Beatles News
‘The Beatles Anthology’ Expands With a 9th Episode and 4th Volume
This episode goes behind the scenes of the 1995 documentary; new mixes of “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love” are coming out; and an updated book is due.
The Beatles are back: Unreleased demos and never before seen footage are coming later this fall.
The fourth volume of the band’s “Anthology Collection” of recordings (including 13 new demos) is arriving, along with a capstone episode to the 1995 eight-part documentary and a 25th-anniversary edition of “The Beatles Anthology” book.
The album, “Anthology 4,” includes new mixes of “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love.” The release will accompany remastered versions of the first three “Anthology” albums as well, and will be available Nov. 21.
Source: nytimes.com/Michaela Towfighi
John Lennon was certainly not a man known for biting his tongue, whether conversationally or musically through his lyrics, and that included his feelings about a controversial career move Bob Dylan made in the late 1970s. (Though, to be fair to Lennon, everyone seemed to have an opinion on this interesting pivot in the singer-songwriter’s discography.)
Lennon’s snarky response to arguably one of the best songs to come out of this Dylan era never made it to an official album. The song landed on posthumous archival releases, though, granting us insight into Lennon’s opinions that went deeper than what he was willing to divulge to the press.
Love it or hate it, Bob Dylan’s Christian era was a pivotal moment in his career. For critics, it was difficult to reconcile this gospel-preaching Dylan with the 1960s rebel who spoke out against authoritarian figures of all kinds. For Dylan purists, it was one of many unique stages in his musical career, yet another testament to the songwriter’s broad abilities. These camps inevitably included some of Dylan’s contemporaries, who felt strongly one way or another about his late 1970s career shift. John Lennon tried to ride the fence on the issue…to the press, anyway.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Melanie Davis
The classic music documentary series, The Beatles Anthology, is being remastered by Peter Jackson’s production companies and will stream on Disney+ later this year. As well as digitally enhanced versions of the original eight episodes, there will also be a brand new ninth episode, created from previously unseen behind-the-scenes footage of Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr coming together around the release of the original series.
The series, which was first broadcast by ITV in 1995, was hailed as the definitive documentary on the Beatles thanks to the way it reunited the surviving three Beatles with their producer George Martin, former press officer Derek Taylor and one-time road manager Neil Aspinall to tell the tale of their career in their own words. Its release was accompanied by the single, Free As a Bird, the first new piece of music put out by the scouse quartet since their disbanding. It was so shrouded in secrecy that record label EMI used armed guards to protect it ahead of its release.
The remastered series, which coincides with the 30th anniversary of the original, is the latest Beatles project from Jackson’s Wingnut Films and Park Road Post teams. They previously worked on the eight-hour Disney+ docuseries The Beatles: Get Back – which used remastered footage originally filmed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg for his 1970 film Let It Be – and the accompanying concert movie, which Guardian film critic Peter Bradshaw called “unmissable.”
It will be accompanied by an album featuring session outtakes, previously unreleased demos and other rare recordings, curated by Martin’s son Giles. Anthology 4 includes new mixes of the singles originally released to accompany the Anthology TV series, Free As A Bird and Real Love, featuring de-mixed John Lennon vocals used by the songs’ original producer, Jeff Lynne. Giles Martin has also remastered the three original Anthology albums, released in 1995 and 1996. The project will be released in November, alongside an updated version of the Anthology book.
Source: theguardian.com/Alexi Duggins
Sir Paul McCartney has hinted at a return to the Anthology series of albums by The Beatles.
Appearing on McCartney's Instagram, as well as Sir Ringo Starr's and the official Beatles accounts, a new post appears to make a nod towards the famous series of albums. The carousel of images contained the numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4, with no caption.
Each of the numbers feature images from the Beatles' three-volume double set of albums inside. This has led to Beatles fans speculating what this could mean, and many are now convinced that the post is a precursor to the return of the Anthology series.
Anthology was a multimedia project that was put together by the three surviving Beatles at the time, featuring live versions, alternate takes, unreleased material, outtakes and never-before-seen interviews and photos.
Anthology 1 was released in late 1995, followed by 2 and 3 the following year. The series also featured the first new music from the band since the death of John Lennon, with McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr working with Jeff Lynne on the tracks 'Real Love' and 'Free as a Bird'.
It also included remnants of a song called 'Now And Then' from 1978. In 2023, they were able to use AI technology to finally release it using clean Lennon vocals. Fans are now hoping that perhaps the same technology could be used to release fresh versions of 'Free As a Bird' and 'Real Love'. It's possible that the post could be looking towards a re-release of the Anthology documentary on Disney+.
More details on the cryptic posts are expected to be released in the coming days.
Source: goldradio.com/Tom Eames
Beatles drummer Ringo Starr had a frightening near-death experience after being involved in a terrible car accident. In 1980, Starr, now 85, met Barbara Bach on the set of the movie Caveman, and the pair quickly formed a bond.
Just a few months later, they were en route to a party in Surrey when their visibility was hampered by thick fog. As they approached a notorious black-spot at the Robin Hood Roundabout on the A3 at 60 mph, Starr had to swerve to avoid an oncoming truck.
This caused the couple to skid fifty yards, leading to Starr's white Mercedes crashing head-on into two lampposts. Despite injuring his leg, Starr managed to get his partner out of the car to safety.
After extracting his Bond star girlfriend from the wreckage, the musician reportedly went back to the car to grab a pack of cigarettes.
Miraculously, both escaped the crash with minor injuries, but the horrifying collision completely totaled Starr's luxury car, reports the Express.
In a chilling coincidence, the accident occurred just half a mile away from where Marc Bolan tragically died in a car accident just three years earlier.
Just three weeks after their crash, Bach, now 77, told her father that she planned to marry the Beatles star. The couple married in a ceremony at Marylebone Town Hall a year later, in 1981, and have remained married ever since.
Source: MSN
John Lennon and Paul McCartney couldn't always agree on who had written what when they were composing The Beatles' songs. The two wrote the vast majority of the band's songs and every track John and Paul wrote while in the band was credited to Lennon-McCartney, irrespective of whether it was a joint effort or predominately written by one of them.
That was the result of a pact made before they rose to fame and it very occasionally led to disagreements. The ECHO has looked at how they had different recollections on who wrote the majority of 'Eleanor Rigby', 'In My Life' and 'And I Love Her'.
They were not the only songs where this was the case either. The track 'Do You Want to Know a Secret' featured on the band's 1963 debut album 'Please Please Me' and was released as a single in the USA the following year.
The song, which was sung by George Harrison, had been written in 1962 but John and Paul had differing accounts on how it was written.
About it, John said in a 1980 interview: "My mother was always… she was a comedienne and a singer. Not professional, but, you know, she used to get up in pubs and things like that. She had a good voice. She could do Kay Starr.
"She used to do this little tune when I was just a one- or two-year-old… yeah, she was still living with me then… The tune was from the Disney movie – ‘Want to know a secret? Promise not to tell. You are standing by a wishing well.’
"So, I had this sort of thing in my head and I wrote it and just gave it to George to sing. I thought it would be a good vehicle for him because it only had three notes and he wasn’t the best singer in the world.
Source: liverpoolecho.co.uk/Dan Haygarth
Looks like The Beatles have some news to share.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers appear to be teasing some upcoming news with various posts on social media and their website.
On Instagram they posted pictures of the numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4, each featuring images associated with the band. On X they posted a video with audio of a countdown and screaming fans as images of the band members are shown with the same numbers flashing in front of them.
Both posts include Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison tags, as well as a link to the band’s website, which features what appears to be the back of a canvas frame, with the numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4. There’s also a place for fans to sign up for the latest Beatles news.
As for what The Beatles may be teasing, speculation in the social media comments seems to be focused on a possible fourth installment in the band’s Anthology series.
The Beatles released their original Anthology album, titled Anthology 1, in 1995, featuring rarities, outtakes and live performances from early in their career. It also included the new song “Free as a Bird,” which at the time was the first new Beatles song in 25 years. The song incorporated an old demo recorded by John Lennon with new music recorded by McCartney, Starr and Harrison.
The original release was followed by Anthology 2 and Anthology 3, which covered later years of the band’s career. Both came out in 1996, with Anthology 2 also featuring a new song, “Real Love.”
All three Anthology albums topped the Billboard 200 Albums chart.
So often in life, we don’t realize we’re experiencing something for the last time while it’s happening. The last time we see a friend, the last time we go out to eat at a beloved restaurant that shuts down, the last time we leave our childhood home’s front door. On August 20, 1969, the Beatles walked out of Abbey Road Studios for the last time, and it’s hard to say whether they knew it was the last.
On the one hand, the Fab Four as a collective wasn’t exactly in great spirits. Nearing a breakup and eager to pursue professional endeavors, leaving the studio with their soon-to-be ex-bandmates for the last time was likely more freeing than bittersweet. But with all of the events that happened in the years following, we can’t help but feel they must have picked up on that same melancholic hindsight.
Although, we’d imagine the release and success of their iconic album, Abbey Road, might have soothed any lingering sadness at the time.
The Beatles Leave Abbey Road Studios for the Last Time
The Beatles began working on their final album together in late February 1969. (They recorded their “last” album, Let It Be, before the Abbey Road sessions.) They reconvened for a handful of dates in April, a few in May, and spent the majority of July in the studio. The band recorded throughout most of early August, with their final tracking session complete on August 19. The following day, the band began putting an order and preliminary master tape together. That day, August 20, 1969, the Beatles walked out of the building for the last time.
“Nobody knew for sure that it was going to be the last album,” producer George Martin recalled in Anthology. “But everybody felt it was. The Beatles had gone through so much and for such a long time. They’d been incarcerated with each other for nearly a decade, and I was surprised that they had lasted as long as they did. I wasn’t at all surprised that they’d split up because they all wanted to lead their own lives, and I did, too. It was a release for me as well.”
Source: americansongwriter.com/Melanie Davis
On This Day, Aug. 19, 1967 …
The Beatles landed another #1 single with ‘All You Need Is Love,” a non-album track that represented Britain in the TV program Our World, the first live global, multi-satellite TV show.
When they signed on for Our World, The Beatles were asked to contribute a song with a positive and universal message.
They performed the track on the show with a prerecorded backing track, and were joined by The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Graham Nash, The Who’s Keith Moon and others, who sat on the floor and sang along to the chorus.
“All You Need Is Love” also went to #1 in several other countries, including the U.K., Canada, Australia, Austria, New Zealand and Sweden.
Source: Everett Post
Though it may be hard to understand in hindsight, some hit songs aren’t apparent in the studio. Even songs that become instant classics can seem like they are built on shaky ground to an artist who hasn’t yet received their audience’s opinion. Paul McCartney experienced this with one of his biggest solo hits. We can’t imagine ever hearing this song and not thinking it was a masterpiece, but McCartney didn’t feel as confident when he first wrote it. Find out which solo hit McCartney thought he overdid below.
McCartney’s solo work has proven to be quite different from his Beatles material. Though there are glimmers of what he would produce when left to his own devices, the input from the rest of his bandmates somewhat watered down his songwriting voice.
McCartney’s earliest solo pursuits were markedly less produced than his work with the Beatles. He focused on sparse instrumentals and haphazard delivery. Unsurprisingly, this alienated some listeners, but it also set McCartney on a path to solo greatness.
“When The Beatles had broken up and I was on my own for the first time, I got that four-track Studa in my living room,” McCartney once said. “And just kind of started making up songs and stuff, and it was a very bare album.”
While his sense of production earned him an enduring career, it didn’t give him a perfect track record. There are songs from McCartney’s solo discography that didn’t play well with audiences. And then, there are some songs, McCartney thought wouldn’t be well received but ended up being smash hits. It just goes to show, not even a Beatle has an unflappable confidence.
There was one song in particular that McCartney recalled being “scared of” while writing. Unbeknownst to him, it would prove to be one of his calling cards.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Alex Hopper
