Beatles Record Sold for £77,500 at Auction

Posted on March 23, 2016 by beatlesblogger

The BBC is reporting that one of the Beatles’ rarest records ever has sold for £77,500 (that’s US$111,721 or AU$147,115) at auction. That was more than seven times the estimated selling price.

The record, a 10″ 78rpm single with “Hello Little Girl” on one side and “Till There Was You” on the other, was made at the HMV store in London and is a one-off.

It was sold at auction after being locked away for more than fifty years at the home of Les Maguire, the former keyboardist with Gerry and The Pacemakers. He was given the disc in 1963 by the Beatles’ then manager Brian Epstein. Maguire put it away and never thought about it again. Until now.

Let’s hope his granddaughter is able to buy a house with the proceeds.

The record was purchased by “an anonymous British collector”. Wonder if it was Sir Paul McCartney?

Beatles sale. File photo dated 21/02/16 of an 78RPM Beatles acetate, considered to be the record that launched the Beatles, and one of the rarest and most collectable of all Beatles records, which was sold by Omega Auctions to a UK collector for £77500 against an estimate of £10000. Issue date: Tuesday March 22, 2016. Photo credit should read: Peter Byrne/PA Wire URN:25895790

Sony to Buy Remaining Shares in Beatle Music Publishing

Posted on March 15, 2016 by beatlesblogger

Billboard is reporting that after lengthy negotiations Sony has agreed on a deal with the Michael Jackson estate to purchase his 50% share of their Sony/ATV music publishing company.This would give Sony sole publishing rights to the majority of the Beatle song catalogue. The deal is expected to fetch US$750 million for the Jackson estate. The catalog, which owns publishing rights for some 750,000 songs, also including tracks by Taylor Swift, the Rolling Stones, Marvin Gaye and many others.

Michael Jackson first purchased ATV Music, which owned the Beatle rights, twenty one years ago. Eleven years ago it was merged with Sony Music.

“This transaction further allows us to continue our efforts of maximizing the value of Michael’s estate for the benefit of his children,” said estate co-executors John Branca and John McClain. “It also further validates Michael’s foresight and genius in investing in music publishing. His ATV catalogue, purchased in 1985 for a net acquisition cost of $41.5 million, was the cornerstone of the joint venture and, as evidenced by the value of this transaction, is considered one of the smartest investments in music history.”

Rolling Stone magazine is also carrying the story.

Vale Sir George Martin

Posted on March 9, 2016 by beatlesblogger

Sir George Martin, producer of the Beatles, has died aged 90. Often referred to as The Fifth Beatle, he signed the band to Parlophone Records (the EMI subsidiary label he was responsible for) and closely shepherded their recording career – making an invaluable contribution to their sound and their musical growth.

The news first emerged in a Tweet from Ringo Starr and was later confirmed by Universal Music Group and by Martin’s management.

Go well, Sir George, and thanks for the wealth of great music you leave behind.

The Beatles: A 5 Minute Drum Chronology

Posted on February 24, 2016 by beatlesblogger

This is worth checking out. The drummer is Kye Smith:

It’s filmed on a rooftop in Newcastle, Australia. Most probably the roof of The Great Northern Hotel on the corner of Scott and Watt Streets.

It illustrates that Kye is a talented drummer, but also (as one person points out in the comments section) that Ringo Starr created memorable, catchy, inventive drum fills and riffs for almost every song he recorded. It’s not so much about style as about musicality, rather than simply providing a backbeat.

We also like the nice touch of the record sleeve images to illustrate the origins of each song.

Beatle LEGO Kits?

Posted on February 17, 2016 by beatlesblogger

How cool would it be to have some official Beatle LEGO?

You can go online now and purchase un-official kits, but so far the LEGO company hasn’t made any formally available. That’s not for the want of trying. Some fans are determined and have applied through LEGO’s “Ideas” page process.

The “Ideas” page invites submissions and then there’s a voting process. If you can get 10,000 votes your idea is then properly considered by LEGO as to whether it could/should go into production.

We’ve been contacted by Beatle and LEGO fan JoeMT who writes:

“I am an avid LEGO builder and mutual Beatles fan. I am on a site called LEGO Ideas where you can post an idea for a LEGO set. If the project receives 10,000 votes, it has a chance at being produced by LEGO. I need as many people as possible to vote for The Beatles Cavern Club. Thanks! Joe”

Joe’s idea is for an early Beatles scene at the Cavern Club:

If you like Joe’s idea then why not vote, or share the link and help him along?

There’s one other Beatle design on the “Ideas” page that’s already garnered the required 10,000 votes and is now well on its way to further consideration – a Beatles LEGO Yellow Submarine:

I think I’d buy both these ideas!

The Beatles in 1960’s Cuba

Posted on February 16, 2016 by beatlesblogger

We stumbled across an interesting podcast this week from Australian radio station FBI FM.

On their weekly magazine show All The Best they ran an item about Ernesto Juan Castellans, a Cuban author, journalist and hard-core music fan living and working in Cuba in the 1960s and 70s when rock’n’roll was banned under Fidel Castro’s communist regime. If you click on the link you can hear the segment (it starts about 3 minutes in). It is really worth a listen.

Castellans loved many bands, foremost among them the Beatles. But Cuban youth couldn’t easily access the records and tapes of their musical idols. They could tune in to US radio though – but even doing that was dangerous because listening to US music stations was also illegal. You had to be very careful.

Castellans persevered, the ban on rock music was eventually lifted, and he was instrumental in establishing the first Beatle conventions in Cuba, featuring top Beatle authors and cover bands. Those gatherings began a total shift in attitude, eventually leading to a complete turnaround by the Cuban government when it came to Beatle music. It even established a John Lennon Park in Havana (with its own official John Lennon statue): You can read more about Castellans here.