Beatles News
Paul McCartney got the feeling John Lennon didn’t want to associate with him the first time they met in 1957. The “Yesterday” singer was two years younger than the Quarry Men frontman.
In The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, Paul wrote that he’d seen John around Liverpool before they officially met in 1957. Paul said he thought John looked cool, but he doesn’t know if they’d have started talking to each other.
Luckily, the pair had a mutual friend, Ivan Vaughan. He invited Paul to the Woolton Village Fête at St Peter’s Church on a hot July day in 1957 to see John and his band, The Quarry Men, perform. Paul initially agreed to go because he wanted to “pick up a girl.” However, he became awestruck once he saw the skiffle group performing on a tiny flatbed truck.
Source: Hannah Wigandt/cheatsheet.com
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Paul McCartney said The Beatles‘ “I’ll Follow the Sun” is a “Leaving of Liverpool” song. Swap following the sun with following dreams. Paul did all that, becoming a rock ‘n’ roll star with his band. The Beatles wouldn’t have been as popular if they had never left home.
In The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, Paul wrote about his fondest childhood memories growing up on Forthlin Road in Liverpool. Mary McCartney worked as a midwife and brought the McCartneys a handsome salary. Therefore, the family lived in a nicer area. They had lace curtains, which is probably why Paul still has lace curtains. “An Irish thing, maybe,” Paul said.
Paul remembers singing The Beatles’ “I’ll Follow the Sun” in his childhood living room on Forthlin Road. “I’ll Follow the Sun” is like a “Leaving of Liverpool” song when he thinks about it. Paul wrote, “I’m leaving this rainy northern town for someplace where more is happening.”
Source: Hannah Wigandt/cheatsheet.com
In a revealing interview, the musician explained that he felt "bummed out" describing it as a "very difficult time in [his] life". Speaking to MOJO Magazine in 2021, McCartney shared how "someone was going to take every penny we'd ever made", which caused him great distress. "That wasn't easy, and led to a very difficult time in my life," he said.
"I definitely self-medicated there, and drank more than I ever had and probably more than I ever have since."
Reflecting back on his drinking habits, McCartney previously said he "overdid it".
"I think I was just trying to escape in my own mind," McCartney added. "I had the freedom to have a drink whenever I fancied it."
His then-wife, Linda, intervened, telling him to "cool it", which he eventually did.
In another discussion with British GQ, in 2020, McCartney spoke about pulling himself out of depression.
"It’s funny, I remember when I first met Linda, she was divorced with a child and living in New York and having to fend for herself," he began.
Source: Chanel Georgina/express.co.uk
Few bands have had as much influence on global music as The Beatles. Since rising to fame in the 1960s, John, Paul, George and Ringo went on to become a symbol of pop culture recognized all over the world, inspiring countless numbers to start their own bands or change their sound.
Yet it’s in their hometown Liverpool where their success left the greatest legacy. A 2016 report commissioned by Liverpool city council said the value of the Fab Four’s legacy to the city was almost $100 million and created more than 2,000 jobs. It’s easy to see why. Beatlemania is still alive and well on the streets of this former European Capital of Culture.
Several tour operators offer guided tours of relevant sites, but it’s also perfectly possible to take a DIY approach. There are many Beatles-related attractions within walking distance of each other, while some in the southeast of the city will require a bus trip or your own transport.
Source: David Nikel/forbes.com
This weekend marked George Harrison's 80th birthday, a milestone that he would never glimpse. In the spirit of remembrance, I much prefer to dwell on the outcomes that he did manage to realize. And chief among those, of course, were his musical attainments, which, in many ways, remain unparalleled.
During my recent interview with Harrison's first wife Pattie Boyd, we discussed her memories of George, especially his "slow burn" as a songwriter toiling in the shadows of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. We also made time to reflect on the couple's March 1964 "meet-cute" on a railway car during the film shoot for "A Hard Day's Night," the Beatles' first feature film.
For Pattie, meeting George was a revelation. An aspiring model, she accepted a walk-on part in "A Hard Day's Night," which placed her in George's orbit for a day-long shoot on their mobile film set. "He was so delicious," she recalled. "He was so good-looking and had the most beautiful, velvety brown eyes."
Source: Kenneth Womack/salon.com
Yoko Ono has quietly quit New York City life after 50 years and relocated to a rural upstate farm that she and late husband John Lennon purchased together - 42 years after the Beatle was famously shot dead outside of their Manhattan apartment building.
The singer and activist - who turned 90 last week - made the decision to leave Manhattan, and the exclusive Dakota building that she called home for five decades, during the pandemic and move out to her expansive 600-acre farm near Franklin, New York, which she and her husband bought in 1978.
Now, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal, Yoko has decided to relocate to the rural property full-time - and is not thought to have any plans to return to the seventh floor, nine-room Upper West Side apartment she once shared with John, who was murdered on the steps of the very same star-studded building they called home.
Source: Alison Boshoff, Charlie Lankston/dailymail.co.uk
Paul McCartney was a songwriter for the Beatles, writing a fictional story about wanting to be a “paperback writer.” This song came about, he explained, because of his love for the word “paperback.” Here’s what this musician said about the Revolver track.
McCartney appeared as one of the primary songwriters for the Beatles — lending his talents to the original track, “Paperback Writer.” This song was included on the Beatles’ Revolver and later added to their best-hits compilation collection, 1.
In a 2007 interview, according to This Day in Music, McCartney recalled “he wrote the song after reading in the Daily Mail [Lennon’s daily read], about an aspiring author. The song’s lyrics are in the form of a letter from an aspiring author addressed to a publisher.”
“Dear Sir or Madam, will you read my book? It took me years to write, will you take a look,” the lyrics state. “It’s based on a novel by a man named Lear / And I need a job / So I wanna be a paperback writer / Paperback writer.”
Source: Julia Dzurillay/cheatsheet.com
Following the Beatles’ grander opus “Come Together” opening their epic Abbey Road, “Something” left a softer sting of love and longing. The song presented George Harrison as more of a songwriting force within the group. Narrated by Amanda Mertz, American Songwriter goes behind the song of 'Redemption Song by Bob Marley, his final song before his untimely passing.Released as a double A-side single, along with “Come Together,” “Something” was the only song written by Harrison — among the deeper line of songs penned by John Lennon and Paul McCartney for the group — that was released as a single by the Beatles. Both songs spent a week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Source: Tina Benitez-Eves/americansongwriter.com
George Harrison’s “Got My Mind Set on You” came from his album Cloud Nine. The album Cloud Nine was originally going to feature covers of Bob Dylan songs.
“Got My Mind Set on You” was a No. 1 single in the United States but not in the United Kingdom.
George Harrison‘s “Got My Mind Set on You” was a cover of a song by another artist. Someone told George it sounded different from all of his other songs. George agreed and subsequently explained why this was the case.
The book George Harrison on George Harrison: Interviews and Encounters features an interview from 1987. In it, George discussed how his album Cloud Nine came together.
“I had a lot of demos,” he said. “I played them to [the Eclectic Light Orchestra’s] Jeff [Lynne]; he picked them out. I asked him to write me a song, too. Since I’ve been not making albums, I’ve done a lot of other people’s songs. Just as demos, some old tunes, I do a quick version. I like the idea of singing somebody else’s songs.”
Source: Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com
Often regarded as the greatest band of all time, The Beatles, despite their short-lived career as a band, have a long and varied history. Titans among pop culture icons, the group has been the inspiration for many works of art over the last 50 years. Among the countless records, movies, paintings or fashions that pay homage to the group, there is also a great mythos surrounding their lives and careers.
One of the best parts of being a Beatles fan is exchanging bits of information with people via word of mouth. As perhaps the most popular musical act of the last 50 years, there is potential to strike up a conversation about the group with just about anyone. To prepare for that venture, here are 10 great documentaries to advance your knowledge on The Beatles.
Source: Spencer Philip/movieweb.com
