By Chiara Fiorillo For Mailonline. A recently-discovered letter by John Lennon shows his fury about the treatment of his first album with his wife Yoko Ono. The letter, which the singer wrote in September , shows Lennon's attack on the music industry that he believed was trying to obstruct the release of 'Two Virgins'. In his letter, Lennon wanted to clarify some of the problems he experienced with the release of the album. He always wrote good letters,' Mr Lewisohn said.
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Unfinished Music No 1: Two Virgins , released 50 years ago this month, is only for the most ardent Beatles fans. The first of three experimental albums that John Lennon and Yoko Ono recorded centred around birdsong, garbled shrieking, amplifier feedback, tape loops and distorted instrumentation. The avant-garde record either bored or infuriated most critics. This was not an obvious choice of paper for a notorious Leftist, and when Lennon showed Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr the artwork, the drummer was quick to pick up on the prop. Sure enough, the papers did make a scandal of the photo, however innocent the intentions behind it might have been. Enjoy unlimited access to 70 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a day free trial. Record label EMI flat out refused to distribute the record, and Track and Tetragrammaton only subsequently did so once copies of the LP were sheathed in brown paper bags. Nevertheless, many stores refused to stock the record, and in Newark, New Jersey, some 30, copies are thought to have been confiscated by police and impounded. In the 50 years since it was released, little has changed. Amazon chose to use one of the alternate artworks for the album — a ballerina holding a wine glass — on its pre-order page.
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Unfinished Music No. It was the result of an all-night session of musical experimentation with Yoko in John's home studio at Kenwood , while his wife, Cynthia Lennon , was on holiday in Greece. This made the album controversial to both the public and the parent record company EMI , which refused to distribute it. In an attempt to avoid controversy, the LP record was sold in a brown paper bag, and distributed by Track and Tetragrammaton in the United Kingdom and the United States respectively.
The album was released only weeks after John and Yoko's pot bust in London while staying in Ringo Starr 's Montague Square apartment — where the Two Virgins cover was shot — and further alienated Lennon from his British fans, who were increasingly confused by the chief Beatle 's odd behavior. Many stores would only carry Two Virgins wrapped in brown paper. Shortly before her recent death, the late Cynthia Lennon recalled the period in which she was granted a divorce from Lennon and Two Virgins was released. I'm a great believer of 'action-reaction. And what happened was that the police decided that they were going to make an example of him. Y'know, he. I always felt that he had to clear the decks of us in order to give her enough attention. Tetragrammaton Records, which was co-founded by Bill Cosby , pressed the album. UK sales at the time peaked at 5,, with the U. A further 30, copies were confiscated in a warehouse in Newark, New Jersey due to obscenity laws.