Beatles News

The pianist who played John Lennon’s Imagine outside the Bataclan theatre following the Paris terror attacks has visited Liverpool.

Davide Martello made the 400-mile trip to Paris from a pub in Germany after watching the terrorist explosions began at the Stade de France during an international football friendly. The performer put his piano on a trailer and drove all night before towing his instrument through the Paris streets to the venue where at least 89 people were killed when terrorists opened fire in the crowd. His performance of Imagine outside the Bataclan went global.

Martello, who also performs under the name Klavierkunst, last week came to Merseyside while filming a documentary about his life. And he popped into The Beatles Story at the Albert Dock to perform at the John Lennon peace memorial.

While at the waterfront, he said: “ John Lennon’s music means a lot to me. He didn’t do it because he had to, he did it because he wanted to. “He was a true pacifist and music was his gift to people. He’s the one of the most important people to me”. Speaking about his performance outside the Bataclan, Martello said: “Imagine was always the first choice for m details

We already brought you part one of our list of 15 things you probably didn’t know about George Harrison, and now we’re back with part two! Check out eight more riveting details of the Beatles lead guitarist’s life that you definitely (probably) did not know below. You might be surprised by what you learn!

Number Eight: He Played Violin…Sort Of. While recording “All You Need Is Love,” Harrison can be heard playing the violin. This was despite the fact that he had never picked one up in his entire life.

Number Seven: He Was Admired by Sinatra. Frank Sinatra once called Harrison’s “Something,” “…the greatest love song of the last 50 years.” Harrison would often perform the ballad live.

Number Six: He Got Into a Fight Over a Biscuit. While making Abbey Road, Harrison got very upset when Yoko Ono took one of his chocolate biscuits without asking him first. It was reportedly his last biscuit.

Number Five: He Lost His Virginity While Everyone Else Was Watching. According to Harrison, he first had sex in Hamburg, Germany, in a bunk bed. The other Beatles were in the room when it happened. He said, “[Paul, John and Pete Best] details

Though George Harrison died over 10 years ago, he is a long way away from ever being forgotten. The lead guitarist for The Beatles was one of the most iconic musicians of his time. Though a lot of his life has been put in front of the public eye, there are some things that even the biggest Beatles fans don’t know about him. Here, we present our list of 15 things you probably didn’t know about George Harrison. Check out part one below, and stay tuned for part two, coming soon!

Number Fifteen: He Was Part of The Quarry Men. Before there were The Beatles, there were The Quarry Men. They made a record in the summer of 1958 that featured Harrison, and the record cost 17 and sixpence to create.

Number Fourteen: He Was Involved in the First Recording the Beatles Made. The very first song the Beatles recorded was “Cry for a Shadow,” which was an instrumental song Harrison did with John Lennon.

Number Thirteen: He Was Deported From Germany. When the Hamburg police realized that Harrison had entered the country under the age of 18, they deported him. The rest of the Beatles stayed to perform, although they were all later deported as well.

Number Twelve: He Was Very Witty. During the details

The regeneration of Liverpool's Welsh Streets is to continue after the council dropped a legal challenge over the demolition of nearly 300 homes.

Liverpool City Council ended its appeal against a government ruling in favour of the area's "Beatles heritage".

A council spokesman said the veto was "illogical" but wanted to avoid "protracted" legal action.

Plans for the site in Dingle, which include Ringo Starr's birthplace, would also have seen 154 new homes built.

The Welsh Streets' demolition was part of a £15m regeneration project with social landlord Plus Dane which would have built the new properties.

The Beatles' drummer's former home at 9 Madryn Street was due to be refurbished, along with 36 other properties, leaving 271 other terraced houses demolished.

Nina Edge, secretary of The Welsh Streets Home Group, welcomed the decision adding: "Fingers crossed that Liverpool City Council and Plus Dane have now got an alternative vision for the area."

The city council said: "We still regard the Secretary of State's decision as unreasonable and illogical. However, our priority, rather than engage in protracted legal arguments, is to regen details

We already brought you part one of our list of 15 things you probably didn’t know about John Lennon, and now we’re back with part two! Check out even more interesting little tidbits about this iconic musician who changed the world with his music below.

Number Eight: He Was Originally Meant to Sing the Lead on “Love Me Do.” “Love Me Do” was The Beatles’ first single. Though Lennon sung the lead for many songs off of The Beatles’ first album, McCartney was the one to sing lead on their first single.

Number Seven: His Favorite Lyric of All Time Is… When asked what his favorite lyric he ever wrote was, Lennon had a very quick response. He said, “That’s easy. ‘All you need is love.'”

Number Six: Paul Goresh Was the Last Person to Take Lennon’s Picture. Lennon was signing an album for the same person who would assassinate him when he was photographed by photographer Paul Goresh. The person who assassinated him was Mark David Chapman.

Number Five: He Used a Psychic. When Lennon and Yoko were together, they sometimes had a psychic as part of their stuff to help them with business deals. The pair paid their psychic the sa details

December 8 of this year was the 35th anniversary of iconic musician and co-founder of The Beatles John Lennon‘s assassination and death. To commemorate him, here we present 15 things you probably didn’t know about John Lennon. Check out part one below, and stay tuned for part two, coming soon!

Number Fifteen: He Was a Goody Two-Shoes Growing Up. Lennon belonged to both the choir and the Boy Scouts as he was growing up. His singing career launched when he was part of the boy’s choir at St. Peter’s Church in Liverpool. He was a member of the third Allerton Boy Scout troop.

Number Fourteen: He Didn’t Like the Sound of His Own Voice. Apparently, Lennon was never happy with the way his voice sounded, and this is why he liked to double-track his records. He is reported as once having asked producer George Martin, “Can’t you smother [my voice] with tomato ketchup or something?”

Number Thirteen: He Was Never Properly Satisfied With a Single Record. Another tidbit discovered while he was out with producer George Martin, Lennon revealed to Martin that he would like to re-record every single song The Beatles ever recorded. When Martin asked him if “Strawberry Fi details

The quiet Beatle has been less quiet lately – even more than a decade after his death. Martin Scorsese’s “Living in the Material World,” from 2011, made a strong case for George Harrison as a major player in the Beatles and as a deeply soulful figure who never quite got his due. “The basic purpose of this movie is to stick up for Harrison,” The Guardian wrote, “and for his unfashionable, unpretentious need for a spiritual purpose in his music and his life: and Scorsese’s film suggests that alone in the Beatles, and perhaps alone in pop’s premier league, Harrison was an authentic spiritual figure.”

And now a concert film – from a 2014 tribute show at the Fonda Theater in Los Angeles – and accompanying album has been announced for February. Brian Wilson, Spoon’s Britt Daniels, Perry Farrell, Norah Jones, and others will be involved. (Even, oddly, Conan O’Brien, who plays “Old Brown Shoe.”)

For some Gen X fans, George is the perfect Beatle, and it’s no coincidence that Xer musicians like Elliott Smith and Beck covered his songs. For an overlooked, often misunderstood generation, embracing the overlooked, often misu details

We already brought you part one of our list of 15 things you didn’t know about Ringo Starr, and now we’re back with part two! Check out eight more facts about the drummer for The Beatles below! You might be surprised by what you learn.

Number Eight: He Once Played a Wizard in a Movie. In the musical-cum-comedy Son of Dracula, Ringo has quite the role. He plays Merlin the wizard. Of his role, he has said, “It’s not the greatest movie in the world, but I’ve seen worse.”

Number Seven: He Is the Only Beatle Not to Be Inducted for His Solo Career. Though every other Beatle has been inducted into the Rock Roll Hall of Fame for their subsequent solo careers, Ringo has not. It’s unclear how he feels about this.

Number Six: He Wasn’t Always Ringo Starr. Ringo Starr was actually born Richard Starkey. He began calling himself Ringo because of all of the rings he liked to wear. The second part of his new name, “Starr,” originated from his time playing with the band Rory Storm & the Hurricanes, where he had a featured slot titled “Starr time.”

Number Five: He Had a “Step Ladder.” When Ringo’s mother remarried, she ma details

Ringo Starr may be best known as the legendary drummer for The Beatles, but there are some things about this 75-year-old musician that most people don’t know. Here, we present our list of 15 things you don’t know about Ringo Starr. Check out part one below, and stay tuned for part two, coming soon!

Number Fifteen: He Was Part of a Children’s Show. In the mid-1980s, Ringo was hired to be part of the children’s show called Thomas The Tank Engine. He voiced the narrator and a character named Mr. Conductor.

Number Fourteen: He Was Naturally Left-Handed. Like fellow Beatles member Paul McCartney, Ringo was naturally left-handed. However, rather than play music that way, he played on a right-handed drum set. His grandma was the one who encouraged him to be ambidextrous.

Number Thirteen: He Wasn’t Always Confident of His Position With The Beatles. On his first day at the Abbey Records Studio, Ringo was replaced by 32-year-old Andy White after producer George Martin said he would prefer a session drummer. This made him concerned that he would lose his spot with The Beatles.

Number Twelve: He Has Been Insulted by Muhammed Ali. Apparently, Muhammed Ali was not a big fan of Rin details

I don’t remember the first time I heard Revolver. It was probably when I was really young. My dad, keen on honing my life as a music aficionado from a young age, would’ve probably played it while I was still in my mum’s womb. An avid Beatles fan since forever, my dad is responsible for my siblings and I having classic rock music in our lives from birth, and I am so indebted to him because of this.

You go through stages with your parents’ music. You’re too young to know, then you’re old enough to be too “cool”, but for me, I think I got out of that phase really quickly. Maybe it was my dad’s refusal to change his CDs to one of mine or my sister’s in car trips, even when I begged him not to play The Who‘s Tommy album because it was giving me nightmares. “But it’s just so good! Listen to that,” he would exclaim, turning up some searing guitar solo in Pinball Wizard whilst I blocked it out with some Delta Goodrem. He did once let me have control during that one drive where I played the Destiny’s Child Christmas album, but only wanted hear Eight Days of Christmas for the hour-long journey.

“You’ve got to listen to th details

We already brought you part one of our list of 15 things you didn’t know about Paul McCartney, and now we’re back with part two! Check out eight more facts about this legendary member of The Beatles below – you might be surprised by what you learn.

Number Eight: He Is an Excellent Drummer. Though it’s obvious that McCartney is a naturally gifted musician, it wasn’t discovered just how good of a drummer he is for quite some time. Paul can be heard on the drums in the songs “Back In The U.S.S.R.” and “Dear Prudence.”

Number Seven: He Is Partially Responsible for the Invention of the CT Scanner. Very, very partially. The record label that The Beatles belonged to was called EMI, and EMI also had a computer research facility. That facility was run by Godfrey Hounsfield, who, at the time, was very involved in the development of CT scanning. The money that The Beatles made for EMI eventually allowed EMI to invest in Hounsfield’s technology, which would result in the CT scanner.

Number Six: He Is Also Partially Responsible for Inventing Heavy Metal. “Helter Skelter” is widely considered to be one of the first, if not the first, heavy metal s details

Legendary musician and ex-Beatle Paul McCartney is one of the most highly publicized figures of the 20th century. Despite the fact that numerous biographies have been written about him, some information has still managed to slip through the cracks. Here we present a list of 15 things you didn’t know about Paul McCartney. Check out part one below, and stay tuned for part two, coming soon!

Number Fifteen: He Was Inspired to Play Lefty by Slim Whitman. Paul McCartney was always a lefty, but he didn’t always know that he could play guitar that way. However, once he went to go see Slim Whitman in concert, he realized that people could play guitar the left-handed way, and everything changed.

Number Fourteen: He Liked the Idea of Dressing Up to Perform. McCartney was the one who first suggested all members of The Beatles wear ties while they perform. He was 15 at the time.

Number Thirteen: He Rescued John Lennon From a Snafu With Elvis. In 1965, The Beatles met up with Elvis Presley to meet and socialize. However, Elvis became incensed when John Lennon began making comments about the Vietnam War. Lennon also flirted with Elvis’ wife, Priscilla. To make up for his behavior, McCartney suggested details

George Fest, a star-studded tribute show dedicated to the music of George Harrison, will be released as a concert film and album on Feb. 26, 2016. The show, which took place on Sept. 28th, 2014 at the The Fonda Theater in Los Angeles, featured some of music’s biggest names performing songs from Harrison’s Beatles, Travelling Wilburys and solo catalogs.

Performers included Brian Wilson and Al Jardine, The Flaming Lips, Perry Farrell, Conan O’Brien, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Heart’s Ann Wilson, The Killers’ Brandon Flowers, Norah Jones and Harrison’s son Dhani. Dhani also produced the album alsongside David Zonshine. “I’ve always imagined a small club show where my generation of musicians could cut loose on some of the deeper tracks from his career,” Dhani said in a release. “So, in a totally new and vibrant way, I once again found myself taking the stage with some of my most treasured musical heroes to the sound of the most familiar music in my life… I hope you enjoy listening to these as much as I do. They are some of the best interpretations of my father’s songs I could have ever thought possible.”

The concert will be released details

Liverpool, birthplace of one of the world’s most famous pop groups the Beatles, was declared as England’s first Unesco city of Music.

Friday’s accolade comes by 11 years after Unesco made Liverpool’s historic waterfront a world heritage site, Xinhua reported. Glasgow became the first British city to receive a “City of Music” title in 2008. Unesco said in a citation the new title has been awarded to the city due to music’s place at the heart of Liverpool’s contemporary culture, education and the economy — from the live music scene to tourism, music management courses and digital businesses. It was also given to the city based on its commitment to having a clearly defined music, education and skills strategy for young people so that Liverpool can continue to produce world class talent.

The judges highlighted urban festivals like Liverpool International Music Festival (LIMF), Liverpool Sound City and Liverpool Psych Fest that have cemented the city as a haven for music and also helped to develop young industry professionals.

The designation also noted the importance and contribution of established names such as the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, details

He looks, talks, sings and plays the bass guitar like Paul McCartney – but it was another Beatle who Steve White impersonated when he started out on the tribute circuit.

The 46-year-old originally mimicked John Lennon before his audience pointed out he had more than a passing resemblance to McCartney, who had actually been his main idol all along. So he learned to play guitar left-handed – just like the man himself – and started a journey that would eventually see him land a role in The Bootleg Beatles.

Since joining almost four years ago, Steve has toured the world and swapped crowds of a few hundred in British clubs for 15,000 fanatics in faraway places like Mongolia. 

"Before The Bootleg Beatles I was playing the rhythm guitar in a John Lennon-type role but when we turned up at venues, people said 'you must be Paul'," says Steve, of Mansfield Woodhouse. "It happened more and more so eventually the bass player and I decided to switch. "I'm naturally right-handed at playing guitar and it used to nark me when people pointed that out so I put the strings on the other way on a cheap bass guitar and learned to play left-handed.

"It wasn't some sort of conceived masterplan to g details