Beatles News

Paul McCartney has put new perspective on the effect John Lennon had on him as a musician, songwriter and friend, stamping their chemistry as a miracle.

In the latest episode of the “McCartney: A Life in Lyrics” podcast, the Beatles bassist and songwriter said the duo’s efforts transcended any McCartney could have ever made alone.

“Now I’m conscious that I don’t have him, very much,” McCartney said. “And you know, often we’ll sort of refer to, ‘What would John say to this? Is this too soppy? He would’ve said da da da,’ so I’ll change it. But my songs have to reflect me, and you don’t have this opposing element so much. I have to do that myself these days.”

McCartney was matter-of-fact when describing, as a practical matter, what it was like to work with Lennon.

“It was easier, much easier, because there were two minds at work,” McCartney said. “And that interplay was nothing short of miraculous.”

Source: Jeremy Bailey/yahoo.com

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Paul McCartney is reminiscing about his past with The Beatles on his podcast "A Life in Lyrics."
In a new episode, McCartney describes his first impression of his late bandmate John Lennon.
"I just remember thinking, 'Well, he's a cool guy. No idea who he is,'" the rocker said.

Paul McCartney recently opened up about his first impression of John Lennon — a meeting that would yield the most celebrated songwriting partnership in history.

The 81-year-old rocker launched a podcast last month titled "Paul McCartney: A Life in Lyrics," in which he reflects on his career as a musician and songwriter.

In a new episode that airs Wednesday, he discussed the song "Here Today," which is structured as an imagined dialogue between McCartney and Lennon. It was featured on McCartney's 1982 solo album "Tug of War," the first he released since his former bandmate's murder in 1980.

"The first time I ever saw John Lennon, he got on the bus," McCartney recalled in the episode, per Rolling Stone. "He was like this slightly older guy with this sort of rocker hairdo — lots of grease — black jacket, sideburns, sideboards as we call them."

"And I just remember thinking, 'Well, he's a details

If you’ve already splurged on the handsome two-volume boxed set of Paul McCartney’s “The Lyrics,” you might logically wonder: Why buy the $30 paperback?

There are fewer photos and no glossy pages in the no-frills soft-cover edition on sale now, which squeezes all the insights of the bestselling 960-page original into a slimmer (624 pp.) single volume. McCartney’s song-by-song narrative, drawn from 50 hours of recorded conversation with poet Paul Muldoon, is intact, as are standardized lyric sheets for 161 catalog picks dating back to 1956.

But the biggest draw for fans is the addition of seven songs, three of them Beatles classics (“Day Tripper,” “Hello, Goodbye” and “Magical Mystery Tour”), three from McCartney's solo and Wings years (“Bluebird,” “English Tea” and “Every Night”) and one (surprise!) written for Cilla Black (“Step Inside Love”).
1973's “Bluebird,” an album cut from Paul McCartney and Wings’ “Band on the Run,” is notable for crediting Linda McCartney as a co-writer. During messy court battles involving The Beatles' publishing rights, “I’d details

The Beatles are widely credited with helping to usher in the dominance of the album as the dominant form of consuming media, cranking out several of the most influential records in popular music - from 1965's Rubber Soul to the final album they recorded together, 1969's Abbey Road.

But while they may still be looked at as the paragons of the album era, The Beatles still hold a monumental place in the centre of music, and as such their back catalogue has easily moved through the times; from the album era, to the time of downloads and to the present day, where streaming is king.

(It does need to be stated, however, that The Beatles' legacy estate, Apple Corps, resisted change for a long time; the band's catalogue didn't join iTunes until 2010 and their full discography was only added to streaming platforms on Christmas Day 2016).

With the Beatles' 'last' song Now And Then heading to a record-breaking jump to Number 1 in the UK, we thought it was high time that, for the first time ever, the Official Charts Company can reveal the official most-streamed songs of all time by The Beatles in the UK.

This is made all the more special by the fact that Now And Then (with just three days of tracking) is the details

On November 2, 2023, The Beatles released the single, “Now and Then,” their first new music since “Real Love” appeared on their Anthology 2 compilation in 1996. The core of the song—three distinct verses and a chorus written and sung by John Lennon on a 1977 demo—is not new at all. However, much of the released version of the song does contain entirely new recorded material. Paul McCartney added piano, bass, vocals, and a George Harrison-esque slide guitar solo, Ringo Starr provided the song with a drum part, and McCartney and co-producer Giles Martin (son of Beatles producer George Martin) created a string arrangement.

In 1995, the remaining Beatles began work on a finished version of the song that was intended to join “Real Love” and “Free as a Bird” (from the same demo cassette that “Now and Then” was on) on their Anthology project. At that stage, Harrison added electric and acoustic guitar parts, which are included in the final 2023 version. Even though McCartney and Starr were the lone surviving Beatles when much of the song was put together, “Now and Then” has the feel of a true collaborative effort with a coherent sound.

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Since it launched last month, the podcast Paul McCartney: A Life in Lyrics has captured the artist reflecting on the stories behind songs he recorded with the Beatles and Wings and as a solo artist. In addition to picking apart the lyrics, he has also discussed some of the interesting arcana that has surrounded his life. On upcoming episodes — which premiere on Wednesdays via iHeartPodcasts and Pushkin Industries and can be accessed here — McCartney delves deep into Beatles lore to find some interesting trivia.

In the episode dedicated to his solo track “Here Today,” which airs Wednesday, McCartney recalls his first meeting with John Lennon. The song, which featured on his 1982 album Tug of War — his first release since Lennon’s death — imagines a dialogue between the two of them. While discussing it with the podcast’s host, Paul Muldoon — who collaborated with McCartney on the book The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present — McCartney recalled how Lennon immediately seemed like his counterpart when they first met.

Source: Kory Grow/rollingstone.com

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Making the “last” ever Beatles song brought a bit of joy to Paul McCartney – and a spiritual reunion with his old friend, the late John Lennon.

The Beatles released “Now and Then” on Thursday, November 2, a song marketed as the “last” single from The Beatles – McCartney, 81, Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison. Lennon recorded a demo of the song in the late 1970s, and AI was able to extract his vocals for this now-complete track. For McCartney, it was a way to once again work with his friend, who was murdered in 1980.

“When we were in the studio, we had John’s voice in our ears,” McCartney told BBC Radio 1, per Billboard. “So you could imagine he was just in the next room in a vocal booth or something and we were just working with him again, so it was joyful. It was really lovely, you know, because we hadn’t experienced that for a long time, obviously, and then suddenly here we were working with ol’ Johnny.”

Source: Jason Brow/yahoo.com

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Last week, Now and Then – which was called the final Beatles song – was released and is expected to hit UK No 1 in the singles chart.

Peter Jackson, who directed The Beatles: Get Back, used modern technology to resurrect John Lennon’s vocals and George Harrison’s guitar strumming for the long-lost track.

He then combined the late duo's work with Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Ringo Starr’s voices and instrumentation today to create a complete new Beatles song, the first in decades.

The Lord of the Rings director also helmed the Now and Then music video which ended with a bow from the Fab Four on The Ed Sullivan Show before they faded away.

Yet despite this goodbye, it may not be the end. After all, there’s much from over 60 houses of footage and 150 hours of audio of the Let It Be sessions that remain unused.

Source: George Simpson/express.co.uk

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The Beatles remain perhaps the most successful and beloved musical act of all time. It makes sense, then, that if anyone were to learn that the group was working on new material, it would immediately become headline news and ruin a surprise that was yet to be formally announced. Now that the band has released its new single, Paul McCartney has also detailed how they managed to keep the track a secret for what turned out to be a long time.

The two remaining Beatles—McCartney and Ringo Starr—released what’s being labeled the band’s last song, "Now and Then," on November 2. The tune had been a major topic of interest in the entertainment world for months since its announcement in mid-2023, and only after the single debuted was one of its architects able to share the tricks he had to pull to keep word from getting out.

The session musicians who lent their talents to "Now and Then" played for the recording without realizing it was for The Beatles. The string section for the song was recorded at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles in May of 2022, yet the musicians were kept in the dark regarding the true nature of the project.

Source: Hugh McIntyre/forbes.com

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During the 1970s, George Harrison dismissed Paul McCartney's band Wings as a Beatles redux. Meanwhile, Paul said the group was underrated.

He might’ve been a hippie, but he didn’t pull punches. George Harrison dismissed Paul McCartney’s band Wings as a Beatles redux. Meanwhile, Paul said the group was underrated.

During a 1974 interview with Rolling Stone, George said he didn’t just want to repeat what The Beatles did. “I certainly am going to control my own concept of me,” he explained. “Gandhi says ‘Create and preserve the image of your choice.’ The image of my choice is not Beatle George. If they want to do that they can go and see Wings, then. Why live in the past? Be here now and now, whether you like me or not, this is what I am.”

George then discussed his expectations of life and the expectations people had of him. “I don’t have control over anything,” he said. “I believe in God and he is the supreme controller even down to the rehearsal.” George explained why his voice on his then-recent song “Dark Horse” sounded so husky. “It’s more like I am right at this minute,” he revealed. details

As soon as I heard John’s voice in the opening lines, I was transported back to December 1980. A 16-year-old schoolboy sitting in a small empty cafe in an outer southern suburb of Brisbane listening to the track Starting Over on the juke box and mourning my songwriting hero’s death. This new song sounds like it could’ve been on the Double Fantasy album. Now and Then has a recurring dreamy quality and Ringo’s beat is beautifully calm, supportive and understated. It filled me with immense joy, sadness and reflection.

I had no idea how emotionally I would react to this song. My youngest brother passed away last year from a brain tumour at 27. He was a big Beatles fan; he chose Beatles songs for his wedding and for his funeral – a lot of people commented that he had the music taste of someone twice his age. I had been wondering, in the lead-up to the release, what he would have thought of the band using AI to finish it, and if he’d have liked the final result.

When I heard the opening lines, and the melancholy in John’s voice, I got chills all over. The sadness of the song encapsulates the emptiness you feel when you lose someone you love, and you know you have to continue o details

"Now And Then" is outselling the rest of the top 5 combined, the Official Charts Company reports.

The Beatles’ “last” song “Now And Then” is on track for the U.K. chart title.

Based on sales and streaming data captured from the first 48 hours in the chart week, “Now And Then” is in pole position, outselling the rest of the top 5 combined, the Official Charts Company reports.

If it holds its spot, “Now And Then” will become the Fab Four’s 18th U.K. chart-leader, and their first in 54 years, since “The Ballad of John and Yoko” topped the weekly tally back in 1969.

“Now And Then” actually debuted at No. 42 in the U.K. last week based on just 10 hours of sales, but is now expected to jump 41 places to the top of the Official Singles Chart when chart is published this Friday, Nov. 10.

The crown would cap a remarkable journey for “Now And Then.” The track began life as a demo written and sung by John Lennon, was later developed and worked on by Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, and now completed by Paul and Ringo, the surviving members of The Beatles, more than 40 years after the group details

Paul McCartney never thought the Beatles would last — pop music, after all, was not always such an old man’s game. “When we started,” he says, thinking back to 1960 in Liverpool, “we thought that, maybe, we’d have ten years — that was the maximum span for a rock’n’roll group.” In one way he was right. He jumped ship in 1970 and the Beatles soon split amid rancour and financial wranglings. In another way, though, his band never really went away. “I like the idea of not letting go of each other,” McCartney continues. “You know, when you have somebody you love so much. In many cases it’s a relative, and even though they go, you don’t want to let go — that’s what people

Source: Jonathan Dean/ thetimes.co.uk 

The deaths of John Lennon and George Harrison are still bitter pills to swallow, Paul McCartney has said, as he marks the release of the “last” Beatles song.

“Now and Then”, released with the help of AI technology from Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, arrived on Thursday 2 November to much fanfare. It is the final song from the storied pop band to feature all four original members.

Understandably, the song’s release has been an emotional moment for McCartney and drummer Ringo Starr, the band’s last surviving members.

Speaking to The Times, McCartney admitted that he never thought the band would last, but now he enjoys the idea that each member will live forever, in the memories of fans and in the music they made.

“I like the idea of not letting go of each other,” he said. “You know, when you have somebody you love so much. In many cases it’s a relative, and even though they go, you don’t want to let go — that’s what people say when somebody dies. They’re in your memory, always in your heart. And, yes, that’s certainly true of me and the boys.”

Source: Roisin O'Connor/independent.co.uk< details

It was a heartwarming trick of editing which left many fans in tears.

In the music video for the Beatles' final song, Now and Then, Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Ringo Starr were seen appearing to perform with John Lennon and George Harrison one last time.

Acclaimed director Peter Jackson - who was entrusted with the band's precious archives to create Disney+ documentary Get Back - cleverly used footage filmed for their 1967 hit Hello, Goodbye to make the scene work.

The Beatles recorded three bits of footage at London's Saville Theatre to promote the track. One - not that which features in Now and Then - then debuted on the Ed Sullivan show in the US in November 1967.

The Now and Then video also shows scenes from footage that was filmed for John Lennon's 1973 song and album Mind Games - after the Beatles had split up acrimoniously.

Among the other archive clips used was a short segment showing Lennon in an electronics shop in Japan in 1979, the Beatles at Twickenham in 1968 and footage of the band performing in Manchester in 1963.

Source: Harry Howard, Jon Brady/dailymail.co.uk

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