Beatles News
The Beatles icon Paul McCartney did a new Q&A on his website where he discussed doing a headstand in the middle of a gym.
Everyone loves having a secret talent (although we’re often too shy to show off the amazing party tricks we’ve got up our sleeves!). Here in the PaulMcCartney.com office some of us can juggle (just like the MPL logo), others can dance the Macca-rena to any song, and (the prize winner) one of us can freestyle a rap about llamas! This got us thinking, we know Paul is a man of many talents, but are there any skills he might have been hiding from us? We’d already heard whispers that he can do impressive yoga poses, so we had to ask him if the rumours were true…
Source: Brett Buchanan/alternativenation.net
How tense were things during the last two years The Beatles were together? Put it this way: Every member of the band either threatened to quit or actually walked out on the group over an 18-month period.
Surprisingly, the mellow Ringo Starr was the first to make a move. In August 1968, Ringo left the band in the midst of recording The White Album. The Beatles’ drummer felt he’d been taken for granted by the others. But after a few weeks on holiday with his family, he agreed to return.
A year later, John Lennon announced he was leaving the band, marking the beginning of the end of the Fab Four. Once Paul McCartney released his solo album before Let It Be (1970) arrived in record stores, the dream was officially over.
Looking back, it’s a small miracle the band actually recorded Abbey Road and Let It Be. During the January ’69 sessions for those albums, George Harrison picked up his guitar and left. It wasn’t clear if he’d come back.
Source: cheatsheet.com
The Beatles starred in three full-length movies, a made-for-television special and an authorized cartoon. There were a lot more films that didn't get made, however, and we're looking at them in the list below.
As had been the case with popular singers from Bing Crosby to Frank Sinatra through to Elvis Presley, the opportunity to branch out into acting seemed to be a natural step for the group as Beatlemania took a hold of Britain in 1963. Many films were offered, but having seen earlier movies starring Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard and many other rock stars, the Beatles wanted something different.
“We’d loved The Girl Can’t Help It, and we knew that you could make a rock n’ roll film,” Paul McCartney later said. “We’d seen these little American productions and, although they were low budget and not very good, they did have music and we always went to see them.”
Source: ultimateclassicrock.com
The Queen Elizabeth hotel welcomed John Lennon and Yoko Ono for their Bed-in for peace. Nobody could imagine at the time that this event would play such a key role in the peace movement and that their suite would become one of the most mythical in the world. John Lennon & Yoko Ono recording Give Peace a Chance at The Queen Elizabeth hotel on June 1st, 1969 (CNW Group/Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth) To celebrate the 50th anniversary of this significant event, the hotel invites Montrealers and visitors to relive this memorable week during which the legendary couple composed and recorded the famous peace anthem Give Peace a Chance without leaving their bed. By this surprising undertaking, the newlyweds wanted to protest against the war in Vietnam, creating greater public awareness about universal peace. Geneviève Borne, well-known TV personality, has been chosen as the spokesperson for the 50th anniversary celebrations. A great fan of the British pop culture, she is very interested in the social and musical movements of the 60s. She will be present for the major events held at the hotel and take part in the festivities paying tribute to peace, love and creativity.
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In an interview with Warren Huart, recording engineer Bradley Cook looks back on engineering the Foo Fighters classic The Colour and the Shape- particularly Dave Grohl’s work on the song “Everlong”. Alternative Nation transcribed comments from the interview. Hearing the vocals isolated off the mixing console, Cook recollected:
“On this record, Dave told me the first record, Dave tripled all his vocals, just tripled them out-that’s not so great and Gil [Norton, producer of the FF’s sophomore effort] kind of wanted him to step out of that and do more lead vocally stuff cause Dave hated his voice. So he [Dave] wanted to double, triple it; some of the songs were single vocals and it brought him out.”
Source: William Spevack/alternativenation.net
As feuds go, the private-turned-public battle between John Lennon and Paul McCartney was definitely one for the ages. When The Beatles broke up, the two old friends and songwriting partners didn’t shy away from letting people know about it.
On Ram, Paul took several shots at John. The track “Too Many People” had references to some unnamed people’s “preaching practices” that Paul didn’t like. He also sang, “You took your lucky break, and you broke it in two.” John heard these subtle messages loud and clear.
In response, he did his best to bury Paul on “How Do You Sleep?” So Beatles fans heard firsthand that John considered Paul’s music akin to “Muzak” and and his creativity “dead.” It was a long way from the image of two friends harmonizing cheek-to-jowl in 1964.
Source: cheatsheet.com
Beatlemania is coming back to Heritage Sandy Springs’ Sandy Springs Society Entertainment Lawn for Mother’s Day.
The Return, a Beatles tribute band, will kick off Heritage’s 23rd annual free spring/summer concert series May 12. The Griffin-based group last played at Concerts by the Springs in 2015.
Neither a member of The Return nor a Heritage representative were available for an interview with the Neighbor.
According to its website, The Return was founded in 1995, “when four young friends got together to play their favorite Beatles songs just for the fun of it.”
“It wasn’t long before they played in front of an audience at the request of a friend and as it turned out, were very well received,” the website stated. “That show—which was supposed to be a one-time thing--led to another gig, which led to another and so on until the band found themselves playing on a regular basis. They decided to go ahead and make it official. They named themselves the Roaches.”
Source: Bill Baldowski @NorthsideNbr/tribuneledgernews.com
Nowhere, Woolton Village’s quirky new cafe-bar, where John Lennon and his Quarrymen used to rehearse in the cellar, will open its doors for the first time for the Bank Holiday weekend.
Open from Friday, May 3, Nowhere will welcome guests across the weekend, before permanently opening on Tuesday. The new venue will offer a breakfast and brunch menu and evening small plates, along with a creative cocktail list, artisan coffees and a wide selection of loose leaf teas.
The cafe bar will also be available for private parties and will showcase the best of Liverpool’s up-and-coming singing talent. When there isn’t a live performance, “relaxed, soulful beats” will set the tone for Nowhere.
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Russ Gibb, the farsighted arts lover and entrepreneur who helped ignite Detroit's live rock scene, died Tuesday in Garden City after a series of medical struggles. The longtime Dearborn resident was 87.
Gibb — a larger-than-life character known to local music fans as "Uncle Russ" — transformed the Grande Ballroom into Detroit's psychedelic-rock palace in 1966, a game-changing move that launched an indelible chapter in Detroit music history. It was just one hallmark in a colorful life that included decades as a beloved video-production teacher at Dearborn High School.
Gibb, who had been battling health issues the past several years, was rushed Tuesday afternoon to Garden City Hospital after suffering respiratory distress while at the Heartland rehabilitation center in Dearborn Heights. He died Tuesday evening at the hospital, said Andy Fradkin, a former student of Gibb who held power of attorney.
Source: Brian McCollum, Detroit Free Press
The Beatles legend John Lennon’s official Instagram account shared a recent photo of famous musician Klaus Voormann and celebrated his 81st birthday.
Here is what Lohn Lennon’s official Instagram account wrote:
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY KLAUS VOORMANN!
Friends since they met in Hamburg in 1960, Klaus Voormann not only famously created the Grammy Award-winning cover for The Beatles’ ‘Revolver’ and their ‘Anthology’ albums, he also played bass on many John Lennon, Yoko Ono, George Harrison and Ringo Starr solo albums, as well as with a host of other artists.
Source: Enes K./metalheadzone.com
