Beatles News
Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. These four names live on in the memory of millions who, more than a half-a-decade later, still sing their songs. The Beatles are an empire of media that goes far beyond music: video clips, films, documentaries, museums, basically, a fantastic legacy of tunes that continue to move the world. Though the band's lifespan didn’t last for a decade, their prolific career keeps new generations hooked with every new release.
During the last ten years, most of their albums turned fifty, prompting remastered versions to be launched, all with extra material, alternative takes, and more fantastic content. However, their latest success was in the form of a documentary.
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There are loads of tours where fans can marvel at former homes of all four members of the The Beatles. But the one run by the National Trust is your only opportunity to have a nose inside two of the properties.
Members of the public can head to Liverpool to peak inside Paul McCartney’s childhood home at 20 Forthlin Road and John Lennon’s former abode, Mendips, at 251 Menlove Avenue.
McCartney moved to Forthlin Road with his father and brother following his mother’s death in 1956. The National Trust describes the home as an example of post-war terraced council housing and says visitors can ‘expect to see mismatched wallpaper, clutter and threadbare sofas’. The National Trust has owned it since 1995.
Mendips belonged to Lennon’s aunt Mimi and her husband George, who took custody of him after his parents separated in 1946. Once described by McCartney as ‘one of the almost posh houses’ of the area, the property was donated to the National Trust by Yoko Ono in 2002.
Source: Amy Houghton/timeout.com
A former John Lennon aide recalled times when the former Beatle envied the sort of songs Paul McCartney was writing.
While Dan Richter was instrumental in helping the former bandmates reconnect after their acrimonious split in 1970 he told The Telegraph that Lennon knew McCartney had talents he didn’t share. (Richter was around during the Beatles' last few months.)
Richter recalled, at one point, “John got somebody to make a list of all the Beatles’ songs, and then we had to say which were his and which were Paul’s.” On another occasion, Lennon’s entourage visited a “fancy restaurant” where a band was playing as guests ate dinner. "When they saw John come in, they started playing ‘Yesterday,’" Richter recalled. "John was so pissed off!"
Source: ultimateclassicrock.com
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The Beatles released their final album, Let It Be, in 1970, before splitting up for good. The band's 13th album included some major hits, including Across the Universe, Get Back, Let It Be and The Long and Winding Road - to name but a few. But it also included one of George Harrison's best-loved songs: I Me Mine. However, when the band started recording the track, John Lennon was nowhere to be seen.
The Beatles assembled at Abbey Road for the final time on January 3, 1970, to record their last song together, I Me Mine. The album version of the track is credited to Harrison on vocals, acoustic guitars and lead guitars; Paul McCartney on harmony vocals, bass guitar, Hammond organ and electric piano; and Ringo Starr on drums.
At the time, Lennon was out of the country. He had flown out of the UK on December 29, 1969, alongside his wife, Yoko Ono, to the small city of Aalborg in Denmark.
The couple stayed with Ono's first husband, Tony Cox, and his new wife Melinde. Lennon and Ono were visiting her daughter and stayed at Cox's farmhouse until January 25, 1970.
Source: Callum Crumlish/express.co.uk
He was best known for his formal portraits of prominent politicians and entertainers. Less famously, he took thousands of candid shots of John, Paul, George and Ringo.
Henry Grossman, a photographer who was best known for his formal portraits of celebrities and other public figures — but who also, less famously, immortalized the Beatles on film in thousands of unscripted antics while juggling a side career as a Metropolitan Opera tenor and a Broadway bit player — died on Nov. 27 in Englewood, N.J. He was 86.
His son, David, said he died in a hospital several months after sustaining injuries in a fall.
Source: Sam Roberts/nytimes.com
George Harrison said the press called him a Howard Hughes-like recluse just because they didn’t catch him going to the clubs every night. They claimed the former Beatle never ventured out past Friar Park’s gates. However, George insisted he didn’t go to places where the press could find him.
George became disenchanted with many things in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He’d already disassociated himself from fame and stardom in the mid-1960s, but he also grew tired of what record companies wanted from him and how the press treated him.
After a hectic early 1970s, George wanted to unwind and settle down. He stopped doing interviews and making appearances. George only seemed to make the music he wanted when he felt like it. He filled his time with gardening, raising his son, Dhani, and making demos here and there.
Source: Hannah Wigandt/cheatsheet.com
There are many songs recorded by The Beatles that never saw the light of day. Many times, the band would be dissatisfied with the final product. However, one song was abandoned by The Beatles because they struggled to sing it.
In 1965, The Beatles starred in the movie Help!, a musical comedy that was also accompanied by a soundtrack featuring new music from the band. The movie was a critical and box office success, but it is mainly remembered today for its soundtrack.
Help! was the fifth studio album from The Beatles and included several hit songs such as “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away,” “Help!,” “Ticket to Ride,” and “Yesterday.” Three songs became No. 1 hits on charts worldwide, including the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The album also performed well, reaching platinum status in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, and Argentina.
Source: Ross Tanenbaum/cheatsheet.com
Ringo Starr never seemed to have trouble making friends. The drummer once said joining The Beatles was like going to school since he didn’t know the other three. Even though the Liverpool musicians knew of each other, Ringo had a steep learning curve when he took over the drum kit. Still, he formed tight bonds with his Fab Four bandmates. Ringo formed fast friendships with other musicians, too, yet he was never safe from a little good-natured harassment from Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham, and Ringo seemed to handle it well.Ringo unsurprisingly formed close bonds with his Beatles bandmates after joining the fray. That skill extended beyond the band and came into sharp focus when the Fab Four fractured.The drummer had an intimate relationship with a drummer who once wanted to replace him in The Beatles. When the band broke up, Ringo harnessed one of his passions to contribute to a T. Rex album, but not as a drummer. He and Harry Nilsson became fast friends.
Source: Jason Rossi/cheatsheet.com
The Beatles didn’t officially break up until 1970, but the band was already beginning to rupture internally before that. In 1969, George Harrison temporarily left The Beatles and wrote a song that captured his frustrations with his fellow bandmates. He did return to the band, but not before airing out his grievances.
In 1969, The Beatles were recording what would be their final album, Let it Be. The recording sessions were captured in the 1970 documentary of the same name, and footage showed high tensions between the band. While Paul McCartney and John Lennon had always been the main songwriters for the band, Harrison had long felt ignored and reached his breaking point while the band was recording the track “Two of Us.”
After breaking for lunch, Harrison came back and nonchalantly announced he was leaving the band, telling them, “See you round the clubs.” While Harrison didn’t officially say why he left, he later said that part of it could be blamed on McCartney.
Source: Ross Tanenbaum/cheatsheet.com
While Paul Simon had problems with John Lennon, he was a big fan of his Beatles bandmate, George Harrison. The two musicians became friends after performing on Saturday Night Live together, and they maintained a friendly relationship for years. Simon drew comparisons between them musically, but he explained they got along because Harrison was pleasant company. He said he liked him so much because Harrison was a normal person.“The roots of my friendship with George Harrison go back to 1976, when we performed together on Saturday Night Live,” Simon wrote for “Remembering George,” a special edition of Rolling Stone. “Sitting on stools side by side with acoustic guitars, we sang ‘Here Comes the Sun’ and ‘Homeward Bound.’ Though we’re in the same generation and weaned on Buddy Holly, Elvis and the Everly Brothers, it must have seemed as strange to him to be harmonizing with someone other than Lennon or McCartney as it was for me to blend with someone other than Art Garfunkel. Nevertheless, it was an effortless collaboration.”
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
