The Beatles Wallpaper

The Beatles wallpaper was introduced to the United States and Canada by Wall Paper Manufacturers Ltd. (Crown) of Manchester.

The wallpaper was not manufactured in North America, but was distributed in the United States and Canada through paint stores, department stores, and other retail outlets.

On February 21, 1964, just two days before the Beatles made their third (pre-recorded) appearance on *The Ed Sullivan Show*, 24,000 rolls of Beatles wallpaper arrived at North American airports, ready to be distributed to store shelves.

These rolls of wallpaper from England were labeled “Beat770” and included a “sizing strip.” This strip—about 1–2" wide, with perforated colored bars and text—was to be removed during application. The wallpaper design consisted of four color photos of the Beatles, surrounded by facsimile signatures, repeated every 21".

Later, some rolls were produced in Canada. These were labeled “Made in Canada 33300” and did not have the sizing strip. They were 20.5" (52.07 cm) wide.

The Beatles wallpaper had a modest presence in stores, but it did not meet sales expectations. Retailers began to realize that fans were buying only one roll, then cutting it into strips and sharing it with friends, using it to decorate walls, record players, or other personal items. The market for those who wanted to buy enough rolls to decorate an entire room wasn’t as profitable as expected.

For this reason, as early as April 1964, newspaper articles began to appear claiming that, in their opinion, the Beatles’ popularity was waning, since stores were forced to lower the prices of the wallpaper to clear out their inventory, given that “it wasn’t going as well as expected!”

Merchandise, MADE IN ENGLAND
Beatlemania