Beatles News

Vivek J. Tiwary is the writer of the graphic novel, “The Fifth Beatle,” and a producer of many successful plays and musicals including “American Idiot” and “The Producers.” He will be writing the script to the film adaptation of his acclaimed book. Tiwary answered questions at WonderCon about his many accomplishments, the relevance of his work and answered if he ever met the living members of The Beatles.

The Daily Aztec: How did you become a producer? Vivek J. Tiwary: I was born in New York City and my parents were huge lovers of the arts. Ever since I was a little kid, they took me uptown to see ballet, opera, Broadway, etc. When I got older, I went downtown to places such as CBGB and The Ritz. I got to see early punk rock shows and early Sonic Youth. I grew up loving all the arts, not just avant-garde stuff, but also the fine arts and theatre. My Grandfather was a successful entrepreneur and a big influence on my life. He always said “you need to do what you love and you nee details

The Beatles reunion can never happen, but two Rutles, Neil Innes and John Halsey will get back to the backbeat at Swansea's Garage on May 25. Kate Clarke talks to Neil, aka Ron Nasty, about being very nearly fab.

HE is responsible for such rock ‘n roll classics as The Doughnut in Granny's Greenhouse, What Noise Annoys a Noisy Oyster and Blue Suede Schubert, and he successfully sued Oasis for ripping off one of his own Beatles pastiches. Neil Innes, sometime member of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah band and another member of the original prefab four, The Rutles, will do their off-centre thing in Swansea next month. And while The Beatles were thoroughly cheesed off with being The Beatles, by the time they packed it in, The Rutles, says Neil, is a continuing pleasure for him. “We don’t do it often, so when we do get together it is a lot of fun. We did 8 shows last August and there was such a conspiratorial feeling to things. We enjoyed ourselves and I still found it all very funny. “In fact with the Bonzos, The Beatles used to come and see us play, an details

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez turned interviewer as he quizzed one of the city's favourite sons, Sir Paul McCartney. The pair conducted a video chat before the former Beatle was due to play in Suarez's native Uruguay in front of a 50,000 strong crowd in Montevideo. Suarez, who spoke in Spanish, asked Sir Paul about Liverpool's best cultural highlights, what he enjoyed about his home country and whether or not he would be going to the World Cup this summer in Brazil.

The Uruguyan, also joked with the singer about whether he would be supporting the South American team after they knocked England out of the World Cup. Sir Paul replied in equal jest: "England are not going to be defeated by Uruguay, I'm sorry. England are going to win the World Cup. You know that, I know that, we all know that but please dedicate a goal to me anyway." he said. Sir Paul, who will perform at the Centenario Stadium in the capital, said he would be watching the tournament on the television - and that his favourite football player was himself. Asked b details

A home in Miami, Fla., "The Beatles" visited on their first trip to America in 1964 is to be demolished. According to Curbed, papers commissioning total demolition of the Melvin Grossman-designed residence at 5750 North Bay Rd, Miami Beach, FL, have been submitted and the wrecking ball will take the historic home down soon.

The home was owned by Paul Pollak, a prominent hotelier who owned the Thunderbird Motel. "The Beatles" came to the house after Life Magazine shifted the venue of a photo shoot, which was slated to be held at the Deauville Hotel. The mob at the hotel was uncontrollable and the shoot had become impossible. Linda Pollak, daughter of Paul Pollak , who is now running a PR firm Linda Pollack Associates, recalled the whole event for Chicago Tribune. Comedian Myron Cohen, who was in town to shoot the "Ed Sullivan Show" along with the Beatles, was her mother's friend and he insisted on bringing the Brit boys to the house for the photo shoot. Apparently, the Beatles were quite impressed with the house. They even came back the next day t details

Roger Daltrey received a special honor for his work with the Teenage Cancer Trust at the U.K.’s 2014 Music Week Awards, held Thursday night in London.  The BBC reports that The Who singer was presented with the award, called the Outstanding Contribution to Charity, by former Jam frontman Paul Weller.

Weller acknowledged Daltrey’s “tireless, fantastic work” for the “very worthwhile charity,” which includes helping to organize the annual series of star-studded benefit concerts for the Teenage Cancer Trust held at London’s Royal Albert Hall. In accepting the award, Roger said, “I didn’t do this, I just got the idea.  The music business, the comedy industry, you’re the ones that have made it happen.” He added, “Keep it going, we do great work.  We lead the world in music, and now we lead the world in the way teenagers are treated with cancer.”  Daltrey also noted that he’s working toward establ details

Paul McCartney just released more tickets to his 2014 North American Out There tour and sales are topping the charts around the country, said Marta Ault on BuyAnySeat.com. The former Beatle, now 71, will return to New Orleans on June 19 and Pittsburgh on July 7, and play his first shows ever in Louisville and Albany on June 26 and July 5 after opening his 16-date trek at the United Spirit Arena in Lubbock, Texas on June 14, 2014.

It seems like only yesterday. But 52 years have slipped by since the “cute Beatle” scored sudden super stardom after he appeared as part of the Beatles with their first hit “Love Me Do” in 1962. It was then that Paul McCartney, along with boyhood pals George Harrison and John Lennon, and later Ringo Starr, set off Beatlemania for millions of unabashed Baby Boomers across America, and quickly became one of the most popular (and influential) acts in the history of rock and roll. Today, the former Beatle, now 71, with 32 Number One hit singles to his numerous credits, is widely recognized as the details

A fireman-style jacket once owned by John Lennon is to go on sale at auction. The blue coat is believed to be the same garment the iconic musician sported on the back cover of his and Yoko Ono's 1969 album Unfinished Music No. 2: Life with the Lions.

Lennon left it on a coat hook at pal Jon Hendricks' home in New York City in 1978, and Hendricks then gave it to a friend, Andrew B. Harvey. No estimated sale price has been given for the item but previous jackets belonging to the Beatles legend have fetched up to $200,000. Harvey's certificate of authenticity states, "This British fireman's coat once belonged to John Lennon. It was given to me in 1978 by Jon Hendricks, my (then) common-law wife's uncle. Brothers Jon and Jeff Hendricks... were involved in the art movement known as 'fluxism' as was Yoko Ono. Through this they got to know the Lennons in the early seventies... "In 1978 we went to stay with Jon for a few weeks.

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The Paul McCartney concert scheduled for June 14 in Lubbock is now sold out. Select-a-Seat sold all remaining tickets in an hour after they went on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Friday morning. The capacity for the concert is set at 11,500.

There are still VIP packages available for the concert with prices that range from $470 to $2000 per person. Anyone interested in purchasing one can call 770-2000. About 340 people also attended the wristband lottery drawing for the tickets at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center Friday morning. Select-a-Seat is the only authorized ticket vendor. Texas Tech University and the City of Lubbock held a press conference on April 16 at the Buddy Holly Center concerning legendary singer, songwriter, Paul McCartney's scheduled appearance in Lubbock June 14. Texas Tech officials such as TTU System Chancellor Kent Hance and Texas Tech President Duane Nellis along with Lubbock Mayor Glen Robertson and other city representatives made the announcement as a collaborative effort between Texas Tech University and the City of Lubboc details

Liverpool tourist attraction The Beatles Story is to host a free conference on “The Business of the Beatles”. The two-day symposium on June 26 and 27 has been organised as part of the city’s International Festival for Business (IFB). The Beatles Story has teamed up with Liverpool Hope University and Marketing Liverpool to hold the event.

Delegates will get an insight into how Liverpool approaches music heritage tourism and the wider global industry of Beatles-related business. As one of the global capitals of music heritage, Liverpool has led the way in defining itself by its musical legacy and in doing so attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists to the city every year. This, in turn, creates employment and inward investment opportunities. The symposium is aimed at those who wish to know more about how the legacy of The Beatles is being handled by entrepreneurs within Liverpool and how the history of such developments have brought the city to the point that it is at now. The event will welcome representatives from London-based British Music Experience, now c details

BETHEL -- Someone is striking a chord of disharmony. A music industry autograph expert is challenging the authenticity of Paul McCartney's signature on a guitar being offered for auction next month by aBethel church. The milky white Fender Squier electric guitar, along with other celebrity-signed items, were bought by St. Thomas Episcopal Church from CharityGROW, a vendor that sells autographed memorabilia to nonprofits for fundraisers.

Roger Epperson, a music industry autograph authenticator, collector and expert, said Thursday the guitar was not signed by McCartney, who skyrocketed to fame 50 years ago with The Beatles. "This is not authentic. It's a pity and a crime," Epperson wrote in an email to Hearst Connecticut Media. Epperson is a consultant and authenticator for Christie's and Bonhams auction houses in the United Kingdom. He also works for RR Auction, which publishes a monthly catalog with 100 or more autographs, and Heritage Auctions, which auctions entertainment memorabilia four times a year. CharityGROW defended its company by details

Paul McCartney will headline the final concert at Candlestick Park in August, the former Beatle and San Francisco officials said Thursday, ending a back-and-forth drama that had the city competing against the 49ers for the right to play host to the music legend.

"Putting the rumor mill to rest, Paul has confirmed that he will indeed return to San Francisco Aug. 14 to play Farewell to Candlestick: The Final Concert," a statement on McCartney's website said. City officials later confirmed the news. "We just kept pushing and were persistent and drove the deal down the field," said Phil Ginsberg, director of the city Recreation and Park Department, which operates Candlestick. Tickets will go on sale May 5. It was not immediately known how much they will cost. Mayor Ed Lee personally invited McCartney to close the Stick when the former Beatle played at the Outside Lands festival in Golden Gate Park last year.

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Sir Paul McCartney has secretly met up with Pussy Riot – amid speculation he could become the biggest-name star to snub Russia because of their human rights record. The music legend held a summit with members of the controversial feminist protest group in Los Angeles a fortnight ago as they thanked him for his support during their prison ordeal.

Sir Paul has previously met Vladimir Putin for tea in the Kremlin when he performed in Red Square in 2003. The Russian leader, who was in the front row for the huge gig, has also confessed to being a fan of the Beatles. But relations between the two men appear to have dramatically nosedived since with a string of political interventions by the singer against the politician’s policies. After being invited to meet the singer during his tour rehearsals in the American city, Pussy Riot said afterwards: “Sir Paul has repeatedly told us that he found it hard to believe that Russia - a country with such a rich and developed culture - accepts what Putin is doing today .” Some Russian fans fears t details

POMONA >> Sumara Sevilla was hooked once she heard the thumping upright bass at an Imelda May rockabilly concert two years ago. That inspiration still drives the 10-year-old Kingsley Elementary School student as she learns to play cello and dreams of a future in music.

“Words can’t describe how much I love the cello,” the fifth-grader said. The love of music reached hundreds of children Tuesday as the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus made a stop at the school to teach students about music and the recording industry. Though music programs have suffered cuts throughout the state due to tough economic times, tour officials say their work is turning the sentiment toward music education around. “I think they’re finally seeing the value of it,” said Chris Walker, who drives the bus and has worked as a driver for artists such as Snoop Dogg. It’s a growing program that has high demand, and some schools have been on the waiting list for years. That’s because students get to see high-tech recording equipment in action, play inst details

BETHEL -- A new electric guitar autographed byPaul McCartney tops the offerings at this year's St. Thomas Episcopal Church benefit auction. The ivory Fender Squier guitar wasn't played by McCartney, but it's similar to those he played when he was a member of The Beatles.

The opening bid is $1,685. "The cachet of owning something with Paul McCartney's signature on it really increases the value," said Dana Treidel, customer service director of the Bethel Music Center. "I would love to have it." McCartney's signature is written in swirling blue ink, in stark contrast to the guitar's white body. "It's from Charity Grow, which helps people who are having auctions," said Dawn Fawcett, who is organizing the May 3 auction with another parishioner, Robin Mitchell. McCartney "was aware that this would be sold for charity. That's why he does it." Along with the guitar, a red boxing glove signed by Sylvester Stallone, who played "Rocky" in a series of movies, is available. Signed photographs of astronaut and form details

When your father was a member of the Beatles and your mother an acclaimed avant-garde/noise artist, you're allowed to take some creative liberties. Just ask Sean Lennon (son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono), who has spent nearly 25 years performing solo and with acts like Cibo Matto, Albert Hammond Jr. and his mother's group, the Plastic Ono Band. 

But in recent years, Lennon has been living an almost modern-day rock'n'roll version of Serge Gainsbourg's Histoire de Melody Nelson, having formed a romantic and creative partnership with British model/recording artist Charlotte Kemp Muhl, who he has recorded and toured with under the name the Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, or as they commonly go by now the GOASTT. Their newest LP, Midnight Sun, arrives April 29 through Lennon and Muhl's own Chimera Music. Until then, stream the album in full on Exclaim.ca. Recorded in the four-year gap following the release of their roughshod  details