The Savage Young Beatles BM 69 Very Rare

$

701

COLLECTOR’S CORNER: “THE SAVAGE YOUNG BEATLES” (THE ORANGE & YELLOW)

Happy Nat holds two copies of "The Savage Young Beatles" from his collection

THE SAVAGE YOUNG BEATLES?

This will be the first time around on Collectors Corner that the record under scrutiny is not quite “legit.” Nevertheless, any serious collector of the American Beatles catalog will tell you that it still qualifies as a collector’s item. The Savage Young Beatles was issued in the early fall (most likely October) 1965 in the U.S. The album contains four songs that The Beatles recorded with English singer/guitarist Tony Sheridan in Hamburg, Germany. These are filled in with 4 additional songs with Tony Sheridan’s vocals, but no involvement by The Beatles at all (indicated by “#”). In it’s entirety the album’s playing time is barely over 20 minutes.

More specifically the track listing goes like this:

Side 1:
1) Cry For A Shadow
2) Let’s Dance#
3) If You Love Me, Baby
4) What’d I Say#

Side 2:
1) Sweet Georgia Brown
2) Ruby Baby#
3) Ya Ya#
4) Why

“Cry For A Shadow” is an instrumental performed by The Beatles with Pete Best on drums. It holds the distinction as being the only song with the composition credits of Lennon/Harrison. Track 3 on side 1 is also known with the title “Take Out Some Insurance On Me, Baby” and along with tracks 1 and 4 on side 2 feature The Beatles with Pete Best on drums backing Tony Sheridan on vocals. The other tracks (marked with a ‘#’ include Tony Sheridan on vocals/guitar but no work by The Beatles.

The record was released by Savage Records with the catalog number BM 69 and this was the first release by that label. Savage did not even hold the rights to any of the recordings, which in America were covered under leasing agreements with Polydor to labels MGM and Atco. The photograph shown on the front cover, taken on December 17, 1961 came from the group’s first photo session arranged by their recently hired manager Brian Epstein, who at this point, has not yet persuaded them to give up the leather.

The Savage Young Beatles front cover (first variation, 1965)

Record label/side 1

Record label/side 2

PACKAGING

The first covers have an orange background in the front with a yellow background on the record labels (see photos above). After a very limited pressing, the album was repackaged with a yellow background jacket and orange record labels (see photos below).

"The Savage Young Beatles" re-issue version w/Yellow background jacket, 1965

Record label/side 1

Record label/side 2

The text on the covers above the photographs has an error as it reads “This is the…The Savage Young Beatles.” The double usage of the word “the” was never corrected on any authentic copies. In order to bring maximum attention to “The Beatles,” Tony Sheridan’s name only appears in small text at the bottom of the front jacket along with the song titles. As can be seen in either photo above, he is listed as “T. Sheridan” (click photos to enlarge).

The back cover design on the original issues (pictured below) included liner notes with 2 incorrect pieces of information. First it mentions that the album contains two of The Beatles first instrumentals when “Cry For A Shadow” is the only instrumental on the record. Secondly, it refers to Pete Best’s singing, and Pete does not sing on this record at all.

Back cover of original issue, 1965

Inaccurate liner notes on back cover of original issue (click image to enlarge).

The liner notes on the re-issued (yellow) back covers are modified to remove the mistake about “two instrumentals” on the first back covers and also sympathetically imply that Pete Best was wronged when he was sacked from The Beatles as shown below. The text still erroneously refers to Pete Best’s singing.

Back cover of re-issue, 1965

Modified liner notes on repackaged version, 1965

While all authentic copies of this record are quite rare, the orange background jackets with yellow label discs are by far the rarest of the two variations. In fact, one resource I’ve used states that less than 10 authentic copies of the “orange” version are now known to exist.

CONTROVERSY OVER UNAUTHORIZED USE OF THE RECORDINGS

Although Capitol Records in America did not hold the rights to these recordings any more than Savage did, they were still upset over the release of this album. One reason was because there was an understanding between them, MGM and Atco to not include photos of The Beatles with records containing these Hamburg recordings. MGM, Atco or Polydor (the company they were leasing the rights from) did not use photos of The Beatles and did not transfer any such privilege to companies it was leasing to, but yet here was a company that used both the photo and music without any authorization. Capitol’s legal department even directed their quality control section to investigate who manufactured the vinyl records and jackets, however no action was ever taken against Savage.

Address that appears on back cover of original (Orange) covers

There is a New York City address on the original back cover jackets (see above) which under Capitol’s investigation, turned out to be the same address as TalentMaster Studio, owned at the time by Bob Gallo and Bob Harvey. Around this time Gallo had recorded a few songs for the Pete Best Combo which would come out on a later Savage album called Best Of The Beatles (BM 71). Pete Best has since confirmed that Savage Records was a Bob Gallo project. This offers some explanation of how the liner notes on the back of the jacket are somewhat over-sympathetic and over-complimentary of Pete Best. When the jacket was modified with the yellow cover, this address was removed.

The Beatles Anthology 1, cover art, 1995

IN MORE RECENT TIMES…

In 1995, thirty years after The Savage Young Beatles was released, Klaus Voormann included the front cover of it in his montage cover art for The Beatles Anthology 1. The part of the image where Pete Best appears is torn away revealing Ringo Starr’s face from thePlease Please Me album as seen in this photo to the right (click to enlarge).

SPOTTING THE FAKES

Although the orange jacket variation is more valuable, the yellow jacket version of the album has been the one more widely counterfeited. Here are are a few hints at how to tell if one is the real deal:

1. For the yellow jacket version, under the “Savage” logo in the front upper right corner of the jacket, there is the catalog number “BM 69? in small print. If this text is red like the logo, then it is a fake. Authentic copies have “BM 69? printed in black.
2. If the word “stereo” appears below the same “Savage” logo listed above, it is a fake. True copies of this album were never issued in stereo and certainly not annotated as being in stereo.
3. If the double usage error of the word “the” has been corrected on the front cover (see explanation above) so that there is only one “the,” then it is a fake. All authentic copies have this error on the front covers.
4. If the thickness of the vinyl is medium or thin and flexible, it is a fake. Authentic copies have very thick vinyl. On the other hand, the jackets are quite thin on authentic copies and prone to seam splits.
5. If any of the label or jacket text, photos or placement do not match the photos given here in every way, then it is a fake.

When in doubt about a copy you are evaluating, consult one of the dealers listed toward the end of this article.

WORTH

Here is a general idea of what authentic copies this release are valued at today (near mint/very good). Note: “Near mint” (NM) or “Very Good” (VG) conditions are in line with the standards of Goldmine magazine as defined here:

1. Orange background jacket/yellow record label $3000/$1200
2. Yellow background jacket/orange record label $400/$160

Note: These estimates on worth are based on Stanley Panenka’s 2011 record price guide – Introducing The Beatles Record Price Guide, with additional interpolations added using the 6th edition of The Price Guide For The Beatles American Records (6th edition) by Perry Cox & Frank Daniels. Naturally these values can vary based on specific condition of the vinyl and it’s packaging and other physical attributes as well as immediate demand and availability, and many other factors, making this only a guideline. For additional information please consult with one of the reputable dealers listed below.