Yellow Matter Custard

Yellow Matter Custard holds an interesting and unique place in Beatles bootleg history. Beatle fan Dave Morrell (later a successful record promoter) purchased the bootleg from Godzilla, a mail order record retailer, and was immediately impressed by the first track, I Got A Woman, which he was sure was the Beatles but had never heard before. He got in contact with Howard Smith, a DJ for WPLJ-FM and writer for the Village Voice who had interviewed John and Yoko several times. He asked Smith to reach out to John and ask about the authenticity and background of the recordings. John asked to meet Morrell, who met him at a recording studio on December 7, 1971, while John and Yoko were recording “New York City”, and enthralled John with his collection of Beatles bootlegs, with John being particularly enamored with Savage Young Beatles (he quipped, “We were savages!”). Morrell gifted John Yellow Matter Custard. John phoned his apartment and had an assistant bring his personal copy of the Yesterday and Today “Butcher cover”, which he signed and gave to Morrell.

Before having a chance to hear Yellow Matter Custard, John looked at the titles and erroneously remarked that he believed the recordings to be from the failed Decca audition. He later sent a tape of the bootleg to Paul, with a note:

It reads, “Dear Paul, Linda et al. This is the DECCA AUDITION!! I found the bootleg not the tape. They were a good group. Fancy turning THIS down! Love John & Yoko

In reality the recordings are all BBC recordings made around July and August of 1963 which later aired on the program Pop Go The Beatles.

Track list

Side 1

1. I Got A Woman (Charles)
2. Glad All Over (Bennett/Tepper/Schroeder)
3. I Just Don’t Understand (Wilkin/Westberry)
4. Slow Down (Williams)
5. Don’t Ever Change (Goffin/King)
6. A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues (Thompson)
7. Sure To Fall (Perkins/Claunch/Cantrell)

Side 2

1. Nothin’ Shakin’ (Fontaine/Colacrai/Lampert/Gluck)
2. Lonesome Tears In My Eyes (Burnette/Burnette/Burlison/Mortimer)
3. So How Come No One Loves Me (Bryant/Bryant)
4. I’m Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry (Over You) (Thomas/Biggs)
5. Crying Waiting Hoping (Holly)
6. To Know Her Is To Love Her (Spector)
7. The Honeymoon Song (Theodorakis)

Release history

• Trade Mark of Quality – BBL 513, released 1972