Beatles News

A BEATLES drumhead used on their first US TV appearance has become one of the band’s most expensive pieces of memorabilia.

Drummer Ringo Starr used the bit of kit on the Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964 as the Fab Four propelled themselves to global superstardom.  A Beatles drumhead played by Ringo Starr on their first US TV appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, above, has sold as one of the band’s priciest memorabilia.

It is also the most expensive item belonging to Sir Ringo to ever be flogged. Earlier in the auction, another drum kit used by the 85-year-old between 1963 and 1964 sold for £1,804,700. Other Beatles items to be sold during the auction include a Broadwood upright piano used by John Lennon when he wrote Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.

It was estimated to fetch around £450,000, but instead sold for £2,448,968.  

Source: the-sun.com/Thomas Godfrey

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When it comes to naming children, some parents flip through baby books, consult family trees, and scroll through lists of the trendiest names of the year. There's tradition and trends, and then there's giving your child a piece of rock 'n' roll history mere seconds after they’re born.

The Beatles not only wrote hits that remain playlist staples decades after they were recorded, but also gave fans a handful of potential baby names that stand out from the crowd. From the dreamy "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" to the introspective "Eleanor Rigby," these titles offer a fine-tuned selection of ideas and give each name a backstory. Why keep them in your head when they can be immortalized on a birth certificate?

Whether you want your child to be named after a song that's classic, poetic, or a bit unconventional, there's a Beatles-inspired name just waiting to make your kid the coolest in the classroom.

Let’s explore 11 iconic Fab Four tracks you can name your children after.

"Lovely Rita"
"Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds"
"Eleanor Rigby"
"Hey Jude"
"Michelle"
"Doctor Robert"
"Julia"
"Martha My Dear"
"Maxwell's Silver Hammer"
"Sexy Sadie"
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Fresh reflections on The Beatles' final 1966 U.S. tour highlight the chaos that shifted them from stage icons to studio revolutionaries, amid ongoing tribute events in 2026.

The Beatles' legacy continues to resonate in 2026, with recent discussions spotlighting their tumultuous final tour in 1966 that effectively ended their days as a live performing act. This pivotal moment, marked by controversies from John Lennon's comments to dangerous encounters abroad, redirected the band's focus to groundbreaking studio work. Fans and historians alike are revisiting these events as tribute shows and special events keep the Fab Four's spirit alive today.

In March 2026, The Beatles remain a cultural force, with online conversations reigniting interest in their history. A prominent article details the 'infamous' 1966 tour that spelled the end of their live performances, drawing parallels to how rare it is today for major acts to abandon the stage entirely. This reflection coincides with upcoming tribute events, signaling sustained global fascination more than five decades after their breakup.

Source: ad-hoc-news.de

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No one is as acutely aware of how fame can create wild, true rumors about someone quite like a fellow rock star. Yet, even these iconic musicians sometimes buy into the myths and rumors about their contemporaries. John Lennon and Frank Zappa certainly had plenty of preconceptions about the other, all of which they (mostly) disproved during their first fateful meeting in a hotel apartment in 1971.

Lennon met Zappa by tagging along with Village Voice columnist and broadcaster Howard Smith, who previously told the ex-Beatle he was interviewing Zappa later that day. The “Imagine” singer told Smith how much he revered Zappa, saying, “He’s at least trying to do something different with the form,” per Barry Miles’ Zappa: A Biography.

“I’m very impressed by the kind of discipline he can bring to rock that nobody else can seem to bring to it,” Lennon told Smith. However, not even Zappa’s impressive rock ‘n’ roll discipline was enough to dispel some of the rumors Lennon believed about him.
John Lennon and Frank Zappa Proved Each Other Wrong Simultaneously

In Barry Miles’ biography of Frank Zappa, he described the Mothers of Inventio details

Paul McCartneyneeds no introduction—but he deserves one anyway.

Born in Liverpool in 1942, McCartney went from a working-class kid who traded his father's trumpet for a guitar to one half of the most successful songwriting partnership in music history. (No big deal or anything.) As a founding member of The Beatles, he helped reshape popular music, culture and an entire generation. But here's the thing about Paul McCartney—his story didn't end when The Beatles broke up in 1970. In fact, you could say that's when he really got started!

The "Live and Let Die" singer formed Wings, launched his solo career, won 19 Grammys, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II—and that's not all. At the tender age of 72, he scored a top-five hit with Rihannaand Kanye Weston "FourFiveSeconds" and broke the record for the longest gap between Billboard top-ten singles in history—29 years, if you're curious!

In November 2025, he closed out his Got Back tour—playing nearly three-hour shows to sold-out stadiums at 83 years old. He's lost bandmates, buried the love of his life and weathered one of the most public breakups in music history. And through it all, he's never stopped creating, never stopped perf details

There are a handful of Beatles tunes that feature one or some of the band’s members. “Within You Without You” is one such song that features only one Beatle: George Harrison. Released on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967, this song doesn’t feature the other three members of The Beatles. But it does feature some noteworthy session talent. And they all gathered at Abbey Road Studios on this day, March 15, to record this underrated classic.

“Within You Without You” was written by George Harrison, at the time a rare contribution from the guitarist. Traditionally, members Paul McCartney and John Lennon were the main songwriters of the group. And it was clear that the band had been sleeping on Harrison’s talents.

“Within You Without You” was Harrison’s second composition that was in the Indian classical style. It was something that he had become inspired by following a 1966 stay in India to learn sitar from Ravi Shankar. The song was recorded at EMI’s Abbey Road Studio 2 in London without the other Beatles. But Harrison didn’t record it alone.

You’ll hear quite a bit of talent on this psychedelic raga rock classic. details

The return of our Behind the Curtain column continues with another anecdote from longtime music journalist and writer Steve Rosen — recalling his encounters with a big-time meet-up with George Harrison at Warner Bros. Records, circa 1974.

The day was a California postcard. A startling and fiery sun perched high above in a crystal blue sky, blazed down in diamonds of promise. It was an essential day, a meteorological marvel meant to be stored away for future reference. A day by which all other days would be measured.

“Dude,” a friend would ask the following week, “was last Tuesday the best day ever?”

You tell him it was — a sui generis day like no other. Even if the day itself was all you’d been given, that would have been gift enough. But the weather was merely an underscoring for the occasion, a gilded and golden opportunity to spend an hour with George Harrison. You would forget how to breathe before you forgot this. Simply saying the words out loud was enough to render you stupid all over again because the event was cloaked in so much magic and improbability. You muttered the words to yourself in a hushed and reverential whisper: “I hung out with a Beatl details

In February of 1968, the Beatles gathered in EMI Studios to shoot a pair of videos for their song “Lady Madonna,” their first single of that year.

Back then, of course, they weren’t called “music videos,” but instead “promotional films.” And as was often the case with the Beatles, the original plan turned into something else.

At first, the idea was to film the band miming to “Lady Madonna,” but ultimately the Beatles decided to use the studio time to record an entirely different song, “Hey Bulldog.” This is why, if you pay close attention to the video, you’ll notice the images of the band playing and singing does not match up with the lyrics and instrumentation of “Lady Madonna.”

“The group were on a roll as far as recording was concerned and didn’t want to lose a day,” film producer Denis O’Dell recalled in his book At the Apple’s Core: The Beatles From the Inside. “Rather than mime for the promo film, they asked us instead to film them recording a new song they were working on at the time. The song, a forceful rock number written predominantly by John, was called ‘Hey Bulldog,&r details

Nowadays, a studio-only artist is pretty much unheard of. It’s a shock when a musician decides not to perform live anymore, but that career trajectory was more common in decades past. The most famous outfit to ever do this was The Beatles. The band gave up life on the road long before they actually decided to split up. This decision was the result of many factors, but notably, a disastrous final tour that was destined to fail before they even played the first date. From dictators to fiery protests, one particular tour spelled the end of The Beatles’ career as a live band.

 Before The Beatles’ final tour, the band had already racked up a fair amount of controversy. Between John Lennon’s “More popular than Jesus” comments and an angry encounter with President Marcos from the Philippines, the band wasn’t situated to have a smooth run when they entered into their 1966 U.S. tour.

A trip to the Philippines prior to the tour’s start set the band up for disaster. The Beatles were supposed to meet Marcos’ wife but opted to take a day off instead. This angered the leader and ultimately sparked a mob outside the show they were set to play that day. Though they deli details

On March 9, 1966, the Beach Boys began recording their infamous single "God Only Knows" as the opener to the second side of their critically acclaimed album Pet Sounds.

The song was an immediate hit upon release, with many influential artists praising the simple songwriting and effective musicianship. Paul McCartney of the Beatles has frequently called it the best song ever written.
'God Only Knows' Marked A New Era for The Beach Boys

One of the countless reasons that Pet Sounds is so frequently cited as the greatest album ever recorded is that it was so foundationally different from anything the Beach Boys had released before. While songs like "Surfin' U.S.A." had cemented them as icons of lighthearted "surf rock", Pet Sounds proved that frontman Brian Wilson was capable of much more.

"God Only Knows" is a perfect example of the vulnerable, tender songwriting that's on display throughout Pet Sounds. It's an incredibly simple love song on the surface, with lyrics that discuss the narrator's pure love and adoration of their partner—it's not trying to be experimental or edgy, and that's what made it so refreshing.

Source: aol.com/Jack Walters

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The actor, who has been cast as Ringo Starr, has been enjoying his time in Liverpool away from filming

Barry Keoghan issued an emotional update as he opened up about filming in Liverpool. The 33-year-old has been cast as Ringo Starr in the eagerly anticipated Beatles cinematic event series.

Sir Sam Mendes is adapting the Fab Four's story in what promises to be the definitive account of how the lads from Liverpool conquered the world. The upcoming films are particularly exciting as it is the first time The Beatles and Apple Corps Ltd. have authorised the use of the band members’ life stories and music to be used in a scripted movie. 

In addition to Barry, Paul Mescal has been cast as Sir Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison. Barry has been pictured in character as the legendary drummer as filming for the upcoming movies has taken over the city over recent weeks.

The actor said it has been special to be on location in the city where it all started for The Beatles. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, he said: "It's an absolute joy. We're up in Liverpool filming now so that's sort of a thing in itself.

Source: Ryan Paton/l details

He was born in Liverpool, but where does Paul McCartney live now? In the years since The Beatles formed in their hometown in 1960, the English music icon has collected properties across the United Kingdom and the United States—and rarely lets them go. McCartney still maintains his first home, a London townhouse that he bought in 1965. “Do I know anything about property? Not really,” the musician said in an interview the following year. “Well, I suppose I do, come to think of it. I’m being vague. But don’t think I’m a big property tycoon. I only buy places I like.”

Many of the homes that McCartney has liked enough to buy are sprawling ranches or farms that have provided him privacy and respite from the chaos of stardom, and most seem to hold sentimental value for the Beatles bassist. Below, we’re examining the homes that Sir Paul McCartney has owned over the years.   

Source: architecturaldigest.com/Katie Schultz

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A piano used by John Lennon to compose songs for the iconic Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album sold for a record £2.5 million ($3.2 million) at a Christie’s auction in New York on March 12, 2026.

• Instrument: A Broadwood upright piano originally built in 1872.
• Historical Significance: Lennon used this piano to write several Beatles classics, including "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds," "A Day In The Life," and "Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite!".
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For much of The Beatles’ career, the songwriting spotlight fell predominantly on the partnership between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Their prolific writing was at the forefront of the band’s records, and often left limited space for songs written by George Harrison and Ringo Starr. But, by the late 1960s, Harrison had developed his songwriting to a place of quiet sophistication, and one tune in particular would prove that he deserved greater recognition.

“Something” is Harrison’s beautiful masterpiece that was first featured on Abbey Road and described by Lennon as “The best track on the album.” The song quickly became one of the most celebrated songs in rock history and was a great introduction to Harrison’s philosophy. “Something” truly marked the point where Harrison’s abilities could no longer be overlooked, firmly establishing him as an equal creative force in The Beatles.

The Beatles are most famously associated with the songwriting partnership of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, with around 180 songs in the band’s catalog credited to the pair. While they certainly wrote the majority of the material, their dominance in quantity didn details

A concert film of John Lennon and Yoko Ono‘s monumental 1972 Madison Square Garden concert will hit cinemas this spring. The film, whose official title is longer than its 81-minute running time, Power to the People: John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band With Elephant’s Memory and Special Guests – Live at the One to One Concert, New York City, 1972, will hit theaters on April 29 and May 3. Tickets go on sale March 20 via a special website for the film.

As every armchair Lennonologist and Onoologist knows, the former Beatle performed only two full concerts, the now legendary benefit gigs to raise a reported $1.5 million for developmentally disabled children, after the Fab Four broke up. Both took place on Aug. 30 with a truncated matinee preceding a full-length, star-studded extravaganza. Stevie Wonder, Roberta Flack, Melanie, and Sha Na Na all made appearances at the gig. The set list included “Give Peace a Chance,” “Imagine,” “Come Together,” and “Instant Karma!” among other hits.

Director Steve Gebhardt filmed the concerts, which originally came out as a 40-minute TV special, John Lennon and Yoko Ono Present the One-to-One Concert, and was later re-ed details