Rare first edition of The Beatles’ ‘White Album’ donated to charity

A rare first pressing of The Beatles‘ classic ‘White Album’ has been found in a charity shop.

The British Heart Foundation said that the 1968 album, which included the original inserts and a fold-out poster, was given to its Sutton Coldfield branch. It is thought to be particularly rare as it contains a misprint unique to the first version of the record, of which there are only 10,000 copies.

The charity has listed it on eBay, with bids starting at £999.99. Fans will be able to bid for it until Monday evening (May 22).

“Our music and vinyl experts were thrilled when this valuable piece of music history was donated to the BHF,” Richard Pallier, from the charity, told BBC. He also confirmed that the album was in “good condition” despite being over 50 years old.

‘The White Album’ features hits such as ‘Back In the U.S.S.R’, ‘Blackbird’ and ‘Helter Skelter’.

Meanwhile, the earliest known full recording of the Fab Four performing live is set to be restored and given to a “national cultural institution” in the UK.

The recording was found almost 60 years to the day that it was made. The hour-long, quarter-inch tape recording was created by John Bloomfield at Stowe boarding school in Buckinghamshire on April 4, 1963, when The Beatles performed a gig there.

Elsewhere, a new AI-generated mashup has appeared online, this time portraying The Beach Boys’ ‘God Only Knows’ as if it were performed by The Beatles.

While the creator of the video doesn’t offer much explanation into what inspired the project or what tools he used to develop the track, McCartney has previously described the song as “one of the few songs that reduces me to tears every time I hear it”.

“It’s really just a love song, but it’s brilliantly done. It shows the genius of Brian [Wilson],” he said (via Far Out).