Beatles News
Wednesday, April 6, 1966, studio three at Abbey Road, London. It’s approaching 8pm as Paul McCartney plugs in his bass guitar in the building where, in just three and a half years, he and the other Beatles have recorded six game-changing albums that have helped the band to conquer the world.
Reconvening after their first meaningful break since Beatlemania launched them into the stratosphere, the Fab Four set to work on Tomorrow Never Knows, a song that, 56 years on, remains one of the most revolutionary recordings in pop history. At 1.15am, having laid down three takes, they call time. It is no exaggeration to say that what happens that night and over the next 12 weeks invents modern music.
Source: Dan Cairns/thetimes.co.uk
Paul McCartney has had a long and successful solo career after leaving The Beatles. For a short time, McCartney was backed by the band Wings. The former Beatle came up with the name Wings following a traumatic and impactful life event. The Beatles dominated the 1960s, but the band would only have a decade of success before splitting up in 1970. Each member was going off on their own solo careers, and Paul McCartney was set to debut his first solo album only weeks before The Beatles’ final album, Let it Be. According to Billboard, McCartney was given a letter from John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison, asking him to push the album until after Let it Be debuted.
Source: Ross Tanenbaum/cheatsheet.com
Who could hate Paul McCartney or The Beatles? Even if you’re not a fan of their music, they’re lovable guys. But, McCartney admits he wasn’t always so sure. He is now, but he shared how he got over his initial fears. McCartney was a guest on the Fly on the Wall podcast on Oct. 12. Hosts Dana Carvey and David Spade interviewed McCartney for his connection to Saturday Night Live as a frequent musical guest. Still, they couldn’t help asking about The Beatles and his current touring.When it comes to live performing, McCartney now has 60 years of experience. In the early days of The Beatles, however, he would still get nervous before every show. Despite the popularity of The Beatles songs, McCartney still got butterflies going on stage.
Source: Fred Topel/cheatsheet.com
Ringo Starr hit the jackpot when The Beatles asked him to join the band. Likewise, the Fab Four’s career might have looked much different without Ringo’s hall-of-fame drumming talent. Beatles fans hit the jackpot when a long-lost secret song Ringo and George Harrison worked on finally saw the light of day in 2021.
Ringo focused his efforts on The Beatles once he joined the band in August 1962. When the band started splintering at the end of the decade, he started branching out. He played on the Plastic Ono Band single “Cold Turkey” in 1969 and contributed to the 1969 album Is This What You Want by Jackie Lomax, per AllMusic.
Likewise, George started writing music at such a prolific pace that he once said he’d have to make a hundred Beatles albums to get his songs out. Still, George found a way to release his first solo record while still a member of the Fab Four.
Source: Jason Rossi/cheatsheet.com
George Harrison didn’t care when people called him the ex-Beatle who benefited the most from the group’s dissolution. He didn’t want to be George the Beatle in any capacity. George was the first Beatle to dislike his time in the band. It happened earlier than most think. He enjoyed the essence of the group the most; their companionship and effortless performances. That essence was strongest during The Beatles’ Hamburg, Germany, residency. However, they couldn’t play dive bars forever. They wanted a recording contract, and when their manager, Brian Epstein, secured one, they climbed to the top fast. Almost too fast. They had a price to pay for fame. Soon, they couldn’t go anywhere without being chased by hoards of screaming fans. When they played the same 10 songs over and over on tour, those fans only screamed more.
Source: Hannah Wigandt/cheatsheet.com
In 1963 - soon after The Beatles released their first single - the musician said it was his dream to appear in The Dandy.
The half-finished storyboard, created by cartoonist Nigel Parkinson, has gone on display at Liverpool Beatles Museum.
It shows the musician waking up and catching a bus before being chased by fans.
The strip also refers to some of his famous lyrics, from songs including A Hard Day's Night, Ticket to Ride and I Want To Hold Your Hand.
Mr Parkinson, who draws Dennis the Menace for The Beano, said: "It was nerve-wracking drawing Sir Paul.
Source: BBC News/bbc.com
Producer Giles Martin — son of the late “Fifth Beatle” George Martin — unpacks the approach behind the revelatory new Special Edition reissue. “I learned this really early on with the Beatles: Your job is to push boundaries.”
The album in question is Revolver, and “they,” of course, are the Beatles, the greatest band of the rock era. The speaker is 53-year-old Giles Martin, son of the late producer George Martin, who shepherded nearly all of the Fab Four’s creative impulses toward the masterpieces that formed the foundation of their legacy.
Giles, himself a gifted producer with a knack for giving new life to decades-old music, recently revitalized the Beatles’ seventh official studio effort, originally released in early August 1966. This latest Beatles Special Edition, due out Oct. 28, features Revolver in new stereo and Dolby Atmos mixes as well as the original mono mix. The project is being released in various digital and physical configurations that peak with Super Deluxe box sets with CDs or vinyl plus access to a digital collection and a hardbound book.
Source: Jeff Tamarkin/tidal.com
Ringo Starr landed the best gig of his career in the early 1960s when he joined The Beatles. The self-deprecating Ringo once said he knew he was no good as a drummer (he was wrong), but he didn’t pull any punches after a disastrous show in Montreal. Ringo called it the worst gig of his life, and it was so bad it ruined the city for The Beatles.
The Fab Four built their reputation and fan base by playing live. The band performed several residencies in Hamburg, Germany, in 1961 and 1962, and they crisscrossed England when they weren’t playing Deutschland.
The rigorous schedule didn’t change when The Beatles added Ringo to the lineup in August 1962. The only difference was they had a hall-of-fame drummer keeping the beat. A year-and-a-half later, in early February 1964, The Beatles got their lucky break on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Source: Jason Rossi/cheatsheet.com
George Harrison didn’t understand why The Beatles played at the Royal Variety Performance in 1963. The group performed for Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, and Princess Margaret, alongside some of the best acts of the time. George wondered who nominated the band to perform at such a prestigious show.
It was an honor but also a bit of a hindrance too. He wondered if The Beatles’ performance on the variety show was fair for fans who couldn’t afford to buy tickets.
By mid-1963, The Beatles were becoming one of the hottest rock ‘n’ roll groups. Both “From Me To You” and “She Loves You” had reached No. 1. In October, they starred on Sunday Night at the London Palladium. More than 15 million viewers tuned in to watch.
Source: Hannah Wigandt/cheatsheet.com
Elvis Presley had a profound influence on The Beatles, who grew up listening to The King as teenagers in 1950s Liverpool. John Lennon went as far as to say that before Elvis “there was nothing” when it came to music for the young people of that era. Famously, the Fab Four ended up having their chance to meet The King for themselves only once back in 1965.
Invited to Elvis’ Los Angeles home on Perugia Way, The Beatles were starstruck to come face-to-face with their idol. Sitting in silent awe, The King broke the ice by saying he’d have to go to bed if they didn’t have a conversation. Legend has it, the five most successful men in music history ended up jamming together and playing pool.
Even though Paul McCartney preferred Elvis in his younger years, the star still looks back fondly on the fact he once had the chance to meet the star, who died in 1977 at just 42.
Source: George Simpson/express.co.uk
