Beatles to make appearance on U.K. stamps

The Fab Four are set for another U.K. honour in 2007, with the Royal Mail announcing on Thursday an upcoming postage stamp series featuring famous Beatles album covers.

Starting Jan. 9, the Royal Mail will celebrate the Beatles' "extraordinary cultural contribution to Britain" with its release of a six-stamp series.

The set will feature the covers from With the Beatles, Help!, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Abbey Road and Let It Be.

The Beatles continue to have a huge devoted following around the world, with the band's memorabilia commanding high prices from fans at auction. The surviving members of the band, and the families of the deceased members, are also locked in several lawsuits over musical and other copyrights.

The Royal Mail's postage stamp tribute comes more than 35 years after the band broke up in 1970. John Lennon was killed by a crazed fan a decade later and George Harrison died of cancer in 2001.

While surviving drummer Ringo Starr has largely stayed out of the spotlight in recent years, Paul McCartney has remained in the headlines because of his concert appearances, his activism and his bitter divorce from second wife, Heather Mills.

McCartney also continues to write new music, both rock and classical, and British media reported this week that he is collaborating with his cousin, actress Kate Robbins, on a stage show featuring the music of his Liverpool Oratorio.