Beatles News
"Before Cliff Richard and 'Move It', there was nothing worth listening to in England."
That was the opinion of John Lennon, who once claimed Cliff Richard had a transformative effect on British pop music.
Despite later becoming chart rivals, the plucky singer actually had more of an influence on The Beatles than he would've perhaps realised himself.
Up until the release of Cliff Richard & The Shadows' 1959 hit 'Move It', rock 'n' roll hadn't quite yet made it across the Atlantic to the UK.
John Lennon claimed Cliff Richard was the best thing to happen to British music. Why George Harrison accused the Bee Gees of being "greedy". When George Harrison teamed up with Paul Simon for a beautiful duet of 'Here Comes The Sun'.
Cliff opened the gateway to a musical revolution on our shores, and made a lasting impact on another member of the Fab Four too.
In fact, insight from a new book reveals that George Harrison was inspired to pick up the guitar after seeing Cliff Richard perform.
Though unlike Lennon, Harrison wasn't as effusive in his praise for Richard's talent. Quite the opposite. Set for release on 11th April 2024, the new book All You Need Is Love has been described as "a ground-breaking oral history of The Beatles and how it all came to an end."
According to The Times, it also details what influenced George to learn the guitar - seeing Cliff Richard perform.
"I remember being a kid of about twelve, dreaming of big motorboats and tropical islands and things which had nothing to do with Liverpool, which was dark and cold," he said in a 1980 interview that has recently resurfaced.
"I remember going to see Cliff Richard and thinking 'f**k it - I could do better than that."
Source: Thomas Curtis-Horsfall/goldradiouk.com
The Beatles may have amassed an entire library of books about their every utterance, but some songs still defy examination. Take ‘Revolver’ classic ‘And Your Bird Can Sing’ – catchy as hell, it pushed their beat sound to the limit… but no one can quite agree on what it’s all about.
Primarily written by John Lennon, the lyrics are oblique, and open to several interpretations. Essentially taking down a braggart, some critics believe the Fab Four were aiming at Frank Sinatra – in particular, a Gay Talese penned hagiographical profile, published in 1966.
If that’s the case, then the “bird” of the title could well be Nancy Sinatra – after all, father and daughter notched up a number of hit duets together.
To others, the braggart is actually Mick Jagger. The Beatles and the Rolling Stones enjoyed a friendly rivalry during the 60s, and in 1966 the Stones were very much on the ascendant, scoring huge international hits.
Could the ‘bird’ of the title refer to Marianne Faithfull? The parallel is perhaps too cute – Faithfull and Jagger began dating after the song was released.
Discarding the ego-centric discussions, there could be a simpler explanation: John Lennon’s then-wife Cynthia bought him a wind-up bird for his birthday in the mid 60s, a present that didn’t exactly go down well. Is an unhappy marriage the reason the song states repeatedly “you don’t get me.
Source: Robin Murray/clashmusic.com
Only two members of The Beatles remain, as both Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are not only still around, but they continue to write and record music and even tour. According to an exciting new announcement made by one of their children, the two musicians may have a new collaboration in the works–or at least, they’re slated to appear on the same project as one another.
Zak Starkey, Starr’s son and a drummer, took to Instagram to reveal he has a new charity musical effort in process. He shared some of the details about a forthcoming project, including confirming–or so it seems–that both his father and McCartney are involved.
Starkey revealed that he has recorded a cover of “Children of the Revolution” by the rock band T. Rex, and this is an all-star affair. The reworking reportedly features vocals by Axl Rose, Duff McKagan recorded the bass, and his own father played the drums. The forthcoming cover of “Children of the Revolution” was then sent to Elton John, who added piano to the tune. Slash recorded the guitar on the song.
Instagramtherealzakstarkey on Instagram: "Around 3pm On the day of the who and gnr show at rock in Rio - duff and I went in a local studio and cut bass for a cover of t.rex children of the revolution -original by trex is playing on the post . My dad played drums in LA (while I fudged the bass) then in Rio duff cut bsss . A couple of weeks after the tour we cut guitars in NYC with slash - sent the track with sshh guide vocal to Elton who played amazing piano. Sshh went to hang with Axl who said he'd like to sing it -wow!-Axl killed it - amazing vocals - he's mixing thee track now I believe (hope) and we will auction the record for teen cancer without greedy bean counting majors wanting 75% (I won't say which label but fuck me this is for sick kids) Produced by me n sshh it's a full album with more than one Beatle a smith a pretender, an Ashcroft , an iggy and many more .... Soon come"
Source: Hugh McIntyre/forbes.com
Ringo Starr is ready to drop some new music.
The Beatles drummer announced that the new song, “February Sky,” will be released Friday, April 12, giving fans their first taste of his new EP, Crooked Boy. Crooked Boy includes four original tracks, written and produced by Linda Perry, who wrote two songs that appeared on Ringo’s 2021 EP, Change the World.
“Linda made me a great EP – she produced it in her studio and then sent me the tracks and I added the drumming and my vocals,” Ringo shares. “’February Sky’ is great – very moody – but since Linda wrote these specifically for me – it of course has to have a positive peace & love element.”
Crooked Boy will be released on limited-edition marble vinyl for Record Store Day on April 20. That will be followed by a digital release on April 26, with the black vinyl and CD versions dropping May 31.
Fans who just can’t wait until April 20 to hear Crooked Boy will have a chance to preview it earlier at a fan listening event at Amoeba Music in Hollywood on April 18. They will also be selling a special red vinyl seven-inch single of the track.
Source: ABC News/everettpost.com
It’s fair to say the two high points of George Harrison‘s solo career were All Things Must Pass, his first post-Beatles solo release, and Cloud Nine, his incredible 1987 comeback. But he delivered a lot of good stuff in between, if admittedly on a less consistent basis. His 1979 single “Blow Away,” for just one example, stands out as a breezy, thoughtful gem.
What was the song about? What inspired Harrison to write it? And how did it bring him back into the world of songwriting and recording at a time when he’d largely abandoned it? Well, to paraphrase “Blow Away,” all you got to do is read on and find out.
A Beatle on a Break
John Lennon wasn’t the only ex-Beatle to take a little break from the album-making grind in the late ’70s. George Harrison largely walked away from the music world for a two-year period as well. After releasing four albums in a four-year stretch, ending with Thirty Three & 1/3 in 1976, the Quiet Beatle lived up to his name by not releasing anything until his self-titled 1979 album, for which “Blow Away” was chosen as lead single.
Why the layoff? Well, Harrison had become a bit fed up with the scene. He never enjoyed the promotional aspects of the record-making process. And he didn’t feel the urge to tour, especially after his earlier ’70s live shows led him to get a bit carried away with excess (and caused his infamous “Dark Hoarse” period when his voice was shot).
Source: Jim Beviglia/americansongwriter.com
George Harrison remained an enigma to many people, even those who were close to him. For a man who lectured passionately about karma and the meaning of existence, he seemed self-protective and closed off. Witty when called upon, there were also moments when he could be quite boorish. Perhaps it was because he was only twenty years old when the Beatles became a global sensation. That might not seem particularly young in today’s world of social media fame, but at the time, it was uncharted territory for the kind of adulation he was experiencing.
It was also difficult living in the shadow of Paul and John. In the beginning, they were openly dismissive of him. Paul said he always thought of George as a little...
Source: Steven Gaines | Peter Brown/thetimes.co.uk
It’s hard to talk too much about John Lennon‘s “Grow Old with Me” without referencing the tragedy that rendered the song’s heartfelt wishes an impossibility for Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono. Let’s instead celebrate it as a beautiful message of enduring affection that can be appreciated by lovers of all ages who want to stick with their significant others into the autumn and even winter years.
What is “Grow Old with Me” about? How did a songwriting challenge between John and Yoko help to create it? And how did the song eventually undergo a few Beatles-adjacent releases? The story begins with the flurry of songwriting and recording activity that John Lennon perpetrated in the final year of his life.
Yoko Throws Down the Gauntlet
Yoko Ono indirectly started the process of “Grow Old with Me” coming into existence with a song of her own. Ono had used Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s “How Do I Love Thee (Sonnet 43)” as the basis for her song “Let Me Count the Ways,” and she challenged Lennon to write one of his own based on a Robert Browning poem. On holiday in Jamaica in the summer of 1980, he obliged, using the poem “Rabbi Ben Ezra” as his jumping-off point, even borrowing the lines “Grow old along with me / The best is yet to be.”
Lennon made a demo recording of the song in the month before his death. It was a time when the couple was furiously recording material for both the comeback album Double Fantasy and the planned followup Milk and Honey. Ono explained why they held “Grow Old with Me” off the first album in the Milk and Honey liner notes:
Source: Jim Beviglia/americansongwriter.com
Yoko Ono reportedly told John Lennon how to take heroin, according to an excerpt from a new oral history book on The Beatles.
The Sunday Times shared several new excerpts from All You Need Is Love — a book featuring interviews from the early 1980s with Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, as well as Ono and other loved ones in the band's world.
In one interview from the book, Ono, now 91, reportedly said she advised Lennon on how to take heroin, and denied that she "put John on H," which she claimed his bandmate Harrison had accused her of. Ono also said that Lennon "wouldn’t take anything unless he wanted to do it."
Per the Times excerpt, Ono reportedly said she first "had a sniff of" heroin in Paris and that she experienced "a beautiful feeling" as she did not get sick from it. "It was just a nice feeling," she said in the book, according to the outlet. "So I told John that."
Ono also reportedly said that Lennon would ask her about her experience using the drug, the Times reported. Ultimately, Ono thought he "wanted to take it, that’s why he was asking," per the excerpt. She also said that they "never injected" the drug.
A rep for Ono did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
Source: Brenton Blanchet/people.com
A controversial book about The Beatles is shining a light on the band’s most contentious years.
The Love You Make was first published in 1983, having been written by Steven Gaines and Peter Brown, who was the personal assistant to the band’s manager Brian Epstein and stepped in to oversee the band’s affairs when Epstein died.
But the band were left “furious” by the revelations made in the book, with Gaines recalling: “Paul and Linda [McCartney] tore the book apart and burned it in the fireplace, page by page.
“There was an omerta, a code of silence around the Beatles, and they didn’t think anyone would come forward to tell the truth.
Now, inspired by Peter Jackson’s acclaimed documentary Get Back, Gaines and Brown are releasing a follow-up book filled with interview transcripts from which The Love You Make was written.
One moment in the book reveals an encounter The Beatles had with Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger that left the musician feeling “very uncomfortable”.
It concerned Allen Klein, the shady accountant who came in to manage The Beatles and eventually sacked everyone the band had been working with at the time. Lennon was a big fan of Klein, with Gaines suggesting to The Times it was due to the businessman offering Lennon’s wife Yoko Ono “a million dollars for her movie project”.
At the time, Brown, attempting to steer the band away from Klein, set up a meeting with Jagger so he could “explain who this Allen Klein was”.
Source: Jacob Stolworthy/independent.co.uk
From her cover of the Dolly Parton hit “Jolene” to the Tina Turner-inspired “Ya Ya,” Beyoncé fans everywhere have been dissecting every inch of her new album, Cowboy Carter, since its release. And while every member of the Beyhive knows that practically everything Ms. Carter does is for the culture, some may be surprised to learn that the Beatles song she chose to cover was originally written as a special tribute to an inspirational group of young Black people. And now, Paul McCartney, who wrote the song in 1968 is giving Bey his blessing on a “magnificent version.”
“I am so happy with @beyonce’s version of my song ‘Blackbird.’ I think she does a magnificent version of it and it reinforces the civil rights message that inspired me to write the song in the first place. I think Beyoncé has done a fab version and would urge anyone who has not heard it yet to check it out. You are going to love it!” McCartney said in an April 4 Instagram post.
The Beatles frontman said Bey thanked him for writing the song, inspired by the Civil Rights Movement, in a FaceTime call. He hopes that herb 2024 version will help continue to ease racial tension.
Source: Angela Johnson/yahoo.com
