45 years after their landmark appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, the second wave of Beatlemania is set to begin today with the re-release of the entire Beatles back catalogue. Each of the 14 titles have been re-mastered over a four year period by a team of engineers at Abbey Road Studios and each CD will come complete with the original album art work, along with booklets containing the original and newly written liner notes and rare photos.
These albums are expected to jump straight to the top of the charts, with Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band the bookies favourite to claim the top spot. Revolver is second favourite with Abbey Road coming up in third spot. These remasters are not designed with the sole interest of record collectors and Beatles aficionados in mind, but with the intention of creating a new generation of Beatles fan from those who have only heard their parents or, dare I say it, grandparents talking about the Fab Four. In an age where as much as 98% of single sales are done online, this might be the last such opportunity for such a large scale back catalogue release to be effective.
The remaining Beatles have always been quite resistant to releasing their music for sale online. They famously haven't made their music available for digital sale on the iTunes store, being one of only a handful of bands yet to be persuaded by the potential benefits of the digital age. There are rumours floating about today though that this resistance might be coming to an end, as Apple are holding a press conference, complete with tagline "It's Only Rock and Roll But We Like It!" They'll more than likely be introducing a new line of iPod Touches but Beatles fans are keep their fingers crossed that Apple will announce the inclusion of the Beatles remasters on iTunes. Stay tuned for news on that.
In another sign that those in control of the Beatles estate are embracing new media, a video game called Beatles Rock Band is being released today. In Rock Band players get to emulate their favourite Beatle by playing them in digital form as they recreate some of the Beatles most famous concert performances. You can play as any of the four members (you will need to have the necessary add-on's of compatible Playstation or Xbox guitars and drums) and get to experience playing at The Cavern Club, Ed Sullivan Theatre or Abbey Road Studios.
This sounds great. Think about it, you'll get to sing 'I Am The Walrus' and sort of mean it! Paul McCartney is one man who won't be buying this game, however. He told NME “I haven’t tried it. When you go to a demo they play it and I go ’God, that looks hard’.”
-John Balfe