Apple was started in 1968 by the Beatles to replace their earlier company, Beatles Ltd, and actually comprised a range of commercial ventures including Apple Films, Apple Publishing, Apple Retail and Apple Boutique in London.
Apple wasn't just a vanity project for the Beatles though - they intended it to provide help to artists trying to get worthwhile artistic projects off the ground, and it was pitched to the world's media by Lennon and McCartney as an attempt at "Western Communism".
It's famous for its Apple logo, which is actually a Granny Smith - you might notice that on the A-side of Apple records the fruit is whole but on the B-sides it's sliced in half.
One of the more successful artists to release tracks on Apple Records was Mary Hopkin, who was brought to the attention of Paul McCartney by Twiggy. In fact Mary's first hit 'Those Were The Days' knocked 'Hey Jude' off the number one spot.... Apple also released her entry to the Eurovision Song Contest, 'Knock Knock Who's There' in 1970 - she came second in case you can't remember that far back!
The group Badfinger did quite good business for the label, with hits like 'Come and Get it' and 'Day After Day'. Apple also gave James Taylor his first chance to record an album and 'Let It Be' session musician Billy Preston released a solo album and singles.
Perhaps more unusual was the fact that Hot Chocolate began life at Apple Records after lead singer Errol Brown sent in a reggae version of 'Give Peace A Chance' to ask for John Lennon's permission to change the lyrics slightly. John loved it so much he agreed to release the track and gave the band the name The Hot Chocolate Band...
Apple survived the breakup of The Beatles in 1970 and was resurrected in the late 1980s, for use on all Beatles CDs.
The Beatles: official site
