The Beatles on iTunes and in Japan

November 17th, 2010By Category: Arts & Entertainment

As announced by Apple last night, the back catalogue of the Beatles is now available for download on iTunes and is all set to make a big splash in time for Christmas and New Year sales. If you want to take your interest in the band’s music beyond digital downloads however, then Japan is the place to be, with plenty of places keeping Beatlemania alive and well.

Japan’s national interest in the Beatles does not come out of nowhere. The 1966 concert in the Budokan was one of the first pop-music crazes the country experienced, Yoko Ono has always been a fascination with her own special place in Beatles history and then of course, Paul McCartney’s troubles at immigration. Curiouser still, the name ‘Ringo.

Before there was any hint of the iTunes announcement this week, the Beatles had already been named International Artist of the Year at the Japan Gold Disk Awards, alongside the likes of Norah Jones, ‘The Fall’ and Sarah Brightman. These are awards determined by sales in Japan over the course of the previous year and 2009 was one in which the Beatles sold over 600,000 units of the Stereo Re-masters boxed set and Beatles In Mono. Taking into account the number of CDs in each set means that the Beatles sold over 2.5 million albums in Japan last year.

With all that and more to consider, it doesn’t take too much searching before you will find that there are dozens of tribute bands, 1960s themed bars and until recently, a museum in Saitama where you could indulge your yen for the Fab Four. Folks living in Tokyo have two particularly famous places to visit, the Cavern Club and Abbey Road, where every night at both places a live band will play through a near-perfect selection of Beatles classics together with audience requests in near-pitch perfect recreation.

Image Copyright: Harmonix Music Systems

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Author of this article

George Stobart

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