Erykah Badu Tweets Paul McCartney ASAP: Clear My Sample Please!

Bossy, cigar-chomping managers? Slimy, money-hungry lawyers? Clearly, Erykah Badu doesn't need either of these to take care of business. The take-charge, if not slightly procrastinating, singer recently got a Paul McCartney sample cleared for her next album, entirely through the power of Twitter. With less than 24 hours to get the ball rolling, Badu managed to clear the sample of Wings' song "Arrow Through Me" for her forthcoming album 'New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh.' Badu sent out a distress tweet Wednesday night, telling her followers: "less than 24 hours or song wont make album . help . it will happen!!" She then tweeted her way from socialite Zoe Kravitz to her father Lenny, then to his friend Stella McCartney, and finally to her father Paul. [read more]

Behind the Music Remastered: John Lennon premieres on February 27th at 10/9c on VH1 Classic

VH1’s Emmy Award-nominated and critically acclaimed series “Behind The Music,” returns to continue some of these now iconic stories. This Saturday, February 27th at 10PM ET, VH1 Classic will air eight new half-hour weekly episodes of “Behind the Music Remastered” featuring some of classic rocks seminal artists including: Genesis, Mötley Crüe, Metallica, Judas Priest, Def Leppard, and John Lennon. Picking up where the original “Behind the Music” episodes left off, VH1 Classic will air brand new interviews, footage, and video clips that update the stories of several classic artists over the last 10 to 15 years.

While all of these artists have previously been featured on BTM, the Remastered series will pick up where those episodes left off with new interviews and footage from the past decade. Behind the Music Remastered will premiere on VH1 Classic on Saturday, February 13th.

For more information, go to http://www.vh1classic.com/

Behind The Music Remastered: John Lennon

John Lennon: Revolution

VH1 TV Shows Music Videos Celebrity Photos News & Gossip

John Lennon: Bermuda

VH1 TV Shows Music Videos Celebrity Photos News & Gossip

John Lennon: Memory

VH1 TV Shows Music Videos Celebrity Photos News & Gossip

Sean Lennon: Forum Interview

Musician Sean Lennon joins us in studio to talk about his new group, The Ghost of a Saber Toothed Tiger, performing Wednesday night as part of San Francisco's Noise Pop music festival. The son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon also played at Oakland's Fox Theater Tuesday evening as part of his mother's Plastic Ono Band. MP3 Interview Audio

Day Trippers flock to The Beatles’ old Liverpool homes after success of Nowhere Boy film

THE runaway success of Nowhere Boy has sent visitor numbers at The Beatles’ former homes soaring. Since the launch of the blockbuster film about John Lennon’s childhood and adolescence, pre-bookings to his one-time home, Mendips, in Woolton, have doubled. The National Trust, which manages Mendips and Sir Paul McCartney’s childhood home at 20 Forthlin Road, has reported a 90% increase in people wanting to tour the properties. Both open to the public this weekend for the season, and the Trust already has more than 700 pre-bookings, up from 300 for the same time last year. [read more]

Sean Lennon hits back in row over murdered Beatles' TV ad images

One fan wrote "Yoko believes that John belongs to her alone." Another wrote "Imagine, three years with 0% interest, isn’t that how the song goes?" The television campaign, by London-based advertising agency Euro RSCG, is called "anti-retro2 and claims to be anti-nostalgic. Liverpool Beatles tourist guide, Phil Coppell, said: "No-one can believe that John Lennon would ever have agreed for his image to be used to advertise a car. "It is cheapening his memory and there is a lot of very real anger among Beatles fans that Yoko Ono has approved this. A lot of Beatles' fans already had a low opinion of Yoko and this merely serves to confirm their worst suspicions." [read more]

One Night Only: Sir Paul McCartney To Play Miami

Sir Paul McCartney is coming to South Florida. In what's anticipated to be a huge show, McCartney will perform at Sun Life Stadium in Miami on April 3rd. It's the only Florida appearance on his forthcoming 'Up and Coming Tour'. The former Beatle hasn't performed in South Florida since 2005 when he played a concert at the AmericanAirlines Arena. Tickets for the Sun Life Stadium show will go on sale Mon., March 8 at 10 a.m. [read more]

Lilly Scott's 'Fixing A Hole': The Story Behind The Cover

She's not Eleanor Rigby, she's not Maxwell with his silver hammer and she certainly isn't Sgt. Pepper. But on Tuesday's (February 23) "American Idol," final 24 contestant Lilly Scott took center stage with a unique spin on another classic song by the world's greatest rock band and judges were unable to find any holes in her performance. Scott — or, as Ryan Seacrest describes her, "the pride of Denver" — covered "Fixing a Hole" by the Beatles, one of the lesser-known classics off their 1967 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, a record largely considered to be among the greatest albums ever made. read more

The Beatles and the Avant-Garde

In my column this week, I mention a resemblance between Iannis Xenakis’s pioneering avant-garde piece “Metastasis” (1953-54) and the orchestral passages in the Beatles’ “A Day in the Life” (1967). In the opening measures of Xenakis’s piece, forty-six string instruments begin together on the note G and then slide away from it in an expanding web of glissandos, until they achieve a massive cluster chord. The Beatles took a more improvisatory approach: musicians from the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic were asked to go from their lowest note to their highest note, with the rest left to chance. Here are excerpts side by side: read more

Courtney Love Praises Yoko Ono

Hole singer Courtney Love has revealed her admiration of Yoko Ono exclusively to ClashMusic. Courtney Love may have caused more than her fair share of headlines, but the singer remains a musician at heart. With her group Hole due to release their new album 'Nobody's Daughter' later this year, the icon has spoken about a few of her own heroes. [read more]

Beatles' Penny Lane barber Tony Slavin sees tourists flock to rival

But now tourists from across the globe are flocking to a rival hairdresser - The Barbers - which opened just two weeks ago and is the first barber shop actually in Penny Lane.
The owner said he chose the name as Tony Slavin owns the right to 'Penny Lane Barber Shop'. Tony Slavin's leaseholder Adele Allan, said: ‘I am upset because I feel any tourist who goes there, thinking they are going to the shop in the song, is being ripped off. ‘That is not the real one. Tourists travel hundreds of miles to come to the shop in the song and go there - and yet the real shop is just across the road. We have all The Beatles' taxi tours and the Magical Mystery Tours coming here to point out Tony Slavin's. Loads of celebrities pop in too because they want to see the barber shop in the song.’ Tony Slavin was originally called Bioletti's when Paul McCartney wrote Penny Lane. [read more]

Abbey Road Wins Preservation Order

THE BEATLES' favourite recording studio ABBEY ROAD has been awarded historic status by the British government to stop any radical development on the site. The U.K.'s Culture Minister Margaret Hodge declared the iconic venue in north-west London a Grade II listed building on Tuesday (23Feb10), on the advice of national preservation body English Heritage. In a statement, the company's Chief Executive Simon Thurley said the Georgian building housing the studios "acts as a modern day monument to the history of recorded sound and music." He adds, "Some of the most defining sounds of the 20th century were created within the walls of the Abbey Road Studios. It contains, quite simply, the most famous recording studios in the world." The new status means that although changes to its interior can be made, any proposed alterations must respect the character and preservation of the site. Sir Paul MCCartney, part of the Fab Four who named their 1969 album after the building, called for the studios to be saved after bosses at record label giant EMI announced plans to sell the studio earlier this month. The company's chiefs have since abandoned their plan and admitted they would welcome an official listing from English Heritage. Source - Contactmusic News

The Indispensable Ringo -- A Case for the Greatness of the Often Overlooked Beatle

A few weeks ago, Ringo Starr got his own star, on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Many, in the past, called Ringo Starr "the luckiest man in show business," and some still do. Fortunately, as time has passed and Ringo proved himself with a damn good solo career, this is heard less often. What's also happened is that we've gotten to listen to The Beatles over and over - and when you do that, you realize that Ringo indeed got lucky in joining a band with three musical geniuses. But then again, each of the others got lucky the same way. If you've had a chance to listen to the remastered Beatles CDs, you understand: it's a revelation, being able to hear, crisply and distinctly, all of the instruments. All of The Beatles sound great but it throws Ringo in sharp relief. [read more]

Paul McCartney kicks off 2010 tour in Arizona

Five years after his last great American trek, Paul McCartney is heading back on the road with his "Up and Coming" tour. It opens March 28 at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale - the same venue that hosted him in his 2005 "US Tour" that sold out 37 shows across America. After Glendale, "Up and Coming" takes McCartney to California's Hollywood Bowl for the first time since 1993 and 46 years after he and the Beatles played at the historic venue and recorded the live album "The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl." The tour is McCartney's first big U.S. push since a quick summertime tour last year and a headlining appearance at last spring's alternative music festival Coachella. [read more]

Legendary Gig Captured on Double Album Featuring McCartney, Pink Floyd, Clapton, Elton, Tears for Fears, Robert Plant and More

On March 23, Eagle Rock Entertainment will drop a British bombshell, when the Live at Knebworth 2CD hits stores. On June 30, 1990, the best of the Brits flooded the Knebworth House in Hertsfordshire to perform a benefit concert for Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy and the Brit School Of Performing Arts. Heralded as "The Best British Rock Concert Of All Time," this aggregate of talent included Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, Robert Plant, Elton John, Phil Collins, Genesis, Dire Straits, Tears For Fears, Cliff Richard & The Shadows, and Status Quo. All performing free of charge to support the charities, this incredible line-up was amassed from recipients of the prestigious Nordoff-Robbins' Silver Clef Award, which recognizes acts who make outstanding contributions to the British music industry. [read more]

Yoko Ono

Last year, Yoko Ono revived the Plastic Ono Band for its first studio album in decades, "Between My Head and the Sky." It's hard to blame her for the delay; her time has been occupied by making art, campaigning for peace and handling the affairs of her late husband, John Lennon. Ono, 76, tells us it was their son, Sean, who suggested bringing back the group - which at points counted Eric Clapton, Keith Moon and Frank Zappa as members - with a new lineup that includes Japanese indie-rockers Cornelius and Yuka Honda. The Plastic Ono Band kicks off this year's Noise Pop Festival with a performance Thursday at Oakland's Fox Theater. [read more]

Outrage Grows Over Elton John Blasphemy

When John Lennon stated `We`re more popular than Jesus now` about The Beatles back in the 60s he was forced to make a public apology. Today, Elton John is faced with the same problem after his outrageous `Jesus was gay` quip this week. In an interview with Parade magazine, Sir Elton said "I think Jesus was a compassionate, super-intelligent gay man who understood human problems.” What was probably an innocent comment in his mind has angered religious groups all over the world. [read more]

EMI denies Abbey Road studios to be sold

Music company EMI wants to retain ownership of the Abbey Road recording studios, immortalised by the Beatles album of the same name, though it is talking to other parties about revitalising the site, EMI said on Sunday. A source familiar with the situation told Reuters last week that loss-making EMI had put the studios up for sale and was talking to a few interested firms, although no deal was imminent. “EMI confirms that it is holding preliminary discussions for the revitalisation of Abbey Road with interested and appropriate third parties,” the company said in a statement, without elaborating on what exactly the talks were about. -- Reuters

Imagine all the people

Whether rock music can actually change the world remains open for debate, but the team planning the largest music festival in Toronto's history might actually have the credentials to put it to rest. "The world is now in an even deeper position than the Cold War and Vietnam. There's trouble in every country ... this is a chance to give hope, and who'll do it if not the old Woodstockers?" So says Artie Kornfeld, the music executive and promoter who co-organized the original famed festival back in 1969 at Max Yasgur's farm in upstate New York. The Florida resident has teamed with Montreal artist David Kam to put together a show unlike anything the city has seen before, combining music with efforts to achieve world peace and fight poverty and climate change. [read more] Pics: See the pictures here!

John Lennon lies "dead" in lost Beatles pictures

John Lennon lies "dead" with the other Beatles crouched over him in this poignant scene. But the prank photo was taken 12 years before Lennon was really gunned down in New York by crazed fan. It is one of 23 previously unreleased images by snapper Tom Murray captured in London during the Beatles' last publicity shoot in 1968. They feature the Fab Four squaring up in a mock fight which wasn't far from reality, posing in a garden, lining up by the Thames and mucking around at a fountain. [read more]

Bob Dylan's history of Gibson guitar playing remembered

Bob Dylan's loyalty to Gibson acoustic guitars has lasted throughout his career, a new article has explained. The legendary solo artist began his career back in the 1960s playing a Gibson J-50 guitar, which was featured on the cover of his self-titled first album. Dylan then moved to Gibson Nick Lucas Special before being given a Gibson G-200 guitar as a present by Beatles star George Harrison, reports the music instrument manufacturer's Lifestyle blog. [read more]

Andrew Lloyd Webber Wants To Save Abbey Road

SIR ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER is planning to step in to save the doomed recording studio famously used by the BEATLES. The Abbey Road studios in North West London, which have hosted music legends including Michael Jackson and Pink Floyd, became synonymous with the Fab Four after they named their 1969 album after the building. The property was put up for sale this week (beg15Feb10) by bosses at music label EMI, sparking fears over the future of the facility. Sir Paul MCCartney revealed a consortium has been set up in a bid to save Abbey Road from closure, and now Lloyd Webber has confirmed he's considering stepping in to help raise the estimated $20 million (£12.5 million) needed to buy the studio. A spokesman for the theatre mogul tells Britain's Daily Mail newspaper, "Andrew first recorded there in 1967 with Tim Rice and has since recorded most of his musicals there, from Jesus Christ Superstar to his new musical Love Never Dies. "He thinks it is vital that the studios are saved for the future of the music industry in the U.K. Abbey Road has such great facilities, with three major recording studios." Source - Contactmusic News

BEATLES HISTORY SET FOR SUPER-SMALL SCREEN

Five new Beatles-related video applications will be available to download on iPad, iPhone and iTouch platforms later this spring (10). The titles include The Journey, a look at the band's beginnings; Big Beat Box, a documentary about the rise of Beatlemania, and a five-part documentary on the history of the Fab Four, called The Long and Winding Road. click to read more

Beatles Fans Use Facebook, Twitter to Save Abbey Road

Beatles fans are using Facebook and Twitter to urge a U.K. charity to save the Abbey Road Studios, where the group recorded most of their songs. The studio’s owner, EMI Group Ltd., has put the site up for sale to cut debt, a person familiar with the matter said this week. Abbey Road was made famous by the Beatles’ album of the same name, which pictured John, Paul, Ringo and George on the crosswalk outside the studio. The National Trust, a U.K. charity that protects historic houses, gardens and monuments, already owns the childhood homes of Beatles Paul McCartney and John Lennon in Liverpool, England. The organization is asking the public for opinions via e-mail, Facebook and Twitter on whether it should save Abbey Road, after McCartney suggested it this week on a radio show. [read more]

Beatles In Mono

Hands up if you've heard Sgt Pepper's in mono. If not don't be alarmed because you're not alone. Sgt Pepper's was made in the period when stereo was taking over and everybody wanted to hear The Beatles masterwork in that form. There's just one slight problem Sgt Pepper's and all the other Beatles albums, up to the White Album, were recorded and mixed with mono in mind. Even George Martin, the man rightly called the fifth Beatle because of his influence on their sound, would agree. While he did the mixing for the mono version of the albums The Beatles were at his arm and they ticked off on the mono mix. When it came time to do the stereo version the band would head for the pub or whatever and let the engineers do the work. click to read more

Elton John claims Jesus was a 'super-intelligent gay man' in U.S. magazine interview

'On the cross, he forgave the people who crucified him. Jesus wanted us to be loving and forgiving. I don’t know what makes people so cruel. Try being a gay woman in the Middle East – you’re as good as dead.' His comments are set to cause a firestorm in the U.S., where deeply religious groups burned Beatles records in 1966 after John Lennon claimed the group was more popular than Jesus. Sir Elton’s claim came in the middle of an interview about his own drug-taking past and messy relationships with men. 'Just about every relationship I ever had was involved with drugs. It never works,' he said. 'But I longed to be with someone good or bad, otherwise I didn’t feel fulfilled. I’d lost the plot.' click to read more

Blue plaque for Norwich man immortalised by the Beatles

He was the UK's first black circus owner and later became immortalised in a Beatles song. And now the name of Norwich-born Pablo Fanque will live on in the city among the latest batch of famous people and sites to be commemorated with blue plaques. Eighteen new plaques have been installed in the Elm Hill and Timberhill parts of Norwich and 17 street plates have also gone up to explain the origins of the more unusual street names in the city. [read more]

Sir Paul McCartney attacks Tory moves to bring back fox hunting

PAUL MCCARTNEY has said he'll fight any moves by the Tories to bring back fox hunting. David Cameron has promised his Conservative MPs a free vote on the repeal of Labour's anti-hunt laws if elected. Beatles legend Macca is now backing wildlife campaigners in their bid to safeguard the hunting ban. The Hunting Act came into force in England and Wales five years ago today. Similar laws banning hunting with dogs was passed at Holyrood three years earlier. McCartney speaks out in a new report for the International Fund for Animal Welfare action campaign. [read more]

Imagine I'm John Lennon urges Waters as he writes another song for Eurovision stardom

THE self-styled creative colossus that is John Waters is hoping to be a hit with John Lennon-style success. Eurovision humiliation aside, Waters, it seems, is hoping to be a modern-day Beatle. However, unlike the Beatles star, the music aficionado has yet to pen a hit song -- or a successful Eurovision entry for that matter. The newspaper columnist explained that writing music was one of the most fascinating things a creative mind could do. "This is partly, I think, because, when you're doing it right, you're not actually 'creating' but acting as a receiver for something that's already written in the spheres," he said. "John Lennon talked about the arrival of a great song as being like the apple falling on Newton's head." [read more]

Yoko Ono Honored by Eric Clapton, Paul Simon and More in New York

Due to a malfunctioning microphone, Yoko Ono stood momentarily mute Tuesday night at New York's Brooklyn Academy of Music, mouthing inaudible cackles while her son, Sean Lennon, sloshed with Eric Clapton through a mean and muddy version of the Beatles' 'Yer Blues.' Without hesitation, a stagehand rushed from the wings and handed Ono a working microphone, allowing her feral shrieks to compete with Slowhand's expert riffing. On any other night, that stagehand might have risked boos and lobbed bottles. Not on Tuesday, however, as an incongruous bunch of musicians joined forces for 'We Are Plastic Ono Band,' a loving tribute to Ono and her various artistic achievements. read more - spinner

Paul McCartney reveals possible bid 'to save Abbey Road'

Sir Paul McCartney has said he hopes the famous Abbey Road studios can be saved after reportedly being put up for sale by owner EMI. He revealed there had been talk of a bid to save the north London site indelibly linked to the eponymous Beatles album and its zebra crossing cover as doubts surfaced over its future. Speaking on BBC's Newsnight, McCartney seemed to suggest some solution may yet be worked out to secure the studios' survival: "There are a few people who have been associated with the studio for a long time who were talking about mounting some bid to save it. I sympathise with them. I hope they can do something, it'd be great. I have got so many memories there with the Beatles. [read more]

EMI Puts Abbey Road Up For Sale

EMI has put the iconic Abbey Road studios in London up for sale. With debt-ridden EMI owners Terra Firma strapped for cash and in desperate need of a $120 million injection the decision has been made to sell the studios were The Beatles and Pink Floyd recorded their classic albums. The Gramophone Company, which later became EMI, paid £100,000 for the house at 3 Abbey Road when they bought it 81 years ago in 1929. It became the world’s first custom-built recording studio. It began operation in 1931. Cliff Richard recorded the first rock and roll song at Abbey Road. That was ‘Move It’ in 1959. [read more]

Yoko Ono Loved By Amnesty International

A follow up to Monday’s item about Yoko Ono. While her Spirit Foundation doesn’t give money to Amnesty International, the group still loves her. Turns out she’s been giving them free rights to John Lennon’s music for years, and has been a huge supporter of the organization. I don’t mind adding that info to the earlier story. If Amnesty loves Yoko, so does Showbiz411. In particular, a website called www.instantkarma.org is set up just to document how much Ono has done for Darfur via AI. On the site you can download and purchase twenty different covers of post-Beatle Lennon tracks by a variety of stars from U2 to a duet by Dhani Harrison and Jakob Dylan on “Gimme Some.” There are no actual Dylan recordings, but these are sufficient. An Ono/AI intermediary also says Ono has given the group “Imagine” to promote its cause. The group says she helped raise $4.5 million. This doesn’t explain everything about the Spirit Foundation, but as Lennon said, Give peace a chance. [source]

Copyright and plagiarism

GEORGE Harrison must have been on cloud nine when, less than a year after the break-up of The Beatles, had a number one hit on his hands with this ode to Krishna before any of his old band mates had topped the charts with their own solo stuff. His mood would have soured somewhat just months later when he was sued by Bright Tunes Music, who had recently taken ownership of The Chiffons 1962 doo-wop hit He's So Fine. After five years of legal wrangling, during which time Harrison's people made numerous offers to settle out of court, the judge found the ex-Beatle guilty of "subconscious plagiarism" and ordered him to pay more than half a million dollars to Bright Tunes. While Harrison hadn't deliberately stolen from The Chiffons (he claimed to have been inspired by the '67 gospel tune Oh Happy Day), the judge noted "the two songs were essentially the same, with only minor differences to note and chord" (according to Fairwage Lawyers). click for more

Vatican declares there is a rock god

IT seems unlikely that the Pope, known for his love of Mozart and who once described rock music as the work of the devil, enjoys Carlos Santana's Black Magic Woman or Oasis's Wonderwall on an iPod in the privacy of his study. But yesterday, the Vatican gave its imprimatur not only to Santana and Oasis, but also to the Beatles, Michael Jackson, Paul Simon, U2, Pink Floyd and Fleetwood Mac in a list of approved pop albums published in L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper. Last year, the Vatican advised the faithful which films to watch, finding merit even in Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings. This year, because Europe faced a season of mediocre songs at music festivals, the newspaper explained, it was time to recommend an antidote in the form of classic pop milestones [read more]

The Beatles Rarity Of The Week - Listen

Welcome to this week’s BROW, which happily comes from a request I received a couple of weeks ago. Requests are a good thing and I’m happy to oblige when I can. As you likely know, when The Beatles launched their Apple record label in the summer of 1968, it was not only for their own recordings. A few other well-known recording artists either got their start or signed to the label in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, including James Taylor, Mary Hopkin, Billy Preston and Badfinger, just to name a few. The first album release from The Beatles on the new label, was the double-disc White Album. One of George Harrison’s contenders for this release was a song called Sour Milk Sea, and this week’s feature is an early account of George demoing it to the other Beatles at his home in the southeastern UK town of Esher, around the third week of May 1968. [read more/listen]

Mills Fears Prison Over Mccartney Leak

HEATHER MILLS is constantly guarded when questioned about her divorce from SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY - because the former model fears she will end up in jail if she reveals too much. The couple separated in 2006 after four years of marriage, leading to an ugly public divorce battle. The Beatles star was ordered to hand over $38.9 million (£24.3 million) of his fortune to Mills after their union was officially dissolved in 2008. Mills was banned from talking about the divorce proceedings - and now she's constantly wary of what she says as a result. She says, "The judge decided to put it in the judgment that I would be gagged for my whole life and that I would go to prison if I talked about it." But the 42 year old is angry the ban was imposed - because she was unable to speak up when she read hurtful things about her in the media. She adds, "I found that very unfair ­because of all the lies being said that I wasn't allowed to defend myself. And ­because of the vilification in the press, my career was ruined completely." source

Heather Mills reveals she's spent her £24million divorce settlement in 22 months

Heather Mills claims she has spent the bulk of her £24.3million divorce settlement… just 22 months after she collected the bumper pay-out from ex-Beatle Sir Paul McCartney. In an hour-long TV special she tells psychologist Dr Pamela Connolly – wife of comic Billy – that she gave a large chunk of the cash away. “Most of it’s been given to charity, gone into ethical businesses or paid for a couple of ­properties for my daughter’s future security,” says Heather, who had six-year-old Beatrice with Macca. And in a thinly-veiled swipe at Macca, worth an estimated £400million, she adds: “I could never sit with millions of pounds in the bank that could make matters change.” [click to read more]

Beatle son would rather blend in

It’s easy to understand musician Dhani Harrison’s antipathy toward the general concept of being in a rock band. After all, he got loads of priceless firsthand information from his father about the ups and downs of making it to the absolute peak of pop music success during his tenure with the Beatles. It was George Harrison who famously said, “The biggest break in my career was getting into the Beatles in 1962. The second biggest break since then is getting out of them.” He also once observed that “I wanted to be successful, not famous.” There’s no question that Dhani (pronounced Danny) inherited his father’s skepticism about the rewards that a life as a member of a rock band might promise, but he’s one of a growing number of offspring of ’60s and ’70s pop music titans who are interested in establishing their own musical credentials. [read more]

Sir Paul McCartney to get Hollywood star

SIR PAUL McCartney is to be honoured with his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame after Ringo Starr received his last week. The Beatles drummer, 69, was feted outside the Capitol Records building in LA on Monday night. His star is close to those of John Lennon and George Harrison, which were both awarded posthumously. The Beatles received the honour collectively as a band in 1988. But Macca, 67, is the only Beatle left not to have his own star. This is despite him being listed in the Guinness World Records as the most successful musician and composer in popular music, with 60 gold discs and sales of 100million singles. But he will be given his star as soon as a date can be arranged for him to unveil it on the most famous walkway in the world. source with pics

Elvis has returned to the building

Elvis lives. And the Beatles are about to pay him a visit. According to media reports from Las Vegas, when Cirque du Soleil's Viva ELVIS show officially opens at the ARIA Resort in Sin City next weekend, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and Yoko Ono will be among those expected to attend, along with Priscilla Presley and her daughter, Lisa Marie Presley. When Cirque CEO Daniel Lamarre spoke to The Gazette from Las Vegas this week, he said he couldn't confirm VIP guests, other than Priscilla, but added that the media interest in Viva ELVIS is unprecedented. Las Vegas is, after all, Presley's town, the King's former kingdom, a place where he may very well still be even more popular than the Beatles, although probably not more popular than Jesus Christ. (The praying that goes on in casinos makes church services pale in intensity.) click to read more

From Dylan to Black Sabbath, finding religious influences on rock ‘n’ roll

“I am interested in the religious language used by mainstream contemporary songwriters, Christian or otherwise, and attempt to identify particular patterns in their use of this material,” Gilmour writes. He also notes that his book is “more literary in emphasis than theological.” The danger in a book such as this is, as Gilmour writes in his closing chapter, “imposing order on the language of pop songs that is ultimately not the songwriter’s but the listener’s own invention. Ambiguities and disruptions to narrative and linguistic logic may in fact be intentional, even at times nonsensical.” In the four chapters between the Introduction and these closing remarks Gilmour looks at various artists and explores the influence that religion has played on the music that has been created. [read more]

“All You Need Is Love” Beatles Track Heading To Wii, PS3

Harmonix and MTV Games today announced the once Xbox 360-exclusive “All you need is love” Beatles tune is heading to PS3 and Wii gamers in The Beatles: Rock Band download store. The track was exclusive to Xbox 360 faux-musicians as part of a charity event where all proceeds from the song went to Doctors Without Borders. The event was hugely popular and successful, as over $200,000 was raised through digital song sales. The song will be made available in The Beatles: Rock Band Music Store for $2 February 16 for Wii and March 4 for PS3, but this time, the money won’t go to the charity. See source ©Blast

Stella McCartney wants a fourth child

The 38-year-old fashion designer has three children aged four, three and one, and admits she's keen to have another one. "I'm kind of interested in having more children. Though right now I feel like I've only just stopped having them, so I'm ready to have a bit of a break first," the Daily Express quoted Stella as saying. Meanwhile, Stella has urged people to go and see a documentary about the food industry so they could make "responsible decisions" about the products they buy. [read more]

World's Largest Beatles Tribute Festival Says 'Yeah, Yeah, Yeah' to Washington, D.C.

On the 46th anniversary of The Beatles conquering America, the world's largest Beatles tribute festival, Abbey Road on the River, announced it would expand to National Harbor, Maryland, September 2-6, 2010. The new Labor Day Weekend music festival will bring more than 50 international bands and thousands of Beatles fans to the nation's Capital. The stunning Gaylord National Resort, the festival's venue, will offer hotel rooms beginning at just $139 per night, 25% to 40% below standard rates. The four-star resort, the crown jewel of the new National Harbor, will be home base for Abbey Road on the River's bands and attendees, hosting two indoor stages, four outdoor stages, seminars, and a Beatles merchandise market place. Beatles fans will experience five days of peace, love and rock-n-roll at the Gaylord, steps from National Harbor's shopping, restaurants, entertainment, and waterfront attractions. The Harbor is also a short ride from The White House, Mount Vernon, and other popular area attractions.

The 50 Beatles bands, from mop tops to Sgt. Peppers, represent a dozen different countries including Greece, Germany, Italy, England, Scotland, Russia, Sweden, Norway, Canada, and the USA. They will perform the entire discography of The Beatles from 1963's "Please Please Me" through John, Paul, George and Ringo's final history-making album together, 1970's "Abbey Road." And if you also love the music they made as solo artists, the event will feature special concerts dedicated to their careers after they were Fab. It all "comes together" on the banks of the Potomac River, giving their legions of fans the ultimate Fab Four Fan Weekend. The Beatles, the best-selling band of the last ten years (as well as the past 46), is the one rock 'n' roll band that equally appeals to young and old. It was true in the 1960's, and it's more true now as longtime fans pass on their love for the Fab Four to their children and for many, now their grandchildren.

Room rates at the Gaylord National Resort normally ranging from $199-$379, are available for Abbey Road on the River attendees for just $139 per night. For guests staying three nights, this is a savings of over $200. Families can take advantage of another Fab money saving incentive by purchasing their tickets by May 31st. Tickets purchased before May 31st include free admission for one 21 and under guest with each regular ticket holder. "One of the things we want to do is pass along the love of this music to others so that it can carry on," festival organizer Gary Jacob said. "Everyone has an inner Beatle; combining The Beatles' eternal music with this great venue is the perfect way for you to find it."

Visit www.abbeyroadontheriver.com to see the lineup and schedule, purchase tickets, make reservations, and to get more information.

press release

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Today In Music History: The Beatles Perform On Ed Sullivan On Feb. 9, 1964

The Beatles made their legendary appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on this date in 1964. The band had arrived in the United States for the first time two days earlier and were greeted by thousands of screaming fans at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport. Their performance on Ed Sullivan was watched by 74 million people, which was then a whopping 40 per cent of the United States' population. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr performed "All My Loving," "Till There Was You" and "She Loves You" on the first segment of the show before following it up with "I Saw Her Standing There" and "I Want To Hold Your Hand" during the second part. Here are the performances in full: MORE ©CHARTattack

'Grunge Is Dead' Author Compares Kurt Cobain To John Lennon, Johnny Rotten

Omega's Apple recently published an exclusive email interview with Classic Rock journalist Greg Prato, conducted by Robert Gray. Topics of discussion included his book "Grunge Is Dead", as well as his other books, namely "A Devil On One Shoulder And An Angel On The Other: The Story Of Shannon Hoon And Blind Melon", "Touched By Magic: The Tommy Bolin Story", and "No Schlock... Just Rock". Several excerpts from the interview follow: Omega's Apple: "Grunge Is Dead" was inspired by a Soundgarden article for Classic Rock magazine. What about the article prompted you to take the subject further with a book on grunge, and from there, how did the book develop? [read more]

Ringo Awarded Starr

Ringo Starr was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame yesterday (08.02.10). The Beatles drummer unveiled the award on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the pavement bearing the names of showbiz personalities. Ringo's was the 2,401st to be unveiled on the Walk of Fame. Speaking outside the Capitol Records building, Ringo said: "This is the start of the next 50 years of stars. I'm proud to be the first one." The unveiling of the star was also the first in the walk's history to have been performed at night. Ringo quipped: "It's cool to get one at night. I don't know about you, but where I live, the stars come out at night." Film director David Lynch, comedian Eric Idle and Ringo's wife Barbara Bach - along with around 500 fans - watched as the 'Yellow Submarine' singer's star was uncovered. The Beatles as a group were given a star on the walk in 1998, and while singer John Lennon and guitarist George Harrison both also have individual stars, bassist Paul McCartney remains without one. However, a source at the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce said a star for Paul: "Was selected and approved many years ago. We are just waiting for his people to give us a date on when he would like to do it." Paul attended the unveiling of George's star last year. [source]

Drummer Zak Starkey Of “The Who” Was Amazing In Super Bowl Halftime Show

“The Who” halftime show during Super Bowl 2010 in Miami was amazing. The band with Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend as well as the drummer Zak Starkey was really a treat for the audience and the viewers. The English rock band led by the singer Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend and backed by the drummer Zak Starkey performed a medley of 5 classic tunes in a 12-minute medley at Sun Life Stadium on Sunday. Zak Starkey, the son of the former “The Beatles” member Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey) along with bassist Pino Palladino, a second guitarist and a keyboard player accompanied Roger Daltrey as he started singing “Pinball Wizard, ” from its 1969 rock opera, “Tommy.” Fireworks immediately started erupting. [read more]

Ringo Starr announces tour dates with All-Starr Band

Ringo Starr has announced the first batch of dates for the North American summer tour supporting his 15th and latest album, Y Not, and, once again, he’ll be joined by his All-Starr Band. The 11th rendition of the outfit features rhythm guitarist Wally Palmar of The Romantics, guitarist Rick Derringer, Edgar Winter and Gary Wright on keyboards, Mr. Mister frontman Richard Page on bass, and Gregg Bissonette on drums. He may also have God, whom he has recently discovered, on his side — so this tour is sure to be a can’t-miss. The tour will kick off with two dates in Niagara Falls in late June. Ringo and the crew will stay for a couple weeks in the Northeast (including Ringo’s birthday gig at the Radio City Music Hall!) before heading south and hitting the Hard Rock Live arena in Hollywood, Florida. [read more]

It’s Me, I’m Alive: A Conversation with Yoko Ono

Yoko Ono began 2010 by participating in “Art Adds,” a project that exhibits her artwork on New York City taxicabs. Replacing advertisements that traditionally decorate the rooftops of taxis, Ono’s peace-promoting works (along with pieces by Alex Katz and Shirin Neshat) move throughout the city as a kind of public art. In Carol Vogel’s New York Times article about the project, Ono likens the experience to a dance, saying, “The message is always in motion.” In a sense, Ono’s contribution to “Art Adds” is an extension and distillation of her life’s work. Principles of motion and collaboration run throughout her oeuvre, although sometimes these qualities are obscured by other aesthetic or social factors. [read more]

Paul McCartney on The Beatles: ‘We Were a Great F-ing Band’

Paul McCartney watched the rehearsals for the Beatles’ “Love” show from Cirque du Soleil and this is one thing he had to say: “We were a great f-ing band.” This moment is captured in the documentary, “All Together Now,” which seems like it was supposed to have come out last fall, did or didn’t, and is being pushed this week. Regardless, I watched it over the weekend, and it’s wonderful. Beatles fans will just eat this up. What a pleasure. First of all, you get a real sense of the main players involved: George Martin, who deserves a purple heart; his devoted and talented son Giles; McCartney, of course and Ringo Starr. You also get a real sense of Olivia Harrison, George’s incredibly loyal and devoted widow; and Yoko Ono. And there are the people from Cirque du Soleil: from creators Guy Laliberte and director Dominic Champagne; to a South African dancer who’s struggling to fit in. [read more]

Click to download: new Beatles mash-up

Since Danger Mouse came to prominence with his brilliant 2004 Beatles/Jay-Z mash-up, the Grey Album, the net has been on the lookout for his successor. The latest hot contender is Tom Caruana, a 28-year-old music teacher from Brighton, who is causing quite a stir with Enter the ­Magical Mystery Chambers (pictured), a ­wonderful free album which mixes Wu Tang Clan raps with Beatles instrumentals. ­Caruana has been releasing records ­online for years, but nothing has had this impact. He's had a Twitter shout-out from Wu Tang member Raekwon, been interviewed by the New York Times and seen more than 30,000 ­copies downloaded from his website (teasearecords.net). The album's big twist is that many samples are taken from ­obscure Beatles covers, by everyone from ­Dionne ­Warwick to the London Jazz Four. [Click For MORE]

The Great Hoax: The Beatles Death Curse

November 6, 1966. Paul steps out of the EMI building in London, seemingly disappointed, he enters his car and he quickly leaves the place. Something must have happened with the other Beatles, a hard confrontation or an argument. Paul is tired but, while driving back home, he meets Rita on the way, a young girl looking for a lift. Rita is definitely a bit too nervous and in an alcoholic state, she distracts Paul from driving and prevents him from realizing that the traffic light is still sadly and unavoidably red. Paul loses control of his car while trying to avoid another vehicle and hits a tree. Something sparkles in the car: Rita dies all of a sudden and Paul literally loses his head, decapitated by a sharp piece of glass that exploded in the impact, as described in the song that completes the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, A Day in the Life. [read more]

A Hard Day's Night

This film is a classic, and beloved by Beatles fans. And it also features the fab four running around London, being wacky, so it clearly appeals to us as well. This is the earliest film we've featured that shows the actual London, not a studio built to look like London. London's changed a lot in the last 46 years, so there wasn't a whole lot we recognised though. We're perhaps not best suited to judge the London accuracy of that time, as we weren't born yet, but it's always fun to see the London of yesteryear. The first thing that jumps out in this film is that John, Paul, George and Ringo are not actors. Adorable? Yes. Charming? Yes. Actors? Oh my, no. The plot of the film, such as it is, features the boys travelling from Liverpool to London to perform for a TV broadcast. [read more]

PLUNDERING PEPPERLAND FOR SUNDAY UNDER THE COVERS

I'm drawn to covers like bird poop to a newly cleaned windshield. This is especialy true when covers of my favorite artists are involved. Realizing that The Beatles are a tough act to follow, i try to be generous in my assessments....but 99% of the time........The Beatles did it better. There are a few instances where i think the Fabs got bested......One of which I've posted before, long ago when we were little, but i'm gonna post it again. Phoebe Snow.....Don't Let Me Down for my money Ms Snow transforms this song so well. She takes Lennon's lewd barstool boast into the reverie of a Lady In Love. Compare how she sings (@ the 2:28 mark) about how..... "nobody ever really done me"........She's sitting at the breakfast table, tea in hand, reliving the experience, feeling the ecstacy. As opposed to Lennon's own reading of the song...He's sitting in a smokey bar bragging to his friends with his hand on his crotch. [read more/listen to 5 Beatle covers]

Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell get stranded in the Hollywood Hills

Former Beatle Paul McCartney needed a little help from his friends after his car broke down in California. The 67-year-old singer was left stranded following a Santa Monica hiking trip with girlfriend Nancy Shevell, when the vehicle’s engine died. But the couple were not forced to hang around and wait for a tow truck – or jump leads – themselves, as they were immediately whisked off by McCartney’s waiting security team. [read more/pics]

Abbey Road On The River

Recently I observed that if someone had told me in 1969 I would be organizing a tribute festival for a rock group about to break up, and that very same group would be still innovating and changing popular culture in the year 2009, it would challenge all conventional thinking. No futurist, no matter how clairvoyant, could have predicted this continued surge in The Beatles’ worldwide popularity. For while their images are timeless, and while we have difficulty placing them in a particular time, the fact is they are from another time. But, clearly what they created was so artistically original and brilliant that two generations later their art is not only being listened to as originally intended, but seen in Las Vegas as theatre, played with on hi-tech game systems, chronicled and analyzed in countless books, and imitated by thousands of bands in every country on the planet, while the two surviving members who left behind live touring 44 years ago, still tour, and sell out stadiums. [read more/win tickets!]

Ringo Starr Finds God, Quits 60-a-day Smoking Habit

So, say you’re up for approximately 16 hours a day. And say you smoke 60 cigarettes during the course of one day. That’s about 3.75 cigarettes per hour, which is basically like smoking one cigarette every 15 minutes (and each cigarette takes about five minutes to smoke, so there’s really only a 10-minute break in between each cigarette)… all day long. If you’re Ringo Starr, or a character on Mad Men, that’s how you do it. But then, Starr kicked the habit (along with a few others) and attributes the turn around in his life to finding God again. I have to say, that’s quite the turn around indeed. I once cut back from five smokes a day to none and turned into Gollum from Lord of the Rings. Very not God-like. But perhaps there is a lesson in there somewhere. I do not know. Another potential lesson to take away from all of this here, is that he made it to 70 years of age not looking nearly as ravished as someone who smoked 60 cigarettes a day for God knows how long should, so maybe cigarette label warnings should stick that in their pipe and smoke on it. In conclusion, Ringo Starr is 70 and found God and doesn’t smoke 60 cigarettes a day anymore. Yay. [source]

Stella McCartney booked Guy Ritchie's band for catwalk

Stella McCartney used Guy Ritchie's The Punchbowl Band for her Paris fashion show. The British fashion designer, who is best friends with the director's ex-wife Madonna, was so pleased with the reaction the crowd gave the group - who the filmmaker recently gave a record deal - at the stylish event, she has asked them to perform for her next season too. A source told The Sun: "They were surprised to be asked considering the Guy connection and because Stella is such good friends with Madonna. [read more]

And the Beatle goes on

The practice room in Kensington doesn’t look much like a crucible of musical history, but that’s what it’s about to become. We’re a fortnight into rehearsals for Backbeat, Iain Softley’s stage version of his 1994 film about the Beatles in Hamburg, and the cast are running through a pivotal scene. It’s the moment in 1960 when the photographer Astrid Kirchherr descends into the Kaiserkeller nightclub and first sets eyes, and ears, on the band that would become the world’s biggest, and the man, Stuart Sutcliffe, who would become her fiancé. “Good golly Miss Molly!” roars Andrew Knott, the production’s John Lennon, as the band launch into one of the rock’n’roll standards that were the Beatles’ meat and drink in their greasy-quiffed formative years in the Reeperbahn clubs. As Knott leans into the mike, it’s obvious why he was cast on the spot: he’s 30 but he channels the teenage Lennon with a ragged vim. read more - Times Online

Echo & The Bunnymen 'sneer' at The Beatles

YOU'D have expected Echo & The Bunnymen - who started out as a post-punk outfit in Liverpool in the wake of the British explosion - to, at least, consider riding the Britpop wave that came with The Beatles. But the iconic band's guitarist and founding member, William Sergeant, sniffed at the very suggestion. Speaking to my paper recently from his home studio in the English city, Sergeant, 51, recalled: "We kind of sneered at The Beatles a little bit. It was never about getting a record deal (for us). We never wanted to be part of any type of 'scene'." Still, there was clearly something special about the trio, which Sergeant formed in 1978 with vocalist Ian McCulloch, 50, and bassist Les Pattinson, 51. [read more]

Japanese fan of John Lennon makes Bermuda pilgrimage to retrace his steps

A Japanese writer and photographer is retracing the Bermuda footsteps of famed musician John Lennon on a weeklong assignment to the Island. Kozue Etsuzen has captured images of various places where the former Beatle either stayed or is known to have visited during his last summer holiday in 1980, six months before he was shot dead in New York. The pictures are expected to appear in a number of publications in Japan later this year. For Ms Etsuzen it is a dream assignment as she is not only a long-time fan of the music of The Beatles and Lennon, but she has never before visited Bermuda. [read more]

John Lennon Was 'Ashamed Of Racist Britain'

JOHN LENNON felt "ashamed" of his native U.K. after wife YOKO ONO endured racist taunts from his fellow Brits, according to a newly discovered essay by the late BEATLE. The couple met in London and wed in 1969 before moving to New York City two years later (71). And Lennon admits he struggled to settle with his new partner in his homeland because of the racial abuse aimed at his Japanese wife. In a piece penned by Lennon before his death in 1980, he writes, “Having been brought up in the genteel poverty of a lower middle-class environment, I should not have been surprised by the outpouring of race-hatred to which we were subjected in that bastion of democracy, Great Britain. "It was hard for Yoko to understand, having been recognised all her life as one of the most beautiful and intelligent women in Japan. The racism and sexism were overt. I was ashamed of Britain.” Source - Contactmusic News

The Day They Shot John Lennon

WHERE were you when John Lennon was shot? How did you feel upon hearing your first Beatles' song? The play takes place in the street in front of the Manhattan apartment house where John Lennon was shot to death. Deeply moved and shocked by this awful event, many New Yorkers spontaneously assembled there to pay tribute to their slain idol, and it is from the interwoven stories of a cross section of these people that the play is written. We're transported back to that December 1980 day of mourning when the songs of an era took on sad, new ironies, and when no one could think of the right words to express an inexplicable loss. [read more]

Tokyo's John Lennon Museum to close

The world's only authorised John Lennon Museum, on the outskirts of Tokyo, will close its doors in September when a deal with his widow Yoko Ono ends, the operator said Thursday. The museum dedicated to the former Beatle opened in Saitama north of Tokyo in 2000 on the 60th anniversary of Lennon's birth and displays about 130 items, including guitars, stage costumes and hand-written lyrics. "After 10 years here, John's spirit is now moving on -- looking onward to the next journey," said Ono in a statement. "Thanks to your love for the museum, what we'd thought would be five years became 10." The number of visitors had declined to about 30,000 a year compared to 124,000 in the first year, said Koji Uzuhashi, spokesman for construction company Taisei Corp which runs the museum. [read more]

Flack Tackles The Fab Four On New Covers Album

Singer ROBERTA FLACK will pay tribute to her one-time neighbour when she releases her new BEATLES album in April (10). The Killing Me Softly singer, who once lived above John Lennon and Yoko Ono in New York, has revealed she's halfway through the covers project and is trying to come up with a title. She tells Spinner.com, "I'm doing a Beatles album for Sony, which will be out on the 21st of April. (It's) all Beatles covers. They did 1,088 songs, so I'm gonna do about 14 of them. "I've finished about eight, so we're on our way. I have Here, There and Everywhere, Here Comes the Sun, Come Together, Eleanor Rigby, Let It Be, Hey Jude. "I did a lot of their songs when I was starting to make the transition from being a classical pianist to playing pop tunes in a restaurant and a club. I played a lot of Beatles songs for my new found audience because they were so melodic." Source - Contactmusic News

Mccartney's Son Takes Beatles-Influenced Album On Tour

SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY's son JAMES is heading out on the road on his first ever U.K. tour - to perform tracks influenced by the Fab Four. James MCCartney will set out on a 14-date trek across Britain in February and March (10), starting in his father's native Liverpool on 25 February (10). The 32 year old played a string of secret gigs in October (09) and has been focusing on his debut album - and he hopes music fans will see the influence of the Beatles in his own work. He tells NME.com, "The music was inspired by The Beatles, Nirvana, The Cure, PJ Harvey, Radiohead - and all good music. "It is basically rock 'n' roll, clean-sounding and vocal. We are mixing our album in Sussex and New York. The words on the album refer to spirituality, love, family, trying to sort out one's life, and many other things." Source - Contactmusic News

The Ballad of John and Yoko by John Lennon

My life with the Beatles had become a trap. A tape loop. I had made previous short excursions on my own, writing books, helping convert them into a play for the National Theatre. I’d even made a movie without the others (a lousy one at that, directed by that zany man in search of power, Dick Lester). But I had made the movie more in reaction to the fact that the Beatles had decided to stop touring than with real independence in mind. Although even then (1965) my eye was already on freedom. Basically, I was panicked by the idea of having “nothing to do.” What is life, without touring? Life, that’s what. I always remember to thank Jesus for the end of my touring days; if I hadn’t said that the Beatles were “bigger than Jesus” and upset the very Christian Ku Klux Klan, well, Lord, I might still be up there with all the other Performing fleas! God bless America. Thank you, Jesus. [read more]

Arts Enter show pays tribute to Elton John and Lennon

Arts Enter will pay tribute to Elton John and John Lennon on Saturday, Feb. 13, at 8 p.m. during "Legends of New York City." Performers Lee Alverson and Bill Kropinak recreate this exciting performance and take it to the highest level. Imagine Elton John and John Lennon performing on stage. Endorsed by The International Elton John Fan Club and rated the world's top Elton John impersonator by United Tribute Artists Inter-national, Lee Alverson has become America's premier Elton John impersonator. His voice, piano playing, charisma, and stage antics are vintage John. By showcasing over three decades of John music with exact replicas of costumes, John is able to entertain an audience in a way that captures the true excitement of a "real" Elton John performance! [read more]

John Lennon On Yoko Ono

A short story written by John Lennon has been re-discovered casting new light on his relationship with Yoko Ono. John Lennon was married when The Beatles first rose to fame. With his wife Cynthia and young son Julian it seemed as if the young songwriter was at the centre of domestic bliss, yet nothing could be further from the truth. An essay written by John Lennon in 1978 has been re-discovered. His widow Yoko Ono alerted fans to the short story via her Twitter, and the piece sheds new light on Lennon's feelings about his life. Beginning with his pre-fame notions of femininity, John Lennon reveals his teenage longing for Brigitte Bardot. "Met the real Brigitte a few years later" he claims. "I was on acid and she was on her way out." [read more]

YOKO ONO / PLASTIC ONO BAND SELLS OUT BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC ALMOST IMMEDIATELY

Tickets for “WE ARE PLASTIC ONO BAND” sold out almost immediately! But, Yoko was not happy that some of her most dedicated fans were shut out so she came up with the idea of opening the doors to the public for a very rare concert experience. On February 15th, BAM will host a dress rehearsal/warm-up show of Yoko Ono and her core band: Sean Lennon, Yuka Honda, and Cornelius (Keigo Oyamada, Shimmy Hirotaka Shimizu and Yuko Araki). They have never done anything like this before, and probably never will again. You will experience Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band in their rawest, most revealing moment. While no special guest artists are being advertised to rehearse this day…who knows? [read more]

Beatles number 9.com: A great Beatles website from a devoted Beatles lover

Simply put, Beatlesnumber9 is a mini-Beatle-pedia from a devoted Beatles lover, David Holmes. Beatles Number 9 is one of the most informative websites on the net. It is content rich. Holmes developed a blog and a website with many interesting stories about the Beatles. Looking at it, you can easily understand that the guy has worked a lot to build this website. Personally, I am not a big Beatles fan and I did not listen to any songs of the Beatles (if that makes me a geek/nerd then I guess I am) but if you just want to know about the Beatles and their songs and lives of other people who were/are affected by the Beatles, then, this is the place you should hang around. Before I get into discussing the site, I want to talk a little bit about the Beatles and David Holmes. [read more] Hey, a good news story is a good news story:)

I interviewed John Lennon, and he was no ultra-left radical

You reported on the 1968 interview with John Lennon that I published in the New Statesman, which revolved around Lennon's "furious" response to a letter attacking him and his song Revolution for being "unfavourably compared to the BBC radio drama Mrs Dale's Diary" (Day in the life: Lennon's six-hour interview with student revealed, 17 December). The article says Lennon was "enraged" by the letter, in "Tariq Ali's radical journal" Black Dwarf. As you say, "The Beatles might have changed their image, but had lost none of their fire, [Lennon] insisted." And in ­January 1969, in his own letter to the magazine, Lennon expressed irritation at being "ticked off" by "brothers in endless fucking prose". [read more]

Mills To Open Up About Mccartney Marriage For Tv Special

HEATHER MILLS is set to reveal all about her marriage to SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY in an upcoming British TV interview. The Beatles legend wed the former glamour model in 2002, but the couple separated in 2006, leading to an ugly public divorce battle. The union was officially dissolved in 2008 and the veteran musician was ordered to hand over $38.9 million (£24.3 million) of his fortune to Mills, as well as annual payments for the former couple's young daughter, Beatrice. MCCartney recently admitted the marriage was one of the biggest mistakes of his life - and now Mills is preparing to expose her feelings about the time they spent together for U.K. show Shrink Rap. In a preview of the interview, Mills reveals she was flattered when the Hey Jude icon pursued her for months after they first met. She says, "As much as those who didn't know us want to dismiss it, those around us know we were very, very in love. I was pursued for a few months. It was very flattering. How could you say no?" Source - Contactmusic News

Sir Paul McCartney to write about vegetarianism in Gwyneth Paltrow`s newsletter

Gwyneth Paltrow has reportedly enlisted Sir Paul McCartney to talk about his meat-free Mondays campaign in her GOOP newsletter. McCartney, 67, is a well-known vegetarian and last year he took part in a campaign to persuade people to give up meat for one day a week. He will now write his views about meat in Paltrow's weekly newsletter, which claims to 'nourish the inner aspect'. He said: 'All it means is that you have to think a bit about what you'll eat that day but, in actual fact, far from being a chore, it's a fun challenge.' Source - Monsters and Critics

Mika Slams Mcgee Over Brit Awards Rant

Pop star MIKA has spoken out against ALAN MCGEE after the music mogul launched a vicious rant against stars including SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY and COLDPLAY. MCGee, who discovered acts such as Oasis and Primal Scream, gave a furious interview last week (beg26Jan10) in which he urged the former Beatle to "retire" and labelled Coldplay "a dilution of a dilution of a dilution." He also called for the U.K.'s prestigious Brit Awards to be scrapped and described many of the acts nominated at this year's ceremony as "an embarrassment." MCGee also made unkind comments about Mika, insisting the high-pitched pop singer should have been "shot at birth." And Mika has now launched his own tirade against the former Creation Records boss. He says, "What does Alan MCGee know? Why would I deserve an opinion from someone like him? I am a target for certain types of people to criticise. They feel that it increases the attention and column inches they get. I'm not willing to take part in their little game or retaliate in any way except to say, 'I don't care.' Let him go off and club with every supermodel in London and rest on the cool laurels he laid for himself with prickly thorns. He can keep that life. I am happy with mine." [source]