Beatles News
Who doesn’t love Ringo Starr?
The former Beatles drummer, longtime solo artist, double Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee and newly minted Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire has become a kind of mascot for the ’60s and its “peace and love” ethos. The phrase is his mantra and a concept he takes seriously.
But he doesn’t take himself that seriously. Neither a mod nor rocker, as he stated in “A Hard Day’s Night,” he’s still a “mocker.”
Over the last three decades, Starr has found a way to manifest those aspects of his personality into a concert experience with his All-Starr Band extravaganzas. They are good-time guitar pulls writ large, with Starr as the ringleader, emcee and focal point whose ego doesn’t prevent him from getting behind the drums occasionally and supporting his friends.
Source: Daniel Durchholz/stltoday.com
Everyone knows the last days of The Beatles were excruciatingly bitter as the lovable lads from Liverpool bickered nonstop about every aspect of their music empire. Things became particularly brutal one day when Paul McCartney not only cussed out Ringo Starr but booted him from his house.
The bad scene went down back in 1970, when Paul McCartney was set to release his eponymous debut album. Only problem was, the release would conflict with plans to drop The Beatles' last album 'Let It Be.' So John and George asked Ringo to visit Paul and talk him into shelving the 'McCartney' record for a few weeks.
It didn't go over well.
Source: By James McClure/civilized.life
A new feature documentary will use unseen archive and access to material from John Lennon’s estate to relay the untold story behind his classic song “Imagine,” and the album of the same name.
“John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky” has been commissioned by U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 and will air later this year. Producers Eagle Rock have secured previously unheard audio including the first demo of “Imagine,” as well as never-heard-before interviews with one-time Beatle Lennon. Previously unseen footage will show him and Yoko working together in London.
“I feel in the big picture the fact that John and I met was to do this song,” Yoko says in her interview in the film.
Other voices in the documentary include David Bailey, the photographer who famously captured the couple in a 1971 photograph that ended up on the cover of Vogue. John’s eldest son, Julian, is also part of the film.
Source: Stewart Clarke/variety.com
John Lennon’s iconic round glasses and shaggy 1970s mane will now adorn a U.S. stamp.
Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, and their son, Sean Lennon, were in New York City’s Central Park Friday to celebrate the U.S. Postal Service’s release of a stamp honoring the late Beatle. Hundreds of Beatles fans gathered for the event.
“I know that my father would have been really thrilled to be accepted, officially in this way, on a stamp,” said Sean Lennon. “About as official as it gets, I think.”
The commemorative stamp features a photo of Lennon taken in 1974 on the roof of his Manhattan apartment building by photographer Bob Gruen, who also spoke at the event. The stamp is designed to look like a 45-rpm record sleeve.
Source: Associated Press/billboard.com
To coincide with the release of his new album Egypt Station tomorrow, former Beatle Paul McCartney has been teasing details on social media of a “secret” gig he’s planning in New York City that’s set for tomorrow night.
In keeping with a kind of freewheeling experimentation with technology that’s characterized his later years and recent releases, from toying with VR to writing a one-off song that plays at the end of the Destiny video game, Macca is teaming up with YouTube to livestream the show worldwide. It’s being billed as a “YouTube Original” and is set for 8 p.m. eastern time.
From an official announcement courtesy of the musician: “(Paul) confirms he will be joining forces with YouTube Originals to livestream a secret concert via his channel this coming Friday 7th September to celebrate the release of his new album Egypt Station. Fans will be able to tune in to watch Paul perform tracks from Egypt Station along with Beatles, Wings and solo classics from 8:00pm (ET). The venue is still to be confirmed.”
Source: Andy Meek/bgr.com
"Ever since 1970, that's all those blokes were asked. 'When are you coming back together?' It wouldn't matter what they were bringing out, or what product they were trying to show the world, all the world wanted to know was 'When are you getting back together?' As artists trying to grow and expand, that must have driven them mad."
Michael Gagliano, who plays John Lennon in Let it Be, is considering what it must have been like being an ex-Beatle during the time between the band's official break-up in 1970 and John Lennon's murder on December 8, 1980.
I'm upstairs at the Liverpool Empire, a glorious Victorian theatre in The Beatles' home town, shortly after opening night of Le it Be, and having a chinwag with the four cast members/musicians. The show's been a huge global hit over the last few years, but this isn't so much a revival as a hugely revamped show.
Source: John Byrne/rte.ie
Commuters with tickets to ride out of New York’s Grand Central Station heard a special serenade on Friday evening, with Paul McCartney taking over a corner of the majestic hub for a concert.
Only invited guests including Jon Bon Jovi, Meryl Streep, Amy Schumer, Kate Moss and Steve Buscemi were let behind black curtains to see the stage, but everyone could hear a 24-song set that spanned more than 50 years of music.
It was a stunt to promote a new album called “Egypt Station.” McCartney said he wondered “what’s the coolest station we could think of?” and settled on the Manhattan landmark. The band set up under a chandelier and in front of a giant clock, just off the 42nd Street entrance.
Source: By DAVID BAUDER/apnews.com
The Beatles and the Stones musicians both holidayed in Turks and Caicos at the same time
Paul McCartney has shared the bizarre business idea that he and Keith Richards came up with on holiday.
The Beatles and Stones musicians were both on vacation in Turks and Caicos recently, with McCartney saying he would visit Richards after lunch most days.
Speaking to Marc Maron for the latest episode of his WTF podcast, McCartney revealed, while there, the pair had come up with an unusual business prospect. “[We were] designing portable dog kennels that were inflatable,” he said. “It was a pretty good idea, we thought.
Asked if a lot of weed was involved in that idea, he joked: “In the kennels? In the creative process, it was required.”
Source: Rhian Daly/nme.com
The Beatles' Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr chat about their documentary 'The Beatles: Eight Days a Week -The Touring Years' and the legacy of their band.
Paul McCartney performs at the annual Roskilde Festival in Denmark on July 4, 2015.(Photo: Sophia Juliane Lydolph, EPA)
It’s not particularly cool to claim Paul McCartney as your favorite member of The Beatles. On one hand, the facts are on your side: Sir Paul is an institution in a way the other Beatles aren’t, perhaps the most beloved melody man in rock 'n' roll history, the defining force behind the genre’s defining band.
And yet, legacy aside, claiming Paul as your favorite is corny, in the same way as claiming The Beatles are your favorite band is too obvious.
Source: Maeve McDermott, USA TODAY
Songs performed by The Beatles at their first concert in the United States have been at the centre of copyright litigation in a London court more than 54 years on.
Two Court of Appeal judges have produced the latest ruling on the dispute, which relates to The Beatles’ appearance at the Coliseum in Washington DC on February 11 1964.
The concert was videotaped and judges were told that about a decade ago plans were put in place to make a documentary, called The Beatles: The Lost Concert, which would feature the video recording.
Music giant Sony, which owns the copyright to eight of the 12 songs The Beatles performed at the show, sued two firms involved in plans for the documentary, alleging “actual or threatened infringement” of UK, and US, copyrights.
Source: itv.com
