The Yellow "1"

So, we Beatle fans await the "Countdown to a big announcement"
(https://twitter.com/GeorgeHarrison)..  mm!

Speculation is rife on the internet as to what this mysterious announcement might be.  Most Beatle scholars are going for a DVD of the promo films.  Whilst this is perhaps long overdue in my opinion, why the big mysterious hoo-ha?

Apple have continued to not listen to fans and my guess is that they won't start now.  Meanwhile the fans have taken things into their own hands over the last while including  Lord Reith's outstanding BBC set and Star Club clean up for example.  I fail to understand why Apple don't seem to take these things into consideration?  No doubt whatever The Beatles put out, it'll sell shed loads in any case.  Let's just hope that it isn't yet another compilation from the 2009 re-masters; in other words the B-Side collection.  I, as have many others bought them both and have no interest in what would simply amount to a new cover and essay!  Come on Apple, put out something worthy of the bands' name.

What to say?

When all is said and done, what is left is an amazing body of work which will still be standing as tall as it was on the day it was created for as long as music is listened to. As an artist, Michael Jackson was unique and impossible to ignore. May his soul be at peace.

Number 9, Number 9, Number 9

So, according to Sky News, here in the UK The Beatles albums will be released this year on September 9 to coincide with the release of The Beatles: Rock Band game.
The Applelites have finally got their finger out and may just have helped to save the band’s reputation (in some respects). For I believe that The Beatles name has been slightly tarnished over the last few years and quite frankly it has been an embarrassment to them that their outstanding and distinguished catalogue hasn’t been released in solid gold versions let alone the relatively simple task of re-mastering the audio! Apparently it has taken four years to put this together? I ask the question, what have they been doing? I mean it only took the boys seven to write, record and release the stuff in the first place! I will say however that I cannot wait to see the package as there are some mouthwatering prospects in store. I am particularly intrigued by the ten disc Beatles In Mono project which will stand alongside the fourteen disc set. This is something we have all clamoured for since the discs were released back in 1987. It is shocking that they haven’t been available (legally) since before now. I believe that this is the absolute core of the band’s sound. It is how the vast majority of their records were sold. It is how the vast majority of the records were mixed and it is one of the main reasons they became popular. Stereo ripped the heart and soul out of those recordings, there is no doubt about that at all in my mind. So, to get the chance to hear these recordings straight from the master, shined up to a shiny thing with today’s powerhouse technology and perhaps more importantly to play it back on today’s brilliant players, is a prospect that I for one cannot wait for.
There is a downside to all of this though.
The fact is that there can’t be much more in the can for the band and so we might be close to the actual end of the road, release wise, and it may even be part of the reason why it has taken so long to get to this point, who knows? So we may as well enjoy it as it could be the last of the really big noises The Beatles can make and it comes as something of a relief. Whilst I did kinda nearly enjoy watching the Love documentary, I definitely won’t enjoy the game, because I am not interested in it even from a nosey parker point of view. It is just not what it’s about for me.
The other zillion dollar question for those interested of course is will we see a digital release online? I have been particularly excited by the prospect that the Beatles will take matters into their own hands in this department as it once more will elevate their status beyond the norm and it shows that the band won’t be pushed around by the biggest boy in the playground. It’s a separate issue to what I’m talking about here, but why should artists be held to ransom by the other apple? So, go Beatles, go!

All of that said, fans will ALWAYS want more and hey, I’m no different.

I’ve got two words for you - Hollywood and Bowl!
So, if you’re going to do it, do it absolute Apple!

George Burton's Record Session with Steve Marinucci

This week's edition of George Burton's Record Session features an interview with Abbey Road website king Steve Marinucci. Steve talks about some of his favourite records and it's not all about the Beatles! Details about the show can be found here. The show will be played out on two other stations over the next few weeks and I will post info here about that when the time comes. Enjoy!

And now...here they are!

The boys appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 is iconic. It’s right up there with the images of the Beatles getting off planes, the suits and the haircut. The impact is hard to understand today when we live an almost science fiction world with instant communications across phone lines and the internet. A world where it’s easy to post moving images up in the next five minutes and for the rest of that world to get access to them. What is more important than the appearance itself is the crater impact of it. I believe it was that single show that made The Beatles untouchable. By the time they finished playing All My Loving, the game was up! From that moment they couldn’t escape from success. All of the development in the preceding years of playing for hours on grimy stages all over Liverpool and Hamburg and then in the wider communities of Britain and Europe would culminate in this polished and irresistible performance. It’s not just the show of course. One has to look at their appearance at the airport. It is a slightly bemused Beatles who realise that they are “on” when they are at that famous press conference. They grabbed the opportunity and took it for all it was worth, but not in an obvious way. Like I say, they appear to be taken slightly by surprise by what meets them. Life would never be the same again for them. From here on in they would be carving out the route that few would follow. They would go on to define what pop would become from this platform. However, you don’t get the impression from any of the source films of the time, that they expected this. The Maysles film is I think the best Beatle film of all. It just captures that first US visit so perfectly. It’s the film of the dream ticket for musicians who want to make it big. It’s the measurement of that success. How many UK bands have tried to do it since? Perhaps more than the seventy three million who tuned into the Ed Sullivan Show!! The point about the Beatles at that point is that although it’s obvious that they are working the press rooms, the radio stations, the photographers and so on, they are not forcing it. That is one of the qualities I think endeared them the American public. They are genuine and real. There isn’t a hint of the pretentious about them. By the time they hit the States, it was game over. I think you also have to look at the often mentioned ‘post-JFK’ state that the US was in. After all of the optimism of that Presidency’s beginning, the impact of his assassination is still difficult to comprehend – even for a 21st century boy here in Blighty. So, when this breezy, striking, long haired, talented, self contained, black suited outfit from Liverpool drops by the Nation, as if by accident almost, it would seem that the US was “taken by enlarge” in a kind of Rutle way, if you know what I mean?
I believe that the Ed Sullivan Show appearance by The Beatles is one of the most important moments not only in rock’n’roll history but as part of the development of the modern world. When you look at the globalisation of the entertainment industry following these events, you have to say that it was The Beatles who lit that torch. The whole British Invasion was sparked by that single appearance. Swinging London, James Bond and the whole Sixties was lit up by that appearance. The chances are that all of the above would have happened somehow anyway, but without that show maybe not quite in the same way. And you know it bears thinking about that following these ground shaking events, Paul McCartney went back to his tiny bedroom in Forthlin Road and somehow tried to comprehend what had just happened, and perhaps more interestingly ponder upon what might happen next. What a trip!

George Burton's Record Session with guest Gerry Campbell.

"When I was at school, we used to get together in each others houses, bringing along all our latest records which were either bought, borrowed or nicked! It was a case of bringing something to play to your mates that you thought they would love. Each week I aim to have a guest who will bring some records for us and tell us why they picked them!

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Revolution

As a child of the Sixties I’m very excited about the possibilities of Barack Obama’s Presidency. I have no Beatle comment today. I just wanted to make a brief statement to wish the people of the United States the very best of luck for the future at this time. I have nothing but good feelings about the Obama administration but I also realise that he has one of the most difficult jobs ahead. However, this is a bright man surrounded by bright people and when we look back at this point in history, I’m optimistic that we will see that there was an actual change in the direction this world has been taking. I’m sure I speak for most people when I say that we ALL wish him and his family the very best. It’s food for thought but, you know at the time I was born, the Civil Rights movement was in full swing and a little over forty years up the line the tide has turned, common sense has prevailed and genuine hope returns to the world.
Change can and does happen.

Peace and hope for the future.