Of course for avid collectors there’s a sub-category of releases that come out on these two days per year that are essential as well. These are records in some way associated with The Beatles. These can be from artists that have rubbed shoulders with the band, have been produced by them, or who appear on labels owned by them. So, here’s a history of these records for your enjoyment. As usual, if you spot anything we’ve missed please get in touch!
The first of the “associated” records dates back to Record Store Day 2016 and the re-issue of a 7″ single by the band Grapefruit. This featured two previously unreleased tracks recorded for Apple in 1968, with one track (the A-side called ‘Lullaby’) produced by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Only 750 of these were pressed:
Being produced by John Lennon also put Harry Nilsson’s Pussy Cats LP on the “must seek out” list for RSD 2018. This was the first time the album had been re-issued since it’s 1974 debut. It came out on brown and black marbled “hardwood” vinyl in a print run of 1500 copies:
Also for RSD 2018, producer and ‘Fifth Beatle’George Martin scored a release of his instrumental album Beatles to Bond and Bach (also originally from 1974). It was re-issued as a collectable, limited edition of 2500. Each LP was individually numbered and on 180g blue vinyl:
Sitar maestro and long-time friend and mentor of George Harrison, Ravi Shankar, had an amazing album produced by the Beatle in 1997. Chants of India was originally released (only on CD) on Angel Records, one of the EMI stable of classical labels. But by 2020 George’s son Dhani had re-launched Dark Horse Records, the label his father first started back in 1974. The very first LP in the revived catalogue was Chants of India – on vinyl for the first time. It earned the catalogue number DH0001 and came out as part of the RSD ‘Drops’ in that pandemic year of 2020. It was on red vinyl, housed in a gatefold sleeve with an exclusive photo print, and limited to 3000 copies:
Dark Horse then proceeded to have a bit of a run of Record Store Day releases. The next was the following year for the first of the RSD ‘Drops’ that year (June, 2021), and it was the first of many Joe Strummer titles to be reissued on the label. It was a 12″ picture disc single featuring ‘Junco Partner’, an ultra-rare acoustic home recording of the song famously recorded by The Clash. The B-side was a live version of the song recorded at the Brixton Academy in 2001 by Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros. Bearing the catalogue number DH0003 there were 3500 copies pressed:
Also in 2021, this time for RSD Black Friday, came another Joe Strummer title. It was a 12″ single on pink vinyl. The hype sticker said it all: “Dark Horse Records | Joe Strummer | ‘Johnny Appleseed’ | 12″ Single B/W ‘At The Border, Guy’ | Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Classic Album Global A Go-Go | Limited Edition Pink Vinyl | DH0006″. 4500 copies:
On to RSD 2022 now and a Dark Horse Records re-issue from Shankar Family and Friends: ‘I Am Missing You’, a 12″ single on blue vinyl. This is a track taken from their originalDark Horse self-titled LP, released in 1974 and produced by George Harrison. It was issued as a 7″ single back then. 2700 copies:
Record Store Day Black Friday 2022 saw two more Dark Horse Records titles issued. One was Dark Horse Records – The Best 1974-1977, with 12 remastered selections from across the catalogue including Ravi Shankar, Splinter, Attitudes, Henry McCullough and Kenny Burke. This was on black vinyl – 2150 copies:
Another RSD Black Friday for 2022 was Joe Strummer’s Live at Music Millennium. Recorded on November 2, 1999 this was a previously unreleased, rare acoustic in-store performance at a Portland, Oregon music shop called Music Millennium. On black vinyl on the Dark Horse label, there were 3600 copies pressed:
2023 saw an absolute flurry of activity on the Record Store Day front – for both RSD proper, and for Black Friday later in the year.
First up the band Stairsteps. Once signed to the original Dark Horse Records, they got a remastered re-release of their 1976 album, 2nd Resurrection (co-produced by Billy Preston) on gold vinyl. 1410 copies:
Once again Joe Strummer featured heavily, with Dark Horse adding to an ever-lengthening series of reissues. For 2023 RSD it was the turn of Streetcore as a “Limited 20th Anniversary Edition”. It came in a gatefold sleeve and looked great on white vinyl. It includes a colour printed inner sleeve and 1,760 copies were pressed (according to the Record Store Day website).
And also for RSD 2023 came one Beatle-related release with a somewhat tenuous link – the original soundtrack album for the 1971 spaghetti western movie, Blindman – starring none other than Ringo Starr. 1000 copies of this came out on “blood splatter” vinyl. And yes, the vinyl does look as gruesome as it sounds:
First up was a Black Friday reissue of the 1974 Splinter LP The Place I Love, produced by George Harrison:
Black Friday also saw the re-issue of a title originally released by Apple Records back in 1973 – Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan’s In Concert 1972. Co-produced by George Harrison, this was a 2LP set with 1280 copies being pressed:
The third Black Friday 2023 release was Leon Russell in country mode with Hank Wilson Vol. II. This was a red vinyl reissue of his 1984 country album, originally released on Paradise Records. Dark Horse Records was reissuing the album on vinyl for the first time since 1984. It includes a duet with Willie Nelson on ‘Wabash Cannonball’. 1700 copies:
And that brings us to 2024. Earlier this year Record Store Day for Beatle-related titles was pretty big and, it must be said, a drain on the wallets of completists! There were four releases in all – and this was in addition to no less than ten Beatle and solo releases.
Dark Horse was again busy. They had out a remastered 25th anniversary edition of the Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros double LP, Rock Art & The Ex-Ray Style. This was the debut album by the band in limited pink vinyl. 1800 were pressed with the original gatefold artwork by Damien Hirst being “meticulously reproduced”:
One fairly obscure Dark Horse LP was listed as a RSD Limited Run/Regional Focus release – with only 800 copies on offer on the day. It was was a very interesting LP called Dreamers In The Field by Huun-Huur-Tu, Carmen Rizzo and Dhani Harrison on clear vinyl:
Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam) has been signed to Dark Horse for almost 2 years now and the label last year released a new, original record from him called King of a Land. For RSD 2023 they also reissued two of his back-catalogue titles, Numbers – A Pythagorean Theory Tale (originally from 1975), and Izitso (originally from 1977). These both came with spectacular lenticular gatefold cover art.
So, Dark Horse was prolific for RSD this year with no less than six records – one of them a double. There were also two solo George Harrison Zoetrope releases to add into the mix.
For RSD Black Friday just passed, things calmed down somewhat. There was only one Dark Horse title to chase down if you were keen, Leon Russell’s Hymns for Christmas. This is on emerald green vinyl. It’s another “first time on vinyl” and 1300 copies:
So, that’s it for the Beatle-related titles. As we said, if you have any thoughts, corrections, or items we’ve missed please get in touch.
With Record Store Day Black Friday 2024 coming up we started thinking about all the RSD releases there had been over the years involving The Beatles both as a group and as solo artists. Just when did they start to get involved? And has anyone done a complete look back on all the releases associated with RSD over the years?
Record Store Day was conceived in back in 2007 at a gathering of independent record store owners and employees as a way to celebrate and spread the word about the unique culture surrounding the nearly 1,400 independently-owned record stores in the US – plus thousands more stores internationally.
The very first Record Store Day took place on April 19, 2008. Now in its 17th year it has grown in prominence as a day when fans and collectors are encouraged to physically visit their local record store to hunt down unique and limited items released specifically on the day.
While there’s only one Record Store Day proper in April each year, 2010 saw the first RSD Black Friday also join as an event each November. Like Record Store Day, the Black Friday event also provides local stores with exclusive releases to encourage bricks and mortar record store visits. And it helps them be a part of what has become the biggest sale shopping event of the year.
In 2020 the global pandemic saw Record Store Day morph into three “RSD Drop” dates which split the official list of releases between them – August 29, September 26 and October 24. There were two similar “Drops” in 2021 in June and July, and one additional “Drop” in 2022 (June). Record Store Day Black Friday continued throughout the pandemic.
So, looking back, just when did The Beatles start to get involved in dropping their own special releases for Record Store Day and RSD Black Friday?
Early information is a bit patchy because the official RSD Archive only dates back to the Black Friday releases of 2011. Before then we need to trawl through our own collection, consult articles we wrote for this site way back in the day, cross check in Discogs and generally snoop around the Internet. If you have any corrections or additional information please don’t hesitate to let us know!
Based upon that, we reckon the very first Beatle RSD-related release was in 2009. We gave this a brief (and it must be said a little bit vague) mention in November of that year:
Now, we say RSD-related for a reason. The Abbey Road Deluxe Vinyl Box was released in November. That is prior to RSD Black Friday starting up. However, publicity around the release at the time stated:
In celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the original release of Abbey Road, there will be a special vinyl edition of the album released on November 7, 2009. The Beatles Abbey Road Deluxe Vinyl box will include a vinyl copy of the album, a t-shirt featuring the original artwork from the 7″ single Come Together/Something, and a corresponding poster. This boxset will be released on Vinyl Saturday, which is sponsored by the folks behind Record Store Day and will be limited to 5,000 copies worldwide.
Information is difficult to find but “Vinyl Saturday” seems to have been a November precursor to the Black Friday event we now know and love. So, we’re nominating the Abbey Road Deluxe Vinyl Box as the first association between The Beatles and the RSD folks.
The following year for Record Store Day in April, 2010 came the very limited 7″ single, ‘Paperback Writer’/’Rain’ – just 1000 copies in the UK, and 5000 (some say 4000) in the US:
Also issued for RSD proper that year was the John LennonSingles Bag containing 3 x 7″ singles in an individually numbered Kraftpak envelope with button and string closure. Also inside were a custom plastic adaptor hub, a 24” x 36” poster and three postcards. The three 45 RPM vinyl singles (‘Mother’/’Why’; ‘Imagine’/’It’s So Hard’ and ‘Watching The Wheels’/’Yes, I’m Your Angel’) came in replicated original artwork covers. this was a limited edition and individually numbered, 7000 copies total.
The front of the box had a replica Apple hype sticker:
And a special RSD sticker on the rear:
The following year, 2011, contained just a couple of releases – both were for RSD Black Friday. These were The BeatlesSingles Box:
Inside this glossy red box were 4 x 7″ singles (‘Ticket To Ride’/’Yes It Is’ and ‘Yellow Submarine’/’Eleanor Rigby’ in replica US picture sleeves and on Capitol “swirl” labels, plus ‘Hey Jude’/’Revolution’ and ‘Something’/’Come Together’ on the Apple label in generic US Apple sleeves) plus a poster, plus a cool 45rpm record adapter with Apple printing on it. 10,000 copies for the US and 5700 for the rest of the world.
Also released for Black Friday 2011 was John Lennon’sImagine in a unique 2-record box set to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the album:
This was a limited edition with 6,700 produced worldwide. The box contained the remastered Imagine album on vinyl. It also included a poster and a 12″ EP on white vinyl which included songs previously released on the John Lennon Anthology.
RSD 2012 was fairly slim pickings for Beatle and solo fans. The only item that came out for the whole year was a replica Paul McCartney single ‘Another Day’/’Oh Woman Oh Why’. Limited to 2000 copies worldwide this was issued to help promote the forthcoming box set of Ram, the next title in the Paul McCartney Archive Collection:
2013 saw just two Beatle-related releases – both for RSD proper. These were a Wings 12″ re-issue of ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’, and the 3 x 7″ box set of singles simply called Ringo.
The Ringo StarrRingo singles boxis three 7″ singles, accurately reproduced in their original picture sleeves, in an Apple Records lift-top box. It came with a poster and a custom spindle adapter. The singles inside are ‘Photograph’/’Down And Out’; ‘It Don’t Come Easy’/’Early 1970’ and ‘(It’s All Down to) Goodnight Vienna’/’Oo-Wee’. It’s thought there were 5000 copies released – 2500 in the US plus 2500 in the UK.
The Wings ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’ (recorded live) was a replica of a 12″ originally sent as a radio-only promotional single back in 1976 ahead of the release of Wings Over America. It has mono and stereo versions of the song in two durations. This time around it served as a promo for what was to be the next installment in the Paul McCartney Archive Collection – Wings Over America. 3,500 copies.
The following year was a quiet one with collectors having to wait until Black Friday 2014 for a faithfully replicated Beatle EP, Long Tall Sally, cut from the original analogue tapes at Abbey Road Studios and complete with period-correct fold-back tabs on the rear. This served to promote the vinyl edition of the Beatles In Mono box set, which had been released just two months earlier. 7000 copies:
The whole of 2015 was given over entirely to Paul McCartney releases. The first was a Record Store Day re-issue of The Family Way, his 1967 soundtrack to the film of the same name. Long out of print in vinyl (there had been a CD re-issued in 2011), this served as a good way for collectors to add it to their libraries:
The next, also for RSD proper, is probably one of THE rarest Record Store Day releases of all time.
Sweet Thrash was a secret Record Store Day 2015 release signed by Paul McCartney. It never appeared anywhere in any lists or pre-publicity for the day.
From Discogs: “A first wave of records appeared in selected shops in the UK on 6th-7th of April, 2015. Selected shops in the US received a single copy and were instructed to not advertise it or include it with the rest of the RSD releases, but to hide it under the Paul McCartney section at RSD 18th of April. Each side contains a different unreleased alternate mix of “Hope For The Future”. Allegedly limited to 100 copies worldwide. The record was originally released in a white generic die-cut cardboard jacket, a thin white inner sleeve and an inserted card with details of how to download a ‘3D printable Paul’ figurine.”
‘Say Say Say [2015 Remix]’ came out as a 12″ single on transparent clear vinyl for RSD Black Friday 2015. The track, which had been included as part of the bonus audio for the Paul McCartney Archive Collection – Pipes of Peace box set, features previously unheard vocals by Paul and Michael Jackson, with the parts they sing on the original swapped in position in a remix by Mark ‘Spike’ Stent. For the full story check out this article on the official McCartney site. The B-side is an instrumental version of ‘Say Say Say’ mixed by John “Jellybean” Benitez as featured on the original 12” single, remastered for this limited edition release. This was limited to 3700 copies.
For 2016 Beatle fans (and their wallets) got a reprieve – until RSD 2017 when things picked up again….
For Record Store Day 2017 came an exclusive, limited edition (7000 copies) 7″ single of The Beatles’ ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’/’Penny Lane‘. The hype sticker states “New Stereo Mix by Giles Martin and Sam Okell” – a clear teaser product for the much-anticipated 50th anniversary edition of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, which would be along in the following month.
Also released that year was a single-sided, three-song cassette of Paul McCartney and Elvis Costello Flowers In The Dirt demos. The limited edition, cassette-only release (on a replica Hog Hill Mill Studio label) was clearly designed to help promote the just-released Paul McCartney Archive Collection edition of Flowers In The Dirt. It was the first time these recordings (‘I Don’t Want To Confess’; ‘Shallow Grave’ and ‘Mistress And Maid’) had been be made available in the same form as when Paul and Elvis first cut them directly to tape.
Then, for RSD Black Friday, came more McCartney in the form of two 7″ singles of the song ‘Wonderful Christmastime’ in a new recording originally performed on The Tonight Show and featuring Jimmy Fallon and The Roots. One came in a green cover on green vinyl, with the song ‘Jesus Christ’ by The Decemberists as a B-side. The other came in a red cover on red vinyl, with the song ‘Peace’ by Norah Jones as the B-side. 3500 copies of each were released:
RSD proper 2018 came and went and it wasn’t until Black Friday that year that we saw a new Paul McCartney single released – in two different forms. It was a double A-side with ‘I Don’t Know’/’Come On To Me’, both taken from the Egypt Station LP. And there are two different pressings of this single, one for the US market and one for the UK. The US version is hand-numbered on the rear (from a total of 5600 copies) and comes with a non die-cut inner sleeve:
Note the rear cover top left hand-numbering (plus the FBI Anti-Piracy Warning below):
While the UK/Europe version is not individually numbered on the rear, has no FBI Anti-Piracy logo, and comes with a die-cut inner sleeve that reveals the labels:
The EU die-cut inner sleeve:
Welcome RSD 2019 and an 180 gram “audiophile” black vinyl LP called Imagine [Raw Studio Mixes] from the Lennon camp. This brought to vinyl for the first time CD3 in the Imagine – The Ultimate Mixes box set from the year before. Quantity was 5500 copies and it included a poster and printed inner sleeve containing credits, photographs, and liner notes.
For RSD Black Friday 2019 there was another Paul McCartney double A-side single released. It was again from his Egypt Station LP. This time it was the turn of ‘Home Tonight’/’In A Hurry‘ – on a picture disc with new artwork exclusively created for this Black Friday release. 12000 copies were pressed. Check out this article about the single on the official McCartney website too:
In August (Drop 1) came ‘Instant Karma!’ from John Lennon in newly mixed audio the hype sticker was describing as the Ultimate Mix version. This was a clear foreshadowing of how all Lennon reissues would be referred to in future. The artwork is a faithful reproduction of original UK sleeve. 7000 copies.
Then in September (Drop 2) came the 50th anniversary of Paul McCartney’s debut solo album, McCartney. It was being released as a Half-Speed Master, pressed from a master cut by Miles Showell at half speed using the original 1970 master tapes at Abbey Road Studios. It was made as a vinyl specific transfer in high resolution and without digital peak limiting for the best possible reproduction. 7000 copies pressed.
For October (Drop 3) there were no Beatle or solo releases, but RSD Black Friday 2020 still went ahead in November. That saw a George Harrison single ‘My Sweet Lord‘ on clear vinyl and in a very nice numbered, reproduction picture sleeve that replicated the one made for the Portuguese market in the former Portuguese colony of Angola back in 1970. The RSD site says 7500 copies, but going on the limited edition numbering system on the rear cover some speculate this could be as high as 15000.
We then see a two-year hiatus in Beatle and solo releases. It’s not until 2022 that some new titles are put forward. The first came in June that year as RSD instituted an additional mid-year “Drop”. Included was the 12″ single ‘Women and Wives’. On Side A was the Paul McCartney song of the same name, taken from his McCartney III LP, while on Side B was St Vincent’s version of the same song lifted from his collaborative album, McCartney III Imagined. The whole thing was also designated the inaugural ‘Record Store Day Song of the Year’. Limited to 3000 numbered copies this was tricky to get hold of:
For Record Store Day Black Friday 2022Ringo Starr joined in for the first time as a solo artist with a flurry of product. There was Old Wave on “brown smoke” colour vinyl (2000 copies), and on CD (500 copies):
There was Ringo the 4th on orange translucent (1000 copies) and blue translucent vinyl (755 copies):
And not satisfied with just those four, he also put out a RSD Exclusive Ringo Starr and His All-Starr BandLive At The Greek Theatre 2019, a double LP limited to 2000 copies on yellow vinyl:
The Lennon Estate issued for Record Store Day 2023 a very classy, numbered box set of 9 x 10″ EPs on white vinyl. In fact everything was white or whited out, including all the packaging. There were 36 songs in all, replicating the running order of the LennonGimme Some Truth Ultimate Mixes box from 2020. Limited to 1,500 copies (RSD site incorrectly states 500):
Paul McCartney had been looking for opportunities to keep releasing 50th anniversary Half-Speed Master editions of his albums and in 2023 he used Record Store Day to issue Red Rose Speedway. Once again the vinyl was cut by Miles Showell at half speed using high-resolution transfer of the original 1973 master tapes at Abbey Road Studios, London. It came with an OBI strip, a 12 page booklet and a ‘Half-speed Mastering’ certificate. 5000 copies.
Also in 2023 a re-issue of Ringo’sStop and Smell The Roses came out as a double red and white vinyl LP which included for the first time six bonus tracks (2500 copies). It also came out on CD (500 copies):
First up, a format first in the form of a tiny Beatles Limited Edition RSD3 Turntable set that plays tiny 3″ Beatle singles. The turntable sports a branded dustcover and facing and was housed in a Beatles’ box that included four super small vinyl records: ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’; ‘Til There Was You’; ‘She Loves You’ and ‘I Saw Her Standing There’. Each record came in an outer box and picture sleeve, plus there was a poster with each too. The package also included a Beatle-branded record carry case that can hold up to ten 3” records. (2300 of these sets were manufactured):
If you didn’t want the record player and carry case, the four 3″ singles were sold separately (1500 copies each). These records only have music on one side:
Earlier this year the Lennon Estate was very busy forward-promoting the forthcoming Mind Games Ultimate Mixes box sets and so issued not one, but two 12″ EPs for Record Store Day. Both featured the same four tracks from the soon-to-be-released SDE’s. One was a “glow-in-the-dark” edition:
The other an “audiophile black 180G vinyl” edition:
The cover was a great photo of John, cleverly showing the image of himself he cut out and pasted on the artwork for the original Mind Games cover:
Ringo Starr also put out an RSD 12″ EP called Crooked Boy. It has a really cool cover too and 2000 copies were available on exclusive black & white marble vinyl :
Dark Horse Records is slowly bringing their rich catalogue under the BMG banner – with whom they now have a distribution and publishing deal. That of course includes the George Harrison back-catalogue. Part of the plan seems to be to eventually release all his titles as Zoetrope discs – and two of them saw light of day on Record Store Day 2024 – Electronic Sound and Wonderwall Music. Limited to 8,000 units globally and exclusive to Record Store Day, each is individually numbered in silver foil and include an insert reproducing the original album artwork:
And that’s about it for Beatle and solo releases across the 17 years of Record Store Day…..so far.
We also collect Dark Horse releases and there have been a LOT put out over past Record Store Days, so a separate retrospective on those plus other Beatle-related items is here: Record Store Day and the Beatles – Part Two.
As we said, if you have any thoughts, corrections, or items we’ve missed please do get in touch.
As has been much expected on the rumour mill, the George Harrison Estate has announced a 2024 re-mix of George Harrison’s 1973 title,Living In The Material World.
It will come in a myriad of forms on November 15 – with one to suit the price bracket of just about every fan.
There’s a 2LP, 2CD, 1 Blu-ray, plus 7″ vinyl single super deluxe box set edition. Similar content is replicated across the vinyl, CD’s and Blu-ray. This set is limited to 5,000 units globally and contains 12 previously unreleased Harrison tracks – early renditions of every song on the main album, plus one previously unreleased song, ‘Sunshine Life For Me (Sail Away Raymond) which is only available in this box. This will really upset fans who can’t spring for the box, or who simply just don’t collect vinyl. ‘Sunshine Life For Me (Sail Away Raymond)’ is on CD2, the Blu-ray, and the 7” single (with an instrumental version of the song on the flip side). It featuresRobbie Robertson, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, and Rick Danko from The Band alongside Ringo Starr. There’s a 60-page hardcover book in the set and a 12-page Recording Notes booklet:
There’s a 2LP version on 180g black vinyl. This includes the new mix of the album alongside 12 session outtakes housed in a gatefold sleeve with a 12-page booklet and an exclusive double-sided poster:
There are 2CD and 1CD editions. The 2CD includes the new 2024 mix of the album on one disc, along with the 12 session outtakes (but NOT including the previously unreleased ‘Sunshine Life For Me (Sail Away Raymond)’), housed in a clam shell style box with two printed wallets, a 20-page booklet, and an exclusive double-sided poster:
The standard CD edition comes in a 4-page gatefold sleeve with printed inner wallet, and a 12-page booklet. There’ll of course be a 1LP edition on black vinyl. It comes in a gatefold sleeve and includes a 4-page booklet:
So, the song ‘Sunshine Life For Me (Sail Away Raymond)’ only being exclusive to the big box will be a thorn in the side for a lot of collectors….
Also of note is that three other tracks – which were previously released on a 2006 re-mastered LP and a CD/DVD edition of Living In The Material World – are not on the new 2024 reissue. These are ‘Deep Blue’, ‘Miss O’Dell (alternative version)’, and ‘Sue Me, Sue You Blues (acoustic demo version)’ – plus some video content too that is not on the Blu-ray and could have been. And there’s another previously-released related track from George’sEarly Takes Vol. 1: ‘The Light That Has Lighted The World (Demo)’.
Apologies, but we’re a little slow of the mark with the Record Store Day 2024 news from last week. However, it has given us a bit more time to research and hopefully provide a few more details – so here goes.
First up, from Apple Records is another unique format first for The Beatles. It is a tiny The Beatles Limited Edition RSD3 Turntable, featuring a Beatle-branded dustcover and turntable facing. Each turntable is Bluetooth-enabled and housed in a Beatles’ box that includes four super small 3″ records featuring the four songs they performed 60 years ago on The Ed Sullivan Show: ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’, ‘Til There Was You’, ‘She Loves You’, and ‘I Saw Her Standing There’. Each record is housed in an outer box and comes in a picture sleeve. There is also a poster for each. The package also includes a bright yellow Beatle-branded carrying case, which can hold up to ten 3” records. These little discs apparently play at 331/3 rpm.
If you don’t want the record player, the four 3″ singles will be sold separately, also housed in an outer box, with a picture sleeve and poster. The records only have music on one side:
The concept of these 3″ singles and their accompanying tiny record player have been around for a while (think the Foo Fighters, The White Stripes, or The Doors as recently as last year for RSD). However, they represent a limited format The Beatles have not yet embraced, making them a bit like those cards from last year containing special editions of the Red and Blue albums for kids to play on their Yoto players. So they could potentially reach a whole new younger audience. If you want to get an idea of just how small the turntable and discs are check out this Youtube unboxing.
Next up, from the John Lennon camp, comes a 4 track, 12″ EP teaser for the forthcoming Mind Games Ultimate Mixes box sets – due in June. Two versions of this will be available – one on “glow-in-the-dark” 140g luminous vinyl, and one described as “black ‘audiophile’ 180g vinyl”:
Gotta say the cover for the EP is great. The track list is:
Side A: 1. Mind Games (Ultimate Mix) 2. I’m The Greatest (Ultimate Mix) – feat. George Harrison & Ringo Starr
Side B: 3. Aisumasen (I’m Sorry) (Ultimate Mix) 4. You Are Here (Outtake, Take 5)
Ringo Starr will have an RSD 12″ 45 EP called Crooked Boy available on exclusive black & white marble vinyl – and also in a really cool cover:
Written and produced by Songwriter’s Hall Of Famer Linda Perry, Crooked Boy features four brand-new tracks from Ringo. The EP also includes guitar performances on every song from Nick Valensi of The Strokes.
On a recent video Ringo showed the inside cover:
And a quick shot of what looks like a green vinyl edition. Maybe that is coming later?
Zoetrope picture discs seem to be all the rage this RSD. There are no fewer than nine LPs being released, including artists like Blur, Marc Bolan and T.Rex, Fatboy Slim, Lily Allen, and even one from Doctor Who.
What is a Zoetrope Picture disc? They look fantastic spinning on a turntable. Have a look at this YouTube from last year of Blur’s ‘The Ballad of Darren (Zoetrope Vinyl)’:
Dark Horse Records and Record Store Day have announced a multi-year partnership to release limited Zoetrope picture disc pressings of George Harrison’s entire studio album catalogue. The first two titles in the RSD exclusive series – Wonderwall Music and Electronic Sound – will be available on Record Store Day in April 2024. Limited to 8,000 units globally and exclusive to Record Store Day, each is individually numbered in silver foil and will include an insert reproducing the original artwork. The front cover will look like this – with a cut-out window showing off the LP plus a hype sticker and limited edition numbering also on show:
As mentioned there’ll be an insert in each LP with the original cover artwork included:
Dark Horse is once again extremely busy this RSD. They’ll also have out a 25th anniversary edition of Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros’Rock Art & The Ex-Ray Style, the debut album by the band in a limited pink vinyl Record Store Day exclusive 2LP pressing. The remastered 1999 album, which was Strummer’s first album release in a decade, is spread over 2 LP’s for optimal sound quality, and the original gatefold artwork by Damien Hirst will be meticulously reproduced:
One obscure Dark Horse release can be found only on the US RSD list as a Limited Run/ Regional Focus release with only 800 copies made. Its an album called Dreamers In The Field by Huun-Huur-Tu, Carmen Rizzo and Dhani Harrison:
From Wikipedia: Huun-Huur-Tu are from Tuva, a Russian federative republic situated on the Mongolia–Russia border. Their music includes throat singing, in which the singers sing both a note and its overtones, thus producing two or three notes simultaneously. The overtone may sound like a flute, whistle or bird, but is solely a product of the human voice. They also play traditional Tuvan instruments. However, in recent years, the group have begun to selectively incorporate Western instruments and electronic music.
Carmen Rizzo is an American record producer, mixer, programmer, DJ, remixer and recording artist. A two-time Grammy nominee, he’s worked with Seal, Coldplay, Dido, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Pete Townshend. In addition to collaborating with Huun Huur Tu, Rizzo co-founded the world/electronic act Niyaz with Azam Ali and Loga Ramin Torkian (with three #1 iTunes albums). He’s released his own solo electronic albums too, so this RSD release looks to be an eclectic sound mix!
And lastly, on the UK and Australian RSD sites, there are two Dark Horse Yusuf/Cat Stevens LP re-issues listed (….can’t seem to find these on the US list).
They are (from 1975) Numbers on black vinyl LP – which will be limited to 2,000 units globally, and reissued for RSD with a lenticular gatefold cover. Included will be a reproduction of the original 16-page book with lyrics and illustrations:
And also (from 1977) Izitso – again, limited to 2,000 units globally and presented in a lenticular gatefold cover:
So, a lot of product from Dark Horse for RSD 2024…..
Regular readers will know that we like to keep up with news about the Dark Horse label – the Beatle-related record company started by George Harrison, but now run by his son Dhani.
As the number of titles is starting to add up we’ve put together a catalogue of all the records and CDs released since Dhani Harrison took over in 2020. You can see that below.
In researching the list one Dark Horse title from the good old days snuck completely under our radar. It actually came out last year in strictly limited numbers through the Vinyl Me Please record club. It was Ravi Shankar’s Music Festival From India, issued on bright orange vinyl and given the new catalogue number of DH0020:
Two other Dark Horse titles are due in the next month or so. They are the reissue of a jazz LP by Nina Simone, originally released 1959:
The other is the black vinyl version of the Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros LP Live at Acton Town Hall, previously reissued by Dark Horseon clear vinyl in July last year:
Then in April we’ll finally see the long-awaited Mobile Fidelity audiophile pressing of Ravi Shankar’sShankar Family and Friends. This one has been such a long time coming. We first reported on it back in January 2022! It has clearly been an on-again/off again prospect. So much so that Dark Horse itself seemed to get fed up and put out their own re-issue last year…..
Now it seems the Mobile Fidelity is back on again as we got this in an email last week:
Finally, another strange Dark Horse-related title that you may not have heard about. It is the mysterious duo Dick and Mary and their debut, a self-titled LP which came out late last year. It is on the Bunbun Records label, but on the shrink there’s a Dark Horse hype sticker.
Dick and Mary doesn’t get a Dark Horse catalogue number. We’d suggest its being supported by Dark Horse because people are pretty sure that the “Mary” in the band is Mereki Beach, Dhani Harrison’s partner. (She’s also Australian btw). In a separate project Mereki recorded her solo album Death of a Cloud at the Harrison’s Friar Park studio. You can see her in the studio in a series of ‘live sessions’ videos she’s released. One is here, but there are several others:
Her solo album is only available on streaming services at the moment but there’s talk it will be released in physical form this year, so we guess it is likely to be another Bunbun Records and Dark Horse support deal. So watch out for that one too!
For those interested, here’s a catalogue of Dark Horse releases to date, starting at catalogue number DH001. We’re still unsure of the mysterious DH0017. Could it be assigned to the long-delayed but much-anticpated album by Benmont Tench called The Melancholy Season?
DH0001 Ravi Shankar – Chants of India (RSD) (2LP Red vinyl)
DH0002 Joe Strummer – Assembly (2LP Red vinyl) DH0002 Joe Strummer – Assembly (2LP Black vinyl) DH0002 Joe Strummer – Assembly (CD) DH0002 Joe Strummer – Assembly (Cassette)
DH0003 Joe Strummer – Junco Partner (12” single Picture Disc) (RSD)
DH0004 Billy Idol – The Roadside EP (12” EP Blue vinyl) DH0004 Billy Idol – The Roadside EP (12” EP Black vinyl) DH0004 Billy Idol – The Roadside EP (CD)
DH0005 Billy Idol – Happy Holidays (LP White vinyl) DH0005 Billy Idol – Happy Holidays (LP Black vinyl)
DH0006 Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Johnny Appleseed (RSD) (12” single Pink vinyl)
DH0007 Shankar Family & Friends – I Am Missing You (RSD) (12” single Blue vinyl)
DH0008 Billy Idol – The Cage EP (12” EP Red vinyl) DH0008 Billy Idol – The Cage EP (12” EP Black vinyl) DH0008 Billy Idol – The Cage EP (CD)
DH0009 Joe Strummer – 002: The Mescaleros Years (7LP Box Set) DH0009 Joe Strummer – 002: The Mescaleros Years (7CD Box Set)
DH0010 Shankar Family & Friends – Shankar Family & Friends (LP Orchid vinyl) DH0010 Shankar Family & Friends – Shankar Family & Friends (CD)
DH0011 Leon Russell – Signature Songs (LP Black vinyl) DH0011 Leon Russell – Signature Songs (CD)
DH0012 The Best of Dark Horse 1974-1976 (RSD) (LP Black vinyl)
DH0013 Joe Strummer – Live at Music Millennium (RSD) (12” EP Black vinyl)
DH0015 Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Streetcore (RSD) (LP White Vinyl)
DH0016 Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Live at Acton Town Hall (2LP Clear vinyl) DH0016 Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Live at Acton Town Hall (CD)
DH0017 ?
DH0018 Ravi Shankar & Ali Akbar Khan – In Concert 1972 (50th Anniversary) (RSD) (2LP Black vinyl)
DH0019 Leon Russell – Hank Wilson Vol. II (RSD) (LP Red vinyl)
DH0020 Ravi Shankar – Ravi Shankar’s Music Festival From India (Vinyl Me Please exclusive/numbered vinyl/1000 copies) (LP Orange vinyl)
DH0021 Splinter – The Place I Love (RSD) (LP Clear vinyl)
DH0022 Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Streetcore (20th Ann.) (LP Black vinyl) DH0022 Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Streetcore (20th Anniversary) (CD)
Associated:
4 050538 868876 Yusuf/Cat Stevens – King of a Land. (Cat-O-Log Records) (LP Green vinyl). Dark Horse Records logo on rear cover and labels. 538856902 Yusuf/Cat Stevens – King of a Land. (Cat-O-Log Records) (CD). 4 050538 856301 Yusuf/Cat Stevens – King of a Land. (Cat-O-Log Records) (LP Black vinyl). 4 050538 874006 Yusuf/Cat Stevens – King of a Land. (Cat-O-Log Records) (LP White vinyl) (Artist Store Exclusive). 4 050538 885453 Yusuf/Cat Stevens – King of a Land. (Cat-O-Log Records) (LP Blue vinyl) (Barnes & Noble Exclusive). 4 050538 899870 Yusuf/Cat Stevens – King of a Land. (Cat-O-Log Records) (LP Purple vinyl) (Spotify Fans First Exclusive)
BB0002 Dick and Mary – Dick and Mary (Bunbun Records) Dark Horse hype sticker (LP Orchid vinyl)
Coming in 2024:
FEB: Nina Simone – Little Girl Blue (Barnes & Noble Exclusive) (LP Pink vinyl)
MAR: Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Live at Acton Town Hall (2LP Black vinyl)
APR: Ravi Shankar – Shankar Family & Friends (Mobile Fidelity) (LP Black vinyl)
We’re all used to seeing the occasional photograph showing glimpses of Friar Park – the mansion, extensive grounds and amazing gardens that George purchased in 1970. The most famous would have to be this album cover:
So it is interesting to read a contemporary article about how the gardens, in particular the topiary section, are doing now. When Harrison first moved in they were in a very poor state, having been let go by the previous occupants for more than 30 years:
George became a very keen gardener and determined to put not only the house (which had also fallen into disrepair) but all the gardens back to rights. He was so hands-on that his son Dhani once said: ‘My earliest memory of my dad is probably of him somewhere in a garden covered in dirt… just continuously planting trees. I think that’s what I thought he did for the first seven years of my life. I was completely unaware that he had anything to do with music.’
His widow Olivia has maintained that dream and, to be honest, from the images in this article the topiary section today is looking magical.
The article ends:
In short, the impeccably maintained topiary garden at Friar Park today is a masterpiece—one of the most important in all Europe.
One of the three is Splinter’sThe Place I Love, the very first record to come out on George Harrison’s then new label.
Produced by and featuring Harrison, The Place I Love was one of the earliest recordings to be made at the FPSHOT studio in his Friar Park home.
DETAILS Event: BLACK FRIDAY 2023 Release Date: 11/24/2023 Format: Clear vinyl LP Label: Dark Horse Records Quantity: 1000 Release type: ‘RSD First’ Release
MORE INFO Splinter was comprised of duo Bill Elliot and Bobby Purvis, and their blend of folk, pop, and rock were introduced to Dark Horse Records founder George Harrison in 1973. Harrison was quick to spot their potential and made them one of the first signings to his new label.
The band’s debut album The Place I Love was produced by Harrison and features extensive guitar work by the legendary musician, as well as contributions from Billy Preston, Jim Keltner, Alvin Lee (Ten Years After), and Gary Wright (Spooky Tooth and ‘Dream Weaver’).
Including the hit record ‘Costafine Town’, along with the singles ‘Drink All Day (Got to Find Your Own Way Home)’ and ‘China Light’, this remastered recording will be available on vinyl for the first time since its 1974 release. For RSD Black Friday it is remastered and pressed on transparent clear vinyl with reproduced gatefold artwork and an OBI strip.
Also being readied for RSD Black Friday is an album that originally made it’s debut on the Apple label – Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan’s In Concert 1972.
DETAILS Event: BLACK FRIDAY 2023 Release Date: 11/24/2023 Format: 2 x LP Label: Dark Horse Records Quantity: 1280 Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
MORE INFO The original Apple Records release, now remastered and reissued on Dark Horse, is the Indian sitar master in concert with Ali Akbar Khan on sarod, and Alla Rakha on tabla. It was recorded at Philarmonic Hall in New York City. The double LP is produced by George Harrison, Zakir Hussain, and Phil McDonald.
Dark Horse is also digging deeper into its Leon Russell catalogue with a special edition red vinyl release of his called Hank Wilson Volume II.
DETAILS Event: BLACK FRIDAY 2023 Release Date: 11/24/2023 Format: Red vinyl LP Label: Dark Horse Records Quantity: 1700 Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
MORE INFO This is a coloured vinyl reissue of Leon Russell’s 1984 country album Hank Wilson Vol. II. Hank Wilson is Russell’s country music alter ego, and this title has a bit of a strange release history. You can read up here for a bit of the background. Originally released on Paradise Records, Dark Horse is reissuing the album on vinyl for the first time since 1984. It includes country staples such as ‘Wabash Cannonball’ and ‘I Saw the Light’. Willie Nelson makes a guest appearance on ‘Wabash Cannonball’.
So there you have it. Some Dark Horse titles to look out for in November.
And if you’re collecting the new Dark Horse release series don’t forget they’re once again re-issuing Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros Streetcore LP on October 20. This time it will be on black vinyl with an exclusive ‘Coma Girl’ Lyric Art Print from the Joe Strummer Archive. It will also be available on CD. Dark Horse already issued this album on limited edition white vinyl for Record Store Day proper earlier this year.
Back in 2016 the knowledgeable hosts, Ryan Brady and Chris Mercer, set themselves the task of discussing, in detail, every single solo McCartney release. And they succeeded!
Understandably, the podcast went into a hiatus. How do you go on when one very talented half of the team has been taken away?
Well, the podcast is now re-emerging – as Take It Away: The Complete Solo Beatles Archive Podcast. Chris Mercer is joined by a new co-host and fellow Beatle nut, Paul Kaminski. Together they plan to expand the original brief to take in the solo careers of all four Beatles.
If you’re interested in The Beatles, Wings, or Paul McCartney the solo artist, then this could be the podcast for you.
The all-new Take It Away begins with a dive into the music of George Harrison. The first episode, ‘Beatle George’ (part one of two) is out now at your favourite podcast aggregator.
Chris and Paul write: “In this preamble to the next phase of the podcast, we’ll explore the origins of Harrison’s songwriting, musicianship and legacy, as the “quiet one” fights for his place amongst both his band mates and his musical contemporaries alike. We’ll chronicle every single (official) George Harrison Beatles songwriting contribution from the band’s beginnings up through 1967 in this first installment — an extensive deep dive you will not want to miss! Now, without further ado: take it away, George…”
Worth checking out.
Oh, and while we’re talking podcasts, just a reminder that the first two episodes in the brand new Paul McCartney and Paul Muldoon outing, A Life In Lyrics, will now be available for download from October 4. (Seems they missed the originally advertised September 20 release date for some unknown reason).
While we are STILL awaiting a release date from Mobile Fidelity for their audiophile vinyl re-issue of the George Harrison-produced Shankar Family & Friends, Dark Horse has decided to put it out on CD, and as a limited edition “orchid” purple coloured vinyl – remastered by Paul Hicks.
One of the first albums to be released on George’s original Dark Horse Records, its East-meets-West musical styles put Western musicians such as Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, Jim Keltner, Klaus Voormann, and Nicky Hopkins side-by-side with Indian-music pioneers Alla Rakha, Ashish Khan, Shivkumar Sharma and Hariprasad Chaurasi.
Shankar Family & Friends is released in 2023 for the first time as a “stand alone” CD (though it was on CD part of this lovely Collaborations box set from 2010).
The purple vinyl and CD were initially slated for a June 9 release, but the date has recently been pushed back to July 14.
There could also be a black vinyl version but we’re not exactly sure. This image is appearing on some store sites:
Beatles Blog 