Tag Archives: Beatles Collecting

A Couple of Beatle Artefacts

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Cleaning up a closet today we rediscovered a large collection of vintage Rolling Stone and other music magazines. Flipping through them casually revealed three artefact print advertisements. The first is from Rolling Stone magazine. This is an Australian 1983 Yearbook edition. The advertisement is topical, with the 2015 re-issue of Pipes of Peace currently on music store shelves: Pipes Print Ad

The next also comes from Rolling Stone, again one of their Yearbooks, this time from 1985. Again, this is an Australian edition and it’s an advertisement for sales of an original poster from The Beatles’ Let It Be movie originally released in 1970. The ad copy says “We have a limited number of these full colour original movie posters for sale at $19.95 each plus $3.50 for postage. This is an opportunity to own an item of pop memorabilia that is guaranteed to appreciate in value over the years…..”:

LIB Print Ad

Just where the company located their Let It Be original movie posters isn’t clear, but if these were indeed genuine Let It Be posters then $19.95 was probably a good investment even back in 1985.

The final is a full-page ad which appeared in Billboard magazine in June, 1991. It’s for Paul McCartney’s Unplugged – The Official Bootleg album, released that year:

Unplugged Print Ad

Beatles 1 – 2015 Vinyl

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Look what arrived in the post today:Beatles 1 2015 1

Yes, it’s the 2015 edition of The Beatles 1 on double vinyl, complete with the Giles Martin remixes and remastering.

This one is staying sealed for now so we can’t show you the detail of what’s inside (for that go to this post to see in detail the 2000 edition). The contents themselves for all editions are very much the same. What we can show are some of the key external visual differences between the 2015 edition, directly alongside those from 2014 and the one from 2000.

Firstly that front cover. Two things really. The words “The Beatles” are in yellow on the 2015, while for both the 2014 and 2000 versions those words are sort of a light pink. Also on the 2015 edition the big figure “1” is more solidly coloured in and is a much brighter shade of yellow. Compare the front cover image of the 2015 edition above with 2014 (which is also still sealed and came with a sticker attached to the plastic):Beatles 1 2014 1

And here’s the older 2000 (which has been opened and hence is not as glossy as the others in the photos). The printing of these two is very similar:Beatles 1 2000 1

On the rear all covers are very similar. There is just a simple track-listing running down the centre. The part where they differ is at the top right-hand side where logos, barcodes, and the small print about who has the rights to what appears. Firstly 2015 (note the references to Calderstone Productions, the Universal Music Group, and Apple:Beatles 1 2015 2

Here’s the 2014 edition (again, Calderstone, Universal and Apple):Beatles 1 2014 2

And lastly the 2000 release (back when EMI held the reins):Beatles 1 2000 2

Finally the spines. Here they are stacked on top of each other. On top is the 2015 edition, then 2014, and on the bottom 2000: Beatles 1 spinesThere are quite a few variations. (Click on the image to see a larger version).

“Remembering George Harrison” – Life Books

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More on George Harrison…..

Stumbled across a mint copy of this in our local discount bookstore the other day:George 1

At just A$7.95, who could resist?

This book was originally released in 2011. The text about George is written by Marilyn Fu, who breaks her subject into five main chapter headings: “Remembering George“; “Joining John’s Band“; “Beatlemania“; “And In The End“; and “Liberated“. The book is filled with a selection of great photographs: George 3George 4

And there’s an early shot of George with “The Ole Black Gretsch” guitar:George 5

Here is the rear cover image:George 2

“George Fest” – A New Harrison Tribute Collection

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I don’t know if your’e into these tribute concert recordings where various musical luminaries are invited to pay their respects by singing favourite songs. I must say they don’t really do a lot for me, but there’s obviously a market out there for them.

The latest is George Fest – The Music of George Harrison, recorded and filmed on September 28th, 2014 at the The Fonda Theater in Los Angeles:georgebanner

To be released on February 26th, 2016, this live tribute will be available in 5 configurations including 2xCD/DVD, 2xCD/Blu-Ray, 3xLP (180 gram), digital, and a store exclusive bundle:George fest bundles

The artist line-up and songs include:

• OLD BROWN SHOE Conan O’Brien
• I ME MINE Britt Daniel (from Spoon)
• BALLAD OF SIR FRANKIE CRISP (LET IT ROLL) Jonathan Bates w. Dhani Harrison
• SOMETHING Norah Jones
• GOT MY MIND SET ON YOU Brandon Flowers (from The Killers)
• IF NOT FOR YOU Heartless Bastards
• BE HERE NOW Ian Asbury (from The Cult)
• WAH-WAH Nick Valensi (from The Strokes)
• IF I NEEDED SOMEONE Jamestown Revival
• ART OF DYING Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
• SAVOY TRUFFLE Dhani Harrison
• FOR YOU BLUE Chase Cohl w. Brian Bell (from Weezer)
• BEWARE OF DARKNESS Ann Wilson (from Heart)
• LET IT DOWN Dhani Harrison
• GIVE ME LOVE (GIVE ME PEACE ON EARTH) Ben Harper
• HERE COMES THE SUN Perry Farrel (from Jane’s Addiction)
• WHAT IS LIFE “Weird Al” Yankovic
• BEHIND THAT LOCKED DOOR Norah Jones
• MY SWEET LORD Brian Wilson (from The Beach Boys)
• ISN’T IT A PITY The Black Ryder
• ANY ROAD Butch Walker
• I’D HAVE YOU ANYTIME Karen Elson
• TAXMAN Cold War Kids
• IT’S ALL TOO MUCH The Flaming Lips
• HANDLE WITH CARE Brandon Flowers, Britt Daniel, Dhani Harrison, Jonathan Bates, Wayne Coyne, and “Weird Al” Yankovic
• ALL THINGS MUST PASS Ann Wilson, Dhani Harrison, Karen Elson and Norah Jones

“Handle Me With Care” has now been posted on YouTube:

Another “Soviet Abbey Road” Cover Photo Contender

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Last year Andrey, our reader and an avid Beatle collector in Russia, sent in an amazing historical photo which closely resembled one particular iconic Beatle LP image:xc1tylrv_jcAndrey has just sent another contender for Russian Abbey Road lookalike. It’s a beauty and was taken in Surgut town in 1976. The picture was called “To drilling site with concert”:

They sure do have a lot of muddy roads over there!

“Say Say Say” (Remix 2015) – Making-Of Video

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Paul McCartney has uploaded a short “behind the scenes” film of how they made the promo video for the 2015 remix of ‘Say Say Say’:

You can see the video in full here:

And a 12-inch single of ‘Say Say Say’ (2015) on clear vinyl will be issued this Friday as part of the Record Store Day Black Friday releases:

Say Say Say 12 inch 2015

Give Ireland Back to The Irish – Wings (1972)

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A little earlier this year we found a New Zealand pressing of Paul McCartney and Wings controversial ‘Give Ireland Back to the Irish’ dating from 1972. As was the case in most of the rest of the world this was on a custom Apple label.

The other day at one of our local second-hand vinyl favourites (Audiomania) we found an original UK pressing, complete with its bright yellow custom Wings paper sleeve: Wings 1

The single itself, also on custom Apple labels, is in near mint condition:Wings 3

Beatles 1 Remastered and Remixed Double LP

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Following on from all the excitement of the last week, next month will see the double vinyl LP edition of The Beatles 1 in 2015 form featuring the new stereo remixes created by Giles Martin:Beatles_1 2015 vinyl (1)

The 2015 version of The Beatles 1 CD was released last week, along with numerous Blu-ray/DVD video iterations. The gatefold, 2LP 180g vinyl set looks to be packaged exactly the same as the two previous releases of this title (in 2011, and again in remastered form only just last year). Like them, it will come with four art cards (11′ x 8.5′), two inner jackets packed with images of original single sleeves, and a huge poster (33′ x 22′) featuring examples of more single sleeves from around the world:Beatles_1poster-900x1351

Interestingly, all previous versions of The Beatles 1, featuring the 2009 remasters (first issued in 2011), are set to be quietly withdrawn and the new CD and vinyl versions with the new stereo remixes will permanently supersede them.

The Beatles 1 on 2LP vinyl will be released on 4 December 2015.

Fifth and Final Instalment of “Restoration of The Beatles 1 Video Collection” Released

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The final instalment in the five-part series backgrounding the work done to restore the Beatles 1 video collection has been uploaded to YouTube:

In it leading Australian Director of Photography Mike Molloy reminisces about his time with the Beatles. In 1968 he’d been living and working in London as a freelance cameraman for about a year when he was asked to go down to EMI’s Studio Three at Abbey Road and film a promo clip for “Lady Madonna”. Instead, what he came back with was unique footage of the band recording what was then a brand new song called “Hey Bulldog”.

As Mark Lewisohn says in his book The Complete Beatles Chronicle, “While the cameras whirred, the Beatles recorded ten rhythm track takes of “Hey Bulldog” and completed it with overdubs. Then, at the conclusion of this 4.00pm-2.00am session, after the filming had ended, they watched as it was mixed into mono.”

Mike Molloy says he spent all day with the Beatles. Mike told me that they were very easy to get along with, very friendly. “In the film, for effect, I superimposed a shot of a paisley tie over George Harrison’s face. It was George’s tie! He was great, and very open to trying the effect to see how it turned out.”

Molloy went on to work in London as a cameraman and Director of Photography on feature films for 29 years, before returning to Sydney, Australia, where he now lives. He’s worked with some of the greats, including Stanley Kubrick (on A Clockwork Orange and Barry Lyndon) and Nicolas Roeg (on Performance and Walkabout).

The Beatles 1 and Beatles 1+ DVDs and BluRays are released globally tomorrow, November 6. (Note that the “Hey Bulldog” video is only available on Disc 2 of the Beatles 1+ edition).

You can see the other four parts in the Restoration Series here. Just click on “The Restoration” tab at the top.

Apple to Reissue The Beatles USB?

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Is Apple doing a limited reissue of The Beatles Stereo USB?

The UK online store Spin CDs has just listed it, with a release date of 30 October…… Beatles Stereo USBDetails on their site are sketchy so if anyone else knows about this let us know.

Originally issued in December, 2009 as a limited edition of 30,000 units, the small metal Apple contains a USB drive with all 13 of the band’s studio albums, plus all the Past Masters songs. Also included are the 13 album mini-documentaries which came with the remastered CDs, and the complete digital booklet artwork. The USB has all songs in stereo in both FLAC format (24 bit 44.1 kbps) and MP3 (320 kbps).