Alfredo,...
This one stumped me as well...By the time the album was being released, the VELVETS were long gone from the DOM...It became the BALLOON FARM, & then THE ELECTRIC CIRCUS...
What I think happened, is that VERVE/MGM set a date to release the LP IN 1966, & released this Pre-Release Ad, when the band with NICO was still playing the DOM. VERVE then had the problem producing the WARHOL BANANA STICKER for the covers, & pushed the release date until the Peelable Cover/final packaging was accomplished(notice how the Ad has the "Banana" & not the "Skin")...From what has been written, since this had never been done before, VERVE had to have special die cuts made for this process, & search out a manufacturer able to do this. I can imagine the money they spent just to have this done back then...Today it's no big deal...
But that's the only explaination I can think of, until the date of this Ad is discovered...
Barry
Barry, yes what you say sounds good to me but there are a few question son this.
I have been checking C/O catalague, there is a copy of the Verve/MGM Contract signed by all members but unfortunatley thgere is no date stated on it!.
**EDIT: according to Matt Wbricam (on "Warhol Live Book") the MGM/Verve contract was dated early May 1966
First recording sessions at Scepter were previous to the contract with MGM and were done april 18-23 (according to Olivier´s web site), therefore at the same time they were playing at the Dom daily.
Then, in May, while touring the West Coast they met with Tom Wilson and they re-recorded three cuts at the TTG Studios.
Seems to me that only after may they could sign the contrcat for the record, Warhol design the cover and Verve giving record references V5008 (seen on the add). By this time the Dom was the Balloon Farm and the Velvets played there late Sept-Oct
Read this from Olivier:
October 1966
Balloon Farm (The Dom), New York City, New York
23 St Marks Pl (East Village), New York, NY 10003
Exploding Plastic Inevitable
The engagement may have begun late September - in a letter to her friend Edward K. Walsh, received September 27, 1966, Susan Pile writes: "Velvets are at Dom in East Village (with Nico Mary Paffgen)" People still named it The Dom
Probably the add was done then, while the record company was getting mad trying to figure it out how the hell to made the peelable banana. What if this is just a draft for the cover?
dont know if it helps, but I have a copy of the MGM Records contract - it is dated as "for a period commencing May 02 1966". But there is no indication as to when it was actually signed.
I have a copy of the VU MGM contract and the first page is dated as covering "a period commencing 02 May 1966..."
the "signatures" page doesn't have a date on it
[quote="alfredovu"]Barry, yes what you say sounds good to me but there are a few question son this.
I have been checking C/O catalague, there is a copy of the Verve/MGM Contract signed by all members but unfortunatley thgere is no date stated on it!.
**EDIT: according to Matt Wbricam (on "Warhol Live Book") the MGM/Verve contract was dated early May 1966
lurid wrote:I have a copy of the VU MGM contract and the first page is dated as covering "a period commencing 02 May 1966..."
the "signatures" page doesn't have a date on it
alfredovu wrote:Barry, yes what you say sounds good to me but there are a few question son this.
I have been checking C/O catalague, there is a copy of the Verve/MGM Contract signed by all members but unfortunatley thgere is no date stated on it!.
**EDIT: according to Matt Wbricam (on "Warhol Live Book") the MGM/Verve contract was dated early May 1966
I don't know about anybody else, but I would LOVE to see a scan of that contract??, hmmmm??!!
velvetfan wrote:
I don't know about anybody else, but I would LOVE to see a scan of that contract??, hmmmm??!!
Sorry for the bad quality ...
Wow, very interesting. I scanned it and blew it up but still cant read parts of it. Any chance you could do a better scan or photo of document? I know I am a pain in the ass, but where else will I ever see a document so historical to me? Anyway, thanks much. Rick Rod
that's very strange! The scan of the "signature sheet" posted by alfredovu (from C/O the VU, NY?) is not the same as the copy of the contract which I have, although both are signed. Among other things, the final (signature) sheet of my copy has an additional clause which says:
"13. No change will be made in the personnel comprising the group known as "The Velvet Underground & Nico" without our prior written consent."
