The Beatles 1+ Video Collection DVD/Blu-Ray Coming November 6th.

One of the DVD sets from the new Beatles 1 DVD/Blu-Ray collection.

We have some exciting news via The Beatles. If you haven't already heard, they are re-releasing the 1 Album which was a compilation of all 27 Number One singles the Beatles had when they were the world's best chart topping musical artists! Released in 2000, the compilation introduced new fans to the timeless music of the Beatles. Here's the full details from The Beatles website:

The 27-track CD/DVD and CD/Blu-ray pairs beautifully restored videos for each song, with new stereo and 5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS HD surround audio mixes. The brand new Beatles 1+ celebrates their career in over 200 minutes through 50 promotional films and videos. This includes the 27 No.1s, with the restored videos, along with a second disc of 23 videos, including alternate versions, as well as rarely seen and newly restored films and videos; all include new audio mixes in deluxe CD/2-DVD and CD/2-Blu-ray packages. The 27-track audio CD is also being made available with new stereo mixes. A 2 LP, 180-gram vinyl package will follow.

The new editions of The Beatles 1 have been made possible following extensive research, and restoration of the original promo films, classic television appearances and other carefully selected videos spanning the band’s history. Apple Corps dug deep into The Beatles’ vaults to select a broad range of films and videos for their rarity, historical significance and quality of performance. An 18-person team of film and video technicians and restoration artists was assembled by Apple Corps to undertake painstaking frame-by-frame cleaning, colour-grading, digital enhancement and new edits that took months of dedicated, ‘round-the-clock work to accomplish. 

The result is a visual run down of The Beatles’ number one records, as well as the additional tracks on the bonus disc of Beatles 1+ that show the band in previously unseen standards of clarity and quality; many of the films and videos have never before been commercially released, in whole or in part.

Beatles 1 and Beatles 1+ offers the restored films, including 35mm negatives scanned in 4K and digitally restored with new stereo and 5.1 surround audio remixes, produced from the original analogue tapes by the GRAMMY® winning team of Giles Martin with Sam Okell at Abbey Road Studios. For four of the videos, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have provided exclusive audio commentary and filmed introductions, respectively. The 1+ Deluxe Edition, presented in an expanded 124-page illustrated hardcover book includes ‘an appreciation’ of The Beatles’ ground-breaking films and videos by music journalist and author Mark Ellen and extensive, detailed track/video annotation by music historian and author Richard Havers.

“These videos and films are spectacular reminders of the era we lived in. They also rock!”

Paul McCartney

“I think it’s really interesting to see the videos we made, some of them incredible and some of them really incredible. How else would we have got to sit on a horse?”

Ringo Starr


The Beatles 1 and 1+ Video Collection and the Deluxe Edition will be released on November 6th. It is available to Pre-Order in our store. You can find it on the last page of the DVD section.


Here is a fascinating video on how the Beatles 1+ Video Collection was lovingly restored from the original prints:




This collection has answered many fans wishes for their promotional films to be released officially and now you can finally own the Beatles' promotional films, their 27 Number One singles and all the bonus features with commentary from Paul and Ringo!

Pre-Order Here!

The Beatles' Apple Promotional Film, 1968.

This is the Apple Promotional Film from 1968. In case you haven't a clue, Apple Corps was set up by the Beatles in 1968 and it quickly got out of control. In the below film, you can see that it wasn't exactly thought out.

There's a conversation in the beginning between Paul, John and Dick James (Yes, the same Dick James who sold all of their songs in 1969 without offering the Beatles themselves a chance to buy them!) and then cuts to Paul playing 'Blackbird' in the studio. (The woman seen next to him is Francie Schwartz, one of Macca's many girlfriends at the time) and then at the end of that segment, George Martin briefly appears. Then some more shots of Swinging London, including the much maligned and ill-fated 'Apple Boutique' on Baker Street.

Then a segment with new Apple artist Mary Hopkin singing and playing guitar in what appears to be Paul McCartney's back garden in Cavendish Avenue. Paul's sheepdog Martha is seen making an appearance and then Paul strolls in at the end holding what appears to be a glass of Iced Tea and says "That was Mary Hopkin and this is Alex..."

The 'Alex' in the next segment was John Lennon's new mate Alexis Mardas or "Magic Alex" as he came to be known thanks to Lennon, who was the head of Apple Electronics but when approached to design and build a new studio for the Beatles to use in the basement of 3 Savile Row, failed to do so. The "studio" turned out to be an absolute disaster and Alex quietly disappeared when Allen Klein came in.

After that, it was a piece where John, Paul and Dick James listen to a phone playing music that sounds like "on hold" music. (This may have been what George Harrison remembered in the anthology that Alex Mardas' only invention of note was a "Toilet with a radio in it or something")

The last segment is Paul demoing 'Helter Skelter' and there's a shot of John & Yoko sitting on the floor next to George Martin. The film ends with the painting that inspired it all.

Here's the film:

Is 'Let It Be' Finally Coming to DVD & Blu-Ray?

Let It Be: The Film was given a cinematic release in 1970 but has since been largely buried.

It might be a forlorn hope but today, the Beatles official YouTube account released a series of clips from the film. The film, sources say, has been remastered and cleaned up, could it be finally time for it to be released on DVD and Blu-Ray?

Why won't Apple release it? Well, various reasons have been given over the years as to why the film has never seen an official video release but the one major factor is that the Beatles themselves weren't/aren't too fond of the film anyway due to it not being a particularly happy time and the film caught that unhappiness for posterity. When the film was released, none of the band attended the premieres around the world. Also, some of the stuff in the out-takes is still considered controversial and still had the potential to raise old issues that are long forgotten in the Beatle camp.

The film was originally conceived of as a sort of "The Beatles 'Get Back' to their roots" project by Paul McCartney after the recording sessions for the White Album didn't go smoothly and resulted in some friction. Paul had an idea of shooting a TV Documentary of the band rehearsing and then giving a live performance of the new songs that would be recorded for album release. A pretty straightforward idea and a good one but John, George and even Ringo's hearts weren't in it.


                       


The TV broadcast idea was dropped and the project became a feature film with the Beatles rehearsing at Twickenham Studios on a sound stage with Paul coming up with ideas as they went along: A tour was brought up by Paul which the others torpedoed swiftly, even Ringo put his foot down saying he wasn't going abroad. Then, with the original idea for a concert still in effect, Paul floated ideas for a venue for it. Locations such as the Roundhouse in London were suggested and then more unusual ones like a disused flour mill and a cruise ship were discussed.

                   
                       
 
With filming and discussions becoming disjointed, the Beatles started squabbling again, resulting in George abruptly announcing he was leaving the band and he would see them round the clubs. Filming quickly relocated to 3 Savile Row, Apple HQ, where George was coaxed back. The film took a turn for the better with the Beatles appearing to get along better and an idea was had to end the film with a concert on the roof of 3 Savile Row.

           

The Rooftop Concert marked the last time the Beatles performed live as a group and has gone down in history better than the film did. The film itself, as Paul notes in the Anthology, actually showed how the break-up of a group works and that's what ended up happening on film. A sad time for the Beatles and their fans which understandably neither Paul nor Ringo probably want to re-live with a release of the film, no matter how much of the arguments and bitterness are edited out.

But for fans like me, and maybe you too, it's history. The fall of the Roman Empire, the break-up of the Beatles. It's history and extremely interesting history at that so hopefully Apple will Let It Be and release the film!

                          

The Paul.....Hotel?

Meet Paul....but have we already met him?

Now, I'm a little bemused by this hotel's theme. It's not a Beatles theme or a Paul McCartney theme but....it is. I mean, this could easily be misconstrued by every Beatles fan. Especially when you have a quote like THAT on the wall that every fan knows.

Could this be a hotel that Macca himself has a stake in? or has secretly opened because he has a burning desire to go into the hotel business but doesn't want to be TOO obvious?

I'm having visions of Macca managing this hotel in a Basil Fawlty style, being stressed out to the max while Nancy sits at reception on the phone all day. Instead of "Don't Mention the War!" it might be "Don't Mention the Frog Chorus!" or imagining Paul taking his stresses out on his poor Mini like Basil does in this clip:

But, hilarious as it might be to imagine Paul dealing with dead guests, hotel inspectors and conked out cars, I think the Beatles references on The Paul's website are a little hard to ignore, like this one....

A collection of drawings from a local artist that are featured at The Paul hotel.

Now, the Apple is synonymous with New York City (The Big Apple) and since the hotel is in NYC its easy to see how and why this sketch is in the hotel. But of course there's also that other Apple, and I don't mean the fruit, or the company whose product you may be reading this blog on now, I mean the Apple Corps that was formed by the Beatles themselves in the late 60s to secure their interests and also put out their records.

For all you people who likes to look for clues on Beatles' conspiracy theories, the biggest one being the 'Paul Is Dead' myth, then here's another clue for you all....


......The Walrus is apparently staying at The Paul.

Or it may not be. It may have checked out by now.

Richard Starkey Appreciation Post.

Keeping the Beat in the Beatles, 1966.

Let us just take a moment to appreciate the genius of Richard Starkey, aka Ringo Starr.

Over the years, many have come to disparage Ritchie with the snide jokes about being the luckiest bloke in the world and not being as talented as the other three. I call that utter BOLLOCKS.

John, Paul & George were lucky they found him, lucky he wanted to join them as without Ringo, they wouldn't have got out of Liverpool.Without Ringo, they may never have had as big a grip on the USA as they had (and still have). When the Beatles first landed in the states, Ringo was the most famous Beatle out of all them because of his distinctive stage name, also it was probably the only name that teenagers' parents could remember.

Simply, without Richard Starkey, (who was the original boy who lived, Harry Potter fans), the Beatles wouldn't be as legendary as they are today.

Still keeping the Beat with his All Starr Band in 2014. (Photo taken by Author)