Beatles News
Paul McCartney admits he despised being labeled "the cute one" during the Beatles era.
"I hated that," McCartney told SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show, agreeing that the term distracted from his musicianship. "That's what happens — just, 'He's the cute one.' I'd go, 'No, I'm not! Don't call me that. I hate that! But once it's said, it kind of sticks."
Noting the various media nicknames bestowed upon the four Beatles, McCartney continued: "They had to just say, 'He's the cute one; he's the quiet one [George Harrison]; he's the witty one [John Lennon]; and he's the drummer [Ringo Starr]." The singer added playfully, "I just can't help being cute, Howard."
McCartney previously expressed his discomfort with the "cute" label in a 1989 New York Daily News interview. "I've never really thought I was 'cute,' though I guess some people think so," McCartney said. "Maybe there were a few moments of cute, mostly in the early days. As you get older, the harder edges come out. I don't think 'Fool on the Hill' is a cute song. 'The Long and Winding Road' isn't cute. 'Yesterday' isn't cute. 'I'm not half the man I used to be' — that's pretty strong, and remember, I wrote it when I was 24."
Source: ultimateclassicrock.com
The Beatles legend was set to headline the festival in 2020, but isn't sure if it can go ahead as planned next year.
Paul McCartney isn't sure if Glastonbury Festival can take place in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The legendary Beatles star was due to headline the festival in 2020 and has shared his hopes for getting out on the road again.
However, though he's marvelled at the ways performers and artists have worked around restrictions with live streamed performances and socially distanced gigs, the legend isn't sure something as large as Glastonbury could take place.
"People have started to find ways with Zoom and with socially distanced things,' he told The Sun. "But for a thing like Glastonbury where you’ve got over 100,000 people packed into a field, that’s a super-spreader you know."
This year, the Pyramid Stage was set to be headlined by McCartney and first time festival performers Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar.
Source: radiox.co.uk
Back in 1970, as the book was closing on The Beatles' time together, Paul McCartney came out with a release that established him as an artist in his own right — and a versatile one, who played every instrument on the album simply titled McCartney. In 1980, he followed it up with McCartney II — another kind of do-it-yourself solo album, released as another band of his, Wings, was breaking up. Now, after another 40 years, the artist has been quite busy in quarantine.
"I was very lucky to be able to come to my studio and make some music, which took the edge off the whole quarantine thing. I would write a song, then I'd come in and record it — or I'd say, 'Wait a minute, what about that song I started last year but never got round to finishing?' So there was no worry attached," he says. "If you're making an album, what you might call a proper album, you're concentrating on making sure it's right. And this project, I wasn't concentrating. I was just [saying], 'Sounded good? Right, on to the next thing.' It's got a very loose feel to it."
Source: Mary Louise Kelly Twitter Dave Blanchard/npr.org
Paul McCartney recently named his all-time top three drummers — and he showed some love for his former Beatles bandmate.
"I'd go Ringo [Starr] top — he's something else," he told SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show. "Second, I'd go Bonzo [Led Zeppelin's John Bonham]. And third, [the Who's] Keith Moon. That's mine. I'm going from that generation. Those are pretty good drummers, those boys."
You can watch the clip below.
Host Stern opened that conversation by recalling a recent on-air chat about the greatest rock drummers. That unspecified roundtable included his own pick for Bonham and someone else's selection of Rush's Neil Peart.
Elsewhere in the Stern interview, McCartney reflected on John Lennon's insecurities and the formation of their first band, the Quarrymen.
Source: ultimateclassicrock.com
Ringo Starr is releasing a new album, titled "Zoom In," featuring contributions from Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl and Finneas.
Bob Dylan kicked off December by quietly releasing Bob Dylan — 1970 (50th Anniversary Collection) through the U.K. store Badlands. Now, he’s releasing it digitally on February 26th, 2021 via Columbia Records/Legacy Recordings.
Bob Dylan — 1970 will be released as an eight-panel digipack with new cover art and liner notes by Michael Simmons. The recordings span from March to August 1970, including rare sessions with George Harrison that have been widely bootlegged for years. They jam on “Time Passes Slowly,” “Mama You Been on My Mind,” the Beatles’ “Yesterday,” and others. You can preorder it now.
Dylan initially dropped Bob Dylan — 1970 as part of the 50th Anniversary Collection copyright extension series, in response to a European law stating that recordings enter the public domain 50 years after their creation if they aren’t officially released by the copyright holder. Badlands limited the copies to one per customer; one is currently on sale at Discogs for more than $1,000.
Source: Angie Martoccio/rollingstone.com
Ringo Starr might have just turned 80, but he can’t be accused of taking it easy. The Beatle drummer kept busy making music this year, even though it was the first time in years he couldn’t hit the road with his long-running All-Starr Band. His new single, “Here’s to the Nights,” is a quintessential Ringo ode to peace and love, just in time to sing out the end of a 2020 where everybody had a hard year. He got a little help from his friends for “Here’s to the Nights.” The song has long-distance vocals from pals like Dave Grohl, Lenny Kravitz, Sheryl Crow, Chris Stapleton, Ben Harper, Ringo’s brother-in-law Joe Walsh, and many more — including a promising British bass player named Paul McCartney.
Ringo worked in his home studio on a five-track EP set for March, with the timely title Zoom In. For one of rock & roll’s most beloved figures — and one of its most gregarious legends — it was a challenge to adapt to making music in the age of social distancing. But as he always warned us, it don’t come easy. “Here’s to the Nights” is a wry sing-along with lyrics from Diane Warren. As Ringo says, “New Year’s Eve, they’ll all sing along with us, we hope.”
Source: rollingstone.com
Who or what REALLY broke up the Beatles? Ken McNab’s book “And In The End: The Last Days of the Beatles” hardly provides a definitive answer to that question and is all the better for it.
Of course, there is no single reason the band dissolved, although individuals have long pointed to the death of band manager Brian Epstein, John Lennon’s marriage to Yoko Ono or Paul McCartney’s attempts to steer the band’s creative ship with the “Get Back” project as THE cause. Those all come into play as McNab details, month by month, the lives of all four Beatles in 1969. But so much more is also at work, from the band’s Apple Corps becoming more of a financial boondoggle than creative hub, to factions warring over who should represent the group’s business interests, to all four Fabs finding creative outlets and music-making opportunities outside their unit.
Source: John Young /post-gazette.com
The new music releases year ends with a Beatle, as well as a second drop from Drive-By Truckers and some archival material for last-minute stocking stuffing...
Album of the Week: It’s been 40 years, but Paul McCartney follows 1970′s “McCartney” and 1980′s “McCartney II” with “McCartney III” (Capitol), another entirely solo effort recorded in quarantine at his studio in Sussex, England, using gear that dates back as far as 1971. One track, “When Winter Comes,” hails from the early 90s and was co-produced by the late George Martin.
Album Title of the Week: Meg Myers, “Thank U 4 Taking Me 2 the Disco. I’d Like to Go Home Now” (Sumerian)
Did Ya Know: The self-released “Muscle Memory” is the first solo album ever by 10cc co-founder and Godley & Creme’s Kevin Godley, also known for his music video directing. The crowd-funded set was built from ideas contributed via an online solicitation.
Source: Gary Graff/cleveland.com
Paul McCartney has a tendency to conjure up self-named albums at moments of pressure, like a release valve. The first McCartney came out in 1970 when The Beatles were in their death throes. His soon-to-be ex-bandmates were angry at its timing: they believed McCartney was using the break-up to promote his solo debut. They were also dismissive of the songs. “He’s a good PR man, Paul,” John Lennon jibed.
McCartney II came out a decade later in 1980, after he had been jolted by the anxious experience of 10 days in jail in Japan for cannabis possession. Disillusionment with his band Wings was another spur for making the album. Its quirky experiments with synthesisers and drum machines foretold Wings’ end the following year. Its reception was unfavourable, although it has since acquired a cult following.
Now comes McCartney III. Like its predecessors, it is literally a solo record: McCartney plays all the instruments and does all the vocals. Unlike McCartney or McCartney II, it arrives without any obvious personal or professional drama in his life. This time the pressure lies outside. McCartney made it during the spring lockdown in his East Sussex farmhouse as coronavirus ripped through the world.
Source: ft.com
