Beatles News
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
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
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
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
Nowadays, no one can deny that George Harrison is one of the best songwriters of his generation. But it wasn't always like that. While Harrison was always a talented musician, it took him a while to get comfortable enough in his writing abilities to actually bring his songs to The Beatles. He was the youngest in the band, not by much, but the Fab Four had met when they were teenagers, and two years could be a big difference at those ages.
In The Beatles: Get Back, they can be seen joking about Harrison being "the baby" of the band, and this put him at a disadvantage when it came to getting his songs included in Beatles albums. His first solo album is the clearest example of that. A lot of the songs included, many of which turned out to be huge hits, were songs that the band had previously rejected. Here's how George Harrison became one of the greatest songwriters in history. George Harrison Wasn't Initially a Songwriter.
In The Beatles Anthology, he opened up about how difficult it was for him to assert himself as a songwriter, and that Paul McCartney and John Lennon had written all of their "bad songs" long before the band had a record contract, so they were already experts by the time they had to record. Moreover, they had each other. Lennon-McCartney wasn't just a songwriting duo, it was a legal partnership they had set up when they were very young. In the Anthology, McCartney admitted that a conversation between him and Lennon took place when they discussed setting up the partnership, and briefly discussed making it Lennon-McCartney-Harrison, but ultimately made the choice to keep it just the two of them.
Source: Val Barone/collider.com
There’s something so interesting about learning what food celebrities enjoy after a long day filming a movie, performing a concert for thousands on stage, or on the road and away from home. And it seems like a lot of them can’t get enough of sandwiches. Julia Roberts loves a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with sour cream and onion chips, George Clooney’s favorite is a ham, lettuce, tomato, and mustard toasted on potato bread, and Kate Winslet loves a classic grilled cheese.
Everyone has their go-to, but the lead guitarist for The Beatles, George Harrison, loved a sandwich so much that it's forever memorialized in a studio recording.
George Harrison's Favorite Sandwich
The Beatles have many iconic albums, but one of the most celebrated is "The Beatles," aka the White Album. And on one studio recording, Harrison can be heard placing a lunch request before counting into the legendary song, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."
He asks for a cheese, lettuce, and Marmite sandwich, as well as a cup of coffee. If this sounds appealing to you, it's pretty easy to make. All you need is your choice of cheese, two slices of bread, lettuce, and Marmite, a thick, dark brown food spread that’s basically a very concentrated yeast extract that was first established in the U.K. in the early 1900s.
The Marmite and cheese create a salty, savory taste—with a slight crunch thanks to the lettuce. You can toast your bread to help the Marmite melt, play around with the flavors and textures of different types of cheeses, or even add in your other preferred sandwich toppings.
While the sandwich is not on the official cut version of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," food has definitely appeared in several Beatles' hits, from "marmalade skies" in "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" to "Savoy Truffle." And Harrison’s fellow bandmate, Paul McCartney, more recently wrote a riff about soup. McCartney and his wife, Linda, made a cameo on "The Simpsons" in the episode "Lisa the Vegetarian," where they were supporting Lisa Simpson’s decision to stop eating meat.
As a vegetarian himself, McCartney’s character said "Linda and I both feel strongly about animal rights. In fact, if you play 'Maybe I’m Amazed' backwards, you’ll hear a recipe for a really ripping lentil soup!" While this isn’t true, McCartney decided to record himself reading a lentil soup recipe, which was then dubbed over "Maybe I’m Amazed” backwards," and played at the end of the episode.
So, if you can’t resist a soup and sandwich combo, Harrison's Marmite sandwich and McCartney’s lentil soup would make quite the pair.
Source: Sydney Wingfield/allrecipes.com
1969 was a year full of change for Paul McCartney. In January, he recorded the Let It Be album and movie with The Beatles, and did his last live performance with them. In March of that year, he married his first wife, Linda Eastman, and adopted her daughter, Heather. Months later, the couple had their first child together, Mary McCartney. By all means, McCartney lived in domestic bliss. And then, his world turned upside down when John Lennon announced he was leaving The Beatles.
In his new documentary, Man on the Run, McCartney opened up about how hard the breakup hit him. It pulled him into a depression and left him doubting if he could ever write music again. He'd only ever written songs with Lennon and had been in The Beatles since he was 15. But thankfully, he wasn't alone in going through that. He had his wife, Linda, by his side, and she was the one to pull him out of the darkness. In return, McCartney wrote her one of the most beautiful love songs in history.
When John Lennon told his bandmates that he was leaving The Beatles, McCartney felt his entire world collapse. At Linda McCartney's suggestion, he moved his new family to a run-down farm he owned in Scotland to run away from the chaos of London. After the release of Abbey Road in September 1969, fans came up with an outrageous theory that Paul McCartney was actually dead and had been replaced by a double, finding alleged clues in Beatles songs and artwork. After McCartney ran away to Scotland, the press fueled the rumors, since it was the first time in years that the Beatle had disappeared from the public eye. While the rumors were, of course, ridiculous, McCartney couldn't help but find some irony in them. "In so many ways, I was dead," McCartney wrote in the foreword to the book accompanying the documentary, Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run. At age 27, newly married and unsure about the future, McCartney was "in need of a complete life makeover."
In the documentary, McCartney shared that Lennon was actually excited about the breakup, saying that it was "like a divorce," and it opened so many new opportunities. McCartney wasn't excited in the slightest, and he had trouble finding a way forward. After the breakup, McCartney revealed, he sank into a depression and developed a drinking problem. He admitted that he would be drinking whiskey from the moment he woke up, since he "didn't have anywhere to go." The Beatles had taken over his entire adult life, and without them, he wasn't sure he would ever write another note of music again.
Source: Val Barone/collider.com
The Jim Irsay Collection forms a chorus of cultural touchstones and chronicles one of the greatest collections of music, film and sports memorabilia and historic Americana ever assembled. Meticulously compiled over decades by the late philanthropist, passionate music lover and owner and CEO of the Indianapolis Colts, a portion of the proceeds of these sales will be donated to philanthropic causes supported by Jim Irsay during his lifetime.
This unparalleled collection weaves together some of the most significant people, literature and events of recent history: guitars and other instruments once played by all four Beatles, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, David Gilmour, Jerry Garcia, Kurt Cobain, Elton John, Prince, Johnny Cash, Janis Joplin, John Coltrane and Miles Davis; original manuscripts by Jack Kerouac, Jim Morrison and Steve Jobs; legendary sporting artefacts linked to Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson, Wayne Gretzky and Secretariat.
From March 2026, the collection will be offered across four major auctions, giving collectors the rarest of opportunities to become the next custodians of objects that have inspired generations and continue to shine as beacons of our shared creative legacy.
Location
Christie’s New York
20 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10020
Viewing
6–7 March, 11am – 5pm
8 March, 1pm – 5pm
9–12 March, 11am – 5pm
Contact
+1 212 636 2000
info@christies.com
Source: christies.com
