Beatles News
A watch that Yoko Ono gifted to John Lennon, later stolen after his death, rightfully belongs to his widow and not a collector who bought it from an auction house decades later, Switzerland’s highest court has ruled.
Ono bought the Patek Phillippe watch from Tiffany for around $25,000 and gave it to her rockstar husband as a 40th birthday present on October 9, 1980. On the back, she had engraved the text “(Just Like) Starting Over Love Yoko 10-9-1980 N.Y.C.”
The timepiece, which was described as the “El Dorado of lost watches” in a profile by The New Yorker documenting its storied history, appears to be the only wristwatch the Beatle owned and is estimated to now be worth some $4.5 million. Lennon, famously, was photographed by Bob Gruen wearing the watch at the Hit Factory recording studio—an image that would spark discussions about its whereabouts in the early 2000s among online horological circles.
After his murder that December, the watch was kept in a locked room of the couple’s apartment in the Dakota building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It was allegedly stolen in 2005 by Ono’s chauffeur, and later discovered to have changed hands several times before an Italian collector bought it from a German auction house in 2014.
Ono was purportedly unaware that the watch was missing until the unnamed collector submitted the watch for an appraisal at another auction house in Geneva. Ultimately, the collector filed a lawsuit to legally establish ownership of the watch in 2018.
“I’m more of a Rolling Stones man,” the collector said in an email reply to The New Yorker ahead of the recent ruling by Switzerland’s Federal Supreme Court, noting that he remained hopeful he could wear the watch as soon as possible.
Source: Adam Schrader News Reporter/news.artnet.com
While nothing is confirmed, rumors of Gladiator II star Paul Mescal playing Paul McCartney in the upcoming Beatles biopics from Sam Mendes have surfaced.
During an interview with Mescal about Gladiator II, I asked him what he would ask McCartney if he met him in preparation for playing him in the biopics. “Oh god,” Mescal said, stammering. “How long is a piece of string?”
The somewhat sarcastic answer was followed up with, “I don't know specifically off the top of my head what I'd ask him — [it] depends on how much time you'd have.” As for his status in the Beatles biopics, Mescal kept it close to the vest. “I mean, I would love to be involved wholeheartedly,” he said. “You could pick any moment from any of those characters' lives, and you would have a very, very interesting film.”
However, he did seem to slip up, saying he is “so curious to see who's going to be involved and what those scripts are going to look like” before adding “fundamentally” to the end of his sentence.
Maybe Mescal is not waiting on scripts, but it sure sounded like it. We will have to wait and see if the Aftersun star gets announced as a part of the cast. Whether or not Paul Mescal plays Paul McCartney in Sam Mendes' Beatles biopics, he is already an Oscar-nominated actor. He launched his career with his role in Normal People, which earned him an Emmy nomination.
His first movie role came in Maggie Gyllenhaal's The Lost Daughter. Mescal subsequently starred in Aftersun, which earned him his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor. Since then, Mescal has starred in Carmen, All of Us Strangers, and Foe. He is now promoting Gladiator II, the long-awaited sequel to Ridley Scott's 2000 movie Gladiator.
Source: Andrew Korpan/clutchpoints.com
The way that the three remaining Beatles got a handle on the strange vibe of being in a studio together again without John Lennon in 1994 was to pretend he was actually part of the session and had just nipped out. “We just pretended that he’d gone home on holiday,” Paul McCartney said in a press conference at the time, “as if he said, ‘Just finish it up, I trust you’.”
This was how McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr – dubbed The Threetles – approached the making of Free As A Bird, which came out in early December, 1995. They weren’t strictly a trio making their first music as The Beatles since Lennon’s death, though. Working on a creaking old demo recorded onto a cassette by John Lennon – one of four that the remaining members were given by Yoko One – the band realised that they needed to bring in an outside influence to help them get the song to the finish line when they entered the studio in early 1994. That man was ELO’s Jeff Lynne.
“It was George who said we need a producer, it could be dangerous just to all go in the studio, it could get nasty cos you’ve got egos flying around, surprisingly,” recalled McCartney. “Jeff’s name came up and it was like, ‘Yeah, that’s good’,” said McCartney. “He’d worked with George and George was saying, ‘I think Jeff would be great’.”
“Jeff was a life-saver,” added Ringo Starr. “He put it together and had us all playing and the three of us felt comfortable with him.”
Despite being an international star and mega-selling artist in his own right, for lifelong Beatles fan Lynne, it was a daunting prospect. “It was really quite scary because I didn’t know Paul very well,” he said. “I’d only met him a couple of times before that. He was a bit worried about me because I was George’s pal and he wondered if it was going to be a little bit one-sided and not in the spirit of things, but he needn’t have worried because I was totally into the spirit of things.”
Source: Niall Doherty/yahoo.com
The Beatles have just revealed some new collectibles that fans are going to want to get their hands on.
The first is a new limited-edition solid silver submarine to celebrating the band’s iconic 1968 film Yellow Submarine. Only 4,000 will be available, made of almost 1 ounce of pure silver. More Yellow Submarine collectibles are expected in 2025, including a set celebrating the members of the band.
The silver Yellow Submarine collectible will be available for preorder starting in mid-December.
But that’s not all: As part of the continuing celebration of the 60th anniversary of The Beatles coming to America, a new collection of commemorative concert tickets is being released.
The set is made up of 25 tickets, one for each venue they played during their first tour of the U.S. and Canada in 1964. Each ticket is made from an ounce of pure silver and contains the date, venue and price of each show. The tickets also feature some unique details for each gig.
Only 1,964 copies of each ticket will be made available, with the first dropping on Feb. 7, which happens to be the day The Beatles landed in America.
Source: ruralradio.com
They may not have had quite as bountiful of a vault as for the All Things Must Pass anniversary edition, but the George Harrison estate and Dark Horse Records had no shortage of, well, material in putting together the new 50th anniversary edition of George Harrison’s fourth solo (and second post-Beatles) album, Living in a Material World.
The expanded two-disc set, which was curated by Harrison’s widow Olivia and son Dhani, is part of an expanded deal with BMG that Dark Horse signed last year. Out Friday (Nov. 15) with a new mix by Grammy Award-winning engineer Paul Hicks; in addition to the 11 original tracks that came out on May 30, 1973, a second disc (on LP and CD) includes an outtake of each song as well as two rarities, “Miss O’Dell” and, on CD only, the unreleased “Sunshine Life For Me (Sail Away Raymond)” (which Harrison contributed to Ringo Starr’s 1973 album, Ringo, and recorded with Starr and members of The Band). The package also includes a 60-page hardcover book featuring previously unseen images and memorabilia from the period.
“We’re going in chronological order,” Dhani Harrison, Dark Horse’s CEO, tells Billboard about the estate and label’s approach to reissuing his father’s catalog. “There was obviously (The Concert For) Bangladesh in-between but that’s a full concert movie, so that doesn’t affect the order as we release his solo studio albums.”
Harrison adds that his father “really loved this album because of what it stood for. It was designed to help people living in the material world — it had a purpose. It always meant a lot to him. He named his charity after it, so it was also the beginning of the foundation, which still goes on today.” Royalties from the 50th anniversary edition will go to the Material World Foundation.
Source: Gary Graffyahoo.com
Disney+ has struggled to craft hits outside of its already established brands of Marvel and Star Wars, and more recently, the additions of Bluey and Doctor Who. However, one subject does seem to bring in eyeballs, even though it's a bit random for the House of Mouse: The Beatles, The Original British Boy Band from the 1960s are now considered rock deities. Disney+ scored its first non-Star Wars/Marvel hit in 2020 with Peter Jackson's Get Back and then drew in audiences again with the remastered Let It Be (which Get Back drew from). Disney is a company that doesn't mess with success, so it's not surprising that the streaming service scooped up Martin Scorsese's new Beatles documentary, Beatles '64, which, like Get Back, will arrive in time for the American Thanksgiving holiday.
The new film focuses on The Beatles’ first visit to America and boasts of having "never-before-seen footage of the band and the legions of young fans who helped fuel their ascendance." It also includes rare footage from documentarians Albert and David Maysles and live performances from The Ed Sullivan Show and The Beatles' first American concert at the Washington, DC Coliseum. Plus, the last two living Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, sat down for all new interviews, contextualizing the experience with the band's history, alongside interviews from the Beatles superfans whose lives were transformed by their obsession.
The documentary premiere will coincide with the re-release of the seven American Beatles albums released between January 1964 and March 1965: Meet The Beatles!, The Beatles’ Second Album, A Hard Day’s Night, Something New, The Beatles’ Story, Beatles ’65, and The Early Beatles. These albums have been newly analog cut for 180-gram audiophile vinyl from their original mono master tapes.
Here's the documentary's synopsis:
On 7 February 1964, The Beatles arrived in New York City to unprecedented excitement and hysteria. From the instant they landed at Kennedy Airport, met by thousands of fans, Beatlemania swept New York and the entire country. Their thrilling debut performance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” captivated more than 73 million viewers, the most watched television event of its time. Beatles ‘64 presents the spectacle, but also reflects a more intimate behind the scenes story, capturing the camaraderie of John, Paul, George, and Ringo as they experienced unimaginable fame.
Source: Ani Bundel/tellyvisions.org
Meat Free Monday, the vegetarian campaign Paul McCartney helped launch, is offering fans of the Beatles legend the chance to win tickets to two of his forthcoming concerts in the U.K.
Winners of the prize draw will be able to choose a pair of tickets to one of McCartney’s two shows at either Co-op Live in Manchester (December 14 or 15) or The O2 in London (December 18 or 19). For a chance to win, fill out the form at MeatFreeMonday.com.
The contest closes at midnight Greenwich Mean Time on Sunday, November 17 (7 p.m. ET on Saturday, November 16). Travel and accommodations are not included.
McCartney, a longtime vegetarian, teamed up with his daughters Mary and Stella to launch Meat Free Monday in 2009. The initiative encourages people to abstain from eating meat at least once during the week.
Meat Free Monday has a stand set up at all stops of McCartney’s Got Back World Tour to raise awareness about the campaign.
McCartney’s Was Interviewed About His Eating Habits on Tour. Meanwhile, Meat Free Monday recently posted an interview with McCartney in which he revealed details about his eating habits while he’s on the road.
The 82-year-old rock legend explained that on a show day, he usually doesn’t eat dinner until after a concert.
Regarding his post-show routine, Paul noted, “I get on the tour bus, and before we change back into our ‘day clothes’ I have a margarita to drink, which is always very welcome! And I have a cheese and pickle sandwich with the English type of pickle: Branston’s pickle. … Those are the two things that are always there, and that I look forward to. It means we’ve done the show and we’re off!”
Source: Matt Friedlander/americansongwriter.com
Ringo Starr has addressed The Beatles' enduring popularity as he issued his verdict on Paul McCartney's world tour. Ringo, 84, and Paul, 82, remain good friends more than 50 years after The Beatles went their separate ways.
Paul is currently taking his 'Got Back' tour around the world and is in the middle of a run of three gigs in Mexico City, having played a number of concerts in many cities across Central and South America over the past few months. The tour will arrive in Europe next month, including two nights at Manchester's Co-op Live and two at The O2 in London.
In an interview with Vice published earlier this week, Ringo spoke about the band's everlasting appeal and how that is exemplified by Paul's sell-out tour. Asked about the generations of Beatles fans who were born after the band split up, the legendary drummer said: “I think it’s great. I mean, since we had the first new-coming musicians and bands and that in the ‘70s, the kids all like to listen to The Beatles, it seems.
"Every generation we get another crowd - they’re still playing us on radios and kids and musicians are still interested in what we did. That is so great. "Now, whatever it means streaming, but The Beatles are still streaming in the billions. You think ‘wow’, you know. Someone mentioned that we’ve got another documentary coming out and on the internet someone was saying ‘not another documentary’. (It's by) Marty Scorsese, it just goes on."
The documentary he mentioned is 'Beatles '64', which will be released on Disney+ on November 29. Produced by Martin Scorsese, the film will concentrate on the band's first visit to America and the spread of Beatlemania following their performance on The Ed Sullivan Show.
It follows a number of high-profile documentaries released about The Beatles in recent years, including Peter Jackson's 'Get Back', Ron Howard's 'Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years' and Martin Scorsese's 'George Harrison: Living in the Material World', which have all hit screens since 2010.
Source: Dan Haygarth/liverpoolecho.co.uk
John Lennon’s eldest son, Julian, admitted that his relationship with his father was not ideal. Julian grew up during Beatlemania, watched his parents’ marriage crumble, and then went years without speaking to his dad. When Julian was just 8 years old, Lennon moved to the United States and effectively broke contact with his son. Julian shared how this felt.
John Lennon’s son said he didn’t have a good relationship with his father
In 1971, Lennon’s ex-wife, Cynthia, learned through the news that Lennon moved to the United States. He decided that Cynthia should discuss Julian with Yoko Ono and went for three years without seeing or speaking to his young son. Julian said this was hard to handle as a child.
“I know that Dad was an idol to millions who grew up loving his music and his ideals. But to me he wasn’t a musician or a peace icon,...
Source: Showbiz Cheatsheet
The Beatles have said they are "thrilled" after receiving two Grammy nominations. The nominations for the 2025 awards were revealed last week and the band is in the running to win record of the year and best rock performance for their track 'Now and Then'.
Released last November, 'Now and Then', featured cleaned-up John Lennon vocals from the 1970s and 1995 guitar recordings from George Harrison alongside new work from Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. John's vocals are taken from a demo recorded at his home in New York’s Dakota Building, which Yoko Ono passed to the rest of the band in 1994.
At that point, technological limitations prevented John’s vocals and piano playing from being separated to achieve the clear, unclouded mix needed to finish the song. However, the release of Peter Jackson's Disney+ documentary 'Get Back' led to the idea of the track's release being brought back to the table.
Advances in technology enabled the isolation of John's vocals and playing. The song also includes electric and acoustic guitar recorded in 1995 by George, a new drum performance from Ringo’s, and bass, guitar and piano from Paul, which matches John’s original playing. Paul and Ringo also recorded vocals for the track.
The song hit number one in the UK official charts and meant The Beatles set a record for the longest gap between an act's first and last number one in those charts. There were 60 years and six months between the April 1963 release of 'From Me to You' (the band's first number one in the official charts) and the November 2023 release of 'Now and Then'.
Source: Dan Haygarth/uk.news.yahoo.com
