Beatles News
On a November day in 1970, at a momentous time in the most consequential year of his life, one of the most famous people in the world was sitting alone on a blanket by the ocean south of the pier in Deerfield Beach, as far away from the pressure of being George Harrison as he could get.
The Beatles guitarist and songwriter had just days before put the finishing touches on his solo album, “All Things Must Pass,” a deeply personal statement that would forever change critical perceptions of Harrison as an artist. As he sat on the beach, the album was mere weeks away from being revealed to the public on Nov. 27.
At the same time, the album’s release would be tangible evidence, if the world still needed it, that the long and winding road of the Beatles’ fractious breakup was coming to an end. Paul McCartney would file a lawsuit to dissolve the partnership the following month.
The rumor of Harrison’s presence over the course of some 10 days in Deerfield Beach — closely guarded by locals, some who admit to never having actually seen him — sounds so unlikely, so fantastical, that it’s fair to wonder if it actually happened. George Harrison in Deerfield Beach? Seriously?
Longtime resident Jeff Fisk, a Beatles fan from an early age who bought the 45 of Harrison’s single “My Sweet Lord” on the day it was released, was a fifth-grader when the chatter hit the playground at St. Ambrose Catholic School in January 1971.
The story he heard, which had spread through the local surfing community, was too good to be true: Harrison was at the beach when he was recognized by a surfer chasing after his board and, upon questioning, admitted his identity. The surfer, a respected figure on the waves in Deerfield Beach, was named Paul McCartney.
Source: Ben Crandell, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Director Sam Mendes' "The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event" has cast some power women actors for pivotal roles.
Sony Pictures announced Friday, Oct. 31, that "Shogun" star Anna Sawai will play John Lennon's wife Yoko Ono, and "White Lotus" star Aimee Lou Wood will star as George Harrison's wife Pattie Boyd, who later married Eric Clapton.
Mia McKenna-Bruce will star as Ringo Starr's first wife, Maureen Starkey (née Cox), and Saoirse Ronan will play Paul McCartney's wife, Linda McCartney (née Eastman). "Maureen, Linda, Yoko and Pattie are four fascinating and unique figures in their own right - and I’m thrilled that we’ve managed to persuade four of the most talented women working in film today to join this amazing adventure," Mendes said in a statement.
At CinemaCom in April, Mendes announced the stars of these intersecting music biopics: Paul Mescal is playing McCartney, Joseph Quinn will play Harrison, Barry Keoghan will be drumming as Starr, and Harris Dickinson has been cast as Lennon.
"The Beatles changed my understanding of music. Pretty much, they made up my first memories," Mendes said in April. He revealed that all four films – which will be in production for over a year – will come out in April 2028, calling it "the first binge-able theatrical experience."
Here's the brief bios on the real-life characters:
Linda Eastman (Ronan) was a celebrated photographer when she met Paul McCartney in 1967. There was an instant attraction and McCartney later said, "The first time I saw her, I just knew."
John Lennon first met the Japanese artist Yoko Ono (Sawai) at a London exhibition of her work. Although Lennon was married at the time, he was immediately intrigued by Yoko, and the two eventually became inseparable creative partners for the rest of his life.
Pattie Boyd (Wood) was a successful model when in 1964 she met George Harrison on the set of the Beatles movie "A Hard Day’s Night." The two began dating and later married, with Boyd sharing Harrison’s growing interest in Eastern mysticism.
Maureen Cox (Mia McKenna-Bruce) was an early fan of The Beatles who met Ringo Starr at the Cavern Club in 1962. Their romance blossomed quickly. They married in 1965 and had three children together.
Source: Bryan Alexander/usatoday.com
Legendary drummer Ringo Starr reportedly fell on stage during a recent concert.
TMZ reported Starr, 83, took the tumble while he was performing with his "All-Starr Band"at Rio Rancho Events Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico Wednesday night.
The media outlet said Starr tripped while he was singing "Give Peace A Chance" during the show's encore. "But he got right back up and made light of the sitch -- while continuing the show," TMZ reported.
Starr and his band, which is comprised of artists such as Edgar Winter, Steve Lukather, Colin Hay, Warren Ham, Gregg Bissonette, and Hamish Stuart, just kicked off a fall 2023 tour. With a little help from my friends, we're getting together again. I know we're going to be in a city near you, so peace and love," Starr says in a video he shared on social media. "Hope to see you."
The band was forced to postpone several shows in 2022 because he and a few fellow members tested positive for COVID. The shows were originally planned for 2020, but were initially postponed due to the pandemic.
Starr, whose real name is Richard Starkey, is a nine-time Grammy Award winner. He and Paul McCartney are the two surviving members of the classic rock band The Beatles.
John Lennon was 40 years old when he was shot and killed outside his New York apartment building on Dec. 8, 1980. George Harrison died at the age of 58 on Nov. 29, 2001 after a long battle with cancer.
Source: JESSICA A. BOTELHO /wgxa.tv
Despite years in the spotlight as The Beatles rose to become one of the most successful rock acts ever, John Lennon once revealed that his post-band period brought him the greatest joy.
However, his son Sean Ono Lennon has now clarified his father's remarks from decades past. After emerging in the 1960s and rapidly achieving global superstardom, The Beatles were considered the world's premier musical phenomenon, though their collaboration essentially concluded in the early 1970s when Paul McCartney departed the group.
As a solo performer residing in America with his wife, Yoko Ono, Lennon performed two shows at Madison Square Garden in 1972 for the "One to One" benefit concerts, which supported children with disabilities.
After those Madison Square Garden performances with his wife, he notably declared, "That Madison Square Garden gig was the best music I enjoyed playing since the Cavern or even Hamburg."
Yet during a conversation with Lennon's son Sean on BBC Radio 6 Music, host Chris Hawkins questioned whether his father's post-Madison Square Garden remarks indicated he "had fallen out of love with music?"
Sean responded by suggesting there was "a bit of a myth around that," explaining he believed his dad's statements better reflected John having "fallen out of love with a certain kind of fame."
Elaborating further, he revealed his father's genuine feelings about The Beatles, explaining, "I think he'd fallen out of love with having to be part of the machinery of a pop machine, you know.
"I think that was, even though he was always rebellious within that framework, I think that he still resented, you know, having to be a Beatle in a way. I think he really wanted to move on from that, you know."
Lennon was often the most critical of The Beatles' endeavors, both in and out of the recording studio, and continuously voiced negative views even after the group called it quits. He wasn't ever shy to throw certain Beatles songs under the bus.
In fact, Lennon wasn't happy with any of The Beatles' songs, it turns out, and once confided in one of the most important figures in the band's life, their producer, George Martin, who was often referred to as the fifth Beatle, about a wild wish he had about their tunes.
Source: Danny Gutmann, Hannah Furnell/irishstar.com
The Beatles' meteoric rise to fame was nothing short of dramatic. After becoming the biggest band in Liverpool in 1962, they took the UK by storm in 1963, securing their first official number one single with 'From Me to You', followed by their debut album 'Please Please Me' topping the charts after its release in March.
By 1964, they were a global sensation. The Fab Four were in the midst of a 19-date concert residency in Paris on January 25, 1964, when their manager Brian Epstein informed them that they had achieved their first number one in America with 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' topping the US's Cashbox charts.
The song reached number one on the USA's main chart - the Billboard Hot 100 - by February 1 and remained there for seven weeks. At this point, Epstein decided it was time to capitalise on international markets.
Given The Beatles' early success in the clubs of Hamburg, Berlin-based Odeon Records suggested to Epstein and producer George Martin that singing in German would boost record sales in West Germany. Consequently, The Beatles were ushered into the Pathé Marconi studio in Paris on January 29 to sing in a foreign language.
Translations of 'She Loves You' and 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' were provided, but John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison were not particularly enthusiastic about the idea. They would have preferred to stay in their hotel, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Mr Martin recalled in 'The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions' by Mark Lewisohn: "I fixed the session for late morning. Norman Smith, myself, and the translator, a chap named Nicolas, all got to the studio on time, but there was no sign of The Beatles. We waited an hour before I telephoned their suite at the George V hotel.
"Neil Aspinall answered: 'They're in bed; they've decided not to go to the studio'. I went crazy – it was the first time they had refused to do anything for me. 'You tell them they've got to come, otherwise I shall be so angry it isn't true! I'm coming over right now'.
Source: Dan Haygarth/uk.news.yahoo.com
Speaking with The Guardian earlier this year, John Lennon’s oldest son Julian Lennon said that Beatles projects like Peter Jackson’s Get Back or the newly restored Let It Be are “news to me half the time.” That was also the case with Sam Mendes’ four simultaneous biopics. “Normally I’m kept out of all the Apple and Beatles stuff,” Julian explained in a recent interview with Rolling Stone. “Sean [Lennon, his half-brother] and I have a great relationship, but he can’t even talk to me about that stuff legally, which is a little uncomfortable, because he wants to tell me stuff, but he can’t. But Sean got in touch and said, ‘Listen, Sam Mendes wants to get in touch.’ I went, ‘Really? Why?’ I hadn’t even heard of the four new Beatles films. And initially, I just thought to myself, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me. Another freaking Beatles film? Haven’t we had enough?'” He laughed.
Julian’s interactions with the filmmaker seem to mark a difference from how he’s usually treated by the Beatles’ management. “Sam and I met earlier this year and had lunch. He was an absolute gentleman,” the musician and photographer gushed. Mendes asked him for stories he might remember of the Beatles phenomenon, but Julian admitted he was too young to remember much. “Then he said, ‘The most important thing for me, Jules, is that I want to make sure that your story and your mother’s story are told with absolute clarity and truth, whatever that means.’ And I just said, ‘I truly appreciate that.'”
Source: Mary Kate Carr/avclub.com
A Utah woman helped design one of the most famous Beatles album covers of all time: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Jann Haworth was just 24 years old when The Beatles asked her to co-create the iconic cover for their 1967 album.
“We were hearing a few tracks we would go over to Paul’s house and listen to another track,” she recalls casually referring to that Paul McCartney. A few days later, she helped bring to life the concept that became history: a full-size set, surrounded by life-sized cutouts of cultural icons, where The Beatles would stand for their photograph. “The Beatles are wearing uniforms from a different era,” she says. “It’s quite nostalgic if you look at it.”
Today, that nostalgia lives quietly in her Salt Lake City home — though not quite the way you’d expect. Her Grammy sits on the sofa in shambles, teeth marks and all. “The dog chewed it there,” she laughs. “If it were precious on a shelf — meh.“
More than 50 years later, she views her work with a new perspective. “There are deficits on the cover,” she admits. “Only twelve women, and six are fictional.”
After moving to Utah in the 1990s, Haworth began revisiting those gaps through her life-sized mural art. Her “SLC Pepper” mural near Pioneer Park reimagines the cover with 50 percent women. “Much of the work I have done in Salt Lake is, in some ways, an apology or revisiting of the Sgt. Pepper problems,” she says.
Her work today continues that mission — empowering local artists, students, and entire communities to take part in large-scale public art projects that celebrate inclusion. From community murals to collaborative installations, Haworth brings people together to literally paint a fuller picture, one that reflects everyone’s story.
“If you don’t change as you grow older and wiser and more informed, there’s something wrong.”
Source: Kristen Kenney/kutv.com
A collection of seven thousand autographs, including a self-portrait of Beatles guitarist John Lennon and Yoko Ono, has sold for more than £55 thousand at a Bristol auction house.
The items belonged to Dutchman Jan van Bree, who started collecting in 1957 after he wrote to Italian singer Beniamino Gigli and received a handwritten reply. Van Bree went on to collect signatures from celebrities across the world by writing them letters, waiting outside theatres and buying historical autographs.
The collection, which auctioneers have described as 'the best they've ever seen,' includes signed cheques, programmes, and letters.
Andrew Stowe of Auctioneum, which sells across Bristol and Bath, said: "I was awestruck." The Lennon and Ono sketch was drawn during the couple's 1969 'bed-in' anti-war protest.
"It’s the sheer variety of Jan’s collection that makes it so special," Andrew added.
"We’ve got autographs from all areas of history, entertainment and political figures. We’ve got sixteenth century royalty alongside Black Sabbath, John Steinbeck alongside Laurel and Hardy. "It’s a comprehensive ‘who’s who’ of famous signatures".
Van Bree stored most of his collection in albums but also kept hundreds loose.
He died in April 2024 and the collection was put up for sale by his family.
Source: ITV News
Imagine taking a nice peaceful walk by the Arkansas River in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and spotting Paul McCartney - yes, THAT Paul McCartney - just hanging out under a random overpass? No security detail, no adoring fans swarming him, just Sir Paul lounging up by the concrete pillars, soaking up the sunshine and the scenic majesty of....a highway bridge and the "usual graffiti". It's hilarious how cheerfully he narrates, “Here we are in Tulsa! Some sort of overpass!” as if he’s stumbled upon one of America's great wonders.
It's beautiful, and in a weird way - it all makes sense. McCartney has always been about simplicity - finding melody in the mundane and whatnot. Maybe he was there to reconnect with nature, or maybe he just wanted to smoke a funny cigarette in peace. He was known to enjoy some marijuana back in his day....
Either way, it’s kind of awesome. A Beatle sitting under a bridge in Tulsa, pondering the universe, maybe humming a tune, maybe lighting something up. If nirvana/enlightenment has a location, it might just be that patch of grass under an Oklahoma bridge with Sir Paul smiling at the clouds. It's brought on some great comments as well....
Source: Robbie Fox
The Fab Four released a ton of music while they were together in the 1960s. And they continued to release deep cuts, first takes, demos, and more after the band called it quits. There’s a lot to pick through when it comes to Beatles deep cuts. Personally, I’m a fan of the following three tunes. Let’s take a look!
“Free As A Bird”
Can a song be a deep cut if it made it all the way to No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 2 on the UK Singles chart? Considering this band has a laundry list of memorable hits and “Free As A Bird” rarely seems to make it to anyone’s list, I’ll go ahead and include this standout track from Anthology 1.
Released decades after the band broke up in 1995, “Free As A Bird” was a fast hit for fans of The Beatles in the mid-1990s. It’s a lovely John Lennon composition with a soft rock vibe to it. To be honest, I’m really not sure why so many people forgot about it.
“Tomorrow Never Knows (Take 1)”
The album version of “Tomorrow Never Knows” is obviously not a deep cut, but this first take certainly is. This is one of my all-time favorite Beatles deep cuts, and I only just discovered it a few months ago. It’s somehow even more psychedelic than the album version. Truly, I find myself listening to this take more than the famous Revolver version. You’ll find the first take of “Tomorrow Never Knows” on Anthology 2, released in 1996.
“Ain’t She Sweet”
This is not a Beatles original, but the Fab Four certainly did something cool with it. “Ain’t She Sweet” was originally composed and written by Milton Ager and Jack Yellen in the year 1927 as a jazz-pop tune. It was quite popular, particularly throughout the rest of the 1920s. The Beatles loved this tune quite a bit, and John Lennon was a fan of the tune for a while before it was brought to the Fab Four’s plate. Their version was first released as a single in 1964, though it was originally recorded in 1961. If you want some Beatles deep cuts that showcase what the band sounded like when they first started, give this one a spin.
Source: Em Casalena/americansongwriter.com
