Beatles News
Giles Martin, the son of legendary Beatles producer George Martin, has returned to the original recording sessions for the "White Album" for a box set that includes demos, 50 studio outtakes and remixes. The new set coincides with the album's 50th birthday.
A recent Monmouth University poll found that the Beatles were far and away the most popular rock band of all time. Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, and Ken Womack, a noted Beatles scholar and dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Monmouth University, discussed the findings in a Q&A with Press Editorial Page Editor Randy Bergmann.
The Beatles performed together for only about seven years. And it’s been 48 years since they broke up. How remarkable is that The Beatles remain the most popular rock band of all time? And that 86 percent of those polled said they like the band?
Source: Asbury Park Press/app.com
In addition to her title as the original Queen of Rock and Roll, Ronnie Spector enjoys an undisputed status as one of the ’60s greatest heartthrobs. Fronting the legendary Ronettes in her signature sky-high beehive and stylish pencil skirt, the cat-eyed siren bewitched millions, including some of the most famous artists of her generation. Jimi Hendrix and David Bowie were among those who vied for her affections, but few were as besotted as John Lennon.
The pair met in January 1964 when the Ronettes toured England soon after their pop masterpiece “Be My Baby” became a global smash. The Beatles, barely a year into their own superstardom, counted themselves as huge fans and wanted to be introduced. “They had seen us on Sunday Night at the London Palladium and they said, ‘We have got to meet these girls with the black long hair and slits up the side,'” Spector, 75, tells PEOPLE.
Both groups were invited to a show business party at a glitzy London townhouse. Despite the fact that Lennon was married and Spector was linked to her producer (and future husband) Phil Spector, that didn’t stop the Beatle from making a move. “John took me into a room to show me the beautiful lights over London,” she remembered. “I said, ‘Wow, it’s so beautiful.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, you are.’”
He tried to steer her to a nearby bed, but her heart remained with her boyfriend back home. “I was young then, and I was seeing Phil. I didn’t want to kiss other guys and stuff,” she explains. “I just dug my feet into the carpet, ‘We gotta go downstairs, John!’”
Lennon, however, took the romantic rejection in stride. “He said, ‘Okay, I guess I lost on that one!'” Spector recalls.
Source: Jordan Runtagh/people.com
EVEN for age-defying rock stars, there comes the inevitable swansong. The final curtain of the last performance before shuffling off into some kind of Valhalla-style afterlife, where tales are told of glory days, of the debauchery and excess all areas that is part and parcel of touring.
In the last 12 months, Elton John, Ozzy Osbourne, Neil Diamond, Kiss and the grizzled remnants of Lynyrd Skynyrd have announced end-of-the-road tours. Paul Simon has already embraced the sound of silence with a final show in September in New York while fellow Sixties luminary Joan Baez is also packing away the touring set list for good.
But for all those happy to exit stage left after decades of strutting vanity, there are still others who continue to rage against the dying of the light and the onset of their twilight years. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Robert Plant, Neil Young and Bob Dylan are still rocking well into their eighth decade, having long ago sold their souls for rock ‘n’ roll in some kind of Faustian pact.
Source: Ken McNab/heraldscotland.com
Sir Paul McCartney has shared a number of archive photos from the early beginnings of his band Wings and the birth of their debut album Wild Life.
The legendary musician is about to release a remastered and expanded edition of the 11th and 12th classic works from his catalogue: Wild Life and Red Rose Speedway. Several previously unreleased tracks were made available in advance of the release.
Wings formed in 1971 and enjoyed a string of hits, including the James Bond soundtrack "Live and Let Die", and "Mull of Kintyre", which at the time became the best-selling UK single in history.
Wild Life was made during July-August 1971 at Abbey Road Studios by McCartney and his wife Linda, along with Denny Seiwell on drums, and Denny Laine of the Moody Blues. The majority of the tracks were laid down in a single take, and all songs were written by Paul and Linda McCartney – with the exception of a cover of Mickey and Sylvia's "Love is Strange".
Source: Roisin_OConnor/independent.co.uk
This giving season, Sir Ringo Starr is asking UNICEF supporters to join him in supporting the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF.
As little as a $10 donation can make a big difference to children in need. To show your support — and help Ringo spread positivity and honor George’s memory — donate now, then add the Ringo and Me Facebook frame to your Facebook profile picture — and tag your friends!
Find out more here.
In 1971, George Harrison organized the Concerts for Bangladesh because his friend Ravi Shankar asked him for help. Today, the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF provides lifesaving assistance to children caught in humanitarian emergencies around the world.
Ringo will be honored with the Humanitarian Award from the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF on November 27, 2019 at their annual Snowflake Ball in New York City.
Source: Look To The Stars
Rock legend Paul McCartney has agreed to do an Irish gig - the first in nearly 10 years.
The former Beatles musician will be raising money for the homeless through an exclusive concert at Vicar Street in Dublin.
Macca was inspired by recent unveiling of a plaque that commemorated the two concerts The Beatles played in the Adelphi Cinema on Middle Abbey Street on November 7, 1963.
Harry Crosbie, the owner of Vicar Street, said: “I sent him a photo of the plaque and I got an answer back saying he was absolutely delighted.”
Mr Crosbie added that Paul often does “guerilla gigs” and added: “He came back to me and said that Vicar Street is top of the list for the next one.”
Instead of selling tickets, guests will be asked for donations and all proceeds from the gig will be used to help the homeless.
No date has been for the gig yet, but Mr Crosbie said that he could get a call from the musician at any moment “because that’s the way he works”.
Source: Aakanksha Surve/irishmirror.ie
The iconic musician is releasing a series of previously unpublished photos in his new coffee table book, Another Day In the Life.
Another Day In the Life, available for pre-order from Genesis Books, is a quirky assortment of photos snapped by Starr, including candid views of his everyday life, as well as archival shots of Paul McCartney and other legends from his Beatles days.
“I love taking photos of random things, and seeing how they all fit together. Whether it is at home or on the road, certain things catch my eye – and when I see something that interests me, that’s the emotion of it, and I want to capture it. I am a photographer as well as a musician,” Starr said in a statement about the new book. “I love working with Genesis and had so much fun putting together this collection of images: photos taken by me and a few picked up along the way. I hope you enjoy it too.”
Source: Lindsay Lowe/parade.com
British comedy legend Eric Idle has joined Chris Smith in studio, and he’s come armed with some extraordinary tales.
The Monty Python co-founder is behind some of the world’s most famous sketches.
His new “sortabiography” entitled Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, gives us a peek behind the curtains of his remarkable life.
In a broad interview with Chris Smith, Mr Idle touches on everything from his difficult upbringing to jamming with the Rolling Stones.
He’s also detailed his close relationship with The Beatles guitarist George Harrison and reveals the now iconic Life of Brian wouldn’t have gone ahead if it weren’t for George.
“He mortgaged his house for $4.5 million and put it all for the budget of Life of Brian.
“Otherwise it would never have been made, still.”
Source:
Chris Smith
They hated each other. The version of the Beatles who got together to record the Let It Be album in 1969 was, from a chemistry standpoint, the very worst version of the Beatles. Ringo Starr had already quit the band for two weeks, and his bandmates had to track him down and convince him to return. During the sessions, George Harrison quit, too. He stormed out for five days and, when he came back, he demanded that the band abandon the album’s whole central idea.
The idea belonged to Paul McCartney. The Beatles had quit touring a few years earlier, and McCartney, fully understanding that the band was breaking apart, wanted to try out a back-to-the-roots move. It was an ambitious idea: He wanted the band to write a bunch of songs, rehearse them, and then play them live in front of an audience for the first time. They would release a whole album of new songs, recorded live, and they’d put the performance on film, too, so they could make a movie or a TV special out of it.
Source: Tom Breihan/stereogum.com
After wowing the local scene in his native Montenegro and winning awards in competitions across Europe, guitar virtuoso Milos Karadaglic received a scholarship to study at London’s prestigious Royal Academy of Music. It was there, a decade ago, that he truly discovered the compositions of messieurs John Lennon and Paul McCartney and a quartet called The Beatles.
Karadaglic had never really paid attention to the Fab Four, other than passively listening as they wafted through the radio in his former home city of Podgorica. So, when tasked at the conservatory with studying the Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu’s solo guitar arrangement of the 1965 ballad Yesterday, he approached it with fresh ears. “It is a bit of a paradox,” he admits with a laugh.
“Because the last place you think you will discover The Beatles is at the Royal Academy of Music in London, but that was another one of those moments that made me think how incredibly universal music is. How, no matter what you play, and what you want to do, you can make it sound good on the guitar,” he says.
Source: thenational.ae
