Beatles News
During the sixties, The Beatles got to know some journalists pretty well. One of them was Daily Mirror showbiz reporter Don Short, who befriended the Fab Four. Now as he publishes his memoir The Beatles and Beyond, he has shared some fascinating stories from his time with the band.
This included admitting that he tipped off John Lennon and Yoko Ono, having heard from a contact at Scotland Yard they were going to be raided for drugs.
The incident took place in September 1968 and Short “knew it was the wrong thing to do” but was loyal to Lennon as a friend so let him know.
John and Yoko were living in a house in Central London that had previously been occupied by Jimi Hendrix.
Source: George Simpson/express.co.uk
THE BBC banned three Beatles songs during their musical career - but the broadcasters were especially outraged with the hit ‘I Am The Walrus'.
John Lennon . ‘Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds’ was also banned for drug references too as a form of censorship by the broadcasting house. JUST IN: The BBC banned multiple songs by The Beatles – but one particularly annoyed the band (Image: GETTY) George Harrison was particularly frustrated by the decision to ban 'I Am The Walrus' (Image: GETTY) ‘I Am The Walrus’ suffered the same fate that year, as their two other songs, and was banned by the BBC. The corporation did not like the lyrics “Crabalocker fishwife, pornographic priestess” and “Boy, you've been a naughty girl you let your knickers down." In that era, Mentalfloss claimed that the word “knickers” and the “obvious reference to sex” was “all too much for the airways” in 1967. The Beatles were allegedly outraged by the decision not to allow their songs to be broadcast on the BBC – especially George Harrison who spoke out in an interview. DON'T MISS Read more: Daily Express.
Source: headtopics.com
As the coronavirus pandemic spreads across the world, it’s understandable that health and economic worries are increasing. To help keep spirits high, Queen and Adam Lambert’s Brian May has been encouraging his fans to think positive by sharing some track clips on his Instagram. One of the more recent ones saw him use a bit of The Beatles legend George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass.
Source: George Simpson/express.co.uk
hen The Beatles were in the height of their fame, they excitedly managed to meet American superstar and the king of rock and roll Elvis Presley. In a series of interviews compiled in a YouTube video in recent years, band members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison all reflected on the incredible opportunity. But Starr admitted the experience has been tainted, as he claimed Presley tried to ban them from entering the USA in the years following their initial meeting.
“He was just surrounded by these sycophants,” Starr recalled initially of the meeting.
“[Elvis would say] ‘I’m gonna go to the loo now’, [they would say] ‘Oh ok we’ll all go to the loo with you’.
“It was just so strange, and I was just so angry because he wasn’t making any music.
Source: Roxanne Hughes/express.co.uk
During an appearance on Scars & Guitars, fusion guitar champion Al Di Meola (Return to Forever, solo) talked about his new The Beatles tribute album "Across the Universe."
The record was released on March 13 via earMusic, featuring a collection of 14 tracks. You can stream it in full in the embedded player below. Discussing what The Beatles meant to him, Al commented (transcribed by UG):
"The Beatles were highly inspirational to me, as a lot of the English music was. But they set the bar. Everybody was trying to make music, not to better them, but The Beatles - they set the benchmark.
"Then when they went off on their solo things, I definitely lost interest in their solo stuff, which led me onto the path that brought me into whatever prominence they still got because I went down the road into jazz-rock, fusion, and everything.
Source: ultimate-guitar.com/jomatami
A builder could be £10,000 richer after finding papers in a skip that included sketches Sir Paul McCartney commissioned for his psychedelic piano.
Andy Clynes, 54, from Oldham, was overseeing a development at a mill near Manchester when the papers were thrown out with other waste.
He took them out of the skip and stored the papers in a box in his loft for around 20 years until deciding recently to see what they are worth.
An auction house is now selling the highlight of the find, the sketches and designs for the Beatle's so-called "magic" piano.
More of the papers from his find will go under the hammer in a separate sale later this year at Omega Auctions, with the total expected to fetch £10,000.
I picked them out of the skip.
"The case burst open as it was thrown in. It was raining and I just picked up what I could."
Source: itv.com
The Beatles had plenty of hits. They even had plenty of hits after they stopped being the Beatles. However, false rumors may have helped one of the Beatles’ post-breakup songs become a hit.
There’s a first time for everything. In the late 1980s, George Harrison wanted the surviving Beatles to reunite for one of his music videos. He lied to make sure everyone thought that happened.
Aside from the infectious hit “Got My Mind Set on You,” the most famous song from George’s 1987 album Cloud Nine is “When We Was Fab.” “When We Was Fab” is a meditation on the Fab Four’s time together. It features some lyrical references to the Beatles songs. The song’s beat resembles that of “I Am the Walrus.” “When We Was Fab” also has some Indian instrumentation, recalling George’s composition “Within You, Without You.”
Source: cheatsheet.com
Handwritten lyrics of the Beatles’ iconic hit Hey Jude, John Lennon’s corduroy trousers, and a wooden stage that the British band performed on – these are just a few of the highlights that went under the hammer in New York on April 10.
Titled “All Beatles“, the sale by Julien’s Auctions marked the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ dissolution. It featured some 300 items of never-before-seen memorabilia spanning the Fab Four’s 30-year career, including instruments, autographed items, rare vinyls, obscure licensed material and other collectible artefacts.
Among them was a wooden stage of the Liverpool venue where Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and former bandmate Stuart Sutcliffe performed as The Silver Beetles in May 1960. The stage was later removed from Liverpool’s Lathom Hall, where the Beatles performed on ten more occasions without Ringo Starr on drums until February 1961. This historical memorabilia is hitting the auction for the first time at Julien’s Auctions, where it is expected to sell for between US$10,000 and US$20,000 (320,000 THB and 640,000 THB).
Source: prestigeonline.com
When you dig into the history of The Beatles, you see the influence of rock ‘n’ roll pioneers Little Richard, Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, and Jerry Lee Lewis. But the list wouldn’t be complete without Buddy Holly (1936-59).
“Buddy Holly was the first one that we were really aware of in England who could play and sing at the same time,” John Lennon said in an interview later published in Beatles Anthology. “Not just strum — but actually play the licks [and sing]”
Paul McCartney also noted what a major influence Holly was. “One of the main things about The Beatles is that we started out writing our own material,” Paul said. “People these days take it for granted that you [write], but nobody used to then. John and I started to write because of Buddy Holly.”
When John and Paul (then as The Quarry Men) first recorded anything, a cover of Holly’s “That’ll Be the Day” was how they got started in 1958. Over the years, The Beatles would play many more Holly songs. But they only ever recorded one Holly track for a Fab Four studio album.
Source: cheatsheet.com
Fans remember Lennon as an icon, but those working for the FBI may recall the musician's reputation a bit differently.
For many, the face of John Lennon is directly associated with the peace and love that circulated during the hippie movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Music fans will remember him as one of the most iconic members of The Beatles, founding the group and a songwriting career that has yet to be rivaled. However, those who were working for the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover may recall the musician's reputation a bit differently.
In March of 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono were on a European mission to be married. After a failed attempt in the U.K and another unfortunate technicality in Parisian nuptial law, the couple finally found a beautiful location at The Pillar of Hercules in Gibraltar.
Source: Vinnie Rossiello/thethings.com
