Beatles News
In 2000, Beatles nut Mark Stanfield achieved the rare feat of releasing a genuinely good Beatles film. He’s the writer behind Two Of Us, an imaginative exercise that dramatised the legendary night, in 1976, when Paul McCartney visited his formerly estranged pal John Lennon at the latter’s apartment in New York. Directed by Let It Be filmmaker Michael Lindsay-Hogg, it’s become a cult favourite among those in the know.
Now a professor at the University Of Minnesota, Stanfield has reworked the film into a new play starring Barry Sloane (Shameless) as John and Jay Johnson (who played John’s cousin Stan Parkes in biopic Nowhere Boy) as Macca. Partly inspired by the 1981 movie My Dinner With Andre, it gives fascinating insight for Fabs fans, as well as a thought-provoking drama that explores universal ideas about fractured relationships, regret and reconciliation. No: he doesn’t fancy doing one for the Gallagher brothers.
Hi Mark! Of all the Beatles periods, why did you focus on this one in particular?
Mark Stanfield: “Back in the ‘90s, I had seen an interview that Paul did on the Charlie Rose show. I couldn’t help but notice that when they brought up the subject of John, his whole face – his tone of voice, everything – changed. I remember thinking: ‘Wow, that’s underneath all the showbiz, thumbs-up Macca and all that stuff. He’s really sad; he’s really lost someone dear to him.’ I thought: ‘There’s something there.’”
Source: Jordan Bassett/nme.com
Selecting a favorite Beatles track (or tracks) is wholly dependent on the listener’s unique experience and tastes, and John Lennon’s favorite Beatles songs are no exception.
While the Fab Four’s highly public and equally arduous breakup in the late 1960s and early ‘70s might’ve made it seem like the Beatles were irreparably at odds with one another, the musicians were still able to give credit where credit was due—with the odd diss track or sideways comment in an interview, of course.
Lennon’s reputation for saying exactly what was on his mind almost preceded his musical legacy, which is how we’ve come to find which Beatles songs he despised and, conversely, the ones he loved. Let’s take a look at songs that fit in the latter category.
“Help”
John Lennon wrote “Help!” for the 1965 Beatles’ musical comedy of the same name. In a 1980 interview with Playboy, Lennon said, “I didn’t realize it at the time. I just wrote the song because I was commissioned to write it for the movie, but later, I knew I was really crying out for help. It was my fat Elvis period.”
He expressed similar sentiments in a Rolling Stone interview, saying “Help!” was one of his favorite Beatles songs because “I meant it. It’s real. The lyric is as good now as it was then. It is no different, and it makes me feel secure to know that I was aware of myself then. It was just me singing “help,” and I meant it.”
Source: Melanie Davis/americansongwriter.com
Even the eternal optimist Paul McCartney expressed frustration after the fact about Red Rose Speedway, the 1973 album he made with his band Wings. In the chaos of recording and touring, Macca felt that he left behind a better album somewhere on the cutting-room floor.
Still, Red Rose Speedway solidified Wings as a commercial entity after some singles released in 1972 started them in that direction. Here’s a look back at an album that despite McCartney’s misgivings, feels now more like a near-miss than an absolute clunker.
When Paul McCartney decided to start up a band about a year after The Beatles announced their breakup, he dove in without too much forethought. Wings’ debut album (Wild Life) was hustled out in 1971. Considering Macca’s Beatles history, fans expecting something grand and ornate were surprised to find the album sounding somewhat ramshackle and tossed-off.
That was how McCartney had planned it, but critics clearly didn’t accept the album in that spirit. The good news is Wings righted the ship with a series of non-album singles that did well in 1972, at the same time as they were doing a lot of touring to gather chemistry.
While all that was happening, the band was also grabbing whatever studio time they had to make their next record. At this time, Wings consisted of McCartney, his wife Linda, guitarist/vocalist Denny Laine, guitarist Henry McCullough, and drummer Denny Seiwell.
Wings recorded so much they had enough material for a double album. But their label balked, and McCartney apparently didn’t push the matter too hard, settling instead for a single album release. Songs that were left out included ones with Linda and Laine singing lead.
Source: Jim Beviglia/americansongwriter.com
Some people deal with interpersonal conflict via fisticuffs, and others do so with art—George Harrison’s “Isn’t It A Pity” places the ex-Beatle firmly in the latter category. Harrison’s iconic track from his 1970 solo release, his first post-Beatles breakup, was his alternative to resorting to violence.
Although Harrison wrote the song years before the Fab Four split, under the shadow of their disunion, Harrison’s “Isn’t It A Pity” took on a whole new context. But through all of its various iterations over the years, the Quiet Beatle’s message of non-violent conflict resolution remained the same. The Inspiration Behind George Harrison’s “Isn’t It A Pity”
George Harrison’s first solo album after the Beatles’ infamously arduous breakup was bursting at the seams with creative inspiration—so much so that Harrison released the first two singles as double A-sides: “Isn’t It A Pity” and “My Sweet Lord.” Both singles quickly became two of Harrison’s most popular tracks that would hold their cultural status for decades to come.
In his 1980 memoir I Me Mine, Harrison explained that “Isn’t It A Pity” is about “whenever a relationship hits a down point—instead of whatever other people do (like breaking each other’s jaws), I wrote a song. It was a chance to realize that if I felt somebody had let me down, then there’s a good chance I was letting someone else down. We all tend to break each other’s hearts, taking and not giving back—isn’t it a pity.”
The lyrics to Harrison’s A-side aren’t particularly verbose, but they pack a big punch. Isn’t it a pity, now, isn’t it a shame how we break each other’s hearts and cause each other pain? He sings repeatedly throughout the song. How we take each other’s love without thinking anymore, forgetting to give back—isn’t it a pity? The song’s message was blatantly universal, and that’s precisely what Harrison set out to do when he first wrote the track.
Source: Melanie Davis/americansongwriter.com
While The Beatles were still together, they all worked on side projects. John Lennon released albums with Yoko Ono, while Paul McCartney and George Harrison both worked on movie soundtracks. Harrison also made an album called Electronic Sound, an avant-garde synthesizer experiment. Ringo Starr released Sentimental Journey two weeks before McCartney released the statement to the press that officially brought an end to the group.
After The Beatles broke up, they all began working on solo projects. Of course, the music press would over-examine the lyrics and pick out where each member of the Fab Four was singing about their former comrades or their situations. Some of these prods were warranted, while others were not. Jabs seemed to go back and forth from album to album until John Lennon and Paul McCartney met up in 1972 and talked about how it would be better for all involved if they stopped taking shots at each other in song. That certainly didn’t stop the press from looking for more underlying meanings in their songs. Let’s take a look at the story behind “Let Me Roll It” by Paul McCartney and Wings.
Source: Jay McDowell/americansongwriter.com
Two rare and unique Beatles memorabilia items, discovered as part of BBC One’s The Travelling Auctioneers, are set to go under the hammer. Autographs from John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr are expected to spark major interest when they go up for auction at The Swan in Tetsworth, near Thame on Monday.
The Travelling Auctioneers, the hit BBC One show with Christian Trevanion as the main presenter, is bringing its auction event to Oxfordshire.
The auction at The Swan will showcase hundreds of unique and high-quality items, offering something for every collector and enthusiast.
From silverware and antique furniture, to vintage 1920s cameras and a variety of jewellery, and Chinese items, the auction promises to be an exciting event. They include an original set of autographs from The Beatles, signed by all four members - John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr.
This one-of-a-kind piece features all four Beatles’ autographs in blue biro on lined paper. It also includes a hand-drawn portrait doodle with an arrow labelled "John Beatle". The reverse contains another portrait doodle, making this item a rare and exciting find for any Beatles collector.
There is also a vintage black-and-white publicity photograph by David Hoffman, personally signed by all four Beatles.
The Fab Four from Liverpool played the Carfax Assembly Room in Oxford in February 1963 but there were other visits too and quite a few strong connections between the band and the county.
The Beatles scored their first number one hit a week later when Please Please Me topped the charts.
Source: Andrew Ffrench/heraldseries.co.uk
When EMI signed a recording contract with The Beatles, it was a new frontier for the band as they went from being on top of the hill in Liverpool to the bottom rung of the ladder in the bigger picture. Rabid fans lining up to see them at the Cavern Club were sure to purchase a new record by their hometown heroes, but nationwide success was not guaranteed. The Beatles regularly made the roughly 225-mile drive to London to record with producer George Martin at Abbey Road Studios before they secured living quarters closer to the musical epicenter.
Just as they had cleaned up their image when Brian Epstein took over as their manager, The Beatles felt a need to behave when they entered the hallowed halls on Abbey Road. The engineers were older and more business-minded than the scruffy musicians from the north who played rock ‘n’ roll music. The Beatles looked at these studio technicians as authority figures who were rarely in the mood for joking around or experimenting with different sounds or techniques. Martin appreciated their sense of humor and allowed the group to push the boundaries of what was acceptable at the time. Of course, it didn’t happen all at once, but as the band found success on the charts, they had a little wider berth to work with.
Whether out of boredom or just orneriness, The Beatles were always thrilled to sneak a lyric past the sensors or break out of the norm of the traditional recording realm. Let’s look at the story behind “Girl” by The Beatles.
Source: Jay McDowell/americansongwriter.com
The Beatle wrote that he 'hope life begins at 40' in the letter written in 1979. In December 1980 - two months after his 40th birthday - Lennon was murdered. The letter will go under the hammer at RR Auction of Boston, Massachusetts.
A poignant letter penned by John Lennon saying he 'hopes life begins at 40' just mere months before he was murdered has emerged for sale for £30,000. The Beatle also says he wishes for a little less 'trouble' in his life when he reaches the milestone in the letter to his cousin Liela Birch. He then talks about the 'many b******s I've met in the last 40 years or so' when lamenting people who he felt were after his money. He was tragically shot dead by Mark Chapman outside his New York apartment in December 1980, two months after his 40th birthday.
He writes: 'I'm 40 next year - I hope life begins - ie I'd like a little less 'trouble' and more - what?'
Source: Francine Wolfisz/dailymail.co.uk
A hurricane couldn’t stop them. Segregationists didn’t even slow them down. Disputes with a musicians’ union and some rogue filmmakers were just temporary roadblocks.
The Beatles were coming to Jacksonville, come hell or high water.
Sept. 11 marks the 60th anniversary of the Fab Four playing to a screaming crowd at the old Gator Bowl stadium. They played for about 30 minutes, but the echoes linger six decades later.
It's a show that almost didn't happen for a number of reasons: Hurricane Dora had just roared through town, bringing President Lyndon Johnson in to survey the damage; the band nearly canceled in a dispute with stadium management, which wanted to segregate the audience; and a group of rogue filmmakers caused the band's road manager to threaten cancellation if they didn't stop shooting unauthorized footage.
Thousands of fans, having paid $4 and $5 for a ticket, couldn't make it to the show because power was out in large parts of the city. The band played a 30-minute set in conditions so windy that Ringo Starr's drums had to be nailed to the stage so they wouldn't topple over.
Source: jacksonville.com
Their concert lasted only 30 minutes, but the Beatles’ one and only visit to New Orleans 60 years ago this month still brings vivid memories to many. On Sept. 16, 1964, the Beatles played their sold-out concert at City Park Stadium, later renamed Tad Gormley Stadium. It was one of 24 stops on their 32-day North American tour.
Beatlemania hit New Orleans just before 3 a.m. that day, when the chartered plane carrying the Fab Four — John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr — touched down at the airport in Kenner. Like most everywhere they went, the band was mobbed by fans when they arrived at the Congress Inn, a motel on Chef Menteur Highway in New Orleans East. They held a press conference, where Mayor Victor Schiro presented them with keys to the city, proclaimed it Beatles Day and made them honorary citizens.
At the Beatles’ request, they were visited that night at the stadium by Fats Domino, who met them in their trailer. Meanwhile 12,000 frenzied fans grew impatient during the opening acts, which included Clarence “Frogman” Henry, Jackie DeShannon, the Bill Black Combo and the Exciters. By the time the stars took the stage, the crowd was hysterical and hundreds of teenagers poured out of their seats and onto the field.
“Policemen had to physically tackle some of the youths — mostly girls... It took 225 New Orleans policemen and special patrol guards more than 20 minutes to restore order,” reporter Clarence Doucet wrote in the next day’s Times-Picayune. “Police Supt. Joseph I. Giarrusso… called the episode one ‘that was both amusing and tragic at the same time.’”
Source: Blake Pontchartrain/nola.com
