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.
The list for Record Store Day Black Friday 2024 has just been uploaded and there are two Beatle items of interest to collectors, plus one from Dark Horse.
This 7″ single was obviously chosen to tie in with the 60th anniversary of The Beatles’ arrival in the USA, and their subsequent conquering of the US popular music charts. Not to mention the release of the 8LP set The Beatles 1964 US Albums in Mono, as well as the six LPs that will be available individually. The single is limited to 10,000 copies and is cut from the original US version of the master tapes – the same masters used for the albums in that 1964 Mono box set. It is cut by Kevin Reeves in Nashville using an all-analog cutting process and on the same 1970 lathe at the Capitol studios. Read more about it here.
The other Beatle item slated for RSD Black Friday is another of those tiny 3″ vinyl singles designed to play on the similarly tiny Crosley record player.
‘All My Loving’ comes with a Beatle-branded carry case and it too celebrates the 60th anniversary of the group’s 1964 American Tour – and their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show that year. With the release of this 3″ record all five of the songs the band played on the show is now complete. The other singles (released for Record Store Day proper earlier this year) were: ‘I Want To Hold Your Had’, ‘Til There Was You’, ‘She Loves You’ and ‘I Saw Her Standing There’. Like them, this 3” will be housed in a picture sleeve and includes a limited-edition poster.
Hymns of Christmas dates from 1995 and it’s the fIrst time this has been on vinyl.
RSD Black Friday is on November 29. Check out the home page for the full list and any updates (there are often additional titles added as the time gets closer).
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)
“Nina Simone is recognised as one of the most authentic and captivating artists of our time. She recorded some of George’s songs with powerful conviction. We are privileged to have this album on the Dark Horse label.” – Olivia Harrison
“Nina Simone’s music has always held a special place in the hearts of my family. Her unique talent and profound artistry not only resonated with us but also left an indelible mark on our musical journey. Nina’s legacy continues to be an enduring source of inspiration, a reminder of the power of music to touch the soul and inspire the spirit.” – Dhani Harrison
Dark Horse Records is proud to release a very limited pressing of Nina Simone’s debut studio album Little Girl Blue, celebrating the album’s 65th anniversary.
Originally released in February 1959, this limited pink vinyl reissue is available exclusively from Barnes & Noble on February 23rd.
The pre-order details say it will include a 12×12 insert with an introduction written by Dhani Harrison. Little Girl Blueincludes some of Simone’s best-known tracks, including ‘My Baby Just Cares for Me’, ‘I Loves You, Porgy’ and ‘Love Me Or Leave Me’, and even at this early stage in her career, you can hear the profound impact she would go on to have on the musical landscape in the ensuing decades.
For those of us outside the US though this is going to be a tricky one to secure……however, Barnes & Noble now ship internationally (previously they did not), so it should be possible.
Oh, and it looks like it has the catalogue number DH0024.
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.
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.
Seems this blog is becoming more about Dark Horse Records records than the Beatles lately!
That’s because the label has had a bit of a rush of activity while the Beatle camp has been relatively quiet – unless of course you count all the speculation about a mysterious new release slated for later this year supposedly employing Artificial Intelligence. That’s something the mainstream media jumped on in a big way as AI is a topic du jour at the moment. So much so that Paul McCartney himself took to social media to hose the whole thing down a bit, something he almost never does when it comes to forthcoming releases:
Anyways, while we await news of just what that project is (or is it projects – meaning more than one?), we can focus on Dark Horse as it is Beatle-related, and something many of us collectors like to add into our libraries.
Earlier this week we got this email from Juno, a record store in the UK:
Looks like this will be the next Dark Horse title to look out for, available for pre-order now and out on August 18.
Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros Live at Acton Town Hall is remastered by Paul Hicks (The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, George Harrison) and will be available on 2LP “cloudy clear” vinyl. It will also be issued for the first time on CD.
Recorded on November 15, 2002, the concert was a benefit for striking fire fighters and would be one of Strummer’s last performances as he passed away from a heart condition just a month later. The performance features a 3-song reunion with his former band mate from The Clash, Mick Jones, who reunited on stage for the first time in almost twenty years. It would also be their last time on stage together.
The double LP will be packaged in a gatefold sleeve featuring never-before-seen photos from the show, plus new liner notes from former Fire Brigade Union Secretary Andy Gilchrist, who introduced the band at the show and led the strikes Joe was supporting.
This will also be the first time the concert has been properly released with full packaging on vinyl, with its extremely limited previous incarnation being a very limited Record Store Day exclusive in 2012 featuring just a DIY-inspired clear plastic sleeve.
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:
Image (from l to r): Dhani Harrison and Yusuf with David Zonshine (Dark Horse) and Yoriyos Adamos (Yusuf’s son and manager) at F.P.S.H.O.T.
A number of digital back catalogue albums were almost immediately put up on the Dark Horse releases site indicating they were now available on streaming services. These are all what might be considered his second tier works, definitely not his top-selling LPs. So the wait has been on to see what new content from Yusuf/Cat Stevens might be made available for the first time – and on physical media.
In March the label made this announcement about a brand new studio work and now the wait for that release is almost over because next month (June 16) sees King Of A Land issued on Dark Horse:
The album’s artwork is created by award-winning Canadian children’s illustrator Peter H. Reynolds. As well as the cover art he has created illustrations for each song portraying the album’s lyrical themes in an accompanying 36 page booklet. The vinyl and booklet are housed in a gatefold sleeve.
Dark Horse, with it’s direct association with founder George Harrison, seems to be a natural home for Yusuf. “George has been an immense influence on me, spiritually, from the very beginning. He pioneered certain thoughts and ideas, which stretched way east, and that was very important. He was beginning to explore Eastern mysticism around the time I was hospitalised with TB, in 1968. Lying in bed, I had a lot of time on my hands and ended up reading a Buddhist book called The Secret Path. That was the beginning of my own search for the light.”
“Looking at the jagged journey of my music, beginning as I did in the 60’s, I would say this new record is a mosaic. A very clearly defined description of where I’ve been and who I am.”
In welcoming the singer to the Dark Horse Record label, Dhani Harrison said “I’m thrilled to welcome Yusuf/Cat Stevens to the Dark Horse Records family. Not only is he a great musical legend but his songs could not fit the Dark Horse mythos any better. From his back catalogue, through to the new music we can’t wait for you to hear. Yusuf is without question one of the most influential singer-songwriters of all time. It is a great honour to be able to give his music a home on our humble yet historic label.”
Yusuf has started to tease King Of A Land with some very charming lyric videos:
King Of A Land sounds like it could be something special, very reminiscent of his early 1970’s work. Definitely looking forward to this one.
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