Fans of music legend John Lennon are marking what would have been his 86th birthday today, October 9. The Beatles songwriter was murdered on December 8, 1980, when he was shot outside his Manhattan residence by Mark David Chapman. He was rushed to hospital in the back of a police vehicle, but was pronounced dead upon arrival. He was 40 years old.

The Liverpool music legend was departing his home with his wife Yoko Ono when Chapman, who was later jailed for life and remains behind bars to this day, seized the moment to shoot him, later citing John's controversial remark about the Beatles being 'more popular than Jesus' as his primary motivation.

The killing sent shockwaves across the globe, particularly affecting his former Beatles bandmates, who have subsequently spoken candidly about losing their friend. During a 1981 interview with Barbara Walters, Beatles drummer Ringo Starr recalled the devastating moment he learned John had been shot while talking on the telephone with his wife Barbara Bach's daughter Francesca Gregorini while they were in Barbados, reports the Express.

"And so, that drove me crazy," Ringo said, before explaining his initial assumption was that he'd been shot in the leg or the arm. "And then, they came back and they said, he's uh, he's dead."

Source: express.co.uk/Alice Sjoberg, Ian Craig

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Fans of music legend John Lennon are marking what would have been his 86th birthday today, October 9. The Beatles songwriter was murdered on December 8, 1980, when he was shot outside his Manhattan residence by Mark David Chapman. He was rushed to hospital in the back of a police vehicle, but was pronounced dead upon arrival. He was 40 years old.

The Liverpool music legend was departing his home with his wife Yoko Ono when Chapman, who was later jailed for life and remains behind bars to this day, seized the moment to shoot him, later citing John's controversial remark about the Beatles being 'more popular than Jesus' as his primary motivation.

The killing sent shockwaves across the globe, particularly affecting his former Beatles bandmates, who have subsequently spoken candidly about losing their friend. During a 1981 interview with Barbara Walters, Beatles drummer Ringo Starr recalled the devastating moment he learned John had been shot while talking on the telephone with his wife Barbara Bach's daughter Francesca Gregorini while they were in Barbados, reports the Express.

"And so, that drove me crazy," Ringo said, before explaining his initial assumption was that he'd been shot in the leg or the arm. "And then, they came back and they said, he's uh, he's dead."

Source: express.co.uk/Alice Sjoberg, Ian Craig

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Sixty-one years ago today, one of the most iconic tracks of all time, which was ranked the “Absolute Best Song in History” more than 50 years later, hit No. 1. The fact that The Beatles’ “Yesterday” has continued to be celebrated across generations of listeners is especially noteworthy since it nearly wasn’t released for a fascinating reason.
‘Yesterday’ by the Beatles Hit No. 1 on October 9, 1965

After The Beatles’ “Yesterday” was first released on September 13, 1965, the song quickly rose in popularity. Less than a month later, on October 9, 1965, it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for a total of four weeks. The only tracks from the legendary rock band that stayed at No. 1 for longer than that are “Hey Jude,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “Get Back,” and “Can’t Buy Me Love.”
Why ‘Yesterday’ by the Beatles Almost Wasn’t Released

On September 13, 2020, Ultimate Classic Rock released an article that chronicled how The Beatles’ “Yesterday” began its journey to leaving a mark on music history. It noted the well-known story that the melody for “Yesterday” came to Paul McCartney in his dreams. It also focused on the lesser-known fact that the song was in jeopardy of never being released because McCartney was seriously worried about the track. The article quoted him stating that he was so worried that the song was an unintended rip-off of a previous track that he consulted with his peers to see if they’d heard the melody before.

“For about a month, I went round to people in the music business and asked them whether they had ever heard it before. Eventually it became like handing something in to the police. I thought if no one claimed it after a few weeks, then I could have it.”

Even after overcoming that barrier that nearly convinced McCartney not to even record “Yesterday,” the song’s success was still in peril. As the Ultimate Classic Rock article noted, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr questioned if the song should be released as a single since it was so different than the rest of their music. In fact, there was even talk about putting the song out as a McCartney solo track. Ultimately, the article quotes McCartney saying the band agreed to release it as a Beatles single in America, and its legacy grew from there.

Source: mensjournal.com/Matthew Thomas

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Paul McCartney has penned some words on how they shot the iconic cover for The Beatles‘ ‘Rubber Soul’ for the re-release of their classic 1965 album. Check them out exclusively on NME below.

The Fab Four’s landmark sixth album is currently heading to Number One in the UK charts, 60 years after its original release. Released last week (Friday October 2), the expanded edition comes presented in new stereo and Dolby Atmos mixes, and with a box-set alongside the original mono mix and the original Capitol US Album version mixed by producer Giles Martin and engineer Sam Okell.

As well as the original tracklist – which features fan-favourites including ‘Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)’, ‘Nowhere Man’, ‘Michelle’, and ‘In My Life’ – there is also be the contemporary double A-side single, ‘Day Tripper / We Can Work It Out’, and a selection of previously unreleased session recordings and home demos.

The Super Deluxe Special Edition Super comes as either a 5-LP box-set or a 4-CD box-set, with 68 tracks and an 88-page hardbound book featuring a brand new written introduction by McCartney, and a foreword compiled from the late John Lennon’s own words.

McCartney’s introduction comes with insight into the making of the album cover with photographer Robert Freeman. Read it in full below:

“Our friendship with the photographer Robert Freeman, who had lived in the same block of flats at John, meant that he was an obvious choice to take the cover photograph. We did the session with Robert, and he showed us the results. The method he used in those days was to project the images he had taken on to a white piece of cardboard the shape and size of an album cover.

Source: nme.com/Andrew Trendell

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Four months after returning with The Boys of Dungeon Lane, Paul McCartney, never short of songs, has pulled out a handful more. Three songs from Macca’s album sessions with Andrew Watt feature on a new expansion of the June LP, alongside a “flip mix” of “Home to Us,” the Ringo Starr duet from the record. (The new version reverses their parts.) Stream the full expanded album below or skip to track 15 for the new songs: “City Fox,” “One Night Stand,” and “Chelsea Boots.” 

Source: pitchfork.com/Jazz Monroe

On the surface, John Lennon might have been seen as the Beatle most likely to form a lasting bond with Bob Dylan, such were the often cynical and aloof parallels of their character traits. Yet, it was The Quiet One who became the lifelong pal, and who would persuade the American to be part of his second celebrated chart-topping group.

Bob had met all four Fabs at the same time, on their first visit to the US in 1964, infamously introducing them to the delight of marijuana during an all-night and well into the early hours pow-wow at New York’s Delmonico Hotel. Whenever Dylan subsequently played in the UK, at least one Beatle’s name would be on the guest list, and they made sure he was among the first to hear albums like Rubber Soul and Revolver, tacitly acknowledging the debt they felt their rapidly developing craft owed him.

In his 2026 book Where The Music Had To Go: How Bob Dylan And The Beatles Changed Each Other, author Jim Windolf suggests the demands of their respective careers were an obstacle in them ever getting especially close. He also argues that neither Lennon nor McCartney were in the frame to forge any kind of lasting friendship with their contemporary and admirer; John’s outlook and demeanour were too similar, while the ever wary Paul was too competitive.

However, the deeper roots of the Bob and George friendship date from 1968 when Harrison was in the US checking out potential acts to sign to the group’s then fledgling Apple label. Dylan invited him to spend Thanksgiving at his home in Woodstock, upper New York state, and the visit stretched on for several days.

Source: Terry Staunton/uncut.co.uk

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