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Hello all, my name is Jack. Born in the early 60’s, my first Beatle memories are my sister (9 years my senior, she was a little too young for the Beatlemania years) having a Beatles souvenir couch pillow. I can remember playing over and over on our multi-speed record player her copy of the single Hey, Jude/ Revolution . She also had the “Meet the Beatles” album with that great photograph, and a poster of the Four, similar to the “Let It Be ” poster with four quadrants, but their images in psychodelic colours.

Well, she graduated and was out of the house by the time I was nine, and so my Beatles familiarity was then limited to what was playing on the radio. However I always liked the local “oldies” (songs more than 10 years old were considered oldies back then) radio stations, WIOF and WWYZ in my home state of Connecticut.  I can still remember riding my bike and humming or singing in my head Here Comes The Sun to the rhythm of the rotating pedals, still my favorite Beatle song.

When I finally started making my own money with a summer job, my first record purchase ever was the British version of Help ! (along with The Greatest Hits of Carly Simon Volume 1). I had to pay extra for that British vinyl, $12, compared to Carly’s album which was $7.69.  I can remember thinking that the group looked “too threatening” on their later albums, plus I liked Yesterday , so it seemed like a “safe” purchase. I was so enthralled with the album, I was down at “The Disc” record store every couple of weeks to either order or buy the next British Beatle album to add to my collection. I went this route, unlike my roommates or my younger sister who went for the numerous American re-packagings and compilations.

Some of you may remember the 30-hour radio documentary The Beatles: The Day in Their Life.  I actually recorded it off the radio onto 30 one hour cassette tapes. This is where I learned about the holes in my collection, the early EP’s and the obscure A Collection of Beatles Oldies (but Goldie’s!). By now I had the reproduction Palladium Show poster and the White Album posters on my dorm room wall.

The nearby cinema on campus played old pictures, and the first Beatle picture I saw was Let It Be (yeah, I know, kind of a downer). Then came Yellow Submarine . The first biography I ever purchased was the Peter Brown book.

In the last twenty years the interest hasn’t faded. Absolutely loved the ABC anthology, the DVD explosion that allowed me to view A Hard Days’ Night, Help !, even Magical Mystery Tour .  With the issuance of the complete Mono versions of their Parlophone releases, I can hear the Four as they were meant to be heard.

My favorite Beatle? It has to be George. Except for his infidelities, he seemed to have things in their proper perspective when you see his interviews. Plus he wrote my favorite song of theirs. I hope he rests in peace.