Beatles News
In 1950, a young George Martin, having been educated at the acclaimed Guildhall School of Music and Drama, joined the British record label EMI as a producer. Five years later he became the head of Parlophone Records where he specialized in classical and comedy recordings. Martin, however, was always on the lookout for ways to expand the label’s scope, so he began considering musical acts that he would have previously passed over.
His life would be forever altered in 1962 when four young lads from Liverpool (calling themselves “The Beatles”) walked in looking to make a recording. Martin was initially skeptical about the group’s potential. At that point, they were a young and relatively unknown band, but they had built a reputation as an entertaining live act, so Martin agreed to an audition.
In their initial session, Martin was struck by the member’s personalities and their witty banter, but he wasn’t immediately convinced of their musical prowess. He also had heard that the group had been turned down by most of the other major record labels, making Parlophone one of their last chances.
Source: mountaintimes.info
Paul McCartney and John Lennon wrote many of The Beatles' songs together. McCartney shared that he had little to do with 1 early hit.
When The Beatles released “Please Please Me” in early 1963, both Paul McCartney and John Lennon received writing credit. The pair wanted to be the next Rodgers and Hammerstein, and they established the precedent of earning joint credit for their songs. According to McCartney, though, he didn’t have all that much to do with writing the song. He admitted that “Please Please Me” was more of Lennon’s song than his own.
After achieving success with “Love Me Do,” The Beatles exploded with the release of “Please Please Me.” It was a song McCartney and Lennon worked on together, but McCartney admitted that it was more of Lennon’s song than his.
“We’d had a fair bit of practice writing over the years, though our legendary ‘first one hundred’ was probably in reality less than half that amount of songs,” McCartney said in The Beatles Anthology. “‘Please Please Me’ was more John than me; I didn’t have such a hand in it.”
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
Beatle George Harrison was pigeon-holed as the "Quiet Beatle," but the youngest member of the Fab Four had an acerbic, dry sense of humor that was as sharp as the rest of his bandmates.
He gave great performances in the musical comedy classics, "A Hard Days Night" and "Help!" while holding his own during The Beatles' notoriously anarchic press conferences. After he left the band in 1970, in addition to his musical career, he would produce the 1979 Monty Python classic, "The Life of Brian."
Harrison clearly didn't lose his sense of humor for the rest of his life. Shortly before his death in 2001, he played an elaborate prank on Phil Collins that shows how the "Here Comes the Sun" singer would go the extra mile for a laugh.In 1970, Harrison was recording his first solo record and arguably the best by a Beatle, "All things Must Pass." The session for the song, "The Art of Dying" featured former Beatle Ringo Starr on drums, keyboard legend Billy Preston on keys, virtuoso Eric Clapton on guitar, and was produced by the notorious Phil Spector.
Source: Tod Perry/upworthy.com
On the 10th of November 2023, ‘Now and Then’ by the Beatles topped the UK singles chart. It was written in the late 1970’s by John Lennon, worked on by George Harrison, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr in 1995, and finally completed by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr in 2023. Overcoming the barriers of time and space, Now and Then is the Beatles’ final act. Sixty-three years after they were founded, the Beatles have played together for the last time.
Since its release, ‘Now and Then’ has received “universal acclaim” from critics. It has also achieved the record for the longest gap between an artist’s consecutive singles reaching number one, and the longest gap between an artist’s first and last number one single. While extraordinary, this has not ‘cemented the Beatles legacy’ or ‘proved the Beatles’ enduring relevance’. Their incontestable legendary status has long been established: the best-selling band of all time, the first British band to break America, the most covered music group ever, inventors of the music video, inventors of the “conceptual album” - the list is seemingly endless.
Source: Raphael Morter/thecambridgestudent.co.uk
January 14, 1964, London
I was ready to head to Kenya in the morning. Then the phone rang. It was my boss, Frank Spooner, the picture editor of the Daily Express. “I’m taking you off the Africa assignment,” he said. “We’d like you to go to Paris. The Beatles are on tour there.”
My heart sank. Yes, I’d heard of the Beatles. They were getting bigger—hit song after hit song. But, at 31, I considered myself a serious journalist. As a staff photographer for London’s leading daily paper, I’d covered the rise of the Berlin Wall and broken stories in Egypt, Northern Rhodesia, and Russia. I was more interested in Kenya’s new government than in following around some rock-and-roll group.
“Frank, I’m supposed to go to Africa tomorrow,” I told him. “I’ve had all my shots.” Spooner heard me out and rang off. And I thought, Great, I dodged a bullet. At the Express, I’d built my reputation on hard news. And no place was more cutthroat than London’s Fleet Street, where staff photographers like me fought for scoops, tooth and nail, against guys on rival papers. I knew that once they put you on a music story, you’d be pegged as a show business photographer.
The phone rang again. Spooner had spoken with the top editor. “You’re going to Paris,” he said. “We think you’re perfect for the job. You’re presentable. None of our other photographers are good-looking.” And that was that. I was off to photograph the Beatles.
January 15, Paris
I met John, Paul, and George at the airport in London. Ringo would join us later. They were friendly and polite and sharp. Barely into their 20s, they joked around a lot and were quite mischievous, which I liked.
Source: Harry Benson/vanityfair.com
Of all the rock bands that could have launched comebacks in 2023, The Beatles were certainly the least likely. The group has been officially disbanded for half a century, and the two remaining members have not stated that they intended to get the old outfit back together to make more music. That makes sense, as half of the original members are no longer with us.
For these reasons–and so many others–nobody expected The Beatles to return with new music in 2023. And yet, somehow they did what no one thought they could and released their first original piece of work in years, “Now and Then.” In doing so, the band landed another big hit while simultaneously changing what’s possible in the music industry and dominating the music conversation once again.
In mid-2203, Paul McCartney spoke to the BBC and revealed that he was hard at work on a new Beatles track. The masses all around the world immediately freaked out–both because the most successful band of all time was gearing up to release new music, and because of the technology that was helping them do so.
Source: Hugh McIntyre/forbes.com
Ringo Starr had a successful career as a solo musician after The Beatles ended.
"Ringo wasn’t even the best drummer in The Beatles."
Unfairly for Ringo Starr, this jibe - that was in fact coined by comedian Jasper Carrott and not his bandmate John Lennon as legend would believe - has stuck with him throughout his career.
Whilst Ringo wasn't exactly a virtuoso when it came to the drum kit, he brought a unique energy and style to The Beatles' recordings.
Yes, he might not have made the greatest contributions to The Beatles oeuvre - he technically only wrote two songs for the Fab Four in 'Don't Pass Me By' and 'Octopus's Garden'.
But then again even George Harrison found it difficult to get a look in when the songwriting magnificence of Lennon and Paul McCartney took precedence. When it came to pursuing a solo career after The Beatles called it a day in 1970, he grabbed the opportunity to change that narrative with a string of hits and albums behind the microphone, which arguably peaked with the release of his 1973 album, Ringo, his first solo album of original music.
Source: Thomas Curtis-Horsfall/goldradiouk.com
In the 1980s, Paul McCartney started to go gray. He liked the way it looked, but former bandmate Ringo Starr did not.
Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney are both still performing and making music after six decades in the industry. Both men are in their 80s but have a youthful vitality. Starr once pushed his former bandmate to look younger, though. When McCartney’s hair started going gray, Starr scolded him for letting himself go.
In 1986, McCartney was in his 40s and embracing his age. He let his hair go gray and admitted he had no plans to dye it.
“Yeah, I’m leaving [the gray],” McCartney told Rolling Stone. “When you’re past forty, the game is up, you know? My wife actually likes it.”
Starr did not like it, though. He told McCartney off for not coloring it which, McCartney believed, was because it made him feel old.
“Ringo told me off about it, though – he reckoned I ought to color it,” he said. “I think he’s kind of gaugin’ himself by how old I look – like I make him feel old if I look a bit old. But what the hell, you know? This is life. We’re all gettin’ older every second. My main thing is just to try and enjoy it. And I’m very surprised to find that, more often than not, I really do.”
Years later, Starr insulted McCartney’s aging appearance once again.
“I was having dinner with him recently in L.A. with Dave Grohl and our wives,” McCartney told Rolling Stone in 2015. “I know Ringo has been sober for years, so I joked, ‘C’mon, Ringo, have a whiskey.’”
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
The legacy of Sir George Martin, the legendary Beatles producer, continues to echo as his children, Giles and Lucie Martin, are gifted 30 musical instruments by the Bailiwick of Guernsey. This generous offering, inclusive of violins, cellos, and a drum kit, is intended as a boon for young musicians on the Caribbean island of Montserrat, furthering the musical bond that Sir George Martin, often referred to as the ‘fifth Beatle,’ fostered between the islands during his time.Sir George Martin, who held residences in both Alderney on Braye Road and Montserrat, left an indelible imprint on the musical connection between the islands. His children will be officially accepting the donation at a ceremony set to commemorate this burgeoning relationship. The event serves as a poignant reminder of Martin’s love for music and his unyielding commitment to nurturing talent.Tim Wright, spearheading the Guernsey Music Service, expressed his enthusiasm for the collaboration with Government House and the Governor’s Office in Montserrat. He emphasized the extraordinary opportunity to highlight the legacy of George Martin, whose Montserrat recording studio was a sanctuary for many top artists. This initiative marks a significant step in preserving and promoting the musical heritage that Martin passionately cultivated.
Source: BNN Correspondents/bnnbreaking.com
Donovan has revealed that he became a songwriting mentor to George Harrison during the 1960s to help him out of the “shadow” of John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
The Scottish singer-songwriter, known for his hits ‘Mellow Yellow’, ‘Sunshine Superman’ and ‘Hurdy Gurdy Man’, regularly spent time with The Beatles during the peak of their success.
Speaking to Record Collector Magazine (via Music News), he said: “I became George’s mentor for songwriting. He was in the shadow of John and Paul for so many years and I said, ‘Look, I’ll show you a few tricks, how to encourage the songs.’ There’s a way to encourage the song to come.
“You can tease it, like fishing,” he continued. “I told him how to play a chord then put your ear on the guitar, listen to the open chord and try a tempo.”
“You can hear melodies, believe it or not. Melodies appear, but you’ve got to be quick to catch them.”
Harrison went on to write several of The Beatles’ most beloved songs, including ‘Here Comes the Sun’, ‘Something’, While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ and ‘Taxman’.
Source: Max Pilley/nme.com
