Beatles News
A rare copy of Please Please Me signed by all four Beatles has sold for the price rejected at auction in December. The BBC reports that brother and sister Chris Collins and Liz Chambers initially turned down a £12,000 bid for the album, which was given to their late father during a drinking session.
They had hoped to get £15,000 ($24,400 US), but the siblings have now accepted £12,000 ($19,500 US) from private buyers.
Beatles fans can look forward to lots in the new year, including a book telling us 100 things to do before we die. Or to be precise, 100 Things Beatles Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, a book due this June from author Gillian Garr. “It's actually a bit more like 126 'things,' because aside from the 100 listings there are 26 sidebars,” Garr says.
In a newly-released 1987 interview, Yoko Ono talks about the Beatles’ breakup—which she calls a “divorce”. She told Rolling Stone’s Joe Smith: "John, in fact, was not the first who wanted to leave the Beatles. [We saw] Ringo one night with Maureen, and he came to John and me and said he wanted to leave. George was next, and then John. Paul was the only one trying to hold the Beatles together. But the other three thought Paul would hold the Beatles together as his band. They were getting to be like Paul's band, which they didn't like."
The Justice Collective’s cover of the Hollies’ “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” got to the coveted spot as the UK’s Christmas number one. The single features Paul McCartney, who has appeared on seven other Christmas number ones, as a Beatle, a Wing, and as part of Band Aid.
Reportedly the Fab Four are among 150 great Britons under consideration for the honor of appearing on a ten pound note as the government prepares to print new currency next year.
Musician and actor Steven Van Zandt says he made use of his connections in the music world to get rights to use Beatles and Rolling Stones recordings in David Chase’s film, “Not Fade Away”.
Olivia Harrison was among hundreds of people honoring Ravi Shankar at a memoria10l in California. Said Olivia of Ravi’s relationship with George : "They were like father and son as well as brothers... they made each other laugh as if they shared a secret. And I'm sure they did."
A suitcase that likely belonged to George Harrison in the early 60’s is currently on display in the UK. The case was found after a Beatles appearance at the Irby Village Hall on September 7, 1962, one of Ringo’s first appearances after officially joining the group.
Ravi Shankar will receive a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Grammy on Feb. 10th. Grammys spokeswoman Stephanie Schell says he was selected before his death and notified of the honor the week before he passed. Shankar died in California after failing to recover from surgery.
The other Grammy lifetime award recipients are Carole King, the Temptations, classical pianist Glenn Gould, jazz musician Charlie Haden, blues legend Lightnin' Hopkins, and Patti Page, famous for songs such as "(How Much Is That) Doggie In The Window."
Yoko Ono has been awarded a German human rights prize for peace activism with her husband, John Lennon, as well as her more recent work championing gender and marriage equality.
Ono picked up the Rainer Hildebrandt Medal at Berlin's Checkpoint Charlie Museum, next to the former Cold War border crossing.
Said Yoko: "I'm very honoured to get this award and I will consider this award as an encouragement to do more work in humanitarian causes."
