Beatles News
From singing “Eleanor Rigby” in the first person to why “The Long and Winding Road” is the best Beatles cover of all time
Aretha Franklin’s genius took so many forms — as a singer, a songwriter, an album-crafter, a live performer. But the Queen was also one of history’s most audacious Beatle fans. Nobody ever sang the Beatles like Aretha. Since she was one of the few Sixties musicians as famous and revered as they were, she felt free to take any approach she pleased to a Fabs song — sometimes radically reworking it, as when she sang “Eleanor Rigby” in the first person. When Aretha sang any song, even a Beatle song, she claimed it as her own — and the Beatles knew it. Nothing could make them prouder than getting one of their songs stolen by the Queen. When Paul McCartney wrote “Let It Be,” he sent an acetate demo to Aretha in hopes she’d record it, knowing full well she’d outsing him on it. (Needless to say, she did.)
Source: Rob Sheffield/rollingstone.com
The two surviving Beatles paid tribute to Aretha Franklin today following the news of the Queen of Soul’s death. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr issued separate statements, each praising the artist for her musical impact.
“Let’s all take a moment to give thanks for the beautiful life of Aretha Franklin, the Queen of our souls, who inspired us all for many, many years,” McCartney wrote, paired with a photo that was shot looking up at her as if in awe. “She will be missed but the memory of her greatness as a musician and a fine human being will live with us forever. Love Paul.”
Starr simply wrote, “God bless Aretha Franklin the queen of soul and peace and love to her family.” He accompanied the note with emojis for music, peace and love.
Source: Kory Grow/rollingstone.com
Macca's first studio album in five years is out next month
Paul McCartney has shared a new single from his forthcoming album ‘Egypt Station’, and revealed the full tracklisting for the record.
You can watch the lyric video for the single ‘Fuh You’ below. It’s the third track to be revealed from the album, following ‘I Don’t Know’ and ‘Come On To Me’ which both appeared together in June.
he latest single finds the former Beatle exploring a contemporary pop sound, and is a change in direction from the relatively traditional-sounding tracks we’ve heard thus far.
The album’s full tracklisting has also appeared, with Macca tweeting an individual illustration for each track, or ‘station’ in a thread you can see below.
That tracklist in full:
Source: Patrick Clarke/nme.com
It was 56 years ago today ...
Ringo Starr on Wednesday celebrated the anniversary of the fateful day he joined the Beatles — replacing their original drummer and giving the world the Fab Four.
"56 years ago today John, Paul and George invited me to become part of the Beatles. It was a great day for me! peace and love," Starr, 78, wrote on his Facebook and Twitter pages, followed by a string of emojis.
56 years ago Wednesday, 15 August John Paul and George invited me to become part of the Beatles it was a great day for me peace and love. 😎✌️🌟💖🤓😏🤨
His post came one day after a Beatles reunion, of sorts, went viral: A side-by-side selfie of John Lennon and Paul McCartney's sons, who share a striking resemblance to their famous fathers.
Source: Jason Silverstein/cbsnews.com
A restored and remixed version of John Lennon & Yoko Ono’s Imagine will reach theaters around the world beginning on Sept. 17.
The movie documents the making of the 1971 album Imagine and features never-before-seen footage.
According to a press release, Imagine, which Lennon and Ono directed, was restored frame-by-frame from the original reels, and the audio has been remixed by Paul Hicks. It guest stars Fred Astaire, Andy Warhol and Dick Cavett. The bonus footage, 15 minutes in all, includes Lennon and his band -- George Harrison, Nicky Hopkins, Klaus Voorman and Alan White -- recording his anti-Paul McCartney diatribe "How Do You Sleep?" and "Oh My Love." A special Dolby Atmos "raw studio" mix was created for these performances.
Source: ultimateclassicrock.com
Rishikesh:
Fifty years after the Beatles came to India, the bungalows where the Fab Four lived, the post office where John Lennon sent Yoko Ono postcards and the giggling guru's house are all ruins.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram, where the world's most famous group sought refuge and spirituality in 1968 and wrote much of their seminal "White Album", fell into disuse in the early 2000s.
But thanks to the efforts of a group of locals, the site has been reclaimed from the jungle and tourists now roam where tigers and snakes were until recently the most common day trippers.
"Before, people used to sneak in, which could be dangerous," said local journalist Raju Gusain, instrumental in rescuing the area overlooking Rishikesh in northern India.
Source: All India | Agence France-Presse
The Let It Be singer recently returned to the scene of the photo as he recorded his new album Egypt Station at the legendary London studio, and shared a video of himself crossing the road on Instagram, much to the delight of die-hard fans.
One fan described him as “the king”, while another wrote: “Paul Icon walking across Abbey Road this time wearing sandals, stops to give crowd a hello as only Paul McCartney can do.” (sic)
During the raw question and answer session the Liverpool-born star also revealed how the people and humour of his hometown in made him the man he is today and revealed his favourite memory of growing up in the Northern city.
Source: startsat60.com
Two things symbolise the era of free love that was the 1960s – The Beatles and Alec Issigonis’ revolutionary Mini. Discovering a combination of the two is a seldom-found opportunity, but the very 1965 Morris Mini Cooper S DeVille used by Paul McCartney is going under the hammer with Worldwide Auctioneers during the 11th annual Auburn Auction held at the National Auto & Truck Museum, Illinois, on September 1.
Offering peppy performance from a 1275cc four-cylinder engine, mated with a four-speed manual gearbox and four-wheel hydraulic brakes, the heavily modified DeVille Cooper S isn’t quite the same machine as was immortalised by Paddy Hopkirk during the Monte Carlo Rally. Rather, the upmarket Mini was fitted with a host of custom interior and exterior touches, often to individual order.
Source: autoclassics.com
DUBAI: Billionaire investors from Saudi Arabia are reportedly snapping up a slice of Europe — minutes from Dubai's coast — as development on a luxurious man-made archipelago gathers haste.
On the emirate’s “The World” archipelago, the Heart of Europe project is an island destination comprising a complex of opulent palaces, island villas and 13 luxury hotels stretching across six small islands. Each offer a different aspect of European life and aim to bring European hospitality “with a Maldivian twist” to the Middle East’s Arabian Sea.
And, according to its developer, Joseph Kleindienst, chairman of the Kleindienst Group, wealthy investors across the Kingdom are among the most prominent buyers of the multimillion-dirham properties that are being developed on the island, with nearly a quarter of all investments (23 per cent) to date being by Saudi nationals.
Source: arabnews.com
BEATLEMANIA is set to take over Redditch later this month with a talk from Ringo Starr’s drum curator and friend, Gary Astridge.
Gary has spent decades researching, organising and restoring The Beatles’ existing drum kits for their iconic value and historical significance.
As a member of Ringo’s inner circle, Gary can offer residents an insight into the life of the band like few others can.
He has amassed a personal collection of vintage drum kits which were all used by Ringo during his musical career.
This includes Ringo’s first Ludwig drum kit which at one point was sold for an astonishing £2.1 million.
Gary also has an intimate understanding of the drumming techniques used by Ringo and will be sharing those with members of the audience.
Source: Harry Leach/redditchstandard.co.uk
