The train from London cut through the verdant English countryside like a dreamy reverie. Tidy suburbs gave way to rolling hills until I was deposited in East Sussex, the enclave along the English Channel where Paul McCartney maintains a 160-acre estate and neighboring recording studio. The landscape outside looked like Hobbiton: sheep and hares dotting the meadows, a Dutch windmill towering overhead.

When Sir Paul arrived, he was dressed entirely in black, looking spry and sunny. He guided me to an upstairs lounge, where we settled on a couch, a plate of chocolate chip cookies between us. For the next hour and 20 minutes, it was just Paul and me.

Man on the Run, a new documentary about McCartney’s formation of Wings in the 1970s, arrives on Prime Video February 27. Directed by Morgan Neville, it is another in a series of McCartney-approved films that burnish not only the Beatles’ legacy, but also his own. The occasion of the film—and Jann Wenner’s recent 80th birthday—is an opportune time to publish the full and unexpurgated interview I conducted with McCartney for Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine, only a fraction of which made it into the book. The interview is an exegesis on McCartney’s relationship with Rolling Stone and the underground press of the 1960s, but also a deep dive into Beatles history—the breakup; the legal debacles that tore the band apart; Paul’s admiration and skepticism of Yoko Ono; his rocky relationship with John Lennon in the post-Beatles years; and the duo’s eventual reconciliation in Santa Monica in 1974.

On March 25, 2015, I’d flown to England with low expectations, figuring a rock-and-roll lion of McCartney’s stature would be overly diplomatic. Instead he was candid, freewheeling, and even pointed, blaming Rolling Stone and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for crafting a revisionist history of the Beatles that cast him as the perennial also-ran to Lennon, whom the magazine venerated after his 1980 assassination—transforming Lennon into “the James Dean character,” says McCartney. Looking back, it was an opening salvo in Paul’s decade-long campaign to establish himself in popular memory as the co-equal to Lennon—foreshadowing Peter Jackson’s epic Get Back documentary and the many books, films, and exhibits that McCartney has since produced. In the interview—which Vanity Fair has published in two parts—McCartney was keen to separate myth from fact, taking issue with biopics of the band and even published histories, including the work of the foremost Beatles scholar, Mark Lewisohn. “It’s interesting because I’m a fact, not a myth,” he told me. “For me, this is fact.”

Source: vanityfair.com/Joe Hagan

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George Harrison didn’t need the Beatles to prove himself. But according to his closest collaborators, he still needed a band.

In the aftermath of the group’s breakup, Harrison appeared to adapt to solo life more naturally than any of his former bandmates. He was the first to release a solo album, 1968’s Wonderwall Music, and when the group finally dissolved, he surged creatively. His 1970 triple album, All Things Must Pass, was both a commercial triumph and a personal vindication, proving that the guitarist long overshadowed by Lennon and McCartney had a world-class voice of his own.

Yet even at the height of that success, Harrison never fully embraced being a solo artist.

Instead, fate — and friendship — would pull him back into a band setting, alongside Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne in the Traveling Wilburys.  Speaking to Uncut in 2007, Harrison’s widow Olivia said the supergroup restored something he’d been missing since the Beatles’ collapse.

Every night, as we were relaxing with a few drinks, George and I had the same conversation: ‘We could have a group, you know?’ ‘Yeah, we could.’”
— Jeff Lynne

“George had those intense moments in his career when it was absolute bedlam,” she said (via Guitar.com), referring to periods including his turbulent final years in the Beatles and his personal upheaval involving Eric Clapton. “So there were times when he craved solitude, but he also loved being with friends.”

Lynne saw that conflict firsthand while producing Harrison’s 1987 comeback album, Cloud Nine.  All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!

“We were three-quarters of the way through Cloud Nine, and every night, as we were relaxing with a few drinks after mixing a big epic or whatever, George and I had the same conversation,” Lynne recalled. “‘We could have a group, you know?’ ‘Yeah, we could.’

“He didn’t like the idea of being a solo guy — that’s what he told me. He was never comfortable with it. He wanted a group, and, of course, George could do anything he wanted.”

Harrison’s explosive burst of creativity in 1970 suddenly makes more sense in that light. All Things Must Pass wasn’t just artistic release — it was backlog, as years of suppressed songs were finally given oxygen. But as the decades passed, his output slowed. He released six albums in the 1970s, but only three in the 1980s. Cloud Nine was his first in five years.

Source: guitarplayer.com/Phil Weller

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John Lennon was known to be somewhat cynical from time to time, but especially when it came to much of his own music. The songwriter racked up an impressive 22 No. 1 hits and has seven Grammy awards. However, it seems like he always had a tendency to be his own worst critic. Here are some songs that John Lennon played a part in writing, which he would later express he wasn’t the biggest fan of.
“Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”

This one might surprise some Beatles fans, as it is one of the most referenced off their 1967 album. However, unsurprisingly, Lennon was not a fan, at least of the production. However, he still did a version with Elton John in 1975, which got him to the top of the Billboard charts. “I heard ‘Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds’ last night,” he said in 1980. “It’s abysmal, you know? The track is just terrible. I mean, it is a great track, a great song, but it isn’t a great track because it wasn’t made right. You know what I mean?”
“It’s Only Love”

This song was recorded in 1965 for The Beatles’ Help! album, one side of which was written for a movie of the same name. “It’s Only Love” was one of the songs on Help!‘s B side, so it wasn’t used in the film. Honestly, it’s probably better it wasn’t, because I’m sure Lennon would have had something to say about it. For Lennon, it was the lyrics that he couldn’t stand. “‘It’s Only Love’ is mine,” he said in a 1980 interview. “I always thought it was a lousy song. The lyrics were abysmal. I always hated that song.” He would even call the lyrics a big regret of his because he found them embarrassing to sing.
“Run For Your Life”

Alright, last but not least (in our eyes, anyway), we have “Run For Your Life”. An Elvis Presley fan himself, Lennon actually wrote this one after being inspired by a line from Presley’s song, “Baby, Let’s Play House”. He even told Rolling Stone that he “never liked ‘Run for Your Life’ because it was a song I just knocked off,” referencing the Elvis tune. He would later continue to bash the song, calling it his “least favorite” Beatles tune and a “throwaway track.” Apparently though, the track, which was the first recorded for 1965’s Rubber Soul, was a favorite of fellow Beatle George Harrison’s.

Source: Kat Caudill/americansongwriter.com

Paul McCartney opens up about mending fences with John Lennon before the star's 1980 death. McCartney says making up with Lennon is "one of the great blessings in my life". He talks about their bond in the new documentary Paul McCartney: Man on the Run.

Paul McCartney is forever grateful that he and John Lennon gave peace a chance. The legendary musician and his late bandmate had a bond so tight they were like brothers — but after the Beatles’ breakup in 1970, their friendship frayed.

In the new documentary Paul McCartney: Man on the Run, McCartney says he’s glad that he and Lennon were able to set aside their differences before the “Imagine” singer’s tragic murder on Dec. 8, 1980. “One of the great blessings in my life is that we made up. It’s beautiful and it’s sad at the same time,” says McCartney, 83. “You know, we loved each other all our lives.”

McCartney and Lennon first met as Liverpool lads, and went on to find international fame and success as members of the Beatles alongside George Harrison and Ringo Starr. But their relationship soured as the band broke up in 1970, and things culminated in a lawsuit McCartney filed against his bandmates after taking issue with manager Allen Klein and the way he was handling their finances.
John Lennon and Paul McCartney in New York City in 1968.

A 1971 diss track from Lennon called “How Do You Sleep?” added further salt into the wound, and the two grew apart. In Man on the Run, McCartney talks about finally mending fences with Lennon before his death, and even recalls a visit to Lennon’s New York City apartment with wife Linda.

Together, they watched Saturday Night Live as creator Lorne Michaels offered them a good chunk of change to head on down to Studio 8H for an impromptu Beatles reunion. “We got kind of excited. We just go down, we show up, hey! But it was like, why? It’d be great for them. Would it be great for us? We’ve come full circle and now we’re off on another journey,” he recalls in the film. “So we just decided to just have another cup of tea and forget the whole idea.”

McCartney only briefly addresses Lennon’s death in the film, saying that “time can take the edge off” as his daughter and Lennon’s son discuss his reaction to losing the musician. Lennon’s son, Sean Ono Lennon, adds that the pair “had a once-in-a-millennium chemistry that I don’t think we’re likely to see again.”

Man on the Run, which hits Prime Video on Feb. 27 in an intimate look at McCartney’s post-Beatles life in the 1970s, from his family life in Scotland to his decision to form and tour with Wings. The film, directed by Morgan Neville, features interviews with McCartney, Linda, their daughters and Wings band members.

Source: Rachel DeSantis/people.com

John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr of the Beatles started out in Liverpool, England, but it wasn’t long before the band took the entire world by storm. As the group ascended to superstardom, the famed foursome expanded their horizons and put down roots around the UK and beyond.

The group’s 1964 song “I’ll Follow the Sun” is “a ‘Leaving of Liverpool’ song,” McCartney explained in his 2021 book The Lyrics. “I’m leaving this rainy northern town for someplace where more is happening.” Once they did leave, the band's rise to fame was stratospheric. Of course, it wasn’t all massive crowds and wild concerts; the four led quieter lives in their time at home, where they penned and practiced some of their greatest hits. To provide a peek behind the curtain into their private worlds, we’ve rounded up some domestic snapshots of the iconic musicians below.

Harrison spent the first six years of his life at 12 Arnold Grove in Wavertree, Liverpool, before the family moved into a council house (a form of British public housing) at 25 Upton Green in Speke. The three-bedroom home, as seen in this 1955 photograph of Harrison at age 12, served as a frequent rehearsal spot for the band, who then called themselves the Quarrymen. Because the dwelling was much larger than the terraced house he spent his early days in, the young Harrison “ran around and round it all that first day” as his family settled in, according to biographer Hunter Davies.

Source: Michael Gioia, Michelle Duncan/architecturaldigest.com

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Hollywood stars including Paul Mescal have been spotted filming what is believed to be the new series of The Beatles biopics.

Cameras were seen outside the former home of John Lennon, on Menlove Avenue, in Woolton, Liverpool, as the street was taken back in time for the series.

Crews are expected to remain in Woolton for the duration of the week, where screens had been erected to block passers by getting a peak at what was being filmed.  More commonly known as Mendips, John lived at the address with his aunt Mimi until 1963.The series of films, which are currently in production, are slated to be released in 2028 and will star Paul Mescal as Sir Paul McCartney, Barry Keoghan as Sir Ringo Starr, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison.Paul Mescal could be seen as Sir Paul McCartney on set, with Leanne Best playing Aunt Mimi as she hung out the window of Mendips.  

A road sign states City Road will also be closed until 1am on 28 February.

A notice has also been distributed to residents of several streets in Dingle informing them that filming for the new Fab Four series will take place there too.

Source: ITV News