Paul and George eight years apart but still singing the same tune?! 

Well sort of . . . . . . .

On this day in music history: June 5, 1989 - “Flowers In The Dirt”, the ninth solo album by Paul McCartney is released. Produced by Paul McCartney, Mitchell Froom, Neil Dorfsman, Trevor Horn, Steve Lipson, Chris Hughes, Ross Cullum and David Foster, it is recorded at Sarm West, AIR Studios, Olympic Studios, Metropolis Studios, Island Studios in London, The Mill in Peasmarsh, East Sussex, UK, Sunset Sound and Mad Hatter Studios in Los Angeles, CA. from September 1987 - February 1989. Following the poor sales and lukewarm response to his previous studio album “Press To Play”, McCartney collaborates with Elvis Costello, writing several songs together including the first single “My Brave Face” (#18 UK, #25 US Pop). Widely regarded as his best album of the 80’s (after “Tug Of War”), it is warmly received by fans and critics upon its release. To promote the album, an hour long documentary titled “Put It There - The Making Of "Flowers In The Dirt” is produced and released on home video. “Flowers” is also supported by McCartney’s first world tour since the “Wings Over America/Over The World” tour in 1975-76. As a promotion for the UK leg of the tour, the album is also issued as a numbered limited edition “Tour Pack” on vinyl and CD, coming packaged in a sleeve shaped like a touring anvil case. The set contains a bonus 7" or 3" CD single of the track “Party Party” (laser etched with flowers on the back side of the 7"), a poster of the band, a second poster with the “family tree” of McCartney’s band history, a tour itinerary, a bumper sticker and six picture postcards. “Flowers” is remastered and reissued as a two CD, vinyl and  three CD + DVD archival box Deluxe Editions in March of 2017. The Archival Collection features the original thirteen song album on disc one, with the second and third discs including eighteen demo recordings. The DVD features all of the music videos made for the album including both versions of “My Brave Face” and “This One”. It also includes the “Put It There” documentary and behind the scenes footage from the recording sessions, as well as McCartney working with Elvis Costello in the studio. “Flowers In The Dirt” hits number one on the UK album chart, peaking at number twenty one on the Billboard Top 200, and is certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.

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On this day in music history: June 5, 1981 - “Somewhere In England”, the ninth studio album by George Harrison is released. Produced by George Harrison and Ray Cooper, it is recorded at Friar Park Studios (FPSHOT) in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, UK between October 30, 1979 - September 23, 1980, and November 1980 - February 1981. His first studio release since his self-titled album in 1979, George Harrison works on the follow up on and off over a year and a half. The initial version of the album he submits in September of 1980 is rejected by Warner Bros Records, feeling that much of the material is “too downbeat”, forcing Harrison to drop four songs and replace them. One of the rejected tracks “Lay His Head” surfaces as the non-LP B-side of “Got My Mind Set On You” in 1987. It spins off two singles including the John Lennon tribute “All Those Years Ago” (#2 Pop) (initially written for Ringo Starr), which also features Ringo on drums along with Paul & Linda McCartney and Denny Laine singing background vocals. Out of print on vinyl since the late 80’s, it is remastered and reissued as a 180 gram LP in 2017, as part of the box set “George Harrison - The Vinyl Collection” and as a stand alone release. “Somewhere In England” peaks at number eleven on the Billboard Top 200.

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