Beatles News
“This was different. It shifted the lay of the land. Four guys, playing and singing, writing their own material…Rock ‘n” roll came to my house where there seemed to be no way out and opened up a whole world of possibilities.” — Bruce Springsteen
How do you begin to quantify the importance of the music of the Beatles? Those four lads from Liverpool changed the landscape of modern music forever. Award winning composer Howard Goodall credits John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr as “almost single-handedly rescuing the entire Western musical system.”
The appearance of the group on CBS’ The Ed Sullivan Show on Feb. 9, 1964 before a television audience of more than 70 million people is a watershed moment in our nation’s history. Artists like John Fogerty, Tom Petty, Joe Walsh, Ann and Nancy Wilson, Chrissie Hynde, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen all cite this moment as career inspiration.
Source: Julie Jason/indexjournal.com
John Lennon was so popular he got to meet heads of state. At one point, he even met the Prime Minister of Canada, Pierre Trudeau, the father of Justin Trudeau. Here’s what John thought about this experience.
In the 1971 book Lennon Remembers, Jann S. Wenner interviewed John about the times he crossed paths with a number of world leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Golda Mier and British Prime Minister Harold Wilson. He had the most to say about his interaction with the elder Trudeau. According to the CBC, John and Yoko Ono met with Trudeau to promote peace in 1969. John and Yoko requested the meeting.
According to The New Yorker, John and Yoko were quite taken with Trudeau. Yoko commented he was “more beautiful than we expected.” In addition, John said “If all politicians were like Mr. Trudeau, there would be world peace.” That’s a major compliment from an artist who made peace a major theme in his music and his activism.
Source: cheatsheet.com
A daily life snapshot taken in the rural mountains of Kyoto Prefecture of four elderly people at a zebra crossing, reminiscent of the cover of the Beatles' famous "Abbey Road" album has been making the headlines on Twitter in Japan.
Paul McCartney will reissue his 1984 children’s song “We All Stand Together,” a.k.a. “The Frog Song,” as a limited-edition seven-inch vinyl picture disc on November 6 in honor of the 100th anniversary of the popular British comic strip Rupert Bear.
The song was the centerpiece of the 1984 short film Rupert and the Frog Song that was written and produced by McCartney and featured the former Beatles legend as the voice of Rupert Bear. The movie was animated and directed by Geoff Dunbar. The track was produced by George Martin, and featured McCartney accompanied by The King’s Singers and the choir of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Like the original 1984 version of “We Stand Together,” the new picture disc is specially shaped and includes the instrumental B-side “We All Stand Together (Humming Version).” The reissue, which you can pre-order now, also comes packaged with a poster. The track has been remastered at London’s Abbey Road Studios.
Source: Music News Group/seacoastoldies.com
John Lennon was said to be “physically sick” from nerves before performing with Elton John at a 1974 show in New York’s Madison Square Garden after the Beatle lost a bet with Elton.
Elton worked extensively with Lennon on his 1974 ‘Walls and Bridges’ album, providing backing vocals and piano on the lead single ‘Whatever Gets You Through The Night’.
Despite not being a firm favourite of Lennon’s, Elton convinced him to release the track – and wagered that they would have to perform the number together if it topped the Billboard Hot 100.
When the song went on to bag the top spot and became a massive hit, Elton revealed that Lennon was then faced with battling his nerves before the pair performed it in November 1974.
Source: Nick Reilly/nme.com
The Beatles - both throughout their careers, and long after they ended - have had countless books written about them, but thankfully, none like this. The Beatles 101 tells the story of the fab four using a unique method of cutting down their stories into 101 defined chapters. The stunning hardback delves into such cultural enigmas as "Paul McCartney is dead", and some intriguing factoids on how and where some iconic songs were written and recorded.
Fans of The Beatles will always be looking for more information about John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison - and The Beatles 101 brings all of the most interesting facts to the front an centre.
Few people today question why the band are still so implicitly successful, something The Beatles 101 author Vikki Reilly was more than happy to discuss.
Source: Callum Crumlish/express.co.uk
The Beatles on stage at the ABC in Blackpool
It’s blast from the past time again, linking some famous showbiz names; the Beatles, Freddie Starr, Mike Berry and Lennie Bennett.
It’s sparked off by a couple of Gazette items in the past week.
News that the Mersey Beatles are coming to the Opera House in November reminded me that I could be coining it right now - if only I’d got the autographs of the original Beatles at the old ABC Theatre in 1965.
I was chatting with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr in the stalls during the afternoon sound checks for ITV’s live Sunday night Blackpool Show.
Just think - four signatures on my Press invitation would be worth a cruise for two now. Maybe not a cruise - but something exotic next year!
The Beatles twice did Sunday night telecasts from the ABC, on July 19, 1964, and on August 1, 1965.
Source: blackpoolgazette.co.uk
For all those people who want to live in a ‘Yellow Submarine’ on Penny Lane, this Beatles newsletter is for all you Fab Four fanatics out there.
Look, we all know that The Beatles are arguably the greatest band to have ever walked this green(ish) earth.
And it’s a testament to their greatness that the band and its four members – John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr – are still relevant today in an age of
Since the Beatles can’t seem to stop doing stuff and everyone can’t seem to quit them (us definitely included), we’ve started a newsletter dedicated to anything and everything about the Fab Four.
To guarantee you keep in the loop about all things Beatles ‘Eight Days A Week’, just fill out the form below and we’ll do the rest.
This newsletter doesn’t just cover news stories related to the Beatles, like Mark Chapman’s apology to Yoko Ono or whenever some big-name artist decides to cover their favourite song by the quartet.
Source: Alexander Pan/tonedeaf.thebrag.com
A Liverpool Beatles author claims John Lennon hid the true meaning of the song Strawberry Fields Forever because he didn’t want it to reveal too much about his troubled childhood.
Francis Kenny has revised his critically-acclaimed 2014 book The Making of John Lennon to include around an extra 6,000 words, much of which focuses on the origins of the world famous song.
In Understanding John Lennon, he reveals research which points to the lyrics being written not about the Woolton orphanage but about a reform school for boys.
Lennon, says Francis, could see Gladstone Hall from his bedroom window in Mendips, and would have walked past it hundreds of times on his way to and from Quarry Bank school.
Source: theguideliverpool.com
Paul McCartney has spoken in a new interview of his joy at reuniting with The Beatles bandmate and songwriting partner John Lennon.
Talking with Lennon's son Sean, he says that it would have been a ″heartache″ if they hadn't been able to meet up again after the band had been torn apart due to what McCartney calls ″arguing ... business differences.″
Lennon died after being shot outside his apartment on Dec.8, 1980, at the age of 40 — and the landmark of what would have been his 80th birthday is being celebrated in the interview that airs on BBC Radio 2 this weekend.
″I always say to people, one of the great things for me was that after all The Beatles rubbish and all the arguing and the business, you know, business differences really .. that even after all of that, I'm so happy that I got it back together with your dad,″ McCartney, 78, says. ″It really, really would have been a heartache to me if we hadn't have reunited. It was so lovely to me that we did and it really gives me strength to know that."
Source: Simon Perry/yahoo.com
