More than 40 years after his tragic death, fans are finally getting a look inside John Lennon’s final days.
In BritBox‘s original documentary, “Lennon’s Last Weekend”, the iconic Beatles member’s last moments are detailed, including the interview he gave with the BBC’s Andy Peebles just days before he was shot and killed at his home in New York City in 1980.
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According to the streaming service, “Lennon’s Last Weekend” relives the last weekend the legendary Lennon was alive, with Andy [Peebles] travelling to New York to relive the story of what really happened on those two fateful days in December 1980.”
In BritBox’s first trailer for the doc, “Lennon’s Last Weekend” will also take an in-depth look at his relationship with Yoko Ono, his early career with The Beatles and his past drug abuse.
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The Ferrari 330 owned by John Lennon was, in fact, his first car, which is a bold move for someone who just got his driver’s license.
It’s hard not to remember what the Beatles were and how much they influenced the lives of people. Their songs touched the lives of many and could be felt to the core by each and everyone regardless of their age. John Lennon and Paul McCartney helped shape the band and played a significant role in its success. Upon reaching incredible heights and literally becoming a global sensation, the Beatles started to become more influential and had a few bucks to spare on luxuries.
Known for extravagant purchases and being outspoken on many occasions, John Lennon was equally as good at creating controversies as he was good at music. That aside, as with every passionate artist, he was an avid fan of exotic sports cars, especially Ferrari.
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detailsPaul McCartney and Michael Jackson are two of the most influential musicians in history, and although they originally had a good relationship, it turned sour for “business.”
Some people believe that mixing friendship and business is the perfect recipe for disaster. Paul McCartney, who rose to fame with the English band The Beatles, learned it the hard way.
McCartney used to be a good friend of the King of Pop Michael Jackson. Initially, they got together for songwriting collaborations, and they came up with a few songs, including “The Girl Is Mine” and “Say, Say, Say.”
The former was included in Jackson’s “Thriller” album, while the latter made it into McCartney’s “Pipes of Peace” album.
During that time, McCartney supposedly talked to Jackson about the lucrative business of music publishing rights, explaining some of the advantages of owning the rights to other musicians' popular and beloved music.
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detailsThe Beatles were one of the most popular bands on the planet. After touring the world countless times, the Fab Four were inundated with letters from fans who sent well-wishes and gifts to them. George Harrison was quite the gentleman when it came to his fanmail, as it seems he replied to a great deal of them personally. One cheeky instance saw him responding with a lengthy set of instructions detailing how to mess up Paul McCartney’s car.
Harrison responded to Beatles super fan Susan Houghton in 1962, first thanking her for the gifts she sent his mother.
He wrote: “I hope you had a good chrimbo, and have a happy nuclear [peace sign] too. Thank you for giving my mum flowers and chocs. [It was you wasn’t it??]”
The Beatle then concluded the thanks with a quote from John Lennon, as he said: “Thanks also for the card, in fact THANKS A HEAP SUSAN. ‘Your too kind’ - John Lennon.”
Oddly enough, Harrison then went on to list seven key steps in cleaning a car - and subsequently dumping the dirty water on McCartney’s prized Ford.
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Sir Ringo Starr has dedicated his life to music, first with The Beatles and then as a solo artist. However, his beginnings were difficult to manage, and he spent a year away from his family. Despite these hardships, Sir Ringo was able to find the thing he loves most: the drums.
Sir Ringo was born Richard Starkey, the only child of confectioners Richard Starkey and Elsie Gleave on July 7, 1940.
Like his bandmates, he is from Liverpool, though he was born in the Dingle area of the inner city.
Young Richard Starkey was first introduced to percussion as a young boy, but his introduction to this instrument was a very sad one indeed.
According to Bob Spitz’s The Beatles: A Biography, Sir Ringo developed appendicitis at the age of six.
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detailsMusic is Healing
Singer Paul McCartney says cancer survivors have told him that his music helped them cope during treatment.
During a cancer fight, exploring creative outlets such as music can really lift peoples’ spirits.
Experts say that patients who are positive often see more successful treatment outcomes.
Iconic singer Paul McCartney, 78, knows first hand what it’s like to lose someone to cancer, and now, really understands how healing music can be to some fighting the disease. The former Beatles bassist reflects on a very special moment that made him realize how much his tunes has influenced others.
McCartney is known as one of the most adored singers in the last few decades, and his dulcet tones seem to have had a lasting impact on the people who need it most. During dark times, blasting your favorite songs can really lift you up, and McCartney learned that first-hand from those who faced one of the most difficult challenges — a cancer battle.
Source: Shelby Black/survivornet.com
With "McCartney III," the Cute Beatle makes a spectacular return to form, produces one of his most compelling albums in decades, and reminds us that at age 78, his musical chops are as exquisite and profound as virtually anyone's. Ever.
Working at his Sussex studio, Paul McCartney recorded nearly the entirety of "McCartney III" during the pandemic. A one-man band production in the spirit of his eponymous debut solo album in 1970, "McCartney III" arrives more than 40 years after the release of its predecessor, "McCartney II," in 1980. That summer, the album topped the UK charts and yielded a chart-topping single Stateside in "Coming Up."
In its own fashion, "McCartney III" functions as the logical extension of its precursors, each acting as lodestones of sorts for signal moments across his long career. As with the first two LPs, McCartney took a carefree, homespun approach to his efforts, allowing his imagination to guide the way. As he remarked in the album's press notes about his process during its production, "Each day, I'd start recording with the instrument I wrote the song on and then gradually layer it all up; it was a lot of fun. It was about making music for yourself rather than making music that has to details
All John Lennon was saying … was give peace a chance.
The message remains valid today. The messenger, however, is gone.
Many yesterdays have passed since Monday, Dec. 8, 1980 — the night singer Lennon was shot and killed in New York City.
Members of other generations vividly remember dark days and nights in America’s past, times when President John F. Kennedy, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy all were killed during the 1960s.
The Daily Gazette compiled stories about all three men, using memories submitted by readers who remembered what they were doing and where they were when the news broke.
Now we’re hoping people also will contribute memories about John Lennon and how the former Beatle’s death affected them. We’d like to know what you were doing when news began spreading that late Monday night. What was your reaction? What were your emotions? What are your thoughts about John Lennon?
Source: Jeff Wilkin/dailygazette.com
detailsThe Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney has admitted he still turns to former bandmate John Lennon for advice when writing new songs, 40 years after he was shot and killed outside his New York apartment.
The 78-year-old described his late friend and Beatles co-founder as 'the best collaborator in the world' and said the anniversary of what would have been his 80th birthday was 'happy sad'.
In an interview with Uncut magazine, he said: 'I'm working on one at the moment that was going one way but I didn't like the lyric. "No, this is not happening, mate."
Eternal connection: The Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney has admitted he still turns to former bandmate John Lennon for advice when writing new songs
'This would have been the point where John and I would have said "You know what, let's have a cup of tea and try rethink this."'
Sir Paul also revealed he mentally 'consulted' with Lennon while working on new material.
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detailsWhen Taylor Swift walked into Paul McCartney’s MPL Studios office in London, in early October, for this issue’s cover story, she arrived without assistants or stylists or even a makeup person. (Appropriately, Taylor chose to wear clothes designed by Paul’s daughter Stella McCartney for the occasion.) For most of the day it was just Taylor and Paul, along with Paul’s daughter Mary McCartney, a photographer, in what turned out to be a revelatory meeting of megastars from across the generations.
Taylor came armed with questions; Paul was loose and relaxed, singing to Motown songs and sharing personal stories, like the time he made veggie burgers for Quincy Jones in his kitchen. They talked about songwriting, how to keep a semblance of normal life as a celebrity, and the risk-taking albums they both made during lockdown. “I was using words I always wanted to use — bigger, flowerier, pretty words,” Taylor says in one exchange. “I have favorite words, like ‘elegies’ and ‘epiphany’ and ‘divorcée’ . . . that I think sound beautiful.”
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“They are awful. But I also think they’re fabulous. Let’s just go and say hello.”
What if young record store manager Brian Epstein had not, in 1961, after a scrappy gig in a “sweaty basement,” popped over to say hello to the band? What if, as Craig Brown wonders in 150 Glimpses of the Beatles, Paul had done better in his exams, moved up a school year, and never gotten to know George? Or Ringo had had more patience with U.S. immigration forms and succeeded in moving to Houston? Or the engine fire on a 1965 flight from Minneapolis to Portland had ended in catastrophe, cutting the band off in their prime? “Think what we would have missed if we had never heard the Beatles,” the Queen once mused. As the world marks 40 years since the murder of John Lennon — gone, now, for as long as we had him — shimmering alternative histories are especially poignant. A feeling of loss is palpable.
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detailsLegendary Beatle Paul McCartney teamed up with surf filmmaker Jack McCoy to produce Wine Dark Open Sea, a music video featuring McCartney’s heartfelt song of the same name written in tribute to the ocean and the graceful longboarding of Belinda Baggs, which premiered on November 5. The video is available on Epicentre.tv for a five-dollar donation that will go to supporting the work of brand new organization Surfers for Climate as well as partner organizations Surfrider Foundation Australia and Seed Mob.
Fight for the Bight brought surfers from Australia and all over the world together to fend off Norwegian oil giants intending to drill in the Great Australian Bight as the biggest coastal environmental action in Australian history. Now, having found their voice in defending their local coastline, many of these same surfers and activists have come together to defend coastlines all over the world from the ever-present threat of climate change under the organization of Surfers for Climate, founded by longboarding champion Belinda Baggs and former pro-surfer Johnny Abegg. And they’re not without help. Pro surfers Adrian “Ace” Buchan, Laura Enever, Pacha Light, McCoy, and musician Jack River stand in s details
Sir Paul McCartney has said he sometimes wishes he could “be more like Bob Dylan”.
The acclaimed Beatles musician said the American singer-songwriter’s latest album, Rough And Rowdy Ways, is “really good”.
The 78-year-old told Uncut magazine: “I always like what he does. Sometimes I wish I was a bit more like Bob. He’s legendary … and doesn’t give a shit! But I’m not like that.
“His new album? I thought it was really good. He writes really well. I love his singing – he came through the standards albums like a total crooner. But, yeah, I like his new stuff.
“People ask me who I’m a fan of and Bob Dylan and Neil Young always make the list.”
Dylan scored his ninth number one album with Rough And Rowdy Ways – breaking two chart records in the process.
Source: Kerri-Ann Roper/uk.news.yahoo.com
detailsYoko Ono appears to have stopped working and has handed many of her business interests over to her son Sean as she slows down at the age of 87.
The widow of Beatles legend John Lennon has been vocal for decades about global peace and used to personally attend exhibitions of her artworks.
But she has not been seen in public for more than a year and on October 5 we can reveal Sean Yoko Lennon was appointed a director at eight companies linked to Yoko and the Beatles, including Apple Corp.
He also joined the board at Lensolo, which deals with music rights of some of John’s solo work.
On what would have been John’s 80th birthday in October, Sean made a BBC documentary and an Apple Music show, but Yoko only tweeted a video where she appeared to be reading from a script.
A report in the New York Post in July suggested she needs a
wheelchair much of the time.
Source: Mark Jefferies/mirror.co.uk
detailsThe Beatles’ back catalogue is pretty massive, with most of the songs written by the famous duo Lennon-McCartney. They were the brains behind many songs we know and love, from Hey Jude to I Am the Walrus. But which song is Sir Paul McCartney’s favourite?
As is often the case in music, it is hard to pinpoint one’s favourite song, album or even musician.
For Sir Paul and John Lennon, their music was likely very close to them, as they poured their hearts and souls out into their lyrics and melodies.
John spoke about his disdain for some music by The Beatles in his later years, while also admitting to some real favourites.
Sir Paul has never been quite so anti-The Beatles, but which song was his favourite?
Here are some of the songs which would likely appear in Sir Paul’s top selection.
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