The influence that The Beatles' 1967 album 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' had on music cannot be overstated. The psychedelic masterpiece became the soundtrack to that year's 'summer of love' and reimagined what could be done with an album.

It was the brainchild of Paul McCartney, who came up with the idea of a song by a fictional Edwardian military band. This developed into an album concept, allowing the band to move away from their mop-top image and try something a bit more creative.  ‌

Having retired from touring in 1966, The Beatles wanted to focus on experimenting in the studio and advancing their sound. They also wanted to reinvent themselves, tired with the clean-cut and fresh faced image they had during the first half of the 1960s.  ‌

About that, Paul said: "We were fed up with being The Beatles. We really hated that f***ing four little mop-top approach. We were not boys, we were men ... and thought of ourselves as artists rather than just performers". The band's sound had evolved over the previous two studio albums. 1965's 'Rubber Soul' is widely viewed as starting that process, before the 1966 album 'Revolver' saw The Beatles really experiment and embrace new techniques. Paul took the lead on the 'Sgt Pepper' album, having developed its concept but John Lennon was never a fan of the finished product.

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Writing in 1978 about wanting to spend less time with music and more time with his family, he said: "The lesson for me is clear. I've already 'lost' one family to produce what? Sgt Pepper? I am blessed with a second chance". He added: "If I never 'produce' anything more for public consumption than 'silence', so be it. Amen."

Source: Dan Haygarth/liverpoolecho.co.uk

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In 1974, David Bowie was fresh off his reign as the glam-rock’s biggest act. After his breakthrough success that began with Ziggy Stardust and continued through Diamond Dogs, he was about to make a turn toward soul and funk with his next album, Young Americans.

Despite his success, he could still be in awe of his idols. When the opportunity to meet John Lennon arose that year, Bowie was beside himself.  Like millions of teens in the 1960s, he had been a Beatles fan. His own career began to take off in the mid 1960s, during which time he flirted with influences ranging from the Rolling Stones to the Who to Syd Barrett’s Pink Floyd. But while Bowie never dabbled in the Beatles’ style of pop, but he was enamored of the group, and John Lennon in particular.

“Oh hell, he was one of the major influences on my musical life,” Bowie said in an interview recorded in the 1980s. “I mean, I just thought he was the very best of what could be done with rock and roll, and also ideas.  “I felt such kin to him in as much as that he would rifle the avant-garde and look for ideas that were so on the outside, on the periphery of what was the mainstream — and then apply them in a functional manner to something that was considered populist and make it work. He would take the most odd idea and make it work for the masses.

“And I thought that was just so admirable. I mean, that was like making artwork for the people and not sort of having it as an elitist thing. There was just so much about him that I admired. He was tremendous, you know?”

By 1974, Bowie had moved to New York, the same city to which Lennon had emigrated in 1971. It was perhaps inevitable the two would meet. It happened soon after at a party given by actress Elizabeth Taylor.  All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!

“I think we were polite with each other, in that kind of older-younger way,” Bowie recalled of their meeting.  As his longtime producer and friend Tony Visconti revealed in a 2021 interview with BBC Radio 4, Bowie was intimidated by the former Beatle.

“He was terrified of meeting John Lennon,” he recalled. When shortly after the party Lennon scheduled a visit to Bowie, the singer insisted Visconti come along “to buffer the situation.”

Source: guitarplayer.com/Elizabeth Swann

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Paul McCartney and John Lennon's songwriting skills didn't just benefit The Beatles. The dynamic duo penned numerous tracks that became hits for other artists during the 1960s. ‌

In the early part of the decade, The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein leveraged John and Paul's talent to boost other artists he managed. He would commission them to write songs or distribute songs they'd already written to other artists in his roster, such as Cilla Black and Bootle-born Billy J. Kramer and his band The Dakotas.

But it wasn't just Epstein's artists who benefited. John and Paul also wrote 'I Wanna Be Your Man', The Rolling Stones' first hit, and gifted songs to bands like Badfinger ('Come and Get It') and Peter and Gordon ('A World Without Love'), which turned into massive successes. Meanwhile, McCartney confirmed he was in floods of tears as he tried to write an 'emotional' song.

Peter and Gordon, in particular, reaped significant benefits from John and Paul's work. Paul had written 'A World Without Love' when he was just 16, reports the Liverpool Echo.  

When he moved in with then-girlfriend Jane Asher in 1963, her brother Peter Asher (of Peter and Gordon) heard the song and asked if he could have it.  Paul didn't think the song was up to par for The Beatles to record, so he was happy to give it away, having already offered it to Billy J. Kramer.  Peter then recorded it with Gordon, and it was released in February 1964 on an album of the same name. It soared to number one in both the UK and the USA.  ‌

It marked the inaugural song credited to John and Paul that wasn't performed by The Beatles to climb the charts. Paul subsequently penned the track 'Nobody I Know' for Peter and Gordon as a follow-up to their chart-topper, before the duo recorded another Lennon-McCartney composition 'I Don't Want to See You Again'.  Paul then chose to launch an experiment. With the next track he crafted for Peter and Gordon, he opted to use a pseudonym.

Source: John O'sullivan, Dan Haygarth/irishstar.com

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Paul McCartney has been accused, on several occasions, of being corny. He might be guilty, but is it a bad thing? As he famously said, Some people want to fill the world with silly love songs / And what’s wrong with that? In our opinion, nothing. Sometimes a song needs a little extra sentiment to be good. If you can let go of your corny-meter and enjoy what they have to offer, the three McCartney songs below are stunners.

“Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” is one of McCartney’s cheesiest Beatles offerings. The instrumentation is silly to say the least, but the earnestness with which McCartney delivers his story makes it work. The former Beatle delightfully tells a macabre tale, reveling in the dark humor of it all. Bang! Bang! Maxwell’s silver hammer / Came down upon her head, McCartney sings with a marked grin.

The juxtaposition between the lyrics and the melody of this song is mounting. It’s part of what could make listeners consider this song corny, and his bandmates reject this idea at first listen. In the end, McCartney believed enough in this song to get it a spot on Abbey Road. Not just any artist could’ve pulled off something so outlandish and gotten away with it. It speaks to McCartney’s confidence as an artist.
“Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”

All of the Beatles highlighted their affinity for nonsensical lyrics at one time or another. The band was so popular and beloved that they could release a song with no point and make it a hit. McCartney gave that approach a spin with “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.”

This is one of the songs that coined John Lennon’s phrase, “Paul’s granny sh**.” His bandmates chalked this song up to sentimental dribble. While some listeners might share that opinion, others appreciate the upper this song is.

Source: American Songwriter/Alex Hopper

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Beatles fans were floored after discovering the staggering $400+ million budget that's been allocated to Sam Mendes' forthcoming four-installment biopic.‌

This year it was announced that a four-part movie franchise is in production with each film focusing on a different band member, including the lives of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. This ambitious project is the first authorized biopic of the band, with feedback given directly from The Beatles' families.

And now, fans are in disbelief as it has been confirmed that each movie will be given a budget of roughly $100 million apiece, with the total project costing an estimated $400+ million. In addition to this jaw-dropping budget, the movie has also released their star-studded lineup of actors leading the project including Paul Mescal, Harris Dickinson, Joseph Quinn, and Barry Keoghan.

According to reports by Screen Rant, this over $400+ million budget will make The Beatles biopics the fifth most expensive movies of all time. The budget follows Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ($416 million), Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($447 million), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom ($465 million), and Jurassic World Dominion ($465 million).
The cast of Sam Mendes' Beatles biopics have left fans furious. The casting of the movies have been met with mixed reactions from fans 

After discovering this enormous budget, fans took to a newly posted Reddit thread sharing their thoughts on the project. One critic asked, "That's more than the budget for the two Resurrection of the Christ films. Are you saying that the Beatles are bigger than Jesus?"

Source: Caroline Gaspich/themirror.com

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 Celebrating his 85th birthday in July, Ringo Starr has likely uttered his signature phrase "Peace and Love" millions of times. Sept. 12 from the Miller High Life Theatre stage in Milwaukee with his supergroup the All Starr Band, he added three more to the tally.

That sentiment - and Starr's uplifting spirit - is something we all could really use right now. Milwaukee was especially lucky to get it. Starr and the band - including Steve Lukather from Toto, Colin Hay from Men at Work and Hamish Stuart from Average White Band - is performing in just six cities this month before heading off the road, the Miller High Life Theatre being the second stop. Naturally it was at capacity.

Source: jsonline.com/Piet Levy