Beatles News
This captivating biography of Beatles manager Brian Epstein proves that Norman (Shout!), one of the band’s most prolific chroniclers, still has plenty left in the tank. It begins with a jaw-dropper about Swinging London gangster Reggie Kray’s scheme to blackmail Epstein by releasing sexual photos of him with another man, payment being control of the Beatles (Epstein died before the plan could be carried out). The narrative doesn’t sustain that level of drama, but Norman still tells a great story by focusing on what made Epstein a crucial partner to the Beatles at a vulnerable time, tracing how the quiet, charming scion of a Jewish Liverpool retail family offered to manage the band after being enthralled by their scorching performances at the Cavern in 1961. (He forgot “even his painful self-consciousness... and long[ed] somehow to be a part of them.”) Epstein began managing the band in 1962 and became a canny negotiator right as Beatlemania exploded, harnessing his meticulous attention to detail and his talent for managing personalities to set them up for fame. The author also doesn’t stint on the complications of success, including how Epstein’s insecurity pushed him toward risky behavior, from dangerous sexual encounters to the drug use that eventually caused his 1967 death. The result is a rip-roaring yet empathetic rock history.
Source: publishersweekly.com
No one can really compare to Paul McCartney. Musicians have been trying to catch up to his impeccable run since the 60s. His lyricism is elite, and his melody-making is unmatched. It’s not easy to write a song and have people go, “Huh, this sounds like McCartney.” He’s far too singular for that.
However, the three songs below all get pretty darn close. They aren’t exact replicas, but they get close enough to be considered part of McCartney’s sonic legacy.
“Grapejuice” — Harry Styles
Harry Styles has long professed his love for Paul McCartney. In the past, he’s talked about being inspired by RAM, and you can hear those kinds of tones in “Grapejuice.” This track, taken from Harry’s House, is all the jaunty, playful lyricism and melodies of McCartney’s work. With a few slight changes, this song could be a McCartney hit.
“Yesterday, it finally came, a sunny afternoon / I was on my way to buy some flowers for you / Thought that we could hide away in a corner of the heath / There’s never been someone who’s so perfect for me,” are the lyrics to “Grapejuice,” but you’d be forgiven if you thought they were taken from one of McCartney’s “granny” songs.
“The Magician” — Andy Shauf
Andy Shauf’s music is more or less the sonic heir to McCartney’s throne. Take “The Magician” for example. Everything about this mid-tempo song screams McCartney. It’s got touches of Beatles psychedelia and others of McCartney’s solo ballads. One listen to the track above, and you’ll clearly see why Shauf made this list.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Alex Hopper
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles was named the greatest rock album ever recorded by Digital Dream Door. Even today, almost sixty years after it was first released, the record remains one of the most influential pieces of music ever released.
The Beatles were already massive rock stars by the time Sgt Pepper's came around in 1967; through albums like Revolver and A Hard Day's Night, the band had cemented themselves as musical pioneers who weren't afraid to take risks with their work.
Sgt. Pepper's was their eighth studio album, and by all accounts, their riskiest. It wasn't just a collection of songs, but rather one of the first instances of a concept album—each member of the Beatles was playing a character, making up the fictional band mentioned in the title.
Since the Beatles had announced they wouldn't be touring in August 1966, the band was no longer under pressure to write songs that they could easily perform live. This meant they could experiment with new producing technologies, such as reversed recording and audio distortion.
This set the frameworks for an extremely psychadelic record, blending typical rock and roll melodies with a sound that most audiences had never heard before. The album's lyrics matched this bold, experimental tone, with songs like "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "Within You Without You" discussing psychadelics, mysticism, and religion.
Source: yahoo.com/Jack Walters
On Boxing Day 1964, Another Beatles Christmas Show opened at the Hammersmith Odeon in London. The idea was ostensibly to repeat the previous year’s highly successful formula, with a cast of contemporaries including The Yardbirds, Freddie and the Dreamers, Sounds Incorporated and Elkie Brooks.
The Fab Four appeared throughout the show in various sketches, such as one in which they played Antarctic explorers on a quest to find the Abominable Snowman.
The fans came in their thousands, screaming from start to finish, and while the show finished with an 11-song set from The Beatles, they were very much wearying of such engagements. The Beatles perform a sketch dressed in 'Eskimo' costumes at 'Another Beatles Christmas Show' at Hammersmith Odeon in London on 24th December 1964
Since they first became national figures in early 1963, they had joined in with the staples of the British light entertainment industry, from these Christmas shows, which echoed the UK’s tradition of pantomime, to performing skits on popular TV programmes like The Morecombe & Wise Show, mixing comedy with music.
But as this Christmas run dragged on, they grew to hate the pantomime pieces so much that they never played the traditional British entertainment game ever again. From here on, things would be different.
Source: classical-music.com/Paul McGuinness
When people think of The Beatles, they largely think of Paul McCartney and John Lennon. Because that pair delivered most of the band’s top-selling hits, they became the central songwriting force within the group. But, that being said, they weren’t the only successful songwriters in The Beatles. George Harrison also delivered his fair share of hits when given the opportunity by his fellow bandmates. There was one song that was rejected not once but three times by his fellow Beatles but ultimately became a hit for George Harrison in his solo career. Find out which song that was below.
One factor in The Beatles’ breakup was the fact that Harrison felt creatively pushed out of the loop by McCartney and Lennon. The pair all but steamrolled over everyone else in the room, at least according to some perspectives. Harrison managed to scrape a few songs through, but one that didn’t make the cut was “Isn’t It A Pity.”
“Isn’t it a pity? / Isn’t it a shame? / How we break each other’s hearts / And cause each other pain,” he sings in this somber track, touching on the breakdown of a relationship and heartache. Many listeners attribute this song to his feeling of being in a fracturing band, but it has endless applications.
“It was a chance to realize that if I felt somebody had let me down, then there’s a good chance I was letting someone else down,” Harrison once said of this track, adding, “It’s just an observation of how society and myself were or are. We take each other for granted — and forget to give back. That was really all it was about.”
Source: americansongwriter.com/Alex Hopper
The Beatles released 229 songs during their decade as a band.
The vast majority of Beatles tunes were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, with 22 credited to guitarist George Harrison and only two composed by drummer Ringo Starr. While Starr’s songwriting contributions were few, they had unmistakable charm and a lasting impact on the Beatles’ catalog.
Starr was the first Beatle to temporarily leave the band in 1968, feeling like an "outsider" amid escalating turmoil. Ironically, it was only after this brief hiatus, taken to escape the band’s tensions, that he wrote and recorded his most significant contribution to The Fab Four.
Let’s press play on the iconic tracks Ringo Starr wrote for The Beatles and read between the lines to discover the stories behind them.
"Don't Pass Me By"
"Don't Pass Me By" was written by Ringo Starr and featured on the 1968 double album The Beatles (White Album). Starr originally wrote the track in 1963 and encouraged his bandmates to record it, but it wasn’t until 1968 that they finally did. The story behind the song is detailed in The Beatles Anthology. Starr composed the tune while playing piano at home and was particularly pleased with the result.
"I wrote ‘Don’t Pass Me By’ when I was sitting round at home. I only play three chords on the guitar and three on the piano. I was fiddling with the piano – I just bang away – and then if a melody comes and some words, I just have to keep going. It was a very exciting time for me and everyone was really helpful."
Source: mentalfloss.com/Logan DeLoye
Not many 85-year-olds are as fit as Ringo Starr. The former Beatle has released yet another album. On it, he indulges his lifelong passion for country music – with some high-profile guests.
Working on his 2025 album Look Up with T Bone Burnett was so much fun that he is now following it up. The restless Brit has been back in the studio with the American country icon and has emerged with his 22nd studio album, Long Long Road.
The album title has something autobiographical about it, and, at 85, Starr is looking back.
“Yeah, well, we’re talking about that now because of Long Long Road. It’s like the road I’ve taken,” he says, pointing to the various stops in his life.
“We got out of Liverpool, and we went to London, and then we went to New York, and, you know, all of those are stop marks on your walk of life. It’s so far out.”
But despite its retrospective theme, Long Long Road is still a modern country album, thanks also to prominent guest musicians Burnett brought into the Nashville studio for the recordings – Sheryl Crow, Annie Clark aka St Vincent, Molly Tuttle and Sarah Jarosz.
Source: scmp.com
Pattie Boyd got a reminder of her place in rock history this week. The former wife of both George Harrison and Eric Clapton revealed on Instagram that she attended a recent intimate concert by Clapton and heard him perform two songs famously written about her: “Layla” and “Wonderful Tonight.”
Perhaps no woman has inspired as many classic rock songs as Boyd. The former model and actress was the muse behind Harrison’s “I Need You,” “For You Blue” and “Something,” as well as Clapton’s “Bell Bottom Blues,” in addition to “Layla” and “Wonderful Tonight.”
Clapton fell for her while she was married to his friend Harrison and wrote both “Bell Bottom Blues” and “Layla” out of his unrequited love for her. She and Harrison divorced in 1977, and she married Clapton in 1979, but their marriage was over by 1989.
Clearly, time has healed wounds. As Boyd revealed in an Instagram post this week, she took in one of Clapton’s two concerts at G Live in Guildford on Monday, April 20, held as warm-up shows for his 2026 tour. “Fabulous to see Eric in the relatively intimate G-Live venue in Guildford on Monday evening,” she wrote on Instagram. “Great to hear ‘Old Love,’ ‘Layla’ and ‘Wonderful Tonight’ (amongst others) live again.”
Boyd entered rock history in 1964 when she was cast as a schoolgirl in the Beatles’ debut film, A Hard Day’s Night. She and Harrison began dating as the cameras rolled and were married in 1966.
By then Harrison and Clapton were two years into a friendship that began in December 1964, when the Yardbirds — with whom Clapton was then performing — opened for the Beatles’ Christmas show at London’s Hammersmith Odeon. The two men bonded over their shared love of guitar, leading to a close friendship that included Clapton playing on the Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” in 1968.
By 1970, however, Harrison and Boyd’s marriage was strained, and Clapton had become infatuated with her, much to Harrison’s displeasure. Boyd later recounted how the two eventually fought a guitar duel over her, noting that Clapton emerged as the victor.
Source: guitarplayer.com/Elizabeth Swann
A public reunion of the world's best-loved songwriting duo nearly took place the night of April 24, 1976.
During a broadcast of the sketch comedy Saturday Night Live, executive producer Lorne Michaels delivered a plea to camera for a Beatles reunion. Lorne Michaels offering $3000 for a Beatles reunion.
"It's also been said that no one has yet to come up with enough money to satisfy you. Well, if it's money you want, there's no problem here," Michaels said. "The National Broadcasting Company has authorised me to offer you this cheque to be on our show. A certified cheque for $3000."
The crowd laughed at what was a comically small sum. "This cheque is made out to The Beatles," Michaels continued.
"You divide it anyway you want: if you want to give Ringo less, that's up to you." Unbeknownst to Michaels, Lennon and McCartney were watching TV together a few blocks away.
The pair had buried the hatchet and had tuned in to what was at the time a new comedy program. Lennon later revealed they gave serious consideration to crashing the studio for a sudden cameo. "We were watching it and almost went down to the studio, just as a gag," he said.
"We nearly got into a cab, but we were actually too tired." The next day McCartney arrived unannounced at Lennon's door to hang out.
Lennon rebuked McCartney for not calling first, and the two went their separate ways, never to see each other again.
Source: 9news.com.au/Nick Pearson
With “Long Long Road,” his twenty-second studio album, Ringo Starr has settled into one of his career’s finest grooves. While he will surely be remembered for his classic 1970s LPs “Ringo” (1973) and “Goodnight Vienna” (1974), his recent return to his country roots has been a genuine boon for music lovers everywhere.
Starr’s previous forays into country and western include the exquisite “Beaucoups of Blues” (1970), produced by Pete Drake, and last year’s “Look Up.” With T. Bone Burnett holding forth in the producer’s chair yet again, “Long Long Road” matches its predecessor’s penchant for warmhearted storytelling and well-played musical confections.
And like his frequent tours with his All-Starr Band, Starr’s backing band on “Long Long Road” features a selection of top-notch players and guest artists. Having written or co-written six of the album’s songs, Burnett has proven himself to be one of Starr’s most able and industrious collaborators. He also has a knack for teasing out some of Starr’s best performances in years.
Source: salon.com/Kenneth Womack
