Rare Beatles

Dallas, Texas: By 1966, the Beatles were a bonafide hit on both sides of the Atlantic. Record sales were through the roof; their songs could be heard on virtually every radio station from one end of the world to another, and "Beatlemania" was in full swing. It seemed that the Lads from Liverpool could do no wrong.

Until advance copies of their album, "Yesterday and Today" were released, that is.

Assembled from a variety of tracks left-over from previous albums and released to capitalize on the furor of the Fab Four, advance copies of "Yesterday and Today" - typically sent to disc jockeys and reviewers - bore a striking cover. Rather than the typical shot of John, Paul, George and Ringo in jackets and ties, this cover showed the four young men in butcher's smocks, covered in pieces of meat and decapitated baby dolls, with strange, eerie grins on their faces.

Why such a gruesome cover? Contrary to popular belief, the "Butcher Cover" was never intended as a protest against Capitol Records. According to John Lennon, in an interview conducted shortly before his death, the cover photo came about as a result of the quartet's boredom at having to do another photo shoot. It was never intended to be an album cover, but was just a result of the boy's blowing off steam.

Intended or not, the bizarre photo became the cover to the album "Yesterday and Today" when that album was released in 1966 (it came out between "Rubber Soul" and "Revolver.") Advance copies were shipped out to DJs and reviewers, and the calls started coming in to Capitol, complaining about the gruesome image. Before the albums shipped to retail outlets, the cover was quickly changed to the more familiar "steamer trunk" image.

"Because of its relative scarcity and the immense body of lore surrounding its genesis and intent, the 'Butcher Cover' has gained legendary status amongst Beatles collectors," said Doug Norwine, Director of Entertainment Memorabilia auctions for Heritage. "Rarer still, however, and even more prized, are the nearly-impossible-to-find 'Livingston Copies' of this landmark album."

"Alan Livingston, the Capitol Records President that signed the Beatles to their American contract, put aside a small number of 'Butcher Cover' albums upon release," said Norwine, "still in their mint, shrink-wrapped state. In 1987, Livingston's son, Peter, released his father's copies, 5 stereo and 19 mono pressings, each accompanied by a signed and notarized letter of authenticity, into a hungry marketplace. Since then, these exquisite pedigreed copies have become the most sought after of Beatles collectibles."

"It's rare that any of these albums enter the market," said Norwine, "as once obtained, collectors rarely part with these irreplaceable gems. The opportunity that we're presenting here, the chance to actually acquire one of these incredible disks, is one that may not come again for many years, so I urge collectors to seize this opportunity to bid on this treasure."

Heritage Auction Galleries will offer the exceptionally rare "Livingston Copy" of the Beatles' "Yesterday and Today", a Sealed First State Mono "Butcher Cover," complete with a signed and notarized letter of authenticity from Alan Livingston, in their upcoming Signature auction, to be held April 14 & 15, 2006 at their headquarters in Dallas, TX.

The Beatles "Yesterday And Today" Livingston Copy Sealed First State Mono "Butcher Cover" LP Capitol 2553 (1966), bears a pre-auction estimate of $20000 and up.

Beatles "Yesterday And Today" Livingston Copy Sealed First State Mono "Butcher Cover" LP Capitol 2553 (1966)

For more information about Heritage's auctions, and a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit www.HeritageAuctions.com.

Prospective consignors and sellers of Entertainment, Celebrity or Hollywood memorabilia are invited to www.HeritageAuctions.com/Entertainment and click on the "Sell Now" tab. Or simply email Doug Norwine at DougN@HeritageAuctions.com.

To reserve your copy of any Heritage auction catalog, please contact Nicole Jewell at 1-800-872-6467, ext. 272, or visit www.HeritageAuctions.com to order by email.