Beatles News
The Beatles are widely heralded as one of the greatest, and quite possibly the most influential, bands in history. They wonderfully encapsulated the spirit of the 1960s, transitioning from goodie boy band singing about holding hands to transcendental hippies singing about spiritual freedom and experimenting with advanced studio effects.
Even to this day, their music remains a revelation. Movie producers certainly know this, and The Beatles' music has appeared in numerous movies and TV shows throughout the years. Their incorporation may also prove particularly inspired, benefitting the excellent music on display.
10 Mad Men (2007-15)
Don listens to Tomorrow Never Knows
It's fitting that "Tomorrow Never Knows" appeared in Mad Men, as that show also encapsulates the growing trends and changing times of the 1960s. Season five's Lady Lazarus concerns Don Draper feeling particularly out of tune with the youth and counterculture. His wife, Megan, buys Revolver and tells Don to put on "Tomorrow Never Knows". He does so and sits down with a drink to listen to, but he only makes it a minute into the song before standing and turning it off. "The '60s" have arrived, and Don isn't ready for it.
9 Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
Ferris sings Twist and Shout
Source: Nathan Sharp/screenrant.com
Luther actor Idris Elba is set to interview former Beatle Paul McCartney for a 60-minute BBC One holiday special.
Produced by The Graham Norton Show outfit So Television, Idris Elba Meets Paul McCartney will be filmed in London over the coming weeks in line with local Covid-19 rules.
Elba, who moonlights as a musician and DJ, will interview McCartney about his career as one of the most successful musicians and composers in pop music history.
Elba said: “When I was asked if I wanted to speak to Paul McCartney, after I realised it wasn’t a joke, I immediately said yes… who wouldn’t?!
“His work has inspired and driven me as a musician, and once I get through the shock of sharing the stage with him, I’m excited to talk about his music and craft. What an honour!”
The special was ordered by chief content officer Charlotte Moore, Jan Younghusband, and Kate Phillips. The executive producers are Graham Stuart, Andy Rowe and Dylan Jones.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
The 50th anniversary of George Harrison’s seminal solo album All Things Must Pass is marked today (November 27) by the release of a new 2020 stereo mix of its title track.
The George Harrison Estate has announced the mix, which was overseen by the Grammy-winner Paul Hicks. He’s recognized for his work with the estate as well as with The Beatles and major album repackages in 2020 by the Rolling Stones (the extended Goats Head Soup) and John Lennon’s GIMME SOME TRUTH. The Ultimate Mixes compilation.
“The new stereo mix of the album’s title track is just a taste of more things to come in 2021 as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of my father’s legendary All Things Must Pass album,” says George’s son Dhani Harrison. “We’ve been digging through mountains of tapes, and they just kept coming – boxes and boxes of them.
“Making this album sound clearer was always one of my dad’s greatest wishes and it was something we were working on together right up until he passed. But with the help of new technology and the work of Paul Hicks on this project, we are now able to make that happen. We can’t wait for you all to hear everything we’ve been working on and your patience will be rewarded next year.”
Source: Paul Sexton/udiscovermusic.com
The 50th anniversary of ‘John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band’ rolls around on 11 December and with only two weeks before that date the only official word is hidden in the back of the book released with the recent ‘Gimme Some Truth’ collection (released for what would have been John Lennon’s 80th birthday in October).
At the back of the ‘Gimme Some Truth’ book it lists the release:
‘John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band’ was John Lennon’s fifth album after the experimental ‘Unfinished Music No 1: Two Virgins’ (1968), ‘Unfinished Music No 2: Life With The Lions’ (1969), ‘Wedding Album’ (1969) and the live album ‘Live Peace In Toronto 1969’ (1969).
The album was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London between between 26 September – 23 October 1970
Producers: John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Phil Spector
Released: 11 December 1970
Source: noise11.com
Paul McCartney recently said that he sometimes has to use a teleprompter to remember the lyrics to old Beatles’ songs. The pop music legend opened up on the Smartless podcast recently about his struggles to stay in the moment on stage and recall those tunes.
“Sometimes I’ll be doing a song, like Eleanor Rigby or something, and I’m on autopilot,” the 78-year-old McCartney said, according to NME. “And I’m starting to think, ‘Oh, what am I gonna have for dinner? Maybe you won’t have the soup but maybe you’ll just go for the main course’.
“Then I go, ‘Stop!’ because I’m singing Eleanor Rigby! I’ve separated myself not only from Paul and fame, but a couple of bits in my head are going in different places.”
But that doesn’t always work. McCartney said he sometimes has to turn to technology to help him stay on script.
“Sometimes that breaks down and I forget the song,” he said. “I have a teleprompter.”
Source: Josh Lanier/outsider.com
A book that looks at The Beatles from a playful kaleidoscope of angles won Britain’s leading nonfiction literary award on Tuesday.
Craig Brown’s “One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time” was named winner of the 50,000-pound ($66,000) Baillie Gifford Prize at a virtual ceremony in London.
Brown’s “composite biography” juxtaposes the stories of John, Paul, George and Ringo with relatives, partners, artists, imitators, hangers-on and others drawn into their orbit.
Broadcaster Martha Kearney, who chaired the judging panel, said Brown’s “joyous, irreverent, insightful celebration” of the Fab Four was “a shaft of light piercing the deep gloom of 2020.”
“Who would have thought that a book about The Beatles could seem so fresh?” she said.
The award recognizes English-language books in current affairs, history, politics, science, sport, travel, biography, autobiography and the arts.
Source: hindustantimes.com
The 2021 Grammy Award nominees have been unveiled. Even though classic rock acts were ignored in the major, general-field categories, many could be found in various other slots.
The Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package category features releases from Paul McCartney, the Grateful Dead, Depeche Mode and Wilco. Movies about ZZ Top and Linda Ronstadt were among the nominees in the Best Music Film category. And David Byrne received a nom for Best Musical Theater Album thanks to his American Utopia on Broadway, while Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea is a nominee for Best Spoken Word Album for the audio version of his memoir Acid for the Children.
Two classic artists received posthumous nominations: John Prine is up for both Best American Roots Performance and Best American Roots Song, while Leonard Cohen's Thanks for the Dance is a nominee in the Best Folk Album category.
The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach received a nomination for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical, an honor he previously won in 2013. Also up for Producer of the Year: Andrew Watt, who counts Ozzy Osbourne’s Ordinary Man among his credits.
Source: ultimateclassicrock.com
Sir Paul McCartney has been famous for more than half his life. As a Beatle, he created songs that turned into iconic anthems and for some, the soundtrack to their lives.
Since the 1960s, the singer-songwriter carved out a career that included his monumental time with the famous British band, as well as a run with Wings and his solo outing.
Beyond his membership in The Beatles, the legendary McCartney also extended his artistry into the food business, musical theater, and books. However, music is what turned him into a super star and he realizes his global fan base holds him—and the other Beatles—in high esteem. When it comes to interacting with fans, McCartney does have a preference.
Source: cheatsheet.com
On November 27, 1970, one of, if not the single greatest solo record from a former-Beatle was released. Coming from none other than the quiet Beatle himself, I’m of course talking about the sextuple-platinum triple album All Things Must Pass by George Harrison.
This album, in the most basic sense, is Harrison finally breaking free from the creative control of his fellow Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney. While certainly legends in their own right (with killer solo albums to boot), they both undoubtedly came down way too heavy on Harrison in the final years of The Beatles.
All Things Must Pass is where Harrison truly just opens the floodgates; it’s the culmination of a built-up back catalog of knock out songs that Lennon and McCartney had rejected over the years, of his unique musical and lyrical influences that had been sucked out of virtually all of the Beatles’ works and of his wide array of talented musical friends, as many of them helped him bring this album to life.
Source: Noah Nickel/brockpress.com
The Beatles released 22 singles over the course of their careers. While not all of them were show stopping hits, the Fab Four managed to sell over 600 million singles in the United Kingdom alone. Across the board, the band broke records, selling unbelievable amounts of records all the way up until they split. Although they had countless fans across the planet, John Lennon and Paul McCartney were happy to explain what they didn’t like about each other’s music.
Shortly after the death of The Beatles’ manager, Brian Epstein, the Fab Four released their first single without him.
The single was Hello, Goodbye, the A-side to Lennon’s I Am The Walrus.
Hello, Goodbye was written and mostly performed by McCartney, who later described the track as the “duality of man”.
Source: Callum Crumlish/express.co.uk
