Beatles News
With "McCartney III," the Cute Beatle makes a spectacular return to form, produces one of his most compelling albums in decades, and reminds us that at age 78, his musical chops are as exquisite and profound as virtually anyone's. Ever.
Working at his Sussex studio, Paul McCartney recorded nearly the entirety of "McCartney III" during the pandemic. A one-man band production in the spirit of his eponymous debut solo album in 1970, "McCartney III" arrives more than 40 years after the release of its predecessor, "McCartney II," in 1980. That summer, the album topped the UK charts and yielded a chart-topping single Stateside in "Coming Up."
In its own fashion, "McCartney III" functions as the logical extension of its precursors, each acting as lodestones of sorts for signal moments across his long career. As with the first two LPs, McCartney took a carefree, homespun approach to his efforts, allowing his imagination to guide the way. As he remarked in the album's press notes about his process during its production, "Each day, I'd start recording with the instrument I wrote the song on and then gradually layer it all up; it was a lot of fun. It was about making music for yourself rather than making music that has to do a job.
Source: salon.com
All John Lennon was saying … was give peace a chance.
The message remains valid today. The messenger, however, is gone.
Many yesterdays have passed since Monday, Dec. 8, 1980 — the night singer Lennon was shot and killed in New York City.
Members of other generations vividly remember dark days and nights in America’s past, times when President John F. Kennedy, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy all were killed during the 1960s.
The Daily Gazette compiled stories about all three men, using memories submitted by readers who remembered what they were doing and where they were when the news broke.
Now we’re hoping people also will contribute memories about John Lennon and how the former Beatle’s death affected them. We’d like to know what you were doing when news began spreading that late Monday night. What was your reaction? What were your emotions? What are your thoughts about John Lennon?
Source: Jeff Wilkin/dailygazette.com
The Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney has admitted he still turns to former bandmate John Lennon for advice when writing new songs, 40 years after he was shot and killed outside his New York apartment.
The 78-year-old described his late friend and Beatles co-founder as 'the best collaborator in the world' and said the anniversary of what would have been his 80th birthday was 'happy sad'.
In an interview with Uncut magazine, he said: 'I'm working on one at the moment that was going one way but I didn't like the lyric. "No, this is not happening, mate."
Eternal connection: The Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney has admitted he still turns to former bandmate John Lennon for advice when writing new songs
'This would have been the point where John and I would have said "You know what, let's have a cup of tea and try rethink this."'
Sir Paul also revealed he mentally 'consulted' with Lennon while working on new material.
Source: Jason Chester/dailymail.co.uk
When Taylor Swift walked into Paul McCartney’s MPL Studios office in London, in early October, for this issue’s cover story, she arrived without assistants or stylists or even a makeup person. (Appropriately, Taylor chose to wear clothes designed by Paul’s daughter Stella McCartney for the occasion.) For most of the day it was just Taylor and Paul, along with Paul’s daughter Mary McCartney, a photographer, in what turned out to be a revelatory meeting of megastars from across the generations.
Taylor came armed with questions; Paul was loose and relaxed, singing to Motown songs and sharing personal stories, like the time he made veggie burgers for Quincy Jones in his kitchen. They talked about songwriting, how to keep a semblance of normal life as a celebrity, and the risk-taking albums they both made during lockdown. “I was using words I always wanted to use — bigger, flowerier, pretty words,” Taylor says in one exchange. “I have favorite words, like ‘elegies’ and ‘epiphany’ and ‘divorcée’ . . . that I think sound beautiful.”
Source: Jason Fine/rollingstone.com
“They are awful. But I also think they’re fabulous. Let’s just go and say hello.”
What if young record store manager Brian Epstein had not, in 1961, after a scrappy gig in a “sweaty basement,” popped over to say hello to the band? What if, as Craig Brown wonders in 150 Glimpses of the Beatles, Paul had done better in his exams, moved up a school year, and never gotten to know George? Or Ringo had had more patience with U.S. immigration forms and succeeded in moving to Houston? Or the engine fire on a 1965 flight from Minneapolis to Portland had ended in catastrophe, cutting the band off in their prime? “Think what we would have missed if we had never heard the Beatles,” the Queen once mused. As the world marks 40 years since the murder of John Lennon — gone, now, for as long as we had him — shimmering alternative histories are especially poignant. A feeling of loss is palpable.
Source: Charles Arrowsmith/santafenewmexican.com
Legendary Beatle Paul McCartney teamed up with surf filmmaker Jack McCoy to produce Wine Dark Open Sea, a music video featuring McCartney’s heartfelt song of the same name written in tribute to the ocean and the graceful longboarding of Belinda Baggs, which premiered on November 5. The video is available on Epicentre.tv for a five-dollar donation that will go to supporting the work of brand new organization Surfers for Climate as well as partner organizations Surfrider Foundation Australia and Seed Mob.
Fight for the Bight brought surfers from Australia and all over the world together to fend off Norwegian oil giants intending to drill in the Great Australian Bight as the biggest coastal environmental action in Australian history. Now, having found their voice in defending their local coastline, many of these same surfers and activists have come together to defend coastlines all over the world from the ever-present threat of climate change under the organization of Surfers for Climate, founded by longboarding champion Belinda Baggs and former pro-surfer Johnny Abegg. And they’re not without help. Pro surfers Adrian “Ace” Buchan, Laura Enever, Pacha Light, McCoy, and musician Jack River stand in support of Surfers for Climate, as well as Paul McCartney.
Source: Will Sileo/theinertia.com
Sir Paul McCartney has said he sometimes wishes he could “be more like Bob Dylan”.
The acclaimed Beatles musician said the American singer-songwriter’s latest album, Rough And Rowdy Ways, is “really good”.
The 78-year-old told Uncut magazine: “I always like what he does. Sometimes I wish I was a bit more like Bob. He’s legendary … and doesn’t give a shit! But I’m not like that.
“His new album? I thought it was really good. He writes really well. I love his singing – he came through the standards albums like a total crooner. But, yeah, I like his new stuff.
“People ask me who I’m a fan of and Bob Dylan and Neil Young always make the list.”
Dylan scored his ninth number one album with Rough And Rowdy Ways – breaking two chart records in the process.
Source: Kerri-Ann Roper/uk.news.yahoo.com
Yoko Ono appears to have stopped working and has handed many of her business interests over to her son Sean as she slows down at the age of 87.
The widow of Beatles legend John Lennon has been vocal for decades about global peace and used to personally attend exhibitions of her artworks.
But she has not been seen in public for more than a year and on October 5 we can reveal Sean Yoko Lennon was appointed a director at eight companies linked to Yoko and the Beatles, including Apple Corp.
He also joined the board at Lensolo, which deals with music rights of some of John’s solo work.
On what would have been John’s 80th birthday in October, Sean made a BBC documentary and an Apple Music show, but Yoko only tweeted a video where she appeared to be reading from a script.
A report in the New York Post in July suggested she needs a
wheelchair much of the time.
Source: Mark Jefferies/mirror.co.uk
The Beatles’ back catalogue is pretty massive, with most of the songs written by the famous duo Lennon-McCartney. They were the brains behind many songs we know and love, from Hey Jude to I Am the Walrus. But which song is Sir Paul McCartney’s favourite?
As is often the case in music, it is hard to pinpoint one’s favourite song, album or even musician.
For Sir Paul and John Lennon, their music was likely very close to them, as they poured their hearts and souls out into their lyrics and melodies.
John spoke about his disdain for some music by The Beatles in his later years, while also admitting to some real favourites.
Sir Paul has never been quite so anti-The Beatles, but which song was his favourite?
Here are some of the songs which would likely appear in Sir Paul’s top selection.
Source: Jenny Desborough/express.co.uk
The Beatles unprecendented success in the 1960 made them the most popular act in the world. But with the world’s eyes on them, they could not escape some bizarre rumours hitting the newspapers - with the most tantalising being that Paul McCartney died in 1966.
The rumour goes that on this day, November 9, in 1966, McCartney died in a car crash on the M1 motorway in the UK.
It continues to say that, to spare the public the sheer grief of losing one of the band’s founding members, The Beatles secretly replaced him.
Even more bizarre is the suggestion that the surviving members of The Beatles held a McCartney “lookalike contest”, awarding the winning person the slot in the band.
The “new” McCartney was then, sometimes, referred to as William Campbell or Billy Sheers.
Source: Callum Crumlish/express.co.uk
