Recorded in 1962 at the Star Club in Germany, the album features the band playing with Ringo Starr for the first time because drummer Pete Best, who preceded Starr, was unable to perform that night. Jeffrey Collins, a British music producer and promoter who owns the rights to the recording, has had the music in his possession since 1964 when a DJ that Collins booked for the Star Club passed the recording on to him. "It starts off with only 20 or 30 people in attendance," Collins said. "The guys are fooling around… you can hear on the first track Paul McCartney tuning his guitar." Collins, who is the CEO of Echo-Vista Entertainment, said that the performance is a "very intimate show," and one can even hear the members of the band chatting between tracks. Collins said the 40-year delay in releasing the tracks was due to the poor quality of the recording, finally fixed by modern digital remastering. The album does not yet have a release date due to copyright issues that are being worked out with Apple Corps Ltd., a company that represents The Beatles music worldwide. ...more...
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Miami indie label plans to release unheard Beatles live album
Recorded in 1962 at the Star Club in Germany, the album features the band playing with Ringo Starr for the first time because drummer Pete Best, who preceded Starr, was unable to perform that night. Jeffrey Collins, a British music producer and promoter who owns the rights to the recording, has had the music in his possession since 1964 when a DJ that Collins booked for the Star Club passed the recording on to him. "It starts off with only 20 or 30 people in attendance," Collins said. "The guys are fooling around… you can hear on the first track Paul McCartney tuning his guitar." Collins, who is the CEO of Echo-Vista Entertainment, said that the performance is a "very intimate show," and one can even hear the members of the band chatting between tracks. Collins said the 40-year delay in releasing the tracks was due to the poor quality of the recording, finally fixed by modern digital remastering. The album does not yet have a release date due to copyright issues that are being worked out with Apple Corps Ltd., a company that represents The Beatles music worldwide. ...more...
NASA and The Beatles Celebrate Anniversaries by Beaming Song 'Across The Universe' Into Deep Space
For the first time ever, NASA will beam a song -- The Beatles' "Across the Universe" -- directly into deep space at 7 p.m. EST on Feb. 4. The transmission over NASA's Deep Space Network will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the day The Beatles recorded the song, as well as the 50th anniversary of NASA's founding and the group's beginnings. Two other anniversaries also are being honored: The launch 50 years ago this week of Explorer 1, the first U.S. satellite, and the founding 45 years ago of the Deep Space Network, an international network of antennas that supports missions to explore the universe. The transmission is being aimed at the North Star, Polaris, which is located 431 light years away from Earth. The song will travel across the universe at a speed of 186,000 miles per second. Former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney expressed excitement that the tune, which was principally written by fellow Beatle John Lennon, was being beamed into the cosmos. ...more...
NASA and The Beatles Celebrate Anniversaries by Beaming Song 'Across The Universe' Into Deep Space
For the first time ever, NASA will beam a song -- The Beatles' "Across the Universe" -- directly into deep space at 7 p.m. EST on Feb. 4. The transmission over NASA's Deep Space Network will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the day The Beatles recorded the song, as well as the 50th anniversary of NASA's founding and the group's beginnings. Two other anniversaries also are being honored: The launch 50 years ago this week of Explorer 1, the first U.S. satellite, and the founding 45 years ago of the Deep Space Network, an international network of antennas that supports missions to explore the universe. The transmission is being aimed at the North Star, Polaris, which is located 431 light years away from Earth. The song will travel across the universe at a speed of 186,000 miles per second. Former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney expressed excitement that the tune, which was principally written by fellow Beatle John Lennon, was being beamed into the cosmos. ...more...
Memorial plan for Beatles manager
A memorial to the former manager of the Beatles could be created in Liverpool after councillors backed plans for a lasting tribute to him. Brian Epstein died in 1967, aged 32, from a sleeping pill overdose. Plans for the tribute are still in the early stages, with no set idea for the memorial or location. However, solicitor Rex Makin, who was a friend of Epstein, has slammed the plans saying he was a private person who would not have wanted a monument. "I think it's rubbish, I don't believe in statues of any kind," said Mr Makin, who used to live next door to Epstein and helped arrange his funeral. "Brian's work with the Beatles is there - it doesn't need any monument. ...more...
McCartney's latest album takes a look back
Paul McCartney's latest album "Memory Almost Full" looks to the past, celebrates the present, and stares the future down with a fatalism that is both bleak and surprisingly sweet. This album incorporates a little bit of the Beatles and a touch of Wings, both successful bands Paul McCartney was a member of during the 60s and 70s. This album brings a clean, clear, upbeat McCartney, referencing virtually every part of his forty-five years as a recording artist with some very strong song writing and musical inclined talents. In the first single, "Ever Present Past", his lyrics reference the breakneck speed of the modern world, and the songs' quick tempo reflects them throughout the album. The second track has a contrasting element of sounds. With "Dance Tonight", he gives us a simple yet hypnotically infectious ditty (the whole track features McCartney on a mandolin, a backing drum beat, and oddly enough, McCartney whistling) that will only stick in your ears for days, but the sunshine and rainbows don't last. ...more...
Joe Cocker
As always, Cocker has covered the classics, among them Bob Dylan's Ring Them Bells, John Fogerty's Long As I Can See The Light, Stevie Wonder's You Haven't Seen Nothin' and George Harrison's Beware Of Darkness. Its energy levels aren't on the same scale as Mad Dogs, but the album has struck a chord with many of Cocker's oldest fans. It was recorded live to tape with a session band rather than piece by piece on a computer, and the tunes were chosen not for their potential hit value but for the way in which they might sit together on a record as "a complete package". "I'd gotten to a point where with each album you would wonder whether radio would play your songs," Cocker says. "This time we just made an album like you would in the late '60, where you play it from track one to track 10 and you just enjoy the experience. Out of nowhere, people really liked this one," he says, sounding almost surprised. "This is a hit record in England. I haven't done well in England in 30 years." Despite his age, Cocker is touring as hard as ever and says he is in no hurry to retire....more...
Paul McCartney Ecce Cor Meum (Behold My Heart) Live Performance And Documentary To Be Released On DVD
In September 2006 Paul McCartney released his fourth full-length classical album, Ecce Cor Meum (Behold My Heart). On Friday November 3rd, 2007 Ecce Cor Meum was given its world premiere performance to a sold out audience at The Royal Albert Hall, London. In May of this year Paul was presented with the award for Best Album at the UK Classical Brit Awards. The special world premiere Royal Albert Hall performance is to be made available for the first time ever on DVD, along with a documentary tracking the journey and making of this album. The DVD will be released in the U.S. through EMI Classics on February 26th, 2008.
Ecce Cor Meum (Behold My Heart) was performed by Kate Royal (soprano); Academy of St Martin In The Fields Orchestra; London Voices; Boys Of Magdalen College Choir, Oxford and Boys of King’s College Choir, Cambridge. They were conducted by Gavin Greenaway. This is the same cast that appears on the studio recording.
The DVD also follows the story of Ecce Cor Meum (Behold My Heart). It includes exclusive interviews with Paul and behind the scenes footage of the recording of the album at Abbey Road and the preparation in the run up to The Albert Hall performance. The album was more than eight years in the making and its origins follow in the historic tradition of composers that have been commissioned to write music for the world-renowned Magdalen College Oxford. Paul was specially invited by Anthony Smith (President of Magdalen College 1998 – 2005) to compose something to set the seal on a new concert hall for the college. His hope was for ‘a choral piece which could be sung by young people the world over, in the same way that Handel’s Messiah is’.
In November 2001, the first version of Ecce Cor Meum was given its preview performance by the Magdalen College Choir, which was conducted by Bill Ives at the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford. This was a great learning experience for Paul. “Eventually I made it all come together through correcting a lot of misapprehensions – a lot was learned before the Sheldonian performance, but a lot of it was learned afterwards. An experienced choral composer knows that children can’t be given huge sustained passages; they don’t have the energy and the stamina. At the Sheldonian there was some quite hard stuff that I didn’t realise because I’d done it on the synthesiser (which has endless stamina!), but during that first performance the solo treble couldn’t come on for the second half – I think I’d used him up in the first half! These are things that people either learn because they are taught them immediately at the first lesson, or you learn through the years, so it was good to go through the piece a lot of times, and we took out huge choral sections and gave them to the orchestra. If it had been a Beatles song I would have known how to do it. But this was a completely different ball game.”
###
www.paulmccartney.com
Beatlesnumber9
Ecce Cor Meum (Behold My Heart) was performed by Kate Royal (soprano); Academy of St Martin In The Fields Orchestra; London Voices; Boys Of Magdalen College Choir, Oxford and Boys of King’s College Choir, Cambridge. They were conducted by Gavin Greenaway. This is the same cast that appears on the studio recording.
The DVD also follows the story of Ecce Cor Meum (Behold My Heart). It includes exclusive interviews with Paul and behind the scenes footage of the recording of the album at Abbey Road and the preparation in the run up to The Albert Hall performance. The album was more than eight years in the making and its origins follow in the historic tradition of composers that have been commissioned to write music for the world-renowned Magdalen College Oxford. Paul was specially invited by Anthony Smith (President of Magdalen College 1998 – 2005) to compose something to set the seal on a new concert hall for the college. His hope was for ‘a choral piece which could be sung by young people the world over, in the same way that Handel’s Messiah is’.
In November 2001, the first version of Ecce Cor Meum was given its preview performance by the Magdalen College Choir, which was conducted by Bill Ives at the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford. This was a great learning experience for Paul. “Eventually I made it all come together through correcting a lot of misapprehensions – a lot was learned before the Sheldonian performance, but a lot of it was learned afterwards. An experienced choral composer knows that children can’t be given huge sustained passages; they don’t have the energy and the stamina. At the Sheldonian there was some quite hard stuff that I didn’t realise because I’d done it on the synthesiser (which has endless stamina!), but during that first performance the solo treble couldn’t come on for the second half – I think I’d used him up in the first half! These are things that people either learn because they are taught them immediately at the first lesson, or you learn through the years, so it was good to go through the piece a lot of times, and we took out huge choral sections and gave them to the orchestra. If it had been a Beatles song I would have known how to do it. But this was a completely different ball game.”
###
www.paulmccartney.com
Beatlesnumber9
THE BEATLES AND LEE COOPER
The Beatles are back! Lee Cooper, 'The original fine English denim company’ and Apple Records (The Beatles) announce their Spring/Summer 08 collection of Beatle t-shirts and accessories. Within the 3-year agreement, Lee Cooper will release three small and perfectly complete collections per year, using the iconic and classic imagery from the Beatles back catalogue to produce their line of t-shirts, sweats and bags. Lee Cooper is proud of its long-term association with British music and culture and excited with the work produced with Apple Records to make The Beatles Tops collection. Apple Records also expressed their enthusiasm: “When Lee Cooper approached us to do the deal we were so pleased. Their coverage in over 70 countries in the world and the quality of the range will give it great exposure, bringing the Beatles products to new fans as well as original fans”.
Not just your typical Beatles top, the SS 08 collection of tees and sweaters for men and women have greater attention paid towards the fit, detail and comfort of the shirt while maintaining their high quality graphic prints that are guaranteed to last. Each top is carefully crafted to maintain a true vintage feel with a treated wash ensuring originality.
This year’s menswear collection features a range of t-shirts, sweaters, and hoodies with varied colour tones of black and grey to sky blue and yellow. The t-shirts available feature the classic The Beatles inscription in the use of fabric embellishments of Beatles symbols, LOVE, Back in the USSR, and Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (also available on sweater knits of subdued bright shades of baby blue with lemon yellow stripes and also brown with blue pin stripe); the four Beatles in an Andy Warhol like screen print of bright eye-catching contrasting colours on black; a B&W illustration comprising the four Beatles profiles transforming into their figures (Revolver Album cover) on a white tee; and also on a white tee, the fab four represented in their iconic ‘70’s cartoon form.
Lightweight soft cotton hoodies carry classic Back in the USSR graphics and Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (also available without hood).
The womenswear collection entertains a bright pastel palette of colours in a feminine fitted profile. The t-shirts featured are the classic The Beatles inscription in the use of fabric embellishments of Beatles symbols, LOVE, Back in the USSR, and St. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band on white; The Magical Mystery Tour replicating album artwork, on a lilac purple tee; the fab four represented in their iconic ‘70’s cartoon form on a raspberry tee; a B&W illustration comprising the four Beatles profiles transforming into their figures (Revolver Album cover) on a pastel yellow tee; Love Me Do written in red with heart inscribed and nicely contrasted in daffodil yellow tee; and the four Beatles in an Andy Warhol like screen print of contrasting colours on baby pink.
Visit www.leecooper.com
Not just your typical Beatles top, the SS 08 collection of tees and sweaters for men and women have greater attention paid towards the fit, detail and comfort of the shirt while maintaining their high quality graphic prints that are guaranteed to last. Each top is carefully crafted to maintain a true vintage feel with a treated wash ensuring originality.
This year’s menswear collection features a range of t-shirts, sweaters, and hoodies with varied colour tones of black and grey to sky blue and yellow. The t-shirts available feature the classic The Beatles inscription in the use of fabric embellishments of Beatles symbols, LOVE, Back in the USSR, and Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (also available on sweater knits of subdued bright shades of baby blue with lemon yellow stripes and also brown with blue pin stripe); the four Beatles in an Andy Warhol like screen print of bright eye-catching contrasting colours on black; a B&W illustration comprising the four Beatles profiles transforming into their figures (Revolver Album cover) on a white tee; and also on a white tee, the fab four represented in their iconic ‘70’s cartoon form.
Lightweight soft cotton hoodies carry classic Back in the USSR graphics and Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (also available without hood).
The womenswear collection entertains a bright pastel palette of colours in a feminine fitted profile. The t-shirts featured are the classic The Beatles inscription in the use of fabric embellishments of Beatles symbols, LOVE, Back in the USSR, and St. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band on white; The Magical Mystery Tour replicating album artwork, on a lilac purple tee; the fab four represented in their iconic ‘70’s cartoon form on a raspberry tee; a B&W illustration comprising the four Beatles profiles transforming into their figures (Revolver Album cover) on a pastel yellow tee; Love Me Do written in red with heart inscribed and nicely contrasted in daffodil yellow tee; and the four Beatles in an Andy Warhol like screen print of contrasting colours on baby pink.
Visit www.leecooper.com
Special Beatles Segment on The 50th Annual GRAMMY Awards
Nominees Feist, Alicia Keys, Brad Paisley and the casts of "The Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil" and Across The Universe in a special Beatles segment are the latest performers announced for the 50th Annual GRAMMY® Awards telecast, it was announced today by The Recording Academy®. Eight-time GRAMMY winner Natalie Cole, 12-time Latin GRAMMY winner Juanes, GRAMMY winner Cyndi Lauper, three-time GRAMMY winner Bette Midler and nine-time GRAMMY winner Bonnie Raitt will appear as presenters. Previously announced performers include Beyoncé; Foo Fighters (with special guest conductor John Paul Jones); Carrie Underwood; 2008 MusiCares® Person of the Year Aretha Franklin, Mary J. Blige, the Clark Sisters, Israel And New Breed, and Trin-I-Tee 5:7 in a special gospel segment; and Rihanna with a reunited the Time in a special 50th anniversary segment. The music industry's premier event will take place live on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2008, at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast in HDTV and 5.1 Surround Sound on the CBS Television Network from 8-11:30 p.m. (ET/PT). The show also will be supported on radio via Westwood One worldwide and XM Satellite Radio, and covered online at GRAMMY.com. Additional performers, presenters and special segments will be announced soon. ...more...
Press Release
Press Release
All you need is love
Back in 1970, The Beatles forewarned, “When the broken hearted people living in the world agree, there will be an answer, let it be.” This week a lot of broken hearts have been mended in what is certainly a fitting week to pay heed to the Fab Four – the week in which Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor sought to heal a rift with the band, 40 years after the country retracted an invitation to John, Paul, George and Ringo to perform in the Jewish state. In keeping with landmark visits, a Muslim Council of Britain delegate finally attended Holocaust Memorial Day, ending the organisation’s six-year boycott of the event, and laying to rest a severe bone of contention with the Jewish community. Extending the hand of compassion to Anglo-Jewry, Assistant Secretary-General of the MCB Inayat Bunglawala said: “All communities should have an interest in ensuring that our society never forgets how entire groups of people, including those who were Jews, were systematically marginalised, vilified and then slaughtered while many people who should have known better just turned a blind eye. ...more...
Somehow, Ringo Has More Love to Spare
Following in the paths of British newspapers, The New York Daily News has decided to try out the music giveaway idea themselves. And, because EMI is the label they're working with or maybe just because they want to keep it as English as possible, the paper is featuring an unreleased Ringo Starr track as well as 120,000 other songs available for download. This Super Bowl Sunday and the following Sunday (the day of the Grammys) the paper's print edition will include codes that allow readers to go online and download Ringo's song and three more DRM-free mp3s from EMI's catalog. The idea is to entice readers of the dead-tree version to check out the ones-and-zeros version, and Starr's "It's Love" will be a straight shot to that demographic. ...more...
Trapped behind a shadow
The art of music has no gender, no race and no limit to how it can be used to express opinion. It has been a medium with no barriers to entry and instead has enabled people to confide their most beautiful, softest secrets or to yell out to the world all the things they did not otherwise know how to say. Certain genres linked to movements have been born out of a passion for ideology - waves of feminism produced riot grrl punk; hardcore helped straight edge. Now consider the opposite - ways in which views or people have been oppressed by the symbolism created through music, especially for women. Heavy rock, in all its glory of creating face-melting hair moshing and monster ballads that even grown men can cry to, has underlying elements of sexism. Haven't you ever given a second thought to the Flying V guitar?...more...
What do you think?
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Sir Paul dismisses heart op claim
Sir Paul McCartney has denied reports he had heart surgery and said he passed a recent medical with "flying colours". He said on his website that reports the had undergone an operation were "completely distorted and untrue". Sir Paul, 65, explained: "There was a minor irregularity which I needed to have tests for and which I have now been assured is completely fine." Saying he wanted to set the record straight, he joked: "I have secretly been enjoying all the sympathy." Reports he had undergone surgery were published earlier this month in several newspapers. But Sir Paul said the tests took place over a year ago. ...more...
Sir Paul McCartney Slams 'Heart Scare' Stories
Sir Paul McCartney has denied media reports which claimed he underwent an angioplasty operation on his heart last year. In a letter on his website, he insisted that he had only had tests after a “minor irregularity” was found during a routine medical examination. It was reported last December that the former Beatle had undergone the operation because of the strain of his divorce battle with his estranged wife Heather Mills. “People are ringing and texting me saying ‘are you ok?’ and I hadn’t seen the report so I was puzzled by so many enquiries about my health,” he wrote. ...more...
Anne Murray's early unretirement
A happier memory was Lennon's impromptu visit to Murray's dressing room during a Grammy Awards ceremony in 1974, the year Murray won the best country vocal performance award for A Love Song. According to Murray, the ex-Beatle popped in and told her her version of You Won't See Me was the best cover of a Beatles song. "And then he was gone," she said. "I was in such shock." The new album's goosebump moment comes in a posthumous duet with another British pop legend, Dusty Springfield, who died of breast cancer in 1999. Murray said she had been a huge Springfield fan when she asked her to sing backup on Murray's 1975 album Together. They struck up an enduring friendship, she said, and Murray was among the last people to speak to Springfield before she died....more...
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
The Beatles-Themed Hard Day's Night Hotel To Open This Friday
The Times UK got a sneak peek at the Hard Day's Night Hotel which is opening this Friday and will be the first Beatles-themed hotel to open (although certainly not the last.) Initially, we thought this would be some sort of hack hotel, but it sounds rather cool. When the doors open on February 1 guests will be greeted by four statues of the Beatles over the cathedral-like arched main door. A gold banister lined staircase leads up to the Brasserie and reception, where hundreds of sheets of Beatles' music hang from the ceiling and a frieze of black and white stills of the Fab Four runs like a film reel across the top of the entrance wall. The lobby's star feature, however, is a bright Yellow Submarine jukebox, apparently one of only 1,000 in existence. And, you've guessed it, Beatles music plays night and day throughout the hotel. ...more...
The Day the Music Died
I can’t remember if I cried, When I read about his widowed bride, But something touched me deep inside, The day the music died.—Don McLean, American Pie (1971) The snow was heavy that night. The only alternative to riding all night long in a dirty, unheated bus to his next concert date was a tiny airplane. Shortly after takeoff, however, the plane carrying Buddy Holly, along with Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson, disappeared into a snowy cloud. Holly’s torn, mangled body was found a few hours later in a frozen Iowa cornfield a little past midnight on February 3, 1959. I was a 12-year-old kid at the time. For Buddy Holly fans like me, it seemed that all was lost—a feeling immortalized in Don McLean’s classic song. As an artist, Buddy Holly was only with us for 30 months—between 1957 and 1959. But in that short period, Holly’s innovation and keen musicianship made him the Mozart of rock music and one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. By John W. Whitehead...more...
Donovan reflects on the Beatles, keeps making music
The Dylanesque folk of Catch the Wind was all that most American pop fans had heard of the young Scottish singer known only as Donovan before he took his own peculiar spin on psychedelic pop to No. 1 in 1966 with Sunshine Superman. A second million-seller, Mellow Yellow, soared to No. 2 with vocal help from Paul McCartney. That same year, the Beatles hit with Yellow Submarine, to which Donovan, McCartney's friend and neighbor, contributed the lyric, "Sky of blue and sea of green." But the biggest adventure he shared with the Beatles was flying to India in 1968 to study transcendental meditation with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It's in India that Donovan would write another psychedelic classic, Hurdy Gurdy Man, while helping John Lennon develop the style of acoustic guitar that would play such a prominent role in the sound of The Beatles....more...
Lenny Kravitz would like to work with Paul McCartney
The 'American Woman' singer - who owns a mixing desk from London's Abbey Road Studios, famously used by The Beatles - wants the legendary musician to fly out to his Miami home to record a song with him. Lenny said: "All the Beatles' albums were recorded on that mixing desk and I got it when my first album 'Let Love Rule' came out in 1990, as I came into a bit of money. I'd seen a documentary in England made about it by one of the sound engineers and I knew I had to have it. "It's an incredible piece of gear. At the time I blew all of my money on it but if you offered me £5 million for it today I wouldn't take it. "When you see pictures of John Lennon sitting at the desk it's just priceless. I'd love to bring Paul McCartney back to my place and make a record with him. How cool would that be?" Kravitz's new album 'It's Time For A Love Revolution' is released next month.
Source:
Source:
Sleep in John Lennon's bed
This coming Friday, Liverpool’s rather excitable Capital of Culture celebrations will reach a whole new hysterical pitch, when Beatles fans are invited to sleep with Paul McCartney. Not in the flesh, you understand, but in spirit, with the opening of the city’s newest hotel, the Hard Days Night, which will feature “themed” rooms full of Lennon and McCartney miscellanea. The design details are top-secret, but we do know one thing: this is just the latest salvo in a worldwide craze for celebrity hotel suites. The idea is to dress up a bedroom in honour of a famous name, and just about everybody has had the treatment, from presidents to pugilists to porn stars. ...more...
John Lennon's Winning Beat
John Lennon did more than compose when he wrote songs such as "Help" with the Beatles and "Mother" as a solo artist. In "Help," Lennon revealed his insecurities about unwanted weight gain and depression amid the crush of the Beatles' popularity; "Mother" was about his fractured family life, says Larry Kane, author of "Lennon Revealed," a biography. "These were not just rock songs," he told IBD. "John told me that everything he wrote was basically letting his life bleed out into the public." Lennon's work with the Beatles on albums such as "Revolver" and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and as a solo artist on the record "Imagine" introduced a level of counterculture that had been lacking in pop music, says Steven Rosenblatt, an attorney and Beatle memorabilia collector...more...
'Liverpool's Beatles hotel should stick to the music'
It feels like a long way up from the nearby basement of the Cavern Club to the steel and glass penthouse extensions that sit above the new Hard Days Night Hotel in Liverpool. When the Beatles were playing locally back in 1961 they would never have dreamt of such lofty decadence. Housed in the magnificent Grade II listed Central Buildings, built in 1884 in North John Street, this is the icing on the cake of another temple - an entire block, in fact - to the city’s favourite sons, which is finally due to open ten years and more than £20 million after its owners first had the idea. From the £650-a-night Lennon and McCartney suites on the fifth and sixth floors, respectively, of the “world’s first” Beatles-themed hotel, you can survey the rooftops and cranes of central Liverpool and its swanky not-yet-finished £1 billion Liverpool One retail project. ...more...
Ringo Stars in His Own Life Story on CD
It feels unseemly to criticize Ringo Starr, whose new album, "Liverpool 8" (Capitol), was released earlier this month. An amiable presence, he readily shows his vulnerability, a rare trait in an artist who's been a celebrity for almost 45 years. As recently as 2006, during the recording of the "Love" remix album, he spoke of how he occasionally felt underappreciated by his Beatles colleagues. He recorded the Lennon-McCartney song "Love Me Do," conceding he still was hurt that he hadn't played drums on the version included on the band's debut album. Though Mr. Starr is 67 years old, his face bears the sad-eyed expression of his experiences as a sickly child who was separated from family and friends during repeated hospital visits. But his fellow musicians love him, guitarist and producer Dave Stewart told me recently. "With some people, when they walk into the room the temperature rises. That's Ringo," he said. "He keeps everybody's vibe up."...more...
BUY: Liverpool 8 (USB wristband)
BUY: Liverpool 8 CD
Believe Lennon jacket ad, or let it be
Nestled in the "Lost & Found" column, next to ads about lost pets, was the item: "FOUND: John Lennon's Denim jacket & Personal Diary & other items in downtown Bridgeport."
Clearly, this wasn't your typical classified ad in the Connecticut Post, where it has appeared over the past few days. It was provocative and mysterious and, well, completely false. Unfortunately, no memorabilia belonging to the late ex-Beatle has surfaced in the city. The ad is the work of Los Angeles-based prankster Rory Emerald, and is one of about 40 false ads he has placed over the past few years. His escapades have been written about in media outlets around the country, making him something of a cult figure. But Emerald said his goal has less to do with attaining notoriety and more to do with entertaining others. "I do it because it makes people happy," Emerald said of his "hobby." "It makes people laugh." Born Julian Lee Hobbs, Emerald changed his name in the early 1980s. He's been running bogus ads off and on for several years....more...
Clearly, this wasn't your typical classified ad in the Connecticut Post, where it has appeared over the past few days. It was provocative and mysterious and, well, completely false. Unfortunately, no memorabilia belonging to the late ex-Beatle has surfaced in the city. The ad is the work of Los Angeles-based prankster Rory Emerald, and is one of about 40 false ads he has placed over the past few years. His escapades have been written about in media outlets around the country, making him something of a cult figure. But Emerald said his goal has less to do with attaining notoriety and more to do with entertaining others. "I do it because it makes people happy," Emerald said of his "hobby." "It makes people laugh." Born Julian Lee Hobbs, Emerald changed his name in the early 1980s. He's been running bogus ads off and on for several years....more...
Paul McCartney's 'Ecce Cor Meum' Live Performance, Documentary Released on DVD February 4
In September 2006 Paul McCartney released his fourth full-length classical album, Ecce Cor Meum (Behold My Heart). On Friday November 3rd Ecce Cor Meum was given its world premiere performance to a sold out audience at The Royal Albert Hall, London. In May of this year Paul was presented with the award for Best Album at the UK Classical Brit Awards. The special world premiere Royal Albert Hall performance is to be made available for the first time ever on DVD, along with a documentary tracking the journey and making of this album. The DVD will be released through EMI Classics on Monday 4 February....more...
Maharishi steps down as head of meditation empire
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who became a guru to the Beatles, stepped down this month as the head of the organization that brought transcendental meditation to the West, an aide said on Monday. "His work is done and now he'll be concentrating on the field of silence and dedicating himself more to pure knowledge rather than administrative matters," Benjamin Feldman, finance minister for the Global Country of World Peace, told Reuters. After teaching the Beatles and other 1960s and 70s icons to meditate, the Indian mystic gained a worldwide following with six million people taking his courses. He moved his headquarters to the small southern Dutch village of Vlodrop in 1990....more...
Monday, January 28, 2008
STARR OFFERS 'PEACE AND LOVE' TO REGIS PHILBIN
RINGO STARR has apologised to U.S. TV host REGIS PHILBIN after backing out of a performance on his morning show last week (22Jan08) - blaming the programme's producer for cutting his time slot. The former Beatle was scheduled to perform his new solo single Liverpool 8 on Good Morning With Regis And Kelly, but he mysteriously vanished from the schedule. It later emerged a producer had chopped Starr's allocation time, forcing him to edit a live performance of the song - which he wasn't prepared to do. Starr explains, "(It was) nothing to do with Regis, because we love Regis. Peace and love. His producer felt that he was going to give us limited time to play the song and we did the best we could. "And it still wasn't short enough for him. And the song has a story, so we wrote the song. We wanted to do the song. "And anyway, there was no - there's never - there was no compromise, so we had to leave."
Source:
Source:
EXERCISE AND LOVE KEEP STARR YOUNG
Pop pensioner RINGO STARR is a youthful 67, thanks to a rigorous workout regime and a beautiful wife. Starr is preparing to go back on the road, in his seventh decade, to promote a new solo album. And he claims Barbara Bach - his Bond girl wife of 26 years - deserves credit for him defying the aging process. Starr tells talk show host Larry King, "I work out. I have a trainer. And I watch what I eat. That's it really. And I'm in love with a beautiful girl, so it keeps me young."
Source:
Source:
Entertainment History
On February third, 1959, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson were killed in a plane crash in Iowa. Holly was 22, Valens was 17 and the Big Bopper was 2. In 1967, Jimi Hendrix recorded "Purple Haze" in London. It was released in March in the U.K. as a follow-up to his first British single "Hey Joe." In 1968, Paul McCartney recorded "Lady Madonna" at the Abbey Road studios. The record is credited to The Beatles, but McCartney played with unknown session musicians. In 1969, The Beatles, over objections from Paul McCartney, hired manager Allen Klein to straighten out the band's financial affairs. The band's mismanagement and money problems eventually led to its breakup....more...
Lost Beatles Recordings To Be Released
Lost Beatles Recordings To Be Released was a top story on Monday. Here it is again: (CMJ) Fifteen previously unreleased Beatles tracks recorded live in 1962 have been acquired by Fuego Entertainment, a production company which plans to release them in conjunction with the Echo Vista Group. The new tracks mark the first time the classic Beatles lineup was captured live on tape, shortly after Ringo Starr replaced Pete Best as the band's drummer. The recording was made during the Beatles' first appearance at the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany in front of about 20 to 30 people and includes songs "A Taste of Honey," "Hippy Hippy Shake" and Paul McCartney singing Hank Williams' "Lovesick Blues."...more...
The Beatles -Old Brown Shoe -History and Information
Written and rehearsed during but somehow never considered for the Get Back projected (later resurrected as the film and album Let It Be), this George song is considered one of his oddest, a standard 12-bar blues form with some strange chords thrown in, an unconventional mix, and a placement (on the flip side of a controversial John single) that almost guaranteed it near-obscurity. George wrote this little jam in late 1968, whether about his then-wife Pattie Boyd, one of his later affairs, or no one in particular, is unclear. It was written on the piano, not Harrison's usual instrument, which accounts for the unusual chords. The "Old Brown Shoe" that George is "stepping out" of in the song is, by the singer's own words, the material possessions of this world, a nod to his recent Eastern spiritual enlightenment that's also reflected in the duality, the balance, if you will, of his paired opposites: "right/wrong" is followed by "long/short," "up/down," "smile/frown," "love/hate," and "early/late." ...more...
Israel invite for 'banned' Beatles
Surviving members of the Beatles are being invited to perform at Israel's 60th birthday bash in May - 43 years after they were banned by the Jewish state. The Beatles were booked to appear in Israel in 1965 but government officials refused to grant the necessary permits, claiming the band and their amplified music could corrupt the morals of Israeli youth. Israel's ambassador to London, Ron Prosor, is expected to give a letter of apology to John Lennon's sister Julia Baird at the Beatles Story museum in Liverpool. Copies of the letter will also be sent to relatives of late guitarist George Harrison and to survivors Sir Paul McCartney, 65, and Ringo Starr, 67. The letter says: "We should like to take this opportunity to correct the historic omission which, to our great regret, occurred in 1965, when you were invited to Israel. "We should like to see you sing in Israel." In Jerusalem, Foreign Ministry spokesman Arye Mekel confirmed that Mr Prosor would meet Ms Baird and invite her to Israel for the gala marking Israel's founding in May 1948
Source:
Source:
Sunday, January 27, 2008
The "US vs. John Lennon" this Saturday
ABC's "At the Movies" reviewer's both gave four (out of five) stars to, "The US vs. John Lennon", the film to be screened by the Magnetic Island Film Society this Saturday. It's a doco, "tracing John Lennon's metamorphosis from lovable Beatle, to anti-war activist," and "the true story of how and why the US government tried to silence him..." David Stratton writes, "It's a fascinating chapter in the popular culture of the late 20th Century that John Lennon, soon after the immensely popular group, The Beatles, imploded, quickly became, in the eyes of the Nixon Administration, an enemy of America. "This very comprehensive and informative documentary, by David Leaf and John Scheinfeld, concentrates on the post-Beatles period....more...
Yesterday-The Beatles Tribute Show band rocks the Tropicana Casino
Yesterday-The Beatles Tribute Show Band salutes the Fab Four and packs the Liverpool Club Theater at Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City. Yesterday takes the stage in Atlantic City and Lake Tahoe, as founder Don Bellezzo joins forces with Yesterday Productions' Barbara McKeown to bring to life their critically acclaimed show, The British Are Coming! The reviews have come in from all over regarding Yesterday-The Beatles Tribute Show Band and the marks are high. The Tropicana Hotel/Casino has outdone itself by bringing in this gem of a show that pays homage to one of the greatest bands of all time, The Beatles. The founder of Yesterday is Don Bellezzo, himself a first class musician who actually portrays John Lennon in the show. The show is a look back at when the Fab Four ruled the world and focuses on a few of their most famous appearances. Their debut on the Ed Sullivan Show and the record setting concerts at the Hollywood Bowl and Shea Stadium. The enthusiasm of the musicians can be felt by the sold out audiences that have attended the shows. The music and vocals are spot on and unwavering. The British Are Coming! is a Yesterday Productions Presentation, Barbara McKeown, producer. The show at the Tropicana has been extended indefinitely. Audiences can relive the magic of the legendary Beatles and experience Yesterday, as the Beatles Tribute Show Band presents The British Are Coming!! Wednesdays through Sundays at the Liverpool Club Theater located in the North Tower of the Tropicana directly across from the box office. Tickets are $25.00 each and show times are at 8:30pm each night. You can find out more information about both the Atlantic City and the Lake Tahoe Horizon Casino Resort venues by going to www.legendsofyesterday.com and for media inquiries contact Neil Cirucci at neilciruccipr@aol.com.
Press Release
Press Release
School year to start on a meditative note
WHEN the 36 students at Reservoir's Maharishi School return to the classroom this week, there will be the usual buzz that comes from the thrill of seeing classmates and starting a school year. But by 9.30am, shoes will be off and all will be quiet. Complete silence will descend over the school as the students and teachers sit crossed-legged on the floor and meditate. Breathing and pulse rates will slow as students quickly settle into their transcendental meditation — a technique that teaches pupils to slow their mental activity and experience pure consciousness. ...more...
Sean Lennon invokes memories of his father
Singer Sean Lennon invoked the image and personality of his father, the late Beatles star John Lennon, during a recent visit to New York. The (London) Daily Mail said Friday that as Sean Lennon and his girlfriend, Kemp Muhl, wandered around New York, their photographed image was nearly identical to that of a 1969 photograph of the late rock singer and his wife, Yoko Ono. Not only does the 32-year-old son of the late Beatles great have many of his father's physical traits, but apparently some of his musical abilities as well....more...
John Lennon’s half-sister on life in Liverpool
We moved to the Springwood Estate, in Allerton, Liverpool, in 1949, when I was two and a half. Initially, it was just my mother (also named Julia), my father, John Albert, known as Bobby, and myself. Jackie, my sister, came along that October. And, of course, there was John. He was six years older than me, and he didn’t live with us, because Mimi, my mother’s eldest sister, had misappropriated him. She disapproved of a wartime affair my mother had had while married to John’s father, a merchant seaman who was away for years at a time. When my mother fell pregnant as a result, Mimi and Pop, my maternal grandfather, insisted that she give up the child. Later, my mother met my father, and that was the last straw, because they lived together without getting married. So, John went to live with Mimi at her house, Mendips, in May 1946 – she took him to live a morally upright life, to get him away from the sins of his mother. ...more...
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Clothes hint at McCartney's late night
Singer Paul McCartney was seen wearing the same clothes from the night before while leaving a London hotel Friday morning, leading to talk of a late visit. The former Beatles star had spent Thursday night reminiscing with actor Jack Nicholson and former model Twiggy, but the Daily Mail said McCartney's clothes indicated he likely spent the night on Twiggy's sofa. The British newspaper said that adorned in last night's outfit, the 58-year-old singer happily dealt with a pack of assembled photographers Friday outside the popular celebrity haunt, The Ivy. Twiggy, still a veritable modeling icon despite being 58 years old, has been a staunch supporter of McCartney during his turbulent divorce from former model Heather Mills....more...
Liverpool Rising
WITH EACH tide, the Irish Sea covers the iron-clad men, some of them already half-buried in the rippling sands, and then reveals them anew. They create an immediate sense of company, of belonging, on what would otherwise be a bleak shoreline. The distant thump of heavy machine-gun fire from the army range further up the coast, and the dawn mist in the estuary, add to the surreal atmosphere. "Someone's stolen the sea today," says Cook, straightening his back and making a stab at the trademark Liverpudlian humour. The high blades of Burbo Bank offshore wind farm can just be seen, poking through the fog. Cook, a plasterwork restorer, loves being by the sea. He likes the feeling of freedom and possibility that the coast gives him. "That's Wales down there," he says. "Beyond that is Ireland and then you don't stop until America." It takes a while - several visits, in fact - for Liverpool to click, but in that sentence, the beachcomber has captured the essence of the place. Like the iconic Liver Building at Albert Docks, Gormley's statues look to the horizon, to Ireland and the Atlantic: the two huge influences on the city. That combination, that ebb and flow across the sea, shaped Liverpool into the least English of England's cities. To understand Liverpool you have to acknowledge that Britain, for the most part, lies to the east of it....more...
Mom, How Did You Meet the Beatles?
Casting is complete for the inaugural Public LAB production of Mom, How Did You Meet The Beatles?, which is set to begin performances Feb. 4. Penned by Adrienne Kennedy and her son, Adam P. Kennedy, Mom, How Did You Meet The Beatles? marks the first production of the newly founded developmental works series uniting the Public and LAByrinth Theater companies. The play chronicles Adrienne Kennedy's search for fame and fortune in 1960's London. As an innocent abroad, Kennedy encounters numerous British writers as well as the likes of Laurence Olivier, James Baldwin, Ricki Huston and The Beatles. Barrymore winner Brenda Pressley, whose credits include Seven Guitars, Marvin's Room and the Broadway production of Dreamgirls, portrays Ms. Kennedy, with William DeMeritt as her son, Adam. Public resident director Peter DuBois directs the inaugural work for the Public LAB. Dubois previously staged A View from 151st Street and Jack Goes Boating....more...
Rebuilding The Beatles, Note by Note
In 1966, a British reporter stopped Paul McCartney outside of Abbey Road studio in London and asked him why The Beatles were no longer touring. "If you never toured again," the reporter asked, "would it worry you?" "Ah, I don't know," McCartney replied. "No, I don't think so. Because we can't develop when no one can hear us. You know what I mean? So for us, to perform, it's difficult. We want to do it, but if we're not listened to, and we can't even hear ourselves, then we can't improve in that. We can't get any better." Perhaps it was just as well that The Beatles stopped performing publicly, given the constant screaming and the limitations presented by the technology of the day. Much of the music they recorded after 1966 couldn't be re-created onstage anyway....more...
Why do so many unkind gossips put the boot into grasping hatchet-faced, delusioned old hussy, Heather Mills?
This week the Non Domestic Goddess Club was pleased to read that there appears to have been an eleventh-hour thawing of relations between Heather Mills and Sir Paul McCartney, and that an out-of-court settlement may even be reached before next month's hearing. We are pleased about this because we have always been fans of Heather and have been extremely shocked by the disgraceful and pernicious way she has been treated. We do not know Heather exactly, but this is what we would say to her if we did: "Heather, we have always, always admired you. We have admired you ever since we first saw you in 1999 on TV at the Pride of Britain awards, giving a gong to the most photogenic freckle-nosed schoolboy who dialled 999 while his mum was in a diabetic coma through no fault of her own, beyond being 42-stone overweight. This was so moving that there was even a tear in Carol Vorderman's eye, and she is as tough as old boots. ...more...
Friday, January 25, 2008
Who doesn’t love Ringo Starr?
Ringo Starr has never been more than a capable singer. The Beatles drummer with the puppy-dog appeal was thrown precious few bones during the Fab Four’s reign, with John, Paul and George letting him sing a few minor songs, plus the enduringly charming “Don’t Pass Me By,” “With A Little Help From My Friends,” “Octopus’s Garden” and “Yellow Submarine.” After The Beatles went their separate ways, Starr’s pleasant voice (and name recognition, no doubt) helped turn solo songs “Photograph,” “You’re Sixteen,” “Oh My My,” “The No-No Song,” “Back Off Boogaloo” and “It Don’t Come Easy” into hits. Since the ’70s, though, he has been little more than a nostalgia act, frequently touring with his All-Starr Band. So a new album co-produced by the Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart raises hope that Ringo can recapture the warmth of his past efforts....more...
Paul McCartney Attempts to Settle Heather Mills Divorce
According to sources, Paul McCartney has attempted to settle his messy divorce battle with Heather Mills out of court. The singer reportedly called Mills “three or four times” last week to settle the divorce as he does not want details of his private life revealed in court. “One of the chats went on for at least 15 minutes, which is the longest they have spoken to one another in months and months,” said a source. McCartney allegedly feels their divorce hearing in February will have an affect on him and Mills’ 4-year-old daughter Beatrice. A source says Mills is willing to resolve their issues outside of court. “It seems that the mood has definitely changed and they are both now ready to resolve things more sensibly,” added the source. Source:
Stella McCartney to debut intimates line in February
Stella McCartney pays as much attention to what women don underneath as she does to her popular ready-to-wear collection. In February, the Brit designer known for producing flirty, feminine designs on the runway will launch her first lingerie collection in partnership with Bendon, an intimate apparel company based in New Zealand that also happens to handle Elle Macpherson Intimates. In press materials, Ms. McCartney says she was inspired by lingerie since an early age. "I was obsessed with French slips, lace inlays and handwork. When I think about lingerie, I tend to think of really handmade precious pieces. ... The intimacy that a woman has with her lingerie is quite inspiring." ...more...
Lennon's visit had the staff on their toes
By the mid '70s, the staff at Caribou Ranch was pretty blase about having big names around. But when John Lennon visited for four days in July 1974, everyone struggled to keep their cool. "It was very funny. There were a lot of stars up here," said ranch manager John Carsello. "But when John came up, we all couldn't believe it." It was during Lennon's 14-month "Lost Weekend," when he was separated from Yoko Ono and included his infamous ejection from the Troubadour for drunkenly heckling the Smothers Brothers. He was accompanied to Caribou by girlfriend May Pang for a long weekend to add guitar and vocal to Elton John's take on Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds. "We had a great time," Pang said in a recent phone interview. "John enjoyed that. It wasn't his show. He could do it for someone else then walk away."...more...
Imagine that, Sean Lennon recreates famous image of his parents 40 years on
With his round spectacles and unkempt beard, Sean Lennon cut a very family figure as he strolled along the streets of New York earlier this week. He looked every inch his father's son, and with girlfriend Kemp Muhl by his side in an oversized black felt hat, the pair unwittingly recreated a now iconic 1969 photograph of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Despite almost 40 years separating the images, the resemblance between the two couples was uncanny. The 32-year-old has more than just style in common with the late Beatle - Sean has also pursued a career as a singer-songwriter. In October last year, he performed in the BBC Electric Proms alongside his very close friend Mark Ronson. Sean began dating model Kemp after splitting from his long term love Bijou Phillips in 2004 - the relationship ended bitterly after she slept with his best friend Max LeRoy. Source:
LET ME ROLL IT
Many rock fans think of Denny Laine as the "other man" in Wings, the band Paul McCartney formed with his wife, Linda McCartney, after the breakup of The Beatles. But Laine's own '60s pedigree as a founding member of the Moody Blues � Laine sang on the Moodys' 1965 hit, "Go Now!" � stands on its own merit. "It was a lot of work prior to that that led up to the success," Laine says of the so-called "British Invasion" movement, which was ignited by The Beatles and brought British bands such as the Moodys to America's attention. I mean, we were all working for years as solo artists or in other bands. And then certainly, you know, you get to that age when everything blows out of proportion, which is what happened in London. All the bands that came to London � starting with The Beatles, the Animals, the (Rolling) Stones, Rod Stewart, The Who � all those bands all sort of started at the same time. We all became kind of semi-friends in those days. It was a kind of friendly rivalry between all the bands. We always used to go to the same clubs. Because we were all sort of starting together, there was a lot of help and a lot of encouragement from each other....more...
Ringo ego just got in the way
AS if Ringo Starr hasn’t enough on his plate he has spectacularly upset his home city with his remarks on last week’s Jonathan Ross show. He didn’t slag Liverpool off, mind. He just dismissed it. But if you’re a Scouser, that’s just about as bad. I don’t think he meant to offend. I reckon his ego simply got in the way and, in an attempt to get a cheap laugh in front of a national audience, he misjudged his remarks. A colleague interviewed him while he was in the city and asked what was the best bit of advice he’d been given when he lived in Liverpool. “Run,” said Ringo and laughed like a drain, obviously comfortable cracking a Scouse gag in Scouse company. Then he grew serious and asked the journalist not to write it. “These things can look bad in print,” he explained. If only he’d regulated himself a bit more on telly.
Source:
Source:
Liverpool-link for SIRIUS
American satellite radio network SIRIUS is to broadcast an exclusive interview with Liverpool born Beatles drummer Ringo Star. The chat, with host Meg Griffin, will air just moments before a live outside broadcast in LA. Ringo will discuss the making of his latest album and his early musical influences and favorite drummers. Immediately following the interview, SIRIUS will cross to the Liverpool 8 album release party at LA’s House of Blues. The event will included a performance by Ringo Starr and Dave Stewart, the albums co-producer and half of the British music duo, Eurythmics. Liverpool 8 is the fourteenth studio album by Ringo Starr and was released in the UK on January 14th 2008. It entered the UK Album Chart at number 91 last week. SIRIUS subscribers will find the entertainment on the Disorder Channel 70 and The Spectrum channel 18 on Friday afternoon (25th January) from 3:15pm ET.
Source:
Source:
Across The Universe Writers Turn To The Stones
Dick Clements and Ian La Frenais, the writers of the movie 'Across The Universe' plan on doing with The Stones what they did with The Beatles in their last movie. La Frenais has revealed that he and Clement have already started work on a new animated feature entitled 'Ruby Tuesday'. "It is going to be CGI. It will be interesting. The animation is actually going to be done in Paris. It will be some pretty hip animation," La Frenais said in an interview. 'Ruby Tuesday' is the story of a single mother called Ruby who is looking for happiness in New York City. The music soundtrack will be completely Stones covers. Last year's 'Across The Universe' featured songs by The Beatles covered by the likes of Joe Cocker and Bono. It was the love story of Lucy and Jude (inspired from The Beatles songs 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds' and 'Hey Jude'....more...
'I am' songs
John Lennon once remarked, possibly with his tongue in his cheek: "Dylan got away with murder. I thought, I can write this crap too." Fuelled by LSD and withering disgust for the British establishment, he came up with I Am the Walrus, a surrealistic manifesto for a madman with faith in his own madness. A thread of sinister psychedelic <>mischief connects Lennon's walrus to Wire's troublemaking fly, spreading "more disease than the fleas". Some admissions are far from boastful. The benighted hero of Dick Burnett's Appalachian standard is a man of constant sorrow, although it's hard to feel bad listening to the spirited version recorded for O Brother, Where Art Thou? During the 1980s, UB40 experienced a precipitous decline in standards matched only by Simple Minds, but don't let the fatuous dreadlock-holiday karaoke of their later years deafen you to the power of this recession reggae classic, surely the only pop song ever written from the point of view of a statistic: "I am the one in 10/ A number on a list." ...more...
Thursday, January 24, 2008
CD for charity lets McCartney fan Blaze spread his wings
When it came to the Beatles, singer Rick Blaze always considered himself a John guy first, and then a fan of George. Then he gave Paul a chance. For the better part of two years, Blaze was ill and undergoing treatment for hepatitis C. During that time, he started listening to a lot of the music that Paul McCartney made after the Beatles broke up. Blaze took flight with Wings and savored the solo outings. “It was healing music,” Blaze explained. Then, sparked by a newspaper photo of McCartney looking lonely in a sailboat afloat in the Long Island sound, Blaze wrote Sir Paul a letter. Blaze told McCartney what his music had long meant to him, especially the “new” material inspiring the Worcester-based singer. Blaze said he wrote that he hoped McCartney was doing well, and that the knighted singer, who at the time was in the midst of his ugly break from Heather Mills, looked lonely. Amazingly, McCartney not only got the letter, but responded, particularly to Blaze’s idea of letting him assemble an album of McCartney songs performed by independent artists. ...more...
Ringo Starr Does A Runner From The Telly
OK, it goes without saying that you wouldn't really want to be Ringo Starr at any moment, unless you're into being recovering Scouse alcoholics who hit things for a living and sing songs about boning 16-year-olds. But, seriously, you wouldn't want to be Ringo Starr right now. He's stropped off Live With Regis & Kelly right before he was supposed to appear, you see. Ringo Starr hasn't had the best of years. He's watched Paul McCartney sign a clever new record deal and get lauded as a visionary. He's seen John Lennon get commemorated in a monolithic tower of light that will outlast us all. And he's seen George Harrison get crowned as the fourth-richest dead man alive. And what about Ringo?...more...
Les Paul: Chasing Sound'
How to describe Les Paul's influence in the world of music? Well, the word massive comes to mind. Paul's not just a brilliant guitarist, he also pioneered overdubbing, tape delays, multitrack recording -- things that are now considered absolute basics in the world of studio recording. He's in several halls of fame (Inventors, for his insanely influential work on the solid-body electric guitar; Grammy; Rock and Roll), created a guitar used by some of the most famous guitarists on the planet and has drawn admirers from generations of musicians (he was born in 1915 and apparently has never paused; Keith Richards, Paul McCartney, Eddie Van Halen and BB King all give Paul some love during the film). This movie's strength is its obvious affection and admiration for Paul and his restlessly, brilliantly inventive mind. There's so much good music here, you could watch this movie with your eyes closed and still be happy. But really, Les Paul's genius runs so deep and is so interesting, it's hard to imagine a dull movie on him. ...more...
What the Sixties Brought
The fortieth anniversary of 1968 is upon us. What, with the wisdom of hindsight, should we think of that convulsive moment? Everywhere there are nostalgic backward glances: Youth! Freedom! Sex! Were not the Sixties the Last Good Time, an era of hope, idealism, the promise of emancipation from—well, from everything? Some think so. “Only a few periods in American history,” The New York Times intoned in an editorial, have seen such a rich fulfillment of the informing ideals of personal freedom and creativity that lie at the heart of the American intellectual tradition. . . . The 60’s spawned a new morality-based politics that emphasized the individual’s responsibility to speak out against injustice and corruption. It seems so long ago, shrouded in a Day-Glo glaze of grateful recollection. But when it comes to the Sixties, Thomas Mann was right: “The past isn’t dead,” he wrote, “it isn’t event past.” Indeed, paroxysms of the 1960s, which trembled with gathering force through North America and Western Europe from the mid-1950s through the early 1970s, continue to reverberate throughout our culture. The Age of Aquarius did not end when the last electric guitar was unplugged at Woodstock. It lives on in our values and habits, in our tastes, pleasures, and aspirations. It lives on especially in our educational and cultural institutions, and in the degraded pop culture that permeates our lives like a corrosive fog....more...
John and Yoko Jan 24th 1970
John Lennon and Yoko Ono cut their hair short on 24 January 1970, declaring that 1970 would be ‘Year One’ for peace. Two weeks later, on the roof of the Black Centre in Holloway, north London, they swapped a bag of the shorn hair for a pair of Muhammed Ali’s blood-stained boxing shorts. The swap was made with Michael X, an English black power activist, who intended to auction the hair to raise money. It would have been worth a small fortune today if someone had held onto it, since a single lock of John’s hair went for £24,000 at auction in December 2007. Newsman: Mr Lennon, why did you decide to cut your hair?...more...
Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz, who began the 1990s being voted best new male singer in the Rolling Stone critic's poll, knows his own weaknesses. But — artistically speaking —they also make his day. The way Kravitz sees it, his strengths and weaknesses are the same. "I've always been someone you couldn't put into a category, and I've just done what I wanted to do," he explained. "I'm committed to doing that, being a musician and not worrying about which direction. I'm able to play a lot of different styles of music and blend them. I'm not limited. ...more...
Liverpool 8
Back in the good old days, Ringo Starr got to sing one song on every album, a gesture of solidarity from the friends with whose help he famously got by. The sentimental keynote of Liverpool 8 reminds us that even he preferred those days. Citing friends by name, the autobiographical title track balances its mawkish charm with the unspoken tragedy that he never found another bunch who invited him to shut up and drum while they did something amazing. His band merely indulges him here, as he quavers through plodding mid-tempo rockers and jaunty Butlins Holiday Camp hangovers with a landslide of overdubs attempting to obscure the limitations of his voice, lyrics and committee-written tunes....more...
.
Beatles roadshow looks at collectables
EXPERTS in Beatles memorabilia will be assessing fab four collectables at a road show this weekend. Enthusiasts are being asked to take items including those signed by band members to see if the autographs are genuine. Beatles collectables are reckoned to be the most faked in the world, with just 6% of them actually bearing real signatures. The BBC’s The One Show is bringing its memorabilia road show to the Hard Days Night Hotel on North John Street, Liverpool, on Saturday. Experts will be on hand from 11am until 4pm. They will see 150 collectors on a first-come first-served basis. Source:
Despite private lives, New Yorkers grieve publicly
In New York, even the most famous can live in relative anonymity, absorbed by a city that doesn't stop in its tracks at their every public move. But that shield of privacy vanishes in the face of a celebrity's death, when New York becomes a stage for very public rituals of mourning. It's happened many times before, famously after the murder of John Lennon in 1980 and the accidental death of John F. Kennedy Jr. in 1999, and each time, sidewalks and stoops become tableaus for a city's collective grief. The phenomenon is playing out again in the aftermath of actor Heath Ledger's shocking death at age 28. ...more...
Call to Crosby fans of the Beatles
THE founder of the Beatles Appreciation Society wants Crosby music-lovers to join the re-branded group as part of the Liverpool’s year as Capital of Culture. President of the organisation, now called the Liverpool Beatles Appreciation Society International 2008, John-James Chambers says the society is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year and knows that many people from Crosby will have made their way into Liverpool in the heady days of the beat boom in the ‘60s. John said: “We started in 1978 and part of the society’s success so far has been to have roads on the Kensington Fields Estate named after the Fab Four – John Lennon Drive, Paul McCartney Way, George Harrison Close and Ringo Starr Drive.” ....more...
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
When Beatles, Metallica collide
Given the zeal with which Sony/ATV protects their Beatles rights catalog, forming a band based on parodying the Fab Four would be hard enough. But throw Metallica songs into the mix? That sounds like a musician 's litigious nightmare. Fortunately for Milwaukee 's Beatallica, when Sony 's lawyers came knocking they got a little help from a fan -- Metallica 's Lars Ulrich heard the band 's tasty, technical and often hilarious mash-ups of Beatles melodies with Metallica 's metal sound, and offered Metallica 's lawyers to help Beatallica come to an agreement. Of course, the real winner is the fans. Who among us would want to live in a world deprived of songs like "And Justice For All My Loving " or "Helvester of Skelter " both on the band 's latest release "Sgt. Hetfield 's Motorbreath Pub Band. "...more...
Heather Mills furious at Paul McCartney kiss
According to reports, Heather Mills, the former wife of Sir Paul McCartney, literally flipped her lid when she saw Paul on the front page of British newspaper The Sun - kissing a married woman. According to reports, Heather, 39, rang Paul, 65, for a showdown, claiming that their 4-year-old daughter Beatrice, recognized him on the front cover of The Sun newspaper with millionaire lawyer’s wife Nancy Shevell. According to British newspaper The Sun, Heather, who hit out at Paul McCartney Live on US & UK TV last week, was seen sobbing in front of staff at her $6.4 million home. A source close to Sir Paul told the newspaper: “Heather flipped over The Sun’s pictures — a real blind rage. “Apparently Beatrice saw the paper on the table and recognized Daddy. Heather was straight on the phone to Paul to tell him he was a bloody hypocrite. He was staggered at her TV appearances and has made it clear he wasn’t happy. But he’s just laid back about the whole thing now. He’s kept a dignified silence while she’s ranted to anyone who’ll listen. ...more...
Ringo Starr can't stand modern technology
English musician, Ringo Starr, best known as the drummer for The Beatles, has revealed that he hates modern technology. Starr is so much against them, that he does his best to avoid using mobile phones and computers. The 67-year-old musician says that emailing his pals holds no interest for him, and that even though he has a cell phone, he goes to the extreme of leaving it at home and not taking it with him. "I don't do email. Because people keep emailing me! You spend your life replying to emails so I don't. I have a mobile phone. But I don't carry it. Why do I need it?" Contactmusic quoted him as telling British chat show host Jonathan Ross. "I know I'm coming here so why do I need to carry it? But it's there if I want to carry it. And no, I don't text," he added. (ANI)
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
STARR REGRETS MEDICATED INDIANAPOLIS SHOW
A regretful U.S. show in 1964 still haunts former BEATLE RINGO STARR - because it was the only performance when he let his bandmates down. The drummer insists he would have been beat perfect throughout his career with the Fab Four, if it wasn't for a terrible show in Indianapolis. He explains, "I had taken too much medication, and I couldn't play. "Paul (MCCartney) looked at me and went, 'One, two, three, four...' and I went, 'Ohhh.' I just couldn't manage it."
Source:
Source:
Mark Cuban thinks 'the album is dead'
From the earliest days of rock 'n' roll in the 1950s up through the early 1960s, kids bought "45s." The albums of the period typically had just a few good tunes, and the rest was crap. Then The Beatles changed the rules. Their albums were so chock-full of great stuff, you wanted to hear every tune. Sure, singles were still important, but most of the bands that mattered didn't rely on singles, and even The Beatles stopped putting out singles tied to a specific album (there were no singles released from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band). I agree with one thing in Mark Cuban's "The Album is Dead" post--that the major labels and music business have a lot to answer for--but rushing to embrace the commoditization of music won't create an environment for artists to thrive. ...more...
Ringo Starr walks off 'Regis and Kelly' show rather than cut song
Ringo Starr is known for being the amiable Beatle, but the rock star showed his tough side Tuesday when he walked off the set of "Live With Regis and Kelly" rather than cut short one of his songs. Starr, who is promoting his new album, "Liverpool 8," planned to perform the title song with fellow rocker Dave Stewart. However, due to miscommunication between his publicist, Elizabeth Freund, and the musical director, Starr didn't realize the performance had to be 2 1/2 minutes or less, Freund told The Associated Press. When told Tuesday morning that the performance had to be shortened, Freund said Starr tried to cut about a minute of the song's four-minute, 15-second length, down to three minutes and 30 seconds. However, according to Freund, producer Michael Gelman said it had to be less than three minutes. "We offered to cut back our chat time and asked them to fade or go to commercial. They were not willing to do that and Ringo was not willing to cut it further, so without a compromise we were not able to stay," Freund said in a statement to The Associated Press. "Ringo left saying, 'God bless and goodbye. We still love Regis."'
...more...
...more...
Jesus Christ Martin Luther King John Lennon Sarah Dylan Great Dreamers
Today is Martin Luther King Day. Jesus Christ, Martin Luther King and John Lennon were all great dreamers. A dream is defined as “a fond hope or aspiration; to imagine as possible.” The great thing about being a human being is that we have all been blessed with free choice. We can choose to live in peace or we can choose to go to war. It’s our choice. Yesterday Russia’s military chief of staff Yuri Baluyevski said, “We do not intend to attack anyone but we consider it necessary that all our partners in the international community clearly understand that for the defence of our sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Russia and its allies, the armed forces will be employed, including preventively the use of nuclear weapons.” Jesus Christ, the Jewish born Messiah of Christianity and Islam dreamed of a world living in peace. Vladimir Putin is a Church going Russian Orthodox Christian, a believer in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was a pacifist. Jesus Christ stood on a mountain and said, “Do not hit back even in self defense; turn the other cheek for him to hit it too. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. Love your enemies.” On a circular planet with only one sky, where the wind will blow the radioactive fallout from your own nuclear bombs right back onto your own head, pacifism makes good sense. Also think of the trillions of dollars human beings spend on weapons of mass destruction which could be used to buy every person on earth a mansion in Malibu. ...more/video...
George Harrison Birthday Tribute
Since its inception in 2005, the George Harrison Tribute show has traveled from Texas to Florida and just last December made a stunning showing in New York City at Banjo Jim's in the East Village. On January 22nd, the Cactus is going to rock again with the songs of the "Quiet Beatle." Slide guitar and ukuleles share the stage to celebrate the composer of hits like If I Needed Someone, Think For Yourself, and the defining opening song for the Beatles album, Revolver, Taxman. Ky Hote and Owl Morrison are joined by veteran band members Monte Mann and Michael Huebner on bass and drums respectively. Guest stars include the Slim Richey Experience, Molly Venter, Danny Dolinger, Libby Kirkpatrick, Michael Shay, Sick, and assorted merry makers. Many songs will be included from All Things Must Pass and George's Beatle catalog. Also on the bill are examples from the Traveling Wilburys (vol. 1), Dark Horse, Wonderwall Music, 33&1/3, Living in the Material World, Brainwashed, the Ringo album, and the first and only Beatles song written by George and John Lennon, Cry For A Shadow....more...
Paul McCartney's divorce panic
Sir Paul McCartney is considering an out-of-court divorce settlement to prevent Heather Mills talking about their marriage. The Beatles legend is reportedly keen to avoid a High Court battle next month after discovering Heather plans to represent herself in the settlement. Paul - worth an estimated £800 million - is said to be concerned the former model will use the opportunity to discuss intimate details about their marriage and fears their four-year-old daughter Beatrice could be affected by the revelations. The musician's legal team is believed to have contacted Heather and told her: "Paul is ready to talk." A source said: "Paul and Heather have spoken three or four times in recent days over the phone. It seems that the mood has definitely changed ...more...
Liverpool residents vent anger at Ringo
Liverpool residents have complained about comments made by Ringo Starr on Tonight With Jonathan Ross. The former Beatles drummer followed his performance at the city's Capital of Culture launch last week by telling Ross that he had no plans to return to live in the North-West. He told Ross that comments he made during the gig at St George's Hall about being "close" to returning were to please the "excited" audience. Starr said: "Look I love Liverpool. I was a child in Liverpool. I grew up in Liverpool. My family members are in Liverpool. But you know... "I had to tell the audience, as it was so excited, that I was this close to coming back. But I had a great time up there at the weekend [during the opening ceremony]. I did." Residents and local leaders have complained to The Liverpool Echo that Starr has simply been 'cashing in' on Liverpool's Capital of Culture branding.
...more...
...more...
Bravo!FACT-Funded Short Nominated for an Oscar
Moments ago, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science announced that Josh Raskin's I Met the Walrus is nominated in the Best Animated Short Film category of The 80th Annual Academy Awards(R). I Met the Walrus is a Bravo!FACT (Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent)-funded short film. "Bravo!FACT is responsible for 120 grants to production companies nationally," said Isme Bennie, Vice-President and General Manager, Bravo!. "We're a committed supporter of both independent filmmakers and the arts so Bravo! is thrilled to have partnered with a project deemed worthy of an Academy Award nomination this year." In May 1969, Jerry Levitan was a 14-year-old Beatles fan who invited himself into John Lennon's hotel room and convinced him to do an interview. Almost 40 years later, Levitan took the audio from that interview and teamed up with Toronto animator Josh Raskin....more...
Monday, January 21, 2008
McCartney loses post office fight
A post office in Wirral will close despite Sir Paul McCartney backing a campaign to save it. The Lower Heswall post office is one of 56 branches across Merseyside and Cheshire which the government revealed were to be axed. The former Beatle's brother, Mike McCartney, said the announcement has "disgusted" Sir Paul, who owns a house nearby. He added: "Our kid sent me a text to show his anger." On behalf of Sir Paul, his brother added: "It is an important part of our community, he visits the post office when he's here, just like other people. "Paul got involved because he believes the post office should be saved. It will be a huge loss." ...more...
BLACK REGRETS NOT WARNING McCARTNEY ABOUT MILLS
Singer-turned-TV star CILLA BLACK is convinced she should have warned her friend SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY against marrying his now estranged wife HEATHER MILLS. The veteran entertainer is sure the Beatles legend rushed into his marriage to Mills because he was still grieving for his first wife Linda - who died of breast cancer in 1998. Black, 64, was wary about the union but resisted offering McCartney her opinion on Mills because she feared he wouldn't heed her advice. She says, "If you're totally besotted with somebody - as Paul was with Heather - you don't want a third party telling you what to do. "I do advise most of my friends. But not Paul. Mind you, if he'd asked I'd have said what I thought. I'd have told him he had to make his own mistakes. That's the only way you learn. "But I might have suggested (to Paul) that perhaps he should listen to what his family were saying." Mills and McCartney - who split in May 2006 after four years of marriage are currently locked in a bitter divorce battle and are due to appear in court to continue negotiations in February (08).
Press Release
Press Release
Yoko Ono talks about her late husband and his art
She has been blamed for breaking up the Beatles. She's also been regarded as an important contemporary artist – a key player in conceptual art, performance art and the Fluxus group. Plus, she's known as a champion of her late husband's legacy, as well as a high-profile advocate for peace. Yoko Ono is in rare company – only a few visual artists have been as celebrated and denigrated as she. The longtime New York resident agreed to a phone interview to talk about her late husband John Lennon's artwork, which will be on view Friday through Sunday at Pacific Edge Gallery in Laguna Beach. More than 120 serigraphs (silkscreen prints), signed lithographs and song lyrics will be on display and sale....more...
Glasses reflect Holocaust horror
Over 100,000 pairs of spectacles, many donated by members of the public, have been used in an artwork highlighting the horrors of the Holocaust. The RESPECtacles display also features glasses donated by a number of celebrities including Yoko Ono, Ringo Starr, Ronnie Corbett and Paul O'Grady. The glasses will eventually be donated through Vision Aid Overseas to help visually impaired people. The artwork is on display in Liverpool Town Hall's ballroom. An image of piles of mangled pairs of glasses was one of the reminders of the scale of death and human suffering during the Holocaust. ...more...
Ringo is a falling Starr
As Ringo helped launch Liverpool’s Capital Of Culture year, you would have thought the drummer could have found something positive to say about the city. But Surrey-based Ringo, who also has a flat in Chelsea, admitted he rarely returns to his home city and doesn’t miss a thing about it. Then, when asked if he would move back there, he pulled a comedy face. Radio phone-ins in the city received loads of complaints and there have been tirades against him on the internet. One angry Scouser wrote: “I wonder how much we paid for him to appear. I bet there were some red faces.” ...more...
Ringo Party in LA
Ringo Starr & Dave Stewart and band will perform a short set of Ringo's songs LIVE at an exclusive event celebrating the release of Ringo's new Capitol/EMI album, Liverpool 8! 1pm PST on Friday, January 25 at Los Angeles' House Of Blues on Sunset Blvd. & LIVE webcast on Ringo's official site. Amoeba Music in Hollywood and Los Angeles' KLOS 95.5 FM are giving you a chance to 'bypass the line' and guarantee your entry! Beginning Tuesday, January 22, while supplies last, purchase Ringo Starr's Liverpool 8 on CD or USB wristband at Amoeba Music in Hollywood to receive one 'bypass the line' pass to guarantee your entry into the party! One non-transferable 'bypass the line' guaranteed entry pass per Liverpool 8 CD or USB wristband purchase. Limit 2 per customer. Offer is valid while supplies last. Name on pass must match ID for entry. Pass void if transferred...more...
Beatles Ringo Starr offends Liverpool
English musician Richard Starkey aka Ringo Starr, is said to have offended the citizens of Liverpool by his negativity towards the city. Ringo, who is best known as the drummer for The Beatles, had caused quite a stir after his appearance on Jonathan Ross TV show on Friday Jan 18. Starr, who was there to help launch Liverpools Capital Of Culture year, found nothing positive to say about the city he was born in. Surrey-based Ringo, who also has a flat in Chelsea, admitted he rarely returns to his home city and doesnt miss a thing about it, and when asked if he would move back there, he pulled a comedy face. ...more...
NEWS STARR HATES MODERN TECHNOLOGY
RINGO STARR hates modern technology - and does his best to avoid using mobile phones and computers. The 67-year-old former Beatle insists he has no interest in emailing his pals, and admits while he has a cellphone, he never takes it with him when he leaves the house. He tells British chatshow host Jonathan Ross, "I don't do email. Because people keep emailing me! You spend your life replying to emails so I don't. I have a mobile phone. But I don't carry it. Why do I need it? "I know I'm coming here so why do I need to carry it? But it's there if I want to carry it. And no, I don't text." ...more...
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Battles over famous love songs
BETWEEN the lyrics, rendered in F (extremely) sharp, and the back-up vocals performed by a chorus line of lawyers, Peggy Sued, the sequel to the Buddy Holly and The Crickets original, contains none of the saccharine sweetness of its predecessor. Don't be fooled by the frail lead singer, either. Holly's 75-year-old widow, Maria Elena, may be more au fait with cashmere than crowd-surfing these days, but she's unleashing more rage on her rival than your average ghetto-dwelling, pistol-packing rapper. The object of Mrs Holly's ire is Peggy Sue Gerron, the teenage namesake of the 1957 hit. Last week, Peggy Sue went public about her alleged relationship with Buddy Holly, claiming he flirted with her on his honeymoon and at the time of his death in 1959 had been planning to leave his wife....more...
Heather Mills - noise complaints after party
HEATHER Mills is in the news again - but for the wrong reasons it would appear.
The police and Rother District Council received four complaints about loud music coming from the model's country mansion at Robertsbridge, near Battle. Sir Paul McCartney's estranged wife threw the party at her luxury nine bedroom home. A Rother District Council spokesman said the authority is investigating the complaints. Police were also called. The event took place on December 12 and neighbours were kept up until the following day. Miss Mills has now sold her mansion. ...more...
The police and Rother District Council received four complaints about loud music coming from the model's country mansion at Robertsbridge, near Battle. Sir Paul McCartney's estranged wife threw the party at her luxury nine bedroom home. A Rother District Council spokesman said the authority is investigating the complaints. Police were also called. The event took place on December 12 and neighbours were kept up until the following day. Miss Mills has now sold her mansion. ...more...
Sir Paul McCartney dating singer Lulu?
Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney and Scottish singer Lulu are reportedly dating after working on an album together. Contactmusic.com reports that McCartney is co-producing the songs on Lulu's album and they are apparently in love. There are also reports that McCartney will have Lulu perform on his upcoming tour. Both are trying hard to keep the relationship a secret until his divorce with Heather Mills is finalised. But Lulu has been staying a lot with McCartney at his place recently. Lulu's first husband was Bee Gees singer Maurice Gibb whom she divorced in 1973. Later she married her hairdresser John Frieda, and, after staying together for 20 years, they separated. After his split from Mills, McCartney was rumored to be involved with other women, including actress Renee Zellweger. Source:
Silenced movie: Ono scotches tartan ballad of John and Yoko
Widow denies song rights to film about Lennon's return to the Scotland of his childhood
DURING his life she was seen as the gatekeeper to his prodigious talent. Now, 27 years after his death, she is still fiercely guarding his legacy. Yoko Ono has killed off plans to make a feature film about a visit to Sutherland she made with John Lennon at the height of their fame. Lawyers for the artist have denied the movie makers the use of Lennon's songs, which were central to the project. Lennon had fond memories of childhood holidays in the village of Durness and insisted on taking his new wife on a holiday to Scotland in 1969, hoping to escape the pressures of superstardom. But he crashed while driving in the area and spent five days in a small hospital in Golspie. Derek Yeaman, a film location manager and writer, pieced together the story and discovered Lennon had struck up an unlikely relationship with the local minister from the Free Church of Scotland. Silenced movie: Ono scotches tartan ballad of John and Yoko - Scotsman.com News
DURING his life she was seen as the gatekeeper to his prodigious talent. Now, 27 years after his death, she is still fiercely guarding his legacy. Yoko Ono has killed off plans to make a feature film about a visit to Sutherland she made with John Lennon at the height of their fame. Lawyers for the artist have denied the movie makers the use of Lennon's songs, which were central to the project. Lennon had fond memories of childhood holidays in the village of Durness and insisted on taking his new wife on a holiday to Scotland in 1969, hoping to escape the pressures of superstardom. But he crashed while driving in the area and spent five days in a small hospital in Golspie. Derek Yeaman, a film location manager and writer, pieced together the story and discovered Lennon had struck up an unlikely relationship with the local minister from the Free Church of Scotland. Silenced movie: Ono scotches tartan ballad of John and Yoko - Scotsman.com News
Clapton compellingly details his successes and excesses
Eric Clapton has lived a charmed life — a difficult one, to be sure, but charmed, nonetheless. In "Clapton: The Autobiography" we get an intimate and candid memoir of the rock 'n' roll legend in all his glory, squalor, desperation and ultimate redemption. Born illegitimate in 1945, he was raised by his grandparents in humble circumstances in Ripley, England. He never knew his father and, at age 9, discovered that the woman he knew as his older sister was actually his mother. As a teenager, Clapton found solace in guitar playing and the music that would influence the rest of his life: blues. The author devotes a great deal of time to his spiraling addictions with sex, drugs and alcohol, but to his credit, Clapton candidly admits his wrongdoing as he recounts his wretched behavior as a drug-addled rock star who sleeps with nearly every woman who crosses his path....more...
BUY: Clapton: The Autobiography
.
.
`Icon' series reveals early days of Beatles, Elvis, Dylan
The Kalamazoo Valley Museum is putting the early lives of artists who shaped rock 'n' roll on display. ``Artist to Icon: Early Photographs of Elvis, Dylan and the Beatles,'' which opens Saturday at the museum, provides a glimpse into the lives of the rock legends, who could hide behind obscurity before they became famous. The exhibit, being presented by the Experience Music Project in Seattle, features 48 rarely seen black-and-white photographs by five photographers depicting the early lives of the rock icons. ``These are quite interesting, good photographs that capture a unique period of time,'' said Jean Stevens, curator of design. ``We saw them after they made it. This is when they are just coming into the public eye.'' Included in the exhibit are photographs by Alfred Wertheimer, who was hired by RCA records in March 1956 to take publicity photos of 21-year-old Elvis Presley. ...more...
Ringo's new CD looks back at the past, fondly
Now that the two surviving Beatles are in their 60s, they're turning nostalgic: first Paul McCartney, with his 2007 album, "Memory Almost Full," and now Ringo Starr, with an album of songs he wrote with various collaborators -- notably Eurythmics producer Dave Stewart. For most of the album, he sings about the power of love. "If you open your heart/I'll give you love, love, love," he insists in the cheerful "If It's Love That You Want." He treats the past with fondness. The title song of "Liverpool 8" is his chronicle of joining the Beatles and leaving their hometown behind. The production has the definition of modern multitracking, resembling Starr's early-1970s hits. In "Gone Are the Days," Starr quotes his own 1971 hit, "It Don't Come Easy."...more...
Beatlemania alive and well in Bloomington
To Indiana University music professor and lecturer Glenn Gass, the music of the Beatles still sounds as fresh today as it did when it was first released all those years ago. "You can really listen to the bass line or really listen to the song structure over and over and always hear something new," he said. "The songs are so solidly constructed. They stand up to intense scrutiny 40 years later and, at the same time, they're immediately accessible and fun. You can put them on a microscopic level. It's the best of both worlds." Hosting a lecture on the fab four, "The History of the Beatles," Friday at Indiana University Northwest's Savannah Center Auditorium, Gass was reared in downstate Greencastle and studied at the New England Conservatory of Music before returning to Indiana, where he received his masters and doctorates in music from IU. As a youngster, Gass saw the Fab Four live and was one of millions in his generation to anticipate each new Beatles release and nugget of news from the early '60s "Beatlemania" to 1970, when the band called it a day. "It's not very often in pop music that the most popular band is also the most creative," Gass said....more...
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Paul turns negatives into positive thing
WHAT great news that Paul McCartney has put together an exhibition of personal photographs taken by his late wife Linda. And how wonderful if it were to come to Liverpool in this, our culture year. But I’m not surprised it’s apparently taken him three years to produce. If it’s anything like our house he’ll have boxes and boxes of packets of photos, with True Print or Max Spielmann’s on the front and no idea what’s inside. I bet he went into the loft one afternoon to sort them out, got distracted by trying to work out what was on a mystery pile of negatives, and emerged three years later.
Bee Gees were excellent Beatles impersonators
The boozily Beatlesque result somehow found release, evidently without the permission of the principals, in 1970 as a single on the tiny U.K. label Beacon Records, with this one-off congregation identified as The Fut. Did they do a good job? Just ask the bootleggers, who have placed the track on countless Beatles boots, hoodwinking many a rabid Fab Four obsessive. Again, did they do a good job? Just ask Yoko Ono, who in 1985 attempted to register "Have You Heard the Word" as a John Lennon composition. If this is your cup of tea as much as it is mine, I recommend the Bee Gees' lysergically-fortified Bee Gees' 1st, their first album, remastered and released on the Rhino label, which has "In My Own Time" on it....more...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)