Beatles News

Tensions had been rising between the bandmates before Paul announced his decision to quit in 1970. He spent the next few years feuding with John, with the pair even taking aim at one another through songs.

 John started the feud with his track How Do You Sleep? before Paul hit back with Too Many People. However, the pair eventually put aside their differences and reconciled. Author Ian Leslie, who has written a book about Paul and John, believes the pair actually "never stopped caring about each other."

Speaking exclusively to The Mirror US, he explained, "They never stopped respecting each other as songwriters. And they always missed each other as creative partners."

Leslie continued, "I think they just missed each other in that sense." However, it wasn't easy for John and Paul to get their friendship back to the way it was.

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Leslie told us, "It was very hard by that stage, they had their own families, there were the legal and business problems and divisions and they lived details

Bruce Springsteen isn’t the first rock star to face the ire of a pushy POTUS. Fifty years ago, Richard Nixon went to war against John Lennon over the former Beatle’s peacenik politics.

Before Donald Trump took to Truth Social to rage against Bruce Springsteen — calling him a “dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker” and threatening ominously that “we’ll all see how it goes for him” — another American president once tried to silence a politically outspoken rock star.
But Richard Nixon didn’t just tweet insults at John Lennon. He tried to deport him.

That 1970s-era culture war — now resurrected in a new doc, One to One: John & Yoko — echoes eerily in Trump’s latest feud with American music royalty. Lennon, a British citizen with a U.S. green card living in New York at the time, had aligned himself with the radical left and spoken out forcefully against the Vietnam War and Nixon’s re-election. The Nixon administration responded by weaponizing immigration law, trying to boot Lennon back to the UK over an old pot bust. It was a thin pretext, and everyone knew it.

FBI files were opened. Surveillance began. Lennon b details

John Lennon is a perfect example of an artist who created music that defined an era. His iconic song Imagine is known as an anthem of the counterculture movement as it encapsulates many of the ideals counterculture campaigned for and promotes peace and unity.

The Beatles too, created songs that soundtracked a world in the midst of a cultural revolution. Although the counterculture movement failed to abolish hate, The Beatles, alongside a new generation of artists helped to redefine culture at the time and it is a movement that is everlasting.

During this era, mind-altering substances such as LSD grew in popularity, particularly among rock musicians and Lennon was no exception. He labelled one song from that era of transforamtion as a "dope song".

The reality of the 1960s is that drug use and artistry went hand in hand and often influenced one another.  The Beatles themselves were known to dabble with LSD and their sound changed following their discovery of the hallucinogenic drug.

They transformed their pop bops to songs into music that was important and required a degree of thought behind it. They became more experimental and had new eastern influences that weaved through the details

There's been no shortage of material about the Beatles, perhaps the most heavily documented musical group in history. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr's earth-shattering appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 has been recounted in many films and TV specials, most famously Richard Lester's A Hard Day's Night, so what more could possibly be said about the iconic moment? For David Tedeschi, director of Beatles '64, there was a lot of meat left on the bone.

As Tedeschi tells Gold Derby, "the seed of the idea was this extraordinary footage" shot by legendary documentarians David and Albert Maysles "which had never really been given its due." The footage "only covered about two-and-a-half weeks of time," documenting the group's first trip to America. "It was a very short trip, but it felt momentous. We thought with this extraordinary footage it could be the beginning of something that had never been seen before."

Tedeschi discovered the footage through the Beatle's company, Apple Corps, which had given the negative to Peter Jackson, director of the docuseries The Beatles: Get Back, to restore. Having edited Martin Scorsese's documentary George Harrison: Living in the Material World, he details

On May 23, 2024, Paul McCartney presented an Ivor Novello award to Bruce Springsteen. There, he took the opportunity to engage in some good-natured ribbing. Springsteen was being awarded with an Academy Fellowship, and was the first international artist to earn the award.

“I couldn’t think of a more fitting recipient,” McCartney began in his introduction. He playfully continued, “Except maybe Bob Dylan. Or Paul Simon, or Billy Joel, or Beyoncé, or Taylor Swift. The list goes on,” according to a report from The Guardian.

McCartney then added, “He’s known as the American working man, but he admits he’s never worked a day in his life.” He switched gears after that, instead reminiscing about Glastonbury 2022 when he and Springsteen performed together. McCartney concluded by calling Springsteen “a lovely boy.”

When Paul McCartney teases you on stage, you take it in stride, because he’s probably right. Bruce Springsteen, for his part, accepted the award and the good-natured ribbing with ease and humor. During his acceptance speech, he made a comment about the typical English weather.

Springsteen and the E Street Band had pl details

Yes, we know that The Beatles were never actually part of Motown – either as a band or as individuals.

After that infamous failed audition at Decca ("guitar groups are on their way out"), George Martin signed the band for EMI subsidiary Parlophone in 1962

That's where they stayed until they formed Apple Records in 1968, with EMI still dealing with distribution.

Over in the US things started off in messy fashion with the band bouncing form Vee-Jay and then to Swan Records, before Capitol took the band on in 1964. Again, Apple Records took over from The Beatles on.

So where on earth do we get off with calling The Beatles the ultimate Motown band?

Well, despite not actually being signed to the band, their two-way links to the whole sound of Motown is absolutely vital to the story of The Beatles.

While they're rightly credited for mashing up the influence of early rock 'n' roll and skiffle with their own songwriting, you could hear the influence of Motown on the sound of the Beatles from the very beginning.

What was it that bound these two geographically diverse movements of Motown and Merseybeat?

British label Oriole Records represented Tamla Motown on these sho details

The Beatles boast an official catalogue of 213 songs released between 1962 until their split in 1970, including 188 originals and 25 covers, making them the most successful band in music history.

The iconic Liverpool quartet, consisting of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, were all the rage during their eight-year stint thanks to a series of songs written by Lennon and McCartney, though of course Harrison and Starr also contributed classics including 'Here Comes The Sun' and 'Octopus's Garden' respectively.

Even today, The Beatles' songs resonate as strongly as they did during the height of 60s Beatlemania. Devoted followers of the Fab Four have recently taken to Reddit to discuss tracks that featured no involvement from Lennon, who was tragically shot and killed at the age of 40 by Mark David Chapman in New York City in 1980.

A curious fan of the Fab Four on TheBeatles subreddit sparked the conversation by asking: "Which Beatles songs did John Lennon NOT perform on?" In the ensuing discussion, several users pointed out that two of McCartney's legendary singles, 'Blackbird' and 'Yesterday', were created without any contribution from Lennon.

One enthusiast remarked, "Y details

Paul McCartney opened up about working with Barbra Streisand on the new duet "My Valentine"
The former Beatle said he found it "nerve-wracking" to perform with the star: "I was pretty terrified".  The song will appear on Streisand's new album The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two

It may be hard to believe, but even Paul McCartney gets stage fright. The legendary rocker recently recorded a duet of his song “My Valentine” with Barbra Streisand — and admitted that he found the process “nerve-wracking” and “nail-biting!”

In a blog post shared to his website on Tuesday, May 20, McCartney, 82, opened up about working with Streisand, 83, on the track, which will appear on her upcoming record The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two, out June 27.

“I did the session with her in LA and I was pretty terrified. I think the session was about three hours, you know, a normal kind of session, and it was produced by my friend Peter Asher,” McCartney wrote. “But it started off with a big 40-piece orchestra on the Sony lot… and we were on ‘The Barbra Streisand Scoring Stage,’ so no pressure there!”

The studio stage, n details

An Antiques Roadshow visitor was utterly astounded by the jaw-dropping appraisal of a guitar that once belonged to George Harrison of The Beatles fame.

On the beloved UK version of the beloved PBS show, expert Jon Baddeley was visibly thrilled as he examined the remarkable piece, with an eager audience gathered to hear its tale.

Baddeley began his conversation with the guitar's current keeper and music aficionado Paul, remarking: "Now you've brought me in an exceptionally rare guitar with an even more interesting story behind it. But let's focus on the make first. It's a make I have rarely ever seen."

Paul shared that the guitar was a product of Bartell of California from the 1960s, describing it as a "very rare" fretless prototype.

He then unveiled the lore: "And the story goes that the company owner has always said he gave one to John Lennon and he gave one to Jimi Hendrix. This is the Lennon one."  The spotlight then shifted to another guest, Ray, who recounted how this unique instrument came into his life.

Ray reminisced about his days as a session guitarist in the '70s and '80s, particularly his work for Handmade Films, the company founded by George Harrison.  He recalled, details

 In a striking statement, George Harrison stood firm: he'd only play if John Lennon was there. He saw Lennon as The Beatles' big brother, making it plain he clicked better with John than Paul McCartney.

"I'd join a band with John Lennon any day, but I couldn't join a band with Paul McCartney, but that's nothing personal. It's just from a musical point of view," Harrison told The Mirror. Despite their differences, Harrison, Lennon, and McCartney collaborated to create many hits.

As kids, Lennon and McCartney faced hard times. Paul's mom died when he turned 14. Three years later, John lost his mother in a crash. This shared pain brought them close.

Writer Ian Leslie, who studied their work, said, "When they met, they were teenagers, both of them very emotionally intense and both of them had had difficult childhoods in different ways, but in one particular way. They both lost their mothers at a young age," he told The Mirror. He also said that music was a vital outlet for Lennon and McCartney, and it let them channel pain, loneliness, and joy into their songwriting.

The band split in 1970 after McCartney walked away. John wrote the biting "How Do You Sleep?," and Paul shot back with "Too Many P details

If you were to make a list of the easiest Beatles’ songs for an amateur drummer to play, “Love Me Do”, the A-side to the band’s first single, would have to rank high on the list. It lopes along at a leisurely pace and doesn’t require too many fancy fills.

Why then did The Beatles use three different drummers on the three official studio versions of the song? It had nothing to do with difficulty. Instead, the somewhat chaotic circumstances surrounding The Beatles’ earliest recording sessions caused the rotating drummers.

The Beatles first took a crack at recording “Love Me Do” during their audition for EMI in June 1962. At that point, Pete Best was still their drummer, a role that he’d served for the previous couple of years. He joined the band during their time in Germany as they honed their live skills. And he helped them as they built a rabid following at The Cavern Club in Liverpool.

Unfortunately, George Martin didn’t think much of Best’s drumming skills. He agreed to sign The Beatles to the Parlophone label of EMI on one condition. Best would have to go. The Beatles had a choice to make if they wanted a record deal.

It might details

These days, like so many other legacy acts, The Beatles usually perform best on music charts around the world with albums, not singles. This is typically because the millions of people who continue to listen to the group focus on either classic full-lengths or compilations built around some of the band’s most famous tunes. The Beatles do occasionally collect a hit or two, especially in the U.K., where the act’s fame remains particularly impressive. This frame is a big one for the rockers on song rankings, as British listeners appear to be interested in both albums and singles at the moment.

The Beatles fill a trio of spaces on one songs tally in the U.K. this week thanks to a pair of holdovers and one returning smash. "From Me to You" reenters the Official Physical Singles chart at No. 93. It joins both "Now and Then" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand," which dip to Nos. 70 and 84, respectively.

Of the three, "Now and Then" is the biggest hit by the band — at least on the Official Physical Singles chart — though the other tracks are much older. "Now and Then," which was released in 2023 as the final track by The Beatles, has reached No. 1 in the past. Both "I Want to Hold Your Han details

The Beatles were over when Paul McCartney announced his decision to leave the band, but one expert has revealed there was more to their split.

Tensions had been rising between the bandmates long before Paul left and by April 1970, he decided he'd had enough and announced his decision to quit The Beatles. Fans were devastated, but author David Stark has explained it was actually John Lennon who sparked the end of the iconic group.

 Stark, a lifelong Beatles fan, admitted he "wasn't surprised" when news of the split was made public. "It was obvious by the end of the 60s that things were changing," he told The Mirror US.

By this time, John was in a relationship with Yoko Ono and Paul had been working on his own things. The musician released his solo album in 1970 and went on to form the band Wings.

While it made headlines when Paul left the band, Stark told us, "In actuality, John had told them all that he was leaving in September 69 and he kept it quiet." However, there was one person John told his plans to.

"The only person he told from the press was a chap called Ray Connolly." John swore Ray to secrecy and Stark suggested a reason why the writer agreed. The expert said, "If Ray had details

Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band just dropped new tour dates for this fall.

The Beatles drummer, 84, and his current bandmates, Steve Lukather, Colin Hay, Warren Ham, Hamish Stuart, Gregg Bassinet, and Buck Johnson, were already scheduled for their summer tour taking place from June 12 to June 25.

Now, Starr and company will also be performing 11 shows in September, including a six-show residency at The Venetian Theatre in Las Vegas.

Concert goers can expect the setlist to be a mixed bag of Starr’s solo hits, Beatles classics, and standout tunes from each All Starr member’s catalog. Performances in the past have included songs like “It Don’t Come Easy,” “Photograph,” “Yellow Submarine,” “With a Little Help From My Friends,” “Rosanna,” “Down Under,” and “Pick Up the Pieces.”

Related: Willie Nelson, 92, and Bob Dylan, 83, Reunite for Legendary Performance

See the full list of tour dates below:

June 12 – Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater, Bridgeport, Connecticut
June 13 – Radio City Music Hall, New York City, New York
June 15 – TD Pavilion at The Mann, details

Music legend George Harrison had a rather unenthusiastic opinion when it came to one of his most popular Beatles hits.

Harrison began working on Something in September 1968, during the recording sessions for The White Album, but initially struggled with the melody, thinking it might have been subconsciously derived from another song.

According to Peter Jackson's documentary, The Beatles: Get Back, he continued to have difficulty with the lyrics into the Let It Be sessions.

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After completing the song, Harrison was uncertain about its potential success or even its inclusion on Abbey Road. This self-doubt was fueled by the constant dismissals from John Lennon and Sir Paul McCartney. He offered the song to Joe Cocker but eventually recorded it with The Beatles.

Weeks after the album's release, the song was released as a double A-side single with Come Together, marking the first time a Harrison song became a Beatles A-side. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States and received critical acclaim.

Despi details