Beatles News

An “impractical” song written before She Said, She Said is the first psychedelic song John Lennon ever wrote.

The Beatles member behind hits like Come Together and I Am the Walrus confirmed an earlier song was actually his first test of psychedelic-tinged songwriting. Lennon would confirm this two years after The Beatles had officially split up, giving an interview breaking down his writing style in the early years. Though the song proved “impractical” compared to the popular She Said, She Said, it would be the first time Lennon had written with a psychedelic intention in mind. A few candid reflections on the song in question were shared in 1972, where Lennon wished he had stuck to the “original idea” he had for Tomorrow Never Knows, a song which featured on Revolver.

He said: “This was my first psychedelic song. Tomorrow Never Knows… I didn’t know what I was saying, and you just find out later. I know that when there are some lyrics I dig, I know that somewhere people will be looking at them.

“Often the backing I think of early-on never comes off. With ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ I’d imagined in my head that in the background you details

Had he lived, Lennon would have celebrated his 85th birthday on October 9, 2025. Here are five songs written by John Lennon but recorded by other acts.

John Lennon’s body of work is staggeringly impressive. With The Beatles and as a solo artist, he created some of the most enduring music of the rock era. And though it represented a small fraction of his creative output, his work as a writer for (and in one case, with) other artists is worthy of note. In addition to his production credits (for wife Yoko Ono, The Silkie, David Peel and the Lower East Side, Mick Jagger and Harry Nilsson), Lennon composed songs expressly for other artists he admired. Nearly all of that activity took place between his leaving The Beatles in 1969 and the start of his retirement/hiatus in 1975. Had he lived, Lennon would have celebrated his 85th birthday on October 9. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the first of many compilations surveying his solo work – 1975’s Shaved Fish – here are five songs written by John Lennon but recorded by other acts.

“God Save Us” by Bill Elliot & the Elastic Oz Band (single, 1971)

In the years immediately following The Beatles’ breakup, Lenno details

The Beatles had wanted to put on a final performance before they split up.

Though Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr would play out a show on the roof of Abbey Corps Headquarters, the four had spoken of playing a regular, attended show. Lennon would say it’s the reason he had agreed to a television special, which had been scrapped during the making of the band’s final two albums. Harrison would also say he “really wanted to play” but that the opportunity to do so had simply not occurred during their sessions together. McCartney would also suggest a live show was the right time to “light a rocket and really take off for the end” of the band. Plans for a show beyond the rooftop gig never came to be, though it seemed the band were keen on performing together in front of a planned, ticketed audience.

Lennon would say during the Get Back sessions in 1969 that he would have liked to play live with The Beatles again. He said: “I would dig to play onstage, you know? I mean, if it was all… everything was all right and there was no messing and we’re just gonna play onstage.

“You know, that’s why I said yes to the TV show. details

 English actor James Norton will play Brian Epstein, the influential manager of the Beatles, in the upcoming four-part musical biopic by director Sam Mendes.

He’ll star in “The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event,” as the unconventional project has been dubbed, alongside Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Harrison Dickinson as John Lennon and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison.

Epstein, a legend among Beatles fans and often considered the band’s fifth member, met the Fab Four in 1961 and helped propel them into a global phenomenon. He was with the group until he died in 1967 from a drug overdose at age 32. (Epstein’s own epic story was immortalized in the 2024 biopic “Midas Man.”)

Sony, the studio behind the films, declined to comment on Norton’s casting, which was first reported by Deadline.

Mendes is making four separate movies, one from each Beatles member’s point of view. All four installments will debut on the big screen in April 2028. The films are expected to intersect to capture the band’s improbable journey from Liverpool to the center of global culture, leading to their 1970 breakup. Given details

The story of how one of The Beatles' biggest ever songs was almost not released under the band's name.

The Beatles were always so much more than the sum of their parts.  Despite the delights of John Lennon and Paul McCartney's solo careers (and those of George Harrison and Ringo Starr, too), when the Fab Four were together they genuinely changed the history of popular music and the whole society.

But even when they were together there were moments when individual members of the band were in complete creative control.

That was especially true on The Beatles (aka The White Album), when each corner of the band was frequently off doing their own thing. But there's one much earlier example that really stands out, too.  'Yesterday' is one of the most famous Beatles song that very nearly wasn't a Beatles song. This is why.
Who wrote 'Yesterday'?

Like the vast majority of The Beatles' original songs, 'Yesterday' was credited to Lennon–McCartney. It says it right there on the label.

But we all know that while some of the duo's songs for the Fab Four were true co-writes and many were driven by one of the pair and polished by the other, there were songs that were prett details

Saoirse Ronan is set to play photographer and musician Linda McCartney in the upcoming Beatles biopic.

The Oscar nominated actress will play alongside Paul Mescal, who takes up the role in the four films, directed by Sam Mendes.

The films are set for simultaneous release, with each film focusing on one of the four band members. Saoirse Ronan is set to play photographer and musician Linda McCartney in the upcoming Beatles biopic.  

Linda married Paul in 1969, with the pair going on to have three children together.  Born and raised in New York City, Linda was the second of four children to Louise and Lee Eastman. Linda attended Scarsdale High School and then Vermont College, where she obtained an Associate of Arts in 1961.

She majored in Fine Arts at the University of Arizona, where she also developed a fondness for photography. Linda didn’t complete her studies due to the tragic death of her mother in a plane crash in 1962.  Linda got her start in photography when she took up a receptionist and editorial assistant gig with Town & Country magazine. 

Before Paul, Linda was married to Joseph Melville See Jr. They married in 1962 and divorced t details

Jack Walters is a film and television journalist based in Newcastle, UK. He is a Senior Writer on Screen Rant's New Movies team, and has also published work at Loud & Clear Reviews, Next Best Picture, and ScreenSphere.

Another important casting announcement was recently unveiled for Sam Mendes' four Beatles biopics. Saoirse Ronan will officially play Linda McCartney in the four-movie cinematic event, while Anna Sawai, Aimee Lou Wood, and Mia McKenna-Bruce are reportedly circling the roles of Yoko Ono, Pattie Boyd, and Maureen Starkey, respectively.

Mendes' Beatles films will be released simultaneously in April 2028, with each movie detailing the Beatles' story from a different band member's perspective. This will be a very interesting step forward for the biopic genre, and it crucially means that certain characters will appear multiple times across the movies - so it's even more important that they're accurately cast.

8. Cynthia Lennon - Depending on which era of the Beatles' career these movies take place throughout, Cynthia Lennon will need to be present to some degree. Even if Sam Mendes decides to set his stories after John and Cynthia's breakup, there's no way to write her out of the details

Before he was known as a writer, producer and one of the world’s foremost fingerstyle guitarists, Laurence Juber spent three years, from 1978 to 1981, as a member of Wings. Prior to that, he had established himself as an in-demand London session guitarist. An invitation to jam with Wings guitarist-bassist Denny Laine soon changed into a life-changing event when Paul and Linda McCartney joined in.

After playing a few blues and reggae tunes, Paul turned to Juber and asked, “What are you doing for the next few years?”

“It was in that nanosecond that everything flashes in front of you,” Juber says. “I had spent my entire teenage years and beyond becoming a studio musician, and then there's Paul McCartney offering me a gig.

“On the one hand, you think, What am I giving up? On the other hand, I was in a place in my life where, if there was going to be a big change, the universe was kind of leading me to it. How could I say no?”

Juber contributed guitar parts to the 1979 Wings album, Back to the Egg — his fire-spitting solo on the punk-rockabilly number “Spin It On” is a particular standout — and he played with Wings on their 19-dat details

Paul McCartney will release "McCartney III" in December, a new collection of stripped-back songs all written, performed and produced by the ex-Beatle, 50 years after his first solo album.

Recorded this year in Sussex in southern England, McCartney III is mostly built from McCartney's live takes on vocals and guitar or piano, overlaying his bass playing and drumming.

It joins two other albums - McCartney and McCartney II - created single-handedly by the 78-year-old at critical times in his life, in 1970 and 1980, when he was seeking a creative rebirth.

"I was living lockdown life on my farm with my family and I would go to my studio every day. I had to do a little bit of work on some film music and that turned into the opening track and then when it was done I thought what will I do next?" said McCartney.

He turned to half-finished fragments he'd created over the years.  "Each day I'd start recording with the instrument I wrote the song on and then gradually layer it all up, it was a lot of fun. It was about making music for yourself rather than making music that has to do a job. So, I just did stuff I fancied doing. I had no idea this would end up as an album."

 McCartney's details

Most of what made The Beatles magical was, of course, the band members themselves. The Fab Four had such a perfect mix of songwriting, performing, and instrumental talent packed into the band. But themselves alone weren’t what made The Beatles so great. Their producers, agents, and occasional collaborators also helped produce some of the Fab Four’s best songs. Let’s take a look at just three very famous Beatles collaborators who made a few noteworthy contributions.

The OG Rolling Stones leader was involved with The Beatles in a few ways. He was around during the process of producing “Yellow Submarine”, but he was also brought into the mix a few years later during sessions for the song “You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)”.

This song was recorded during sessions for Magical Mystery Tour, but the song itself wasn’t released until after Jones’ passing. Specifically, you can hear the tune on the 1970 finale Let It Be. Jones can be heard playing the sax on the song. Considering he was better known as a guitarist, some people may not know that’s him on “You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)”.

Eric Clapton was associated with The Beatles details

When The Beatles first arrived on the international music scene via their introduction to America, they were the good boys of rock ‘n’ roll. Clean-cut, boyishly charismatic, well-behaved, and in line with the societal standards of the time. Many of their contemporaries, such as The Rolling Stones, were not that. For the early years of their career, Paul McCartney and The Beatles held onto that image, and while they never went full “bad-boy”, they did start to drift away from this innocent and respectable image.

3 Nostalgic Songs From the 1970s That Will Bring You Back to Your First Love

There is no way to know if The Beatles did this on purpose. In reality, who cares if they did or didn’t? Nevertheless, The Beatles’ image went from the boys next door to counter-culture figures around 1966. Of course, there was not one thing that marked this transition, but a big one was seemingly when Paul McCartney confessed to taking a psychedelic drug on national television in 1967.

In retrospect, do people care that The Beatles did drugs? No, but given the day in age and their former reputation, it was a huge deal. An enormous deal given that the media of the time sensationalized, details

Paul Simon wrote “Bridge Over Troubled Water” on Blue Jay Way, a location made infamous by George Harrison in The Beatles song of the same name.  Paul Simon and George Harrison became friends and performed together on Saturday Night Live in 1976.
Simon described Harrison as “amazing ... brave, open, kind.”

Simon & Garfunkel were at the height of their folk-rock fame in 1969 when they recorded one of their most enduring classics. Yet, few fans realize this song has a surprising connection to The Beatles.

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel were writing and recording “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” and other songs for what would become the album of the same name in the latter part of 1969. After wrapping up a television special and a grueling tour, the exhausted duo set out to finish this seminal album.

Simon said in a 1972 interview with Rolling Stone that his and Garfunkel’s Beatles connection came via George Harrison, in a home on Blue Jay Way, immortalized in the Magical Mystery Tour song of the same name.

“We were in California. We were all renting this house. Me, Artie and Peggy [Harper], (Simon’s wife) were living in this house with details

Producer George Martin wasn’t called the “fifth Beatle” for no reason. Truly, this man is responsible for getting the Fab Four their start and had a big hand in many of their greatest hits. And among those hits, Martin spoke about his top picks and favorite tunes. Let’s look at just a few of George Martin’s favorite Beatles songs, shall we?

This No. 1 US hit from the Fab Four was one of George Martin’s top picks. Years ago, Martin appeared on a 1995 episode of BBC Sounds’ Desert Island Discs, where Sue Lawley would interview various big names in the music world to learn more about their favorite songs and general music taste. Martin appeared on the show to talk about his favorite tunes, like “Oboe Quartet in F Major” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and “Bess, You Is My Woman Now” by George Gershwin. “I Want To Hold Your Hand” from 1963 made it to his list.

This one’s not a song, per se, but a medley of songs that make up more than half of a massively famous Beatles record. George Martin described the second side of Abbey Road from 1969 as “very much [his] favorite” and described the medley as “one o details

UMe’s announcement today that it is reissuing Ringo Starr’s first four solo albums on colored vinyl on Oct. 24 puts a spotlight on his celebrated 1973 album Ringo, which enabled him to set a pair of Billboard Hot 100 records that he holds to this day.

Starr is the only ex-Beatle to land two No. 1 singles from one studio album and the only one to release back-to-back singles that both reached No. 1. Starr topped the Hot 100 in November 1973 with “Photograph,” which he co-wrote with his former Beatles bandmate George Harrison. His follow-up, “You’re Sixteen,” a jaunty remake of a 1960 hit by Johnny Burnette, reached No. 1 in January 1974.

Both singles were released from Starr’s third studio album, Ringo, which was produced by Richard Perry, one of the hottest producers of the era. (Perry died last December at age 82.) Starr’s first two studio albums were Sentimental Journey, a 1970 collection drawn from the Great American Songbook, and Beaucoups of Blues, a 1970 country- and folk-shaded album recorded in Nashville. So Ringo was his first contemporary pop/rock album. On the album, Starr collaborated with his Beatles bandmates John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Harr details

There are a few sayings that you need to keep handy when record collecting. The chase is better than the catch. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. And in a recent month at Discogs, the online database of audio recordings and marketplace, one saying stands true: beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Or more accurately, a record's worth is really how much a person is willing to pay for it. And it might shock you how much someone paid for an EP by an Irish quartet, and how it outsold The Beatles.

When Discogs revealed its monthly "The 25 Most Valuable Records Sold" report for September 2025, it was surprising to see that an ultrarare copy of The Beatles' debut album, Please Please Me, came in at second place. At No. 1? The debut release from U2.

U2 (Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr.) experienced their breakthrough success in the 1980s with albums like War, The Unforgettable Fire and The Joshua Tree. But in 1979, they were just starting out, releasing their debut EP, Three.

The band pressed 1,000 copies of their three-song EP, each coming with a hand-numbered sticker on a CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System) sleeve. This particular copy has the band's name spelled as "U-2" on details