Tragedy helps memorabilia business

By Steve Marinucci, Staff Writer
Published Dec. 12, 1980
San Jose Mercury News
Special Section to commemorate John Lennon's death

IN DEATH, as in life, The Beatles are very big business.

EMI pressing plants in Great Britain have been put on overtime to keeJfup with the demand for John Lennon and Beatles records. "Quite a few of our branches had sold out of stocks of everything," said a spokesman for one of Britain's largest record chains.

''You can liken the situation to when Elvis Presley died."
With this difference: The Beatles - even after their breakup - have outsold every other record group ever. The Guiness Book of Records cites The Beatles as the world's best-selling recording group, with 100 million LPs and 100 million singles sold.
Every Beatles record is still in print. In Britain alone, almost 30,000 albums are sold each month. And that was before the demand caused by Lennon's death.

"Elvis Presley has sold a lot of records since he died," said Nikki Randall, manager of musical research for Capitol Records, "but nobody has ever sold like The Beatles sell. Since they broke up in 1970, they have sold as many records as when they were together,"

Not only records, but Beatles items of all kinds hav.e been fast movers since the four went their separate ways. How many Beatles wigs, plastic Yellow Submarines, coin banks, Beatles trays, Beatles dolls, Beatles models, Beatles harmonicas, Beatles Flip Your Wig games, Beatles cards, and other items are stored in attics and trunks around the country?

Plenty of books on The Beatles also have gone in and out of print since the early days. The most.recently published work is a $29.95 coffee table-style book called "The Beatles," published by Rolling Stone and The New York Times and featuring Andy Warhol's painting of the Fab Four on the cover.

Other books on the group include" All Together Now" and "The Beatles Again," two volumes by Harry Castleman and Walter J. Podrazik that together list nearly every piece of recorded work by The Beatles, as well as an incredible compendimn of statistics. "The Beatles Forever" is Nicholas Schaffner's loving tribute to their lives and times. Ron Schamnburg weaves his memories of The Beatles in "Growing Up With The Beatles," a volume that also contains photographs and a color poster. Hunter Davies' authorized biography, "The Beatles," out of print for many years, recently
was reissued with new material.

Other book include "Lennon Remembers," a transcript of his two-issue interview with Rolling Stone shortly after the group's split; "The Man Who Gave The Beatles Away," by their first manager, Allan Williams; "The Longest Cocktail Party," a remembrance of Apple by former Apple employee Richard DiLello, and "As Time Goes By," a lighthearted memoir by Beatles press officer Derek Taylor.

Some books are harder to find, such as Brian Epstein's account of discovering and managing The Beatles and others, titled "A Cellarful of Noise," "Murray The K Tells It Like It Is, Baby" by the self-styled Fifth Beatle and "The True Story of The Beatles," by Billy Shepherd, a comprehensive remembrance of the group produced under the auspices of a monthly magazine once published by the group.

In addition to the collectible material, The Beatles have found their way into convention halls and theater stages through various Beatlefests held around the country where fans gather to exchange memorabilia. And there is a successful Broadway and national touring show, "Beatlemania," which The Beatles recently sued to have stopped.

Groups imitate The Beatles, though they aren't nearIy as nmnerous as the Elvis imitators. Probably the best-known is Rain, the group that supplied the music for the TV movie, "The Birth of The Beatles."

The run on Beatles collectibles will calm down, said Gary Rowe, owner of Rowe's Rare Records. "When something like this happens, people want all they can get. When the market settles down, through, they'll just want the more obscure stuff."
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