"Here's Another Place You Can Go..." A brief explanation of what the hell I'm doing...

On May 14th 1968 The Beatles launched Apple Corps Ltd, a typically late 60's experiment in what McCartney described at the New York Press launch as "hippie capitalism." By 1967 The Beatles' financial situation was such that any further money they made would be instantly subtracted in tax. They were advised that they had around £2,000,000 to play with, and that if it was not to end up in the Taxman's pocket it would have to be invested. Thus Beatles Ltd became Apple Corps Ltd.

Paul: "We want to be able to help other people but without doing it like charity and without seeming like patrons of the arts. We always had to go to the big man on our knees...and most of these companies are so big, and so out of touch with people like us who just want to sing or make films, that everyone has a bad time. We are just trying to set up a good organisation, not some great fat institution that doesn't care."

All four Beatles became company Presidents. Apple operated out of 3 Savile Row, and incorporated at various times Apple Electronics, Apple Films Ltd, Apple Music Publishing, Apple Retail, Apple Tailoring, Apple Television, Apple Wholesale and Apple Records. An avant garde/spoken word label, Zapple, was scrapped after only two releases. In addition to these subsiduaries there were many Apple-branded enterprises, such as Apple School, which never developed beyond the conceptual stage. Perhaps their most famous enterprise was the ill-fated Apple Boutique of 94 Baker Street, a 'head' shop which lost £200,000 in under a year.

'Flew in ftom Miami Beach BOAC' is the first lyric of 'Back In The USSR,' the first track of the first LP released on the Apple label - The Beatles 'The Beatles' - known to the world thereafter as The White Album. My blog will not concern itself purely with Apple/White Album/Altamont-Hells Angels-Vietnam-Nixon-Kent State-Manson dark 'n' dangerous end of '60s related ramalama, but I needed a theme to orientate my blog around and you gotta go with what you know; for better or worse, in my case this means late-period Beatles & Death Of The Sixties. While I'm fascinated by The Beatles entire career, over time I have become particularly obsessed with the post-Peppers unravelling of the group, and the troubled historical context in which it was played out and in many ways reflected. I figured it might be cool if I presented my blog as yet another Apple subsiduary - Blapple, if you will - which I could produce in the Apple spirit. Seeing as Apple is the most litigious company ever this may prove to be a rather foolish exercise, but at least if they bring legal action against me it'll mean I've written myself a little part in The Beatles story.

Aside from the Apple angle the blog's gonna cover all sortsa wooly liberal cultural boohockey; film, telly, music, politics, Bush-baiting yadda yadda yadda, same garbage you get everywhere. Anyhoo, thanks for listening, I'm still getting the hang of this blogging thang and it's probably gonna be a while 'fore I get it all running smoothly...a little like Apple.  ¶ 8:01 AM