Beatles News
A snowstorm and an unlikely combination of musical influences helped propel The Beatles’ “Please Please Me” to the top of the British charts, while its path in America took a much longer route.
“Love Me Do” by The Beatles was the first single released by Parlophone Records. It peaked at No. 17 on the British charts, which was encouraging. The constant touring and long hours onstage contributed to the groundswell of support from the growing number of fans. This very moment in their career was crucial. The follow-up single had to come in strong to continue the momentum.
As soon as the recording session ended, their producer, George Martin, believed they had their first No. 1. Let’s look at the story behind “Please Please Me” by The Beatles.
Last night, I said these words to my girl
I know you never even try, girl
Come on (come on), come on (come on)
Come on (come on), come on (come on)
Please, please me, whoa yeah, like I please you
Source: Jay McDowell/americansongwriter.com
John Lennon told the rest of The Beatles that he was leaving the group in 1969. He felt that it was time for him to mature.
John Lennon met Paul McCartney and George Harrison when they were teenagers, and they performed together in The Beatles all through their 20s. When Lennon left The Beatles, he said he did it because he wanted to be able to grow up. He didn’t think it was possible to do this while in the band.
John Lennon said he felt he couldn’t mature in The Beatles
In 1969, Lennon told his bandmates that he no longer wanted to be in The Beatles. His life had been intertwined with his bandmates’ for so long and he was ready for a break.
“We’re all individuals. And in The Beatles we grew out of it,” Lennon said in The Beatles Anthology. “The bag was too small. I can’t impose far-out films or far-out music on George and Paul if they don’t want to do it. Vice versa, Paul can’t impose on me whatever he likes, especially when there’s no common goal anymore. We have to live our own lives separately.”
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
Sixty years after the onset of Beatlemania and with two of the quartet now dead, a “new” Beatles song, “Now And Then,” was released in 2023.
More than 60 years have passed since four relatively unknown musicians from Liverpool, England arrived at the EMI Studios in London to record their first single. Within two years of the September 1962 session, the world would know their names, collectively and individually, as the mania identified with them swept the globe. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and the recently-added Ringo Starr had no idea what was to come in the years ahead. No one could have imagined.
Six decades later, the world still seems to be waiting for the Beatles, just as America had been in late-1963 on the heels of a presidential assassination. The worldwide phenomenon was a combination of music, energy, hairstyle, humor, wit and fun that made young people smile, adults cover their ears and educated professionals search for sociological significance. Their music served as a soundtrack for the 1960s. Their songs transcend time.
The Beatles as a functioning unit would last until 1970 when the four men who had crammed a lifetime into the insanely hectic years of Beatlemania stepped away with a final bow.
Throughout the 1970s, there were offers attempting to bring the group together but the dream was never realized. In some ways, the fact that the Beatles never did reunite only added to the mystique. The closest to a reunion came in 1973 during recording sessions for Starr’s “Ringo” LP. All three of his former bandmates participated, writing songs along with supplying vocals, keyboards and guitar work, though all four were never together in-studio at the same time.
Source: lewistownsentinel.com
The Beatles have been pictured living the high life in Miami on a 23-foot speedboat during their whirlwind February 1964 tour in rare, previously unseen images.
The 'Fab Four' - Paul, Ringo, John, and George - were seen taking a joyride on a Formula 233 speedboat driven by Dan Aronow in Miami, Florida, six decades ago.
Iconic drummer Ringo is pictured riding the boat with ease - dressed in his swimsuit, dark spandex, and a white Cuban shirt. In another, he is holding a fishing reel.
In another picture, legendary guitarist John Lennon is seen enjoying his leisure time while dressed in black shades, a white shirt with loafers seated near the boat's bow.
Michael Aronow, a New Jersey attorney, shared exclusive photos of Paul, Ringo, John, and George taking a joyride on a Formula 233 speedboat driven by his father, Dan Aronow, a two-time offshore power boat world champion.
Source: Ruth Bashinsky/dailymail.co.uk
The late Beatle's copy of the band's 1968 self-titled record has raised the impressive sum at at the Beatles 60th Anniversary Auction For Heritage.
A copy of The Beatles' White Album belonging to the late John Lennon has fetched $162,5000 (£128,000) at auction.
Earlier this month, it was reported that the late musician's copy of the band's 1968 self-titled album (most commonly known as the White Album) was set to go under the gavel with a starting bid of $50,000.
Lennon gifted the album to his chauffeur and bodyguard Les Anthony, who passed the record onto a relative. According to the auction house: "The LP was re-discovered after a television show named Find a Fortune was discussing rare records and the owner contacted the TV program and expressed his interest in selling the album.
"The program then contacted Mike Vandenbosch of More Than Music who purchased the historic piece."
According to auction site, the album comes complete with the original poster that served as a lyric sheet, the four colour photos of each individual Beatle and the black inner sleeves that only appeared with early editions of the LP.
They also stated that "the jacket cover is in overall VG-EX 6 condition with some ring wear, bending, creasing, expected discolouration and staining" while the vinyl condition ranges from "Excellent" to "Near Mint" condition across the four sides.
It's long been thought that former Beatle roadie and manager of the band's Apple company Neil Aspinall held the mono edition of number 0000006 of the "White Album" and that only the group's inner circle held copies of numbers 0000001 to 0000020.
Back in 2015, Ringo Starr's mono copy of the "White Album" number 0000001 sold for an incredible $790,000 - £627,000 in British money today.
Source: Jenny Mensah/radiox.co.uk
John Lennon was a singer-songwriter, musician, and peace activist who rose to fame as a member of the Beatles, one of the most influential bands in the history of music. Born in Liverpool, England in 1940, Lennon showed an early interest in music and formed the Beatles with Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr in 1960.
As a member of the Beatles, Lennon’s songwriting and vocals helped to define the sound of the band and cement their place as one of the most important musical acts of the 20th century. After the band’s breakup in 1970, Lennon continued to release successful solo albums, including “Imagine” and “Mind Games.”
Lennon was also known for his outspoken activism and advocacy for peace, which he expressed through his music and public statements. He and his wife Yoko Ono staged a series of “bed-ins” in 1969 to protest the Vietnam War, and he wrote several songs that became anthems for the peace movement, including “Give Peace a Chance” and “Imagine.”
Tragically, Lennon was assassinated outside of his New York City apartment in 1980 by a mentally ill fan. His death shocked the world and silenced one of the most influential voices in music and activism. However, Lennon’s music and message continue to inspire generations of fans around the world.
Source: Edward Tomlin/singersroom.com
Who knows what the four movies directed by Sam Mendes about The Beatles will look like when released in 2027. Will they perhaps move into areas outside of their time with the group? If so, the time in John Lennon‘s life when he made the album Walls and Bridges and recorded the song “Nobody Loves You (When You’re Down and Out)” might be an interesting one to explore.
What is the song about? Who was the artist Lennon had in mind when writing it? And what was going on in Lennon’s personal life that engendered such raw feelings? All the answers ahead as we dive into this somewhat unheralded Lennon album cut.
After the brilliant one-two punch of John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine started off his post-Beatles career, Lennon floundered a bit. Problems in his personal life certainly didn’t help matters. A separation from Yoko Ono and a move to Los Angeles with new girlfriend May Pang led to Lennon’s infamous “Lost Weekend” period, one where drugs and alcohol stunted any creative tendencies he might have felt.
Luckily, he managed to pull it together in the summer of 1974, putting aside the excesses for a while and returning to New York to record the album titled Walls and Bridges. Perhaps because he was momentarily free from the drugs and booze, Lennon found clarity and was able to articulate his feelings at this difficult time in his life, as he explained to David Sheff in the book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono:
“I think I was more in a morass mentally than Yoko was. If you listen to Walls And Bridges you hear somebody that is depressed. You can say, ‘Well, it was because of years of fighting deportation and this problem and that problem,’ but whatever it was, it sounds depressing. The guy knows how to make tables, but there’s no spirit in the tables. I’m not knocking the record. But I’m saying it showed where I was. It’s a reflection of the time.”
Source: Jim Beviglia/americansongwriter.com
With the news of four adjoining biopics, one for each member of The Beatles, announced this week, it seems clear that biographical films are fast becoming the new superhero movies in terms of quantity and share of Hollywood’s current offerings.
With Oppenheimer surprising film execs by making just shy of a billion dollars at the box office, as well as becoming the (perhaps more expected) hot favorite to win Best Picture at the 2024 Academy Awards, it’s clear that there’s a market for biopics that audiences are highly receptive to. Robert J. Oppenheimer wasn’t exactly a traditional celebrity before the Christopher Nolan biopic, but its success — and arguably, Barbie’s bigger financial success — has made it clear that there’s money to be made from films based on (somewhat) true stories, especially if the moviegoers have a lifelong familiarity with the subject.
Previous musician biopics, such as 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody, took home four Academy Awards and an $800 million box office, something that was likely helped by Queen’s two remaining original members, Roger Taylor and Brian May, at the helm as consultants, with former manager Jim Beach acting as producer.
Although perhaps not a recipe for critical acclaim (as shown by the movie’s very mixed reviews), the seal of approval from subjects of the biopic — as well as additional funding — helps a project achieve some serious success. If filmmaker Sam Mendes, who is slated to direct all four biopics, can get The Beatles on board, he’ll likely get more than just bragging rights.
Source: wegotthiscovered.com
A New Book Featuring Unreleased Interviews With The Beatles Is Already No. 1 on Amazon
The tell-all book is available to preorder on Amazon -- and for 30% off.
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Countless books and merch have been created for fans of The Beatles, and now, a new book is looking to be added to the collection. Titled All You Need Is Love: The Beatles in Their Own Words, the book features unreleased interviews with the band members, as well as new interviews with people who were close to the group.
Written by Peter Brown and Steven Gaines — who have both worked with, and written about The Beatles for years — All You Need Is Love will officially be available to buy online on April 9, but Amazon has opened its preorders so that fans can ensure they have a copy by the day of release. As an added bonus, it’s currently on sale for 30% off, dropping the price from $32 to $22.
Source: Rylee Johnston/billboard.com
Celebrities are just like us, and sometimes even Adam Sandler gets nervous talking to other famous people. That's exactly what happened recently when the Sandman saw Paul McCartney in a restaurant and was too scared to speak to him — especially when he saw Ringo Starr sitting at the same table.
The two surviving Beatles were eating dinner together at a restaurant owned by one of Sandler's friends.
"I was with my wife and her friends and my friends, and they were like, 'You've met McCartney — go and say hello,'" Sandler recalled on the podcast Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend. "I said, 'Yeah, yeah, absolutely.' I got up. I saw a side shot of his head. He was eating. I was like, 'Come on, man, just say hello.' And then I saw Ringo was at the table too! And he looked up and I went, 'I can't fuckin' handle it.' And I just kept going, and I ran past him."
Sandler went back to his table, where his wife convinced him to take another shot at speaking to McCartney.
Sandler recounted, "Went back in, saw the side shot, he was talking to his wife I think. I just fuckin' kept walking. Faked a hand wash in the bathroom. Then I was like, 'What are you doing, man? Go fuckin' do this — just say hello!'"
Did the little bathroom pep talk help? No! Sandler finished his story with a little digression in the third person, saying, "You know what else didn't help? Other people were watching Adam Sandler be nervous. And they were just going, 'Is he going to fuckin' talk to McCartney or not?' And I just bolted out."
Source: exclaim.ca
