Beatles News
Stranger Things actor Joseph Quinn has opened up about getting to play rock legend George Harrison in director Sam Mendes’ upcoming films about The Beatles.
According to The Standard, Quinn spoke to the PA news agency on the red carpet for the U.K. premiere of his film The Fantastic Four: First Steps. He said being in the Beatles film is something he never could have dreamed of.
“It feels exciting, it feels a little daunting,” Quinn shared. “I’m definitely inspired by the three men that I’m working with, and Sam, who’s directing it.”
Quinn’s co-stars include Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr.
“We’ve been doing a few weeks of rehearsals that I’ve really been enjoying,” he added. “It’s beyond my wildest dreams. I can’t believe I’m able to participate in a film and a project like this.”
Mendes’ Beatles films, titled The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event, will be released in April 2028. Each film will be told from a different band member’s point of view.
The Sony films will mark the first time Apple Corps Ltd. and The Beatles have granted a studio the rights to the band members’ life stories and their legendary catalog of music.
Source: kshe95.com/ABC News
Some of the best stories, both fiction and non-fiction, often end abruptly on a cliffhanger and or in a big ball of fire. Endings such as these aren’t necessarily cathartic, as they are not fully fleshed out. However, what they are is mystical and mythical, as they incite the question of “What if?” This is the exact type of story The Beatles‘ breakup equates to, as their legendary legacy only grew with their razor-sharp split. They didn’t trickle into old age and maybe a mediocre career. No, they soared off into the sunset like a phoenix, and the myth surrounding them benefited from it, and John Lennon agrees.
Many of the finest bands have shot themself in the foot by holding on for too long. In reality, they should have called it quits in their prime, as their legacy has been tarnished by beating a dead horse for too long. The Beatles, seemingly not on purpose, did not do this in the slightest. Did they have a lot more years left in them upon their breakup? Certainly, however, what would they have become? Quite possibly an animatronic four-piece band regurgitating their biggest hits, as we’ve seen so many classic bands become. That being so, we Beatles fans should be grateful for their split, as we will always remember them as the biggest band in the world.
How The Beatles’ Breakup Supported Their “Myth”
There is no sure-fire way to know what The Beatles’ legacy would have looked like if they had stayed together. However, John Lennon thought some extra years together would have tainted it. Prior to his passing in 1980, John Lennon sat down with the Los Angeles Times and revealed why he thought The Beatles’ breakup was the best thing for their legacy.
“I don’t know, it would have probably gone down the tubes and then been resurrected like everything else [if we stayed together],” Lennon told the publication. ” I always thought it was best to go out when you’re flying high. The popularity was always ebbing and flowing. That’s what people forget. It was only during the initial rush where everything we did was right. After that, it was up or down depending on the single or the movie or whatever.”
Source: Peter Burditt/americansongwriter.com
Between November 1966 and March 1967 the Beatles recorded Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band at the Abbey Road studios. This album, which sold one and a half million copies in its first two weeks of release in the United States, became an electronic bible for the emerging drug generation, then the editor of International Times, London’s first underground newspaper, and currently the editor of London’s Time Out magazine, went to the recording sessions at the invitation of Paul McCartney. In the following behind-the-scenes account he tells you what it was like to be there.
I remember it well. “The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet,” the last track on the Mothers of Invention’s Freak Out album, came to an end and Paul McCartney strolled across his huge living room to take the record off. In one corner a BBC color-TV monitor was mistimed to give a flickering abstract pattern; two René Magritte paintings glowed on the wall in the pale afternoon winter sun; and Martha, Paul’s Old English sheepdog, lay content in front of a crackling log fire. I sat by the French windows enjoying a cup of tea. Paul returned and picked up the conversation where we’d left off. “This is going to be our Freak Out. Not like Zappa’s. But when people hear this they’ll really stop and think about what it’s all about!”
“Fantastic, man!” I said, in that dull flat voice you sometimes get after smoking too much dope. Paul was talking about an album the Beatles had just started recording at Abbey Road. It was January 1967. The album was Sergeant Pepper.
In those days I saw a lot of Paul. The London scene was very small, and if you smoked pot in the mid ’60s, you easily got to know every other head in town. When I first met him, Paul was living in a large townhouse in Wimpole Street, the parental home of his girlfriend, Jane Asher. I met him through Jane’s brother, Peter, who was then still a member of Peter and Gordon and also lived at home and who, much later, went on to become the successful manager and producer of Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor.
Paul lived in a small attic room on the top floor of the Asher household, originally part of the servants’ quarters, next door to Peter’s room. Peter had an L-shaped room done out in modern style with lots of Norwegian wooden shelves, gold records and various trophies and awards from his career with Gordon Waller in the hit parade. A pair of Brenell tape recorders sat just inside the door. These belonged to Paul and were the machines on which he devised and recorded many of the Beatles’ backwards tapes. “BreneÜs are the best even if the knobs do fall off.” He found that his own name came out as Ian Iachimoe when played backward on tape and suggested that we all write to him as that so he could distinguish letters from friends in amongst the sacks of fan mail. He published a short story under the same name.
Source: hightimes.com
Ringo Starr celebrated his 85th birthday in Beverly Hills Monday with his annual Peace & Love event, but the big day was also marked in a very special way in his home city of Liverpool, England.
According to the U.K.’s The Independent, the city where The Beatles were founded unveiled the “Peace and Love Sculpture” in honor of Ringo. The silver statue, revealed by the city’s Beatles Story museum, features a hand making the peace sign and was created using a casting of Starr’s right hand. A similar statue is currently on display in Beverly Hills.
The unveiling was attended by locals, as well as students from Ringo’s primary school, St. Silas CE.
Ringo is known for spreading peace and love. In fact, on every birthday he asks fans to spread the message at 12 p.m. PT. This year the message was shared in over 38 countries and was also beamed from mission control in Houston to the International Space Station.
Source: everettpost.com/ABC News
When Carl Perkins joined Paul McCartney in the studio, the plan was to work on one of McCartney's songs for his upcoming album. The Beatles covered several of his songs, so McCartney was very excited about the collaboration. However, while he was working with the former Beatle, he decided to show him a song he'd been working on to get his input. Little did he know, he was about to trigger an incredibly painful memory. The song was "My Old Friend," and one particular line absolutely devastated the bassist.
When Perkins sang the line, “Think about me every now and then, old friend,” McCartney couldn't handle it and broke down in tears, immediately stepping out of the room. Perkins was bewildered and worried he'd done something wrong, but Linda McCartney quickly reassured him and explained what had happened. Years later, Perkins cleared the mystery in an interview.
"Paul was crying, tears were rolling down his pretty cheeks, and Linda said, 'Carl, thank you so much.' I said, 'Linda, I'm sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry.' She said, 'But he’s crying, and he needed to. He hasn’t been able to really break down since that happened to John.'"
Paul McCartney believes this one John Lennon song helped shape the world as we know it. While Lennon said those words to McCartney the last time they saw each other, that wasn't the last time they talked. In the 70s, Paul and Linda McCartney were playing together with Wings and raising a family in the UK, while Lennon settled in New York City with Yoko Ono and withdrew from the public eye when his youngest son, Sean Ono Lennon, was born in 1975. But while their lives didn't leave much room for them to meet up, the two friends still talked on the phone regularly, especially during the quiet times.
In his book, McCartney: A Life in Lyrics, he recalled one of the last conversations they had on the phone. They were both family men at the time, and Lennon in particular had become a homemaker, being his son's primary caretaker. McCartney shared with readers that they would talk about baking bread, something they both had become interested in. About the last time they talked, he said elsewhere that "It was just a very happy conversation about his family, my family. Enjoying his life very much, Sean was a very big part of it."
Source: collider.com/Val Barone
The Beatles were not always proud of the work they produced. In particular, John Lennon was happy to take aim at some of the band's output he wasn't fond of.
He shared his disdain for the 1967 album 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' and Paul McCartney's work on the 'Let it Be' single and the closing medley on 'Abbey Road'. It wasn't just Paul's work that John criticised. He notably said he wished he had not written 'It's Only Love'. About it, he said: "That's the one song I really hate of mine. Terrible lyrics."
And as The Beatles rose to fame, they had to work on more than just music. John did not particularly love having to star in films and admitted he didn't enjoy working on the film 'Help!'. The 1965 film followed the success of their 1964 movie debut 'A Hard Day's Night' but it was widely viewed not to have hit the heights of its predecessor.
A New York Times review of the film said: "It's a fiasco of farcical whimseys that are thrown together in this film – a clutter of mechanical gimmicks and madcap chases... Funny? Exciting? Different?
"Well, there's nothing in "Help!" to compare with that wild ballet of The Beatles racing across a playground in 'A Hard Day's Night', nothing as wistful as the ramble of Ringo around London all alone ... The boys themselves are exuberant and uninhibited in their own genial way. They just become awfully redundant and – dare I say it? – dull."
Critic Leslie Halliwell said it was an: "exhausting attempt to outdo 'A Hard Day's Night' in lunatic frenzy, which goes to show that some talents work best on low budgets."
The film's plot sees George Harrison, Paul and John try to save Ringo Starr from a cult and scientists, hellbent on taking a ring sent to the drummer by a fan in what was a parody of the James Bond series.
The film was shot in studios in London and on location in Austria and the Bahamas during spring 1965 but the band's hearts weren't in it, it seems.
About the filming process, John said: "'Help!' was a drag". He added: "We were on pot by then and all the best stuff, with us breaking up and falling about, was left on the cutting room floor."
Source: Dan Haygarth/liverpoolecho.co.uk
After The Beatles broke up in 1970, all four of them launched their solo careers. George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and Paul McCartney all tried out different sounds. However, towards the start, you could still hear elements of The Beatles in their music. However, that was not the case for John Lennon, as he seemingly plagued every part of The Beatles’ influence and sound out of his very being. As a result, he created works that many people, particularly Beatles fanatics, weren’t fans of. Including John Lennon’s contemporary, Paul Simon.
John Lennon and Paul Simon never really saw eye to eye. Concerning his favorite member of The Beatles, Simon divulged that it was Paul McCartney. In addition to declaring his favorite member of the Beatles, another moment that planted a wedge between the two musicians was when they clashed in the studio during one of their collaborations.
Needless to say, Simon and Lennon were not fans of one another. And that frustration was not just a personal one, as Paul Simon was also not a fan of John Lennon’s work following The Beatles’ breakup. Paul Simon Said Lennon Never Did Anything “Interesting or Innovative”
As stated previously, Lennon’s work with The Beatles and after The Beatles sit in stark contrast to one another. Consequently, the perceptions of the music often mimic that stark contrast, and Paul Simon’s opinion of the music resides on the negative end of the spectrum.
Concerning his distaste for Lennon’s solo music, Paul Simon told Rolling Stone in 1972, “It’s not that I’m not interested in what Lennon has to say. I am. He usually has my ear. When he makes a record or makes a record or makes a statement, I’ll read it or listen to it.”
Simon added, “I am a potential audience for him, But I find that he seldom says anything that’s interesting or innovative to me, and yet, I listen, based on a long-standing respect. Based on his musicianship, based on the fact that he was involved in some great music over the years, and so I keep listening to stuff that’s no longer great.”
Harsh words, but given their history and Simon’s affection, seemingly for more traditionally original-sounding music, these comments come as no surprise. However, to a lot of people, these comments also might seem outlandish. After all, some of Lennon’s solo works include the iconic songs, “Imagine”, “Jealous Guy”, and “Instant Karma!” Though to each their own.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Peter Burditt
John Lennon gave one of his final interviews to Playboy in September 1980, where he spoke about making new music with his wife Yoko Ono, along with many other aspects of their life together. Some interesting moments include the fact that he had settled into being a house-husband. This involved spending his days baking bread and taking care of his son, Sean.
By this time, word had spread that Lennon and Ono were making music again after retreating from the public eye in 1975. When asked what he’d been up to, Lennon shared surprisingly freely.
“I’ve been baking bread and looking after the baby,” he said. When asked what else he’d been doing, he replied, “That’s like what everyone else who has asked me that question over the last few years says. ‘But what else have you been doing?’ To which I say, ‘Are you kidding?’”
Lennon continued, “Because bread and babies, as every housewife knows, is a full-time job. After I made the loaves, I felt like I had conquered something. But as I watched the bread being eaten, I thought, Well, Jesus, don’t I get a gold record or knighted or nothing?”
John Lennon Revealed That He Owed His Authenticity as an Artist to His Relationship With Yoko Ono
John Lennon was then asked why he became a house-husband. He apparently took to bread and babies as easily as he took to music. His answer was revealing, briefly touching on his time with The Beatles. He also explained the stresses of producing so much music in a short time.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Lauren Boisvert
The connection between rock ‘n’ roll and backward messaging has been discussed ad nauseam. Countless rockers have been accused of hiding little tidbits in their recordings, hoping to catch the ear of particularly observant fans. While not all the theories these “backward messages” have sparked have stood the test of time, there is one that we can’t seem to shake: the notion that John Lennon admitted to Paul McCartney’s death and replacement by a clone on “Strawberry Fields Forever.”
The “Paul is Dead” theory is another highly debated topic. While McCartney himself has denied the rumors for decades now, the “proof” is irrefutable in some fans’ minds. One piece of evidence is Lennon’s mumbled lyric at the end of “Strawberry Fields Forever.”
John Lennon’s Mumbled Lyric at the End of “Strawberry Fields Forever” That Fed Into the “Paul Is Dead” Conspiracy
“I am alive and well and concerned about the rumors of my death,” McCartney once said, nodding to the “Paul is Dead” theory. “But if I were dead, I would be the last to know.”
The “Paul is Dead” theory is one of the most famous rock n’ roll myths. As the story goes, McCartney died in a car crash in the middle of the Beatles’ heyday, leaving those in charge of the band with no choice but to replace him with a look alike.
Due to the lack of any finite proof, believers have clung to the smallest morsels of evidence. One of those morsels is Lennon’s whispered phrase at the end of “Strawberry Fields Forever.”
“Cranberry Sauce” or “I Buried Paul”?
Lennon whispers an unintelligible phrase at the tail-end of this Beatles classic. According to the musician himself, he was saying “Cranberry Sauce.” While we’re not sure why he would slip that into this psychedelic anthem, it’s not the weirdest thing Lennon ever did…
Those in the “Paul is Dead” crowd have another theory. According to them, Lennon said, “I Buried Paul.” Lennon says this barely above a whisper. As a result, it sparked a significant amount of discussion about what he actually said. Needless to say, if his saying “I Buried Paul” were true, it would be a colossal bomb for Lennon to drop. Believers might be grasping at straws here, but we’ve heard crazier theories. There could be some truth to this claim.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Alex Hopper
While many joined McCartney in wishing the drummer a happy birthday, others were stunned to learn his real name.
One fan commented: "HIS NAME IS RICHARD?" with another responding: "Lol his real name is Richard Starkey." Another sarcastically commented: "Beatles 'Fan'" while someone else explained: "Yes. Ringo is a nickname because he wore a lot of rings."
Another shared: "This is so cute. I love their friendship," with a sixth commenting: "Happy birthday Ringo!!!!" "Happy birthday dear Ringo," another wrote. One more added: "Ugh you two are the best happy birthday Ringo." (sic)
Other areas of social media are also awash with Beatles fans sending birthday messages to the iconic musicians. McCartney often sparks frenzy among fans with his posts, and in February was branded "crazy" after announcing he'd be surprising fans in New York with an unscheduled gig.
The Liverpudlian announced the impromptu gig on Wednesday, February 12, and tickets sold out in just 30 minutes.
In the end, 575 lucky fans were treated to an intimate performance by the music legend, with the singer addressing the spontaneous nature of the show. "So, here we are. Some little gig. New York. Why not?" he told the crowds after sharing the plan on Instagram hours earlier.
Both musicians are two of Britain's best-known names thanks to their stint in the band, The Beatles.
Alongside George Harrison and John Lennon, the band is arguably the biggest band the country has ever produced, shooting to global fame in the 1960s.
Lennon and McCartney served as the lead songwriters and vocals, while Starr provided the skills on the drums.
Source: gbnews.com/Olivia Gantzer
