Beatles News
Rock star excess hit its peak in the 1980s. It went beyond the bad behavior of throwing televisions out of hotel rooms, or the decadent pleasures of mud sharks and Mandys. The Beatles, who were the biggest band to come out of the rock and roll era, set standards for excess, beating Elvis’s Pink Cadillac tour when they thought about buying their own Greek island. Their success was ensured by their producer, George Martin, who allowed the band to exceed the limits of the EMI studios they created music in. Gracie Otto’s documentary Under the Volcano is the story of how Martin’s post-Beatle career enjoyed greater heights by finding an entirely new level of indulgence. For the second time in his career, the “fifth Beatle” exceeded all expectations about how to produce a sound.
Source: Tony Sokol/denofgeek.com
After spending two years in Germany with John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison, Pete Best was kicked out of The Beatles 59 years ago today on August 16, 1962. After Pete was removed from the band the remaining members of the Fab Four hired Ringo Starr to fill his spot.
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Ringo at the time was performing with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, but was called up by Paul who had an offer he couldn't refuse.
The drummer settled into the band rather quickly, going on to record some songs with them almost as soon as he joined.
Pete, on the other hand, went back to Liverpool.
Source: Callum Crumlish/express.co.uk
Ringo Starr will be dropping a new EP, Change the World, on September 24th via UMe. Like his previously released Zoom In EP from March, the four-song set was recorded at his Roccabella West home studio.
Starr collaborated with several artists and songwriters on the set. Lead single “Let’s Change the World” was written by Toto’s Joseph Williams and Steve Lukather, who also play on the track. “Just that Way” was co-written and performed by Ringo and his longtime engineer Bruce Sugar.
Source: Althea Legaspi/Rolling Stone.com
George Harrison’s former No.1 album All Things Must Pass returns to the top 10 on the Billboard 200 chart for the first time since 1971, as the set re-enters at No. 7 (on the Aug. 21-dated list) following its 50th anniversary reissue on Aug. 6.
The album was newly mixed and reissued in a variety of formats for its re-release. All versions of the album, including the original 1970 release, are combined for tracking and charting purposes.
Recently, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of All Things, a project featuring a recreation of its famous cover as a public, living art installation became available for public view in London’s Duke of York Square, King’s Road, Chelsea. It pays tribute to George’s love of nature, of gardening, and to his wry sense of humor.
Designed by renowned floral artist Ruth Davis, of All For Love London, it will be available to visit until August 20. The interactive art features gigantic versions of two gnomes, the largest measuring five meters, which have been created out of flowers and foliage, bark, grasses and moss. They sit atop a large circle of turf in a meaningful and sacred shape, and are surrounded by the seasonal, impermanent beauty that Harrison embraced during his life.
Source: Will Schube/yahoo.com
A classical statue which featured in a groundbreaking performance by The Beatles is going under the hammer.
The 5ft (1.5m) fibreglass Aphrodite was seen by up to 700 million TV viewers worldwide as the group took part in the first live satellite broadcast in 1967.
The Beatles represented the UK as John Lennon wrote All You Need Is Love just days before to reflect the event's Summer of Love and flower power theme.
The Greek goddess of love statue will be auctioned in Liverpool on 28 August.
Source: BBC News
Paul McCartney has shared a video unveiling how the ultra-trippy film clip for his track ‘Find My Way’ came to life.
The colourful, disco-inspired clip in question was released last month. In it, a digitally de-aged McCartney (played by Jordan Johnson) dances down the halls of a hotel before being teleported to a variety of other locations.
The clip was directed by Andrew Donaho (Janelle Monae, The Strokes, Khalid) and co-produced with Hyperreal Digital, which specialises in the creation of hyper-realistic digital avatars. Take a look at it below, then watch how McCartney was made young again in his behind-the-scenes video:
“In the same way the track has these seamless transitions from one section to the next, we wanted to do the same thing visually,” Donaho said in the making-of video. “So we created this oner… It’s not a oner, it’s a handful of takes stitched together, but it has the feeling of a neverending shot.”
Source: Matt Doria/nme.com
Woodstock defined a generation in the summer of 1969 but not long afterwards a Toronto music festival made its own noise with the likes of John Lennon, Little Richard and the Doors.
Filmmakers say work is underway on “Rock & Roll Revival,” a documentary named after the one-day Canadian festival that took place Sept. 13, which they call “the second most important event in rock and roll history.”
While the concert, held at the University of Toronto’s Varsity Stadium, remained in the shadow of the more famous Woodstock weekend, its story is one rife with drama.
Source: thestar.com
Benson’s latest book, titled Paul (out now from Taschen), focuses on his iconic images of Paul McCartney. The Scottish photographer first stepped into Macca’s world in 1964, when he was a photojournalist working on London’s Fleet Street. He was about to depart for Africa on assignment when his editor called with a change of plans: he’d fly to Paris instead to capture the Beatles, and he wasn’t too happy about it.
Source: Angie Martoccio/rollingstone.com
Already one of history's greatest rock bands, The Beatles were even more than the sum of their parts. In the wake of the band's legendary 1960s run came a number of high-profile solo releases from each individual member. That includes Ringo, who's eponymous 1973 album peaked at No. 2 on the U.S. charts and yielded two No. 1 singles … with a little help from his friends, of course.
What's no less striking than the substantial output of each respective Beatle is the evolution of their signature sounds and styles. From George Harrison's idiosyncratic slide guitar to John Lennon's raw candor, certain albums were nearly as groundbreaking as the group efforts that preceded them. Acclaimed releases such as All Things Must Pass and Plastic Ono Band also helped redefine the personas of their creators.
Source: Jacob Osborn, Stacker News/newsweek.com
A new documentary will dig into John Lennon’s final show as a member of the Beatles.
In 1969, Lennon played a solo show in in Toronto with a hastily-assembled version of the Plastic Ono Band that included stars like Eric Clapton and Yes drummer Alan White.
Just days later, Lennon would officially leave the Beatles.
The film, Rock & Roll Revival, includes rare footage from that show, shot by legendary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker.
Rock & Roll Revival will premiere sometime next spring.
Source: 1055koolfm.com
