Beatles Butcher Cover

It is every Beatles fan dream to own a Butcher Cover, but why is it so fascinating about this LP cover that make people sell their house just to have this piece of cardboard? Even the late John Lennon proclaimed that you can sell it for 11 millions dollar even though the late George Harrision said that this LP artwork is gross!

The controversy started in May 1966 when Capitol in the US of A required a cover artwork for their beatles LP "Yesterday...and Today". The infamous butcher cover has worked its way into legend to become the most sought after Beatles album of all time.

Originally shot as part of a surrealist triptych by photographer Robert Whitaker, the sight of the Fab 4 dressed in butcher's aprons and adorned with raw meat and dismembered baby dolls proved too much for the US mainstream. Some DJs even refused to play the album because they were shocked by the grotesques jackets.

Anyway, rather than waste the reported $200,000 printing cost of the sleeve, Capitol "removed" the sleeve and replaced it with a more decent shot of the band (see pix for Capitol recall letter ), but collectors started to peel, steam, tearing away the new sleeve because this LP is worth a small fortune.

Fret not if you don't have thousands of dollars to spare because right now you are able to purchase this repros at a reasonable price to impress your friends, afterall most of us do not own a turntable no more and a repro without the vinyl will still sit nicely in our living room. However, pls be careful when purchasing these masterpieces because personally I have purchased some crappy ones with very dull printing, the resolution is poor and the paper quality is too thin. It is not even suitable for framing.

Do visit ebay regularly because some of these butcher, original or repros do turn up every now and then. Never pay more than $500 for a badly peeled original copy and NEVER pay more than $70 for a reproduction. The Japanese ones are good for those entry level, whether they are printed Stereo or mono copies because a repro is still a repro, However,for an original, the stereo will command a higher price for now...

News Flash ! I found some Japanese Butcher Covers on ebay recently which is selling at only $38 (without the vinyl though) However, these are VG copies, meaning the paste job is not done perfectly, with some bubbles (closeup), but if you only want to use it as a decorative art, or want to frame it and put it in your lounge, than $38 is a steal indeed! I bought one and I luv it! Go Search= Japan Butcher Cover once a while it might pop up !>