- Register
- Log in to Tune-In
- Wishlist (0)
-
Shopping cart
(0)
You have no items in your shopping cart.
Beatles News
Despite the adulation and enthusiasm of the growing band of Beatles fans in India, their trip to Rishikesh was not without its controversies. There were many people in the country who were openly hostile to both Maharishi [Mahesh Yogi] and the arrival of the rock band and other celebrities from the West in his ashram. In the Lok Sabha, the elected Lower House of the Indian Parliament, the Opposition went up in arms alleging that the yogi was in cahoots with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and that many of his guests from abroad were actually foreign spies. The charge was led by communist members of Parliament who formed a sizeable block in the Opposition benches and were supported by the socialists who too felt that something fishy was happening in Rishikesh.
Source: Ajoy Bose/scroll.in
details
By early 1963, the value of the songs written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney was obvious to Beatles manager Brian Epstein.
Artists were lining up to record their new compositions. Following the release of their debut single "Love Me Do," producer George Martin recommended Dick James Music to Epstein as a publisher that could do a good job maximizing the value of the Beatles' music. James' idea: a new company owned by James, McCartney, Lennon and Epstein. On Feb. 22, 1963, Lennon and McCartney signed contracts that created what they thought was their own music publishing company: Northern Songs.
"We just signed this thing, not really knowing what it was at all about [and] that we were signing our rights away for our songs," McCartney recalled in Many Years From Now. "John and I didn't know you could own songs. We thought they just existed in the air.
Source: ultimateclassicrock.com
details
The letter, thought to be signed by all four Beatles members, is expected to fetch around £12,000
The typed letter to Atlanta DJ Paul Drew, who travelled with the band, was signed by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr in September 1965.
It reads: “Dear Paul, we just thought that we would like to write to you all and say thanks very much for your help on the tour.
"We enjoyed it and appreciated your patience and co-operation. Hope to see you next year.“
The letter was written by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr in 1965
Anything signed by all four Beatles is highly collectable but to have it on NEMS stationary and addressed to Paul Drew takes it to another level.
Source: Andrew Aldridge/express.co.uk
details
The 84-year-old record producer says he had a long talk with his daughters about what he said, and he is sorry.
Quincy Jones on Thursday morning issued an apology for remarks he made in bombshell interviews with Vulture and GQ in late January.
In his apology, the music legend said his daughters took him aside and talked to him about the effects of the comments.
The 84-year-old record producer said he stopped drinking a few years back and his memory of past events is not as sharp as it should be, which is one of the side effects, so his stories do not paint the whole picture.
"I am sorry to anyone whom my words offended, and I am especially sorry to my friends who are still here with me and those who aren't," Jones said in the statement.
One of the biggest tales Jones shared in one interview was that the late Richard Pryor allegedly had a sexual relationship with the late Marlon Brando. Pryor's ex-wife said it was true, but Brando's son denied the claim.
Source: Ryan Parker/hollywoodreporter.com
Baby you can drive my car! Or certainly George Harrison’s cherished 1984 black Mercedes which is expected to fetch £40,000 at auction next month.
The ex-Beatle had the Mercedes 500 SEL AMG customised to his liking – including the addition of a wired-in mobile phone – in May 1984 when he bought the vehicle near to his home in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.
Spoilers, a leather steering wheel, and a black chrome trim were also added to the car, eventually setting Harrison back a total of £85,000.
But all the investment was perhaps worthwhile after the car made a cameo in the band’s official Real Love video in 1995. Harrison clocked up 30,000 miles on the Mercedes during his 16-year ownership before he sold it to a friend in August 2000. Omega Auctions will put the item up for sale in Newton-Le-Willow, Merseyside on March 24.
Source: independent.ie
details
My Sweet Lord! ‘The Quiet Beatle’ George Harrison would have turned 75 this week.
To celebrate what would’ve been George Harrison’s 75th birthday, The Beatles Story, Albert Dock is hosting a free event dedicated to telling the story of George’s introduction to Indian music and spirituality on Sunday 25th February 2018 from 4pm. The event will include a talk, given by Dr. Mike Jones of the University of Liverpool’s Music Department exploring the Indian influence on the Beatles from its origins, through to the Rishikesh episode and beyond.
He will be joined by Thomas McConnell, a Liverpool-based singer songwriter, who will provide musical demonstration throughout the session. Tom is signed to Deltasonic Records and is currently touring his new album with his band, TV ME. He played at the Philharmonic Hall in June last year as part of the concert George Harrison: The Beatles and Indian Music. The event is free and will be held in the Fab4 café.
Source: theguideliverpool.com
details
George Harrison’s 75th birthday is being marked in the most surprising of places.
An event celebrtaing the life of the former Beatle who passed away in 2001 is being held at Portmeirion in North Wales.
The Italian Renaissance-style village was the distinctive setting for the ‘60s television series The Prisoner and was also a favourite spot for The Beatles with George holding his 50th birthday party there in 1993.
This event is open to the public and includes a tour of Portmeirion giving details of George’s links to the site.
There will also be a Q&A session with Freda Kelly , the band’s former PA and president of the official fan club.
Her role, which she undertook from 1962 to 1972 and saw her responding to fans’ letters, often staying up until 4am to do so.
She also oversaw publication of a monthly fan club magazine.he evening will finish with a performance from the singer Paul Jones who was cast as George in the The Cavern Club Beatles, and other special guests. Tickets to the event, which include dinner, are £30, available to buy at this link .
Source: Liverpool Echo
details
Musician, recording engineer and producer Jerry Hammack has just released volume 2 of The Beatles Recording Reference Manual - a book that reveals the secrets behind the recording of some of the band's most famous albums. It is the second of what will be a four-volume set.
In January, volume 1 was nominated for an Award of Excellence from the Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC). The new book picks up where the first left off, covering "Help!", "Rubber Soul", and "Revolver" (1965-1966).
"This period in The Beatles' development is really fascinating," says Hammack. "It's a time where the demands of Beatlemania end and they are able to explore both from a songwriting and recording perspective. It represents the emergence of their unique voices as writers (think, 'In My Life') as well as their use of the studio to create sounds the world would never expect from a pop band (as in 'Tomorrow Never Knows')."
Source: beatlesnews.com
details
This past week as my husband Patrick and I were traveling, we took a break from our preferred news station and changed the channel to the Beatles station on Sirius XM Channel 18, where Peter Frampton produced a countdown of the top 50 romantic hits by the Beatles as chosen by listeners.
The satellite radio program served as a prelude to Valentine’s Day, with the title “All You Need is Love—The Top 50 Beatles Love Songs Countdown.” Songs like “Here, There, and Everywhere,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “Michelle,” “She Loves You,” “Something,” “Yesterday,” “Love Me Do” and on and on.
Frampton, a friend of the Beatles and a legendary musician himself, was tailored to the task of hosting the countdown, adding Beatle trivia and historical tidbits to keep the program flowing. Over and over, he posited the Beatles wrote some of the best-known love songs of all time. The messages of the 50 selected love songs were definitely about love and romance and sweethearts.
Source: JJ Abernathy/thespectrum.com
The I ME MINE exhibition of George Harrison's handwritten song lyrics, faithfully reproduced in facsimile, and rare photographs from the Harrison Estate has now opened in Tokyo, Japan. For an album of photographs from the exhibition, click here.
The exhibition will run at the Tomio Koyama Gallery from the 17th February to the 11th March, and will including a special event this Sunday 25th, for what would have been George Harrison's 75th birthday. Visit the gallery website for details.
Source: genesis-publications.com
details
John (‘more popular than Jesus”) Lennon was always inclined to make sweeping statements, and in December 1970, when interviewed by ‘Rolling Stone’s’ Jann Wenner, was particularly keen to dismiss and demythologize The Beatles.
Thus when asked, ‘What do you think the effect was of The Beatles on the history of Britain?’ he replied:
“ … the people who are in control and in power, and the class system and the whole bullshit bourgeoisie is exactly the same, except there is a lot of fag middle class kids with long, long hair walking around London in trendy clothes, and Kenneth Tynan is making a fortune out of the word ‘fuck.’ Apart from that, nothing happened. We all dressed up, the same bastards are in control, the same people are runnin’ everything. It is exactly the same.”
Source: John Plowright/soundblab.com
details
There is no easy explanation for such vastly dissimilar people as George (Harrison) and Ravi Shankar instantly connecting with each other, almost as if their relationship was preordained. Their family backgrounds were completely different. The Beatle was the son of a bus conductor father and a shop assistant mother, both with modest means and even more modest educational qualifications. The sitar maestro’s father was a statesman, lawyer and scholar, and his mother the daughter of a wealthy landowner. George grew up in a working-class suburb of Liverpool.
Source: Written by Ajoy Bose/qz.com
details
Fifty years ago, between 16 and 19 February 1968, the four Beatles and their partners flew to India to learn about meditation from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Their journey, both physical and spiritual, is being celebrated in an exhibition as part of The Beatles Story at the Albert Dock in their hometown of Liverpool. Enter the space and smell the sandalwood incense! Experience the vibrant colours of the compound! Walk in the living quarters where the Beatles wrote their songs! See Donovan’s guitar and Ravi Shankar’s sitar!
Martin King, the managing director of The Beatles Story, says, “We are trying to give a real feeling of the Ganges and the foothills of the Himalayas at the Albert Dock. Even the floor covering is like a grassy pathway. You see John Lennon’s No.9 bungalow with Donovan’s guitar outside and the idea is that they have been playing together and just left the set.
Source: SPENCER LEIGH/independent.co.uk
details
The famous Yoko Ono was born on February 18, 1933, in Tokyo, Japan. She moved to New York during the 1950’s where she pursued an artistic career, specializing in conceptual and experimental art. She first met Lennon in 1966 at her own art exhibition in London, and they became a couple in 1968 and wed the following year. With their performance Bed-Ins for Peace in Amsterdam and Montreal in 1969, Ono and Lennon famously used their honeymoon at the Hilton Amsterdam as a stage for public protests against the Vietnam War. Despite many claiming she was the main cause for The Beatles to break up as a band, this has been denied both by the members of the band and by Yoko herself. She, however, inspired John Lennon into breaking away from the Pop music mold he had become famous for with The Beatles and motivated him in becoming a more experimental artist using different and more raw and crude songwriting skills that were mainly reflected on his first solo albums and with Plastic Ono Band. In her music, Ono brought feminism to the forefront influencing several feminine artists but also avant-garde and alternative.
Source: Pop Expresso
George Harrison made a secret trip to the US incognito five months before Beatlemania crossed the pond, his estranged sister has revealed. The music legend slipped into the country in September 1963 without fanfare, travelled the Midwest and played with a local band. It was the last time that the Beatle, who would have celebrated his 75th birthday on February 25, felt 'like a normal human being', said 86-year-old Louise Harrison.
Louise, who lives in a trailer near Branson, rural Missouri, and relies on welfare payments, struggles to make ends meet managing a Beatles cover band since her brother's death in 2001. She revealed that she hadn't been told about his terminal illness or the terrible pain he suffered until two weeks before he passed away aged 58 after a long battle with lung cancer.
Source: Daily Mail
details