Beatles News

Ringo Starr has had a ball celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' arrival in America this year as well as some of his own honors. But, he says, it's put a bit of a crimp in plans for his next album.

Starr tells Billboard that he's "probably two-thirds through" with the follow-up to "Ringo 2012," which he plans to release in February. "Usually I make the record in January, February, March and mix it in April," he explains. "But because of all that Beatles stuff I sort of got behind because of the rehearsals and the fun and the joy. I was in L.A. until the first of April and I was trying to finish the record and just said, 'Ah, I've got too much to do.' " He has plans to work on it during July and August, when he's back in Los Angeles after the first leg of his latest All-Starr band tour wraps on July 19 at the Greek Theatre. Starr has been working on the set with Toto guitarist and current All-Starr Band member Steve Lukather, along with Peter Frampton, Richard Marx, Dave Stewart, Glen Ballard and Nashville details

A MICROPHONE used by The Beatles when they played live in Hull in 1964 is set to fetch about £6,000 at auction. The microphone was owned and used by The Beatles in the early 1960s. It was given by John Lennon to a fan after the show at the ABC Theatre in Hull on October 16, 1964.

Now, almost half a century later, the fan, who has not been named, is selling the Reslosound Ltd RBT/L ribbon microphone, which is expected to sell for £5,000 to £6,000 at Christie's South Kensington on Friday, June 20. According to Christie's, Lennon decided to give the microphone away as he did not think it was functioning properly. A spokesman for Christie's said: "The vendor attended The Beatles concert in Hull and, following the show, struck up a conversation with one of the band's technicians. "The vendor was keen to start his own band so the technician gave him the microphone, telling him John Lennon thought it wasn't working properly any more so the band had no use for it." The type of microphone was used at the early venues where The Beatles performed. The spokesman details

I have been involved for the last few years in a campaign to save the birthplace of Ringo Starr at 9, Madryn Street in the Dingle. The campaign also includes all of the “Welsh” Streets that include Madryn Street, the area where I grew up.

We need to raise £40,000 to fund the public enquiry, for which I have given written evidence and may be asked to appear before the enquiry. There are lots of incentives for anyone who contributes to the fund, including copies of my two books, “Liddypool” and “The Fab one hundred and Four: The Evolution of The Beatles” and many more.

Read more on ths story.....

Source: David Bedford

ALBANY >> The first of the two living Beatles will play the area Tuesday, when Ringo Starr will be at the Palace Theatre in Albany with his All-Star Band. Sir Paul McCartney will be at the Times Union Center on July 5.

Of course people will be at the Palace to see Starr, but his band is truly a groups of All-Stars. Members include Steve Lukather (Toto), Todd Rundgren, Gregg Rolie (Santana and Journey), Richard Page (Mr. Mister), Mark Rivera and Bissonette. Steve Lukather recalls earlier this year finding himself standing just offstage, about to play one of the most memorable shows of a 40-year music career. He was one of the guitarists in the band that was backing McCartney and Starr for “The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles” television special that commemorated the 50th anniversary of the group. For a musician who was inspired to pick up the guitar by the Fab Four, the moment was not lost on Lukather, a founding member of the group Toto. “I was standing there looking at Paul, looking at Ringo, and all of a sudden they star details

Original manuscripts and drawings by former Beatle John Lennon, produced for two acclaimed books he wrote in the mid-1960s, sold for $2.9m (£1.73m) on Wednesday, more than double the pre-sale estimate, Sotheby's auction house said.

All of the 89 lots in the sale, from Lennon's 1964 book In His Own Write and 1965's A Spaniard in the Works, were snapped up by buyers. The highlight of the sale was The Singularge Experience of Miss Anne Duffield, the manuscript for Lennon's parody of Sherlock Holmes from A Spaniard in the Works which fetched $209,000 (£125,000). "The outstanding result, the first white glove sale of 2014 at Sotheby'sNew York, shows that Lennon's nonsense verse, puns, wicked humor and comic drawings continue to resonate 50 years after the publication of In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works," Gabriel Heaton, the deputy director of Sotheby's books and manuscripts department, said in a statement. A white glove sale is an auction in which every lot is sold.

Listen to the Audio Version of this News Story  details

We've long known that the Four Seasons, George V Hotel in Paris has hosted many distinguished celebrities over the years (and some reality stars too) but did you know about their Beatles connection?

It turns out, The Beatles made the George V their home base when they were in Paris in 1964. A piano was actually installed in one of the suites and this is where John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote, "I Feel Fine." (This story we knew, the hotel we did not.) That moment was captured by photographer Harry Benson. Benson also encouraged the lads to have a pillow fight in the room and his pictures of the Fab Four in 1964 are now iconic shots of the boys in their Beatlemania days. Another fun fact? The negatives of these photos were developed in the hotel's bathtub. Now, the George V is planning to host a brief exhibit of Benson's Beatles photos in their lobby and in front of Le Bar from June 15-June 30. The exhibit will be run by hotel's in-house artistic director, Jeff Leatham. And (very) lucky for us, Ha details

It's nearly 50 years since B-Day, when The Beatles landed in Sydney to launch their 1964 Australian concert tour. Their arrival on June 11 sparked the phenomenon known as Beatlemania, which peaked when the group flew to Adelaide the next day. An estimated 300,000 people lined the highway from the airport to the Town Hall, around one third of the total population of Adelaide if that estimate is accurate. Photos suggest that it is.

The Adelaide crowd is usually quoted as the largest attracted by The Beatles in any one location. Advertisement This period has been celebrated by The Beatles in Australia Exhibition, which began in September 2013 at Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum. It’s now on at the Arts Centre Melbourne until July. Beatlemania is also being revived in a sale of Beatles collectables by Leonard Joel in Melbourne tomorrow, starting at midday. Items can be previewed in South Yarra today, from 9am to 8pm, or viewed online.

details

Millie Mackintosh and Professor Green may divide opinion based on their music or marriage. But the two will add further Marmite appeal after they recreated the iconic image of John Lennon and Yoko Ono in a bid to raise money for charity. The move is designed to showcase the launch of River Island’s new Come Together charity T-shirt, in support of international charity War Child.

The husband and wife mirror the legendary pair's famous statement in the classic 'Bed-In' image of John and Yoko in the presidential suite at the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel, which was used to promote world peace and speak out against the Vietnam War. Millie Mackintosh said: 'It’s an honour to be involved in this campaign. The original image is one that is moving to us all, and the work that War Child does is something that we can all be inspired by. On top of that, the T-shirt is gorgeous, so I hope everyone will get behind this and wear theirs with pride!'  Meanwhile, Prof details

The search is on for six early fans of the Beatles captured in a photograph more than 50 years ago. The six girls were pictured with the fab four at St John’s Hall in Tuebrook, Liverpool in 1961, the first date when the group returned from playing The Star Club in Hamburg.

The negative of this image was given to Stephen Bailey who has managed The Beatles Shop in Mathew Street for 28 years. The shop is busy collecting memorabilia for the 23rd Annual Liverpool Beatles Auction which will be held at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts in August. The annual event always turns out interesting pieces from the early days in Liverpool and Merseysiders are busy rummaging through their attics in anticipation. This photo was one such find which was discovered when a man dropped off some negatives to The Beatles Shop in Mathew Street which he said had been taken half a century ago by his father who was a photographer. Stephen got the pictures processed and found they were in perfect condition. One in particular stood out.

Listen to the Audio Version of this News Story  details

It happened late one night with a phone call into Houston’s KLOL-FM, which led to a trip to the radio station itself, and then turned into a rarely heard and raw interview with The Beatles great, George Harrison. Listen to the interview now.Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) June 02, 2014.

Recently, unearthed and just released is a historic interview with George Harrison of The Beatles, and legendary radio personality, Levi “Who Loves You” Booker. The first released part of this interview covers George Harrison’s and John Lennon’s troubles with the law and drugs, and how George believes he and John were set up by corrupt cops. This is the first time, the public has heard George’s side of the story, and how it almost derailed him from ever returning back to the United States. This interview was recorded during George’s first ever solo tour in the United States in 1974. George was the first ex-Beatle to ever tour the United States with his 45-date Dark Horse Tour, supporting his new album at the time “Dark Horse.”

L details

JUNE 1, 1967: The Beatles released their most critically acclaimed album Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band on this day in 1967. 
The LP, in which the Liverpudlian band showcased a revolutionary new sound and the first ever concept album, instantly topped the charts in both Britain and America.

It also received huge critical praise, with Kenneth Tynan in The Times describing the release as ‘a decisive moment in the history of Western civilization’. The New Statesman claimed the album, which included the eponymous title track and Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, elevated pop into fine art. And in the U.S., Time magazine declared the rock LP, which was the first ever to win four Grammy Awards, a ‘historic departure in the progress of music’. To Paul McCartney, who was inspired to produce an album that was thematically linked to their childhoods, it told the world: ‘We were not boys, we were men.’ Sg details

CONCEPTUAL artist Yoko Ono’s 60-year career is being honoured in a major Spanish art exhibition. The Guggenheim Bilbao is hosting a retrospective of the pioneering 81-year-old’s work.

An immersive experience, visitors enter the exhibition through a beaded curtain sculpture and are brought immediately to her Painting To Be Stepped On, which featured in Ono’s first solo show in New York in 1961. The iconic Tokyo-born artist works with a variety of expressive media including performance, experimental cinema, literature and music. Beatle John Lennon – Ono’s third husband – labelled her ‘the world’s most famous unknown artist’. The exhibition runs until September 4.

Source: The Olive Press, Spain

Sir Paul Mccartney was "extremely moved" by his fans' messages of support after his hospitalisation in Japan and is now "doing fine" following his return to London, according to a representative.

The Beatles legend was struck down with a virus after arriving in the Far East for a series of gigs, and he ended up scrapping his entire Asian tour when he was admitted to hospital in Tokyo. MCCartney was discharged from the facility and jetted back to London on Monday (26May14), and he is now said to be making a good recovery. In a monthly newsletter sent out to his fans on Friday (30May14), a representative for the star writes, "You may... have heard that Paul unfortunately had to postpone his dates in Japan and South Korea this month. We'd like to assure you that Paul is doing fine and he was extremely moved by all the messages from fans around the world. More info will follow on those dates, so please keep checking PaulMCCartney.com."

 Source: Contact Music

Listen to the Audio Version of details

In an email interview with Fiona Fernandez, Pablo Stanley, the San Diego-based creator of the comic strip, Imagine pays tribute to John Lennon’s iconic song.

Q. What inspired you to create this comic strip? Are you a John Lennon fan?
A. I've been a Beatles and John Lennon fan since I was a kid. Imagine has always been one of my favourite songs. Its message is simple and in a way utopian but still beautiful. 

Q. What were some of the challenges while creating a comic strip, especially since it was about one of the biggest cult songs of all time?
A. The biggest challenge was to put big ideas in small doodles. How can you simplify something so complex as hunger, war, hate and break it down in a way anyone can read? I used themes that anyone can relate to; good and evil, peace and war; and depict it in the most human way possible. I used some of my idols in the comic too. People who have fought for equality, human rights, non details

Highlights of The Beatles 1964 Australian tour has been released by EMI Records. It was 50 years ago when The Beatles were invited to Australia. They touched down in Sydney on June 11, 1964 and spent 13 days in the country and played 20 shows in Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. It was their only Australian tour.

Manager Brian Epstein promised he would bring the band back to Australia if they could maintain their current popularity. However, by 1966 they quit touring and never played live in public again expect for the Apple rooftop appearance for the Let It Be film. The footage shows the fans, the band and the press conference. Hundreds of thousands Australians lined the streets to see The Beatles. Australian fans were intense. 300,000 people turned up in Adelaide alone. It was the biggest crowd the Beatles ever had. John Lennon was asked what he expected to find in Australia. His response, 'Australians'. The Beatles 1964 Australian tour highlights

details