Fab Four Blog

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The Beatles' records in Japan were released on the Odeon label, owned by Toshiba. The LPs, singles and EPs were initially released on both red and black vinyl, with the red variants reportedly offering particularly good sound quality. They are particularly sought-after by audiophiles, and are considerably rarer than the black vinyl versions - red vinyl signifies first pressings of a release.

Interestingly, The Beatles' first two UK albums, Please Please Me and With The Beatles, weren't issued until the group toured in Japan in 1966, although songs from each were released there from 1964 onwards.

The Japanese LPs also came with a thin obi strip wrapped around the cover, which were often discarded by teenagers keen to hear the music as soon as possible. As such, the rarity offers collectors a challenge, as does the variety of different obi strips for individual pressings of each release.

Furthermore, the early 1960s Japanese LPs were adorned with half-obi strips. These, like the full ones which replaced them in the mid-1960s, are often faked by unscrupulous record sellers.

The LPs also came with a lyric sheet in both English and Japanese. The singles, meanwhile, were issued in picture sleeves. EP covers came with either liner notes in Japanese, or photographs of the group, and always came with a lyric sheet.

Odeon were slow to catch onto the Beatles phenomenon. However, they made up for lost time by issuing a total of nine singles within the first week of May 1964. A further six singles were released on the same day on 5 February 1965. Otherwise, it's worth noting a tendency to issue records on the 5th, 10th or 15th of the month.

Source: Beatles Bible

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Another day of rest for "The Beatles"

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The single "If I Fell/Tell Me Why" was released in Europe as Parlophone DP 562 (a few hundred copies were accidentally released in the UK today - 50 years ago.

St. Moritz Ski Holiday

January 28, 1965 - John and Cynthia Lennon outside the Palace Hotel in St. Moritz, Switzerland where they were enjoying a winter ski holiday with George Martin and Judy Lockhart-Smith.

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“Norwegian Wood” began to be written by John Lennon while on a skiing vacation in St. Moritz in the Swiss Alps with his wife Cynthia and producer George Martin and his wife between January 25th and February 7th, 1965.  “It was during this time that John was writing songs for ‘Rubber Soul,’” George Martin recalls, “and one of the songs he composed in the hotel bedroom, while we were gathered round, nursing my broken foot, was a little ditty he would play to me on his acoustic guitar.  He’d say, ‘What do you think of this one?’  It had a slightly sick lyric, which was very apt to me nursing my injured toe.  The song was ‘Norwegian Wood.’”

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The cartoon "The Flinstones" had an episode 50 years ago today called "The Hatrocks and the Gruesomes" which featured a band with the Beatles trademark mop-top hair that plays "bug music", a parody of the "Yeah, yeah, yeah" refrain from "She Loves You".

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The Beatles still appearing at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

The Beatles still appearing at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

The Beatles still appearing at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

The Beatles still appearing at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

The Beatles still appearing at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

The Beatles still appearing at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

The Beatles still appearing at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

The Beatles still appearing at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

The Beatles still at their gig at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

The Beatles performing at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

The Beatles still performing at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.