Beatles News
The Mamas & the Papas’ Michelle Phillips said The Beatles’ “Love Me Do” didn’t sound “proper.” She thought the song was awesome anyway. “Love Me Do” became a hit single three times in three decades in the United Kingdom.
The Mamas & the Papas’ Cass Elliot said she didn’t enjoy The Doors as much as The Beatles. Subsequently, The Mamas & the Papas’ Michelle Phillips discussed what she felt about The Beatles’ “Love Me Do.” Notably, the song reached No. 1 in the United States but not the United Kingdom.
During a 1968 interview with Rolling Stone, Elliot discussed her taste in music. “Like, today, I’d rather hear Jimi Hendrix,” she said. “Today.
“The Doors, for instance: I can’t really get into their music,” he added. “I find it very one-dimensional. True, it’s far out. But when you get there finally, it’s just in one. It doesn’t surround me or take me away, whereas The Beatles always have completely turned me on.”
Source: Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com
The Beatles often experimented with various instruments and recording techniques. Their songs often sound different, partly due to The Beatles’ innovative tendencies. For example, George Harrison often incorporated the sitar into several tracks to generate a surreal sound. One of The Beatles’ more underrated songs was created by Paul McCartney, who was experimenting with a tape recorder.
“Rain” was released in 1966 as the B-side to their “Paperback Writer” single. Both songs were recorded during their Revolver sessions, but neither made the album. The song was written by John Lennon and is often considered one of The Beatles’ more underappreciated tracks.
The track is notable for its unorthodox recording techniques and the rapid drumming by Ringo Starr, who said “Rain” is the best drum performance of his career. In an interview with Conan O’Brien, Starr said it was the first and last time he played “that busy.”
Source: Ross Tanenbaum/cheatsheet.com
John Lennon dreamed of a better world with “Imagine” — and criticized Britain’s attitude toward immigrants in the Beatles’ “Get Back.” Still, this songwriter described himself as “slightly cynical,” even if he doesn’t want to be labeled as a cynic.
Lennon was a peace activist — even if he was “slightly cynical.” The Beatles became one of the world’s biggest bands comprised of “Fab Four” members Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison.
Lennon appeared as a Beatles songwriter, co-writing with McCartney and eventually branching out as a solo artist. In one interview, this songwriter described himself as “slightly cynical,” but he doesn’t want to be labeled exclusively as a cynic.
During a 1966 interview with Look Magazine, Lennon elaborated on the sacrifices the Beatles made — especially in the beginning. They had to wear suits and shorten their hair to get jobs in London. As of 1966, the songwriter said his life is about the “truth as he sees it.”
“I’m not a cynic,” Lennon said (via Beatles Interviews). “They’re getting my character out of some of things I write or say. They can’t do that. I hate tags. I’m slightly cynical, but I’m not a cynic. One can be wry one day and cynical the next and ironic the next.”
Source: Julia Dzurillay/cheatsheet.com
Sir Paul took the images during "an intense three-month period of travel" in 1963 and 1964 but believed they had been lost.
He said unearthing them had "plunged" him "right back" into the experience.
The photos will be shown at the National Portrait Gallery as part of its relaunch and published in a book.
Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm will run between 28 June and 1 October as one of two major exhibitions that will launch the London gallery's summer programme.
The images document December 1963 to February 1964, a period which was an important one for the Liverpool band, taking in their meteoric rise to global superstardom, their record-breaking appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show and the four-piece's youngest member George Harrison's 21st birthday.
Source: BBC News
The Beatles’ 1968 self-titled album had most of its songs written in the spring of that year when the band were at a Transcendental Meditation course in Rishikesh, India. From May to October, the Fab Four recorded the album at Abbey Road, where arguments broke out over creative differences. Tensions also weren’t helped by the continual presence of John Lennon’s new girlfriend Yoko Ono, who broke The Beatles’ rule of not having wives or partners in the studio. However, in a new interview, Sir Ringo Starr claimed that a song written for the record by Lennon reunited The Beatles, making them closer than ever before.
Source: George Simpson/express.co.uk
Paul McCartney was in the eye of the storm, Beatlemania, in 1964 when his group took over the world.
Now it seems he’s found a treasure trove of photos he took on a 35mm camera when it all happened. A book is coming called “Eyes of the Storm” on June 13th, five days before Sir Paul’s 81st birthday.
The photos were taken in six cities: New York, Washington, London, Liverpool, Miami, and Paris. There are 275 pictures. The book will have an introduction by Paul, plus essays by Jill Lepore and Nicholas Cullinan.
Source: Roger Friedman/showbiz411.com
Ringo Starr’s first tour as a solo artist was a big deal. Aside from a few one-off performances, he hadn’t played live since his time in The Beatles. Meaning that when the All-Starr Band debuted in 1989, it had been more than 20 years since the drummer toured. Ringo faced his fears on that tour as it was the first test of his newfound sobriety, but he inspired a fellow Rock & Roll Hall of Famer to embrace sobriety, too.The Beatles’ breakup wasn’t easy for Ringo. He lost the three people he routinely called his brothers as the Fab Four fractured in a storm of ego clashes and in-fighting. The drummer reached unprecedented heights with the band, and it was all gone by 1970.
Source: Jason Rossi/cheatsheet.com
Previously unseen portraits taken by Paul McCartney at the outset of The Beatles’ fame will be displayed for the first time later this year.
The collection of 275 photographs will be shown to the public at the newly refurbished National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in London from June 28 to October 1. ‘Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm’ comprises 35mm shots taken in London, Paris, Liverpool, Washington and New York between December 1963 and February 1964, as Beatlemania took hold worldwide.
McCartney previously thought he had lost the collection, but recently rediscovered it, leading him to approach the NPG in 2020. “He said he’d found these photographs that he remembers taking but thought had been lost,” said the gallery’s director, Nicholas Cullinan. “We sat down with him and began going through them. [It was] extraordinary to see these images – which are unseen – of such a well-documented, famous and important cultural moment.”
Source: Joe Goggins/uk.news.yahoo.com
One of the most famous quotes attributed to John Lennon was never actually said by him.
At the height of their fame in the mid-1960s, the Beatles were the name on almost everyone's lips. The Fab Four member who caught more flack than the others, rather unfairly, was drummer Ringo Starr.
This is where one of the most famous misquotes of all time arises. John Lennon was known for his quick wit, and almost sarcastic responses to most questions from the media.
The story goes that when asked by a reporter whether Ringo was the best drummer in the world, Lennon reportedly responded: "he wasn’t even the best drummer in the Beatles."
Despite the high tensions at the time of the Fab Four's split, it seems unlikely John would disrespect his bandmate in this way, and that is because Lennon never actually said this.
The joke can be traced back to 1981, as pop culture journalist Tim Worthington discovered while listening to an old Radio 4 comedy series called Radio Active. He found the joke made by Philip Pope, who would later be known for his role in Spitting Image.
Source: Aaron Curran/liverpoolecho.co.uk
The Beatles were known for their “exuberant” fans — even sparking the term “Beatlemania.” (There was even a time when Ringo Starr’s then-girlfriend was scratched by a crazed fan.) Here’s what these artists said about their dangerous experiences with crowds, with Paul McCartney joking about police involvement.
The Beatles is the band behind “Strawberry Field Forever,” “In My Life,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” and other hits. Together, McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr made history with their impact on pop culture.
They were also one of the first rock groups from the UK to make it big in America — and across the globe. At the height of their popularity, the Beatles were the cause of mass hysteria among fans, with some screaming, vomiting, and even fainting at the sight of the Fab Four. The phenomenon was named “Beatlemania,” which was later discussed by band members.
Source: Julia Dzurillay/cheatsheet.com
