Beatles News
He was famous as a Victorian circus owner and was then immortalised in a song by The Beatles.
And Pablo Fanque now lends his name to the new student accommodation which has been completed in All Saints Green - just around the corner from where he once lived.
As a young man Fanque, born William Derby, lived in Ber Street. He joined a circus where he trained and handled horses. But he was also skilled as a tightrope walker and trapeze artist.
He struck out on his own in the early 1840s, becoming the first black circus owner in the country. His circus primarily performed in the north of England.
It was a poster for one of his shows which was the inspiration for John Lennon when he wrote Being For The Benefit of Mr Kite!The song, which features on the Fab Four’s 1967 album Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, includes the lyric: “The Hendersons will all be there/Late of Pablo Fanque’s Fair.”
Source: Dan Grimmer/edp24.co.uk
Paul McCartney is celebrating the release of his new record, 'Egypt Station'.
Sir Paul McCartney has cracked the top spot on the Billboard 200 chart for the first time in nearly four decades with his new record Egypt Station.
It’s the eighth time that the legendary musician has reached the coveted spot but the first time a solo record of his has debuted at number one.
The last time Macca made it to #1 was in 1986 with Tug Of War -- the album that featured the “Ebony And Ivory” duet with Stevie Wonder and was made by Beatles producer George Martin.
Source: Michaela Morgan/Daily News
As a young girl, Rosanne Cash became a die-hard Beatles devotee — even serving as president of a Fab Four fan club.
Now the four-time Grammy winner will be honored with the “John Lennon Real Love Award,” acknowledging her decades of work as both artist and activist.
Cash, in an interview with the Daily News, said Lennon has remained a guiding light across the decades since she first saw him on “The Ed Sullivan Show” with his fellow moptops.
“He’s still alive in so many ways,” she said from Nashville. “Musically, as an activist, as just this enormous heart. That we got to be on the same planet at the same time as John, that in itself is a gift.
“He still resonates with so many of us today. He’s still a constant inspiration, from when I was 8 years old to right now.”
Source: Larry McShane/nydailynews.com
"I sometimes will just think, oh right, OK, Beatles session, writing session with John, and I say, ‘What do you think of that?’"
Paul McCartney has revealed that he still judges new songs by imagining how John Lennon would react.
McCartney spoke to NME about the release of latest solo album ‘Egypt Station’ and confirmed that he still judges new material by imagining what the Beatles would have said about it.
He said: “You know, you do sometimes, particularly if you’re wondering about a line and you think, is this any good or is it crap, I sometimes will just think, oh right, OK, Beatles session, writing session with John, and I say, ‘What do you think of that?’ And he’ll either say, ‘It’s great, keep it,’ or, ‘No, it’s no good, re-write it.’“So you often, you know, look to the past for reference. But I don’t do it all the time. That’s just occasionally if I’m wondering if it’s going to work, remembering things like when I’m writing ‘Hey Jude’ and playing it to John for the first time; I said I’d change the line ‘The movement you need is on your shoulder’ and he said, ‘You won’t, you know’. So those are the little moments I refer to and think, ‘Is it one of those lines or is it rubbish’.”
Source: Amy Smith/nme.com
McCartney spoke to NME about his set list preferences
Paul McCartney says he’ll never play a Beatles album in full on stage because it would be “too limiting.”
The Beatle, who has just released his 18th solo studio album ‘Egypt Station’, sat down with NME to talk about his career and latest record.
And when it came to choosing songs from his huge backcatalogue to play live, McCartney shot down the idea of dedicating a full set to one album.
When asked by NME’s Dan Stubbs in this week’s Big Read whether he’s ever thought about playing a Beatles album in full on tour, he replied: “No. I think that’s kind of a cool idea but I’m not tempted at all to do that. It’d be too limiting.”
But McCartney went on to explain that while he’d never do it himself, he applauds others for trying it.
He added: “It’s the kind of thing other people do, and I wish them well with it, but to me if I’m doing one album and ‘Hey Jude’ isn’t on it, and I’m in a crowd of 40,000 people, I’m going to want to do ‘Hey Jude’ because it brings people together.”
Source: Anna Matheson/nme.com
Calling the Beatles "influential" to rock and roll is an understatement. They were as essential to music as oxygen is to life. I was seven years old when John Lennon was taken from the world, forever ending any chance of a Fab Four reunion. As time marched on, seeing at least one Beatle perform live had become a "bucket list" item. Thanks to Ringo Starr, that box is finally checked.
At 78 years of age, you might think Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band would be a show that relies on nostalgia over musicianship. Rest assured, Ringo, aka Sir Richard Starkey, is still the infectiously charming performer he's been since the Beatles early days. As a drummer he's been immensely influential and inconceivably still underrated by "experts" in such matters. All of Ringo's many talents were on display as the thirteenth iteration of the All-Starr Band played a lively show at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis.
Source: criticalblast.com
Title of book and publisher: “Advertising The Beatles,” HenschelHAUS Publishing, Milwaukee
Synopsis of book (plot): A colorful and historic journey through the Fab Four’s earliest releases in Great Britain and the U.S. based on record advertisements. These ads usually ran in trade magazines for one week and then were gone forever. Compiled here for the first time in book format by Beatles enthusiast Ray Zirkle, these promotional materials show the group’s musical evolution through the years until they ultimately disbanded in the early 1970s.
Is this your first book? It’s my first published book. I also had another self-published book featuring my photography.
Why did you write the book? I originally did it for myself just to see if it might be something people would like. After showing the self-published prototype to people and getting great response I started searching out local publishers. My hunch was right judging by the response I received at the last Beatles Convention in August.
Source: journaltimes.com
Three years before writing his political anthem ‘Gimme Some Truth’, John Lennon had a stark warning for the public about politicians when he was interviewed at The National Theatre in 1968: “I think our society is run by insane people for insane objectives, and I think that’s what I sussed when I was 16 and 12, way down the line. But, I expressed it differently all through my life. It’s the same thing I’m expressing all the time, but now I can put it into that sentence that I think we’re being run by maniacs for maniacal ends. If anybody can put on paper what our government, and the American government and the Russian, Chinese, what they are actually trying to do and what they think they’re doing… I’d be very pleased to know what they think they’re doing, I think they’re all insane!”
Source: Martin Chilton/udiscovermusic.com
Paul McCartney appears set to return to San Diego for his first concert here since his rousing Petco Park show in 2014, according to a reliable source — McCartney himself.
On Thursday, the veteran solo star, Beatles co-founder and two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee wrote on his Facebook page: “San Diego! We’ve heard rumours that Paul is bringing his #FreshenUpTour to town in 2019…Get your tour laminate album bundle here! Each laminate comes with a code that could allow access to pre-sales.”
Of course, it’s more than possible McCartney, 74, has a staff member who is assigned to regularly tend to his social media posts for him. But it is more than unlikely McCartney or his management would not have known about — or approved — the San Diego “rumours” post.
Source: Connatix/fox5sandiego.com
The event, scheduled to take place at 10 a.m. ET on the steps of City Hall, will feature Starr and Ono coming together with actor Jeff Bridges, photographer Henry Diltz, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio and others to inspire "student activism" in honor of Yoko and her late husband John Lennon's famous non-violent protests promoting world peace.
The gathering, which will mark the launch of a monthlong residency in New York City for the Lennon bus, will feature speeches by student activists, a group sing-along of "Give Peace a Chance," and a variety of creative activities.
Celebrating its 21st year, the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus is a state-of-the-art mobile recording facility providing students with the chance to learn how to use audio and video gear and technology. During its New York residency, the Lennon Bus visit schools around the city, and will offer a newly devised curriculum titled Come Together encouraging students to converse and take part in creative activities focusing on topics such as peace, empathy, immigration and activism.
Source: abcnewsradioonline.com