Beatles News
When you’re as prolific of a band as the Beatles, there will inevitably be a few songs you dislike—like the “throwaway” track from ‘Rubber Soul’ that John Lennon said he “always hated.” Ironically, Lennon was the one who wrote the song in the first place, although he would later say the tune stayed in the band’s rotation because George Harrison liked it.
Paul McCartney also held the song in somewhat low regard, calling it a “macho song” in Barry Miles’ Many Years From Now. All things considered, perhaps that’s why this track found itself on the last slot of the band’s 1965 record that featured other hits like “Drive My Car” and “In My Life.” John Lennon Always Hated This Closing Beatles Track.
The 14th and final song on the Beatles’ ‘Rubber Soul’ album was an original by John Lennon: “Run for Your Life.” Lennon lifted the main gist of his song from a 1955 Elvis Presley cut called “Baby, Let’s Play House.” Presley sings in the song, Now, listen to me baby. Try to understand: I’d rather see you dead, little girl, than to be with another man.
In a 1970 Rolling Stone interview, Lennon explained that he often took musical or lyrical phrases he was particularly fond of and incorporated them into his own music. This mimicry trick was something he did with older rock n’ roll tunes from the likes of Chuck Berry and, in this song’s case, Elvis Presley. “I used to like specific lines from songs,” Lennon explained, “so I wrote it around that [Elvis line]. But I didn’t think it was that important.” Even more succinctly, Lennon said, “It was a song I just knocked off.”
Source: Melanie Davis/americansongwriter.com
The Beatles returned to Liverpool last night to attend the northern premiere of their film A Hard Day’s Night and, presumably, to put an end to the rumours that their popularity on Merseyside was on the wane.
In case any readers have just come from Mars, the Beatles are the four long-haired musicians who sing rock’n’roll music and have become as permanent a part of the Liverpool scene as the sight of ferry boats on the Mersey. But, unlike the Mersey ferries the Beatles have been playing in foreign waters: America, Australia, France, and what is even more obnoxiously foreign to Liverpudlians, London.
Thus the care and caution of Mr Brian Epstein, the Beatles’ manager, in organising this triumphant return. If Mr Epstein did spend any sleepless nights worrying about the Beatles’ honour in their own country he was wasting his time. Long before their aircraft from London arrived at Speke airport all the signs of a successful re-entrance to Liverpool were there. The rooftop at the airport was crowded with screaming teenagers, a prerequisite to Beatles’ entrances and exits, and there were so many policemen on duty that it looked as if they were there to protect each other.
Hysteria
The mere sight of the aircraft coming in, sent hysterical shrieking up from the rooftop. The teenagers cheered even the luggage that was being taken from the aeroplane’s hold. There were no “Welcome Home” banners, a point which John Lennon, the author of Beatle, did not miss. He pointed to an airport sign reading “Naked lights and smoking Prohibited” and wondered what kind of a welcome that was.
Source: theguardian.com
Ringo Starr has gone country after all these years.
At Ringo's Annual Peace & Love Birthday Celebration at Beverly Hills Garden Park, the Beatles legend revealed what inspired the genre shift. Starr credits T Bone Burnett, the Grammy-winning country icon, telling Fox News Digital, "I met him [when] Olivia Harrison was reading poems for George. There was about 100 of us there listening, and he was one of them, and I bumped into him [off and on] since the '70s.
"He said, ‘What are you doing? I said, ‘Oh, well I’m doing this, EPs [extended play albums, which have more tracks than a single, but less than a record]. I’m getting people to write a song, put some music on it."
Ringo Starr decided to produce a country album after a chance meeting with a fellow music icon.
Starr had some pop songs written but said Burnett's song was "absolutely one of the most beautiful country songs I ever heard. So, I thought, ‘I’m going to do a country EP.’"
But when he spoke to Burnett about doing more tracks, he revealed he actually had nine songs, so Ringo said, "I thought let’s make a real CD, so I’m back making a CD." In an interview earlier this year with Variety, Burnett had similar praise for Starr.
"He’s such a beautiful singer. Ringo was in a band with two of the best singers in rock ‘n’ roll history, so people never took him as seriously as a singer as they should," Burnett told the outlet.
Source: Elizabeth Stanton, Larry Fink/foxnews.com
No matter what the Beatles created, the world never seemed ready for what that was. You only knew that it would be different than anything before. Had you loved the band’s last album, you were also aware that the one about to hit record store shelves would be a departure, a moving-on from what already existed. The Beatles both challenged and rewarded listeners this way, which is among the best things about them.
That surprise factor existed from the start with a single like “Please Please Me,” and, of course, “She Loves You,” a song that feels as if you’re hearing it for the first time after you’ve heard it a thousand times. The albums startled as well: Please Please Me had the gumption to function as a cohesive statement and not merely a couple of hits fleshed out with filler, while sophomore outing With the Beatles was a rhythm and blues masterwork from the industrial cities of America via the ports—and the musical melting pot—of the Beatles’ Liverpool.
If you were around back then, you may have believed that the Beatles were about to settle in, and what they did going forward, for however long they managed to last, would be variations on that marvelous output to date. But this was not the Beatles way, and it was certainly not the way of A Hard Day’s Night, the album they released on July 10, 1964, and the best they ever made.
Source: Colin Fleming/thedailybeast.com
A week into their marriage in Gibraltar, Spain, John Lennon and Yoko Ono invited the press into their honeymoon suite at the Hilton Hotel in Amsterdam in March 1969. To drive home their opposition to the Vietnam War, Lennon and Ono vowed to stay in bed for an entire week. Their bed-in-for-peace drew attention and was replicated by the couple several months later in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Meaning Behind “You’re in My Heart' by Rod Stewart and the Famous Girl Who Inspired It
On May 26, 1969, Lennon and Ono followed up first bed-in-for-peace with another in room 1742—and adjoining rooms 1738, 1740, and 1744—at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. The gathering was also used as a live recording of Lennon’s debut solo single and protest song, “Give Peace a Chance.”
“Our talk is peace talk and our message is peace and we’re promoting a product called peace,” Lennon told the Montreal Gazette. “And we’ve been on a campaign for a few months and our product seems to be getting underway and we’re talking to anybody who’s interested in peace, which is most people.”
Source: Tina Benitez-Eves/americansongwriter.com
When he was Paul McCartney young, he was, of course, a part of The Beatles and at just 24 years of age sang "When I'm 64," which seems even more ironic when you consider the fact that he's now 82 (which is still impossible to believe).
Almost as unlikely to consider is the fact that he actually had a life before he met John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. Well, in taking a look at Paul McCartney young, that's exactly what we're exploring, his earliest days as a child in Liverpool, becoming a teenager, meeting John Lennon and embracing history.
We hope you'll join us on this little magical mystery tour. A splendid time is guaranteed for all! What was Paul McCartney's childhood like?
James Paul McCartney was born on Jun 18, 1942 in Liverpool, England at Walton Hospital. His mother, Mary Patricia, was a nurse there, while his father Jim, was a salesman for A. Hannay and Co. cotton merchants until World War II, at which point he began working at Napier's Defense Engineering Works. Paul's older brother (by two years), Peter Michael McCartney, would be born on January 7, 1944.
Back in the 1920s, Paul's father was a pianist and a trumpet player, serving as the leader of Jim Mac's Jazz Band, so Paul came by his musical talent honestly.
Mike and Paul when they were very young. The future Sir Paul looks like he's on the verge of tears, wah-wah-wah! (later translated to "Yeah, yeah, yeah!")
Source: Ed Gross/yahoo.com
Producers of the Beatles' Love stage show thanked fans for 18 years of success after the curtain came down for the final time in Las Vegas Sunday night.
Originally conceived by George Harrison in 2000, the concept was developed in association with contemporary circus troupe Cirque du Soleil. It premiered at the Mirage in Las Vegas in 2006, with input from Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Olivia Harrison and Yoko Ono.
The show was described as “a multi-sensory journey” and a“theatre-in-the-round technological and psychedelic spectacle.” Its Mirage residency was interrupted by the pandemic but reopened in August 2021.
Beatles’ ‘Love’ Show Was Seen by Nearly 12 Million People
“The Beatles’ Love has taken its last bow,” Cirque du Soleil said in a statement. “After bringing together more than 11.8 million fans from around the world, this… masterpiece will forever be celebrated as one of the most exhilarating and colorful performances in Cirque’s history.”
Giles Martin, who eventually used 120 pieces of Beatles music for the soundtrack, reflected in 2017: “Love was a project where I constantly thought I was going to get fired… This was such a ridiculously stupid idea that anyone would let George Martin's son come into Abbey Road, touch the untouched tapes of the Beatles and chop them up to create a show in Vegas… pretty deplorable.”
Source: Martin Kielty/ultimateclassicrock.com
If there was one particular year in which the Beatles' global impact could no longer be denied, it may have been 1964.
It was during this year that the Fab Four accomplished a plethora of feats that took them from darlings of Liverpool to international superstars. In February, they made their first pilgrimage to America, where they were greeted by hoards of adoring fans. With their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, the deal was sealed — the world was positively obsessed with the band and Beatlemania entered full swing.
"We didn't think we were going to make it at all. It was only Brian telling us we were gonna make it. Brian Epstein our manager, and George Harrison," John Lennon told Playboy in a group interview the band did with the magazine in October of that year. "The thing is, in America it just seemed ridiculous. ... I mean, the idea of having a hit record over there. It was just, you know, something you could never do. That's what I thought anyhow. But then I realized that it's just the same as here, that kids everywhere all go for the same stuff."
And that was really just the beginning. During the course of 1964, the Beatles' only real competition for the top of both the American and British charts was more or less themselves. Whole books could be written about the year the band had, but below, we've compiled 27 of the most interesting highlights.
Source: Allison Rapp/ultimateclassicrock.com
The Beatles are perhaps the most beloved and respected musical group of all time. While they may be adored by seemingly everyone–especially those in the music industry–their list of awards isn’t quite as impressive as some more contemporary stars. In a few months, the band may earn another shot at adding to their trophy shelf, if not several.
When the nominations for the 2025 Grammy Awards are called out later this year, The Beatles could become nominees once again. The group has one new single eligible for contention, and it could easily snag at least one nod, if not quite a few.
In November 2023, The Beatles returned with “Now and Then,” their first new single in decades. The tune was largely written and partially recorded while all four members were still alive, but for many years, it was considered unusable due to poor recording quality. Artificial intelligence helped Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr finish the title, and it went on to become a big hit on charts all around the world.
Grammy voters love The Beatles, and they take every opportunity to reward them and the impact they’ve had on the world. For years, those picking who wins the awards have had to settle for honoring projects connected to the group, but not the musicians themselves. Now, they have a shot to put the Fab Four back on a pedestal, and they may take it.
“Now and Then” could bring The Beatles back to the Grammys for the first time in more than a quarter-century. The band last won awards in 1997 for their single “Free as a Bird,” which collected Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal and Best Music Video, Short Form. That year, they also took home Best Music Video, Long Form for The Beatles Anthology.
Source: Hugh McIntyre/forbes.com
Ringo Starr is reviving his Peace & Love event for his 84th birthday today, and this year, it’s going into space.
On the 7th July each year since 2008, the Beatles drummer has invited the world to think, say or post the words “peace and love” at noon to complete his birthday wish of a wave of peace and love across the planet.
This year, the main event will be celebrated in Los Angeles, with musical tributes throughout the day from the likes of Diana Warren, Asa & Roy Orbison, Ben Harper, Ben Dickey, Steve Dudas and more.
Peace & Love events will also be taking place across the globe, including in Australia, New York, Italy, Estonia, Mexico and Spain. There will also be two events here in the UK with one in Liverpool and another in the Abbey Road Institute in London.
This year is a special one too because NASA will be helping spread the message beyond the atmosphere and into the universe!
Speaking in a video to his fans, Ringo said, “OK, Peace and love, here we go again!
“Thanks for joining me on my birthday. I am so grateful to you all for helping me promote Peace & Love. I want to give special thanks to all the Peace & Love Ambassadors – we are in 34 countries! Thanks for doing it – and I gotta thank all the fans, peace & love – just join me in your mind, or on the bus or wherever you are on the 7th of the 7th just go Peace & Love at Noon your local time.”
Source: Virgin Radio
