ZAPPLE DIARIES: The Rise and Fall of the Last Beatles Label

In August 1968, The Beatles launched their greatest business enterprise, Apple Records, to international fanfare. It was their label for experimental music and spoken word recordings, launching the group to be leading members of the counterculture movement of the late 1960s. The brainchild of Paul McCartney, the label collaborated with Yoko Ono alongside John Lennon, Allen Ginsberg, Richard Brautigan, Charles Bukowski, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Charles Olson. The less well known story is the introduction of their Zapple label about nine months later. If Apple presented artists with new, commercial opportunities, Zapple offered more cutting-edge freedom for leading avant-garde figures of the time. Barry Miles was the label's manager who went on to become a leading authority and chronicler of 1960s culture and here he provides insight into the colourful lives and working methods of the artists and discloses the experimental ventures and an engaging account of this little-known last chapter of Beatles history. Lennon and George Harrison took advantage of the sub-label to release their 'Life with the Lions: Unfinished Music #2' and 'Electronic Sound' albums respectively. The book describes in detail the transatlantic journeys to record on both the West and East Coasts of the USA, interwoven with the excitement and turmoil that was occurring at the Apple offices and in the London art and literary scene. Written by someone who really was there. 238pp, very well illustrated throughout and with useful chronology.