Beatles News
The Beatles‘ The White Album is one of the most famous records of all time. Despite this, few seem to remember that The White Album includes the best birthday song ever. John Lennon wasn’t satisfied with the tune in question. When asked about it, he said it was derived from a big hit from the 1950s.
The Beatles’ ‘The White Album’ includes a birthday song and every other genre
The joy of The White Album is how it wildly careers from genre to genre. The record includes rock ‘n’ roll, pop, folk, blues, ska, a protest song or two, avant-garde music, children’s songs, vaudeville, and early heavy metal. One of the hard-rock numbers from The White Album is an underappreciated tune called “Birthday.”
The tune has a great opening riff. While the Fab Four had become more experimental by the release of “Birthday” in 1968, the track retains some...
Source: imdb.com
Sam Taylor-Wood's "Nowhere Boy" is a passable look at the early life of John Lennon when he was estranged from his mother and raised by his aunt. Fans hoping to discover more about the source of the prickly Beatle's creativity will not find it here.
Strong performances by Kristin Scott Thomas as the stern Aunt Mimi, who raised the future Beatle from the age of 5, and Anne-Marie Duff as his troubled mother heighten the dramatic appeal of what otherwise is quite a dull film.
"Nowhere," the closing-night film at the London Film Festival, will open December 25 in the U.K.; the Weinstein Co. has U.S. rights. Denied any Beatles songs because of the time frame and clearly unable to clear rights to the big rock tracks of the day, the film's box-office chances look iffy.
A noted British artist, Taylor-Wood offers a surprisingly cosy look at Lennon's early life. Matt Greenhalgh's screenplay covers the ground but opts too easily for harmony where in real life clearly there must have been serious conflict.
Aaron Johnson ("Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging") makes a decent stab at the young Lennon, though he lacks the original's insolent sneer and remarkable bite, and Thomas Brodie Sangster ("Nanny McPhee") offers a very callow 15-year-old Paul McCartney. There's very little sense that they soon will emerge as the Beatles.
Also, the film lacks any vital sense of Britain in the mid-1950s, particularly the music that was then fuelling youthful ambition, and has no distinct feel for Liverpool. Aunt Mimi raised Lennon in middle-class surroundings, and they did not have the thick Scouse accents of working-class McCartney or George Harrison (Sam Bell), who shows up briefly late in the picture. Still, their speech should echo life in Liverpool, but Taylor-Wood appears tone-deaf in respect to the sound of the place.
Source: reuters.com
Paul McCartney has added more dates to his Got Back tour.
The two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is returning to Mexico this fall with two shows: Nov. 8 in Monterrey and Nov. 12 in Mexico City.
“The shows at Foro Sol were a highlight of last year for me. What a magical time we all had,” McCartney shares, referring to his November 2023 shows in Mexico City. “I can still hear your singing ringing in my ears!”
He adds, “Mexican audiences are so special. We always have a massive party together. I’m really looking forward to getting back and to rocking n’ rolling with you all as well as my first ever visit to Monterrey!”
A ticket presale kicks off June 24 at 9 a.m., with tickets going on sale to the general public June 28 at 1 p.m.
The Mexico dates are just the latest additions to McCartney’s Got Back tour. He also recently announced shows in South America and Europe. A complete list of dates can be found at PaulMcCartney.com.
Source: everettpost.com
This morning, tickets for Paul McCartney's hotly anticipated Manchester and London shows went on sale.
The Beatles legend is bringing his acclaimed Got Back tour to the city's Co-op Live later this year on Saturday, December 14 and Sunday , December 15. He will also perform at The O2 in London on Wednesday, December 18 and Thursday, December 19, as part of the only four UK dates announced.
The tour - the first time he will play in Manchester in 13 years - follows his Glastonbury headline set back in 2022. He also last performed in London six years ago.
Announced last week, a number of fans were lucky enough to get Co-op member or O2 Priority codes for access to Wednesday's pre-sale (June 19). But the pre-sale was met with concerns from fans who struggled to get through the online booking system in time to get tickets.
Today's general sale has also been met with high demand with fans expressing disappointment and shock at the price of tickets, with some options costing up to £600 for the UK shows. Fans have also reported getting 'stuck' in the online queues for tickets.
Source: Jenna Campbell/manchestereveningnews.co.uk
It was 60 years ago today… that The Beatles played to a roaring crowd in Wellington’s town hall. Alex Casey’s dad was there, straining to hear a single note.
Normally my Dad answers my calls with a cheery “Sunny Takeaways” – a reference to the local fish and chip shop that hasn’t been called that for about two decades. But this week, he was trying something new. “Cavern Club”, he answered, referring to the iconic Liverpool bar that played host to hundreds of early Beatles gigs. Given that today marks 60 years since my dear old Dad went to see the fab four live in Wellington, it was a fitting way to start our interview.
As he fussed about the kitchen, I asked what his pop consumption was like prior to Beatlemania. Having moved to Petone in the early 1960s, he recalled weekends at the roller rink listening to The Yardbirds and The Animals. “Strap on”, he said. Pardon? “Strap-on roller skates.” His first movie was Elvis Presley’s Jailhouse Rock, first record was Doris Day’s ‘Everybody Loves a Lover’ and he watched TV through the window of Hanlon’s radio shop.
I told him it sounded like he grew up on a different planet. “It sort of was, really,” he said.
Source: Alex Casey/thespinoff.co.nz
The Beatles are not going to let it be.
At least Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, the two surviving Beatles are not. Neither are Olivia Harrison and Yoko Ono, the spouses of George Harrison and John Lennon — and that’s a good thing for music fans.
They’ve all on board for the release of a new film “The Beatles: Get Back,” directed by Academy Award-winner Peter Jackson, whose previous works include “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy: and “The Hobbit.”
Jackson has been working from 60 hours of footage originally shot by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, from which Lindsay-Hogg put together The Beatles’ 1970 documentary film, “Let It Be.”
Fans of the group were disappointed last year when the planned theatrical release of the “The Beatles: Get Back” ended up being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Producers scheduled a new theatrical release date set for Aug. 17, 2021.
Now, that’s apparently been put on hold, because Disney+ and Apple Corps, along with WingNut Film Productions, issued a joint statement June 17 saying “The Beatles: Get Back” is now set to air over three days — Nov. 25, 26 and 27 — on Disney+. Yep, that’s the Thanksgiving weekend.
While the bad news for Beatles fans is another delay, the good news is there will be a lot more to see. Each of the three airing dates is set to feature separate two-hour long episodes, with end result being a film that’s six hours long — obviously much longer than would have been screened in a movie theater in August.
Source: mcalesternews.com
Given Paul McCartney’s apparent love affair with all things Jewish — including collaborators, business associates, girlfriends and wives — the title of the artist’s 2013 album New could well be meant as a transliteration of the all-purpose Jewish word nu.
Recently, McCartney was in New York with his wife Nancy Shevell who is not in fact the first Jewish Lady McCartney; that honor belonged to McCartney’s first wife, Linda Eastman. Born in New York City and raised in Scarsdale, N.Y., Linda Eastman was the daughter of Lee Eastman — the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, born Leopold Vail Epstein — and Louise Sara Lindner.
When Linda Eastman and McCartney’s daughter, Stella McCartney, became a fashion designer, she followed family footsteps into the rag trade; her maternal grandfather, Max J. Lindner, was founder of the Lindner Company, the largest women’s clothing store in Cleveland, Ohio. Lindner was a member of the most prominent Reform temple in Cleveland and president of its Men’s Club; active in the Jewish Welfare Fund and in the Jewish country club; and a major philanthropic force in Cleveland’s Jewish community.
McCartney married Linda Eastman in 1969, and the two famously stayed together as one of rock music’s most stable, loving couples until Eastman’s death in 1998 due to complications from breast cancer. They made music together: first, on the album “Ram,” the cover of which pictures McCartney grasping two ram’s horns, and subsequently, in McCartney’s post-Beatles group, Wings.
Linda’s father, Lee Eastman, was an entertainment lawyer who represented McCartney after the Beatles’ long-term manager — coincidentally also an Epstein, named Brian (but no relation) — passed away. McCartney’s choice of his father-in-law as manager was famously opposed by fellow Beatle John Lennon, who favored the former Rolling Stones manager Allen Klein. The dispute over management of the Beatles (which pitted a Jewish lawyer against a Jewish accountant) became a major factor in the ultimate dissolution of the Fab Four.
Source: thejewishnews.com
John Lennon rarely minced his words when expressing his opinions, and his opinions of his fellow bandmates, like Ringo Starr, were certainly no exception. Starr joined Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison to form the final lineup of the Beatles in 1962, adopting a somewhat shadowed but musically crucial role in the band.
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Compared to the guitar-playing trio in front of him, Starr stayed in the background. His writing contributions were scant, with only two solo compositions: “Octopus’s Garden” and “Don’t Pass Me By.” But just because he wasn’t the star of the show doesn’t mean Starr didn’t have the respect of his bandmates—even the more opinionated ones like Lennon.
Source: americansongwriter.com
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This month marks the 60th anniversary of the Beatles‘ historical visit to Australia, which began on Thursday, June 11th, 1964, at 7:45am when John, Paul, George, and Ringo landed at Sydney’s Mascot Airport.
To celebrate the landmark anniversary of what would sadly be the Beatles’ only Australian tour, a new book takes fans inside the extraordinary cultural moment.
Written by UK-based writer Andy Neill (whose previously worked on books about The Who and Rod Stewart & the Faces) and Melbourne-based Beatles expert Greg Armstrong (co-host of the world’s longest-running Beatles radio show), When We Was Fab: Inside the Beatles Australasian Tour 1964 tells the story of the Liverpool band’s two-week trip Down Under in unprecedented detail, including hundreds of evocative and mostly previously unseen images, original documents, press clippings, and vintage memorabilia.
Based entirely on first-hand research spanning two decades, Neill and Armstrong’s process involved sourcing hundreds of original newspapers, magazines and business documents, and conducting first-hand interviews with over 100 key participants, including promoters, support acts, press and radio personalities, as well as original fans who came out in their thousands to see the Beatles.
In the below excerpt from the book, we’re taken inside Sing for Shell, the only official TV recording of the Beatles performing during their Australasian tour.
Source: au.rollingstone.com
Inside Sir Paul McCartney's birthday celebrations as he marked turning 82 with his wife Nancy and his five children at a luxury restaurant rather than a glitzy bash.
Sir Paul McCartney celebrated his 82nd birthday in style with a low-key dinner surrounded by his closest friends and family.
The legendary Beatles singer opted for an intimate affair rather than a star-studded bash for the occasion. He headed to a posh restaurant with wife Nancy and his five children to mark his birthday this week. They dined at the 17th century Boys Hall hotel in Ashford, Kent, shocking other diners when they rocked up.
Paul is a proud dad to fashion designer Stella, musician James, 20-year-old Beatrice, photographer Mary and adopted daughter Heather. The icon married Nancy Shevell, 64, in 2011 following his marriages to Linda McCartney and Heather Mills. His family are said to have joined him for a quiet dinner in a private room at the restaurant.
“They were quietly ushered in on Tuesday night and were taken to the Drawing Room, where the chefs cooked a three-course feast for them," a source told The Sun".
Source: Mia O'Hare/mirror.co.uk
