Beatles News
A prominent member of the iconic British band Beatles, George Harrison, was one of the main coordinators of the Concert for Bangladesh, held at Madison Square Garden, New York, on 1 August 1971 to raise international awareness and funds for Bangladesh's liberation war. Harrison ended the concert with the song 'Bangladesh, Bangladesh'. The simplicity of the lyrics takes on a new and powerful force. For by then, they are no longer an expression of intent but of an accomplished mission — help has been given, people have been reached, an effort has been made and results will be felt.
With such names as Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, Leon Russell, and finally, Bob Dylan, involved, the concert would have been an enormous success no matter how it was planned or run. But part of the record's beauty is that Harrison staged a concert worthy of his purpose in every respect.
Source: Jahanara Tariq/thedailystar.net
Liverpool City Council is proposing a regeneration area around Mathew Street, where the Cavern Club - which hosted the band's early shows - once stood. The aim was to bring an "enhanced and more co-ordinated Beatles tourism offer" to the area, the council said.
City Mayor Joe Anderson said there was a need to improve the area's 24-hour appeal as the current offer was "not at the level it could and should be". The plans could involve the redevelopment of derelict and under-used buildings and the creation of a "more defined and useable public open space". If approved, the regeneration work would focus on the area from Victoria and North John Street to Lord Street and Stanley Street.
The council said the city's "Beatles-related industry" had been growing at up to 15% annually in the last decade and was worth £90m a year. A spokesman said Cavern City Tours and the Cavern Club, the venue built on the site of its namesake nightclub using the original plans, now attracted 800,000 visitors a year. However, a report to the council said visitors were "increasingly looking for a quality experiential visit" and there was "a clear need to curate a Beatles Heritage offer".
Source:BBC News
In April 1976, Paul and Linda McCartney were on a month’s break from the Wings Over the World tour, which would head to North America in May for Paul’s first shows there since the Beatles’ final US gig in August 1966. Photographer David Montgomery, who had also shot the cover for Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland, captured the McCartney clan – including sheepdog Martha and Lucky the dalmatian – in what looks like bucolic bliss, but is in fact the back garden of their London home in Cavendish Avenue.
Animals were a huge part of family life. Paul has often said that he and Linda became vegetarian after watching lambs gambolling outside their farm window. They pushed their lamb chops aside, and that was the end of their meat-eating days. “It is because we like animals, it’s an ethical thing, not really about health,” Paul told Nigel Slater in 2007.
Source: Campbell Stevenson/theguardian.com
This week marks the 20th anniversary of the tragic loss of Linda McCartney, the famed photographer, activist and singer famously wed to Paul. She died at 56 on April 17, 1998 after a long battle with breast cancer, but she lives on through her memorable collaborations with her husband, whether solo Macca or in their collaborative band Wings.
McCartney (née Eastman) was an editorial assistant/receptionist at Town & Country Magazine who learned the ropes on how to set up shots from her photographer ex, David Dalton -- and then jumped at the opportunity for her publication to shoot the Rolling Stones during a yacht party. Her talent was abundantly clear, and her career snowballed from there until she became the house photographer at the Fillmore East, getting classic shots of Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, The Doors, and other rockers of the day.
Source: Morgan Enos/billboard.com
Sir Ringo Starr has a birthday coming up, and to celebrate he wants us all to spread a little Peace and Love.
Everyone’s favorite knight of the realm will observe turning 78 on July 7 by inviting the world to come together in a moment of peace, love and unity. Starr himself will be in Nice, France at the Hard Rock Cafe — a fitting location considering he started the tradition 10 years ago at the Chicago branch of the franchise. But don’t worry if you can’t make the trip. All he asks is for everyone — everywhere — to think, say, or post “#PeaceandLove” at noon their local time, thus creating a wave of positivity that will travel across the globe.
Source: Jordan Runtagh/people.com
ter nearly nine million guests have enjoyed captivating performances and show-stopping numbers, Cirque du Soleil has opened the doors to The Beatles LOVE to the public for free - giving Beatles and Cirque du Soleil fans alike a rare inside look at the world's most celebrated and revolutionary experience.
Beginning Friday, May 4, guests can experience LOVE's exclusive Magical Technical Tour, a complimentary open house showcasing the production's state-of-the-art technology, one-of-a-kind set pieces and more, every Friday at 1 p.m. at the LOVE Theatre inside The Mirage Hotel & Casino. Guests will be ushered into the best seats in the house where they will sit back and enjoy an exceptional and one-of-a-kind presentation.
Source: broadwayworld.com
John Lennon might not spark any first-hand memories in kids today, but nearly 38 years after his death, a tour bus bearing his name aims to preserve his legacy.
Earlier this month, the bus stopped off in Lake Forest.
The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, a mobile recording studio that treks around the country providing music productions lessons to students, visited Deer Path Middle School from April 9 to 12.
Deer Path band director Corey Ames, who said he knew about the bus, persuaded the Spirit of ’67 Foundation (a nonprofit foundation that supports District 67 initiatives) to authorize a $10,000 grant allowing it to come to the school for fifth- through eighth-graders.
Source: Daniel I. Dorfman
For Earth Day, Julian Lennon hopes to lay the foundation for a whole new crop of environmentalists. He just has to wait a decade or two before they bloom.
The firstborn son of the late John Lennon is the co-author of "Heal the Earth," the second in his picture book series teaching kids as young as 3 ways to help the planet.
"I wish I had this book when I was at this age growing up," he said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. "I wish we'd all had it growing up. The world would be I think a different place. I really do."
The latest book follows a group of children as they fly across the globe, learning to protect coral reefs and planting gardens in cities and trees in the rainforest. "Every day there is something new we can do to heal the Earth," the book says. "If we work together."
Source: ABC News
Turn me on dead man.
Long before conspiracy-minded rock fans screwed up their needles playing records backwards, to paraphrase George Carlin, The Beatles’ “Revolution 9” was a spooky experimental tour de force of hidden meaning. Marketed as one of the first boy bands, the mop topped sensations were best known for being at the toppermost of the pops. The ultimate pop band was also at the forefront of the rising underground scene.
While The Beatles are best known for writing love songs, not only catchy romantic ditties, but songs about the larger concept of love, they had a very dark side to their output that defied easy categories. John Lennon could be particularly scary. He forced George Harrison to arrange a guitar solo that had to sound better backwards on “I’m only Sleeping,” and shoveled out frightening amounts of ziti in the film Magical Mystery Tour. He always needed more.
Source: denofgeek.com
Somewhere along the line, over the course of a half dozen or so moves, I mysteriously lost my 20-inch-tall cloth John Lennon doll.
Granted, the level of detail wasn’t particularly good: I would place it halfway between the Saturday morning Beatles cartoon and Casper the Friendly Ghost. But it was still recognizably John Lennon, thanks in large part to the inclusion of a plastic Rickenbacker guitar, as well as the fact that very few musicians reach that level of mass-produced stuffed effigy. In fact, those late-’80s “Beatles Forever” dolls were the only rock ‘n’ roll collectibles offered by Applause, a since-bankrupted novelty company that was better known for its tricycle-riding Curious George and a line of unremarkable Muppet dolls.
Source: Bill Forman
