Ringo’s ‘Beaucoups of Blues’ – German Pressing

Posted on December 17, 2014 by beatlesblogger

Another visit to Audiomania, the eclectic second-hand record store not far from our local area, and another Ringo Starr record find….

Audiomania is a quirky shop located in a run-down, semi-industrial area. It only opens two days a week (Thursdays and Saturdays), and then for only four hours at a time. One side of the premises contains blue crates full of good quality vinyl (pop, rock, and blues, as well as lots of jazz and reggae). On the other side they sell used hi-fi, restored motor cycles….and artworks made out of old motorcycle and hi fi parts.

Like we said, it’s an unusual place:

After a thorough trawl here last Saturday we ended up with two items.

The first find was a nice clean German pressing of Ringo Starr’s 1970 solo release Beaucoups of Blues. This one is on the Hörzu/Apple label, making it quite interesting:

Starting in the 1960s Hörzu (principally a radio and TV listing magazine) began producing and releasing records as a subsidiary of the Electrola company. Electrola had the rights to release EMI product (including the Beatles) in Germany.

Like we said in the previous post, we seem to moving from not having much Ringo as a solo artist on vinyl to now having quite a few of his releases.

Vinyl is the specialty of Audiomania, but while at the store we found a couple of small crates with some CDs. In there we turned up an original 1986 UK copy of Paul McCartney’s Press to Play:

This is the disc without the bonus tracks (which were added for the 1993 re-issues called The Paul McCartney Collection). The lovely lady who runs the store gave this one to us for free!

New Budget George Martin Collection

Posted on November 29, 2014 by beatlesblogger

Wog Blog is reporting a new budget label release collecting some of Beatle producer George Martin’s output over his many years in the recording industry.

It is a double CD set and there are two Beatle songs included (‘Love Me Do’ and ‘P.S. I Love You’) plus thirty others by a wide range of artists. It’s a pretty good overview of his work:

Every track listed (except the two Beatle tunes) is also available on the 2001, six CD set Produced by George Martin. That box set contains 150 titles, but if you can’t find it (or can’t afford it!), this new release from Not Now Music looks like a bargain at just £5.99.

Yoko Ono – Infinite Universe at Dawn

Posted on October 25, 2014 by beatlesblogger

Genesis Publications have just released Yoko Ono – Infinite Universe at Dawn, a book celebrating “….Yoko Ono’s seminal art and activism across eight decades”.

As the title suggests, it’s a boxed, leather-bound, richly-illustrated retrospective, and in typical Genesis style is an expensive but absolutely beautifully produced work of art in itself.

There are only 1500 signed copies available at £325.00 each (US$521.00 or AU$594.00). Mere mortals like us will have to wait to see if it is ever released in non-limited edition form!

It does look good though. Ono has written about and posted some great photos of what is inside on her Imagine Peace website.

See the Genesis Publications video about Yoko Ono Infinite Universe at Dawn.

Genesis have had a long association with limited edition books by or about the Beatles and artists and projects associated with them, including Concert for George; I Me Mine by George Harrison; Ringo Starr’s Postcards From the Boys and Photograph ; and Summer of Love by George Martin, amongst many others.

Complete Set of Beatles Abbey Road Photos to be Auctioned

Posted on October 20, 2014 by beatlesblogger

A complete set of signed outtake photographs, including the final cover shots for the Beatles Abbey Road album, is coming up for auction in November.

The press release from Dreweatts and Bloomsbury Auctions says:

The set of six photographs commissioned from Scottish photographer Iain Macmillan (1938-2006) as possible designs for the album’s front cover – together with the Abbey Road street sign used on the back cover – is of legendary rarity on the art market.

This is believed to be the first time that a complete suite of the signed and numbered photographs has ever been offered at public auction. [Hmmm. Maybe not. See WogBlog’s thoughts on this claim…..Ed.) The collection will be on view to the public in central London from Sunday 16th November, before going under the hammer on Friday 21st November where they are estimated to achieve £50,000 – 70,000.

On 8th August, 1969 Macmillan, a close friend of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, climbed a ladder in the middle of Abbey Road and in the next ten minutes took six photographs of the Fab Four walking back and forth across a zebra crossing. The fifth of his six shots, selected by Paul McCartney, would become the album cover for the Beatles’ last-recorded album and one of pop music’s most famous and recreated images.

In 1989 Iain Macmillan was quoted saying; “That photo’s been called an icon of the 60s. I suppose it is. I think the reason it became so popular is its simplicity. It’s a very simple, stylised shot. Also it’s a shot people can relate to. It’s a place where people can still walk.”

With his Hasselblad camera storing the six images, Macmillian set off to photograph a road sign to use as the back cover. To Macmillan’s annoyance, whilst he was photographing the sign on the corner with Alexandra Road, a girl in a blue dress walked through the shot, however it was this image that was later chosen as the back cover.

Sarah Wheeler, Head of Photography at Bloomsbury Auctions [pictured below] said; “To see the full collection of photographs together is a rare and fascinating opportunity for fans of the Beatles, Music and Photography. We are delighted to be offering them at auction and anticipate worldwide interest for this famous and timeless suite.”

The Photographs & Photobooks sale will be held at Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions saleroom in London’s Mayfair on Friday, November 21. The full catalogue will be available to view and download soon at www.bloomsburyauctions.com

If you are going to bid you’ll need to have very, very deep pockets. As WogBlog has also reported, an original single photograph from the same set sold at Bloomsbury Auctions in 2012 for £16,000!

Here are the remaining outtakes from that historic shoot:

“Lennon: Through a Glass Onion” Hits New York

Posted on October 13, 2014 by beatlesblogger

We here at beatlesblogger have just discovered that a fantastic Australian theatrical production about the life and times of John Lennon has just hit New York.

John Waters is one of Australia’s most respected and talented actors. He and his musical director Stewart D’Arrietta have been performing and perfecting their stage presentation about John Lennon since the early 1990’s. Over that time it has been rested, revived and revised many times – and at each new outing the show has always been met with great critical and audience acclaim here. Waters and D’Arrietta have been on the road throughout 2014, playing Lennon in cities and towns across Australia – so it’s great to see that the pair have now made it to the Big Apple after all these years. Tickets are reportedly selling well, and the show is getting some good media coverage in the city.

In Australia the show is known as Looking Through a Glass Onion – John Lennon in Word and Music, so it’s interesting to note the slight name change for the US premiere and also that John Waters is billed as John R. Waters for American audiences. We guess that’s so he’s not confused with the well-known US writer and film director of the same name.

Lennon: Through a Glass Onion is playing now at the Union Square Theatre in New York. It has a good run with performances booked through to February next year.

For a taste of how Glass Onion works on stage have a look at this YouTube video from 2010:

There’s a dedicated website for the New York Union Square Theatre shows with more details on the production, and there’s also a Facebook presence.

And in news just in: In celebration of John Lennon’s 74th birthday, Lennon: Through a Glass Onion hosted an audience sing along after the show with “Give Peace A Chance”:

Performances take place now through February 28 at Union Square Theatre, 100 East 17th Street, New York, NY 10003.

For a special limited time discount code offer to Beatles Blog readers click here.

A is for Apple – New Book On The Way

Posted on September 21, 2014 by beatlesblogger

Our interest was sparked by a recent post on Wogblog about a new series of books (still in preparation – Part 1 is being readied for publication in 2015) called A is for Apple.

This looks to become the first comprehensive study of Apple Corps, the company which the Beatles set up to handle not only their own recorded releases, films, publishing and the like, but also to build a stable of new and established artists, a fashion label and retail outlet, an electronics division, a music publishing company, and a film production company.

A is for Apple is the brainchild of two authors: German Axel Korinth, and Dutchman Ed Dieckmann who have issued a general call-out for more information about all aspects of Apple and its operations, especially photographs, documents, memorabilia, etc.

If you have any items of interest you can contact them at: research@aisforapplebook.com, or via their website, where you can also pre-order the book, view some early sample pages, etc.

Specifically, Axel and Ed need help with good quality images for a couple of records. A is for Apple won’t be a straight discography but rather a cross between a discography and a narrative. Ed Dieckmann has already compiled a fascinating Apple Records discography on the excellent www.applerecords.nl, but a book like this goes well beyond releases just on the Apple label. This is because Apple Music and Apple Publishing were the rights holders to a wide range of songs, published by all sorts of artists on all sorts of labels. Here’s a typical example – it’s a song from 1968 called “Dear Delilah” by a London-based band called Grapefruit. They were on the RCA-Victor label, but as you can see (on the left side of the label below) their song was administered by Apple Publishing Ltd – a company owned by the Beatles. This is the British pressing (click the image to enlarge):Below is a list of records that the authors of A is for Apple are urgently seeking out to include in their first volume. Of every record mentioned the authors have at least one image, but it’s their aim to show all aspects of a certain record release. In other words they need scans of both sides of labels, the back and front cover and – if available – of any inserts (like those found in Japanese records, for example). If you can help in any way, please do!

Argentina:
Grapefruit: Dear Delilah b/w The Dead Boot (RCA Victor 31A-1251)
Grapefruit: Elevator b/w Yes (RCA Victor 31A-1298)
Soundtrack: Candy (ABC Records ABCS-OC-9)

Australia:
Jigsaw: Mr Job b/w A Great Idea (MGM 33)
Paul McCartney: The Family Way (Decca SKLA-4847) – the original 1967 release, not the reissue!
Zoot: You Better Get Going Now b/w Three Jolly Little Dwarfs (Columbia DO-8438)

Brazil:
Black Dyke Mills Band: Thingumybob b/w Yellow Submarine (Apple 4)

Chile:
Grapefruit: Elevator b/w Yes (RCA Victor 94-0586)

France:
Grapefruit: C’Mon Marianna b/w Ain’t It Good (RCA Victor 49.914)
Grapefruit: Someday Soon b/w Theme For Twiggy (Stateside 2C 006-90029)
New Inspiration: I See No Reason Why b/w Grey Hair Wrinkled Skin (Disc’Az AZ SG 53)
New Inspiration: All My Life b/w Happy Charly Madman (Disc’Az AZ 10 428)
The Web: Hatton Mill Morning b/w Conscience (Deram 17.020)

Germany:
Denis Couldry: James In The Basement b/w I Am Nearly There (Decca DL 25328) white label demo

Greece:
Jackie Lomax: Sour Milk Sea b/w The Eagle Laughs At You (Apple 3)

Italy:
Byrds: Child Of The Universe b/w I Wasn’t Born To Follow (CBS 4834)

Japan:
Black Dyke Mills Band: Thingumybob b/w Yellow Submarine (Apple AR-2169)
Byrds: Child Of The Universe (CBS A-82077)
Grapefruit: Elevator EP (Victor SCP-1361)
Grapefruit: Round Going Round b/w This Little Man (Stateside Dunhill HR-2276)
Grapefruit: C’Mon Marianne b/w Theme For Twiggy (Toshiba Dunhill HR-2193)
Dave Grusin: Candy (ABC Hit 1812S)
Jackie Lomax: Sour Milk Sea b/w The Eagle Laughs At You (Apple AR-2168)
Steppenwolf: Rock Me b/w Magic Carpet Ride (Stateside HR-2635)

Portugal:
Grapefruit: Round Going Round b/w This Little Man (Stateside PSS 101)

Spain:
Grapefruit: Someday Soon b/w Theme For Twiggy (Stateside EMI SSL 414)
New Inspiration: All My Life b/w Happy Charly Madman (Decca MO 682)

Turkey:
The Web: Harold Dubbleyew b/w Monday To Friday (Deram 6903)

UK:
New Inspiration: All My Life b/w The Memory (Parlophone R 5772) regular and A-label demo
Paul Revere & The Raiders: Goin’ To Memphis (CBS S 63265) Stereo pressing only!

Uruguay:
Grapefruit: Round Going Round b/w This Little Man (Odeon 20020)

USA:
Soundtrack: Candy (Capitol Record Club ST-91712)
Soundtrack: Candy 8 track (release number as yet unknown)

Ultimately A is for Apple will consist of four volumes in all. It is a huge undertaking. The first instalment (covering the years 1966-1968) is due for publication in the first half of 2015. Each volume of the fully illustrated book will be limited to 500 copies.

Previously Unreleased McCartney Song for Diana Krall

Posted on September 1, 2014 by beatlesblogger

Those completists among us will be looking to acquire a copy of Diana Krall’s new CD called Wallflower. Due out on October 21, it will contain a previously unreleased tune from Paul McCartney called “If I Take You Home Tonight”.

Diana Krall, jazz pianist, vocalist, and wife of Elvis Costello, played a significant role on McCartney’s Kisses on the Bottom standards CD and LP from 2012.

“I still had a copy of the music,” Krall said, “and I asked him if he was O.K. if I did the song for my record and he said, ‘Sure’. So we recorded that and it came out just gorgeous. It’s a new Paul McCartney song that’s never been recorded that I’m pretty honored to have.”

Dylan 30th Anniversary Concert Re-Issue

Posted on March 22, 2014 by beatlesblogger

For those George Harrison completists among us comes a CD re-issue of the1992 concert held to mark the 30th anniversary of Bob Dylan’s recording career. This 2CD Deluxe Edition, with remastered audio, adds two previously unreleased recordings from the concert’s sound check to the original release. Our copy just arrived in the post:

George Harrison (then making his first US concert appearance in 18 years) is introduced on Track 7 of Disc 2 singing “Absolutely Sweet Marie”. As well we get him playing guitar and backing vocals on two other tracks. Sadly we don’t get “If Not For You”, though it was performed during the concert.

The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration is also now out on DVD and Blu-ray for the very first time. See WogBlog’s post for all the details on those releases.

The back of the CD booklet has a tribute to all the musicians who have since passed:

The original 1992 CD cover looked like this, with a photo of George pretty much front and centre:

Yoko Ono and the World of Dance Music Remixes

Posted on March 15, 2014 by beatlesblogger

When we posted about the forthcoming re-issues of Yoko Ono’s Apple Records back catalogue we were contacted by the people at Mind Train/Twisted Records asking if we were aware of Yoko Ono’s other considerable success over many years in the world of dance music and remixes.

No, we said – tell us more.

And so Rob at Twisted kindly sent through a signed (yes, autographed by Yoko herself), 2-disc promo set which gathers together a selection of the very best of her output in this genre from the last 10 years or so:

Under the monicker ONO she has had huge successes with DJ remixes of her work on the Billboard Club charts. Last year ONO had not one, but two consecutive Number 1 hits – making her one of the most successful dance artists of 2013 and prompting articles like this one in Time magazine.

Her product is prepared and released by the Yoko-associated Mind Train Records and the iconic New York-based house music label Twisted Records. For more on Twisted see their Facebook page.

Yoko Ono’s Imaginepeace site also has some info on these releases.

Gotta say, I quite like these. They’re creative, mesmerising, and make you want to move. It just goes to show that in the world of collecting Beatle and Beatle-related music there is always something new to learn….

(for larger versions click on the images above)

Michael McCartney Book – “Remember”

Posted on January 27, 2014 by beatlesblogger

Got the chance to go to a CD and book fair recently and picked up what is really a very nice second-hand book of photographs and memories by Michael McCartney (or Mike McGear as he is sometimes known).

Beatles books are dime a dozen – but this one is special because it’s an historic and unique window into the behind-the-scenes life not only of Paul McCartney and the Beatles, but the whole Liverpool scene which spawned the band.

The book is called Remember: Recollections and Photographs of the Beatles, and it was released in 1992 by Friedman Books:

Michael McCartney is the younger brother of Paul, and with camera in hand he had a backstage pass to record the evolution of the Beatles. His book is filled with amazing photographs from the very earliest days of his and Paul’s lives – from intimate family photos, right through to the onset of Beatlemania and the contrast of crowds everywhere.

McCartney’s photographs have been frequently used by his older brother, notably scattered throughout this film clip for the Wings song “Let ‘Em In” from 1976 (which also name-checks “brother Michael”):

Many of those images in the promo film clip appear in this book. Paul McCartney also used a Michael McCartney image for the CD single “No Other Baby”, a song taken from his 1999 album Run Devil Run:

Michael McCartney writes that the photograph (above) is of their cousin Bett Robbins (right), her son Ted (left)- with Paul sitting in the middle sitting in Ted’s pushchair. “By this time Paul was so obsessed with the guitar that he took it everywhere – the bogs, the bus, and even the beach….”. The photo was taken on the same day as this one below. It is the same group, but this time with Paul and Michael’s dad Jim McCartney included:

Michael’s work was used for the front cover of Paul’s 2005 solo release Chaos and Creation in the Backyard:

That photo appears on page 26 of Remember: Recollections and Photographs of the Beatles. On the opposite page is this image – a striking one – again of Paul with his guitar:

There are of course many photographs of Paul, but also some wonderfully unique images of the other Beatles as young men:

In this year of looking back on 50 years of the Beatles, Remember: Recollections and Photographs of the Beatles is well worth looking out for to add to your collection. It came out in 1992 so you will have to hunt around for it, but it’s a unique insight into the early days of the band. You can find out more about Michael McCartney in these two interesting articles: Part One and Part Two.

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