Beatles News
Fans of music legend John Lennon are marking what would have been his 86th birthday today, October 9. The Beatles songwriter was murdered on December 8, 1980, when he was shot outside his Manhattan residence by Mark David Chapman. He was rushed to hospital in the back of a police vehicle, but was pronounced dead upon arrival. He was 40 years old.
The Liverpool music legend was departing his home with his wife Yoko Ono when Chapman, who was later jailed for life and remains behind bars to this day, seized the moment to shoot him, later citing John's controversial remark about the Beatles being 'more popular than Jesus' as his primary motivation.
The killing sent shockwaves across the globe, particularly affecting his former Beatles bandmates, who have subsequently spoken candidly about losing their friend. During a 1981 interview with Barbara Walters, Beatles drummer Ringo Starr recalled the devastating moment he learned John had been shot while talking on the telephone with his wife Barbara Bach's daughter Francesca Gregorini while they were in Barbados, reports the Express.
"And so, that drove me crazy," Ringo said, before explaining his initial assumption was that he'd been shot in the leg or the arm. "And then, they came back and they said, he's uh, he's dead."
Source: express.co.uk/Alice Sjoberg, Ian Craig
Fans of music legend John Lennon are marking what would have been his 86th birthday today, October 9. The Beatles songwriter was murdered on December 8, 1980, when he was shot outside his Manhattan residence by Mark David Chapman. He was rushed to hospital in the back of a police vehicle, but was pronounced dead upon arrival. He was 40 years old.
The Liverpool music legend was departing his home with his wife Yoko Ono when Chapman, who was later jailed for life and remains behind bars to this day, seized the moment to shoot him, later citing John's controversial remark about the Beatles being 'more popular than Jesus' as his primary motivation.
The killing sent shockwaves across the globe, particularly affecting his former Beatles bandmates, who have subsequently spoken candidly about losing their friend. During a 1981 interview with Barbara Walters, Beatles drummer Ringo Starr recalled the devastating moment he learned John had been shot while talking on the telephone with his wife Barbara Bach's daughter Francesca Gregorini while they were in Barbados, reports the Express.
"And so, that drove me crazy," Ringo said, before explaining his initial assumption was that he'd been shot in the leg or the arm. "And then, they came back and they said, he's uh, he's dead."
Source: express.co.uk/Alice Sjoberg, Ian Craig
Sixty-one years ago today, one of the most iconic tracks of all time, which was ranked the “Absolute Best Song in History” more than 50 years later, hit No. 1. The fact that The Beatles’ “Yesterday” has continued to be celebrated across generations of listeners is especially noteworthy since it nearly wasn’t released for a fascinating reason.
‘Yesterday’ by the Beatles Hit No. 1 on October 9, 1965
After The Beatles’ “Yesterday” was first released on September 13, 1965, the song quickly rose in popularity. Less than a month later, on October 9, 1965, it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for a total of four weeks. The only tracks from the legendary rock band that stayed at No. 1 for longer than that are “Hey Jude,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “Get Back,” and “Can’t Buy Me Love.”
Why ‘Yesterday’ by the Beatles Almost Wasn’t Released
On September 13, 2020, Ultimate Classic Rock released an article that chronicled how The Beatles’ “Yesterday” began its journey to leaving a mark on music history. It noted the well-known story that the melody for “Yesterday” came to Paul McCartney in his dreams. It also focused on the lesser-known fact that the song was in jeopardy of never being released because McCartney was seriously worried about the track. The article quoted him stating that he was so worried that the song was an unintended rip-off of a previous track that he consulted with his peers to see if they’d heard the melody before.
“For about a month, I went round to people in the music business and asked them whether they had ever heard it before. Eventually it became like handing something in to the police. I thought if no one claimed it after a few weeks, then I could have it.”
Even after overcoming that barrier that nearly convinced McCartney not to even record “Yesterday,” the song’s success was still in peril. As the Ultimate Classic Rock article noted, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr questioned if the song should be released as a single since it was so different than the rest of their music. In fact, there was even talk about putting the song out as a McCartney solo track. Ultimately, the article quotes McCartney saying the band agreed to release it as a Beatles single in America, and its legacy grew from there.
Source: mensjournal.com/Matthew Thomas
Paul McCartney has penned some words on how they shot the iconic cover for The Beatles‘ ‘Rubber Soul’ for the re-release of their classic 1965 album. Check them out exclusively on NME below.
The Fab Four’s landmark sixth album is currently heading to Number One in the UK charts, 60 years after its original release. Released last week (Friday October 2), the expanded edition comes presented in new stereo and Dolby Atmos mixes, and with a box-set alongside the original mono mix and the original Capitol US Album version mixed by producer Giles Martin and engineer Sam Okell.
As well as the original tracklist – which features fan-favourites including ‘Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)’, ‘Nowhere Man’, ‘Michelle’, and ‘In My Life’ – there is also be the contemporary double A-side single, ‘Day Tripper / We Can Work It Out’, and a selection of previously unreleased session recordings and home demos.
The Super Deluxe Special Edition Super comes as either a 5-LP box-set or a 4-CD box-set, with 68 tracks and an 88-page hardbound book featuring a brand new written introduction by McCartney, and a foreword compiled from the late John Lennon’s own words.
McCartney’s introduction comes with insight into the making of the album cover with photographer Robert Freeman. Read it in full below:
“Our friendship with the photographer Robert Freeman, who had lived in the same block of flats at John, meant that he was an obvious choice to take the cover photograph. We did the session with Robert, and he showed us the results. The method he used in those days was to project the images he had taken on to a white piece of cardboard the shape and size of an album cover.
Source: nme.com/Andrew Trendell
Four months after returning with The Boys of Dungeon Lane, Paul McCartney, never short of songs, has pulled out a handful more. Three songs from Macca’s album sessions with Andrew Watt feature on a new expansion of the June LP, alongside a “flip mix” of “Home to Us,” the Ringo Starr duet from the record. (The new version reverses their parts.) Stream the full expanded album below or skip to track 15 for the new songs: “City Fox,” “One Night Stand,” and “Chelsea Boots.”
Source: pitchfork.com/Jazz Monroe
On the surface, John Lennon might have been seen as the Beatle most likely to form a lasting bond with Bob Dylan, such were the often cynical and aloof parallels of their character traits. Yet, it was The Quiet One who became the lifelong pal, and who would persuade the American to be part of his second celebrated chart-topping group.
Bob had met all four Fabs at the same time, on their first visit to the US in 1964, infamously introducing them to the delight of marijuana during an all-night and well into the early hours pow-wow at New York’s Delmonico Hotel. Whenever Dylan subsequently played in the UK, at least one Beatle’s name would be on the guest list, and they made sure he was among the first to hear albums like Rubber Soul and Revolver, tacitly acknowledging the debt they felt their rapidly developing craft owed him.
In his 2026 book Where The Music Had To Go: How Bob Dylan And The Beatles Changed Each Other, author Jim Windolf suggests the demands of their respective careers were an obstacle in them ever getting especially close. He also argues that neither Lennon nor McCartney were in the frame to forge any kind of lasting friendship with their contemporary and admirer; John’s outlook and demeanour were too similar, while the ever wary Paul was too competitive.
However, the deeper roots of the Bob and George friendship date from 1968 when Harrison was in the US checking out potential acts to sign to the group’s then fledgling Apple label. Dylan invited him to spend Thanksgiving at his home in Woodstock, upper New York state, and the visit stretched on for several days.
Source: Terry Staunton/uncut.co.uk
Paul McCartney and John Lennon wrote dozens of songs for the Beatles, most of which are credited to the iconic "Lennon-McCartney" and, on rare occasions, "McCartney-Lennon." As teenagers, the duo made a pact that both their names would appear on their songs, regardless of who wrote them. This partnership set the stage for one of music history’s most legendary songwriting collaborations.
Some of the Beatles’ fan favorites actually began as songs penned by a young Lennon and McCartney in Liverpool, both before and during their days with the Quarrymen. Whether written solo or as a team, these tracks foreshadow the artists’ creative genius; a genius that would one day set the tone for the musical landscape of the 1960s and 70s.
Here are four Beatles songs John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote as teenagers.
"Hello Little Girl"
"One After 909"
"I'll Follow the Sun"
"Love Me Do"
"Hello Little Girl"
John Lennon wrote his first song, "Hello Little Girl," in 1957 when he was just 16. Inspired by a 1930s or ‘40s tune his mother used to sing to him, Lennon’s first musical endeavor is credited to Lennon-McCartney. The Beatles performed it during their 1962 Decca audition. The Fourmost and Gerry & The Pacemakers recorded their own versions, and the Beatles followed in 1963. "Hello Little Girl," an idea jotted down by a young Lennon, eventually appeared on the Fab Four's Anthology 1.
“That was me. That was actually my first song. That always fascinated me for some reason or another. It’s also connected to my mother. It’s all very Freudian. She used to sing that one. So I made ‘Hello Little Girl’ out of it,” Lennon revealed during his “last major interview” with David Sheff.
Source: mentalfloss.com/Logan DeLoye
Through moving lyrics entwined with themes of peace, love and spirituality, George Harrison offered fans harmony at a time of intense political unrest—a message that has transcended his lifetime. Harrison and his bandmates transformed the world as we know it, leaving behind an immutable impact on society. The Beatles’ profound influence is now documented within the grooves of vinyls, silver bromide of film, and voices of older generations as they pass down those stories to their children.
While photographed and interviewed relentlessly throughout their career, Harrison was also simultaneously documenting himself and The Beatles in private, capturing moments that make these larger-than-life rock gods feel incredibly human. The images take us inside his mind and behind the scenes of the band; the intimacy between them palpable in a boyish smile, a sideways glance, or the dropping of that happy facade entirely. Harrison’s images bounce back and forth between highlighting the stars as they were perceived to be and the people they actually were. In The Third Eye: Early Photographs by George Harrison, Harrison’s archival photography is published alongside essays from Olivia Harrison, George Saunders and Colm Tóibín. Below, find a glimpse behind the cover and be transported back to the heart of Beatlemania.
Source: interviewmagazine.com/Isabella Socci
As production continues on Sam Mendes's The Beatles - A Four-Film Cinematic Event, Paul Mescal and Joseph Quinn have recreated an iconic Beatles moment in a newly released set photo.
With Mendes' four-film Beatles event slated for release all at once in April 2028, filming has been taking place in Liverpool and London since 2025. The cast includes Joseph Quinn as George Harrison, Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr.
A new image from the upcoming biopic, shot in Liverpool, shows Mescal and Quinn in character as the production recreates the moment Barry Chang collected the band from Gambier Terrace, where John Lennon and Stuart Sutcliffe once lived.
The scene shows the Beatles leaving for Hamburg, where they would develop their live act. Morfydd Clark was also spotted on set playing Cynthia Lennon, John Lennon’s first wife. In the new image, Quinn and Mescal can be seen atop a vehicle, seemingly packing their equipment as they prepare to set off on their journey.
As well as the famous foursome, Harry Lawtey is set to star as Stuart Sutcliffe, the original bass guitarist for The Beatles, who was a member of the band during its formative period in Hamburg, Germany.
Also in the cast are Tracy Beaker Returns and The Dumping Ground star Mia McKenna-Bruce as Ringo Starr's wife Maureen Starkey and Lady Bird's Saoirse Ronan as Linda McCartney.
ShÅgun's Anna Sawai will play Yoko Ono, John Lennon's wife and musical collaborator, while Sex Education and The White Lotus star Aimee Lou Wood will portray Pattie Boyd, George Harrison's wife.
"Maureen, Linda, Yoko and Pattie are four fascinating and unique figures in their own right," said Mendes, "and I'm thrilled that we've managed to persuade four of the most talented women working in film today to join this amazing adventure."
Source: digitalspy.com/Harriet Mitchell
High above London’s West End, a 45°F wind whipped across the fragile, pitched roof of 3 Savile Row.
This wasn’t the roaring, electrified mania of Shea Stadium. Rather, it was a cold, uncertain Thursday morning.
Fifteen minutes before showtime, the atmosphere was thick with hesitation. Ringo, complaining of the bitter chill, shivered in his wife’s red raincoat. George, ever the skeptic, muttered, “What’s the point? Why are we doing this?” Paul, acting as the band’s diplomatic engine, pleaded, “C’mon, guys, let’s do it. It’ll be fun. We need to do something.”
John settled it. “Fuck it, let’s do it.”
That line would change music history forever
On a roof reinforced with steel props just to keep them from crashing through the ceiling of the room below, the Beatles stepped into the wind. It was a universe away from the screaming crowds of their youth.
As the first notes of “Get Back” echoed through the chimney stacks, the West End stood still.
While director Michael Lindsay-Hogg envisioned a “social study” of the band’s final interaction with the establishment, the day was defined by bizarre hurdles few fans ever heard about.
Source: culturesonar.com/Thomas Clifford
