Contra Band Music

George woke up on the morning of February 8th, 1964 with an elevated temperature and flu symptoms. Bedrest was ordered, so he stayed in the ...

Thanks to everyone for participating in my poll. It seems that nearly 3/4 of you like the blog just the way it is. Most of the rest of you w...

Eva Records, 1982 Three sides of this LP are worthless, being incomplete copies of the Liverpool Empire, Houston, and Tokyo concerts copied ...

Pan Am flight 101 landed at New York's Kennedy Airport just before 1:30 pm on February 7th, 1964. The four Beatles stepped off the plane...

no label, 1987 One side of pirated solo Macca tracks, and one side of mostly Lennon interviews. Side 1: - Twice In A Lifetime - Write Away -...

The Beatles' Paris visit ended February 5th when they flew to London, enjoying only one full day off in their home country before jettin...

no label, 1970 One of the rarer early Beatlegs [matrix XCQ-1A/B], basically just a copy of the far more common Kum Back , squashed from ster...

I've set up a poll (left side of the page) for visitors to vote on the future direction of this blog. I can continue alternating the nee...

With anticipation reaching a fevered pitch in the USA for The Beatles' visit, particularly after "I Want To Hold Your Hand" to...

no label, 1971 Half of an earlier Beatles boot ( Last Live Show ) and half Rolling Stones outtakes. Side 1: - Looking Tired - Tell Me Baby -...

On January 14th, 1964, 3/4 of The Beatles left London Airport bound for Le Bourget airport, Paris. Upon their arrival, they spoke to a radio...

TMOQ, 1971 Another iteration of the Philadelphia concert, this one a reissue of TMOQ's version, which itself was copied from the Whiskey...

After their Juke Box Jury appearance, The Beatles finished 1963 performing in cities such as Doncaster , recording two BBC Radio specials, ...

Gnat Records, 1984 A decent compilation of Lennon-centric material, group and solo; mostly copied from earlier bootlegs. Side 1: - Some Othe...

After John's successful if controversial appearance on Juke Box Jury , it was natural for BBC TV to request all four Beatles to fill th...

Beacon, 1978 One of the many discs to cash in on the Deccagone releases, this time an EP pairing two of the earliest singles in that series...

On November 25th, 1963, The Beatles taped a mimed performance of their new single, "I Want To Hold Your Hand"/"This Boy"...

TKRWM, 1976 A repackaging of ZAP's earlier title, Liverpool Flash , containing a mix of live, BBC, and studio material. Side 1: - Paperb...

The Beatles (Police Protection) 46. Sir C. Taylor asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will give instructions th...

TAKRL, 1976 Another in the reissue series, this time a straight repackaging of ZAP's No Obvious Title . Side 1: - Nowhere Man - Get Back...

On November 16th, 1963, with Beatlemania inescapable throughout Great Britain, all three US television networks sent camera crews to cover t...

TKRWM, 1976 The first in a series of seemingly random repackagings of previously-bootlegged material. This one is just sides three and four ...

The Beatles arrived in Portsmouth on November 12th, 1963 for two concerts at The Guildhall. Both shows would end up being postponed until De...

The new book arrived here this morning, and it looks amazing! The printers did their usual superb job reproducing my photos and image scans...

King Kong, 1975 A minor upgrade (at the time) of the Washington DC kinescope, substituting "Shout!" for the truncated "Twist ...

The Beatles' sole touring visit to Ireland kicked off November 7th, 1963, as they flew from London to Dublin for a performance at the Ad...

Smilin' Ears, 1977 Another iteration of the June 30, 1966 Tokyo concert, this one lifted straight from Tobe Milo's double EP of the ...

On November 5th, 1963, the morning after their Royal Variety Show performance, The Beatles sat for an interview conducted in an unusual fash...

King Horn, 1986 By request, here is a double-LP of pirated "songs The Beatles covered", interspersed with interview excerpts of th...

October 1963 was a pivotal month for The Beatles; already firmly ensconsed atop the British pop scene, their appeal began to expand to other...

CBM, 1972 Some of the Xmas flexis, the Yellow Matter Custard BBC tracks, a Tony Sheridan single, and "Dig It". Side 1: - Dig It -...

Another BBC Radio interview, this one recorded October 3rd, 1963 for The Public Ear and broadcast November 3rd. The interviewer is Michael ...

contra-band music, 1970 This was the earliest bootleg to bear a "Contra Band Music" imprint; however, it bore no relation to the w...

The Beatles spent September 12th, 1963 at Abbey Road Studio 2, taping songs for their second LP, With The Beatles . The only reel to have su...

Togah, 1980 A 1-sided Tobe Milo LP; that is to say, side B is blank. It's not a 2-dimensional disc. Most of the content is the soundtrac...

The Beatles' summer of 1963 wound down with a six-night residency at the Gaumont Cinema in Bournemouth. Between shows on August 23rd, th...

Neon, 1986 A sumptuously-packaged double LP of French Beatle concerts, with the bootleg debut of the January 1964 show, and major upgrades o...

July 30th, 1963 was perhaps the busiest day yet in an already hectic summer for The Beatles. Beginning at 10am, they taped "Please Mr. ...

Contra Band Music, 1972 CBM's copy of an earlier bootleg, one of the first containing "Get Back" outtakes, plus a peace messag...

From July 22nd through 27th, 1963, The Beatles shared the bill with Gerry and the Pacemakers at the Odeon in Weston-Super-Mare. When not per...