Beatles News
Let me take you down to Strawberry Fields— no, not the memorial in New York’s Central Park to the former Beatle John Lennon, who was slain in Manhattan in 1980, but to the place that inspired his song, where the Salvation Army is conducting an experiment in mixing tourism with faith and social action.
The original Strawberry Field was a children’s home in Liverpool, just around the corner from John Lennon’s childhood home. It inspired the Beatles’ 1966 track “Strawberry Fields Forever,” penned by Lennon (who added an “s” to its name), as well as what may be one of the most innovative projects undertaken by the Salvation Army, the Christian anti-poverty movement founded in mid-1800s London.
Strawberry Field is known for its red gates festooned with strawberry motifs, which are often thronged with tourists taking selfies and some adding to the graffiti on the gates’ stone pillars. But the army has now deployed the site’s connection to the Beatles to draw more visitors to fund its mission and encourage people who would never consider stepping inside a church to find out about Christianity.
The children’s home, closed in 2005, has been demolished. In its place is a new structure that contains a prayer space, a café, and an exhibition about Lennon and the Beatles that includes one of Lennon’s pianos. The building also houses a training project to help young people with special needs get into work.
Source: Catherine Pepinster/religionnews.com
Just about every song in the Fab Four’s discography has touched the heart of at least one fan through the years. And there are plenty of songs by The Beatles that fans would kill to be able to hear again for the very first time. Let’s look at a few of our favorites!
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1. “Blue Jay Way”
This 1967 Magical Mystery Tour track isn’t the band’s most well-known track by any means. It’s a deep cut of sorts, if you would consider anything The Beatles recorded to be a deep cut.
“Blue Jay Way” almost feels like a homage by the band for the band. It has all of the go-to stylistic and artistic choices that the Fab Four popularized, bouncing from tape speed to tape speed and offering a generous dose of their unique use of phasing and flanging. George Harrison’s voice is otherworldly on this one.
2. “Tomorrow Never Knows”
This writer personally heard this song for the first time decades after it was released, and the memory of it is still quite fresh. Even in the 1990s, few songs matched the energy, psychedelic nature, and overall musical power of “Tomorrow Never Knows” from the 1966 record Revolver.
It was the first song to be recorded for the album. From its droning bass to its notably new overall style, The Beatles had not written and recorded a song quite like it during their career.
Source: Em Casalena/americansongwriter.com
You would think The Beatles, as successful as they were, would have enjoyed some sort of autonomy about what they did or didn’t want to do when they were at the height of their popularity. That wasn’t always the case. For example, they were forced to come up with new material for the soundtrack to Yellow Submarine, a 1968 animated movie based on their music.
The fact that they had zero to do with making the movie didn’t excuse them from having to contribute songs to the project. They obliged with some leftovers and throwaways. But, this being The Beatles, even those songs turned out to be pretty special. Here’s how it all went down.
The Beatles lucked out in that Yellow Submarine, a film over which they little control (not that they wanted to deal with it anyway) turned out as well as it did. Even though the actors hired to do the voices of the Fab Four didn’t always sound like them, the whimsical tale (beware those villainous Blue Meanies) and psychedelic animation charmed audiences.
Those audiences probably didn’t realize the group only agreed to the film because they were contractually obligated to do one more picture. While the animated film was being made in 1967, they were too busy with making their own music and a television movie of their own devising (Magical Mystery Tour) to give any input to the film’s producers.
To satisfy those producers, the group agreed to provide four songs for the soundtrack. In addition, there would be several cuts from their catalog used in the film. George Martin, the group’s producer, also came up with orchestral music for the film’s score.
Source: Jim Beviglia /americansongwriter.com
The site of The Beatles first ever performance is set to be honoured with a commemorative plaque.
John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison played alongside Stuart Sutcliffe - the band's original bass guitarist - and Pete Best, the original drummer, at the Jacaranda on Slater Street in Liverpool in August 1960.
The World Origin Site plaque will acknowledge the "hidden gem where the band cut their teeth" before their breakthrough Hamburg tour.
The band, later made up of Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Ringo Starr, had a string of classic albums such as Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Abbey Road. Their best known hits include Yesterday, Hey Jude, A Hard Day's Night and Let It Be.
Dave McCabe, the frontman of The Zutons, paid tribute to the venue, which still hosts live music every night, serving as a vital hub for grassroots performances and sustaining Liverpool's musical heritage and future. "Grassroots music venues like the Jacaranda are so important because without them there’s no growth, there’s no education and there’s no real experience.
"They give you a chance to learn about what it is you love about music and find an answer as to why you wanted to do it in the first place." Martin Wilkie, director of World Origin Site, said: "We are here to help venues, museums and companies focus on the people, places and moments that have helped to make our modern world.
"We started by highlighting the laboratory in which Fleming discovered Penicillin, Kitty Hawk where the Wright Brothers proved man could fly, and even The Isle of Wight where Marconi built the world’s first radio station."
Source: bbc.com
Behind the Meaning of John Lennon’s “Working Class Hero”.
Post-Beatles, John Lennon certainly couldn’t have been considered “working class.” He was lucky enough to be apart of one of the greatest bands of all time and his bank account certainly reflected it. Nevertheless, Lennon didn’t forget about the everyman. He used his voice to fight for those that struggled to rise to the top like he did. Uncover the meaning behind “Working Class Hero,” below.
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[RELATED: New Documentary About John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Wacky 1972 Stint Co-Hosting a Talk Show Premiering Soon]
Behind the Meaning of John Lennon’s “Working Class Hero”
Lennon released this caustic song in the early ’70s. His biting lyrics, at the same time, bolstered those in the working class and chided the folks on the hill. After having reached the upper echelon, Lennon turns back to tell those behind him, “Hey, this isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
As soon as you’re born, they make you feel small
By giving you no time instead of it all
Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all
Lennon often spoke about his issues with fame. He even hopped on David Bowie’s “Fame” to make a finite statement about it. In this song, he issued a warning in the form of a reality check. A working class hero is something to be, he tells his listeners. Though they likely spend their days dreaming of having what Lennon had, he argues the contrary.
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
They hurt you at home, and they hit you at school
They hate you if you’re clever, and they despise a fool
Till you’re so f***ing crazy, you can’t follow their rules
When they’ve tortured and scared you for twenty-odd years
Then they expect you to pick a career
When you can’t really function, you’re so full of fear
“I like ‘Working Class Hero’ – as a song, or a poem or whatever it is,” he once said of this track. “I think its concept is revolutionary. It’s for the people like me who are working class, who are supposed to be processed into the middle classes, or into the machinery. It’s my experience, and I hope it’s just a warning to people.”
Source: Alex Hopper/americansongwriter.com
When Todd Rundgren first released his song “Hello It’s Me” as a B-side with his band Nazz in 1968, it managed to peak at No. 71 on the Billboard Hot 100, then reentered the chart at No. 66 months later. After Nazz—which pulled it’s name from the Yardbirds’ 1966 song “The Nazz Are Blue”—disbanded in 1969, Rundgren revisited “Hello It’s Me” on his third solo album Something/Anything? in 1972 and took the more uptempo version to No. 5 on the chart.
Despite it’s chart history, when Rundgren joined Ringo Starr with his All-Starr Band, he performed “Hello It’s Me” a few times but eventually retired it on their tours.
“Originally, Ringo wanted me to do “Hello It’s Me,” and I just felt that the song, in the context of what the rest of the band was playing, didn’t represent the message I wanted to convey,” said Rundgren. “‘Hello It’s Me’ is a kind of a selfish song. It’s me, me, me. It’s all about me. I’m in charge, and all this other stuff.”
Hello, it’s me
I’ve thought about us for a long long time
Maybe I think too much but something’s wrong
There’s something here, doesn’t last too long
Maybe I shouldn’t think of you as mine
Seeing you or seeing anything as much I do you
I take for granted that you’re always there
I take for granted that you just don’t care
Sometimes I can’t help seeing all the way through
It’s important to me
That you know you are free
‘Cause I never want to make you change for me
Think of me
You know that I’d be with you if I could
I’ll come around to see you once in a while
Or if I ever need a reason to smile
And spend the night if you think I should
Source: Tina Benitez-Eves/americansongwriter.com
Original drummer Pete Best and his younger brother Roag have converted one of the earliest venues where the Beatles performed into a short-term rental property.
The Casbah Coffee Club hosted the early Beatles nearly 40 times, after John Lennon's previous Quarrymen band played there on seven nights. The venue at 8 Haymans Green in Liverpool opened in 1956 in the basement of Best's family home and was run by his mother Mona.
She'd initially tried to book a residency with the Les Stewart Quartet, which featured a young George Harrison, but they suddenly split up before opening night. "George basically turned 'round and said: 'I happen to know a couple of guys who aren't doing anything,'" Pete Best tells The Guardian. "They turned out to be John Lennon and Paul McCartney."
There are now five AirBnB units above the club, each named after the original members of the Beatles – Lennon, Best, McCartney, Harrison and doomed founding bassist Stuart Sutcliffe. Roag Best, later revealed to be the son of Beatles road manager Neil Aspinall, has been renovating the property with his sibling for more than three years.
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Rooms are roughly $200 a night and each has been decorated with exclusive Beatles memorabilia, including band photos, classic posters and old instruments. Bookings have already drawn people from throughout the U.K., as well as Scotland, Canada and the U.S.
There's no suite devoted to Ringo Starr, who later replaced Pete Best as the Beatles were nailing down a final take on their debut single "Love Me Do." "Everything we do is about being authentic and the Beatles that performed and partied here were John, Paul, George, Pete and Stuart," Roag Best told The Guardian. "Ringo was never a member when he was here."
Source: Nick DeRiso/ultimateclassicrock.com
As part of International Beatleweek, that celebrates The Beatles in Liverpool, we take a look at how the renowned pop band not only changed the landscape of music, but fashion too.
After an infamous trip to Hamburg, Germany, the band’s manager, Brian Epstein, decided to dress the band in matching made-to-measure suits.
“These suits, often in dark hues and paired with ties and crisp white shirts, were meticulously crafted to present a unified, polished image,” says London-based fashion expert Fausta Urte Geigaite, “this bespoke elegance set them apart, offering a fresh, accessible look that appealed to both the youth and the establishment.”
Although the suits were a way to tidy their appearance, the band themselves were quite mischievous, and in a way The Beatles were the perfect contradiction. Clean cut in their appearance but rebellious in their nature; the band’s fashion helped appeal to both parents and teens.
As the band grew – so did their styles. Psychedelia became a pool of inspiration for liberals and free thinkers of the decade. Influenced by fin de siècle Art Nouveau, Victoriana and circus imagery – psychedelia’s diverse sources found a direct parallel with The Beatles’ fashion and musical eclecticism. The band’s music began to implement heavily effected sounds, Eastern intervals and avant-garde tape looping. Visually, the four grew out their mop haircuts and wore brightly coloured military suits, famously exhibited on the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover.
Source: irishnews.com
John Lennon and Yoko Ono's son Sean Ono Lennon has come to the defense of Doug Emhoff's daughter.
Kamala Harris' husband, Doug Emhoff shared a video on X, formerly Twitter, of his kids—Ella Emhoff and Cole Emhoff—discussing the 2024 presidential election. Lennon addressed negative comments on the video, reshared by X user @MarioNawfal.
"I think people triggered by this video are blinded by partisans bias. I mean as politicians go this is pretty sweet," Lennon began his lengthy post on Wednesday. "Almost none of the judgmental comments are by people who have any clue what it would be like filming something, anything, under the magnifying glass of national scrutiny. Just saying 'Hi my name is …' can be very challenging. At the very least you can tell his kids are comfortable with him, and he is with them."
The 48-year-old continued, "I make fun of politicians all day and night, but this is not the video that would make me do that. Also—y'all are way too judgmental of the daughter's look. She seems like a cool geek. There are way worse things to be."
"There are serious things we can attack politicians for," Lennon concluded. "Having an awkward and sweet family should not be one of them."
At the time of publication, Lennon's message had racked up more than 15,000 views.
Source: Megan Cartwright/newsweek.com
There are a lot of kids who get introduced to the music of The Beatles by their parents, and now the legendary group is out to teach those kids how to play their music, as well.
Children’s guitar brand Loog just announced a new partnership with Apple Corps Ltd. to launch The Beatles + Loog Collection, made up of nine new kid-sized, Beatle-inspired three-string guitars, six acoustic and three electric.
Each of the acoustic guitars, recommended for children ages 3 and up, are designed to represent different stages in the Beatles’ career, including 1967, the Revolver era and their “Yellow Submarine” era. The electric guitars come in black, blue and white, and are good for children 6 and older.
“I started Loog not only to help kids play guitar, but also to foster curiosity around music – I can’t think of a better way for them to start their musical journey than with John, Paul, George and Ringo,” Rafael Atijas, founder and CEO of Loog, shares. “I’m beyond thrilled and honored to partner with The Beatles in our mission to get kids learning, playing and falling in love with music.”
Each Beatles-themed guitar comes with a Beatles strap, as well as picks, pins and stickers dedicated to the band. There’s also an activity book with Beatles games and trivia, and each guitar comes with access to a special Beatle section in the Loog app.
Source: ABC News/kshe95.com
