Beatles News

Brian Epstein, the Fab Four's manager, guided them from Liverpool's Cavern Club to global fame. When he died 58 years ago this week, the band was left suddenly adrift. Three years earlier, Epstein had told the BBC how he knew they would be "the biggest attraction in the world".

When The Beatles were told that their manager, Brian Epstein, had been found dead in his London home on 27 August 1967, they were sent into a tailspin. "It was shattering, sad, and a little frightening," Paul McCartney told Barry Miles in his 1997 biography Many Years from Now. "We loved him."

Epstein had been instrumental in the Fab Four's rise from playing local Liverpool clubs to being the biggest band in the world. He had shaped their early image, helped them get a recording contract, managed all their business affairs, and championed them relentlessly. And he had always believed in them. When the BBC's Panorama profiled him in 1964, the pop impresario said that when he signed the band in 1961, he already knew they would be "one of the biggest, if not the biggest attraction, theatrical attraction, in the world".

By the time of the Panorama interview, Epstein was managing a whole roster of artists, including Gerry and the Pacem details

Ever since The Beatles broke up, everyone and their mother has seemingly been blaming their demise on Yoko Ono. The conspiracies that she broke the band apart and that John chose her over the band are incredibly far-fetched and, frankly, unfair. Thanks to these loose and unfounded claims, Paul McCartney has often stated that Yoko was not the sole reason for The Beatles’ disbandment. However, McCartney has definitively declared that he was not a fan of her joining in on The Beatles recording sessions.

If anyone has watched The Beatles: Get Back, they know that Yoko was present for nearly the entire recording process of the band’s final album. Consequently, fans and critics were always curious as to what her presence made The Beatles feel like. Well, eight years before the release of the film, McCartney divulged exactly why he wasn’t a fan of it. Paul McCartney Reveals His Reason on the Matter

In a 2013 interview on The Howard Stern Show, McCartney went fairly in-depth on the matter in a candid fashion. Being McCartney, he was, of course, polite, cordial, and kind, but he put the rumours to rest with his answer. So, if you’re still crafting your rumors about Yoko and The Beatles, then details

The night Elvis Presley played with The Beatles is fondly remembered as the most epic jam in the history of rock ‘n’ roll. That is, if it actually happened.

What is certain is that Elvis politely hosted the Fab Four at his Bel Air home on Aug. 27, 1965, when John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr were in Los Angeles to perform two shows at the Hollywood Bowl. Elvis, looking every inch a rock god, greeted the quartet with his future wife Priscilla Beaulieu and his “Memphis Mafia” inner circle at his side.

“The Beatles were in awe, and I can say that because they told me that the next day,” Jerry Schilling, Elvis’ longtime friend, tells USA TODAY, while discussing the new Elvis collection “Sunset Boulevard,” which spans Presley’s LA studio sessions from 1970 to 1975. “But it got kind of quiet” after they were ushered into the den.

Elvis sat on the couch, holding his Fender bass guitar, as the four shaggy-haired Beatles stood and sat uneasily. Then Elvis announced, “If you guys are going to look at me all night, I’m going to bed,” Schilling, 83, recalls. “Everyone burst out laughing and that details

Everyone has their favorite Beatles album, including the iconic musicians themselves, but one album in particular seemed to drive a wedge between two of the bandmates.

‌While many fans would name Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band as their favorite, featuring hugely popular hits, the 1967 record divided Paul McCartney and George Harrison. While McCartney touted the album as his favorite, Harrison said it felt like taking a step "backwards" from their revolutionary craftsmanship.

While their eighth album was Paul's "baby," Harrison had grown tired of that particular sound. Comparing it to Rubber Soul and Revolver, Harrison said Sgt Pepper was "not as enjoyable" as the other two and said it "felt like going backwards."

He said, "Everybody else thought that Sgt Pepper was a revolutionary record – but for me it was not as enjoyable as Rubber Soul or Revolver, purely because I had gone through so many trips of my own and I was growing out of that kind of thing."
Revolver was created after Harrison's time in India with Ravi Shankar, where he honed his own voice as a musician. The track Love You To in particular was inspired by that time in Harrison's life and how it shaped his personal music details

Comedy legend Eric Idle has opened up on his strong friendship with the late George Harrison. The Monty Python star struck up a close bond with The Beatles icon when they met at a party in Los Angeles in the 1970s.

‌However, Eric lived in Merseyside as a child and he told the ECHO in an exclusive interview how he's convinced he met the iconic musician when they were both children. He said: "I hung out with someone called George on the Red Noses in New Brighton when I was about five and I often wondered if it was him because we got on so well when we met.

‌"It was like I already knew him and we were talking all night. He was wonderful and he had such a great effect on my life." The 82-year-old will pay tribute to his friendship with the All Things Must Pass writer in his new show, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, LIVE!, which is coming to the Liverpool Empire on September 14.

‌The one man musical is described as "an evening of comedy, music, philosophy and one fart joke", and Eric told the ECHO how one song is dedicated to George. He said: "There's a couple of singalongs. there's some touching songs. I've written a song for George because I miss him so much. That's really quite emoti details

While the title of the greatest band of all time is completely subjective, we can all probably agree that The Beatles receive it the most often. They broke up in 1970, and 54 years later, The Beatles continue to stay relevant and attract the attention of fans across the globe. The Beatles’ resounding success comes, of course, from a plethora of different factors. However, at the root of it is ultimately their timeless music.

To some Beatles fans, the Fab Four didn’t create a bad song. Now, you might agree or strongly disagree with that statement, and if you are part of the latter, you might cite these three songs as “bad” Beatles songs. Despite these “bad” Beatles songs, they are still, in fact, one of the greatest rock bands of all time.
“Revolution 9”

One could make the argument that The Beatles’ “Revolution 9” isn’t even a song. Rather, it’s just a bunch of arbitrary noises meshed together, seemingly created as an experimental way to throw off listeners and bolster The Beatles’ psychedelic mystique. However, that is what makes it a “bad” song, as it isn’t traditional in any sense of the word.

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George Harrison’s exotic soundtrack to Joe Massot’s swinging sixties cinematic head trip film Wonderwall was the first solo Beatle project – that is, of course, if you don’t count Paul McCartney’s 1966 soundtrack to The Family Way, which was actually credited to The George Martin Orchestra.

1968’s Wonderwall Music is all over the musical map—delightfully so—with songs ranging from classical Indian ragas to jaunty nostalgic-sounding numbers to proto-metal guitar freakouts. It’s a minor classic, and I wish more people knew about it. I’ve long been an enthusiastic evangelist for this album, sticking tracks on mixed CDs and tapes for quite some time. Even avowed Beatlemaniacs tend to have missed out on Wonderwall Music. It’s a real overlooked gem.

Harrison’s principle collaborator for the Wonderwall soundtrack was orchestral arranger John Barham who transcribed Harrison’s “western” melodies into a musical annotation that the Indian musicians in Bombay could work with. Barham was a student and collaborator of Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar, who had introduced him to the quiet Beatle.

Barham, who would soon go on to compose details

Music can be a spellbinding thing. With closed eyes and the right song on, the listener can be transported to a very specific place and time – to one’s first kiss, a time of euphoria or tragedy. Answering a fan-submitted question on his website, Paul McCartney has listed his three favorite albums, citing their ability to recall particular moments in his life as his reasons for choosing them.

“My partner and I have recently been discussing the albums and songs that have soundtracked our lives,” McCartney fan, Alex, writes. “Are there any albums that take you back to certain periods in your life? And does performing your own music evoke similar memories?”

The Beatle, who has recently reunited with his iconic Hofner bass after it went missing for half a century, was forthcoming with his answer, listing his three favorite records, but falling short of sharing the times, places, and emotions they bring flooding back.

“My favourite albums by other people,” he says, “tend to be: Music from Big Pink by the Band, Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys, and Harvest by Neil Young. They are the three classics that I love to listen to, and they all remind me of certain time details

John Lennon and Paul McCartney are the most successful songwriting pair in the history of music, regarding both numerical success and intangible success. The last thing we need to do is remind you about how much they’ve accomplished, and frankly, if we wanted to do it in full detail, this article would be well over a thousand words. Though what is not as widely known is how McCartney and Lennon’s juxtaposing personalities led to the most iconic musical partnership of all time.

On the surface, one can pick up on the differences between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. McCartney, in a general sense, is far more jubilant, politely compliant, and willing to take part in the game of being the most famous musician in the world. Lennon was seemingly not that, as he was rebellious, dark, and guarded, and spoke his mind no matter the situation. However, it’s these differences, and others, that quite possibly made them such a successful pair

In The Beatles canon, it is fairly common knowledge that Paul McCartney was the more talented musician, and John Lennon the more talented poet. Attesting to that fact is George Martin in the book, The Beatles: The Authorized Biography. “All the time [Paul’ details

John Lennon often talked about the fact that he wanted the verses to the songs that he wrote to have the same musical potency as the choruses. Although he never stated this intent, Lennon also had a knack for dropping lines into the middle of his songs that could stop you in your tracks with their profundity. In his classic song “Strawberry Fields Forever”, a couplet in the second verse summed up much of what the song was meant to convey. And it also provided a stunning glimpse into just how Lennon saw himself within the wider world.

As The Beatles prepared to make new music in 1967, John Lennon and Paul McCartney originally gave themselves a brief to write about their childhoods. Although they soon abandoned the idea, it stuck around long enough to influence the songs that would serve as the band’s first single of the year, a double A-side.

McCartney wrote “Penny Lane”. The song takes a specific look at the people and places he remembered encountering as a kid. Lennon based “Strawberry Fields Forever” around a local park area within the grounds of a Salvation Army home. But the location simply served as a touchstone for happier memories, a la Rosebud in Citizen Kane.

‘The Beatles Anthology’ Expands With a 9th Episode and 4th Volume

This episode goes behind the scenes of the 1995 documentary; new mixes of “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love” are coming out; and an updated book is due.

The Beatles are back: Unreleased demos and never before seen footage are coming later this fall.

The fourth volume of the band’s “Anthology Collection” of recordings (including 13 new demos) is arriving, along with a capstone episode to the 1995 eight-part documentary and a 25th-anniversary edition of “The Beatles Anthology” book.

The album, “Anthology 4,” includes new mixes of “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love.” The release will accompany remastered versions of the first three “Anthology” albums as well, and will be available Nov. 21.

Source: nytimes.com/Michaela Towfighi

John Lennon was certainly not a man known for biting his tongue, whether conversationally or musically through his lyrics, and that included his feelings about a controversial career move Bob Dylan made in the late 1970s. (Though, to be fair to Lennon, everyone seemed to have an opinion on this interesting pivot in the singer-songwriter’s discography.)

Lennon’s snarky response to arguably one of the best songs to come out of this Dylan era never made it to an official album. The song landed on posthumous archival releases, though, granting us insight into Lennon’s opinions that went deeper than what he was willing to divulge to the press. 

Love it or hate it, Bob Dylan’s Christian era was a pivotal moment in his career. For critics, it was difficult to reconcile this gospel-preaching Dylan with the 1960s rebel who spoke out against authoritarian figures of all kinds. For Dylan purists, it was one of many unique stages in his musical career, yet another testament to the songwriter’s broad abilities. These camps inevitably included some of Dylan’s contemporaries, who felt strongly one way or another about his late 1970s career shift. John Lennon tried to ride the fence on t details

The classic music documentary series, The Beatles Anthology, is being remastered by Peter Jackson’s production companies and will stream on Disney+ later this year. As well as digitally enhanced versions of the original eight episodes, there will also be a brand new ninth episode, created from previously unseen behind-the-scenes footage of Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr coming together around the release of the original series.

The series, which was first broadcast by ITV in 1995, was hailed as the definitive documentary on the Beatles thanks to the way it reunited the surviving three Beatles with their producer George Martin, former press officer Derek Taylor and one-time road manager Neil Aspinall to tell the tale of their career in their own words. Its release was accompanied by the single, Free As a Bird, the first new piece of music put out by the scouse quartet since their disbanding. It was so shrouded in secrecy that record label EMI used armed guards to protect it ahead of its release.

The remastered series, which coincides with the 30th anniversary of the original, is the latest Beatles project from Jackson’s Wingnut Films and Park Road Post teams. They previously worked on details

Sir Paul McCartney has hinted at a return to the Anthology series of albums by The Beatles.

Appearing on McCartney's Instagram, as well as Sir Ringo Starr's and the official Beatles accounts, a new post appears to make a nod towards the famous series of albums. The carousel of images contained the numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4, with no caption.

Each of the numbers feature images from the Beatles' three-volume double set of albums inside. This has led to Beatles fans speculating what this could mean, and many are now convinced that the post is a precursor to the return of the Anthology series.

Anthology was a multimedia project that was put together by the three surviving Beatles at the time, featuring live versions, alternate takes, unreleased material, outtakes and never-before-seen interviews and photos.

Anthology 1 was released in late 1995, followed by 2 and 3 the following year.  The series also featured the first new music from the band since the death of John Lennon, with McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr working with Jeff Lynne on the tracks 'Real Love' and 'Free as a Bird'.

It also included remnants of a song called 'Now And Then' from 1978. In 2023, they wer details

Beatles drummer Ringo Starr had a frightening near-death experience after being involved in a terrible car accident. In 1980, Starr, now 85, met Barbara Bach on the set of the movie Caveman, and the pair quickly formed a bond.

Just a few months later, they were en route to a party in Surrey when their visibility was hampered by thick fog. As they approached a notorious black-spot at the Robin Hood Roundabout on the A3 at 60 mph, Starr had to swerve to avoid an oncoming truck.

This caused the couple to skid fifty yards, leading to Starr's white Mercedes crashing head-on into two lampposts. Despite injuring his leg, Starr managed to get his partner out of the car to safety.

After extracting his Bond star girlfriend from the wreckage, the musician reportedly went back to the car to grab a pack of cigarettes.
Miraculously, both escaped the crash with minor injuries, but the horrifying collision completely totaled Starr's luxury car, reports the Express. 

In a chilling coincidence, the accident occurred just half a mile away from where Marc Bolan tragically died in a car accident just three years earlier.

Just three weeks after their crash, Bach, now 77, told her father that she plan details