The infamous "Butcher" cover inspired near-universal shock and disgust when it appeared as the original cover of The Beatles' Yesterday...and Today album. It was recalled after a single day, and albums with a butcher cover hidden underneath the replacement photo became one of the most highly-sought-after Beatles collectibles. But how much do you really know about the butcher cover?

We go through all the twists and turns of this fascinating story, including:

• The incredible way the photographer, Bob Whitaker, entered the Beatles' orbit;

We also discuss whether the recall was necessary in hindsight, and one of us reveals a lifelong fascination with doll heads.

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This week, we're exploring the Beatles' fashion sense and influence with Deirdre Kelly, author of the new book Fashioning the Beatles: The Looks that Shook the World.

Deirdre is a Canadian journalist, author and arts critic. Other books include the best-selling Paris Times Eight and Ballerina: Sex, Scandal and Suffering Behind the Symbol of Perfection.

Deirdre previously served as dance critic, pop music reviewer, and fashion reporter at The Globe and Mail, Toronto’s flagship newspaper. In 2017, she was appointed Editor and principal writer of the The York University Magazine, where she currently works. She has also been published in Marie Claire in London, Elle in New York, Vogue in Australia and is a writer for the arts e-zine, Critics At Large, in Toronto.

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The Beatles’ Anthology yielded more than an audio trip through the group’s history, it also produced the first “new” Beatles song since the band’s breakup in 1970. Utilizing a demo recorded by John Lennon in the 1970s, “Free As a Bird” became a sensation, with many fans likening its premiere to the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. This is the story of how that track came to be, its reception, and the history behind its iconic music video.

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For our last holiday hiatus episode, we’re going back to our archives again, to look at a New Year's day that may have been one of the most pivotal moments in the Beatles’ career.

After just one month of being their manager, Brian Epstein arranged something that was unthinkable even weeks before — an audition with Decca, one of the UK’s top record labels. 

So on a freezing New Year's Day in 1962, the Beatles made a treacherous trip down to London, playing an eclectic mix of rock, standards, and Lennon-McCartney originals. It didn't go so well—the Beatles lost that contract to a competitor group, Brian Poole and the Tremeloes.

But that first rejection may have been a key to the Beatles' whole story going forward. And not only the Beatles’ story, but Brians, George Martin’s, and possibly even the entire British Invasion movement. So on this New Year’s week, we discuss a pivotal New Year's in the Beatles' history and ask the question: Would the Beatles have been the band we know today if they had passed the audition?

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For the last episode of 2023, we're re-living the most exciting thing to happen in the Beatles world this year: the release of "the last Beatles song," 'Now and Then.'

When 'Now and Then' was released in November, Allison joined a roundtable discussion with friends from two other Beatles podcasts: Tommy, Becker, and RB from Blotto Beatles; and Jonathan from Ranking the Beatles. They talked about everything — the arrangement, the song’s history, Peter Jackson’s video, the Red and Blue releases, and that controversial cover art. 

And if you don’t know these other two podcasts, pop over to their feeds and give them a listen afterwards—they're both fantastic.

Enjoy, and happy new year!

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We’re taking a break for the holiday season, so we pulled a fun and timely discussion from our back catalog. In this episode from December, 2018, we look at the two most famous—and most polarizing—holiday songs from the solo Beatles: Paul's "Wonderful Christmastime" and John's "Happy Xmas (War is Over)." Are these two songs as far apart from each other as they seem?

Other songs/versions we reference in the episode:

• “Wonderful Christmastime” — Shins cover (2012)

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Mal Evans is best known as the Beatles’ roadie, but he was much more: a trusted confidant, driver, Mr. Fix-It, drug procurer, and, most importantly, husband and father. Today, we’re joined by Mal’s son, Gary, and the author of the new biography Living the Beatles’ Legend: The Untold Mal Evans Story, Kenneth Womack, to discuss Mal’s life, legacy, hidden talents, and why the Beatles wouldn’t have been the same without him.

CW: gun violence; death by suicide

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Did you know that George and Giles Martin have their own action figures?

When Giles Martin saw the action figure that designer David McGurk created of his father, George Martin, he liked it so much that he arranged for it to sell in the Abbey Road store. That limited run of 100 action figures sold out within hours.

David McGurk makes a variety of retro pop culture action figures through his company, Lightening Boltz Action figures. And George and Giles Martin aren’t the only Beatles-related figures he’s made. Some are of the Beatles themselves, but he also creates likenesses of people in the Beatles’ wider circle like Paul McCartney’s dad Jim Mac, and more recently, two versions of Brian Epstein. 

David joined us to about his work; his love of the Beatles; and his recent experiences with Giles Martin, Abbey Road Studios, and even Paul McCartney himself.

Follow David on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightning_boltz_action_figures/ or visit his website: https://lightningboltztoys.bigcartel.com/

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We’re so excited to welcome poet and editor Paul Muldoon to the podcast, to talk about his work on Paul McCartney’s book, The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, and the companion podcast, Paul McCartney: A Life in Lyrics.

Paul Muldoon has been described as “the most significant English-language poet born since the second world war.” He is a recipient of the Pulitzer prize for poetry, holds ten honorary doctorates, and is currently the sitting Ireland Professor of Poetry. Additionally, he served as poetry editor for the New Yorker, and is currently a professor at Princeton University.

Beatle fans will know him as the editor of Paul McCartney: THE LYRICS: 1956–Present, published in 2021. A new paperback edition was released this month, and includes 7 new commentaries. 

The Lyrics is the result of five years of candid conversations that Paul Muldoon had with Paul McCartney about the circumstances surrounding the songs’ creation, the people and places that inspired them, and what Paul thinks of them today. 

The original hardback edition of The Lyrics was a huge success, winning the 2022 British Book Award for Best Nonfiction Lifestyle book, and it was named 2021 book of the year for both Waterstones bookstore in the UK and Barnes and Noble in the US. 

Beyond the book, Paul Mulddon is also the narrator of the new companion podcast, Paul McCartney: A Life in Lyrics. Each episode focuses on a single song featured in the lyrics. We hear recordings of the candid conversations Paul Muldoon had with Paul McCartney to create the book, further augmented by narration, music, and historical soundbites. 

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We continue our track-by-track deep dive of the Beatles’ “Red” (1962–1966) and “Blue” (1967–1970) albums. In part two, we look at the second half of the Red album and the new tracks on Blue. 

Fifty years after their original release, Giles Martin has remixed these albums using the groundbreaking “MAL” audio technology, developed by Peter Jackson’s team for the 2021 Get Back film. These sets expand on the original track list, for a total of 75 songs which include some of their earliest cover tracks, and add a number of George Harrison tracks—sorely lacking from the original.

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