TAOS, N.M. (AP) — Snow and frigid temperatures didn't stop thousands of screaming teenagers from crowding into the Washington Coliseum in the nation's capital for the Beatles first live concert on American soil. And not having a flash didn't stop photographer Mike Mitchell, then just 18 years old, from using his unrestricted access to document that historic February night in 1964 using only the dim light in the arena.
Ghostly shadows and streams of light filled some negatives. With the help of modern technology and close to 1,000 hours in front of the computer screen, Mitchell was able to peel back decades of grunge and transform those old negatives into a rare, artful look at one of pop culture's defining moments.
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A rare shot of John Lennon and Paul McCartney singing together at the time of the Beatles' demise has been found. The photograph was taken at the 1969 recording of The Ballad of John and Yoko at Abbey Road Studios in London. The song was released in May of that year and became the band's last number one single.
Merseyside author Dean Johnson, who has revealed the shot in a book, said it showed a "sad epitaph to the greatest musical partnership". Mr Johnson was sent the photo by a Beatles fan after appealing for unusual and rare images of the band on Facebook. He said he had seen "nearly everything" to do with the Liverpool group, but had "never seen" the shot of John and Paul. "The Ballad of John and Yoko was a unique session as only John and Paul took part and, in a way, was a sad epitaph to the greatest musical partnership in pop history."
Source: BBC News England
detailsA RARE Beatles programme emblazoned with no less than three signatures of John Lennon is to go on sale at a South Derbyshire auction house. The commemorative item, from a show in March 1963, has been signed by the late singer on three separate pages. There are also signatures from the other band members.
It will be sold at Hansons, in Etwall in a sale later in the month. Music and memorabilia consultant Clare Howell said: “Our client’s father and friends went along to the concert and were fortunate enough to meet the boys. Having just the one programme between them, they asked John to sign three time, so they could each have an autograph. One lucky fan was left with the programme.” The starting bid for the lot is £1,000. Another lot of cuttings from the concert, in Sheffield, will go for an estimated £250-£350.
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DEMOLITION has started at an iconic pop venue of the 1960s that has been at the heart of Northwich for decades. Northwich Memorial Hall drew crowds in their hundreds in the 1960s and ‘70s when it played host to legendary acts like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Animals, Tom Jones, Cilla Black, Dusty Springfield, Lulu, Ben E King and Jimmy Ruffin, among many others.
But now the hall is being knocked down to make way for Memorial Court, a new £13.7 million leisure complex planned by Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWAC). Gwili Lewis, from Castle, was manager at the hall thoughout its 1960s and ‘70s glory years. The 92-year-old was present at the start of demolition on Monday and shared some anecdotes from his career there.
Source: Northwich Guardian
detailsPIECES of a Wirral stage trodden by The Beatles – before they took the pop world by storm – are being snapped up at extraordinary prices across the globe. A Beatles fan in America has paid $300 for a four-inch square section of the stage, while a UK enthusiast has parted with £250.
The blocks have been auctioned over the years to help finance the present day Birkenhead YMCA. When the old building was demolished in the 1980s, staff had the foresight to salvage sections of the stage ,after recognising their historic value because of the appearance of the Fab Four. Just a handful of the blocks remain, signed by world renowned Beatles biographer Paolo Hewitt.
Source: Wirral Globe
detailsSir Paul McCartney still has a ''treasure trove'' of Beatles songs he wants to play live. The 'Paperback Writer' musician plans to continue introducing more ''hidden gems'' from his most famous band's back catalogue into his future solo shows.
He told Rolling Stone magazine: ''What I do is, each tour or each concert we're going to do, I will go back into the catalog and think, 'Wait a minute, we could do that one,' and there are a few little hidden gems. ''I haven't actually decided which ones are which yet, but I know there's so much in there. It's like a little treasure trove, you know? It's really quite a cool feeling, because as I do the songs, I am made very aware that that period when we recorded - the 10 years the Beatles were together - was a particularly rich period for art, anyway, and for us.''
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Tony Palmer was studying moral sciences at Cambridge University in the 1960s when a moderately famous band arrived in town. "I got a call to attend this press conference the Beatles were holding, to cover it for the college paper," he recalls. "They'd had a No 1 single or two by then, so they were very well known – but not yet intergalactic. Afterwards, John Lennon came up and asked me why I hadn't asked them any questions. I told him I found the whole thing pretty silly.
He laughed, and when I told him I was studying moral sciences, he thought me pretty silly, too. He wanted someone to show him around the university – I realised much later that he was very interested in education. So we meet up later and he's in disguise – a dreadful one, with a large fedora hat, long brown raincoat and fake beard.
Source: The Guardian
He remembered the reaction of his older sister to the band’s appearance on television and decided he wanted to learn to play the guitar. He started taking guitar lessons near his home in Waterbury, Conn., and eventually formed a band with friends, playing a variety of rock and pop songs, but always going back to playing songs by The Beatles.
For nearly 35 years, Cantamessa has continued to play The Beatles’ songs, performing on stage as John Lennon in “The Neatles,” “Beatle Magic: The Show,” various touring incarnations of “Beatlemania,” and his current show, “The Cast of Beatlemania,” with other veteran musicians who have specialized as the Mop Tops in various tribute bands over the years.
Source: Mansfield Patch
Photo Credit: Peter Morenus details
This summer, I had the pleasure of visiting California for the first time. Although it was a family vacation with my girlfriend and her daughter, I did find the time to do a little bit of "Beatling about". Most of this was concentrated in the one day I spent with Gillian Lomax. Gillian is a Merseyside gal who has lived most of her adult life in the USA, following a hitch-hiking trip many years ago. A Beatles fan by heart, Gillian realised that Los Angeles was a city full of Beatles history, but without a Beatles tour. So she created one.
There are a few cities in the world with organized Beatles tours, Liverpool of course, London of course, Hamburg, New York and Los Angeles. I'm not sure if the New York tour still exists, but in 2005 I had the pleasure of attending a New York Beatles walking tour, guided by Trina Yannicos. You can explore a few Beatles sights in Los Angeles by walking, but most sights are far apart, so the best option is to do a tour by car.
The sun’s rays, on a lucky day, are making their way through the rooftops of Liverpool. The solitary figure moves quietly over the sidewalks, dropping off the fresh milk at his appointed rounds. He is hungry and, as always in the morning hours, filled with anxiety, a smidge of anger, and a touch of day- dreaming—the kind of fantastic dreams that fill us with hope as teenagers.
Chances are that he is thinking about music and creating a reasonable amount of mayhem during the day ahead. In young John Lennon’s mind, the milk delivery is a necessary means to an end, a few extra pounds, a pur- chase here or there of American records, a chance to chart his future, undaunted and barely affected by the doubts of the adults in his life. Above and beyond everything he was—friend, lover, son, nephew, brother, student, milkman—he was an incessant dreamer and devilish manipulator.
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David John Paul George Ringo Lennon changed his name by deed poll, so it's hardly surprising that the man covered in Beatles tattoos would take the opportunity to warble John Lennon's 1970 solo album, Plastic Ono Band, in its entirety.
Lennon's music plays an integral part in the lives of the other fans featured in Candice Breitz's Working Class Hero (A Portrait of John Lennon). Breitz says her 2006 video artwork shares a superficial likeness to television singing contests in gathering a divergent group of people before the camera. ''The prospect of 15 minutes of fame may certainly have been a motivating factor for a handful of the fans who were drawn to participating,'' she says. ''But my interest was never in the caricatured figure of the star-struck fan.''
Source: The Age Entertaintment
detailsBruce Willis wants Sir Paul McCartney to star in 'RED 3'. The 58-year-old actor plays retired CIA agent Frank Moses in the action comedy franchise alongside an all-star cast including Dame Helen Mirren and John Malkovich, and thinks the Beatles legend would be the perfect addition to the ageing cast in a potential third instalment. Quizzed about which action legend he would like to join the stellar ensemble, he joked to BANG Showbiz: ''Paul McCartney. What do you think? Or Keith Richards.''
The father-of-four seemed also seemed excited about the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's first child at the 'Red 2' premiere in London's Leicester square last night (22.07.13). Asked if his alter-ego Frank would be a monarchist, he replied: ''Yes. Cause he's a family man. He likes kids.'' Bruce was joined at the glitzy event by his on-screen love interest Mary-Louise Parker, who branded the actor her ultimate ''hero'' and revealed the cast had no time to rest while shooting the fast-paced film.
Anyone who's seen Paul McCartney on this year's Out There! world tour can tell you how much he loves being onstage. From Brazil to Poland to the U.S., he's delivered epic three-hour sets full of Beatles, Wings and solo classics, complete with lasers, pyrotechnics and a secondary stage that rises high above the crowd. "It's very exciting," McCartney tells Rolling Stone. "You've got the audience going crazy, and the age of the audience is wild, too – there's so many young people in there, digging it. Half of them know the words better than I do!"
The day after he brought out Nirvana's surviving members at a stadium gig in Seattle, McCartney called from Los Angeles, where he was putting the finishing touches on his next album (featuring production contributions from Mark Ronson, Paul Epworth, Ethan Johns and Giles Martin). He spoke about the high points of this tour, his memories of songwriting with John Lennon, why he'll never retire and more.
A Nova Scotia teen received a once-in-a-lifetime birthday gift Tuesday at the Paul McCartney concert in Quebec City. Megane Rand says The Beatles are her all-time favourite band and it was surreal to see McCartney in concert. But her night took an exciting twist after she flashed a homemade sign from her spot on floor. The music legend spotted Rand’s sign, asking him for a birthday hug. She couldn’t believe it when he offered to grant her wish.
“I was freaking out! You know, it was Paul McCartney!” says the 13-year-old Kentville resident. “He said ‘um, well, it’s either you come up here, or I’m coming down there’ as a joke because I was frozen on the spot.” Randmade her to way to stage where she received a hug from McCartney. He also gave her an autograph and serenaded her with a rocking rendition of The Beatles “Birthday” song. “I don’t remember it very much because it was like a dream!”
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A microphone which John Lennon used to record 'Imagine' has been placed on sale, with bids starting at £1500. More than 30 years after his death, John Lennon remains an instantly recognisable icon. Renowned for his work with The Beatles, the Liverpool born artist's solo work also retains an enduring place in pop culture.
Produced by Phil Spector, the 'Imagine' album is perhaps the most potent of Lennon's post-Beatles output. Containing that seminal title cut - and countless other fantastic moments - it remains John Lennon's best selling solo release. Now studio equipment used to record the album has emerged online. Amongst the studio trickery on offer are all manner of modulators and tape recorders, but perhaps the items of most interest are a pair of Neumann microphones.
Source: Clash
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