Category Archives: Concert for Bangladesh

More Unusual Versions of Concert for Bangladesh

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Following our post on the unusual Epic Records, 1991 edition of George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh, we’ve had a number of other rare and remarkable versions sent in.

First up is this Spanish copy. It’s also on the Epic Records label, and has the same white front cover as ours:FRONT

But beyond that there are a number of significant differences. Firstly, this one is a rare promo copy. You can see a gold CBS Records promo stamp on the rear cover:REAR

Like the rest of the world, this set was a long time out of print until it was reissued on the Epic label in 1991. In Spain, Epic was part of CBS, hence the CBS golden stamp.REAR DET1

It includes the same CD-sized booklet as our version:BOOKLET

However the labels are in Spanish – different to the standard European release:LAB1LAB DET

Now back to the original 1972 edition, and a rare one from Brazil:FRONT

Like for the rest of the world (outside the US) this Brazilian set was also distributed by CBS, but it was pressed by RCA Electrónica Ltd. This is because at the time CBS didn’t have its own pressing plant in Brazil – so they contracted the job out. This set was one of the first stereo albums released by CBS in that country. Unusually, the box it comes in is hinged, not in two separate pieces like US, UK and Australian editions. The box set has the usual external design, but note the different catalogue number printed on the spine:

SPINE

This edition doesn’t include the booklet at all. It has a track list (in English) and credits (in Portuguese) printed on two inserts glued inside the front and of rear of box, which is impossible to scan. Here is the label for Side 1:LAB1

Note the words “CBS Masterworks-Apple” and “Fab por: RCA Electronica Ltda” on the labels:LAB DET1LAB DET2

Finally, this 1972 Israeli set is very different from other worldwide releases. Here are some of the most noticeable differences. Firstly, the front of the box has a much lighter orange colour than all other editions:

FRONT_2

This is a unique box because it has a plain white rear:REAR

The set doesn’t include the usual 12″ booklet, but it has a 4-page monochrome insert (25 cm wide x 27 cm high):INSERT OUTINSERT IN

And it has unique white labels, even though this is not a promotional album:LAB1 22-48-15LAB DET 22-48-15

Thanks so much to Beatles Blog reader Manuel Garcia Jara for all this info and for sending the images.

Another Different Concert for Bangladesh

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We’ve detailed at least one very unusual George Harrison Concert for Bangladesh 3 LP set before. (After a bit of detective work by our readers we discovered that that one came from South Africa).

And we picked up a nice US pressing of Bangladesh in San Francisco earlier this year.

But this latest addition to the collection is, we think, a bit of a rarity.

It’s the Epic Records release dating from 1991. The story goes that Epic, which is a subsidiary of Sony Music, had a royalties deal back then with Columbia/EMI (and hence Apple Records), to release some of their titles for the European market. The records we see here were made in Holland.

As you can see the Epic set doesn’t come in a brown/orange box. The 3 LPs are housed in a white sleeve that reproduces the artwork used for the booklet which came with the original 1971 Apple release:Concert for Bangladesh front

The rear cover is like the rear of the Apple booklet – but it has a track list included:Concert for Bangladesh rear

The inner sleeves are plain white:Concert for Bangladesh inner

The 3 LPs are on an Epic Records label (with a small Apple Records licence mention at the bottom):Concert for Bangladesh label

Surprisingly this Epic set includes a CD-sized booklet, not the original 12″ sized booklet. It’s not exactly the same as the booklet used in the Epic 2CD release (which also came out in 1991) because it has an LP catalogue number inserted on the rear (below the guitar case):Concert for BangladeshA close-up of the booklet (click image to see a larger version):

Concert for Bangladesh booklet frontConcert for Bangladesh booklet rear

Concert for Bangladesh booklet1Concert for Bangladesh booklet2All in all a nice copy and a rare one, too.

Beatles with Records – Part Fourteen

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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:

john-lennon2

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:

Lennons Greenwich Village

There’s obviously a record you can see sitting there at the foot of the bed:

Lennons New York 2

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 Album Soup Front CD SZSOUP BACK CD SZ

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:

Undercover1-1

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:

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harrison-all-things-must-pass-1970

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?

George with Record Player

One final shot of George taken in 1972 according to the caption, this time with his triple LP from 1971 The Concert for Bangladesh:

RSSpecial1-1BanglaDeshCover

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:

Choba CCCP Paul

Choba b CCCP

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):

Paul Signing - Help!beatles-helpTug of War

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:

Sessions3-1

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:

Deliev2-1

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:

FMTY28_1-1_Alf_Bicknell

italy_a_hard_days_night_lp-580x578

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.

There will be more “Beatles with Records” soon….

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”.