Fleetwood Mac - Rumours

Tomorrow (January 28th) sees the release of a deluxe version of Rumours celebrating the 35th anniversary of the album coming out. As everyone knows the album when originally released was a masterpiece and has sold around 40 million copies, so expect that number to rise from tomorrow.

It is amazing really when you read about how the album was recorded amongst the relationships in the band breaking down, the McVie's had just divorced and only talked to each other about music. Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks were in an on off relationship too. These troubled times come through in many of the lyrics and John McVie suggested the title of the album as he reckoned that everyone in the group was writing about each other in the band. To learn more about this classic album I suggest you look on Wikipedia, the full detailed story is there and it is quite a read!

Several singles were released off the album but didn't really do a great deal here in the UK as everyone was buying the album, which helped push it to the top of the charts. Over the years each track off the album has become a classic in it's own right and I think all the tracks at one point were often played on the radio.

My story of the album came in mid 1985, I had been staying with friends just outside of London. I had taken my Walkman with me for the journey home and I remember saying to my friend that I would like to buy a cassette for the bus ride home but couldn't think of one I wanted. She suggested Rumours as it was such a good album as she had a copy, so I bought it, I didn't play it till I was on my way home. When I started listening to it, I realised I knew the album, never heard the album before but all the tracks were often on the radio but never knew who it was. I loved it and played it several time that ride home so when I listen to the album it reminds me of that time!

Here is the cover of this classic album

The Beatles - Love Me Do

The 5th of October 1962 is a date that just about changed the world, musically and more importatnt people's lives. Although it would take a couple of years for the full impact to hit, The Beatles had arrived on the music scene and over the next few years of the sixties would cause a revolution that changed the world forever. Love Me Do was released and got to number 17 in the UK charts. Beatlemania was just around the corner and the fab four would be screamed at with every concert they played.

We all know what went on to happen with the Beatles, together and apart over the next few years but EMI were to celebrate again in 1982 when the single got a 20th anniversary release and the single was re-released in a picture cover and picture disc and this time it got to number 4 in 1982, and after that all the Beatles singles got the 20th anniversary reissue treatment.

Shoot forward to October 2012 and the single is now 50 years old, many things have changed, vinyl is no longer a populat format, EMI has been bought out and really isn't a giant like it was back in the old day, Universal (who now own EMI) decided to release Love Me Do as a limited single originally set for October 5th 2012 but the company issued the wrong version onto the single. Andy White was a session drummer brought in on one of the recordings of the single but the Ringo Starr track was used as the original single. EMI pressed the White session onto the anniversary single and realised, they withdrew the single but around 200 copies got out and now changing hands on Ebay for a lot of money. So the single was reissued a few weeks later missing the anniversary and coming out towards the end of October instead. Also on the reissue, the catalogue number on the B Side is wrong to the A Side and also the publisher of the song is MPL Communications which is McCartney's publishing company.

Here is the 50th anniversary single, plus the picture disc and a scan of an original red Parlophone Love Me Do single from 1962