Beatles News

In a move that will prompt many to say "About bloody time," The Beatles' drummer Ringo Starr and Bee Gees' lead singer Barry Gibb received their knighthoods this week from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, as part of her annual New Year honors list.

For Starr, who was awarded his MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) as part of The Beatles back in 1965 (which, at the time, prompted many previous honorees to return their awards in disgust), this honor was a long time coming, given that fellow Beatle Paul McCartney received his knighthood in 1997. Macca has even admitted to lobbying for Ringo to become a 'Sir.' In an interview with The Telegraph, McCartney said, " The last time I went by [Queen Elizabeth] was out. Otherwise, I would have popped in and said 'Look, love, Sir Richard Starkey,"

As for finally receiving his knighthood, Starr seemed completely chuffed by the honor. In a statement, Starr announced "It's great! It's an honor and a pleasure to be considered and acknowledged for my music and my charity work, both of which I love. Peace and love."

Source: axs.com

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Ringo Starr, the ex-drummer of The Beatles has been selected for knighthood as part of Queen Elizabeth’s New Year’s honors list. Starr is now 77. He became a member of the Beatles as a replacement drummer for Pete Best in 1962. USA TODAY

Ringo Starr is among the celebrated citizens selected for knighthood and other awards given in the name of Britain's monarch — and his former Beatles bandmate is singing his praises.

Paul McCartney took to Twitter Saturday to share a photo of the pair along with a congratulatory message.

"Huge congrats Sir Ringo! Sir Richard Starkey has a nice ring to it. Best drummer best pal!" McCartney wrote.

Britain's Cabinet Office publishes a list of the people receiving honors for merit, service or bravery twice a year: just before New Year's Eve, and on the Saturday in June when Queen Elizabeth II's birthday is officially observed.

Source: Sara M Moniuszko, USA TODAY

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With 2018 just a few days away, Paul McCartney has shared what he’s hoping to achieve in the New Year… and it involves the release of a brand new album.

In a Q&A conducted by his official website, McCartney reveals, “I’ll probably be putting out a new album. So, I’d like that to be something I really love and then hopefully the fans will love it too!”

Sir Paul reports that he’s “putting the finishing touches [on the project] now and at the beginning of next year,” and would “like to achieve making that a really great album. Fingers crossed!”

He adds, humorously, “That’s not what it’s called, but fingers crossed!” He then declares, following a pause, “It could be… it COULD be the new album title!”

McCartney has previously reported that he’s been working on the album with Greg Kurstin, who produced and co-wrote three songs on Adele‘s Grammy-winning album 25, including her smash hit “Hello.”

Back in June, the ex-Beatles star revealed that he’d written a song about President Donald Trump that will appear on the record.

Source: krvn.com

George Harrison is attacked at his Friar Park home
Thursday 30 December 1999 George Harrison

George Harrison was seriously injured after being stabbed multiple times by an intruder in his home, Friar Park near Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.

Michael (Mick) Abram, a mentally ill man born in 1966 in Huyton, Liverpool, had scaled a perimeter wall and walked up the drive to the mock-Gothic mansion. Although security cameras were positioned by the main gates and the back entrance, the boundary fence in parts of the grounds was in a state of such disrepair that it was easy for an intruder to gain access.

At around 3.30am in the morning of 30 December 1999, Abram threw a statue of George and the Dragon through a window to gain access. Harrison's wife Olivia awoke first, initially thinking a chandelier had fallen before realising an intruder was in their house.

Source: Beatles Bible

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"When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me/Speaking words of wisdom: Let it be."

Dreams have always been good to Paul McCartney. One morning in 1965 he famously awoke with the tune for “Yesterday” fully formed, its melancholy melody belaying his ultra sunny reputation as the Cute Beatle. His troubles had seemed so far away during these heady days of mop-topped mania, but three years later the dream shared with his band mates had transformed into a nightmare of creative disagreements, business squabbles, and personality clashes. “I was going through a really difficult time around the autumn of 1968,” McCartney later recalled in Marlo Thomas’ book, The Right Words at the Right Time. “It was late in the Beatles’ career and we had begun making a new album, a follow-up to the ‘White Album.’ As a group we were starting to have problems. I think I was sensing the Beatles were breaking up, so I was staying up late at night, drinking, doing drugs, clubbing, the way a lot of people were at the time. I was really living and playing hard.”

Source: Zelda Caldwell

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He returned to his favourite winter sun spot for his annual New Year's break just four months after Hurricane Irma ravaged the luxury destination.

But Sir Paul McCartney, 75, made island life look idyllic again on Thursday, when he was seen enjoying quality time with family on the beach in St Barts.

The Beatles rocker was far from kicking back because he was instead spending an energetic day with his glamorous wife Nancy Shevell, 58, and stylish daughters Stella, 46, and Mary, 48.

He's been enjoying a relaxing holiday with his wife and grandchildren ever since Boxing Day.

And Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney was still seen to be enjoying the idyllic surroundings of St. Barts on Wednesday, just three months since Hurricane Irma threatened to destroy the holiday hotspot.

The 75-year-old singer was enjoying a festive break with his American heiress wife Nancy Shevell, 58.

Source: Katie Pilbeam For Mailonline

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The news has leaked that Ringo Starr is to receive a knighthood for services to music and charity in the New Year Honours List.

At the age of 77, he will become the second of The Beatles to be knighted after Sir Paul McCartney, some 52 years after the Fab Four were honoured by the Queen with MBEs. John Lennon famously sent his back to Buckingham Palace in 1969 in protest against Britain’s support of America in the Vietnam war and over UK involvement in the “Nigeria-Biafra thing”, as he called the civil war in that country.

WASN’T STARR THE WACKY ONE?

RINGO coined the phrase A Hard Day’s Night, which became the title of The Beatles’ No.1 hit. His fine comedic performance in the film of the same name showed that he could act, sing and play his drums, about which more later. It also showcased his outgoing personality, and he went on to have the central role in the second Beatles film, Help!

Source: Martin Hannan

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So, which song had a profound influence on one of rock’s most influential musicians? As part of the End the Silence charity campaign, Paul McCartney reveals that Gene Vincent‘s “Be-Bop-A-Lula” had a huge impact on him as a youth.

“‘Be-Bop-A-Lula’ was the very first record I bought,” says the Beatles legend in a video interview. “I saved up all my pocket money and I went down to the city center in Liverpool, there was a little shop called Currys and it was really an electrical goods store but in the back, there was a little record booth and I knew I could get the record there.”

Source: columbusnewsteam.com

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He's just returned from his exciting Australia and New Zealand concert tour dates.

And Sir Paul McCartney looked absolutely thrilled to be spending Christmas with his wife Nancy Shevell as he took to Instagram with a festive clip.

Embracing his wife, 58, in front of the Christmas tree, the Beatles musical icon, 75, wished his 1.6 million followers a happy festive season before the couple sealed the deal with a kiss.

'Happy Christmas everyone!' Sir Paul McCartney, 75, looked absolutely thrilled to be spending Christmas with his wife Nancy Shevell, 58, as he took to Instagram with a festive clip
Paul McCartney and wife Nancy Shevell spread Christmas cheer

Clad in a casual blue sweater, Paul couldn't wipe the smile from his face as he hugged Nancy, before looking to the camera and saying: 'Happy Christmas everyone, all over the world!

'We love you and wish you a beautiful New Year!' he enthusiastically continued.

Proving just how happy they were, the pair - who wed in 2011 - went on to lock lips.

The married couple are more loved-up than ever before and recently celebrated their sixth wedding anniversary in October.

Source: Daily Mail

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The film was received with such fury that the band were forced to apologize for making it. The critics were wrong

The consensual first misstep in the Beatles’ career occurred the day after Christmas, 1967. In England, this is what is known as Boxing Day, when the postman and others in the service industries, however broadly defined, can expect to receive a present in a box — or they once could, anyway. It’s a big shopping day, a big post-Christmas sit-around-and-bask day, and an ideal day for some light television entertainment.

It was into that market that the Beatles wished to step as their once glorious 1967 campaign drew to a close. The year had begun with their release of the finest single we have, in “Penny Lane”/”Strawberry Fields Forever,” then reached a zeitgeist-bending high water mark in the early summer with "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Later in that summer, manager Brian Epstein died.

Source: Boyah J. Farah

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A handwritten note penned by Beatles icon John Lennon is going up for sale for $35,000.

The note sees the Beatles legend accuse the EMI record label of blocking distribution on his 1968 experimental album Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins, because he appears nude on its cover with Yoko Ono, who became his wife in 1969.

In the letter, Lennon angrily writes: "EMI (who have the real control) wrote warning letters to all their puppets around the world telling them not to handle it in any way."

Lennon's ambition was to ensure that he would avoid a repeat of his experiences with EMI, which also distributed The Beatles' Apple Records releases.

Source: BANG Showbiz

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BEATLES legend Ringo Starr will be knighted in the New Year’s Honours.

The drummer, 77, is recognised for services to music and charity.
Ringo Starr is to finally be knighted, over 20 years after bandmate Sir Paul McCartney received his gong

Ringo, given an MBE in 1965, is said to be “made up”. A pal added: “It’s richly deserved, if a little overdue.”

He will return to Buckingham Palace for a knighthood — 52 years after getting his MBE.

Bandmate Sir Paul McCartney urged the Queen: “Look, love it’s about time.”

Macca was knighted in 1997 but Ringo, 77, had given up all hope before a letter arrived from the Palace a few weeks ago.

Source: David Wooding

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From 1963 to 1969, members of the official Beatles fan club were treated to a special Christmas record every December. And as the Fab Four drifted from mop-top pop to pioneering psychedelic grooves, those festive recordings got progressively stranger.

Enter the 1968 release, which included bizarre highlights like

Paul McCartney singing a holiday song in honor of Christmas, New Year's and Michealmas;
John Lennon narrating the story of 'Jock and Yono' — two amorous balloons whose lives parallel Lennon's relationship with Yoko Ono;
Ringo Starr having a drunken altercation with himself;
and George Harrison inviting Tiny Tim to belt out a high-pitched rendition of 'Nowhere Man.'

So how did the Fab Four get there? Well, scroll down to check out The Beatles' other records made in honor of Christmas — or Crimble, to use Beatle slang.

Source: James McClure - civilizedlife.com

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In 2017, as part of a 50th anniversary tribute to the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, I had the golden opportunity to recreate George Harrison’s “Within You Without You” onstage. Years ago I’d studied Indian music—specifically tabla drumming—in California and in India, and singing “Within You Without You” with a full Indian ensemble and string quartet was an extraordinary experience. While learning the tune, I began experimenting to see if I could bring this haunting and complex song to life on guitar. (Harrison reportedly played guitar on the Sgt. Pepper’s track, but it’s buried deep in the mix.) This arrangement is the result.

Like the Indian traditions it’s based on, “Within You Without You” has no chord changes—the melody unfolds over a drone (roots and fifths played on the tambura). To simulate that sound, I wound up tuning to C G D G B D with a partial capo on the top five strings at the fifth fret—giving me open-string pitches of C C G C E G, an open C tuning. The Sgt. Pepper’s track is in C#, but the song was actually recorded in C and then sped up, so this arrangement is in the original pe details