Beatles News
Paul McCartney has always been protective of the Beatles’ legacy – that’s just one of the many reasons he saw the Fab Four’s final single ‘Now & Then’ through to completion. Along the way he’s had to correct a few wrongs, and push back on a few slights – and sometimes, it’s personal.
Take 1994 film Backbeat. Coming ahead of the Anthology project, the independent film aimed to shine a light on the Beatles time in Hamburg, focusing on the tragically short life of bass player (and noted visual artist) Stuart Sutcliffe.
Played immaculately by Stephen Dorff, Ian Hart stepped in as John Lennon, while Gary Bakewell played Paul McCartney. A whirlwind ride through the group’s pre-history, it highlighted the sex ‘n’ drugs ‘n’ roll ‘n’ roll induced in by the Fab Four – well, three of them, anyway.
At the time of its release, Paul McCartney revealed his distaste, insisting they had airbrushed out his rock ‘n’ roll leanings. “One of my annoyances about the film Backbeat is that they’ve actually taken my rock ‘n’ rollness off me,” he told interviewer Andrew Grant Jackson.
Source: Robin Murray/clashmusic.com
You might have assumed that all of the footage ever shot of The Beatles had already seen the light of day or been broadcast. Not so, it turns out – and Anne Margaret Daniel has seen the new footage, shot on 8mm, during the filming of the movie Help!
Previously unseen footage of The Beatles: now, that's a phrase that'll speed the pulses of people of all sorts, and ages, who fell in love with rock ’n’ roll music, any old way you choose it. I’ve just spent an hour watching three and a bit minutes of 8mm film, never released and indeed never known of until now, and I am both dazzled and grateful.
Thomas Emmet Mullins is a Dublin-based illustrator, designer and advertising specialist, who has recently brought you the new Irish 2 euro coin. He also created a charity auction vinyl 7-inch single of the Rolling Stones' 'Dead Flowers' that is one of the rarest records in the world.
For the past twenty years, Mullins has had an eBay alert set for "Beatles 8mm.”
"Years ago,” he explains, "when I was shooting 8mm of my own, I thought it would be interesting to see if there was any fan footage or the likes for sale on eBay. There was nothing, and so I set an alert on the site to remind me if some ever came up. Then I completely forgot about it.”
Source: Anne Margaret Daniel/hotpress.com
Paul McCartney was the final Beatle to try LSD. Despite this, he was the first to tell the public that the band had take the drug.
In 1967, Paul McCartney admitted that The Beatles had taken LSD. This, of course, sparked major controversy and brought criticism to the band. Each of McCartney’s bandmates had taken LSD more than him, but they’d avoided speaking about it publicly. They weren’t happy with McCartney for breaking the news to the media.
In 1967, McCartney gave an interview in which he admitted to having taken drugs.
“I remember a couple of men from ITN showed up, and then the newscaster arrived: ‘Is it true you’ve had drugs?’” he said in The Beatles Anthology. “They were at my door — I couldn’t tell them to go away — so I thought, ‘Well, I’m either going to try to bluff this, or I’m going to tell him the truth.’ I made a lightning decision: ‘Sod it. I’ll give them the truth.’”
The band received swift criticism for this. While none of the other Beatles thought it should be a problem, they wished McCartney had kept his mouth shut.
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney met Queen Elizabeth in 1965. Starr shared what they said to her when she asked about the band.
In 1965, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr received MBEs from Queen Elizabeth II. The Beatles went to Buckingham Palace to receive the honor and awaited their meeting with the queen. While they were nervous, they also cracked a few jokes. Starr recalled one joke he and McCartney made that had him wondering if the queen would punish them.
While The Beatles were surprised to receive MBEs, or Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire medals, they agreed to accept them. When they received them, they met Queen Elizabeth II. When the queen asked them questions about the band, Starr and McCartney simultaneously cracked a joke. Starr joked that he worried the queen would hate it so much that she sentenced them to death.“I went up and the Queen said to me, ‘You started the group, did you?’ and I said, ‘No, I was the last to join.’ And then she asked, ‘Well, how long have you been together as a band?’ and without the blink of an eye, Paul and I said, ‘We’ve been together now for forty years and it don’t seem a day too much,’” Starr said. “She had this strange, quizzical look on her face, like either she wanted to laugh or she was thinking, ‘Off with their heads!’”
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
Price: $650,000.00
1967. Paul McCartney’s handwritten, working manuscript (as Beatle) for Lovely Rita, from the album ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’, the most famous album in the entire panorama of modern music. This is the very first (rough) draft, 10 lines (in ink), all in Paul’s handwriting and all written on a single side of an irregular scrap of lined paper (7 1/2” X 5”) torn from a spiral notebook. 7 lines in black are Paul’s first concept. 3 lines of changes have been added later in blue, such as, “writing all the numbers in her little black book” changed to “filling in a ticket with her little blue pen” and still later recorded as “filling in a ticket in her little white book.” Near fine condition. Lavishly matted, and framed with a full size, uncorrected, 1st state proof photograph of the album cover, varying in that McCartney is kneeling, the band instruments have been passed around, and 2 people are among the onlookers who would not sign releases, and therefore did not appear on the published album. Ex–Butterfield’s, Dec. 12, 1993. Rare. Icon time. Near fine. Item #245
“Lovely Rita, meter maid, nothing can come between us,
When it gets dark, I’ll tow your heart away...”
Source: Biblioctupus
With classic Beatles hits such as All You Need Is Love and We Can Work It Out, Sir George Martin was instrumental in creating the soundtrack for a generation’s relaxed attitude to relationship strife.
But the legendary music producer’s family has been riven by apparent rivalry since his death in 2016.
That has now come to the surface once again, in a controversy over an initiative to donate instruments to children in the Caribbean in the name of Martin’s musical legacy.
Martin’s firstborn, Alexis Stratfold, appears to have been ignored by the organisers of a ceremony in which more than 30 instruments are given by the government of Guernsey to young musicians in the British Overseas Territory of Montserrat.
Friends of Ms Stratfold are furious that although Martin’s two children from his second marriage, Lucie and Giles, have been invited as representatives of their father’s foundation to the handover ceremony on the island, she appears to have been left out.
This comes despite Ms Stratfold – who is Martin’s daughter from his first marriage in 1948 to Jean “Sheena” Chisholm – living on the island of Alderney, which is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey.
Source: Patrick Sawer/telegraph.co.uk
John Lennon, born on October 9, 1940, in Liverpool, England, was a legendary singer, songwriter, and peace activist who co-founded the iconic rock band, The Beatles. He was a pivotal figure in the music industry and became one of the most influential and celebrated musicians of the 20th century.
In the early 1960s, along with Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, John Lennon formed The Beatles, a band that would revolutionize popular music and become a cultural phenomenon. As the primary songwriter and co-lead vocalist of the group, Lennon’s creative contributions were instrumental in shaping their sound and style.
The Beatles’ massive success and unprecedented fame brought Beatlemania to the world, influencing an entire generation and changing the landscape of popular music forever. Some of Lennon’s most iconic compositions for The Beatles include “Imagine,” “Strawberry Fields Forever,” “A Day in the Life,” and “Let It Be.”
In 1969, John Lennon married artist and musician Yoko Ono, and the couple became known for their activism and advocacy for peace. Their “Bed-In” events, peace protests, and iconic song “Give Peace a Chance” demonstrated Lennon’s commitment to promoting non-violence and social harmony.
Source: Edward Tomlin/singersroom.com
Humans are strange and complicated creatures, so it makes sense that when you put four ultra-creative, super-talented, ridiculously imaginative musicians in a room together, there's bound to be some conflict. In the case of The Beatles, there ended up being a lot of conflict — and that means that even though it's Yoko Ono who frequently gets blamed for their honestly inevitable breakup, that's not actually the case. Not entirely, at least.
What happened was more along the lines of a perfect storm of trials and tribulations that the band just couldn't weather — starting with the death of their longtime manager and massive disagreements over who was going to replace him. Add in more disagreements over their direction, individual members who wanted to nurture their individual talents, arguments over who was going to get their songs on albums, stress from rampant drug use, and yes, the added pressures of Yoko Ono's appearances on the scene and in the studio, and something just had to give.
Source: DB Kelly/grunge.com
Paul McCartney had a clear vision for 'Hey Jude.' When he pushed back on George Harrison's contributions, Harrison grew irritated.
George Harrison and Paul McCartney were the first members of The Beatles to meet. They grew close in their adolescence and would go on to become founding members of one of the biggest bands in the world. Their time in the band was not beneficial to their relationship, though. Harrison and McCartney bickered often about music. McCartney recalled the struggle they faced while working on “Hey Jude” when Harrison made it clear he didn’t like the direction McCartney was taking the song.
By the late 1960s, Harrison felt McCartney was overly domineering. When McCartney gave Harrison instructions, their interactions often devolved into arguments.
“If I made a suggestion and it was something that, say, George didn’t want to do, it could develop quite quickly into a mini-argument,” McCartney said in The Beatles Anthology. “In fact, George walked out of the group. I’m not sure of the exact reason, but I think that they thought I was being too domineering.”
This happened while they were recording “Hey Jude.” McCartney did not like Harrison’s additions to the song and instructed him to stop.
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
George Harrison let another rock star use the guitar Eric Clapton played on The Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." The star used it on a tune from Apple Records.
George Harrison let another rock star use the guitar that Eric Clapton played on The Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” What an honor! That rock star used the guitar on another classic song. “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” is a beloved tune but it was never a hit in the United States.
Peter Frampton is a rock star who was part of the bands The Herd and Humble Pie. He also had a number of solo hits, including “Do You Feel Like We Do,” “Baby, I Love Your Way,” “Show Me the Way,” and “I’m in You.” In a 2022 Loudersound interview, Frampton recalled what it was like getting to work with George and company. “It was: ‘Nice to meet you, man … Do you want to play?’ I said: ‘You mean now?’
“They’d just finished writing this song for Doris Troy, called ‘Ain’t That Cute,'” he recalled. “So he gave me ‘Lucy,’ that red Les Paul that he used on a lot of later records, and the one Eric played on ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps.'” “Ain’t That Cute” appeared on Troy’s self-titled album, which was released through The Beatles’ Apple Records.
Source: Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com
