They went out with a bang

Did someone throw a firework at the Beatles in Memphis - and did it end their touring career? Colin Fleming on the discovery of a remarkable lost tape of a seminal gig. In the summer of 1966, the Beatles had just recorded Revolver, rock's first full-on foray into what a band could pull off in the studio. But they were still every bit a live, coming-to-your-town touring band when they trekked off for world tour number three. It was a tour that, in the wake of John Lennon's claim that "we're more popular than Jesus", would lead to record burnings and death threats in America's Bible belt. [...more...]

Lost Beatles interview unearthed

For 44 years a canister of film had been stored in a damp garage in South London; unopened, unloved and almost thrown away. But, finally, somebody took a look inside - and realised they had unearthed a piece of pop history. This is the story of a lost Beatles interview - which is to be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday for the first time since it was originally recorded. [...more/video...]

Looking a bit closer at the 'Fab Four'

It was late in the day at Abbey Road Studios on February 11, 1963. The Beatles were wrapping up the recording of their LP "Please Please Me" for release a few weeks later. The final song was to be a cover of the Isley Brothers' "Twist and Shout," a high-energy number.
"(Abbey Road producer) George Martin always liked to end each side of an album with a rousing rocker," said Jeremy Yudkin, a lecturer at yesterday's Beatles Day in Lenox. "But Martin was a little concerned, because the band had been recording all day and John Lennon's voice was tired." But the Beatles, with Lennon belting out the lyrics in a near-howl, "stunned the technicians that day," said Yudkin. "They went all out, and nailed the song on the first take. It remains a testimony to the group's ability in the studio." [...more...]

George Harrison interview cannot be released

Rolling Stone, as to my knowledge and disgust, is still suppressing an interview that I recently found in the archives dated October 29, 1972, that would be an interview with him when he was currently recording "Living in the Material World". The interview and article
was done by Michael Sp(can't remember his last name, he covered The Doors first album, but was shelved because of certain criticisms that Harrison "uttered" while in questioning. [...more...]

Revolution - featuring the art of the Beatles

Revolution, featuring the art of the Beatles is the first exhibit of its kind that showcases hand signed works by John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr as well rare Beatles photographs, lithographs, animation and more plus a section of art and photos from the Beatles friends and influences such as Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Rolling Stones, The Who, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan and David Bowie. “Revolution opens to the public on Thursday, July 3rd at 11:00 a.m. at Martha Clara Vineyards, 6025 Sound Avenue in Riverhead on the North Fork of Long Island on the east end. The free exhibit is open from 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. everyday through Sunday, July 13th (including July 4th) and every piece is available to purchase. [...more...]

Undimmed Starr: A portrait of the artist

Ringo Starr's accomplishments sometimes get lost in the glory of John, Paul and George. But the Beatles drummer with the puppy-dog appeal was just as essential to the Fab Four's sound, his steady beat and innovative rhythms anchoring the group's melodic genius. Starr's pleasant voice also added a different dimension to the Beatles' sound on songs such as Act Naturally, Don't Pass Me By, With a Little Help From My Friends, Octopus's Garden and Yellow Submarine. [...more...]

Ringo Starr’s home won’t be listed

A MOVE to have Ringo Starr’s birthplace given listed status has failed. English Heritage said “the criteria for listing” had not been met by 9 Madryn Street in Toxteth. An application to list the redbrick terraced house was made by a member of the public last year after concerns over the home being demolished as part of the New Heartlands scheme. Madryn Street was built in the mid-19th century and stands in the “Welsh Streets” area. [...more...]

Sir Paul McCartney And Bob Dylan To Unite On Charity Album?

Sir Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan are among the names set to appear on a new charity album, it’s been reported. Brian Wilson has also been linked with the new Warchild covers project, which will be the follow up to the 1995 'Help Album'. According to the Sun, the artists will cover a number of contemporary songs, including one by Beck. The original 'Help Album' featured Noel Gallagher, Paul Weller and Sinead O’Connor, and sold over 1 million copies. [...more...]

100 Acorns: EARTH PIECE II - By YOKO ONO

We, humans are not satisfied with just knowing the tip of the iceberg. With technological advancements, we are changing the map of the world in a big way. For centuries, we kept changing the map to simulate our nervous system, by creating roads, building dams, and skylines. But now, we want to reveal what is under the ice. [...more...]

Sir Paul McCartney portrait

Former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney is the most successful musician and composer in popular music history, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. He has 60 gold discs to his name and sales of 100 million singles. The Beatles’ hit song, Yesterday, is the most covered song in history, having been performed by 3,700 artists. The Liverpudlian formed the Beatles with John Lennon and George Harrison at the age of 16. After playing some underground gigs and a low-key tour, they were spotted at Liverpool’s Cavern Club by their future manager, Brian Epstein, in 1961. [...more...]

He's back hitting the licks

"They're really, really good songs. I was amazed," says Campbell. "There was a song in there that John Lennon and Yoko Ono had recorded but they never released it. It's called 'Grow Old With Me,' it's just a fabulous song. I get chills just thinking about it." The song was written in 1980 after a Robert Browning poem, Rabbi Ben Ezra, but didn't make the cut for Lennon's last Double Fantasy album. Amazingly, Campbell's own recording career precedes the Beatles' by a year when he released a hard pickin' album as part of the Green River Boys bluegrass outfit. That year he moved to Los Angeles, a long way from Delight, Ark. (pop: 311), where he grew up playing in country bands and figuring out Django Reinhardt licks. There he got to work in the busy studio scene and before long Campbell was a member of the Wrecking Crew, the elite cadre of first-call players on all the Phil Spector "Wall of Sound" records, plus everybody from Sinatra ("Strangers in the Night") to the Monkees ("I'm a Believer") and the Beach Boys ("Good Vibrations"). [...more...]

Wings Wild Life

Wild Life gets a bad rap. Maligned as a shoddy quickie, with sappy bubblegum tunes and too much Linda. It was the first Wings album, and John Lennon politely commented on the 'Mike Douglas' show that Paul could 'do better'. It was the least successful of his early solo stuff, only managing to hit #10 on Billboard (the only one of his first seven LPs to miss the a #1 spot in either the US or UK, or both). I've always been fond of it. I remember going through a new acquaintance's record collection back in the 80's and noticed he had Wild Life. We both embarrassingly admitted that we thought it was a fine album and have been friends ever since. [...more...]

Former Beatles Bassist Paul McCartney to Perform in Israel

This, my friends, is news that excites me. Paul McCartney, the lovable left-handed bassist from The Beatles, is arranging to play a concert in Israel this September. If all goes well this will mark the first foray ever of a member of The Beatles into the Land of Milk and Honey that I call home. And it may be my own best chance to see Sir Paul play live. As I reported in January, the government of Israel issued an apology to The Beatles for uninviting them in 1965. That year there were plans for a Beatles concert in Israel, including an official invitation from the government of the time. But the concert never happened. The government rescinded the invitation and The Beatles never came. That is, until (hopefully hopefully hopefully) this September. [...more...]

What Would You Do if I Showed You the Chords...

Often it starts simply—someone falls for a song or an artist in a way that makes him or her want to play an instrument or write their own song. In most earnest cases, the music of the inspired bears little resemblance to the music of the inspiration. As long as you’re honest, it isn’t easy or natural to sound like anyone else, no matter who you listen to, no matter what songs you learn. Your childhood, your experiences, your pain, your longing, and your failures are uniquely yours, and they somehow end up in that beautiful Bm7 you just played, or the riffs you pull, or in the way you sing the word love (or hate). Your joy, successes, consummations, and realizations hold sway over the muse as well, but for me it’s harder to write a great song using positive emotions as the filter. [...more...]

Pretenders let you meet the Beatles, sort of

The Beatles broke up nearly 40 years ago, but you can see them live in suburban Philadelphia. Or, at least, you can see their carbon copies. The Fab Faux, a New York ensemble, is set to perform an exacting re-creation of the 1968 White Album at the Keswick Theatre. Later, 1964 -- The Tribute arrives to impersonate the younger, Ed Sullivan-era Beatles, right down to their Rickenbacker guitars and Vox amplifiers. If you want both versions of the Beatles in the same concert, you can see Rain: The Beatles Experience. [...more...]

UNSEEN FILM OF BEATLES IN PLYMOUTH

A rare film of The Beatles visiting Plymouth during the making of The Magical Mystery Tour, has been brought to light. The footage, shot in colour on grainy 8mm film, shows John, Paul, George and Ringo alighting from their bright yellow tour bus and walking the coastline in 1967. “They were quite happy to relax and talk to people; the days of ‘Beatlemania’ were long gone,” said David Lambert, film producer for Arthouse Pictures. [...more/video...]

Those in the know share memories of moptops

Will we still need them, will we still heed them, when they're 44? Need you ask? The legacy of the Liverpool laddies has never waned since the moptops made it to America in February 1964, the memories now ablaze in bright Vegas lights in Cirque du Soleil's interpretive salute, "Love" at The Mirage, which also is hosting the second Las Vegas Fest for Beatles Fans, beginning Sunday. (For more on the three-day event, see Friday's Neon.) Among fest guests will be the woman who inspired these words: "Something in the way she moves attracts me like no other lover." And these words: "You've got me on my knees, Layla, I'm begging, darling, please." Pattie Boyd, ex-wife of the late George Harrison, as well as Eric Clapton, was the muse who lit their creative fuse for the former's "Something" and "What Is Life," and the latter's "Layla" and "Wonderful Tonight." [...mire...]

Levon Helm gives Ringo "A Little Help" at Radio City

Levon Helm, a longtime Woodstock resident and former drummer for The Band, sat in with Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band Tuesday night at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Helm played drums on "With A Little Help From My Friends," the legendary Beatles song from the album, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," on which Starr sings lead vocal. Starr's Radio City show came two nights after his concert at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Sullivan County was canceled due to transportation problems. [...more...]

Beatles 'reunited' for Vegas show

A NEW Beatles movie depicts surviving band members, widows and their producer reuniting to rise above a reputation for discord and collaborate on a lavish stage show with Cirque de Soleil. The movie, All Together Now, shows Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr working with Yoko Ono, George Harrison's widow Olivia and The Beatles' producer Sir George Martin to remix their music for the 21st century with the Las Vegas stage production of Love. "I wanted to tell this story about these people who are myths. They're mythic characters," said the film's Canadian director, Adrian Wills. "This was a way for them to sort of deal with their past in a way that was in the present." [...more...]

STARR SNUBBED BY RADIO

Former BEATLE RINGO STARR has given up trying to get his music played on the radio, claiming he's too old at 67 to continue pursuing the campaign. Starr has spent much of 2008 promoting Liverpool 8, his 14th studio album. But he claims campaigning for his music to be heard on the radio is a lost cause. Starr explains, "It's been that way for 20 years. That's just how it is. No matter how many lunches you do with people, the fact is that radio doesn't seem to be interested much in anyone who's over 21." SOURCE

'Guitar Hero,' 'Rock Band' soon playing Beatles?

Beatles music may soon be strumming a new tune via air guitar video games, according to a report in the Financial Times. Apple Corps and EMI, which respectively represent The Beatles' business interests and ownership of its master recordings, have reportedly been in discussions with video game publishers Activision and MTV Games. Under a possible deal that could be worth several million dollars, users could put their air guitar to use while listening to The Beatles and playing Activision's Guitar Hero or MTV's Rock Band games, according to the report. [...more...]

Sony gets on board Lennon bus

The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, a nonprofit mobile audio and HD video recording and production facility, has been upgraded with new HD cameras from Sony. The state-of-the-art, A/V studio-on-wheels has provided free hands-on programs to hundreds of high schools, colleges, music festivals, concerts, conventions and community organizations since 1998. Funded by Yoko Ono (the ex-Beatle’s wife) and sponsorships like those from Apple, Maxell and NAMM, the bus features donated equipment from Apple, Digidesign, Mackie, Roland and Sony. It encourages students to play music, write songs, engineer recording sessions and produce video projects using the latest audio, video and live sound equipment. As part of its 10-month tour across the country, the bus was recently parked outside Sony’s Park Ridge, N.J. headquarters, where Sony executives got to live their dream of recording rock-and-roll for a day. [...more...]

Lennon's art, with a little help from Yoko

Can we finally give Yoko Ono some props? In recent years, she's made nice with the remaining Beatles by sharing John Lennon's demos, and giving her stamp of approval to Cirque du Soleil's "Love." Next weekend at Newton's Hotel Indigo, nearly 100 limited edition prints of Lennon's art work will be on sale. The prints run from $200 to $18,000. Ono spoke with us by phone from New York. [...more...]

Comedian George Carlin dead at 71

Stand-up comedian George Carlin, who became famous for his biting anti-establishment brand of humor, has died in Los Angeles, his publicist confirmed Monday. He was 71. Carlin, who had a history of heart problems and had survived three previous heart attacks, died at the Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica on Sunday at about 6:00 pm (0100 GMT) after being admitted with chest pains. The New York-born comic was best remembered for his famous routine "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television." The routine triggered a landmark Supreme Court lawsuit that shaped decency rules for US television and radio. Carlin, who recently marked 50 years in showbusiness and was performing in Las Vegas, made 22 albums and won four Grammy Awards. He authored several books, performed on dozens of television shows and appeared in numerous movies. [...more...]

Paul McCartney Wants Meat-free Mondays

Longtime vegetarian and animal rights campaigner SIR PAUL McCARTNEY has urged his fellow Brits to give up eating meat for one day of the week. The former Beatle alleges United Nations officials have declared eating less meat helps to slow climate change - and McCartney is taking advantage of the claim to promote vegetarianism and save the world. He says, "A meat-free Monday is like going to the gym - with the advantage of protecting the planet." [...more...]

Paul McCartney's brother Mike presents photographs at Rock Hall

McCartney photographed Gene Vincent at Liverpool's famous Cavern club, where he shared a bill with the Beatles in the early 1960s. "Gene Vincent -- he's coming to Liverpool. There he is. So I, of course, took my camera. Our kid and the Beatles were in their leather suits. Not leather jackets. Their leather-suit period, a bit like Marlon Brando. . . . He was just singing Be Bop A Lula.' Wow! I can't miss this. So there I am with a camera -- CLICK! Bloody Gene Vincent must've been blinded. . . . You can see the fans in the audience, they're not as enamored . . . of our great rock 'n' roll hero. They aren't that excited about Gene Vincent because they were waiting for our kid and his group to come on." [...more...]

Clapton is Still God

His odd relationship with George Harrison always confounded me, especially after his affair with his wife, leading to the breakup. He and George remained close friends despite this episode, and indeed, Clapton organized and led the memorial concert for George at the Royal Albert Hall in 2002, exactly a year after his death. In the early days, Clapton perfected his blues chops in a number of bands until he, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page joined to start the Yardbirds. This was when fans started calling him God and Slow Hand, both tributes to his guitar style and often string breaking note bending style. When the Yardbirds began to veer away from blues to commercial pop in 1965, Clapton left and joined John Mayell and the Bluesbreakers. That lasted a year until he left to form his most famous band, Cream, with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker. The God myth really cranked up then with crowds screaming "Let God Play!" as they waited for him to come on stage. [...more/video...]

Getting back to where he once belonged

HE’S a man who rubbed shoulders with future greatness – and then dismissed the chance to retrace his steps and become one of the soon-to-be-fab four. But Rod Davis – who is still enjoying belated fame, second time around, as a member of the Quarrymen – has no regrets. And now the man who was replaced by someone called Paul McCartney in the summer of 1957, before rejoining the reformed band 40 years later, can’t wait to take the stage of the ECHO Arena on the world’s first-ever Beatles Day. Retired teacher Rod, 66, might even wear a mop top wig for the occasion: “Perhaps someone could find a grey mop top wig for me! My only worry, though, would be how hot my head might get!” The Quarrymen are among the acts playing Beatles Day – Imagine The Concert, which is being held at the ECHO Arena on Thursday July 10, as part of this year’s Liverpool Summer Pops. [...more...]

RINGO'S "MADNESS"

Best known as a drummer — for The Beatles, no less — Ringo Starr has lately reinvented himself as an illustrator of sorts. A book of Starr's computer-generated artwork titled "Painting is My Madness" was to be released this week. Proceeds will benefit the Lotus Foundation, a charitable organization founded by Starr's wife, actress Barbara Bach. According to a press release, the Lotus Foundation was set up to fund "charitable projects aimed at advancing social welfare in diverse areas" with causes such as substance abuse, cerebral palsy, cancer and homelessness. [...more...]

Heather Mills works on her TV career in the US

Having moved to New York, Heather Mills is now working on her US TV career. ‘Heather has bought an apartment in the city’s West Village and is in talks to appear on the American version of Celebrity Apprentice,’ says a source. And I’m told that despite having secured a £24million divorce settlement from Sir Paul McCartney, Heather plans to auction many of the gifts he gave her during their four-year marriage. [...more...]

John Lennon and his father

Most of the information from today’s post comes from the 1990 book Daddy Come Home: The True Story of John Lennon and His Father by Pauline Lennon, the second wife of Freddy Lennon, John’s father. The book was written primarily using Freddy Lennon’s unpublished autobiography, which was written during his estrangement from John; Freddy wanted John to be given the manuscript after his death so that John would know the true story of his life and the break-up of his marriage to John’s mother. Contrary to the popular “urban legend”, Freddy Lennon did not abandon John at age five and then show up during Beatlemania with his hand out. Freddie Lennon was not perfect, but he made countless attempts to keep his marriage together for the sake of John, as well as to be a good father. [...more...]

Liverpool John Lennon Airport Celebrate Fifty Millionth Passenger

On the 13th of June one lucky passenger became the 50 millionth to travel through Liverpool John Lennon Airport. The staff surprised Helen Lace, who became the airports fifty millionth passenger, with a bottle of champagne and a flight voucher. Helen was clearly very pleased with her gift and said, "I'm flying to Belfast for a reunion with old friends. This is a lovely surprise and I'm amazed that I'm the Airport's 50 millionth passenger. I'll be looking to book somewhere hot and sunny with my easyJet flight voucher." [...more...]

Beatle Fest continues to attract musicians

Beatle enthusiasts met again Wednesday to continue plans for the annual Benton George Harrison Beatle Fest to be held Saturday, Oct. 4. A day of music, Beatles trivia and tours of Hard Day's Nite Bed & Breakfast, 113 McCann St., Benton, lead up to an evening concert. Tom Herman said a check was mailed last week to ensure the 8 p.m. performance of Best of The Beatles: The Pete Best Band. Jim Kirkpatrick said bringing Pete Best to Benton is a tremendous accomplishment. [...more...]

Ringo Starr Wants Peace And Love Day

“Let’s make my birthday, July the 7th at noon, Peace and Love Day. Everybody go, ‘Peace and love.’ In the office, on the bus, wherever. It’s still peace and love for me, I’m a product of the 60s and it was a very influential period in my life, and you know, my head was turned around a bit, my eyes were opened as it were. In fact, I even have it on my arm, ‘Peace and love’. I see nothing wrong with peace and love.” [...more...]

Pigeon Detectives compare themselves to The Beatles

THE PIGEON DETECTIVES have gone completely cuckoo — comparing themselves to all-time music legends THE BEATLES. I thought the lads based their decision to bring out two albums in less than a year on the motto make hay while the sun shines — otherwise known as release another record before everyone has completely forgotten who you are. But guitarist RYAN WILSON has revealed it was The Beatles who inspired them to follow-up debut Wait For Me so quickly with second album Emergency. Pigeon Detectives compare themselves to The Beatles | The Sun |HomePage|Showbiz|Bizarre

Stu and Pete - Stu Sutcliffe and Pete Best, early Beatles

Stuart Sutcliffe was a short-lived member of The Beatles, and a painter who worked in a style related to Abstract Expressionism. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. Sutcliffe was never a skilled musician, having joined the group because of his friendship with John Lennon. Lennon convinced him to buy a bass guitar with the money he had made from the sale of one his paintings. He was very uncomfortable on stage and usually played with his back to the audience. He left the Beatles to pursue his career as an artist before they achieved their success, and died not long thereafter from a brain hemorrhage. [...more...]

Edgar Winter unleashes a monster as he jams with Ringo

Edgar Winter didn't have Boris Karloff on the brain when he wrote his classic rock jam Frankenstein. It was just a simple riff he came up with years earlier and recorded in bits and pieces. When he decided at the last minute to put the track on his 1973 albumThey Only Come Out at Night,the tapes were scattered around the recording studio. "It was cut up into pieces and we were trying to figure out how to put it back together," recalls Winter. "Chuck Ruff, the drummer, mumbled the immortal words, 'Wow, that is like Frankenstein.' That was it! The monster was born." As if he hasn't played it enough these past 35 years, Winter then hums the legendary chords over the phone from his Niagara Falls hotel room. Even without a keyboard, Frankensteinjust sounds cool. It just has that lumbering, monster feel. I couldn't have written anything that sounds more like Frankenstein if that had been my real intention." [...more...]

Robert Plant can’t take getting old

(ANI): He might have ruled the music scene in the 70s, but now Robert Plant refuses to look at old pictures of his band as it reminds him of his age. Recently, the Led Zeppelin frontman visited the Morrison Hotel Gallery on the Bowery to have a look at legendary music photographer Bob Gruen’s “Rockers” exhibit. However, the 59-year-old did not check out the section where the ’70s-era photos of Zeppelin were hung. “He was talking about being old. He did check out the rest of the exhibit and was into one particular Chuck Berry image,” The New York Post quoted a spy, as saying. Other stars who came to the show included, Leonardo DiCaprio, Rosario Dawson and Yoko Ono. (ANI)

Starr's quips

Ringo Starr was in particularly good form yesterday at his press conference to launch his latest All Starr tour at Fallsview Casino Resort’s Avalon Ballroom with a pair of shows starting tonight. Here’s his best quips: Freezing. - When asked how he felt about playing on the roof of St. Georges Hall in his hometown of Liverpool back in January. I agree with everything you said. - When drummer Greg Bissonette called Starr “my favourite drummer and the greatest drummer in the world.” [...more...]

John Lennon - Alternative Mind Games and Shaved Fish

As you probably know, The Beatles and their component parts, are probably the most bootlegged band in the world. One constant theme seems to be 'alternative' album versions and this is no exception. There are in circulation, alternative versions of John Lennon's 'Mind Games' and 'Shaved Fish' this copy is an amalgamation of some of the first and most of the second. This version originates from Auckland, New Zealand, of all places, on 'Apple Ghost' Records, and appeared as a bootleg CD back in 1991. [...more...]

Yoko Ono's Wish Trees in Pasadena

If you're around in Pasadena in August, come by One Colorado in Pasadena to take part in Yoko Ono's Wish Tree project. Inspired by Japanese temple wish trees, this installation encourages visitors to write wishes on a small, thin piece of paper and tie them to the branches. [...more...]

Piers Morgan regrets introducing Sir Paul to Heather Mills

Former tabloid editor and current judge of “America’s Got Talent” Piers Morgan appeared on the Howard Stern radio show yesterday. Among his many topics of conversation was the fact that Morgan is the man responsible for introducing Sir Paul McCartney to the now-infamous Heather Mills. The rest, as they say, was history- in the form of one of the highest divorce settlement payments in U.K. history. Way to go, Piers! Piers Morgan publicly apologized for introducing Paul McCartney to Heather Mills at a charity event. “Paul asked who she was after seeing her give a speech. I introduced them. I’m not sure if Paul knew that she was missing a leg at the time. I never thought in my wildest of dreams that Mills would turn out to be a grasping, gold-digging little bimbo.” ...more...

Documentary on Cirque Du Soliel's Beatle Show

All Together Now, a documentary about the making of the Beatles and Cirque du Soleil's Las Vegas show LOVE, made its U.S. debut Monday, opening the sixth annual Silverdocs film festival. As the sound of “Oompah, oompah, stick it up your jumper!" blasted in 5.1 stereo, heads bobbed to the nonsensical directive coursing through the AFI's Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, Maryland. Hearing the Beatles' music pumped through the AFI Silver's state-of-the-art surround-sound system would have been enough to keep people entertained, but All Together Now director Adrian Wills also provides lovely visuals and many insightful interviews with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, as well as Olivia Harrison and Yoko Ono (the widows of George Harrison and John Lennon, respectively). [...more...]

Lennon’s 50cc Honda sells for €43k at celebrity auction

A Honda bike owned by John Lennon and Ringo Starr which Lennon used to whiz around his country estate, fetched more than five times its estimate yesterday. The 1970 Honda 160Z “monkey bike” was part of Bonhams Entertainment Memorabilia sale in London’s Knightsbridge and realised £36,000 (€45,430). The bike was bought by Lennon as a fun way of getting around the acres of his home of Tittenhurst Park and was among items inherited by the subsequent owner, Starr, Bonhams said. [...more...]

George Harrison and Friends Meet Pres. Gerald Ford, 1974

The date was 13th December 1974 and George Harrison accepts the invitation of President Gerald Ford's son Jack to attend lunch at the White House. Chatting with President Ford are (from left to right): Harry Harrison (George's dad), Billy Preston, George Harrison, Gerald Ford, Jack Ford, Ravi Shankar & Tom Scott. Music: "Mãya Love" by George Harrison. ...more/video...]

Here comes the Sun, George Harrison dedication to Prabhupada

I dedicated about 10 years of my life to Prabhupada and the Hare Krsna movement. From 1975 to 1985. I look back on that time with very mixed emotions. In one sense, it was a safe haven for me. A box that trapped me but provided a refuge to hide in while I lived out some very intense karma. It was both a beautiful and miserable time and I realize that I might have died, or one of my children might have died if it wasn't for the strict boundaries embedded in a deep spiritual framework with all the rules and regulations, chants and prayers, dancing and delicious food (prasadam.) It was a spiritually profound time for me in my life. I gave birth to 4 children while married to a very wounded and abusive man. Daily devotional practice was the center of my life mixed right in with all the hurtful insanity. We did not emerge unscathed. [....more/video...]

Ringo shows off All-Star Band

As most Niagara residents know, one of the Fab Four is in Niagara Falls, rehearsing for the opening night of his 10th annual Ringo Starr & His All-Stars concert tour. Starr and fellow band-mates took a break from their daily eight-hour rehearsal to play a few bars from their set for the media and to answer questions. Joining Starr in concert are: Gregg Bissonette, Colin Hay, Billy Squier, Hamish Stuart, Edgar Winter and Gary Wright. Hay, Stuart and Squier and Winter are returning members. Ringo bills the live show as a "Peace and Love Fest." SOURCE

Sir Paul McCartney Heads Celebrity Birthdays on June 18

Sir Paul McCartney heads the celebrity birthday on June 18. The famed Beatles performer will turn 66 on Wednesday. Thabo Mbeki, the president of South Africa, also turns 66, along with famed film critic Roger Ebert. Lech Kaczynski, the president of Poland, and his twin brother Jaroslaw, the prime minister of Poland, both turn 59. United States senator John D. Rockefeller IV, the great-grandson and namesake of American magnate John D. Rockefeller, turn 71. [...more...]

Memorabilia makeover today at 'Hard Rock'

It was established April 13, 1999, but Indianapolis' version of the Hard Rock Cafe is getting a makeover. Not just the menu - the memorabilia. The rock 'n roll chain, at 49 S. Meridian St., tonight will unveil its newest lineup of clothing and pieces of musical equipment used by celebrities that grace the shelves and walls. The dozens of new items range from singer Michael Jackson’s boots to a guitar played by John Mellencamp to Marilyn Manson’s Rickenbacker Bass. There's even the gloves that Prince wore on the Lovesexy tour and an autographed jacket worn by John Lennon and handwritten lyrics by the Temptations. [...more...]

Ringo's original artwork going on sale in Williamsville

The Beatles' beat keeper has been dabbling at his electronic pallet creating computer-generated art that will be on sale Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in Williamsville. All proceeds from the sales of 40 pieces of original, hand-signed art by Ringo Starr will be donated to the Lotus Foundation, a charitable organization that provides help to the homeless, battered women shelters, and medical research, to name a few of the many causes. [...more...]

The Beatles: Ticket to Ride: Inside the Beatles' 1964 Tour that Changed the World

Paul and Ringo were sitting on a couch, taking in an eyeful. Derek Taylor was there, his arms folded in front of his chest as always, his constantly lit cigarette dangling from his fingers, looking a bit overwhelmed. George was sitting on the floor. Mal Evans had the look of a child on Christmas morning. John, that night at least, was about to play the cheerleader. Art Schreiber remembers, "At first, I couldn't figure it out. What the hell was the lineup all about?" [...more...]

100 Acorns: SKY PIECE I

Towards the end of the Second World War, I looked like a little ghost because of the food shortage. I was hungry. It was getting easier to just lie down and watch the sky. That’s when I fell in love with the sky, I think. Since then, all my life, I have been in love with the sky. Even when everything was falling apart around me, the sky was always there for me. It was the only constant factor in my life, which kept changing with the speed of light and lightening. As I told myself then, I could never give up on life as long as the sky was there. [...more...]

2008 John Lennon Songwriting Contest

The John Lennon Songwriting Contest is an international songwriting contest that began in 1997. The Contest is open to amateur and professional songwriters who submit entries in any one of 12 categories. The JLSC is open year-round and features two Sessions -- with 72 Finalists, 24 Grand Prize Winners, 12 Lennon Award Winners and 1 Maxell Song of the Year. You don't need a professional recording. Entries will be judged on originality, melody, composition, and lyrics (when applicable). Your songs may be entered in any of the following categories: Rock, Country, Jazz, Pop, World, Rhythm & Blues, Hip Hop, Gospel/Inspirational, Latin, Electronic, Folk, and Children's. Instrumental compositions are encouraged. [...more...]

The Beatles

The Beatles were a pop and rock group from Liverpool, England formed in 1960. Primarily consisting of John Lennon (rhythm guitar, vocals), Paul McCartney (bass guitar, vocals), George Harrison (lead guitar, vocals) and Ringo Starr (drums, vocals) throughout their career, The Beatles are recognised for leading the mid-1960s musical "British Invasion" into the United States. Although their initial musical style was rooted in 1950s rock and roll and homegrown skiffle, the group explored genres ranging from Tin Pan Alley to psychedelic rock. Their clothes, styles, and statements made them trend-setters, while their growing social awareness saw their influence extend into the social and cultural revolutions of the 1960s. After the band broke up in 1970, all four members embarked on solo careers. [...more...]

Decline and Fall: Julie Hecht's 'Happy Trails to You'

She's kind of a nut job, the narrator of Julie Hecht's collection of short stories, "Happy Trails to You" (Simon & Schuster, 209 pages, $24), but she definitely has a point about Paul McCartney's hair. Even those of us who haven't set up a Paul McCartney Google Alert, as she has, noticed, if we were paying any attention at all, when he abandoned aging gracefully in favor of coloring his salt-and-pepper hair. "Paul McCartney has problems with dark brown," she opines in "Thank You for the Mittens," when the subject wends its way to the inadvisability of black hair dye in later years. This is the point at which the reader, if she has been unable to find anyone in her real life to share her dismay at Sir Paul's unfortunate grooming decision, will — figuratively, at any rate — stand and cheer. [...more...]

How the Mersey got its beat back

Selling a city – especially one with such a long and prickly relationship with the British press – is no mean feat. Nor is selling culture. So promoting Liverpool as the European Capital of Culture for 2008 was never going to be easy. For Paul Newman, it was an opportunity not to be missed and with his background as head of communications at the Football Association (FA) having included such moments as Sven-Göran Eriksson's turbulent private life and the controversy over where the money was going to come from to build Wembley Stadium, he was quickly recognised as a man with both the stamina and the skills. So has Newman succeeded in giving the city a newfound status? [...more...]

TWIST AND SHOUT

The Assassination Of John Lennon

The scene outside New York's spooky old Dakota apartment building on the evening of December 8, 1980, was as surreal as it was horrifying. John Lennon, probably the world's most famous rock star, lay semiconscious, hemorrhaging from four flat-tipped bullets blasted into his back. His wife Yoko Ono held his head in her arms and screamed (just like on her early albums). A few yards away a pudgy young man stood eerily still, peering down into a paperback book. Moments earlier he had dropped into a military firing stance - legs spread for maximum balance, two hands gripping his .38 revolver to steady his aim - and blown away the very best Beatle. Now he leafed lazily through the pages of the one novel even the most chronically stoned and voided-out ninth grader will actually read, J. D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye. [...more...]

Heather Mills' fury over Paul McCartney's holiday with daughter Beatrice and new love

Paul McCartney took lover Nancy Shevell on holiday with his daughter Beatrice without telling ex-wife Heather Mills - who was furious when she found out. The Beatle legend took Nancy to Morocco for a week to get to know Bea, four. Heather, 40, even helped plan the trip - and faxed the five-star La Gazelle d'Or hotel eight pages of instructions on Bea's vegan diet. But she was not told Paul, 65, was taking new love Nancy, 47, for the holiday in April - and was angry when she later found out. A source revealed: "Paul had a lovely time. [...more...]

Sir Paul McCartney braves thunderstorms to play free concert in Ukraine

The former Beatle, who celebrates his 66th birthday on Wednesday, played to an audience of tens of thousands in the capital Kiev's main square on Saturday night. The free Independence Concert, organised by Ukrainian billionaire businessman Viktor Pinchuk, was also broadcast live on TV across the country and on giant screens set up in five other cities. Sir Paul's two-and-a-half hour set featured Beatles classics such as Back In The USSR alongside solo material including his Bond theme tune Live And Let Die, complete with pyrotechnics and fireworks. [...more...

HEATHER'S TICKET TO STRIDE INTO $5M VILLAGE CONDO

Heather Mills is about to become a jaded New Yorker. The hotheaded, newly rich ex-wife of Sir Paul McCartney who says she's weary of the London press has just gone to contract to buy a $5 million West Village condo in the glass- enclosed Richard Meier towers at 173 Perry St. The seller is Joe Castaldo, head of the Style Council. [...more...]

Beatle-spotting story rings a bell about a Ringo ringer

Ran a story earlier this week about Ringo Starr being spotted in Niagara. Yeah, sure. Let me guess, actor Sean Penn was with him. Pardon my skepticism, but it's an occupational hazard. Particularly when you've already been burned by a local "sighting" of Starr. OK, I don't doubt Ringo and his All- Star Band are performing at the Fallsview Casino next week. And there's no reason to think the former Beatle won't actually show up. Still, when I read about Starr stopping in at the White Oaks Resort and Spa health-food store, I couldn't help but be transported back to yesteryear. It was September 1991 to be exact, a time when I was The Standard's assignment editor. We received a call from an excited woman who reported that Starr and Hollywood bad boy Penn had dropped in at a Niagara Falls hotel bar the previous night and wowed the patrons. The caller even had pictures. The bar manager was contacted and confirmed the account. [...more...]

If Dad really traveled with Beatles, authentic signatures are worth plenty

The signatures need to be authenticated. The procedure is complicated because authentication is opinion and not scientific driven. At the moment, there is a major controversy over the authentication of Beatles signatures. In 2007, American Royal Arts of Boca Raton, who used Christopher Morales, a former Secret Service agent with forensic science background, to authenticate Beatles signatures on a "Revolver" album cover sued Frank Caiazzo, considered by many to be the premier Beatles signature authenticator, for disparaging the Morales attribution. Auction houses, collectors, and dealers are split in their support of the parties. There are several Web sites devoted to the lawsuit. [...more...]

LENNON/ONO CONCERT REUNION LANDED ELTON JOHN GODFATHER ROLE

JOHN LENNON insisted SIR ELTON JOHN was named his son SEAN's godfather because he was responsible for reuniting the former BEATLE and YOKO ONO. Lennon had split from Ono while he was recording Whatever Gets You Through the Night with Elton in 1974, and the couple reconciled when the Rocket Man star persuaded his pal to join him onstage at a concert in New York. Elton landed the Lennon guest spot at a show after betting the Beatle the album they had worked on would hit the top of the U.S. charts - and it did. He recalls, "I said to John, `I'll play on your record (but) if it goes to number one, you have to come onstage with me...' He never thought the record would go to number one." Introducing Lennon onstage and playing live with his hero made for a magical night for Elton. He adds, "I'd never heard a reception like it... It was such an incredible outpouring of affection. "That was the night John and Yoko got back together. They remet at that concert and that's why I became Sean's godfather."
Press Release

Remembering The Lovin' Spoonful

If you can't beat them, join them. That was the unspoken musical philosophy of the Lovin' Spoonful, the tuneful American rock band that from 1965 to 1967 responded to the Beatles and the British Invasion with some glorious music from this side of the Atlantic. Scoring seven Top 10 hits in only three years, the Spoonful's brand of "good-time music" - a term leader John Sebastian preferred over "folk rock" - included such memorable songs as "Do You Believe in Magic," "Daydream," "Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind?" and the chart-topping hot weather rocker "Summer in the City." The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. The sounds of the band, if not an accurate history of its fall, have been preserved in "Do You Believe in Magic: The Music of the John Sebastian & The Lovin' Spoonful," a DVD of videos and remembrances released this week (SRO Entertainment, $19.99, rated PG). [...more...]

PURCHASE: The Lovin' Spoonful with John Sebastian - Do You Believe in Magic


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Valedictorians: Don’t plagiarize the “Beatles graduation speech”

What’s very interesting is that Melanio Acosta admits to getting his ideas from the 2nd video “The Perfect Beatles Graduation Speech.” But the speaker in the 2nd video, it turns out, might have copied at least the idea for the Beatles graduation speech from Cassandra Malloy, in the 1st video! I haven’t seen Acosta’s speech, so can’t really say what I think about the plagiarism charge. Obviously, anyone is free to quote snippets from a few Beatles songs and mash them together in a graduation speech. Attribution to the Beatles was clear in the 1st speech by Malloy, and I assume in the other 2 speeches because that’s what made the speech funny and effective. [...more...]

Lennon and McCartney: Together Alone - A Critical Discography of Their Solo Work

TOGETHER ALONE tells the stories behind the songs and recordings of two of the biggest names in pop music. When The Beatles split in 1970, John Lennon and Paul McCartney each struggled to make their mark in the wake of their world-beating group. Each began to create a new body of work as they gradually defined their individual musical signatures. [...more...]

Behind-the-scenes Beatle pics

The exhibit, John Lennon and Ringo Starr: A Time Remembered, is made up of works by photographer Nancy Lee Andrews, Starr's former fiancee, and May Pang, personal assistant turned personal companion to Lennon. The exhibit, John Lennon and Ringo Starr: A Time Remembered, is made up of works by photographer Nancy Lee Andrews, Starr's former fiancee, and May Pang, personal assistant turned personal companion to Lennon. Pang decided to display only nine of her photographs at a time, in tribute to Lennon's lucky number. Long-time friends Andrews and Pang decided to put on a 'ladies show' of photos that had never before been released to the public.

Both women expressed the challenges of deciding which photographs to include in the exhibit. "I wanted to pick the pictures that really spoke for themselves and brought the spirit out of the person I was shooting," Andrews said. © Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved. [SOURCE/VIDEO]

Paul McCartney's Cheeky exercise

Sir Paul McCartney has been taking ballet tips from The Cheeky Girls. The Beatles legend attends the same East Sussex gym as Romanian pop twins Monica and Gabriela Irimia, and has been asking them for advice on how to improve his warm-up routine. Speaking at a party to celebrate Gabriela's engagement to MP Lembit Opik at London's Embassy Club, their mother Margit revealed: "The girls have met Sir Paul McCartney several times down their local gym in East Sussex. He has been utterly charming to them and they have seen him on the treadmill several times. [...more...]

Paul McCartney asked Pinchuk to provide him with a bicycle

Legendary musician Sir Paul McCartney will bring to Kyiv three cooks. Besides, a number of Ukrainian aides will help the British cooks to buy the freshest and ecologically clean products in Kyiv. Representatives of the Victor Pinchuk Fund claimed this to a press conference in Kyiv. Sir Paul has already ordered nuts and soya-based milk. At present, organizers of the concert are busy with choosing dishes of the Ukrainian cuisine to propose the famous singer. The main menu of McCartney and his group will be based on vegetables, fruits, and dairy products. On demand of McCartney, who is vegetarian, no leather furniture and even pictures with animals must be present in the hotel. Instead, he asked to install a piano and several palms in his rooms. [...more...]

The Unreleased Beatles: Music & Film

The music and film footage you haven't seen or heard, from the most popular band ever. "Even hardcore Beatles fans will be amazed by this book, which fills in vital gaps in their story, solves long-standing mysteries, and makes you wish you'd heard all the music that the author has heard. This alternative history of the Fab Four is essential reading for anyone who loves their work." --Peter Doggett, author of The Art and Music of John Lennon [...more...]

Roy Orbison's Guitar

The Traveling Wilburys were – in my opinion, and that of many critics and fans – the best rock supergroup to ever have existed. Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, and Rob Orbison recorded under that name from 1988-1990. Their best-known songs – and justifiably so – were “Handle with Care” and “End of the Line”. Roy Orbison died at the age of 52 in December, 1988. When the time came to record a video of that song, the Wilburys put Orbison’s rocking guitar in a rocking rocking chair in the part of the song, starting at 1 minute 44 seconds, where Orbison carried the lead. You can also see the rocking guitar at the very end of “End of Line”. [...more...]

'Yellow Submarine' animator revisits Walnut Street Gallery

Walnut Street Gallery welcomes back Ron Campbell, an animator for the ABC television series "The Saturday Morning Beatles," as well as the film "Yellow Submarine." The gallery will display more than 30 original watercolors of the Beatles by Campbell, who will meet with collectors and talk about his work at an open house on Saturday as part of a small summer tour of the exhibit. Campbell began his animation career in the early 1960s with the "Beetle Bailey" cartoon series before moving on to "The Saturday Morning Beatles," which he storyboarded, directed and animated from 1965 to 1969. Campbell then went on with colleague Duane Crowther to create the groundbreaking style for the animated film "Yellow Submarine." [...more...]

Sgt. Pepper's bass drum skin may fetch 150,000 pounds at auction

A unique hand-painted bass drum featured on the cover of rock band Beatles' third studio album is expected to be sold for 150,000 pounds at an auction. The ultimate piece, painted by the fairground artist Joe Ephgrave, from 'The Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' album will be auctioned at Christie's in London, reports Times Online. Other items up for sale also include a previously unheard recording of Jimi Hendrix in concert in 1968 and a birthday card sent by John Lennon to Elton John. Sgt. Pepper's is often described as The Beatles' magnum opus, and one of the most influential albums of all time by prominent critics and publications. It was ranked the greatest album of all time by Rolling Stone in 2003. --- ANI

Beatles fan set to make £300k from sale of John Lennon Give Peace a Chance lyrics

Lennon gave 16-year-old Gail Renard the hand-written lyrics to the peace anthem at the end of their famous eight-day protest in Montreal, Canada. The British-Canadian girl had managed to nip past security guards at the start of the protest at the city's Queen Elizabeth Hotel. At the time she wanted to land an interview with the pair for her school magazine. [...more...]

It's all about the music

If all goes well on Friday, Yuri George Jan Pool will no longer need to feel like a band on the run. Pool and company bring a multi-song event, The McCartney Years concert show, to its big-stage debut on Friday at Aeolian Hall. After Friday, the show and all its Paul McCartney tunes can be expected to tour other Canadian venues. That's exciting -- but McCartney, not money, is not the point, says Pool. "If I wanted to be rich, I'd be a banker," says London's most knowledgeable Paul McCartney fan. [...more...]

Celebrity legislation gets dose of star power

Loren called up Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno to advocate for "postmortem right of publicity" legislation, commonly dubbed a "Dead Celebrities" bill, according to persons familiar with the conversation. Loren is one of a list of celebrities who have spoken in support of such legislation, which would provide a right of publicity for deceased persons and prevent the use of a deceased person's name, portrait, voice, signature or picture without permission of such person's heirs, estate or distributees. In other words, it would be illegal to use a dead person's likeness for a commercial purpose, such as putting the person's image on a T-shirt or mug, without permission of the person's heirs. [...more...]

Ukraine's Beatles fans ready to call June 14 national holiday

Sir Paul arrives in Kyiv by an invitation from Viktor Pinchuk Foundation. It is a special performance named "Independence Concert". The concert will be free for the public and it will be broadcasted in live air on the TV Novyi Channel. "The very fact of Paul McCartney's arrival is unique for Ukraine. A show and the largest stage that was ever constructed in Ukraine, 1,100 square meters, are being prepared on the main square of the capital for the performance of the legendary musician", Viktor Pinchuk Foundation's Communication Adviser Mykyta Poturayev told a press conference today. By calculations of the concert organizers, about 500 thousand of the Beatles fans will be able to hear his live performance. On the square and in Khreshchatyk Street eight monitors of 6x4 meters will be set up. Live broadcasting of the performance will be watched on the squares of Lviv, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa. M.Poturayev informed that by results of an interactive voting a list of songs that the Ukrainians want to hear was sent to Paul McCartney. Paul McCartney arrives in Ukraine on June 13 by his personal plane, and he will leave on June 15. On the arrival day he will open an exhibition of his artistic works in the PinchukArtCentre. In June 2007, Viktor Pinchuk Foundation has already organized a charitable concert of the world star Sir Elton John. [...SOURCE...]

Courts may enforce pre-nuptial agreements on couples

"Pre-nups" are not legally binding in Britain at present, leaving the wealthy such as Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills to fight over cash in the courts. But the commission is looking at whether they should be. Sir Terence Etherton, a High Court judge and the commission's chairman, said: "There is a recognition that the division of assets is an issue of considerable social importance, and there is wide dissatisfaction with the current law." He said the plan to allow cohabiting couples to make claims on each other would soon become law. "There will be legislation because we are clearly so far behind other countries." [...more...]

UNPUBLISHED JOHN LENNON PHOTOS UP FOR AUCTION

Unpublished photographs of John Lennon and Yoko Ono and a miniature motorbike used by the legendary Beatle are to be auctioned at Bonhams Auctioneers on Thursday (June 12). The archive, taken by photographer Luiz Garrido in 1969, show John and Yoko in the first few months of their marriage captured in 45 colour transparencies and over 300 negatives. Garrido met them at the Plaza Athenee Hotel in Paris, while they were on their honeymoon. He was invited to Amsterdam to document the ‘Bed-in’ protest and followed them to London a few weeks later, where he captured Lennon at the Trident Studios during the mixing of ‘Give Peace A Chance'. [...more...]

The Beatles: "Revolution"

Madonna Hires Macca's Divorce Attorney

One of the greatest stars in the music work, Madonna, is divorcing director Guy Ritchie after eight years of marriage. Holy Moly sources reveal that the singer has paid a visit to famous British divorce attorney Nicholas Mostyn, to start a case. According to sources, the singer is afraid Guy might get half of her assets because they have not signed a prenuptial agreement. Last year alone, Madonna has earned 70 million dollars. Allegedly, their love ended because they could not agree where the family will live and about the children. The spouses` representatives still have not responded. [...more...]

Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr acquire most famous house in town

More thrilling news: I bet you didn’t know that the remaining half of the famous “Fab Four”, otherwise known as The Beatles, purchased the home of our very own Frank Phillips and are paying for it to be 100% completely refurbished. I could not believe the news until it was confirmed for me by Ronnie Adams a local bank employee who is extremely involved with area development and who helped the dapper duo handle exclusive financial arrangements on a local level. My brothers, who have done previous restoration work to the Mansion, were hired as contractors with sub-contractors coming from the Tulsa area. The priority was to completely strip every layer of old paint from every wall in the Mansion and to go back with the newly-discovered paint formulas which Mansion architect Walt Everman originally applied to the home which he designed and had hidden in a secret wall which my brothers uncovered. [...more...]

Wombats wowed by Sir Paul's offer

The Wombats say they are "ridiculously flattered" that Sir Paul McCartney wants to produce an album for them. The former Beatle made the offer during an interview with BBC 6 Music before his Liverpool Sound concert on 1 June. He said: "I don't do much production now but it might be very tempting. I'm not sure they would want me." [...more...]

The Stories Behind Every Beatles Song

Who was "just seventeen" and made Paul's heart go "boom"? Was there really an Eleanor Rigby? Where's Penny Lane? In A Hard Day's Write, music journalist Steve Turner shatters many well-worn myths and adds a new dimension to the Fab Four's rich legacy by investigating for the first time the ordinary people and events immortalized in the Beatles' music and now occupying a special niche in popular culture's collective imagination. Arranged chronologically by album, the book breaks new ground by exploring how private incidents influenced the group's writing and how their music evolved. Turner reveals that 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' was really a drawing by Julian Lennon of his childhood friend; 'Bungalow Bill' was an all-American tiger hunter; 'Doctor Robert' was a New York "speed doctor"; and much more. [...more...]

Pete Best confirmed: Plans continue for Oct. 4 Benton George Harrison Beatle Festival

Plans continue to bring “Best of the Beatles” to Benton for the annual Benton George Harrison Beatle Festival. Committee members reviewed a contract earlier this week, guaranteeing a visit from Pete Best, original drummer for The Beatles. Tom Herman and Jim Kirkpatrick said the Pete Best Band will perform Saturday, Oct. 4 in the East Gym of Benton Consolidated High School. [...more...]

McCartney's Anti-Landmine Amp On eBay

Paul McCartney fans are being given the chance to play the pipes of peace by bidding for a guitar amplifier signed by the star. Money raised from the eBay sale of the hand-wired Vox AC15H1TV will go to a charity which fights the threat of landmines. Vox amps have been used by bands for more than five decades and have been associated with artists including the Beatles. An eBay spokesman called the sale "a unique opportunity for a true fan to own this one-off item". [...more...]

Heather Mills went berserk at party guests who ignored her when she gave speech

FURIOUS Heather Mills went berserk at party guests who ignored her when she tried to give a speech, it was claimed yesterday. Sir Paul McCartney’s ex was due to talk about puppy farms at a bash to support an animal book in New York. Mucca, 40, is said to have ranted into a microphone: "Listen up at the back. I haven’t been up for 24 hours and flew here from London to be ignored." She is said to have whinged later: "People go to these events to have a drink and leave." SOURCE

Paul McCartney Planning 'Last Big Tour'

Music legend Sir Paul McCartney is planning a massive farewell tour, it was claimed today. According to Britain's Sunday Mirror newspaper, the former Beatle, 65, is set to announce a hundred-date stretch over two years. He will then retire from large-scale international touring to spend more time with his 4-year-old daughter with ex-wife Heather Mills, Beatrice. A source reveals, "Paul explained that this tour will be the last big one. He wants to settle down and enjoy Beatrice's childhood. [...more...]

A Hard Day's Night In Manila - 1966 Philippine Beatles Concert

About forty years ago, The Beatles landed in the Philippines from Tokyo for a two-concert stop. But what was anticipated to be The Beatles' second biggest concert ever became a dark spot in the group's history. Just exactly what happened on those fateful days remain confusing to many. Was it simply a case of miscommunication, lack of communication, false assumptions, opportunism? Whatever, the Philippine experience became one of the last nails on The Beatles' touring coffin as Neil Aspi­nall, a very close Beatle associate, put it.
The Manila concert was the last leg in the fab four's two-week tour of Germany and Japan. On July 3, 1966, The Beatles landed on Philippine soil for the first and last time. This two-night stopover in Manila proved disastrous from arrival to departure. Upon landing, The Beatles were immediately whisked to a pier and put on Marina, a yacht owned by Don Manolo Elizalde, two miles from the port. This arrangement completely cut The Beatles from their associates for at least two hours— the first time it ever happened. [...more...]

Very rare songs by The Beatles

In my Beatles' 45 collection, there are 3 very strange B-sides. They did not make it to an LP. In fact, they were hidden until the 2-volume CD released in the late 90s. (Past Masters, vol 1 and II). The first one is "I'm down". It was the US B-side of the big hit "Help". The lyrics are repetitious but the song is catchy: [...more by Silvio Canto, Jr...]

STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER

Cubans guard Lennon's specs

FOUR Cuban pensioners have taken it on themselves to ensure a statue of John Lennon in Havana is not robbed of its spectacles. The specs were first swiped eight years ago from the statue, inaugurated in 2000 to mark the 20th anniversary of the former Beatle's death. The team works 12-hour shifts to ensure there is no repeat of the theft. "You have to be here every day," said Juan Gonzalez, a retired 89-year-old. SOURCE

From Penny Lane to Strawberry Fields

As I sprawl out on the bed, I look deep into his eyes, but John Lennon seems to be in another world. He seemed distant and I'm disappointed there wasn't more of a connection. I had anticipated this night for ages and I thought there would be more to it. I've just checked into the Liverpool's Hard Day's Night, the first Beatles-themed hotel, and, by luck, I get to stay in a room with John Lennon -- or at least a very large portrait of him over the bed. It's the only artwork in the room and you can't help but be drawn to it. Beatles fans have been drawn to this hotel since it opened in February. It's had mixed reviews. [...more...]

John Lennon: still dreaming

IMMORTALIZED in bronze, seated on a bench in the capital park on 17th and 6th Streets, in the Vedado district, we can bump into John Lennon, the famous population music composer and leader of the Beatles. The life-sized sculpture by Cuban José Villa Soberón pays tribute to the most controversial of the members of the most famous musical group in their era. "My idea was to pay tribute to an anti-establishment figure, full of his own demons and dreams," he affirmed. Lennon comes across as relaxed and with a meditative look that suggests an enigma. The space beside him on the bench seems to invite passersby to stop and talk for a while so as to transform his internal monologue into a conversation. [...more...]

May ABCs: Paul McCartney CD fails to give wings to Mail on Sunday sales

Giving away a Paul McCartney CD failed to halt a circulation decline for the Mail on Sunday in May, when all the popular and mid-market Sunday titles saw sales fall. The Associated Newspapers title, which also cover-mounted Prison Break and Mills and Boon DVDs and a UB40 CD during the month, saw its circulation fall 1.63% year on year compared with May 2007. Last month the Mail on Sunday recorded a 2,237,509 average daily circulation and also fell 2.41% month on month, according to the latest Audit Bureau of Circulations figures published today. [...more...]

Last Rolling Stone Interview With John Lennon - 1980

"Welcome to the inner sanctum!" says John Lennon, greeting me with high-spirited, mock ceremoniousness in Yoko Ono's beautiful cloud-ceilinged office in their Dakota apartment. It's Friday evening, December 5, and Yoko has been telling me how their collaborative new album, Double Fantasy, came about: Last spring, John and their son, Sean, were vacationing in Bermuda while Yoko stayed home"sorting out business," as she puts it. She and John spoke on the phone every day and sang each other the songs they had composed in between calls. "I was at a dance club one night in Bermuda," John interrupts as he sits down on a couch and Yoko gets up to bring coffee." Upstairs, they were playing disco, and downstairs, I suddenly heard 'Rock Lobster' by the B-52's for the first time. Do you know it? It sounds just like Yoko's music, so I said to meself, 'It's time to get out the old axe and wake the wife up!' We wrote about twenty-five songs during those three weeks, and we've recorded enough for another album." [...more...]

Internationally Celebrated Artist Yoko Ono Invites the Public to Make a Wish at a Site-Specific Temporary Installation

Internationally celebrated artist Yoko Ono will present a major installation of her participatory work, Wish Trees, in the large central courtyard at One Colorado from August 2 through November 9, 2008. The installation will consist of a number of living trees selected by the artist, and which are identified with the environment or history of Southern California. Visitors are invited to write their wishes on pieces of paper and hang them on the tree branches. Public access to Ono's art installation and the One Colorado Courtyard is free. Artdaily.org - The First Art Newspaper on the Net

The History Of The Beatles - From Beatlemania to Let It Be and beyond

The origin of the phenomenon that became the Beatles can be traced to 1957 when Paul McCartney (b. James Paul McCartney, 18 June 1942, Liverpool, England) successfully auditioned at a church fête in Woolton, Liverpool, for the guitarist's position in the Quarry Men, a skiffle group led by John Lennon (b. John Winston Lennon, 9 October 1940, Liverpool, England, d. 8 December 1980, New York, USA). Within a year, two more musicians had been brought in, the 15-year-old guitarist George Harrison (b. 25 February 1943, Liverpool, England, d. 29 November 2001, Los Angeles, California, USA) and an art school friend of Lennon's, Stuart Sutcliffe (b. 23 June 1940, Edinburgh, Scotland, d. 10 April 1962, Hamburg, Germany). After a brief spell as Johnny And The Moondogs, the band rechristened themselves the Silver Beetles, and, in April 1960, played before impresario Larry Parnes, winning the dubious distinction of a support slot on an arduous tour of Scotland with autumnal idol Johnny Gentle. By the summer of 1960 the group had a new name, the Beatles, dreamed up by Lennon who said "a man in a flaming pie appeared and said you shall be Beetles with an a". A full-time drummer, Pete Best (b. 1941, Liverpool, England), was recruited and they secured a residency at Bruno Koschminder's Indra Club in Hamburg. [...more...]

Paul McCartney’s love fan

Sir Paul McCartney’s new girlfriend cheered on the star at his homecoming show yesterday (01.06.08). Multi-millionaire heiress Nancy Shevell watched Paul perform his ‘Liverpool Sound’ concert at Liverpool soccer club’s Anfield Stadium. Nancy cheered on The Beatles legend as she stood with his children Mary, 38, Stella, 36 and James, 30. Paul, 65, also took Nancy on a tour of his beloved city and introduced her to some of his family and friends, including his brother Mike, John Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono and George Harrison’s widow Olivia Harrison. [...more...]

Yoko Ono to Plant Trees in Pasadena

Inspired by temple wish trees in Japan, Yoko Ono's Wish Tree project is devoted to encouraging the public to take part in artmaking as well as promoting worldwide peace and understanding. Starting in August, her Wish Trees, which will be chosen in relation to the surrounding environment or history of California, will be displayed at One Colorado in Pasadena. Ono invites people to write wishes (think world hunger, peace, etc) on small, thin piece of paper and tie them to branches. The works will be on display from August 2 through November 9 with a visit from Ono sometime during the three month period. [...more...]

Psychedelic artist who painted Dead, Beatles posters dies

Alton Kelley, an artist who helped created the psychedelic style of posters and other art associated with the 1960s San Francisco rock scene, has died. He was 67. Kelley died Sunday in his Petaluma home of complications from osteoporosis, according to his publicist, Jennifer Gross. Kelley and his lifelong collaborator, Stanley “Mouse” Miller, churned out iconic work from their studio, a converted firehouse where Janis Joplin first rehearsed with Big Brother and the Holding Company. The pair created dozens of classic rock posters, including the famous Grateful Dead “skull and roses” poster designed for a show at the Avalon Ballroom, as well as posters and album covers for Journey, Steve Miller, Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles. [...more...]

Ono to appeal "Imagine" ruling

Imagine without her permission. Ono and Lennon's two sons Sean and Julian joined publisher EMI Blackwood Music Inc. to launch legal action against the filmmakers of Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. In a lawsuit filed at U.S. District Court in Manhattan, New York in April, Ono demanded Premise Media Corporation, C&S Production LP and Rocky Mountain Pictures pull the track from its movie. [...more...]

Paul McCartney Feeds the Need

As party favors go, a brand-new song from Paul McCartney might be tough to beat. At least that's what the former Beatle is hoping for, promising the ditty to anyone and everyone who donates a minimum of $25 to attend a McCartney-hosted online dinner party. The virtual bash, called Night of a Thousand Dinners, takes place Thursday night in conjunction with World Environment Day and to benefit the Adopt-A-Minefield campaign, for which McCartney is an ambassador. Which means, come Friday, fans will no longer be able to say Heather Mills never did anything for them. [...more...]

Why we love tribute bands

There is probably a tribute band for every major American or European rock band you can think of and most of them have names that unmistakably link them to the band they idolize and emulate. Zeppelin tributes have names like Led Zepagain, Physical Graffiti, Whole Lotta Zep and Beatles emulators go by monikers like the Backbeats and Hello Goodbye. There’s a Portland band called Appetite for Deception – and yes, they play the music and wear the leather of Guns N’ Roses. On Sunday, Joey Porter brings his nine-piece Sly and the Family Stone tribute to the Les Schwab Amphitheater for the Summer Sundays kickoff, and I thought this would be a great opportunity to discuss the tribute band phenomena. [...more...]

"PAINTING IS MY MADNESS" – A LIMITED EDITION BOOK FEATURING RINGO STARR'S COMPUTER ARTWORK SET TO BE RELEASED ON JUNE 19

"I started in the late nineties with my computer art. While I was touring it gave me something to do in all those crazy hotels you have to stay in on the road" - Ringo Starr. Ringo Starr published his first set of limited edition hand signed computer art pieces in 2005. Since that time he has continued to release new pieces and continued to raise money for the Lotus Foundation, a charitable organization that he set up with his wife Barbara Bach. Now, for the first time, Ringo is featuring his entire collection of computer art pieces in a new limited edition book entitled, "Painting is My Madness" scheduled to be released on June 19 to coincide with Ringo's summer tour.

In addition to over 40 reproductions of Ringo's computer art pieces, "Painting is My Madness" contains candid photos of Ringo and his art including personal photos from his wife, Barbara Bach. The book also features Ringo's humorous and insightful musings on his artwork. "Painting is My Madness" will be limited to only 3,000 copies. There will also be a special collectors deluxe hand signed edition of "Painting is My Madness" that includes an 8" x 10" piece of Ringo's artwork. The hand signed book is limited to only 200 copies. As is the case with Ringo's hand signed art work, 100% of Ringo's proceeds from the sale of "Painting is my Madness" will be donated to the Lotus Foundation.

The objectives of the Lotus Foundation are to fund, support, participate in and promote charitable projects aimed at advancing social welfare in diverse areas including, but not limited to: substance abuse, cerebral palsy, brain tumors, cancer, battered women and their children, homelessness and animals in need.

"Painting is My Madness" is published by ArtCelebs and is available at all of Ringo Starr & the All-Starr Band concerts this summer or by going to www.RingoStarrArt.com.

100% of Ringo's proceeds from the sale of the book will benefit the Lotus Foundation

IMAGINE PEACE

Following the massive critical and commercial success of Yoko Ono’s ambitious remix collections – YES, I’M A WITCH and OPEN YOUR BOX (Mindtrain/Astralwerks) which paired the seminal performer with the 21st century underground -- ONO readies for the digital release of “GIVE PEACE A CHANCE” (THE REMIXES). The new release (available June 1 at Beatport.com and July 1 at the iTunes Music Store) commemorates the 39th anniversary of the world peace anthem's historic June 1, 1969 recording. The song was recorded during John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s infamous week-long “Bed-In For Peace” in Room 1742 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Canada. [...more/audio...]

Visit Liverpool's Beatle Week & See The Fab Four In Concert!

If ever there was a time for you to visit Liverpool, it is this summer! Last year Liverpool commemorated its 800th birthday, and in 2008 the city continues its celebration as the European Capitol of Culture. In August, the city hosts its annual BeatleWeek, and highlight of this year's annual Beatle Week Festival will be The Fab Four's triumphant return to Liverpool. The group will perform their complete Las Vegas theatre show at the Empire Theater, the venue where the Beatles last performed in their hometown of Liverpool, England. The Fab Four will also performing a highly-anticipated outdoor concert set at the Mathew Street Music Festival just around the corner from the Cavern Club, noted for being the 'birthplace' of the Beatles. The band is also backing up lead guitarist Gavin Pring for his "George Harry's Son" show in memory of George Harrison. This tribute concert marks a very special event for Gavin, who was born and raised in Liverpool.

The Fab Four headline BeatleWeek through the efforts of Liverpool Productions, who have booked annual "Magical History Tour" group tours to Liverpool & London for 25 years, the only company to do so for so long. Along with the very best seats for the Fab Four concert, fans will also get to tour all of the Beatles' sites, including John, Paul, George & Ringo's homes, schools, pubs, early hang-outs and other historic landmarks. This year, the tour will be going INSIDE both John's Menlove Avenue childhood home ("Mendips") as well as Paul's childhood home, 20 Forthlin Road. The tour of the city has been hosted by John Lennon's sister, Julia. There will be parties, other live concerts, admission to the Liverpool Beatles Convention, entry to the Beatles auction, a visit to the Cavern Club, Strawberry Field, Penny Lane plus much more. There will be a respectful memorial visit to George Harrison's Friar Park home. Visit Beatles locales that fans have only seen in books or postcards or heard about in song lyrics.


There are still spaces available, including flights if needed, for travelers wishing to join fellow fans on this highly-acclaimed tour package, which includes seeing The Fab Four invade Liverpool. This is the only American tour that includes admission to all BeatleWeek events, produced for Beatles fans by fellow Beatles fans.

If you've never been to Liverpool, this is the time. And if you've been there before, this may be your only chance to see two greats -- the Fab Four -- and the hometown of the Beatles, together!! It is also the last time that the complete tour of Liverpool and London, from August 18-28, is available to fans for only $2799 including airfare to London (from New York). There are also smaller package options, which include Liverpool only, and the Fab Four's appearances there, for very special fan rates. There are only 8 spaces still open, so let us know quickly if you'd like to join us for the greatest Beatles fan experience.

For complete info on this unique travel experience, contact Liverpool Productions toll-free at (866) LIVERPOOL (direct line 203-795-4737), or email LiverpoolTours@aol.com.

Paul McCartney Virtual Party

Paul McCartney will host a virtual dinner party at his website to benefit Adopt-A-Minefield. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver will post recipes, while Macca will give dinner-goers a new song titled “Lifelong Passion (Sail Away.)” SOURCE

Lennon piano inspired Chesney album

Chesney Hawkes has spoken about how an old piano once belonging to John Lennon helped inspire his new album. Hawkes described his album Another Fine Mess as "a labour of love" which has been around eight years in the making, since the first song was written. Hawkes said that Lennon had previously owned the piano and Hawkes' father, who was a member of the Tremeloes, was told he could take it by Ringo Starr. Hawkes said he had used it while working on his new album. He said: "Just sitting there with the piano is inspiring. There is something about it. "To me it's like an older brother. It's been there all my life." [...more...]

Stella McCartney to support Lucy event

FASHION designer Stella McCartney today promised her support to Liverpool’s Field of Women event. Uniting with the campaign against breast cancer, the daughter of Sir Paul McCartney and wife Linda, who died from the disease, met organisers at Lipa at the weekend and offered her backing. The Field of Women event at Liverpool Cricket Ground on Sunday July 6 promises to be this year’s biggest charity event in the region. Liverpool’s Linda McCartney Centre is calling for 10,000 people to register. It is intended to be a show of strength for people affected directly or indirectly with breast cancer. [...more...]

MCCARTNEYS TASTE-TEST ALL LINDA'S FROZEN GOODS

SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY and his family have such a hands-on approach to the LINDA MCCARTNEY frozen food range, they insist on taste testing every dish themselves. The vegetarian brand was launched by the former Beatle's late wife Linda in 1991, and, 10 years after her death (98), her family still takes an avid interest in the brand in a bid to maintain the same high standards Linda expected when she started the venture. Daughter Mary, 38, says, "It's really personal to us because it is carrying on mum's message. We know what she would and wouldn't have wanted." The Yesterday singer adds, "Nothing goes through without the MCCartney say-so. It has to, because it's our name on the packet." Linda MCCartney lost her battle with breast cancer in 1998, aged 56. SOURCE

Sir Paul Remembers John and George In Liverpool

Paul McCartney paid tribute to John Lennon and George Harrison when he rocked Liverpool this past Sunday as part of the city's 2008 European Capital of Culture celebrations. The performance -- which also marked to the date the 41st anniversary of the release of the Beatles' landmark 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' -- was held before 36,000 attendees at Anfield Stadium. Saluting Lennon, his former songwriting partner, McCartney sang 'A Day in the Life' for the first time ever live as Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono looked on. During the performance, McCartney reportedly blew a line, chuckled at his mistake and eventually segued into the Lennon's eternal anti-war missive, 'Give Peace a Chance.' Sir Paul also paid homage to the late Harrison by performing 'Something' on ukulele, one of Harrison 's favorite instruments. Harrison 's widow, Olivia, also attended the concert. [...more...]

The Rolling Stones - Their Satanic Majesties Request

The Beatles had Sgt. Peppers, The Beach Boys had Pet Sounds, Bob Dylan had Blonde On Blonde and The Rolling Stones had Their Satanic Majesties Request. While critics praised The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and Dylan, they were not so kind to The Rolling Stones. Their Satanic Majesties Request is like no other Rolling Stones album. It was not rhythm and blues nor was it straight rock 'n' roll. It can best be described as a quick Rolling Stones detour into psychedelic rock that was prevalent in the United States at the time. I would have liked to have seen this music performed to one of the light shows at the Fillmore East or West. Today, Their Satanic Majesties Request is best remembered for its 3-D cover. You could even find the faces of the four Beatles buried in the cover’s regalia. Sort of like an early where's Waldo. [...more...]

BUY: Their Satanic Majesties Request


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Bo Diddley, guitarist who inspired the Beatles and the Stones, dies aged 79

Bo Diddley, the pioneering electric guitarist who was playing rock'n'roll when white America was still calling it jungle music and without whom there might never have been Elvis Presley, the Beatles or the Rolling Stones, has died at the age of 79. Famous for his square, homemade guitar, which he plucked with oversize fingers to a relentless syncopated beat, crudely summed up as "bomp ba-bomp bomp bomp bomp", Diddley was one of the giants of popular music. He died of heart failure at his home in Archer, Florida, yesterday, having worked relentlessly, partly out of necessity partly out of love, almost until the end of his life. He suffered a stroke while touring in Iowa last year followed three months later by a heart attack. His spokeswoman said his ability to speak had been severely affected and he was ordered to rest and rehabilitate at his 76-acre property where he kept his recording studio. [...more...]

McCartney salutes Lennon, Harrison in Liverpool

McCartney returned to Liverpool on the 41st anniversary of the release of the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” for a concert in which he saluted former songwriting partner John Lennon by singing “A Day in the Life,” while Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, looked on from the audience. It was, according to McCartney’s spokesman, the first time he has sung the album-closing song that was written primarily by Lennon. McCartney muffed one line midway through the song — ironically, during the brief section of the composition that he wrote. In a clip of the performance posted on YouTube, McCartney chuckles, moves on and then segues into Lennon’s anti-war anthem “Give Peace a Chance.” [...more/video...]

Let's Hear It For RINGO!

As a bass player, I naturally work closely with the drummers in the various bands I have played in. In no band have I had to work more closely with the drummer than in Beatle Tracks and our most excellent drummer, Bill Betz. And why is that? Because it is Beatles music that we are playing. Among all the uncanny magic that the Beatles created, the top notch rhythm section of Paul McCartney on bass and Ringo Starr on drums cannot be overlooked or underestimated. Ask any drummer, young or old and they will tell you the same thing: Ringo was the bomb. Ringo created his own unique innovations that only enhanced an established Super-Group. As far as this correspondant is c0ncerned, Ringo was among the best-ever. Still, we hear the casual comments like, "Ringo was an everyman," "He was just happy to be there," "Any drummer would have fit it," and other assorted uninformed drek. I came across an article by a guy named John Bryant on why Ringo was so great. I agree with all of it and to give Mr. Bryant his due, I mention him in this blog. Here now, a discussion on one half of the greatest rhythm section in Rock History: [...more...]

Who Killed John Lennon

Do not mention his name. The man kills John Lennon, now he's on TV again. He's blaming Holden Caulfield in the face of the lens. And each time he does it, he kills him again. Who killed John Lennon? A loser with a pistol, a martyr's best friend. And each time he's televised, he kills him again. It's the prize that he wanted when he loaded the gun. And each time he's mentioned, murder is done. So, who killed John Lennon? A no one. [...more...]

Paul McCartney

As the compere, Peter Kay, inadvertently acknowledges by mentioning Liverpool council to a chorus of booing, the city's tenure as the European Capital of Culture has thus far been a difficult one. Back in January, the launch event opened with a film that proclaimed Liverpool "the centre of the creative universe". Intended to provoke a riotous standing ovation among the audience, the remarks were instead greeted with a ripple of sardonic Scouse laughter. The laughter turned out to be that evening's highlight - a far better tribute to the Liverpudlian spirit than the ensuing shambles on stage. But worse was to come. [...more...]

Yoko Ono loses NY bid to block use of `Imagine' in film

Yoko Ono has lost her Manhattan legal battle to block the use of John Lennon's song "Imagine" in a film challenging the theory of evolution. Lennon's widow had sued the makers of "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed," saying they used parts of the song without her permission. In a decision Monday, federal Judge Sidney Stein says the filmmakers are protected under the "fair use" doctrine. That permits small parts of a copyrighted work to be used without an author's permission under certain circumstances. The movie opened on U.S. screens in April; it's set for release in Canada on Friday and on DVD in October. [...more...]

Audience steals the Anfield Liverpool Sound show

It was Sir Paul McCartney’s big homecoming night – but the crowd was the real star, says Alan Weston. ANFIELD stadium has witnessed many amazing spectacles down the years, but few to compare with this. On this occasion, however, there wasn’t a football in sight, nor was it a Champions’ League semi-final against Chelsea. Sir Paul McCartney last played in Liverpool exactly five years ago to the day, on a specially constructed set that was assembled in the car park at Kings Dock. How times have changed. [...more...]

5 minutes with... Sir Paul McCartney

It must be great going back to Liverpool to play a big gig like this? Yeah, it is. It’s always nice, I love going back to Liverpool, and to play a big gig like this is something special. How does it feel to be part of the celebrations? It’s great. All of us interested in Liverpool were part of trying to make it the Capital Of Culture, it was like an Olympic bid. As an Everton fan, what’s it going to be like playing at Liverpool’s ground, Anfield? Ha ha! I haven’t been to Anfield before. It’s that thing isn’t it, you’re supposed to be Manchester United or City, Rangers or Celtic, you know, one or the other, but I just gave up on that idea years ago. I’m officially Everton, my dad was born in Everton, but the Liverpool team came to one of my concerts at Wembley Arena once, led by Kenny Dalglish. [...more...]

Heather Mills and Her Money Go On Holiday

Gold digger extraordinaire Heather Mills was seen this past week sunning herself alone on a deckchair as she vacationed in Tenerife. Despite the fact that she took Paul McCartney for an obscene amount of money in their divorce settlement, the witch still appeared miserable, even removing her artificial limb and placing it under the chair. Could it be that she’s still lamenting the fact that she didn’t get quite enough moola from Macca to satisfy her greedy little self? SOURCE

Kaisers hail "influential" McCartney

Kaiser Chiefs have argued that Sir Paul McCartney is one of the most 'influential people alive'. The Leeds rockers performed with McCartney at the Liverpool Sound Concert at Anfield yesterday. Speaking about their admiration for the former Beatle, bassist Simon Rix said: "I've said this before that I think Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are up there, if not the most influential people who are still alive. [...more...]