
What do you think? Does this apple look like an apple or something else? Keri Lumm reports.
The Beatles song “Hey Jude” was almost never a hit because the apple label on the vinyl was considered “pornographic”.
A newly discovered letter reveals that the quartet’s 1968 song, their first release under Apple Records, was almost scrapped because record executives thought the logo looked like a vagina.
The letter, dated 28 August 1968, written by Capitol Records president Stan Gortikov, reveals distributors thought stores wouldn’t want to stock the single.
“Hey Jude” – with B-side “Revolution” – went on to sell 8 million copies worldwide. The logo remained.
The letter, addressed to Apple boss Ron Kass, reads: “Here’s a wild and unanticipated problem to brighten up your day I just received a call from a very large and influential rack jobber in the western United States. He opened the conversation by saying, ‘Are you guys serious? Do you know what you’re doing? Do you really intend to sell products bearing the new Apple label?’