Beatles News
A Beatles engineer thought Ringo Starr shone in 'A Hard Day's Night.' He didn't think Starr came off this way in real life.
In 1964, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr starred in the Beatles’ movie A Hard Day’s Night. They enjoyed the experience, and their fans loved the film. The people who knew The Beatles also enjoyed their viewing experiences. Audio engineer Geoff Emerick, who worked extensively with the band, said it showed him a different side of the musicians. In particular, he appreciated the fact that the typically reserved Starr came across well.
When Emerick saw A Hard Day’s Night, he had some issues with the music but no complaints about The Beatles’ performances. He also appreciated the fact that he had the insider knowledge to recognize that their onscreen personas did not match their real personalities.
“The Beatles themselves were portrayed as four stereotypes in the movie, and I remember sitting there thinking to myself, ‘They’re not really like that’ — though I was probably the only one in the theater who knew that,” he wrote in his book Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles. “They were playing their roles very much tongue in cheek, especially Lennon.”
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
The Beatles rolled their eyes at news Brian Epstein thought would thrill them. Here's how he reacted to their lack of interest.
In 1967, Brian Epstein rushed into the studio to give The Beatles what he saw as thrilling news. He’d booked them a spot on a television program that would reach televisions around the world. Epstein saw this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; for the first time ever, a satellite would transmit a program worldwide. The Beatles didn’t think this was nearly as monumental as Epstein did. Their lack of interest nearly drove him to tears.
While The Beatles were putting the finishing touches on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Epstein rushed into the studio with exciting news. He didn’t often visit them during recording sessions, so everyone in the room eagerly awaited his announcement.
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
Dhani Harrison, son of The Beatles’ star George Harrison, tells a wonderful story in the Martin Scorsese documentary, "George Harrison: Living in the Material World," that speaks to the modesty of his famous father. Dhani said he couldn’t understand why kids at school chased after him singing "Yellow Submarine." "It just seemed surreal. Why are they singing that song to me?" he wondered. Then, he discovered the answer. "I came home, and I freaked out on my dad: ‘Why didn’t you tell me you were in The Beatles?' And he said, ‘Oh, sorry. Probably should have told you that.’
While many rock stars—like many business leaders—can be arrogant, self-centered and full of themselves, Harrison was renowned for being sincere, humble, kind and collaborative. These attributes are often exhibited by the best corporative executives, which defies the conventional wisdom that top leaders need to be forceful, charismatic individuals who thrive in the limelight. It’s something I’ve observed working with companies across the country, and it’s an observation that’s backed by several university studies.
Source: Jason Richmond/forbes.com
Every band has a unique story behind their name, and the Beatles are no exception. Before they became the iconic rock and roll sensation we know today, they were just a group of musicians striving for success. Just like any other band, the Beatles also tried to find the perfect name for their act.
One theory surrounding the origin of the band’s name takes us back to a moment in their early days, when Stuart Sutcliffe, a close friend of John Lennon from their art school days, entered the picture. Stuart, who had recently sold one of his paintings and acquired a bass guitar with the proceeds, became a member of the act in January 1960.
It was during this time that Sutcliffe proposed changing the band’s name to ‘Beatals,’ drawing inspiration from his admiration for Buddy Holly and the Crickets. While ‘Beatals’ was a step in the right direction, it wasn’t the final iteration of their name.
Source: Bihter Sevinc/rockcelebrities.net
We have more than covered the Beatles’ vast catalog, including their top hits and their deep cuts. While it’s their music that ultimately made them the legends we know them as today, there were many aspects to their monumental rise to fame that cannot be overlooked–namely, their movies.
While their music got people grooving, their movies gave fans access to who they were as people. The Fab Four were goofy, buoyant, and jokesters. Each of their feature films helped to highlight that fact.
In the list below, we’re looking at the four main feature films from the Beatles’ career. We’ve ranked them from worst to best, taking into account their status in the fandom and their critical reception. See what movie we placed at No. 1 below.
Source: Alex Hopper/americansongwriter.com
“Carnival of Light” is one Beatles song that’s unlikely to see the light of day. Recorded on January 5, 1967, during the band’s sessions for “Penny Lane”—initially intended for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band—the 14-minute, avant-garde “Carnival of Light” was commissioned for The Million Volt Light and Sound Rave. The event was held at the Roundhouse Theatre in London from January 28 through February 4, 1967.
An early progenitor of noise rock, and one of the more experimental pieces by the Beatles, “Carnival of Light” was written by McCartney and recorded by the Beatles at Abbey Road Studios. Filled with gargled sounds and vocals, including random bursts of Are you all right? and Barcelona, the track is pressed by heavy organs, echos, and distorted guitars.
“I said all I want you to do is just wander around all the stuff, bang it, shout, play it, it doesn’t need to make any sense,” said McCartney of his instructions to the band while recording the song. “Hit a drum, then wander on to the piano, hit a few notes. Just wander around. So that’s what we did and then put a bit of an echo on it. It’s very free.”
Source: Tina Benitez-Eves/americansongwriter.com
We take a historical look into times when the record industry gave birth to the most expensive albums ever. Will we ever see recording budgets like these again?
As online audience retention has become the new metric for success in entertainment, recording budgets these days are only a fraction of what they once were.
We’re taking a look back at some of the extravagant album productions of all time and uncovering some of the reasons the recording process took so long.
Terms like “Suffering for your art” and “Labour of love” do come to mind, but we’ll let you decide whether these gargantuan recording budgets were justified or not.
5. The Beatles – Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
Even though The Beatles didn’t live the most exulted lifestyles during recording when compared with their modern pop equivalents, Sgt Pepper’s was still an indulgent production in time and money.
The Fab Four and George Martin used over 700 hours of studio time to create what is commonly referred to as a masterpiece of recorded music.
Source: Stefan Wyeth/gearnews.com
The Beatles were extremely protective of their snacks, but they often ate others' food. Engineers took to hiding their food from the band,
The Beatles stocked up on snacks in the studio. According to Beatles audio engineer Geoff Emerick, the band members were very protective of their food. If anyone touched their snacks, they exploded with frustration. This trait didn’t stop them from taking other people’s food, though.
According to Emerick, The Beatles didn’t want anyone eating their snacks. They didn’t see a problem with eating other people’s food, though.
“Food was always very proprietary among The Beatles,” Emerick wrote in his book Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles. “Mal [Evans] would get everybody his own thing, and there was no sharing, no eating family style; no one was allowed to try anyone else’s food. That principle applied to us, too — we knew never to help ourselves to any snacks they laid out in the studio. But in their minds, the reverse was not true: anything they found in the control room was fair game as far as The Beatles were concerned.”
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
A Patek Philippe watch given to John Lennon by his wife Yoko Ono shortly before his assassination in 1980 has been discovered in Geneva, resurfacing after having disappeared for years.
The former Beatle’s timepiece is currently in possession of lawyers for an Italian watch collector who bought it from a now-defunct German auction house, according to official legal documents from a Geneva court. Ono had given Lennon the watch for his 40th birthday, and a former driver for the Japanese artist is suspected to have stolen the timepiece long ago.
Source: Andy Hoffman/bloomberg.com
Before Jimmy Buffett died last week at 76, he completed a new album called Equal Strain on All Parts, which will be released November 3rd. Its lead single is “Bubbles Up,” a song that Buffett’s collaborator Paul McCartney said is “probably the best” he’d ever sounded.
McCartney — who performs on an upcoming Equal Strain on All Parts single called “My Gummie Just Kicked In” — remembered the Margaritaville founder in a tribute post on Instagram earlier this week, reflecting on the first time he listened to the album and being taken aback by “Bubbles Up.” The tune’s title references how sailors can avoid drowning in a capsized boat by following the “bubbles up” to the water’s surface.
Source: Abby Jones Follow/consequence.net
