Tag Archives: Dhani Harrison

More Dark Horse News

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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.

The revitalised label signed a distribution deal with BMG and has been slowly re-releasing in physical form some of the original Dark Horse titles. It’s also embarked on an eclectic series of reissues and new titles from a range of other artists. These range from to Joe Strummer to Leon Russell, and from Billy Idol to Yusuf/Cat Stevens.

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 Horse on clear vinyl in July last year:

Then in April we’ll finally see the long-awaited Mobile Fidelity audiophile pressing of Ravi Shankar’s Shankar 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: 

Also, her video for the single ‘Presence’ was shot in the gardens of Friar Park:

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)

DH0014 Stairsteps – 2nd Resurrection (RSD) (LP Gold 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)

New Dark Horse Title is an Unusual Choice but a Great Album

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From Olivia Harrison’s socials:

“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.

Pre-order now at barnesandnoble.com

This is a great album.

The pre-order details say it will include a 12×12 insert with an introduction written by Dhani Harrison. Little Girl Blue includes 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.

Country Life Magazine – George Harrison’s Garden

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UK magazine Country Life has this month published a very interesting story about the topiary gardens of George and Olivia Harrison’s famous Henley-on-Thames estate, Friar Park.

We’re all used to seeing the occasional photograph showing glimpses of Friar Park – the mansion, extensive grounds and amazing gardens that George purchased in 1970. The most famous would have to be this album cover:

So it is interesting to read a contemporary article about how the gardens, in particular the topiary section, are doing now. When Harrison first moved in they were in a very poor state, having been let go by the previous occupants for more than 30 years:

George became a very keen gardener and determined to put not only the house (which had also fallen into disrepair) but all the gardens back to rights. He was so hands-on that his son Dhani once said: ‘My earliest memory of my dad is probably of him somewhere in a garden covered in dirt… just continuously planting trees. I think that’s what I thought he did for the first seven years of my life. I was completely unaware that he had anything to do with music.’

His widow Olivia has maintained that dream and, to be honest, from the images in this article the topiary section today is looking magical.

The article ends:

In short, the impeccably maintained topiary garden at Friar Park today is a masterpiece—one of the most important in all Europe.

(Click on images to see a larger version)

Yusuf/Cat Stevens – New Dark Horse Vinyl & CD

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Earlier this year Dark Horse Records announced the signing of music legend Yusuf/Cat Stevens to the label.

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:

This will be on CD:

And, if ordered through the official Yusuf/Cat Stevens website, on limited edition white vinyl:

Amazon and some independent stores have a limited edition green vinyl version available for pre-order too:

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.

New Joe Strummer – The Mescaleros Years – Box Set Available For Pre-Order

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Dark Horse Records have just announced a new Joe Strummer box set, Joe Strummer 002: The Mescaleros Years. It will be released on September 16th as part of the celebrations honouring Joe’s 70th birthday year.

The press release says the set is “….the first-ever comprehensive collection highlighting Joe’s work with his post-Clash band, The Mescaleros. The collection includes remastered editions of all three of the band’s studio albums, plus 15 rare and unreleased tracks spanning the first demos Joe wrote for the Mescaleros, and outtakes of several tracks of Joe’s final recordings with the band.”

The box set was executive produced by Lucinda Tait (Strummer) and produced by David Zonshine and features exclusive new interviews with Joe’s friends, collaborators and Mescaleros band mates, plus never-before-seen handwritten notes, lyrics, and drawings by Joe taken from the Joe Strummer Archive. All the albums are remastered by three-time GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer Paul Hicks (The Beatles, John Lennon, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie) and are packaged with extensive new liner notes, unreleased images, and four reproduction lyric sheets and chord charts.

Joe Strummer 002: The Mescaleros Years will be available as a 4CD with 72-page book box set, and 7LP with 32-page book, special edition packaging and exclusive 12”x12” art print.

The first track from the collection, the previously unreleased version of ‘The Road To Rock ‘N’ Roll (Demo)’ is available to stream now. The video for the song was created using Strummer’s drawings and handwritten lyrics found in the Strummer archive:

If you’re wondering about the title it’s because this is the second installment in what looks to a series of career-spanning compilations. The first, Joe Strummer 001, was released in 2018 by Ignition Records. Since then, Dark Horse has taken over publishing and distribution rights for the Stummer legacy.

“There’s so much great music that Joe left us in his archive,” says Joe’s widow and the executive producer, Lucinda Tait. “We started this work with 001, so to focus on Joe’s work with The Mescaleros was the natural second step on 002 because those songs he made with them just seemed to resonate so strongly and reinvigorated his connection with his audience at a level he hadn’t experienced since his days with The Clash.”

Harrison Estate and Dark Horse Sign Further Publishing and Album Release Deals with BMG

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You might recall that back in 2020 the mega music distributor and publisher BMG announced that it had formed a multi-faceted, worldwide distribution partnership with Dark Horse Records, the George Harrison-founded record label now led by his son, Dhani Harrison.

Well, there have been some developments.

Last week there was a rather intriguing press release from BMG announcing that they’ve now secured the publishing rights to the entire George Harrison song catalogue, including his Beatle, solo, and Traveling Wilbury compositions.

Plus the company has secured the rights to distribute some existing – and additional – interesting legacy artists on the the Dark Horse record label.

Here’s the official 2-page press release. We’ve highlighted those bits that grabbed our attention:

So, while there’ll be new publishing deals being done by BMG/Dark Horse for George Harrison’s compositions, it also looks like we can expect a range of interesting physical releases on the Dark Horse label.

These will include another EP from Billy Idol, and the new studio album from former Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench. There’s also likely to be a slew of back-catalogue re-issues from the great Leon Russell.

Interesting times indeed.

See also our articles on the six BMG/Dark Horse Records already released so far: Joe Strummer’s Assembly LP, Billy Idol’s The Roadside EP, the Billy Idol Happy Holidays Christmas album, Ravi Shankar’s Chants of India LP, and Joe Strummer’s two Record Store Day 12″ singles: ‘Junco Partner’ and ‘Johnny Appleseed’.

‘All Things Must Pass: 50th Anniversary Edition’ Wins Grammy

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They’ve just been announced – the 64th annual Grammy Awards.

On the Beatle front there wasn’t too much on offer this year.

Paul McCartney was nominated for ‘Find My Way’ in the Best Rock Song category (he lost out to the Foo Fighters and ‘Waiting On A War’). He was also nominated for his album McCartney III in the Best Rock Album category (and once again, pipped at the post by the Foo Fighters with their LP Medicine at Midnight).

However, in the category for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package the winners were Darren Evans, Dhani Harrison and Olivia Harrison for their art direction of last year’s George Harrison All Things Must Pass: 50th Anniversary Edition. This was for the now famous “Uber Box”:

All Things Must Pass won ahead of Soccer Mommy – Color Theory, Steven Wilson – The Future Bites (Limited Edition Box Set), Gang of Four – 77-81 and Mac Miller – Swimming in Circles.

Olivia Harrison has posted this shot of her holding the actual Grammy:

She also gave this post-Grammy ceremony interview about the win:

Well done, and congratulations to the Harrison Estate!

George Harrison’s ‘Let It Be’ Rosewood Fender Available Again

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Fender guitars has once again produced a limited edition re-creation of the unique guitar we see George Harrison playing during the sessions for Let It Be – both in the studio and during the famous roof-top concert in 1969.

It is a lovely rosewood Fender Telecaster electric:

It’s not the first time the Fender Custom Shop has done this. Back in 2016 they also released a copy of what originally was a one-off prototype model, gifted to George in 1968 so he could try it out and give the brand some publicity:

Now, hot on the heels of the epic Peter Jackson Get Back documentary on Disney, the company has done it again – with a few additional customised touches:

The principle difference for 2022 is a custom George Harrison ‘Om’ logo neck plate on the rear of the guitar:

The story behind what happened to the original Telecaster is interesting. As we know, Harrison played it during the Let It Be sessions, but he didn’t keep it for long. Later in 1969 he gave it away to Delaney Bramlett, leader of the group Delaney & Bonnie. It was a gift to say ‘thank you’ for letting Harrison join in on a tour with the band – all part of George easing his way out of the Beatles and finding his feet as a solo musician. Bramlett kept the priceless instrument for quite some time and amazingly he modified the guitar quite a bit. The rosewood originally featured a satin finish, but Bramlett had it resprayed with gloss. He also swapped out the original Fender tuning keys for Schaller brand keys, and he even modified the electronics inside.

Thankfully, the guitar has since been returned to the Harrison Estate and the Rosewood Tele has been restored. Here’s a photo of Dhani Harrison in 2012 with the original Fender second guitar from left:

And here he is playing it:

Here’s an example of the reverence in which this guitar is now held – Josh Homme is invited to play the one-off, 1968 original:

Check out the Rosewood replica at Fender.

See also:

The Ole Black Gretsch

The Ole Black Gretsch – An Update

Harrison’s “Rocky” Fender Stratocaster

Buy John Lennon’s Martin Acoustic replica

Billy Idol to Join the Dark Horse Records Stable

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Billy Idol is set to issue a new four-song EP called The Roadside — and it will be on none other than the newly resurrected Dark Horse Records label.

Produced by Butch Walker (Green Day, Weezer) and featuring Idol’s longtime lead guitarist and co-writer Steve Stevens, the EP will be Idol’s first new release in nearly seven years.

Dhani Harrison, who runs the label with David Zonshine, said in a statement “I couldn’t be more excited to welcome Billy Idol to the Dark Horse Records family. Billy is a legend, and his music couldn’t fit the Dark Horse persona any better. I’ve loved his music throughout my whole life, so to be able to give this new music a home on our historic label is a massive honour.”

It’s interesting to read that Idol fits the ‘Dark Horse persona’. When the label was re-launched with a distribution deal with BMG in January last year, Dhani said “Future releases in 2020 will include compilations, live albums, and box sets featuring rare and unreleased recordings from the Dark Horse label, many of which will be available digitally for the first time. From the Indian classical Ragas Of Ravi Shankar to the rock and roll of Attitudes I look forward to reintroducing, to a new audience, all of those artists that my father loved so much. We will also be expanding the Dark Horse family with new artists and classic catalogues in the coming years to include a rich and varied roster of incredible musicians whom we love. Please watch this space!”

So, under those criteria, Billy Idol is a perfect candidate.

For those who like physical formats, the EP is available for pre-order on exclusive blue vinyl from the Billy Idol website – though it is showing as Sold Out already. Hopefully more copies will be pressed. Orders will ship on September 17:

It’s also avaiable on black vinyl:

And on CD:

The lead single from the EP, ‘Bitter Taste’, has been previewed on YouTube. It’s a pretty good track:

Billy Idol joins Joe Strummer and Ravi Shankar as the most recent physical releases on Dark Horse.

Joe Strummer – Assembly – Dark Horse

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Dark Horse Records last month released Assembly, a double LP or single CD compilation of the work of Joe Strummer, post his Clash days.

This one kind of passed us by somehow, but for lovers of the Dark Horse label (now newly revived) this is a very worthwhile purchase – and we say that not only for those label completists out there but because it contains some truly great music. It was released on March 26:

Dhani Harrison last year announced that Dark Horse (the label established by his father, George Harrison) was back, and there ensued a raft of digital-only re-issues of previously available material.

There seems now to be more physical product slowly emerging. For example, as part of Record Store Day last year there was a double LP of Ravi Shankar’s beautiful Chants of India. Produced by George Harrison this was the first time that title had been issued on vinyl – and on red vinyl at that.

Now comes the Joe Stummer compilation Assembly. And it too is on lovely red vinyl:

It’s also available on black vinyl:

And it can be had on CD too:

Why is Dark Horse issuing a “Best Of” style release for Joe Strummer? What’s the connection? Your guess is as good as ours. We can only surmise that Dhani Harrison must be a major fan of the late singer’s work. Interestingly the recent Ravi Shankar Chants of India had the catalogue number DH0001. The Joe Strummer LP has the catalogue number DH0002. Bring on DH0003, 0004, 0005……

The LP is beautifully presented in a gatefold sleeve with lyric inserts and liner notes by Jakob Dylan (who last year was involved in the Dark Horse digital-only release of the Tom Petty estate charity single ‘For Real – For Tom’ also featuring Dhani Harrison, Amos Lee, Lukas Nelson, Micah Nelson, and Willie Nelson). It sounds fantastic too because it’s remastered by one Paul Hicks at Abbey Road Studios and obviously well-known here for his work on Beatle, George Harrison and John Lennon re-issues.

It is fantastic to see that Dark Horse Records label back on physical product. If you’re not familiar with Strummer’s solo work (or his work post The Clash with The Mescaleros) check this out if you can. He’s pretty amazing and Assembly makes for great listening.