BOOTLEG FILES 885: “Around the Beatles” (1964 British television special).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: Bits and pieces of the show turned up on home entertainment release.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: The full show has been unavailable for years.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.
Sixty years ago today, ABC broadcast “Around the Beatles,” an hour-long musical special that was first broadcast on Britain’s ITV on May 6, 1964. This production was notable as the rare television variety special with the Beatles as the starring attraction – for the most part, the Fab Four only showed up as guests on someone else’s small-screen music and comedy revue.
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