Beatles News
Here comes the scion. Giles Martin, the son of original Beatles producer George Martin, has again worked his audiophiliac and curatorial magic on “Abbey Road: Anniversary Edition,” his third 50th anniversary Beatles project in a row, following “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Band” two years ago and the White Album in 2018.
If anything, “Abbey Road” is more popularly beloved in its original form than the two previous projects he tackled, so he clearly didn’t take it lightly, although he and co-remixer Sam Okell tried to leave a light tread in putting a fresh audio spin on an album whose sonics haven’t been the source of too many complaints since 1969. The vault material on the bonus discs is also a bit less exhaustive, or arguably exhausting, this time around. No one’s going to call it a minimalist set when the deluxe edition also includes the first official Dolby Atmos remix of a Beatles album, of course. But it’s a very approachable box for what may stand as the Beatles’ most approachable album, not just for elders but the young people Martin continually hopes will discover the Fabs anew.
Source: Chris Willman/variety.com
Sir Paul McCartney is famed for his incredible musical career - namely in the Beatles and Wings. Many would assume that someone like Sir Paul would never be able to go anywhere without being recognised. But it turns out one film led him to sneak out of his home to watch it on the big screen.
Paul McCartney, in an appearance on US TV show The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, opened up on his thoughts on Yesterday, the latest film from director Danny Boyle and writer Richard Curtis.
The film centres around music from the Beatles, and even features one of the Beatles singers (though sadly, not in the form of a cameo.)
Sir Paul even admitted that, while he did not attend an official screening of it, he was able to sneak into a cinema to catch a screening.
Source: Jenny Desborough/express.co.uk
Worlds collided as Paul McCartney dropped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Monday, Sept. 23. During the show, the legendary Beatles member sat down with Colbert to discuss his new children’s book, Hey Granddude! But the host briefly turned McCartney’s attention towards BTS — the world’s reigning boy group — who appeared in the late-night show on May 15.
In the Sept. 23 episode, Colbert previewed a clip of BTS’s impromptu cover of “Hey Jude” in the Ed Sullivan Theater, where The Late Show is taped. And of course, McCartney’s reaction to BTS sent ARMY into a whirlwind of emotions.
When Colbert touched on McCartney’s international success, the host asked the music icon if he knew about BTS. “Yes,” McCartney replied. Colbert also referred to the K-pop idols as “the biggest hit on the planet right now,” to which McCartney answered, “So I’ve heard.”
The Late Show host then showed McCartney a clip of BTS’s previous appearance. “You are the first group, as I’ve said before, to earn three number one albums in less than a year since The Beatles,” Colbert said, speaking with BTS in the old video. “Do you guys have a favorite Beatles song?” Instantly, the Bangtan Boys — including members RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook — burst out into “Hey Jude.”
Source: cheatsheet.com
George Harrison’s post-Beatles career as a film producer, composer and occasional actor will be celebrated over the course of a 10-day film festival next month in Beverly Hills.
Focusing on the output from the HandMade Films studio Harrison set up with business partner Denis O’Brien, the (Other) HandMade’s Tale festival, organized by English producer, humorist and Beatles authority Martin Lewis, will run Oct. 10-20 at the Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre.
It will showcase several group and solo films from the Monty Python team that Harrison’s involvement helped realize, as well as other titles that launched the careers of British actors Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren and director Neil Jordan.
The festival kicks off Oct. 10 with the premiere of “An Accidental Studio,” a new documentary about the creation of HandMade by Bill Jones (son of Python member Terry Jones) and Ben Timlett, who will take part in a postscreening Q&A session. The evening also will include “Two Live Pythons,” a taped Q&A shot in London with Python alums Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam plus musician-actor-producer and HandMade executive Ray Cooper, who appeared in several films from HandMade.
Source: Randy Lewis/latimes.com
Abbey Road brought The Beatles together one last time for the creation of “Abbey Road”, their eleventh album which was released 50 years ago this month. This album featured two songs written by George Harrison: ”Here Comes the Sun” and ”Something”, a song that was revered by all of the band members and has been covered by countless artists. Sir Paul McCartney and Sir George Martin created a 16-minute medley on side two, comprised of bits and pieces of songs that were never completed.
“I Want You/She’s So Heavy”, an 8-minute John Lennon song with only 14 words, is one of the most unusual songs on the album. It was one of the last songs to be completed for “Abbey Road”. The album closes with a 23-second hidden track that reveals itself after 17-seconds of silence.
Aside from the songs, the album cover itself had its own story. Shot by Iain McMillan, it fueled the flames of the “Paul is Dead” conspiracy that began with supposed “clues” from other album covers. Conspiracy theorists pointed out that for the “Abbey Road” album cover, Paul is out of step with the other band members, leading with his right leg instead of his left. The label’s official policy regarding inquiries about whether Paul was dead or alive was to neither confirm nor deny.
Source: Ann Delisi/wdet.org
Had it not been for a very tight deadline, the now-iconic cover design for the Beatles' classic album Abbey Road might have appeared quite differently today, according to John Kosh, the former creative director for the band's label Apple Records. Back in 1969, he was conceiving the look for the next Beatles album titled Get Back when he later found out that it was being replaced on the release schedule by a new record called Abbey Road. Now Kosh had to quickly come up with a brand-new design before the record hit the shops. “I suddenly found myself, 'By God, I've got to do this and get it out on Wednesday?’” he recalls today. “That's how it all happened.”
Featuring Kosh's understated yet groundbreaking design and the famous photograph by the late Iain Macmillan, Abbey Road is one of the most recognizable album covers of all time alongside the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and The Beatles (a.k.a., The White Album). On its 50th anniversary this year, Abbey Road is being reissued this Friday in a number of configurations—including a super deluxe edition set containing a newly-remastered version of the album on CD and Blu-ray along with previously unreleased music from the sessions.
Source: David Chiu/forbes.com
John Lennon was a legendary singer, songwriter and peace activist. December 8th of this year will be the 39th anniversary of iconic musician and co-founder of The Beatles John Lennon’s assassination and death. Here, MusicSnake Magazine put together a list of top 15 facts you probably didn’t know about John Lennon.
Number One: John Lennon Didn’t Like the Sound of His Own Voice. Apparently, he was never happy with the way his voice sounded, and this is why the musician liked to double-track his records. He’s reported as once having asked producer George Martin, “Can’t you smother my voice with tomato ketchup or something?”
Number Two: Paul Goresh Was the Last Person to Take His Picture. John Lennon was signing an album for Mark David Chapman who would assassinate him when he was photographed by Paul Goresh.
Source: MusicSnake Magazine
Late in the Beatles’ time together as a band, John Lennon grew dead-tired of Paul McCartney’s whimsical, bouncy pop songs. In fact, John began openly mocking songs like “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” for all studio personnel to hear. (He called these tunes Paul’s “granny music s**t.”)
While laying down tracks for Abbey Road the following year, Paul ran into a lot of resistance from the other Beatles during the lengthy sessions for “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer.” John, who was still recovering from a car accident, opted out of the recording altogether.
Though they later spoke of how much they hated the track, Ringo and George Harrison soldiered on and finished “Maxwell” with Paul. However, the irritating nature of the song hung over the band after they completed Abbey Road.
In a recently discovered audio recording of John speaking with George and Paul, John is heard saying what a drag it was for them to do “Maxwell.” And he said everyone would be better off if Paul found other artists to sing such songs in the future.
Source: cheatsheet.com
The 25-year veteran of the music industry-turned cabbie and tour guide (and now shutterbug) stood in the middle of the street, lining four of us up. “Wait, which leg are we starting with?” I quickly asked. This photo, after all, takes some coordination.
On the count of three and with cars waiting we took off on the right foot, swinging our arms in time like countless tourists have done before us, recreating the "Abbey Road" album cover, nearly as infamous as the Beatles themselves.
Fifty years later, that iconic album — the last the Beatles made as a group and released in the UK on Sept. 26, 1969 — still resonates. And tracing the city’s music history remains a favorite pastime for many visitors.
“I kept getting asked, especially by American tourists, about Abbey Road and on the way to Abbey Road I would say ‘do you know Paul McCartney lives around the corner? Do you know where Jimmy Page lives? Do you know where Freddie Mercury’s house is?’” Channell, who runs Rock Cab Tours, told Travel + Leisure. “And of course I had this wonderful light bulb moment, I said, ‘You know what, there’s a bit of a business in this.’”
Source: travelandleisure.com
The iconic drummer of The Beatles, Ringo Starr involved in the astonishing project alongside 10 different musicians from 10 different countries.
Here is what’s written on the project’s official YouTube account, Playing for Change:
“We’re excited to share our newest Song Around The World, “The Weight,” featuring musicians performing together across 5 continents.
Great songs can travel everywhere bridging what divides us and inspiring us to see how easily we all get along when the music plays.
Special thanks to our partner Cambria® for helping to make this possible and to Robbie Robertson, Ringo Starr and all the musicians for joining us in celebrating 50 years of this classic song.”
They also indicated that they are dedicated the project to legendary “The Band.”
Source: Enes K/metalheadzone.com
