I like the Beatles a lot.
I own most of their 45s, EPs, LPs and CDs. I even own a few cassettes. So I have their official musical library covered, but I want more!
Circa summer of 1970, I discovered bootlegs in, of all places, the army-navy surplus shop on Commercial Street in Provincetown.* I had read about bootlegs in Rolling Stone, but this was my first encounter of illegal vinyl in the flesh. I did not buy any because there were no Beatles’ bootlegs for sale. But arriving on the UCONN campus the following autumn, what was the first thing I checked out after moving into my dorm?
The library? No.
The classrooms? No
The football stadium? No.
The local record store? Yes!
The store had Beatles’ bootlegs and I bought every one that they sold during my two-year stint in Storrs (my first two years at UCONN were spent at the Waterbury branch).
After Storrs, I continued to purchase bootlegs via mail order, switching from LPs to CDs and over the years, I amassed a large collection. I probably own more Beatles’ bootlegs than legitimate recordings.
But I still want more!
Don’t know how they get away with it, but Amazon sells bootlegs. Perusing their Beatles’ bootlegs, I found something new: an 8 CD set of Beatles’ bootlegs for only $21 (typical Amazon, the price fluctuates and as I write this, it’s now $25). Anyway, I probably have half the contents of those eight CDs already, but not the other half, so I made the purchase and the CDs arrived the next day and I have been enjoying “new” Beatles’ tunes the past few days.
* What was I doing in Provincetown in 1970? Going on a fishing charter boat, believe it or not.
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| Wearing New York & Company |
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| Wing Han taking a break while shopping in Singapore |
Stana
ReplyDeleteCould you have gone to a Beatles concert like that in 1970
I would have been arrested and taken before the Magistrates Court if I tried that here in the UK
Lucy
It depends, Lucy. Some states still had statutes prohibiting crossdressing, others did not. FWIW, I started going out crossdressed in public about that time and had no problems!
Deleteapparently one could not freely visit the stonewall bar in new york city in that mode at the time. i once read an account whereby the cops would periodically raid the place and then count "how many items of clothing were being worn on individuals that were not appropriate to their gender", and that three or more incurred a trip downtown to the slammer. along with being charged for something like "causing a public offence"
Deletethat was why the riots happened btw, in that the patrons decided one night that they had had enough of that treatment and refused to go quietly accordingly. as they say: the rest is history...
So, did you intentionally post this on Paul McCartney's birthday, or was that just serendipity?
ReplyDeleteBTW - I also adore their music and can't get enough of it. Recently I got to see HARD DAY'S NIGHT on the big screen - first time since it was originally released. Beautiful!
It was fate.
DeleteI was at Waterbury State Tech College right next door from 69 - 71
ReplyDeleteI see myself! Thank you Stana for giving me the chance to appear here with so many beautiful ladies!š
ReplyDeleteSo The Beatles were a girl's thing?š¤ Unfortunately I wasn't born back then...
The Beatles first concert in the USA was at The Washington Coliseum. They were supposed to fly from NYC to DC, but the manager of National Airport was afraid there would be too many girls on the tarmac, so the boys had to take the train. I worked at the Acacia Mutual Life Insurance Company. We were just a couple blocks from Union Station.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea the Beatles had been "rerouted". My desk was by a front window on the third floor. I started noticed small groups of girls going in the direction of Union Station. Then the small groups became larger and larger groups. The sidewalk was completely full. Soon most of the company was gawking out the windows at the growing mob. Finally someone went out and asked what was going on. I wasn't much of a Beatles fan until the White Album, but I understood what was up. Rumor had it that 50-75 Acacians sneaked out of work to go scream at Union Station.