Bogus Budget Beatles

As threatened, here's a look at some of the budget Beatles cash-in records that came out in the 'sixties. The illustration, above is interesting to me as I have no idea what that smudgy-looking album in the lower left-hand corner is supposed to be.

I suspect that the two LPs on the outer ends of the top row are the exact same tracks, repackaged for increased sales-by-confusion. The other two?




THE BEETLE BEAT by THE BUGGS has sentimental value to me, as I originally scored this one from the thirty-nine cent bin at the local TWIN FAIR back in the (late) 'sixties. Someone once informed me that these tracks were recorded by an actual British band but I've forgotten the name. Something like The Darts. The twoBeatles covers are hampered by the Hammond B-3 and lack of an "authentic" Mersey Beat vibe, but they rock out in a rather gentle manner. All the remaining tracks have bogus titles like "Big Ben Hop" and "Liverpool Drag." There's a version of the Doris Troy hit, "Just One Look" but even that is given a phony title! The band's solid playing is somewhat compromised by sappy lyrics. Sample: "Sassy Sue / Yeah Yeah Yeah / I Love You / Yeah Yeah Yeah / I know you really love me too!" Still, this is an enjoyable listen and the band has a great groove!


Well, looky here! There are two version of the same cover for WYNCOTE's "BEATLEMANIA IN THE U.S.A." LP! (I have the stark black and white one, myself.) WYNCOTE was the budget-line subsidiary for the CAMEO-PARKWAY label. Again, this LP features competent playing by "The Liverpools" which were no doubt session musicians that cut any number of "twist" records back in the day. The same tunes show up again and again on various other WYNCOTE releases. Which leads us to...



Wow! Here's a double knock-off! Not only do they tap into the Beatles' market but they're also trying to skim money from the Alvin & The Chipmunks contingent. And here's the beauty part: neither entity is directly mentioned on the cover! It's also a direct rip-off of the "actual" Alvin & The Chipmunks LP,pictured below. Is this marketing genius at work or what?



The DIPLOMAT record label has their own entry in the pseudo-beatles sweepstakes: THE MANCHESTERS! They put out two LPs entitled BEATLERAMA. The funny thing is, the second LP might just be a bunch of demos by an actual group called THE CHARTBUSTERS! They had their own hit with an "I Saw Her Standing There" clone called "She's The One!"








And If that weren't enough, they concocted a "girl group" version of the lads and dubbed them "The Beatle Maids!" I don't have a picture of their LP, but they made a highly-touted "guest" appearance on the pictured "Teen Dance Time" album. Scary broads! I like it!

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I wish I could promise you that I've exhausted this subject and I won't write any further entries about it. HOW CAN I WHEN THERE'S STUFF LIKE THIS FLOATING AROUND?