The Zapple Diaries : The Rise and Fall of the Last Beatles Label

This is the first full-length look at Zapple—the Beatles’ label for experimental music and spoken word recordings and the most ambitious expression of the group’s determination to be leading members of the counterculture movement in the late 1960s. Barry Miles, the acclaimed author, was the Zapple label manager and has written an engaging and slightly gossipy you-arethere review of this fascinating period in Beatles history. The book provides insight into the lives and working methods of leading literary and cultural figures of the time, including Allen Ginsberg, Charles Bukowski, Richard Brautigan, William Burroughs, and Frank Zappa. The Zapple Diaries is the fascinating story of an ill-fated experimental venture and a revealing account of the little-known last chapter of Beatles history.°°°Barry Miles writes about the Beat Generation and 1960s culture and is the author of more than 50 books, including the authorized Paul McCartney biography. From 1975 to 1978, he was a regular writer for New Musical Express, and in 1978 he edited Time Out (UK). He lives in London. A revealing history of the Beatles' experimental record label, as told by the label's manager. In August 1968, the Beatles launched their greatest business enterprise, Apple Records, to international fanfare. The less well-known story is the introduction of their Zapple label about nine months later. If Apple represented artists with new, commercial opportunities, Zapple offered more cutting-edge freedom; its mission was to distribute experimental music and spoken word recordings from the leading avant-garde figures of the time. The brainchild of Paul McCartney, the label captured the counterculture spirit of the 1960s by collaborating with Yoko Ono alongside John Lennon, Allen Ginsberg, Richard Brautigan, Charles Bukowski, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and Charles Olson. The Zapple Diaries is the first full-length look at the enterprise, as well as a true insider account from Barry Miles, the label's manager who went on to become a leading authority and chronicler of '60s culture. He provides insight into the colorful lives and working methods of the artists and discloses the fascinating story of the experimental venture, ultimately offering up a revealing and engaging account of this little-known chapter of Beatles history. Prequel. From Apple to Zapple 'Z' is for Zapple The idea Savile Row Blue meanies Hells Angels East coast The Big O The poetry farm The first trip: LA - Bukowski The first trip: SF - Brautigan The first trip: SF - Ferlinghetti - McClure Back in Blighty Unfinished music no. 2: Life with the lions Electronic sound Apple crumble The second trip: Allen Ginsberg The second trip: LA Meanwhile back in the USA. For the first time, cultural icon and label manager Barry Miles tells the full story of Zapple. It is a story of inspired ideas, set against the backdrop of London's vibrant underground scene and the final years of the battling Beatles and their crumbling Apple empire