Beatles News
When news broke of Marianne Faithfull's death on Thursday (January 30), those close to the beloved singer took to social media to pay tribute. Paul McCartney mourned the death of his "life-long friend" in an Instagram post. What sad news that Marianne Faithfull has passed away," he captioned an old photo of himself and Faithfull. "She came into my life in the Sixties and was a beautiful, sweet 17 year old who radiated innocent joy. Then through the years I was lucky enough to run into her and to become a life-long friend."
"It’s very sad to think that I won’t be meeting her again but my memories of our encounters over the years will always bring me joy," McCartney reflected. "May god bless you Marianne and guide you in the next steps of your journey."
Mick Jagger, who dated Faithfull from 1966-1970, also shared an emotional tribute. "I am so saddened to hear of the death of Marianne Faithfull. She was so much part of my life for so long," he captioned an Instagram post showcasing photos of himself and Faithfull. "She was a wonderful friend, a beautiful singer and a great actress. She will always be remembered."
Faithfull was one of the most popular female artists in the British Invasion and is widely considered a muse for Jagger and The Rolling Stones. It's speculated that some of the band's most famous songs, including "Wild Horses" and "You Can’t Always Get What You Want," are about her. She released her debut single, "As Tears Go By," in 1964. It was the first song ever written by Jagger and Keith Richards and shot up the UK Top 10, peaking at No 9. The Stones released their own version a year later. After a turbulent decade fighting drug addiction, Faithfull's critically acclaimed album Broken English came out in 1979. Faithfull is also known for collaborating with Metallica on their 1997 hit "The Memory Remains."
Faithfull passed away on January 30 at the age of 78. "Marianne passed away peacefully in London today, in the company of her loving family," a statement from her spokesperson said.
Source: iheart.com
You don’t amass worldwide fame and not fall victim to a little conjecture. The Beatles certainly were on the bad end of a few rumors. Check out three of the strangest, below. 3 of the Strangest Rumors About the Beatles....
1. Paul is Dead
We have to start this list at the natural point: Paul is Dead. It’s one of the most famous rumors about the Fab Four–and possibly the most unbelievable. As the story goes, Paul McCartney died and was replaced by a convincing double. Theorists have pointed to the album cover for Abbey Road–in which the band members’ clothing is reminiscent of a burial–and backwards messages to support their claims. McCartney has denied this rumor, of course. But, then again, can you expect a body double to just come out and tell us the truth…Guess we can’t completely file this one under debunked.
2. John Lennon and the Devil
Countless rock stars have been accused of having a commune with the Devil. That idea was also leveled at John Lennon once upon a time. Those that believe this rumor think Lennon bargained his soul with Satan to garner fame on an unprecedented level. As a result of this, he suffered his tragic fate in 1980. Those that believe, think the Devil came to collect…While we put little stock in this theory, the fame the Beatles enjoyed did seem other worldly. You can hardly blame people for trying to come up with an explanation–no matter how outlandish.
3. John Lennon and the Number Nine
We’re ending our list with a second, more substantiated, Lennon rumor. Lennon found that the number nine popped up in his life often–too often to be coincidence. He wrote songs that included the number, he was born on October 9, he was apart of the band for nine years, he died on Ninth Avenue…Needless to say there is an all but confirmed connection between this number and Lennon. That fact has mystified fans for years.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Alex Hopper
During the 1970s, John Lennon’s final decade, the former Beatles star lived in the US and focused on his solo career.
Now, for the first time, his only full-length concert after leaving the Fab Four has seen its film footage restored.
Announced today by Dogwoof: “One to One: John and Yoko delivers an immersive cinematic experience that brings to life electrifying, never-before-seen material and newly restored footage of Lennon's only full-length, post-Beatles concert.
“With mind-blowing remastered audio overseen by their son, Sean Ono Lennon, the film is both compelling and bittersweet, challenging pre-existing notions of the iconic couple.
“On August 30, 1972, in New York City, John Lennon played his only full-length show after leaving The Beatles, the One to One benefit concert at Madison Square Garden, a rollicking, dazzling performance from him and Yoko Ono.”
Source: express.co.uk/George Simpson
Babygirl star Harris Dickinson responds to rumors he will play John Lennon in the four planned Beatles biopic movies. The Fab Four are finally getting the musical biopic treatment, as Sam Mendes and Sony are developing a quartet of Beatles movies, each centered on a different member of the chart-topping group. Barry Keoghan has already been confirmed as Ringo Starr, but the other three Beatles are yet to be officially cast, as the rumor mill keeps churning out potential names.
Lennon is arguably the prize Beatles catch from an acting standpoint, and last summer it was rumored that Babygirl’s Dickinson would be the one to nab that particular role, but the star is staying mum about whether the rumor has any substance. Dickinson just addressed his name being connected to Mendes’ four-film biopic, and gave only a brief response (via THR):
“OK, my comment is that I think it would be a brilliant opportunity to play John Lennon, and to work with Sam and everyone else mentioned. Yeah, I don’t know. It would be splendid.”
Banshees of Inisherin star Keoghan was confirmed last year to be cast as Starr after the Beatles drummer let the secret out of the bag. The other three main roles remain open, at least publicly, though it’s possible all have been cast and Sony is just waiting for the right time to announce the news.
Source: screenrant.com/Dan Zinski
With the Super Bowl just around the corner, Paul McCartney, who headlined the halftime show in 2005, has shared his thoughts on what he calls American football, and it turns out he’s a fan.
In a new Q&A on his website, the rocker was asked how he first got into watching the sport, and it seems his wife Linda is responsible.
“Well, being married to Linda meant I was in America quite a bit. We spent a lot of time there with her family and American Football was always on the television,” he explains. “I would watch it with everyone but not really know what was going on!”
McCartney says he didn’t understand the game until Linda clued him in to keep his eye on the quarterback, telling him, “All the action comes from him.”
“So, once I had that clue, I found it much easier to follow,” he says.
“I watched a lot of it and grew to really like it, because it’s quite a complicated and strategic game – and obviously very athletic,” Sir Paul says, joking, “In Britain we used to laugh at it, saying, ‘They wear all those pads and protective gear. We don’t, we’ve got rugby, a proper sport!"”
“But I got over all that, and found I really liked it,” he adds. “So yeah, I’m a big fan of football, American-style.”
Source: everettpost.com/ABC News
The Beatles could finally win Record of the Year at the Grammys for "Now and Then," breaking a ... [+] historic losing streak that's continued for decades.
For the first time in almost 30 years, The Beatles are nominated for a Grammy. Two of them, actually. Throughout that time, projects attached to the rockers have been up for, and even won trophies, but the group itself wasn’t actually in the running for a prize. Now, the Fab Four may be headed for another win, and the musicians have another chance to fix a black spot on an otherwise sterling legacy.
The Beatles hold the record for the most nominations among groups in the Record of the Year category. That field is considered, perhaps only countered by Album of the Year, as the top honor at music’s biggest night. The pop and rock legends have competed for the honor five times now, including this ceremony, but so far, the band has always been beaten.
Throughout the years, The Beatles landed in the Record of the Year vertical with all of the following hits: “I Want to Hold Your Hand” (lost to "The Girl from Ipanema" by Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto), “Yesterday” (lost to "A Taste of Honey" by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass), “Hey Jude” (lost to "Mrs. Robinson" by Simon & Garfunkel), and “Let It Be” (lost to "Bridge over Troubled Water," again from Simon & Garfunkel). Each time, another smash that dominated pop culture bested the quartet, but none of those acts are in the running today.
“Now and Then” could finally give The Beatles a Record of the Year Grammy, which is the last of the big four categories the band never won. The first time the group was nominated, the four musicians earned Best New Artist. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ended up being named Album of the Year, beating several other Beatles collections at other ceremonies that didn’t come out on top.
Source: Forbes
A lock of hair cut from the head of an unwitting Paul McCartney outside a BBC studio is for sale at a British collectibles company.
Paul Fraser Collectibles are listing the dark-brown hank of Beatle hair that fan Martha snipped outside a recording, probably for the BBC show Saturday Club, in 1965 or 1966. Martha’s confession recalls a time when fans could get relatively close to the Liverpool band and other stars of an exploding British beat scene.
Paul McCartney’s hair is for sale alongside his signature. Image courtesy Paul Fraser Collectibles.
With most of the band in her autograph book, Martha and a friend went one step further to show their admiration for the Fab Four.
“At school we made plans to cut a piece of Paul’s hair (back then it was a ‘normal’ thing to do) and went prepared with scissors. When the Beatles left the studio we mobbed them with a crowd of other fans and just grabbed Paul’s hair and cut! “Sounds a dreadful thing now,” she says. They even wrote via the band’s fan club offering an apology but never heard back.
60 years later that girlish enthusiasm has produced a valuable artefact of the most exciting era in British – maybe world – youth culture.
The snipped hair is being sold with an autograph collected separately. Paul Fraser, chairman of Paul Fraser Collectibles said: “Both are frozen in time from those spine-tingling days. When the Beatles were transforming music, and transforming the world, with every new record they made.
“The style of Paul’s signature indicates he signed it in the mid 60s – 1964 onward.” Beatle hair was sold along with any and every other aspect of their lives in the frantic heyday of Beatlemania.
Surviving fragments are now rare, and may, Paul Fraser says, have considerable resale value.
Source: news.justcollecting.com/Colin Ricketts
Despite having starred in a Pizza Hut commercial back in 1995, Ringo Starr has admitted he's never before been able to enjoy a piece of pizza. Famed Beatles drummer and one-time Pizza Hut spokesperson Ringo Starr has admitted he’s never eaten pizza before.
The veteran musician made the somewhat surprising confession while appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to promote his 21st studio album, Look Up. As part of his chat, Kimmel asked Starr to set some rumors about himself straight. First on the list was the claim that Starr had never eaten pizza. “I’ve never had a pizza,” Starr confirmed, as the audience expressed their shock at the news. “Or a curry.”
“I’m allergic to several items,” Starr continued. “With pizza, you don’t know what you’re putting in it half the time. Or the curry. So I’m strict with myself since it makes me ill immediately.”
“I used to think you had the greatest life, and now I realize mine is better,” Kimmel joked in response. Added Starr: “Yours is better because you’ve had a pizza.”
Starr’s need to abstain from pizza also goes hand-in-hand with his longtime vegetarianism, but is made all the more surprising given his role as a one-time spokesperson for noted restaurant chain Pizza Hut.
Appearing in a 1995 ad campaign for the chain, Starr promoted Pizza Hut’s newly-introduced stuffed crust as part of a 30-second spot which saw him teasing a reunion from The Beatles. The ad’s punchline sees Starr joined by members of The Monkees instead (“Wrong lads,” he quips), with all four musicians appearing to bite a piece of pizza… crust-first. We now know, however, that Starr doesn’t actually follow suit.
Source: billboard.com/Tyler Jenke
George Harrison’s legendary diary entry from the day he left The Beatles has seen the guitarist dubbed an “icon”.
Studio session tensions bubbled over for Harrison during the Get Back rehearsals, prompting him to briefly quit the band. Ringo Starr had previously departed the band towards the end of The White Album recording but rejoined a short while later. Starr had felt he “wasn’t playing great” and that he was “an outsider” but after a holiday to Sardinia, he rejoined the band. Harrison’s departure from the Get Back sessions lasted five days and has since been immortalised in a diary entry.
January 10, 1969 saw Harrison write in his diary he had “left The Beatles”. The full entry reads: “Got up, went to Twickenham. Rehearsed until lunchtime – left The Beatles – went home.” One fan dubbed Harrison an “icon” for his diary entry and departing from The Beatles while another said it was a “dark day” for fans of the Fab Four. Harrison’s rather stoic attitude to The Beatles has been celebrated by fans in a Reddit thread, who shared similar stories about the Something and All Things Must Pass songwriter.
One user recalled: “I remember his son, Dhani, telling a story about how he was chased home from school once when he was 6 by bullies who were singing “Yellow Submarine” as a taunt. When George came home Dhani was still upset about what had happened and he said, ‘Dad, how come you never told me you were one of the Beatles?’ And George replied, ‘Oh, sorry, I probably should have told you that’.”
In the five-day downtime Harrison had after leaving The Beatles, he wrote Wah Wah, the song which features on his triple album, All Things Must Pass. Lyrical readings include jabs at Paul McCartney’s criticism of Harrison’s guitar playing to Lennon’s lack of interest in the Get Back project. He too would leave The Beatles, announcing his departure in a meeting Harrison was absent from.
Source: cultfollowing.co.uk/Ewan Gleadow
The Beatles ended their historic run as a band on Jan. 30, 1969. On that date in history, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr gathered on the rooftop of the Apple Corps. headquarters for their last-ever live performance. Billy Preston, often dubbed the “Fifth Beatle,” played electric piano during the set.
Five stories atop central London, the band played their final show for a project originally titled Get Back. The Beatles hoped that the project, as the title suggested, would help them return to their roots.
However, the resulting film and album, which were later renamed Let It Be, became the band’s final project together when they were released in May 1970. Rolling Stone reported that the rooftop concert wasn’t always planned for that location. A cruise ship, the Sahara desert, the Giza pyramids, and a 2,000-year-old Roman amphitheater were first considered. Ultimately, the rooftop was chosen, though whether Lennon or Starr suggested it first is widely debated.
The Day of The Beatles’ Rooftop Concert
Knowing he was going to witness something special, director Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who previously worked with The Beatles on “Hey Jude” and “Revolution,” made it his mission to capture the show from every imaginable angle. One camera even caught the reactions of people who were passing by and happened to hear the commotion, Gold Radio reported.
The police shut down the show after 42-minutes due to noise complaints from surrounding business, the first outlet reported. The Beatles continued to play, finishing the performance with a third take of “Get Back,” per Gold Radio.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Paige Gawley
