Beatles News
The rare vinyl was unveiled at Strawberry Fields on Monday
A rare vinyl by former Beatle John Lennon which was gifted to a charity by his widow and son has been unveiled in Liverpool.
The Salvation Army’s Strawberry Field will display the 12 inch vinyl acetate of John Lennon's GIve Peace a Chance and Remember Love, recorded with Yoko Ono, ahead of its 55th anniversary. It is one of 50 limited edition records gifted to charities by Ono and Sean Ono Lennon to help raise funds for the Salvation Army's Step to Work programme.
Mission Director of Strawberry Field, Major Kathy Versfeld said to be chosen to display the rare record was a "singled out" was a "special blessing".
The vinyl will help raise funds for the Salvation Army's Step to Work programme. She told BBC Radio Merseyside: "It's a fabulous gift from Yoko and Sean.
"It's a real privilege for us here at Strawberry Fields as part of our work we do across the country, and this place that John seemingly loved to frequent, to be able to unveil it and to invite the general public to come and see it."
Originally released on 4 July 1969, the double-sided 12 inch acetates were hand-cut on the lathe at Abbey Road Studios, which is synonymous with The Beatles.
Source: Gemma Sherlock & Tom Walker/bbc.com
Paul McCartney has announced a run of UK and European headline shows for later this year. Find all the details below.
The soloist and Beatles legend is due to perform in Paris and Madrid this December as part of his ‘Got Back’ tour. He’ll then play two gigs at the Co-Op Live arena in Manchester (December 14, 15) and a pair of concerts at The O2 in London (18,19).
Tickets go on general sale at 10am local time this Friday (June 21) – you’ll be able to buy yours here. A fan pre-sale will take place at the same time on Wednesday (19) for the UK dates – find more information here.
In a statement, McCartney said: “I’m excited to be ending my year and 2024 tour dates in the UK. It’s always such a special feeling to play shows on our home soil. It’s going to be an amazing end to the year.”
He added: “Let’s get set to party. I can’t wait to see you.”
See the announcement post below, along with the full itinerary.
Paul McCartney’s 2024 UK and European tour dates are:
DECEMBER
04 – La Defense Arena, Paris, France
05 – La Defense Arena, Paris, France
09 – Wizink Centre, Madrid, Spain
10 – Wizink Centre, Madrid, Spain
14 – Co-op Live, Manchester, UK
15 – Co-op Live, Manchester, UK
18 – The O2, London, UK
19 – The O2, London, UK
Source: Tom Skinner/nme.com
Some albums have cool stories surrounding their making that garner attention for them. The 1966 Beatles’ album Rubber Soul doesn’t really fall into that category. By all counts, it was the same-old, same-old for the Fab Four when they made the record, squeezing it into their busy schedule and churning out the latest material they’d written.
Instead, Rubber Soul demands your attention based on nothing other than its pure brilliance. It was an undeniable high point for The Beatles, as their songwriting, playing, and record-making all took giant leaps. Let’s take a look back at the creation of this masterpiece of an album.
Even as they were advancing to heights previously unmatched by other rock artists, The Beatles weren’t taking themselves all that seriously. The album title Rubber Soul was derived from the phrase “plastic soul.” It’s an oxymoron of sorts, putting something artificial up against an innate human quality, and it makes it seem as if they were downplaying what they were about to present to the public.
But the aural evidence on Rubber Soul suggests depth and profundity the likes of which pop music fans hadn’t yet experienced. And they were doing all this in a mighty hurry.
There were 13 sessions held for Rubber Soul in October and November 1965, and there were 14 songs on the album. One song (“Wait”) was recorded for Help! earlier in the year, but held back. That means The Beatles more or less knocked off one song a day (and that doesn’t take into account “We Can Work It Out” and “Day Tripper,” which were recorded at the same time but would be used to comprise two sides of a non-album single). While that was a much more luxurious pace than what they set earlier in their career (remember Please Please Me was recorded in a single night), it was still impressive how they were jam-packing all of that greatness into such a short period.
Source: Jim Beviglia/americansongwriter.com
By the mid-1960s, John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote their songs apart, but they turned to each other for help perfecting them. According to Lennon, he helped a great deal with some of McCartney’s most popular songs. He explained that while one song was McCartney’s “baby,” he helped write all but the first verse.
McCartney began working on “Eleanor Rigby” based on the image of someone picking up rice after a wedding. He believed this was so poignant that he wanted to write a song about loneliness.
When asked about the song, Lennon said it was “Paul’s baby, and I helped with the education of the child.” By this, he meant that the song would never have grown and matured if it hadn’t been for him.
“Ah, the first verse was his and the rest are basically mine,” Lennon said in the book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview With John Lennon and Yoko Ono. “But the way he did it … Well, he knew he had a song. But by that time he didn’t want to ask for my help, and we were sitting around with Mal Evans and Neil Aspinall, so he said to us, ‘Hey, you guys, finish up the lyrics.'”
Source: MSN
Over the last 38 years, I’ve heard John Lennon’s mate and noted Beatles author Bill Harry say many times, “Fred Lennon is the most maligned character in the entire Beatles story.” And I agree. Although John’s father Fred was an admitted rascal with a penchant for “wine, women, and song,” he sincerely loved his son and tried to do good things for him. However, almost nothing Fred attempted turned out as planned.
After young Alfred Lennon and Julia Stanley had dated for quite a few years, Julia teased Fred that he was “scared to put up the [marriage] banns.” With a twinkle in his eye, he retorted, “I’ll bet you I’ll do it tomorrow!” Three weeks later, the two were married at Liverpool’s Mount Pleasant Register Office (where John Lennon and Cynthia Powell would marry years later). It was all fun and games, getting married. In fact, that evening, the new Mr. and Mrs. went to a Mickey Rooney film and then returned to their family-of-origin homes to sleep.
Source: Jude Southerland Kessler/culturesonar.com
Calling all music enthusiasts ... got deep pockets? If so, a signed copy of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "Double Fantasy" album is up for grabs.
MomentsinTime.com has listed this rare gem from a private collector -- and it can be all yours for $54,000.
Double Fantasy signed by John lennon and Yoko ono moments in time
Fun fact: Yoko's signature doesn't really affect the price. Her signed items don't fetch much on their own, so the value is all down to Lennon's signature.
Nonetheless, the album is the holy grail for collectors -- especially since it dropped just 3 weeks before John's tragic murder in 1980.
"Double Fantasy" was John and Yoko's 5th and final studio album. It got some initial hate, but after John's murder, it shot to worldwide fame, snagging the Album of the Year Grammy in 1981.
Of course, Lennon already had a few Grammys with The Beatles -- And, as we all know, tons of their iconic memorabilia have gone for hundreds of thousands at auction.
From signatures to unseen movie footage and lost recording tapes, the music collectors' industry is always buzzing to get their hands on Fab 4's items.
Source: TMZ Staff
Sixty years ago this week, The Beatles embarked on a tour that redefined popular culture in Australia.
The iconic British group spent almost three weeks in Australia and New Zealand, playing 32 concerts in eight cities.
After touching down in Sydney on June 11, 1964, the Fab Four were met with unprecedented crowds in Adelaide to start the tour.
A new book to be launched this week reveals how that memorable start to the tour almost didn’t happen.
When The Beatles touched down in Adelaide on June 12, 1964, for the first concert of their Australian tour a young fan Jan Gardner was among the first to greet them.
The 14-year-old suffered from a lung condition and her friend Jill, who worked at the airport, decided to organise a special treat to cheer her up. Standing among journalists and photographers on the tarmac at Adelaide Airport, Jan snapped around half a dozen photos of the ‘lads from Liverpool’ as they descended from the plane.
Jan’s story is one of the numerous colourful anecdotes peppered throughout When We Was Fab: Inside The Beatles Australian Tour 1964 (2024) by Greg Armstrong and Andy Neill, which recounts The Beatles’ first and only tour of Australia and New Zealand.
The new book will be launched next week as part of the 60th anniversary celebrations of the ground-breaking tour.
Source: thenewdaily.com.au
Forget What You've Heard: The Beatles Might Have Broken Up Over an English Biscuit
The reason for the Beatles’ demise in 1969 has long been argued and analyzed: how Ringo Starr left the group for two weeks during the White Album sessions, that George Harrison was inspired to go solo after seeing the changes in musical stylings from contemporaries like Bob Dylan, or that when the band ceased live performances in 1966, its members drifted apart while pursuing more individual projects. These moments and more in the Fab Four’s last years together were certainly sowing the seeds of disbandment for the iconic rock band. But most heated discussions on the matter include the marriage of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and Ono’s long-alleged intrusion into the band’s inner workings.
However, there might be a bit more to it than just a clingy wife: One little-known theory involving Ono and a digestive cookie, or as the Brits call them, biscuits, some believe, could have contributed to the crumby ending of one of the greatest bands in music history.
Source: Diamond Rodrigue/dallasobserver.com
Jude Law didn’t think Paul McCartney was ever really going to dedicate “Hey Jude” in his honor, the actor told Stephen Colbert.
After strutting out to the Beatles’ hit on “The Late Show” on Thursday, the “Firebrand” actor recalled experiencing the “quite emotional” dedication in front of a crowd of thousands. He further revealed that fashion designer Stella McCartney was the mastermind behind the moment.
After introducing the two backstage at an Australia show last November, the musician said he would dedicate the song to Law due to the name connection. “That was enough,” the actor said. “I didn’t think he would do it.”
Paul McCartney attends Stella McCartney Womenswear Fall/Winter 2024-2025 show as part of Paris Fashion Week. The “Holiday” heartthrob then admitted that he lamented his unique name while growing up as a “pretty boy” in 1970s London. But upon hearing the dedication live, Law said what he “probably would’ve done is just cry” except that he realized he was on the jumbotron.
In a video shared on social media, the star was caught “dad dancing,” as Colbert put it.
McCartney originally wrote the Beatles’ 1968 tune to cheer up John Lennon’s five-year-old son Julian after his parents’ split. The song, then titled “Hey Jules,” was meant to bring some optimism to the young boy as his father went public with artist Yoko Ono. The band eventually renamed the song to “Hey Jude” because it was easier to sing.
Source: Tess Patton/thewrap.com
A phonophile is preparing to offload his collection. Mark Miller has a collection of vinyls spanning the decades, most impressively assemblage consisting of 377 records from The Beatles.
“I collect records for a hobby and I thought, ‘The Beatles, they’re one of the most re-marketable,’” he said. “I’ve got mono version, stereo version, mistake vinyl, interview vinyl.” A retired flight attendant of 34 years with Northwest Orient & Delta Airlines, Miller has traveled the world amassing an assortment of vinyl records from all variety of production styles, misprints, bootlegs, and international versions.
“I spent most of my time, 20 days a month, in Asia — Singapore, Tokyo, Guangzhou, Beijing, Osaka, Nagoya. I could buy The Beatles everywhere, not just in the United States. My buying arena was everywhere,” he said. He’s got albums from European countries too, including the U.K., France, Netherlands, and also Brazil, and Canada.
Last week, Miller said President & CEO of the Honeywell Foundation Theater in Wabash Tod Minnich and former Capitol Records General Manager & VP Larry Mattera came to his home in Goshen to view the collection and discuss the possibility of buying it and putting it on display.
“I’ve been wanting to display it anywhere for years so that other people can see it,” Miller said. “I don’t want it just sitting on a shelf because it does no good. You just can’t walk into a store and see this many Beatle records. It’s not that it’s the coolest thing in the world. It’s just the product of lots of work. I’ve probably physically walked into 500 or 600 stores — walking in, saying hi, and going through their stuff. It was a labor of love. I loved doing it."
Source: DANI MESSICK THE GOSHEN NEWS
