Beatles News
The longtime friendship between Bob Dylan and The Beatles’ own George Harrison is a long one deeply entrenched in the joy of one another’s creativity. In fact, in 1992, Dylan would be the major reason for Harrison to perform for what would be one of the last times.
The legendary Quiet Beatle had been out from underneath the large shadow the Fab Four had cast for a few years now. His iconic album All Things Must Pass had ascertained Harrison his legendary status on his solo work alone but, despite all his experience, Harrison was never a big fan of touring after his 1974 tour.
The pain of that tour with Ravi Shankar had clearly landed quite heavily on Harrison and for many years, despite commercial success like his 1987 record Cloud Nine, the Quiet Beatle was, for the main part, remaining quiet.
Yet in 1990 something seemed to change, Harrison looked as if he gearing up for a tour of his own, for the first time since 1974. After sharing the stage in Los Angeles in 1990, Harrison, to seemingly dip his toe into the touring water, joined the legendary Eric Clapton for a joint tour of Japan, the next year.
Source: Jack Whatley/faroutmagazine.co.uk
There are a lot of ‘almost’ moments in rock and roll history, one that has always hung heavily over our heads was the very real moment Saturday Night Live nearly reunited The Beatles, had John Lennon and Paul McCartney been bothered to get up from watching it on TV.
In the iconic first series of ‘Saturday Night Live’ – America’s home of alternative weekend hilarity – show’s legendary producer, Lorne Michaels set himself a fairly big challenge: to reunite The Beatles. He started as any SNL act would, with a piece direct to camera.
Whether Michaels was performing with the real intent of reuniting the most enigmatic songwriting partnership to have ever existed in Lennon and McCartney, or he was just doing a bit, he shared the sentiment of a nation. Michaels talks directly to the camera about how The Beatles had affected so many lives, “In my book, The Beatles are the best thing that ever happened to music. It goes even deeper than that — you’re not just a musical group, you’re a part of us. We grew up with you.”
Source: faroutmagazine.co.uk
The Beatles are some of the most widely discussed people of all time. It feels like every time John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr tied their shoes has been thoroughly documented. However, one Beatles song has remained hidden from the public for decades. Here’s what we know about the lost Beatles track “Carnival of Light.”
Of the Beatles, John is often regarded as the avant-gardist. Paul, meanwhile, is known for making more conventional music. However, The Guardian reports Paul tried his hand at experimental music with a song called “Carnival of Light.”
Barry Miles asked his friend Paul to compose music for an electronic music festival called the Million Volt Light and Sound Rave. The festival was held in 1967 at the Roundhouse Theatre in London. Little did Miles know Paul would produce one of the great pieces of rock esoterica.
Source: cheatsheet.com
There have been some incredibly famous music stars over the years from Elvis Presley to Freddie Mercury. And, of course, surviving Beatles member Sir Paul McCartney has had to deal with the highs and lows of fame for almost 60 years. In a new interview, he revealed how he tries to put fans at ease when meeting him, but also revealed which musician he still gets nervous around himself.
Speaking with The Penguin Podcast last month, the 77-year-old said: “If I had to interview someone famous tomorrow, I’d be like thinking about it all night and all morning, ‘oh my god what am I gonna do?’
“And I imagine that’s what they’re going through and normally you can see this bit of fear in the eyes or there’s shaking.
“So I like to put people at ease and say, ‘Look, it doesn’t matter [about calling me Sir Paul], I’m just some guy.’
Source: George Simpson/express.co.uk
The Beatles’ 1969 album Abbey Road has been named the US’s biggest-selling vinyl LP of the 2010s, shifting more than 558,000 copies. The Top 10, compiled by Nielsen Music, is comprised almost entirely of old albums, from Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon (2), Bob Marley and the Wailers’ Legend (4) and Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours (9).
The only 21st-century releases on the list are Amy Winehouse’s 2006 album Back to Black (5) and Lana Del Rey’s 2011 debut Born to Die (10), the only original album from the 2010s to chart. The soundtrack to Marvel’s first Guardians of the Galaxy film, released in 2014, placed third with 367,000 sales, but features solely music released between 1968 and 1979.
Expanded allegations of child sex abuse by Michael Jackson do not appear to have affected his sales: Thriller placed sixth, selling with more than 334,000 copies.
Abbey Road also topped vinyl sales for 2019 in the US, thanks to an elaborate box set reissue to mark its 50th anniversary.
Source: Laura Snapes/theguardian.com
The Fab Four grew up in Liverpool together but had drastically different family lives. In an interview with The Penguin Podcast last month, Paul McCartney spoke of his comfortable upbringing compared to John Lennon’s. The Beatles star admitted: “I was very lucky. I had a very lovely family in Liverpool.”
The 77-year-old added: “And I can’t remember any aggro. I mean how lucky is that?
“I thought everyone had that kind of a family.”
However, it was when he met John Lennon that he discovered his future bandmate had a much harder time.
The young musician had lost his mother, while his father had left at a very early age.
Source: express.co.uk
In 1965, The Beatles started on a new path. After racking up No. 1 hits with songs like “Love Me Do” and “She Loves You” in ’64, the Fab Four began digging deeper. John Lennon, resolving to turn the lens on himself, had his most introspective moment to that point with “Help.”
Though he charted a path in a different direction, Paul McCartney was also growing rapidly as a songwriter. After delivering the masterpiece “Yesterday,” he followed with more clever work like “Drive My Car” and “You Won’t See” me on Rubber Soul (released later in ’65).
By then, John was turning out classics like the sitar-infused “Norwegian Wood” as well as “Nowhere Man” and “Girl.” To George Harrison, the prospect of matching this work must have been daunting. He didn’t have someone to bounce ideas off of and had little experience writing on his own.
Source: cheatsheet.com
One of the world’s most gifted songwriters of all time, Paul McCartney has been involved in some of the most popular and beloved music the modern world has ever known. But which one of The Beatles’ extensive back catalogue was his favourite?
In a recently unearthed interview, thanks to CBS, that question has now been answered. The star, usually very coy about picking his favourite songs, was talking to Scott Muni, a legendary broadcaster for WNEW in New York City, about his then-new song ‘We All Stand Together’ back in 1984.
The singer was promoting the track, which featured in the short animated film Rupert and the Frog Song and was credited to Paul McCartney And The Frog Chorus, when Muni hit him with the age-old question, what is your favourite Beatles song?
Source: faroutmagazine.co.uk
If you were at Paul McCartney’s 1969 marriage to Linda Eastman, you’d have noticed someone conspicuously missing — John Lennon. Actually, considering none of Paul’s Beatles bandmates attended, maybe John’s absence wasn’t so surprising.
About a week later, it was John’s turn to tie the knot with Yoko Ono. (They did so in Gibraltar.) Because of the runaway nature of John and Yoko’s nuptials, you didn’t find Paul (or anyone else) in attendance there, either.
After John and Yoko had their marriage certificate, they headed to the Amsterdam Hilton to stage their first “bed-in for peace.” If you’ve heard “The Ballad of John and Yoko,” you know most of this story.
Source: cheatsheet.com
John Lennon’s departure from The Beatles split the band and rocked fans all around the world in 1970. The break-up came shortly after the Imagine hitmaker tied the knot with Yoko Ono, with the avant-garde artist bearing the brunt of the blame from The Beatles’ fanbase. The band dissolved following the release of their final album, Let It Be, and Abbey Road, having cemented their place in rock ’n’ roll history.
The split was far from amicable, sparking a feud between Lennon and his former bandmate Paul McCartney, during which they exchanged jibes publicly through the medium of their solo songs.
Later, however, they reconciled and reignited their firm friendship, which dated back to their schooldays.
Many whispers about a potential reunion circulated over the years, particularly in the latter half of the ‘70s, but it never transpired.
Source: Minnie Wright/express.co.uk
