Beatles News
Marking the 40th anniversary of Yoko Ono Lennon and Sean Ono Lennon’s visit to The Salvation Army’s Strawberry Field in Liverpool in 1984, a commemorative stone in honour of John Lennon’s wife Yoko Ono and their son Sean has been unveiled today by Major Kathleen Versfeld, Mission Director at Strawberry Field at a special ceremony, together with a group of Steps to Work trainees.
The commemorative stone aims to recognise Yoko and Sean’s legacy in a poignant way and will be placed at the start of Strawberry Field’s Path of Peace, which is located within the gardens where John Lennon sought sanctuary as a child.
The granite stone includes a message which reads: “Strawberry Field remembers with love and gratitude Yoko and Sean’s visit 40 years ago and their ongoing generosity. Give Peace a Chance.”
John routinely entertained Sean with stories of Strawberry Field which was the inspiration for The Beatles hit, ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’. Four years after his dad’s death in 1980, Yoko brought Sean to visit the site which was so special to his late father, where they were accompanied by Major David Botting who was Officer in Charge at the time.
Source: birkenhead.news
John Lennon is probably more posthumously famous than George Harrison. Paul McCartney discussed why this might be the case and he said it had nothing to do with their artistry.
All The Beatles are classic rock gods, but some are more famous than others. Paul McCartney said John Lennon is more posthumously famous than George Harrison. Paul discussed why this might be the case and he said it had nothing to do with their artistic outputs. Interestingly, John once contrasted himself with George as an artist. and his words were not completely flattering.
During a 2022 interview with The New York Times, a reporter noted that people tend to ask Paul more about John than about George. “John is probably the one in the group you would remember, but the circumstances of his death were particularly harrowing,” he said. “When you die horrifically, you’re remembered more.
“But I like your point, which is: What about George?” he added. “I often think of George because he was my little buddy. I was thinking the other day of my hitchhiking bursts. This was before The Beatles. I suddenly was keen on hitchhiking, so I sold this idea to George and then John.”
Source: Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com
You know you’ve got something when you get too famous to tour. That was the case with the British-born rock band the Beatles at their height in the mid-to-late 1960s existence. The group was too famous, too big, had too many followers who would accost them out of sheer adoration. The former Mop Tops had to call it quits, which, in the end, gave them more time to write music. But thankfully there are a few shows out there recorded for the world to see when the boys from Liverpool were still playing live for fans. Here below are three such shows that every fan of the Fab Four should see and learn by heart. So, without further ado, dear reader, let’s dive in.
1. Australia (1964)
This 25-minute set shot in black-and-white features 10 songs from the fellas, performing tunes like “She Loves You,” “Can’t Buy Me Love” and “Twist and Shout.” Even playing down under, the screams from the fans are deafening. It’s hard to imagine anyone being able to get their head through a doorway with such appreciation. Yet, the Beatles carried on from tune to tune. Check it out here below.
Source: Jacob Uitti/americansongwriter.com
The Beatles had a clear vision for "Please Please Me." When their producer first heard it, he made them take it in a completely new direction.
“Please Please Me” was an early hit for The Beatles, but it might not have made it far in its original form. According to Beatles producer George Martin, the initial version of the song was slow and dull. When he pointed this out to the band, they felt embarrassed that they hadn’t noticed.
When The Beatles first played “Please Please Me” for Martin, he could scarcely keep from yawning. They wanted it on the first single, but he thought it was too boring as it stood.
“In the first year, I had the final decision on songs (I didn’t later on, but I did then), but they persuaded me to let them have their own songs on both sides of their first single,” Martin said in The Beatles Anthology. “I was still thinking that we should release their recording of ‘How Do You Do It.’ They said, ‘Couldn’t we do one of our own, “Please Please Me?’ When I heard it originally, it was a Roy Orbison type of song, a very slow rocker, with a high vocal part, rather dreary, to be honest.”
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
As The Beatles captured the hearts of millions, Paul McCartney captured it all on his Pentax film camera. Now, a new exhibition, ‘Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes Of The Storm’ takes visitors inside the 1963–64 frenzy of Beatlemania, as the band’s first U.S. tour skyrocketed them to global fame.
More than 250 of McCartney’s photographs, recently rediscovered in his archives, reveal his singular vantage point at the center of this whirlwind of attention and adoration—illuminating both the historical, and the personal, moments McCartney and his bandmates experienced together. First on view at the National Portrait Gallery in London, England, ‘Eyes Of The Storm’ makes its New York debut at the Brooklyn Museum, opening May 3, 2024, supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies. It is scheduled to run to August 18.
“Since first arriving in New York in February 1964, Paul McCartney has built a strong, everlasting connection to the city. His vibrant photographs from The Beatles’ first visit capture the energy of the city, the excitement of the American fans, and the frenzy of the band’s status as celebrities. Yet the images also record The Beatles’ fun and delight with each other. Through McCartney’s lens, we feel the intensity of being at the center of such extraordinary events,” says Catherine Futter, Director of Curatorial Affairs and Senior Curator of Decorative Arts.
Source: Tim Peacock/udiscovermusic.com
Referred to as “the fifth Beatle,” producer George Martin famously steered the Fab Four’s recording career from their Beatlemania days through their psychedelic phase. Martin revolutionized pop music in the process. Much has been written about his ties to The Beatles. Let’s take a look at five fascinating facts about George Martin that don’t have to do with The Beatles.
1. Martin Took Oboe Lessons From the Mother of Peter and Jane Asher
As a child, Martin learned to play the piano, dreaming of being the next Sergei Rachmaninoff. When German warplanes blitzed England, Martin was inspired to enlist in the Naval Fleet Air Arm. He was an aerial observer whose primary duty was reconnaissance. Upon his demobbing, he Studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Conservatory in London. He studied piano and oboe.
His Oboe instructor was Margaret Eliot, mother of Peter and Jane Asher. In 1950, Martin was hired by EMI Records at 3 Abbey Road, St. John’s Wood. Parlophone was the smallest arm of EMI with artists such as Roberto Inglez, Mandy Miller, Bob Harvey, Sidney Torch and His Orchestra, The Five Smith Brothers, Jimmy Shand, Humphrey Lyttleton, Karl Haas, and Ray Cathode—hardly household names. Martin learned as he worked on sessions recording novelty records, South American Music, Music Hall Performers, Orchestras, and comedy skits. He was put in charge of classical and baroque music, as he served as the assistant to the head of the label, Oscar Preuss.
Source: Jay McDowell/americansongwriter.com
Paul McCartney said a famous cartoonist was rude to Yoko Ono. He believed John Lennon handled the situation surprisingly well.
Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono did not get along, a fact that John Lennon knew well. He resented the way McCartney and George Harrison treated Ono and they grew frustrated with her presence in the studio. Despite this, McCartney said he maintained a level of respect with her because she was his bandmate’s partner. He found it impressive that Lennon didn’t hit someone who didn’t show her any respect.
Lennon and Ono met in 1966 and married in 1969, shortly after Lennon’s divorce from his first wife, Cynthia. Lennon’s bandmates had their problem with Ono, but so did people outside The Beatles. McCartney recalled watching footage of someone being openly rude to Ono in front of Lennon.
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
Paul McCartney has always been protective of the Beatles’ legacy – that’s just one of the many reasons he saw the Fab Four’s final single ‘Now & Then’ through to completion. Along the way he’s had to correct a few wrongs, and push back on a few slights – and sometimes, it’s personal.
Take 1994 film Backbeat. Coming ahead of the Anthology project, the independent film aimed to shine a light on the Beatles time in Hamburg, focusing on the tragically short life of bass player (and noted visual artist) Stuart Sutcliffe.
Played immaculately by Stephen Dorff, Ian Hart stepped in as John Lennon, while Gary Bakewell played Paul McCartney. A whirlwind ride through the group’s pre-history, it highlighted the sex ‘n’ drugs ‘n’ roll ‘n’ roll induced in by the Fab Four – well, three of them, anyway.
At the time of its release, Paul McCartney revealed his distaste, insisting they had airbrushed out his rock ‘n’ roll leanings. “One of my annoyances about the film Backbeat is that they’ve actually taken my rock ‘n’ rollness off me,” he told interviewer Andrew Grant Jackson.
Source: Robin Murray/clashmusic.com
John Lennon began doing a Jerry Lee Lewis impersonation while onstage. His performance made George Harrison laugh so hard he couldn't play guitar.
During one of The Beatles’ most stressful concerts, John Lennon managed to make George Harrison laugh onstage. He began behaving in such an outrageous fashion that all of his bandmates took note. According to Lennon, his joking was so successful that Harrison couldn’t play his guitar.
The Beatles’ concert at Shea Stadium in New York was their largest up until that point. They were incredibly nervous before taking the stage. Once they did, though, Lennon began to behave comically. He did a Jerry Lee Lewis impression and began playing the piano with his feet. Harrison found all this hilarious.
“I was putting my foot on it and George couldn’t play for laughing,” Lennon said in The Beatles Anthology. “I was doing it for a laugh. The kids didn’t know what I was doing.”
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
Paul McCartney has always been protective of the Beatles’ legacy – that’s just one of the many reasons he saw the Fab Four’s final single ‘Now & Then’ through to completion. Along the way he’s had to correct a few wrongs, and push back on a few slights – and sometimes, it’s personal.
Take 1994 film Backbeat. Coming ahead of the Anthology project, the independent film aimed to shine a light on the Beatles time in Hamburg, focusing on the tragically short life of bass player (and noted visual artist) Stuart Sutcliffe.
Played immaculately by Stephen Dorff, Ian Hart stepped in as John Lennon, while Gary Bakewell played Paul McCartney. A whirlwind ride through the group’s pre-history, it highlighted the sex ‘n’ drugs ‘n’ roll ‘n’ roll induced in by the Fab Four – well, three of them, anyway.
At the time of its release, Paul McCartney revealed his distaste, insisting they had airbrushed out his rock ‘n’ roll leanings. “One of my annoyances about the film Backbeat is that they’ve actually taken my rock ‘n’ rollness off me,” he told interviewer Andrew Grant Jackson.
Source: Robin Murray/clashmusic.com
