Beatles News

Okay so to be frank the question to ask after the year-long spate of rock star deaths is: Jesus, who's next? In a New Yorker cartoon at the end of 2016, God says to the Grim Reaper, "Maybe go easy on the much-loved celebrities for a while." This time last year was the pretty shocking death of David Bowie, and at Christmas there was the really sad death of George Michael. In between, there was...just about everyone. Bring out your listicles of the famous dead. 2016 saw what appeared to be record numbers of music royalty passing over to that great backstage in the sky. Prince. Leonard Cohen. Glenn Frey from The Eagles, Paul Kantner from Jefferson Airplane.

March 24, 2017 will see the arrival of the long-awaited next addition in Paul McCartney's award-winning Archive Collection: Flowers In the Dirt (originally released in 1989). But one particular decision has raised the hackles of McCartney's collective fan base—and understandably so. Unlike the previous nine entries in the series, a significant portion of the material slated for inclusion in the pricey "deluxe edition" will be available as downloads only. To survey the tracklist alone, the Flowers deluxe set appears to be the most comprehensive set so far. In addition to a remastered version of the album on disc one, discs two and three include the original demos and 1988 "band demos" of nine Elvis Costello collaborations (McCartney and Costello famously teamed up to write a batch of songs together, several of which were never officially released by either artist). A DVD will contain the long out-of-print documentary Put It There (no word yet on whether it's the original version or the truncated home video version), ten music videos, and three featurettes.

Musician Sean — son of superstar John, who died in 1980 — gave his support to fashion designer pal Stella. IT’S Lennon and McCartney — a generation after the Beatles legends. Stella McCartney, 45, struck a pose with Sean Lennon, 41, almost 50 years after their dads’ group disbanded. Musician Sean — son of superstar John, who died in 1980 — gave his support to fashion designer pal Stella, daughter of Sir Paul, as she launched a line at New York’s Cotton Club on Tuesday. Well, we all need a little help from our friends … Characters from the Dandy comic strip stepped into the world of high fashion on a new print by Stella.

Recent years have seen plenty of new and “definitive” bios — some doorstop size — on John, Paul and even Ringo. Now, George gets his own entry with this U.S. paperback reissue of a recent UK effort by music journo Thomson, who also conducted dozens of fresh interviews with friends, collaborators and exes. Outside of the music, compellingly, the reader can’t help but come away realizing what a….sourpuss George Harrison was. No member was more reluctant and perturbed by Beatlemania than the group’s youngest member (who – in one of many dichotomies – nonetheless enjoyed and pursued all the perks that being a mega celebrity had to offer). And it often came across in his songwriting. After all, just look at even his early efforts: “Don’t Bother Me,” “If I Needed Someone,” “You Like Me Too Much.”

Ever needed to know if The Beatles are still alive or if they did drugs? Here's our helpful answers to the most-Googled Beatles questions on the net. As you’ll know if you’ve ever found the question ‘what is an EU, please?’ in your granny’s search history, people ask Google some pretty odd things. Here, for example, are the most-Googled questions about The Beatles, for which we’ve helpfully provided answers… Are the Beatles still alive?

On June 23, 1994, surviving Beatles Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr gathered at Harrison's house—better known as Friar Park in Henley-on-Thames, England—to shoot some extra footage for their new project, The Beatles Anthology. In case you don't remember, Anthology was a hugely successful documentary TV series (now available on DVD), a three-volume set of double albums and a massive coffee-table book that focused on the long and winding road that was the Beatles' incredible career.

George’s tenth solo, studio album, was largely recorded between early May and the end of August 1982, a little over a year since he had released Somewhere in England. It was the last album to be recorded under his contract to Warner Bros, and it has the feel of a record that was delivered with that in mind, but that would be too simplistic a summing up of what is an album that’s got its fair share of surprises. Released on Dark Horse Records in November 1982 George did not undertake any promotional activities for Gone Troppo, his mind was elsewhere on other projects. George’s opinions of the music industry at this time is probably best summed up by the album’s title, which is Australian slang for “gone crazy”, a feeling that’s reflected in the great cover art from Legs Larry Smith, formerly of the Bonzo Dog Band.

George and Amal Clooney, Paul McCartney, and Meryl Streep were among the celebrities who trekked to Washington, D.C., on Friday for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama's farewell celebration at the White House. They were among those spotted arriving at the White House for the late-evening event, along with Gloria Estefan, Magic Johnson, Anna Wintour, Bradley Cooper, Harvey Weinstein, Lorne Michaels, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Kelly Rowland, Tracee Ellis Ross, David Letterman, Gloria Estefan, Tyler Perry, Robert De Niro, Jon Hamm, Ken Burns, Stevie Wonder, Al Roker, Chris Rock, and Lena Dunham.

His entry into show business was a film role, playing a son of then-Hollywood megastar Claudette Colbert in a movie made near the twilight of her storied career. For a time, he shared the top floor of his parents' home with Paul McCartney, and became a friend and trusted business associate of The Beatles. He played a key role in shaping the careers of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt, serving as manager and record producer for both. But many know Peter Asher best as one half of British Invasion-era singing duo Peter and Gordon, who recorded a string of memorable hits in the mid-1960s including "A World Without Love," "I Go To Pieces" and "Lady Godiva." At 72, Asher remains an acclaimed record producer, currently nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album for "Bright Star," the original Broadway cast album of the play with an original score by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell.

A unique piece of art depicting the bums of the famous Beatles foursome has been cordoned off. The copper moulds of the Beatles backsides on the Hoe have had metal railings placed around them, and it looks as if someone has been digging around the modern piece of art. One reader wrote to The Herald saying: "[I was] walking across the Hoe yesterday [and] I came across the sorry state of the Beatles Bums fenced off and the leg of part of the fence standing in the beaten copper nice to see the £19,000 cost has not been completely wasted." But Plymouth City Council it is "just carrying out some general maintenance work to reinstate the ground where it has worn away.