Beatles News
Anna Sawai is "so terrified" of one thing regarding the upcoming, highly-anticipated biopic about The Beatles.
The Shogun actress will portray Yoko Ono opposite Harris Dickinson as John Lennon in director Sir Sam Mendes' upcoming four-film biopic series.
She feels honoured to be cast as the visual artist but she's wary of accidentally letting slip any secrets about the project.
Anna told Sunday Times Style magazine, “I’m so terrified to spill anything that’s not out there yet. The Beatles have been a part of my life for the longest time — it’s kind of mind-blowing I’m in a film about them.”
Referencing a Japanese term, manzoku, which means fulfilment, she added, “Playing [Yoko] will be very, very manzoku — satisfying — if I can do it right.”
Over the years, Yoko has been vilified for her alleged role in splitting up The Beatles, and Anna admitted speaking to the artist's son, Sean Lennon, for insight, as well as doing her own research, has made the project a "little bit more personal" for her after growing to understand the racism and misogyny that followed her.
She said, “I already had an idea of it [but now] it felt a little bit more personal.”
"It feels so wrong [that she was treated that way], and I feel like the storytelling will be a version that people haven’t seen. People are open to diversity now and are a little bit more welcoming, so I think it’ll be perceived in a different way,” Anna explained.
The 34-year-old actress also previously hailed Yoko as hugely inspirational to her, telling PEOPLE magazine, "It's just exciting because [Ono’s] story is so inspirational to me, and people really don't know the true person that she was.”
"She's an incredible artist. And also, she just was an independent woman and people didn't like that. They wanted John [Lennon] for themselves, and she was an easy target. And I think it's very meaningful for me to be able to tell her story,” she added.
Commenting on what she loved most about Yoko, Anna said, "Just how bold she is. Oh my God, I love her. She's so cool."
Source: thenews.com.pk/Sadaf Naushad
Paul McCartney will release The Boys of Dungeon Lane Special Edition on 9 December 2026. The physical edition adds four recordings to the album, including a new mix involving Ringo Starr. The Boys of Dungeon Lane expands with four McCartney recordings.
The Special Edition adds the tracks City Fox, One Night Stand and Chelsea Boots, plus a new version of Home To Us. The revised duet changes the arrangement of the vocal parts performed by McCartney and Starr.
The physical release is scheduled for 9 December 2026 on CD and 2LP. The artist’s official release notice lists a limited orange-and-blue marble vinyl edition with a zoetrope etching. A German release report also places the CD and double-vinyl editions on that date.
Paul McCartney connects the new edition with Liverpool.
McCartney is a Liverpool-born singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose career includes The Beatles, Wings and extensive solo work. Britannica’s career overview describes his work with The Beatles, the formation of Wings and his continuing solo career.
The expanded release extends a project rooted in McCartney’s memories of Liverpool. Its material looks towards childhood, early musical experiences and the period before The Beatles became internationally known. The title comes from the song Days We Left Behind, which links the album’s personal theme with the city that shaped him. The Special Edition presents an 18-track collection.
The completed Special Edition contains 18 tracks. Its four additions preserve the album’s connection to earlier sessions while broadening the set with fresh recordings and a reworked collaboration.
The release also carries new artwork adapted from a silkscreened collage by Kate Gibb. Alongside the limited 2LP, the edition is listed in CD and digital formats, giving the expanded collection several physical and listening options.
Source: ad-hoc-news./deRafael Müller
These three songs all reference The Beatles in some way. Those creative choices speak to the band’s legacy. Moreover, they help spread it. Not that this band needed any help being remembered, but every reference adds a little more prestige. These tracks make clever nods to the famous band. In return, that gives the lyrics a universality that appeals to listeners of all genres.
“Be My Yoko Ono” by Barenaked Ladies
Though not as well-known as their name-making “One Week”, this Barenaked Ladies song is beloved by fans the world over. It clearly nods to The Beatles and John Lennon’s most famous relationship. “If there’s someone you can just shove out / Well, you do so / You can be my Yoko Ono / You can follow me wherever I go,” the lyrics read.
This song points to how culturally iconic Lennon and Yoko Ono’s relationship was. We all have a picture in our minds of that pairing and what they represented to the world, especially during The Beatles’ tenure. This song uses their pop culture identity, amplifying it further.
“Black Beatles” by Rae Sremmurd Feat. Gucci Mane
This song uses The Beatles’ iconography. By positioning themselves as a sort of counterpart to the unparalleled fame this band earned in their short tenure, these artists succinctly say something about their own position in the world.
“I’m a Black beatle / Cream seats in the Regal / Rockin’ John Lennon lenses,” the lyrics read, clearly alluding to the rockers. Mentioning The Beatles signals status. Everyone, anywhere in the world, knows their prestige. Status is a familiar topic in rap music. There’s no clearer way to describe that than mentioning The Beatles. It’s a clever songwriting shorthand.
“White Ferrari” by Frank Ocean
Frank Ocean interpolated “Here, There And Everywhere” into his hit “White Ferrari.” That decision has kept The Beatles’ sonic legacy alive in younger generations who typically wouldn’t be into classic rock.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Alex Hopper
While he is most celebrated as one half of the greatest songwriting duo known to man, John Lennon’s talent as an independent lyricist is just as impressive – even before the dissolution of The Beatles. Throughout his life, he wrote prolifically. Not just songs, but poetry and prose and political essays. He existed in a constant state of creation.
John Lennon and Paul McCartney smiling Image via Instagram/@paulmccartney
5 “Revolution” (1968)
The Beatles made three versions of “Revolution”: the fast-paced, hard rock single version was first released in August 1968. The slower, bluesy version is titled “Revolution 1” and an abstract, artistic iteration called “Revolution 9” appear on The Beatles’ self-titled album, more commonly known as “The White Album.” The single version is by far the best known and the most fitting for commercial reception and radio play.
4 “Come Together” (1969)
“Come Together” is the opening track on Abbey Road, one of their most popular records. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 after the album’s release in 1969. The song was inspired by nonviolent protest of the Vietnam War led by Lennon and his second wife, Yoko Ono. These protests were joined and supported by many of the big players in the counterculture movement, including many new wave politicians. One of these politicians had a campaign slogan: "Come Together – Join the Party!” The phrase stuck with Lennon, and from it, he distilled this song’s title.
3 “All You Need is Love” (1967)
“All You Need is Love” was released as a non-album single in 1967. The song was the United Kingdom’s contribution to Our World – a historic television program, the first live, multinational, multi-satellite broadcast. Artists from all over the world contributed to the program, which was available in 24 countries, but The Beatles’ performance was by far the most highly anticipated.
2 “In My Life” (1965)
Lennon thought of “In My Life” as his first “real” piece of work – despite writing and recording it halfway through The Beatles’ career. The song (and Rubber Soul, the album on which it appears) marks a departure from the more simplistic love songs the band had been producing. It was written autobiographically, based on nostalgia for his childhood in Liverpool. He wrote the lyrics in the form of a poem, initially naming specific places from his childhood before deciding on a more generalized format.
Source: Audrey Connelly/collider.com
Very few musicians get the chance to record a James Bond theme. Paul McCartney actually turned down the opportunity once. But when he accepted on the second ask, he went all-in on a massive recording.
McCartney found a comfort zone in working with one of his closest collaborators from his Beatle days. The resulting song, “Live And Let Die”, ranks extremely high in most listings of Bond themes. Macca and Martin.
Paul McCartney was first approached to do a theme song for Diamonds Are Forever, the James Bond film released in 1971. As that was a busy year for him with the formation of his new band Wings, he politely declined.
But things lined up nicely for him to tackle the job on Live And Let Die, the next Bond film. For one, it was scheduled to arrive in theaters in 1973 around the same time that McCartney was releasing Red Rose Speedway, his second album with Wings. It would offer him and his fledgling band an excellent promotional tool.
On top of that, it gave McCartney the chance to work again with George Martin, who produced the vast majority of The Beatles’ musical output. When John Barry, who normally handled the score for Bond films, was unable to take the job on Live And Let Die, Martin was hired as his replacement. Hence, it was natural for Martin to serve as producer on McCartney’s theme song.
Sorry, Thelma
Around the time of the film’s release, McCartney explained how the song’s creation went down with the help of his wife Linda (per The Beatles Bible):
“I read the Live And Let Die book in one day, started writing it that evening and carried on the next day and finished it by the next evening … I sat down at the piano, worked something out and then got in touch with George Martin, who produced it with us. Linda wrote the middle reggae bit of the song. We rehearsed it as a band, recorded it and then left it up to him.”
McCartney, his Wings bandmates, and an orchestra dashed off the song at Martin’s AIR Studios in London. Oddly enough, producers heard the finished product and assumed it was a demo. They thought of Thelma Houston as a possible artist to record the track. But Martin explained that McCartney’s version was the actual song.
Lasting Impact
“Live And Let Die” turned out to be a boon for the Bond theme collection, considering that those songs have been hit or miss throughout the years. It also delivered a big hit for Wings at a time when they needed it badly. Their first two albums weren’t that well-received. The movie theme helped turn momentum in their direction.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Jim Beviglia
The ECHO has taken a look at Peter Asher's life as a new documentary on his career arrived in UK cinemas
Peter Asher has lived one of the great showbiz stories. The child star turned pop star turned record producer was at the centre of pop culture through the latter half of the 20th century.
His remarkable life story has been told in a new documentary titled Peter Asher: Everywhere Man. Filmmakers Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine brought the movie to Liverpool for a special screening at FACT Picturehouse on Sunday (November 1). The San Francisco couple insisted on a screening in Liverpool as Peter's contribution to the Beatles story means he is a vital part of the city's history.
Dan told the ECHO: "It's amazing to do this. There's such a connection because so much of Peter's earlier life and the propulsion behind his career comes out of the Beatles, Paul and Apple Corps." You can read the full feature interview with the directors here.
Peter was a close confidant to all the Fab Four as Paul McCartney lived in his family house after he first moved to London at the start of Beatlemania. Sir Paul was in a high profile relationship with Peter's sister, Jane Asher, and it was during this time when he broadened his artistic horizons in the counter cultural movement of the Swinging 60s.
Peter's bond with the band remained after the couple split as he was appointed the first head of A&R at Apple Corps. He also founded Indica Gallery in London, which was famous as the location where John Lennon met Yoko Ono.
However, a scene in the movie sees Peter hilariously reject the idea he was indirectly responsible for The Beatles breaking up. The 82-year-old remains as busy as ever touring his musical memoir and we have trawled our archives to find some great images from one of his showbiz's great lives.
Source: liverpoolecho.co.uk/Ryan Paton
George Harrison never had any interest in reuniting the Beatles after the band’s breakup in 1970. While several members collaborated during their solo years — David Bowie even claimed he, John Lennon and Paul McCartney once discussed forming a group — the Fab Four never returned to the studio or stage together.
But Harrison hadn’t completely soured on his former bandmates. As he revealed in a 1974 press conference, he was open to forming a new band with one Beatle in particular.
The Beatles’ breakup came at an unfortunate time for Harrison. After years of being overshadowed by the Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership, he was flourishing as both a writer and guitarist. Songs like “Something,” “Here Comes the Sun” and “Old Brown Shoe” proved he could match his bandmates as a songwriter, while his increasingly distinctive guitar work established him as one of rock’s most original stylists.
The release of All Things Must Pass, his ambitious 1970 solo debut, vindicated years of frustration. Powered by the hits “My Sweet Lord” and “What Is Life,” it became the most commercially successful solo album by any former Beatle in the immediate aftermath of the split.
By 1974, Harrison was preparing to launch the tour behind Dark Horse with a band that included organist Billy Preston, bassist Willie Weeks, drummer Andy Newmark and a young Robben Ford. During a press conference promoting the tour, he made it clear that a Beatles reunion held little appeal — but revealed there was one former bandmate he’d happily work with again.
“It’s all a fantasy, the idea of putting the Beatles back together again,” he said, as recounted in the book George Harrison on George Harrison: Interviews and Encounters. “If we ever do that, the reason will be that we are all broke. I’d rather have Willie Weeks on bass than Paul McCartney. That’s the truth, with all respect to Paul.
“Paul is a fine bass player,” he admitted, “but he’s a bit overpowering at times.”
Source: guitarplayer.com/Phil Weller
Phil McDonald, the record producer and recording engineer who worked on some of The Beatles' final records, has died at the age of 80.
His death was announced by Abbey Road Studios in a statement on its website. The studio paid tribute to a man who shared a Grammy for his work on the album Abbey Road. It read: "We’re saddened to announce the passing of the wonderful Phil McDonald.
“Phil was a highly skilled, deeply trusted, and much-loved engineer who started working here in 1964 at the age of 18. A man who went on to become one of the few credited on the back cover of Abbey Road, he started out in our tape library and worked in the cutting rooms before making the transition to tape op, and soon, balance engineer.”
The statement continued: “His first session with The Beatles is documented as 17 June 1965 for ‘Yesterday.’ The following years working on Revolver, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and The White Album, he would’ve been trained up by the likes of Geoff Emerick and Ken Scott before taking a central role in the recording of Abbey Road.
“Phil’s philosophy was always to get as close as possible to recording the true sound he heard in the studio.
“Transitioning to Apple Records around 1971 and through 1974, Phil worked with all four Beatles on their first solo projects, before lending his talents to some of the world’s biggest artists including Eric Clapton, Harry Nilsson, Deep Purple, Squeeze and Roy Orbison.
"Across his career, Phil contributed to some of the most influential albums of all time: All Things Must Pass, Imagine, McCartney I, The Madcap Laughs, Plastic Ono Band, Deep Purple In Rock, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, Living In The Material World, A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night, Traveling Wilburys Vol.1, Mystery Girl and so many more.”
Source: the-independent.com/Greg Evans
We’re rewriting history again today as we revisit a year when one band completely took over and overshadowed many classic songs that deserved better. Today we put those songs where they belong at #1. Including The Drifters Under the Boardwalk, a song that was recorded just a day after an iconic band’s lead singer passed away. Their singer was gone, but they still had a session planned, so an outsider walked in and sang a perfect vocal that gave them their most famous hit. Plus the Innocent Classic by the Zombies, She’s Not There, that got banned nationwide 37 years after it peaked on the charts for offensive lyrics, but everyone’s still trying to figure out what was offensive about it, including the band who’s here to comment. Plus the creepy song Last Kiss that was inspired by a fatal car crash, but it got even creepier after the song became a hit, and life imitated art when the band got into a fan carwreck that would destroy their group. Plus, I tracked down the mysterious girl behind the classic Beach Boys car song Fun Fun Fun, who got in trouble for driving her dad’s T-Bird. And lastly the biggest band in the world The Beatles took over the charts for one fateful week they made up 7 of the top 10 spots on the countdown but their best song, that was ruled by their singer’s sick as a dog vocal missed #1…Let’s do it.
Source: 1057thepoint.com/
Thirty years after Sir Paul McCartney helped open the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) in a former Liverpool school, the institution has reached a milestone that blends history with a new beginning. At its 2026 graduation ceremony, LIPA conferred its first LIPA degrees and celebrated more than 400 graduating students from 28 countries. The event, held on 21 July at the Liverpool Experience Campus, also honoured leading figures from film, theatre, music and arts management, with McCartney present as the institute’s Founding Patron. Read more details about it, as per LIPA's website, here:
Source:
TOI World Desk / TIMESOFINDIA.COM
