A Date With A Beatle

Don't miss this book, it's a real gem! This book really delivers an exciting 'fan meets Beatles during the peek of Beatlemania' true story. You know when you're reading a certain book how the line between fantasy and reality blurs? Like reading the book is more like watching a movie? I just love when that happens. That's what this book did for me. I felt I was hanging with 16 year old Jersey girl Judith when she, and America, caught Beatlemania. She actually figured out how to sneak into the hotel where the Beatles were staying and got into their room! And that's at the beginning of the book! What a cool 'girl on a mission' this Judith is. This is a must read, and would make a great movie! But don't wait for that to happen, get the book and make your own mental movie. It's really fun. This book will do that for you. (Movies are never as good as the book anyway, everyone knows that).

BUY THIS BOOK: A Date with a Beatle


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Linda McCartney was nobody's pushover

Poor Linda Eastman McCartney. She had won the heart of Paul, the world’s most eligible bachelor, but married life was turning out to less than idyllic. Way less, in fact. She was stuck in a rural farmhouse in Scotland, tasked with the care and feeding of a newborn and a seven-year-old daughter from her first marriage. Her husband was a depressed, drunk layabout who seldom got out of bed until the afternoon. Paul had stopped shaving, and his personal hygiene was non-existent. “Here I am living on a stone floor, carrying water in buckets, and I’m married to a drunk who won’t take a bath.” Linda told a longtime friend. It was not the life Paul’s female fans imagined she was living. McCartney was mourning the breakup of the Beatles. Sunk in self-pity, he wasn’t writing songs and went for days without picking up a guitar. [read more]

Get Lit: Paul McCartney: A Life by Peter Ames Carlin

Rocks Off understands that this effort is meant for a more general audience and not a Beatles obsessive like himself who owns a bookcase stocked with 93 Fab-related tomes (we counted). And on that level, A Life is a fine if surface summation of the life and career of Sir Paul. Much of Carlin's narrative is either culled from other sources or revisits well-worn tales. In fact, since the book neatly slices into three sections (pre-Beatlemania, Beatles career, post-Beatles), it's the middle section that's most wanting for a jolt of literary juice. read more - Rocks Off

Reviewed: Nowhere Boy

A BIOPIC of the early days of bespectacled Beatle John Lennon by celebrated conceptual artist Sam Taylor-Wood in this valentine to Lennon’s formative years, based on the memoirs of his half-sister Julia Baird. Matt Greenhalgh, who penned the script to the award-winning Ian Curtis biopic Control, delivers a similarly polished screenplay here that plunges the characters headfirst into a maelstrom of destructive emotions. The film opens in 1955 Liverpool with a 15-year-old John (Aaron Johnson) at odds with his emotionally-repressed Aunt Mimi (Kristin Scott Thomas). Thankfully, Uncle George (David Threlfall) is a soft touch and indulges the boy’s whims, buying him his first harmonica [read more]

The Beatles: Rock Band PS3 Video Game, The Beatles: Rock Band Game for PS3

The Beatles: Rock Band by MTV Games for PS3 is an action-rhythm game that features the Beatles' full career from Please Please Me (1963) to Let it Be (1970). The game features elements of the band's career and incorporate familiar visual iconography from their albums and films. Story mode takes fans on an interactive, experiential journey through The Beatles career from their humble beginnings in the Liverpool Cavern Club. Landmark venues, set lists, clothing, and instruments relive the band?s rise to fame -- specifically the touring period from 1963 to 1966 and their studio days from 1966 to 1969. forty-five songs are available on-disc (including titles like "I Am the Walrus" and "I Want To Hold Your Hand.") Future selections are available for download purchase (including the entire Abbey Road album). [read more/video]

Raw Dealer: Allen Klein

Most of the time, people show up in these year-end obit round-ups because of something they've contributed to the world. Allen Klein is notable in large part for what he took from it. As an accountant and manager for 1960s soul and pop acts, including Sam Cooke, the Rolling Stones, and the Beatles, he proved himself a tough negotiator on his clients' behalf. At the same time, he sometimes wound up owning the rights to the work they created and often left strife and lawsuits in his wake. He gave the rock era its foremost archetype of the grasping, shady manager in the process. [read more]

TWO BEATLES - TWO BOOKS

Apparently death and decades can’t keep collaborators from running simpatico. Two Beatles — John and Paul, of course — are the subjects of two major new biographies, released as the year winds down. John Lennon: The Life by Philip Norman is a bulky tome (851 pages!) dedicated to the life of the peace-loving Lennon. The book uncovers some surprises in Lennon’s life, and it serves as an exhaustive peek into the man’s life and work. Paul McCartney: A Life by Peter Ames Carlin is an unauthorized bio that looks at McCartney’s life from birth to the unceremonious end of his marriage to Heather Mills. While the book fails to offer much in the way of new interview material, it does cull from many existing sources to create a compendium of known McCartney factoids. Both books are available online and in bookstores. source

Julian Lennon Starts A Revolution

“A couple of years ago, I started writing again, and an album came together slowly but surely, and I was looking around over the past couple of years to try and find a new way forward,” Lennon said, “A few of us, who are now the founders of theRevolution, were literally sitting around the table discussing all of these issues. And we just felt that maybe we could come up with a newer model that would work for all of us — that would allow the artist more control over what’s happening to him on a creative level and on every other level, too, whether it was looking after their brand or looking after their management or protecting and developing them, looking after the recording and publishing with them, licensing, touring, you name it.” [read more]

National Treasure: Paul McCartney

He was the one half of the Lennon & McCartney songwriting team that gave the world such gems as Love Me Do and Yellow Submarine but his solo work since leaving The Beatles is a body of work which eclipses that of most artists’ full musical career. Since the rise of the sub-celebrity in the noughties and their dominance of our media there are not many people in the public eye that we can shine a light on and say for certainty that they are living legends. But Sir Paul McCartney is one person that does fall into the category of ‘living legend’ and we would do well to remember that. To attempt to condense Sir Paul’s work into one article would be ludicrous, it would be like trying to write ‘War and Peace’ on the back of a fag packet so it would be best to try and throw a few highlights in between copious amounts of praise. [read more]

Sir Paul McCartney gets animated for Rock Band videogame

Sir Paul McCartney will enter the screens one more time as an animated Lego brick after signing a new deal with chiefs behind the game based on The Beatles. The 67-year-old singer will have solo material released via The Beatles: Rock Band game when three songs from live Good Evening, New York City DVD are added to it. Fans can also get hold of the star's gig in New York, featuring Band on the Run, Jet and Sing the Changes, from January 5, reports Contactmusic. The computer game was a big hit when it went on sale in September this year. ANI

Flood closes Beatles-themed hotel

The 110-room Hard Days Night hotel had about 100 bookings for both Tuesday and Wednesday which have had to be cancelled, a hotel spokeswoman said. Fire crews are helping to clear the water away and general manager Mike Dewey said he hoped to have the hotel re-opened by New Year's Eve. The flood on Monday did not cause too much damage, he added. "The timescale we are working on is that tomorrow afternoon we will switch the electricity back on and then the hotel will re-open on New Year's Eve," Mr Dewey said. [read more]

Live Paul McCartney Tracks Coming to “Rock Band”

Paul McCartney became a video game avatar earlier this year with his Fab Four bandmates in The Beatles: Rock Band, but until now the series has been devoid of any solo Macca material. That will change on January 5th, when three tracks from McCartney’s live Good Evening, New York City will be added to the Rock Band and LEGO Rock Band marketplace as downloadable content. The “New York Pack 01″ will feature “Band on the Run,” “Jet” and “Sing the Changes,” all taken from McCartney’s epic shows at New York’s new home of the Mets, Citi Field. [read more]

John Lennon on the price of fame

If people were just different, regardless of what material things they want and have, they'd see what material things were anyway. And I've found out by having it. It took me having it -- not any other way -- to find out you don't need it. My goal in life wasn't to succeed and have ten cars and a house on the stinking hill. But there was always that, "Mmm, I'm going that way, I wouldn't mind." I thought, "I'll be miserable in comfort"' That's what one of my aunties used to say -- "I'd sooner be miserable in comfort." So I thought riches would sort of get me out. It did get me out, but it only got me out of Liverpool. [read more]

The Artist Shannon to Debut New Beatles Art

World-renowned artist, Shannon, has agreed to contribute select pieces from her Hard Days Night Hotel collection to benefit the new Beatles “Art and Artifacts” exhibit being held at the Edgeware Gallery in San Diego. “The World’s Greatest Beatles Artist,” a title bestowed upon Shannon from the Liverpool Magistrate himself, is no stranger to charitable contributions where her art is concerned. She has had the privilege of participating with various non-profit organizations around the globe, and immediately answered the call to assist with the Art and Artifacts project. When questioned about her participation with the project, Shannon replied, “My feelings have always been simple; my art is a gift and I cherish it. What better way to give back, than to pass along the gift that was given to me?”

The exhibit, which is being sponsored by The Autism Research Institute, will run from December 26 through February 14, 2010 and is promising an eclectic collection of artifacts and artwork rarely, if ever seen before, by Beatle fans. Items from the exhibit will include a brick from the original Cavern Club in Liverpool and a piece of the actual stage from the Hamburg Star Club. Rare audio recordings from the Fab Four, including bloopers and studio outtakes, will also be made available to gallery visitors.

“The idea is to create an exciting event, and leverage the huge fan base of the Beatles to support autism research,” Steve Edelson, director of the Autism Research Institute and Edgeware Gallery states. The opening night reception for Beatles: Art and Artifacts will be held on Sunday, December 26 from 5-9 p.m. The Edgeware Gallery is located at 4182 Adams Ave, San Diego, CA 92116.

Mccartney Clashed With Taylor Wood Over Script

Director SAM TAYLOR WOOD was forced to rework her NOWHERE BOY script about JOHN LENNON's early life - after SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY objected to the portrayal of his bandmate's aunt. MCCartney protested after learning the filmmaker planned to show Lennon's aunt Mimi, who raised the late star from the age of five, as a cold-hearted disciplinarian. And Taylor Wood eventually changed the script after MCCartney expressed his concerns. The veteran musician explains, "I said, 'Sam, this isn't true.' Aunt Mimi was not cruel. She was mock strict. But she was a good heart who loved John madly." source

Yoko Ono: NYC taxis will display art

The next place to see modern art in New York City could be on an iconic yellow cab. Show Media, the company that sells advertising space on taxi roofs, says it will display works by three artists on 500 of the city's taxis during January. Company co-owner John Amato says it's his way of giving back to the city and will cost Show Media $100,000 US in revenue. The Art Productions Fund of New York helped Show Media select the artists whose works will become moving exhibits: Yoko Ono, Alex Katz and Shirin Neshat. The three will have their pieces displayed on 160 cabs each. Each artist has come up with a unique work for the ad space. [read more]

Larry Wilson: The gospel according to John and Yoko

And so this is Christmas ..." I'm pushing the cart through the fancy supermarket picking up the smoked shrimp and purple potatoes for Christmas lunch and noticing it really is John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" instead of the standard carol fare coming over the PA. And I'm singing along because it's a great song, couldn't be greater at the season, I've been humming it all December, and yet I'm thinking at the same time, "Is this really a good thing, John and Yoko in the market?" Like when your favorite band goes mainstream and it's on Jack-FM. Bucks for the band, but it's a little bit less yours. Churlish, but true. The song, recorded by the Plastic Ono Band in 1971, was produced by, ahem, Phil Spector and based on the anti-Vietnam War billboards John and Yoko bought in cities around the world, including one in Los Angeles, in 1969: "WAR IS OVER! (If You Want It) Happy Christmas from John and Yoko." [read more]

Fab Four invades Midwest, East Coast

The Fab Four will perform Jan. 2 at the Paramount Theatre. The band last performed at the Paramount in fall 2008. In addition, The Fab Four had another Chicago-area date earlier this year and will play several East Coast gigs in early 2010, including three Florida dates in January and a job in Pennsylvania in March. Despite repeat performances in the Chicago area, McNeil said people returning to see the band will see a slightly different show. "There is so much Beatles material that we can't perform everything," he said. "It is a difficult balance. There will be people who saw us last time we were in the area, but we will change it up. Like with the songs 'Penny Lane' and 'When I'm 64' -- we will do one or the other. We look at the set list from the last time we played in an area and change the songs a little bit." [read more]

John Lennon Walk Of Fame Star Not Stolen

Several media outlets have reported that John Lennon's Hollywood Walk Of Fame star was stolen. A plastic seal was recently found covering Lennon's star and created panic amongst the media and fans. The plastic was actually set up to cover the star, which was being relocated. Ana Martinez of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, also known as wofstargirl on Twitter, confirmed that Lennon's star was not stolen, but moved so that all the Beatles will be together some day. "Yes, as a gift to fans, we moved John Lennon's star next to George Harrison's and Ringo's will be there soon 2," she wrote on Twitter yesterday. "Just waiting for Paul now!" [read more]

The Beatle Paul McCartney: 'I'll never retire!'

Paul McCartney, now 67, appears to have put the ageing process on hold. It could be the hair dye he concedes to using, or the meat-free diet. Perhaps it’s some transcendental secret he picked up from the Maharishi in India all those years ago. More likely, his new girlfriend Nancy Shevell has restored his naturally sunny disposition and boyish vigour; the messy end of his relationship with Heather Mills now a distant memory. Macca is back on the road again, mining rock’s greatest songbook to reimagine unperformed Beatles recordings live. Of the Fab Four, McCartney has always been the most comfortable carrying the weight of the group’s uncommonly huge achievements. He remains happy to traverse the decades, reliving the days when he and his friends spilled colour across a black-and-white world with their hopeful, effervescent, joyously inventive songs. Adam Forrest caught up with him between rehearsals shortly before his European tour kicked off. [read more]

Paul McCartney Performs Rare Christmas Hit with 18 Bagpipers

Paul McCartney seems invigorated as of late, performing marathon concerts filled with hits, anecdotes and dedications. He offered plenty of the same during his sole UK gig of 2009 on Tuesday at London's famed 02 Arena. But Macca had a Christmas surprise up his sleeve that he saved for the end of the night, when he reportedly brought out the 18-piece Balmoral Highlanders Pipe Band for a rare live version of his 1977 Christmas hit 'Mull of Kintyre.' Read More At Spinner

The Beatles continue to rock our world

Another year, another year-end "best of" list to inform, aggravate and annoy. As I've said many times, these lists are totally subjective, and this year's (my 12th for the Press-Citizen) is no exception. I received and/or purchased nearly 500 CDs in 2009, and listened to at least a portion of all of them, yet that number represents a tiny percentage of the rock, pop and country releases this year. And there's no way I could do real justice to all of those I DID get and still have some sort of a life away from the music box. But what IS on my list I dearly love and heartily recommend, at least within the confines of their respective genres. [read more]

Ringo Starr on LP33.tv

Throughout recorded history, great artists across the universe have dared to ask “Why?” On January 12, 2010, one brave man named Ringo finally boldly declares the ultimate answer -- Y Not. For the first time in one of popular music’s most enduring and illustrious careers, Ringo Starr has decided to take charge and produce himself. The result is perhaps the most personal and impressive album of this rock legend’s entire solo career. How on earth did Starr finally locate the absolutely perfect producer to work with him? “Well, I looked in the mirror,” Ringo says with a smile. “And I was looking real groovy that day.” Starr’s decision to take a stronger role in the recording of his latest and greatest solo album was a significant and fortuitous one. “I didn’t do it at the start,” Starr says. [read/watch more]

Paul Mccartney's Wonderful Christmastime Concert

Sir Paul McCartney braved bad weather last night (22.12.09) to perform at London's O2 Arena. The former Beatles singer's 'Good Evening London' concert - his only UK date of 2009 and the climax of his European tour - went ahead despite icy conditions causing chaos on local roads and public transport. Paul, 67, kicked off the show with Beatles classics 'Magical Mystery Tour' and 'Drive My Car' and performed a set which spanned his entire career from The Beatles, to Wings and his solo material. Highlights included 'Paperback Writer', 'Band On The Run', 'Live and Let Die', 'Back in the U.S.S.R', 'Blackbird' and festive hit 'Wonderful Christmastime'. At one point he was also joined on stage by 18 bagpipe players for Scottish ode 'Mull Of Kintyre'. He ended his set with storming renditions of some of his best loved songs, including 'Hey Jude', 'Day Tripper', 'Lady Madonna' and 'Helter Skelter'. Paul's European tour took in dates in Hamburg, Berlin, Arnhem, Paris, Cologne and Dublin, before ending in London on Tuesday. source

Stars eager to see former Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney at his O2 Arena gig

Former Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney has been inundated with guestlist requests for his gig at the O2 Arena. The 66-year-old is playing at the venue in London tonight (Dec 22) and famous stars that will be out to see him perform include Ringo Starr, Madonna and the Beckhams as well as their guests. The singer revealed that he usually has 100 tickets to give to friends and family but his allocation for this gig has reached 600. [read more]

The Mysterious Disappearance of John Lennon. His Star, That Is

Over the weekend LAist received an email tip regarding John Lennon's star on the world-famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. It seems that at 1750 Vine Street the spot "is covered up with a trashbag, and beneath that is an empty outline of a star," prompting Lennon fans on the Beatlestweets site to claim the assassinated Fab Four member's star is "missing." So what's become of Lennon's star? Speculation seems to be centered on damage to the terrazzo and brass star, which was dedicated on September 30th, 1988, necessitating its full removal from the sidewalk, or its possible removal to prepare the area for the addition of Ringo Starr's star. Starr is one of 28 celebrities who will be honored in 2010 with a place on the Walk of Fame, although the date of his star's dedication has not been announced. [read more]

John Lennon on The White Album

On this album we rid ourselves of the self-conscious bit. We were doing what we were doing earlier on, but with a better knowledge and technique of recording. Quite a few of the tracks are just straight takes of us playing. "Yer Blues" was recorded in a smaller room just for a change from the big studio, we just did it. And "I will," "Julia," and all them, it's just us singing like that. But the technique makes it a bit better than one of us just singing in the early days. It's just we know the technique of recording better. If we did the first album again, with "Twist and Shout" and all those things on, it would be the same, you know. But we sound more like we sounded then, on this record, than we do on the first record. You know, people who heard us in Liverpool, and Hamburg, before we turned into a mass scream -- that's how we played, just heavy rock. But when it was put down on the early records, there was never enough bass in it, the guitar solo never came through, and generally we just didn't know about recording then. So now we know how to record a bit. [read more]

John Lennon’s lover superior

“And this,” says Douglas Rae, gesturing to a large, unspectacular room in the bowels of the Abbey Road studios, “is where The Beatles recorded Sgt Pepper.” Ah. At this, my inner librarian bridles a bit. Actually, Doug, it longs to pipe up in a peeved and pedantic John Major voice, it’s where they recorded virtually every note they ever released, from their first session on June 6, 1962, to their last. This is the sanctum sanctorum, mate, it demands Mastermind-grade exactitude. Anything else is akin to claiming Judea was just the place where Jesus knocked up a loaf and fish-based main course. [read more]

How the Beatles brushed away repression

Thanks to their music's insistent appeal, my son is now collecting what's called the "canonical" studio albums, which were reissued in September as remastered CDs (£9 each and about £170 for a boxed set). At first I wrote them off as a marketing ploy and doubted that I could tell the difference between the old and new, and that even if I could the second wouldn't be more musically rewarding than the first. In a blind comparison, however, the clarity of the remastered versions stood out to make them noticeably superior. I don't know if I care that much. For me, they're more than a purely musical experience. A lot has been written about the ability of music in general to evoke the past but the songs of Lennon and McCartney have a power to crystallise moments of my life that's possessed by no other composers or medium. A few bars can realise the scenery of where and when I first heard them. For example: [read more]

Paul Mccartney Ready For Residency

Sir Paul McCartney wants to play a residency in London. The former Beatle plays a concert at The 02 Arena next Tuesday (22.12.09) and admits he is open to the idea of doing an extended run of shows at the stadium like Prince did in 2007. When asked if he would play a residency at the stadium, he said: "I quite fancy that. Last time I ever did that was when The Beatles used to do Christmas shows, and it was brilliant because you would be there for a week or two. It was fantastic, just dossing in your overcoat and everything. The opening scene was Rolf Harris announcing us, and we were apparently landing on a helicopter, it was actually a cardboard helicopter, but it appeared to land and Rolf was going, 'Oh, oh, here they are, didgeridoo, here they come, here they come.' " [read more]

John Lennon's son forgives him for abandoning

John Lennon's son Julian says he has forgiven his late father for abandoning him as a child. The Beatles star, who was murdered in New York City in 1980, left his first wife Cynthia Powell for Yoko Ono and had little contact with his young son after the divorce in 1968. Julian, who's also a musician, began to mend his relationship with Lennon in the 1970s, but never fully forgave him for walking out on his family. [read more]

Paul McCartney Backs Rage Against the Machine in U.K. Battle

The Facebook campaign to make Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name” the U.K.’s Number One Christmas single has gotten so much attention Rage are carrying a slim edge heading into the December 20th deadline, and now even Paul McCartney is commenting on the race. As Rolling Stone previously reported, U.K. music fans started up a Facebook group to help Rage’s song beat The X Factor winner Joe McElderry’s “The Climb” to protest the fact that the Simon Cowell-produced reality competition show has scored the previous four Christmas Number Ones. [read more]

40-year-old John Lennon interview published for first time

The interview was conducted by two students from Keele University who had hitchhiked hundreds of miles to see the couple, and carried out at Lennon's home in Weybridge, Surrey on December 2 1968. A short extract was printed in UNIT, the Keele University student magazine, at the time but the majority of the six-hour long interview has never been published. Maurice Hindle, one of the interviewers, said that he obtained the interview by writing a letter to a Beatles fanzine, which was then passed on to Lennon. [read more]

Taylor-Wood's Terror Over Lennon Movie

Director SAM TAYLOR-WOOD struggled with the enormity of tackling a forthcoming movie about JOHN LENNON's childhood, insisting the challenge "terrified" her. Nowhere Boy, which stars Aaron Johnson and Kristin Scott Thomas, tells the story of Lennon's formative years in Liverpool, England. But Taylor-Wood admits the film project was hard for her - she regularly suffered panic attacks on set. She says, "Taking on someone as iconic as Lennon - that was quite terrifying at times. There were moments where I got overwhelmed and had to sit down and take a few breaths rather than panic and run - but it was so exhilarating and fun to take on that challenge." [source]

Ethan Russell: Book captures essence of Stones

For anyone who's ever dreamed of touring with a rock band - and really, who hasn't? - Ethan Russell's story sounds like a fairy tale. Because while there's no denying his talent, Russell's presence on the 1969 Rolling Stones tour was also a product of chance. Raised in San Francisco, Russell moved to England at a young age and worked as a volunteer in a hospital for autistic children. "A friend of a friend who also came to England came by my house," he recounts, "and saw a few pictures I had, mostly of children, and asked if I wanted to photograph Mick Jagger. Simple as that." [read more]

Julian Lennon talks theRevolution, the New Single, and Lucy Vodden

“I don’t actually remember doing the painting,” Julian Lennon admits. “But I certainly remember walking through the front gates of our house and actually showing Dad it and him saying, ‘What is that?’” Lennon is, of course, referring to the legend behind one of his father’s most famous songs, “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,” the Beatles’ classic whose inspiration comes from a drawing by Julian. Despite John Lennon’s vividly psychedelic description of Lucy — “A girl with kaleidoscope eyes” — Julian’s is remarkably subdued: “the best you can draw a child-like character at the age of four.” Lucy Vodden now has two songs written about her. The most recent — written over four decades after her first — is by co-songwriter James Cook and Julian Lennon himself. “I felt the boys had made a pretty penny from her so the least I could do was make sure she was okay, having to deal with lupus,” said Lennon, who, during the last two years, reconnected with his childhood friend until her death this past September. [read more]

Mccartney Relates To De Niro's Movie Character

SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY found writing a song for ROBERT DE NIRO's new movie EVERYBODY'S FINE a therapeutic experience, but the storyline mimicked aspects of his own life. De Niro plays a widower attempting to reconnect with his offspring at Christmas time. The former Beatle, who lost his first wife Linda in 1998, tells Daily Variety, "It's not necessary for me to relate to a project that I'm writing about, but if I do, it's more interesting. "The De Niro character lost his wife, has grown-up children and wants to get them together for Christmas. I know that syndrome." source

Mccartney Lands In 50 Rhyme

50 CENT has namechecked PAUL MCCARTNEY in a new rap song after meeting the former BEATLE on a plane flight. The rapper insists MCCartney didn't know who he was when he asked the Brit for an autograph - but the fact he agreed to sign for him was enough to land the Yesterday singer a place in 50's Do You Think About Me? Unfortunately, it's a lyric MCCartney won't be pleased to hear. 50 Cent rhymes, "It's like Paul MCCartney stuck in my head/fell in love with a bitch walked away with one leg/she ain't even have to run to get away with the bread/that's some f**ked up shit/think about that kid." The rhyme references MCCartney's divorce from amputee Heather Mills. 50 says, "That's interesting. You figure if you're gonna marry a woman with one leg, she's gonna stay!" source

U2 And Paul McCartney Earn Best Original Song Nods From Golden Globes

U2 and Paul McCartney will compete at this year's Golden Globe Awards in the best original song category. U2's track, "Winter," from the Natalie Portman and Tobey Maguire war drama, Brothers, was nominated, along with McCartney's "I Want to Come Home" from the Robert De Niro and Drew Barrymore film, Everybody's Fine. Both songs will compete against "Cinema Italiano," written by Maury Yeston for the film Nine, "I Will See You" from the James Cameron film Avatar and "The Weary Kind" by Ryan Bingham and T-Bone Burnett from the film Crazy Heart. [read more]

Ravi Shankar hated Beatles making him a star

The world-renowned composer – labelled the "Godfather of World Music" by George Harrison – said he resented the attention from people who were too stoned to appreciate his music. In an interview with an Indian television channel, Shankar, now frail at 89, said he enjoyed their company at first but quickly tired of everything associated with the Sixties music scene. "All four came. All of them were very sweet but George was so special. He would corner me and ask me about the relation between spirituality and music, religion and music," he said. [read more]

Beatles Have Decade's Top Selling Album

The Beatles have the top-selling album of the decade. Between 2000 and 2009, their greatest hits anthology, 1 sold more than 11.4 million copies. Eminem beat the Fab Four on another decade-end list. The Detroit rapper is the top-selling artist of the decade with combined sales of 32.2 million. The Beatles have the Number 2 spot on that list with a total of 30 million albums sold. [read more]

THE BEATLES ERA BY RAY CONNOLLY & ALAN BENSON

RAY CONNOLLY: Screenplay writer (That'll Be The Day, Stardust, James Dean: The First Amercican Teenager, Forever Young, etc), Music Journalist, Novelist, and Playwright, Ray Connolly http://www.rayconnolly.co.uk wrote his own music column for the London Evening Standard from 1967 until 1973. During this time he struck up a unique and warm friendship with the Beatles, and John Lennon in particular. In 1980 was the last journalist to be invited to interview John Lennon (by Yoko Ono) just two days before he was shot dead. Ray never took the plane. He heard the news as the taxi came to take him to London's Heathrow Airport. Instead, he had return inside his house to write an obituary about his murdered friend. This inspired a play that Ray wrote for BBC Radio 4 some years later (and an unreleased feature film screenplay, too!). Ray had his Lennon interviews published in The Sunday Times Magazine on 6th September 2009.

ALAN BENSON: Film maker Alan Benson made the finest Beatles documentary! In 1992 he directed The 25th Anniversary of The Making of Sgt Peppers. It led to the inception of the famous TV series Classic Albums in 1994 (I worked on 9 of these between 1999 and 2002 as an Archive Producer.) For more information on Alan Benson's documentary, which was an ITV South Bank Show Special produced in association with Buena Vista/Disney for LWT/ITV go to http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0705862

TO LISTEN TO THIS ONLINE PODCAST (UNEDITED & AS TRANSMITTED) ANYTIME: Go to http://www.henrysgigs.com/ Home Page. Scroll until you see the SGT PEPPERS image. CLICK ON THIS TO PLAY! You will need FLASH V10 loaded onto your iphone, 3Gphone, or computer, in order to play this Radio Documentary 'Exclusive'.

You say you want theRevolution, Julian Lennon sure hopes so

Julian Lennon said hello and goodbye to the music industry years ago. Now, after a decade of silence, he’s ready to say hello once more. John Lennon’s first child burst big in ’84 with a hit album, “Valotte,” and single, “Too Late for Goodbyes.” But before long, he felt chewed up and spit out by the industry. “I’ll never own the rights to my first album ever and it kills me,” Lennon said last week while vacationing in Italy. “All the videos I did, I paid for and the labels made the money off of, they own. How does that work? Excuse me?” [read more]

Paul McCartney Carries the Legacy On

You could pick just about any Paul McCartney song at random and be assured of playing a hit. In concert, McCartney can still raise the roof, unless, of course, he happens to be playing on it, CBS News Correspondent Anthony Mason, reports. On a sleepy summer day in New York, Paul McCartney didn't just want to sing, he wanted to make a statement: "And they said, well, you could do it outside on Broadway on the marquee. And I got a bit nervous. I said, 'Well, let me think about that,'" McCartney recalled. But there he was that July afternoon, a Beatle above the marquee of the Ed Sullivan Theater singing "Get Back." When McCartney performed for "The Late Show with David Letterman," he was getting back to where it all began. [read more]

The songs The Beatles were singing

Examining the songs The Beatles were singing, most of which were contemporary songs at that time, gives one an impression that The Beatles, like anyone else, were simply a product of their own period. “We were influenced as much as we influenced.” John Lennon made this declaration in his famous Playboy interview published shortly before he was murdered almost 30 years ago to date. It was as much a recognition of the roots of the band as the influences The Beatles continue to make on bands of musicians in the last four decades. [read more]

X Factor: Paul McCartney 'to sing with all finalists'

Earlier reports have claimed star judge Simon Cowell is said to have persuaded Paul McCartney, Robbie Williams, Michael Buble and George Michael into performing for the pair of weekend shows with three finalists. This weekend sees the culmination of this year's X Factor and more than 20 million viewers are expected to watch at least some of the talent contest over Saturday and Sunday nights. During the first show the three finalists are expected to duet with Robbie Williams, George Michael and Michael Bublé. [read more]

Mccartney slams vegan shoe range reports

Designer Stella Mccartney has denied reports she's teaming up with pop star Morrissey to create a range of leather-free shoes. The vegetarian pair were recently linked by a tabloid report which suggested they were in the process of designing animal-friendly footwear. The rock heiress was even quoted by the Daily Mail as "really" excited about the project. The report has prompted McCartney to take to her Facebook page to set the record straight. Her statement reads, "Stella is a fan of Morrissey but those rumours of a collaboration for a shoe line are simply not true."

The Beatles Tribute Cruise is the ultimate Beatles vacation

We were introduced to the Beatles back in January of 1964 and although they have been broken up for 39 years the groups’ legacy continues. As a group most of their records will never be touched, for example even before “The Beatles: Rock Band” debuted Sept. 9th of this year, the group had sold one billion albums, cassettes, CDs, 8-tracks and 45s combined. Back in the day their fans used to daydream about actually meeting the Beatles, now you can do the next beast thing. Picture yourself in a boat on a river - or the ocean, you can take the Beatles Tribute Cruise, a six-night musical adventure aboard Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas in March 2010. [read more]

How playing John Lennon in Nowhere Boy changed Aaron Johnson’s life

Just as I start speaking to Aaron Johnson, something eerie happens — Lennon’s voice starts to whisper out of the café speakers around me. It’s the 29th anniversary of John Lennon’s death today, and not the first spooky sign Lennon’s given, Johnson tells me later. He believes that the voice of the man that he plays in Sam Taylor-Wood’s Nowhere Boy also carried him through one of the most intense experiences in his life — not only because he fell deeply into the character of the teenage Lennon, defined by his relationships with strong, older women, but also because he fell in love with the director, Taylor-Wood, the recently divorced, 42-year-old artist-turned director who chose him for the part. He moved in with her and her children from the relationship with the art dealer Jay Jopling just after the film wrapped, and became her fiancé last month. Gossip hounds had a field day, just as Doctor Freud would have. read more/VIDEO

Rubber Soul Coming to Beatles Rock Band

Rubber Soul will be the latest record to hit Beatles Rock Band. The record is hitting the Xbox 360 store on December 15th. PlayStation 3 owners will get access two days later. Rubber Soul is the third full album from the band to be made available from the store. It was preceded by Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Abbey Road. A number of tracks from the record have already been made available through the game, including "Drive My Car," If I needed Someone," and "I'm looking Through You." The album will run $13.49. Individual tracks will be available for $1.99. Wii owners will also have access to the tracks on December 15th, but will have to pay for them individually at $2.00 a pop. Source - AppScout

Dhani Harrison had role in Beatles video game

Dhani Harrison is in his right mind -- and his left. At Brown University in Providence, R.I., he majored in aerodynamics and industrial design, and played in a rock band. After designing sports cars at McLaren Automotive, he spent more than two years helping to develop Beatles: Rock Band -- as both a programmer and a gamer-musician. Right brain, left brain -- it doesn't matter to Harrison. He worked on the coding and the testing of one of the year's hottest video games. [read more]

Steven Tyler to take 'indefinite break' from Aerosmith

After decades of being one of the most notorious lead singers in rock n' roll history, Joe Perry confirms that Aerosmith front-man Steven Tyler has left the band. During a concert this past August in Sturgis, S.D., Steven Tyler fell from the stage and broke his shoulder causing rumors to fly over the reasoning behind Tyler's cancellation of certain shows, but nothing was proven or confirmed by any of the band members until late last week [read more]

John Lennon’s “Imagine”: Still A Source Of Inspiration

Today is anniversary of the death of John Lennon, one of the world’s most gifted songwriters, who was senselessly killed in 1980. While Lennon wrote countless classics, the song he will always be most associated with it “Imagine.” While Fox News would probably say that “Imagine” advocates godlessness and lawlessness were it to come out today, it’s amazing how such a philosophical, yet essentially simple song has engaged the planet for the last 40 years. A recent episode of the hit show Glee ended with a performance of “Imagine,” in which a school of deaf students taught the kids of Glee the true meaning of togetherness. What’s your take on “Imagine?” Is it truly Lennon’s best work? [read more/©americansongwriter]

Julian Lennon live and free

Coming to CBS's The Early Show Tuesday, Dec 15th, will be an appearance by Julian Lennon. Not only will he performing live, but also meeting and greeting with fans on our Plaza, signing autographs, taking pictures, etc. All you fans in NYC get out there and show your support. CBS is trying to get the biggest crowd possible of Julian fans, Beatles fans and John Lennon fans outside at 59th and 5th next to the Apple Store at 7AM for this amazing free opportunity to meet Julian Lennon.

For priority over people who just show up, should the Plaza get filled with more than 2,500 people, folks can e-mail brguest@cbsnews.com with the subject line JULIAN LENNON, with their name and the number of people in their priority to confirm. Beatlesnumber9.com

And So This Is Stewball

And so it was that a centuries-old folk song about a race horse launched a rock ‘n’ roll Christmas standard 38 years ago this week. Oh, I know this will not be news to the most scholarly of you folk and rock types, however, for this folk and rock type, I hadn’t made the link ’ til it was pointed out to me last week that the melody to “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” was borrowed from “Stewball”, so I thought I’d investigate. Do I hear groaning? That’s what I did, too. Not another chorus of “Stewball”, I thought; the people will revolt. Or perhaps you’re groaning because you’re wondering why someone who didn’t have the “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” is “Stewball” rap down pat has a job writing a column called The Origin of Song. Well, you and me both, bub, but as the singers say, [read more]

Yoko Ono: Between Her Head and the Sky

“I’ve passed the time when I used to think I’m going to surprise people with this, break the sound barrier, I’m going to put in some chords that nobody has ever put in or whatever. That day is over. I just want to be myself,” says Yoko Ono. Pioneer of the avant-garde, godmother of the new wave, conceptual art maker and peace advocator: Ono has been called all these things, and others, some of them not quite as nice, during her 40 years in the public eye and 50 years as a working artist. These days, she’s back to fronting the Plastic Ono Band, the group she and her husband John Lennon founded in 1969 as an outlet for his post-Beatles expression and the couple’s most political and experimental work. It was also the beginning of a period of intense collaboration for them, [read more]

Missing John Lennon 29 Years Later

A lot of people are missing John Lennon today. I remember what I was doing that night. I was at Rolling Stone Magazine, where, as assistant photo editor, I was helping to put the magazine to bed. So the office was full of what a marketer might call John Lennon's target demographic--the entire editorial staff. We couldn't believe the news. And we all worked round the clock for a week from that minute on, gathering every single photo and artifact and securing permissions, to put out a special issue. Especially pained was Annie Leibovitz. She had spent the day photographing John and Yoko for the now iconic shoot. We were offered photographs taken by someone who had stationed himself at a friend's apartment across the street from the Dakota. He had just taken some photos with a long lens of Yoko Ono playing the piano by herself, and he wondered if we wanted to buy them. I said no. [read more]

Paul McCartney's Biggest Regret Was Marrying Heather Mills

Sir Paul McCartney learned the hard way that marrying a gold digger will leave a permanent dent in your bank account. McCartney admits that marrying Heather Mills was the biggest mistake he had made in the last decade and we don't blame him! He ended up paying her $100 million dollars for 6 horrible years of marriage. He said in an interview with Q magazine: “I suppose the marriage has to be a prime contender for mistake of the decade. But I don’t want to down anyone. [read more]

A Tribute To John Lennon, The Goon Show, And Eat The Documentary

Not only was John Lennon a musical genius, but he was also very funny. Lennon was highly inspired by The Goon Show, which was a British radio comedy that featured the comedic likes of Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers. You could see Lennon’s comedy stylings in such films as Hard Day’s Night, Help, and the psychedelic kookiness of The Magical Mystery Tour. [read more]

John Lennon

Twenty-nine years ago today, Mark David Chapman gunned down John Lennon in New York City as he and his wife, Yoko Ono, returned to their home at The Dakota. A tragedy of Shakespearian proportion, the Beatle who devoted the latter part of his life to promoting peace, brotherhood and tolerance was murdered by one of his fans who deeply misunderstood his message. As Lennon died in 1980, there's a whole generation of music fans who have no memory of Lennon: he's essentially a historical figure. I recall being at Madison Square Garden when O.A.R. played "Dakota," a song that imagines what would have happened if Lennon had just kept walking that fateful night, and being struck by the song's lack of insight. While the crowd full of college age kids swayed moodily with lighters in hand as a band that would have been diapers when Lennon was shot paid tribute to the fallen Beatle, it became clear that even if people had no personal recollection of him, the idea of John Lennon will always be revered. [read more]

John Lennon’s 29th Death Anniversary, a day to know who he was

What a day to remember John Lennon. John Lennon touched the world through his music and being a part of The Beattles. It’s hard to imagine that 29 years had passed when he was shot to death by Mark David Chapman. Lennon was methodically shot Monday December, 8, 2009 after coming from the Record Studio with his wife. [read more]

VIDEO:Paul McCartney Says Being a Vegetarian is "Easy"

I'm convinced that there actually are eight days in Paul McCartney's week. How else does the world's hottest sexagenarian find the time to do all the work he does for animals? The latest in his long line of animal-friendly efforts? Paul lent his legendary voice to our newest exposé, which shatters through the brick and mortar of slaughterhouses and factory farms to show people what really happens to animals before they end up on people's dinner plates. In the video, Paul states, "If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarian." [read more/video]

David Bowie's son Duncan Jones wins two Bifas for directorial debut

As a child, he was called Zowie Bowie. These days it's the far more sensible Duncan Jones, and tonight he emerged triumphantly from the very large shadow of his father when he picked up two prizes at the British independent film awards. Forty years after the first Moon landing and 40 years after his dad, David Bowie, released Space Oddity, Jones's retro sci-fi film Moon was named best picture at a ceremony in central London while Jones himself won best debut director. [read more]

Paul McCartney: 'It Would Have Been Interesting To Work With John Lennon Again'

Sir Paul McCartney has admitted it would have been “pretty interesting” to work again with former Beatles bandmate John Lennon. In an interview with The Times, Sir Paul said the pair had resolved their tumultuous relationship before Lennon was murdered in 1980. But the singer said they were still cautious about re-igniting their creative relationship. “Yeah, we were mates. God, that was so cool. It was the saving grace. Because it got a bit sticky after the Beatles,” he said. [read more]

What if the Beatles never broke up?

To cut a long story short, Richards managed to smuggle out one cassette tape of the alternate Beatles (on this parallel Earth, CDs have not been invented). He was initially puzzled by the Beatles-sounding music because the tape didn't contain any Fab Four songs he recognised, but guessed it was originally released in the late 70s/early 80s. Richards takes up the story: "Back in our world I could see my car on the road and there was burn mark on the ground from where the portal had shown up … I walked back to my car (didn't run this time) and drove home. The worst part was I couldn't even listen to the tape on the way home because I didn't have a tape-player in my car. I wasn't even able to listen to it at home for the same reason and had to go to Wal-Mart to buy one." [read more]

29 years later, Lennon fans continue to 'Imagine' and remember

Maybe you’re old enough to recall Dec. 8, 1980, when sportscaster Howard Cosell told a “Monday Night Football” audience watching the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins that an unspeakable tragedy had just been confirmed by ABC News: “This, we have to say it. Remember this is just a football game, no matter who wins or loses... John Lennon, outside of his apartment building on the West Side of New York City, the most famous, perhaps, of all The Beatles, shot twice (actually four times) in the back, rushed to the Roosevelt Hospital, dead on arrival.” Or maybe you’re just a fan of songs like “Imagine” or Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” by the ex-Beatle. [read more]

Paul McCartney: 'I made up with Lennon'

Paul McCartney has confirmed that he and his ex-Beatles bandmate John Lennon had settled their differences before Lennon was murdered in 1980. The musicians fell out around the time of the band's split in 1970, with McCartney and Lennon swapping insults on their post-Beatles tracks 'Too Many People' and 'How Do You Sleep?' respectively. McCartney told The Times of 'Here Today' - a song written shortly after Lennon's death: "I'm talking to John in my head. It's a conversation we didn't have. [read more]

Ringo Starr on Rock Band: 'I've never played it'

Ringo Starr could probably use a little help from his friends -- to learn how to play Rock Band. The legendary Beatles drummer said in a recent interview with LP33 that he's never played the game. "I think the game is great," Starr said emphatically in the video conversation. When asked whether he had ever played it, he revised his praise. "I think the graphics are great," he said with a laugh. Despite being an animated character in the Beatles: Rock Band and having given authorization during its conception, he just can't seem to get the hang of it. [read more]

A place haunted by Lennon's murder

Maybe if you're a New Yorker, you grow accustomed to the sight. Maybe if you live in the city, it becomes just another part of the Manhattan landscape. But if you're from somewhere else, visiting, and you're not expecting to encounter it. . . . Well, you sense that you've been in front of this building before, even though you never have. You feel it before you fully see it. So it was, early on a recent afternoon, that I was walking east on 72nd Street, approaching Central [read more]

Altamont, 40 Years Later: Looking Back at “Rock & Roll’s Worst Day”

“The violence just in front of the stage was incredible,” the Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards said in the days following the festival. “Looking back I don’t think it was a good idea to have Hell’s Angels there.” The Stones were onstage (the performance actually featured the live debut of “Brown Sugar”) during the stabbing death of Meredith Hunter. Earlier in the day, the Hell’s Angels also punched Jefferson Airplane’s Marty Palin, knocking the singer unconscious. The Grateful Dead were also scheduled to perform at Altamont but absconded, sensing the escalating violence between the crowd and the Angels. [read more]

'Outrageous' McCartney Dublin tickets cost $1,500

Paul McCartney tickets at $1,500 each for his Dublin concert are causing outrage among fans. But fans who are desperate to see McCartney may have no choice. Cheaper tickets for the Beatles legend who plays the O2 venue on Sunday December 20th have already been snapped up. [read more]

Video: Paul McCartney: in love and back on the road

For someone who’s been giving interviews for close on 50 years, Paul McCartney is surprisingly unjaded by the process. It’s often said of mega-celebrities how refreshingly normal they are, and usually they’re not: they’ve been spoilt by fame or they were just plain weird to start with. But McCartney, it seems, is an exception. No airs and graces, self-deprecating, relaxed, efficient but friendly, just an ordinary 67-year-old multimillionaire (some say billionaire but I suppose his investments have taken a hit of late) and arguably the most famous man on the planet. The young women in his outer office, which is dominated by a huge Peter Blake, as his inner one is by several de Koonings, say he brings them in leftover food sometimes — mashed potatoes — and doesn’t like being called Sir. “What’s your first question?” they ask. I say I’m going to ask him whether he’s played The Beatles: Rock Band yet. And I do. [Video/Read more]

George Harrison and Wonderwall: 40 Years Later

Tonight, I watched the epically wonky 1968 Wonderwall movie DVD, with music by George Harrison and psychedelic visual design by The Fool, that group of acidhead techno artists who painted the Apple office building in the '60s and had much to do with the latterday Beatles imagery (I wonder if Magic Alex ever perfected his magic box?). The movie is so freakish, it's almost impossible to absorb - as an artifact of the 60s and hippiedom, and an example of some of the first Beatles "solo" music, it was well worth watching, and probably worth the high price that the limited edition U.S. region DVD sells for (I got a "bargain" on eBay at $30 - I've seen it sell for $75 and up). [read more]

Paul McCartney lashes out at Madonna's onstage performance

Former Beatles member Sir Paul McCartney has lashed out at Madonna's onstage performance, in front of 12,000 fans. McCartney, 67, spoke out at the opening night of his European tour in Hamburg at the Colour Line Arena. "That's the big wardrobe change of the night," the Daily Express quoted him as telling the German crowd, baring a white shirt and black braces. [read more]

NYC Rock & Roll Hall of Fame annex to close

Just one year after opening, the New York City annex to Cleveland's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will close its doors on January 3, according to one of the corporate partners in the venture. S2BN Entertainment announced the closure in a statement on Thursday without providing any reason. "There is no doubt the economy factored into our leaving, but overall we had a good year," said Caren Bell, spokeswoman for the 25,000 square foot annex in Manhattan's Soho district. The offshoot to the main museum in Ohio opened to fanfare in November 2008 with Mayor Michael Bloomberg hailing it as another cultural destination for the [read more]

John-Paul Jones' Career Woe

John-Paul Jones admits he was unsure about what he would be able to do musically after Led Zeppelin split. John-Paul Jones thought his career was over when Led Zeppelin split up. The bassist - who now performs in supergroup Them Crooked Vultures alongside Dave Grohl and Josh Homme - admits he was unsure what to do next musically as he was short of offers and didn't want to experience anything that wasn't as good as working with the rock legends. He said: "I couldn't get arrested in the Eighties at all. After the Beatles broke up, would you have asked Paul McCartney if he'd be in your band? Nobody thought I would do anything, and I didn't really want to join another band after Zeppelin, because I knew nothing would ever be as good as that." [read more]

Saved by the accents

They looked so innoc ent back in 1962. Well, maybe not innocent, but fresh and fly and unspoiled. They sat politely around tables, drank cups of tea, smoked cigarettes (everyone did then) and -- at least when posing for the press -- wore jackets and ties. So did George Martin, their studio producer, the universally acknowledged fifth Beatle. Martin was still wearing a tie seven years later at the time of Abbey Road, (the album not the studio), while John, Paul, Ringo and the other George had progressed through the fashions of Carnaby Street, Haight-Ashbury, India and showbiz plutocracy. Martin remained the school teacher, in appearance and in role, teased and respected by the smart boys in the class. "I thought they were nice boys" he says guardedly of his first encounters with them." [read more]

The New York Dolls - heading to Liverpool in search of the Beatles and boots

SOME people come to Liverpool for the music, others for the football. The New York Dolls are coming for the footwear.“Last time I came to Liverpool I bought six pairs of Beatle boots from the Beatles Shop on Mathew Street,” says guitarist Sylvain Sylvain. “I’ve still got three pairs in their boxes, unused, but I’m going to get more when I come back. You can’t get them anywhere else in the world and they’re my favourite ever boots. I must have a shoe fetish, well, a Beatle boot fetish at the very least.” So next week, Sylvain and the rest of the Dolls – David Johansen (vocals), Steve Conte (guitar), Brian Delaney (drums) and former Hanoi Rocks bass guitarist Sami Yaffa – will be pounding the streets of Merseyside in search of quality footwear. [read more]

Rocker Ronnie Wood arrested for possible assault

Aging rocker Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones was released on bail Thursday after being arrested for possible domestic assault. Wood, known for his stinging guitar riffs and raucous private life, was picked up by police Wednesday evening near his home in Esher in southern England. "I can confirm that there was an incident last night and that Ronnie Wood was arrested," said David Rigg, Wood's spokesman. The arrest comes on the heels of Wood's highly publicized divorce last month. His marriage collapsed after he started dating a young Russian woman. Police in Surrey, England, released few details about the incident, which is still under investigation. Police would not say who made the assault complaint against Wood. Asked about Wood, police said only that a 62-year-old man from the town of Esher had been taken into custody Wednesday night on suspicion of assault in connection with a domestic incident on Claygate High Street. [read more]

Listen to Julian Lennon's New Song 'Lucy"

After a decade-plus hiatus, Julian Lennon is making music again and on his own terms. The singer/songwriter is prepping a new album for spring 2010, and on Dec. 15, his company theRevolution will release a 4-track EP featuring the charity single "Lucy." The song pays tribute to Lennon's childhood friend Lucy Vodden, who also inspired the Beatles classic "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." Vodden, who died in September of complications from lupus, was famously depicted by Lennon in a watercolor painting that prompted his father, John Lennon, to write the surrealist "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" tune. Julian tells Billboard.com that his charity single came together immediately in the wake of Vodden's death, as he was laying down background vocals for a song by one of theRevolution's new artists, James Scott Cook. [read more/hear Lucy]

Not For the Faint of Heart: A Tour Through The Beatles

I think it is fair to say that everyone in the western hemisphere has at least some idea of what you mean when you say “The Beatles.” According to a new PBS documentary, apparently the Fab Four pretty much brought down the iron curtain (so, does that mean we can stop thanking Reagan and David Hasselhoff for bringing down the Berlin Wall? An intriguing prospect indeed.) I was raised not only to love John, Paul, George and Ringo, but also to be able to pick out their sound in under 30 seconds on the radio. The trouble with that is that The Beatles did an excellent job of never sounding the same twice. Those boys from Liverpool did everything from completely stripped-down acoustic guitar and vocals, to the most complex, layered cacophony of sound probably ever created (“Revolution #9,” anyone?). So, why my sudden reverie about these boys, do you ask? Well, my Dad’s birthday was over Thanksgiving break, and one of his gifts was the complete stereo boxed set of every Beatles recording ever made. It might as well have been my birthday too. [read more]

Ringo Starr Beatles

The former Beatle Ringo Starr found himself among aged company yesterday while announcing some of the nominees for the 52 Grammy Awards. Joining Australia's AC/DC in the best rock album category for Black Ice were Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood with Live From Madison Square Garden, as well as U2 for No Line on the Horizon. Green Day and Dave Matthews Band rounded out the nominations in the category with albums 21st Century Breakdown and Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King respectively. Beyonce otherwise topped the nominations with 10, followed by Taylor Swift with eight. The Grammys will be held on January 31. [read more]

John Lennon Missing Recordings Discovered and Released

Recently some rare and unreleased John Lennon recordings were discovered in a vault. These recordings were taped on August 19, 1980. They were done separately from the mysteriously missing video footage that was filmed at what is believed to be John Lennon's last recording session with his band prior to his death. Even more incredible, these recordings have never been released until now. Twenty-nine years ago on December 08, 1980, The Beatles fans were stunned by four senseless shots fired into the back of John Lennon. He was only 40 and had become one of the most influential musicians of all time. That night the world stood still and silent for a moment.

These one of a kind Lennon recordings are available for preview at www.LennonTapes.com along with the story about the evening these tapes were recorded. To commemorate the 29th anniversary of John Lennon's death and with the Christmas season upon us, it feels like the perfect time to get back into the Lennon spirit with these rare and precious recordings just in time to Give Peace Another Chance this holiday season.

For the first time ever these newly discovered recordings are available for a pre-order purchase at www.LennonTapes.com and at your request, the pre-order allows you to direct the email download on December 23rd to be sent to yourself or your friends as a Christmas gift. For only $10 US, this is one of the best gifts that you can give this Christmas.

John had left The Beatles in 1970 and went on to record solo albums which all became classics. First came John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and then Imagine. The songs "Give Peace a Chance" and "Imagine" would create a worldwide movement. Then came "Happy Xmas (War is Over)." In 1973, Lennon released "Mind Games"; in September 1974, Walls and Bridges and the single "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night"; in 1975 "Rock 'n' Roll" was released, on April 18th 1975 Lennon made his last TV appearance performing "Imagine"; in October 1975, Lennon releases "Shaved Fish."

It was in August 1980 when Lennon entered the Hit Factory recording studios in New York City, where he recorded the Double Fantasy album, and this tape was recorded the last night that he was ever in the studio with his band.

Released in memory of John Lennon. We miss you.

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He could have been a Beatle

1957 - The Photo with the group on the back of the truck is the one taken by Rod Davis's father in 1957 on the day John Lennon met Paul McCartney, 6 July. The Quarrymen were part of the St Peter's Church Rose Queen procession, which took place a couple of hours before the Quarrymen performed on a stage behind the church, Paul was in the audience. Rod Davis discovered this photo in a reel of 35mm film in January 2009, so it had been hidden for 52 years. Left to right: Pete Shotton (washboard), Eric Griffiths (guitar), Len Garry (back to camera), John Lennon, (check shirt - singing), Colin Hanton (drums), Rod Davis, standing. {MORE}

McCartney back at 'training ground'

Sir Paul McCartney has said his upcoming show in Hamburg - 49 years after he first played the city - is a return to his "training ground". The star cut his teeth when he played the German city with back-to-back shows which pushed him - and the other Beatles - to their limits in the band's early days. Tonight (Wednesday) he was in the city to start his first European tour for five years and said he was happy to open there as it "echoes the opening of my career". The Good Evening Europe tour will see Sir Paul play eight arena shows, before winding up at London's O2 Arena. He said: "I like the idea very much of opening in Hamburg as it echoes the opening of my career with The Beatles. I like the idea of going back to a city that I have such fond memories of. This is my chance to bring our current show home to where it all began." [read more]

Julian Lennon and partners start music services company

That Julian Lennon sure is a great guy. First, he decides to complete some of his father’s songs. And now, according to LiveDaily.com, he’s making the music industry a better place for musicians with his new music services company theRevolution. He’s working hard to become our second favorite Lennon (Watch out, Sean!) The company’s aim is to “turn the music business into the musician’s business.” As a result, the organization will offer artists an one-stop shop for everything, from tour and event logistics to publishing and licensing to various design elements and much more. The company, which will operate as a subsidiary of the Artists Alliance, is also being run by Michael Birch and Todd Meagher. Birch is best known as the founder of social networking site Bebo and Meagher is the CEO of MyStore.com. [read more]

Read: 'Dangerously Funny'

George Harrison made a surprise appearance on the show in 1968 and said: "Whether you can say it or not, keep trying to say it." But even a Beatle couldn't save the brothers. Eventually, political pressure caused "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" to be shut down in 1969, after a three-year run. In the introduction to "Dangerously Funny," David Bianculli plumps the brothers' cultural importance: "Like Elvis Presley when he was shipped off to the army, or Muhammad Ali when he was stripped of his heavyweight title for refusing to fight in Vietnam, the Smothers Brothers were nonconformist iconoclasts, pop-culture heroes yanked from the national spotlight in their prime." [read more]

Stella McCartney to Make Shoes with Morrissey

While rumors of a proposed clothing line with Leona Lewis were crushed, Stella McCartney revealed she's actually collaborating with an even more compelling vegetarian: cult pop singer Morrissey. As Grazia points out, the two seem to be a perfect match given their vehemently meat-free lifestyles (McCartney hasn't used animal products in her designs for over a decade, while Morrissey even titled an album "Meat is Murder"). [read more]

McCartney pens original song for film 'Everybody's Fine'

Watching an early screening of Everybody's Fine, Paul McCartney felt a tug of familiarity when a widower portrayed by Robert De Niro hits the road to visit his scattered children after they cancel a weekend gathering. "The De Niro character inspired me," McCartney says. He decided to write an original song, (I Want to) Come Home, for the film, which opens nationwide Friday. "I can very much relate to a guy who's got older children, who happens to have lost his wife, the mother of those children, and is trying to get them all together at Christmas. I understand that. [read more]

Mccartney Takes Vegetarianism To Europe

SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY is taking his vegetarian campaign to the European Parliament - he will give a speech to international politicians urging consumers to give up meat. The animal lover and longtime vegetarian is promoting a new drive to encourage the public to go meat-free at least once a week in a bid to fight global warming. The former Beatle argues that if more people spend just one day in seven eating only vegetables, greenhouse gases can be reduced by up to 80 per cent. He will deliver his message in an address to Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in Brussels, Belgium on Thursday (03Dec09). MCCartney says, "By making a simple change in the way you eat, you are taking part in a world changing campaign where what's good for you is also good for the planet. Having one designated meat-free day a week is a meaningful change that everyone can make. Above all, remember that the future begins with the actions we take now. "A lower-meat diet could see greenhouse gases reduced by as much as 80 per cent. Western countries currently eat meat at least seven times a week, but using a series of projected world diets, latest reports recommend reducing that to twice or three times a week." SOURCE- Contactmusic News

George Harrison Memorial Being Held In Hollywood

A memorial service was held Sunday in Hollywood for "The Quiet Beatle" on the eighth anniversary of his death. The peace group known as Alliance for Survival held the annual George Harrison Memorial Tribute at his Hollywood Walk of Fame Star, located in front of the Capitol Records tower on North Vine Street. The tribute to the iconic rocker featured a "Human Chain of Hope for World Peace." Participants joined hands between Harrison's star and John Lennon's star, which is just down the block. The Beatles' lead guitarist died of lung cancer in Los Angeles on November 29th, 2001, at the age of 58.

A Bigger, Bolder Lennon Tribute

Just because an event is in its 29th year doesn’t mean it can’t do anything new. Joe Raiola and his pals at Theatre Within have been staging a fund-raising John Lennon tribute every year since 1981 near the anniversary of Lennon’s death, and the roster of stars who have played it is getting pretty long. This year’s show, though, which is Friday at 7:30 at Symphony Space, features a number of first-timers, including David Bromberg, Joan Osborne, Lucy Kaplansky, Nicole Atkins and Bettye LaVette. [read more]