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Beatles News
The three-part series delves into the tragic events surrounding Lennon's assassination on Dec. 8, 1980
John Lennon’s influence was bigger than words could ever describe, so much so that his death shook the world to its core.
The esteemed member of The Beatles, who is also hailed as one of the greatest music legends of all time, was shot and killed in front of his New York City residence in December 1980. What followed was public uproar as fans mourned the loss and inquired why anybody would be compelled to kill Lennon in the first place.
Lennon’s assailant was identified as Mark David Chapman, who was infatuated with Lennon but also, resented him due to Lennon's religious stance (specifically his highly publicized 1966 remark about the Beatles being “more popular than Jesus”). Chapman ultimately pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a prison term of 20 years to life.
Source: Joy Saha/salon.com
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The limited vinyl run will be released on December 15.
Paul McCartney is set to celebrate the third anniversary McCartney III with the limited run vinyl version of McCartney III — 3×3 Edition, to be released December 15 on Capitol Records.
McCartney III — 3×3 Edition will be released in three randomly distributed configurations, each featuring one of three unique combinations of multi-color vinyl and prints of Paul’s handwritten draft lyrics or of his hand-drawn album artwork sketch: the Tri-color vinyl + “Pretty Boys” lyric draft; the Three-striped vinyl + album artwork sketch; and the Swirl vinyl + “The Kiss of Venus” lyric draft.
Additionally, all copies of McCartney III — 3×3 Edition will feature new cover art and will include a poster of Ed Ruscha’s hand-sketched draft for the original McCartney III album artwork.
Originally released on December 18, 2020, McCartney III is the third in a trilogy of home-made self-titled albums that began with Paul’s milestone 1970 solo debut McCartney, and continued in 1980 with the bold, experimental McCartney II.
Source: Will Schube/udiscovermusic.com
Biopic tribute 'Something About George: The George Harrison Story' is set to hit the stage at the Theatre Severn in February to kick off its UK tour.
The show, which premiered in a sell-out show at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall for what would have been Harrison's 80th birthday last year, pays tribute to the man dubbed the 'quiet Beatle'.
From heartbreak to hedonism and song-writing to success, Something About George celebrates a life that was anything but quiet.
For its biggest tour to date, Something About George will visit 28 venues across the country from February.
The show stars West End performer and musician Daniel Taylor fresh from his TV appearance in BBC’s Unbreakable, where he made the final with his partner, head judge from Strictly Come Dancing, Shirley Ballas.
Daniel fronts the band of five to tell the fascinating story of George and performing his biggest hits, including My Sweet Lord, Something and While My Guitar Gently Weeps.
Source: Megan Jones/shropshirestar.com
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It’s hard to convey now just how bleak and drab Fifties and sixties Britain were. Rationing might have been over for a while, but the regimented wartime vibe pervaded the torpor of the long snooze of the decade. As a kid I was bored rigid by the Adam Faiths & Cliff Richards, let alone GI-era Elvis & all the other US crooners. Surely there must be something else, or should I resign myself to a life of Light Entertainment hell? Fortunately, salvation was at hand in the form of the Beatles. At 60+ years distance their early pop hits sound like quaint emanations from another age, but for all their naivete songs like “She Loves You” & “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” still convey an impact, and a freshness absent from the mostly dreary US fixated pop that filled the charts then.
They brought a whole new approach, in terms of attitude and appearance, and innovations like George Harrison’s 12-string Rickenbacker, but most of all the Lennon/McCartney songwriting axis. Once they’d got going things were never going to be the same for the Tin Pan Alley hacks who churned out formula pop for mostly transient acts. The music biz establishment sat back and waited for the group – and details
Paul McCartney didn’t like the way he acted during the recording of The Beatles’ “Hey Jude.” The song became influential anyway.
The Beatles‘ “Hey Jude” is one of the most uplifting songs in the classic rock canon. Ironically, Paul McCartney said he upset George Harrison while they were completing the song. The “Silly Love Songs” singer regretted some of his actions. Regardless, the tune became a No. 1 single in multiple countries.
In the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, Paul discussed the contentious recording of “Hey Jude.” “I remember sitting down and showing George the song and George did the natural thing for a guitar player to do, which is to answer every line of vocal,” Paul recalled. “And it was like, ‘No, George.’
“And he was pretty offended, and looking back, I think, ‘Oh, s***, of course you’d be offended. You’re blowing the guy out,'” Paul continued. “I said, ‘No, no. You come in on the second chorus maybe, it’s going to be a big build this.'”
Source: Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com
Just a few weeks ago, John Lennon and Paul McCartney officially reunited on the Billboard charts, as The Beatles released their first new single in decades. Only a few weeks after their latest track became another big commercial win, the two musicians are charting very close to one another on one Billboard ranking, though not as members of the same band.
This week, both Lennon and McCartney score top 10 hits on Billboard’s Rock Streaming Songs chart, appearing inside the highest tier together…but also separately. The artists land return wins with their solo projects—with music they released after The Beatles split.
McCartney rises highest between the two former bandmates. His single “Wonderful Christmastime” is up to No. 7 on the Rock Streaming Songs chart this week. It lifts from No. 14, entering the top 10 once again. The tune once peaked at No. 2, and it may come close to that position again this year…and perhaps even possibly beat it.
Just a few spaces further down on the Rock Streaming Songs chart, Lennon appears. The singer-songwriter returns to the ranking of the most-streamed rock tunes in America with “Happy Xmas (War Is Over).” That smash is bac details
John Lennon, a musical luminary and co-founder of The Beatles, left an indelible mark on the world with his revolutionary approach to songwriting and activism. Born in Liverpool in 1940, Lennon's profound influence extended far beyond the realms of music. His solo career, marked by iconic albums like Imagine, showcased his introspective songwriting. An outspoken advocate for peace, Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono staged memorable peace protests. Tragically, Lennon’s life was cut short in 1980 when he was fatally shot outside his New York City apartment, leaving an enduring legacy of musical brilliance and a vision for a more harmonious world.
John Lennon’s doorman recalls terrifying moment
For Jay Hastings, a former doorman at the Dakota, the iconic New York City apartment building that once housed the late John Lennon, the date, December 8, 1980, remains etched in his memory. Hastings shared with People in the latest issue, reflecting on his role during that fateful moment in music history. He said, "I can vividly recall everything as if it happened yesterday.”
At 10:50 p.m. local time, Lennon was tragically shot and killed by Mark David Chapman in front of the Upper West Side residential bu details
Paul McCartney said the B-side of The Beatles' song "Let It Be" was a joke. Paul was a huge fan of this joke song.
Paul McCartney said the B-side of The Beatles’ song “Let It Be” was a joke. Paul was a huge fan of this joke song. Notably, the tune wasn’t included on a Beatles album for years.
In the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, Paul discussed the origin of The Beatles’ “You Know My Name (Look Up the Number).” “John had arrived one night with this song which was basically a mantra: ‘You know my name, look up the number. You know my name, look up the number,'” he said. “And I never knew who he was aiming that at, it might have been an early signal to Yoko.”
John never imagined the song as anything more lyrical. “It was John’s original idea and that was the complete lyric,” he said. “He brought it in originally as a 15-minute chant when he was in space-cadet mode and we said, ‘Well, what are we going to do with this then?’ and he said, ‘It’s just like a mantra.’ So we said, ‘OK, let’s just do it.'”
Source: Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com details
A rare piece of Beatles' history is hitting the auction block ... a Grammy given to John Lennon is expected to bring in a fortune -- so, something tells us if you wanna come together with this trophy, ya better be a multimillionaire.
Gotta Have Rock and Roll, the music memorabilia-based auction house, has a unique Grammy Trustee award given to John as one of its many new lots, and this golden trophy is estimated to make up to $500,000 when it closes next week.
John, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, and Paul McCartney were each given one of the pieces of golden glory in 1972 ... and the one up for auction initially went to John.
“Are you going to get a haircut at all while you’re here?” a reporter asked The Beatles during their first U.S. press conference at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City on February 7, 1964. “Nope,” said Ringo Starr, followed by a “No, thanks” by Paul McCartney. George Harrison shared “No, I had one yesterday,” and John Lennon added a curt “Nope.”
The Beatles’ long hair caused bewilderment amongst the media and some public backlash by the early 1960s with kids often emulating the mop-top hairdo and facing the consequences at school and how long boys could wear their hair before being reprimanded.
When the Beatles first arrived in America in February of 1964, TIME magazine called their top halves “mushroom haircuts,” while Newsweek referred to them as “sheep-dog bangs.”
Source: Tina Benitez-Eves/americansongwriter.com
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George Harrison and Ringo Starr spent time in the hospital as children. While there, both decided that they wanted to play instruments.
Each of The Beatles became interested in music at a young age. They obsessed over artists like Elvis Presley and began dedicating themselves to learning to play instruments. Both George Harrison and Ringo Starr became interested in playing music while in the hospital. They shared how their lengthy stays made them want to learn to play an instrument.
When Harrison was a preteen, he fell ill with kidney problems.
“I’d just left Dovedale Junior School and gone to the big school, the Liverpool Institute, when I went into hospital. I got sick when I was twelve or thirteen with kidney trouble,”,” he said in The Beatles Anthology, adding, “I always used to get tonsillitis; childhood illnesses. I had a really sore throat, and this one year the infection spread and gave me nephritis, an inflammation of the kidneys.”
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
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New bio 'Living The Beatles Legend: The Untold Story of Mal Evans' tells one of the the strangest stories in all of Beatles lore.
Before Peter Jackson’s epic film Get Back, only the most hardcore Beatles fans had any idea who Mal Evans was. But anyone who sees the movie has to come away in love with Mal. He’s the devoted Beatles roadie, one of the only trusted friends in their innermost circle. He’s a cheerful goofball with a jolly grin, banging the anvil when they play “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer.” The six-six giant who cleverly stalls the cops at the door, when they’re trying to shut down the rooftop performance. Their personal assistant, confidant, fixer, guardian angel. But then, just a few years later, in 1976, he’s in a drug-crazed rage, aiming a rifle at the L.A. cops, and gets gunned down. It’s one of the strangest stories in all of Beatles lore.
Source:Rob Sheffield/rollingstone.com
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This John Lennon song was projected to become a No. 1 single. John and Yoko Ono had the same reaction to this news.
Yoko Ono hoped one of John Lennon‘s songs would hit No. 1 on the pop charts. Sadly, it reached that milestone after John’s tragic death. A reporter revealed what John was thinking in the final days of his life.
David Sheff famously interviewed John and Yoko Ono for Playboy in 1980. He wrote about the experience in a 2020 forward to the book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. “I completed the interview in early September, and it was scheduled to be released in mid-December,” he said. “When, on December 6, [Playboy executive editor] Barry [Golson] got a hot-off-the-press advance copy of the magazine, he messengered it to The Dakota [Apartments, where John and Yoko lived].
“John and Yoko called me in Los Angeles the next day,” Sheff added. “Yoko was pleased with the interview, and she reported they were thrilled that the first single from Double Fantasy, ‘(Just Like) Starting Over,’ was projected to hit No. 1 on the record charts.”
Source:Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com
Kate Middleton wove emotional tributes into her Together At Christmas carol concert.
On Friday night, the Princess of Wales, 41, hosted the holiday service at Westminster Abbey for the third year in a row. This year's event featured a piece of pop music history in honor of John Lennon and George Michael.
During the program, U.K. radio host and mental health advocate Roman Kemp, 30, the son of pop stars Martin Kemp and Shirlie Holliman, introduced singer-songwriter Jacob Collier’s performance of “Last Christmas,” which he performed on a piano that originally belonged to Beatles frontman Lennon and was once owned by Michael.
“Last Christmas” was originally sung by Michael, Kemp’s late godfather, through his duo Wham! with Andrew Ridgeley in 1984. Michael died on Christmas Day in 2016, and his godson remembered him at Together At Christmas as a “a man of great kindness and compassion,” adding that he was there in “spirit.”
Source: Janine Henni/people.com
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Philip Norman’s competent, professional and highly readable biography can only get so close to its subject
When George Harrison was seven years old, his mother took him on a visit to their Irish cousins in Dublin.
As the Liverpudlians strolled up O’Connell Street, their photograph was taken by Ukrainian immigrant Arthur Fields who snapped over 180,000 people there from the 1930s until his retirement in 1985. This particular image captured what was to become one of the world’s most famous faces, already looking sullen and suspicious.
Source: Andrew Lynch/businesspost.ie
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