Apple Records | With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

On This Day Bobby Z Released His First Recording And The Fabs Rejected The Dame! April 24, 2024

Filed under: On This Day — justwilliam1959 @ 10:12 pm
Tags: Apple Records, Beatles, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Harry Belafonte

On April 24th 1961 Bob Dylan made his first officially released recording, he earned $50 for playing harmonica on the title track of Harry Belafonte’s LP, ‘The Midnight Special’. Bob made his debut recording five months previously on a record by folk singer Carolyn Hester, but this wasn’t released until after the Harry Belafonte album.

In 1968, also on 24th April, the Beatles’ new Apple record label turned down an opportunity to sign David Bowie, who had just left Deram Records. Bowie’s manager at the time, Kenneth Pitt submitted a demo tape, only to receive a letter from the company’s A&R chief, Peter Asher, stating that “Apple Records is not interested in signing David Bowie. The reason is that we don’t feel he’s what we’re looking for at the moment.” I wonder how Bowie’s career might have gone had he signed to Apple?

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“I just don’t know where my home is anymore” May 6, 2015

Filed under: News,Obituary — justwilliam1959 @ 8:56 pm
Tags: Apple Records, Beatles, Blue Night, Brother Louie (Hot Chocolate song), Errol Brown, Harrods, Hot Chocolate, Hot Chocolate (band), The Bahamas, You Sexy Thing

Hot Chocolate‘s lead singer Errol Brown has died from liver cancer at his home in the Bahamas, aged just 71. That is really sad news, Errol was an iconic figure from my youth. For me Hot Chocolate were a superb singles band, particularly back in the days when singles were all I could afford. I would always do what I could to buy any Hot Chocolate single as it came out. I once even bought a single that they released on the Beatles Apple label. I can even tell you were I bought that one, in the Harrods sale in 1976.

Their hits are pretty much all classics and the majority really haven’t dated at all. Even the non-hits are pretty darned good. In the mid 70s I bought a Hot Chocolate single called “Blue Night”, it wasn’t a hit. But the B-Side (ask your grandparents if you don’t know what a b-side is) is a song you might know; it was “You Sexy Thing”. It looks like the record company may have got it wrong when making that a B-side initially.

Errol Brown and Hot Chocolate were a great band that were loved by many people. My thoughts go out to Errol’s family, friends and fans. Errol Brown RIP.

“Looking through the bent backed tulips to see how the other half live” March 27, 2015

Filed under: Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 1:22 pm
Tags: Apple, Apple Corps, Apple Records, Badfinger, Beatles, Come And Get It, Day After Day, Fixing A Hole, Fool On The Hill, Glass Onion, I Am The Walrus, John Lennon, Lady Madonna, No Matter What, Strawberry Fields Forever, The Beatles, White Album

John Lennon was originally intending to give the name Glass Onion to a band that had been signed to the Beatles Apple record label. That didn’t happen and the band went on to become Badfinger. Oh well no matter….what! Oh and “Glass Onion” went on to become a song on the Beatles’ classic ‘White Album‘ from 1968. The song references at least five other Beatles songs too; “I Am The Walrus”, “Fool On The Hill“, “Fixing A Hole“, “Lady Madonna” and “Strawberry Fields Forever”