Beatles News
In December, it will be 38 years since John Lennon was felled by bullets from Mark David Chapman’s gun outside his New York City apartment.
Thirty-eight years is long enough for revisionism to creep in concerning the life of the man who formed the Beatles and led them through the early stages of their career (before a combination of drugs, ennui and sheer exasperation about how mind-numbingly awful Beatlemania had become caused him to lose interest). And there’s been plenty of revisionism.
Tribute bands have tried to capture the essence of what the Beatles meant to our music, our culture, and our national psyche. They may have been from England, but their role in helping the United States heal after John F. Kennedy’s assassination cannot be overlooked. Even among adults to whom rock ‘n’ roll was truly the devil’s music, the Beatles put a smile on faces and elicited a chuckle or two, thanks to their cheekiness and charm. It wasn’t until the middle of the 1960s, when they developed a little more confidence and had a little less fear of what would happen if they spoke out, that their true personalities really began to emerge.
Source: By Steve Krause/itemlive.com
For years he has refused to accept that his trademark locks have been turning grey.
But Sir Paul McCartney has finally ditched the dye and shown off a more natural look.
The singer, 76, had grey hair framing his face, rather than his usual brown, when he appeared on US chat show The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
Dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans with a blue jacket over the top, Sir Paul appeared totally at ease with his new appearance.
The star, who is promoting his new album Egypt Station, also filmed a social media video with his whiter locks on display.
Just months ago, he was still showing off a head of dark hair – although in January he had allowed a hint of grey to show through on his sideburns, perhaps as a first step towards a more natural look.
On Friday Sir Paul gave a secret concert at New York's Grand Central Terminal for invited guests including Meryl Streep. Commuters could not see him but could hear his 24-song set.
Source: Daily Mail
Paul McCartney was a guest on the Howard Stern radio show in New York last week and set the blame on The Beatles break-up with John Lennon.
Stern said he didn’t really know who broke up The Beatles, no-one did. “I do,” said Paul. “John. There was a meeting where John came in and said ‘hey guys I am leaving the group’. He had found Yoko and John loved strong women. His mother was a strong woman, his aunty who brought him up was a strong woman but, bless her, his first wife wasn’t a strong woman”.
Paul admitted it was hard for the others when John brought Yoko in. “John had met up with Yoko and even thought we thought it was intrusive, because she used to sit in on sessions and we had never had anything like that, but the guy was totally in love with her. You have to respect that”
Source: noise11.com
Excerpted from “Sound Pictures: The Life of Beatles Producer George Martin (The Later Years: 1966-2016)” by Kenneth Womack; Chicago Review Press, September 4, 2018
As the summer of 1968 wore on, George Martin and the bandmates logged increasingly long hours in the studio. Paul McCartney had debuted a new, playful composition called “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.” Of all the songs that they would attempt that summer, “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” revealed the inherent limitations of the group’s painstaking rehearsal and recording practices. Over the ensuing days, the new song would be the subject of successive remakes as McCartney and the other Beatles made marginal strides toward capturing his vision for the song. By July 5, Paul attempted a reggae version of the song, with George hastily recruiting a trio of saxophonists and a bongo player for the session. Seemingly mad for effect, Paul asked for a piccolo superimposition later that same evening, only to wipe it from the mix shortly thereafter. Before the session was out, the Beatle had replaced the woodwind instrument with a guitar overdub.
Source: Kenneth Womack/salon.com
Who doesn’t love Ringo Starr?
The former Beatles drummer, longtime solo artist, double Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee and newly minted Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire has become a kind of mascot for the ’60s and its “peace and love” ethos. The phrase is his mantra and a concept he takes seriously.
But he doesn’t take himself that seriously. Neither a mod nor rocker, as he stated in “A Hard Day’s Night,” he’s still a “mocker.”
Over the last three decades, Starr has found a way to manifest those aspects of his personality into a concert experience with his All-Starr Band extravaganzas. They are good-time guitar pulls writ large, with Starr as the ringleader, emcee and focal point whose ego doesn’t prevent him from getting behind the drums occasionally and supporting his friends.
Source: Daniel Durchholz/stltoday.com
Everyone knows the last days of The Beatles were excruciatingly bitter as the lovable lads from Liverpool bickered nonstop about every aspect of their music empire. Things became particularly brutal one day when Paul McCartney not only cussed out Ringo Starr but booted him from his house.
The bad scene went down back in 1970, when Paul McCartney was set to release his eponymous debut album. Only problem was, the release would conflict with plans to drop The Beatles' last album 'Let It Be.' So John and George asked Ringo to visit Paul and talk him into shelving the 'McCartney' record for a few weeks.
It didn't go over well.
Source: By James McClure/civilized.life
A new feature documentary will use unseen archive and access to material from John Lennon’s estate to relay the untold story behind his classic song “Imagine,” and the album of the same name.
“John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky” has been commissioned by U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 and will air later this year. Producers Eagle Rock have secured previously unheard audio including the first demo of “Imagine,” as well as never-heard-before interviews with one-time Beatle Lennon. Previously unseen footage will show him and Yoko working together in London.
“I feel in the big picture the fact that John and I met was to do this song,” Yoko says in her interview in the film.
Other voices in the documentary include David Bailey, the photographer who famously captured the couple in a 1971 photograph that ended up on the cover of Vogue. John’s eldest son, Julian, is also part of the film.
Source: Stewart Clarke/variety.com
John Lennon’s iconic round glasses and shaggy 1970s mane will now adorn a U.S. stamp.
Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, and their son, Sean Lennon, were in New York City’s Central Park Friday to celebrate the U.S. Postal Service’s release of a stamp honoring the late Beatle. Hundreds of Beatles fans gathered for the event.
“I know that my father would have been really thrilled to be accepted, officially in this way, on a stamp,” said Sean Lennon. “About as official as it gets, I think.”
The commemorative stamp features a photo of Lennon taken in 1974 on the roof of his Manhattan apartment building by photographer Bob Gruen, who also spoke at the event. The stamp is designed to look like a 45-rpm record sleeve.
Source: Associated Press/billboard.com
To coincide with the release of his new album Egypt Station tomorrow, former Beatle Paul McCartney has been teasing details on social media of a “secret” gig he’s planning in New York City that’s set for tomorrow night.
In keeping with a kind of freewheeling experimentation with technology that’s characterized his later years and recent releases, from toying with VR to writing a one-off song that plays at the end of the Destiny video game, Macca is teaming up with YouTube to livestream the show worldwide. It’s being billed as a “YouTube Original” and is set for 8 p.m. eastern time.
From an official announcement courtesy of the musician: “(Paul) confirms he will be joining forces with YouTube Originals to livestream a secret concert via his channel this coming Friday 7th September to celebrate the release of his new album Egypt Station. Fans will be able to tune in to watch Paul perform tracks from Egypt Station along with Beatles, Wings and solo classics from 8:00pm (ET). The venue is still to be confirmed.”
Source: Andy Meek/bgr.com
"Ever since 1970, that's all those blokes were asked. 'When are you coming back together?' It wouldn't matter what they were bringing out, or what product they were trying to show the world, all the world wanted to know was 'When are you getting back together?' As artists trying to grow and expand, that must have driven them mad."
Michael Gagliano, who plays John Lennon in Let it Be, is considering what it must have been like being an ex-Beatle during the time between the band's official break-up in 1970 and John Lennon's murder on December 8, 1980.
I'm upstairs at the Liverpool Empire, a glorious Victorian theatre in The Beatles' home town, shortly after opening night of Le it Be, and having a chinwag with the four cast members/musicians. The show's been a huge global hit over the last few years, but this isn't so much a revival as a hugely revamped show.
Source: John Byrne/rte.ie
