Beatles News
During a 1963 visit to St. Louis, George Harrison found a record he couldn't stop thinking about. He even imagined the Beatles recording it. But despite his enthusiasm, the song never made its way into the band's repertoire. Harrison would eventually get another chance with it — 24 years later.
It all stemmed from an early 1960s vacation. “In 1963, the year before the Beatles first came to America, I took a trip to St. Louis to visit my sister, who was living there at the time,” Harrison wrote in The Beatles Anthology. “The whole Beatlemania thing had really begun in the U.K., and we’d had three or four hit singles.
“So while visiting my sister, I went around to all the music shops looking for new singles and especially albums that were really hard to find in Liverpool. And that’s where I finally found the James Ray album, If You’re Gonna Make a Fool of Somebody.”
In particular, the song that grabbed his attention most was “Got My Mind Set on You,” and Harrison thought it had the makings of a Beatles recording — despite one significant drawback. All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
“It would have been great for the Beatles to cover, except it wasn’t really rock and roll,” he admitted. “It was trying to rock, but it sounded like it was produced by a jazz musician — it had all these squawky horns and stuff.” As Harrison later recalled, the song “stuck in my mind.” More than two decades passed before he finally revisited it while working on Cloud Nine, his 1987 comeback album after a lengthy break from recording.
Produced by Jeff Lynne, Cloud Nine found Harrison returning to a more electric guitar–driven sound. Revisiting Rudy Clark’s song, he stripped away the brass-heavy arrangement that had bothered him in the first place and gave it a contemporary rock treatment.
Source: guitarplayer.com/Phil Weller
During a career that was chock-full of momentous events, The Beatles enjoyed plenty of turning points that contributed to their unparalleled achievements. And few loom larger than the release of “A Hard Day’s Night” (1964), their feature film debut, and their August 29, 1966, performance at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park. Both are subjects of terrific new books about the band.
Samira Ahmed’s superb book about the making and legacy of “A Hard Day’s Night” should send music (and film) lovers to their favorite streamer to revisit the movie. Under Richard Lester’s direction, “A Hard Day’s Night” not only showcased the group’s media-friendly personalities, but ensured that Beatlemania was portable, that you didn’t have to live in a big city for the Fab Four to come to your town.
As Ahmed demonstrates, the film’s documentary style both reimagined the jukebox musical and captured the frenzy of mid-1960s filmmaking. In its finest moments, Ahmed’s book takes readers back to The Beatles’ heyday, when rock ‘n’ roll was still relatively new, and the band was only just getting started in terms of the musical artistry to come. At the same time, she deftly addresses the era’s shifting sexual politics and role of women in The Beatles’ story.
Which brings us to Candlestick Park, the O.K. Corral when it comes to the band’s touring days. On that fateful August night, The Beatles brought their miserable final tour to an end, a North American trek that John Lennon dubbed the “Jesus Christ Tour” for its association with the fallout over his “Beatles are bigger than Jesus” remark that had been republished in Datebook.
Source: salon.com/Kenneth Womack
Northern Irish actor Louis McCartney has been cast as Ringo Starr in upcoming BBC drama Hamburg Days, which will chart The Beatles' formative years in Germany. McCartney, from Helen’s Bay in County Down, is best known for playing Henry Creel in the West End and Broadway productions of Stranger Things: The First Shadow.
The six-part series will explore the band’s time in Hamburg in the early 1960s, before they became one of the biggest acts in music history. Sex Education star Asa Butterfield, Trainspotting actor Jonny Lee Miller and Adolescence actress Christine Tremarco are also among the newly announced cast.
Butterfield will play Beatles manager Brian Epstein, who guided the group from 1961 until he died in 1967. Miller will portray Jim McCartney, Paul McCartney’s father, while Tremarco will play John Lennon’s aunt and guardian, Mimi Smith. McCartney joins Rhys Mannion as Lennon, Ellis Murphy as Paul McCartney, and Harvey Brett as George Harrison. Louis Landau will play the band’s original bassist Stuart Sutcliffe, while Patrick Gilmore will portray their first drummer, Pete Best.
A Thousand Blows actress Darci Shaw has been cast as Cynthia Lennon, while Ryan Sampson will play Liverpool promoter Allan Williams and Jorden Myrie will portray music promoter Lord Woodbine.
Casper von Bülow will play German artist and musician Klaus Voormann, while Luna Jordan will portray photographer Astrid Kirchherr.
Voormann, who designed the cover of The Beatles’ 1966 album Revolver and later played on several of the band members’ solo records, is acting as a consultant on the series.
Hamburg Days is based on the book of the same name by Voormann and Kirchherr. It will follow The Beatles’ residencies at venues in Hamburg’s St Pauli district, a crucial period in the group’s development before their breakthrough.
Christine Tremarco attends the 31st Annual Critics Choice Awards on January 04, 2026 in Santa Monica, California.
Adolescence actress Christine Tremarco will also star in the BBC drama
The series is being made for BBC One. A transmission date has yet to be announced.
A separate set of four Beatles films directed by Sam Mendes is also in development, with Paul Mescal cast as McCartney, Barry Keoghan as Ringo, Harris Dickinson as Lennon and Joseph Quinn as Harrison.
Source: Press Association
One fact about the Beatles that should not be overlooked is how little calendar time it took them to effectively change the course of music forever.
They officially formed in 1960 (counting the years before the permanent lineup was created) and split up precisely 10 years later — not a lot of time in the grand scheme of things — and yet, their influence was unmatched. Plenty of other artists spend their entire lives crafting a legacy like that, while the Fab Four did it in a decade.
Because they only worked together for a relatively short amount of time, the Beatles only released 13 albums, but each of them paints a different picture of a band working hard to develop something groundbreaking, whether they realized it at the time or not.
The full story of the Beatles is told through these 13 albums, but if we absolutely had to narrow things down to the "Big 4," these would be our selections.
1. A Hard Day's Night (1964)
From the opening chord of A Hard Day's Night, it's clear that the Beatles were not and never would be a "normal" rock 'n' roll band — few '60s acts at that time would be willing to start an album with such a bizarre sound, one that would leave guitarists wondering for decades how on earth it was made.
Of all of the Beatles' early albums, A Hard Day's Night is the one that showcases their burgeoning talent as songwriters — the famous Lennon-McCartney duo, with a sprinkle of George Harrison's contributions in there, too — and their penchant for thinking just a bit outside the box. Take, for example, the augmented B7 chord in "I'm Happy Just to Dance With You." This isn't your average teeny-bopper music. There's also "Things We Said Today," which draws melodically from jazz and classical music, the sort McCartney was brought up on at home in Liverpool, and changes between major and minor keys.
Source: ultimateclassicrock.com/Allison Rapp
Sir Paul McCartney says his 14-year marriage to Nancy Shevell works so well because they are total opposites.
The Beatles legend tied the knot with Nancy back in May 2011, with the pair beginning their relationship in 2007 as Paul was finalizing his acrimonious divorce from second wife Heather Mills.
Paul, 83, says he and Nancy, 66, are so happy together because they are “nothing like each other” and that works well for their relationship.
Speaking on the Song Exploder podcast, he said: "We’ve known each other quite a long time and it’s a very interesting relationship. We’re nothing like each other. I’m English, she’s American. She’s very practical, gets things done, I’m much more sort of whimsical. I will get things done but maybe not in as practical a way.
“We know each other and we know how to be with each other.” Paul has dedicated the song Ripples in a Pond to Nancy from his new number one album The Boys of Dungeon Lane. McCartney was thinking about how “blessed” he is to have Nancy as his wife when the lyrics and chords began to flow.
Paul - who lost his first wife Linda to breast cancer in 1998, when the photographer was 56 - said: “I was thinking about my missus Nancy and thinking how lucky I am to know and love someone like her. “I was just thinking about how blessed I am. Anyone who is in a good relationship with someone is inevitably really blessed and it’s nice when you’re thinking that to introduce that idea into a song.”
Nancy is the perfect romantic partner for Paul, and he also revealed his greatest ever musical partner was his late Beatles bandmate John Lennon.
Source: yardbarker.com
On this day (June 22) in 1966, the Beatles topped the UK Singles Chart with “Paperback Writer.” It gave the band their tenth consecutive No. 1 in their home country. The song stood out from anything else they had ever released in two important ways. First and foremost, it was the loudest song they had ever recorded. It was also the first song from the Fab Four to feature a boosted bassline.
“Paperback Writer” came at a pivotal time for the band. Brian Epstein and George Martin had formulated a release schedule for the Beatles early in their career. They planned to push four singles and two albums each year, believing this would keep public interest in the band alive. At the same time, it would deliver enough new music to keep up with fans’ demands. According to Beatles Bible, this single marked the end of that release plan.
More importantly, it marked a new period for the band. They were less motivated by commercial gains. Instead, they wanted to experiment and expand their musical horizons. The Fab Four wanted to break the mold they’d made for themselves and explore new sounds and topics. “Paperback Writer” was an example of studio experimentation.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Clayton Edwards
It had been a long and gruelling tour and, by the end of August 1966, The Beatles had had enough. Since their formative years, which by this point spanned back almost a decade, they had been performing endlessly, and had amassed an estimated 2,000 hours on stage. The 33 minutes they spent on a cold San Francisco stage on 29 August 1966 were the last they would ever spend together in front of a paying audience. The North American tour that had begun 18 days earlier was merely the final leg of a round of touring that had begun on 24 June with a series of shows in West Germany – including one in Hamburg, where they had met up with people they’d known from their pre-fame days when they had regularly played all-night session night in nightclubs. From West Germany they flew to London to take a flight to Tokyo.
In Japan, controversy greeted them, with protests about their booking to play at Tokyo’s Budokan, a martial arts arena. Opening the sacred site to what some saw as a negative influence on Japan’s youth and culture proved too much for many hardline Japanese nationalists, who threatened to disrupt proceedings. In the end, an estimated 35,000 police were deployed to protect the group.
From Japan, they flew to Manila, where they were due to play two concerts at a football stadium. At the airport, the four Beatles were ushered by armed guards into cars, separated from their manager and road crew, and taken against their will to the luxury yacht of a wealthy businessman. Eventually they were able to free themselves, and made it to their hotel, where more controversy awaited them on the morning of their concerts.
Having issued an invite to The Beatles to come to a reception at their palace, President Marcos and his wife seemingly refused to accept that they had turned it down, and took very public offence when The Beatles failed to show. Live TV pictures showed children crying as The Beatles didn’t arrive. The next morning, their security had been removed, while the newspapers were fronted with stories condemning the group for snubbing the President and First Lady. Hundreds turned out at the airport to vent their displeasure, and The Beatles and their entourage feared for their lives before eventually making a terrifying exit from the country.
Source: classical-music.com/Paul McGuinness
John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney and George Harrison had all become fathers by 1978. Several of the Beatles' children pursued music, while Paul McCartney's daughter Stella built a successful career in fashion
The Beatles changed music forever, but their legacy extends far beyond the recording studio. As Beatlemania swept the globe in the 1960s and transformed John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr into international icons, they were also building families behind the scenes. Lennon and Starr both welcomed sons before the band's fame reached its peak, and by 1978, all four Beatles had become fathers.
In the decades since, their children have forged paths of their own — sometimes embracing the spotlight and sometimes avoiding it altogether. Several followed their famous fathers into music, including John and Paul's sons, while others found success in different creative fields. Paul's daughter, Stella McCartney, became one of the world's most influential fashion designers.
John was the first of the Fab Four to become a father. His older son, Julian Charles John, was born in 1963 while John was married to his first wife, Cynthia Lennon. The couple divorced in 1968.
Like his iconic father, Julian went on to become a successful musician, releasing seven studio albums. His debut, 1985's Valotte, earned him a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. He is also a film producer, photographer and children's book author.
Source: yahoo.com/John Russell, Samantha Stutsman
The world of pop and rock music was dominated by the Beatles for almost the entire 1960s until their breakup in 1970. Their debut hit “Love Me Do” launched them to superstardom almost immediately in 1962, and when their success in the UK was later matched by success in the U.S., the band for a time became—in the infamous words of John Lennon, at least—“more popular than Jesus.”
But, perhaps understandably for a band as big and influential as the Beatles became, their true story, impact, and reputation have long been muddled with myth and legend. Ultimately, music historians and fans alike will forever be faced with setting straight the endless misconceptions and misunderstandings that have emerged over the years.
Misconception #1: They Were Basically Just a Manufactured Boy Band That Got Lucky
Not everyone is a Beatles fan, of course, and their style of music isn’t for everyone either. But if there’s one thing some non-fans like to claim, it’s that the band was little more than a jumped-up, poppy boy band—or, in more generous terms, a basic rock-and-roll covers band that got lucky.
It’s certainly true that good fortune and good timing helped the band’s meteoric rise to fame, and were they not spotted in their early days by their eventual manager Brian Epstein, it’s at least possible they would have remained stuck on the British club circuit for rather longer than they did (leaving an opportunity open for another band to take their place on the A list).
It’s also true that their early lineup and sound were shaped by both Epstein and their producer, George Martin, in some ways that resemble how boy bands are manufactured by labels today. But though the band’s early discography was filled with covers of rock-and-roll standards, this was by no means a simple covers band or boy band pieced together by an enterprising management team.
The band consisted of self-taught musicians who honed their playing and songwriting craft over many years, and who had many hours of performance experience behind them before earning their place on the charts. The band was also continually experimenting with new sounds and writing techniques; tellingly, within just over three years of recording a cover of the rock standard “Twist and Shout” in 1963, they were writing Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, now widely hailed as one of the most groundbreaking and experimental albums of all time.
Source: mentalfloss.com/Paul Anthony Jones
When it was announced that Sir Paul McCartney was about to release a nostalgic, autobiographical new album, named after a Liverpool street, outsize hopes sprang anew. The surviving half of the most influential songwriting duo in popular music ever was releasing his 18th solo album. What would The Boys of Dungeon Lane add to that rich story? At the very least, it was hoped, listeners might gain some insight into one of the world's most celebrated musicians, now in his ninth decade.
The Boys of Dungeon Lane, Sir Paul's first album since his surprisingly pleasing COVID woodshed project, 2020's McCartney III, does offer bits of what's in the heart of his seemingly inextinguishable creative engine. Yet this nostalgic look back at humble beginnings in Liverpool is less revealing than many had apparently hoped it would be. A slight but audible sepia emotional tone hovers over these 14 tracks. Paul's usual energies toward making pop music are more subdued. His voice has aged. But while he can't stretch vocally quite like he used to, there's enough of the old fire to make certain vocal turns work. His screams in the opening track, "As You Lie There," still have some of the fire he employed in "Twist and Shout" and "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?" And when he dials his voice back to tender, as in "Days We Left Behind," it may not be "The Long and Winding Road," but that creaky, wistful whisper still communicates the deep emotion he feels.
What's here suggests that Paul isn't haunted by the past, or that he isn't willing to expose doubt. The closest he comes is in "Lost Horizon," where he sings, "That sound—can lift me up/That sound—can do my head in/That sound—can take me back to the lost horizon/Where every memory we shared/Brought us closer together/and every day we spent there/Was the start of the/first day of forever."
Source: stereophile.com
