The Blue album I already wrote about yesterday, with the iconic picture that was taken in a second shoot in 1969. It is weird to realise that in the few years that they existed, the Beatles completely changed pop history. And after all these years, they are still the best selling artist ever. In the faces on the cover you can see it. In their poses you can see their different attitudes. Time has changed them all in different ways.
These two albums were an idea of the Beatles’ business manager Allen Klein. Klein made a name for himself by making better deals for the artists, representing their interests towards the record companies. He was already known as the manager for the Stones since 1965, and made some earlier attempts towards the Beatles. He got his chance when Beatles manager Epstein died in 1967. Without McCartney’s approval, the band made him manager of Apple Records, the Beatles’ company.
Klein already had his share of judicial fights with his own artists, like the Stones. What was good for the artists, was especially good for Klein: when Decca paid the Stones 1.25 million dollar as an advance for the coming album, Klein put it all in a fund, to be paid to the band. Eventually. Also, the fine print of the contract was that he didn’t have to actually release the album. At least not for twenty years. After the release of these two double albums, Klein was fired from his position at Apple Records.