Beatles With Records – Part Twenty Seven

Posted on May 16, 2015 by beatlesblogger

Well, it’s been quite a while since we had a Beatles With Records post. In between time quite a number of new photographs have been found and submitted by keen Beatles Blog readers – especially Billy Shears, Lammert, and Andrey.

It’s going to be a reasonably big one. So, where to begin? Probably roughly chronologically would be best, starting with Dick Rowe, the Decca A&R man credited (wrongly as it turns out) with rejecting the Beatles at their audition for Decca Records in January, 1962:

Some of the albums on his wall include A Taste of Tijuana by The Mexicans:

Lulu’s Something to Shout About:

The Fortunes:

And Marianne Faithful’s North Country Maid:

But here’s the band that Decca missed out on:

It is a very youthful looking group on the front cover of the pop magazine Teen Screen. Notice the big “scoop”: WHY THE BEATLES ARE BREAKING UP!…..

There’s a bunch of records on the wall behind them, but they’re holding up with pride a copy of their then-new LP Please Please Me:

You can see a slightly larger and clearer image of that front cover photo in The Beatles with Records Part Two.

And here is the band out promoting that same album:The Beatles were soon to star in their first full-length movie A Hard Day’s Night, and from that film comes these screenshots of one of their co-stars, Wilfrid Bramble. Bramble played Paul McCartney’s grandfather, “a clean old man” who none-the-less is taking a rather keen interest in this very sexy record cover:

George Shearing’s White Satin LP came out in 1960….

In previous posts we’ve had photographs of various members of the band actually playing records. Here’s another, this time George with an unidentified stack of 45’s:

The Beatles were big in France, and there were unique covers produced in that country for their LPs, EPs and singles. Here they are stuck in a lift and signing a copy of the French EP Eight Days a Week:

The Eight Days a Week EP (from 1965) above also featured in The Beatles With Records Part Five.

Onto the Beatles solo now and another interesting photo. These two were taken at John and Yoko’s historic “Bed-In For Peace” in Amsterdam on 30 March, 1969. Clearly the album on the bed is an early pressing of Unfinished Music No.2: Life with the Lions, which was to be released just two months later in May, 1969:

Sticking with John Lennon and his album Rock ‘n’ Roll from 1975. It has a brilliant cover image taken way back in the Beatles Hamburg days by this man, photographer Jürgen Vollmer:

Jumping ahead now to the year 1990, and a charity album called Nobody’s Child: Romanian Angel Appeal. This compilation contained two Beatle-related tracks. One is by the Traveling Wilburys (“Nobody’s Child”), and the other a duet by Paul Simon and George Harrison of the Simon composition “Homeward Bound”. It was recorded during a performance on Saturday Night Live in 1976. George and his wife Olivia got behind publicising the release and here are two different photographs of them holding copies of the vinyl edition:

Next a 1992 launch party for Ringo Starr’s Time Takes Time CD. Ringo does’t look all that pleased about the lady thrusting a Russian pressing of the Beatles LP Help! into his hands for him to sign….

(Turns out that lady is the famous TV sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer. Quite a few readers have contacted us and identified her – so thanks).

You can read all about the many variations for the Russia-only LP Dr Ruth has here.

And lastly here’s Paul McCartney holding a copy of the CD booklet for his 2006 classical music release, Ecce Cor Meum (Behold My Heart) [see also The Beatles With Records Part Seventeen]:

If you are interested in seeing more of the Beatles With Records check out the past twenty six instalments. More soon!

Four Beatles-related Finds at Record Fair

Posted on April 11, 2015 by beatlesblogger

We’ve just returned from the annual Glebe Record Fair – one of the biggest of the year – held in the Sydney suburb of Glebe:

The two photos below were taken just after opening time at 9.00 am. This was before the venue really became absolutely packed with patrons hungrily seeking out vinyl, books and CDs. As you can see it’s already very crowded:

And the crowds just got bigger and bigger. In the melee that ensued we were lucky to discover four interesting little 45 singles. First up, a US white-label pressing of George Harrison’s ‘This Song’ from 1976 on his Dark Horse label, complete in its original outer sleeve. First pressings of this came with these white labels, while later issues have the traditional colour label:

At the same vendor’s stall we also discovered this unusual New Zealand pressing of Paul McCartney and Wings controversial ‘Give Ireland Back to the Irish’, dating from 1972. As was the case in most of the rest of the world this is on a custom Apple label:

A little later in another pile of 45s we spied this nice US pressing (and original picture sleeve) of Mary Hopkin singing ‘Goodbye’:

By this time we were feeling pretty weary, and the crowds had built considerably. We were just about to leave and doing one final trawl through some singles at another table when out popped this rare little gem:

It’s a 1986 UK pressing with re-mixes of the Suzy and the Red Stripes song ‘Seaside Woman‘ (a.k.a Linda McCartney and husband Paul). This was originally released on the A&M label back in 1980 with this cover:

The Beatles in the News

Posted on February 21, 2015 by beatlesblogger

Stumbled across a blog site that takes an interesting approach to Beatle history.

The Beatles in the News is just that – a site where multiple, random articles from across the decades and from all over the world are aggregated and re-published daily.

There are newspaper and magazine articles, concert reviews, TV news, and advertisements. It’s not only about the Beatles as a group but also as solo artists. Around 500 items from the past are uploaded every month.

One of the posts from January 23 this year caught our attention. It features – in full – a special colour supplement produced by the iconic Australian Women’s Weekly magazine in March, 1964 at the very height of Beatlemania:Of course, being a “women’s magazine” from the day meant you had to have a section dedicated to what to cook for that special Beatles party:

Just love those mop-top muffins with the chocolate hairdo’s! And also how to dress in Beatle fashion:

Fantastic stuff.

With this site you never know from day-to-day just what gems might pop up.

For anyone interested in the Beatles The Beatles in the News is well worth visiting regularly. You never know what you might find.

Amazing Tower Records Footage from 1970

Posted on January 6, 2015 by beatlesblogger

For those of us who remember the days of visiting good old “bricks and mortar” record stores to browse and buy the latest vinyl……this amazing footage of the legendary Tower Records on Sunset Strip in West Hollywood in 1970 will take you back (and possibly take your breath away if you’re a vinyl nut!)

In it we spotted literally hundreds of plastic sealed copies of George Harrison’s then new box set All Things Must Pass being put out on display……a fleeting glimpse of Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band in the arms of a female customer…..stacks of McCartney’s McCartney LP…..Badfinger’s No Dice……a copy of the Beatles Yellow Submarine….and from footage taken outside, a big John Lennon billboard.

Scenes from this great archival film were used to illustrate this spoken word advertisement for Tower Records voiced by John Lennon himself (possibly from 1973) – then promoting his latest LP Mind Games:

Happy Christmas To Beatle People Everywhere

Posted on December 25, 2014 by beatlesblogger

This mashup is a massive Christmas Beatle medley put together by Tom Teeley. It features bits from their annual Christmas fanclub messages, combined with backing tracks and out-takes to create a unique Beatle listening experience:

Thanks to Robert and Richard for reminding us about this one. Make sure you check out their terrific Something About the Beatles Holiday Show.

And here’s wishing a very happy Christmas to Beatle people everywhere!

George Harrison’s Historic House “Friar Park” – New Book

Posted on December 21, 2014 by beatlesblogger

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always had an interest in the homes of the Beatles. Not a snooping, voyeuristic interest – but more of an architectural one because they (especially John and George) have lived in some very interesting buildings over the years.

That’s why our interest was sparked when we got a press release this week from a company called The Campfire Network advertising a new book. In coordination with “Ye Friends of Friar Park,” Campfire has just announced the publication of the second book in a series which celebrates the history and architecture of residences which at some point were homes of one or more of the Beatles. (Their first book in the series was The Dakota Scrapbook, published last year).

Now comes Friar Park: A Pictorial History, a collection of vintage, rare, and original photographs and illustrations telling the story of George Harrison’s spectacular and unusual home – Friar Park – from the time Sir Frank Crisp began purchasing land in the medieval town of Henley-on-Thames in the late 1800s, all the way to the time it was purchased by Harrison.

Carefully selected images offer a rare and unique glimpse of the property’s extraordinary gardens, mansion home, lodges, and assorted structures, lakes, and secret underground caves, as well as other architectural and horticultural treasures and wonders on the grounds of Friar Park. Here are some of the pages and images from the book:

Campfire’s Marketing Director Kelly Cardinal says: “Beatles fans, architects, historians, and anyone interested in grand homes and beautiful gardens have long-admired Friar Park from afar, with little more than the occasional description or photos that have appeared here and there. Now, for the first time, is a publication that includes the largest collection of photos and information about Friar Park that has ever been gathered together in one place before. It has generated quite a bit of excitement.”

The pictures and information in the book were found during the development of a forthcoming film documentary about the home.

Friar Park: A Pictorial History is now available from Amazon, as is a companion volume called Friar Park: 1919 Estate Auction Catalogue, a recreation of the official auction catalogue for the house when it was sold following the passing of original owner Sir Frank Crisp. Upon his death his family instructed auctioneers to sell the entire estate, including all the grounds, the boathouse on Henley-on-Thames, and three grand residential sites. The sale took place on Saturday, August 9th, 1919 and this book is a scholastic and educational study of an architecturally and historically significant English country house.

If you are interested in this sort of thing, “The Story of Tittenhurst Park” – the English stately home owned by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, will be released in 2015.

And the same company has also published The Dakota Apartments: Vintage Articles.

(Each of the links above are to Amazon pages with a “Look Inside” function so that you can have a bit more of a sticky beak at these very interesting books).

There are also two YouTube clips promoting Friar Park: A Pictorial History. This one is interesting – lots of photos and page shots from the book. Then there’s this one – much more dramatic!:

George Harrison – Final Live Performance?

Posted on December 4, 2014 by beatlesblogger

Surfing the Internet today we came across this YouTube clip.

It’s from the VH1 cable TV channel in the US – way back in 1997.

They claim it is George Harrison’s last ever live public performance before his untimely death on November 29, 2001. We don’t have a way to verify that – unless anyone out there can add to the discussion? But even if it’s not true it is an extraordinarily frank interview which includes an impromptu rendition of the then un-released song ‘Any Road‘ on a borrowed guitar. ‘Any Road’ was later released posthumously on George’s Brainwashed album in 2002:

VH1 put the interview together with some linking historical pieces and re-broadcasted it as part of their commemorations on the day of George’s death. He was on the promo trail in 1997 with Ravi Shankar for the CD Chants of India (which George produced) and had dropped into the studio unexpectedly. What unfolded was simply great seat-of-the-pants TV.

Some Beatles Car Boot Sale Booty

Posted on November 10, 2014 by beatlesblogger

There was a big car boot sale just around the corner from us this last weekend, and we were able to find quite a few nice additions to the collection. One vendor just had boxes and boxes of CD’s, 7″ vinyl 45’s and 12″ LP’s on their stall – and so quite a bit of our Saturday morning was spent trawling….

It was time well spent though as it turned up a few gems.

First up was a Australian vinyl single taken from the John Lennon and Yoko Ono album Double Fantasy. ‘Watching the Wheels’ was the third single from this LP (the first two were ‘(Just Like) Starting Over’ and ‘Woman’). We didn’t have a copy of ‘Watching the Wheels” so this was a good find.

Next was another 7″ single we didn’t have – Badfinger’s ‘Come and Get It’ on the Apple label. It dates from 1969 and is a Paul McCartney composition written for the band, and it makes an appearance on the soundtrack for the film The Magic Christian, starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr. This is an Australian pressing. There’s a lot of writing on the label – but still…..

Further hunting through the boxes revealed another Apple single – this time from George Harrison. It’s an Australian copy of ‘My Sweet Lord’ b/w ‘Isn’t It A Pity’. In Australia this was a double A side as both titles have green Apple labels:

Our good luck continued in the multiple boxes at this car boot sale. Next out were two singles – a US copy of McCartney’s ‘Coming Up’, and ‘Say Say Say’ with Michael Jackson – both on the Columbia label, then a division of CBS. In the late 70’s/early 80’s McCartney was briefly (six years) on the Columbia label for his releases in America. He’d temporarily turned his back on Capitol Records, enticed by one of the most lucrative recording contracts around at the time, a deal which included as a sweetener the ownership of Frank Music, a CBS owned publishing company consisting (amongst other things) of Frank Loesser’s songs (think of the Broadway musical Guys and Dolls, etc.). Frank Music is now of course folded into McCartney’s highly successful MPL Music Publishing business.

The two singles we found came out on the Parlophone label in Australia, so it’s good to have these US versions:

The final 45 we discovered was Billy J. Kramer’s ‘From a Window’ – which sadly is kind of beat up, but worth having because it is a song from 1964 written specifically for Kramer (and his band the Dakotas) by John Lennon and Paul McCartney:

The last purchase of the day was a bit of a find. It’s Jools Holland’s 2001 CD Small World Big Band, which is an important one to have in the collection because it contains George Harrison singing and playing on his last ever recording. George passed away just two months after this recording. He does a song called ‘Horse to the Water’, co-composed with his son Dhani.

Holland’s CD is sub-titled “….his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra and friends”, that’s because for each track he invites various stars to join him for a track each. These include the likes of Sting; Paul Weller; Dr John; Mark Knopfler; Van Morrison; Steve Winwood; and Eric Clapton, amongst many others. To quote two of the poignant reviewers on Amazon:

“For me, the big reason to buy this CD was the George Harrison contribution, ‘Horse to the Water’. It is a GREAT song, and a brilliant Harrison song at that. George sounds weak, and I am not sure if Clapton has stepped in on some of the guitar parts, but what a brilliant and fun piece of music, worthy to be held in the highest esteem among its author’s ouvre. IT is reason enough to buy the CD.”

And this one:

“I purchased this CD for one reason. I had seen the DVD Concert for George and loved it. Among the best offerings on the DVD was the Sam Brown/Jools Holland rendition of ‘Horse to the Water’ by George. Except for the words, I would never have guessed that it was a Harrison song. It was too R&B. So I was curious to see how he handled it. Well, he does not have the powerhouse voice of Sam Brown, but I was in fact really surprised at how well he did, helped greatly by the superb backup band. I would not have recognised his voice. I am sure his throat cancer was behind that.”

There’s a small picture of George in the booklet:

How Much is That Beatle Autograph Worth?

Posted on October 25, 2014 by beatlesblogger

We don’t collect Beatle memorabilia like autographs, signed photos, tickets, posters, toys and such – but many people do.

If you have an authentic Beatle photograph which is autographed by one or more of the band you might be wondering what it’s worth. And is it increasing in value as the years go by?

Well, it turns out that signed Beatle photographs appear to be a pretty good investment.

That’s according to the PFC40 Autograph Index (to 2018), compiled by Paul Fraser Collectibles. Their list tracks the values of 40 of the world’s most sought-after autographs since the year 2000. The prices given are an evaluation of the market value for a fully authenticated, best quality signed photo, based on close monitoring of dealer and auction sales. (A “best quality” example will feature a photograph in superb condition, depicting the subject in their most famous era, with a sharp, clear signature acquired during that period).

On the latest PFC40 Autograph Index Summary the Beatles feature prominently:

The most valuable autograph: £29,500 for a signed photo of The Beatles. (That’s US$38,560, or AU$50,439 at today’s exchange rate!)

One of the top performing autographs was Paul McCartney’s, with a value for the year of £2950.

Over the period 2000-2018 the top performing autograph was George Harrison’s with an 18.2% increase over that period.

The Beatles as a group appear twice in the Top 40 list for 2000-2018, as do all four individual Beatles – John Lennon (+12.2% over 18 years), Paul McCartney (+17% over 18 years), George Harrison (see above), and Ringo Starr (+12% over 18 years).

So, hang on to those autographs – especially if they are on photographs or album covers.

To see some of the prices that Beatle items are fetching go to the search page at Paul Fraser Collectables.

Limited Edition George Harrison Poster For Sale in Two Editions

Posted on October 24, 2014 by beatlesblogger

In association with the release of George Harrison: The Apple Years 1968-1975 box set, the official George Harrison site and the Obey Giant online store are offering for sale a limited edition print by artist Shepard Fairey.

The 18 inch x 24 inch screen print Poster For George (based on a photograph taken by Astrid Kirchherr) is offered in two editions, Red and Silver.

Both editions are limited to 400 signed and numbered copies. Each cost US$65.00.

The Red edition was available only from the Obey Giant web store on October 23 at a random time between 10am and 12pm PST. It looks to be sold out already.

The Silver edition is released today – October 24 – at the George Harrison web store at 10am PST / 6PM BST. There is a limit of one poster per customer.

Beatles Blog

Adventures in collecting Beatles music

Tag Archives: George Harrison

Beatles With Records – Part Twenty Seven

Amazing Tower Records Footage from 1970

Happy Christmas To Beatle People Everywhere

George Harrison’s Historic House “Friar Park” – New Book

George Harrison – Final Live Performance?

How Much is That Beatle Autograph Worth?

Limited Edition George Harrison Poster For Sale in Two Editions

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