Beatles News
Sir Paul McCartney is set to release a new solo album that was recorded spontaneously in nine weeks during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Titled McCartney III, it follows 1970's McCartney I and 1980's McCartney II, both of which were also recorded alone.
"I was just messing around, never suspecting for one second that this was going to be an album," the star told BBC 6 Music's Matt Everitt.
He added that some of the songs had "echoes of the pandemic".
One such track features the lyric: "When the cold days come, we'll wish that we had seized the day."
"That was me reminding myself, and anyone listening, that you've got to grab the good stuff and get on through the pandemic," he said.
Source: bbc.com
Sean Ono Lennon’s first experience reworking his father’s catalog was terrifying and intimidating, but he had two main goals in mind to keep him on track: preserve his father’s message in the songs and help the late icon’s music reach a younger audience.
On Oct. 9, which would have been John Lennon’s 80th birthday, “GIMME SOME TRUTH. THE ULTIMATE MIXES” was released and includes 36 tracks hand-picked by Yoko Ono and Sean Ono Lennon, who serve as executive producer and producer on the project. The duo worked closely with engineer and mixer Paul Hicks to maintain the essence of the songs, which were completely remixed.
Ono Lennon, 44, came out stronger at the end of the at-times heavy process.
“I knew that it was going to be kind of introspective for me, obviously. I was scared going into it, to be honest. I had a fear of messing everything up or not being helpful or it being too emotionally difficult to just listen to my dad’s voice over and over again,” Ono Lennon said. “Especially ‘Double Fantasy,’ it triggers a whole period of my childhood that was tough because that’s when he died. I had a lot of resistance working on that record, actually.”
Source: theday.com
McCartney III will be the final album in a trilogy of LPs where Sir Paul plays all the parts on each song and produces the album. It follows 'McCartney' made 50 years ago in 1970 shortly after the Beatles split and McCartney II made in 1980.
Sir Paul, who described his lockdown as a “rockdown” in his Sussex studio, said: “I was living lockdown life on my farm with my family and I would go to my studio every day. I had to do a little bit of work on some film music and that turned into the opening track and then when it was done I thought what will I do next?
“I had some stuff I’d worked on over the years but sometimes time would run out and it would be left half-finished so I started thinking about what I had.
“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. So, I just did stuff I fancied doing. I had no idea this would end up as an album.”
Source: Mark Jefferies/express.co.uk
While 1970 marked the end of The Beatles, it also marked the beginning of four solo careers of the band’s former members. And George Harrison was the first of the bunch to notch a Billboard no. 1 single with “My Sweet Lord,” which peaked on the charts in December ’70.
All Things Must Pass, Harrison’s debut No. 1 album, sold better than the first LPs by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr. After so many years of getting limited space on Beatles records, Harrison was thriving as an artist outside of his old band’s confines.
After devoting so much time and energy to the Concert for Bangladesh in ’71, Harrison returned with Living in the Material World (1973). Once again, Harrison found a receptive audience for the album and its lead single, “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth).”
Harrison didn’t appear to be done there. That summer, he teed up “Don’t Let Me Wait Too Long” as the second single from the record. However, for reasons never clearly explained, Harrison never released it.
Source: cheatsheet.com
Julian Lennon, son of John, sang background vocals. Steve Holley, formerly of Paul McCartney's Wings, played drums. Micky Dolenz, formerly of the Prefab Four (aka the Monkees), added vocal harmonies. Mark Hudson, who produced nine albums for Ringo Starr, helmed the project.
No wonder Joey Molland's just-released "Be True to Yourself" sounds like the most Beatlicious album of the year.
"I wasn't expecting to make a record," said singer-guitarist Molland, a true Liverpudlian rock star who has lived in the Twin Cities for more than 35 years. "I am getting old. I'm 73. I can make records in basements, but a full-blown record with a full-blown crew with Mark Hudson producing is something I wasn't really expecting."
On Molland's sixth solo album and first in seven years, there are echoes of John, Paul, George and sometimes even Ringo.
"I had all the same influences: Irving Berlin and Cole Porter all the way to the early rock 'n' roll and the advent of R&B. Chuck Berry, Elvis, Little Richard, Buddy Holly, Bill Haley & and the Comets," Molland said last week. "I learned to play all that stuff in Liverpool. And I had the Beatles on top of it."
Source:gazettextra.com/John Bream
The Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum welcomes back local Beatles aficionado, Gary Baker, as he takes us on The Beatles' final journey from the rooftop concert in January 1969, to the release of "Let It Be", and the “official” breakup of the band in the spring of 1970. Join us on Facebook Live at 6 p.m. Nov. 5, to enjoy rare audio and video footage, LPs, 45s, posters, and advertisements as Gary shares the fascinating stories behind the most popular band in history.
Baker is well-known around the Coshocton area as a lover of all things Beatles. He has made multiple trips to both Liverpool and London to explore Beatles’ haunts such as the famous Cavern Club, Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields, and Abbey Road. For the past two years, he has been a special guest on WTNS-FM with host Mike Bechtol for shows on both the 50th Anniversary of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and The White Album.
This special night is for everyone: the diehard Beatles fan, students of 1960s counterculture, and young listeners just discovering the music of the most influential band in history.
Source: daily-jeff.com
The Beatles were an English rock band that is responsible for some of the world’s most iconic songs. Tunes like “Hey Jude,” “Let it Be,” “Eleanor Rigby” and “Love Me Do” continue to inspire and delight fans to this day, over fifty years after they were originally released.
Although the Beatles disbanded in 1970, with all the members going on to establish separate careers in the music industry, fans still know and love John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison as members of the Beatles. While people everywhere love the band and what they stand for, the Beatles did make some enemies in their time — most notably, the first lady of the Philippines, who made a shocking move to ban them from the country in 1966, after they refused an exclusive invitation from her office.
Source: cheatsheet.com
Paul McCartney has hinted that he is gearing up to release ‘McCartney III’, completing a trilogy of self-titled albums that he started recording before The Beatles split up.
The music icon released ‘McCartney’ in 1970 before following it a decade later with 1980’s ‘McCartney II’. Both albums were recorded at home and featured additional vocals from his late wife Linda.
McCartney fans have started to receive hints that a third release is on the way after a series of surprise animations began to appear on Spotify.
When users play songs from ‘McCartney’ and ‘McCartney II’ on the Spotify mobile app, they are greeted with an animation of a dice thrown onto the images of the album covers, with three dots facing upwards.
Over on Reddit, McCartney’s fans also claim to have received a bag printed with his name and containing three dice.
Source: Nick Reilly/nme.com
The Beatles are one of the greatest musical acts of all time, an original boy band that is responsible for crafting some of the world’s most influential songs. Comprised of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, the Beatles remain hugely popular with fans of all ages, even though the group disbanded more than four decades ago.
Rumors have swirled around the Beatles ever since the group first formed, many of them that persist to this day. One of the most enduring rumors is an urban legend that still makes the rounds today, even though George Harrison personally debunked it several decades ago.
In 1957, Lennon joined forces with a young McCartney for the first time. They formed a band, going through several name variations and welcoming a variety of different members before establishing the final lineup, with George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
Over the next several years, the group finalized a band name, and as The Beatles, they steadily grew in popularity around their hometown of Liverpool.
Source: cheatsheet.com
A letter written by The Beatles’ manager following the sacking of the band’s original drummer is going under the hammer.
Brian Epstein signed up Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Pete Best – the band’s first drummer – on January 24 1962, after hearing them play. But only months later he fired Best and replaced him with Ringo Starr.
The letter which is up for sale was part of a tranche of communications Epstein sent to “secret Beatle” Joe Flannery, a key figure in the Fab Four’s rise to fame. Flannery, who died last year aged 87, was the band’s booking manager from 1962-63, during the early history of the Fab Four.
On September 8 1962, Epstein wrote to tell him he had released Best from his contract. He had told the Liverpool drummer three weeks earlier that he had to leave the band. The letter has been kept by Flannery’s family and is now being sold by his nephew.
Epstein wrote: “I read from the Mersey Beat (Liverpool music publication) Pete Best has now joined The All Stars.
Source: uk.news.yahoo.com
