Beatles News
Sue Mautner left school at 16 in 1962 and, through chutzpah and serendipity, found herself rubbing shoulders with the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and many more 60s legends while still in her teens. Mautner went from a Ready, Steady Go! TV dancer to an accidental music journalist and then a record company executive, becoming a front-row witness to pop’s first golden age.
Here she talks about her time with the Fab Four...
Oh my God, I’ve never known a group like them. The four of them fed off one another. It was absolutely unique. John was my favourite. I just thought he was my type of person because he had this cynicism and there was a real edge to what he said. He didn’t suffer fools gladly and could cut you down with two words. But sometimes I’d get a bit worried if I knew I was going to see them and I’d be a bit, oh, is he going to be okay? What side of the bed did he wake up on this morning? Is he going to be in a good mood? Or is he going to cut me to the quick? You know, if I say something wrong, or say something that he thinks isn’t very intelligent – he’d only answer intelligent questions. You had to have your wits about you with John. But he could be lovely too. One night when we’d got back from the Beatles playing on [ITV show] Thank Your Lucky Stars in the Midlands, I remember standing with John at the tea and pie stall at Chelsea Bridge having a cup of tea and talking for what felt like hours. He was very funny all the time and loyal.
I was due to go on the German tour to cover it for the NME and my publisher told me to stand down as he was going instead. I trotted off to Top Of The Pops with the Beatles and as I was leaving the dressing room afterwards, John said, “See you in Germany.” I explained I wasn’t going because the publisher wanted to cover it. And John said, “I’ll see you in Germany.” I didn’t really think anything of it, but talk about working quickly! The next morning, the publisher called me into his office and said, “Oh, a change of plan. I’m just going to cover the first night in Munich and you’ll be doing the rest of it.” I was so happy. Obviously John said something. It all happened so quickly. He must have told the PR, “Sue’s on the tour, make it happen.”
Paul was always very happy go lucky. He was the PR man of the group, everybody had to have a good image. Everybody had to think well of them. He was always affable, always ready to do the interviews where no one else could be bothered. George was a deep thinker, and a good conversationalist and Ringo was Ringo, always affable and happy.
Source: express.co.uk/Garry Bushell
When The Beatles went to India, it was with the purpose of learning Transcendental Meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in his ashram. George Harrison, in particular, was very interested in learning about the discipline, but the other Beatles, while curious, used their time away to write. John Lennon and Paul McCartney went back to writing together and comparing notes as they used to at the beginning of their songwriting partnership, and according to Lennon, “Regardless of what I was supposed to be doing, I did write some of my best songs there.”
One of those songs, many fans would say, was "Dear Prudence," a sweet, innocent, but still groundbreaking ballad dedicated to one of The Beatles' companions in the retreat, actress Mia Farrow's sister, Prudence Farrow. Among all the Maharishi's disciples, she was one of the most keen on learning about meditation. Because of that, she spent a lot of time locked in her room, sometimes worrying her "course-buddies", as she called them. In his song, Lennon calls for her and urges her to go outside and join the rest of their friends.
Dear Prudence, won't you come out to play?
Dear Prudence, greet the brand new day
The sun is up, the sky is blue
It's beautiful and so are you
"As I was acoustic all my life, I was playing guitar constantly, and John looked at me and said, ‘How do you do that guitar pickin’?’ So I taught John," Donovan explained. The song "Dear Prudence" meant a lot to him because of that, and he named it among one of his favorites of all time.
“With the guitar style and John’s caring attitude to Prudence, it was very touching.”
Prudence Farrow Finally Spoke About the Beatles' "Dear Prudence"
Prudence Farrow was a Beatles fan when she went on the retreat, so she was thrilled to find out they would be in the same group. But admittedly, because she grew up in Hollywood, she was a little apprehensive, since she'd met a lot of celebrities and been disappointed by them. But they pleasantly surprised her.
"The Beatles were all very nice, humble, modest, kind, and down-to-earth people. This actually shocked me since other celebrities I had met before disappointed me and did not live up to my expectations," she explained.
"Dear Prudence" is an absolute fan favorite, with simple but moving lyrics, and a complex but peaceful arpeggio that hypnotizes the listener and draws them into the world Lennon was writing about. Truly, a timeless masterpiece.
Source: collider.com/Val Barone
Billy Joel has shared his thoughts on The Beatles’ 1968 self-titled ninth studio album, commonly referred to as the White Album, and they aren’t positive.
During his appearance on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast, Joel and Maher were discussing classic double albums when Maher mentioned The Beatles’ record.
“I’m not a big fan of the White Album, but some people love it,” Joel said. “I hear it as a collection of half-a**** songs they didn’t finish writing because they were too stoned, or they didn’t care anymore.”
He adds, “I think they had fragments and they put them on the album.”
Joel also suggested that John Lennon “was disassociated” during the recording of the record, and Paul McCartney was “carrying the weight.”
While The Beatles officially broke up in 1970, Joel said he has a theory that the Fab Four “almost broke up a couple of times, just like a marriage.” He added, “They had their ups and downs and sometimes they were more prolific and sometimes they weren’t and I hear that in some of those things.”
Source: lakesmedianetwork.com
Paul McCartney Reveals the Billy Joel Song He Wishes He'd Written originally appeared on Parade.
Paul McCartney has penned some pretty iconic songs over the course of his storied career, from "Let It Be" to "All My Loving." But there's one tune that took the music world by storm in 1997 that the legendary Beatle, 83, wishes he'd written: Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are."
"When I first heard Billy, it was like 'Oh, wait a minute. He's good. Who's this?'," McCartney recalled in the new HBO Max documentary, Billy Joel: And So It Goes. "You know, like you do, your ears prick up. The song that really made me know that that was happening was 'Just the Way You Are.' And where I get asked, 'Is there a song that you wish you'd written?' And I always ... that's the one I always say."
The song almost didn't make it on Joel's album The Stranger, though.
"[Producer] Phil Ramone was the one who was pushing to have that song. But it just didn't feel right to me," the 76-year-old singer admitted in the doc. "It was too mushy."
The band workshopped the song in the recording studio, and Joel started to come around to it.
"I heard the playback and went, 'Okay, it's a nice recording, well-written," he said. "But I don't think it should be on the album. So Phil, he brings in a couple of people and they're listening to it and they're looking at each other like ... 'That's one of the best songs we've ever heard.'"
Still, the Piano Man had his reservations. "I said, 'I don't really want to put it on the album,'" he shared. "[And they said,] 'You're crazy. That's got to be on this album. It's a big hit.' I said, 'It is?'"
It was. In 1979, Joel went on to win two Grammy awards for "Just the Way You Are," including Song of the Year and Record of the Year.
Source: yahoo.com/Kaitlyn Monteiro
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 21, 2025, where it first appeared.
The Beatles released some of the catchiest, most accessible and melodic songs in the history of music.
In the early days there were hits like 'She Loves You', 'Yesterday' and 'Help!'. Even as they developed, you had songs like 'Revolution', 'Something' and 'Let It Be'.
'Carnival of Light': The mysterious Beatles recording that still hasn't been released. But The Beatles were never afraid to experiment.
With the help of the genius that was Fifth Beatle George Martin, even on their first records they pushed the technology available to its limits, marrying new techniques with their own unique style of songwriting.
But it was after they quit touring in 1966 that they really took advantage of the time and space available in the studio to get a little strange. George Harrison jokingly dismissed some experimental music as... "Avant garde? Avant garde a clue!" , but he certainly got in on the act himself.
'The Inner Light' and 'Within You Without You' were a then-experimental fusion of Indian music with western pop sensibilities. 'It's All Too Much' is a glorious racket of cascading sounds.
For John Lennon and Paul McCartney, after the backwards sounds on 'Rain', there was also the strange 'Tomorrow Never Knows', 'Wild Honey Pie' 'Sun King', 'A Day in the Life' and, unreleased for years, glorious freak-out jam versions of 'Helter Skelter' and 'Revolution'.
Most experimental – and divisive – of all though, there was 'Revolution 9'. But do you know who wrote the song, who plays on it, how it came about, and why it's actually a bona fide Beatles classic?
The Beatles had already stretched their quirky limbs with Revolver and Sgt Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band, but it was over the four sides of The Beatles (also known as The White Album) that they really went wild.
it was on The White Album where John, Paul, George and Ringo would occasionally go off and do their own thing, before it was all patched together in one album under The Beatles banner.
That's why John Lennon didn't appear on 'Martha My Dear', 'Blackbird', 'Why Don't We Do It in the Road?', 'Mother Nature's Son' or 'Wild Honey Pie', for example.
Source: goldradio.com/Mayer Nissim
John Lennon found success during both his time in The Beatles as well as his solo endevors - but it has taken fans over four decades to agree on what was his 'best' album
Its fair to say John Lennon thrived both in a band and by himself and fans have managed to agree on what his most successful solo album was. The late musican, who founded The Beatles in 1960 alongwith Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, ventured out alomg when the band, who found successes world wide, decided to go their separate ways.
Lennon released several solo albums and also produced the likes of Harry Nilsson after leaving the Fab Four in 1970. Lennon, alongside Yoko Ono, would go on to write the likes of Imagine, Walls and Bridges, and Mind Games after leaving the era-defining group.
A post to the r/JohnLennon subreddit has sparked the debate on what could be Lennon’s most “influential” work after he ventured out on his solo endevors. John Lennon ventured out into a solo career after The Beatles split(Image: Vinnie Zuffante, Getty Images)
A fan asked, “What is his best solo album?” While responses were mixed, many have agreed that the Ono-featuring Plastic Ono Band was his most influential solo album.
One user replied, “Plastic Ono Band was such an influential album for me as a youth. Then, it was my interest in Sometime in NYC that caused my older brothers to call me a hippie. I have such good memories attached to John’s albums as I grew into the teenage years. To pick a best, for me, would have to include his partner, Move Over Mrs. L. and without question, Milk & Honey was their best music and timeless.”
Source: themirror.com/Ellie Hook
“As a performer,” Paul McCartney says, “you’re often thinking, “Is this any good? Is this rubbish? Is this a cliché?”
You wouldn’t expect someone with Paul McCartney’s catalog of hits to have moments of self-doubt. But the 83-year-old former Beatle says he’s no less critical of himself today than he was in his youth, despite being one of popular music’s most successful songwriters and musicians.
While some artists at his age might decide they’ve done enough, McCartney continues to create music and perform. He just announced his Got Back fall tour of the United States, which kicks off September 29 in Palm Desert, California.
So what keeps him going? As it turns out, it’s the self-doubt. But it’s also having someone in your corner who points out the brilliant thing you didn’t see in your creation.
“Any time you write a song, you’re going, ‘This is crap. This is terrible. Come on,’” he revealed to GQ. “So I kick myself and say, ‘Get it better. If it’s terrible, get it better.’
“And sometimes someone will come along, someone who you respect, and say, ‘No, that’s great. Don’t worry about that,’ and then show you a side to it that you didn’t notice and, then you’ll go, ‘Oh, yeah.’”
For years in the 1950s and ‘60s, that person for McCartney was John Lennon. When the two met in 1957, they were both struggling guitarists and budding songwriters who would sit face to face with their acoustic guitars, writing their tunes and pushing each other toward greatness.
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In 1968, some 10 years after they first sat down to build their songwriting partnership, McCartney found himself presenting a song to Lennon. And though he had doubts about one line — McCartney said it was simply a “crummy” placeholder at the time — Lennon helped him realize it was actually brilliant.
“A classic example of that was when I was playing ‘Hey Jude’ to John,” McCartney explained, “and I said, ‘The movement you need is on your shoulder.’ I turned round to him and Yoko, who was standing behind me, and said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll fix that.’
“And John said, ‘No, you won’t. That’s the best line in it.’”
McCartney has said elsewhere that a little nudge of support can make him actually like what he was ready to reject all that much more.
Source: guitarplayer.com/Elizabeth Swann
It took the band 10 hours to travel to London for the audition.
The Beatles almost fell at the first hurdle on their journey to stardom. Having gained a name for themselves playing the clubs of Liverpool and Hamburg, the band were on the lookout for a record deal at the end of 1961.
Brian Epstein, their manager, was trying to secure meetings with labels in London but It was not going particularly well. He was rejected by Columbia, HMV, Pye, Philips and Oriole but did manage to book meetings with EMI and Decca.
Decca's Mike Smith then came to Liverpool to see John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Pete Best perform at the Cavern Club in December 1961, after which he invited them to audition in London on New Year's Day 1962.
It took the band 10 hours to drive down from Liverpool to the capital on New Year's Eve, getting lost in the process. Mr Smith himself was late to the audition, said to be a little worse for wear after the previous night's celebrations.
The band played and recorded 15 songs, selected by Brian, but they were rejected a month later.
According to Brian's autobiography, the band were told "guitar groups are on the way out" by Dick Rowe from the record label.
It is believed Decca's decision was influenced by the lower travel expenses the East London band would require. But Mr Rowe denied making the "guitar" comment to Brian for the rest of his life.
All hope was not lost for The Beatles as the ever-savvy Brian remained in negotiations with EMI throughout the process with Decca.
Source: liverpoolecho.co.uk/Dan Haygarth
Manson used "Helter Skelter" as an anthem to justify the string of murders that took place in the summer of 1969, with some of the victims being actress Sharon Tate, socialite and coffee heiress Abigail Folger, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, horse wrangler Donald Shea, and musician Gary Hinman. According to the cult leader during his trial, the reasoning behind those fatal attacks orchestrated by The Family (how Manson's cult was referred to) was directly tied to The Beatles, particularly the music that they were putting out.
Charles Manson's Odd Interpretation of The Beatles' Hit, "Helter Skelter"
The way Charles Manson lured new adepts to his cult was through playing his guitar and singing both authorial music and that of The Beatles. Although he wasn't the one to commit the murders, his followers did so through his direction and influence. At the trial that took place from 1970-1971, Mason shared that The Family knew what to do through the music they were listening to. In his mind, songs from the White Album, particularly "Helter Skelter", had a subliminal message that persuaded kids to "rise" and "kill".
The Beatles stepping off the plane and arriving in America in Beatles '64.
McCartney intended for "Helter Skelter" to function as a metaphor for life's ups and downs, which is far from what Manson believed the song referred to. The artist said in the podcast episode that he was drawn to the notion of shifting moods. "You know, you’re up, you get knocked down, you’re feeling euphoric, and you’re feeling miserable. Such is the nature of life,” he said. Given the aftermath of the Manson Family killings, McCartney refused to perform it for several years.
The Beatles performing
Paul McCartney believes this era-defining album is the best The Beatles ever did. "Helter Skelter" Was One of The Beatles' Heaviest, Most Influential Tunes
Although "Helter Skelter" became known for inspiring a cult, the song stemmed from McCartney's will to step outside his comfort zone and make a song in response to The Who's "I Can See For Miles". As ambiguous as The Beatles' lyricism might be depending on the song you listen to — no, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" doesn't mean LSD— "Helter Skelter" was far from a revolutionary anthem. The song is instead a product of one of the band's most avant-garde tracks, highly regarded for its heavy metal elements before the genre was even established.
Source: collider.com/Isabella Soares
Liverpool residents have chained off the street where the former Beatle George Harrison omce lived in an attempt to stop disruption from day-trippers.
Access to Arnold Grove, the address of Harrison’s childhood home, was blocked on Monday morning as residents complained that Beatles fans would regularly peer through windows and doors on the street.
Chris Bennett, who lives on the street, told BBC Radio Merseyside that “you get people looking through the window, and if you leave your front door open, they look through the door”.
He also complained that his family “don’t get any peace” because of the traffic caused by private tours.
The area is a regular destination for guided Beatles tours of Liverpool, with the Magical Mystery tour run by the Cavern Club – the venue that hosted the first Beatles concerts – frequently stopping at the site.
Mr Bennet said: “Lately, there has been a lot more tours coming – private tours, taxis and minibuses – and unfortunately it is getting very busy down here.”
A spokesman for the Magical Mystery tour told The Telegraph that it had received no previous complaints about an increase in tourism, and claimed to have a “great relationship” with residents.
The spokesman also said that customers were reminded to respect the privacy of those living on Arnold Grove.
A blue plaque commemorating Harrison’s birth in the house, one of the first installed outside London, was unveiled last year. The unveiling was described as a “source of family pride” by Olivia, Harrison’s widow. Mr Bennett, the licensee of a nearby pub, claimed that the traffic “has been ridiculous” since the plaque was installed.
He said: “The first taxi could come at 9am and my wife will see another on the road when she gets home at 9.15pm ... the minibuses and taxis will come in and block the entrance of the grove.”
Other residents said that they had no part in installing the chain, and that the increase in tourism and traffic had not caused them any bother. “It doesn’t make a difference to me. People can do what they like on the road,” one told BBC Radio Merseyside.
Source:telegraph.co.uk/Wilf Vall
