Beatles News
The story of the feminine forces who inspired some of the greatest music of all time and more.
The Beatles are a pop culture phenomenon that will unlikely ever be touched by any musical opponent. They created countless songs that inspired other great artists and still live and breathe as freshly today as they did in the ’60s. From unbridled experimentalism and pushing artistic boundaries to crafting some of the best love songs of all time, they truly accomplished it all. But what about the women behind The Beatles?
The group might be portrayed as a tight-knit boy’s club, but it was far from the truth. Feminine energy played an undeniable role at every stage of The Beatles’ career from inspiring love songs to introducing them to new concepts and even shaping their image as a band. Here are all the women behind The Beatles.
English model and actress Pattie Boyd first met her soon-to-be husband, George Harrison, on the set of the 1964 promotional film, A Hard Day’s Night.
“On first impressions, John seemed more cynical and brash than the others, Ringo the most endearing, Paul was cute, and George, with velvet-brown eyes and dark chestnut hair, was the best-looking man I had ever seen. At a break for lunch, I found myself sitting next to him. Being close to him was electrifying,” Pattie would later recall of the fateful meeting.
Whilst Pattie eventually became George’s wife, inspiring songs like Something and I Need You (as well as an infamous rock love triangle with Eric Clapton), one of her biggest contributions to The Beatles is often overlooked.
It’s no secret that LSD played an integral role in The Beatles’ discography, but it was Pattie Boyd’s dentist, John Riley, who first introduced the band to it. The unassuming dentist laced John, Cynthia, Pattie and George’s coffees with the psychedelic during a dinner party in 1965.
Source: Georgia Weir/womensweekly.com.au
The late Michael Parkinson is rightly regarded as one of the premier television interviewers in the UK and the list of stars that appeared on his BBC chat show encompassed nearly every big name from the '70s to the early 2000s. It's a surprised then to discover that the BBC wiped most of its first series – including a bizarre but revealing 1971 appearance by John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
This wasn't unusual at the time; for reasons cited including the broadcaster having no concrete policy on archiving until 1978 and simply needing to wipe tapes so they could be reused, or destroyed as they weren't deemed of value. This meant early episodes of iconic shows including Dr Who, Not Only Peter Cook By Dudley Moore, Hancocks Half Hour, Steptoe And Son and The Avengers were lost forever. Mostly…
In 2009's An Audience With Michael Parkinson, he revealed that a recording of his 1971 interview with Lennon and Ono existed, despite the whole first series of his chat show that it was a part of being wiped from the BBC archive.
Source: Rob Laing/uk.news.yahoo.com
Paul McCartney Will Hate Their New Beatles Book (Almost as Much as He Hated Their Last One)
'All You Need Is Love' authors Steven Gaines and Peter Brown come together for a dishy conversation about their 40-years-in-the-making best-selling sequel to their 1983 landmark Beatles history 'The Love You Make.'
Forty-one years ago, they published the biggest Beatles biography of all time — The Love You Make, which spent three months in 1983 atop the New York Times best-seller list. The book would make its co-authors — former Circus magazine editor and author of 13 best-sellers Steven Gaines and onetime Brian Epstein protégé and Fab Four confidant Peter Brown — into the most famous Beatle-ologists on the planet.
Also, two of the most reviled, at least by some guy named Paul McCartney, who was said to have been so outraged by the tome’s gossipy reportage that he set his copy on fire.
As it happens, Gaines and Brown aren’t quite finished with The Beatles yet. Last month, after decades of steering clear of the subject, they released All You Need Is Love: The Beatles in Their Own Words, an oral history of the Mop Tops based on hundreds of hours of old taped interviews Gaines and Brown conducted while researching their original history, including conversations with McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Yoko Ono, Cynthia Lennon and scores of others.
The Hollywood Reporter sat down with the two old friends and colleagues for a long and winding discussion about their new book (which hovered on top of Amazon’s best-seller list for a month even before it was published), about how they dealt with the criticism of their old one and about their theory explaining why McCartney hated it so much (something involving venereal disease and sheep).
Source: Maer Roshan/hollywoodreporter.com
The much-missed George Michael was a stunning vocalist, and a one-of-a-kind performer. An artist who broke countless records, he was also a devoted student of music – even if he was confident enough to poke fun at some of his heroes.
Take 1990 solo album ‘Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1’. His second full length solo statement, it marked a period of evolution, moving beyond his pop roots to fully embrace different forms of songwriting. In the process, George Michael would cite – but also subvert – some of the biggest names in music history.
Dropping in a few bars of The Rolling Stones’ ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ into ‘I’m Waiting For The Day’, George Michael also absorbed the influence of The Beatles on his song ‘Heal The Pain’.
A mature offering from the star, the chords have a real Beatles-esque quality, in particular recalling the vivid way with melody that Sir Paul McCartney has made his own. Reviewers at the time noted the link, and it was said to be a personal favourite of George Michael, regularly appearing in his titanic live shows.
Source: ClashMusic/clashmusic.com
On June 1, 1967, the Beatles released “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” for years considered by many to be the greatest rock ‘n’ roll album of all time.
The release date of ”Sgt. Pepper”–June 1, 1967–was a red letter day for the millions of Beatles fans around the globe. They had never waited so long for a new product from their heroes. It had been 10 months since their last release, ”Revolver.” (The group`s first seven British albums had been issued approximately six months apart and American record labels had been able to reproduce and distribute all of the early material within 2 1/2 years.)
So high were the fans` expectations and so euphoric was their mood on that day 20 years ago that, as Philip Norman wrote in his book ”Shout! The Beatles in Their Generation,” ”There are to this day thousands of Britons and Americans who can describe exactly where they were and exactly what they were doing at the moment they first listened to `Sgt. Pepper`s Lonely Hearts Club Band.` That music, as powerfully as Kennedy`s assassination or the first moon landing, summons up an exact time and place, an emotion undimmed by time or aging. The memory is the same to all–how they first drew the shining disc from its gaudy sleeve; how they could not believe it at first and had to play it all through again, over and over.”
Two decades later, Capitol Records is hoping to rekindle the world`s passion for ”Sgt. Pepper” with the compact disc release Monday. As the most technologically advanced format for recorded music, the compact disc offers superb clarity to the listener–a property that is perfectly showcased by
Source: chicagotribune.com
Sean sparked fury among Harry's fans when he posted a joke about his book.
John Lennon's son Sean Ono Lennon has gone on an online rant against Prince Harry, calling him an 'idiot' who deserves to be mocked.
Sean, 48, sparked fury among the royal's fans when he posted a joke about his book Spare, writing: 'My long awaited review of Prince Harry’s autobiography is two words. "Spare Me."'
While the musician insisted he was just making a pun out of the book's title, he doubled down on his criticism of Harry as he was slammed on X, formerly known as Twitter. As people pointed out that Sean and Harry have a lot in common, including the fact that both tragically lost famous parents at a young age, Sean recalled meeting princess Diana's younger son.
Sean replied: 'Actually I am aware [that we have things in common]. We met once. That was before I realized he was an idiot.'
Sean seemed to particularly be offended by Harry sharing in his book that he treated his frostbitten penis - which he called his 'todger' - with his late mother's favorite lip cream
Source:Germania Rodriguez Poleo/dailymail.co.uk
It wasn't exactly instant karma when Beatle John Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, heard about a Polish beverage company's new drink called "John Lemon".
She threatened legal action alleging that it infringed on the trademark of her late husband.
The company has now agreed to change its drink's name to "On Lemon", after lawyers acting for Ono wrote to distributors warning they faced costs of up to 5,000 euros ($5,998) a day and 500 euros for every bottle sold if they infringed the trademark.
Lawyers acting for the beverage firm denied it had infringed the late star's rights, but Ono's lawyers pointed to a Facebook post from John Lemon Ireland, which featured an image of the iconic singer.
Other marketing materials included the brand's logo next to the words "let it be" and a pair of round glasses, both closely associated with Lennon
John Lemon's lawyers also said that pointed out that their EU trademark had been registered in 2014, two years earlier than the John Lennon trademark was registered in 2016.
Karol Chamera, the founder of Mr Lemonade Alternative Drinks which distributed the John Lemon beverage in the UK told the East London Advertiser newspaper: "all of us involved with this product are startups and we couldn’t take on someone who is worth many, many millions."
Source: uk.style.yahoo.com
Paul McCartney apparently just had to let it be after he suffered a mortifying moment early on in his career.
On Wednesday’s episode of his podcast, “McCartney: A Life in Lyrics,” the former Beatles musician, 81, reflected on an incident during one of the band’s first shows together that made him want to say goodbye to playing live music.
“We had this gig and it was the first thing I ever played, and I was lead guitar player,” he explained. “John [Lennon] was rhythm. I had a solo and I totally froze. Could not move my fingers.”
“It was just so embarrassing,” he added. “My lead-guitar-playing career melted at that moment and I said, ‘Well, I’m not doing this again. I’m not cut out for this. I’m no good.’”
McCartney did not clarify when and where the ill-fated performance took place.
The English singer-songwriter later went on to become the iconic band’s bass guitarist. He’s since learned to play more than 40 instruments, including the harmonica, mandolin, cello and ukulele, according to IMDB.
Source: Jazmin Tolliver/MSN
Paul McCartney said The Beatles rarely turned on each other three to one. He recalled the first time this happened to him.
Paul McCartney was the only one to push back against his Beatles bandmates when they wanted to appoint Allen Klein as their new manager. John Lennon was the biggest supporter of Klein, and George Harrison made it clear he backed him too. McCartney believed he could delay Klein’s appointment, but a vote by his bandmates put a stop to his hopes.
Paul McCartney felt betrayed by his Beatles bandmates
During a Friday night recording session, Klein visited The Beatles and told them he needed their contract with him signed immediately. He claimed he had a board meeting the following morning. McCartney pushed back, wanting to take the weekend to review the deal. When Lennon accused him of stalling, McCartney said he had a right to wait until Monday to sign.
“I said, ‘Well I’m not going to [sign it now]. I demand at least the weekend. I’ll look at it, and on Monday. This is supposed to be a recording session, after all,’” McCartney recalled in the book All You Need Is Love: The Beatles in Their Own Words by Peter Brown and Steven Gaines. “I dug my heels in, and they said, right, well, we’re going to vote it.”
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
The Beatles with their Sgt Pepper album... and the Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane single that wasn't included on it!
The Beatles were masters of the standalone single - here are ten examples of incredible songs that weren't included on a Beatles studio album.
The Beatles - The Ballad Of John And Yoko: release date 30th May 1969
Written about the events leading up to Lennnon's marriage to Yoko Ono in March 1969, recorded in April and released just a few weeks later, this standalone single was released hot on the heels of its predecessor Get Back. In fact, John was so keen to get the song onto vinyl, he couldn't wait for George and Ringo to return to the UK so the song only features Lennon (vocals, acoustic guitar, lead guitar) and McCartney (bass, drums, piano and vocals). The Ballad Of John And Yoko made its first appearance on an album in the US on the Hey Jude compilation in February 1970, while British fans wouldn't hear the track at 33rpm until the legendary "Blue" album (The Beatles 1967-70) arrived in 1973 .
The Beatles - Hey Jude: release date 30th August 1968
This momentous Paul McCartney song (all 7 minutes and 11 seconds of it) was issued as the very first Beatles release on their own Apple label in August 1968, backed with John Lennon's inciendiary rocker Revolution, a full three months before the next Beatles album arrived, the double "White" album. Hey Jude gave its titled to a 1970 collection issued in the US in 1970, but not officially available in the UK until 1979.
The Beatles - Strawberry Fields Forever: release date 17th February 1967
By the time 1967 dawned, The Beatles had already recorded three tracks for their next album, When I'm Sixty-Four, Penny Lane and the progressive Strawberry Fields Forever. Their first outing since they gave up touring in the summer of '66, Lennon and McCartney had half an idea of writing an LP of songs about their childhood in Liverpool, but when a nervous EMI demanded a single after six months without any Beatle product, Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane were hived off as a double-A side. This pair of excellent songs were left off the subsquent album, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Source: radiox.co.uk/Martin O'Gorman
