Some things don't pass

How big a fan of The Beatles was I? Well, the first album I ever bought (on vinyl, of course) was a compilation of Beatles songs called Love Songs. That wasn't the first album I ever owned, though. That honour goes to ABBA's Arrival, which my parents gave me as a Christmas present in 1976. OK, I admit I did ask them to buy it for me. If my memory serves me correctly, Arrival came with a very fetching poster of the band (I preferred the blonde).

My best friend in high school was also a big fan of The Beatles. In fact it was one of the few things we had in common. That and an interest in cycling. And a lack of girlfriends (perhaps the three were related). But while Peter was more a Paul fan (he even named his firstborn Prudence - luckily it was a girl), I was definitely a John fan.

Having said that, I also had a bit of a soft spot for George. One of my most prized possessions as a teenager was a copy of All Things Must Pass on vinyl, which Wikipedia informs me was the first triple album ever released by a solo artist. And when my parents went to London and asked us kids if there was anything we wanted over there, I requested a copy of The Concert for Bangladesh, also a triple album. A couple of years ago I bought the film on DVD, and still enjoy watching it from time to time. And while I've sold off a lot of my old records over the years, I still have The Concert for Bangladesh safely stashed away in a cupboard. It must be worth quite a bit of money now.

Anyway, today while browsing through the cheap DVDs at the Warehouse I came across an episode of the Classic Albums TV series on John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band. I've never seen this episode, but I'm a great fan of the series and love the album concerned. I'm looking forward to watching it.