Beatles News
John Lennon’s ‘Help!’ Guitar , Auctioned for Nearly $2.9 Million. Lennon's Framus 12-string Hootenanny acoustic guitar has been sold by Julien's Auctions for $2,857,500. According to 'Rolling Stone,' that is "a new record for the highest-selling guitar at auction in the Beatles‘ history.". Lennon's Gibson J160E, which was sold for $2.4 million in 2015, previously held the record. We are absolutely thrilled and honored to have set a new world record with the sale of John Lennon’s lost Hootenanny guitar, David Goodman, chief executive at Julien’s Auctions, via statement. This guitar is not only a piece of music history but a symbol of John Lennon’s enduring legacy. , David Goodman, chief executive at Julien’s Auctions, via statement. Today’s unprecedented sale is a testament to the timeless appeal and reverence of the Beatles’ music and John Lennon, David Goodman, chief executive at Julien’s Auctions, via statement. The Hootenanny acoustic guitar was played by both Lennon and George Harrison while making 'Help!' and 'Rubber Soul.'. It later fell into the hands of Scottish singer-songwriter Gordon Waller who gifted it to one of his road managers. 50 years later, the guitar was found in an attic in Britain, and the original guitar case was rescued from the trash.
Darren Julien, co-founder of Julien’s Auctions, referred to the discovery as "the greatest find of a Beatles guitar since Paul McCartney’s lost 1961 Höfner bass guitar." . Finding this remarkable instrument is like finding a lost Rembrandt or Picasso, and it still looks and plays like a dream after having been preserved in an attic for more than 50 years. , Darren Julien, co-founder of Julien’s Auctions, via statement. To awaken this sleeping beauty is a sacred honor, Darren Julien, co-founder of Julien’s Auctions, via statement.
Source: centraloregondaily.com
Paul McCartney and Elvis Costello’s dozen songwriting collaborations were sprinkled throughout several of the men’s albums over half a decade or so. The last of those songs appeared on McCartney’s 1993 album Off the Ground, including the piercing character sketch “Mistress and Maid.”
What is the song about? How did it differ from other songs on Off the Ground? And what did a painting have to do with its creation? Let’s find all about “Mistress and Maid,” an underrated gem from ‘90s-era Paul McCartney.
Ground Control
Paul McCartney kept up a busy pace in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. His 1989 LP Flowers in the Dirt, boosted by some songs written with Elvis Costello, earned him his best notices since the early part of the ‘80s. He also found a touring band with which he shared great chemistry, and he didn’t want to waste that.
As a result, McCartney headed back into the studio for his next original album using many of the same musicians with which he toured. He hadn’t really done a whole album with a steady band since the days of Wings. Off the Ground was an album that was primarily the result of that touring band and McCartney banging away together in the studio.
But “Mistress and Maid” offered a pretty stark exception to that approach. The waltzing number, which had been written years earlier by McCartney and Costello, was adorned with a circus-like atmosphere. All manner of brass instruments are pumping away along with a coterie of violins, colorful musical backing for what’s actually a somber song.
Source: Jim Beviglia/americansongwriter.com
Sir Paul McCartney has said John Mayall was a personal mentor and “great” blues pioneer who educated him on the music genre.
The musician died aged 90 at his home in California on Monday surrounded by his family, according to a statement on his Instagram page.
Beatles star Sir Paul said he received “a great education” from Mayall and found it easy to relate to him as they were both from the north of England. In a post to Instagram, Sir Paul said: “John Mayall, the great British blues pioneer, has died aged 90 and I thought a couple of words from me would be appropriate.”
The 82-year-old said the pair would meet at music clubs in the 1960s before heading back to Mayall’s house “where he had a huge and glorious collection of records”. “During these moments he became a mentor and would educate me on a lot of the blues guitarists playing at the time”, he said.
“I would lounge back in the armchair and he would play tracks by people like BB King, Buddy Guy, Albert King and many other great players.” Mayall was apart of influential blues rock band The Bluesbreakers, which became a launching pad for stars including Eric Clapton and Mick Fleetwood.
Source: alloaadvertiser.com
Even if you know hardly anything about the frenzied years of Beatlemania, you probably have at least a vague image in your head of tens of thousands of screaming fans – overwhelming the sound of the Fab Four's live performances.
Technology, in every facet of life, has obviously advanced light years in the six decades since, and the world of onstage guitar amplification is no exception.
There was no such thing as an arena or stadium touring circuit when the Beatles took over America in the mid-'60s, and the band's onstage guitar amp rig was laughably inadequate in the face of the sheer volume of the hysteria that greeted them wherever they played.
In a 1997 interview with Guitar World, George Harrison reflected wryly on the band's live situation, remarking, “We used 30-watt [Vox] amps until we got those really big 100-watt amps at Shea Stadium. And nothing was even mic'd up through the P.A. – they just had to listen to our amps and the two vocal mics. Sometimes we'd just play rubbish.
Source: Guitar World
Recently, director Sam Mendes served as a guest lecturer at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA), and he let out one very interesting nugget about his upcoming Beatles movies.
Apparently, Mendes told the crowd that his plan is to release all four Beatles movies on the same date (via TheInSneider). Is this a good idea? Obviously, most people will first and foremost pay to see the John Lennon and Paul McCartney movies, then George Harrison and finally Ringo Starr. That’s just how it’ll go down.
If Sony does end up releasing all four films at once, then it would save them plenty on marketing costs. Mendes is directing all four, and although no casting has been formally announced, Jeff Sneider has put it out there that Harris Dickinson (John Lennon), Paul Mescal (Paul McCartney), Barry Keoghan (Ringo Starr), and Charlie Rowe (George Harrison) are being eyed for roles.
For the first time ever, Apple Corps. and The Beatles have granted full life story and music rights for a scripted film. Sony chief Tom Rothman stated Mendes was eyeing a mid-2025 shoot in the UK, with all four films released in 2027. There’s also been a rumor that Mendes regular Roger Deakins was asked to lens all of the films.
Source: Jordan Ruimy/worldofreel.com
English singer, songwriter and guitarist John Lennon (1940-1980), English singer, ... [+] songwriter and bassist Paul McCartney, English musician, singer and drummer Ringo Starr and English musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist George Harrison (1943-2001) of the Beatles attend a press party at the home of manager Brian Epstein supporting the release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, May 19, 1967, in London, United Kingdom. The Beatles's 1 compilation is their first release to hit 450 weeks on the U.K. albums chart—a milestone it reaches this frame.(Photo by Jeff Hochberg/Getty Images)
The Beatles almost always claim at least one space on the U.K. albums chart. They are simply too popular to fall away from the ranking of the most-consumed full-lengths in their home country for very long.
The band’s 1 compilation is typically representative of The Beatles’ ongoing commercial success. The project features many of their most beloved songs, so all the streams of those tunes usually feed into keeping the title on the list (though not always).
This frame, 1 celebrates hitting 450 weeks on the U.K. albums chart. It’s the first release from The Beatles to make it to that number, and it is far and away the Fab Four’s longest-running win.
1 doesn’t face any competition for the title of The Beatles’ full-length with the most weeks spent on the ranking of the top-performing albums in the U.K. Their second-longest-charting title, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, has thus far held on for 277 frames. That’s only a little more than half as long as 1.
Source: Hugh McIntyre/forbes.com
The Beatles were the most commercially successful musical act of their era. The band remains hugely popular, and many of their records have yet to be beaten. The individual members also enjoyed bestseller status with some of their releases, though on occasion, they weren’t afraid to try some unusual things, which meant that sales and awards weren’t necessarily guaranteed.
John Lennon often followed what his heart told him, instead of chasing numbers and sales. One of his less-understood albums that never became the massive win that the musician was accustomed to has returned and become a chart success again, and it’s been decades since it was last seen.
Mind Games reappears on the U.K. albums chart this week. Lennon’s solo album lands at No. 39 on the list of the most-consumed full-lengths in the country, becoming a top 40 smash yet again.
Lennon’s solo collection has been away from the U.K. ranking for a long, long while. The last time it was seen on the albums chart across the pond was back in February 1974.
Mind Games returns following its highly-anticipated re-release. The album was recently expanded to feature a lot of new material, including remixes from his own son, Sean. Several editions of the deluxe product were made available, with some including lengthy audio commentary on the songs. Up to six CDs were sold in some instances, and a coffee table book is apparently on the way as well.
Source: Hugh McIntyre/forbes.com
If it was quarantine fever that prompted Paul McCartney to return to all-DIY studio mode for his new album, “McCartney III,” it may be the the lack of any looming global tour that really helped set the record’s diverting and loose mood. His previous release, 2018’s “Egypt Station,” created with a full band and big-name producers like Greg Kurstin and Ryan Tedder, had its quirks but was clearly designed as the kind of commercial project that would not just reinstate the former Beatle at No. 1 on the charts (which it did) but provide fresh set-list grist that wouldn’t have stadium bathroom queues forming all at once. “McCartney III” is almost nothing but the quirks, undertaken in isolation with an initial intended audience of probably just one: a certain Sussex vegan sheep farmer who must’ve realized by April or May that he’d rather spend the pandemic woodshedding than shearing.
As probably every fan has heard or figured out by now, “McCartney III” is a sequel to 1970’s “McCartney” and 1980’s “McCartney II” in name, methodology and year-ending-in-zero only, and not so much in style. Because when it comes to that, “III” doesn’t really have one — it’s all over the place, and delightfully so, even if he occasionally lands upon a subgenre that you wish he stuck with for more than a song or two.
Source: Chris Willman/ca.news.yahoo.com
The 1966 Beatles album Revolver is loaded with incredible songs. One of the most underrated tracks on the album would definitely be “She Said She Said”. It was one of many songs credited to John Lennon and Paul McCartney. However, the song was actually only written by Lennon with some help from George Harrison. McCartney didn’t really have much to do with it, according to the man himself in Barry Miles’ biography called Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now. Paul McCartney even said that “She Said She Said” is one the rare instances in which he didn’t play on a Beatles song.
So, what happened? According to McCartney, it started with some creative differences he had with the band shortly before they recorded it. He did participate in the first takes for the song, but McCartney did not contribute to the final recording at all.
Why Didn’t Paul McCartney Play On “She Said She Said”?
Paul McCartney has always been known as the perfectionist of The Beatles. So when the band opted to experiment with more psychedelic elements around the mid-1960s, there was quite a bit of head-butting. McCartney pitched an arrangement for “She Said She Said”, which was ultimately ignored. That didn’t sit well with McCartney.
“John [Lennon] brought it in pretty much finished,” McCartney said in his biography. “I’m not sure, but I think it was one of the only Beatle records I never played on. I think we’d had a barney or something, and I said, ‘Oh, f**k you!’ and they said, ‘Well, we’ll do it.’ I think George played bass.”
Source: Em Casalena/americansongwriter.com
The lineup for the upcoming Venice Film Festival was just announced, and it includes two Beatles-related documentaries.
One to One: John and Yoko, directed by Kevin Macdonald and Sam Rice-Edwards, focuses on the relationship between John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
A previous announcement about the film describes it as “a moving look at the couple’s life upon their entry into a transformative 1970’s New York, exploring their musical, personal, artistic, social, and political world.” It centers around the pair’s 1972 One to One Concerts, which were Lennon’s only full-length performances after The Beatles’ 1970 breakup. They featured Yoko, The Plastic Ono Band, Elephant’s Memory and special guests.
The other is Things We Said Today, from Andrei Ujica. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film focuses on The Beatles’ first North American tour, which happened in 1964.
The Venice Film Festival will take place Aug. 28 to Sept. 7.
Source: ruralradio.com
