The Beatles may have broken up over half a century ago but now Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Ringo Starr and the estates of the late great John Lennon and George Harrison have made a huge announcement that is 60 years in the making.
For the first time in decades, the Fab Four are bringing their 1964 US albums together for a new mono vinyl box set to celebrate 60 years of Beatlesmania.
Originally compiled for US release between January 1964 and March 1965, seven iconic Beatles albums have been analogue cut for 180-gram audiophile vinyl from their original mono master tapes to release globally on November 22.
Meet The Beatles!, The Beatles’ Second Album, A Hard Day’s Night, Something New, The Beatles’ Story, Beatles ’65 and The Early Beatles have been out of print on vinyl for almost 30 years.
The seven mono albums are being released in a new eight-LP box set titled The Beatles: 1964 US Albums In Mono, with all available individually, except for The Beatles’ Story.
As shared in the Beatles announcement: “On February 7, 1964, scores of screaming, swooning fans gathered at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to catch a glimpse of John, Paul, George and Ringo as The Beatles took their first steps on American soil. Two nights later, on February 9, 73 million viewers in the U.S. and millions more in Canada tuned in to CBS to watch The Beatles make their American television debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. In this cultural watershed moment in American history, The Beatles performed five songs on the live broadcast. Beatlemania, already in full, feverish bloom in The Beatles’ native U.K. and developing in the US, exploded with blissful fervour across America and around the world. The British Invasion had begun.”
The Beatles announcement added: “Shortly before The Beatles’ history-making Stateside visit, Capitol Records secured exclusive US rights to release the band’s recordings in a deal with EMI. The storied, already iconic record label rush released Meet The Beatles! on January 20, 1964. The album features 12 tracks drawn largely from the band’s U.K. album With The Beatles (released November 22, 1963). Showcasing the band’s original songwriting, Capitol replaced five cover songs from the U.K. album with three originals: both sides of The Beatle’s first Capitol single (I Want To Hold Your Hand/I Saw Her Standing There) and the latest UK single’s B-side (This Boy). The album hit Number 1 and held the top spot for 11 weeks, launching a hitmaking string of Beatles albums compiled, titled and packaged by Capitol for the American market. By early April, more than 3.6 million Meet The Beatles! albums had been sold, and on the singles front, The Beatles swept the Billboard Hot 100’s top 5 positions on April 4, a stunning chart record that still stands.”
To preorder The Beatles: 1964 US Albums In Mono box set & individual LPs, click here.
