The artwork for a forthcoming Beatles reissue has had the cigarettes 'photoshopped' off it. A new edition of compilation album 'Capitol Albums Volume 2' is out next month but the image on the cover has been changed by EMI to disguise the fact that all four Beatles were having a fag when the picture was taken. Ringo fares the worst out of the four, however, because they've also chopped off two of his fingers in an attempt to remove the offending stub.
This is the third time label bosses have changed Beatles artwork to reflect the growing social condemnation of smoking, with a ciggie removed from a 1984 US reissue of 'I Wanna Hold Your Hand', and the iconic 'Abbey Road' image (which includes fags) being doctored for a new poster back in 2003.