Beatles News

Taken from George Harrison’s towering All Things Must Pass album this beautiful song has the distinction of being the first number one single in the UK and America by a former Beatle, as well as being the UK’s biggest selling single of 1971. George wrote the song, but did you know that he was not the first to record ‘My Sweet Lord’? George gave the song to Billy Preston to include on his September 1970 album, Encouraging Words that the former Beatle also produced.

Billy’s album included many of the musicians that were bound up in George’s musical world during this period, appearing on All Things Must Pass, including Eric Clapton, Bobby Whitlock, Carl Radle and Jim Gordon who soon after formed Derek and the Dominos. Bobby Keys and Jim Price play horns and on Billy’s version of 'My Sweet Lord' it’s the distinctive sounds of the Edwin Hawkins singers that provide the backing vocals.

Harrison began writing ‘My Sweet Lord’ in December 1969, when he, along with Billy Preston and Eric Clapton were in Copenhagen, Denmark playing with Delaney & Bonnie's band. It was in the middle of a productive and spiritual period that saw George producing Preston's &lsquo details

In series five of Mad Men, Don Draper’s much-younger second wife Megan hands the advertising exec, who is concerned about losing touch with popular culture, a copy of The Beatles’ new record Revolver. The episode is set in August 1966. The album was released on August 5th. (The 8th in the US).

Megan Draper points to the final track with the advice: “Start with this one.”

Geoff Emerick actually did. Tomorrow Never Knows was the first Revolver track he worked on after being promoted by George Martin to engineer his first full Beatles studio album (and their seventh). Most of us have our first day at work marked by a trip to the HR department, a tour of the kitchen or having a photo taken for a security pass. Emerick worked on the recording of a song Jimi Hendrix and Noel Gallagher performed live, Public Enemy sampled, Van Halen’s David Lee Roth covered and a musical statement The Chemical Brothers claim as “their manifesto”.

It was both the final track and the first recorded. Revolver, 50 years young, itself is a record of firsts and lasts.

It was the first Beatles album with three George songs. It was the last time Capitol Records in the States tinkered wi details

One of the earliest and last tracks recorded for Abbey Road. The Beatles’ second entry into hard rock. Their final journey into the avant garde. Indeed, “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” embodies these qualities, but it also provides a snapshot into John Lennon’s all-consuming relationship with Yoko Ono. Seething with sexual tension and featuring some of the band’s heaviest sound to date, the track demonstrates how much the Beatles had progressed in such a short time, willing to take risks in sound, form, and subject. A close examination of “I Want You” lifts the curtain on the creation process, showcasing how a song can take many twists and turns before appearing in its final form.

Expressing his life-engulfing passion for Ono, Lennon penned a track featuring only the words “I want you, I want you so bad, babe / I want you, I want you so bad it’s driving me mad, it’s driving me mad.” During his infamous 1971 Rolling Stone interview, Lennon addressed critics who panned his seemingly simplistic lyrics: “in fact a reviewer wrote … ‘He seems to have lost his talent for lyrics, it’s so simple and boring.’ ‘She’s So details

The world loves The Beatles, and it loves the statue of the Fab Four at the Pier Head – yeah, yeah, yeah! Since being unveiled last December, the giant bronze tribute to John, Paul, George and Ringo has become one of the must-see landmarks for tourists visiting the city. To find out just how popular they are, and what visitors think of them, the ECHO spent an hour in the company of the Four Lads Who Shook The World. And it soon became clear that they are a much-loved addition to our world-famous waterfront – and have the ability to put smiles on the faces of people from all over the world as soon as they see them.

Cristina and Ramon Pardo, and their children Alejandro, 13, and Jacobo, nine, from Madrid, were among a large group of tourists from Spain who had arrived in Liverpool during an eight-day tour of the UK. And they made a beeline for the Fab Four as their bus arrived at the Pier Head, with Cristina saying: “All the family like The Beatles and we have really enjoyed being able to see the statue. We had to see it while we were here!”

London-based tour guide Jason Dennis, who is accompanying the tourists, adds: “This was a must-see on the tour of Liverpool. Everyone loves the s details

A 60-YEAR-old Austin Princess hearse with aircraft seats fitted by its previous owner JOHN LENNON is expected to fetch £250,000 at auction.

The Beatles legend used the British car as his personal limousine after buying it secondhand in August 1971. Records show the car was registered in the name of John Ono Lennon to 3 Savile Row, which was the Mayfair address of The Beatles. The logbook also says it was "kept in Berks", which refers to Lennon and wife Yoko Ono's country estate of Tittenhurst, which was in Sunningdale, Berkshire.

Lennon owned the 1956 hearse at around the time he was writing and recording the famous song 'Imagine', and the car appears prominently in the feature film which was released the following year. The Austin Princess was a popular model among celebrities in the 1950s and 1960s with The Beatles regularly travelling around in one. This famously owned hearse had five aeroplane seats fitted into the back by the musical legend which remain in the car today.

Lennon held onto the Austin Princess until 1972 when it was sold to a Californian. The car has remained in the USA ever since but it returning to Britain in September when it will be sold by RM Sotheby's at its high-profile Lo details

Opening with a sharp swipe at Harold Wilson’s supertax rate for big earners, it ends half an hour later in a revolutionary mystical soundscape sculpted from LSD and dope, and drenched in technical wizardry the like of which had never been heard before. In between, a dozen of the finest pop songs ever written – including Eleanor Rigby, Good Day Sunshine and Here, There and Everywhere – all wrapped up in a piece of artwork as unexpected and intricate as the music it was created to contain.

Half a century after the release of Revolver, the Beatles album hailed not only as the group’s creative summit but arguably pop’s greatest achievement, the artist who designed the record’s monochrome sleeve – itself acclaimed as one of the finest pop artworks – has revealed how he did it: on a kitchen table in an attic flat, for £50.

Klaus Voormann – veteran Beatles confidant, inventor of the mop-top haircut, and member of the group’s inner circle of friends since their formative years playing Hamburg bars and strip joints – has decided to tell the story of his relationship with the Fab Four not in words, but in pictures. Voormann’s graphic novel, Birt details

George’s first full solo tour following the breakup of The Beatles began in November 1974, prior to the release of his fifth studio album. This was also the first tour of North America by any of the four Beatles and, like his Concert For Bangladesh, this 1974 tour, which began in Canada on 2 November 1974, included Ravi Shankar the Indian master-musician.

Other musicians from the Bangladesh concert that also appeared on the 1974 tour included Billy Preston who had a couple of solo numbers and was prominently featured on keyboards, drummers Jim Keltner and Andy Newmark, and trumpeter Chuck Findlay. The rest of the band for the ’74 tour was made up of saxophonists, Tom Scott and Jim Horn, guitarist, Robben Ford, who all played with Scott in the LA Express, and who all featured on George’s Dark Horse album.

The tour became known as the ‘Dark Horse’ tour. George had signed Ravi to his new label of the same name and he played several songs from the album that was released towards the end of the 26-date run of gigs. However, it was not an easy time for George. He struggled throughout the tour with laryngitis and gargled nightly with a mixture of honey, vinegar and warm water to try and re details

On this day 60 years ago, the first ever Albums Chart was published in the UK - and we're marking the occasion by honouring a true chart diamond.

The Official Albums Chart represents the most trusted and longest established measure of album popularity in Britain, and to celebrate today’s landmark birthday, the Official Charts Company is honoured to announce Paul McCartney as the UK’s most successful albums artist of all time.

Paul becomes the latest recipient of the new Official Chart Record Breaker Award - a prestigious new accolade presented to a selected elite of artists achieving the greatest feats on the Official Chart.

The music icon’s impact on the Official Albums Chart across the past six decades is something most artists can only dream of; racking up an astonishing 22 Number 1 albums across his illustrious career. Paul has scored 15 Number 1s as a member of The Beatles, two with Wings, four via his solo projects and one with Linda McCartney to become the most prolific chart topper in history.

Reacting to the news, Paul told OfficialCharts.com: “Okay, you know how it really feels? It feels unbelievable, because when you write your songs you don't count how well the details

Surviving Beatles members Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney have performed together only sporadically since their famous group broke up in 1970, but Starr says he now would love to hit the road with his former band mate. At a recent event in Los Angeles celebrating his 76th birthday, the drummer told Closer Weekly, “I would tour with Paul McCartney tomorrow!”

Having said that Ringo noted, “I’m doing my own tours right now so we’d have to work it out.”

As for how he felt about reaching the ripe old age of 76, Starr quipped, “It would be nice to be 70 again! But you get up in the morning and you try to have the best day you can. And be in the best spirit that you can be!”

Speaking about good spirits, the rock legend is known for encouraging people to spread the message of peace and love around the world, as he did at his public birthday celebration in L.A.

At the event, he told Closer Weekly, “I think it is important with all the violence that there is peace and love! And maybe we can have more as the years go on!”

Source: ABC News Radio

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George Harrison's estate gently weeps over Donald Trump's use of his music. A representative from the late Beatles' estate quickly slammed the use of "Here Comes the Sun" during the final night of the Republican National Convention on Thursday. The beloved classic song played as Ivanka Trump emerged on stage to deliver her highly anticipated speech. "The unauthorized use of #HereComestheSun at the #RNCunCLE is offensive & against the wishes of the George Harrison estate," they wrote.

Many seemed to agree with the sentiment as the post was retweeted more than 7,000 times. They even suggested an alternative. "If it had been Beware of Darkness, then we may have approved it! #TrumpYourself," they continued.

The unauthorized use of the 1969 Harrison-penned track isn't the only liberty the Trump campaign has taken during the convention. Earlier in the day, The O'Jays decried their music being played at the Cleveland, Ohio convention. Their 1973 hit "Love Train" was used and even changed to "Trump Train."

By: Melanie Dostis

Source: NY Daily News

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He was gunned down outside his luxury New York apartment having left Britain after the break-up of The Beatles. But before he became a global star John Lennon vowed he would never live in the US, it has been revealed. Lennon made the comments in a previously lost interview with The Beatles from 1964 which has been discovered in a house in Doncaster, Yorkshire. 

The original reel-to-reel tape recording could now sell for £10,000. During the audio recording, interviewer Alistair McDougall asks the band if they would ever ‘consider taking up residence in America or even record over there’. Lennon replies: ‘You’re joking! Wouldn’t live there, wouldn’t mind recording there.’

The interview for the British Forces Broadcasting Network was recorded in Paris in January 1964 while The Beatles were on tour in France. Although they were a huge success in Britain at the time, Beatlemania had yet to take over the world. 

The audio tape was discovered in the home of Mr McDougall, who died in 2007, by friends during a clear-out of his home. Lennon moved permanently to New York from London with wife Yoko Ono in 1971 to escape the intense media spotlight on the coup details

Late July and early August 1968, one of the most iconic songs ever was recorded at Apple Studios London. Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, The Beatles “Hey Jude” is still as popular today as it was then. It all started during the break-up of John’s marriage to Cynthia, and Paul thought young Julian was taking it all pretty badly.

On his way to visit Cynthia at their home in Weybridge a line kept singing in his mind “Hey Jules, don’t make it bad, take I sad song and make it better” it was, he hoped an optimistic and hopeful message to Julian. Cynthia recalled “Paul turned up at the door wearing a red nose saying ‘sorry Cyn this isn’t right I don’t know what’s come over him’, he was the only member of the Beatles family who had the courage to stand up to John, in fact musically and personally they were both beginning to go in separate directions”. Paul finished the song at his home in Cavendish Avenue, London, and he changed Jules to Jude and John actually thought the song was about him. Paul wanted to change the line “The movement you need is on your shoulder” but John insisted he kept it in stating “That’s the details

A new, remastered live album containing the Beatles' performances at the Hollywood Bowl in 1964 and 1965 will be released this fall. The album, Live at the Hollywood Bowl, coincides with a new documentary by Ron Howard about the band's early career, dubbed Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years.

The album contains recordings from three different concerts, which took place on August 23rd, 1964 and August 29th and 30th, 1965, and the repertoire covers many of their early hits, including "Twist and Shout," "Ticket to Ride" and "A Hard Days Night," among others.

Although the group put out the platinum-selling The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl in 1977, the new record contains a different track list with four previously unreleased songs. The recordings were sourced directly from the three-track tapes of the concerts and were remixed and mastered at Abbey Road by George Martin's son, Giles, and engineer Sam Okell.

"Technology has moved on since my father worked on the material all those years ago," Giles said in a statement. "Now there's improved clarity, and so the immediacy and visceral excitement can be heard like never before. ... What we hear now is the raw energy of four lads playing together to a cr details

An inveterate patron of junk stores and flea markets, Dave Seabury was rummaging through a box at a garage sale in San Pablo in 1986 when he came across an old photographic contact sheet with 72 images of the Beatles in performance.

“I knew it was a find,” recalls Seabury, a Bay Area musician, painter and sculptor of salvaged material who performs with a piquant array of local bands — among them Psychotic Pineapple, the Rock & Roll Adventure Kids and the Chuckleberries — while working days at the Presidio Trust running the recycling and refuse disposal operation.

Seabury bought that unsigned contact sheet, which had previously been purchased at the Berkeley Flea Market, for $1. He tucked it in his collection of photographs and posters and didn’t think much about it, other than it was cool. Some time later, he was looking at Jim Marshall’s famous pictures from the Beatles’ last live concert, at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park on Aug. 29, 1966, when he realized they were wearing the same patterned shirts they have on in the tiny images on the contact sheet.

“It’s definitely from that last show,” says the 63-year-old Beatles lover and co details

A long lost Beatles demo disc sent to Cilla Black has been rediscovered 52 years later.

Black had a UK Top 10 hit with the Lennon-McCartney penned It's for You in 1964 which was produced by George Martin at Abbey Road Studios. The song peaked at number 7 in the charts but Paul McCartney had earlier that year recorded his own version, clocking in at just under two minutes, on a 7 inch Dick James demo disc and wanted Black to listen to it. The acetate was delivered to the London Palladium where Black was performing at the time but its whereabouts since then had been unclear, with it thought to have been lost or destroyed.

The disc has now re-emerged after a relative of Black, who died last year, came across a brown envelope which had the words "It's For You" hand-written on the front and Cilla Black's name underneath. They assumed that it was a copy of her hit record and brought it in with other items to be valued at The Beatles Shop in Mathew Street, Liverpool.

Stephen Bailey, who has managed the shop for 31 years, said they decided to play what they thought were 21 demo discs by Black.

Mr Bailey said: "We got to the last one and as soon as I heard it I thought 'Oh God, that's not Cilla Black it's details