#official beatles fan club badge

[cultofbeatles]

Hello friend! I have always known about The Beatles but it wasn't until recently that I tried to learn more about them. I found something the other day that confused me, and you were the first person I wanted to ask. What is the "Paul is dead" theory? How did it start?

omg. boys, it’s time to put our tin foil hats on.

on November 9, 1966 Paul’s car ran off an icy road and crashed into a pole. first rumors of paul dying came from the beatles monthly magazine. as they were the ones to address this supposedly fatal crash.

yes. there’s genuinely people who believe this. 

now the story of paul is dead starts with the car crash. John, george, and ringo didn’t want people to find out about Paul’s sudden death so they held a lookalike contest (that we have no record of lol) and a man named william campbell which was shortened to billy shears won it. he got plastic surgery to look like paul even more, and the others taught him how to sing, talk, and play like the real paul. within months apparently.

people started to believe it more bc paul looked different than he did years prior. bc aging isn’t a thing anymore. 

apparently at one point the other beatles started to feel guilty about covering up paul’s death so they started to… leave hints for the fans in albums?? for some reason?? 

the cover for sgt. peppers lonely hearts club band (released in 1967) probably holds the most proof. the iconic album cover is suppose to symbolize a funeral. John, ringo, and george were all facing towards paul as he was the only one facing the front. also paul was holding some woodwind instrument that symbolizes death or something? there was a left handed bass made out of flowers which some say spells out paul. if you place a mirror in front of the drum on the cover, the words lonely hearts spell out “something something he dies.” paul was wearing a patch that said “OPD” (officially pronounced dead).

the cover for abbey road is another proof. paul is the only one out of step with everyone else, he’s not wearing shoes (symbolizing death somehow), the license plate in the background car says “lm 28 1f” meaning paul would of been 28 if he was still alive. and the clothes they were all wearing is used as proof as well. John was dressed as the priest in all white, ringo as the mourner in black, george in jeans as the gravedigger, and paul dressed as the dead man. 

I do think one of the cool things about this theory is how it started the whole “hidden messages when records are played backwards” trend. revolution 9 off of the white album backwards says “turn me on dead man.” in strawberry fields forever backwards it says “I buried paul.” and between the tracks of “I’m so tired” and “blackbird” where backwards john says “paul is dead, miss him miss him.” it’s always john, huh.

now let’s disprove it

there was never a crash involving paul in November. he did, however, get in an accident in 1967 with his Mini Cooper. the driver wasn’t killed though, and paul wasn’t even in car. though, I am sure paul did get in a crash at some point (cant remember when), bc he got a busted lip from it. but the point is, paul wasn’t in an accident in November of ‘66.

as far as the album covers and their symbolism go: there was many different outtake pictures for both albums. there was album outtakes where Paul wasn’t even in the middle for sgt. pepper, when he wasn’t holding the woodwind instrument, and there was abbey road photos where paul was in step with the others. it just so happened that those pictures didn’t make the cut. 

for the car in the background: they tried to find the original owner to move it but they couldn’t find them. and as they were causing traffic to build up they just continued with the photoshoot. ALSO, it says 281f not 28if. and he actually would of been 27.

with the songs being played backwards: for “I buried paul” John actually says “cranberry sauce.” for “paul is dead, miss him miss him” he actually says something else but I think it’s in french and I don’t have time to look it up lmao sorry. the only one I don’t know about is the “turn me on dead man.” which I don’t even believe the theory but any time I listen to that I get the spooks lmao.

the flower bass: this was decided on last minute for aesthetic choice by someone behind the scenes.

the opd badge: is actually a OPP badge. ontario provincial police. paul didn’t even know what it was lmao. when the aesthetic calls you listen to it. 

I feel like I’m missing a lot of stuff bc with more time new proof comes up. but this is a general run down of it. basically we just got bored and had a lot of time on our hands as a fandom lmao.

the whole thing about paul is dead is that there’s never any “in your face” proof. the only way you see these things is if you go into it looking for proof about paul being dead. people see/hear what they wanna see/hear. 

oh, and John also said it was the stupidest rumor he’s ever heard.

#anon asks #the beatles #any time you want to make fun of larries for their theories remember this shit #paul is dead theory #paul mccartney #John lennon #george harrison #ringo starr

[geezeralert]

A Beatles fan gets back to where he once belonged

(Some albums from my collection)

(First of three parts)

As a really big fan of the Beatles, I have always been somewhat in awe of those who are really HUGE fans of the famed singing group.

They just seemed to enjoy the music on a whole different level, with thorough knowledge and appreciation for what was produced by this unique musical foursome in their eight-plus years together.  

So, over the last four months, as a retired-geezer-bucket-list endeavor, I took a huge leap towards earning my “huge fan” badge.

I re-listened to, re-enjoyed and studied — consulting at least five books — each of the some 300 Beatles’ recordings, as contained on their 13 official albums/CDs along with many of their various related versions (on the three two-CD anthologies, various collections like “One” and the BBC live sessions).

I am blogging about it because, honestly, I’d just like to share my experience and put my basic impressions down in writing.  It was riveting and sinfully fun, spending too much money and too much time — including many breaks to just sit back, travel down memory lane and simply be entertained by these pop songs/albums that took me through the 1960s, from my pre-teen to college years — on what’s really a rather personal, trivial pursuit.  

But I’m also holding out hope that my findings could be interesting for other Beatles fans, of whatever level.

Quick bottom line: I am more impressed now than I was before with the output of this pop group and the incredible blending of the four multi-talented musicians Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.  I’ll write about why and list the highlights of what I learned in the second part.

First off, though, I should define “really big fans,” my current state and that of many millions of my contemporaries worldwide from the sixties.

This group is familiar with all the Beatles recordings (able to identify them when hearing just the opening notes), their background as a group and individuals (back to teenage years), their basic timeline as recording artists (who authored what compositions and when), their alternate recordings, their post-Beatles recordings, their relations (girlfriends, wives), and their basic life stories.

In other words, we just just paid attention all these years, watching the relevant movies and videos, buying their records and reading at least the most reliable major books about them — first by Hunter Davies and then by Bob Spitz — while also picking up more than a few of the annual money-grabbing “new” ones.

I’ve read two books by “first wives” Patti Boyd (“Wonderful Tonight”) and Cynthia Lennon (“John”) and Lennon’s sister, “My Brother.”

I also bought one of the first song-by-song compilation books, “Beatlesongs” (1989) by William J. Dowling. For decades, it was my go-to source for day-to-day inquires like “who played that great bass part on ‘Hey Bulldog’”?  

By being a big fan, my Christmas and birthday presents from family and friends often have been Beatles stuff (when they tired of stuff feeding my other passion, baseball) including three coffee table books, a box of “The BBC Archives” TV and radio broadcast material, and three other books going into each of the group’s songs.

From all that, I am left wondering if the Beatles ever had a private, unphotographed, unrecorded (in writing or audio) stretch long than five minutes.

It was the final gift last Christmas,  “Revolution in the Head” by Ian MacDonald, that propelled me to finally take on this long-planned intensive study of the Beatles’ music.

MacDonald’s definitive work, updated three times since published in 1994, is classified as a textbook by the Los Angeles Public Library. It goes into great detail on the musical and sociological aspects of each song so it was sometimes beyond my sphere of interest. But it was most useful to me by going song-by-song in chronological order, referencing all the alternative versions of the songs and telling where to find them.  

Along the way, I also found the fascinating (although partially disputed) book “Here, There and Everywhere” by Geoff Emerick, a teenage recording studio prodigy who helped engineer (record, mix) just about every Beatles song, either as an assistant in his teens or the primary engineer in his early 20s.

His first-person observations helped flesh out the more technical aspects or third-party accounts of the Beatles songs.

(Other books used for the song-by-song marathon: “The Beatles: A Hard Day’s Write. The Stories Behind Every Song” by Steve Turner and “All the Songs. The Story Behind Every Beatles Release,” a massive, picture-filled coffee table book by Jean-Michel Guesdon and Phillippe Margotin.)  

Meanwhile, there are a ton of other written works out there awaiting my attention once this project is done – exhaustive books by Mark Lewisohn; memoirs by the group’s producer (and Fifth Beatle early on) George Martin and original drummer Pete Best; “Shout: The Beatles in their Generation” by Philip Norman; and “Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now,” by Barry Miles — to name a few . . . in my price range (more on that in part three). There’s a seemingly never-ending flow of written material and reworked music.

And it’s fair to assume “really huge fans” have read them all. (I’ll delve more into what constitutes that fan level in parts two and three.)  

The original idea for trying this project came after advanced technology, resolved legal issues and a favorable marketplace brought about the production of the entire Beatles catalogue on CDs nine years ago.

I had tried keeping up with the Beatles’ output over the years on vinyl, eight-track tapes and cassettes but, for one reason or another, had some holes.

Nearly my entire Beatles collection of vinyl albums was stolen from my college dorm room in the early 1970s. I then rebought some of the biggest ones at that time but then sat back and waited for releases in the latest medium (eight-track, cassettes, CDs, digital) and lost track of what I had.

So, when the complete collection on CD (remastered to sound even better!) became available, I perked up. But the price tag ($150-200) gave me pause.

Then came an offer to buy the whole shebang at half price. I was ready to pounce.

But there remained another major issue.

The Beatles’ studio personnel, I learned, recorded each of their songs in both monaural (“mono”) and stereo. Each version had/has its strong backers, especially as the original tapes were revisited and reproduced with improved quality (both in stereo and mono) for the latest CD versions.

For the “true experience” of listing to the Beatles songs, did one really have to possess and listen to both stereo and mono versions? The inner Beatles fanatic and picky perfectionist told me “yes.” My practical and realistic self, though, said that’s crazy, unnecessary and an expense only the crazy wealthy fan would want to pay.

Luckily, many music critics recognized the dilemma this posed for the average fan. From reading a few of their comparisons and conclusions, I came up with a fairly consistent recommendation for which albums are best in mono and which are best in stereo:

Mono sounds best for “Please Please Me,” “With the Beatles,” “Hard Days Night,” “Beatles For Sale” and “Help.” Stereo is recommended for “Rubber Soul,” “Revolver,” “Magical Mystery Tour” “The Beatles (The White Album)” “Yellow Submarine” “Let It Be” and “Abbey Road.” (The latter two were only mixed in stereo anyway.)

Mono and stereo versions of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” both offer great listening experiences, and the 50th anniversary remix in 2017 added yet another aural mix.

The mono box set includes all the songs released as singles (45 rpm) and not on any of the basic albums (though some, those that rose to no. 1 on Billboard lists, are included in the “Beatles — 1” album/CD).  

Emerick actually recommended the mono mixes of  “Revolver” and “Sgt. Pepper,” which he engineered. He said much more care was given to the mono versions than the stereo ones, which were rushed at the conclusion of the project.

He wrote:

“True Beatles fans would do well to avail themselves of the mono versions of Sgt. Pepper and Revolver because far more time and effort went into those mixes than the stereo mixes. The stereo versions of those albums have an unnecessary surfeit of panning and effects like ADT (Automatic Double Tracking) and flanging. (Fellow engineer) Richard and I would sometimes get carried away with them because of their novelty value . . . especially if George Martin wasn’t there to rebuke us. Needless to say, it was John who especially loved that kind of overkill — we’d sometimes whack something on too severely just to see how it sounded, only to find him winking at us, saying, ‘More!’”

It should be noted that Emerick wrote his book in 2007, before all the remastering of the Beatles albums took place. So, perhaps the new stereo mixes enhance those versions to the point that they now are preferable.  

And then there’s the whole “Let It Be” controversy, when the original recordings were turned over to “wall of sound” maestro Phil Specter, reportedly by John Lennon, much to the chagrin of McCartney.

So, a stripped down version of those songs “Let It Be-Naked,” was produced.

For my listening project, I listened to that naked CD as well as a number of mono vs. stereo renditions of Beatles’ songs.  

Basically, I agreed with experts (they are so grateful, I’m sure!) that the early albums are best in mono.

This was a time when few people had quality stereo systems, if any stereo at all (I had a small portable one in my room), and thus much more time and care was given to the mono versions (says my books). Those tunes in stereo sound pretty tinny and awkward to listen to (says my ears), especially with headphones (e.g. the drums and base in one ear, the voices in another).  

Of course, musical preferences, like all reactions to art, are wholly subjective. When I posted a list of my personal choices for “five worst Beatles songs” (yes, they did produce some songs I cannot stand: “Rain,” “Paperback Writer,” “Baby You’re a Rich Man,” “I’m Down,” “Helter Skelter”) on a Facebook site, several respondents said the tunes were actually among their favorites. Some fans treat all of the group’s output as wonderful and any criticism as sacrilege.

In the books I consulted, Beatles tunes certified as “classic” by one author sometimes were depicted as “a disaster” by another. Even the Beatles disparaged as “garbage” some songs I (and others) enjoy.

Typical of most listeners, my reactions when sampling the stereo and mono recordings are probably based on how I first heard the songs. And for nearly all of them, that would be mono. Anything different sounds off kilter.

Some examples: The stereo “Taxman,” the lead song on side one of “Revolver,” has the bass and rhythm section on the left side while the lead guitar and percussion are on the right, with vocals in both. It sounds wrong to my ears, which first heard all the music coming out of both speakers (mono). Likewise, on the same album, “She Said She Said” (a favorite of mine) splits the instruments into separate channels and doesn’t sound quite right to me.

Still, the later works, as remastered, do have much greater depth and clarity in the stereo versions. Songs like “Martha, My Dear,” “Savoy Truffle” and “Glass Onion” sound terrific (I played them over and over). Likewise, most of Sgt. Pepper, which was remastered a second time for the 50th anniversary CD, is fine in stereo.

In several cases, like “Martha My Dear,” I enjoyed a song in the latest version far more than I did originally.

Which brings us to my general observations on what I heard and read. That would be part two, coming tomorrow.  

#beatles #pop music' #sixties #john lennon #paul mccartney #george harrison #ringo starr #music history

[bangkokjacknews]

The Weekend Mystery - Will the real Paul McCartney please stand up?

Did the famous ex-Beatle really die in a car crash back in 1966?

On 12 October 1969, Tom Zarski rang the ‘Uncle’ Russ Gibb’s radio show on WKNR-FM in Dearborn, Michigan, and announced that Paul McCartney had been killed in an accident in November 1966 and the Beatles had drafted in a lookalike to keep the band fully functioning. He backed up his argument with several pieces of credible circumstantial evidence, including the decision by the band in 1967 to stop playing live in order to concentrate on their studio recordings and film work. Russ Gibb was so intrigued by the story that he then spent two hours on air mulling over the clues and playing Beatles records. When one caller urged him to play ‘Revolution 9’ (from The White Album) backwards, Gibb was amazed to find he could distinctly make out the words ‘Turn me on, dead man’ through his headphones. Despite the fact that Zarski had pointed out he didn’t actually believe Paul McCartney was dead, he was just interested in the theory, by the end of the programme networks across the United States were discussing the mysterious death of one of the world’s most famous rock stars and the events surrounding his demise. Hundreds of news journalists promptly flew to London and interviewed as many of the conspiracy theorists they could find, and from the reports that followed the only certainty is that many of them were experimenting with LSD, as none of it made much sense at all. The story ran that on the evening of Tuesday 8 November 1966 Paul McCartney and John Lennon were working late into the night on the Beatles’ upcoming album Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band when a row developed over recording techniques and McCartney stormed out of the studio. Furious, he sped off in his Aston Martin and smashed into a van, dying instantly. The resulting fire prevented the coroner from positively identifying the body but the remaining band members were left in no doubt at all that McCartney had not survived. Another caller to Russ Gibb’s show claimed that McCartney had picked up a hitchhiker called Rita that night. When she suddenly realized who he was, she had screamed and lunged at her hero, causing him to crash into the van. Neither Rita nor the other driver were ever seen or heard from again. The public mourned as shock in but there was one unavoidable question: if McCartney had died in 1966, who was the man that looked like Paul and who had been hanging out with the Beatles ever since? The explanation ran that Beatles manager Brian Epstein was so horrified at the thought of the world’s most successful band breaking up that he held secret auditions and persuaded John, George and Ringo to have all their photographs taken with a stand-in to keep the public unaware of the accident. When Epstein died only nine months later, after a battle with depression and drug abuse, his untimely demise was cited as another piece of evidence. It was said that he just couldn’t come to terms with the loss of McCartney. The Paul-is-dead mystery was also conveniently used to explain McCartney’s sudden split from long-term fiancée Jane Asher (because McCartney stand-in William Shears Campbell didn’t like her) and that his new relationship with Linda Eastman (later McCartney) was Campbell’s real love interest. Another piece of supposedly compelling evidence is that for several years the other three Beatles had wanted to stop playing live shows because the audiences were screaming so loudly they couldn’t could hear anything, but McCartney had resisted. With Paul gone, the remaining three could do as they pleased – indeed the Beatles had last performed live on 29 August 1966, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, and played no more live concerts after that. Conspiracy theorists nodded and agreed that it all made perfect sense, while others, including the Beatles, laughed it off as a ridiculous urban legend. And still the story continued. One American radio presenter had photographs of the singer before and after November 1966 scientifically compared and found there were obvious differences, one being that the nose was of a different length. A doctor from the University of Miami analysed voice recordings and concluded publicly that the recordings prior to August 1966 were different to those recorded afterwards. Paul McCartney, he claimed, did not sing on Beatles records after August 1966. By now fans all over the world were beginning to look for their own clues in Beatles music and album covers, and the clues turned up in spades. Here then are some of them, and the evidence seemingly pointing to the fact that Paul McCartney was dead. Sgt Pepper was the first album the Beatles released after the supposed accident, after recording began on 6 December 1966. When it reached the shops in June 1967, nobody noticed anything unusual about the artwork in connection with the Paul McCartney mystery, but in 1969 conspiracy theorists were able to detect a range of coded references to Paul’s demise. For a start the band appear to be standing at a graveside complete with flowers and wreaths. They are surrounded by famous personalities, who could be mourners, and one of them is holding an open hand above McCartney’s head, said to be a traditional Eastern symbol for death. The theorists looked closer and concluded that the yellow flowers at the foot of the picture are arranged in the shape of a left-handed bass guitar, Paul’s instrument, and one of the four strings is missing, signifying his absence. Under the doll’s arm on the right hand side there appears to be a blood-stained driving glove and the doll itself has a head wound similar to the one Paul was supposed to have died from and he is wearing a badge on his sleeve on the inside cover bearing the letters OPD, standing for ‘Officially Pronounced Dead’. The open-palm gesture actually appears on the front cover of Revolver, twice in the Magical Mystery Tour booklet, twice in the Magical Mystery film and twice on the cover of the original Yellow Submarine sleeve, but, in reality, none of it means anything at all. There is no such gesture in Indian culture symbolizing death. The badge Paul is wearing on the inside sleeve does not read ‘OPD’, it has the initials OPP on it. The badge was in fact given to McCartney when he visited the Ontario Provincial Police in Canada during the Beatles’ world tour in 1965. A statue of Kali, a Hindu goddess, also features on the front cover of the Sgt Pepper album, which the theorists maintain represents rebirth and regeneration, hinting that one of the Beatles has been reborn, or replaced. But Kali, from which the name of Calcutta is believed to derive, has traditionally been a figure of annihilation, representing the destructive power of time (kala being the Sanskrit word for ‘time’) Also, the ‘O’ shaped arrangement of flowers at end of the band’s name has caused some theorists to speculate that the whole thing reads ‘BE AT LESO’ instead of ‘BEATLES’. This was taken as a sign that Paul was buried at Leso, the Greek Island the band had supposedly bought. But none of the Beatles had bought a Greek island and there is no such place as Leso. There are many more pieces of ‘convincing’ evidence. I’ve just picked out some of my favourites. The Beatles all grew moustaches at the time to help mask a scar on the lip of McCartney stand-in William Shears Campbell. In fact McCartney did grow a moustache for Sgt Pepper as he was unable to shave at the time. Paul had fallen off his scooter on his way to visit his aunt and split his lip on a pavement, making it too painful to shave. He also lost a front tooth in the accident, explaining why he appears in the ‘Rain’ and ‘Paperback Writer’ promo videos missing one of his teeth. The accident also explains the scars seen during the White Album photograph sessions. The number plate on the VW Beetle shown on the Abbey Road cover reads LMW 281F, taken to mean Paul would have been 28 ‘IF’ he had survived. But Paul would have been only twenty-seven, and the VW Beetle had nothing to do with anyone at Abbey Road. The director of the photo sessions tried to have it towed away, but the police took too long to arrive so they went ahead with the picture anyway, leaving it in shot. McCartney is wearing no shoes in the Abbey Road photograph. His explanation was: ‘It was a hot day and I wanted to take my shoes off, to look slightly different to the others. That’s all that was about. Now people can tell me apart from the others.’ But the conspiracy theorists swore that the picture had been set up to look like a funeral march, with him as the corpse. On the records Rubber Soul, Yesterday and Today, Help and Revolver there were said to be many more clues. The song ‘I’m Looking Through You’ on Rubber Soul was thought to be about discovering that McCartney had been replaced. Some fans took these blatant ‘clues’ as hard evidence while others quickly realized all of those records were made prior to 9 November 1966 and could not possibly have anything to do with the supposed accident. But with hysteria mounting, even the thinnest clue came to look like definite evidence. In the lyrics to ‘I am the Walrus’, the line ‘stupid bloody Tuesday’ is taken by some to be John Lennon referring to the day of the accident that claimed his band mate. But when it was pointed out the alleged accident was supposed to have happened on a Wednesday morning, conspiracy theorists then claimed it was the Tuesday night that the two of them had fallen out before McCartney had stormed off, and to his death. Some believed it, while others dismissed it as an already thin lead being stretched even thinner. But then came the line ‘waiting for the van to come’, a supposed reference to the ambulance, and ‘goo goo ga joob’ – apparently Humpty Dumpty’s last words before he fell off that wall and bashed his head in, as Paul was supposed to have done. The Beatles themselves very quickly became very irritated by all the speculation. And it was not long before the band, aware every lyric and photo shoot was now being studied, began to play up to the hysteria. After writing one complicated and seemingly meaningless song called ‘Glass Onion’ Lennon remarked, ‘Let the f**kers work that one out.’ But he included the lines ‘Well here’s another clue for you all / The walrus was Paul’. In no time at all, people were announcing the walrus was a symbol of death to some cultures and Lennon despaired. It wasn’t much fun being a Beatle any more and the band broke up soon afterwards. So – to sum up – if the real Paul McCartney had died in his Aston Martin in 1967, and a replacement found in time for the photo shoots for the next album, then imagine the string of coincidences that needed to have taken place. For a start he had to look and sound just like Paul. Then he had to convince Linda or, if she was in on the plot, she had to like him enough to stay married to him for the next thirty years. And he would have had to learn how to play guitar left-handed, which is even less likely, I can assure you. John Lennon would have to have been fooled too, as it is unlikely he would want share song-writing credits and royalties with a stranger for the last three years of Beatles recordings, especially as Epstein wasn’t there to tell him to. And most of all, for the lookalike to have written and recorded songs of a McCartney standard for over thirty years would be hard to imagine. Hang on a minute, I have just remembered ‘The Frog Chorus’ and ‘Mull of Kintyre’, and so my argument is beginning to wear thin, even to me. And another thing – would the real Paul McCartney have married Heather Wills, or whatever her name was? Perhaps Zarski was right after all – there must be an impostor. - Albert Jack Albert Jack AUDIOBOOKS available for download here  

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[gadgetsrevv]

Football tourism – why it’s not just half and half scarves

The half and half scarf – now a staple part of football memorabilia

Inge Matteeusen and Magali de Cooman soak up the atmosphere as they shuffle along Goodison Road, decked out in freshly-bought blue merchandise.

Having travelled to Merseyside from Belgium for a long weekend, they were originally keen to see Liverpool play, but the Reds weren’t at home so the Toffees are reaping the benefit.

“This is our first game in England,” says Inge. “We have come to Liverpool to see the city but coming to a football game was always going to be a part of our trip.”

“Liverpool weren’t at home but we saw Everton were playing Manchester City,” adds Magali. “And Everton have the same colours as our local team Gent, so we are happy in blue anyway.”

And with that they depart, proudly sporting their newly-acquired colours. They’ll return to Belgium on Monday but will take a little bit of Goodison Park with them.

Football tourism is a booming industry and there is currently no hotter destination than the Premier League.

The most recent study of the economic and social impact of England’s top-flight, conducted by EY for the 2016-17 season, showed 686,000 people came to the country for the purpose of visiting one of its clubs and spent £555m during their stay – numbers that will surely only be boosted by English sides’ recent European success.

Having this year confirmed the Premier League’s power as a driver of inbound tourism via its own study, it is no surprise to find VisitBritain’s website prominently offering visitors the chance to plan a football pilgrimage.

Inge Matteeusen (left) and Magali de Cooman (right) outside Goodison Park

For most, the trip is a labour of love.

Every week, hundreds of official supporters’ group members travel to England – some regulars, others embracing the rare opportunity to see their side in the flesh.

Most groups will have an arrangement with their Premier League club for a set amount of tickets over the year to share among their members, with some larger groups possessing a small number of season tickets.

They are the loyalists – committed overseas fans, who possess all of the knowledge and fervour of their English peers, just not the geographical fortune.

They also stand in stark contradiction to the stereotype of overseas fans with a half and half scarf wrapped round their neck and no true affinity in their heart.

There’s Ryan Hayman, chairman of the 1,500-strong Boston Spurs, who helps cater for Tottenham fans across New England and whose own five expensive and lengthy journeys to England have included seeing his side beat Leicester 5-4, face north London rivals Arsenal and witness the opening of the new White Hart Lane in person.

The New York Blues, whose founding members have been attending Chelsea games since before 1990, had one of its 250 members at every home game last season.

“We have had members support them on the Continent from Baku to Moscow, Barcelona to Munich, as well as throughout England, from title-clinching goals at West Brom to providing many people with their first London experience,” they told BBC Sport.

There’s Thanos Oktoratos, secretary of the Greek official supporters branch for Manchester United in Athens, his fellow Red Devil, Dr Souyma Dasgupta of the Kolkata club, Jeffrey Werner, secretary of Arsenal America, the Zhengzhou Cityzens, Aussie Hammers, IndoEvertonians and many, many more.

The South Africa branch of the Manchester United supporters’ club have four season tickets but have arranged for larger parties to attend the final game of the season since 1998.

Secretary Ethel Sleith told BBC Sport: “A few years ago I had a call from a man whose father had been on the club trip just a few weeks prior.

“He told me that his father had died suddenly, and thanked me for affording him the opportunity of fulfilling his dream.”

Members of the Manchester United Greek Supporters’ Club gather in Athens to watch a game

There are a multitude of other reasons people are drawn to Premier League games – the speed, excitement and atmosphere or the fact games are now entertainment events akin to going to the theatre or a concert.

Some are driven less by their passion for a club and more by their affinity or admiration for a specific player – something Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus have benefitted from through the desire to witness Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the greatest players of their (and possibly any) generation.

Two other Belgians, Edgar and Thomas, made their way over for the Everton v Man City game, but their reason was a lot more specific – their compatriot Kevin de Bruyne.

“We both follow City because of Kevin, and before that Vincent Kompany as well,” explains Thomas. “There is a lot of pride back in Belgium about how well they are doing. We are a small country and at the moment we have some very good players in the Premier League.”

“I am a big diehard fan of City since Vincent Kompany came here,” adds Edgar. “We don’t really have a Belgian team that we support as football at home is not as entertaining as the Premier League. The atmosphere here is great.”

Edgar (left) and Thomas (right) hold aloft a Belgium flag in front of the Man City team bus outside Goodison Park

Premier League clubs are wise to the global popularity of their product and the opportunities in front of them.

England’s top division is broadcast to 212 territories and an audience in the billions.

What we currently have is a battle for territory amongst the league’s top sides as illustrated by the destination of the ‘big six’ on their pre-season tours: Arsenal and Liverpool (United States), Chelsea (Japan), Manchester City (China and Japan), Manchester United (Australia, Singapore and China) and Tottenham (Singapore and China).

Within this, there are areas of particular appeal to certain clubs.

Tottenham are savvy to their increased status in South Korea, having appointed a brand management company in 2016 to help them capitalise on their growing popularity in the country as a result of their forward Son Heung-min.

But the most ambitious are after the world.

Manchester City’s parent company, the City Football Group, have seven clubs and 12 offices in key markets across the world, as part of a plan to transport the club from Greater Manchester to the globe – a process referred to by sports business consultants as “glocalisation”.

Authenticity is a key word. City have nine international websites and social media accounts in 13 languages, including Thai, Indonesian, Mandarin, Spanish and Portuguese, which they are “constantly temperature checking” to make them relevant to their intended market, in part through locally based content producers.

Like many clubs, they also stage fan engagement activities around the world, including match day screenings, pre-season tours, friendlies and community projects. The club are currently midway through a global tour, visiting 12 countries with the six pieces of silverware they won last season, and hosting fan events featuring ex-players Paul Dickov, Micah Richards and Shaun Wright-Phillips.

And it is not just the clubs coining it in.

Independent merchandise sellers at grounds have been quick to respond to the desires of overseas fans, including the increased stocking of those divisive half and half scarves.

“I’ve been doing this for 15 years and there’s definitely been an increase in football fans from overseas,” Graham Anderson, a seller outside Goodison Park, tells BBC Sport.

“Whether it is Everton or Liverpool at home they come to see the city – that’s a big sell for them – and even if they are not going to watch the actual game they come to check out the stalls and soak up the atmosphere.

“They come from all over. We get lots from Iceland and America while badges and the scarves are popular with fans from China and Japan.

“We don’t get the locals buying the half and half scarves and they do cause quite a bit of upset among fans but I find the overseas fans like to buy them to mark the game they’ve come to see. It’s not always easy or affordable to travel over so they want to mark it.”

Another busy day selling merchandise for Graham Anderson

So why is the notion of the “football tourist” such an anathema to some fans?

The big issue is that demand for tickets often outstrips supply at Premier League clubs, even those with the biggest grounds. Loyal fans fear they will be forced out by casual visitors, who possess no real connection to the club but possess deeper pockets and a bucket list to tick off.

Liverpool is a club with a strong global following, based in a city that attracts many tourists, some of whom will be drawn to Anfield less out of love or loyalty and more the chance to say they had sampled its famed atmosphere.

“For me, one of Liverpool’s greatest strengths comes from not just having a global fanbase, but how much effort those fans expend in engaging in the local culture and matchday customs,” Paul Machin, host of Redmen TV, told BBC Sport.

“Any issue with ‘Football Tourism’ comes from people who are perhaps on a holiday to Liverpool, have no affinity with the club or interest in the matchday culture and treat a day at the match as a line on a tick list of things to do, like visiting the Beatle Story, or going on a Ferry Across the Mersey.

“When hardcore fans (whether local or otherwise) are not able to get to games, yet casual tourists (who often can afford to pay well over the odds) get those seats, it causes friction.”

Anfield is a popular destination for visitors to Liverpool

For clubs, it is about balance – catering for as many people as possible, spreading the word and selling shirts but respecting and rewarding their loyal base.

Lizzi Doyle, another Liverpool fan and producer of the Anfield Wrap podcast, told BBC Sport: “On one part, Liverpool is one of the biggest clubs in the world and that comes with global supporters.

“It’s because of these supporters that we are as renowned as we are, and I love seeing the pre-season tours in America, Asia and Australia, with fully sold out stadiums. It makes me prouder to be from Liverpool and supporting this wonderful club.

“Clubs have a big responsibility to local and match-going fans and it has to go beyond money and needs to be about loyalty in this ever-changing world of modern football.

“They are the lifeblood. If it weren’t for their dads, grandfathers, great grandmothers, etc, introducing this way of life to them, Anfield wouldn’t have the famous atmosphere it does now, which attracts overseas fans and makes us the global club we are.

“We couldn’t be Liverpool FC without either sets of fans.”

Additional reporting by Chris Bevan and Gary Rose.

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#Gossip Football tourism – why it’s not just half and half scarves