A film of The Beatles first concert in the States has been blocked by a court ruling. Bloomberg reports that Sony have won a legal battle blocking the release of the film which features material from the band's show at the Coliseum in Washington D.C. on February 11, 1964. According to a previous s...
A film of The Beatles first concert in the States has been blocked by a court ruling.
Bloomberg reports that Sony have won a legal battle blocking the release of the film which features material from the band’s show at the Coliseum in Washington D.C. on February 11, 1964.
According to a previous story on Spin, Ace Arts had obtained 35 minutes of footage from the concert which formed part of a 92-minute documentary entitled The Beatles: The Lost Concert.
The film was due to premier in New York’s Ziegfield Theater on May 6, 2012.
The BBC reports that the first part of The Beatles: The Lost Concert focused on the rise of Beatlemania in the United States and was followed by the 12-song set, which was originally broadcast in American cinemas in March 1964.
The Beatles: The Lost Concert has subsequently been in hiatus.
However, a UK judge has now ruled in favour of Sony Corp, effectively blocking the film from release.
Sony owns the worldwide copyrights to the eight Lennon-McCartney compositions played during the concert, including “I Saw Her Standing There“, “I Want To Hold Your Hand” and “From Me To You”.
According to Judge Richard Arnold, the songs “are reproduced in their entirety; the extent of the reproduction is excessive having regard to the transformative purpose; and the permit such use would likely damage the market for, or potential value of” the songs.
Meanwhile, several items of Beatles memorabilia are up for auction via Lelands in America.
Rolling Stone reports that the items include a postcard signed by all four Beatles during their stay at Miami’s Deauville Hotel in 1964, a week after they filmed their second appearance for the Ed Sullivan Show. The current bid is $12,636.21 (£19,699.41).
Another lot consists of three Apple Records bank cheques signed by John Lennon (undated), George Harrison (dated 1971) and Ringo Starr (1972).
Among other Beatles artefacts in the auction are a vintage Ludwig drum set designed like Starr’s and an unused ticket for a 1965 Beatles show in Portland, Oregon, currently priced at $1,100 (£705.46).
The History Of Rock – a brand new monthly magazine from the makers of Uncut – goes on sale in the UK on July 9. Click here for more details.
Uncut: the spiritual home of great rock music.