Beatles News

Yoko Ono will stage her first solo museum exhibition in Southern California at the Broad museum this spring. The legendary 92-year-old artist, activist and wife of John Lennon is set to open her show, “Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind,” on May 23. The interactive exhibition, organized in collaboration with Tate Modern in London, will run through Oct. 11, 2026, the Broad announced Thursday.

One of the first things guests will see when they approach the museum during Ono’s show will be an outdoor installation created using the Broad’s olive trees from its outdoor plaza. These will be transformed into “wish trees” for the city — a nod to an installation that Ono first created in 1996 at Shoshana Wayne Gallery in Santa Monica. Viewers will be invited to write wishes on tags and attach them to the branches.

“Yoko’s work has never been bound by place or time, but this really feels like the right moment for a show like this in Los Angeles,” Ono’s studio director, Connor Monahan, wrote in an email. “Her work transforms audiences from observers into participants, helping to shape the works and the exhibition itself. That sense of agency and connection fee details

A compilation album of unreleased materials by The Beatles faced strong objections from the surviving band members.

Paul McCartney suggested the project should not be released while George Harrison and John Lennon‘s estate called on the compilation to be scrapped entirely. Sessions, the proposed 1985 compilation album, was ultimately cancelled after the Fab Four intervened, though all was not lost and the project would be revived a decade later. Sessions served as the foundation for the Anthology project from The Beatles, a career-spanning look back at the band’s achievements and work together. Sessions had been the original plan for the group, though it was ultimately scrapped. The album would have featured thirteen at-the-time unreleased songs by The Beatles, including Leave My Kitten Alone and an alternative version of Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da. But life goes on, and the band would object to releasing the work entirely.

Compilations had been released in the past, including The Beatles Ballads and Love Songs, as well as a live album of their performance at the Hollywood Bowl. But it seemed a step too far to have the group’s archival tapes and unreleased materials picked through. Fans seem glad the S details

John Lennon and Paul McCartney built their songwriting partnership on a mutual understanding that whoever wrote the song would have the final say-so in how that track turns out, but that doesn’t mean they always agreed with one another. One such example came from their penultimate album, Abbey Road. Years after its release, Lennon would lament over the fact that McCartney insisted on singing the lead vocal.

Speaking to David Geff during one of his final interviews before his death in 1980, Lennon discussed “Oh! Darling” and what he liked (and didn’t like) about the blues rocker. He described the song as “a great one of Paul’s that he didn’t sing too well. I always thought that I could’ve done it better. It was more my style than his. He wrote it, so what the hell, he’s going to sing it. If he’d had any sense, he should have let me sing it.”

To some degree, I’d be inclined to agree with Lennon. Of the two musicians, he was certainly the grittier of the two. “Oh! Darling” sounds more akin to Lennon’s composition, “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”, than, say, McCartney’s “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer details

Paul McCartney reflects on Lennon’s 1980 death in his new book. McCartney recalls their last conversation as positive and without conflict.
He describes working in shock after learning about Lennon’s murder.

Beatles icon Paul McCartney is reflecting on the 1980 death of lifelong friend and former bandmate John Lennon in his new book Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run.

“It was just too crazy,” McCartney, 83, recalled. “We just said what everyone said; it was all blurred. It was the same as the Kennedy [assassination]. The same horrific moment, you know. You couldn’t take it in. I still haven’t taken it in. I don’t want to.”

Although the Beatles split in 1970, a decade before Lennon was shot and killed outside his New York City home, McCartney revealed he and Lennon were on good terms at the time. “That is a nice thing, a consoling factor for me, because I do feel it was sad that we never actually sat down and straightened our differences out,” he continued. “But fortunately for me, the last phone conversation I ever had with him was really great, and we didn’t have any kind of blowup.”

According to Mc details

As many people ask Sir Paul McCartney about his second band Wings as they do The Beatles, the veteran musician has said.

"Suddenly Wings has found its moment," said 83-year-old McCartney. "There's a generational shift at play and it's like being transported back on a magic carpet."  Speaking ahead of the launch of the book Wings: The Story Of A Band On The Run, which McCartney has written alongside American historian Edward "Ted" Widmer, he said he found many people tell him Band On The Run is their favourite album.

Wings had 12 UK top 10 singles, including the Christmas number one Mull Of Kintyre, as well as eight UK top 10 albums, including two number ones.  The band is best known for songs such as Jet, Silly Love Songs and Live And Let Die, the theme to the 1973 James Bond film.

McCartney said he "didn't really know how to be in a band" after The Beatles split up in 1970.  "It was a complete blank canvas," he said.

"We would go on the road with no plans, no hotels booked, no gigs lined up and we thought the only place we might find a captive audience was at a university - a completely off-the-wall idea but I'm glad we did it."

'The big time'

McCart details

These are some of the behind-the-scenes Beatles photos from A Hard Day's Night and Help!  Unseen photos of The Beatles, taken by a crew member shooting their films, have been sold at auction.

The archive was listed as three lots by auctioneers Richard Winerton in Lichfield, Staffordshire, on Monday and went under the hammer for a total of £1,720. The Beatles photos had a guide price of £500 to £700 and sold for £660, film scripts and movie photos estimated at £750 went for £600, while pop music and 1980s autographs expected to fetch £250 to £350 went for £460.

The collection came to light during a day of filming in Coventry for ITV antiques programme Dickinson's Real Deal.

The collection belonged to Edward Tucker, from Cambridgeshire, who worked for decades in the movie industry, before he died eight years ago aged 83.  Items also included behind-the-scenes images from Help! and A Hard Day's Night, and were brought to auction by Mr Tucker's family.

Photos from the set of A Hard Day's Night feature Ringo Starr filming in April 1964 in Edgehill Road, West Ealing.

Director Richard Lester was in one shot taken whil details

John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band begins darkly, with tolling bells that Lennon had slowed down in the studio to mimic a horror film he’d recently watched. The bells open “Mother”, a despairing song revealing Lennon’s feelings of abandonment.

But the anguish in “Mother” quickly gives way to “Hold On”, a comforting hymn aimed inward. He was reeling from the chaos of The Beatles’ break-up, global events, and fame. And he needed to be sure he’d survive.

Midway through the album, Lennon sings “Love”, a song one might view as both a declaration and a plea. With The Beatles, he once sang how love is all you need. But the Summer of Love had come and gone. The 1970s arrived, war continued, and so he soothed himself with “Hold On”.
About “Hold On”

Lennon directs the comforting message of “Hold On” mostly at himself, but also at Yoko Ono and the rest of the world. Written against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, Lennon’s optimistic lyric reads like a lonesome and desperate appeal.

When you’re by yourself,
And there’s no one else,
You just have yourself,
And you tell y details

Behind every great man there’s a great woman, the saying goes – and now the fabulous four women behind The Beatles are to be portrayed by four great Hollywood actresses.

Skyfall director Sam Mendes, who is producing four linked films, each focusing on a different member of The Beatles, has now cast the Fab Four’s wives for the ambitious project.

White Lotus star Aimee Lou Wood, 31, will play George Harrison’s wife Pattie Boyd, while Irish Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan, 31, has been cast as Linda McCartney, the muse to many of Paul McCartney’s songs.

Anna Sawai, 33, who has made a name for herself in the US drama series Shogun, will appear as John Lennon’s wife Yoko Ono, and British actress Mia McKenna-Bruce, 28, will play Maureen Cox, the wife of Ringo Starr.

In Mendes’s four films, Saltburn star Barry Keoghan, 33, plays Starr, Fantastic Four actor Joseph Quinn, 31, will be Harrison, leading Triangle Of Sadness cast member Harris Dickinson, 29, takes on the Lennon role and Gladiator II hunk Paul Mescal, 29, will be McCartney.

Irish Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan , 31, has been cast as Linda McCartney, the muse to many of Paul McCartney’s songs

The strangest rumour started floating around just as the Beatles were breaking up – that I was dead. We had heard it long before, but suddenly, in that autumn of 1969, stirred up by a DJ in America, it took on a force all its own, so that millions of fans around the world believed I was actually gone.

At one point, I turned to my new wife and asked, “Linda, how can I possibly be dead?” She smiled as she held our new baby, Mary, as aware of the power of gossip and the absurdity of these ridiculous newspaper headlines as I was. But she did point out that we had beaten a hasty retreat from London to our remote farm up in Scotland, precisely to get away from the kind of malevolent talk that was bringing the Beatles down.

But now that over a half century has passed since those truly crazy times, I’m beginning to think that the rumours were more accurate than one might have thought at the time. In so many ways, I was dead … A 27-year-old about-to-become-ex-Beatle, drowning in a sea of legal and personal rows that were sapping my energy, in need of a complete life makeover. Would I ever be able to move on from what had been an amazing decade, I thought. Would I be able to surmount the cri details

On January 30, 1969, for just shy of 45 minutes, The Beatles delivered what would be the final public performance of their decade-long career. A bittersweet but ultimately very cool moment, the Fab Four took to the roof of Apple Corps headquarters in London, with session musician (and often-labeled Fifth Beatle) Billy Preston in tow. The group performed nine songs. However, they only performed different takes of five new songs that would be found on their final record, Let It Be. The Beatles’ rooftop concert also featured a rendition of “God Save The Queen”.

 This is one of The Beatles’ best songs of all time, and one of John Lennon’s most impassioned performances. Interestingly enough, “Don’t Let Me Down” would go through quite a few changes before this first public performance of the song. In the weeks leading up to the concert, “Don’t Let Me Down” went through a number of changes before it was completed. Lennon also admittedly struggled with the high notes found in the chorus of the song. Lennon also hoped that the recording of that first take during The Beatles’ rooftop concert would be good enough for the album. Sadly, Lennon forgot the ly details

On a November day in 1970, at a momentous time in the most consequential year of his life, one of the most famous people in the world was sitting alone on a blanket by the ocean south of the pier in Deerfield Beach, as far away from the pressure of being George Harrison as he could get.

The Beatles guitarist and songwriter had just days before put the finishing touches on his solo album, “All Things Must Pass,” a deeply personal statement that would forever change critical perceptions of Harrison as an artist. As he sat on the beach, the album was mere weeks away from being revealed to the public on Nov. 27.

At the same time, the album’s release would be tangible evidence, if the world still needed it, that the long and winding road of the Beatles’ fractious breakup was coming to an end. Paul McCartney would file a lawsuit to dissolve the partnership the following month.

The rumor of Harrison’s presence over the course of some 10 days in Deerfield Beach — closely guarded by locals, some who admit to never having actually seen him — sounds so unlikely, so fantastical, that it’s fair to wonder if it actually happened. George Harrison in Deerfield Beach? Serio details

Director Sam Mendes' "The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event" has cast some power women actors for pivotal roles.

Sony Pictures announced Friday, Oct. 31, that "Shogun" star Anna Sawai will play John Lennon's wife Yoko Ono, and "White Lotus" star Aimee Lou Wood will star as George Harrison's wife Pattie Boyd, who later married Eric Clapton.

Mia McKenna-Bruce will star as Ringo Starr's first wife, Maureen Starkey (née Cox), and Saoirse Ronan will play Paul McCartney's wife, Linda McCartney (née Eastman).  "Maureen, Linda, Yoko and Pattie are four fascinating and unique figures in their own right - and I’m thrilled that we’ve managed to persuade four of the most talented women working in film today to join this amazing adventure," Mendes said in a statement.

At CinemaCom in April, Mendes announced the stars of these intersecting music biopics: Paul Mescal is playing McCartney, Joseph Quinn will play Harrison, Barry Keoghan will be drumming as Starr, and Harris Dickinson has been cast as Lennon.

"The Beatles changed my understanding of music. Pretty much, they made up my first memories," Mendes said in April. He revealed that all four films – which will be in p details

Legendary drummer Ringo Starr reportedly fell on stage during a recent concert.

TMZ reported Starr, 83, took the tumble while he was performing with his "All-Starr Band"at Rio Rancho Events Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico Wednesday night.

The media outlet said Starr tripped while he was singing "Give Peace A Chance" during the show's encore. "But he got right back up and made light of the sitch -- while continuing the show," TMZ reported.

Starr and his band, which is comprised of artists such as Edgar Winter, Steve Lukather, Colin Hay, Warren Ham, Gregg Bissonette, and Hamish Stuart, just kicked off a fall 2023 tour. With a little help from my friends, we're getting together again. I know we're going to be in a city near you, so peace and love," Starr says in a video he shared on social media. "Hope to see you."

The band was forced to postpone several shows in 2022 because he and a few fellow members tested positive for COVID.  The shows were originally planned for 2020, but were initially postponed due to the pandemic.

Starr, whose real name is Richard Starkey, is a nine-time Grammy Award winner. He and Paul McCartney are the two surviving members of the classic roc details

Despite years in the spotlight as The Beatles rose to become one of the most successful rock acts ever, John Lennon once revealed that his post-band period brought him the greatest joy. ‌

However, his son Sean Ono Lennon has now clarified his father's remarks from decades past. After emerging in the 1960s and rapidly achieving global superstardom, The Beatles were considered the world's premier musical phenomenon, though their collaboration essentially concluded in the early 1970s when Paul McCartney departed the group.

As a solo performer residing in America with his wife, Yoko Ono, Lennon performed two shows at Madison Square Garden in 1972 for the "One to One" benefit concerts, which supported children with disabilities.

After those Madison Square Garden performances with his wife, he notably declared, "That Madison Square Garden gig was the best music I enjoyed playing since the Cavern or even Hamburg."

Yet during a conversation with Lennon's son Sean on BBC Radio 6 Music, host Chris Hawkins questioned whether his father's post-Madison Square Garden remarks indicated he "had fallen out of love with music?"

‌Sean responded by suggesting there was "a bit of a myth around details

The Beatles' meteoric rise to fame was nothing short of dramatic. After becoming the biggest band in Liverpool in 1962, they took the UK by storm in 1963, securing their first official number one single with 'From Me to You', followed by their debut album 'Please Please Me' topping the charts after its release in March.

By 1964, they were a global sensation. The Fab Four were in the midst of a 19-date concert residency in Paris on January 25, 1964, when their manager Brian Epstein informed them that they had achieved their first number one in America with 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' topping the US's Cashbox charts.

The song reached number one on the USA's main chart - the Billboard Hot 100 - by February 1 and remained there for seven weeks. At this point, Epstein decided it was time to capitalise on international markets.

Given The Beatles' early success in the clubs of Hamburg, Berlin-based Odeon Records suggested to Epstein and producer George Martin that singing in German would boost record sales in West Germany. Consequently, The Beatles were ushered into the Pathé Marconi studio in Paris on January 29 to sing in a foreign language.

Translations of 'She Loves You' and 'I Want to Hold Yo details