Posted on 01/22/2003 6:21:05 PM PST by socal_parrot
United States poster companies have airbrushed the classic Beatles Abbey Road album cover to remove a cigarette from Paul McCartney's hand.
The move was made without the permission of either McCartney or Apple Records, which owns the rights to the image.
|
|
 It seems these poster companies got a little carried away
Apple Records spokesman
|
|
|
The original copy shows a barefoot McCartney third in line on the famous road crossing holding a cigarette.
But politically correct US poster companies have airbrushed out the offending cigarette, to the delight of anti-smoking campaigners.
"We have never agreed to anything like this," said an Apple spokesman.
"It seems these poster companies got a little carried away.
McCartney came up with the original idea for the sleeve
|
"They shouldn't have done what they have, but there isn't much we can do about it now."
The move comes 14 months after guitarist George Harrison died from cancer, which he blamed on smoking.
All of the Beatles were heavy smokers during the 1960s and 70s.
The 1969 image has been a poster classic since it was taken near Abbey Road studios in north London, where the group recorded most of their music.
The shot is one of pop's most controversial album covers.
Photographer Iain Macmillan was given just ten minutes to take the picture outside the studios.
He balanced on a stepladder and took six photographs of the four walking across a zebra crossing.
Death myth
It was McCartney who selected the cover shot.
He had, in fact, come up with the original idea for the sleeve and had presented Macmillan with a sketch for it.
A myth suggesting that Paul McCartney had died in a car crash and been replaced by a look-a-like grew up around the picture soon after it was released.
Clues could supposedly be found in the image.
The white-suited John Lennon symbolised the preacher heading the funeral procession, while the bare-footed McCartney was the corpse.
According to the rumours, proof positive of the impostor theory was the fact that Paul was holding a cigarette in his right hand, despite being left-handed.
The original story published in the UK Sun gave the impression that Paul and/or Ringo approved of this. I'm pleased to see that they (or at least the Beatles company) find it ridiculous too.
Nothing new here.
The politically correct nut cases strike again. What's next, the lyrics to Maxwell's Silver Hammer? We musn't let sensitive ears hear how nasty Max was.
Really you know if parents don't want their kids seeing a poster of someone smoking, they don't buy it. It all has me reminiscing for the seventies when America was a free country and we could think for ourselves and make our own decisions.
Yeah but you had to play the album backwards to get that.
(Here's a Big pic of Paul with the cig.)
They left out the other two ... Ringo is the undertaker and George is the gravedigger, according to the theory.
I'm amazed but not surprised at this unauthorized alteration of a classic album cover (which I wouldn't call particularly controversial, but oh well). The anti-smoking fanatics probably think that entire generations have picked up the habit after seeing that cigarette in Paul's hand. If he wasn't already dead, smoking would surely kill him ...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
