Right: The magazine that started it all for me in 1975. And the bootleg ad in the inside back cover

During the summer of 1975, I was sequestered at a college campus where my mom was teaching a summer camp. In these pre-cable TV, pre-internet, pre-video game, and pre-walkman days there wasn't a whole lot to do to relieve the boredom other than reading comic books (WEIRD WAR being my fave at the time). Then, during a trip to the local grocery store (again, this was your main supply of magazines before bookstores like Borders and such) I viewed a magazine called "BEATLES YESTERDAY AND TODAY". I talked my mom into buying me the magazine and I was mesmerized by its contents, spending the long days reading it over and over.

When we returned home from camp, I found a copy of The Beatles' RUBBER SOUL in the garage, in a box of my dad's old albums. I was hooked! With my only source of income (save my allowance) being the standard summer jobs of mowing lawns, I then purchased the "red" album (BEATLES 1962-1966), shortly followed by the "blue" album (BEATLES 1967-1970). A Beatles fanatic was born, leading to a happy 30+ year odyssey.

On the back inside page of the magazine was the only advertisement in the whole issue for "collectors nostalgia kits". There were various assortments of pictures that you could order and then I read the part of the ad which talked about an album for sale with,"30 record hits of live performances in U.S.A. and Europe". At the time, I had no idea that there was no such thing as a Beatles live album (this wouldn't occur for another 2 years officially). So I saved up my $9.98, plus $1 postage until I had enough to order it. Little did I know that I had just entered the world of Beatles bootlegs!

Above: An enlargment of the ad which describes the bootleg "30 Nostalgia Hits"

When the album arrived, I noticed that this wasn't your everyday album. "30 NOSTALGIA HITS" contained two albums within a single white record sleeve. The only "cover" was a tan insert which listed the titles and the record label, "Wizardo". But what really blew my mind was the actual records, which were blue colored vinyl with swirls of black! Defintely something to show off to my friends ("Isn't this cool?") I had never seen colored vinyl before (again, this was before the colored vinyl craze of the late '70s, which about corresponded with the picture-disc craze).

Luckily, although I didn't know it at the time (the album only listed titles, not the concert sources) my first Beatles bootleg contained two of the (then) best quality recordings of the Beatles: the complete Hollywood Bowl concert from August 23, 1964,and the Budokan concert from July 2, 1966 (minus one track performed). Also included were some early Beatles tracks from Germany, as well as some tracks from the Ed Sullivan Show.

Above: "30 Nostalgia Hits" my first Beatles bootleg album and my first "live" album

"30 NOSTALGIA HITS" was one of my favorites in my humble, but growing collection of albums. At the time, it probably got equal playing time with the "red" and "blue" albums. As 1975 turned into 1976, I slowly added to my Beatles album collection, checking off each new purchase from the list of Beatles albums that had been included inside BEATLES 1962-1966 and BEATLES 1967-1970. I pretty much kept this "holy" list with me during school, memorizing all the titles and the order of original release dates. It became a QUEST!

There were still "new" Beatles albums being released, such as 1976's ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC (complete with it's gaudy metalic sleeve) and I kept up with my Beatles news as best I could in these pre-internet days. Then in 1977 Capitol officially released THE BEATLES AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL. When I bought this album and took it home to immediately play it, I noticed something: I had heard most of these tracks before! I quickly realized that "30 NOSTALGIA HITS" contained the FULL 1964 Hollywood Bowl performance, unlike the official album which mixed portions of the 1964 and 1965 shows. Although the liner notes on the official album mention George Martin's work on the album as, "remixed, filtered, equalized and generally polished" - my 13-year old ear couldn't really tell much of a difference.

Later, as I became more knowledgeable on all things Beatles, I found that both the 1964 and 1965 Hollywood Bowl Beatles' shows were recorded by George Martin for Capitol for a possible official live album, but was ultimately rejected. Then, the album was again scheduled for a possible 1971 Apple release. Supposedly, Phil Spector (who had just done the "salvage" job on LET IT BE) was given the task and got as far as the acetate stage for the record. But again, it was not released. Finally in 1977, the "official" release of the Hollywood Bowl concert was a mix of parts of the 1964 and the 1965 shows. It's release was probably prompted by THE BEATLES LIVE! AT THE STAR CLUB IN HAMBURG, GERMANY: 1962, which made it to the stores 5 days earlier than the Capitol live Beatles album.

Ultimately, "30 NOSTALGIA HITS" ended up being my introduction into "live" albums. Ironic that my first live album was a bootleg. I wouldn't purchase my first official live album until a year later. And that was KISS ALIVE.

Funny how one little magazine changed things...