LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Three of the original Beach Boys appeared together in public for the first time in a decade on Tuesday to toast their musical legacy and hinted at the possibility of a reunion performance. Brian Wilson, Mike Love and Al Jardine, along with Bruce Johnston, who joined the touring lineup in 1965, gathered on top of the Capitol Records office tower for the presentation of double-platinum plaques marking U.S. sales of more than 2 million copies of the band's 2003 collection, "Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of the Beach Boys."
Also on hand to uncork champagne with the band was David Marks, who briefly filled in for Jardine in the early 1960s. The three original band members have not performed together since 1996. But, asked about the possibility of sharing the stage again, Wilson replied, "There's a chance of that." Added his cousin, Love, with whom Wilson was often at odds in later years: "We've got tough management." The focus of the event was to promote reissues of the band's catalog and celebrate the success of "Sounds of Summer," a 30-track set featuring hits like "California Girls," "I Get Around" and "Surfin' U.S.A." The album, released in 12 countries, spent its first three years on the Billboard Top 200 chart and has since ranked among the top 10 biggest-selling catalog albums of all time. "I want to thank everybody involved that helped us get that album ... going and going," said Wilson. "And I thank the Beach Boys themselves for being great, great artists to produce. I'd rather produce those guys over any other artists in the whole world." Johnston, who became part of the group when Wilson quit touring to focus on studio work, paid tribute to Wilson's brothers and fellow founding band members, Dennis, who drowned in 1983, and Carl, who died of cancer in 1998. "I wish Dennis Wilson and Carl Wilson could be here with us," Johnston said, to which Love added, pointing up at the sky: "They probably are, because this is pretty close." Organizers said the last time the original Beach Boys appeared together in public was around the time that "Stars and Stripes, Vol. 1," a collection of Beach Boy covers performed by various country music artists, was released in 1996.
Capitol Records, a unit of EMI Music Group, also announced plans for a 40th-anniversary release June 27 of a deluxe CD single of "Good Vibrations," featuring five versions of the band's seminal 1966 hit and its original U.S. B-side. In late August, Capitol also plans a 40-year commemorative reissue of the band's landmark "Pet Sounds" album in a CD/DVD package that includes mono, stereo and digital Surround Sound mixes of the music, plus previously unreleased promotional and documentary footage. Founding Beach Boy Al Jardine says that he'll team up with the group's co-founder Brian Wilson for various live dates and maybe even some recording this year. Jardine told the press that he'll be on hand for some benefits that Wilson has already committed to. Jardine had previously announced that he and Wilson, along with the group's Mike Love and Bruce Johnston as well as David Marks, are in the talking stages about teaming up for a reunion show in Britain next fall to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their Pet Sounds album.In a world exclusive, Jardine revealed to us that plans are in the works for the group to reform later this year in London, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of their 1966 Pet Sounds album. Jardine said that if all goes well, a possible reunion tour might follow: "Actually, a reunion tour is not out of the question, because with this Pet Sounds anniversary coming up, it's a very good possibility that we'll be performing it live in London in November. It would be like a Pet Sounds reunion. Mike is open to it and Brian appears to be open to it and you never know what might spring from that. So if (a reunion tour) is in the cards, we'll do it. You never know. It might just work. " Jardine and Brian Wilson have been in various legal battles with Love over the past few years, and have not performed with the group since 1998 and 1996, respectively. Love and Johnston continue to tour under the Beach Boys name.
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