Beatlemania is back as remastered CDs hit shelves

LONDON (AP) — The Beatles are back, sounding better than ever, and Britain is embracing them one more time.

It’s not exactly 1964 — no fainting teens or visible signs of feverish Beatlemania — but the long- awaited release of the remastered Beatles CDs and the “Rock Band” video game has again brought the Fab Four to the top of the British charts.

It was B-Day in much of the world Wednesday as the new versions of the old classics finally became available in Britain, the United States and elsewhere, and many fans celebrated by flocking to Abbey Road, the studio where the Beatles recorded many of their hits.

High prices are apparently no deterrent — online retailer Amazon.co.uk reported Wednesday that pre-orders for the Beatles box set, priced at $280, put the Fab Four on top in terms of CD sales.

The critically praised “Rock Band” video game also is expected to sell well, even though McCartney told the New Musical Express magazine in a rare interview that he hasn’t road-tested the offering because he’s not much of a videogamer.