John Lennon's Troubled Adolescence to Be Filmed

The story about the early years of the legendary member of The Beatles, John Lennon, is heading to the big screen. Entitled "Nowhere Boy", the movie will highlight the acclaimed singer/songwriter's troubled teenage as told by his half-sister, Julia Baird through her memoirs. Retelling his deeply personal account, the movie will provide a deeper look into his relationship with his mother who abandoned him and his Aunt Mimi who raised him with a strict authority. It will also show how Lennon find his only escape in music and art as well as in his friendship with Paul McCartney. [...more...]

Sir Paul slams chef veggie comments

Sir Paul McCartney has criticised Gordon Ramsay - calling the TV chef "stupid". Ramsay, 41, has angered the ex-Beatle, 66, with his outspoken comments against vegetarians. The foul-mouthed chef has annoyed the music legend by saying he could not tolerate it if one of his three daughters came home with a vegetarian boyfriend. Kitchen Nightmares star Ramsay said recently: "If one of my daughters' boyfriends turns out to be vegetarian I swear to God I'd never forgive them." In another tirade, he said: "My biggest nightmare would be if the kids ever came up to me and said 'Dad, I'm a vegetarian'. Then I would sit them on the fence and electrocute them." [...more...]

"Paul is Dead": New Song Solves Urban Legend

A college English professor and Americana Luke Powers songwriter sorts through the evidence of the world's greatest urban legend--that real Paul McCartney died in 1966 and was replaced by an impostor or fake labeled "Faul." Powers comes to an amazing conclusion in song. Luke Powers has been wondering for a long time. For years the words turned over in his head. Sleeping and waking: "Turn me on dead man"; "28 IF"; "I buried Paul." [...more...]

The Republican-American Ronnie Spector ... a timeless road traveled

Ronnie Spector doesn't mind dishing about the time her mother ran Frankie Lymon out of their house, or briefly dating John Lennon. But the 1960s icon will not address questions about perhaps the most famous facet of her personal life, her eccentric ex-husband and record producer, Phil Spector, recently-acquited of the murder of actress Lana Clarkson. It's just as well. The territory is well-worn, through press chronicles of the producer's campaign to obstruct The Ronettes' lead singer from securing a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (she was inducted just last year) and the wild details of their courtship and 1968 marriage in her 1990 autobiography, "Be My Baby: How I Survived Mascara, Miniskirts and Madness, or My Life as a Fabulous Ronette." [...more...]

Cirque du Soleil’s Love: Deserving of the Title

There cannot be a show anywhere more aptly named than Love, the Cirque du Soleil tribute to The Beatles that has been drawing sell-out crowds to Las Vegas' Mirage Hotel and Casino since June 26, 2006. The show uses and interprets the music of the Beatles who thrived in an age of optimism informed by history. Those in the Beatles-boomer generation believed. They believed in the possibility that humanity not only could do better but would do better. They believed people from around the world, from different cultures with differing values, could achieve understanding. They believed peace was possible. Simply (maybe too simply) stated, they believed "all you need is love." [...more...]

McCain camp outraged at Madonna's Hitler dig

Madonna's swipe at McCain came during a performance of 'Get Stupid', when McCain's image was flashed up alongside images of Hitler and Mugabe. Towards the end of the song, pictures of John Lennon, Mahatma Gandhi and Barack Obama appeared. "The comparisons are outrageous, unacceptable and crudely divisive." McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds said. SOURCE

Why was 1965 Beatles concert in Israel really canceled?

Meanwhile, music aficionado and historian Yoav Kutner on Sunday took the opportunity to dispel the apocryphal story that the Beatles' planned concert in Israel in the early 1960s were canceled because the government was scared that the Fab Four would corrupt the country's youth. "It never happened that way," Kutner explained. "The concert was canceled because of a dispute between music promoters Giora Godik and Yaakov Uri. In 1962, Godik received an offer from the mother of the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein that they come to Israel. But [Godik] preferred to bring singer Cliff Richard, who was much more famous at the time. When Uri bought the rights to hold the concert two years later, Godik was angry that he blew the opportunity and went to the Knesset's Finance Committee to persuade them to bar the promoters from taking out foreign currency." [...more...]

Portrait of the artist as a young man and Beatle

Arts editor Joe Riley marks the significance of a newly opened Liverpool exhibition of works by the late Stuart Sutcliffe, one-time Beatle. IF Stuart Sutcliffe were alive today he’d be 68, probably no longer playing the guitar, but almost certainly ranked as one of the world’s most travelled and sought-after artists. [...more...]

McCartney to perform in Tel Aviv

Sir Paul McCartney is set to perform in Israel, 40 years after his legendary band, the Beatles, were banned from playing in the Holy Land. Israeli media were abuzz with excitement on Sunday with news of McCartney's visit. The rock star was scheduled to play earlier in the year, but the show was canceled. Israeli media reported McCartney would perform in Tel Aviv on September 25. [...more...]

MILLS FACING LEGAL ACTION OVER MARQUEE

SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY's ex-wife HEATHER MILLS is facing legal action from a local council in England - over her failure to remove a large marquee from her garden. The former glamour model is believed to have erected the tent at her $6.4 million (GBP3.2 million) home in East Sussex, England, for her 40th birthday party in January (08). But the structure has remained in place ever since, prompting local residents to lodge objections with government officials. The district council ruled in favour of her neighbours and signed an enforcement order in May (08) in a bid to force Mills to take down the marquee, but the tent has yet to be removed. And now officials have set Mills a deadline to get rid of it - or they will take her to court. A spokesman for the council says, "She has now been given a compliance date of 20 September (08) to have the structure removed. "If it is not done by that time we can start legal proceedings." SOURCE

Have Mersey

A teenaged John Lennon leans against the wall of the Cavern Pub, the collar of his leather jacket rolled up. A middle-aged man with a beer belly and a ponytail puts his arm around him as a woman takes a snapshot. All around, people of a dozen nationalities and almost as many age groups mill about in a flickering strobe of flashbulbs. John looks as though he wants to say 'Ono' and walk away from it all. But, mired in the myth created in his own rite, he can't. We are on Mathew Street, Liverpool, ground zero of a pandemic almost half a century old called Beatlemania. In a sweaty, stinking, smoke-filled basement in Liverpool a mop-haired young man got onto the dais and said: 'Hi, we're the Beatles and we're going to play you some rock and roll.' [...more...]

We'll finally get to hold Paul's hand

The long and winding road that had Paul McCartney on the way to Israel, only to encounter a roadblock during negotiations, is apparently back on track. While an official announcement probably won't be made until Tuesday - the same day tickets are expected to go on sale - it's all but a done deal that the former Beatle will perform the biggest pop concert in Israel's history on September 25 at Park Hayarkon in Tel Aviv. The show, produced by promoter Dudu Zerzevsky, is expected to cost upward of $4 million to produce and require a 100-person production team, an extra-large stage and expansive sound system, and additional touches such as two vegetarian kitchens at the show's location for the anti-carnivore musician. [...more...]

McCartney denies wedding rumours with American heiress pal

Sir Paul McCartney has rubbished reports that he's to wed American heiress Nancy Shevell. The pair fuelled rumors that they were to exchange marriage vows after McCartney was spotted shopping at top London jewelers S.J. Phillips. The couple was subsequently reported to have sought the blessing of their families after their return from a road trip across the U.S. earlier this month (Aug08), reports Contactmusic. [...more...]

Beatles Magical Mystery Tour unseen footage

New unseen home movie footage of The Beatles features in a new film on the Fab Four. The Beatles – Magical Mystery Tour Memories includes recollections and anecdotes from a selection of celebrities, fans and cast of the film who witnessed the making of the original 1967 film, The Magical Mystery Tour. Friends and family reminisce on the Scouse lads’ first film project, which saw them as normal people, having magical adventures on a charabanc bus. [...more...]

Lennon's life through art

Long Island Beatles fans, get ready - after 16 years spent touring the country, the artwork of John Lennon will be coming to the Hamptons, where he used to summer. Yoko Ono and Legacy Fine Art Productions are presenting his show, "Come Together," this weekend at the Southampton Inn. WHAT'S IN IT More than 100 of Lennon's serigraphs, lithographs, copper etchings and aqua tints will be for sale, with prices ranging from $200 to $20,000. Most of Lennon's work was published after he died in 1980, and the majority is signed by Yoko Ono, except for a few pieces in Lennon's "Bag-One" series, which he signed in 1970. The show also features the largest collection of Lennon's works on paper ever assembled, encompassing the years 1968 to 1980. [...more...]

Beatles Guitar Maker Rickenbacker Nurtures Image, Stays Small

Rickenbacker International has a problem that General Motors would love to have. The company that made the first electric guitar and whose instruments were popularized by the Beatles in the 1960s can't make them fast enough. ``We're back-ordered two years,'' company owner John Hall said. So he raised prices on all 6- and 12-string guitars and basses by as much as 20 percent this year to cool demand. ``It hasn't completely done that,'' he admitted. [...more...]

Macca invites new flame Nancy Shevell on world tour

Sir Paul McCartney has invited his new flame Nancy Shevell to accompany him on his world tour. The former Beatle had originally planned a boys only tour to celebrate his single status. However, following the success of his and Shevell's Route 66 road trip through the US earlier this month, Macca asked his new love to accompany him around the world. [...more...]

John Lennon Killer Ashamed

The killer of late John Lennon has said that he"s 'ashamed' of killing the legendary rocker. MDC, who has been denied parole for a fifth time, told the two-person Parole Board panel that he's guilty of what he did and is not the same person now. C*pm*n has been serving 20-years-to-life sentence. "I am ashamed. I am sorry for what I did," the New York Daily News quoted him, as saying. "I recognized that that 25-year-old man, I don't think he appreciated the life he was taking, that this was a human being. I feel now at 53 that I have grown into a deeper understanding of what a human life is. I have changed a lot," he added. SOURCE

‘Give Peace’ a new dance

Perhaps this is reason enough for the release of “Give Peace a Chance (The Remixes),” a digital collection of eight remixes of the Plastic Ono Band protest anthem with Ono’s newly recorded spoken-word vocals. Though the commingling of protest anthem and block rockin’ beat may seem incongruous to some, for Ono it’s a completely natural method to get the message to the masses. “If you want to get through to somebody, you go to their stomach with your soup,” she says. “[The remixes] are like soup. People give in to their bodies; their bodies will know what’s important.” [...more...]

"Paul, I don't think the Beatles . . . can play this."

There's something in the way he produces that moves people like no other producer. As the man behind the Beatles, Sir George Martin holds the Guinness World Record for most successful producer ever. And despite some hearing loss, the 82-year-old and his son Giles snared two Grammy Awards this year for the soundtrack to the Beatles-inspired Cirque du Soleil spectacle "Love." Martin, who was knighted in 1996, is now at work on "On Record: The Soundtrack of Our Lives," a PBS series about the history of recorded music, set to air in 2010. [...more...]

BETTER WORLD AWARDS 2008

BETTER WORLD AWARDS 2008 VIDEO

Sir Paul McCartney cuts holiday short after becoming a grandad for the sixth time

Sir Paul McCartney cut short his Route 66 road trip after becoming a grandad for the sixth time. Macca, 66, and millionaire lover Nancy Shevell, 47, flew back to be with his eldest daughter Mary, 38, who has given birth to her third child. A source close to Macca said yesterday: "Paul is over the moon and couldn't wait to jump on a plane. [...more...]

Beatles Anthology producer dies

Chippefield shared a Grammy Award in 1997 with Apple Corps head and project co-producer Neil Aspinall and directors Bob Smeaton and Geoff Wonfor for the acclaimed documentary, the most intensive and detailed video history ever put together of the Fab Four. On The Beatles’ official website Chipperfield, who died of a heart attack in Ireland on Tuesday, is described as “warm, wise and kind, he was loved and respected by all those who worked with him”. The tribute adds, “His youthful spirit and enthusiasm for life will continue to be an inspiration to all those who knew him. He will be dearly missed by all of us.” [...more...]

"Coming Together through the art of John Lennon" and Beatles Memorabilia

The new John Lennon original art and Beatles memorabilia exhibit is rapidly evolving at the Waukesha County Museum. Entitled “Coming Together through the art of John Lennon”, the display will debut with a grand opening ceremony on August 15, 2008, followed by an opening to the general public on August 16, 2008 at 10:00 am. The exhibit will feature two distinct showings: Original art of John Lennon - A collection of Lennon’s original drawings, serigraphs, and lithographs – purported to be the third largest collection in the world – have been held by an anonymous private collector for decades. [...more...]

Paul McCartney camping in US

Sir Paul McCartney has shunned expensive hotels in favour of camping. The 66-year-old musician is currently on a US road trip with girlfriend Nancy Shevell, and the pair decided to spend a night under the stars when they arrived at Bennett Springs State Park in Missouri last weekend. A fellow camper said: "It was incredible to see one of the world's richest musicians going back to basics. "They didn't seem to have a care in the world as they laughed and joked with each other." [...more...]

JOHN LENNON KILLER'S'S WIFE TO REPORTERS: 'STOP CALLING ME'

The wife of JOHN LENNON's killer has hit out at the media - begging reporters to stop contacting her. Gloria Hiroko Chapman married 53-year-old Mark just 18 months before he shot Lennon dead outside the ex-Beatle's New York home in December 1980. The pair has remained married ever since - though she now lives in seclusion in Hawaii, where they wed. But Gloria is losing her temper with the constant media presence outside her Honolulu home, telling one photojournalist from the New York Daily News: "I felt like God wanted me to come over and talk to you... I think you know my name, otherwise you wouldn't be here getting a picture of me." [...more...]

LENNON PIANO ON SHOW IN NEW YORK

A piano played by JOHN LENNON just hours before he was murdered is to go on display in New York. The instrument, on which the former Beatle wrote and recorded songs for several years, will be exhibited at the opening of a new Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum in the Big Apple. Lennon had been playing the piano at the Record Plant recording studio on the day he was shot dead outside his Manhattan home in 1980. He had become so attached to it that staff named the instrument The John Lennon Piano. It was also used during the recording of Don MCLean's American Pie. Former Record Plant sound engineer Jack Douglas once wrote, "It was there on his (Lennon's) last day on earth, which he spent with me in the Mix Room working on Walking On Thin Ice. [...more...]

LENNON DRAWINGS ON SHOW

A collection of late BEATLE legend JOHN LENNON's original drawings are going on display at a U.S. museum. His widow, Yoko Ono, is protective of the sketches, which are worth a substantial sum, but is allowing the exhibition to go ahead at the Waukesha County Historical Society Museum in Wisconsin. The 27 pencil and pen drawings, along with five lithographs and serigraphs, have been loaned by an anonymous retired curator - who has also leant the museum other memorabilia, including the microphone Lennon used to record hit song Imagine. [...more...]

Homage to Beatles' 'Sgt. Pepper' kicks off tour

The Beatles album that was ranked the best of all time by Rolling Stone in 2003 will be performed at Seven Springs Mountain Resort by a diverse group of artists who all share a love for the band. Todd Rundgren, Lou Gramm of Foreigner, Christopher Cross, Bo Bice and Denny Laine of The Moody Blues are coming together for the two-week cross-country "It Was 40 Years Ago Today" tour that features their own music and all of the songs from the "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album. [...more...]

MCCARTNEY SUPPORTS ANTI-LITTER CAMPAIGN

SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY has joined the fight against litter on Britain's beaches - designing his own surfboard to raise funds for the campaign. The former Beatle is concerned about the state of seaside resorts in his native U.K. and is backing an initiative by Surfers Against Sewage - aiming to clean up beaches around the country. MCCartney has designed an eco-friendly surfboard which will go under the hammer at London auction house Bonhams in October (08). Other stars to have joined the campaign include British artists Tracey Emin and Gavin Turk. SOURCE

Starkey Forms Family Band

RINGO STARR's drummer son ZAK STARKEY has formed a new band with his girlfriend and daughter, three months after quitting British rockers OASIS. The 42-year-old walked away from the Wonderwall hitmakers after a bust-up with Noel and Liam Gallagher. But he's back behind his drum-kit after unveiling new group Penguins - which includes his girlfriend Sharna Liguz on vocals and his daughter Tatia on bass. [...more...]

NEWS McCARTNEY PLAYS FOR KID

SIR PAUL McCARTNEY played the harmonica for a tot - after the singer learned he was named after his hit BEATLES track HEY JUDE. The former Beatles legend met four-month-old Jude's parents Lori and Don Dunavin during a trip to Amarillo, Texas. And after McCartney learned his 1968 song was the inspiration for the child's name, he played the tot a tune on his mouth organ. Don says, "I was holding Jude and he walked right in front of us. "He went to Jude, grabbed his hand and started talking to him. After we told him his name, he said, 'I got something for him'. Jude was smiling at him. I told my wife to get the camera out and he stopped. [...more...]

Beatles first contract up for sale

The contract has been described as "one of the most important documents in music history" The band members signed a copy of the contract on January 24 1962 but Epstein only added his signature on October 1 1962. The contract was also signed by the fathers of George Harrison and Paul McCartney, because they were under 21 Brian Epstein had discovered the band in Liverpool's Cavern Club. The document was drawn up in 1962 and marked the beginning of arguably the most successful partnership in music history. [...more...]

Stella McCartney orders fur advert dropped

McCartney, who is a strident anti-fur campaigner, was angered after spotting the photograph in fashion bible Vogue. The ad, by Hockley, shows a model wearing a black lace Stella McCartney bra while clothed in a £6,450 full length mink, black and white coat. A source close to the designer said: "If Stella knew it was going to be used by Hockley there is no way she would have lent it. "It was loaned to a stylist in good faith, but when Stella saw the picture she was furious. Stella is disgusted." [...more...]

Lennon killer gets wife time in Attica

Imagine: The man who killed John Lennon has been enjoying conjugal visits with his wife for at least 16 years. M--k D---d C-----n has been locked up in the Attica Correctional Facility since gunning down the legendary former Beatle on Dec. 8, 1980. [...more...]

Cheech & Chong: The Unauthorized Autobiography

Tuesday, August 12th, marks the release date of Tommy Chong's second book, Cheech & Chong: The Unauthorized Autobiography. It's called "Unauthorized" because Cheech Marin was not involved in it's writing. However, Tommy spoke to Cheech's ex-wives, Patti and Rikki, to learn stories and gain insight about Cheech. This was actually supposed to be Tommy's first book, but he wrote The I Chong: Meditations from the Joint (released 2006) during the nine months he spent in prison in 2003 for "conspiracy to manufacture and distribute drug paraphernalia." Simon and Schuster decided The I Chong would be first, followed by the autobiography. [...more...]

'MRS. SIR PAUL'

Paul McCartney is reportedly thinking about taking another long and winding road - to the altar. Britain's News of the World reported the Beatles legend and new girlfriend, MTA Board member Nancy Shevell, have been seeking their families' blessing. McCartney's asked daughter Stella "What would you say if I asked Nancy to be the next Mrs. McCartney?" the newspaper quoted an unnamed source saying. "And she joked back, 'At least she's financially independent.'" McCartney and Heather Mills, his second wife, were divorced last year, resulting in a $46 million settlement. SOURCE

Liam Gallagher writes tribute song for John Lennon

Oasis rocker Liam Gallagher has written a song in tribute to late Beatles singer John Lennon for his new album Dig Out Your Own Soul. Liam isn’t known as the sensitive type, but he has gone out of his way to write two songs for the greatest loves of his life - Lennon and wife Nicole - the sun.co.uk reports. [...more...]

McCartney sighting sets off Beatlemania

Things have gone all Beatlemania since The State Journal-Register published a story about the Paul McCartney sighting at the Springfield Circle K gas station and convenience store on Saturday. Yes, it really was McCartney and his girlfriend, Nancy Shevell, in, of all things, a 1989 Ford Bronco. The story about the two of them passing through central Illinois has been translated into French and into German and into Dutch (“Het nieuws raakte bekend nadat McCartney zaterdag met een groepje fans poseerde aan een tankstation in Springfield, Illinois.”) [...more...]

John Lennon's fans can't imagine Mark David Chapman free

Peace-loving John Lennon may possibly have offered forgiveness, but fans of the slain Beatle have already objected to the release of his killer when he is again considered for parole next week. Mark David Chapman, 53, who is serving 20 years to life at upstate Attica Correctional Facility for gunning down the legendary rocker on Dec. 8, 1980, has already been rejected for parole four times. The Parole Board said Wednesday it has received 50 letters and an 1,100-signature petition against Chapman's release compared with just three letters calling for his freedom. [...more...]

Satisfied Rutle spends weekend with Beatles fans

According to Neil Innes, he stumbled innocently into show business with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band during the 1960s and has been falling through open doors ever since. He’s happier as a respected peer of timeless entertainers like the Beatles and Monty Python troupe than being considered a star himself. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Rutles film “All You Need Is Cash,” a wickedly funny Beatles spoof. Monty Python’s Eric Idle wrote the screenplay about the “Prefab Four,” and Innes starred as John Lennon figure Ron Nasty. Innes’ compositions for the soundtrack (and 1996’s “Archaeology”) rival the wit and craft of the Beatles’ works they affectionately skewer. [...more...]

Paul McCartney's car trouble

Sir Paul McCartney nearly had his car impounded on Saturday (02.08.08) after parking in the wrong place. The 66-year-old musician is currently on a road trip with girlfriend Nancy Shevell in the US, but the journey almost came to an abrupt end after the singer parked illegally at Joliet Area Historical Museum, Illinois. Tony Contos, a worker at the museum, said: "They parked in the wrong bay and were nearly towed away. Paul was engrossed, Nancy seemed in a bit of a hurry." The Beatles legend and his girlfriend are currently on a road trip across America's famed Route 66 in a classic 1989 Ford Bronco. However they shocked staff at the museum when they stopped en route from Nancy's home in the Hamptons, New York. [...more...]

Portrait of George Harrison completes epic work

WITH this magnificent portrait of George Harrison, a Liverpool artist has completed an epic work in praise of the city he loves. In 2006, Tony Brown decided he wanted to celebrate the following year’s 800th anniversary of his city being granted its Royal Charter. So he began painting the faces of 100 living Merseysiders, who had made a great contribution to Liverpool life. This exhibition, called 100 Heads Thinking As One, proved so popu- lar that it has run right through this Capital of Culture year, where it has been shown at leading venues including St George’s Hall, both cathedrals, the Williamson Art Gallery in Birkenhead, and the atrium at the Daily Post and Echo building on Old Hall Street. [...more...]

BEATLES TAPE SELLS FOR $23,000

A newly-discovered tape featuring THE BEATLES laughing in the studio has sold at auction for $23,000 (GBP11,500). The lost 1964 reel-to-reel, which was discovered in an attic, was expected to fetch $16,000 (GBP8,000) when it went under the hammer at Cameo Auctioneers in Berkshire, England on Tuesday (05Aug08). An Internet bidder bought the tape, which features John Lennon and Paul MCCartney struggling to record I'll Follow The Sun amid a fit of the giggles. The recording also features studio performances and Beatles chatter. SOURCE

MCCARTNEY MAKES PEACE WITH MILLS IN SONG

SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY has broken his silence on his relationship with ex-wife HEATHER MILLS in a new song. The former Beatle finalised his divorce from the former glamour model earlier this year (08) and has consistently refused to talk about his former spouse in public. But MCCartney has now revealed his torment about the breakdown of his second marriage in a new ballad, titled My Soul, taken from his forthcoming album London Undersound. The lyrics reference the former couple's struggle with the paparazzi and "secrets" that were kept from him. He sings; "I want to know all your secrets. "How could this steal all these feelings? How could they lie to the world? A picture away from your smile. One heart replaced. Feelings displaced. Invade our space." A source tells British newspaper the Daily Mail, "What the song shows is that Paul just feels sorry for her. He feels sorry that she was never able to tell him the full truth about her past life. "Paul knows Heather is a complex person, and deeply misunderstood, but she has hardly helped herself by being less than transparent about her life." MCCartney and Mills split in 2006 and have a four-year-old daughter, Beatrice. MCCartney's first wife Linda died of cancer in 1998.

SOURCE

FAB FOUR FINALE TOPS BEST LAST ALBUM POLL

THE BEATLES' ABBEY ROAD has been named the Best Final Album in a new online poll. The Fab Four's last release was voted the best swansong album over the Jimi Hendrix Experience's Electric Ladyland in a weekend (02-03Aug08) poll on Rolling Stone magazine's website. Voters picked Nirvana's In Utero as the third best last album, ahead of Sublime's Sublime and Pink Moon by Nick Drake. SOURCE

MACCA'S PAIN AS BEA CALLS HEATHER'S MAN 'DAD'

Heather Mills' new boyfriend has formed such a close bond with her daughter Bea that the toddler now playfully refers to him as "Daddy". Like any newly divorced father who sees his children spending time with his ex's new man - the news will come as a painful blow to Sir Paul McCartney. Friends insist Sir Paul, 66, has "no problem" with hunky Jamie Walker, who is almost half his age. But they say the Beatles legend has been rocked by how close a bond the fitness fanatic has built with four-year-old Beatrice. And they claim Macca is finding it hard to accept Jamie is another father figure for Bea when she's not staying with her dad. [...more...]

Macca 'rows with Mills over holiday plans'

Paul McCartney has clashed with Heather Mills after announcing plans to take their daughter Beatrice away on holiday, according to a report. The Beatles legend has said that he wants four-year-old Beatrice to get to know his new girlfriend Nancy Shevell better during the break. McCartney and Shevell will spend most of this month at the star's holiday home on New York's Long Island. Beatrice will join them for part of the time. [...more...]

Stella denies calling her dad a tight bastard

Despite her undeniable success she is constantly sniped at for being the lucky daughter of a Beatle - all name and no talent. And then in April 2001 she took the step of leaving Chloé, and signing a deal with Gucci to launch her own fashion house. With Tom Ford, and the might of the luxury conglomerate Gucci group, behind her, is she still just Daddy's girl? This morning we are about to see McCartney's fourth collection under her own name. Her first, in October 2001, was slated by the press. 'I was freaked out,' Stella said later. 'People think I am strong, but I just wanted to crawl away. I thought, "I will live in the country with my horse. I'll get a nine to five, I don't need this." ' But she stuck at it. While her first collection was over the top and tasteless - 'I was trying way too hard' - her second and third shows were sassy and more assured. Today she needs a hit and the press are watching her every move. [...more...]

Heather Mills "Terrified" Over What Ex-Publicist Will Reveal

Paul McCartney's ex-wife Heather Mills is said to be "terrified" over what her ex-publicist Michele Elyzabeth will reveal next. Michele, who defended Heather in the US for four years before quitting last week, said the former Mrs. McCartney became impossible to deal with since her divorce with Paul became final in March, which left Mills nearly $50 million richer. She also said she doesn't believe the stash of secret tapes the ex-glamor model threatened the Beatles legend with ever existed. Elyzabeth last month went on US TV show Access Hollywood, and branded Heather "a little maniac." [...more...]

Journey on a magical mystery tour of your Beatles memories

Recollections are an ongoing theme in Beatles songs and now they are being used in pioneering memory research. Laura Davis reports. PAUL MCCARTNEY was standing in the Cavern when he felt a punch on his shoulder. “Who was that?” he demanded of the two lads behind him. The guilty party pointed at his friend. “It was him,” he lied. Early 1965, this time at an Army base in the Sarawak jungle. A helicopter arrives with the reels for A Hard Day’s Night but one third of the soldiers stationed there are manning the defences and miss out on the screening. “It was gut-wrenchingly frustrating to hear, albeit faintly, those wonderful songs as we stared out into the blackness,” one of them, now aged 66, recalls. [...more...]

Badfinger keeping the music alive, to play at Hippiefest

While the Swansea, South Wales-based group never reached the heights of mentor and labelmate band The Beatles, Badfinger still managed to hit the charts with melodic, Fab Four-influenced numbers that eventually would become pop standards. "Without You" would become the biggest of those hits, covered through the years by the likes of Harry Nilsson and Mariah Carey. As he hits the road with "Hippiefest 2008," Molland said there's a high recognition factor for those tunes these days, even if it's somewhat off the mark. [...more...]