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A massive coup': Rare Linda McCartney retrospective to show at the Ballarat International Foto Biennale

Paul McCartney often joked that he ruined his wife's career.

Before he met her, Linda Eastman was an award-winning photographer whose talent was capturing pop stars in those character-revealing moments in between poses. She made her name in 1966 as an editorial assistant at Town & Country magazine in New York, wangling her way into a Rolling Stones party on the band's motor yacht on the Hudson River and snapping the cool weariness of a band on the run.
But then “she became known as 'Paul's wife' instead of the focus being on her photography,” McCartney told The Guardian in 2019, of the woman he married in 1969 while the long, painful break-up of The Beatles dragged on.

Source: Nick Miller/smh.com.au

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When Led Zeppelin topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic in 1969, the rock press realized it had a story on its hands. As rumors of The Beatles’ demise swirled, a powerful new British act had emerged. And it looked as if the Zeppelin could be as successful as the Fab Four.

That didn’t change when the calendar pages flipped to 1970. As The Beatles tried out solo projects and broke up, the Zep continued selling out concert halls and released another No. 1 record. And by the end of the year Melody Maker readers named Zeppelin the top British band.

So when John Bonham and his bandmates began giving interviews, journalists wanted to know how they felt about the Fab Four and their latest release, Abbey Road. Bonham had nothing but good things to say about the drums on Beatles albums. The only thing was, he wasn’t sure whether Paul McCartney or Ringo Starr played them.

Source: cheatsheet.com

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By the time the Beatles broke up in 1970, the four members had already started work on their respective solo debuts. John Lennon produced the raw, vulnerable, critically lauded Plastic Ono Band. George Harrison's monumental All Things Must Pass sprawled over three vinyl records. Ringo knocked out two LPs within the span of five months — one a collection of jazz standards, the other a country album he cut in Nashville.

Paul McCartney's solo debut, simply titled McCartney, was the most modest of the lot, a series of doodles and improvs whose release coincided with a press release officially confirming his departure from the Beatles. It was the first public acknowledgment that the most successful band of all time had called it quits, and it unfairly marked McCartney as the true saboteur behind the Fab Four's demise (in fact, Lennon had privately "divorced" himself from the band the previous year).

Source: Nathan Weinbender/inlander.com

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Fans of the Fab Four remembered John Lennon this week on the 40th anniversary of his death, when he was fatally shot four times in the back by Mark Chapman in New York. The Beatles left an indelible mark on music during eight years together, when they released 188 original songs and 25 covers. Now, a link between the Liverpudlian band and the Soviet Union’s downfall has been revealed by a friend of John.

Rod Davis knew the deceased singer-songwriter from the age of five, when they both attended Sunday school at St Peter’s Church, in Woolton, Liverpool.

They grew closer in Quarry Bank High School through John’s cheeky antics in class including making cardboard dog collars for everyone in a religious studies lesson.

Mr Davis was part of the original line-up for John's old band The Quarrymen and soon he met Paul McCartney – a moment that would change the history of music.

Source: Josh Saunders/express.co.uk

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Looks like Jerry Seinfield is discussing Seinfeld Ever since the classic TV sitcom came to an end in 1998. And yet, he keeps finding new angles to take it. In his latest, Seinfeld compared his show to The Beatles, including its reasons when it ended. Seinfield was a guest The Tim Ferris Show podcast on Dec. 8. To discuss the end of Seinfeld Some 22 years later, the comedian used The Beatles to help explain it.Seinfeld The gang may be television’s Fab Four between Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards and Jason Alexander. They were rallying five, including co-producer Larry David. The show also lasted as long as the band was together. Seinfield told Ferris, “I have never had any more than I have and I will never compare myself in any way, shape or form.” “The deadline of the Beatles was nine years.”Each of the Beatles went solo, and that’s how the artists produced it Seinfeld like. Seinfeld went back into standup and her costumes went on to other shows. However, there was no conflict within the cast.

Source: granthshala.com

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Argentine Javier Parisi has been a mega fan of the Beatles since the age of eight - forming a tribute band, playing at Liverpool`s Cavern Club, and promoting a biography in Spanish. He is also the spitting image of John Lennon.

Fans around the world have been remembering Lennon and his music this week, 40 years after he was shot dead in New York.
Parisi - who is 40 years old - first realized his striking similarity to the Beatle as a teenager.

"The physical resemblance obviously exists and then as time went by I began to study his character," Parisi, dressed as Lennon, told Reuters at his house in Lanús, a suburb of Buenos Aires.

In 2009, Allan Williams, the Beatles` first manager, came to Argentina and invited Parisi`s band to play at Beatle Week in Liverpool.
"As a fan and admirer, I said `that`s it, what else can happen to me?," said Parisi, who even studied Liverpool`s `Scouse` accent and Lennon`s way of singing.

Source: wionews.com

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'We Are Better People Because of John Lennon' - Wednesday, December 9, 2020

It doesn’t work. If I were writing a story about a man of his magnitude, and all I could come up with was a horrid little ending like that, I would have to say I didn’t deserve to write it at all. How would it read? Once upon a time there was a man who heard music and poetry, and he told us what he heard and people everywhere in all the kingdoms of earth fell in love with what he made of himself and he lived in a castle with his wife and child and had untold riches laid at his feet, and then one day a little man hid in the dark and with four jerks of the finger killed the man who made the music. What a pathetic conclusion. How utterly unworthy of the complexities, the possibilities. No one would publish such a thing. No one would represent it. You should throw it away. Quickly. Before someone reads it.

Source:Scott Spencer/rollingstone.com

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Paul McCartney is praising an upcoming documentary from Peter Jackson for reaffirming that the band’s break up was not his fault.

The Beatles: Get Back captures the making of 1970’s Let It Be, an LP now known for its contentious sessions. For instance, in one infamous moment from the original Let It Be film, McCartney confronted George Harrison about his guitar playing on one of the songs.

Jackson has reedited the footage to create The Beatles: Get Back, and McCartney believes the updated version better reflects the band’s culture at the time.

“It was so reaffirming for me,” he told the Sunday Times. “Because it proves that my main memory of the Beatles was the joy and the skill.”

The Times reports that new scenes in the film include several lighthearted moments. At one point, McCartney and John Lennon perform the Let It Be opening track "Two of Us" “as if they are ventriloquists.”

Source: ultimateclassicrock.com

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John Lennon Remembered - Yoko, Paul and Ringo - Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and Yoko Ono were among those remembering the great John Lennon on the 40th anniversary of his tragic death. “A sad sad day,” wrote McCartney, Lennon’s songwriting partner, friend and often artistic rival, “but remembering my friend John with the great joy he brought to the world.”

“I will always be proud and happy to have known and worked with this incredible Scouser!,” McCartney concludes, with a reference to the nickname for folks from Liverpool.

Lennon was shot dead on Dec. 8, 1980, by Mark David Chapman, who remains in custody after repeated requests for parole.

Starr, the only surviving Beatle besides McCartney (George Harrison died in 2001), tweeted today, “Tuesday, 8 December 1980 we all had to say goodbye to John peace and love John. I’m asking Every music radio station in the world sometime today play Strawberry Fields Forever. Peace and love.”

Source: Greg Evans/Deadline

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Only two members of The Beatles are still alive, with John Lennon having been killed 40 years ago today and George Harrison dying in 2001. But now The Quiet Beatle’s estate, owned by wife and son Olivia and Dhani Harrison, has paid tribute to John on his behalf. A photograph of John taken by George has been shared on the official George Harrison social media pages with a touching message.

The message read: “You were the one who had made it so clear. All those years ago.

“You point the way to the truth when you say. All you need is love.

“You were the one who imagined it all. All those years ago.”

Beatles fans will know these are lyrics taken from George solo track All Those Years Ago from his album Somewhere in England.

Source: George Simpson/express.co.uk

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The Beatles may not have had a huge physical presence in Hawaii, but their impact was widely felt in the islands.

The world-famous band never performed any concerts in Hawaii. They visited the state once — and for only 15 minutes.

Michael Gelfo, owner of Rock Island Cafe in Waikiki, said the band just wrapped up filming of a movie and some of the members were en route to their vacation destinations.

“One was going to Australia, another was going to Guam,” Gelfo said. “They were here, the local DJs, they found out about it, so they broadcasted over their radio waves and all the teeny boppers heard about it, so they rushed to Royal Hawaiian Hotel.”

Rock Island Cafe also sells collectibles. One of the most popular requests they get for memorabilia is the Beatles.

Source: Samie Solina/hawaiinewsnow.com

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Take note of what you see or hear regarding the 40th anniversary of John Lennon's death. Missing it might be impossible.

On social media, on TV, on radio, it's there, all around us, and for one reason — John Lennon was a member of the Beatles. Yes, he had a successful solo career and was a high-profile peace activist, but at the end of the day, he was a Beatle.

And the Beatles, despite breaking up 50 years ago — after barely a decade of making music — remain to this day, remarkably, a constant and all-encompassing cultural presence.

In April, the cast of the CBC comedy Schitt's Creek appeared on the cover of Variety magazine. The striking black and white photograph — featuring the actors Catherine O'Hara, Annie Murphy, Eugene and Daniel Levy — pays homage to the 1964 album Meet the Beatles!, complete with the headline "The Fab Four.

Source: atinitonews.com

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THE BEATLES' former songwriter John Lennon wrote himself some incredible hits throughout the years after his split from the band - but his Christmas anthem could not have been written without some help from his previous hit, Imagine.

Former member of The Beatles John Lennon worked on a lot of music with his wife, Yoko Ono, following the Fab Four’s break up. Collectively known as John Lennon and Plastic Ono Band, Lennon worked hard in creating his own vibe during releases of his solo music. Perhaps his first and biggest hit was the 1971 anthem Imagine, which has since been named one of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

While Imagine was a certified banger, it did include a political message of Lennon’s making.

Source: Callum Crumlish/express.co.uk

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John Lennon, who rose to unimaginable fame first as one of the Beatles, then as a solo songwriter and activist, was shot and killed outside of his home in New York City 40 years ago Tuesday.

His murderer, Mark David Chapman, who was described at the time as a “local screwball,” waited outside of Lennon’s home for the star to return from a recording studio session then shot him five times as his wife, Yoko Ono, looked on.

Earlier in the day, at that very spot, Lennon had autographed an album cover for Chapman.

Lennon was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival, really having no chance to survive such devastating injuries.

Chapman was sentenced to 20 years to life for Lennon’s murder. At a parole hearing several years ago, he apologized for the killing saying, “I am sorry for being such an idiot and choosing the wrong way for glory.” Chapman remains in prison.

Source: Debbie Lord/kiro7.com

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Today marks the 40th anniversary of the death of John Lennon , who was just 40 years old when he was murdered by a deranged fan outside of his New York City apartment building.

In commemoration of the tragedy, ABC Audio has chatted with a variety of music stars who shared their reflections on Lennon's loss and what he and his music meant to them.

Joe Walsh , whose brother-in-law is Lennon's ex-Beatle band mate Ringo Starr , says, "I'm so happy to have had [Lennon] in my life as a role model. He showed me how to be cool. He showed me how to write music...When he died, I felt like part of me died, and there's a hole there inside me where John was. And he had a profound effect on me as a musician and as a person. And I miss him, and I get sad when I talk about it."

Graham Nash , whose early band The Hollies were part of the British Invasion that The Beatles launched, notes, "The one thing that I am left with after...commiserating about what happened 40 years ago to John Lennon...What songs were in his head that weren't recorded yet? What songs that could possibly change the world once more were in his head when he was killed?...That's part of the tragedy for me."

Source: kelofm.com

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