Beatles News
Sir Paul McCartney revealed the surprising crush the late monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, had on him when he was part of The Beatles with John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
The 84-year-old sat down on the Good Hang with Amy Poehler podcast on Tuesday, and had an answer ready when he was asked if any famous person he'd met had ever blown him away.
"The Queen," he replied. "And that's an autograph you're not going to get. She's great. I love the Queen."
Elizabeth, who passed away in September 2022, met Paul on several occasions throughout his life, including when she knighted him in 1997. Did Queen Elizabeth have a crush on Paul McCartney?
"She was a babe," the singer said. "We all used to think, 'Wow, this is amazing.' You know, like, having a king, he's got this girl. This babe. So, we kind of liked her in other ways than we shouldn't have liked her."
"So meeting her was special," he added. Paul was nine years old when the Queen ascended to the throne in 1952, and said he was around 21 when they met in person for the first time.
Source: hellomagazine.com/Faye James
Paul McCartney wasn't informed by the rest of the Beatles that "Let It Be" would feature more than they'd planned together.
John Lennon and George Harrison brought in producer Phil Spector to work on the tapes in March 1970, and he added an orchestra to the sound palette.
Lennon later stated he'd hoped a rough, unglamorous release would poke holes in the band's all-encompassing myth. Spector's avenue of approach was to create a wall of sound. How Phil Spector Overdubbed "The Long and Winding Road" in One Day
Phil Spector recorded orchestral and choral overdubs for three songs at Abbey Road in one day, ironically on April 1. The tracks in question were "I Me Mine", "Across the Universe", and "The Long and Winding Road".
He didn't economize - the Paul McCartney Project lists eighteen violins, four cellos, four violas, three trombones, three trumpets, a harp, two guitarists, and fourteen singers for "The Long and Winding Road" alone.
The orchestral parts for "The Long and Winding Road" were scored by conductor Richard Hewson, who was paid £40 for the night of work. Ringo Starr was the only member of the Beatles attending the session, and he drummed along when needed.
Spector reduced the eight-track tape to five to free up tracks, merging Ringo's drums, Billy Preston's electric piano, and George Harrison's guitar into one.
As engineer Peter Bown recalled, the orchestra walked out when Spector handed over extra parts with no mention of extra pay. The session later resumed, and the musicians got their extra payment. How Paul McCartney and George Martin Reacted to Spector's 'Let It Be' Overdubs.
Paul McCartney was handed the result on a pre-release record, with a note from Allen Klein saying the changes were necessary. He would later state, "No one had asked me what I thought." He listened to the tracks and found some issues.
He wrote to Klein on April 14, asking for the strings, horns, and voices to be turned down. He also wanted the closing harp removed, and the original vocal and Beatle instrumentation to be turned up. He ended his letter with "Don't ever do it again." Klein cared little for his request.
George Martin, always a part of the Beatles' craft, said he knew nothing either, would later state the work happened "behind our backs." He told EMI the credit should read "produced by George Martin, over-produced by Phil Spector." The request, understandably, wasn't accepted. 'The Long and Winding Road' Became Part of McCartney's Lawsuit Against the Beatles.
On December 31, 1970, Paul McCartney sued to dissolve the Beatles' partnership. Allen Klein's actions were included as one of the complaints at the High Court hearing, where Macca stated that ABKCO, Klein's company, had arranged for "The Long and Winding Road" to be altered without consulting or informing him.
Justice Stamp dissolved the partnership on March 12, 1971, though the reported findings centered on Klein's appointment and commissions. Phil Spector would remain unrepentant, once stating:
"Paul had no problem picking up the Academy Award for the 'Let It Be' movie soundtrack, nor did he have any problem in using my arrangement of the string and horn and choir parts when he performed it during 25 years of touring on his own."
"If Paul wants to get into a pissing contest about it, he's got me mixed up with someone who gives a s**t."
"Let It Be… Naked" and McCartney's Reconciliation With Richard Hewson
Macca didn't speak to Richard Hewson for a year after the original's release, but they reconciled and worked together on "Thrillington" and "My Love."
In November 2003, the former Beatle finally got his preferred version when "Let It Be… Naked" was released without the orchestra and choir, with "Don't Let Me Down" added.
It was different from the version fans were used to after so many years, but it was music Paul McCartney believed in.
Source: Ultimate Guitar
Sean Ono Lennon took to X over the weekend to clarify how his late father, John Lennon, provided for him and his half brother Julian Lennon before the former Beatles’ tragic murder in 1980.
Replying to a post on Sunday (Oct. 11) in which someone presumed, “One guy inherited most of the estate, the other largely cut out and forced to engaged in decades-long litigation in pursuit of a comparatively small share of it. Unbearably painful and enraging for the one, surely pretty darn awkward for the other. That they remain friends (and largely always were) is testimony to the redemptive power of being a chill dude with broad implications for the wider world.”
The comment was tied to a post from Sean a day earlier of the Lennon brothers enjoying a nice day out in nature to celebrate his 51st birthday and, according to Sean, the commenter got it all wrong.
“Julian and I inherited the same amount from our dad,” he wrote. “Our trusts were equal. Although his was slightly more, but negligibly so.”
Sean is the adult son of John and wife Yoko Ono and Julian, 63, is Lennon’s eldest, from his six-year marriage to his first wife, Cynthia Lennon. The men appear to have developed a close relationship and often share pictures together on their socials, including posing together at the 2021 Los Angeles premiere of the Peter Jackson’s Beatles miniseries Get Back (see above).
Both men are musicians, with Julian scoring a pair of top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hits from his 1984 debut album, Valotte, “Too Late For Goodbyes” (No. 5) and the title track (No. 9) and releasing six more albums in the years since, including 2022’s Jude, whose title is a reference to the Beatles’ “Hey Jude,” famously written by Paul McCartney in 1968 to comfort a young Julian during his parents’ divorce.
Sean Ono Lennon has had a long, eclectic music career as a member of a number of bands, including the Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, Cibo Matto, the Claypool Lennon Delirium and the Plastic Ono Band. He’s released three solo albums to date, 1998’s Into the Sun, 2006’s Friendly Fire and 2024’s Asterisms.
Source: billboard.com/Gil Kaufman
During the Beatles‘ heyday, by all accounts, Paul McCartney and John Lennon had a loving, as well as deeply competitive, personal relationship. And while it ended in messy animosity during the Fab Four’s breakup in 1970 and in a series of thinly veiled musical shots they took at each other in their solo material in the years after — check out McCartney’s “Too Many People” and “Silly Love Songs” and Lennon’s “How Do You Sleep?” — in the end they made peace before Lennon’s murder in 1980.
But, as it turns out, there is still one sore subject you can bring up about the two men that will get McCartney riled up: their heights.
On this week’s new episode of the pod Good Hang with Amy Poehler, the Parks and Recreation star waded into the subject with a simple question about the age gap between the Beatles, which unexpectedly turned into a Macca rant about the one fact about the band that he thinks filmmakers keep screwing up.
“George was how many years younger than you, Paul?,” Poehler asked. “I think like about one and a half [years younger],” he said of the late Beatles guitarist/singer, noting that Lennon was one and a half years older than him.
“Who was the tallest?” Poehler wondered in a follow-up.
Oh boy.
“We were all the same height,” McCartney, 84, said a bit defensively, holding up a finger in emphasis. “You really were,” Poehler said with a sly smile as she willfully opened the Pandora’s box.
Source: billboard.com/Gil Kaufman
The song was released in 1970.
Typically, one-hit wonders are pop songs repeatedly blasted on the Top 40 Radio for a year or so before becoming culturally irrelevant and largely forgotten. However, some one-hit wonders are released by rock bands, as evidenced by Collider‘s recent ranking of “The 10 Best Classic Rock One-Hit Wonders.”
The list, published on September 29, included classic rock songs like 1972’s “Dancing in the Moonlight” by King Harvest, “Come On Eileen” by Dexys Midnight Runners from 1982, and “Because the Night” by Patti Smith Group, released in 1978. Collider named the Jim Gordon and Eric Clapton-penned track “Layla,” off Derek and the Dominos‘ record Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, the “best classic rock one-hit wonder.”
According to Collider, while “Layla” is a beloved classic rock tune, Derek and the Dominos didn’t put out another record after Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, their first and only album. As fans are aware, Derek and the Dominos split in 1971, just a year after the band was formed. Pattie Boyd Revealed How She Felt About ‘Layla’ in Her 2007 Book.
The romantic track, released in 1970, was inspired by Clapton’s eventual wife, model Pattie Boyd. However, Boyd was married to Clapton’s friend, George Harrison, for 11 years until 1977. Songfacts reported that Boyd, who wed Clapton in 1979, revealed her opinion about “Layla” while penning her memoir, Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me, published in 2007.
Boyd wrote that Clapton had her listen to the track during a secret meeting “at a flat in South Kensington.”
“He switched on the tape machine, turned up the volume and played me the most powerful, moving song I had ever heard. It was ‘Layla,’ about a man who falls hopelessly in love with a woman who loves him but is unavailable. He played it to me two or three times, all the while watching my face intently for my reaction. My first thought was: ‘Oh God, everyone’s going to know this is about me,'” stated Boyd in Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me, as reported by Songfacts.
Source:aol.com/Nicole Moore
A rare vintage postcard with autographs of all four members of The Beatles is set to fetch thousands after being kept by a lunch lady for 63 years.
Rose Moulder served with Birmingham City Council's Catering Services where she was responsible for providing hospitality to artists performing at the city's Town Hall between October 1961 and March 1969.
They included world-famous musicians such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Kinks and Bob Dylan with Rose collecting all their autographs and keeping them safe at her home.
Rose passed away several years ago and now her cherished collection is set to go under the hammer at Auctioneum Ltd in Bristol where it could sell for over $5,370.
Auctioneer Andrew Stowe, from Auctioneum Ltd, said: "It's one of the most exciting collections I've ever seen. "There are seven autograph albums, each being a veritable 'who's who' of acts from the period. "Every turn of a page reveals another icon.
"Plus a large quantity of programs and signed photographs." The collection features seven autograph albums as well as postcards and programs. The highlight, Andrew says, is a postcard autographed by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, which is expected to fetch over $4,025. Andrew added: "The Beatles performed at Birmingham Town Hall on June 4, 1963, right at the very start of Beatlemania.
"The tour started with Roy Orbison at the top of the bill, with the Beatles as a supporting act. "By the time it reached Birmingham, The Beatles had been moved to top billing! "To have such a clear and crisp set of signatures from this time is simply wonderful, and the 'holy grail' for Beatles collectors."
Source: yahoo.com/Talker News
"Imagine" was released as a single on Oct. 11, 1971, and became one of John Lennon's defining songs
After his 1980 murder, its message of peace took on new meaning. Today, it remains a lasting symbol of Lennon's legacy
Fifty-five years ago today, John Lennon released "Imagine," a song that would become one of the most recognizable recordings of his solo career. The single was built around Lennon's gentle piano and restrained vocals, presenting a simple but ambitious vision of a world without division.
"Imagine" paired an accessible melody with lyrics that challenged ideas about religion, nationalism and material possessions. Its message of peace would eventually become inseparable from Lennon's legacy, particularly after his death.
According to History, Lennon began writing "Imagine" amid the Vietnam War while still part of the Beatles, drawing heavily on ideas from Yoko Ono, whose poetry collection Grapefruit helped shape the song's concept and eventually led to her being given an official co-writing credit in 2017.
Lennon recorded "Imagine" at Tittenhurst Park, his country home with Ono, working with producer Phil Spector nearly a year after the Beatles publicly split in 1970.
The song stood apart from some of Lennon's more openly political work at the time. Instead of directly addressing a specific conflict, it offered a broader picture of what life could look like without the barriers that divide people. "Now I understand what you have to do: put your political message across with a little honey," Lennon was quoted as saying of the song in Geoffrey Giuliano's 2000 biography Lennon in America, per Billboard.
"Imagine" went on to become a major success, but its place in Lennon's story changed dramatically after he was killed on Dec. 8, 1980. Lennon, 40, was shot in New York City and taken to Roosevelt Hospital, now Mount Sinai West, where doctors tried to save him.
Source: yahoo.com/Tereza Shkurtaj
The Beatles’ Rubber Soul reenters the Billboard 200 at No. 4 on the chart dated Oct. 17, thanks to the release of an expanded, deluxe edition. The album first appeared in the top 10 on Jan. 8, 1966, when it shot from No. 60 to No. 1, dethroning Herb Alpert’s Tijuana Brass’ megahit Whipped Cream & Other Delights. Rubber Soul remained on top for six consecutive weeks before Whipped Cream returned to the top spot.
Rubber Soul contains numerous Fab Four classics, including “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown),” “You Won’t See Me,” “Michelle” and “In My Life.”
We thought it would be fun to take a look back at the top 10 the week Rubber Soul first cracked the region. It was jam-packed with superstars, including The Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, Barbra Streisand and two albums by Alpert & the TJB.
Three of the albums in that top 10 that week received Grammy nominations for album of the year: Whipped Cream, Eddy Arnold’s country smash My World and the blockbuster soundtrack to The Sound of Music. In addition, Whipped Cream contained the record of the year Grammy winner, the zesty instrumental “A Taste of Honey.” Rubber Soul contained the song of the year winner the following year, “Michelle.” (Incredibly, that was the only Beatles song to ever win in that category.)
Source: Paul Grein/billboard.com
Sam Mendes' Neal Street Productions co-founder Pippa Harris said at the London Film Festival: "It doesn't necessarily mean we're thinking that people will go and see all four films on the same day."
More intel on Sony‘s distribution plan for Sam Mendes‘ hotly anticipated Beatles films has arrived.
Paul Mescal, Harris Dickinson, Joseph Quinn and Barry Keoghan will play Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, respectively, with the four features currently slated to release in the same month in 2028.
Internet-savvy fans will have noticed a swathe of social media videos of the actors in costume filming around London over the last few months. For example, in August, they were spotted re-creating the group’s iconic Abbey Road album cover. The original photo, taken on Aug. 8, 1969, features the Fab Four walking in single file across a crosswalk outside EMI Studios in London.
On Monday, Mendes’ long-time producing partner, co-founder of the pair’s Neal Street Productions, Pippa Harris, sat for a keynote session at the BFI London Film Festival’s Industry Forum. She provided a coy update on the rollout, currently described as a “four-film cinematic event” across the month of April.
Harris — who came from set to make her Industry Forum appearance for just an hour before heading back — said the team is currently on day 180 of the shoot. She responded later in the session when asked for more details on the distribution plan: “The idea at the moment is the films will come out in 2028, and we want people to be able to experience them in the cinema during the same period.”
She clarified: “That doesn’t necessarily mean we’re thinking that people will go and see all four films on the same day. But within the same month, you might see one a week, or you might see one on a weekend, two the next one. However you see it, I think our hope is that people will see all four films,” she continued. “They stand alone as individual stories of each of those four men, but they have a cumulative power, which I think is greater than the sum of their parts. The Beatles are, I think, the greatest band in history, and we’re trying to do our best to do them justice. Hence the four films. I don’t think there’s probably another band that you could legitimately say you wanted to see four films for,” she added.
Source: hollywoodreporter.com/Lily Ford
In 1971, John Lennon released what would become one of the defining songs of his solo career. Fifty-five years later, "Imagine" has not only endured, it has been ranked the greatest song of all time.
"Imagine" was released as a single in the United States on Oct. 11, 1971, following the September release of Lennon's album of the same name.
More than five decades later, author Carolyn McHugh put the song at No. 1 in her book "The 100 Greatest Songs of All Time: Create Your Ultimate Playlist," released in December 2025. McHugh's book ranks 100 songs spanning pop, rock, soul, folk and funk, with "Imagine" beating out every other track for the top spot. In fact, Lennon narrowly beat his former bandmates: The Beatles' "Yesterday" landed at No. 2. The Beatles also placed "I Want to Hold Your Hand" at No. 7 and "Hey Jude" at No. 39.
McHugh describes "Imagine" as one of Lennon's most enduring works, praising its "powerful message of hope, peace and unity," as well as its "simple, yet profound lyrics" and "hauntingly beautiful melody."
The song's origins stretch back to Lennon's years with The Beatles. According to HISTORY, Lennon began writing "Imagine" while he was still a member of the band, although he didn't record it until after their breakup.
Yoko Ono had a significant influence on the song. Lennon later said its lyrics and concept came from Ono's 1964 book "Grapefruit." In 2017, Ono was officially added as a co-writer of "Imagine."
Lennon recorded the song at Tittenhurst Park, the English country estate he shared with Ono, with Phil Spector producing alongside Ono.
Despite becoming one of the most recognizable songs of Lennon's career, "Imagine" never reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It peaked at No. 3 in the United States, while its original U.K. release reached No. 6. Following Lennon's murder in December 1980, the song returned to the British charts and spent four weeks at No. 1. Its legacy ultimately grew far beyond its original chart performance.
"Imagine" has been used at major events around the world, including the 2012 London Olympics and 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. It has also become part of New York City's New Year's Eve tradition, performed shortly before midnight in Times Square.
Source: yahoo.com/Andrea Reiher
