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No rock ‘n roll group had more
influence on a generation and the world as did The Beatles.
They single handedly changed the period known as the ‘Sixties’ and
their influence is still being felt today.
Music, culture, lifestyles, hairstyles,
clothing styles and attitudes all changed because of this remarkable band that
emerged out of Liverpool England in
the early 1960s. The Beatles were
George Harrison, John Lennon, Ringo
Starr and Paul McCartney as
pictured above.
The Beatles themselves were
greatly influenced by the early rock ‘n roll stars from America such as Elvis
Presley, Fats Domino,
Buddy Holly, Gene Vincent and others.
During the band’s infancy they spent a considerable amount of time
listening and copying the styles of these great 1950’s rock ‘n roll heroes.
It’s fair to say that the music style adopted by the Beatles has in
roots in 1950’s American rock ‘n roll.
The Beatles dawned on the
music scene in the very early 1960’s and by 1963 had established themselves as
the premiere rock ‘n roll band in all of England.
Frenzied crowds greeted the Beatles wherever they appeared throughout all
of England. Beatlemania
was born. The
America music scene had all but ignored what was transpiring in England.
But by January 1964, after
the release of the Beatles second album in England,
America could not longer resist the onslaught of these four loveable guys
with mop-top haircuts. They stormed
onto the American music scene in February 1964 with their historic performances
in Washington DC, Carnegie Hall and
Shea Stadium. Their music, coupled
with their first class humor and personalities,
firmly established them as the rock ‘n roll kings for an entire
generation. Their popularity, both
yesterday and today, still remains unequaled by any other rock ‘n roll artist.
The memorabilia licensed by The Beatles is vast and
seemingly endless. No other group
in history generated more public thirst for merchandise than did The Beatles.
Today’s serious Beatles collectors concentrate on the early 1960’s
licensed Beatles as well as the Yellow Submarine wave of memorabilia produced in
1968. North End Music Stores, NEMS,
granted merchandising licenses to hundreds of companies around the world to
manufacture ‘official’ Beatles memorabilia.
These items have become ‘better than money in the bank’ as prices and
demand for Beatles memorabilia continues to skyrocket.
For example a mint condition metal Beatles
lunchbox in 1970 sold for $20; in
1980 $100; in 1990 $300 and as we
enter the millennium, prices are
upwards of $1,000+.
The Beatles are the most collected and celebrated
group in rock ‘n roll history.
The Yellow Submarine...
‘We all live in a Yellow
Submarine’… Surely everyone,
young and old, recognizes this line from one of the Beatles most famous songs. This full-length feature movie, which premiered in London in
July of 1968, represented a
technological breakthrough for the movie industry of the 1960’s. Real life imagery integrated with animated artistry plus the
addition of Beatles music made this film a classic for all time.
The film coincided with the psychedelic era of the 1960’s and the
counterculture movement plus with
it’s vivid colors coupled with it’s ‘good vs. evil’ theme,
it
remains a constant reminder to us of that special decade we now refer to
as 'the sixties'.
The Yellow Submarine artistry has the
brainchild of German artist Heinz Edelmann not
American artist Peter Max as many believe.
Peter Max had nothing to do with the Yellow Submarine period!!
Heinz Edelmann's remarkable talents are evident in his creative interpretations of
each Beatle and the multitude of characters he created for the film.
The Yellow Submarine represented the
second rush of Beatles merchandising efforts in late 1968.
Following a very successful 1964-1966 merchandising campaign, NEMS
Enterprises Ltd. in conjunction with SUBA Films Ltd. produced a plethora of
licensed merchandise ranging from simple items like children's lunchboxes and
toys to more limited production items like in-store
promotional displays like that and this,
original art
animation production cels used in the movie and
hand-painted
figurine sets by the world renowned Goebel
corporation of West Germany. Another hard to find Yellow Submarine
licensed item is the
American made Desk Set mfg in New York City
1968 by A&M Leatherlines Inc. A&M Leatherline also made a set of
five rare pinback buttons in
1968, the only vintage, licensed set made in the USA.
These artifacts have since become very
prized collectibles. The movie
lends itself to be perfect for a merchandising effort:
seemingly limitless items could be manufactured utilizing extremely
colorful vivid scenery from the film. Many
licensees produced official Yellow Submarine memorabilia from late 1968
throughout 1969. Many of these
products have been catalogued but there are still collectors today that uncover
previously unknown licensed pieces. Many
collectors have begun concentrating on Yellow Submarine merchandise, favoring it
over earlier Beatles memorabilia because of it’s vibrant, eye-catching appeal
and the wide variety of products that were produced.
Blue Meanies Attack !!!
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