Tag Archives: Beatles

Remember this?

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Back before Christmas you might recall us running a story about Yoko Ono and Sean Ono Lennon sending out another batch of rare, specially cut acetates to a select group of 50 charities. You can read about that here.

Well, one of the charities has been in touch to let us know how they are using their acetate to raise much needed funds to promote the cause of peace. Here’s their press release:

Limited-edition John Lennon and Yoko Ono ‘Give Peace a Chance’ vinyl acetate available in prize draw to fight extreme poverty

International humanitarian organisation Concern Worldwide is running a prize draw for the exclusive vinyl acetate, newly released in 2023 and hand-cut at Abbey Road Studios. It is one of 50 that has been gifted by Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon to charities that support peace.  

Funds raised from the prize draw will go directly towards Concern’s work across 26 countries to end hunger and extreme poverty.  

“It’s amazing to be able to offer our supporters the chance to win such an exclusive item, with such an important and unique history, and we’re grateful to Sean and Yoko for including us,” says Lucy Voakes, Fundraising Innovation Manager at Concern.  

“The prize draw will raise vital funds at a time when nearly 300 million people around the world need humanitarian assistance and protection, due to conflicts, climate emergencies and other economic factors.” 

Concern delivers life-changing interventions in some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable communities, including emergency response, health and nutrition, livelihoods and education.  

The record bears a machine-printed signature from Yoko Ono and is a collector’s item. It also includes the B-Side ‘Remember Love.’  

‘Give Peace a Chance’ was first produced fifty-five years ago in June 1969, during John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s “bed-in for peace” in Montréal, Canada.  ‘Give Peace a Chance’ quickly became the anthem for the anti-war movement at the time.  

To enter the prize draw, visit the charity’s crowdfunder page. Tickets are £5 for a single entry. To enter the draw for free, submit your entry via post. Visit the crowdfunder page for more information: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/give-peace-a-chance-vinyl  

So, that means we know where limited edition acetate number 14 of 50 was sent, and how they intend to use it to help fight poverty.

But what of the other 49? We know where they’ve gone (scroll down the News page on the official John Lennon site to see the full list of charities), but what are they actually doing with them?

As we did for the 50 acetates that the Lennon estate sent out to record stores previously, we decided to have a look around the web to try to find out.

However, it’s proving a much more difficult task this time around because not many of the charities have (yet) openly publicised their intentions. Here’s our very short list to date:

14/50 as we know is Concern Worldwide. They are selling raffle tickets for a prize draw (as per the details above). This closes on May 31. More info can be found at www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/give-peace-a-chance-vinyl. Here’s their disc:

45/50 War Child UK. They are holding a timed online auction 24 April – 16 May called Spring Clean for War Child. Lots of other rock and pop culture memorabilia is available to bid on, but you’ll need to register. Details on the acetate they were sent – it is Lot 59 – is available here. As of the date of publication the current bid is £500, and there are 13 bidders:

Unknown disc number. Refugees International. They have already held an online auction and it ended on April 30. The winning bid for the limited edition acetate was $500. See: refugeesinternational.afrogs.org/#/view/942515 for more.

Unknown disc number. Beyond Conflict UK. Details of just how they intend to raise funds are unknown at present. They have posted online that they will disclose details “in the new year”. So we guess it is a case of ‘watch this space’. beyond-conflict.co.uk/mediahub/blog/john-lennon-donates-rare-give-peace-a-chance-record-to-bc/

And that is it!

We’ve been able to track down just 4 of the 50 acetates!

If you know where any of the others have ended up, and what the plan is on how to use them, please let us know!

Ringo Starr ‘February Sky’ – Amoeba 7″ Single Rarity

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In the lead up to Record Store Day 2024 Ringo Starr was on the publicity trail for his forthcoming 4-track EP called Crooked Boy. It was being released on Record Store Day as a Limited Edition black and white marble vinyl. Then, later this month, it will come out on normal black vinyl and on CD.

Ringo did a lot of social media in the lead-up, plus a number of interviews for print, radio and podcasts. But the big deal was a personal appearance at the Amoeba Music record store in Hollywood. This was on April 18 where he was joined on stage by Linda Perry, the driving force behind the latest EP. Perry wrote, produced and engineered the new record. She even chose the photo for the front cover of the EP.

On that day, and only in person at the store, Amoeba made available an extremely limited edition 7″ single of one of the songs from the EP called ‘February Sky’. It’s been reported (but not confirmed) that only 500 of these singles were pressed. They come in a picture sleeve and are pressed on a cool red vinyl:

Amoeba must have had a few left over and so the following week they made the remaining stock available online. These sold out in ten minutes. It was US customers only as the store doesn’t ship internationally.

As you can see, some copies on eBay have since sold for as high as US$360…..

Being based in Australia we thought we’d never get a copy for the collection, but thanks to one of our readers – our mate Guy – there will be one winging its way Downunder very soon!

McCartney & Wings – One Hand Clapping – It’s Official + Pack Shots

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Six days after the news mistakenly slipped out, Paul McCartney has officially announced the release of audio from the 1974 live studio performance called One Hand Clapping.

Pre-orders are now available for the LP and CD plus a range of associated merch and bundles.

And we get a look at pack shots of what’s included (but no video announcement of same….).

Here’s the 2LP plus 7″ vinyl, which is exclusive to Paul’s official stores at the moment. Note that the content of that 7″ (six songs in all) are not available on the 2 CD set:

There’ll also be a stand-alone 2LP set available:

And the aforementioned 2CD:

Pre-orders will be shipped on June 14.

And check out this teaser of never-before heard audio from One Hand Clapping. It’s a clip of ‘Junior’s Farm – One Hand Clapping’:

McCartney & Wings – One Hand Clapping Live Studio Sessions from 1974 Newly Mixed

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Seems someone at Universal Music Canada hit the “Publish” button a little early on a press release about a hitherto unknown June release from Paul McCartney. It reads:

The wait is over: With the June 14 release of One Hand Clapping, one of the most bootlegged live albums in musical history will finally receive a proper release. In August 1974, when Band on the Run was enjoying a seven-week consecutive #1 stint at the top of the UK album charts, Paul McCartney and Wings headed to Abbey Road Studios for the filming of a video documentary and possible live studio album – One Hand Clapping. Despite overwhelming demand for newly recorded material from the biggest band in the world at that time, One Hand Clapping was never officially released.

Filmed and recorded over four days and directed by David Litchfield, the release of One Hand Clapping is a historic moment for Paul McCartney fans. Over the years, various parts of One Hand Clapping have been bootlegged with varying degrees of success. Some of the material has also appeared on official McCartney releases. However, the June 14 release, which features the original artwork designed for the project, including a TV sales brochure for the unreleased film at the time, is the first time the audio for the film—plus several additional songs recorded off-camera–have been officially issued.

You can read the full release here.

One Hand Clapping will be released in multiple formats on June 14, including an online-only 2LP + 7” package that will include a vinyl single of previously unreleased solo performances recorded on the final day of the sessions in the backyard of Abbey Road studios. These include the unreleased track “Blackpool,” a cover of The Beatles’ “Blackbird,” a Wings B-side “Country Dreamer,” and cover versions of Eddie Cochran’s “Twenty Flight Rock” (the first song Paul played to John Lennon when they met in 1957) and Buddy Holly’s “Peggy Sue” and “I’m Gonna Love You Too.”

ONE HAND CLAPPING FORMATS

2LP + 7”

Disc 1

SIDE ONE

One Hand Clapping* 02:15

Jet* 03:59

Soily* 03:55

C Moon/Little Woman Love* 03:19

Maybe I’m Amazed* 04:52

My Love* 04:15

SIDE TWO

Bluebird* 03:27

Let’s Love* 01:09

All of You* 02:04

I’ll Give You a Ring* 02:03

Band on the Run* 05:20

Live and Let Die* 03:26

Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five* 05:50

Baby Face* 01:56

Disc 2

SIDE ONE

Let Me Roll It** 04:28

Blue Moon of Kentucky 03:05

Power Cut 01:33

Love My Baby 01:13

Let It Be 01:02

The Long and Winding Road/Lady Madonna 02:10

SIDE TWO

Junior’s Farm 04:17

Sally G 03:28

Tomorrow 02:12

Go Now 03:35

Wild Life 04:30

Hi, Hi, Hi 03:57

Disc 3 (7”)

SIDE ONE

Blackpool 01:43

Blackbird 02:27

Country Dreamer** 02:17

SIDE TWO

Twenty Flight Rock 02:08

Peggy Sue 01:24

I’m Gonna Love You Too 01:10

2CD

Disc 1

One Hand Clapping* 02:15

Jet* 03:59

Soily* 03:55

C Moon/Little Woman Love* 03:19

Maybe I’m Amazed* 04:52

My Love* 04:15

Bluebird* 03:27

Let’s Love* 01:09

All of You* 02:04

I’ll Give You a Ring* 02:03

Band on the Run* 05:20

Live and Let Die* 03:26

Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five* 05:50

Baby Face* 01:56

Disc 2

Let Me Roll It** 04:28

Blue Moon of Kentucky 03:05

Power Cut 01:33

Love My Baby 01:13

Let It Be 01:02

The Long and Winding Road/Lady Madonna 02:10

Junior’s Farm 04:17

Sally G 03:28

Tomorrow 02:12

Go Now 03:35

Wild Life 04:30

Hi, Hi, Hi 03:57

* Previously released 2010 Band on the Run Archive Collection DVD

** Previously released as bonus audio on Archive Collection releases

One Hand Clapping will also be available to stream in Dolby Atmos with a mix by Giles Martin and Steve Orchard.

It’s Been a Long and Winding Road to the Let It Be Film, but…..

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After a five year wait since Apple first promised to re-release this film, the teaser above appeared on various social media over the last couple of days. What was it all about? All the details can now be found on the official Beatles website.

As someone who last saw this movie in full at the cinema in 1970, I’m genuinely keen to see it again. It will be doubly interesting because the three-part Peter Jackson epic called Get Back is about the making of the film. We can only hope for a physical release at some stage that includes bonus materials like a Michael Lindsay-Hogg commentary track, and (please!) the famous rooftop concert – uninterrupted and in full.

In the meantime, Let It Be streaming on Disney+ is a very welcome development.

Paul McCartney – CHOBA B CCCP – Two Editions (How to distinguish them, what needs to be checked)

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Last post we looked at how to go about identifying an unusual Australian pressing of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. This type of id task comes up all the time when collecting Beatle and solo discs. Exactly which pressing do I have, and what are the key things to look out for?

One of the big collectables with a range of variations is original pressings of Paul McCartney’s CHOBA B CCCP. So it was great to have sent to us this week a handy article describing the basics of identifying the key differences to look out for with this LP. It is penned by our mate, Andrey Lukanin:

As we know, the 1st and 2nd editions of the album СНОВА В СССР have the same
catalogue and main matrix numbers. This led to Soviet Melodiya pressing plant employees getting confused about these editions. So a good deal of so-called “hybrid” albums went on sale – with the records having different covers/labels/vinyl.

Due to this same confusion with catalogue/matrix numbers, various plants released a
number of mispressed editions too. These came with with 12 tracks (instead of 11 or 13) and such records are a great rarity. Their sleeves and labels could look the same as any other pressing, but the number of tracks on the actual disc is different. That’s why it is very important to always check the number of tracks on each side of the vinyl itself. If they add up to 12 tracks it is very rare and collectable.

Aside from the rare 12 track version, the most common variations out there are the 11 track and 13 track variations.

To purchase a truly complete 1st pressing (11 tracks) or truly complete 2nd pressing (13 tracks), you need to check these three main components of the album: 1) the sleeve, 2) the labels, and 3) the number of tracks on the vinyl itself.

How to do this quickly and accurately:
1) Sleeve, front side (without looking at the back side: which could be yellow or white):
1st edition – MPL logo is in the upper right corner
2nd edition – MPL logo is in the lower right corner

2) Labels (without reading/counting song titles):
1st edition – tracklist is in Russian
2nd edition – tracklist is in English

3) Number of tracks:
1st edition – the total number of tracks on both sides of the vinyl should be 11
2nd edition – the total number of tracks on both sides of the vinyl should be 13

There is another way as well – and that’s to examine the endings of the full matrix numbers on the vinyl, but this is not very convenient.

So, those who already own this Soviet-made album in their collection have a reason
to check their copy.

Interestingly, in 2014 the Melodiya company celebrated its 50th anniversary. On the company’s website, a poll among music lovers was launched in advance: what records would they like Melodiya to re-release in limited quantities in honor of its anniversary? СНОВА В СССР appeared in the list of winners. But for some reason, like many other records from the list, the album has never been officially re-issued by Melodiya.

Andrey Lukanin

See also: Why Are There Two Versions of CHOBA B CCCP?; Another Variation of McCartney’s Choba B CCCP; Label Variations Part 3 – Versions of McCartney’s Choba B CCCP.

Paul McCartney’s Lost Höfner Bass

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock you are probably aware by now that Paul’s 1961 Höfner 500/1 bass guitar, which was stolen in 1972, has been….

In September last year we reported on a concerted new effort to trace the missing instrument – and it seems that the case has well and truly been solved. In fact, the bass is already back in the hands of its original owner – Paul McCartney.

Check out this short statement on the official McCartney site, plus The Lost Bass Breaking News page for more.

The instrument is a little worse for wear but, according to an expert from Höfner called in to examine it, it shouldn’t be all that difficult to once again get it going again.

One of the most informative articles about what state it is in and the intriguing back story as to where the bass has been all this time is in the Dutch music magazine, De Bassist. They interviewed Höfner expert Nick Wass about finding The Lost Bass. Their article is well worth a read!

A Rainbow of McCartney III LPs!

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If you don’t believe there are collectors out there intent on having every single variation, then think again:

This is a photograph from the collection of one of our readers and contributors – Guy from the USA. Guy has managed to secure no less than 16 different McCartney III colour variants, and 10 different McCartney III Imagined double LPs.

You can check them off against our two guides to all the known variants below (they include CDs and cassettes – which Guy also has BTW!). Click on the images to enlarge:

Heaps of RSD 2024 Titles for Beatle Fans and Collectors

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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…..

Record Store Day 2024 is on Saturday, April 20.

Congratulations on a Grammy Win, and Good Luck for the Oscars

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The Beatles have won a Grammy in the 66th annual awards.

It was for Best Music Video for the song ‘I’m Only Sleeping’ – the film clip made to promote last year’s re-issue of the Revolver album.

The award went to Em Cooper, video director, and Jonathan Clyde, Sophie Hilton, Sue Loughlin and Laura Thomas, video producers.

Artist and director Em Cooper explored the space between dreaming and wakefulness, working on an animation rostrum on sheets of celluloid. She painted every frame individually in oil-paint, a labourious process which took many months.

(Interestingly Revolver won an award for Best Album Cover in 1966. That honour went to Klaus Voormann. And the Song of the Year Grammy in 1966 went to John Lennon and Paul McCartney for ‘Michelle’. McCartney also won the Best Contemporary Solo Vocal Performance, Male or Female, for ‘Eleanor Rigby’.)

Also in the hunt for awards recognition is another short animated film with Beatle connections – this time for Sean Ono Lennon and War Is Over!, a film inspired by the music of John and Yoko.

War Is Over! is nominated in the 96th Oscars, to be announced on Sunday, March 10. You can view the trailer here:

Set in an alternate WWI reality where a senseless war rages on, two soldiers on opposite sides of the conflict play a joyful game of chess. A heroic carrier pigeon delivers the soldiers’ chess moves over the battlefield as the fighting escalates. Neither soldier knows his opponent as the game and the war builds to its climatic final move. Whoever wins the game, one thing is for certain: there are no winners in war.

The eleven-minute short animated film is made by the animation company ElectroLeague. Its anti-war story is by Sean Ono Lennon and Dave Mullins, and it features original music composed by Thomas Newman plus the song ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’. The film is directed by Dave Mullins and produced by Brad Booker. It is executive produced by Yoko Ono and Sean Ono Lennon, and is created as a production of Lenono Music, ElectroLeague, WetaFX and Epic Games.

Here’s a longer taste of what to expect:

And check out this filmmakers’ panel discussion about the Oscar-nominated War Is Over!

It features writer/director Dave Mullins, producer Brad Booker, executive producer Sean Ono Lennon, and composer Thomas Newman. They’re in conversation with executive producer Karen Dufilho: