside there was just a minimal amount of padding:

Thank goodness Amazon had individually sealed the LPs in their own special LP mailers and this really helped. There were two of them, essentially sitting in their own protection at the bottom of the box. The strong cardboard mailers had done a great job of protecting the most fragile of the contents. Thanks Amazon!

These sealed cardboard mailers are great and had clearly been individually pre-packed in bulk by Amazon for the McCartney re-issues. They both had special stickers with the contents on the outside:

All the other precious contents had miraculously survived too:

I actually think that the heat shrinking Amazon uses also plays a big part in protecting CD’s and LPs – especially when they’re being thrown around in transit. The two limited edition Deluxe hardback book versions are sealed and have a sheet inside the shrink wrap detailing the contents:

So, I now have a complete set of the new McCartney releases. Safely, but only just, delivered half way around the world.

George Harrison Film Premiere, DVD, Book and CD Announced

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Today on georgeharrison.com comes the formal announcement and official details of the Martin Scorsese film “George Harrison: Living in the Material World“.  Here’s an extract from the press release:

“George Harrison: Living in the Material World” focuses the imaginative and inspired eye of one of cinema’s most pre-eminent filmmakers on one of the world’s most influential men. The film takes viewers on the musical and spiritual voyage that was George Harrison’s life, much of it told in his own words. The result is deeply moving and touches each viewer in unique and individual ways.

Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese traces Harrison’s life from his musical beginnings in Liverpool through his life as a musician, a seeker, a philanthropist, and filmmaker. Scorsese weaves together interviews with Harrison and his closest friends, performances, home movies, and photographs. Much of the material in the film has never been seen (or heard) before. The result is a rare glimpse into the mind and soul of one of the most talented artists of his generation and a profoundly intimate and affecting work of cinema.

The film includes interviews with Eric Clapton, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, George Martin, Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono, Tom Petty, Phil Spector, Ringo Starr and Jackie Stewart. They speak honestly and frankly about George’s many talents and contradictions.

The film was produced by Scorsese, Olivia Harrison and Nigel Sinclair. Margaret Bodde served as the film’s executive producer and the film was edited by David Tedeschi (who previously worked with Scorsese, Bodde and Sinclair on the Grammy Award-winning “No Direction Home: Bob Dylan” and with Scorsese and Bodde on the Rolling Stone concert film “Shine A Light”).

Scorsese comments, “Like so many millions of people, I first came to know George through the music, which was the soundtrack of our world. The Beatles’ music, those beautifully lyrical guitar breaks and solos, those unforgettable songs of George’s, like “I Me Mine” or “If I Needed Someone,” and the images, in magazines, on album covers, the TV appearances, the newsreel footage, the Richard Lester movies; and then there was the world after the Beatles, when George and his music seemed to open up and flower. I will never forget the first time I heard All Things Must Pass, the overwhelming feeling of taking in all that glorious music for the first time. It was like walking into a cathedral. George was making spiritually awake music – we all heard and felt it – and I think that was the reason that he came to occupy a very special place in our lives. So when I was offered the chance to make this picture, I jumped at it. Spending time with Olivia, interviewing so many of George’s closest friends, reviewing all that footage, some of it never seen before, and listening to all of that magnificent music – it was a joy, and an experience I’ll always treasure.”

Olivia Harrison notes, “Martin Scorsese’s intuition towards George was evident the first time we met to discuss this project. He sensed what George was about: his music, his strong beliefs, his art, his place in the Beatles story, and his extraordinary life afterwards. Marty’s wonderful film has found all of that and more.”

“This film was an extraordinary journey for all involved and it has been a sheer pleasure working with Martin Scorsese and Olivia Harrison to bring the amazing story and legacy of George Harrison to life,” adds Sinclair.

“George Harrison: Living in the Material World” will be released in the UK on 10th October in three editions – DVD, Blu-ray and DVD Double play (DVD/ BD combi pack), and a beautifully packaged DVD / Blu-Ray Deluxe Edition, which includes an exclusive CD of previously unheard tracks from George Harrison, and a book of photography to accompany the film.

In the United States HBO has acquired the TV broadcast rights to Scorsese’s film, which will debut in two parts — on October 5 and October 6, 2011.

In late September, Abrams Books will publish Olivia Harrison’s “George Harrison: Living in the Material World“, a personal archive of photographs, letters, diaries, and memorabilia from George’s life that reveals the arc of his life, from his guitar-obsessed boyhood in Liverpool, to the astonishment of the Beatles years, to his days as an independent musician and bohemian squire. The book release is intended to coincide with the release of Scorsese’s film.