Beatles News
Paul McCartney is ready to get back, again, with Saturday’s one-night-only screenings of the rarely-seen 1974 documentary “Paul McCartney & Wings: One Hand Clapping.” It will screen internationally at movie theaters, including five in San Diego County, one in in Tijuana and one in Murrieta. (The list of theaters appears later in this article.)
The now 50-year-old film has never been shown in theaters or televised. Some of the songs recorded for the film were included as part of McCartney’s archival “Band on the Run” box set release in 2010, while a few other songs appeared in subsequent deluxe reissues of other McCartney albums in 2011 and 2014.
Not coincidentally, “One Hand Clapping” was made as something of a victory lap following the 1973 release of the chart-topping “Band on the Run.” That was the third album McCartney and Wings made together in the 1970s, following the implosion of his previous band, The Beatles.
The film was shot on videotape in August 1974 at Abbey Road, the same London studio where The Beatles recorded the majority of their albums. Its belated unveiling now, in upgraded form, follows the June release of the “One Hand Clapping” live double-album. Sixteen of the selections on this 32-song, live-in-the-studio album were never previously released, at least not officially (bootlegs are another matter).
The film and album feature live-in-the-studio versions of such McCartney and Wings’ favorites as “Jet,” “Live and Let Die,” “Band on the Run,” “Junior’s Farm” and “Hi Hi Hi.” The sound has been remastered by an audio team that includes Giles Martin, the son of longtime Beatles’ producer George Martin.
Source: George Varga/sandiegouniontribune.com
Following this summer’s ‘Mind Games Ultimate Collection’ boxset, the book features handwritten lyrics, letters, previously unseen photography, and artworks by Lennon and Yoko Ono from the period.
A definitive book exploring the writing, recording, and release of John Lennon’s groundbreaking solo record Mind Games is on its way. Out September 24, the book features handwritten lyrics, letters, artworks by Lennon and Yoko Ono, and previously unseen photography alongside their firsthand commentary about the album. Also included are contributions from the musicians, friends, engineers, and key figures involved in the making of Lennon’s landmark 1973 album.
The book’s publication follows this summer’s Mind Games – The Ultimate Collection. The collection’s six unique listening experiences include the sonically upgraded Ultimate Mixes to the Elements Mixes, which highlight instrumentation buried in the original mix, to the Raw Studio Mixes, the recording laid to tape without vocal effects, tape delays, or reverb. In October, Sean Ono Lennon will release Mind Games – The Meditation Mixes, nine relaxing reworkings of the title track that were originally shared via the app Lumenate.
Mind Games captures a transformative moment for the Lennons. After moving to New York City in 1971, Lennon’s anti-Vietnam War activism drew the ire of the Nixon administration, who enlisted the FBI to place the young musician under surveillance. The overtly political messaging on 1972’s Sometime in New York City didn’t help matters. Meanwhile, Lennon and Ono were experiencing marital problems, undoubtedly compounded by an ongoing deportation order.
All of this was in the background as a 33-year-old Lennon embarked on recording Mind Games, his first self-produced album. The sessions took place at the Record Plant in New York City over July and August 1973 and featured the jokingly named Plastic U.F.Ono Band, which included drummer Jim Keltner, guitarist David Spinozza, pianist Ken Ascher, pedal-steel player ‘Sneaky’ Pete Kleinow, saxophonist Michael Brecker, drummer Rick Marotta, bassist Gordon Edwards, and backing vocalists Something Different.
Source: Sam Armstrong/udiscovermusic.com
According to insiders, the new documentary will mark the 60th anniversary of the Fab Four breaking America. The Beatles' assault on the United States is reportedly set to become the subject of a new Apple TV+ documentary.
1964 will chart the year the Fab Four made their first trip to the US, which saw Beatlemania sweeping across the country and over 70 million people tuning in to watch their debut performance on The Ed Sullivan Show. According to The Sun, the documentary will be entitled 1969 and will chart band's phenomenal debut in the states, which prompted The British Invasion.
An insider said: "The Beatles made history when they cracked America in February 1964. "Apple TV+ have a documentary coming out which looks back at their rise — and how the band paved the way for acts like the Rolling Stones when it came to making it big in America."
The went on: "Beatlemania was crazy in the UK, but the Americans gave our fans a run for their money.
"People will remember the hysteria that took over the US when The Beatles arrived, and the incredible scenes where thousands of teenagers turned up to see them wherever they went. "It was a moment in music history that has been repackaged and resold, and the result is genuinely brilliant."
It was previously announced that Sam Mendes would be at the helm of a landmark project, which would delve into the life story of all four members of The Beatles with four separate films.
“I’m honoured to be telling the story of the greatest rock band of all time, and excited to challenge the notion of what constitutes a trip to the movies,” said Sam Mendes of the announcement back in February.
Source: Jenny Mensah/radiox.co.uk
If one is a Beatles historian and fanatic, one knows that John Lennon grew up without a mother or father. Growing up Lennon was raised by his aunt and uncle, however, heartbreak didn’t stop there as his uncle died while raising him. It was all this heartbreak and tragedy that seemingly left a hole in Lennon. That hole was filled with literature, poetry, stories, and most importantly, music.
When creating art, experiences such as Lennon’s are nearly impossible to separate from the finished product. That being so, there were hoards of Beatles’ songs that reportedly included Lennon’s trauma and hardship. Although, one of the most notable was their 1965 hit, “Help.”
In an interview on The Howard Stern Show, Howard Stern brought up the tribulations Lennon underwent in his childhood. McCartney attested to this fact by acknowledging that his father had left him when he was only three and that “It was a huge pain for John growing up.” McCartney also recollected how Lennon felt when his uncle died after he lived with them. According to McCartney, Lennon said, “I could be a jinx against the male line.”
Source: Peter Burditt/americansongwriter.com
Starr and the Band perform, this week, starting in Medford, Mass. and ending up in NYC on Sept. 25, with a total of 5 concerts. This concert was at Mohegan Sun Arena.
The Beatles were a many-splendored project. In addition to the core writing duo of Paul McCartney and John Lennon – one of the most successful partnerships in pop history – the group boasted the inventive drumming of Ringo Starr, and the artistry of George Harrison.
While the initially taciturn guitarist would later embrace spirituality, perhaps his greatest development was as a songwriter – while his initial work was done “as an exercise”, George Harrison quickly gained confidence. Indeed, his song ‘Here Comes The Sun’ is actually the most-streamed Beatles classic on Spotify.
Yet it wasn’t always like that. When The Beatles crafted the soundtrack for their film A Hard Day’s Night, they spotted that George Harrison perhaps needed a little more focus.
Lennon & McCartney went into action, and the song ‘I’m Happy Just To Dance With You’ came into being.
“We wrote ‘I’m Happy Just To Dance With You’ for George in the film. It was a bit of a formula song,” McCartney told biographer Barry Miles. “We knew that in E if you went to an A flat minor, you could always make a song with those chords; that change pretty much always excited you. This is one of these. Certainly ‘Do You Want To Know A Secret’ was.”
“This one, anyway, was a straight co-written song for George,” McCartney shared, showing just how professional he and Lennon had become since their early days writing for fun. “We wouldn’t have actually wanted to sing it because it was a bit. The ones that pandered to the fans, in truth were our least favourite songs, but they were good. They were good for the time. The nice thing about it was to actually pull a song off on a slim little premise like that. A simple little idea. It was songwriting practice.”
Source: Robin Murray/clashmusic.com
The original contract for The Beatles to perform at one of their Hamburg residencies is expected to fetch up to 30,000 euros ($39,950) at auction. Drummer Pete Best played in the band’s first stint at the Star-Club from April 13 to May 31,1962, after previous trips to the then-West German city to hone their craft.
The Beatles played the opening night of the new club which had a capacity for 2,000 people. When The Beatles returned in November 1962, Ringo Starr was the drummer after their manager Brian Epstein sacked Best three months earlier.
The contract for the residence between Nov. 1 and Nov. 14 stipulated The Beatles would perform three hours a day in separate stints with an hour’s break after every performance.
The group went on to perform seven days a week with a weekly payment of 600 Deutsche Marks to each band member. In total, they played for 42 hours and also shared a bill with Little Richard.
The contract was signed in black ink by Epstein and in black felt-tipped pen by Star-Club owner Manfred Weissleder. They had another residency at the Star-Club from Dec. 18 to New Year’s Eve 1962 before stardom followed.
The contract, from the estate of Weissleder will go on sale at an online Beatles memorabilia auction which runs from Sept. 27 to Oct. 6.
Source: Daily Sabah
Paul McCartney either wrote or co-wrote hundreds of songs for The Beatles during their heyday. It’s almost impossible to pick out his very best songs; each of his songwriting credits appeals to different people for different reasons. That being said, we think these four particular Beatles tracks prove that Paul McCartney is a truly genius songwriter!
4 Tracks That Prove Ringo Starr Is a Genius Drummer
1. “Blackbird”
Few artists can dedicate a song to a struggling group of people with as much tact and reverence as McCartney did with the 1968 track “Blackbird”. McCartney said that he wrote this soothing, beautiful song for black women in the United States who were struggling amidst the Civil Rights Movement. It’s one of McCartney’s few solo performances recorded under The Beatles’ name.
2. “Yesterday”
Paul McCartney has historically been a genius songwriter partly because he knows his way around a ballad. “Yesterday” is one of his greatest works, and it also happens to be one of the most covered songs of all time. This song’s melody is one of the most recognizable of the 20th century. McCartney’s expert songwriting weaves together an anthem for those who are stuck living in the past, and who just need a little push forward.
3. “Helter Skelter”
Source: Em Casalena/americansongwriter.com
It wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume the Rolling Stones got their big break because of their musical prowess or charisma, but doing so would erase an integral player in landing the Stones’ first record deal: George Harrison. While he was enjoying the Beatles’ massive upswing in the early 1960s, the “Quiet Beatle” seized an opportunity to speak up about the Stones, effectively dragging his fellow English rockers along for the ride to stardom.
Indeed, without Harrison’s help, there is a chance the Rolling Stones might have never made it out of their dimly lit nightclub circuit.
In the early days of Beatlemania, the Fab Four would split up to cover more ground as they embarked on publicity ventures and guest appearances. One such endeavor led George Harrison to his native Liverpool, where he served as a judge in a “Beat Group” talent show. Local bands competed for a chance to secure a record deal with Decca Records, whose president, Dick Rowe, was also a judge.
After Harrison and Rowe watched a few hopeful competitors, the Beatle began complaining to the record executive that none of the Liverpudlian wannabe rockers held a candle to a band the Fab Four had recently watched at a nightclub in Richmond: the Rolling Stones.
Harrison later recalled the moment he and his three bandmates saw the Stones for the first time. “They were still on the club scene, stomping about, doing R&B tunes,” Harrison described. “The music they were playing was more like we’d been doing before we’d got out of our leather suits to try and get onto record labels and televisions. We’d calmed down by then” (via Far Out Magazine).
Rowe would later recount, “I pushed my chair back, and I basically ran to my car and got myself down to Richmond to make sure I was there for that Rolling Stones gig.” The Decca Records president knew that Harrison knew what he was talking about—namely, because the Beatle had to deal with Rowe’s bad label decisions before.
Source: Melanie Davis/americansongwriter.com
The early rivalry between the Beatles and the Rolling Stones was, for the most part, a healthy one—except for the time Stones frontman Mick Jagger heard a Beatles song on the radio that made him “sick.” The song in question came out in 1962, one year before the Stones released their debut single.
Over two decades later, Jagger introduced the Beatles during their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. During his speech, he described what it felt like going green around the gills after hearing the Beatles’ hit track. This Beatles Song Made Mick Jagger “Sick”
Mick Jagger set up his story by painting a scene of early 1960s England. American pop overwhelmingly dominated the U.K. charts, and skiffle and rock music were still underground. “At that point, the Stones were playing in these little clubs in London doing Chuck Berry songs and blues and things.”
“We were a pretty scruffy lot,” Jagger smirked. “We thought that we were totally unique. Animals! I mean, there was no one like us. And then, we heard there was a group from Liverpool. They had long hair, scruffy clothes, but they had a record contract.”
“They had a record in the charts with a bluesy harmonica on it called “Love Me Do.” When I heard the combination of all these things, I was almost sick,” the Stones frontman riffed. “I thought, ‘Even if I have to learn to write songs, I’m gonna get this.’”
The Two Bands Helped Push Each Other’s Careers.
The scruffy lads from Liverpool might have been four suit-clad burrs in the Rolling Stones’ sides, but the bands developed a symbiotic relationship pretty quickly. In fact, John Lennon and Paul McCartney are the songwriters behind the Rolling Stones’ first chart success, “I Wanna Be Your Man.”
Just like iron sharpens iron, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones helped push one another to greater realms of creativity, success, and influence. In a way, having two rock and roll bands coming up in the U.K. at the exact same time was one of the best things that could have happened for rock music in general.
Source: Melanie Davis/americansongwriter.com
