BEATLEGS: AN INTERVIEW WITH BELMO

By Humberto Chipoco V.

One of the first books I had the opportunity to consult to learn more about the unofficial releases of The Beatles was Black Market Beatles, a 1995 book written by Belmo in co-authorship with Jim Berkenstadt. The book was my direct access to the dark world of Bootlegs and for the first time I was able to learn more about what was happening in the "other" record industry. Over the years, the books published by Belmo have been a must-read for me and are an important part of the research I do on the music of The Beatles.

An admirer of his work, I came to the conclusion that perhaps it was time to interview him, I asked him the question and he graciously agreed to answer a questionnaire that I sent him, the result is what I present for the Mundo Beatle blog.

Humberto: By way of introduction, could you tell us a little about yourself, what you do? What is the basic information we should know about Scott Belmer?

Belmo: My given name is Scott Belmer.  I was born in 1952 in a small town in Nebraska, USA. I graduated from college with a BS degree in Ancient History and a minor in Journalism. In 1976 I moved to Alaska where I lived for 15 years. It was in Alaska where I published the early issues of “Belmo’s Beatleg News” (BBN).  In 1991 I moved to Kentucky and in 2022, my wife and I moved to Ohio where we currently live. I am retired from my day job; however, I am still writing and am an avid photographer.

H: How were your beginnings as a fan of The Beatles? Your first approach to them?

B: My first exposure to The Beatles was in February of 1964 when I saw them performing on the Ed Sullivan Show. They blew my mind and quite literally, my life was forever changed. As a young Beatle fan, I bought every record and magazine and book that I could find. Thus began my collection which now is quite huge.

H: How was your first approach to the world of Bootlegs?

B: I bought my first Beatles bootleg (or ‘Beatleg’ as I like to call them) in 1970 at a headshop in my college town. It was “Kum Back” which had the title stamped in red ink on a plain white cover. It featured a rough version of what would become “Let It Be”. It was a real treasure at the time. Since that fateful day I have added over 2500 Beatlegs to my collection. This desire for rare and unreleased music was not limited to The Beatles. I also searched for bootlegs by The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Beach Boys, Led Zeppelin, and many many more.

H: How did you get started in the diffusion work and what projects did you develop before starting the Beatleg's News fanzine? How did the idea of creating the fanzine come about and why did you decide to dedicate it to Bootlegs and not to The Beatles in general?

B: BBN was my first publishing project meant for the public. I had been trading cassette tapes with fellow Beatleg collectors for several years before having the idea of writing reviews of the Beatlegs and sending them out in newsletter form to my small circle of friends. Eventually I started getting requests for copies from collectors from across the US. And before I knew it, BBN had suddenly taken off and I began to seriously write and publish the newsletter for an ever-expanding fan base.  As there were plenty of magazines already devoted to Beatles ‘news’, I kept my focus on Beatlegs and peripheral topics. 

H: Beatleg's News had its golden age years before the arrival of the internet and the information that was published was very up-to-date and detailed about what was happening in the dark world of Bootlegs. What was the working method in the fanzine to be able to gather so much information that was clearly difficult to obtain?

B: At first, I relied on my personal Beatleg acquisitions for review in BBN. These were obtained by trades with fellow collectors or by purchasing Beatlegs from sellers who sent me lists of the latest underground records. Once my newsletter had become well-known in the underground, the bootleg companies started sending me copies of their Beatlegs for review. My reviews usually benefited them (increased exposure) and the free copies helped my collection grow. Certainly, a very nice perk to have. BBN had subscribers who were also guest reviewers – reviewing releases that did not come my way. These nice folks were in the US, Mexico, Europe, Japan, and even Australia. BBN had become an international newsletter.

H: In a private group of collectors you mentioned that you were in charge of compiling the material and preparing the collection Artifacts de Big Music (KTS): How was this process and what was the criteria you used for the selection of the material?

B: It was only recently that I admitted to being the ‘man behind the curtain’ for the “Artifacts” box sets. It was 30 years ago so I doubt I’ll be arrested for being naughty. I had been approached by a ‘middleman’ for Big Music (an Italian bootleg company). Back then bootlegs were quasi-legal in Europe, so I agreed to help them with a box set of Beatles rarities. I selected the rarest tracks from my collection, and I wrote the liner notes. Much to our surprise, “Artifacts” become a huge international success. Big Music wanted more, so “Artifacts II” soon followed as well as “Artifacts III” (The Solo Years). The Beatles’ Apple Records company became aware of the sets and soon released their own version, “The Anthology”, to compete with “Artifacts”. So quite possibly you have Big Music and Belmo to thank for “The Anthology”

H: In Artifacts II you decided to include the song Gilly Gilly Osenfeffer-Katzenellen Bogen By The Sea, a song that had not circulated before in any bootleg of the Get Back sessions. I would like to know, if possible, what was the source you used for this track? Did you have access to other material from the Get Back Sessions that had not been released until that moment? 

B: “Gilly Gilly” was given to me from a fellow collector and with his permission, it was included in the box set. I have a small number of unreleased Beatles tracks (group and solo) in my collection; however, our ‘collectors code’ prevents me from sharing them or naming them. Sorry. As for “Get Back” material, I believe it is all now out there.

H: In Black Market Beatles we had access to three people involved in the world of Bootlegs. I remember the interviews with Nurk Twin, Lord Budha and Rinaldo Tagliabue. How did you manage to make contact with them? Are they still linked to the business?

B: These three chaps you mention are no longer actively involved in bootlegging. With the advent of the Internet and YouTube, there seems to be little need for their services. Though I suspect they still collect. We do, however, still see new Beatlegs in the form of CDs and vinyl. These are mostly reissues of familiar material and are geared for new fans or collectors who ‘want it all’! I stopped buying reissues a long time ago. The only company still releasing new material is HMC.  Supposedly a Dutch company whose product is sold by a Japanese affiliate! 

H: Another great work was the book Beatles Not For Sale. Looking back, many of the highly-rated albums have aged well and remain favorites among collectors. If you were to make an updated reissue of your book, what new material would you include without hesitation.

B: It is unlikely I will ever update “Beatles Not For Sale”. But if I were, I would certainly include the HMC (TMOQ Gazette) collection, the Lord Reith projects, the Rock Band variations, Purple Chick, Misterclaudel, and Fab! Productions.

H: What is the reason that its cover and name is a reflection of the classic NEMS Records release Beatles Not For Sale?

B: “Beatles Not For Sale” seemed an appropriate title for the book. After all, Beatles bootlegs were ‘not for sale’ officially. And I liked the album art. Simple yet effective. 

H: In 2001 Belmo Beatleg's News ceased publication. What was the reason for its cancellation? What other projects related to the work of The Beatles have you done?

B: By the year 2001, I felt that the magazine had run its course. For 15 years BBN was there for the “Golden Age of Beatlegs”. It was an exciting time for Beatles bootleg collectors. With the advent of compact disc technology and slack copyright laws (mostly in Europe), we were treated to CDs featuring amazing and rare music – especially “Ultra Rare Trax”! Groundbreaking releases which changed everything. Companies like Yellow Dog, Big Music, and Great Dane produced amazing collections of Beatles (and other groups) music we thought we would never get to hear. Incredible. But by 2001 I felt we had seen most of what was out there. And I desired to use my time for other writing projects. So far, I have written and published over two dozen books. Theses include two children’s books, a book of my rock concert photographs spanning 40 years, a book about nine Buddhist monks and their escape from Chinese controlled Tibet, a book about Jimi Hendrix, a book on the psychedelic sixties and more.  As for Beatles books there are “The Beatles DisCovered”, “George Harrison – His Words, Wit and Wisdom”, “Beatles Artifacts”, and “The Beatles Christmas Book”

H: What do you think has been the importance and influence of Bootlegs in the diffusion of the work of The Beatles?

B: As I mentioned earlier, bootlegs such as “Artifacts”, “Ultra Rare” and others forced Apple Records to come to terms with the fact that Beatles fans wanted outtakes and rare tracks by their heroes. The result was “The Beatles Anthology” and subsequent releases. Without Beatlegs I doubt very much that we would be having Beatles (group or solo) box sets featuring bonus tracks of outtakes, alternate mixes, demos, etc.! We have the bootleggers to thank for their unintentional help in us getting access to such a wealth of material.

H: De rigueur question: What is your favorite bootleg and why?

B: My favorite bootleg is “Artifacts”, of course. But a close second is the “Ultra Rare” series. What a thrill it was to hear the songs on these cds for the first time. What a revelation!

H: Finally, is there any Belmo project related to The Beatles that you would have wanted to do and is still pending so far?

B: One Beatles project I always wanted to do would have been titled: “The Top 100 Beatlegs of the Last 50 Years”.  The book would have covered what I considered to be the most influential albums (at the time of their release) and why.  The first Beatleg in the book would be “Kum Back”. It would continue from there. But after much consideration and discussion with fellow collectors, I decided that the time and money invested in the book was too much for the financial return.  However, if someone wants to collaborate with me, you never know…!

H: Anything else you would like to add...

B: Thank you for this opportunity to tell my story. Wishing you the best.

Just as Belmo's work allowed me to learn more about The Beatles many years ago, this interview allows me to know a little more about the person behind those projects. I cannot conclude without sending a sincere thanks to Belmo for his time and patience in responding to this brief interview and for his immense contribution to the dissemination of the work of The Beatles.

A complete reissue of Belmo's Beatleg News can be purchased in amazon.com under the titles Belmo's Beatleg News: The Complete Anthology Volume I and Belmo's Beatleg News: The Complete Anthology Volume II.

Other extremely interesting titles such as The Beatles Invade Cincinnati and The Beatles: Christmas Time Is Here Again, are also available for purchase on that platform.