Beatles News
It's safe to say George Harrison wasn't big on touring. After the Beatles' last tour in 1966, he didn't hit the road again—as a headliner—until 1974. And, due to his nagging laryngitis and some strange song choices, that tour hasn't exactly gone down in history as a career highlight.
Harrison dodged the road until December 1991, when he and Eric Clapton toured Japan. They played only 12 shows, which was still more than enough for Harrison, who preferred being home, working on his garden, recording tunes. Stuff like that.
In April 1992, Harrison got some of the 1991 crew back together for a one-off show at London's Royal Albert Hall. While Clapton wasn't available this time around, Harrison recruited guitarist Mike Campbell—Tom Petty's right-hand man—plus Ringo Starr, Gary Moore, Joe Walsh and Harrison's 13-year-old son, Dhani.
Source: Guitar World
German police on Monday arrested a 58-year-old man in Berlin on suspicion of handling stolen items from John Lennon’s estate, including the late Beatle’s diaries.
The items were stolen from Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono in New York in 2006 and have been seized as evidence, Martin Steltner, a spokesman for the Berlin prosecutor’s office, said.
Polish company agrees to change its name to On Lemon after legal letters saying drink infringed trademark
The unidentified man was taken into custody suspected of fraud and handling stolen goods.
A second suspect, who lives in Turkey, “is unattainable for us at the present time,” Steltner said in a recorded statement posted on Twitter.
The stolen goods consisted of “various items from the estate of John Lennon, including several diaries that were written by him,” Steltner added.
Source: The Guardian
For those of us who weren’t lucky enough to attend a Beatles concert in the 1960s, Ron Howard’s Eight Days a Week just might be the next best thing. The 2016 documentary traces the band’s rise from a cramped and dank cellar in Liverpool to record-breaking television appearances, jam-packed stadiums, and—ultimately—rock immortality. Lovingly assembled through rare and often unseen fan home movie footage, Howard’s film also draws on more familiar material—restored to the highest echelons of HD— and new interviews with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. All told, it’s a joyous and stunningly visual representation of their unbelievable journey, and an unparalleled look at a time when the four Fabs roamed the Earth and made themselves available to see, live and in person, for just a few dollars.
In honor of Eight Day’s a Week‘s television debut this Saturday, Nov. 25, at 8 p.m. (7 p.m. central) on PBS, here’s a detailed look at the Beatles’ touring career, told through eight of their concerts.
Source: People.com
Charles Manson's devoted followers, the so-called Manson Family, was influenced by aspects of 1960s counterculture and lived a hedonistic, drug-filled lifestyle. At the center of what became a murderous cult was the music of the time—including some of the Beatles best-loved tracks.
According to a series of interviews Manson gave over the course of his life, and in the testimony he gave at his 1970 trial and conviction for nine murders, the serial killer said hidden lyrics in songs on the album The Beatles, more commonly known as the “White Album,” inspired his family's murderous acts.
Related: Charles Manson Quotes: The Madness and Cruelty of America's Most Infamous Mass Murderer
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Speaking to Rolling Stone in 1970, Manson said it was the Beatles who inspired the Tate-LaBianca murders in August 1969. "This music is bringing on the revolution, the unorganized overthrow of the establishment," he said. "The Beatles know [what's happening] in the sense that the subconscious knows."
At the scene of the LaBianca killings, one of the murderers used a victim's blood to paint the words "Healter Skelter" on the refrigerator. It was a misspelling of Helter Skelter, one of the seminal tracks from the Beatles' White Album, released in November 1968.
Source:Newsweek
Looking svelte and stylish and decades younger than his 77 years, Ringo Starr brought his All Starr Band to NJPAC on Nov. 16 for the final concert of their 2017 tour, and did what’s he’s always done best.
He made people happy.
No one ever mistook the former Richard Starkey for a great singer, just one whose deadpan nasal glumness could add character to a song. Almost all of his biggest hits bear co-writing credits from his famous friends. U.K. comic Jasper Carrott once joked that he wasn’t even the best drummer in the Beatles, a quote that rang so true it wound up being attributed to both John and Paul. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, never has a man done so much with so little for so many.
Because, let’s face it, everybody loves Ringo. And he knows it.
Source: Jim Testa
Almost two years after it was opened for the visitors, fans of English band The Beatles will get a chance to go through rare photos and documents at Rishikesh’s Chaurasi Kutia where the Fab Four stayed in the ’60s.
The members of the band -- Ringo Star, George Harrison, Paul McCartney and John Lennon -- visited Chaurasi Kutia ashram in February 1968 (now part of Rajaji Tiger Reserve) to learn transcendental meditation from spiritual guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. During their stay here for nearly two months, the Beatles penned 48 popular numbers. A few of them figured in two albums -- The White Album and Yellow Submarines.
The Beatles’ India visit will complete 50 years in coming February. The Uttarakhand government intends to showcase the event in a big way, but it lacks access to material of archival value related to the Beatles’ visit. Presently, visitors to the ashram get a chance to see a couple of wall paintings, done by some others.
Due to technicalities of procurement rules and lack of funds, the state government found it difficult to participate in international auctions to buy photos or other stuff associated with the band.
Source: hindustantimes.com
SITE crew preparing for Sir Paul McCartney’s show at Perth’s nib Stadium on December 2 have been told caterers will provide them with vegan food only.
“All the crew members have to eat vegan food,” a crew member said.
“No one’s allowed to eat meat for three weeks on site.”
“It has to be vegan food rider.”
It’s not the first time the animal activist has encouraged others to follow his diet.
McCartney, pictured, reportedly demanded only vegan food be sold in the concourse at his concert in Illinois in July. Offerings included vegan chilli fries, vegan nacho grande and buffalo cauliflower and fries.
Also in July, employees at Intrust Bank Arena in Kansas reported they received emails informing them no meat products would be allowed backstage. Those who wanted to eat meat were confined to a designated area on the upper concourse after the concert started. The 75-year-old has banned animal food products from his rider when he performed in Canada in 2013.
It was reported he would not perform unless show organisers confirmed no meat would be eaten backstage.
He also said he did not want any furniture in his dressing room to be made of animals at his Driving USA Tour, as in 2002.
Source: Linda Parri, PerthNow
A painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat from the collection of Yoko Ono has sold for $10.9 million.
Sotheby's says the work, titled "Cabra", was sold Thursday night in New York to an unidentified buyer.
The pre-sale estimate was $9 million to $12 million. Part of the proceeds will benefit the Spirit Foundations, founded by Ono and John Lennon.
"Cabra" was inspired by Muhammad Ali's 1970 knockout of Argentine heavyweight Oscar Bonavena, known as "The Bull."
It shows a bull's skull on a bright red background above a boxing ring. Hieroglyphics denoting a "TKO" - technical knockout -are above the skull.
The title, "Cabra," is Spanish for goat. When capitalized, GOAT becomes an acronym for "Greatest of All Time" - a reference to Ali.
Source: VOA News
The Surrey home where John Lennon penned some of the Beatles biggest hits has listed for £8.9m.
Purchased by the musician and his first wife Cynthia in 1964, at the peak of Beatlemania, Kenwood sits in 1.5 acres on the St George’s Hill estate in Weybridge.
Lennon hired interior designer Kenneth Partridge to overhaul the house. Partridge knocked down walls to create party-friendly reception rooms and installed mauve flocked wallpaper and a globe-shaped bar. The musician – who wrote ‘I Am the Walrus’ in the attic – sold the home just four years later when the couple separated.There’s little trace of Partridge left in the six-bedroom home’s interiors, which have been renovated by the current owners. Spacious rooms feature leaded windows that look onto the mansion’s stepped garden, while the living room comes with a fireplace and original wood-panelling.
Source:
The go-ahead was given Tuesday to a project that will open the children's home made famous by a Beatles song so that fans can visit for the first time.
Thousands of Beatles devotees from across the world make the pilgrimage every year to Strawberry Field in Liverpool, featured in the John Lennon ballad, Strawberry Fields Forever.
The social charity and owner of the children's home, Salvation Army, plans to create a gift shop, a Beatles exhibition area and a training center for young adults with learning difficulties.
Liverpool City Council's planning committee approved the 2.6-million-U.S.-dollar plan on Tuesday.
Planning officers said in their report: "The profile and wider significance of the site is raised by its connection to the Beatles and the 1967 song 'Strawberry Fields Forever' which was inspired by John Lennon's childhood memories."
"The site, Strawberry Field, and specifically the gates at the entrance to the site, are widely recognized as an important cultural asset."
