For some time now we’ve been running a series on the Beatles photographed or filmed holding records or CDs – either their own, or those of the artists they were listening to.
Quite independently a video maker on the other side of the world from us had an idea for something similar – and we have been in touch over the past couple of months. He goes by the name Billy Shears and he can be found on YouTube at The Sgt Pepper Channel.
Billy has just uploaded a fantastic video compilation of absolutely everything he can find of The Beatles With Records. It shows many of the photographs featured on our site, but also a LOT more. It’s very cleverly done as the images flow together and emerge in themes. Really well worth a look!
It’s not often we get video of the Beatles with records. We have had only a couple over this course of this series (see: Part 6, Part 14, and possibly Part 23….although the jury is still out as to whether John Lennon is actually carrying a record up the steps on his way into the Abbey Road studios). Now comes film from way back in 1964. It was shot at Brian Epstein’s NEMS offices on May 30 that year, with the Beatles just beginning to enjoy their first taste of really big success. The first part of the YouTube clip below is fairly mundane – colour film of the band sitting in the office with various members of the press, fans and hangers-on milling about. Then at about the 2 mins 50 seconds mark a record executive (who looks to be an American) brings over some 45s and LPs for Paul McCartney to peruse. These appear to be US test pressings, and maybe even a gold record that’s yet to be framed… At approximately 4 minutes into the video we see a copy of this US album flash by – which Paul looks quite pleased with: Just after that John Lennon joins Paul and they continue to examine the stack of discs. Quite apart from the records, it’s an interesting series of clips showing the natural, easy charm the band possessed – particularly John, and also Paul. In this photo below, taken during the band’s first “world” tour (which took in Denmark and saw drummer Jimmy Nicol briefly fill in for an ill Ringo Starr), we can see Paul McCartney holding the Danish pressing of the single “Long Tall Sally/I Call Your Name”, released on the Odeon label:Here’s another photograph, this time from the first US tour in 1964. We know from other photographs taken on this tour that the band took the opportunity to pick up some US albums by their favourites. This one is George Harrison with an LP by one of his guitar idols – the great Chet Atkins:The Beatles were always very generous with the time they gave to their fans, frequently stopping in the street or in their cars to sign autographs. Here’s George again, signing what could be a record – but it could also be some sort of a concert program or booklet: Staying with George, here he is much later during the Apple Records days with members of one of his signings to the label – the Radha Krsna Temple. They’re holding a copy of their 1971 Apple single called “Govinda”:Here’s another amazing photograph of George – showing off his impressive guitar collection. It contains a number of mysteries which you might be able to help solve (click on the image below to see a larger version): Probably taken at his home at Friar Park, we can see up on the mantle piece (up high and to George’s left) artwork for the cover of The Apple E.P. This was released in 1991 and was a 45 containing four songs, one song each from the first four non-Beatle artists ever to be released on the label. They are Mary Hopkin, Badfinger, Jackie Lomax and Billy Preston. It was a promotional release to mark the first round of Apple re-issues (on vinyl and CD) back in 1991: Also high up, and to the right in the photograph of George above is an image of Eric Clapton from around the time of the release of his album 461 Ocean Boulevard (1974). It looks like an album – but it is difficult to identify because it’s partially hidden by a box also on the shelf. There’s lettering across the top left of the photo which says “Eric Clapton”. The image of Clapton is very similar to the on the inside of the gatefold of 461 Ocean Boulevard: Lower down from the sideboard, still on the right-hand side of the photo, there’s a pile of two or three LPs. On top is what looks like an older style cover. It seems to be by a singer from the 1930’s or 40’s, maybe a famous tenor or baritone? It is hard to make out the name – but it looks like the writing says “Robert….(something)”, with his picture in an oval shape below. Anyone with any information or ideas on what this album might be please let us know! Then to the far left of the photograph (i.e. to George’s right), on the floor and leaning up against the wall is a large image of hisDark Horse Records logo. It is lying on its side – so all we can see is the horse’s tail: There is an LP or a box obscuring the full logo, but it is impossible to know what this might be. To finish off this post, a topical one with the soon-to-be-released Archive Series re-issue of Paul McCartney’sVenus and Mars (1975). It’s Wings – sitting with what looks to be a proof sheet for the front cover artwork for the album:The 2014 re-master of Venus and Mars will be released on November 3 (November 4 in the USA).
You can see more in the Beatles With Records series here (just go to the links at the bottom of the page).
OK, to kick off Part 20 in our series a couple of photographs of the Beatles with records which are going to be tough to solve.
Here Paul is standing in front of a display. The thing is these record covers are all not immediately recognisable as they seem to be from other countries. They would all be from the 1960s. Does anyone have any idea what these discs might be?
And this one below of John – is that an LP to his left (our right)? This appears to be a photograph taken while the artists known as The Fool give one of John’s pianos a very special paint job. Amongst other things The Fool designed the original inner sleeve for Sgt Pepper, and they did the huge mural which adorned the outside of the Apple Boutique clothing shop in London.
Back to the photo. Is this an LP record cover? You can clearly make out what looks to be the word “Velvet…..”. Or could it be a poster?
Let us know if you have any further info on this one.
Now onto some easier-to-solve Beatles With Records photos. Firstly to Paul and Linda with a copy of Press to Play, his sixth solo studio album, released August 1986.
I really don’t know what the occasion is below – Yoko is photographed with a group of young men, one of whom is in a Beatle jacket, and another who is holding up a copy of John’s “legal obligation” disc called John Lennon Sings the Great Rock & Roll Hits (which later, and with much better sound, appeared on Apple Records as Rock ‘n’ Roll):You can read the full story about how this album came into being here. It’s a long and complicated tale….
These next photographs are very similar (but taken at a different event) to those photos you may have seen in Part 14 where Paul McCartney is swamped by waiting fans eager for him to sign LP covers.
In the two photos above I can make out at least ten albums, beginning at the top:
If you can see any others let us know.
And yet again, another flock of fans hoping for a signature but this time at a different location:
I can make out these titles:
Signings for their fans have always been something the Beatles as a band (and as solo artists) have always embraced. Here’s another of Paul – this time autographing a copy of Wings at the Speed of Sound from 1976:This one of George Harrison doesn’t have any records in view (except for the indistinguishable 45 actually on the turntable) – but it has a cool little record player though….and it’s a great shot of George: One final photo to finish off this installment….obviously taken at the quality control room at the EMI plant in 1965:
A big thank you to Andrey in Russia for most of these images. You can see the other parts in The Beatles with Records series here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16,17,18 and 19.
It’s been a while since we had an instalment of The Beatles With Records.
For those unfamiliar with the idea, this is about the Beatles being photographed actually holding or nearby the things they sold so many of – LP and single records.
Since the last post (Part 18 back in March) quite a few more photos have come into the Beatles Blog.
First up a couple of shots featuring a young Ringo Starr signing LP’s: Those two albums above look like 1) Please Please Me, and 2) A Hard Day’s Night:
These air hostesses also have copies of AHDN – this time they are hopeful that Paul McCartney might sign:Back to Ringo again and a female fan seeking an autograph for her autograph book is flanked by a young man holding a copy of Yellow Submarine (you can see the rear cover art here):Below, a copy of a US Sgt Pepper is held out at a concert event starring Harry Nilsson (front, leaning forward) and Ringo (behind him). Doesn’t look like the fan got that one signed….:Next, a solitary George Harrison gets ready to sign a copy of the inner sleeve of his 1975 solo album Extra Texture – Read All About It:
Here’s the front cover:
If there’s a theme emerging here it’s the Beatles, either as a band or solo, signing copies of their albums for fans. Here’s John and Yoko – but which record? Any ideas? This next one rang a bell when I saw it. It looks like it is on a train, possibly during the Beatles first tour of the USA: It reminded me very much of this colour photograph of John Lennon (from Part 3), which looks to have been taken in the same place and on the same day:
While we’re on the subject of the US version of Meet the Beatles, this happy fan also seems to have scored a signed copy:
And lastly for this instalment yet another signing of a copy of Sgt Pepper, this time on the inside of the gatefold cover:
You can see the other parts in The Beatles with Records series here:
Our friend Lammert Mulder, who has contributed in the past to solving some other Beatles with Records mysteries, has come up with a wide range of new photos and information. First up is a photograph of George Harrison at home with three records. I can only identify two – the first (on his knees) is The Fabulous Miracles:
(This the same Miracles LP we saw in a photo of John Lennon in the Beatles with Records Part 17). George also has what looks like a copy of the 1963 pressing of Little Richard Sings Gospel (it is lying beside him on the bed):
If anyone can identify the third LP that he is holding, let us know.
In the Beatles with Records Part 15 we showed this photo of George from 1964, loading singles into the then very groovy in-dash record player in his E-Type Jaguar:
Here’s another shot from a different angle – and we can now identify the 45 as “Can’t You Tell by the Look in His Eyes” by the Reflections:
(click on images to see larger versions)
This is the portable player – a Philips Automignon AG2101D 45 In-Car Record Player:
Paul had one fitted to his Aston Martin, and John had one in his psychedelic Rolls Royce too (thanks to Piers Hemmingsen at Capitol 6000 for this info).
Yet another shot of George – this time with Ben E. King’s 1962 release Don’t Play That Song:
This LP also shows up in a pile of records that John and Paul have in this photo (from the Beatles with Records Part 1). You can see it just under the copy of The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan that Paul is holding:
Yet another photo of the lads (below) leaving the USA after their first tour. They purchased a lot of records for their personal collections on that trip – and we’ve seen some of these in previous posts. This is a new one of Paul holding up a copy of Martha and the Vandellas 1963 Heatwave LP:
(click on images to see larger versions)
Any ideas about this photo of Ringo below? It’s been suggested that this is the rear cover of the LP Mary Wells Live on Stage:
And this additional photo of Ringo at the Beatles Green Street flat in 1963 confirms that the record he has underneath The Shirelles (see BWR Part 2 and BWR Part Three) is in fact The Marvelettes – Live on Stage (1963):
This next one is a photograph of John’s record players at his Kenwood home – and lined up on the shelf you can clearly see a 1966 copy of Buffalo Springfield’s first self-titled album Buffalo Springfield:
And I reckon you can also see a copy of Sgt Pepper peeking through behind the experimental Electronic Music (click on the photo to enlarge it). It’s odd though because you can see the Shirley Temple doll with the “Welcome the Rolling Stones” sweater, and also what looks like the Mae West cut-out, but they are on the wrong side or reversed to what is the published and very famous original…. Anyone got any thoughts? And can anyone else identify any other titles on the shelf?
Both John and George were obviously fans of Save as Milk (1967) by Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band. How can we tell? They both had the free bumper sticker that came with the album displayed in their houses. In fact, John had two stickers in his home:
George at Kinfauns (above), John at Weybridge. The original release of Safe As Milk came with a free sticker, as pictured (thanks to Michael Stanowski).
Meanwhile, back in the studio in the studio with B.B.King’s Live at the Regal (1965) on the electric piano:
You can see the other parts in “The Beatles with Records” series here: Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17.
We got that Paul was carrying a copy of Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um: The Best of Major Lance, but not the record that we can see Ringo holding while getting off the plane in London after their famous first US tour.
Thanks to Andrey in Russia we now have this one solved too. He put out the word amongst his collector friends asking what this record could be:
And they quickly came up with the correct identification:
Andrey’s mates are fantastic. They also provided the answer to this unusual and obscure LP John Lennon had on the end of his bed:
Andrey also sent these next couple of photos. This Beatles photo, clipped from a newspaper, looks like it comes from the same photo shoot as the photograph used in Beatles with Records Part Three, but it’s a different pose and this time in black and white:
Next, from the height of the Apple days, Paul and Apple PR man Derek Taylor in the band’s offices at number 3 Savile Row, London. Paul is holding an unidentified acetate recording:
Here’s another of Paul (much later), this time proudly holding a copy of his 2006 classical release, Ecce Cor Meum (Behold My Heart):
And here’s one with Ringo holding his solo CD Ringo Rama (2003):
And signing a copy as well:
Finally, a couple of interesting photos of Beatles with records from the website Kenwood. Kenwood revels in discovering and detailing places that the Beatles (especially John Lennon) have lived. It tries to give “then” and “now” comparisons of how rooms and buildings have changed, often involving great detective work. This recent post looks at 57 Green Street, London – where all four of the lads lived for a short period in 1963. There are two photos of them there with records. This one of Ringo sorting through 45’s:
And this one of John, seated in front of the same record player that Ringo is using above:
(click images to see a larger version)
Behind him on the left-hand side, upside-down, is a yellow LP cover. Could it be The Fabulous Miracles (Tamla 238, 1963)?
This LP contains the Motown group’s second Top Ten single, “You’ve Really Got a Hold On Me”, which became such a smash that the album was soon reissued and renamed. However, this is the original cover art. “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me” was of course covered by the Beatles on their second UK album With the Beatles (1963).
Thanks once more to everyone who has sent in further photos and information. You can see the other parts in “The Beatles with Records” series here: Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 , 6, 7 , 8, 9 , 10 , 11, 12, 13 and 14, 15 and 16
Since the last instalment we’ve been swamped with some great content – enough for at least two or three more posts featuring the Beatles (or people close to them) photographed or filmed with records or CDs – either their own or those of other artists.
This first one comes from beatlesblogger.com reader Ariel, who sent in this great YouTube clip of John Lennon and Yoko Ono strolling past a crowd of reporters and photographers:
The footage was clearly taken in 1970 when John and Yoko were publicising this Plastic Ono Band album:
The footage comes from a 1977 film by French film-maker Gérard Courant, whose website says of the film: “The year punk music exploded, Courant gave his most avant-garde outburst by relating for the first time the shattering experiences that took place in the second half of the 20th century…with the rock culture that clamored that same idea of rupture…”. Lennon and Ono can also be seen publicising the same LP in Part Five and also in Part Two.
Staying with John Lennon for a moment here’s an image sent in by Andrey in Russia of the Lennon’s in New York – holding court with assembled media and hangers-on in their apartment in February, 1972 in Greenwich Village:
There’s obviously a record you can see sitting there at the foot of the bed:
But what and who is it? I was having real trouble identifying this one. Well, thanks to Andrey’s Russian-speaking friends we’ve been able to find that LP. He asked one of the Beatles.ru forums for some help. Which artist could it be? Andrey says he got the answer in about ten minutes:
The Power Pop website says that the group Soup was from Wisconsin in the USA and the members were Doug Yankus, Rob Griffith and David Faas . The band released a self-titled album in 1970, however what we can see here is the bands second LP, The Album Soup, from 1971. How it came to the attention of John Lennon, and what he thought of it we’ll probably never know.
Continuing on the Lennon theme – this time with Yoko and a gentleman named Kristofer Englehardt, author of the book “The Beatles Undercover“, holding a copy of her solo LP from 1971 called Fly:
In Part Six there’s a terrific photo of George Harrison in the back of a limo holding up a copy of his All Things Must Pass LP. Here’s another good one from around the same time:
Could it be that this photo below was taken on the same day and location? It looks very much like the same shirt George is wearing above. Perhaps he’s playing one of the sides from All Things Must Pass on his record player at home?
One final shot of George taken in 1972 according to the caption, this time with his triple LP from 1971 The Concert for Bangladesh:
When you are Paul McCartney, just getting into a building you are visiting can have it’s challenges. The photo below shows the type of crush which can eventuate when everyone wants a photograph or an album signed – including one fan bravely holding up a copy of the 1988 Russian release Снова в СССР:
Here he is again – this time with fans thrusting forward copies of (amongst other things) Help! and Tug of War (you can see the cover of Tug of War at the very bottom right-hand side of the photo):
One other final shot of Paul holding a 45 single, this time with Ringo and John. It is what is reported as a test acetate recording (printed in limited quantities and used by the band and engineers for checking the quality and the mix) – it is supposedly of a song from Sgt Pepper:
There’s another photo from the studio on the same day below – from a different angle with George also in attendance and more acetates lined up on the piano:
One final photo for this instalment – again of the Beatles as a group and possibly arriving in Rome. I say that because the gentleman in the light coloured jacket, moustache and glasses (who is a fellow named Alf Bicknell – the Beatles chauffeur between 1964-1966) is holding a copy of the Italian version of A Hard Day’s Night. You can tell it’s the Italian cover of the LP because the large type across the top saying “The BEATLES” is distinctively different to the standard UK release:
Thanks to all those who have sent in content and further information. You can see the other parts in “The Beatles with Records” series here: Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 , 6, 7 , 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16 and 17.
Some further photographs of the Beatles being photographed with records have been sent in – and so it’s time to add a Part Six to the series.
These photographs are all great and they come from Claude Defer, co-author of a recent book about all the French Beatles record releases. Claude’s first pic is of Paul, Linda and Denny Laine in the back of a limo and for some reason they have with them a copy of John and Yoko’s rather controversial 1968 release Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins. Paul might simply be re-acquainting himself with the quote he provided for the cover of the album: “When two great saints meet it is a humbling experience. The long battles to prove he was a Saint“….
As you can see below, John also quotes Genesis 2: 21-25:
Of course there are lots of photos available of the Beatles being presented with gold records in honour of their huge sales – but in this one for his work on Band on the Run with his new band Wings, Paul looks particularly pleased:
In this series on the Beatles with records we’ve had a lot of hastily-taken fan photographs sent in. These have been when the band members have stopped to talk and to autograph copies of their LPs and singles for waiting fans. This is another one of those, this time with John Lennon signing a copy of the single ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’/’Penny Lane’:
In the recent Martin Scorsese documentary on the life and times of George Harrison (called Living in the Material World) there’s a fantastic photograph featured of George holding up a copy of All Things Must Pass, his 1970 triple-LP box set. I remember sitting in the cinema watching the film and thinking “Hmmm. Must get that photograph and upload it to the Beatles with Records series!”
Well, Claude Defer found it and sent it in:
Finally, a fairly early publicity photograph of the Beatles in front of a display of some of their releases, including A Hard Days Night, Please Please Me and With the Beatles:
If you have any other photographs you’d like to share please send them to: beatlesblogger@gmail.com
Oh, and I almost forgot…..of course there’s also this video of John and Yoko putting their Plastic Ono BandLive Peace in Toronto 1969 onto the turntable and playing it. It’s only the very first couple of seconds of this YouTube video – but it’s worth it.You can see the other parts in “The Beatles with Records” series here:
Back to Ringo again and a female fan seeking an autograph for her autograph book is flanked by a young man holding a copy of Yellow Submarine (you can see the rear cover art here):
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