Apple promotional film

In June 1968, Tony Bramwell from Apple Films created a promotional film for Apple Records. This film was presented at the Capitol Records Convention in Los Angeles on June 21, 1968, and included the following sequences:

• The opening introduction features scenes of London with a voice-over (1:00 min)
• An Apple meeting follows, including John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Dick James (1:20 min)
• Paul McCartney performs “Blackbird” at Abbey Road with Francie Schwartz and George Martin, recorded on June 11 (1:30 min)
• Additional London scenes are shown with an audio excerpt from “Wonderwall Music” and a voice-over (1:10 min)
• Mary Hopkin is seen playing “Morning of My Life” on acoustic guitar and singing in the garden of Paul McCartney’s London home, with his dog, Martha, wandering around. Paul McCartney appears at the end to introduce the next segment (2:48 min)
• A brief segment features Magic Alex discussing Apple Electronics (0:45 sec)
• Another Apple meeting clip with John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Dick James is shown (0:33 sec)
• Paul McCartney performs “Helter Skelter” on acoustic guitar at Abbey Road, with John Lennon and George Martin appearing, also recorded on June 11 (1:02 min)
• The closing sequence displays Magritte’s painting “Le Jeu de Mourre,” owned by Paul McCartney, with an audio excerpt from “Wonderwall Music” (0:20 sec)

The film we came up with was a little bit arty and airy-fairy. There was a sequence of James Taylor and Mary Hopkin and Paul doing ‘Blackbird’, which I had filmed in early June; unshown footage that the BBC had banned of The Beatles doing ‘A Day In The Life’ from Sgt Pepper; a bit about the new Apple shop; some footage on the wildly experimental Indica Art Gallery and finally, The Beatles having a business meeting with ‘Uncle’ Dick James in the new Apple offices in Wigmore Street. John Lennon insisted on including footage of Magic Alex in his habitual white coat, fiddling with a pile of junk. Overall, it was a pretty little film when it was finished and everyone said how well they thought it would go down. Ron Kass said it would be a very useful tool to show the record executives at the Capitol convention in LA what Apple was all about.

Tony Bramwell – From “Magical Mystery Tours: My Life with the Beatles“, 2005

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