Beatles News
John Lennon’s son Julian paid tribute to Sir Paul McCartney in a sweet social media post marking The Beatles star’s 82nd birthday.
It follows an announcement from the veteran singer that he will be performing in the UK for the first time since headlining Glastonbury in 2022.
Musician and photographer Julian, who is the son of the late John Lennon and his first wife Cynthia, posted a selection of photos on Tuesday that appeared to show him with the Beatles singer and bassist Sir Paul when he was a child.
He wrote: “Hoppy Birdy Uncle Paul! Only Love… Jude x.”
Credited to the Lennon/McCartney partnership, The Beatles’ song Hey Jude was written by Sir Paul for Julian Lennon after his father John left his mother for Yoko Ono in 1968. An evergreen classic, the song is currently being sung by England fans at Euro 2024 in honour of the Three Lions star Jude Bellingham.
Sir Paul’s daughter Mary, who is a professional photographer, wished her father a happy birthday and shared a series of images on Instagram, including a photograph of the singer with American rock star Bruce Springsteen and another of him playing drums.
Source: Lisa McLoughlin/standard.co.uk
Professor Of Rock has released the new video below, along with the following introduction...
"When one of the biggest bands in history, The Beatles, broke up, all the members of the band released solo projects almost immediately. The first of the band to have a number-one hit was a bit of a surprise though... George Harrison. He ended up having one hell of a solo run but his biggest hit, 'My Sweet Lord', would also become his greatest trial. Harrison got sued for sounding too much like another big hit from years before… It was a catastrophic lawsuit that nearly destroyed George and plagued his career for years because it put him in a never-ending bout with writer’s block. And it stopped him from recording for years. But in the end, Harrison would have the last laugh. Rock’s most honest songwriter dealing and allegations of plagiarism... This is a story you have to hear to believe, next on Professor Of Rock."
Source: bravewords.com
The Beatles have spent much of 2024 trading one album for another on the charts. In several countries, the band usually manages to place at least one of their projects on the ranking of the most-consumed full-lengths, but which one stands out as the most popular changes fairly regularly.
This week, The Beatles’ 1 is back on the U.K. albums chart. The compilation reappears at No. 74 on the 100-spot list.
Last time around, The Beatles filled twice as many spaces on the same tally. Two related projects from the group were present last time around, but now, they’ve fallen away as 1 returns.
Last week, The Beatles sat on the U.K. albums chart with both 1962-1966 and 1967-1970. The aptly-named compilations are filled with the biggest hits from the rock band released during the years included in their titles.
1967-1970 was the bigger of the two compilations, as it was found at No. 59 last time around. 1962-1966 ranked lower, appearing at No. 86.
1 remains The Beatles’ longest-running hit album in the U.K. It has thus far spent 446 weeks on the chart, which is more than 100 frames longer than any other release from the band. Their second-longest-charting effort is Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, which has earned 277 stays on the list.
Source: Hugh McIntyre/forbes.com
The rare vinyl was unveiled at Strawberry Fields on Monday
A rare vinyl by former Beatle John Lennon which was gifted to a charity by his widow and son has been unveiled in Liverpool.
The Salvation Army’s Strawberry Field will display the 12 inch vinyl acetate of John Lennon's GIve Peace a Chance and Remember Love, recorded with Yoko Ono, ahead of its 55th anniversary. It is one of 50 limited edition records gifted to charities by Ono and Sean Ono Lennon to help raise funds for the Salvation Army's Step to Work programme.
Mission Director of Strawberry Field, Major Kathy Versfeld said to be chosen to display the rare record was a "singled out" was a "special blessing".
The vinyl will help raise funds for the Salvation Army's Step to Work programme. She told BBC Radio Merseyside: "It's a fabulous gift from Yoko and Sean.
"It's a real privilege for us here at Strawberry Fields as part of our work we do across the country, and this place that John seemingly loved to frequent, to be able to unveil it and to invite the general public to come and see it."
Originally released on 4 July 1969, the double-sided 12 inch acetates were hand-cut on the lathe at Abbey Road Studios, which is synonymous with The Beatles.
Source: Gemma Sherlock & Tom Walker/bbc.com
Paul McCartney has announced a run of UK and European headline shows for later this year. Find all the details below.
The soloist and Beatles legend is due to perform in Paris and Madrid this December as part of his ‘Got Back’ tour. He’ll then play two gigs at the Co-Op Live arena in Manchester (December 14, 15) and a pair of concerts at The O2 in London (18,19).
Tickets go on general sale at 10am local time this Friday (June 21) – you’ll be able to buy yours here. A fan pre-sale will take place at the same time on Wednesday (19) for the UK dates – find more information here.
In a statement, McCartney said: “I’m excited to be ending my year and 2024 tour dates in the UK. It’s always such a special feeling to play shows on our home soil. It’s going to be an amazing end to the year.”
He added: “Let’s get set to party. I can’t wait to see you.”
See the announcement post below, along with the full itinerary.
Paul McCartney’s 2024 UK and European tour dates are:
DECEMBER
04 – La Defense Arena, Paris, France
05 – La Defense Arena, Paris, France
09 – Wizink Centre, Madrid, Spain
10 – Wizink Centre, Madrid, Spain
14 – Co-op Live, Manchester, UK
15 – Co-op Live, Manchester, UK
18 – The O2, London, UK
19 – The O2, London, UK
Source: Tom Skinner/nme.com
Some albums have cool stories surrounding their making that garner attention for them. The 1966 Beatles’ album Rubber Soul doesn’t really fall into that category. By all counts, it was the same-old, same-old for the Fab Four when they made the record, squeezing it into their busy schedule and churning out the latest material they’d written.
Instead, Rubber Soul demands your attention based on nothing other than its pure brilliance. It was an undeniable high point for The Beatles, as their songwriting, playing, and record-making all took giant leaps. Let’s take a look back at the creation of this masterpiece of an album.
Even as they were advancing to heights previously unmatched by other rock artists, The Beatles weren’t taking themselves all that seriously. The album title Rubber Soul was derived from the phrase “plastic soul.” It’s an oxymoron of sorts, putting something artificial up against an innate human quality, and it makes it seem as if they were downplaying what they were about to present to the public.
But the aural evidence on Rubber Soul suggests depth and profundity the likes of which pop music fans hadn’t yet experienced. And they were doing all this in a mighty hurry.
There were 13 sessions held for Rubber Soul in October and November 1965, and there were 14 songs on the album. One song (“Wait”) was recorded for Help! earlier in the year, but held back. That means The Beatles more or less knocked off one song a day (and that doesn’t take into account “We Can Work It Out” and “Day Tripper,” which were recorded at the same time but would be used to comprise two sides of a non-album single). While that was a much more luxurious pace than what they set earlier in their career (remember Please Please Me was recorded in a single night), it was still impressive how they were jam-packing all of that greatness into such a short period.
Source: Jim Beviglia/americansongwriter.com
By the mid-1960s, John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote their songs apart, but they turned to each other for help perfecting them. According to Lennon, he helped a great deal with some of McCartney’s most popular songs. He explained that while one song was McCartney’s “baby,” he helped write all but the first verse.
McCartney began working on “Eleanor Rigby” based on the image of someone picking up rice after a wedding. He believed this was so poignant that he wanted to write a song about loneliness.
When asked about the song, Lennon said it was “Paul’s baby, and I helped with the education of the child.” By this, he meant that the song would never have grown and matured if it hadn’t been for him.
“Ah, the first verse was his and the rest are basically mine,” Lennon said in the book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview With John Lennon and Yoko Ono. “But the way he did it … Well, he knew he had a song. But by that time he didn’t want to ask for my help, and we were sitting around with Mal Evans and Neil Aspinall, so he said to us, ‘Hey, you guys, finish up the lyrics.'”
Source: MSN
Over the last 38 years, I’ve heard John Lennon’s mate and noted Beatles author Bill Harry say many times, “Fred Lennon is the most maligned character in the entire Beatles story.” And I agree. Although John’s father Fred was an admitted rascal with a penchant for “wine, women, and song,” he sincerely loved his son and tried to do good things for him. However, almost nothing Fred attempted turned out as planned.
After young Alfred Lennon and Julia Stanley had dated for quite a few years, Julia teased Fred that he was “scared to put up the [marriage] banns.” With a twinkle in his eye, he retorted, “I’ll bet you I’ll do it tomorrow!” Three weeks later, the two were married at Liverpool’s Mount Pleasant Register Office (where John Lennon and Cynthia Powell would marry years later). It was all fun and games, getting married. In fact, that evening, the new Mr. and Mrs. went to a Mickey Rooney film and then returned to their family-of-origin homes to sleep.
Source: Jude Southerland Kessler/culturesonar.com
Calling all music enthusiasts ... got deep pockets? If so, a signed copy of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "Double Fantasy" album is up for grabs.
MomentsinTime.com has listed this rare gem from a private collector -- and it can be all yours for $54,000.
Double Fantasy signed by John lennon and Yoko ono moments in time
Fun fact: Yoko's signature doesn't really affect the price. Her signed items don't fetch much on their own, so the value is all down to Lennon's signature.
Nonetheless, the album is the holy grail for collectors -- especially since it dropped just 3 weeks before John's tragic murder in 1980.
"Double Fantasy" was John and Yoko's 5th and final studio album. It got some initial hate, but after John's murder, it shot to worldwide fame, snagging the Album of the Year Grammy in 1981.
Of course, Lennon already had a few Grammys with The Beatles -- And, as we all know, tons of their iconic memorabilia have gone for hundreds of thousands at auction.
From signatures to unseen movie footage and lost recording tapes, the music collectors' industry is always buzzing to get their hands on Fab 4's items.
Source: TMZ Staff
Sixty years ago this week, The Beatles embarked on a tour that redefined popular culture in Australia.
The iconic British group spent almost three weeks in Australia and New Zealand, playing 32 concerts in eight cities.
After touching down in Sydney on June 11, 1964, the Fab Four were met with unprecedented crowds in Adelaide to start the tour.
A new book to be launched this week reveals how that memorable start to the tour almost didn’t happen.
When The Beatles touched down in Adelaide on June 12, 1964, for the first concert of their Australian tour a young fan Jan Gardner was among the first to greet them.
The 14-year-old suffered from a lung condition and her friend Jill, who worked at the airport, decided to organise a special treat to cheer her up. Standing among journalists and photographers on the tarmac at Adelaide Airport, Jan snapped around half a dozen photos of the ‘lads from Liverpool’ as they descended from the plane.
Jan’s story is one of the numerous colourful anecdotes peppered throughout When We Was Fab: Inside The Beatles Australian Tour 1964 (2024) by Greg Armstrong and Andy Neill, which recounts The Beatles’ first and only tour of Australia and New Zealand.
The new book will be launched next week as part of the 60th anniversary celebrations of the ground-breaking tour.
Source: thenewdaily.com.au
