Beatles News

When John Lennon decided to come out of his five-year musical career hiatus at the dawn of the 1980s, one of the first people he enlisted to produce what would become the fifth studio album credited to the former Beatle and his wife, Yoko Ono – "Double Fantasy" – was Jack Douglas.

Looking back however, Lennon's decision was a bit of a head-scratcher – Douglas was known primarily for his work with hard rock and heavy metal bands (Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Montrose, etc.), whereas it was supposedly new wave (The B-52's, in particular) that had rekindled his desire to return to music.

But there was one band that Douglas had previously worked with that was much more in line with Lennon's work with the Beatles (and his early solo work) – Cheap Trick. So, when it was time to begin work on what was envisioned as one of the harder rocking tunes on the album ("I'm Losing You") and a tune that Ono had penned ("I'm Moving On"), Douglas immediately thought of two Trickers to lend a hand – guitarist Rick Nielsen and drummer Bun E. Carlos.

On Tuesday, August 12, 1980, both Nielsen and Carlos found themselves at the Hit Factory in New York City, about to begin work on the tunes – and details

Ringo Starr's latest project is for fans of music and of fashion.

Published Friday, “Beats & Threads” is an illustrated journey through the former Beatles drummer's decades in show business, featuring images of everything from his drum kits to his trend-setting wardrobe. The 312-page book is being sold through the publishing division of Julien's Auctions.

"Featuring nearly 300 shimmering images capturing iconic and many never-before-seen intimate moments of Ringo’s illustrious life and career, along with the drum icon’s warm memories told in his own words, this immense tribute to the enduring influence and time transcending impact of the Fab Four member is a ticket to ride through fashion and Beatles history," the publisher announced.

“Beats and Threads” has a list price of $80, along with signed limited editions for as much as $750. All proceeds will be donated to the Lotus Foundation, which offers support for various charitable projects, from substance abuse to homelessness.

Starr, 83, has had a busy 2023, releasing the EP “Rewind Forward,” touring with his All-Starr Band and working with Paul McCartney on the “final” Beatles song, details

Through the years, Paul McCartney has built a Beatles legend regarding the band’s introduction to America. He’s said on numerous occasions that he and John put a stake in the ground with manager Brian Epstein in advance of their famous appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, stating:

“We’re not going to America till we’ve got a number one record.”

Although there’s a very good chance that this sentiment was a desire of the band, the truth was that the Beatles were committed to that appearance way before. The Beatles would eventually reach #1 in the USA (“I Want To Hold Your Hand”) in February of 1964, (BEFORE their Sullivan appearance). However, in the late fall of 1963, the Beatles executed a determined crusade to crack America.

This story begins with George Harrison. Just as “She Loves You” was climbing the UK charts, destined to be the catalyst for Beatlemania in their home country, he fulfilled his state-side dream and jumped on a plane in September 1963 to visit America. Bunking down in Benton Illinois with his sister Louise (who had immigrated there with her husband and children) it was just 5 months before George would be introdu details

While they were a going concern, the Beatles gave their fans a special gift every Christmas.

This year, fans of the Fab Four have been blessed with the gift of 'Now and Then', the last ever Beatles single, as well as a pretty snazzy Abbey Road-style Christmas jumper.

Back during the band's 1960s heyday though, their biggest supporters – dubbed "Beatle people" by the band – got an annual gift via their membership of The Beatles fan club, which was ably managed by Fifth Beatle Freda Kelly.

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Even to this day, these records are incredibly difficult to come by, and they're not available on streaming, to download, or general sale in the shops.

For those who weren't on board at the beginning, an LP compilation was sent out to fan club members in 1970 – called From Then To You in the UK and The Beatles Christmas Album in the US – but they're not any easier to find today.

Source: Mayer Nissim/goldradiouk.com

 Yoko Ono has moved away from her longtime residence at the Dakota building in New York City and is now living on a 600-acre farm in upstate New York with a small community.
Ono has no plans to sell her apartment at the Dakota and seems content living a peaceful life off the grid.
Despite unknown health issues, Ono is said to be in good spirits and enjoying her new surroundings on the farm she shared with her late husband, John Lennon.

Yoko Ono is living off the map these days, in a community that has a population of 280 people. Ono and her husband, John Lennon, initially purchased the property in 1978. She was married to the legendary musician and Beatle in 1969. The couple fought against being deported from the U.S. at one point, and Lennon was spied on by the FBI.

Source: Elizabeth DeMaine/thethings.com

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George Harrison’s widow, Olivia Harrison, is confident that her late husband approved of The Beatles‘ just-released tune “Now and Then.”

In a post to George’s social media accounts, Olivia shares a “surprising magical story” about how a clock that her husband purchased gave her a sign that he supported the song’s release.

“We were in this store, George saw this clock made out of bits and pieces and it had some Scrabble letters and it just said ‘Now And Then,’” she explains. “He was attracted to it for some reason, he just took it off the wall and bought it. [He] built this little Russian dacha in the garden and hung the clock on it and there it sat for 25 years.”

She notes that last summer after cleaning it and putting it on her mantelpiece, she got a call from Paul McCartney about the unfinished tune from their Anthology sessions.

“I said, ‘I remember it, it’s called ‘Now and Then.’ And I’m standing there looking at the clock,” she says. “We were so moved and happy that this thing that George had held in his hand somehow magically appeared. And I said, ‘I thin details

The Beatles’ compilation albums 1962-1966 and 1967-1970 (also known as the Red and Blue Albums, owed to the distinctive cover art), re-enter Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated Nov. 25) at Nos. 6 and 5, respectively, following their expanded reissue on Nov. 10.

The titles sold 22,000 and 24,000 in the week ending Nov. 16 in the U.S., according to Luminate. Each told sold less than 500 copies in the previous week. For both titles, it is their largest sales week since the week ending Dec. 24, 1994, when they sold 37,000 and 40,000, respectively.
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Upon their original release in 1973, the 1962-1966 album contained 26 songs, while 1967-1970 held 28 tunes. (On the Billboard 200 chart, 1967-1970 reached No. 1, while 1962-1966 peaked at No. 3.) For the 2023 reissue, 21 songs were added to the two albums — 12 songs on 1962-1966 and nine on 1967-1970. The latter’s additional cuts include the recently released new single “Now and Then,” which debuted in the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 – marking the Fab Four’s 35th top 10-charting hit.

Source: Keith Caulfield/billboard.com

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Rush bandleader Geddy Lee opened up about how the Beatles musician provided the band with a little encouragement

If Rush tours again, fans might need to thank Paul McCartney for it.

In an interview with Rolling Stone published Sunday, Geddy Lee, 70, opened up about how The Beatles musician, 81, tried to convince Rush — who completed their final tour in 2015 — to tour again.

The Rush bassist and bandleader revealed in the conversation that it was Dave Grohl, whom he calls "a very lovely man," that initially introduced them at one of Taylor Hawkins' tribute concerts.

"Dave [Grohl] was so sweet. He comes up to us at rehearsal and he goes, 'Paul McCartney’s up next to rehearse, and he’s outside, and he said to me, ‘Dave, I’ve never met anyone from Rush before.' And I said, 'I’ve never met him! Bring him in, please.' And he came in," Lee told the outlet.

Although it seemed like the "Let It Be" performer wasn't exactly familiar with Rush's music, Lee "got the sense he knew who we were and had heard about us." That didn't stop him from encouraging Rush to get back on the road.

"He had never listened to us. So at the show, he was there. He watched details

When George Harrison sat down with Guitar Player's then Editor At Large Dan Forte for the cover story of the November 1987 issue, he was promoting the release of his 11th solo album, Cloud Nine. The lead single from the album – a version of the Rudy Clark song Got My Mind Set On You – would take him to number 1 in the Billboard charts but, affable and humble as ever, Harrison was happy to look back over his entire career, including the recording of While My Guitar Gently Weeps, The Beatles' Hamburg days, his love of Gretsch guitars and much more. Here we reprint that interview in full…

With all that's been written about the Beatles and their indelible stamp on music, fashion, and pop culture, they are individually still criminally underrated as musicians. Not only did they inspire a generation to plug in electric guitars and harmonize, but they also influenced how guitar players played, how bassists played, how drummers drummed, and how singers sang. And while each later took turns reinforcing the obvious – that something magical and greater-than-the-sum happened when they played as a band – their separate instrumental contributions can't be overemphasized.

Source: Dan Forte/guitar details

He was always the 'mystic' one.

George Harrison even wrote a song called 'Mystical One' later in his career, slightly riffing on his title within The Beatles because of his fascination and eventual conversion to Eastern beliefs.

Well, according to his widow Olivia Harrison, there may be some substantiation to his nickname where their recent single 'Now and Then' is concerned.

Posting a video on to George's official Instagram profile, she revealed the "surprising magical" backstory about the artwork for the vinyl.
Olivia explained that the song's title appeared on a ragged old clock George found in a shop some years back.

He was drawn to it, as there was a Scrabble letter stuck to the clock which said, "Now And Then", which would turn out to be the title of The Beatles' final ever song.

Strangely enough, Olivia dug out the clock and renovated it recently, before Paul McCartney got in touch to see how she felt about releasing the forgotten demo.

"We were in this store, George saw this clock made out of bits and pieces and it had some Scrabble letters and it just said 'Now And Then'," Olivia Harrison recalled about the first time they came across the clock.

Source: Thoma details

In the summer of 1968, Paul McCartney was reading Melody Maker when he stopped on a quote from Pete Townshend.

“Pete said: ‘We’ve just made the raunchiest, loudest, most ridiculous rock’n’roll record you’ve ever heard,” McCartney recalled. “I never actually found out what track it was that The Who had made, but that got me going, just hearing him talk about it. I was always trying to write something different, trying to not write in character, and that one little paragraph was enough to make me make a move. I thought we should a do a song like that, something really wild, and I wrote Helter Skelter.”

McCartney was thinking about the fairground slides of his childhood, coupled with the sense of social unrest in the world that summer. “I was using the symbol of a helter skelter as a ride from the top to the bottom – the rise and fall of the Roman Empire – and this was the fall, the demise, the going down,” he said.

On July 18 The Beatles learned the song and recorded three extended takes at Abbey Road Studios. The first two were 10 and 12 minutes respectively, the third stretched to 27:11. A four-minute excerpt of the latter, rel details

Paul McCartney is a very busy man these days. He recently dropped a new single with The Beatles, "Now and Then," which became a quick global hit and helped him make history in a number of ways. He is also in the middle of touring Brazil, with dates into the end of 2023. On top of that, he's also got a successful podcast, and likely other projects in the works. Now, according to one report, he might be considering heading to Las Vegas for a very special reason.

According to the New York Post, McCartney is one of a select few names being considered as the next act to headline the Sphere. The team in charge of the multi-billion dollar high-tech venue is on the hunt for a second name that is popular enough to bring in huge crowds and prestigious enough to keep the brand strong, and McCartney could be just the right fit.

The venue was inaugurated only a few weeks ago by U2. The band's appropriately-titled U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere concert residency launched in late September, and while it was initially set to run only a few weeks, the group extended it. Now, the rockers have dates into February 2024, but after that, nothing is scheduled.

Source: Hugh McIntyre/forbes.com

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Musician, songwriter, and occasional actor Ringo Starr appreciates his memories of The Beatles but does not let them take hold of him. In the December 2023/January 2024 issue of AARP The Magazine (ATM), the legendary drummer opens up about his early musical memories, his joyous path through life, his new EP Rewind Forward and his ongoing relationship with The Beatles 60 years after their iconic appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

While Starr’s life has always revolved around music, his memories of music as a child hold a significant influence on him. He recalls how his stepfather shared both music and an open mind with him, moments so poignant that he made it a point to share music with his own children the same way.

He also shared with ATM about his time with The Beatles and the brotherhood they shared. From laughing off rumors of John Lennon following him around with a pen and paper to note his every thought to his memory of the band hearing their song “Love Me Do” on the radio for the first time, no one could understand The Beatles like The Beatles. Starr’s fondness runs so deep that he never could join another band full-time. However, he’s never let that fondness hold him back. details

To some, the opening bars of ‘La Marseillaise’ signify gallic pride, the first notes in the French national anthem. To others, it represents The Beatles, and one of their crowning achievements.

Released in the long hot summer of 1967, ‘All You Need Is Love’ became an anthem for the flower generation, with its simplistic lyrics rejecting the pace of the material world for an alternative form of existence. A real ear-worm, it was aired during the ambitious globe-reaching Our World broadcast, and went on to become an inter-continental smash.

Closing with a reprise of ‘She Loves You’, the basic yet also quietly ambitious track placed The Beatles in a modern cultural pantheon, while also offering insight into some of their basics social treatises. To George Harrison, it was “a perfect song”.

Speaking to VH1, he said: “It was just a perfect song because it was so simple. The message was so simple, and it was a good excuse to go right into that culture that was happening and give them a theme tune”.

Source: Robin Murray/clashmusic.com

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Dolly Parton sent a "love note" to Beatles Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.

The '9 to 5' hitmaker was "very humbled" after the surviving members of the legendary rock'n'roll group agreed to re-record their 1970 classic 'Let It Be' for her rock record 'Rockstar' after she sang their praises in the special request.

She told NPR of approaching Paul, 81, and Ringo, 83: "So I just sent them a love note through their managers, and I just said what I was doing. And I said, I didn't want to put you on the spot, but I'd love to have you sing with me on my rock album. And if you're interested, call me at this number. And all the people I reached out to said, yes, we'd love to, and I was very honoured and very proud and very humbled by that."

Dolly has confessed to feeling like she was "hitting on" the artists she asked to feature on the star-studded album.

Source: perthnow.com.au

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