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More Beatles auction lots

September 24, 2015, 2:18 am
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6. December 1980 at Hit Factory Studios.
The above photo is probably familiar to you, as it was used on the back of the soft cover book, "The Lennon Tapes", a transcription of the interview John and Yoko had with Andy Peebles from BBC Radio on 6 December, 1980. The people in the photo are Doreen Davies (Executive producer), Paul Williams (Producer), and Andy Peebles, with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. This photo, along with other pictures taken on this occasion are now for sale through the auction house Nate D. Sanders, ending today, Thursday, September 24th, 5pm pacific. There are 33 total images on the negative strips, but only nine of them are of Lennon, and another one of just his wife, Yoko Ono. These photos are sold with copyright.

6. December 1980 at Hit Factory studios, John and Yoko. Photo: Paul Williams
Another item from the same auction is a silent colour film of the Beatles, identified as 25 August 1963 at ABC Theatre in Blackpool, England, filmed by fellow musician Chas McDevitt. At this concert, the footage shows The Beatles performing and there are also also backstage scenes, all in all lasting approximately 3 1/2 minutes. Shooting from the side curtain, McDevitt captures The Beatles performing on stage with John Lennon doing his ''spastic'' routine (recently a hot potato in the British press), though most of the film is of the Fab Four playfully mucking about backstage. It sees them reading fan letters, with John Lennon in particular being very animated, playing with musician Hank Marvin's glasses, and combing and styling his hair in a comical manner. George Harrison is shown playing his guitar and all four are seen talking to various people backstage. This film was earlier auctioned by Sotheby's back in 1999, and parts of it have been broadcast.


In addition to the film spool itself, the lot includes two letters: one from Sotheby's, referencing the auction where this film originally sold (lot 399 in their Rock & Film Memorabilia sale on 15 September 1999), and referencing an enclosed letter where Chas McDevitt relinquishes copyright to the film. This letter is also included, where McDevitt indeed releases copyright to the new owner, who is the consignor of this lot and will transfer ownership to the winning bidder.
The lot also includes an original concert program with the date of "Sunday, August 25th", corresponding to the year of 1963, listing both The Beatles and Chas McDevitt as performers. The Kodak film cartridge has handwritten labels that read, "Beatles Blackpool 1964 [sic]", "Beatles / on stage 4 in room", "Blackpool" and "Indoor Film / ASA.40". All the items are in very good condition, with the film spool in particular intact and well preserved. Perhaps this will be interesting to the people currently working on The Beatles Live Project?

Other Beatles items from this auction:
- The Beatles 1966 ''Battle of the Giants'' award given to them by the well-known Luxembourg radio show of the same name in 1966.  Originally lot 62 in Christie's 26 May 1994 sale in London.
- A signed programme from 1962, featuring the autographs of John, Paul and George. Missing Ringo's.
- A signed John Lennon "Bag One" print.

Another upcoming auction with a few Beatles items among the lots is coming up on September 29, at Sotheby’s. In this sale is the first and only management contract signed by the four Beatles with Brian Epstein in 1962 (estimated 300,000 — 500,000 GBP).  There are just ten Beatles related lots in all, mostly signed items. Among these are;
- A fully signed 1963 concert programme from Margate Winter Gardens (8,000 — 12,000  GBP)
- Three album covers signed by all four, "Please Please Me", "Meet The Beatles" (both 15,000 — 20,000 GBP each) and "Beatles For Sale" (just 4,000 — 6,000 GBP).

One of the colour slides from the filming of A Hard Day's Night. Photo: Sotheby's
Another interesting lot is a set of eight colour slates taken during the filming of "A Hard Day’s Night" (2,500 — 3,000  GBP)
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Complete promo clip collection

September 24, 2015, 4:22 am
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Intertel promo for I Feel Fine. Photo: © Robert Whitaker.
Not to be outdone by official product, Japanese bootleg company Misterclaudel is releasing their own promo set, quite a bit more comprehensive than "Beatles 1" and "Beatles 1+", the bootleg consists of 5 DVDs plus one CD.
This list of contents has been distributed.

DVD DISC ONE:

1965
01. Help!
02. I Feel Fine
03. Ticket To Ride
04. Day Tripper
05. Help!
06. We Can Work It Out

1966
07. Paperback Writer
08. Rain

1967
09. Strawberry Fields Forever
10. Penny Lane
11. A Day In The Life #1
12. A Day In The Life #2
13. Hello Goodbye #1
14. Hello Goodbye #2
15. Hello Goodbye #3

1968
16. Lady Madonna #1
17. Lady Madonna #2
18. Apple Promo
19. Hey Jude #1
20. Hey Jude #2
21. Revolution #1
22. Revolution #2

1969
23. Get Back
24. Don't Let Me Down
25. The Ballad Of John And Yoko
26. Something

1970
27. Let It Be

DVD DISC TWO:

1976
Promo clips made to promote the album ROCK 'N ROLL MUSIC:
01. Back In The U.S.S.R. #1
02. Back In The U.S.S.R. #2

1982
Promo clips made to promote THE BEATLES BOX:
03. Reel Music (probably Movie Medley)
04. Come Together

Promo clip made to promote the campaign IT WAS 20 YEARS AGO TODAY:
05. Love Me Do #1

Promo clip made to promote the album 20 GREATEST HITS:
06. Love Me Do #2

1983
Promo clips made to promote the campaign IT WAS 20 YEARS AGO TODAY:
07. Please Please Me #1
08. Please Please Me #2
09. Please Please Me #3

1984
Promo clip made to promote the campaign IT WAS 20 YEARS AGO TODAY:
10. I Want To Hold Your Hand #1

Promo clip made to promote the album 20 GREATEST HITS
11. I Want To Hold Your Hand #2

1987
Promo clip made for TV programme IT WAS 20 YEARS AGO TODAY:
12. Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

1992
Promo clips made to promote the 30th. ANNIVERSARY:
13. Get Back
14. Day Tripper

1993
Promo clips made to promote the RED & BLUE ALBUMS on CD:
15. 1962-66/1967-70 #1
16. 1962-66/1967-70 #2

Promo clips made to promote the RED ALBUM first CD release:
17. Ticket To Ride #1
18. Ticket To Ride #2
19. Help! #1
20. Help! #2

Promo clips made to promote the BLUE ALBUM first CD release:
21. Hello Goodbye #1
22. Hello Goodbye #2
23. The Fool On The Hill #1
24. The Fool On The Hill #2

1994
Promo clips made to promote the LIVE AT THE BBC album and Baby It's You EP:
25. Baby It's You #1
26. Baby It's You #2

DVD DISC THREE:

1995
Promo clips made to promote the ANTHOLOGY 1 album:
01. Free As A Bird
02. Long Tall Sally
03. I Want To Hold Your Hand
04. Twist And Shout

1996
Promo clips made to promote the ANTHOLOGY 2 & 3 albums:
05. Help!
06. Paperback Writer
07. All You Need Is Love
08. Hey Jude
09. Revolution
10. Two Of Us
11. For You Blue
12. Real Love

1999
Promo clip made to promote the YELLOW SUBMARINE SONGTRACK:
13. Hey Bulldog

2000
Promo clips made to promote THE BEATLES 1 album:
14. All You Need Is Love
15. I Want To Hold Your Hand
16. We Can Work It Out
17. Hello Goodbye
18. Hey Jude
19. Yesterday
20. Let It Be
21. Get Back
22. Paperback Writer
23. Beatles 1
24. She Loves You

DVD DISC FOUR:
2003
Promo clips made to promote the LET IT BE NAKED album:
01. Don't Let Me Down
02. Get Back
03. Naked TV Trailer #1
04. Naked TV Trailer #2
05. Naked TV Trailer #3
06. Naked TV Nov. 17th Trailer
07. Naked TV Trailer Textless Trailer
08. Naked TV Trailer #4

2006
Promo clips made to promote the Capitol U.S. BOX set:
09. Dizzy Miss Lizzy
10. I'm Down

2009
Promo clips made to promote the 090909 REMASTER releases:
11. One After 909
12. I Saw Her Standing There
13. Roll Over Beethoven

2013
Promo clips made to promote the ON AIR - LIVE AT THE BBC VOL.2 album:
14. Words Of Love
15. Live At BBC Vol.2

EPK
16. 1995 Anthology
17. 2003 Anthology DVD #1
18. 2003 Anthology DVD #2

OUTTAKES
19. Rain #1
20. Rain #2
21. Hello Goodbye
22. Paperback Writer

DVD DISC FIVE:
01. Don't Let Me Down
02. I Feel Fine
03. Two Of Us

Promo clips made to promote the LOVE album:
04. Within You Without You - Tomorrow Never Knows
05. All You Need Is Love
06. Hey Jude
07. Octopus's Garden
08. Revolution
09. Something

Promo clips made to promote the iTUNES STORE:
10. 090909 Remaster #1
11. 090909 Remaster #2
12. iTunes Store #1
13. iTunes Store #2
15. Beatles 1
16. Anthology

Promo clips made to promote the MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR DVD/Blu-ray release:
17. I Am The Warlus
18. Blue-Ray #1
19. Blue-Ray #2
20. Blue-Ray #3
21. Blue-Ray #4
22. Blue-Ray #5
23. Blue-Ray #6

Promo clips made to promote various other releases:
24. Stereo Vinyl
25. The U.S. Albums #1
26. Help!
27. The U.S. Albums #2
28. Naked iTunes
29. Live At The BBC Vol.2
30. Words Of Love
31. Live Project #1
32. Live Project #2
33. Live Project #3
34. Help! Blue-Ray
35. Japan Albums
36. Beatles In Mono Box
37. A Hard Day's Night
38. Now Bring Them Home

MULTI EDITS
39. Love Me Do
40. Please Please Me
41. Paperback Writer
42. Rain
43. Hello Goodbye
44. Hey Jude
45. Revolution

ODDS and ENDS
OUTFILM
46. Strawberry Fields Forever

APPLE PROMO OUTTAKE
47. Documentary
48. James Taylor
49. Mary Hopkins
50. Badfinger
51. Billy Preston

AUDIO DISC (CD):

THE BEATLES VIDEO 1
01. She Loves You Audience Live Mix
02. I Want To Hold Your Hand Ed Sullivan Show Mix
03. Help ! New Stereo Mix
04. Paperback Writer New Stereo Mix
05. Penny Lane New Stereo Mix
06. Hello Goodbye New Stereo Mix
07. All You Need Is Love New Stereo Mix
08. Hey Jude UK Live Promo Mix
09. Revolution Promo Master Mix
10. Something New Stereo Mix
11. The Ballad Of John & Yoko New Stereo Mix
12. Get Back New Stero Mix
13. Beatles 1 Medley
14. Help! 1993 PV Mix
15. Ticket To Ride 1993 PV Mix
16. Fool On The Hill 1993 PV Mix
17. Hello Goodbye Promo Video Mix
18. Let It Be 1970 PV Rough Mix
19. One After 909 PV Mix
20. Don't Let Me Down Promo Film Mix
21. Two Of Us Promo Film Mix
22. The Long And Winding Road PV Rough Mix
23. Rain PV Longer Mix

I think you will agree with me that even though we may not purchase this bootleg, the list gives a good overview about which promo clips were released to promote the various projects through the years, and how many versions or edits were made. Of course, these promo clips were usually never issued to the commercial market, but to TV stations only.

Please don't write to us to enquire about where to purchase the bootleg, we have no clue - this list was found posted in a forum.
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Beatles 1 and Beatles 1+ press launch

September 24, 2015, 11:57 pm
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Banner for Beatles 1+. Apple Corps Ltd.
Richard Porter attended the press launch for "Beatles 1" and "Beatles 1+" in London. Here is his report:

"It was held in a special screening room in the basement of the Soho Hotel in London - just yards from Trident Studios, where Hey Jude was recorded.
Unfortunately, none of the Beatles turned up, but there were many well known Beatles writers and DJs, including Mark Lewisohn, Philip Norman, and Paul Gambaccini."

"As we went in, we were each given a copy of the very nice book, that will be included in the 'Beatles 1+' set. It is very nice, with details of how each song was recorded and also how the videos were made."

"We were then given a talk by Jonathan Clyde from Apple, who told us about each video, and then shown the clips on a big screen. The quality of the videos is awesome, as is the audio.
It's was interesting that Jonathan told us that Apple didn't have good quality copies of some of the videos, and that some came from an unnamed 'American Collector'.
The stand-out video was definitely Strawberry Fields Forever, which looked like it had been shot yesterday. It is in totally amazing quality.
Another highlight was Don't Let Me Down, taken from the infamous 'rooftop concert'. Also brilliant was Paperback Writer, filmed in the grounds of Chiswick House."

"I'd seen nearly all the videos before (but not in such good quality). The only one shown to us which I don't think I had seen was Rain, from Abbey Road Studios."

Shot at Abbey Road Studios. Photo: © Robert Whitaker
The Beatles Live Project slated for this time next year

"During the event, I had a brief chat with people at Apple, who told me the Ron Howard'Beatles Live Project' film is slated for release about this time next year. Mention was made of when we can expect 'Let it Be', 'Live at Shea Stadium' and 'Hollywood Bowl' to be released, but was told 'Apple work slowly' - so hopefully we will see these in our lifetimes!"
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Beatles in November Mojo

September 25, 2015, 12:28 am
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The November issue of Mojo.
The November issue of Mojo music magazine will be on newsstands in the UK from Tuesday 29 September. The issue features The Beatles on the cover, and the accompanying CD contains the original versions of 15 tracks covered by John, Paul, George and Ringo, including "Shout", "Money", "Please Mr. Postman" and more by the likes of Buddy Holly, Ray Charles, The Isley Brothers and The Marvelettes.

Beatles features in the magazine:

THE BEATLES NUMBER 1s! As Apple unleash all 27 chart-toppers in an exciting new package, MOJO salutes the songs that changed the world forever, with a year-by-year examination of Fab Four chart-topping from 1963-1970, packed with feedback, freakitude and Na-Na-Na-Nas.

PLUS! PAUL ON JOHN Inside the ultimate hit-making team! Macca unburdens to Paul Du Noyer in an exclusive extra from the MOJO writer’s new book.

AND! FABS ON FILM The Beatles’ promo clips unpacked with their cinematic collaborator Michael Lindsay-Hogg.

And no doubt, full page ads for the "Beatles 1" and "Beatles 1+" collections.

Link: Mojo
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Another taste of Tug of War

September 25, 2015, 1:13 am
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Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder in the studio. Press photo.
Paul McCartney continues to use Billboard in USA and NME in the UK as vehicles to promote the upcoming Archives editions by feeding them samples from the releases.
This time, it's "Ebony & Ivory" which gets a Soundcloud preview, on Billboard here and on NME here.
Billboard describes this remix of "Ebony & Ivory" like this: "additional vocals and a different mix that brings out the bass a bit more".

Meanwhile, Best Buy - the US chain stores are annnouncing special editions of the upcoming albums containing tote bags.

Best Buy edition of Tug of War

Best Buy edition of Pipes of Peace
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Tug and Pipes review

September 27, 2015, 11:37 pm
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A sideways look at what's new on Tug of War/Pipes of Peace. Photo: MPL/Hear Music.

Miguel Carrera from Mexico City has sent us his review of the new "Tug of War"/"Pipes of Peace" bonus material:

Here is my review of the two new Archives Bonus CDs. I think anyone else can give their opinion on the remastered and “remixed” versions (the advance sampler comes with the ‘Remixed’ Tug of War only, not the ‘Remastered’), but there are no substantial difference with the past versions in my opinion, even the “remixed” Tug Of War which has LOUD vocals, and instruments and orchestras, but no alternate elements (like  different vocals, extra instruments, etc), so I won’t go deeper on those.
So, here my review, maybe you’ll find it helpful in some way.

Sadly there is no new material on ‘Tug Of War’, for those of us who are familiar with the bootleg recordings, but ALL the demos have been remastered and speed corrected (that’s why they run longer than the bootleg versions), sometimes they cut off a few seconds of original sound (Paul playing a few notes, some background noises, etc.)

Tug of War

TUG OF WAR – Bonus Audio
01. Stop, You Don’t Know Where She Came From [Demo] (previously unreleased)
Speed corrected but the very same version as on bootlegs.

02. Wanderlust [Demo] (previously unreleased)
Speed corrected but the intro is slightly edited (4 seconds). Complete on bootlegs.

03. Ballroom Dancing [Demo] (previously unreleased)
Speed corrected but the very same version as on bootlegs.

04. Take It Away [Demo] (previously unreleased)
Speed corrected but the very same version as on bootlegs.

05. The Pound Is Sinking [Demo] (2015 Remaster)
Speed corrected but the very same version as on bootlegs.

06. Something That Didn’t Happen [Demo] (previously unreleased)
Speed corrected but the intro is slightly edited . Complete on bootlegs, where it is known as ‘Hear Me Lover’.

07. Ebony and Ivory [Demo] (previously unreleased)
Speed corrected but the intro is slightly edited (3 seconds). Complete on bootlegs.

08. Dress Me Up As a Robber/Robber Riff [Demo] (previously unreleased)
Speed corrected but the very same version as on bootlegs. (3 separate demos in one)

09. Ebony and Ivory [Solo Version] (B-side of Ebony and Ivory 12” single)
10. Rainclouds (B-side of Ebony and Ivory 7” single)
11. I’ll Give You a Ring (B-side of Take It Away single)
All 3, this is the first time they are out on an official CD.

Pipes of Peace
PIPES OF PEACE – Bonus Audio
01. Average Person [Demo] (previously unreleased)
Speed corrected but the very same version as on bootlegs.

02. Keep Under Cover [Demo] (previously unreleased)
Speed corrected but the very same version as on bootlegs.

03. Sweetest Little Show [Demo] (previously unreleased)
Speed corrected but the intro is slightly edited (3 seconds). Complete on bootlegs.

04. It’s Not On [Demo] (previously unreleased)
NEW 3 minute demo!! Unreleased song. Many changes in rhythm, I think one of Paul’s daughters sings the first part.

05. Simple As That [Demo] (previously unreleased)
NEW 3 minute 15 sec demo!! This is NOT the 1986 song. And not one of the best I’ve heard. Weird one that sounds like a John demo from the late 70’s!!

06. Say Say Say [2015 Remix] (previously unreleased)
NEW!! This was a surprise, it’s an alternate vocal take from start to finish! On this one, Michael takes the lead vocal first, instead of Paul (as on the official record) and continues thru all the song (MJ sings Paul’s parts and vice versa). The only “remix” I can hear is on the backing track, which does sounds like the released version, mixed. Glorious 7 minutes of alternate take!

07. Ode to a Koala Bear (B-side of ‘Say Say Say’ single)
First time on official CD.
08. Twice in a Lifetime (bonus track from 1993)
Nothing new
09. Christian Bop (previously unreleased)
A demo recording from 1984 on a compilation from 1980-83??. Still, the very SAME version as on bootlegs, and also, NOT “unreleased”, since it’s included on ‘Liverpool Oratorio’ under a different treatment. Sometimes called on boots “Christian Pop”.

The DVDs contain the common video clips. The second version of the ‘Tug of War’ video has been in circulation among collectors since more than 10 years ago, still, very good that it’s finally official. This version is VERY similar BUT NOT the same as other unreleased Macca video: ‘Here Today’. It’s a mix of studio footage from the sessions, the mixing of the album, plus Paul doing some press interviews. The unreleased version of ‘Tug of War’, contains Japanese journalists on the footage, for example, but the ‘Here Today’ video does not contains any of the press interviews but adds more studio footage, sadly ‘Here Today’ was not released on this Archive set. The “other” ‘Here Today’ video with a  collage of John Lennon pics is FAKE, by the way, many fans think is real and it has appeared on many video compilations through the years, but is a FAKE ONE, a BIG ONE! The making of ‘Take it Away’ and home footage from Montserrat and AIR studios makes these boxes worth to get! I will go deeper on those later.
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Eirik Wangberg's biography

September 28, 2015, 4:31 am
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Eirik Wangberg with his biography. Photo: © Roger Stormo
"My first meeting with Eirik was remarkable, and it took place during the late 60's. One day when John Lennon and I visited with Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys while they were recording, Brian and I ended up sharing the piano bench an playing our new songs, with John, Beach Boys, Van Dyke Parks and Eirik as an audience." - from Paul McCartney's introduction in the biography of Eirik "the Norwegian" Wangberg.

Friday we attended a press lunch to launch the biography of Eirik Wangberg, written with his collaborator Stein Slettebak Wangen. Eirik who? Perhaps you know him better as Eirik the Norwegian, which is the name he goes under on the cover of "Ram", where Eirik is listed as mixing engineer.

"Ram" credit
This book is bound not to get the attention it truly deserves, because it is published in Norwegian. But it contains some fantastic stories from Wangberg's career, and a few are Beatles related. Eirik Wangberg was born in 1944 in England, but grew up in Oslo, Norway. He started out in the music business as the bass player for one of the earliest rock groups in Norway, "The Cool Cats", who recorded a demo in EMI studios in Abbey Road as early as in 1960, Eirik is only sixteen and it's two years before the Beatles arrive at the same studios.

In 1964, Wangberg moved to California to study, but is soon captured by the recording industry, where he starts to work as a recording, mastering and mixing engineer and producer until he moves back to Norway in 1980. During his time in California, Wangberg is involved in the recording and or mixing of several well known recordings and hits, like stereo mixing records like The Turtles'"Happy Together", Scott McKenzie's "San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair)" and the soundtrack to "Monterey Pop".

In 1967, Wangberg finds himself in Sound Recorders Studio in Hollywood, one of many studios Brian Wilson decided to utilise for the recording and mixing of The Beach Boys' upcoming album, "Smile". Having already recorded the song "Vegetables" with Wangberg first as second engineer and later on in control of the engineering, the Beach Boys, Van Dyke Parks and Wangberg are there to put the songs together to make a coherent album when John Lennon and Paul McCartney stop by, together with Derek Taylor.  After having congratulated John and Paul on the success of their latest single, "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields Forever", Wangberg plays back "Vegetables" for the guests from England. After having harvested compliments for the song, Wangberg, still not sure about who is who of John and Paul, witnesses an encounter where Paul and Brian are both sitting at the piano, playing each other's new songs. "Sgt. Pepper" is still not released, so Paul starts by playing and performing "Fixing A Hole". Brian counters by playing and singing "Heroes and villains", and Paul answers with "Lovely Rita". Wangberg can still rewind Paul's solo version in his mind, he writes. Brian performs "Surf's up", before the party breaks up, John and Paul leave and "Smile" is shelved indefinitely... until 2011!

This visit by John and Paul is not documented in Beatles history. In April 1967, Paul spent a week in USA with his assistant, Mal Evans - not John. During his time in LA, Paul did visit Brian and The Beach Boys in their recording studio (April 10, 1967) without Mal, and the story goes that Paul partly co-produced "Vegetables" with Brian, chewing a bit of celery during the proceedings, and also played "She's Leaving Home" to Brian on the studio piano. It's tricky to work John Lennon into the story here, but Paul gives credence to the tale in his introduction to the book. I believe more research should ensue.

Wangberg's book: The photo on the front cover was taken before McCartney's concert in Drammenshallen in 1989.
Another chapter in Wangberg's book is from 1968, when George Harrison is in town and shows up with the "White album" tapes. Unhappy with Capitol's mastering job, George wants it remastered by the studio where Wangberg is working. Wangberg's business partner Armin Steiner is busy mastering the double album anew, assisted by Carl Frisk. The upcoming single, "Hey Jude" and "Revolution" is also part of the package they perform their work on, and Wangberg sits in to listen, leaving Harrison waiting.

This visit by George is somewhat documented. In the December 1968 issue of The Beatles Monthly Book, Mal Evans related how George was so upset by the cut he heard at Capitol that he took all day re-equalizing it so it sounded like it should. As detailed in page 270 of Bruce Spizer's book "The Beatles Swan Song" George Harrison did not approve of the original mastering job done by Capitol on "The White Album" As was often the practice at the time, Capitol's engineers had run the sound signal through a limiter and compressed the volume range of the recording by cutting back the high volume peaks and bringing up the low passages. Harrison insisted that the album be remastered. This took place under his supervision at Sound Recorders Studio on Yucca Street, which was located around the corner from the Capitol Tower.

The book is jumping back and forth through Wangberg's exciting adventures and is a fun read. Anecdotes aplenty about celebrities like the Beach Boys, Paul McCartney, Diana Ross, Mamas & Papas, The Jackson Five, Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta and a host of renowned studio musicians. Of course, there's a huge section devoted to Paul and Linda McCartney's "Ram", the most important album of Wangberg's career. There are plans to have it translated into English. Wangberg is currently putting together a 2CD of music of his own, which he wrote and recorded during the sixties and seventies.
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Animated Beatles feature planned

September 29, 2015, 7:08 am
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Beatles cartoon figures as figurines


Paul King, who recently directed the animated feature Paddington, is now in talks to tackle Warner Bros.’ animated musical "Meet The Beatles". This will be an animated family film, which will feature songs from The Beatles’ entire discography and will be shaped around the concept of the "one that got away," according to sources close to The Tracking Board.

Producer will be David Heyman, via his Heyday Films, along with Jeffrey Clifford. Courtenay Valenti and Racheline Benveniste are overseeing for Warner. The script is by Jay Stern.

The news broke just after the fiftieth anniversary of the first time we got to see The Beatles animated. The Beatles cartoons were screened in the US from September 25, 1965 to April 20, 1969 on ABC Television. It has been said that Neil Aspinall never cared much for the cartoon series in his day, and bought the rights as well as the production prints only to lock them away forever. Lately though, the Beatles' likenesses in the cartoon series have been licensed off by Apple Corps Ltd for use on commercial products.
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Paul McCartney cassette interview

September 30, 2015, 12:52 am
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A printed cardboard held the cassette.
SFX Cassette Magazine was a short-lived British music magazine published in the very early 1980s (not to be confused with SFX magazine, a best-selling science fiction magazine published continuously since 1995). The distinguishing feature of SFX was its format: rather than traditional print media, the magazine was distributed in the form of a one-hour cassette. Magazines were sold as cassettes twist-tied to an 8-1/4" x 11-3/4" cardboard backing. The tag line of each issue: "The Only Music Magazine on C-60."

The format of each issue was similar to a radio show, featuring news and interviews with pop stars (mostly but not exclusively British) and others involved with the music industry; reviews of record releases given by other musicians and artists; previews of upcoming album releases; unsigned band demo recordings; occasional features on culture, fashion and football (soccer); and three or four commercials per issue.


Part 2 of the McCartney interview was published in the next edition of the magazine.
The concept was conceived and developed by Hugh Salmon, then a young account executive at Ogilvy & Mather, and edited by the respected NME journalist, Max Bell. Among notable editorial coups, including Paul McCartney talking for the first time about his feelings of the murder of John Lennon, SFX provided the first opportunity for Jools Holland, keyboard player of Squeeze, and the young Paula Yates, a well-known figure on the music scene then going out with Bob Geldof. They both went on to present the TV programme The Tube.

The publication was short lived, running from November 1981 through the summer of 1982. There were at least 19 known issues published. Taken as a whole, the SFX cassettes capture a narrow slice of music and pop culture as the punk/new wave movement was becoming more mainstream in content and performance.

The McCartney interview, originally spread across two issues in April/May 1982, was one of the first times he had been interviewed at length since Lennon's death. In the interview he candidly discusses his relationships with The Beatles, Yoko and his feelings about and fame in general as well as the new "Tug of War" album, albeit briefly. It's a refreshing, genuinely insightful interview, free from his well-rehearsed 'stock answers' we get these days.

Here then, is the interview with McCartney from these cassettes, courtesy of Parlogram.


You can find all the editions of SFX cassette magazine here.
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And the Profits Four told:

September 30, 2015, 6:07 am
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In-store display poster.
1969, 8-track tapes and the new cassette format is all the rage, and for some reason, in the USA, Apple Records released this rather cheeky store display promoting the entire Beatles catalogue on 8 Track and Cassettes.  This 37" tall by 11.5" wide promotional poster features The Beatles in a stained glass window with the following verbiage:  "And the Profits Four told: Our Tapes Make Divine Gifts".  At the bottom of the poster is the complete Beatles catalog on 8 Track and Cassette Tapes.  This poster was manufactured and released to record stores in late 1969:  the very rare The Beatles Deluxe 3-Pack is listed at the bottom which was released in September 1969. It consisted of these three titles, "Meet The Beatles", "Yesterday And Today" and "Magical Mystery Tour".

Legible close-up of the bottom of the poster.
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The Some Other Guy tape

October 2, 2015, 3:49 am
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The tape. Photo: © Johnnie Hamp
As we reported back in early June, a tape recording of The Beatles performing "Some Other Guy" at the Cavern Club in Liverpool is about to be auctioned. For some reason, the story only broke yesterday in the "overground" media, probably because of a press release from the auction house.

The recording was done because the sound quality on the original TV footage was so bad. Granada sent their sound engineer Gordon J. Butler back to the Cavern just to record audio, which was to be dubbed onto the film. At the August session with a TV crew present in the club, only one microphone had been used, but at the September session Butler recorded, the sound engineer had set up three microphones to get a better quality recording. Two of the microphones were individually placed on Lennon and McCartney's microphone stands. Butler returned to Manchester's Granada TV with the audio of a full concert by the fabs, but only "Some Other Guy" and "Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey" seem to have survived.

The press release goes on to say that due to legal issues with other acts on the show, the programme was not screened. That may be true at the time, but Granada TV did finally screen the programme more than a year later, as part of their new magazine series "Scene at 6:30" on 6 November 1963.
The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein was so impressed with the recording that he asked for five acetate discs to be pressed from the tape to use as promotion. At least one of these discs were two-sided and contained the other surviving song on the flip side, "Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey".
That disc was sold at auction in 1993 for £16,000 to Apple Records, and portions of it used in The Beatles Anthology TV series. Surprisingly, the full audio version of "Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey", seemingly from another source, turned up on video sharing site DailyMotion in 2013. The accompanying video just shows an acetate disc being played.

The tape kept by former Granada TV producer Johnnie Hamp is of course in a better condition than the acetates made from it, and will be sold by auctioneer Adam Partridge. With the help of Beatles historian Paul Wilde, Hamp listened to the tape on a reel-to-reel tape machine and found that it was "crystal clear" even after all of these years.

The tape will be sold as part of Adam Partridge's next specialist Rock & Pop Memorabilia auction on 4th November and Johnnie Hamp will be donating all of the proceeds to charity.

Johnnie Hamp and Adam Partridge will together be holding a press launch where the tape will be played in public for the very first time. Aptly taking place in the Cavern Club in Liverpool, the tape will be played with the help of Beatles historian Paul Wilde. The launch will take place at 12pm on the 8th October (the day before what would have been John Lennon’s 75thbirthday) and entry is by invitation only. Please RSVP to oliverhancock@adampartridge.co.uk in order to enquire entry.
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Unhappy McCartney customers

October 5, 2015, 6:23 am
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From the super deluxe edition "Tug of War"
Paul McCartney's newest Archives releases, "Tug of War" and "Pipes of Peace" have hit record stores and all's fine. Not quite. People all over the world, mainly in Europe, are complaining that their Macca pre-orders have not arrived, and the company dealing with them, King's Road, are not answering e-mails or phone calls, one customer informed Wogblog.
Super DeLuxe edition "Tug of War"

People have pre-ordered as long ago as 30th July, and paid in full at the time, but so far have not received any updates on their orders. And the company is not responding to e-mails or calls. They are the only company dealing with the Super Deluxe Edition of "Tug of War". In many ways, this is exactly how orders received through the artist's chosen business partners go. Professional online stores like Amazon deliver as quickly as stock gets in, but with these other operators, things don't ever run so smoothly.

Still, a customer from Bristol managed to get through to King's Road on the phone, Friday. He spoke to a person who said they are 'wrapping up the orders' (ie packaging them) at the moment.

She also said that as they have had so many McCartney orders, there may be a delay in issuing the shipping notification. One should think that they might have counted the pre-orders and started packing the items a little earlier than that.

Linda's contacts
The pictures from the package in this blog post were posted on the Steve Hoffman music corner forum by one happy customer, who had received his package.

There are a few mistakes in the books, which shouldn't have slipped by, if knowledgeable proof readers had been employed. At one point, Lennon's death is being mentioned as 1981, and elsewhere it's said that "Tug of War" was the first collaboration of George Martin and McCartney since The Beatles. As we know, George Martin wrote the orchestral arrangements for the McCartneys'"Ram" album (recorded by the New York Philharmonics), and also the arrangement for "Live and Let Die".
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Remembering Lennon

October 6, 2015, 2:00 am
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Life Magazine's Lennon issue from 2005
Things are starting to gear up for the inevitable celebration of John Lennon's life for the 75th anniversary of his birth, October 9. Life is bringing an updated version of their "Remembering Lennon" issue from 2005, which was also updated as late as in 2013.

75 years adrift in a collarless suit
The BBC has been celebrating Lennon with a radio show where Lennon himself is narrating through interviews, John Lennon:Verbatim was broadcast last Saturday on BBC Radio 4. It's still available internationally from this page.

Another BBC celebration was the rebroadcast of a Top Of The Pops 2 TV special which was made for Lennon's 60th birthday, it is now available for UK viewers and people capable of circumventing the UK only BBC iPlayer here.

One thing not happening for the 75th anniversary of John Lennon's birth is the release of the updated One to One concert film and recordings we have previously speculated about. We have no updates about this project.
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Say Say Say 2015 remix

October 7, 2015, 5:01 am
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Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson 'Say Say Say [2015 Remix]'
Song taken from 'Pipes of Peace 2015 Remaster' - video finished too late to make it to the DVD.
This video was directed by Ryan Heffington
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New YouTube series

October 8, 2015, 9:44 am
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The Beatles' YouTube account has premiered episode 1 in a series of 5 about the restoration and remastering/remixing of the 2015 "Beatles 1" and "Beatles 1+".
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Alternate Strawberry Fields Forever

October 9, 2015, 1:51 am
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This is turning into a video blog! Those rascals at Revolver Records and Video have done it again, and postet an "alternative" promo clip. Or "different", as they call it. This is one version you won't be getting as part of your "Beatles 1+" package.
The watermark, which annoys a lot of people, is placed there because the owner of clip both wants to show us what he has got, but still wants to have something special in his collection, which he then can trade with other collectors for more rare material.

Happy birthday to Sean Lennon!
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New Lennon 2DVD from HMC

October 9, 2015, 3:18 am
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Flyer for new 2 DVD set
HMC has sent out a new flyer today, promoting an upcoming bootleg set of two DVDs of John Lennon footage from 1980. I'm afraid that's all the information we have so far. Here's what it says on the flyer:

Far and away, the most incredible and comprehensive collection of all the watchable video that exists from the last months of John Lennon's life as he records and discusses the sessions that would become Double Fantasy and Milk and Honey.

Disc one:
Dear Yoko demo (2 takes)
I'm Losing You (NEW) #1
I'm Losing You (NEW) #2
I'm Moving On (NEW) #1
Beautiful Boy (NEW) #1
Beautiful Boy (NEW) #2
Starting Over/Kiss Kiss Kiss Medley (NEW)
I'm Losing You – 1998
I'm Losing You – 1998 «Behind the scenes»
Walking On Thin Ice
1980 Hit Factory Interview & Mixing Session
John and family in Japan Electronics store

Disc two:
The Milk & Honey TV Special
Nobody Told Me – 1983
Grow Old With Me – 1983
Steppin' Out – 1984
Borrowed Time – 1984 (Card version)
Borrowed Time – 1984 (Slate version)
Every Man Has A Woman – 1984 (John version)
It's Alright – 1984 (Sean version)
Milk and Honey Re-Release Promo Spot
Starting Over – 1992
Nobody Told Me – 1992
Grow Old With Me – 1992
Steppin' Out – 1992
Borrowed Time - 1992
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Print ad for Beatles 1

October 12, 2015, 1:04 am
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Poster image for Beatles 1

For the third time in modern day, this photo has been used to promote new product by The Beatles, this time it's for "Beatles 1", the new edition of the 2000 release. One can only speculate that the current people working over at Apple Corps Ltd and/or Universal Music Group are unaware of the previous uses of it. It started with the release of the single "Real Love" in 1996, and continued ten years later with the boxed set of the US albums on CD, "The Capitol Albums Vol 2" from 2006.

The "Real Love" single
The Capitol albums Vol 2

Nine years later, the photo is again used to promote a new product. In the photo, taken by Robert Whitaker, the Beatles' cigarettes have been airbrushed or photoshopped out of the picture, just like it was on the two previous usages of the photo.

Full page ad in the November issue of British music magazine "Record Collector".

See this ad in action over at Universal Music's Beatles page in Japan.

Here's Whitaker's original photo, with the cigarettes intact. It has also been used as a calendar photo in the eighties and nineties.

The drawing behind the Beatles is not featured in modern renditions of the image.
Photo: © Robert Whitaker

With so many photos of the Beatles available, and new ones emerging almost on a weekly basis, there is no reason to re-use photos used in earlier campaigns.
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"More to come" from Apple

October 13, 2015, 5:11 am
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The latest issue, #174, of the Swedish Beatles fanzine, "Beatles Nytt" ("Beatles News").
Staffan Olander, Swedish Beatles expert and collector is held in high regard by the important people at Apple Corps Ltd. In his house in Sweden, he has used his collection to make what he calls an "Abbey Room". Abbey Room is a music archive dedicated to The Beatles, their record producer Sir George Martin, The Beatles as solo artists and their own company Apple. There are thousands of vinyl records, compact discs, books, magazines and newspapers there, as collected by Olander throughout the years. Thanks to a giant database, it's simple to search for what one wants and locate the item from the archive to look at, read, study, listen and enjoy. There are more than 7.000 vinyl records stored in Abbey Room, and more than 1.500 books and magazines. Among them many exciting biographies, encyclopedias, collector's guides etc. Among the magazines you'll find "Record Collector", "Beatles Monthly Book", "Rolling Stones Monthly Book", "ICE Magazine" and the Swedish magazine "BildJournalen". You will also find lots of concert-programmes and press-kits. Other publications, sheet music and newspaper clippings are stored in special binders.

Swedish magazine "BildJournalen" no.17-1965.
Abbey Room is open only after an agreement and is mainly intended as a resource for people who are seriously interested in this kind of music, and for students at the Universities and Music Collages. Sir George Martin and his wife have both been guests of Olander and have visited the Abbey Room several times. Also, people from Apple have made visits to the Abbey Room in order to scan stuff for their releases, theBeatles.com website and for other promotional purposes.

In the latest issue of the Swedish Beatles fanzine "Beatles Nytt", Olander writes about this and how the new collaboration between Apple and Universal Music is determined to work hard to maintain the heritage left us by The Beatles. In his unique position, Olander tries to convey to the powers that be what the fans would like to see in the future. Like other people who have been close to Apple, Olander testifies that they are working slowly, and the decision making process is a long one. However, he assures us that their standards are set high and that good things are going to come our way again, in the near future. Of course, Olander can't reveal exactly what it is that's in store for us - we just have to wait for the word from Apple.

Abbey Room on the internet.
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Upcoming Beatles 1 promotions

October 19, 2015, 5:26 am
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Copyright Apple Corps Ltd.
Several new film clips will be released to promote the upcoming Beatles 1 and Beatles 1+ products. There are four more chapters about the restoration of the original films, and tomorrow, 20 October a full music video clip will be made available, in high definition. We don't know which one of the films they have selected, just keep your eyes open. So far, these are the official promotional films made available by Apple Corps Ltd on YouTube:

The 1 Video Collection Trailer
Strawberry Fields Forever Preview - with the new stereo mix of the song.
Penny Lane Split screen - looks like they have now rediscovered the original 35mm film. Previously, they have had to use the Umatic video tape which was broadcast in USA in 1967.
Restoration Trailer
Restoration Part 1 - four more parts to follow.
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