Beatles News

The 1968 feature Yellow Submarine was a landmark in the popular perception of animation as a legitimate art form, but even as the Beatles were lending their likenesses to that groundbreaking work, they were also appearing in a considerably less advanced example of the form. A cheaply made cartoon series called The Beatles ran on ABC from 1965 to 1969, and while its shabby production quality has resulted in it being largely forgotten outside of hardcore Beatles fandom, as Flavorwire notes, a YouTube account called Beatles Planet has made all 39 episodes available for curious viewers.

News of a forthcoming multi-disc box set titled George Harrison: The Apple Years 1968-75 led to renewed praise for charttopping early-period solo moments like “My Sweet Lord” and “Give Me Love.” It’s perhaps understandable, since those are two of Harrison’s best-known songs apart from the Beatles. It doesn’t mean they’re his best songs, though. In fact, there’s far more complexity to be found, even inside well-trod No. 1 albums like 1970’s All Things Must Pass and 1973’s Living in the Material World — to say nothing oflesser-celebrated moments like 1974’s Dark Horse. Harrison’s catalog, even more than a decade after his early passing, is widely underappeciated outside of the radio hits, a grievous thing. Witness these five often-forgotten gems, each of them featured on George Harrison: The Apple Years 1968-75, due September 23, 2014 … “I’D HAVE YOU ANYTIME,” (ALL THINGS MUST PASS, 1970): Every bit as moving as Abbey Road triumphs like “Something,” with a Beatle-ish guitar signature and a lyrical assist by Bob Dylan.

Publisher Activision spent $500 million making and promoting Destiny, and you can now hear the Paul McCartney song that some of that money paid for. The former member of The Beatles worked with developer Bungie on a theme song for the massively multiplayer sci-fi shooter, and you can hear it over the end credits when you beat the game. The tune features the phrase “hope for the future” several times as well as references to “our destiny.” So, yeah, it’s not exactly “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”  An original song from McCartney is a testament to both how much Activision spent on Destiny as well as how games are taking cues from Hollywood. Movies have long had celebrity musicians write and record original tracks, but games have rarely had money to do the same.

Now, 45 years later, the famous zebra crossing is not only an English Heritage site, but the studio where the LP was recorded has set up a live feed of the crossing . It has become a shrine for Beatles fans worldwide to visit - and annoy traffic. You don't have to wait long to witness faithful pilgrims tramping along Abbey Road to use the the same zebra crossing that John, Paul, George and Ringo used for the cover of the Abbey Road album, released in September, 1969. Groups of friends or tour parties gather either side of the road and start snapping. Then the fun begins. Some try to use the crossing in fours - like the Beatles - stopping mid-way for pals to take a precious snap. Others abuse the crossing mercilessly, crossing time after time and posing ridiculously, much to the frustration of the motorists they are delaying. Meanwhile in the foreground, fans can be seen snapping the studio building where the album was recorded. Many feel obliged to leave their names behind, which is why the studio's outside wall is famously repainted every three months.

Screaming fans, packed stadiums and songs we all know by heart were part of the craze known as Beatlemania. To celebrate everything Beatles, native New Orleanian and internationally recognized Beatles authority Bruce Spizer will discuss the Fab Four on Oct. 7 beginning at 7 p.m. at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 West Napoleon Ave., Metairie. Spizer has written eight books about the Beatles and has served as a consultant for EMI and Apple Records for their CD re-releases of the American configurations of the Beatles catalogue. He has also written questions for a special Beatles "Trivial Pursuit" board game, and has appeared on national television news shows and radio shows. This event is free and open to the public.  Registration is not required. Banned books What do "To Kill A Mockingbird," "Slaugterhouse Five" and "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" have in common?  Each of these books along with many others has been on a "banned book" list at one time or another.

The two bedrooms and en-suite master offer 'versatile accommodation' in an apartment building which comes with its own porter, according to the agents, but the property 'will require some updating'. Harrison and Starr moved to the London flat at the recommendation of their manager Brian Epstein, who lived upstairs on the fifth floor from December 1963 until 1965. Epstein hosted a number of parties in his top-floor flat including a legendary gathering in August 1964, which all four Beatles, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Judy Garland, among others, are believed to have attended. The celebrations spread to the roof of the building where a temporary ballroom - complete with red carpet was set up in a marquee. Harrison and Starr's flat was burgled on 19 April 1964 while the pair were at a recording session and a party - but little was stolen apart from cufflinks, cash and souvenirs from a trip to the U.S. 

The former Beatles drummer reveals he is offloading his 200-acre estate in Surrey so he and his wife Barbara Bach can make full use of their Beverly Hills mansion and embrace the clean-living Los Angeles lifestyle. He tells the Mail on Sunday newspaper, "We're selling our house in Surrey and moving to L.A. We've had it for 15 years but we don't spend enough time there, and L.A is the right place for us to be now. "It's not that sad, because it's time for a change... and the weather is better over there.

The music of “the quiet Beatle” George Harrison will be celebrated in a star-studded, one-night only event at Los Angeles’ El Rey Theatre on Sept. 28th, according to Rolling Stone. George Fest: A Night To Celebrate The Music Of George Harrison will pay tribute to Harrison’s acclaimed solo works with a lineup of performers that is nothing short of amazing. Artists to pay tribute to George include Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson, Heart’s Ann Wilson, Norah Jones, The Killers’ Brandon Flowers and Mark Stoermer, Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne and Steven Drozd, Spoon’s Britt Daniel and the highly in-demand, Weird Al Yankovic, among others. The night will also feature a performance from Harrison’s son Dhani, and even more surprise guests throughout the night, event organizers promise.

IT WAS A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME opportunity to hear The Beatles as they were intended in the hallowed space where they created their extraordinary music. To mark the launch of The Beatles In Mono vinyl remasters, Apple Records and MOJO hosted a special evening gathering at Abbey Road’s legendary Studio 2 to listen to tracks from the new versions and hear a panel of distinguished guests discuss how the group recorded and mixed their songs. The doors of Studio 2, where The Beatles recorded the majority of their material, swung open at 5.30pm to welcome a specially invited audience of 100 or so Fabs fans, including several dozen MOJO readers selected from our recent online competition. The event started with the master of ceremonies – storied music writer and broadcaster Mark Ellen – introducing the panel, comprising Beatles engineer Ken Scott; BBC radio producer and Beatle boffin Kevin Howlett; Sean Magee, the remastering and cutting engineer who worked on the new vinyls; and Toerag Studios producer and mono enthusiast Liam Watson.