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:
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…..
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 some more background on how the project came about, and what to expect when you get to see it:
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:
One of our readers has been in touch asking about how to get a valuation on a very unusual promo copy of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
They write: “I have a radio station promo copy of Sgt. Pepper I won from them in a contest in 1967. Black/white label, songs in a different order from the released album. Etched serial numbers are SS10077-01A and SS10077-01B. Have you any suggestions for getting it appraised?”
While we don’t know the exact name of the radio station which ran the promotion, you can see some handwriting on the label that indicates it might possibly have come from a station called WCFL. According to Wikipedia WCFL is located in Chicago and is today on the airwaves there broadcasting as a Christian Adult Contemporary station. However, there’s also an online WCFL run by some nostalgia buffs with a sound similar to what it would have sounded like when it was one of Chicago’s leading Top 40 music stations. Back in the sixties WCFL’s coverage of the Beatles 1965 and 1966 U.S. tours was provided by a disc jockey named Jim Stagg, who traveled extensively with the group.
The station also began a weekly British Countdown program with British DJ Paul Michael, so it is quite feasible they had some sort of exclusive record giveaway competition in 1967.
The mystery around this one though is that no one else seems to have ever seen this record. It is not listed amongst Discogs’ 1176 versions for example and, having asked around the community, others have doubts about its authenticity and also can’t find any information about it. Some of the concerns raised include:
no promo markings of any kind on the labels
no performers printed anywhere
no record company, composers, or publishers listed
a minor spelling mistake in the LP title itself
several not quite correct song titles
two tracks missing (‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)’ & ‘A Day In The Life’)
and several song timings that differ with the originals
One friend thinks it’s not even a «Not For Sale» record, but simply a pirate vinyl.
It would be interesting to know if the music on the disc is actually the Beatles, and not a cover group or even orchestral/instrumental versions of the songs – though that would have been difficult to pull off quickly if the album was genuinely a 1967 radio “giveaway” at the same time as the Pepper LP US release.
As you can see, the disc looks like it has had a hard life but would probably clean up and play OK if you had a record cleaning machine.
So, what do you think? Very interested to hear your thoughts! Is this a genuine collectors item?
P.S. We suggested the owner get in touch with Perry Cox, the well-regarded valuation expert in all things Beatle. If anyone has any other suggestions on who to speak to, thoughts or knowledge about this one please chime in.
Just in time for some holiday listening The Beatles have quietly launched a new official 6-part podcast celebrating the legacy of the band.
Written, produced and presented by someone close to the band, music historian Kevin Howlett, it features interviews with John, Paul, George and Ringo, as well as many other musicians and producers including George and Giles Martin, Dave Grohl and Mark Ronson,
The podcast documentary ties in with the 50th anniversary reissues of the ‘Red’ and ‘Blue’ compilations and also unpacks the story behind the band’s final single, ‘Now And Then’.
Part 1 of The Beatles’ Legacy is divided into three chapters and deals with The Beatles 1962-1966. You can find it here.
One of our readers (Guy in the USA) prides himself on securing every possible variation and often sends us a tantalising image or two. For ‘Now and Then’ he points out that most collectors only show pictures of the outer covers. Here, he says, are the contents – photographed all together:
For collectors in the west there are no fewer than 9 variations to seek out. If you add in unique Japanese editions that number creeps up to 14.
Because there are enough different pressings we thought we’d create another visual representation to capture them all (we have previously created these for McCartney III and McCartney III Imagined too):
(Click on the image to see a larger version)
The Japanese ‘Now and Then’ vinyl pressings are unique in that they have a rear cover written in Japanese. They also come with a special lyric sheet with the lyrics in English and Japanese:
Additionally, the SHM-CD single comes with an OBI strip (and also the extra lyric insert):
To add to the onslaught on collector wallets there was also Black Friday Record Store Day.
Also released on that day were further coloured vinyl editions (in “Yellow Submarine Yellow”) of Ringo Starr’sOld Wave and Stop and Smell the Roses. Here’s Guy again:
You can see there on the bottom row the little Yoto kids toy card editions of the 2023 Red and Blue albums, plus a unique Paul McCartney card containing a selection of his hits for kids which also contains two hard-to-get instrumentals.
“It wasn’t like we were following a trend; we were in the trend.” — PAUL MCCARTNEY
There’s no doubt that clothing is one of the most visible aspects of the development of a culture. A new book that’s just hit the shelves, Fashioning the Beatles – The Looks That Shook the World, is a well-researched and thoughtful exploration on how The Beatles played a leading role in shaping the fashion, attitudes and social change going on around them throughout the 1960s and beyond.
Author Deirdre Kelly wisely begins her book with a brief preliminary section called ‘Dressing for Pepperland’. That’s because during this period the band reached the zenith of their flamboyant style. Designers on Carnaby Street and around the world were influencing, and were in turn being influenced by, The Beatles in something of a symbiotic relationship. They were in their heyday.
We then journey back to the year 1960 and in chronological order, chapter by chapter, visit key fashion moments with quite a detailed examination year-by-year of what the band were wearing through to 1970, and beyond. We learn who was helping, advising, and being commissioned to come up with new looks for them, but also importantly, how The Beatles themselves played a central role in defining their style. Kelly then uncovers how that style in turn influenced whole industries and often swung the pendulum of the fashion world in new directions.
After a stint as “the savage young Beatles” which (in their early Hamburg/Liverpool days) saw the band sporting a tough look (black leather pants and jackets, black shirts, black t-shirts), in 1961 the group underwent a complete makeover. At the suggestion of their new manager, Brian Epstein, the band took on a suited, clean-cut, almost boy-next-door look that was carefully designed to help them break through in the pop world. They weren’t forced into this. It was something the group agreed was the right thing, as they too saw it as a way to achieve their goal of becoming the “toppermost of the poppermost!”. It was a makeover that worked, one where even the footwear they chose was considered. Kelly goes into detail about how the band had input into the evolution of the famous “Beatle Boots” and how this too became part of their defining look, and a fashion icon of the time. Soon manufacturers where knocking off copies and The Beatles were well on their way to becoming major influencers.
1963 was the year of the now iconic collarless suit – created for the band by UK tailor, Dougie Millings, whom we learn went on to make over 500 outfits for the group. His collarless creation was conceived in a brainstorming session involving Paul McCartney, who’d originally proposed the idea. Their suits were modeled on an original design by Pierre Cardin, but tweaked to make it a distinctively Beatles’ garment. Kelly writes: “It established the Beatles as fashion forerunners”:
It continued what was to become a trend. What a Beatle wore today would soon turn up as the latest hot trend in the shops tomorrow:
However, as with their music, The Beatles never stood still, always pushing the boundaries and never repeating themselves. Once a particular fashion look they’d pioneered started catching on, they’d already moved on.
Fashioning The Beatles is meticulously researched and contains fascinating detail around how the designs they wore came to be. The book also turns up interesting side observations along the way. Take this 1965 photograph taken during the filming of Help!:
In the movie, the band mixed British and US clothing styles. Denim wasn’t yet the ubiquitous fabric it would become and was regarded as something of a novelty. Notice though that George has bleached his jeans, prefiguring the acid wash jean trend that proliferates to this day.
By this mid-decade period and beyond The Beatles largely discard the suits (and boots) and begin to dress to please themselves. In doing so they have a further profound influence on the way young people dress and behave too. What the band wears is an extension of their innate creativity: their personal taste, their natural sense of style – and it was being followed closely by millions.
Tony Palmer (director of the documentary series All You Need is Love: The Story of Popular Music) says in his Preface to the book that The Beatles didn’t set out to be trendsetters. They were innately stylish young men and by simply wearing what they wanted to wear, became the leading style-makers of their day. Their huge, worldwide fame ensured that whenever they were photographed, filmed, or simply seen out and about in public, people took notice of their sartorial style, and those looks helped influence the culture of the day.
By the mid to late 60s The Beatles were now routinely mixing stage clothes with items from their personal wardrobes, and even (albeit briefly) starting up commercial fashion outlets of their own. Kelly provides great detail and context to these ill-fated forays into the fashion retail world via the Apple Boutique store and Apple Tailoring. And herein lies an Australian connection (and yet another example of The Beatles’ questionable choice in business partners), in the form of one John Crittle, proprietor of a business often frequented by the band called Dandie Fashions. They eventually came to own a 50% stake in the store and re-branded it Apple Tailoring (Civil and Theatrical). They opened a hair salon in the premises too, presided over by Leslie Cavendish (who’d been cutting the hair of Paul, George and John). However it turned out that the brains and style behind the clothing part of the venture was really Crittle’s fashion-savvy wife Andrea, who is perhaps better known as the mother of British prima ballerina, Darcey Bussell. Just how Crittle sullied Apple Tailoring’s reputation is something you’ll need to buy the book to read about. It’s not pretty.
Fast forward to today and the influence and spirit of The Beatles still ricochets around the fashion world. Take for example this 2023 collaboration between fashion house Rabanne and the multinational, mass market clothing retailer, H&M. The look could easily owe its inspiration to 1967 and the famous foursome’s adoption of the militaristic uniforms from their Sgt. Pepper era:
We here at beatlesblogger.com have a mountain of books about The Beatles. Amongst them is just one other book on Beatle fashion, Fab Gear – The Beatles and Fashion by Paolo Hewitt – and it’s long out of print. That is proof that very little has been written about this aspect of the band’s creativity and their huge impact on fashion and culture. It is why Fashioning The Beatles – The Looks That Shook the World is an important piece of scholarship. Deirdre Kelly’s new work is a very welcome addition to the library. Grab a copy while you can.
Ever heard of Yoto, the children’s educational toy?
Me either, until one of our readers named Tom pointed out that they exist, AND they have a couple of items that will be of keen interest to the absolute Beatle completists among us.
Yoto is a digital player that accepts specially pre-recorded cards (slightly larger than a credit card) which kids slot into the player to hear stories, podcasts, games and……..music:
The big news is that Yoto has just added two very special music cards.
Yoto describes the contents of their unique 12-track Red Album like this:
An introduction to The Beatles for kids. Enjoy timeless hits from their early years, 1962-1966.
Twelve special chosen tracks from the early years of The Beatles, 1962-1966. The perfect introduction for music-loving kids to the fab-four.
Discover the songs that broke them onto the world stage. Sing, dance and play along to these timeless classics, some of the most popular and indelible rock songs of all time.
Tracklist:
Love Me Do (2023 mix)
Please Please Me (2023 mix)
From Me To You (2023 mix)
She Loves You (2023 mix)
Can’t Buy Me Love (2023 mix)
Ticket To Ride (2023 mix)
I Want To Hold Your Hand (2023 mix)
If I Needed Someone (2023 mix)
Drive My Car (2023 mix)
Got To Get You Into My Life (2022 mix)
I’m Only Sleeping (2022 mix)
Yellow Submarine (2022 mix)
And their 12-track Blue Album like this:
An introduction to The Beatles for kids. Enjoy timeless hits from their later years, 1967-1970.
The second curated collection of tracks from the most iconic band of all time. Charting the later part of their career where they experimented with new sounds and created some songs that are loved across generations and around the world.
The perfect way to share music as a family and the ultimate inspiration for all the music-loving, dancing and singing little ones out there.
Tracklist:
Penny Lane (2017 Mix)
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (2017 Mix)
With A Little Help From My Friends (2017 Mix)
All You Need Is Love (2015 Mix)
Hello, Goodbye (2015 Mix)
Magical Mystery Tour (2023 Mix)
Hey Jude (2015 Mix)
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (2018 Mix)
Blackbird (2018 Mix)
Here Comes The Sun (2019 Mix)
Octopus’s Garden (2019 Mix)
Let It Be (2021 Mix)
But that’s not all the original Beatle content Yoto has. Also recently added is a unique Paul McCartney card, Say Hello To Paul McCartney:
Yoto says: Dance, sing and play along to a selection of songs, especially chosen for Yoto.
Say Hello To Paul McCartney is a unique collection of timeless songs from one of the greatest ever songwriters and performers. Paul McCartney has curated this collection of tracks from his legendary catalogue and it’s sure to get all of your family singing and dancing along.
Sway and jump to ‘Dance Tonight’, take a trip to the Scottish Coast with ‘Mull of Kintyre’ or sing along in chorus to ‘We All Stand Together’ – these and many more songs await you on this ultimate Yoto music card! This card also includes two tracks never before released on a music product – the ‘Hey Grandude’ and ‘Hey Nandude’ themes, from Paul’s highly acclaimed children’s books.
Tracklist:
Grandude Theme
Dance Tonight
Little Willow
Heart of the Country
Mary had a Little Lamb
We All Stand Together
Great Day
Mama’s Little Girl
Calico Skies
Let ‘Em In
Mull of Kintyre
Winter Bird, When Winter Comes
Who Cares
Nandude Theme
So, this is one way for you to get clean versions of two rare original McCartney tracks – the instrumental ‘Grandude Theme’ and ‘Nandude Theme’, taken from the audiobook recordings of his two children’s books Hey Grandude (2019), and Grandude’s Green Submarine (2021).
Sincere apologies if this news is going to cost you more money!
Techmoan has done a great video explaining just how these little players and the cards work (you don’t have to have a player):
Our readers Tom and Guy have both confirmed that you don’t need a stand alone Yoto player. The Yoto app can be downloaded for free to your phone, and a simple tap of the card gives you access to the contents. The cards are the size of a credit card:
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