Expert: Chalk - 3/21/2007

Question
Dear Mr. Chalk.

My name is Ramon Aparicio. I'm a Beatle fan from Venezuela. I just recently bought Bruce Spizer's The Beatles' Story on Capitol Records (Part II-The Albums) and I really appreciate if you could help me with a doubt I have had regarding the Rubber Soul cover.

On page 100 of the aforementioned book, there is a Capitol trade ad that shows the Rubber Soul cover along with the new Beatles single. Well, in this black & white photo you can see a thread on John's right shoulder, next to George's chin. I mean, John's jacket is unstitched.

However, in all of the official issued color covers ( UK or USA ones) the thread has been…removed? My question is, Was the "original" photo retouched (by Robert Freeman?) to produce a more desirable appearance?

So far, I haven't found any information about this little detail on Internet Beatles pages. Not even Robert Freeman mentions it in his book.

I only know that this photo (unstitched version) has been used on the cover of the Mexican and Argentinean records (late sixties, early seventies).


Thank you very much for your precious time and greetings from Venezuela  

Answer
Hello, Ramon,

Frankly, researching this kind of detail doesn't really give me much of a thrill, and it seems that you have had a good look around the Net yourself. Bravo! I sometimes get questions that people can quite easily research for themselves very quickly, and it's nice that you have made an effort yourself.

I would say that are very few photos used in the pop business (on records, etc.) that are *not* retouched. As for a "thread" in a black & white photo - couldn't it just be a little fault in the photo, or in the printing of the book? Although you do say that "this photo (unstitched version) has been used on the cover of the Mexican and Argentinean records", so maybe a fault is not the answer.

I can't really give you a positive reply on this - sorry. I do marvel at your interest in such a detail. It's great to know that my, and the world's, all-time favourite group still creates such a devoted fan following.

Kind regards,

Chalk.