Beatles News
Music legend George Harrison had a rather unenthusiastic opinion when it came to one of his most popular Beatles hits.
Harrison began working on Something in September 1968, during the recording sessions for The White Album, but initially struggled with the melody, thinking it might have been subconsciously derived from another song.
According to Peter Jackson's documentary, The Beatles: Get Back, he continued to have difficulty with the lyrics into the Let It Be sessions.
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After completing the song, Harrison was uncertain about its potential success or even its inclusion on Abbey Road. This self-doubt was fueled by the constant dismissals from John Lennon and Sir Paul McCartney. He offered the song to Joe Cocker but eventually recorded it with The Beatles.
Weeks after the album's release, the song was released as a double A-side single with Come Together, marking the first time a Harrison song became a Beatles A-side. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States and received critical acclaim.
Despite this, Harrison remained unconvinced of its success.
From the start of his songwriting journey, Harrison grappled with a lack of enthusiasm and support from his bandmates. Lennon and McCartney, the primary songwriters, didn't encourage Harrison's contributions.
Over time, he had to fight for his songs to be included on albums. This experience negatively influenced how Harrison perceived his music.
After he penned Something, one of the most famous love songs ever, he doubted whether it would sell. In his book Here Comes The Sun: The Spiritual And Musical Journey Of George Harrison, Joshua M. Greene reveals that Harrison first played the song for his wife, Pattie Boyd, and friends in the Hare Krishna community.
"Do you think it'll sell?" he asked them. According to Greene, Boyd smiled, familiar with his self-doubt.
Greene noted: "As long as she had known him, he had been an enigma, sometimes exuding self-confidence, sometimes doubting whether he could do anything right."
Despite doubting its greatness, Something became a hit. Still, Harrison's insecurities later turned into something else. He had a blasé attitude toward the tune during a candid conversation with David Wigg for a BBC Radio One program in October 1969.
Source: newsbreak.com/Hannah Furnell
You may not be able to play guitar like Eric Clapton or George Harrison, but now you can own one of their former six strings.
An ultra-rare 1913 Gibson Style O Acoustic Archtop once played by the two virtuosos is now up for grabs via Reverb, an online marketplace for new and used musical instruments and other goods. The instrument, nicknamed Pattie, can be yours for a cool $949,999.
Of course, the guitar has quite the musical history. Clapton, who actually owned the instrument, and Harrison can be seen with the axe in a private songwriting session back in October 1968. (You can also catch a glimpse of the guitar in Life In 12 Bars, a documentary about Clapton’s life and career.) In the image, the Beatle is playing Pattie while the duo is bringing “Badge,” their first co-written composition, to life; it’s the only known image of the two working on the song. “Badge” went on to be recorded that week at Hollywood’s Heider Studios for Cream’s Goodbye, the group’s fourth and final album.
Thanks to that songwriting session, Pattie also has ties to one of the Beatles’ most popular hits. Inspired by the bridge on “Badge,” Harrison used similar compositional elements to create “Here Comes the Sun,” which was released in 1969, according to Reverb.
From there, the guitar landed in the hands of American singer and songwriter Delaney Bramlett in 1970. After his passing in 2008, his estate sold the collector’s item via Julien’s Auctions. Now, though, it’s part of the Victor Archives in Camden, New Jersey—until one lucky musician snaps it up, that is.
Plenty of instruments from these two music legends have popped u at auction over the years. Clapton’s 1974 000-28 Martin acoustic, which he used to composed “Wonderful Tonight,” was up for auction last May. Harrison’s Futurama guitar that he favored during the formative years of the Beatles, meanwhile, was up for grabs via Julien’s Auctions this past fall. That piece of music history hammered down for $1.27 million—so the $949,999 sticker price for the Gibson is looking pretty good.
Source: ca.news.yahoo.com/Nicole Hoey
Ever since The Beatles broke up, the masses have been trying to place a finger on what exactly it was that caused it. In reality, it probably isn’t all that complicated. Regardless, people have treated The Beatles’ breakup like a high-stakes conspiracy theory. One individual who has grounded this event back to reality is The Rolling Stones‘ lead singer, Mick Jagger.
The Rolling Stones and The Beatles were musical contemporaries. However, they weren’t the best of friends, thus, they didn’t know much about each other on a vulnerable and personal level. Nonetheless, Mick Jagger still has a theory about the group’s disbandment, and given his status, his opinion is far more valid than some fan boy’s from Nebraska. Jagger’s theory is not hyperbolic or ornate to a fault. Rather, it is incredibly plausible and logical. Mick Jagger Believes It Merely Was a Battle of Personalities
In a 1995 interview with Rolling Stone, Mick Jagger divulged the importance of his relationship with Keith Richards. Consequently, the interview pivoted in a direction Jagger seemingly didn’t see coming, as he was then asked about The Beatles’ breakup. Specifically, Jagger was asked about John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s roles in the breakup.
Concerning the question, Jagger stated that it was “hard to make even a stab at, because I don’t know John and Paul well enough.”
Source: americansongwriter.com/Peter Burditt
John Lennon has continued to inspire millions of people with his music despite his death in 1980. However, what inspired him? Among various musicians, such as Elvis and Chuck Berry, Lennon was inspired by film. On several occasions, Lennon expressed his love for cinema and said that it often helped to form his own artistic vision, including his passion for the counterculture movement. However, one film in particular stood out for the singer-songwriter.
El Topo, a hallucinogenic interpretation of the Western genre directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky, was a film to which Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono felt deeply connected. Oko descibed Jodorowsky as a "rare genius" and Lennon reached out to his manager and told him to offer $1 million to Jodorowsky for any new project he wanted to make.
The two, who were deeply spiritual, went to see multiple screenings of El Topo, a film Jodorowsky hoped would create an image that wouldstay with the viewer, while creating a hallucinogenic experience comparable to enlightenment that would be like being on "LSD without LSD". El Topo, released in 1970, was an avant garde surreal film about an outlaw that defies the Four Masters of the Desert due to the love of a woman.
A synopsis written by a fan reads: "It's sort of a twisted Western meets spiritual allegory. Each gunman symbolizes different religious or philosophical beliefs."
Source: Molly Toolan/express.co.uk
The story of George Harrison and Eric Clapton’s deep friendship became a focal point once again with the news that the two men shared a rare 1913 Gibson Style O guitar. The acoustic guitar, which went up for sale on Reverb.com this week for nearly $1 million, was used while Harrison and Clapton composed “Badge,” their joint composition from Cream’s Goodbye, and was nicknamed Pattie in a crude reference to Pattie Boyd, who married first Harrison and then Clapton.
Few people, including Beatles fanatics, were aware of the guitar’s existence before the guitar surfaced on Reverb, adding a new, if minor, instrument to the men’s history.
What often gets lost in the story of Harrison and Clapton’s friendship is how both men were supports for each others growth in 1968, a year in which each was working through new developments in their career. Cream had reached its end, and Clapton was insecure about his prospects for a solo career.
Harrison, having spent the past two years studying sitar and paying scant attention to guitar, had once again turned his focus to the instrument, having decided he would never master sitar. Moreover, Harrison had reached his breaking point as the Beatles’ third, and disregarded, songwriter.
This had become evident just one month before the October 1968 writing session for “Badge,” when, on September 6, Harrison invited Clapton to record his uncredited lead guitar work on Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gentle Weeps,” from the Beatles’ White Album. The group had recorded it once already, but Harrison was unhappy with their unenthusiastic performance — an unfortunately typical response to Harrison’s work.
His decision to bring in Clapton unannounced was the first indication that he was willing to break out of the quartet’s insular groupthink.
Harrison and Clapton's friendship dates back quite a bit further than their White Album session. They first met in December 1964, while Clapton was in the Yardbirds, who were on the bill of the Beatles' Christmas show at London’s Hammersmith Odeon. The two guitarists struck up an acquaintance that would grow over the years.
Exterior view of The Pheasantry, club and house at 152 King's Road, Chelsea, London, UK, 26th August 1970. Eric Clapton lived here in 1968 when he and George Harrison were building their friendship The Pheasantry, where Eric Clapton lived in 1968, seen here in 1970. George Harrison was a frequent visitor as he and Clapton became close friends.
At the time of the White Album sessions, Clapton was living at the Pheasantry, an 18th-century building in London’s Chelsea district that had long been popular with artists and celebrities and had recently been converted into apartments and a nightclub. Harrison was a regular visitor and would share acetates, or demonstration discs, of the Beatles’ latest songs.
“Sometimes I would go down to George’s house in Esher and we’d play our guitars and take acid, and bit by bit a friendship began to form,” the guitarist wrote in Clapton: The Autobiography.
Source: guitarplayer.com/Christopher Scapelliti
The Beatles' impressive catalogue of music will reportedly be arriving on the West End for a brand new musical.
Richard Curtis, best known for Love Actually and Four Weddings and a Funeral, is said to be planning to turn smash hit film Yesterday into a stage show. Alongside fellow producer Danny Boyle, he reportedly held a major event in front of potential investors including Sir Cameron Mackintosh and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
The duo are said to still be looking for a theatre to house their West End show as they hope to turn the 2019 film into a roaring stage success for 'years and years'. An insider told The Mirror: 'This has been kept under wraps for months but it is a huge opportunity, and the prospect of a Beatles musical is too big to miss.'
'There was a performance this week to show the basics of what the production will be, and all the big players in London's theatre world came along,' they added. The Beatles ' impressive catalogue of music will reportedly be arriving on the West End for a brand new musical.
Richard Curtis , best known for Love Actually and Four Weddings and a Funeral, is said to be planning to turn smash hit film Yesterday - starring Himesh Patel - into a stage show
Richard and Danny Boyle are said to still be looking for a theatre to house their West End show as they hope to turn the 2019 film into a roaring stage success .
'It's a no-brainer that any theatre will want to host it so there is likely to be a bit of a bidding war to secure it.' Richard, 68, wrote the script for the comedy/musical film while Danny served as director, and they are teaming up once again to bring their project back to life.
In the movie, Himesh Patel took on the leading role of Jack Malik, a struggling musician who wakes up after being hit by a bus to discover nobody has ever heard of The Beatles. He decides to start singing The Fab Four's famous back catalogue in a bid to find fame as he is supported by his love interest Ellie Appleton, played by Lily James.
If the film makes it to the stage, it will not be the first time that music from a world-famous band has inspired a musical.
Source: dailymail.co.uk/Kate Dennett
Sir Paul McCartney was every inch the proud grandfather this week as he watched his grandson Elliot Donald graduate from New York University.
Elliot, 22, completed a four-year degree at the prestigious Gallatin School of Individualized Study, with his family showing up in force to support him at the ceremony.
The Beatles icon, 82, was joined by his wife Nancy, 65, and daughter Mary McCartney - Elliot's mum - as they posed for a sweet family photo shared on Mary's Instagram Stories on Wednesday night.
'Couldn't be prouder', wrote Mary, who looked chic in an all-black ensemble. In one of the snaps, the group are seen smiling together with Paul holding the purple graduation programme in one hand and giving a thumbs up with the other, clearly thrilled to be celebrating the family milestone.
Sir Paul McCartney, 82, beamed with pride as he attended his grandson Elliot's graduation from New York University this week. The Beatles icon was joined by Elliot's mum Mary McCartney and Paul's wife Nancy,
Elliot was pictured cracking a beaming smile on the milestone occasion. Elliot recently enjoyed a holiday with Stella Jones, the model daughter of The Clash guitarist Mick Jones
Macca never went to university himself - having launched his music career in his teens - but has received multiple honorary degrees. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree by the University of Sussex in 1988, and another by Yale University in 2008.
In 1996, he co-founded the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA), housed in his former grammar school building, and was later made a Companion of LIPA in recognition of his contributions to arts education.
Elliot is the youngest son of photographer and filmmaker Mary, 55, and her ex-husband, television director Alistair Donald. He was born and raised in London, attending University College School in Hampstead, just like his older brother Arthur.
Arthur, 25, who has similarly been based in the US in recent years, is currently dating Phoebe Gates - daughter of Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates - and the couple are said to be getting increasingly serious.
While Elliot has kept a relatively low profile so far, he moves in well-heeled circles and is close friends with model Lila Moss, daughter of Kate Moss, and Stella Jones, the model daughter of The Clash guitarist Mick Jones.
Source: dailymail.co.uk/Juliet Conway, Gethin Hicks
This July, you’re invited to celebrate as The Beatles Story calls on fans to mark Ringo Starr’s 85th birthday and help share his timeless message of Peace and Love with the world.
Each year on his birthday since 2008, Ringo invites people everywhere to pause at 12 noon local time to say, think, or post “Peace and Love” as a collective moment of global unity. This heartfelt tradition is now recognised worldwide as a simple yet powerful gesture of kindness and hope.
At The Beatles Story in Liverpool, fans and visitors are encouraged to take part in this uplifting initiative. Attendees are invited to gather outside the museum entrance at The Royal Albert Dock – and, together, a special “Peace and Love” moment will be filmed to be shared on Ringo’s official Facebook page as part of the international celebration.
In honour of Ringo’s milestone birthday and lifelong advocacy for peace, The Beatles Story is proud to be unveiling a Ringo Starr Peace and Love Sculpture – a lasting tribute to his message.
The sculpture, created using an original casting of Ringo’s right hand, symbolically and quite literally shows that Ringo had a hand in spreading peace. Each piece is handcrafted by seasoned artisans, blending artistic craftsmanship with heartfelt meaning to create a lasting emblem of positivity.
This limited-edition sculpture is part of an exclusive initiative by the Ringo Starr organisation, with a select number made available to institutions and cultural spaces around the world. The Beatles Story is honoured to have one of these iconic works on display here in Liverpool.
The Beatles Story hopes that the inclusion of this statue in its exhibition will offer visitors a moment of reflection and a tangible connection to Ringo’s personal message of Peace and Love here in the city where his story began.
The statue will be on display outside The Beatles Story during the Peace and Love event on 7th July, offering attendees a chance to view it up close as part of the celebration.
Gary Astridge, from Ringo’s Peace and Love Initiative, said: “We are pleased to be partnering with the Beatles Story in showcasing Ringo’s Peace & Love statue in his hometown of Liverpool, creating opportunities for reflection, and events based on the Peace & Love Initiative.”
The celebration, which will mark Ringo Starr’s milestone 85th birthday, are being held by The Beatles Story with the objective to raise awareness of Ringo Starr’s charitable organisation, The Lotus Foundation – which he established with wife Barbara. The Lotus Foundation reflects the compassion and values that Ringo and Barbara have championed for decades, supporting causes close to their hearts such as providing support to domestic violence survivors, cancer patients, and animals in need.
Source: cultureliverpool.co.uk/Sophie Brereton
Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr will soon be teaming up once again. The two are working together on the upcoming animated film High in the Clouds, which is based on the children's book McCartney published in 2005. McCartney is one of the driving forces behind the project, and he's also slated to write — and possibly perform — original songs.
Starr, meanwhile, will voice a character in the movie. While it's not confirmed, McCartney could lend his vocal talents as well. No release date for the film has been announced yet, but fans of McCartney, Starr, and of course, The Beatles, are thrilled about the reunion.
Every time former bandmates from the most successful group of all time come together, it’s a momentous occasion. McCartney and Starr have a long track record of supporting each other's work, even after they split from one another professionally.
McCartney showed up in a big way to help Starr with his self-titled solo album Ringo. He played multiple instruments and sang backing vocals on the tune “Six O’Clock,” one of the standout tracks from the full-length. The song was released in 1973, only a few years after The Beatles split, highlighting how quickly the two reconnected.
Give My Regards to Broad Street
About a decade later, Starr returned the favor. McCartney was developing a film based on a fictionalized version of his own life titled Give My Regards to Broad Street, and he incorporated both new music and Beatles classics. Starr stepped in to play drums on several of the band’s most iconic tunes, such as “Yesterday” and “Eleanor Rigby,” which were featured in the movie.
McCartney once again reached out to Starr for help on his solo album Flaming Pie. The track “Beautiful Night” is a gorgeous, orchestra-backed ballad that benefits greatly from Starr’s drumming — and his presence brought added star power to the cut.
Source: forbes.com/Hugh McIntyre
As the creative masterminds of The Beatles, Paul McCartney and John Lennon took the helm with songwriting duties. They created most of the iconic hits attributed to the Lennon-McCartney partnership, whether as individual efforts or collaborations, despite the duo's strained relationship, which culminated in a bitter feud.
Wilfred Mellors remarked on their synergy in 1972: "Opposite poles generate electricity: between John and Paul the sparks flew. John's fiery iconoclasm was tempered by Paul's lyrical grace, while Paul's wide-eyed charm was toughened by John's resilience."
Despite George Harrison's songwriting prowess, he often found himself in the shadows of John and Paul's dominant roles in the band. The Liverpool-born musician did contribute tracks to The Beatles' albums, having a set number of songs allocated per record, before he left the band, leaving with a four word statement.
George's discontent became palpable post-touring era, specifically during studio work for 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' and 'The White Album', where his input was limited, reports the Liverpool Echo.
While 'Sgt Pepper' showcased George's 'Within You Without You', another piece he penned during the early 1967 sessions didn't make the final cut for the album.
The song in question is 'Only a Northern Song', a title that nods to George's Northern roots and the band's publishing company, Northern Songs. John Lennon and Paul McCartney were the majority shareholders of this company, each holding 15%, while George and Ringo Starr had a mere 0.8% each.
In 1979, George explained the track saying: "(It) was a joke relating to Liverpool, the Holy City in the North of England. In addition, the song was copyrighted Northern Songs Ltd., which I don't own, so: (quoting the lyrics) 'It doesn't really matter what chords I play ... as it's only a Northern Song'."
George further clarified his feelings about the situation in a 1999 interview with Billboard. He stated: "I realized Dick James (Northern Songs managing director) had conned me out of the copyrights for my own songs by offering to become my publisher.
"As an 18 or 19-year-old kid, I thought, 'Great, somebody's gonna publish my songs!'".
Source: themirror.com/John O'Sullivan, Dan Haygarth
