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Streaming Beatles

December 19, 2015, 12:35 am
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The Beatles are about to hit the streaming services this winter, a report in Billboard suggests.
Billboard reported today that The Beatles are set to bring a special Christmas gift to those who prefer to have their music delivered through streaming services. This according to Billboard sources with knowledge of the negotiations. There are conflicting reports on the timing of the Fab Four's arrival to streaming platforms, but Billboard says there's a strong indication that streaming fans will be able to hear The Beatles on Thursday, Dec. 24 - Christmas Evening.
It's unknown which specific services have secured the deal, though sources strongly suggest that most, if not all, will have access to the band's catalogue of studio albums next week. Representatives of Spotify and Rhapsody have returned requests for comments with a "no thanks", while Apple Music, Tidal, Deezer and Slacker have yet to reply to Billboard's request.
Music consumption from streaming services has begun to officially overtake downloads in revenue generation for the major labels, Billboard reports.

So how about a special welcome gift, like the full "The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl" album as a streaming exclusive? Or maybe the Christmas flexis?
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Paul McCartney in new music video

December 19, 2015, 3:27 am
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Still image from a new music video which was revealed 18 December.
Paul McCartney stars in the new video for "Love Song to the Earth," an all-star collaboration recorded in the lead-up to the Paris climate conferences. While the lyric video was unveiled in September, McCartney, along with Colbie Caillat, Sean Paul, Natasha Bedingfield and Q'orianka Kilcher, appear in the song's proper video exploring the beauty of the planet and the potential ravages of climate change. The video follows an accord that aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
McCartney sings his verses while strolling alone on the beach and gazing out toward the ocean. Award-winning cinematographer Louis Schwartzberg contributes the stunning images of nature in the video.

"I'm glad to be a part of 'Love Song to the Earth,' aiming to inspire people across the world to urge their leaders to act on climate change," McCartney said in a statement prior to the Paris climate talks. "We need to be fast and efficient, switching to renewable energy and eating less meat, for example. Big decisions will be made this week, so I am doing everything I can to make sure governments sign up to an agreement, which can protect our planet. Now is the time to act. So please spread the woes and help keep our planet safe!"

"Love Song to the Earth," which is available for purchase, was penned by Toby Gad, John Shanks, Bedingfield and Paul and also features Jon Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crow, Fergie Leona Lewis, Goo Goo Dolls' Johnny Rzeznik, Angelique Kidjo, Nicole Scherzinger, Kelsea Ballerini, Krewella and Victoria Justice. Proceeds from the sale of the video benefit Friends of the Earth and the UN Foundation.

Source/Read more in Rolling Stone magazine.

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McGough & McGear - remastered and expanded

December 20, 2015, 5:07 am
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Previously on EMI Parlophone
Esoteric Recordings has announced the release of a newly re-mastered and expanded 2 CD edition of the classic 1968 self-titled album by Mike McGear & Roger McGough. A joyous potpourri of late 60s psychedelic rock, poetry and humour, the original vinyl album "McGough & McGear" has been a highly sought after (not to mention expensive collector's item) album from a free thinking era in British culture.

As members of Liverpool comic poetry group The Scaffold, Roger McGough and Mike McGear (a pseudonym adopted by Mike McCartney – brother of Paul) had signed to Parlophone Records in 1966 and had begun working with producer George Martin. The "McGough & McGear" album was the result of recording sessions at various studios in London in the summer of 1967. Paul McCartney assisted in the production of the record and a host of well-known musicians guested on the sessions, albeit uncredited. Alongside Mike’s elder brother, the musicians included such luminaries as Jimi Hendrix, Graham Nash, Dave Mason (Traffic), John Mayall, Spencer Davis, Paul Samwell Smith (Yardbirds) and Viv Prince (Pretty Things). The album was originally going to be released on the new Apple label, but that didn't happen. Original Parlophone catalogue numbers for the album: PMC 7047 (mono) and PCS 7047 (stereo).

The album has been out on CD several times, first in the UK (EMI, 1989), then in USA (Real Gone Music, 2012) and finally Japan (Parlophone, 2014, limited edition). Alongside the 1989 CD release, the album was also re-released on LP (new Parlophone catalogue number PCS 7332) and as a cassette. The 2014 Japanese version has 2 bonus tracks, "So Much" (Phased Mono Version) and Scaffold's "Do You Remember?" This Esoteric Recordings edition has been re-mastered from the original Parlophone master tapes and features both the stereo mix and the mono mix of the album over two CDs for the very first time. The reissue restores the original album artwork and liner notes by Beatles’ biographer Hunter Davies and also features a new essay with an exclusive and extensive interview with Mike McCartney. No bonus tracks here though, just the mono and stereo versions of the album.

This edition will be released on 5th February 2016, and may be preordered from Cherry Red Music.

Track Listing:

Disc One

McGough & McGear
The Stereo Mix Re-Mastered

1.So Much To Love
2.Little Bit Of Heaven
3.Basement Flat
4.From "Frink - A Life In The Day Of” & "Summer With Monika” (Prologue) Introducing
A) Moanin’
B)Anji
5.From "Frink - A Life In The Day Of” & "Summer With Monika” (Epilogue)
6.Come Close And Sleep Now
7.Yellow Book
8.House In My Head
9.Mr. Tickle
10.Living Room
11.Do You Remember
12.Please Don’t Run Too Fast
13.Ex Art Student

Disc Two
McGough & McGear
The Mono Mix Re-Mastered

1.So Much To Love
2.Little Bit Of Heaven
3.Basement Flat
4.From "Frink - A Life In The Day Of” & "Summer With Monika” (Prologue) Introducing
A) Moanin’
B)Anji
5.From "Frink - A Life In The Day Of” & "Summer With Monika” (Epilogue)
6.Come Close And Sleep Now
7.Yellow Book
8.House In My Head
9.Mr. Tickle
10.Living Room
11.Do You Remember
12.Please Don’t Run Too Fast
13.Ex Art Student
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Comparing the old and new stereo mixes

December 21, 2015, 1:25 am
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Frank Daniels is one Beatles aficionado who has listened carefully to the new stereo mixes as featured on the Beatles 1 CD as well as the new mixes featured on the Beatles 1+ video disc and compared these to the familiar stereo mixes from the past. He has published his comments and comparisons as a pdf-file on his website.
Here is the start of his document:

“Love Me Do”– This is the take with Andy White on drums and Ringo on tambourine. It is the same mix that we hear on the British Please Please Me album and is the mix that was released as an American single. Therefore, it is the “hit” version of the song. This version sounds like the 2009 remaster, but there is a slight difference. This mix has a slightly longer fade; we hear about half a second more than we do on PPM.

“From Me to You”– The song disappoints me by being the mono mix. The original tapes exist, so it would have been possible to compile a stereo mix that included the harmonica intro, but they didn’t do it. With so many songs being remixed just for the heck of it, I had hoped that the one song that could use a remixing would have been remixed from scratch.

“She Loves You”– The mono mix is the tape extant. The edits are quite clean here, but it sounds like parts of the song have been re‐EQ’d in order to make the track’s eight edits less noticeable. I prefer the original mix unaltered.

“I Want to Hold Your Hand”– The mix is almost identical to the remaster, but the hand claps sound quieter. The remaster also had a little echo on the vocals, and that’s absent here. The vocals sound more clear and distinct in the second chorus, too. Could be the same mix with a bit of sonic tweaking.

“Can’t Buy Me Love”– The vocals on this mix are spread out across the stereo image with the drumming in the center, and the main guitar overdub at right. The percussion is somewhat muted at the top end, but the original stereo mix (1964) also had the top end muted.

“A Hard Day’s Night”– The bongos are mixed further back, the vocals are spread out, and the guitars at the left are louder. So, while the arrangement is similar to the 1964, this is definitely a new mix.

All 27 tracks from the CD is analysed in a similar way, and from the Beatles 1+ disc, the new stereo mixes of “Strawberry Fields Forever”, “A Day in the Life”, “Hey Bulldog”, “Come Together”, “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love”.

To read all these reviews, we direct you to his pdf file.
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Streaming Beatles

December 26, 2015, 5:48 am
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Online streaming services
The big news this Christmas is that part of the Beatles' catalogue now is available from major streaming services.
To illustrate what this means, here's a story. In the summer of 2013, I arranged a Beatles night in Oslo, where we had a lottery, we had a lecture, a quiz and we had a live band. The event was held at a renowned cafe in Oslo, next to the Pop music museum, "Popsenteret". In the various intermissions in the evening's programme, we were going to keep the audience entertained by playing Beatles music over the cafe's speakers.



This proved not to be possible as is, because the venue depended solely on the services of Spotify. This was their only source for musical entertainment. Usually, this was enough for their customers, because Spotify could provide almost any kind of music from a wealth of artists. But it fell short when it came to the Beatles. Yes, we could access the solo careers - but when it came to Beatle music, all that was available were the Polydor recordings - the songs they made as a backing band for Tony Sheridan.
And that's how a lot of the bars, pubs and cafes are equipped around the world today. No CD player, no means of getting music from a USB stick to get played over the speakers - all they have is access to the world of streaming - usually from one of the main providers of such, be it Spotify, Wimp/Tidal or the new Apple Music service. It's also convenient for the business, as the systems keeps track of which songs by which artists are played, so that the pub etc can pay the fees required. Until now, people who visit these places have not been able to enjoy real Beatles music. I'm very happy that this problem now has been resolved. And I bet that The Beatles have negotiated better revenue from streaming than most other artists.
The various streaming providers have been promoting their newfound music lately, by releasing various promotional films.
Fans can now stream the Beatles' 13 UK studio albums (the 2009 remasters) and two compilation albums ("Past Masters 1+2" and "Beatles 1" 2015 Remixed and Remastered) on Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, Amazon Prime, Slacker, Tidal, Groove, Rhapsody and Deezer.

Early figures from Spotify suggest that in less than the first 12 hours, Beatles songs have been streamed a huge 413,000 times.

The most-streamed tracks so far are (as published by NME):

1. Let It Be
2. Here Comes The Sun
3. Hey Jude
4. Twist and Shout
5. Come Together

Links:
TheBeatles.com
Spotify
Wimp/Tidal
Apple Music
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50 million times in 48 hours

December 27, 2015, 4:53 am
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Christmas with the Beatles.
The Daily Mail has been given some figures from Spotify - the largest of the music streaming service providers - about the Beatles' performance in the first 48 hours after their songs became available from them.
According to that report, the Beatles' songs were played 50 million times in the first 48 hours of their music being available to stream online. Spotify has released the following figures in a list of the ten most streamed Beatles songs during those 48 hours:

1. Come Together (1.84 million)
2. Let It Be (1.55 million)
3. Hey Jude (1.32 million)
4. Love Me Do (1.31 million)
5. Yesterday (1.23 million)
6. Here Comes The Sun (1.23 million)
7. Help! (1.22 million)
8. All You Need Is Love (1.17 million)
9. I Want To Hold Your Hand (1.1 million)
10. Twist And Shout (940 000)

Again, according to the article, 65 per cent of the Beatles’ listeners on the streaming service Spotify were under the age of 34.

According to an earlier article in The Independent, there are differences in the lists of most streamed songs in the UK and the global list. Here are the two lists provided by The Independent:

UK: Most streamed tracks by The Beatles on 24 and 25 December

1. Come Together
2. Hey Jude
3. Here Comes the Sun
4. Twist and Shout
5. Let It Be
6. I Want To Hold Your Hand
7. Help!
8. Love Me Do
9. I Feel Fine
10. She Loves You

GLOBAL: Most streamed tracks by The Beatles on 24 and 25 December:

1. Come Together
2. Let It Be
3. Hey Jude
4. Love Me Do
5. Yesterday
6. Here Comes The Sun
7. Help!
8. All You Need Is Love
9. I Want To Hold Your Hand
10. Twist And Shout

In an earlier list, from when each song had been streamed less than 1000 times each, NME published this list on their website:

1. Let It Be
2. Here Comes The Sun
3. Hey Jude
4. Twist and Shout
5. Come Together

The release of the better part of The Beatles' catalogue to streaming providers follow a five year exclusivity window for the catalogue being available on iTunes. Some products, released after the initial batch on 09.09.09 seem to still be under such an iTunes window of exclusivity. This is stuff like the "Anthology" album series, the entire mono album collection, the US / Capitol mixes, "Let It Be...Naked", the BBC compilations, the 1963 Bootleg compilation and "Love". This year's remixed "1" album is available for streaming, however.
Links:
Daily Mail
The Independent
NME
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Let It Be for 2016

December 27, 2015, 5:49 am
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Upcoming release from HMC
According to early word from dealers in Japan, notorious bootleg company HMC will be releasing the 1992 Ron Furmanek restoration of The Beatles'"Let It Be" movie as part of their ongoing TMOQ Gazette series. It's the 1992 restoration that was originally announced as coming out on a video cassette back in 1997 from a UK based video company, which never happened.

Earlier this year, the Apple part of the movie was divided into 3 parts and uploaded on YouTube by Revolver Records and Video, although heavily watermarked. Now it looks as we can lay our hands on a DVD version of the film in far better shape than previous bootleg incarnations of it, as well as surpassing the early eighties release of the film for the home markets in USA, Germany and the Netherlands.

Of course, all the earlier official releases, including the theatrical one, have been in mono only, whereas Furmanek provided his restored version for Apple with a soundtrack which featured as much stereo versions of the songs as Furmanek was able to find in the Apple/EMI archives. Later bootleg DVDs have been able to use stereo versions as found on the original "Let It Be" album, "Let It Be...Naked", the Glyn Johns compilations and various official promos and snippets from documentaries to render most of the soundtrack in stereo, but the Furmanek restoration will have even more material in stereo than these.

The best would be if Apple and The Beatles could get us an official release of the film, as further restoration work as well as new transfers from the original film to digital was undertaken in the 2000's, but in the mean time, the HMC release will suffice for your viewing pleasure.

The movie is on the DVD and the soundtrack of the complete film is on the accompanying CD.
We have also heard that outtakes from the film will follow on a subsequent TMOQ Gazette release.
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The Typhoo Tea ad photos

December 30, 2015, 4:20 am
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"These pictures were taken as an advertisement for Ty-Phoo Tea. Each Beatle had to shape a different letter for Ty-Phoo. We had to do it over and over until they got it right."- Dezo Hoffmann



Typhoo Tea Limited goes back to 1903 when Birmingham grocer John Sumner developed and sold a blend of tea in his shop. John’s sister, Mary, was the inspiration behind the product development, as she highly regarded tea as a cure for indigestion. Over the years, the Typhoo business has developed from being the first brand to sell ready packaged tea, to being a leading tea business that now offers products in every sector of the tea market.


Paul McCartney has been telling stories of him and John skipping school to stay at his place, writing songs and smoking Typhoo tea.
"I remember writing our first songs together. We used to go to my house, my dad's home, and we used to smoke Typhoo tea with the pipe my dad kept in a drawer. It didn't do much for us but it got us on the road." [McCartney's induction speech for John Lennon, Rock'n'roll Hall of Fame, 1994]

By the mid 1960s, Typhoo was annually packing more than 80 million pounds of tea and exporting to 40 countries worldwide.


22-27 July 1963, The Beatles were performing a series of concerts in Weston-Super-Mare, and photographer Dezo Hoffmann spent one of these six days with the Beatles, taking photographs and colour (mute) 8mm home-movies of the group at their hotel and on location on the beach at nearby Brean Down, where they dressed in Victorian bathing-costumes and also went go-karting"[Lewisohn, The Complete Beatles Chronicle, p. 117].


John C Winn concludes that the day at the beach was on the 27th. Also after these photos, the Beatles returned to the hotel to shoot a series of photos to advertise Typhoo tea. Now dressed in suits, each Beatle is seen attempting to spell out the letters of the product's name, and jumping from a staircase railing [Winn, Way Beyond Compare, p. 67-68].

Although these pictures exist (Ringo's seems to be missing), I haven't been able to find any Typhoo tea advertisements that actually made use of them.


On 31 October 2005 Apeejay Surrendra Group, one of India’s largest tea producers, acquired Typhoo and its associated brands.

Ringo
Even though we haven't been able to locate any still images of Ringo from the photo session, this colour image from a silent film in the Dezo Hoffmann collection places him at the scene, alongside action shots of the other Beatles jumping for their poses.
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Anthology Revisited

December 30, 2015, 5:06 am
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Podcast logo.
"To commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the original Beatles Anthology project comes The Beatles Anthology Revisited, an 18-episode, 28-hour long audio documentary podcast presenting the Beatles' story in the Beatles' own words.

John, Paul, George, and Ringo, are joined by George Martin, Brian Epstein, Neil Aspinall, Mal Evans, Pete Best, and Derek Taylor in the retelling of the history of the Beatles, from its beginnings during the bandmates’ childhoods in World War II, up until the present day, most recently when Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr performed together at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.

At more than twice the running time, hear all the dirty details left out of the original Anthology. Discover the inspiration behind virtually every original song the Beatles ever released.Listen as the story is told beyond the breakup, exploring the Beatles' history through the 1970s and after.

Every tour, every album, every film, and every hit single is recounted in painstaking detail by John, Paul, George, and Ringo and their inner entourage. The Beatles Anthology Revisited is the Beatles' Anthology like you've never heard it before.​"

Website: AnthologyRevisited.podbean.com/

The series is also available to download as individual podcasts at iTunes for free.
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The least popular Beatles tracks

January 3, 2016, 5:43 am
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The Beatles'"Long Tall Sally" EP, featuring a photo of The Beatles in Sweden.
Ok, so we brougth you a survey of the most popular Beatles tracks streamed by the leading streaming service Spotify, and here are the least popular ones from the same provider:

10. Honey Don't
Ringo's one song from the 1964 "Beatles For Sale" album, aimed at the Christmas market. Originally sung by John Lennon when the Beatles played it live, it was given to Ringo as his token song on The Beatles' fourth album. A version of the song with Lennon handling the lead vocals can be found on the "Beatles Live at the BBC" compilation from 1994. Ringo has performed the song live on several occasions, and even a John Lennon solo version exists, taped at the sessions for "Plastic Ono Band" (1970) and eventually released as part of the John Lennon Signature Box in 2010.

9. Thank You Girl
B-side to the single A side "From Me To You" from 1963, The Beatles' third single. At one point the song was going to be the A side, until they came up with "From Me To You".

8. I'll Get You
The B-side to the considerably more popular fourth single A-side, "She Loves You". Only briefly revisited by Paul McCartney on his 2005 US tour, the song opens with the word "Imagine". A live recording of the song, taken from their performance at the London Palladium in 1963 is available on "Anthology 1".

7. Long Tall Sally
The main track of The Beatles' stand alone four track EP of the same name, the Little Richard song was a mainstay in the Beatles' live repertoire, and often used as the final song during their concerts, including their final one, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco in 1966. Lead vocalist Paul McCartney took the song with him to use as final concert song for Wings' 1972 tour, and also performed it during his appearance at the Prince's Trust concert in 1986.


6. I Call Your Name
Another track from the same EP, the only one composed by members of the Beatles, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Originally "given away" to Billy J. Kramer, it is believed that Lennon was unhappy with Kramer's version and wanted to show it's full potential by recording it with The Beatles. Ringo revived the track as a video performance to be shown at a 1990 three hour "John Lennon Scholarship concert".

5. The Inner Light
Yet another B-side, this one was found on the back of the "Lady Madonna" single in 1968 and became the final George Harrison track for the Beatles to dabble in Indian instrumentation. It was also the first time a Harrison composition was chosen for a UK single release, and the only Beatles track recorded outside Europe, in India. Famously, the only line featuring backing vocals from Lennon & McCartney during the song was "do all without doing".

4. Slow Down
Another return to the four track EP "Long Tall Sally", this was one of the three Larry Williams songs recorded by The Beatles.

3. Bad Boy
Another Larry Williams track follows the fate of the previous one. This was originally released on an American album only, "Beatles VI" back in 1965 and didn't appear on a UK release until it was included on the 1966 compilation "A Collection of Beatles Oldies" - the only Beatles UK album from the sixties that has been discontinued since the seventies.

2. Matchbox
A Carl Perkins track sung by Ringo, which appeared on The Beatles "Long Tall Sally" EP, thus making all four tracks from this EP appear on this list. Even though the EP may show poor streaming popularity, when it was rereleased on vinyl for "Black Friday" in 2014, it made it to no. 1 on the UK vinyl charts and even appeared in Billboard's Top 200 albums charts! Still popular among vinyl aficionados, then.

1. Her Majesty
That final burst of creativity on the "Abbey Road" album, a Paul McCartney track that was tacked onto the album as an afterthought, it comes crashing in just after you thought the album had ended with the majestic "The End". McCartney took the opportunity to revive the light hearted ditty at Queen Elizabeth's Gold Jubilee concert, "Party at the Palace" in 2002.

The list was compiled by vulture.com. In our countdown, each track has been linked to the song's Wikipedia entry for your convenience.

One interesting anecdote about the song "Long Tall Sally": When The Beatles played two concerts (with Jimmie Nicol as their temporary drummer) at KB Hallen venue in Denmark on Thursday, June 4, 1964, they were going to feature the song last in their concert, announcing it's availability as a single the next day. However, they were upstaged when Danish support act The Hitmakers performed the song as part of their own set. The Beatles elected to substitute the song for "Twist and Shout" in their set list, and between the two concerts they had a word with The Hitmakers to make them drop the song from their second performance.
After having arrived at an agreement, the Beatles were able to finish with "Long Tall Sally" at the last show and go through with their PR announcement. The next day, "Long Tall Sally", coupled with "I Call Your Name" was indeed available in record stores in Denmark. Another fortnight would go by until the songs were made available in the UK on the "Long Tall Sally" EP. Of course, both songs were already out in USA in April, as part of "The Beatles' Second Album".

The Danish "Long Tall Sally" single.
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Improving Beatles 1 videos

January 4, 2016, 2:36 am
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Penny Lane - colour improvement
Whenever Apple/The Beatles are releasing new products for the home video market, Beatles video collectors are going to complain about some of the production decisions. This holds true for all the Beatles movies, including the recent blu-ray releases which are the current versions, and also for the recent Beatles 1 and 1+ video compilations.
One example is the Penny Lane video. The two main sources of the film is a two inch video tape made for The Hollywood Palace screening of the film in 1967 in USA, and a badly faded Ektachrome dub which the two inch tape was made from. Both these copies of the film were saved by one, now deceased, member of the production team of The Hollywood Palace television show. The two inch tape was the version used for the Anthology TV/Video/DVD series, and also distributed to television companies for screening on music video programmes. It had vivid colours, but was not up to scratch in the resolution department when the video was slated for inclusion on the Beatles 1 blu-ray. So they went to the other source, the 35mm colour positive film. Unfortunately, time had taken it's toll on that film, and the colours were badly faded. The production team took some measures to restore the colours, but they were still quite more dull than the previous, video-sourced version.

Sample 2
In steps the afore mentioned Beatles video collectors. Some of these are professionals when it comes to video restoration, and a new version is circulating which is a clear improvement on the version shown on the Beatles 1 blu-ray. What the restorers have been able to do, is take the colour information from the video source and apply it to the Beatles 1 version.

Sample 3
Unfortunately, the video source was cropped smaller than the Beatles 1 version, so the edges of the film still has the duller colours of that version. As you'll recall from our earlier review of the new version Penny Lane, some short scenes from an outtake reel had been spliced into the film. These scenes have been kept, because they did not have any colour fading issues.

Another problem with the official Beatles 1 and 1+ release was that certain videos had been transferred at the wrong frame rate. On the first disc, all are 29.970fps except the following are 23.976:

Eight Days a Week
Eleanor Rigby
Get Back
Help
I Feel Fine
Lady Madonna
Let It Be
Penny Lane
Something
The Long and Winding Road
Ticket To Ride
I Feel Fine
We Can Work It Out
Yellow Submarine

On the second disc, all are 29.970fps except the following, which are 23.976:

A Day In The Life
Day Tripper 3 (Ringo sawing)
Hello Goodbye 3 (the fun one)
I Feel Fine 2 (eating fish & chips)
Strawberry Fields Forever
We Can Work It Out 2 (Paul laughing hysterically at the end)

So it looks as though they had deinterlaced all the 65 Intertel videos and slowed them down to 24fps. This did of course cause problems with these videos, with jittering and other unwanted effects. Then along came the iTunes Beatles 1+ version, where all frame rates were 25fps. So half the clips look better than the blu-ray, whereas the other half look worse. This lead to high end Beatles video collectors having to create their own Beatles 1 and 1+, by substituting the offending tracks from the physical release with their iTunes counterparts. Once again, Apple had released a product with flaws, making the diehard video collectors having to take matters into their own hands, to improve upon the commercial release.
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Completing Beatles 1

January 6, 2016, 1:05 am
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The first music video: "Help!" was filmed in black and white but not included on Beatles 1.
Currently circulating among Beatles video collectors is a collection called "18+", which has been made to accompany the official Beatles 1+ release, compiling some of the videos missing from the official release, including B-sides and alternate versions. Here are the videos featured in this compilation:

I'll Get You - from Ready Steady Go
This Boy - from Late Scene Extra
You Can't Do That - from Ready Steady Go
Things We Said Today - from the Hollywood Bowl
She's A Woman - from Ready Steady Go
Help! - the Twickenham clip filmed by Richard Lester, with original audio
I'm Down - from Blackpool Night Out
We Can Work It Out - from The Music Of Lennon & McCartney
We Can Work It Out - Intertel"version 1"
Paperback Writer - Intertel take 2
Paperback Writer - Intertel take 3
Paperback Writer - Intertel take 4
Rain - Intertel take 1 (edited with take 2 on 1+)
Rain - Intertel take 2
Rain - Intertel colour "Ed Sullivan" version
I Am The Walrus - from Magical Mystery Tour
Revolution - Intertel edit of takes 1 and 2 (with take 1 audio)
Revolution - Intertel take 2 (interspersed with take 1 on Beatles 1+)
Hey Jude - Intertel take 3 "David Frost" version (interspersed with take 2 on Beatles 1+)

Omissions: "Day Tripper", "Paperback Writer" and "Revolution" takes 1 are not circulating, neither is the complete take 2 of "Hey Jude". Takes 1 and 2 of "Hey Jude" were edited together for The Smothers Brothers comedy hour - other snippets can be seen in Anthology and on Beatles 1+. Take 2 is recognisable as the one where the guy in blue is on the redhead's left. Of course there are other clips but they were not number ones and so don't conform to the 1+ theme. Other videos like "Yes It Is" and "Eight Days A Week" no longer exist.
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Book projects

January 7, 2016, 4:13 am
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New George Harrison book due in March
John Blaney: George Harrison Soul Man Vol. 1
Hardback ISBN 978-0-9544528-7-2
Publication date 25/03/2016

To celebrate what would have been George Harrison’s 73rd birthday, Paper Jukebox publishes the first volume of a new career spanning discography – George Harrison Soul Man Vol. 1. Compiled by author and Beatles expert John Blaney, it’s the first in-depth illustrated critical review of Harrison’s remarkable solo career.

Vol. 1 maps his career as songwriter, producer and reluctant star from Wonderwall Music in 1968 to George Harrison in 1979. It places his songs in their historical, cultural and crucially spiritual context while also mapping his stylistic changes, which saw him reject Phil Spector’s turgid Wall of Sound in favour something altogether more anodyne and modest.

John Blaney is a passionate fan of The Beatles who brings to his writing the experience and rigour of a professional historian. His previous books include Paul McCartney: The Songs He Was Singing, John Lennon: Listen To This Book, Beatles For Sale: How Everything They Touched Turned To Gold and A Howlin’ Wind: Pub Rock and The Birth of New Wave.
Blaney studied at Camberwell College of Arts and Goldsmiths College (both in London) before taking up a post as a curator at a museum of technology.

George Harrison Soul Man Vol. 1 is available as a 8-inch x 8-inch 416 page hardback book illustrated with over 400 colour images that include UK and US label variations, album sleeves, picture sleeves, trade advertisements and more.

Meanwhile, the people behind last year's excellent "Eight Arms To Hold You" book about the filming of "Help!", Archivum Publishing have two new book projects on the way.
Early design idea.
One of these is called "Performance" - which they intend to release in time for Christmas 2016. It will concentrate on the Beatles concert performances, which ties nicely in with Ron Howard's film, working title "The Beatles Live Project", also due out around Christmas.

"All You Need Is Love" - due out this spring.
The other one, "All You Need Is Love" will be a photo book concentrating solely on The Beatles' song and performance on the "Our World" satellite TV Special in 1967. It's available for pre-ordering at Pledgemusic.com/projects/AllYouNeedIsLove, where you'll also find details about the book and it's various editions.

The Hamburg Days
Also in the making is a new graphic novel from John Timmons called "The Hamburg Days", all about The Beatles in Hamburg.
It lets the fans see visually what happened to The Beatles as they played in the clubs in Germany, and is not very expensive to buy. The aim of the book is also to help younger kids understand the fab four. This is the first of four Beatles products from Timmons. If your are interested in viewing the first 20 pages of the graphic novel online, check out this link. You may enquire the author directly about this book by emailing him at johntimmo@hotmail.com.
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Let It Be from HMC

January 12, 2016, 12:40 am
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Front and back cover of booklet
Word from the HMC bootleg company is that their release of the 1992 Furmanek restoration of The Beatles'Let It Be movie is going to be out in just a few weeks. They have also made public this image of the front and back cover of the booklet which accompanies the release.

Here's what they are writing on the back cover:
Let It Be is a 1970 documentary film about The Beatles rehearsing and recording songs for the album Let It Be in January 1969. The film features an unannounced rooftop concert by the group, their last performance in public. Released just after the album, it was the final original Beatles release.

The film was originally planned as a television documentary which would accompany a concert broadcast. When plans for a broadcast were dropped, the project became a feature film. Although the film does not dwell on the dissension within the group at the time, it provides some glimpses into the dynamics that would lead to the Beatles' break-up.

The film has not been officially available since the 1980s, although original and bootleg copies of home video releases still circulate (as does bootlegs of various television screenings. WogBlog). The film's director Michael Lindsay-Hogg stated in 2011 that a DVD and Blu-ray was possibly going to be released in 2013, but did not happen due to the film's negative (though accurate) portrayal of The Beatles. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr collectively won an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score for the film.

A tracklist is also supplied, referring to both the DVD and CD included in the package, so it seems the film's soundtrack is simply repeated on the CD. Because of the time limit of a CD, we are guessing that some of the dialogue must have been omitted there.

This is an unofficial release, which qualifies it as a bootleg. At one point in 1997, a U.K. based company revealed plans of releasing this 1992 remastered edition of the film as an official video cassette. As with all later announcements of an impending release of the film, this never happened. The film and outtakes from it have been the subject of several later transfers, restorations and remasters by Apple Corps Ltd, none of which have seen the light of day in full, although clips from the results of these restorations have been shown in documentaries, mini-documentaries and as standalone promotional videos released to television companies only. For a full overview of the history of the Let It Be home video releases and attempts to re-release the film, we refer you to our main Let It Be post.
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Love changes for tenth anniversary

January 19, 2016, 12:33 pm
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The Beatles show "Love" is about to undergo some changes.
Cirque du Soleil is planning some changes for their Las Vegas shows, including The Beatles'Love. This according to Robin Leach of the Las Vegas Sun, who has spoken with Jerry Nadal, Cirque’s senior VP. Nadal confirmed a major refresh for “The Beatles Love” at the Mirage ahead of its 10th anniversary this year with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr set to attend.

"Love is undergoing a major refresh right now. We’ll go down mid-February and come back at the end of February with a whole refreshed version of the show, then have a grand celebration probably in June," says Nadal.

"We’re going to add elements over the next couple of months, technological stuff, then in June we’ll do another red carpet event around Paul McCartney and Ringo’s schedule for the 10th anniversary. Yoko and Olivia have been quite involved, Paul and Ringo at more of a distance, but the women are very involved in it. They’ve been around all the time running support and adding creative input".

Source: Las Vegas Sun
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More music videos emerge

January 22, 2016, 4:17 am
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Filming "Hey Jude" at Twickenham Film Studios
In the wake of the officially released promo video collection "Beatles 1" and "Beatles 1+", more videos have emerged on the internet. As you know, only one of the two "Revolution" music videos was included on the official release, the same goes for "Lady Madonna", and for "Hey Jude", one real video was accompanied by another, hybrid version which edited together two of the other "Hey Jude" performances.
On the video platform Dailymotion (similar to YouTube, but another company), both the "Lady Madonna" videos, both the "Revolution" videos as well as all three "Hey Jude" performances have been uploaded lately. The source of the videos is said to be a collection of Beatles promo films remastered by Ron Furmanek for Apple back in the early nineties. The quality is not as good as the videos on the official release, but much better than versions of these films which have circulated earlier. Also, "By George! It's The David Frost Theme" is present in three variations as an intro to the "Hey Jude" videos. Variation 3 of the "Hey Jude" videos is presented in full for the first time. The first two thirds of this performance of the song is new to the video collector community, only bits of the final third has been used as edit pieces in the Smothers Brothers version, in "Anthology" and "Beatles 1+".



"Lady Madonna" is the two different 1968 edits, and not the "Anthology" version, which flew in bits and pieces unrelated to the main video.
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Bowie spewing

January 23, 2016, 10:28 am
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"Bowie Spewing" 1990, Oil on canvas (51 x 41 cm) by Sir Paul McCartney

David Bowie said "Paul sent me a picture of the painting, together with the question if I would mind the title of it. I answered 'Of course not, but what a coincidence, I am currently working on a song that's called "McCartney Shits".

From a review at a 1999 McCartney exhibition in Siegen, Germany, where the painting was one of many on display: Although entitled "Bowie spewing", this small painting was not planned as a portrait. As so often the case with McCartney, the subject emerged during the painting process. Experimental painting with no other motive than "just to let the paint lead the way" (McCartney) results in a physiognomy which reminds the artist of David Bowie at an early stage in his career, the time of his "Ziggy Stardust" album. This second level of consciousness causes him to include a frame in the composition of the picture, which he then decorates with mystic symbols. Using a picture within a picture, McCartney reflects here on painting as a medium. The paint running down the canvas breaks up the narrative illusion, connects the levels and draws attention to the material nature of painting. Here too McCartney makes use of his mental store of images as he is reminded of a motif similar to "Bowie spewing" on a Polaroid photo which Linda McCartney made of Bowie.

Ziggy and Paul, “Live and Let Die” film Premiere in July 1973.
It has been thought that at least part of McCartney's lyrics from the song "Jet" are references to Bowie: "I thought the major (a reference to Major Tom) was a lady suffragette (refers to Bowie's song Suffragette city)". Apparently, McCartney thought Bowie's Ziggy persona looked like a woman. The lyrics of Bowie's song "Ziggy Stardust" have been interpreted to be all about Paul McCartney and Wings.

Bowie smoking.
At the 1986 Prince's Trust concert, Paul introduced Mick Jagger and David Bowie who performed "Dancing In The Street", with Paul on acoustic guitar as part of the backing band. The clip was cut out from the concert film before it was televised and put out on video, but exists on YouTube.

After David Bowie's death, Paul released the following statement on January 11:
"Very sad news to wake up to on this raining morning. David was a great star and I treasure the moments we had together. His music played a very strong part in British musical history and I’m proud to think of the huge influence he has had on people all around the world.
"I send my deepest sympathies to his family and will always remember the great laughs we had through the years. His star will shine in the sky forever."
- Paul

Order print (McCartney Art)
PaulMcCartney.com
DavidBowie.com
Dancing In The Street (Prince's Trust/YouTube)
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The Fab Four meet The Big Four

January 25, 2016, 4:29 am
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The Beatles on the Morecambe and Wise Show, December 2, 1963.
In an in-depth article about The Beatles on TV in the U.K.,  Andrew Hesford-Booth speculates that the replacement of Pete Best with Ringo Starr could have been deliberately timed to coincide with the Granada TV filming of The Beatles in concert at the Cavern Club. The article gives an overview of The Beatles' U.K. television appearances in the sixties and 1970, particularly on the independent channels. The article is illustrated with some quite interesting facsimile pages from the TV Times magazine, as well as stills from the television shows. Good research also details which promo films were shown on which television programmes.

Read the full article on TransDiffusion.org.
Thanks to our reader Kevin Clark for alerting us about this article.
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Ringo's summer tour

January 26, 2016, 2:56 am
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Ringo and his All Starr Band hits the road again this summer. Photo: Rick Glover
Ringo and his All Starr Band Summer tour 2016

Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band – featuring Todd Rundgren, Gregg Rolie, Steve Lukather, Richard Page, Warren Ham and Gregg Bissonette – announce another string of North American shows. The tour kicks off on June 3 in Syracuse, New York and ending with two dates in California, the first July 1 at Humphreys in San Diego and concluding the tour July 2 at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.  This current All Starr line up is the 12th and longest running, and as Ringo recently told The Boston Globe, “I love this band – we have a lot of fun together on and offstage, so here we come again.”

June 3 Lakeview Ampitheater, Syracuse, NY
June 4 Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino, Salamanca, NY
June 5 Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY
June 7 Bergen Performing Arts Center, Englewood, NJ
June 8 Cross Insurance Center, Bangor, ME
June 10 Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion, Gilford, NH
June 11 DCU Center, Worcester, MA
June 12 Santander Arena, Reading, PA
June 15 St. George Theatre, Staten Island, NY
June 17 Warner Theatre, Washington DC
June 18 Koka Booth Ampitheatre, Cary, NC
June 19 Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN
June 21 Foellinger Theatre, Fort Wayne, IN
June 22 Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, OH
June 23 Fox Theatre, Detroit, MI
June 25 Pinewood Bowl Theater, Lincoln, NE
June 26 Hartman Arena, Wichita, KS
June 28 Paramount Theatre, Denver, CO
July 1 Humphreys Concerts, San Diego, CA
July 2 The Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, CA

Source: RingoStarr.com

As Cirque du Soleil is planning a red carpet event in June to mark the tenth anniversary of their Beatles show "Love", we were guessing that one of Ringo's concerts would be in Las Vegas, but not so. Still, there's time off at the end of June for Ringo, so we are guessing the event will be around then. "More dates to be announced soon" is the word from Ringo.

Paul McCartney is also confirmed to be continuing his never ending tour in 2016, but he prefers to announce single dates and not disclose a full tour schedule.
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Uncropped

January 26, 2016, 3:56 am
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Uncropped photo by Angus McBean
An uncropped and unsmiling version of a photo from this session recently appeared online. For U.S. based readers, you may associate this photo with the one used on the Vee Jay album from early 1964, "Introducing The Beatles", which is similar, but mirror imaged and with the fabs smiling.

Introducing...The Beatles on Vee Jay Records.
Readers elsewhere in the world may associate the photo with the U.K. EP release "The Beatles' Hits", which was out on 6 September 1963. Here, the photo is presented correctly and not mirrored, but with the background airbrushed out. You can also see The Beatles in full figure, down to McCartney's shoes.


The Beatles' Hits EP release.
The photo session took place 11 February, 1963 - and McBean also took the photos of the Beatles in the staircase of the EMI building in Manchester Square the same day - among these, one ended up gracing the Please Please Me album cover.

The smiling photo was also used on the first French Beatles EP release in October, 1963.
The French "From Me To You" EP, catalogue number SOE 3739 was released in October 1963, ahead of the group's 3 week long residence at "L'Olympia" in Paris. It also featured the smiling photo, more cropped than the "Introducing..." version, but the right way.
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