Beatles News
The question of what to do after you’ve been in the biggest band of all time was approached in many ways by The Beatles, but George Harrison provided one of the most fascinating answers: start your own film production company, and make films you like, even when they court controversy. Although it had its fair share of flops (such as Shanghai Surprise and Water), Harrison’s Handmade Films was a genuine British success story in the 80s. This was a decade when financial support had fallen through due to the collapse of local studios and the rise of the Thatcher government, which did not see arts funding as a priority. Fewer films were produced locally and dominated by “prestige” releases, such as Gandhi and A Passage to India, that were increasingly bankrolled by Hollywood.
Source: Andrew Taylor/collider.com
You walk into a dark room and see the four of them blown up on a giant screen. They’re playing a blistering live set. It is a gig, in rock circles, that has been acknowledged as one of the most famous musical performances on film. But you never knew it existed. In that space, in that moment, you luxuriate in an experience that’s completely new.
Which is exactly why Anabel Martinez, 37, was smiling as she sat in a dark, circular-shaped gallery at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on a recent Sunday morning.
She came to Cleveland for a business trip and paid $35 for a general admission ticket to the museum not knowing about the special Beatles exhibit, “Get Back to Let It Be.” Launched in March, it’s a show meant to complement the acclaimed, 468-minute documentary series directed by Peter Jackson and aired by Disney+ last November.
Source: Geoff Edgers/spokesman.com
Tom Petty didn’t bother telling people he was making music with The Traveling Wilburys. Who would believe that Petty was in a supergroup with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, and Roy Orbison? It was too good to be true; almost impossible.
George formed The Traveling Wilburys by accident. After recording his 1987 album, Cloud Nine, Europe wanted an extra song for a 12-inch single.
That night, he told Lynne and Orbison he needed a song quickly. Lynne agreed to help, and Orbison told the guys to call him when they found a recording studio.
Source: cheatsheet.com
James Taylor has spoken about auditioning to join The Beatles‘ label Apple Records in the late 1960s.
The singer-songwriter said in a new interview that he believes his youth – besides his musical talent – helped him have the confidence to sell himself.
“I had some kind of competence and the arrogance of youth, without which nobody would ever do anything, because you’d hedge your bets,” Taylor recalled to GuitarWorld of auditioning in front of Paul McCartney and George Harrison.
“There’s a stage in our development where you’re allowed to do impossible things, which is why the military looks to people about that age. You can talk people into doing things that if you were asked when you were 35, you’d say, ‘No thanks, I’ll pass on that.’
Source: Charlotte Krol/nme.com
Tom Petty knew something important about his friend George Harrison; he didn’t have much interest in rock music past 1957. Although, George himself extended it to the late 1960s. The former Beatles grew up listening to Carl Perkins and Chuck Berry. In the 1960s, he loved the music he was making with The Beatles. He enjoyed what other artists were doing.However, once 1970 rolled around, George became disenchanted with rock’s new sounds. After that, George only listened to the new rock music from older artists.
In a special edition of Rolling Stone called “Remembering George,” Petty said he didn’t think George had much interest in rock music past 1957.
“The thing he was proudest of was the Beatles,” Petty said. “He said the Beatles put out such a positive message. He was appalled at the things being said in pop music. Once he got into his Indian music, that rock & roll music to him was in the past.
Source: cheatsheet.com
Former members of The Beatles, George Harrison and John Lennon had not seen one another for years by the time the 1970s came around. The band had split up in 1970 and each of the Fab Four went their separate ways. All four members started their own solo careers and spent some much-needed time apart.
Lennon and Harrison were particularly bitter with one another during their final years as a band.
During the recording of The Beatles' final album, Let It Be, Harrison famously announced: "I think I'll be leaving the band now."
The shocking moment came after The Quiet Beatle grew frustrated over Lennon and Paul McCartney controlling the musical direction of the band. This event was also revisited during the recently-released Disney Plus series Get Back by Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson.
Source: Callum Crumlish/express.co.uk
Bob Dylan and George Harrison were close friends, often performing with each other, including in the Traveling Wilburys. One of their musical collaborations left a bad taste in Harrison’s mouth, however. After Harrison performed in a concert celebrating Dylan’s 30 years in the music industry, he discovered something about the show that he did not like. Harrison lashed out at Dylan in response.
A black and white picture of George Harrison and Bob Dylan holding guitars.
Source: cheatsheet.com
Paul McCartney chose the best inspiration to create one of the songs in The Beatles' album, "Abbey Road."
Out of The Beatles members, McCartney is the most public about how he has written and composed songs throughout their career.
For instance, he said he made "Yesterday" when he was about to sleep and composed "Hey Jude" for John Lennon's son, Julian.
But among his inspirations, a heartfelt poem gave birth to their "Abbey Road" album's song, "Golden Slumbers."
In his 1997 book, "Many Years From Now," McCartney said that he based the hit track on "Cradle Song" - a poem from Thomas Dekker's play, "Patient Grissel."
He revealed that he liked the poem's words so much. However, he faced one problem while doing it.
"I thought it was very restful, a very beautiful lullaby - but I couldn't read the melody, not being able to read music. I just took the words and wrote my own music. I didn't know at the time it was four hundred years old," he explained.
Source: Angeline Sicily/musictimes.com
Tom Petty was on the receiving end of many a late-night ukulele jam session with George Harrison. He reserved those sessions for his closest friends. He fell in love with the instrument’s sound and started playing it in the 1980s.
When George started playing the ukulele, he sometimes couldn’t stop. Its sound was tied to his soul somehow. It tuned him into something, almost like chanting mantras tuned him into God. George played so much ukulele that he cleared rooms with his playing.
Source: cheatsheet.com
After George Harrison left The Beatles, he hoped they’d get back together because it would’ve been “selfish” if they didn’t make music together again. However, once George got a taste of life outside of one of the biggest bands in the world, he started to hate the idea of a Beatles reunion.
George could do anything he wanted outside the band, even if that meant not making music. Regardless of what he did with his life, though, it was always under the watchful eye of the media and fans. He didn’t like doing what music executives, the press, or fans wanted. A Beatles reunion was at the top of everyone’s list.
Source: cheatsheet.com
