Beatles News
Ringo Starr’s solo career proved that he could write some excellent songs. But while he was with The Beatles, he lacked the confidence in that department to stack up against the work of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison. Lennon and McCartney made sure that Ringo’s voice was still heard. These three songs, written by the pair, proved tailor-made for Ringo Starr as a vocalist.
“Yellow Submarine” from ‘Revolver’ (1966)
The early drafts of the song that would become “Yellow Submarine” read much darker than the finished version. A demo that was unearthed for a reissue of Revolver found John Lennon singing, in hushed tones, these lyrics: “In the place where I was born, no one cared, no one cared.” Nothing like the happy-go-lucky sea captain narrator who would eventually populate the song. That’s probably because there was no water vehicle involved in the beginning. Somewhere along the line, The Beatles decided to make it into a kids’ song. Rock bands rarely attempted such a thing. Paul McCartney came up with the concept of the “Yellow Submarine”. He and Lennon clearly had a blast making up the seaworthy sound effects in the instrumental break. Ringo Starr’s vocal also carries a lot of the weight, imbuing the simple melody with charm and wonder.
“With A Little Help From My Friends” from ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
Tired of every piece of music that they created being scrutinized to the hilt, The Beatles decided to record Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in the guise of an imaginary group. The gambit didn’t really deflect any attention. In fact, the album became one of the most closely studied in the history of music anyway. And they didn’t really follow the concept through past the opening and closing songs. But Ringo Starr did help put the idea across by coming on to the fake stage and delivering “With A Little Help From My Friends” as the crooner Billy Shears. Lennon and McCartney wrote the song as the kind of thing you might expect an entertainer like that to perform as a showstopper. And Starr rose to the occasion. He’s extremely lovable, engaging in back-and-forth exchanges with Lennon and McCartney in the verses. And he brings home the high note at the end for everything it’s worth.
Source: Jim Beviglia/americansongwriter.com
This weekend, music fans gathered for a unique and intimate event inside one of Britain’s most significant musical landmarks — George Harrison’s childhood home at 25 Upton Green, Speke.
Hosted by local Beatles tour guide and storyteller Dale Roberts (@DaleLiverpool), “An Afternoon at George’s” offered visitors a chance to step inside the house where George grew up, long before the world knew his name. The event featured performances from The Paperback Writers, a band celebrated for their authentic renditions of The Beatles’ early rock ’n’ roll sound, and a tour from the owners (Dale Roberts and Ken Lambert) connecting George’s early life to the wider story of Liverpool and The Beatles’ rise.
Guests experienced an afternoon of live music and nostalgia — with the performance taking place in the house where George once strummed his first chords. The weather stayed bright, the atmosphere was warm, and visitors described it as “one of the most special Beatles experiences they’ve ever had.” ‘An Afternoon for George’ Draws Fans to George Harrison’s Childhood Home
Dale said:
“It’s always special to open the doors to George’s home and share his story in the place where it began. There’s something powerful about hearing the music played here — it’s emotional, it’s real, and it reminds you how human these legends were.”
The event marks a milestone for Dale Liverpool Tours Ltd as earlier this week Dale’s company was shortlisted for Independent Business of the Year at the Liverpool Tourism Awards.
Roberts’ journey from Beatles fan to one of Liverpool’s most well known tour guides was recently featured in The Mirror, which told the story of how he went from working five jobs at the same time to co-owning George Harrison’s childhood home — an opportunity as a working class lad from Walton, he thought was out of reach.
Source: Will Hynd/theguideliverpool.com
Many Beatles fans anxiously awaiting the four scripted biopics Sam Mendes is directing about each member of the Fab Four that are scheduled to premiere in April 2028. Now, in a recent interview with the syndicated ABC show On the Red Carpet, Ringo Starr admitted that he’s also pretty excited about the movies.
As previously reported, the project is titled, collectively, The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event. Starring in the movies will be Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison, and Barry Keoghan as Starr.
“The whole thing is mad,” Ringo told On the Red Carpet’s George Pennacchio. “Mendes is] making four movies at the same time. And there’s got to be a lot of interwoven [segments]. Like John will be in mine and I’ll be in Paul’s, and George and John will be in another scene in mine. Whatever. I don’t know how he’s gonna do it, but I loved the idea.”
Starr also revealed that he spent time with Keoghan, who has been learning how to play drums for the role. The 33-year-old Irish actor received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for the 2023 film The Banshees of Inisherin. His other credits include Dunkirk, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, and Saltburn.
“I invited [Barry] to the house when he was in L.A., and he was so great to hang out with,” Ringo said. “But I did tell him, ‘I know you’re having drum lessons, but don’t have too many.’ … I tell everybody that. … Not too many, ’cause then you become the machine, where you need to come through.”
Starr also reported that he spent time with Mendes going over the script of his biopic, and he suggested important changes to make it more accurate. “I sat with Sam for two days in London, and we went through it,” Ringo noted. “And he was so great, ’cause I said, ‘That’s not me. That’s nothing that happened.’ ’Cause he had a writer writing the scripts, trying to make sense of it. But in mine, well, it just wasn’t right. So anyway, we got rid of a few pages, and he was fine about it. That’s what I loved.”
Regarding the project as a whole, Ringo added, “I’m as excited as you to see four movies, and the crossovers.”
Source: Matt Friedlander/americansongwriter.com
What genre would you call The Beatles? Would you call them pop, rock, psychedelic, or doo-wop? Or, would you say they encompassed all of those genres? Personally, I believe they encompass all of those genres, but some famous musicians view The Beatles merely as a pop group, and one of those musicians is The Who’s Pete Townshend.
One cannot argue that The Beatles didn’t make pop music. In their earlier years, The Beatles notched enormous No. 1 pop hits with singles such as “I Want To Hold Your Hand”, “Can’t Buy Me Love”, “She Loves You”, and “Love Me Do”. However, by 1965, The Beatles had significantly altered their sound, leaning toward experimental rock ‘n’ roll with the release of Rubber Soul. And after that, they continued to push the limits of rock ‘n’ roll with albums such as Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The White Album, and Let It Be.
Despite The Beatles’ invaluable contributions to rock ‘n’ roll and its subgenres, Pete Townshend didn’t consider them a true rock band. Rather, he viewed them “as a big pop phenomenon.”
The Rolling Stones Were Rock and Roll, Not The Beatles
In a 1982 interview with Rolling Stone, Pete Townshend candidly revealed why he didn’t believe The Beatles were a rock ‘n’ roll band. Townshend started off his point of view by stating, “You know, I could sit down and have a conversation with Paul about rock ‘n’ roll, and we’d be talking about two different things.”
Source: Peter Burditt/americansongwriter.com
"Abbey Road" album sales surged 200%, returning to four major Billboard charts. Vinyl purchases largely fueled the resurgence, highlighting ongoing interest in physical formats. The album nears 500 weeks on Billboard 200, proving The Beatles’ enduring appeal.
More than 55 years after its release, The Beatles‘ iconic “Abbey Road” is proving that great music never goes out of style. The legendary 1969 album just experienced a remarkable surge in popularity, with sales jumping nearly 200% in a single week and landing back on four different Billboard charts.
According to Luminate data, “Abbey Road” sold just over 4,800 copies in the most recent tracking period—a dramatic increase from fewer than 1,700 copies the week before. The surge sent the album soaring back onto multiple rankings, reminding music lovers everywhere why The Beatles remain one of the most influential bands in history.
The album’s comeback was largely fueled by vinyl purchases, with “Abbey Road” reentering at No. 7 on the Vinyl Albums chart and No. 18 on the Top Album Sales chart. The resurgence shows that physical music formats, especially vinyl records, continue to attract dedicated collectors and new fans discovering classic albums.
Source: Deborah Cruz/parade.com
When it comes to Sir Paul McCartney, who packed in just shy of 45,000 fans of all ages to his Alamodome concert on Saturday, the numbers and Father Time don’t lie.
It’s been nearly 70 years since he befriended John Lennon.
Big screens give fans throughout the 'dome a close-up look at what was happening onstage.
Big screens give fans throughout the 'dome a close-up look at what was happening onstage.
Marvin Pfeiffer/San Antonio Express-News
It’s been 60 years since the Beatles released the albums “Help!” and “Rubber Soul.” The following year, the Fab Four stop touring.
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It’s been nearly 50 years since his “Wings Over America” tour launched in Texas and marked the first time McCartney had performed in the U.S. since 1966 with the Beatles.
It’s been more than 30 years since he became the first act to play the Alamodome in May 1993.
And it’s been almost 20 years since Bob Dylan told Rolling Stone that he was in awe of Paul McCartney.
No need to stop counting: The 83-year-old McCartney is still awesome.
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People record video on their phones anticipating the start of the Paul McCartney concert at the Alamodome.
People record video on their phones anticipating the start of the Paul McCartney concert at the Alamodome.
Marvin Pfeiffer/San Antonio Express-News
The audience was multigenerational, if largely gray and graying. There were grandkids wearing ear protection headphones and kooky Gen-Z cosplay fans holding signs with messages including “Marry us, Paul.”
In the crowd were musicians like Austin’s Britt Daniel of Spoon and Joe Reyes of Buttercup, as well as former KISS-FM radio personality Brian Kendall and Richard Turner, who hosts “The Best of the Beatles” on KSYM.
Asked before the show if he thought this might be McCartney’s last rodeo, Turner said, “Probably – but if not, we’ll be here again.”
That summed up the joyous loyalty McCartney inspires. The screams are still deafening. The music still absolutely rocks, and the nostalgic photos and colorful animated videos on giant, towering screens flanking the stage and behind it, enhanced the time-traveling set list of 35 songs.
For die-hard fans, there were likely few surprises in the nearly three-hour show, counting the encore. But there were plenty of moments.
McCartney's band included a horn section, which punched up songs such as "Coming Up."
McCartney's band included a horn section, which punched up songs such as "Coming Up."
Marvin Pfeiffer/San Antonio Express-News
McCartney, dressed in a dapper double-breasted black suit with peak lapels, opened with “Help!” He quickly moved on to funkier stuff, bringing out the Hot City Horns — a London-based horn trio who dance and look as good as they play – for “Coming Up” and “Got to Get You Into My Life.”
McCartney was in strong voice. True, his once velvety midrange is now a much gruffer warble, but his ability to scream in higher registers and to hit the high-note “oohs” is remarkably intact.
For good measure, there were some relatively newer songs including “Come On to Me,” a fun unplugged “Dance Tonight” and “My Valentine.” McCartney's wife and valentine, Nancy Shevell, was in the audience, as were two of his grandsons.
“Imagine that, watching your granddad rockin’,” McCartney quipped after belting out “Maybe I’m Amazed.” During the night, McCartney played his iconic Hofner violin bass, a Gibson Les Paul electric guitar, a Martin acoustic guitar, a ukulele, mandolin and upright and grand piano.
It’s hard to tell when he’s having the most fun. He ripped up on electric guitar with the savage riff on “Let Me Roll It,” the echo-laden homage to Lennon’s later rock style.
He hammed it up on “In Spite of All the Danger,” the first demo recorded by the Quarrymen, that band that would become the Beatles. It's an Everly Brothers homage that turned into a sing-along. Then he kicked the air at the cymbal crash of “Love Me Do,” the first song the Beatles recorded at Abbey Road with producer George Martin.
The quieter “I’ve Just Seen a Face” and “Blackbird” were poignant and vulnerable, but none more so than his emotional, almost tearful Lennon love note, “Here Today,” and the somber “Now and Then.”
McCartney moved on from what he joked was “the depth of despair” to a rollicking “Lady Madonna,” “Jet” and “For the Benefit of Mr. Kite.”
Source: Hector Saldana/expressnews.com
The humility that Ringo Starr has always promoted in his public persona belies the fact that this guy is a hitmaker. For a while in the early to mid-70s, Starr proved more reliable than his Beatle bandmates when it came to denting the charts.
His biggest hits are contained within a relatively short period of time. Here are the five songs released by Ringo that did the best on the US pop charts.
5. “Oh My My” – No. 5 in 1974
Ringo Starr grabbed the world’s collective ear and held it tight on his 1973 album Ringo. The LP was notable for having the other three Beatles all contributing to it. Even beyond that, a slew of top session men eagerly helped. It’s a testament to the goodwill Ringo had fostered among musicians. On “Oh My My”, that included Billy Preston and Klaus Voorman, both members of the Fab 4 extended family, as well as Jim Keltner doubling up the drums with Starr. Vini Poncia, who’d go on to collaborate with Starr often throughout the years, co-wrote the boisterous track.
4. “It Don’t Come Easy” – No. 4 in 1971
Instead of jumping right into the pop music wars in the wake of The Beatles’ breakup, Ringo Starr wisely slow-played it a little. He released two solo albums in 1970 dedicated to covering songs from his favorite genres (the Great American Songbook and country). When he finally struck with “It Don’t Come Easy”, the public was anxious to hear what he had to say. The crisp rock track, which included George Harrison as a clandestine co-writer, features an all-time opening couplet: “Got to pay your dues/If you want to sing the blues.”
3. “No No Song” – No. 3 in 1975
Ringo Starr wouldn’t achieve sobriety for good until the late 80s, so many of his pronouncements in “No No Song” have to be taken with a grain of salt. By all accounts, the making of Starr’s albums in the mid-70s included all kinds of wild antics spurred on by excess. Even within that atmosphere, however, he was keeping his eye on the pop music prize. This song, written by Hoyt Axton and David Jackson, was Starr’s second Top 10 hit from his 1974 album Goodnight Vienna, following his cover of The Platters’ “Only You (And You Alone)”.
Source: Jim Beviglia/americansongwriter.com
The Beatles legend Ringo Starr is looking back on his incredible career in a new episode of "On The Red Carpet: ICONS."
"Every generation listens to our music," he said. The 85-year-old drummer and singer has been a superstar since the 1960s, when he and bandmates John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison became one of the most successful and influential bands of all time.
This year, 55 years after The Beatles broke up, they won their latest Grammy for the song, "Now and Then." "We have sold records and streams now, a billion streams a week or whatever, forever!" Ringo told On The Red Carpet. "It still carries on."
All of his success is even more amazing when you consider Ringo had to overcome childhood illnesses that nearly killed him. "Three times they told me, I'll be dead in the morning," Ringo explained. "So, I think the universe had some sort of plan for me."
Recently, that plan has included an ongoing tour with his popular supergroup, "Ringo Starr & His All-Star Band," and this year, a number one country album, "Look Up." "I love the atmosphere of 'Look Up,'" Ringo said. "We're not looking down all the time. Let's look up. It's much better for you."
On The Red Carpet's George Pennacchio also asked Ringo about the phrase "peace and love," which has become like a mantra. "We were around the '60s and so was flower power and that's really where it came from," Ringo explained. "And it was such a great time to be around."
In recent years, Ringo has made his birthday an annual celebration of peace and love after someone asked him what he wanted from his fans. "And I don't know where it came from," he said. "I'd like them to go, 'peace and love,' and we did."
In this special episode of "On The Red Carpet," Ringo also talks about his artwork that benefits his charity, The Lotus Foundation, what he told Prince William when he was knighted, his thoughts on reuniting with Paul McCartney, his advice for Barry Keoghan who's playing him in an upcoming movie and more!
Source: Joe Maxfield/abc7.com
Sam Mendes’s quartet of Beatles biopics are the cinematic equivalent of a distant asteroid headed steadily towards Earth. They’re a few years from impact—a 2028 release date is pencilled in—but when they hit, they’ll be big. Legendary playwright Jez Butterworth and Adolescence creator Jack Thorne are among the writers. Mendes, who is directing all four films, each told from the point of view of one of the Fab Four, has full rights to their life stories and the all-important song catalog. And he has a crack team of young stars playing the leads: Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr, and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison.
What about everyone else in the Beatles Cinematic Universe—the friends, lovers and collaborators? The band’s story has loomed over pop culture from the 1960s to the present; read any Beatles biography, and you’ll see they have Kevin Bacon-like powers of ubiquity.
Some of the supporting roles have been confirmed, or almost confirmed. As per reporting from Variety, Saoirse Ronan is playing Linda McCartney, Macca’s first wife; How to Have Sex’s Mia McKenna-Bruce will be Starr’s first wife, Maureen Starkey; while Shogun star Anna Sawai and The White Lotus’s Aimee Lou Wood are “circling” the respective roles of Yoko Ono and Harrison’s first wife, Pattie Boyd.
And James Norton, according to Deadline, is our first locked-in actor for all those “fifth Beatles” indispensable to the band’s success: he’s to play Brian Epstein, the band’s manager during their rise to fame until his death by overdose in 1967. That still leaves a lot of famous (sometimes very famous) faces to cast for. Here’s who we think Mendes should be ringing up.
Source: Josiah Gogarty/gq.com
There’s eating crow, and then there’s the Swedish music critic who once claimed The Beatles were a band of “no musical importance whatsoever” in 1963. A pop reviewer for Karlstad newspaper, Nya Wemlands Tidning, attended an early Fab Four concert in a secondary school hall in 1963. This show predated the band’s historic television debut in the States by several months. The young quartet was still cutting their teeth around Europe, hardly at the level of fame they would come to enjoy in the next several years. And as they learned the day after their Karlstad show, part of cutting one’s teeth in the entertainment industry is getting a lousy review.
And the Nya Wemlands Tidning review was lousy. According to Mark Lewisohn’s Complete Beatles Chronicle, the reviewer “thought the Beatles terrible, their music corny, and their playing out of rhythm, adding that the group should have been grateful the fans’ screams helped drown out their awful performance, and then he concluded by stating that The Beatles were of no musical importance whatsoever and that their local support group, The Phantoms, decidedly outshone them.”
Of course, Beatlemanic Swedes would have disagreed with the music critic. Just days before, The Beatles attempted to sightsee in Stockholm but had to call it off after fans began swarming them. If their popularity with the general public wasn’t convincing enough evidence of their importance, the sales of the record they were working on in tandem with their tour certainly would be.
Source: Melanie Davis/americansongwriter.com
