Seems someone at Universal Music Canada hit the “Publish” button a little early on a press release about a hitherto unknown June release from Paul McCartney. It reads: The wait is over: With the June 14 release of One Hand Clapping, one of the most bootlegged live albums in musical history will finally receive a proper release. In August 1974, when Band on the Run was enjoying a seven-week consecutive #1 stint at the top of the UK album charts, Paul McCartney and Wings headed to Abbey Road Studios for the filming of a video documentary and possible live studio album – One Hand Clapping. Despit ..read more

Last post we looked at how to go about identifying an unusual Australian pressing of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. This type of id task comes up all the time when collecting Beatle and solo discs. Exactly which pressing do I have, and what are the key things to look out for? One of the big collectables with a range of variations is original pressings of Paul McCartney’s CHOBA B CCCP. So it was great to have sent to us this week a handy article describing the basics of identifying the key differences to look out for with this LP. It is penned by our mate, Andrey Lukanin: As we know, th ..read more

The subtitle of this blog is “Adventures in Collecting Beatles Music” and so we often get people inquiring about rare (or not-so-rare) pressings that they’ve come across out in the wild. Like this one earlier this week from a reader named D-Wizz who is based in Brisbane, Australia: I refer to the attached photos which are both sides of the same record. I note that the font used for each label is different. Side 2 looks like a 1960s style while Side 1 has an early 70s font. I cannot find an example of this on any Beatles related site, so I wonder is it a rarity, a mis-pressing, or something els ..read more

Unless you’ve been living under a rock you are probably aware by now that Paul’s 1961 Höfner 500/1 bass guitar, which was stolen in 1972, has been…. In September last year we reported on a concerted new effort to trace the missing instrument – and it seems that the case has well and truly been solved. In fact, the bass is already back in the hands of its original owner – Paul McCartney. Check out this short statement on the official McCartney site, plus The Lost Bass Breaking News page for more. The instrument is a little worse for wear but, according to an expert from Höfner called in to ex ..read more

If you don’t believe there are collectors out there intent on having every single variation, then think again: This is a photograph from the collection of one of our readers and contributors – Guy from the USA. Guy has managed to secure no less than 16 different McCartney III colour variants, and 10 different McCartney III Imagined double LPs. You can check them off against our two guides to all the known variants below (they include CDs and cassettes – which Guy also has BTW!). Click on the images to enlarge ..read more

Apologies, but we’re a little slow of the mark with the Record Store Day 2024 news from last week. However, it has given us a bit more time to research and hopefully provide a few more details – so here goes. First up, from Apple Records is another unique format first for The Beatles. It is a tiny The Beatles Limited Edition RSD3 Turntable, featuring a Beatle-branded dustcover and turntable facing. Each turntable is Bluetooth-enabled and housed in a Beatles’ box that includes four super small 3″ records featuring the four songs they performed 60 years ago on The Ed Sullivan Show: ‘I Want To Ho ..read more

Regular readers will know that we like to keep up with news about the Dark Horse label – the Beatle-related record company started by George Harrison, but now run by his son Dhani. The revitalised label signed a distribution deal with BMG and has been slowly re-releasing in physical form some of the original Dark Horse titles. It’s also embarked on an eclectic series of reissues and new titles from a range of other artists. These range from to Joe Strummer to Leon Russell, and from Billy Idol to Yusuf/Cat Stevens. As the number of titles is starting to add up we’ve put together a catalogue of ..read more

The Beatles have won a Grammy in the 66th annual awards. It was for Best Music Video for the song ‘I’m Only Sleeping’ – the film clip made to promote last year’s re-issue of the Revolver album. The award went to Em Cooper, video director, and Jonathan Clyde, Sophie Hilton, Sue Loughlin and Laura Thomas, video producers. Artist and director Em Cooper explored the space between dreaming and wakefulness, working on an animation rostrum on sheets of celluloid. She painted every frame individually in oil-paint, a labourious process which took many months. (Interestingly Revolver won an award for B ..read more

One of our readers has been in touch asking about how to get a valuation on a very unusual promo copy of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. They write: “I have a radio station promo copy of Sgt. Pepper I won from them in a contest in 1967. Black/white label, songs in a different order from the released album. Etched serial numbers are SS10077-01A and SS10077-01B. Have you any suggestions for getting it appraised?” While we don’t know the exact name of the radio station which ran the promotion, you can see some handwriting on the label that indicates it might possibly have come from a stat ..read more

From Olivia Harrison’s socials: “Nina Simone is recognised as one of the most authentic and captivating artists of our time. She recorded some of George’s songs with powerful conviction. We are privileged to have this album on the Dark Horse label.” – Olivia Harrison “Nina Simone’s music has always held a special place in the hearts of my family. Her unique talent and profound artistry not only resonated with us but also left an indelible mark on our musical journey. Nina’s legacy continues to be an enduring source of inspiration, a reminder of the power of music to touch the soul and inspir ..read more