Beatles News

Philatelists rejoice: The U.S. Postal Service will unravel several lines of celebrity-adorned stamps over the next two years, with subjects ranging from Apple founder Steve Jobs to gay rights activist Harvey Milk. It will also be offering numerous music-related stamps, including Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix this year and a James Brown stamp next year. 2015 will also see a re-release of Elvis Presley's 29-cent tribute from 1993 — the Postal Service's best-selling stamp ever — according to The Washington Post. A stamp for John Lennon has been planned for an as-yet-unannounced date.

As published in a missive by the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee (via the Post), this year will also see the arrival of stamps honoring NBA champ Wilt Chamberlain, undisclosed celebrity chefs, "America's Most Loved Pets" and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Next year, the Postal Service will release stamps for Johnny Carson, Ingrid Bergman and the gang from  details

A teenager from Metro Detroit won this month the John Lennon Songwriting Contest's "LOVE, LOVE, LOVE" Valentine's Day competition. "LOVE, LOVE LOVE" is part of the annual contest named for The Beatles member and is considered a prestigious international competition.

Olivia Millerschin, 18, of Rochester Hills, is this year's winner and wrote a song called "Screw Valentines Day" that was judges by Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas, George Clinton, Prince Royce and others. Following a key selection process, Millerschin's Valentine's Day-themed song was chosen among countless entries based on melody, composition, originality, and lyrics. The winning composition was deemed the Grand Prize winner, with Millerschin receiving an Epiphone John Lennon Casino guitar, Neutrik custom John Lennon Educational Tour Bus Cable, and JamHub BedRoom. In addition, Millerschin received an automatic, inclusive entry into Session I of this year's JLSC that officially began on Feb. 14. An international songwriting contest launched in 1997, the John Lennon Songwriting Contest is open details

"One, two, three, FOUR!" Never has a foreign invasion of a country's culture been announced in such a way. But so it was when American disc jockeys began playing the B-side of a 45 rpm record by a popular British rock 'n' roll quartet in January 1964. The radio release of The Beatles' Capitol recording of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" backed by "I Saw Her Standing There" - some weeks before the record company planned as the story goes - touched off a revolution that permeated everyday life in America and remains permanently ingrained in our culture five decades later.

In commemoration of the Fab Four's first American performance on the Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday, Feb. 9, 1964, and all that followed, the Harford County Public Library has Beatles-themed events planned starting this month and lasting through the spring to examine the group's influence and give Beatlemaniacs of all ages an opportunity to remember and learn. The first was Sunday at the Jarrettsville branch when "Is Paul Dead?" was presented by Beatles historian Joel Glazier. None of details

She came in through the bathroom window. No. Really. She did. Emma Eldredge, a 63-year-old retired nurse from Gloucester, England, is remembering the time she broke into Paul McCartney's London house in early 1969 and stole a pair of the great man's trousers. "I just did it to have a look," she says, matter of factly.

There are Beliebers, One Directioners, Miley Cyrus’s Smilers and Beyoncés Beyhive. There have been Blockheads and Duranies. But there will never, ever be any group of fans as legendary and as sweetly original as the Beatles' most devoted admirers, the Apple Scruffs. Because not only did the Apple Scruffs follow the most celebrated and innovative musical foursome that pop music has produced, they helped keep the band sane. During the sad last days of the Beatles, there was always the constant, devoted enthusiasm of the Scruffs, lurking outside the band's doors. "In some strange way," recalled Beatles press officer Derek Tayor before his death in 1997, "the Scruffs helped the Beatles by becoming a sort of daily interface details

Michele Blanchard agreed to accept a reduced fee to represent the former model in 2007 after Mills told her she could no longer afford to pay her $5,000 (£3,100)-a-month fee, but when her client scored a $39 million (£24.3 million) divorce settlement from McCartney, the PR felt she deserved the full amount backdated.

Mills refused to pay the final invoice for $168,000 (£105,000), which included the money she thought she had saved, and the two women publicly fell out. Blanchard filed a lawsuit claiming her former client had intentionally misrepresented her financial situation, but U.S judges at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals have ruled in Mills' favour, claiming that the evidence Blanchard presented to support her claim was not enough. They also dismissed Blanchard's allegations that Mills had promised to pay her, ruling: "A promise to do something in the future can give rise to fraud when the promise is made with no intention to perform. "But Mills' statement is too vague to support a concrete promise to pay Blanchard $5,000 per month for futur details

If you watched the Beatles' 50th anniversary special last week, you couldn't miss Yoko Ono. John Lennon's widow sat in the front row at the live tribute alongside her son, Sean, and she seemed to be enjoying the heck out of it. She wore a black top with a plunging neckline and a brimmed hat that she kept on throughout the show. She rose from her seat frequently to dance, showing off moves that a much younger woman might envy.

Yoko turned 81 on Tuesday. Last year, at 80, she put out a new CD with her Plastic Ono Band and vamped it up in a music video for the song "Bad Dancer," dressed in seamed black stockings and a leotard tux — very Marlene Dietrich. Also in 2013, she mounted a major retrospective of her art in Australia and installed the Imagine Peace tower in Iceland. All I can say is, wow. I never paid Yoko much mind, one way or the other, back in the day. But suddenly, I find myself watching her raptly for clues about how to stay hip while approaching one's "old lady" years. In an int details

He may not be a household name, but over the last few decades Mark Rivera has toured and recorded with some of the biggest stars in music. Since 1982, the multitalented musician has been the saxophone player in Billy Joel‘s backing group and he also serves as music director of the current edition of Ringo Starr’s All Starr Band.

Rivera’s also contributed to well-known recordings by Peter Gabriel, Paul Simon, Foreigner and Hall & Oates, but he’d never released an album of his own…until now.  Mark’s debut studio effort, Common Bond, hits stores today and it features guest appearances from Starr and Joel, as well as a few other famous artists. The 10-track album features seven songs co-written by Rivera, plus covers of Jimi Hendrix‘s “Spanish Castle Magic” and the 1970 Fleetwood Mac tune “Tell Me All the Things You Do.”  In addition to showcasing his saxophone skills, Mark also displays his talents as a si details

Sir Paul McCartney is being celebrated by fellow songwriters with a special one-off prize at the NME Awards recognising his contribution to music over the past half century. The music weekly has chosen to honour him after approaching a number of musicians who were united in naming him as being unmatchable in his craft.

He is to attend the event, to be staged on February 26 at London’s O2 Academy in Brixton, to collect his Songwriter’s Songwriter award. NME editor Mike Williams said: “We’ve spoken to the biggest and best musicians around, and they’ve told us Paul McCartney is the world’s ultimate songwriter. Paul’s enduring and stunning talent is worth celebrating, and I’m incredibly honoured that NME are giving him the special, one-of-its-kind Songwriter’s Songwriter award to recognise that.” Another honorary prize will go to Belle & Sebastian, who have been chosen for the Outstanding Contribution To Music Award.

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An exclusive hair salon has fallen out with Sir Paul McCartney over its secret formula for his hair dye. The Beatle , 71, started visiting Guy Thomas in New York in 2004 after his then-wife Heather Mills allegedly criticised his hairdo.

Guy said Sir Paul liked to save paying salon prices of at least £120 by dying his hair himself with a product from a chemist but Heather was worried as “people were making fun of the colour”. He started cutting the star’s hair but claimed he was later asked for the formula for a special hair dye developed for the Fab Four legend – who started going elsewhere. The stylist told the New York Daily News: “The colour is a mess. People ask us, ‘Is that your work?’” Sir Paul’s spokesman declined to comment.

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In an ironic twist. A snowstorm which happened in Washington D.C. fifty-years-ago, has helped to fetch a once disappointed Beatles fan $16,488 for their ($3) unused concert ticket, on eBay.

In the sellers words (from the eBay description); "I bought this ticket but due to a snowstorm the day before the concert, my parents would not let their 17 year old son drive 35 miles in the family car to DC. The ticket has been stored in an envelope in a safe for the last 50 years. Condition is excellent." Rare early Beatles items are some of the hottest collectibles in the marketplace today, often fetching staggering amounts. Last year (March, 2013) a rare copy of The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), signed by all four band members, sold for $290,500. Breaking the world record for the most expensive record sold at that time. Finding an original unused 1964 concert ticket in excellent condition, is one of those things that creates a lot of interest among collectors. As this one did.

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A new Collector’s Edition of Wonderwall, a 1968 psychedelic film that features a score composed by George Harrison, will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on March 25.  The movie focuses on a reclusive professor who’s obsessed with the couple who lives next door, a model named Penny Lane and her photographer boyfriend, and winds up embarking on a surreal journey of self-discovery.

Harrison recorded the music for Wonderwall with a variety of musicians, including his Beatles band mate Ringo Starr and his good friend Eric Clapton.  The movie’s soundtrack, which was released under the titleWonderwall Music, was George’s first solo album.  The film’s cast features British actress/singer Jane Birkin and Anita Pallenberg, the Italian-born actress and model who had a long-term relationship with The Rolling Stones‘ Keith Richards during the late 1960s and ’70s details

This week on the Billboard 200 albums chart, the new "Now 49" compilation took over at No. 1, bumping the "Frozen" soundtrack down to No. 2 after four nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1. The "Now 49" set marked just the 24th compilation to hit No. 1 on the list, and, of those 24, a full 17 of them were "Now" albums. 

 The Beatles, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" - No. 132 - Following CBS' airing of the all-star concert "The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles" on Feb. 9, the band's catalog gets a lift. This album, for example, is up 38% while the greatest hits album "1" at No. 37 rises by 91%. In total, there are eight albums by the Beatles on the chart this week. Watch for further gains on next week's tally, as CBS repeated the concert on Feb. 12.

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A raft of international broadcasters have acquired The Beatles: The Night that Changed America – A Grammy Salute, a two and half hour special celebrating the 50th anniversary of the band’s appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

The special went out on CBS in the US, the same network that ran the Ed Sullivan talkshow on which The Beatles gave their groundbreaking and historic performance. Their appearance on the show was incredibly popular with 74 million viewers tuning in. The new show generated 14 million viewers for CBS when it was aired last Sunday (February 9). In the special band members Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr perform Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, With A Little Help From My Friends and Hey Jude and other stars perform Beatles tributes including Dave Grohl, Eurythmics, Alicia Keys and Pharell Williams.. Alfred Haber is on international sales duty and in Europe has shopped the special to Canal+’s D8 channel in France, SVT in Sweden and TVR in Romania.

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Photos and video of the charity fundraising party held in Brentwood during the Beatles first trip to Los Angeles in August 1964 have been slowly emerging. Now Alison Martino has posted perhaps the most fun picture yet, at her Vintage Los Angeles page on Facebook.

The photo is from her friend Bonnie Cowan Fleming, whose father Warren Cowan did the PR for the Beatles trip, Martino says. She named seventeen of the guests, including John, Paul, George and Ringo and members of the entourage such as Brian Epstein and Neil Espinall. There has been a lot of media electrons expended on Sunday night's 50th anniversary of the Beatles appearing for the first time on "The Ed Sullivan Show." I heard mixed reviews of the CBS special tonight — it didn't attract me, that's for sure. Couple of walks down memory lane to check out: 

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Source: LA Observed

It was 50 years ago this month when the Beatles first came to America; and their impact, much more than just musical, is still felt a half century later — around the world. The Beatles arrived in New York on Feb. 7, 1964, in preparation for their first US performance on the Ed Sullivan show two days later.

They played their first concert on US soil Feb. 11 at the Washington Coliseum in the nation’s capitol, and then performed again on the Ed Sullivan Show, on consecutive Sundays, from the Deauville Hotel in Miami, Fla., on Feb. 16. Songs the Beatles recorded when performing their first Ed Sullivan Show, were then broadcast on the CBS program Feb. 23, placing the Fab Four in front of American television viewers for the third straight week. Neosho’s Steve Kenny was a pre-teen when the Beatles splashed onto his television screen. “I was in my living room, and there was a lot of anticipation, because we weren’t regular Ed Sullivan watchers,” he said. “It was more than I expected. Kenny, a musician who has performe details