Beatles News

Music journalist and author who wrote the earliest biographies of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

During the late 1950s and early 60s the weekly music press was the main source of news and information about the latest developments in British and American pop music. Of the several papers in the marketplace, Record Mirror was most often the first to spot new trends, including the Motown sound and rhythm & blues. Its chief writer and editor for much of this era was Peter Jones, who has died aged 85. As well as his articles, Jones wrote the earliest book-length biographies of both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

Always immaculately dressed, Jones evolved a working routine at Record Mirror centred on a lengthy lunchtime spent at the bar of the De Hems pub off Shaftesbury Avenue in London. There, according to his friend and colleague Norman Jopling, when music business contacts came to meet him “he was genial, good company, and, importantly, an easy touch for those precious column inches”. Frequently interviews with artists would take place at De Hems, with Peter taking notes in shorthand. He would compose articles and pithy record reviews on a typewriter that had two sizes of capital letters b details

Do you know that during the recording of the Beatles' iconic song 'Norwegian Wood', one of the strings of the sitar played by George Harrison broke leaving him with no clue about how to replace it until he was helped by none other than Indian political activist in Britain Ayana Angadi.

This and several other titbits about the Fab Four and their India connection are mentioned in an article in "The Equator Line" magazine written by American freelance writer Robert Cepican.

Harrison bought the sitar from a shop called Indiacraft on Oxford Street in London and John Lennon suggested using it for the first time in the song 'Norwegian Wood'.

The Beatles-India story took an interesting twist during the recording of 'Norwegian Wood'. Whether it was divine intervention or the product of a 'real crummy' sitar, one of the strings on the instrument broke," writes Cepican in the piece titled "The Yogi and the Fab Four".

Written by Lennon and Paul McCartney, 'Norwegian Wood' was recorded in October 1965 and released on December 6, 1965. Cepican, who is the author of "Yesterday Came Suddenly, The History of the Beatles" and is working on another book on the legendary British band, says Harrison had no clue how t details

The Beatles stars Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have remembered their friend Cilla Black in emotional tributes today.

As Cilla began to make her name in showbiz, she could count The Beatles as some of her close friends, and her first single was Love of The Loved by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. When her music career began at Liverpool's famous Cavern Club, she performed alongside such acts as The Beatles and Gerry and the Pacemakers. Now Ringo, who appeared on her BBC variety show, Cilla, which aired between 1968 to 1976, has paid tribute to his “good friend”.

He tweeted today: "I just heard the news Cilla black has left us she was a good friend we will all miss her peace to Cilla peace and love to the family R&B xxx." While Paul McCartney, who is currently in LA, said in a statement: "Such a shock to hear about Cilla’s passing. "She was a lovely girl who infected everyone with her great spirit. From first meeting her as a cloakroom girl at the Cavern in Liverpool, to seeing her many times since, she always had a fun loving dignity that made her a great pleasure to be around. "She had a fine distinctive voice and was always a bit of a laugh. It was a privilege to know and love her."

What can you really say about Sir Paul McCartney, the former Beatle, pop music pioneer, worldwide cultural icon, and all-around great guy, that hasn't already been said?

I mean, seriously. With the Beatles changing music for the better, becoming a pop culture institution and being "more popular than Jesus," getting the chance to see one of its members in concert isn't just a show, it's a bucket list life experience (yes, this includes Ringo). Those lucky enough to pick Macca over Bud Light stage headliner the Weeknd got just that: a completely joyful, can't-miss concert that celebrated more than 50 years of music.

Even at 73, McCartney exudes the energy of an artist half his age. He bounces around onstage, bobbing his head to the music and looking in awe at the thousands and thousands of fans. It’s the kind of energy that makes it seem like he’s still not used to receiving so much love and support—a really good trait that makes fans feel like this night is special, that this concert is historic. “This is so cool. Just give me a moment to let it sink in.” he said, taking a minute to wave to the crowd and survey the Chicago skyline.

By: Josh Terry

Source: Red Eye

Fully 14 years before Live Aid, on 1 August, 1971, George Harrison, his friend and mentor Ravi Shankar and a host of stars pulled off something that had never been achieved, or even attempted before: the two Concerts For Bangla Desh at Madison Square Garden in New York.

George had been deeply moved when Shankar had brought to his attention the plight of millions of starving refugees of the former East Pakistan, suffering the effects of the Bhola cyclone of 1970 and the Liberation War in the country. Five days earlier, on July 27, he had released his single ‘Bangla Desh’ on the Apple label, bringing this humanitarian crisis to the world’s attention as only a world-famous former Beatle could. That same day, he and Shankar held a press conference to announce their ambitious concert plans for just a few days’ time.

The track, co-produced by George with Phil Spector, featured Ringo Starr and Jim Keltner on drums and other such alumni as Billy Preston and Leon Russell. It went to No. 10 in the UK and No. 23 in the US, and made the top ten around much of Europe.

On August 1,after rehearsals in New York, the concerts took place at 2.30pm and 8pm. They played to a total of 40,000 people, w details

Paul McCartney has claimed that "dozens" of potential Beatles songs were lost as he and John Lennon would frequently forget their work before getting the opportunity to record it.

The bassist was talking to The Evening Standard about how new recording devices have fundamentally changed the songwriting process, revealing that songs he co-wrote with Lennon in the 1960s were often forgotten the morning after.

"Things have changed quite a bit," said Sir Paul. "You've got recording devices now which change the songwriting process. For instance, John and I didn't have them when we first started writing, we would write a song and just have to remember it.

"And there was always the risk that we'd just forget it. If the next morning you couldn't remember it – it was gone. In actual fact you had to write songs that were memorable, because you had to remember them or they were lost! There must have been dozens lost this way. 

"We didn't have tape recorders. Now you can do it on your phone. So you would have to form the thing, have it all finished, remember it all, go in pretty quickly and record it. Now, because you can get things down on a device, I've got millions of things I want to record and details

At first it looked like Bono, the robber baron of pop, had struck again. Not content with trying to turn the world’s mobile phones into a global brainwashing droid army by secretly implanting U2’s new album into their otherwise immaculate iTunes libraries, now he’s trying to steal the Beatles.

“John Lennon was an immigrant,” he said on Ellis Island on Wednesday, at a celebration of the 40th anniversary of John Lennon being granted his US green card. “One more Irish immigrant on an island full of Irish immigrants … Let’s claim him, in fact let’s claim all the Beatles, not as immigrants, but as Irish.”

He may have been semi-comically nodding to America’s widely claimed Irish roots but you could virtually hear Merseyside bristling at his blasphemy. Yet Bono’s argument has precedence. The Beatles’ Irish roots have, according to some cultural repatriators, never been properly acknowledged.

Lennon was born and raised in Liverpool, as were his parents, after which his family tree starts sprouting shamrocks. Some sources claim that his paternal grandfather, a freight clerk called John (Jack) Lennon, originated from 19th-century Dublin details

Tomorrow is exactly 50 years since The Beatles played a now legendary show in Blackpool.

JON RHODES looks back on a day when the Fab Four chose to unleash one of the most famous pop songs of all time.

“For Paul McCartney of Liverpool... Opportunity Knocks!”

The wacky one liner and cheeky grin of a fresh-faced George Harrison said it all, after he approached the microphone to introduce his bandmate to the fired-up audience at Blackpool’s ABC Theatre on Sunday, August 1, 1965.

The Beatles had something pretty special lined up for the resort crowd – not to mention the millions watching the ‘Blackpool Night Out’ show back home on TV.

Acoustic guitar slung around his neck, mop top Paul was left alone under the spotlight as John and George exited stage left.

Two minutes and four seconds later, as the song came to an end, everyone watching knew they had witnessed something ground breaking. Paul McCartney of Liverpool had very much ‘passed the audition’ and the legend that is Yesterday was born.

The song, McCartney’s beautiful and aching ballad of lost love – a tune which, as legend has it, came to him in a dream – details

I was walking out of dinner right around eight o'clock Thursday night when I heard an extremely familiar voice coming from the Samsung Stage on the south end of the Lollapalooza festival grounds. I moved into a clearing for a better view and peered at the jumbotrons beside the stage. Yup, it was Paul McCartney and his band, soundchecking.

Most soundchecks last a few minutes. Roadies tune the drums and guitars, maybe play a little "Stairway," and adjust the levels on the microphones. The band runs through a couple partial songs. They laugh and then give the thumbs up, before leaving the stage. Headliners take a little more time, playing a handful of songs before heading out into the night.

Not Sir Paul.

McCartney played for well over an hour. Essentially, he performed a show for anyone within hearing distance. And because Lollapalooza is held in Grant Park, which is smack dab in the middle of downtown Chicago, McCartney's epic soundcheck could be heard by pretty everyone all over the city — a preview of his Friday night headlining set (which will be livestreamed Sunday night on Red Bull TV).

By: Richard S. Chang

Source: Redbull.com

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Comedian on why Ringo is the greatest.

Al Murray is a man of many talents. Stand-up comedian, TV personality, sitcom writer, he's even had a crack at politics.

And, as those of you that read our recent interview with Al and his percussive partner Andrew Prestidge will most certainly be aware, he's a pretty handy drummer, as well.

So, as a multi-talented sticksman of note he's well-placed to put his case forward for why Ringo Starr is a grade A drum hero.

"Before I knew what Beatles were or what Beatles meant I knew the album Abbey Road. And before I knew who Ringo was or what any of that meant, or any of that nonsense that gets tediously repeated about Ringo, I knew he was a great drummer. Come Together folks. A part that perfectly encapsulates the drummer's art – it sets a scene, it grooves, it grows, it serves the song, it is full of personality and it can't be anyone else.

"Because a lot of nonsense gets said about Ringo. Time to time on Twitter I've found myself determined to defend him from a sea of people I can only really describe as idiots.

By: Rich Chamberlain

Source: Music Radar

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Paul McCartney's early Eighties efforts, Tug of War and Pipes of Peace, will be reissued on October 2nd, with both arriving as multi-disc sets boasting numerous previously unreleased demos and outtakes. 

Both Tug of War and Pipes of Peace feature a number of classic McCartney cuts, including his duets with Stevie Wonder ("Ebony and Ivory") and Michael Jackson ("Say Say Say"), as well as solo hits like "Take It Away" and the John Lennon tribute, "Here Today." Pre-orders for both albums are available now.

Tug of War, released in 1982, was McCartney's third solo LP and first after Wings broke up. The two-CD reissue of the critically acclaimed, Number One record will feature a new remix of the entire album, as well as eight previously unreleased tracks, including a solo rendition of "Ebony and Ivory" and outtakes, "Stop, You Don’t Know Where She Came From" and "Something That Didn't Happen."

A three-CD, one-DVD edition will also include original music videos for the album's singles, as well as an 18-minute documentary, Fly TIA—Behind The Scenes on Take It Away. A 112-page essay book and 64-page scrapbook will also arrive with the deluxe edition, while the super deluxe set — limited to details

Almost 51 years ago, screaming masses of young people ran amok in the streets of Toronto, proving definitively that Beatlemania was alive and well in Canada.

They were anxiously awaiting their first glimpse of the Fab Four in the flesh as the Beatles prepared to play Maple Leaf Gardens for the first time.

CBC was there, capturing the happy pandemonium of fans young and old (check out the grandmas who give the guys their stamp of approval because they're "decent, clean boys!"), as well as talking to John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison about the fan fury that follows them around the world.

Click through the gallery above for vintage photos of the Beatles' British Invasion, courtesy of the CBC Still Photo Collection, and watch the amazing archival news footage below for a glimpse at the boy band demands of 1964.

By: Andrea Warner

Source: CBC

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Yoko Ono teamed up with U2's Bono and The Edge on Wednesday to unveil a tapestry honoring John Lennon. The John Lennon Amnesty International Tapestry was presented inside the Registry Room at the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration in New York. The 24-foot by 10-foot tapestry depicts Manhattan as a yellow submarine with Lennon as its captain waving a peace sign. 

The artwork was unveiled on the 40th anniversary of Lennon receiving his green card allowing him permanent residency in the United States. The tapestry was commissioned by Art For Amnesty founder Bill Shipsey as a token of appreciation for Ono, 82, giving Amnesty International rights to record covers of Lennon's post-Beatles songs. 

The Make Some Noise campaign has featured Lennon covers by U2, R.E.M., Christina Aguilera, The Cure, Duran Duran and other artists and has raised more than $5 million for the human rights advocacy group. 

By: Paul Chavez

Source: The Daily Mail

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It’s 50 years since the release of the Beatles’s second feature film, Help!. Whatever you may think of the film itself (which got very mixed reviews) this rollicking film of “good, clean insanity” provides a wonderfully unique window on to the social changes that men saw in the 1960s.

As Alex Bilmes recently wrote in Esquire, the Beatles “made it not just OK but insanely desirable to be a stylish, successful, smartarse British man”. The representation of masculinity embodied in Help! is a key stepping stone to more obvious displays of gender fluidity that were to emerge in later decades.

It’s 50 years since the release of the Beatles’s second feature film, Help!. Whatever you may think of the film itself (which got very mixed reviews) this rollicking film of “good, clean insanity” provides a wonderfully unique window on to the social changes that men saw in the 1960s. As Alex Bilmes recently wrote in Esquire, the Beatles “made it not just OK but insanely desirable to be a stylish, successful, smartarse British man”. The representation of masculinity embodied in Help! is a key stepping stone to more obvious displays of gender fluidity that we details

At risk of starting an unresolvable debate The Beatles' 1965/66 pair of albums Rubber Soul and Revolver are the reason they're the revered group they remain to this day. Built on an upfront act of genre rebellion — touching on everything from world music, folk rock and psych pop — the records set the band on the defining course away from simply being the marketable 'fab four'. Creative diversity and confidence that earned both albums a top five finish in the 2012 Rolling Stone 'top 200 albums of all time' list.

In celebration of the albums' 50th anniversary, a selection of antipodean artists have banded together for the national Rubber Soul Revolver tour, where they will perform both iconic releases in full. Marlon Williams, Husky Gawenda (Husky), Jordie Lane and Fergus Linacre (Kingswood) will bring the albums back to life with their own contemporary touch added to the classic tracks. "'Rubber Soul' strikes the beautiful balance between incredible pop music with just a little bit of weirdness in it", Williams explains of the album's influential mark, while Gawenda adds that "the songs are so musical and touch on universal things, I don't think that time and place really matters". 

By: Jonny Nai details