Paul McCartney is Dead

Back in the late 1960’s, rumours were circulating that Paul McCartney had died in a car crash and been replaced by lookalike William Campbell (AKA Sheppard or Shears). Well could it have happened ? Is Ringo the last surviving Beatle ?

The story varies depending on the source but it generally goes something like this; Paul had a car accident early one Wednesday morning at 5 am in late 1966. He’d eyed up a pretty traffic warden, and missed traffic lights changing to red. He wasn’t killed straight away but his car then burst into flames leaving him badly burned and unrecognisable. A crowd of people gathered around but no one could save him.  He later died from wounds to his head (and lost his teeth and hair). A local reporter prepared an article but it was censored by the Beatles and then manager Brian Epstein. A lookalike competition winner and (handily) talented musician, William Campbell, was approached to take over and the Beatles continue without Paul. Afterwards, because the Beatles couldn’t tell us up front about it they gave us hints and clues in a more subtle way.

Another story claims that both Paul and Brian Epstein were kidnapped, and everything went horribly wrong, resulting in their deaths. The UK government, aware of the commercial power of the Beatles, had everything hushed up and the remaining Beatles reluctantly agreed to go along with the story. A replacement was found for both Brian and Paul. Unfortunately the ‘fake’ Brian found the pressure intolerable and ended it all.

John Lennon was put under the watchful eye of agent ‘Yoko Ono’ so subtly decided he would place clues in his songs to the real horrific truth. “I buried Paul” – was disguised as “Cranberry Sauce” on Strawberry Fields”, the inner groove of Sgt. Pepper contains the hidden message “Paul who died he soon came back” when played backwards. Amongst many lyrics hidden away are “he say one and one and one is three. Got to be good looking cause he’s so hard to see…” on the song Come Together (the Beatles were now 3 and the replacement for Paul is so good as you can’t notice the difference)…The cover is obviously that of a funeral procession and Paul is curiously holding a cigarette in his right hand (he was left-handed). He is also walking barefoot (a sign in some cultures that he couldn’t afford shoes) but generally accepted as a sign of death. The VW Beetle (appropriate!) also has the registration LMW 28IF ..a secret sign meaning that Linda McCartney Weeps and Paul would reach 28 if he had lived…or whatever you want. It could just as easily have been Lennon Mostly Wonders if Paul had lived to be 28. However, having had enough of the whole damned thing, Lennon eventually broke the group up and left a final clue on his song “How Do You Sleep”

“”Those freaks was right when they said you was dead; the one mistake you made was in your head.”
“A pretty face may last a year or two, but pretty soon they’ll see what you can do.”
“The sound you make is muzak to my ears; you must have learned something in all those years.” “The only thing you done was yesterday, now you’re just another day”

You can read the rest of the themes on this story at various websites. One of the most enduring has been that the replacement Paul McCartney is noticeably vocally different and around 3 inches taller than the original Paul. They use a multitude of sound samples and photographs of the new Paul noticeably towering over George and John to prove their point.

It is very thought-provoking but once you examine it does it have any basis in fact? Evidence presented that not only are the voice and facial features wrong but also that Paul had now mysteriously grown have little substance once you look at it . The easiest and most common photo of the Beatles standing alongside each other is to use the cover of Abbey Rd. Paul doesn’t look that much taller to me.

But let’s play along with the rumour and assume that ‘Billy Shears’ left his own clues in his solo material. If you look hard enough you will find it.

Having trawled the McCartney solo songbook you can still spot his clues to the fact that the real Paul died and was replaced. Here’s a few I’ve found.

On the album ‘Ram’ ,Billy sings
That Was Your First Mistake
You Took Your Lucky Break And Broke It In Two
Now What Can Be Done For You
You Broke It In Two
Indicating that he had got lucky and then split up the Beatles. This was announced on the release of the McCartney solo album in a press statement by Billy.

On the famous ‘Band on the Run’ single…Billy sings
Well, The Undertaker Drew A Heavy Sigh Seeing No One Else Had Come
Paul’s funeral ..no one there because no one knew he was dead.

On McCartney II he sings a song called ‘Nobody Knows’
Which One Of You Can Tell Me
What It Is I’m Looking At
Anyone Who Can
Has Got To Be A Crazy Cat
‘Cause I Believe That
That Nobody Knows, No Nobody Knows
Yeah, Nobody Knows
Is he telling us still that ‘Nobody Knows’ he’s really Billy?

On the ‘Pipes of Peace’ the track ‘The Man’ seems to suggest some more clues
There’s A Man
Everybody Thought They Knew
There’s Such A Man
He’s Not Like Me And You

And finally the song ‘My Brave Face’ is obviously about the large amount of plastic surgery Billy underwent and he can no longer remember what he truly looks like…
Now That I’m Alone Again
I Can’t Stop Breaking Down Again,
The Simplest Things Set Me Off Again
And Take Me To That Place
Where I Can’t Find My Brave Face

Still not convinced that Paul McCartney is an imposter? Well I’m afraid neither am I….

Looking back at the Beatles Anthology

Yes it’s been a long time since the this project came to fruition. George was still with us and trusted friend and head of Apple Neil Aspinall was too. The Anthology project composed of a 3x double CD set, 2 CD singles, a syndicated TV series, a boxed set of VHS video tapes and finally a decade later the DVD set. There was also a book produced somewhere in between as well!

So what are we to make of it? Does anyone still even listen to these CDs or watch the DVDs?

“Free as a Bird” gained most attention once the project was announced. The fact that technology had advanced sufficiently that the 3 surviving Beatles would work on an incomplete track of John’s was major news back in the day. Britpop had become the sound of the mid-90s in the UK and it’s retro nod to the past was perfect timing for the Anthology. But “Free as a Bird” was not quite as good as everyone had perceived and despite a very clever video never made it to No.1. The follow up “Real Love” was better and a lot more melodic.It sounded like a real lost Beatles track but Radio 1 left it off their playlist. It did reasonably well sales wise in the last golden era of music but not quite as well as perhaps the hardcore Beatle fans and Apple expected. But what did they expect? John Lennon was no longer with us and the other Beatles had to work with songs Lennon had not deemed suitable for release whilst he was alive. A further track which was meant to appear on the last Anthology 3 CD “Now and Then” was abandoned.

As for the TV/DVD series it was excellently produced and told the tale of the Beatles by the people who really were there. It was obviously a sanitised version of the truth but not so edited down that each Beatle could not give their own perspective on a lot of things. The whole history of the band was given from their birth to the break-up. The music is outstanding as always and the videos have been polished and restored for the DVD age. “All You Need is Love” is even presented in colour despite it originally being transmitted in black and white. Some clips from “Magical Mystery Tour” were cleaned up and “I am the Walrus” is a particular highlight. There are scenes from concerts all around the globe which have been restored digitally and in glorious 5.1 sound. Scenes from “Shea Stadium” look and sound better than it probably did to the audience in 1965. And there are some scenes from “Let it Be” which didn’t make the cut for the final film showing that not everything was dark and depressing at the time. All in all the Anthology, on DVD, is a lot cheaper than the VHS tapes were back in 1995 and is a feast of Beatles nostalgia. In fact it is the definitive history of the band as told by the Beatles, George Martin and Neil Aspinall. The book is probably for collectors only but does delve a little deeper into the relationship between the Beatles and discusses things a little differently.

As for the Anthology CDs – I ask again. Does anyone really listen to them much anymore?

The bootleg CD boom of the late 80s and early 90s had forced Apple to release a large amount of “unheard” content. And to make the hardcore fans purchase them had to also offer a fair number of tracks that were still sealed in the vaults. There were some nice touches. “In Spite of All the Danger” for it’s historical moment as the first track ever recorded, listening to the snippets of “Strawberry Fields” are like viewing preliminary sketches to the Mona Lisa. A sense of perspective could also be gained listening to the sparse but wonderful version of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. There are a few other gems like “Come and Get It” ,”All Things Must Pass” and “Across the Universe”. Maybe the alternative version of “Hello Goodbye” stands up to the final released version? There are also a few glaring omissions like “Revolution” live on the David Frost show, a version of “Don’t Let Me Down” and the obvious one for collectors “Carnival of Light”.

Summing it all up the DVDs are great and the book is a nice addition for collectors. The Anthology CDs however are probably only for the real hardcore fan these days. They prove that ultimately the Beatles and George Martin got the official released versions of the 1960s right about 99% of the time.

There’s UFOs over New York…

John Lennon not only sold his soul to the devil, as the myth goes, but he also was witness to a UFO. Whilst the first tale is almost certainly nothing more than a folk tale the latter is 100% bona fide. Now before we carry on let’s just clarify that something, unidentified by the observer, seen flying in the sky is essentially a UFO. Latterly it has come to be interpreted as a spacecraft piloted by alien beings.

So what is the story behind John Lennon’s UFO sighting?

Well on 23rd August 1974, whilst still estranged from Yoko, but now living back in New York with May Pang, John Lennon witnessed something so strange that it even inspired him to comment on it in his music.

Having recently recorded songs for the “Walls & Bridges” album on a warm summer evening around 9pm he was relaxing. “We had the window open and lo and behold there was this thing just hovering, sort of, a hundred yards away”, Lennon told a local radio station. He claims it was so close that he could have hit it with a brick if he’d thrown one at it. Lennon described the object as having flashing lights around the bottom of it and a red light on the top of it. He continues “….there was no noise and I could hear the freeway down below”. John first thought it was a balloon as the lack of sound ruled out a helicopter. But the strange lights and way it hovered meant it was something he couldn’t explain. It hovered for a further 5 minutes or so and then disappeared as it flew off over the river.

May Pang backs up this story and the couple also rang local police and a newspaper to report the sighting. Only to be told other people had seen the UFO too.

Pang claims Lennon even subscribed to a UFO magazine and had a keen interest in the subject. The proof is there in his music as well “..like a UFO you came to me” is a line from “Mind Games” track “Out of the Blue” . An album that pre-dates his sighting. In the liner notes to the “Walls and Bridges” album there is a sentence hidden away in a corner which states “On the 23rd Aug. 1974 at 9 o’clock I saw a U.F.O.” And of course in his posthumous release, “Nobody Told Me”, is the famous line “There’s UFO’s over New York and I ain’t too surprised”. The subject is often ridiculed by the media but who knows what John Lennon saw that night?

It was 30 years Ago

Just a short note to mention this sad day in history. Although a trick of the timezones places John Lennon’s death across the 8th for the USA it was already the early hours of the 9th December 1980 in the UK his homeland.

Back before CDs, mobile phones. multichannel satellite and cable TV, home computers, and of course the internet the only way to hear music was via the radio/TV, on a cassette or vinyl records. It is easy to forget these things if you were around and overlook them if you weren’t in 1980.

John Lennon had just made a comeback, of sorts, in 1980 and was talking of new plans to maybe come back to Britain , even a tour. He also sounded happy in radio interviews and perhaps more relaxed than he’d ever been. The actions of a mad gunman took away his dreams and his short life. The shots reverberated around the world. John had so much more to give to his family and his fans. I wish he was still with us now.

RIP John Lennon

 

So Low? Solo

The Beatles catalogue of albums and singles stands out as perhaps the most important, and arguably outstanding, body of work in 20th century popular music. Sure there are some tracks which don’t quite cut it but most Beatles fans would probably agree that their are very few artists who get close to the quality (and quantity) of the Beatles output in just 7 years. The majority of the early years were also spent touring the world.

But when the Beatles split there was definitely a drop in quality control. John’s solo catalogue has just been re-released. Paul’s is just under way with “Band on the Run” now available in it’s new packaging. George and Ringo have also, in recent years, released re-mastered albums and brought out their “best of” packages.

But of all those solo albums (and there must be around 60 now) very few match the high standards of the Beatles catalogue. From John there is “Plastic Ono Band” and “Imagine”. With perhaps “Double Fantasy” being claimed by some to go on the list. Paul has been solo 4 times as long as John. But most people would list “Band on the Run”, “Venus and Mars”,”Tug of War”,”Flaming Pie” and perhaps “Chaos & Creation” from this decade. George of course made “All Things Must Pass” some might add “Living in the Material World”. His late 80s “Cloud 9” certainly is a contender and his last album “Brainwashed” is certainly another. Ringo – well even though some of his 90s/00s albums have been good there is really only “Ringo” that stands out. An album which has 3 other Beatles contributing to it. So in the 40 years since the end of the Beatles as a working band the former members of the band may just have recorded the same number of quality albums the Beatles put out in 7 years.

So why the drop in standards?

Well the Beatles were certainly greater than the sum of their parts. Paul and John would also work on songs together to fine tune them. George Martin’s role as producer cannot be overlooked either. Then there is the need to fill album space. Writing 4 or 5 songs for a Beatles album would mean only the best songs would make it. Ideas could be discarded early if they weren’t working. With a dozen tracks or so to fill out an album (and no peers to tell you when something isn’t working) then you can easily appreciate why the quality of most solo work cannot keep up with the Beatles.

After the initial split in the early 1970s the quality was still apparent for John & George on “Plastic Ono Band”, “All Things Must Pass”and “Imagine” . Paul disappointingly came out with his DIY piece “McCartney” following it later with a much better album “Ram”. But Paul had contributed most to both “Let it Be” and “Abbey Road” and had little left in his locker. George had built up an amazing catalogue of songs suppressed by his former band mates to allow “All Things Must Pass” to put his song writing talent on display. John contributed little to “Let it Be”. Even “Abbey Road” contains just 3 fully completed Lennon songs.  So in the early 70s we have a number of solo albums including some songs conceived as Beatle songs.

Maybe I am being too harsh though. The Beatles catalogue became ingrained through years of radio play when I was a kid. I also owned very few albums back in the vinyl years so the Beatles albums were given regular rotation. Their solo albums have not been given that luxury until now.

I’ve recently been sampling the solo catalogue again and urge you to try these lesser known albums. Whilst few will meet the standards of “Revolver” or “Pepper” you may enjoy them more than than parts of the “White Album”.

From John – “Mind Games” and “Walls and Bridges”re-mastered. His voice comes through so much better than the previous CDs and there are a few hidden gems. Also check out “Double Fantasy” the 2 CD version.

From Paul – “London Town” – it’s a bit on the light side and veers between folksy, rock-lite and synth pop. But has a number of decent tracks. “Back to the Egg” – Wings last flight but it has a harder more experimental edge than anything he ever did again. And even “Memory Almost Full” and “Electric Arguments” from the 21st century show Macca hasn’t lost it.

From George – Try his mid to late 70s trio of “Thirty Three and a Third”, “George Harrison” and “Somewhere in England”. George’s albums take a bit of work to get into. But these are well worth it.

From Ringo – We can’t forget poor Ritchie. His 1990s “Time Takes Time” is rather good and even his latest “Y Not” including Sir Paul on a couple of tracks is well worth investigating.

Did John Lennon Sell his Soul to the Devil

Firstly I’ve decided to revive this blog. It had very few regular readers in the early days and it seemed pointless carrying on as the question was “Who was really bothering to read it?”.

But I’ve decided to pick this up again and post about once a month.

So the burning topic as you can see from the headline is “Did John Sell His Soul?”

The likely and probable answer is no. You have to believe in some sort of all-encompassing universal power of evil  that is able to manifest itself to humanity first. Then you have to question what exactly selling your soul is and why anything could or would want to possess it for all eternity.

But it did not stop Joseph Niezgoda writing his theory in a book “The Lennon Prophecy”.

According to Niezgoda, one evening in December 1960, John Lennon traded his soul to the Devil in exchange for 20 years of fame and fortune. Twenty years later, in December 1980, the Devil acted upon the contract and possessed Mark David Chapman to carry out the most evil of human deeds.

I haven’t read this book. I chose to research the origins of this story from other sources. Is this there even a grain of truth in it?

Well for many years “rock ‘n roll” music has been painted as the music of the devil. Mainly by overly devout Christians who have chosen to ignore science and treat the Bible very literally as the source to all knowledge. John Lennon had little regard for religion. His infamous comments in 1966 “Christianity will go, it will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that. I’m right and will be proved right. You just wait.. . .We’re more powerful than Jesus ever was..”, inflamed  Americans and caused all sorts of pandemonium as they toured the Southern United States in 1966 (especially with people aligned to such groups as the Klu Klux Klan!). Lennon also sang about “God is a concept” and “..no religion too” later on in his career. Could these be tiny clues to his disposition after signing the most important contract of his life, or indeed, his death?

Local Liverpool paranormal writer Tom Slemen tells of a story that occurs in December 1960″…Lennon sneaked out of his house, 251 Menlove Avenue, where he was living with Aunt Mimi, and walked just over a mile through the December snow to the bridge of destiny, arriving there just before midnight. The Devil duly appeared as a tall shadowy figure with horns and  uncanny-looking eyes . A bargain was struck. Within three years, millions upon millions of people would idolize Lennon, and the rest of his band – The Beatles.”

The bridge in question seems to be over the railway tracks in Mossley Hill not far from Lennon’s home. The Beatles had also returned from Germany on December 10th 1960 and were to play at the Litherland Town Hall on December 27th. The night the “Beatlemania” started according to the band. So the story places Lennon’s meeting with Beelzebub almost exactly at a time when the flicker of fame was first lit and 20 years before his death. A most violent one at that as well.  In fact John is even alleged to have commented himself that he had sold his soul to the devil to achieve success in Ray Coleman’s book “Lennon”.

Ironically before his premature death he also recorded a demo of a song called:

“You  Saved My Soul”

The story is always more fun than the reality I suppose and people will continue to write these outlandish things based on anything John Lennon ever did, said or sang. But he also said that a man on a Flaming Pie appeared in a vision and said “..you are Beatles with an ‘A'”. Do you believe it?

Ringo’s Role in the Beatles

He wasn’t the most talented or musical member of the Beatles. He was the last to join and maybe some would say the luckiest drummer of all. But Ringo was very important to the Beatles. Not only was his steady beat the key to the Beatles as a band he carried on working with John, George after the band split and to this day with Paul. And Ringo was the one who American audiences first warmed to when the Beatles arrived in 1964.

Despite this Ringo was actually first to walk out on the band in 1968 during the tense White Album sessions. Whilst he was tempted back shortly after things were never quite the same for the band again. However after the Beatles split Ringo enjoyed a relatively successful few years at the very top culminating with the 1973 Beatles re-union album Ringo. Well not exactly but he successfully convinced all 3 other members to write and record with him and a mighty fine album it is too. The same formula was repeated with Goodnight Vienna and met with favourable if not as brilliant sales but after that Ringo’s career fell off a perch and he turned to the bottle.

But through it all he remained the only Beatle to keep in touch and hang out with the other Beatles. The Anthology was an exception and artificial singles “Free As A Bird” and “Real Love” were nice touches of nostalgia but never really anything more than candy floss to sweeten up the project.

So why did the other Beatles turn to Ringo to collaborate with whilst usually ignoring the other two? Ego certainly comes into it. Ringo was no threat. He wrote few songs whilst in the Beatles and actively encouraged his former bandmates to help him out on his albums. His happy go lucky personality was probably another. Whilst the major reasons were probably that although John and Paul were at one stage closest to each other in the early years there was much bitterness after the split. John’s premature death put an end to what might have been. George and John were close after the initial split but then disagreements surfaced not long after. And George’s relationship with Paul always seemed the most prickly of all perhaps even up to and after the Anthology project.

But Ringo he just carries on. His easy going style probably being the key. Plus the fact that he was always happy to have been a Beatle and had accepted long ago he could never escape the tag. Paul took a good 10 maybe even 20 years to come to terms with it. John maybe didn’t ever due to circumstances. George I doubt we will ever truly know. Still touring at 70 years old and in recent years releasing some of his best music ever I urge you to check it out. Ringo Starr – Y Not

Easter Eggs

The Beatles have released a fair amount of stuff on DVD (officially via Apple as well as other sources).

Along with Hard Day’s Night, Help and Yellow Submarine there is the solo things like Paul’s video collection and eherrm many live DVDs of varying quality , John’s Imagine and Gimme Some Truth . Some Ringo concerts are still available if you search around whilst George has very little out there he is still to be seen in disguise in the Rutles  and  also singing in Shanghai Surprise. The  Concert for Bangladesh can still be tracked down if you want to see George as himself as well.

But there still remains stuff in the vault that remains unreleased “Let it Be” being the obvious product that most fans are waiting for on DVD. Probably more commercially attractive is a package of the Beatles promo films and other performances.  Then of course there are a number of live concerts with Shea Stadium coming to mind. The cleaned up slots on the Anthology DVD were superb and show what could done if Apple ever get their act together.

As for solo films perhaps the most glaring omission on DVD is “Rockshow” or “Wings Over America”. This was Paul at his finest live with Wings. The technology of the 70s had given much more power than the Beatles had available a decade before. The line up was just right and he had a string of post-Beatles era hits to play. Of course he also added a few Beatles numbers in for the crowd as well. Typical Paul.

And finally at this time of the year I’ve always wondered are there any Easter Eggs on the existing DVDs out there? I’ve never really found anything.

Sergeant Pepper’s Magical Mystery Trip!

I’ve just been listening to the Fab Fourum podcast. This is a regular get together of four Beatles fanatics discussing all things Beatles and you should really check it out. The latest one is all about compiling the single album version of “The Beatles” or as it has become known “The Beatles White Album”. Many people have done it and I doubt many people will ever agree on a single album 14 tracks. The White album is a sprawling collection of rock, pop, folk, ballads and the avant-garde. However I’ve always felt that it’s a great collection of songs rather than a collection of great songs. Which brings me to this week’s blog topic.

What if in 1967 The Beatles had stalled Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band to complete a 2 record set instead? Forget all the contractual agreements and let’s pretend that the project encompasses all of 1967 ending with a made for TV special “Sergeant Pepper’s Magical Mystery Trip”.

How about this for a 2 record set?

Side 1
====

I’d see this as the story of a day.From a dream like “Strawberry Fields” through to a snapshot of the working day and ending contemplating what it all means.

1. Strawberry Fields Forever

The album opens with John’s dreamy like “Strawberry Fields Forever”. A true classic of it’s time. Indeed all time.

2. Good Morning , Good Morning

The day begins in a bit of a grumpy way for John.  A sort of bitter-sweet beginning.

3. Penny Lane

A more optimistic Paul paints a picture of suburbia for everyone.

4. Hello, Goodbye

Continuing with another Paul song that fills in the day nicely

5. Within You Without You

A bit of mysticism from George

6. Fool On The Hill

And now we are at the end of the day contemplating things.

SIDE 2
=====

This is the dream phase on a mystical mystery trip as imagination takes a grip.

1. Magical Mystery Tour

The Mystery Tour is announced. Step right this way…

2. Getting Better

And the mood lightens with another blast of optimism from Paul as the trip starts.

3. Flying

An instrumental interlude as we go up into the clouds.

4. Baby You’re A Rich Man

Aaah how does it feel to be one of the beautiful people.

5. Fixing A Hole

Now fix that hole and stop your mind from wandering.

6. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

And things get even more psychedelic with John’s classic imagery.

SIDE 3
=====

And side 3 is the imaginary show by Sergeant Pepper and his band.

1. Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

Now the show really begins

2. With A Little Help From My Friends

And Ringo has to follow . These two songs are really part of one piece aren’t they?

3. You Mother Should Know

Let’s all get up and dance….

4. Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite

And of course Henry the Horse dances the waltz…

5. When I’m Sixty Four

Another music hall type ditty from Paul

6. Lovely Rita

More musical imagination to close the side and a fantasy about a parking warden of all people?

Side 4
====

The show continues but thoughts are a little darker in this part of the show.

1. She’s Leaving Home

This dream unexpectedly gets punctured by reality seeping through. “She’s Leaving Home” after living alone…

2. Blue Jay Way

And now things are getting a little foggy again as we drift off again.

3. I Am the Walrus

And back to one of John’s most psychedelic, and slightly disturbing, moments as the Walrus.

4. Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band Reprise

The show comes to it’s close.

5. A Day in the Life

Classic encore as we wake up to the news.

6. All You Need is Love

And finally The Beatles enduring message..”Love is all you need”

Now surely this would be the classic “double album” of all time. You may want to change the track listings about a bit but I urge you to make your own compilation and play it through. It’s slightly shorter and much better than the White Album and encompasses almost the whole era of Beatles psychedelia.

As for the movie Magical Mystery Tour. It is only great for the musical sequences in it. Paul may say it’s an art school favourite but it’s generally a farce for me. If the Beatles had scripted it like a dream sequence including a Sergeant Pepper show then it could have been so much better. Of course “Yellow Submarine” would probably never have come out if this had been the case. But who cares ? This isn’t to be taken seriously anyway.

A is for Apple

Apple is the Beatles company that disappeared into a sort of obscurity around the mid 70s and then re-appeared in the mid-90s with the launch of the Anthology project. In some respects it is one of the most successful ‘music’ corporations in the world. The success of “Anthology” on CD, VHS & DVD followed by the 21st centuries best seller “1” album justifies the business sense of Apple Corps. Or does it?

There have of course been other Beatles products to keep us interested over the past decade and a half.  ‘A Hard Day’s Night’, ‘Help!’ and ‘First US Visit’ were all released on DVD and are great viewing. The re-mastered CDs have been snapped up by collectors and also introduced a few new fans as well. ‘The Beatles Rock Band’ has been a fantastic innovation and you too can become a Beatle with enough cash and a game console. But did it really work?

Somehow it feels like Apple have never really understood the Beatles fan and sometimes haven’t got a clue when it comes to marketing. The Anthology CDs were simply a reaction to the growing bootleg market of Beatles out-takes. ‘Let it be Naked’ was meant to be how the album was meant to sound. And it did, to some extent, give us something new. But then Apple totally missed the boat with an uninteresting 2nd CD (that could have easily fitted on the first one – given it’s short length) and the non-appearance of the ‘Let it Be’ DVD. And we could ask where is “Shea Stadium” and “Magical Mystery Tour” on DVD. Why no “Hollywood Bowl” CD. There is still a lot of stuff out there that lays unreleased in modern packaging never mind things like the Kinfauns demo’s.

The ‘1’ album was wonderfully produced and re-mixed and is certainly a great package. It’s sales prove that. But where was ‘2’ the follow-up CD? And what happened to a Beatles video collection? Two marketing opportunities that would have filled Christmas stockings and also given much publicity to the Fabs to the younger generations. Then came ‘Love’- a Beatles mashup album. It has some really interesting pieces on it and the re-mixes of certain tracks sound fantastic. But then the accompanying DVD was a big letdown. No show on DVD. Most Beatles fans will not be able to afford to go to Las Vegas and see it in the flesh.  But never mind.

Let’s face it the first generation fans are now pensioners. The ‘2nd generation fans’, the kids of the 70s, are now in middle age.  The Beatles core fan base is ageing fast and there is only so much time left to get things out there.

The biggest failure has been the fact that the Beatles are not selling downloadable content anywhere on the net. It’s probably too late now though the opportunity has been lost…………..