Beatles News

Mike Love and Bruce Johnston of The Beach Boys have discussed their new Disney+ documentary, the support they had from The Beatles, and the health of songwriter Brian Wilson.

Interviewed by Mariella Frostrup alongside The Beach Boys’ documentary director Frank Marshall at Abbey Road Studios, the pair revealed that the 81-year-old Wilson – who has recently been placed under conservatorship for what his doctors call a “major neurocognitive disorder” – was still able to perform with the band for the film.

“Brian remembered things that I had forgotten from high school at times,” said Love. “His long-term memory is right there. He does need the help medically – but I think as long as he’s alive he’ll play that piano.”

“I’ve always been interested in how they all came together,” said Marshall, producer of the Indiana Jones, Bourne, Jurassic World and Back To The Future franchises and director of the 2020 Bee Gees documentary How Can You Mend A Broken Heart, on his reasons for making the film.

“[I was] always curious about the music and what made it happen. Documentary filmmaking is a journey of discovery &nd details

From the day he was born on October 9, 1940, to his final breaths in a New York City hospital on 9th Avenue, John Lennon seemed to be perpetually followed by the number nine for better or worse. He alluded to his connection to the number nine in various tracks over the years, including “Revolution 9,” “One After 909,” and “#9 Dream.”

But the coincidences didn’t stop there. For someone who was notorious for his glib responses about songs having no real meaning (like, for example, “I Am the Walrus” or “Happiness is a Warm Gun”), Lennon was surprisingly open to the notion that there was an uncanny connection between his life’s overarching trajectory and one specific numerical value. John Lennon’s Connection to the No. 9 Started At Birth.

The Liverpudlian musician, author, and activist’s connection to the number nine started on his birthday, the 9th of October. While Western calendars classify October as the 10th month, Lennon’s birthday fell in the ninth month of the year according to the Chinese calendar.

His childhood address contained three nine-letter words: 9 Newcastle Road, Wavertree, Liverpool. Other early conne details

Ringo Starr has new music out this year, but don't expect to hear it on tour.

The drummer was recently asked by Variety about previous comments he'd made regarding not playing new material on the road with the All-Starr Band because people tend to use those moments for bathroom breaks.

"I promise you, any band out there, say 'I'd like to do something from my new LP, EP, CD,' and you can feel the vibe of people going to the toilet, or going to find some T-shirts," Starr explained. "This, with the All Starrs, is so great because [playing the hits] is why we're there: We're the best 1-800 band in the land right now, with Colin [Hay] and [Steve] Lukather and everybody."

For those who do want to hear the new songs, Starr's newest EP, Crooked Boy, was released in April, produced by Linda Perry.

"Linda did a great job," Starr told Variety. "She wrote me four great songs, so I'm only playing drums and singing them, and the rest of the instrumentals, that's the band she found. And a big find for me was Nick [Valensi of the Strokes], on guitar — he was so great."
Country Music Coming From Ringo Starr

And there's more, too. Starr is currently working on his first full-length LP since 2019 details

Sir Paul McCartney has put his 2012 London Olympic boots up for auction to raise funds for the Meat Free Monday campaign.

The shoes, which he wore when he performed at the opening ceremony of the sports event, will be sold by Sotheby’s with an estimate of £10,000 to £15,000.

Sir Paul said: “As it was time for me to get myself a new pair of boots, I thought this might be a good way to help our Meat Free Monday campaign celebrate its 15th anniversary.

“Me and my boots have great memories of that special evening at the Olympic opening ceremony in London. It was a high to be involved with such an awesome and spectacular event. Something I’ll remember forever.”

He started the non-profit campaign with his daughters Mary and Stella McCartney to encourage people to not eat meat for one day a week to help the environment and animal welfare.

Sir Paul’s boots are similar to the shoes he wore while in the Beatles, and are now made without animal products.

Originally made by Anello and Davide, a footwear company specialising in theatrical footwear, the Beatle boots were an offshoot of the classic Chelsea boot.

The auctioned pair was craft details

Before they were selling out stadiums for tens of thousands of adoring fans, the Beatles were performing in rather racy venues across the U.K. and Europe. Aside from the questionable sleaze of the clubs they were able to book, the young musicians dealt with meager pay, shoddy sleeping arrangements, and an overwhelmingly lukewarm audience reception.

But everyone has to start somewhere, right?  The Beatles’ First Racy Venue Was An Afternoon Strip Club Affair

Years before Ringo Starr would join the Fab Four fold, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison performed under the moniker the Silver Beetles with a rotating cast of percussionists. When they couldn’t find a drummer for hire, McCartney opted to sit behind the kit.

Harrison recalled the first and last professional gig where McCartney played drums in The Beatles Anthology. “It was in Upper Parliament Street where a guy called Lord Woodbine owned a strip club. It was in the afternoon, with a few perverts (five or so men in overcoats) and a local stripper. We were brought on as the band to accompany the stripper, Paul on drums, John and me on guitar, and Stuart [Sutcliffe] on bass.”

The dancer walked onstage an details

 Doctor Who 's "The Devil's Chord" changes The Beatles' history, but features some factual accuracy, like Abbey Road Studios ties.
The cast includes all Beatles members, primarily focusing on John and Paul, while weaving in other historical figures.
The use of the Mrs. Mills Piano in the final showdown reflects a unique blend of fiction and history.

Doctor Who season 14, episode 2, "The Devil's Chord," features one of the most legendary bands of all time, but certain facts about The Beatles' early years are purposefully different from what happened in real life. Although "The Devil's Chord" alters The Beatles' true history, parts of the episode are surprisingly accurate. John, Paul, George, and Ringo have strong ties to Abbey Road Studios, so it makes sense for the story to unfold there. "The Devil's Chord" adds to the list of historical figures met by the Doctor in the modern era, even if some details are intentionally incorrect.

The Doctor Who season 14 cast includes a version of all four members of The Beatles, including another famous Liverpool musician. Although all five fictional portrayals of the performers appear in "The Devil's Chord," it's only really John Lennon and Paul McCartney who details

Reggae legend Bob Marley and Beatles founder John Lennon had an unexpected meeting in California, Elton John’s lyricist Bernie Taupin revealed in his new book, ‘Scattershot: Life, Music, Elton and Me.’

Taupin recalled the night he and Lennon were at the ‘On The Rox,’ a bar above The Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, when Marley and a large entourage joined them at their table. The Roxy Theatre was a familiar haunt for Bob Marley & The Wailers, with the group having played there on multiple tours, including their first run in July 1975, the ‘Rastaman Vibration’ tour in 1976, and the ‘Survival’ tour in 1979.

He said Marley and his friends were awed by Lennon, but Taupin was also impressed with the Jamaican singer, describing him as the undeniable center of attention.

“Marley is diminutive by comparison to his compatriots, but by no means a lesser individual,” Taupin wrote in his book. “It’s obvious he’s the engine, the focal point, the very eye of this mystical hurricane … It’s a surreal scene kicked up a notch when Marley reaches into his shoulder bag and produces a spliff the size of a baby’s arm.&rdq details

Paul McCartney said he liked writing surrealist lyrics. He gave an example of a song with no meaning behind it.

Even decades after releasing some songs, Paul McCartney sees fans poring over the lyrics, searching for meaning. John Lennon once said this was fruitless on some Beatles songs, as he wrote lines to purposely confuse fans. According to McCartney, fans might find themselves in a similar situation with his solo work. He said that some of the lyrics in one song had no meaning behind them.

In 1971, McCartney released Ram, his second post-Beatles album. Though the album initially received a poor critical reception, many have reviewed it significantly more favorably in retrospect. As fans continue to listen to the album, they’ve wondered what some of the whimsical, seemingly meaningless lyrics mean.

Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com

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The Beatles delivered some of the finest ballads in the history of music during their time together. But it took them a little while to get comfortable with the slow stuff. “If I Fell,” released in 1964 on their third album (and first movie) A Hard Day’s Night, was one of the first great ballads of their career.

What is the song about? What did John Lennon, the song’s main writer, have to say about its inspiration? And what did Paul McCartney contribute to the proceedings? Let’s find out about this somewhat unheralded but utterly lovely song from the Fab Four.
Slowing Things Down

When The Beatles came charging out of the gate with their first recordings in late 1962 and throughout 1963, they generally kept the pedal to the metal in terms of the pace. Songs like “I Saw Her Standing There,” “Please Please Me,” and “She Loves You” rushed by in a whir of adrenaline.

They did sneak in a few slower ones in that first year or so of recordings, including the charming doo-wop style “This Boy” (relegated to B-side status in ’63). But A Hard Day’s Night found John Lennon and Paul McCartney growing more confident and proli details

Heather Mills has slammed her ex-husband Sir Paul McCartney in a new interview, claiming that he has to do songs with younger people so that people remember him. Erm, considering he was part of the biggest band in the world (The Beatles anyone?) AND has become just a little successful in his own, solo right (understatement of the year), we *think* he's doing just fine, actually.

Alright, so some people may not know all about the Beatles' legend (let's take a moment to remember THAT moment Kanye West fans thought Paul was a 'newcomer') , and we can definitely get how irritating it must be to continually be asked about an ex.

Appearing on The Late Late Show in Ireland, the 47-year-old who recently competed on The Jump blasted Sir Paul as 'irrevelant', adding that kids on the street recognise her more than they do him.

From the first Paul-related question, Heather insisted that she didn't "really want this interview" to be all about her former husband, adding that the "umbilical cold" between the two of them had long been broken.

Host Ryan Tubridy continued to press her on the topic she considered "boring," saying: "I think people are more interested than you allow for."

However, Heather res details

Let It Be director Michael Lindsay-Hogg said a famous spat between Paul McCartney and George Harrison captured in the 1970 film about the making of the Beatles' final album was no big deal.

"Nothing was going to be in the picture that they didn't want," Lindsay-Hogg told Grammy.com. "They never commented on that. They took that exchange as like many other exchanges they'd had over the years … but, of course, since they'd broken up a month before [the film's release], everyone was looking for little bits of sharp metal on the sand to think why they'd broken up."

During the often tumultuous recording sessions for the 1970 album that became Let It Be, Harrison, growing irritated by McCartney, told the bassist, "I'll play, you know, whatever you want me to play, or I won't play at all if you don't want me to play. Whatever it is that will please you … I'll do it."

Source: Michael Gallucci/ultimateclassicrock.com

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I love ’em. You love ’em, we all love ’em. It’s almost un-American not to love them despite the obviousness that they are not.

I speak of the (arguably) most popular rock group of all time, The Beatles. So, when I happened upon an article titled “The 10 Most Annoying Beatles Songs of All Time,” I had to check it out. Here’s how they shook out, according to msn.com.

10. “Love Me Do”

It is known for being The Beatles’ first charting song. However, there’s just something about it that grates on the nerves. It’s possibly the harmonica and the repetitive lyrics. The song doesn’t have much substance, but it has a catchy melody, which is likely the only thing that helped it get on the charts. It was a reasonable effort from the band, but I’d rather listen to other songs in The Beatles’ catalog.

9. “I Saw Her Standing There”

It has the same problem as “Love Me Do.” It just lacks intrigue. The lyrics are basic, and the background guitar riff is annoying. It’s a good old-fashioned rock tune, but I’d prefer to listen to “I Want to Hold Your Hand” or “All My details

Ringo Starr has been issuing EPs since 2021 but is now pledging to return with an album-length project. He'll follow up the April release of Crooked Boy by circling back to country music, a genre that helped define Starr's career with the Beatles and as a solo artist.

"I'm working on it with someone very special – T Bone Burnett," Starr tells USA Today. "He's doing stuff in Nashville and he comes to L.A. and it's all working out. He came to me with nine songs. It won't be out until October, at least."

Starr also recorded 1970's countrified Beaucoup of Blues in Nashville. His sophomore solo release consolidated an influence that played out in Beatles-era covers like Buck Owens' "Act Naturally" and Starr's own rootsy original "Don't Pass Me By."

Taking the concept seriously, Starr completed Beaucoup of Blues alongside a group of ace country pickers and producer Pete Drake, a steel guitar-playing Nashville legend. "I think some of my finest vocals are on that album," Starr has said, "because I was relaxed."

Starr had met Drake during the sessions for former bandmate George Harrison's All Things Must Pass, and they both appeared on the title track. So, he trusted Drake in selecting the material details

Although it’s hard to imagine anyone but Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr making up the Fab Four, for a brief moment in the early 1960s, the future Beatles adopted cheeky stage names while cutting their teeth in a cover band that was (unwillingly) playing for (mostly) free.

The three original members of the now iconic band, McCartney, Lennon, and Harrison, settled on several names before adopting the Beatles. The trio performed as the Quarrymen for a spell until an audition to be a backing band for a touring musician sent the artists back to the drawing board.

Lennon first floated the Crickets as a potential moniker, but McCartney shot it down, arguing that another band had already used that name. Eventually, the band settled on the Silver Beetles. But the Liverpool musicians didn’t stop there.  The Musicians Used Their Professional Digs To Adopt New Stage Names.

The audition that prompted the band’s name change was for London-based music promoter Larry Parnes, who was looking for backing bands who could play with various touring singers around the U.K. In a fortunate preview of the success that was to come, the Silver Beetles landed the gig and began p details

On September 9th, 1971, John Lennon released the iconic album, "Imagine."

John Lennon was a U.K singer-songwriter who rose to global fame as a co-founder of the Beatles, the most commercially successful band in the history of pop music. After forming a songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney, the two of them brought the band to fruition.

After the Beatles disbanded in 1970, Lennon embarked on a solo career producing several smash hit records including "John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band" and "Imagine."

"Imagine" is Lennon's second solo studio album and is more heavily produced in contrast to the more raw and rudimental sound on his first album "John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band." In 2012, "Imagine" was voted 80th on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time." The album is even considered Lennon's best work while producing his most critically-acclaimed song -- the title track "Imagine" -- which sold 1.6 million copies in the U.K. and was co-produced by himself and Yoko Ono.

Lennon and Yoko Ono had an affair during the late 1960s and 70s. The two met and protested against the Vietnam War which blossomed into a relationship unbeknownst of Lennon's current wife at the time. Rumor details