nPostednon March 29, 2014
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n[Sungnto the tune of Hey, Jude.]
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nHey,nguys, don’t listen to
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nThenBeatles’ music – n
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nIt’snjust so wrong.
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nRemembernour communist principles
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nThennwe can keep our nation-state strong…
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nFlashnforward 26 years…
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n[Sungnto the tune of Back in the USSR.]
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nNownyou can buy our records in a music store,
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nBuyn’em totally legit.
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nYouncan listen to our songs most anywhere,
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nThenKGB will not throw a fit.
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nWenmade it to the USSR;
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nYounknow how lucky you are, boy,
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nBacknin the USSR!
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nOnnthis date in 1986, more than a decade after the Beatles hadnceased to exist as a band, the Soviet people could finally legallynbuy their records.
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nButnthat doesn’t mean that Russians weren’t listening to Beatles musicnbefore then. The government took a hard line against the Beatles,ncalling their music “capitalist pollution” and “ideologicallynalien,” and calling the Beatles themselves “the bugs.” Still,nBeatles records were available on the black market. n
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nAndnwhen kids heard the music, according to British Cold War spy LeslienWoodhead, they often thought, “The Kremlin told us this is evilnmusic, but it’s not true. It’s lovely music! Maybe they’ve been lyingnto us about other things as well…”
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nIllegalnBeatles records cost a lot of rubles. Some Russians were willing tonpay as much as two weeks’ salary for a Beatles album. n
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nThenbootleggers discovered that music could be etched onto x-rays. Thenenterprising lawbreakers bought old x-rays from Soviet hospitals, andnthe music was pressed onto them using a specially-rigged recordnplayer…and these disks sold for less than an actual vinyl record.
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nCannyou imagine listening to a floppy, see-through record that has anpicture of some stranger’s ribcage or femur on it?
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nOfncourse, if someone was caught with a bootlegged disk, and turned innto the KGB—that person could be punished. Still, the people’sndesire to listen to the Beatles’ music was greater than their fear ofnpunishment, and bootlegging and smuggling flourished. Apparently evennsome Soviet diplomats, Communist Party workers, and even KGB membersnbought and listened to the banned music!
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nTonfind out more about Beatles music in Soviet Russia, check out this BBC article or this Daily News article.nOr watch “How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin” on video.
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WhennPaul McCartney wrote Back in the USSR, he had neverntraveled there, and the Beatles obviously never performed there.nStill, Paul said that he’d heard on the down-low that the Beatles hadnsecret fans there.
WhennPaul McCartney wrote Back in the USSR, he had neverntraveled there, and the Beatles obviously never performed there.nStill, Paul said that he’d heard on the down-low that the Beatles hadnsecret fans there. n
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nSomenRussian have said that the Beatles helped overthrow communism! Thisnpoint isn’t ridiculous—the Beatles promoted a cultural revolutionnthat played a part in the ending of the USSR.
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nAlsonon this date:
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National Mom & Pop Business Owners’ Day
National Mom & Pop Business Owners’ Day
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nEcologistnCharles Elton’s birthday
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MemorialnDay in Madagascar
MemorialnDay in Madagascarn
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nAnniversarynof the day the Niagara Falls stopped falling
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nEarthnHour 8:30 – 9:30 p.m.
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nPlannahead:
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nChecknout my Pinterest boards for:
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n n Historicaln anniversaries in March
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
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nApriln holidays
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nHistoricaln anniversaries in April
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