Beatles News

I think I had my first orgasm at a Beatles concert — then again, how would I have known? When you’re preteen, prepubescent and pretty much pre-everything, “I Want to Hold Your Hand” seems the height of erotic ambition. And that was especially true in 1964, before the sexual revolution and the Internet made that kind of ignorance unimaginable.

By the time the Beatles showed up in Glasgow, on the final leg of their second Scottish visit that year, my friends and I were already fanatically devoted. Transistor radios were hidden in our school desks, earpiece cords accessed through inkwells, and afterschool hours were spent listening to 45s in the home of the one friend who owned a record player.

To see our idols in person required sneakiness and elaborate planning. Parental permission, had we asked for it, would not have been forthcoming, and tickets were available only by mail — city authorities being keen to avoid the camping-out chaos that had preceded earlier events.

Before the Internet and Ticketmaster stepped in, big-name tickets were typically purchased one way: by lining up on the street at night alongside throngs of hardy fans and waiting for a box office or a record st details

Leaving festivals like Woodstock and Monterey aside, there is no more famous gig in rock & roll history than when the Beatles played Shea Stadium, an orange and blue ass pit of a venue in front of 56,000 mostly teenyboppers on August 15th, 1965. It is a gig one might even term infamous, for all of the misunderstanding it has generated over the years, with one old saw after another getting parroted in the various histories of rock. 

If you've seen the footage, you know that the Beatles were positioned on a rickety stage on an infield diamond, with the screams raining down from all directions. The band laughs maniacally, exchanges "shit, can you believe this is happening?" looks and takes the piss with song introductions repeatedly.

Chances are if you've seen footage of a single Beatles gig, it is this one. And chances are, too, that you've heard they were rubbish as a live act once they became famous, couldn't even hear themselves, just wanted to haul ass out of Dodge ASAP, all of that. And, for many years, the tales surrounding that Shea Stadium gig, plus the footage, plus the bootleg of the show, reinforced all of this. Which is a shame, and a matter in need of redressing. 

Help! had just details

Rolling Stone has compiled a list of the 100 Greatest Songwriters and, not surprisingly, Bob Dylan lands at the top of the tally. In choosing the prolific folk-rock legend as the #1 songwriter, the magazine notes, “Dylan’s vision of American popular music was transformative. No one set the bar higher, or had greater impact.”

Coming in at #2 and #3 on the list, respectively, are former Beatles band mates Paul McCartney and John Lennon. Rolling Stone calls Sir Paul “pop’s greatest melodist,” while noting that he has “a bulging songbook that includes many of the most-performed and best-loved tunes of the past half-century.” As for Lennon, the magazine says, “No one better rendered the complexity of personal life or global politics, or better connected the two, than [he did] during his solo career in universal songs like ‘Watching the Wheels’ and ‘Imagine.'”

Rounding out the top 10 of the tally are Chuck Berry at #4, Smokey Robinson at #5, The Rolling Stones‘ Mick Jagger and Keith Richards at #6, Carole King and her ex-husband and songwriting partner Gerry Goffin at #7, Paul Simon at #8, Joni Mitchell at #9 and Stevie Wonder at #10.< details

During the Beatles years, George Harrison grew rapidly as a songwriter. He often dealt with philosophical themes of living for the moment and renewal. In “Love You To,” Harrison rails against people “who’ll screw you in the ground” and “fill you in with their sins.” A precursor to “Love You To,” “Think for Yourself” tells the story of a man distancing himself from someone who has lied and wreaked emotional havoc. Accented by Paul McCartney’s fuzz bass, the song not only reveals Harrison’s darker side, but foreshadows the thematically sophisticated tracks he would pen on subsequent Beatles albums as well as his solo works.

The inspiration for the bleak lyrics is unclear; in his autobiography I Me Mine, George Harrison wrote that he did not remember a specific incident that preceded the song. “‘Think For Yourself’ must be written about somebody from the sound of it — but all this time later I don’t quite recall who inspired that tune. Probably the government,” he said. Originally titled “Won’t Be There with You,” Harrison and the Beatles recorded the song in one session on November 8, 1965. A details

IT was 50 years ago today that Nigel saw the band play. Leamington businessman Nigel Robinson recalls attending arguably the most famous single pop concert in history.

FIFTY years ago on Saturday (August 15) history was made when the Beatles played the most famous concert of its era – and Beatlemania was at its height.

August 15 1965 at Shea Stadium, home of the New York Mets, saw a new level of mass hysteria, and gave birth to the modern day music concert.

And among the crowd of 60,000 plus – were two Warwick schoolboys there to witness it.

Nigel Robinson and David Treadaway were Warwick School sixth formers enjoying their summer holiday in the States when they managed to get tickets for the concert that set new records in attendance and the greatest gross in the history of entertainment.

“It was incredibly exciting,” said Nigel, now a director of Newsline Public Relations in Leamington. “Beatlemania was at its peak in the States, where only the year before in March 1964 the Beatles had an incredible 12 singles in the US top 100 – including all of the top 5!”

The Fab Four had arrived in New York and on the night on the concert they were t details

The internet just cannot stop eulogizing, analyzing, and generally fetishizing album covers. Arguably one of the great art forms of the previous century, LP sleeves are the subject of a thoughtful, well-edited video essay entitled “How The Beatles Changed Album Covers” by YouTuber Nerdwriter1, whose screen name seems rather like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

In addition to videos about everything from Louis CK to Game Of Thrones, Nerdwriter1 has an entire series of educational clips about art and art history. “How The Beatles Changed Album Covers,” appropriately, is as much about art—specifically, consumer art—as it is about music. One of the main themes of the video is that the album cover’s true importance is as a tangible object, something which fans can collect and hold onto, even though music itself is both invisible and intangible.

The essayist gives viewers a thumbnail history of LP covers, including a nod to graphic designer Alex Steinweiss, who was a pioneer in the use of album covers as a means of artistic expression, beginning in the late 1930s.

Nerdwriter1 cleverly and succinctly demonstrates how The Beatles’ innovative album covers document the b details

Smack in the middle of all of the other craziness of 1968 was the transition of The Beatles from pop superstars to socially progressive musicians.

With The Rolling Stones nipping at their heels — and a global explosion in political protest — the four lads from Liverpool pushed themselves past the psychedelia of 1967’s “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and “Magical Mystery Tour” and into the much more abrasive and experimental “White Album” that came out in the early fall of 1968.

“Revolution” may now be thought of as the music that accompanied a sneaker commercial a few years ago, but 47 years ago the potent single tied in with the protests that brought France to a halt in the spring of 1968 and the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy in this country (and the resulting riots in cities all over the U.S.)

The “White Album” was already in the can when a horrified nation watched the police riot at the Democratic Convention in Chicago, but cuts from the album were just beginning to be heard at the end of that crazy summer.

The first single from the album — “Hey, Jude” — details

“So You Want To Be A Rock ’n’ Roll Star, then listen now to what I say, just get an electric guitar and take some time and learn how to play …”

So sang a chart-topping Los Angeles-based band called The Byrds in January 1967, at the height of the British Invasion. And thanks to an apparently endless parade of gifted singer-songwriters from beyond the sea, rock stardom didn’t seem all that remote at the time – even if those lyrics were mildly laced with acid.

Flash forward to 2015. I awaken to find yet another bumper crop of ads in my inbox, exhorting me to claim my rightful place as a rock ’n’ roll star. But when I behold the staggering array of software, guitars, pedals, amps, recording equipment, tutoring and degree programs that stand between me and fame, it fills me with wonder: How did the most creative period in pop music history ever get off the ground without the benefit of any of these toys?

Well, why not rev up the Wayback machine and see what a world without Facebook might have to teach us?

Seat belts fastened? First stop, Liverpool, 1961, the eve of the British Invasion.

It’s February, and the Beatles, fresh from a 14 details

I’m in a hotel room with a Beatle. And admittedly overjoyed to be there. For me there are stars, and then there are great songwriters and legends. And then, above all else, are The Beatles.

“Inspired?” he says with a laugh, when I use that word to describe the songs he wrote for his latest album, Postcards From Paradise. “We need to have you around more often!”

Seems like a great idea. His band The Beatles, as the universe knows, was the greatest ever, and the love they brought the world through their short but miraculous reign continues to radiate every day. He came together with John, Paul and George to churn out miracle songs from 1963 to 1969 almost non-stop, forever changing the art of songwriting as we know it.

It was Ringo who often came up with their titles and phrases (“A Hard Day’s Night,” he confirms, was his, though “Eight Days A Week,” often attributed to him, he says, was not) and also conceived distinctive drum parts. A songwriter’s dream drummer, he always crafted soulful parts that served the very essence of each song. Even his fills are legend: soulful grace and visceral power without ever overwhelming the song.

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Fifty years ago next week in the new Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, the British sensation known as The Beatles ran out to the stage at second base, tuned up a bit and immediately launched into the Isley Brothers’ hit Twist and Shout: “Shake it up, baby, now, twist and shout. Come on, come on, come on, come on, baby now, come on and work it on out!”

It was The Beatles – John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr – who were shaking up huge baseball stadiums on their second tour of America. An estimated 34,000 screaming fans that Wednes­day night of Aug. 18, 1965, saw what would be The Beatles’ only appearance in Georgia.

The tour had started three days earlier with The Beatles performing to 55,000 fans at Shea Stadium in New York City. Besides Atlanta, stops that August would include Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto; Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston; Comiskey Park in Chicago; Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.; Memorial Stadium in Portland, Ore.; Balboa Stadium in San Diego, Calif.; Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood, Calif., and Cow Palace in Daly City, Calif., near San Francisco.

During those stops, The Beatles would meet privately with The Supremes, details

The Beatles weren’t that good when they first formed.

Don’t take my word for it, Paul McCartney said in a recent radio interview: “We obviously weren’t that good. We were formulating it all.”

Record producer George Martin agreed. “When I first met them, they really couldn’t write a decent song. ‘Love Me Do’ was the best they could give me, yet they blossomed as songwriters in a way that was breathtaking.”

They became great because they worked at it. I’m not talking about that 10,000 hours Malcolm Gladwell has written about, though there’s no question that all the time in Hamburg helped. But if it was just down to putting the hours in, then Gerry and the Pacemakers would have become global icons. They were from Liverpool, managed by Brian Epstein and they too toured the Hamburg club scene; in fact, they stayed longer than the Beatles. Gerry and the Pacemakers focused on what worked, they wrote some huge hits and had three number ones in a row. But to shake up the world, the Beatles knew they were going to need a little something extra. Originality.

When Paul, John, George and Ringo were told how something was supposed to be do details

Do you have a treasure in your attic? Could you make your fortune with it?

It’s almost time for Liverpool`s Beatles Memorabilia Auction.

A treasure trove of all things fab four, he Beatles Shop, Mathew Street, Liverpool are hosting the auction at LIPA on August 29.

This year will be the 24th year, and already up for sale is Ringo Starr’s radiogram, John Lennon’s detention card and Cilla Black’s hankie.

Here we look back at some of the more interesting lots which have sold over the years

Fully autographed Beatles Love Me Do single from Dawsons Record Shop, Warrington 2007, £13,600

Original section of the stage from the Cavern Club, Liverpool 2009, £2.860

John Lennon`s Toilet from Tittenhurst Park 2010, £10,500

Membership card for the Casbah Coffee Club, Liverpool, 1961 2010, £2,860

By: Jade Wright

Source: Liverpool Echo

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An international hotel group is set to buy Liverpool's 110-room Hard Days Night Hotel after agreeing to pay almost £3m more than the asking price.

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels has agreed to purchase a long leasehold interest in the Hard Days Night Hotel for £13.8m in cash subject to standard purchase price adjustments. More than 113 years remain on the lease with Liverpool City Council.

The landmark property is located inside the grade II-listed Central Buildings on the corner of Mathew Street and North John Street. Named after the Beatles' film, album and song of the same name, the Hard Days Night Hotel opened its doors in 2008 during Liverpool's year as European Capital of Culture.

In addition to 110 luxury rooms, including the famed McCartney and Lennon suites, the hotel has numerous bars and restaurants. The four-star hotel features exclusive Beatles artwork throughout including along the grand central staircase from the basement to the roof.

The hotel was put on the market in March with CBRE indicating that it was seeking bids of more than £11m on behalf of its private owner Concord Estates.

By: Richard Frost

Source: Insider Media

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In the late summer of 1966, the Beatles’ popularity in America – previously unshakeably strong - had been threatened after a comment made by John Lennon to a British journalist that the band were now “more popular than Jesus” was reprinted in a US magazine.

When the interview, by Lennon’s friend Maureen Cleave and originally published in the Evening Standard in March 1966, appeared in the American publication Datebook in the July, reaction among some Christians, particularly in the south of the country, was immediate - and angry.

Several radio stations banned the playing of Beatles music; some organised public bonfires in which fans were encouraged to bring their Beatles records and memorabilia and toss them into the flames in order to register their disgust.

The Beatles arrived in Chicago for the first leg of a US tour on August 11, and met the American press for the first time since the controversy had broken. A visibly nervous Lennon was asked to explain – and apologise for – his comments.

"If I had said television is more popular than Jesus, I might have got away with it...” he began. “I used the word 'Beatles' as a remote thing… as details

In a recent interview with our friend Scott Raab of Esquire, the Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards told Raab that The Beatles’ legendary Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band platter is “a mishmash of rubbish”. Thus our question of the day, of course, is why did Keith Richards badmouth the classic album? There are actually a couple of simple reasons:

One: Richards is known for “talking sh*t” about other musicians. This is especially true when he has something to promote. 

Raab himself confirms that Richards spoke to him because he wanted to talk “about his new solo album, Crosseyed Heart” and the simultaneous Netflix premiere of “the documentary Keith Richards: Under the Influence.” Controversy garners page hits and gets you trending on Facebook.

Two: Richards was drawn into it by Raab himself who told Richards: “I’ve been thinking about Rubber Soul, Revolver, ‘Sgt. Pepper’ and ‘The White Album’ and listening to Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main St. Over the past 20 years, I’ve ?listened to that Stones stuff far more often.” 

Richards actually t details