Beatles News
The Beatles decided to stop touring in 1966, tired after years on the road, playing to huge crowds of screaming fans. Their final tour, which was across the United States and Canada that summer, was marred by controversy around John Lennon's comment that the band was "more popular than Jesus".
John had made the comment in an interview with the Evening Standard in July 1966 and it didn't even cause a stir in the UK. However, when it was reproduced by US magazine Datebook later that month, there was outrage directed toward The Beatles from American Christians.
The band had grown tired of the media attention, heavy security and the demands that Beatlemania brought with it. They knew that the tour's final night - at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, would be their final gig.
About the decision to stop playing live, George Harrison later said: "We'd been through every race riot, and every city we went to there was some kind of a jam going on, and police control, and people threatening to do this and that... and (us) being confined to a little room or a plane or a car.
"We all had each other to dilute the stress, and the sense of humour was very important... But there was a point where enough was enough.” Retiring from playing live allowed the band to focus their effort on recording, trying exciting and inventive things in the studio.
The following years saw them reinvent popular music with 'Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band' before 'The White Album' was recorded during tetchy and difficult sessions, marked by John bringing Yoko Ono into the studio and serious creative differences within the band emerging.
The difficulties during 'The White Album' saw Ringo Starr leave the band for two weeks, so Paul McCartney wanted to soothe relations and take things back to basics with their next project. ‘Get Back’ was meant to mark a return to performing live for The Beatles as they embraced their early rock and roll style.
The Beatles convened at Twickenham Film Studios in London in early January where they would prepare and record a new album. The idea was that their rehearsals would be filmed for a TV special to accompany their return to the stage. However, it did not go to plan.
In 'The Beatles Diary', Barry Miles wrote: "It was a disaster. They were still exhausted from the marathon The Beatles (White Album) sessions.
"Paul bossed George around; George was moody and resentful. John would not even go to the bathroom without Yoko at his side... The tension was palpable, and it was all being caught on film."
Source: liverpoolecho.co.uk/Dan Haygarth
“About three in the morning, there's a knock on the door. And John was there and he had Paul with him." David Bowie on how he almost got former Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney back together in 1974.
While Beatles fans dreamed of the group reuniting in the 1970s, David Bowie once revealed that he nearly managed to get John Lennon and Paul McCartney back together in 1974 to form a supergroup with him.
It was the year Bowie moved to New York City, just three years after Lennon himself had emigrated there. Shortly after Bowie’s arrival, he met Lennon at a party hosted by Elizabeth Taylor. Of all the Beatles, Lennon was his favorite.
“He was one of the major influences on my musical life,” Bowie said in an interview recorded in the 1980s. “I mean, I just thought he was the very best of what could be done with rock and roll, and also ideas.
Although he was nervous when the two met privately, they quickly formed a bond that led to Lennon visiting Bowie one night, with McCartney in tow.
As Bowie explained to BBC 6 Music with Marc Riley, he was lodging at the time at the Pierre Hotel. “I’d taken over a suite virtually for months and months,” he said. “I was kind of living there.”
Bowie explained that he was obsessed with the newly released Sony video recorder and would spend hours making his own films. “Fortunately, I was doing cocaine so I could stay up most of the night and complete these things,” he said, tongue in cheek.
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox! It was on one of these late-night creative sprees that he was surprised by a pair of visitors.
Source: guitarplayer.com/Elizabeth Swann
For all of their promise, the Beatles' journey as solo acts was dotted with potholes.
George Harrison came roaring into the '70s, quickly releasing two chart-topping post-breakup albums and three Top singles – topped by the No. 1 smash "My Sweet Lord." Ringo Starr struck platinum with 1973's Ringo and reeled off four straight Top 10 songs, including a pair of No. 1 hits.
Meanwhile, former bandmate Paul McCartney was already experiencing the kind of ups (1971's Ram) and downs (Wild Life, also from 1971) that would define his career away from the Beatles. Similarly, John Lennon followed up his biggest-selling solo LP (1971's Imagine) with one of his most poorly received albums.
McCartney would ultimately outsell them all, while Starr suffered the most dramatic solo career setbacks. Lennon's and then Harrison's careers were cut short when they died too early.
At one point, Starr was actually without a label after being dropped by RCA following a string of duds in the late '70s. But he ended up becoming the most productive of all of his former bandmates, regularly issuing albums and EPs after the turn of the century.
When they were together, the Beatles seemed to metronomically release one creative triumph after another. The same couldn't always be said of their solo records, even the hits. As you'll see in the following list of 25 Worst Beatles Solo Albums, each of them stumbled (sometimes badly) without the friction and spark that defined their former group's successes.
Source: Nick DeRiso/ultimateclassicrock.com
Paul McCartney says he remembers the exact moment The Beatles had “changed the world.”
In his Q&A session, You Gave Me the Answer, the Wings frontman would confirm he can still remember the feeling in the air when the Fab Four became the biggest band on the planet. McCartney shared the “first big success” of The Beatles and what it meant for its members. While he would note a specific stop-off on a tour of the United States, suggesting there was a change in the air, it was not until the release of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band that The Beatles could consider themselves a “worldwide” movement. McCartney claimed it was this album with the band that made him think he, along with John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, were truly changing the world.
He said: “I suppose it was our first big success in America. I started to realise that the attention was not just local, and it was around the time of Sgt Pepper when we started seeing our clothes and the music we were making getting copied on an international level.
“Although this had happened before at home, with people getting the Beatle haircut and all dressing in a similar fashion, it was around about Sgt Pepper that you could feel the worldwide movement.
“You could feel that people in California were thinking about what you were thinking about. And that’s when people started saying to us, ‘Wow man, you know your music changed my life!’ So, I think around about that time I started to think it was changing the world.”
To show just how in-tune with the world around him McCartney was, the Let It Be hitmaker claims to have written one of the songs featured on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band for legendary crooner Frank Sinatra.
Source: Ewan Gleadow/cultfollowing.co.uk
George Martin is best remembered as the producer who gave The Beatles a chance and contributed to their explosive rise to fame for many years. Many would refer to Martin as the “fifth Beatle.” However, his career spans far beyond the Fab Four alone. In fact, Martin enjoyed a long and storied career well after The Beatles called it quits in 1970.
Let’s take a look at a few deep cuts by other artists that Martin helped produce. A few of these were surprises to me, personally.
“Sister Golden Hair” by America
This standout single from Hearts was a No. 1 hit for America, and I can see why. George Martin’s production, coupled with Gerry Buckley’s songwriting, resulted in a country rock classic that is still favored by fans of America to this day. Oddly enough, “Sister Golden Hair” was quite a personal song, which wasn’t very common for the band.
“The Reason” by Celine Dion
I actually didn’t know that George Martin produced this Celine Dion classic until the time came to write this list. I’m not surprised, though. He was far from done with producing amazing music in the 1990s, and that much is evidenced by how many British bands during the Britpop era tried to copy his production style. Still, you can’t beat the OG. And Martin really lent his magic to Celine Dion’s 1997 adult contemporary classic, “The Reason”.
This is one of the finest songs from Let’s Talk About Love, and you can really hear Martin’s influence on the track. Celine Dion’s vocals are impeccable as always, and that ethereal ambient backing track pulls the whole thing together gloriously.
“I (Who Have Nothing)” by Shirley Bassey
Source: Em Casalena/americansongwriter.com
There are few moments in music history that rocked the world harder than the breakup of the Beatles. John Lennon announced he was leaving the group on this day 56 years go, but fans didn’t find out about his shocking decision until the next year…why?
According to The Beatles Bible, while Lennon actually decided he wanted to end his time with the Beatles a week earlier, business manager Allen Klein (who’d been trying to negotiate a new contract for the band with EMI/Capitol) persuaded him to keep the information to himself.
However, by Sept. 20, 1969, Lennon couldn’t hold back anymore. When the group came together at Apple’s headquarters in London’s Savile Row to sign the aforementioned contract, he took the opportunity to let his bandmates know it was over.
“When I got back [from Toronto] there were a few meetings and Allen said, ‘Cool it,’ ’cause there was a lot to do [with The Beatles] business-wise, and it wouldn’t have been suitable at the time,” Lennon recalled in the book Lennon Remembers by Jann Wenner.
“Then we were discussing something in the office with Paul [McCartney] and Paul was saying to do something, and I kept saying, ‘No, no, no’ to everything he said,” he continued.
“So it came to a point that I had to say something. So I said, ‘The group’s over, I’m leaving.’ Allen was there, and he was saying, ‘Don’t tell.’ He didn’t want me to tell Paul even. But I couldn’t help it, I couldn’t stop it, it came out. And Paul and Allen said they were glad that I wasn’t going to announce it, like I was going to make an event out of it. I don’t know whether Paul said, ‘Don’t tell anybody,’ but he was damn pleased that I wasn’t. He said, ‘Oh well, that means nothing really happened if you’re not going to say anything.’ So that’s what happened.” In the Anthology book, McCartney opened up about his reaction to Lennon’s announcement.
“I’d said: ‘I think we should go back to little gigs — I really think we’re a great little band. We should find our basic roots, and then who knows what will happen? We may want to fold after that, or we may really think we’ve still got it.’ John looked at me in the eye and said: ‘Well, I think you’re daft. I wasn’t going to tell you till we signed the Capitol deal’ — Klein was trying to get us to sign a new deal with the record company — ‘but I’m leaving the group!’ We paled visibly and our jaws slackened a bit,” McCartney recalled.
“I must admit we’d known it was coming at some point because of his intense involvement with Yoko [Ono],” he continued. “John needed to give space to his and Yoko’s thing. Someone like John would want to end The Beatles period and start the Yoko period; and he wouldn’t like either to interfere with the other. But what wasn’t too clever was this idea of: ‘I wasn’t going to tell you till after we signed the new contract.’ Good old John — he had to blurt it out. And that was it. There’s not a lot you can say to, ‘I’m leaving the group,’ from a key member.”
According to the Independent, the rest of the world heard the news several months later when McCartney was asked by a reporter if he foresaw a time “when Lennon-McCartney becomes an active songwriting partnership again” and answered, “No.”
The next day, on April 10, 1970, the Daily Mirror ran the front-page headline “Paul Quits the Beatles,” breaking the hearts of countless fans around the world.
Source: Jacqueline Burt Cote/parade.com
The process of inheriting family heirlooms doesn’t work in quite the same way when someone in that family is one of the biggest celebrities in the world, which is how Paul McCartney’s “Hey Jude” recording notes took a long, expensive journey through several hands before the document found its way to its rightful owner. In this case, the “owner” was the man—at that time, the young boy—for whom McCartney originally wrote this classic Beatles track.
Several decades after McCartney first wrote the musical pep talk to his bandmate’s young son, “Hey Jude”’s namesake finally got to say he owned the physical evidence of McCartney’s heartwarming message of strength and love.
From Song Devotee To Auction Bidder
Because of their status as one of the biggest bands in the world, virtually everything The Beatles ever put their hands on developed great, instantaneous value. Whether a scrap piece of tape from a session, hand-drawn doodles during a bit of band downtime, or the notepads where the musicians scribbled down their lyrics or recording notes, these momentos have passed among the artists’ family members, music historians, museum curators, and collectors ever since the band dissolved in the late 1960s. With so many hands eager to snatch onto these items, some rightful owners are bound to be overlooked.
Such was the case for Julian Lennon, who, despite being the main source of inspiration for Paul McCartney’s classic Beatles track, “Hey Jude”, had to buy back the handwritten recording notes from his father’s former bandmate when they resurfaced at a London auction in 1996. These were lyrics that McCartney wrote for Lennon, who was only five at the time. One would think that Lennon would automatically receive ownership rights for this fact alone. Yet, the son of John Lennon and his first wife, Cynthia Lennon, bought back those lyrics for $39,030. (That would be around $80,000 in 2025.)
“He is collecting for personal reasons,” Julian’s manager, John Cousins, told the Tampa Bay Times. “These are family heirlooms, if you like.”
Source: Melanie Davis/americansongwriter.com
The breakup of The Beatles didn't just mark the end of an era in music; it also signified the start of an unspoken competition between the former band members. They all rushed to put out solo albums the second the breakup was announced, and Paul McCartney and John Lennon, in particular, were eager to prove they were the true talent out of the Fab Four. The former songwriting duo didn't hold back from airing their grievances on their solo albums. But while they were busy firing shots at each other, it was the quiet Beatle who surprised the world with his original songwriting and knack for catchy yet moving songs. George Harrison became the first Beatle to have a chart-topping solo album, and with a triple album, he established himself as a force to be reckoned with. While each of their solo work reflects them as individuals, there's no denying that these three albums get even better when you listen to one after the other.
Imagine (1971)
Artist: John Lennon
Most people think of the slow ballad when they hear the name Imagine, but the album by the same name is anything but peaceful. In fact, while its most popular song is a call for peace on Earth during a troubled time, a lot of the songs in it reflect conflicting emotions. John Lennon opens up about painful personal issues as well as lashes out at his former best friend in it. And what's more, he even includes a re-imagined song that was written during the last period of The Beatles. "Jealous Guy" is a song about Lennon's shortcomings in romantic relationships and how his jealousy led him to make bad decisions. But originally, the song had completely different lyrics and was titled "Child of Nature." It was first demoed by The Beatles while they were making their eponymous record, aka the White Album, but it was considered too similar to Paul McCartney's song "Mother Nature's Song," which was eventually included in the 1968 album.
Source: Val Barone/collider.com
Anticipation grows for The Beatles’ Anthology 4 as “Helter Skelter (Second Version – Take 17)” debuts as a top-selling track on iTunes, decades after it was first recorded. The Beatles (left to right) George Harrison (1943 - 2001), Ringo Starr, John Lennon (1940 - 1980) and Paul McCartney, hold the sleeve of their new LP, 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band', at the press launch for the album, held at Brian Epstein's house at 24 Chapel Street, London, 19th May 1967. (Photo by John Downing/Getty Images)
The Beatles may be done releasing new music, but there are still plenty of recordings from the band’s history that are shared with the world. From time to time, there’s still an intense demand for anything connected to the Fab Four, and countless films, books, and albums have been issued in the decades since the musicians split. Many of them have become commercial successes. Now, months ahead of a new compilation of the group’s work being released, a new take on a Beatles classic quickly becomes a bestseller in America.
“Helter Skelter (Second Version – Take 17)” Debuts On iTunes
The Beatles currently sit at No. 23 on the iTunes Top Songs chart, which ranks the best-selling tracks on the platform in America. The group nearly cracks the top 20 with “Helter Skelter (Second Version – Take 17).”
“Helter Skelter (Second Version – Take 17)” Previews Anthology 4
“Helter Skelter (Second Version – Take 17)” is the second single from the Beatles’ upcoming compilation Anthology 4. It follows the release of “Free as a Bird (2025 Mix),” which the group shared in mid-August.
When Will The Beatles Release Anthology 4?
Anthology 4 is, as its name suggests, the fourth installment in the Beatles’ highly popular Anthology series, which gathers together rarities, outtakes, new mixes, demos, and other tracks from the band’s history. The compilation is expected to drop on November 21.
Anthology 4 includes new mixes of tracks like “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love,” which were reworked by Jeff Lynne. The collection also features specific numbered takes of Beatles classics like “I Saw Her Standing There,” “Tell Me Why,” “Strawberry Fields Forever,” and “Get Back,” among many others.
Multiple versions of Anthology 4 will be available on physical formats. The compilation was originally only going to be included in an updated version of the Anthology series, which fans were not happy about. When it was first announced, it became clear that longtime supporters of the Beatles would need to purchase the entire Anthology again in order to hear these new mixes. Later, it was revealed that Anthology 4 would be delivered as a standalone project as well. The upcoming compilation will be available as a double CD and a triple LP.
“Helter Skelter (Second Version – Take 17)” Competes With New Hits
After “Helter Skelter (Second Version – Take 17)” was released, it became one of the top new performers on the iTunes Top Songs chart in America. Several other just-shared cuts, including tunes from Hardy, Aerosmith, Chris Young, and Bon Jovi, currently rank above the Beatles, although “Helter Skelter (Second Version – Take 17)” could continue to climb as this Friday marks the beginning of another tracking week in the global music industry.
Source: forbes.com/Hugh McIntyre
John Lennon was a bully and nuisance as a schoolboy, a current teacher at the singer’s old school has claimed.
The Beatles star was said to have been such a troublesome student that the staff at Quarry Bank School in Liverpool were reluctant to recognise him as a former pupil after he found fame with the Beatles.
Tom Barry, a design and technology teacher at what is now The Calderstones School, said: “When John left, he was that much of a nuisance and a bully and that much of a poor student the school staff didn’t want to acknowledge that he ever went to the school and removed any trace of him.
“He was never spoken about, he was never acknowledged through Beatlemania. Apparently, fans would come to the school gates and just be sent away because the school didn’t want any connection to him.”
The teacher added: “They didn’t want to idolise him and for students to think you can prat about and be a bit of a bully and still be successful.”
Lennon attended the school from 1952 to 1957 and formed the Quarrymen, the forerunners of the Beatles, while a pupil there.
His record and antics in school have been well-documented, including detention sheets that revealed his “extremely cheeky” side when they came up for auction in 2013.
Reasons for punishment given by his teachers on the recovered sheets, from Quarry Bank School when Lennon was 15, include ‘‘sabotage’’, ‘‘fighting in class’’, ‘‘nuisance’’, ‘‘shoving’’ and ‘‘just no interest whatsoever’’.
The Beatle even managed to receive three detentions in one day on two occasions in 1955 and 1956.
Lennon’s old desk was discovered hidden away in the attic of the school, where teachers were said to have stored it so they would not have to remember his time there.
Source: India McTaggart/telegraph.co.uk
The desk, which is an old-fashioned lift-up, will now feature in a display at the Liverpool Beatles Museum along with other items from the band members’ schooldays, including Lennon’s enrolment ledger signed by his aunt.
Despite years of refusing to acknowledge the school’s link to pop history through Lennon’s rise to stardom, the school is now starting to offer tours of its site for Beatles fans.
