Speculation has been rife ever since The Beatles took to various social media platforms this past Saturday morning (9/12) teasing an image with the hashtag #THEBEATLES1.
Today, Apple Corps Ltd/UMG pulled back the curtain and announced the November 6th release of the newly restored and expanded 1 collection of Beatles chart-topping singles, expanding the package that was originally released in November 2000 with multiple configurations .
The 27-track CD/DVD and CD/Blu-ray pairs restored videos for each song with new stereo and 5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS HD surround audio mixes. The brand new Beatles 1+ celebrates their career in over 200 minutes through 50 promotional films and videos. This includes the 27 No.1s, with the restored videos, along with a second disc of 23 videos, including alternate versions, as well as rarely seen and newly restored films and videos; all include new audio mixes in deluxe CD/2DVD and CD/2Blu-ray packages. The 27-track audio CD is also being made available with new stereo mixes. A 2LP, 180-gram vinyl package will follow. (Pre-order links are available below.)
After The Beatles stopped touring and traveling around the globe, the band increasingly made what could be described as “mini movies” – predecessors of music videos. The new editions of them on The Beatles 1 have been made possible following extensive research and restoration of the original promo films, classic television appearances and other carefully selected videos spanning the band’s history. Apple Corps dug deep into The Beatles’ vaults to select a broad range of films and videos for their rarity, historical significance and quality of performance. An 18-person team of film and video technicians and restoration artists was assembled by Apple Corps to undertake painstaking frame-by-frame cleaning, color-grading, digital enhancement and new edits that took months of dedicated, around-the-clock work to accomplish.
The result is a visual rundown of The Beatles’ #1 records, as well as the additional tracks on the bonus disc of Beatles 1+ that show the band in previously unseen standards of clarity and quality; many of the films and videos have never before been commercially released, in whole or in part.
The Beatles 1 and 1+ offer the restored films, including 35mm negatives scanned in 4K and digitally restored with new stereo and 5.1 surround audio remixes produced from the original analogue tapes. For four of the videos, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have provided exclusive audio commentary and filmed introductions. The 1+ Deluxe Edition is presented in an expanded 124-page illustrated hardcover book which includes an appreciation of The Beatles’ groundbreaking films and videos by music journalist and author Mark Ellen and extensive, detailed track/video annotation by music historian and author Richard Havers.
Between 1962 and 1970, The Beatles released 27 #1 singles in the U.S. and the U.K. In 2000, these timeless songs were collected for The Beatles 1, which topped the charts in 35 countries and became that decade’s bestselling album worldwide.
“These videos and films are spectacular reminders of the era we lived in. They also rock!” says Paul McCartney.
“I think it’s really interesting to see the videos we made, some of them incredible and some of them really incredible. How else would we have got to sit on a horse?” adds Ringo Starr.
The Beatles 1 [CD; DVD; Blu-ray; CD/DVD; CD/Blu-ray]
DISC 1 AUDIO (CD) + DISC 1 VIDEO (DVD or Blu-ray)
- Love Me Do
- From Me To You
- She Loves You
- I Want To Hold Your Hand
- Can’t Buy Me Love
- A Hard Day’s Night
- I Feel Fine
- Eight Days a Week
- Ticket To Ride
- Help!
- Yesterday
- Day Tripper
- We Can Work It Out
- Paperback Writer
- Yellow Submarine
- Eleanor Rigby
- Penny Lane
- All You Need Is Love
- Hello, Goodbye
- Lady Madonna
- Hey Jude
- Get Back
- The Ballad of John and Yoko
- Something
- Come Together
- Let It Be
- The Long and Winding Road
DISC 1 VIDEO EXTRAS
Paul McCartney audio commentary
Penny Lane
Hello, Goodbye
Hey Jude
Ringo Starr filmed introductions
Penny Lane
Hello, Goodbye
Hey Jude
Get Back
The Beatles 1+ (CD/2DVD; CD/2Blu-ray]
DISC 1 AUDIO (CD) + DISC 1 VIDEO (DVD or Blu-ray)
(same as above)
DISC 2 VIDEO (DVD or Blu-ray)
- Twist & Shout
- Baby It’s You
- Words Of Love
- Please Please Me
- I Feel Fine
- Day Tripper *
- Day Tripper *
- We Can Work It Out *
- Paperback Writer *
- Rain *
- Rain *
- Strawberry Fields Forever
- Within You Without You/Tomorrow Never Knows
- A Day In The Life
- Hello, Goodbye *
- Hello, Goodbye *
- Hey Bulldog
- Hey Jude *
- Revolution
- Get Back *
- Don’t Let Me Down
- Free As A Bird
- Real Love
DISC 2 VIDEO EXTRA
Paul McCartney audio commentary
Strawberry Fields Forever
* alternate version
