Rolling Stones icon Keith Richards has spoken about his relationship with ex-Beatle Paul McCartney, claiming that he "really misses being in a band".

Chatting to Zane Lowe on Apple Music, Richards said: "You know I've realised that Paul really misses being in a band. And his joy of just being in that context is great. So if there's any more songs to do, I'll let you know, Paul."

The conversation came as part of the promo run for the Rolling Stones' new album Foreign Tongues, which is out July 10 and features a wide range of world-famous contributors including Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, The Cure's Robert Smith and, of course, McCartney himself.

A recent trailer posted on YouTube showed the band's three remaining members — Richards, Mick Jagger and Ronnie Wood — on top form in the studio, an incredible 64 years after the group first formed.

They're joined by new drummer Steve Jordan, who appears to have slotted in seamlessly following the loss of original member Charlie Watts back in 2021.

"It was Charlie Watts that did suggest to me that if ever I was gonna work with another drummer, it should be Steve Jordan," Richards said. "I'm sure Charlie Watts is beaming down on us, so I feel good about that."

Source: yahoo.com/Fred Garratt-Stanley

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John Lennon might have developed his passion for playing music by listening to American rock ‘n’ roll stars. But by the time he was famous enough to be asked to appear on television, he had no problem denouncing those same artists for a laugh. In June 1963, the artist in Lennon’s crossfire was the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Elvis Presley.

Lennon was invited to appear on the BBC television program Juke Box Jury, in which celebrities would rate new singles a “hit” or a “miss.” Although The Beatles were technically one year out from their major debut in the States on the Ed Sullivan Show, the Fab Four were already sparking Beatlemania across their native United Kingdom.
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 To the delight of the crowd (and to the surprise of no one who knew Lennon), the Beatle dubbed every record a “miss,” including Elvis Presley’s latest single, “Devil In Disguise.” Lennon remarked that Presley was “like Bing Crosby now.”

Source: americansongwriter.com/Melanie Davis

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Mick Jagger praised the Beatles' role in the Rolling Stones' history and music history as a whole in an interview that aired on SiriusXM's Classic Vinyl channel on Thursday. He also discussed how Paul McCartney had joined the Stones to record two songs, Hackney Diamonds' "Bite Your Head Off" and "Covered in You," which will appear on the band's new album, Foreign Tongues, out tomorrow.

"They were the most prolific songwriters of that time," Jagger said of the Beatles. "They wrote all these songs for themselves, which are all huge hits that were coming out all the time. Plus they were writing and giving songs that they made as demos for all these disparate people, like Cilla Black and this one and that one — all had huge hits with songs which the Beatles wrote, including us, so we were all really happy to get them and it just made them into this huge writing machine, you know, that they were amazingly prolific."

McCartney and John Lennon gave the Stones "I Wanna Be Your Man," which became the Stones' second single, in 1963. It was a Number 12 hit for the group in the U.K. The Beatles recorded their own version of the song, which Ringo Starr sang, for With the Beatles that same year. Cilla Black recorded the Lennon-McCartney compositions, "Love of the Loved," "It's for You," and "Step Inside Love."

In the SiriusXM interview, Jagger shrugged off any supposed rivalry between the Beatles and the Stones, saying it was in their interest to give them a song like "I Wanna Be Your Man." "When they're giving you the song, they're also making money," he said.

Source: yahoo.com/Kory Grow

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The Beatles’ landmark performance at Shea Stadium on 15 August 1965 transformed the economics and logistics of live rock concerts, while exposing the technical limitations of concert sound that would reshape the industry for decades.

When The Beatles walked onto the field at Shea Stadium in New York on 15 August 1965, they were not simply playing another concert. Before a record crowd of 55,600 fans, the band staged what is widely recognised as the first major outdoor stadium rock concert, establishing a blueprint for the modern stadium tour despite battling audio technology that was not yet capable of keeping pace with Beatlemania.

The concert became a defining moment in live music history for reasons that extended well beyond the performance itself. Promoted by Sid Bernstein, the event grossed a then unprecedented US$304,000 and demonstrated that rock music could successfully fill major sporting venues. Every aspect of the production, from transporting the band by helicopter to deploying 2,000 security personnel, reflected the unprecedented scale of the event.

While artists including Elvis Presley had previously appeared in outdoor stadiums such as the Cotton Bowl and Spokane Memorial Stadium during the 1950s, Shea Stadium is regarded as the first concert conceived and promoted as a dedicated large scale stadium rock event. It created the commercial and logistical model that would later be adopted by generations of touring artists.

Ironically, the concert that changed live music almost defeated the technology of its era.

Source: noise11.com\Paul Cashmere

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Ringo Starr has celebrated his 86th birthday by receiving an honorary degree from the University of Liverpool.

The Beatles star said he was "really honoured" to be conferred as an honorary doctor of music at a private ceremony in Los Angeles.

Starr - whose real name is Sir Richard Starkey - urged all graduates back in his home city to "follow your dreams" like he did when he chose to become a full-time drummer despite his parents' disapproval. The ceremony took place before Starr's annual "Peace & Love" birthday celebration in Beverly Hills Park.

He said: "I want to thank the University of Liverpool for this honorary degree and for coming all the way to LA to bestow it - I'm really honoured." While he now lives in California, Starr said he would "always love" his hometown.

"I've been thinking back on my life a lot lately and when I chose to become a drummer full time my family discouraged me," he said.

"And they could have been right but they weren't - it all worked out. "So to all the graduates back in Liverpool - I send peace and love and want to say don't be afraid to follow your dreams, or take that right turn and see where it goes.

"It could lead to an honorary doctorate from the University of Liverpool." University of Liverpool handout Left to right: David Winstanley, Wendy Beetlestone, Ringo Starr and alumnus Brian Boyd. They are all wearing graduate robes with mortarboard caps. They are standing in front of a University of Liverpool exhibition board. They are all smiling.University of Liverpool handout
A team of delegates from the University of Liverpool presented Ringo Starr with the award in Los Angeles

Source: bbc.com/Lynette Horsburgh

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George Harrison sat in the shadow of two lyrical titans in Paul McCartney and John Lennon during his early career with the Beatles.

However, he started to break out just as the band started reaching the end of its shelf life. While Lennon was the most popular Beatle at the time, Harrison was starting to come into his own with two major writing credits on Abbey Road.

Something became a No. 1 hit and showed Harrison had the chops to sit with the best in the business, even his own bandmates. But that wasn't his only hit on the record.
'Here Comes The Sun' Recorded 57 Years Ago

Harrison also wrote Here Comes the Sun, which the Beatles started recording 57 years ago today without Lennon, who was recovering from a car accident in the Scottish Highlands.

Discussing the Abbey Road track, Harrison explained: “‘Here Comes The Sun’ was written at the time when Apple was getting like school, where we had to go and be businessmen: ‘Sign this’ and ‘Sign that’. Anyway, it seems as if winter in England goes on forever; by the time spring comes, you really deserve it.”

He continued: “So one day, I decided I was going to sack off Apple, and I went over to Eric Clapton’s house. The relief of not having to go and see all those dopey accountants was wonderful, and I walked around the garden with one of Eric’s acoustic guitars and wrote ‘Here Comes The Sun’.”

The song reached as high as No. 3 in the Billboard charts in the United States and sits as the most-streamed song from the iconic band, more than other hits like Let It Be and Hey Jude.

Source: aol.com/Andrew McCarty

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