Beatles News
The Beatles had many of their songs written by the Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership. The duo, made of up Paul McCartney and John Lennon, wrote dozens of songs for the band, including Yesterday, Come Together, In My Life, Get Back, All You Need Is Love and many more.
It has now been revealed that the most popular song is a track that was predominantly written by McCartney.
Over 2,000 listeners of Union JACK Radio cast votes on what the best Beatles song of all time is, and today it has been announced.
The poll marked the four best songs from The Beatles, starting with Hey Jude.
The piano-led ballad is followed by the classic banger Eleanor Rigby.
Source: Callum Crumlish/express.co.uk
It’s Beatlemania all over again: half a century after the Fab Four split, the Liverpudlians are once more dominating the cultural conversation thanks to Peter Jackson’s sprawling seven-hour documentary Get Back. In a recent five-star review, The Independent’s Ed Cumming argued that the film is so revelatory that “any future assessment of the band and its members will have to measure up against the people we see here”.
While Jackson’s film captures the pioneering band during the tumultuous recording sessions for their final record, 1970’s Let It Be, there was still plenty more to come from the four musicians. Over the course of the next decade, John Lennon released seven solo studio albums before he was assassinated by Mark David Chapman on 8 December 1980, 41 years ago this week. An eighth record, 1984’s Milk and Honey, followed posthumously.
These solo records feature some of the most famous and significant work of Lennon’s career, including activist anthems “Give Peace a Chance” and “Imagine” and perennial festive favourite “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”. Look beyond the hit singles and there are still plenty more gems to be uncovered.
Source: independent.co.uk
Convincing the masses to watch a three-part, eight-hour docuseries on a band that broke up over 50 years ago? The only subject monumental enough to make that possible is the Beatles. Peter Jackson’s Get Back follows the band members through the making of the last studio album they would release together, Let It Be, and everything that happened behind the scenes that led to the end, showing never-before-seen footage and giving an in-depth look into the power dynamics among the bandmates. Any casual fan could tell you what became of Lennon, Harrison,
Source: Meredith Moran/slate.com
Mr. Hester is the editor in chief of The City and the author of “Raising a Beatle Baby: How John, Paul, George and Ringo Helped Us Come Together as a Family.”
Paul McCartney is stressing out.
At various points in “The Beatles: Get Back,” the three-part, nearly-eight-hour documentary chronicling the 1969 sessions that would lead to the band’s final public performance, Mr. McCartney is clearly more frustrated at the creative and interpersonal roadblocks to the group’s progress than any of his bandmates are.
But Mr. McCartney is also the Beatle most visibly invigorated by a daunting challenge.
Source: Jere Hester/nytimes.com
After the Beatles disbanded, McCartney emerged as a solo artist, and then formed the band Wings, together with his first wife Linda and Denny Laine. The group’s debut studio album - Wild Life - was remarkably recorded in only eight days and quickly found a place in the top 10 after its release in December 1971. On the album’s 50th anniversary (December 7, 2021) McCartney revealed that there is going to be a reissue of the Wings’ debut LP, this time as a limited edition half-speed mastered vinyl pressing. What fans of the musical genius may not know is that at the height of his fame, McCartney suffered with mental health issues, but instead of facing his demons, he and his fellow bandmates used their craft to make light of the issues.
Source: Lauren Russell/express.co.uk
After the Beatles disbanded, McCartney emerged as a solo artist, and then formed the band Wings, together with his first wife Linda and Denny Laine. The group’s debut studio album - Wild Life - was remarkably recorded in only eight days and quickly found a place in the top 10 after its release in December 1971. On the album’s 50th anniversary (December 7, 2021) McCartney revealed that there is going to be a reissue of the Wings’ debut LP, this time as a limited edition half-speed mastered vinyl pressing. What fans of the musical genius may not know is that at the height of his fame, McCartney suffered with mental health issues, but instead of facing his demons, he and his fellow bandmates used their craft to make light of the issues.
Source: Lauren Russell/express.co.uk
John Lennon was assassinated on December 8, 1980 at the age of just 40-years-old. It had been a decade since The Beatles broke up, but had he truly made up with Paul McCartney before his untimely death? During his last hours, the star gave his final interview and actually had some lovely things to say about his songwriting partner.
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Last year, Express.co.uk spoke with Kenneth Womack, author of John Lennon 1980: The Last Days In The Life.
Instead of focusing on his murder, the book celebrates all the creative activities the Beatle was up to during his final year.
When asked if Lennon and McCartney were truly made up by the time of his death, the author said there was clear evidence that this was the case.
Womack said: “I do think so. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. I think they were good in the ways they needed to be.”
Source: George Simpson/express.co.uk
Denis O’Brien, the former manager of George Harrison, has died aged 80.
O’Brien’s daughter, Kristen O’Brien, told The Associated Press (via Billboard) that her father passed away at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon last Friday (December 3).
He had been admitted for severe abdominal pains although an exact cause of death has not yet been determined.
Kristen said that Denis was essentially retired over the past 20 years and had been “enjoying life with his wife, Phyllida O’Brien”, who died in 2019. He was married four times.
A native of St. Louis, Missouri, O’Brien relocated to Europe after receiving a law degree from Washington University.
Source: Tom Skinner/nme.com
Like any good story, the documentary about the making of the Beatles’ latest album — neither of which existed yet — needed a climax.
It was Jan. 30, 1969, and the world-renowned rock band decided to stage a performance on the roof of its Apple Corps building in London for family, friends and film cameras. The 42-minute show became the grand finale of the band’s documentary, “Let It Be.”
It was also the last public performance that the most commercially successful band in history would ever give. As police shut down the show for causing a ruckus, John Lennon declared: “I’d like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves, and I hope we passed the audition.”
“It wasn’t an audition,” said Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn. “But they always had the perfect lines.”
The rooftop show and the associated “Let It Be” album are a
Source: Marisa Iati/washingtonpost.com
Convincing the masses to watch a three-part, eight-hour docuseries on a band that broke up over 50 years ago? The only subject monumental enough to make that possible is the Beatles. Peter Jackson’s Get Back follows the band members through the making of the last studio album they would release together, Let It Be, and everything that happened behind the scenes that led to the end, showing never-before-seen footage and giving an in-depth look into the power dynamics among the bandmates. Any casual fan could tell you what became of Lennon, Harrison, McCartney, and Starr after the Beatles fell apart, but the series has introduced casual fans to a whole new cast of characters: the musicians, producers, lovers, and hangers-on who made the sessions what they were—for good and for bad. Yoko Ono’s a household name, and most viewers probably know a thing or two about Linda Eastman as well, but what happened to the rest of
Source: Meredith Moran/slate.com
