The Beatles in the News 2010

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June 24, 2010

Paul McCartney Laughs at Beatles Facts

Sir Paul McCartney has claimed that several films about The Beatles contain events that didn't happen and things that are ''not true''.

Sir Paul McCartney says many films about The Beatles are "not true".

The legendary musician - who was joined in the band by Ringo Starr, and the late John Lennon and George Harrison - insists many pieces about the Fab Four are inaccurate and misleading to fans.

Speaking about two dramas - 'Nowhere Boy' and 'Lennon Naked' - Paul said: "It's a great tribute that whatever we did is so lasting and people can still make films about The Beatles which can still be successful. For me, though, they're not true and that's the unfortunate thing about them. John never punched me out like he does in 'Nowhere Boy', but my character is kind of cool in the film so I don't mind being punched out. I told the film director Sam (Taylor-Wood) all of that but she said, 'Yeah. But Paul, it's just a film.' "

Another rumour Paul has quashed is that he told John not to pose naked on the cover of his and Yoko Ono's 1968 album 'Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins'.

He said: "It's like the rumour I told John off for posing nude for the 'Two Virgins' cover as in 'Lennon Naked'. I never told him that - that's another legend. What John and Yoko did was always up to them."

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May 7, 2010

Paul McCartney Takes On the Livestock Industry Over Global Warming

Sir Paul McCartney has Sir managed to incur the wrath of the British Beef Association after making comments on BBC Radio 4's Today show on Thursday, May 6, when he claimed that the livestock industry made more of a contribution to climate change than the combined effects of pollution from planes, trains and automobiles.

McCartney was discussing his involvement with the Meat Free Mondays campaign, which calls for people to drop meat from their diets at the beginning of the week in order to help combat global warming.

Sir Paul told the BBC, "It started off with the United Nations saying the livestock industry is a bigger demon, as far as global warming is concerned, than the whole of the transport industry put together."

The committed vegetarian continued, "I wrote to millions of people like Gordon Brown and the leaders of this and that country and saying, 'Do you think this is an interesting idea?'

"Since then, it has caught on and I understand that [chef] Gordon Ramsay has said that one meat-free day a week is a good idea and I understand that [fellow chef] Jamie Oliver too has said that it's a good idea, so that's why I got involved."

However, according to the Independent newspaper, the British Beef Association has reacted badly to the claims and has demanded that the BBC gives it a voice to respond in the interests of the broadcaster's "reputation for balance and accuracy." Whether the BBC responds to their challenge or not remains to be seen, while McCartney has refused to make any further comment.

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May 7, 2010

Paul McCartney says being famous now is not the same as during the Beatles days

In an interview Thursday, Paul McCartney told BBC Radio 4 that being famous is a bit different now than it was for the Beatles.

"When we started out in the old days, you were looking to be famous via being very talented, working hard and sort of coming up through the ranks. I think now people are looking at what's sold to them is that they'll have security. They'll have a limo and they're gonna have a producer. It's this sort of modern package which I think is a little bit scary because I for one don't like all of that. I don't like limos." 

But he said he likes being famous. "It's a weight I'm happy to have, to carry. ... And it's a little bit sort of unseemly once you get famous. ... The weight of fame that you're talking about can get pretty annoying."

But McCartney said he knows how to create a space when he needs to.

"And most people, in fact, 99.9 percent of people, are very understanding. Because they understand privacy," he said.

He also detailed why he decided to contribute an essay on Meat Free Mondays to a Ether Books new iPhone app.

"A friend of mine started talking to me about this and said, 'We're doing an app.' And I said, "Well, what is it?' 'And she said, 'Well, if, for instance, you're on the train in the morning, and you don't want to read a huge piece. And you sort of, maybe, 15 or 20 minutes read of something good, we're going to supply that." And also, it's a great outlet for short stories, which many authors don't have that outlet as available as they used to with some of the great magazines that would take those."

When informed his essay was leading all the others in sales, he said he was surprised.

"She said I was racing up the charts. I didn't know I was number 1," he said.

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May 7, 2010

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April 21, 2010

On March 23, 1964, the Beatles began seven days of filming for the film "A Hard Day's Night" at the Scala Theater in London. The theater became "United TV House," the location of a TV show the group was to appear on.

Victor Spinetti, who played the nervous director Richard in the scenes, says he did no preparation for the role, but just threw himself into the part and knew it was going to be an interesting film shoot.

"You have to keep a focus going because I knew that the lads would not keep to the script. And they didn’t," he told us in a phone interview. "And so I kept believing that I was this director. In fact, in one of the outtakes – I don’t know where they are -- I said, ‘I am a director.’ And John Lennon said, ‘You’re not a director. You’re Victor Spinetti playing the part of the director.’

"But I kept going. I said, ‘But I have an award on the wall in my office.’ And he said, ‘You haven’t even got a dressing room.’ But I mustn’t laugh. I had to keep going. That gave me the drive, I suppose, because I knew very well that Dick Lester had four cameras going at once. If I stopped … you know, I just kept going. That’s why it came over as being a powerful performance because I had to keep strong."

And that sweater he wore? "It’s my own sweater. ,,, but it was given to me as a present by the guy who wrote 'Amadeus' and 'Equus,' Peter Shaffer. His mother gave it to him.  And I said, ‘Where am I going to wear this?’ And I said, ‘I know, I’ll wear it for the movie. So I said to the director and the producer, ‘How about this?’ They said, ‘Perfect.’ "

VICTOR SPINETTI TALKS ABOUT BEING IN A HARD DAY'S NIGHT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NySjGWeCrr8

Paul McCartney Music Re-Issue Project

Paul McCartney's complete solo music catalog, dating back to the very beginning with 1970's "McCartney" album and including all the Paul McCartney and Wings albums, is to be reissued by Concord Music Group beginning in August, it was announced today.

The agreement covers both digital and physical distribution of his work and explains the abrupt disappearance of McCartney songs from iTunes in the past few months.  The catalog also includes the  albums recorded under the McCartney pseudonyms Percy “Thrills” Thrillington, The Fireman and Twin Freaks.

What's called an "ambitious" reissue program will begin in August of 2010 with "Band on the Run."  It will be available in a variety of configurations, including a special collector’s multi-disc edition with remastered audio, enhanced packaging and rare bonus content, the announcement said.

In 2007,  Concord Records and Starbucks partnered to form Hear Music,  whose inaugural release was Paul McCartney’s "Memory Almost Full."  Concord and McCartney released "Good Evening New York City" in 2009.

"Since the release of "Memory Almost Full" in 2007,  I've had a good working relationship with Concord and enjoyed our mutual love of music. “I'm looking forward to continuing this relationship with the new catalog campaign. I'm always looking for new ways and opportunities to get my music to people and Concord share this passion," McCartney said in the statement announcing the agreement.

“Working with Paul McCartney, the MPL team and this tremendous catalog is an unbelievable honor,” stated Glen Barros, Concord Music Group President and CEO. “To so many of us here at Concord and to millions of people all over the world, Paul’s music has formed a big part of ‘life’s soundtrack’. So to now be a part of representing this amazing body of work is nothing short of a dream come true."

EMI Loses McCartney Catalog, in Latest Blow

By ETHAN SMITH The Wall Street Journal

In the latest setback for EMI Group Ltd., Paul McCartney has joined a parade of well-known artists headed for the exits at the struggling global music giant, handing world-wide distribution rights for his catalog of about 50 post-Beatles albums to independent record label Concord Music Group.

For EMI, the impact of the move may be more symbolic than material but nevertheless marks a challenge for a fragile company.

Sir Paul has been out of contract with EMI for newly recorded music since 2007 and released his three most recent albums through other labels, including two on Concord. But in February he regained control of the vast library of albums he released between 1970 and 2006, both as a solo artist and as the leader of the band Wings. It is that catalog that he now is yanking from EMI.

EMI declined to comment. The label is battling to remain independent, after breaching the terms of a £3.2 billion ($4.91 billion) loan from Citigroup Inc. this month.

Sir Paul joins Radiohead and the Rolling Stones in parting ways with EMI. Radiohead's album catalog remains with EMI, while the Stones were able to take back their older titles. People close to the bands that have left have described various reasons. Some stem—directly or indirectly—from EMI's tenuous financial position, which has led to deep staff cuts and other reductions that some artists complain have hampered the company's ability to promote their music.

EMI has had recent successes, including country-rock band Lady Antebellum and a collection of remastered Beatles albums.

EMI retains the long-term right to distribute the Beatles' music under license from Apple Corps Ltd. That arrangement is not set to expire in the foreseeable future.

The London-based private-equity group that owns EMI, Terra Firma Capital Partners Ltd., is attempting to raise £360 million from investors to rectify the financial shortfall that caused the loan breach and to preempt such defaults for the next four years. Terra Firma has until mid-June to raise the money or risk Citi seizing control of the company. An effort to raise money by licensing to a rival the U.S. distribution rights to EMI's catalog is on hold unless EMI can raise the additional investment, according to people familiar with the matter.

Separately, Terra Firma has a lawsuit pending in U.S. District Court in Manhattan alleging that Citigroup committed fraud by duping Terra Firma into overpaying for EMI.

Terms of the McCartney deal weren't disclosed, but Concord Chief Executive Glen Barros described the arrangement as a "collaboration" rather than a traditional record deal involving cash advances. "The intent is that it's a long-term deal," he said.

The first album to be reissued under the new arrangement is "Band on the Run," the 1974 album with Wings, the title track of which was No. 1 pop hit in the U.S. Concord plans to release a deluxe version of the album, with previously unreleased songs and collector-oriented configurations. "We'll promote it like a new release," Mr. Barros said.

"I've had a good working relationship with Concord," Sir Paul said in a prepared statement. "I'm looking forward to continuing this relationship." A spokesman and a lawyer for Sir Paul declined further comment.

Sir Paul's albums have sold more than 9.4 million albums in the U.S. since 1991, when SoundScan began tracking sales, plus 2.3 million digital songs. But those numbers have fallen dramatically in recent years along with the rest of the recorded-music market. Sir Paul's catalog sold just 357,000 total albums last year, and two-thirds of those sales were generated by a live album released that year by Concord, giving an anomalous bump to the catalog as a whole. He sold just 129,000 albums in 2008.

Sir Paul's relationship with EMI dates back nearly 50 years, to the Beatles' 1962 signing with EMI's Parlophone label. His decision to leave may indicate tenuous relations between the label and the remaining Beatles and heirs of the band's members. Cooperation from the band's representatives remains essential for EMI if it is to continue executing plans like last year's lucrative collection of remastered Beatles albums, which sold 13 million CDs world-wide, according to Apple Corps.

The Beatles remain one of the best-selling acts in the world, decades after their break up. Last year, only Michael Jackson and Taylor Swift sold more music in the U.S. than the Beatles' 3.3 million albums, according to SoundScan.

Concord was founded as a jazz label in 1972 and in 1998 was acquired by television producer Normal Lear's Act III Communications. The label has since grown beyond its roots to release high-profile albums artists, ranging from Robert Plant to Ray Charles. In the wake of Concord's 2004 acquisition of the Fantasy Records label, Concord executives signed John Fogerty as an artist, ending a decades-long feud. Mr. Fogerty had long blamed the onerous terms of a record deal with Fantasy for the breakup of the band that put him on the map, Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Concord's annual revenue is estimated at around $100 million; its U.S. market share is just shy of 1%.

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April 7, 2010

PAUL McCartney sent a surprise message to American Idol contestants as they prepared to sing Lennon and McCartney songs.

The music legend, 67, urged the wannabes to “go for it” — but enjoy themselves — while they pelt out his and John Lennon’s classic tunes.

“Hey there, Paul McCartney here,” said the former Beatle. “I’m very pleased that you’re singing the songs of Lennon and McCartney and I just want to say get out there, go for it — enjoy yourselves. Good luck!”

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Paul McCartney Tour:  Miami Show

“Up and Coming” is an odd name for a tour by Paul McCartney, who now can accurately sing “When I’m Sixty-Four” in the past tense.

But you’re as young as you feel, as the saying goes, and apparently Sir Paul, at age 67, feels younger than a lot of rock stars a fraction of his age. In front of roughly 40,000 fans on Saturday at Sun Life Stadium (let’s see the kids draw that kind of crowd), the ex-Beatle played for a solid 2 hours and 45 minutes, more impressively mining his formidable catalog than in his 2005 arena show in Tampa.

There was a little of everything: Good potential for a contact high. Beatles Rock Band images on the big video screen. AARP members storming the barricades just like in the ‘60s – only with digital cameras, not protest signs. A ukulele-powered version of “Something.”

Although he mixed newer material into the set, most notably the woozy, vaguely psychedelic “Highway,” off his experimental project, The Fireman, McCartney mostly reveled in the nostalgia. He was charming, though not overly chatty, introducing old favorites with recollections about his storied past that were well-known to virtually everyone in the audience.

He reminisced about his first trip to Miami, to perform with the Fab Four on the Ed Sullivan show. “It was like paradise,” he said. “We were kids from Liverpool and we’d never seen anything like it. And it’s still cool.”

Also still cool: That timeless Beatles music, performed by the one guy on the planet most qualified to do it. (Sorry, Ringo.) For the record, McCartney still sounds terrific, with a voice nimble enough to turn on a dime from raucous to honey sweet in a set that hit all the obvious targets (“Let It Be,” “The Long and Winding Road,” “Hey Jude,” “Get Back,” “Yesterday”) as well as a few surprises.

McCartney’s uke-strumming on “Something” was the most pleasant one. In an arrangement borrowed from his performance at George Harrison’s 2002 tribute concert in London, the whimsical sing-along in the song’s first verse segued into a spot-on rendition of the familiar studio version.

Although the members of McCartney’s economically constructed 4-piece band were anonymous enough not to even warrant individual introductions from their boss, the musicians tackled the songs with flexibility. It can’t be easy to translate the studio grandeur of “A Day in the Life” to a concert stage, but the group offered a capable approximation on Saturday.

McCartney hitched that song to “Give Peace a Chance,” but didn’t add too many other new wrinkles to the much-loved material. “Eleanor Rigby,” “Two of Us,” “Paperback Writer” and others were delivered faithfully to the faithful.

“Do you wanna ‘get back’?” McCartney asked the crowd before launching into the song of the same name.

Well, you came to the right place.

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SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY'S TOUR IS MEAT-FREE

The Beatles star is taking his Up and Coming Tour through the U.S., South America and Europe, and the staunch animal rights activist is making sure all his employees give up meat for the duration of the trek.

A spokesman for the veteran rocker tells Britain's Sunday Express newspaper, "We will serve some 480 vegetarian meals a day to keep the crew going."

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April 1, 2010  July 10, 2010 is International Beatles Day! 

Beatles Day, which since July 10th, 2008, has celebrated the Beatles with Beatle-themed events in Liverpool and a chance for fans to don Beatles-style mop-top wigs, t-shirts and badges and show their love for the Fab Four, is going worldwide in 2010. 

Simultaneous events will be held in several cities which will be streamed live over the internet. For information how to add an event to the roster, email info@beatlesday.tv for more information or to become a corporate sponsor.

As in previous Beatles Days, events will take place throughout Liverpool, climaxed by a Beatles tribute concert hosted by Ricky Tomlinson. Proceeds will be earmarked for various charities.

The significance of July 10 is that it's the anniversary of the Beatles' return to Liverpool from the States and the premiere of the film "Hard Day's Night" in 1964 as thousands of fans lined the streets to welcome the group home. The organizers say Beatles Day is an attempt to re-create that same sort of Beatlemania every year.

“It's 24 hours when people can show their love for the Beatles and celebrate the legacy of their music. The concert at the Echo Arena will be a great way to finish, but Beatles Day is really a chance for the ordinary people of Liverpool and other towns and cities all over the world to take part in Beatles related fundraising activities and events. The most important thing is to have fun whilst raising money," says Chas Cole, one of the people behind Beatles Day.

"We are delighted cities around the world want to join us to celebrate the legacy of The Beatles. We will also be inviting performers from participating cities to Liverpool to take part in our very own Beatles Day concert. Over the last three years, Beatles Day has received huge interest internationally, so to go global is a natural progression for the event. It is a fantastic fun day, raising money for some very worthy causes,” Cole also told the Liverpool Echo.

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March 2010

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March 29, 2010  Paul McCartney kicks off tour with wild night in Glendale

Forty years after the breakup, the former Beatle most likely to pack an arena launched his latest solo tour in Glendale on Sunday night with a three-hour set at the Jobing.com Arena that found him more than willing and able to serve as the Beatles' ambassador to the 21st century.

He was nearing the three-hour mark when he blew the dust off a ferocious "Helter Skelter" for the second encore, screaming like he hadn't aged a day since 1968, before sending the crowd on its way with a spirited medley of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)" and the "Abbey Road" classic "The End" (which brought the final count of Beatles songs to 21). And the only song that seemed to give him any trouble was the early Wings' hit "My Love," where he briefly struggled with the high notes. Everything else was amazingly strong and soulful, with his touring band staying just faithful enough to the original recordings without it seeming like a tribute show. Their most valuable player, other than McCartney, was drummer Abe Laboriel Jr., who proved himself a master of the tumbling Ringo drum fill while bringing a muscular sense of physicality to the table.

Wearing a collarless jacket obviously meant to conjure memories of the early Beatles, he kicked off the show with a well-chosen medley of Wings hits - "Venus and Mars," an abbreviated "Rock Show" and "Jet," the first of several songs that seemed to hold back just enough to really kick in at certain key moments.

The night's first Beatles song came next - an effervescent "All My Loving" that I'd like to think was in that spot because it was also the first song the Beatles performed in their debut appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show." He followed with another Beatles track, reaching back to "Revolver" for "Got to Get You into My Life," with the keyboard player handling all the horn parts while footage from The Beatles: Rock Band played out on the screen behind them.

For a show so firmly rooted in nostalgia, Sunday's concert wasn't shy about reminding fans that this particular legend is still out there making records. Five songs in, he went straight from "Revolver" to the Fireman's "Electric Arguments" for "Highway," a muscular rocker whose funky central riff was not that far removed from "Taxman" territory.

The set list blew off several years of major solo hits, in fact, to get to the recent material. The most recent Top 40 appearance in the set was the medley from "Venus and Mars." But we did get his latest recording, "(I Want to) Come Home" (from the Robert De Niro/Drew Barrymore movie, "Everybody's Fine"), in addition to "Dance Tonight" from "Memory Almost Full" and another the Fireman song, "Sing the Changes."

He did play five songs from his biggest post-Beatles release, 1973's "Band on the Run," though - the chart-topping title track, "Jet," "Let Me Roll It" (among the evening's more impressive vocals), a rollicking "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five" (one of several tracks that made the most of his touring band's vocal harmonies) and "Mrs. Vanderbilt," an upbeat gem that somehow made its live debut two years ago in Kiev.

The other songs selected from McCartney's solo catalog were "Letting Go," a wistful "Every Night," the heartfelt Lennon tribute "Here Today," and a truly explosive rendition of "Live and Let Die," whose over-the-top pyrotechnic display McCartney later credited to a man named Shakey (for obvious reasons).

The rest of the night was devoted to the Beatles (unless you count that little Jimi Hendrix tribute with McCartney playing lead guitar over the groove to "Foxy Lady").

He didn't mess much with the early years. "All My Loving," "Yesterday," "Paperback Writer," "Day Tripper" and "I'm Looking Through You" were, in fact, the only the pre-"Revolver" tracks, while "Let It Be" got five selections, which is weird because McCartney's always had a problem with that album - especially Phil Spector's string arrangement on "The Long and Winding Road." What's weirder still is that he had his keyboard player do the Spector string arrangement on that song (which still sounds great).

"The Long and Winding Road," the title track and "Get Back" were all pretty obvious choices, but he also dusted off two songs that should've been hit singles - "Two of Us" and a scrappy rendition of "I've Got a Feeling."

Other highlights from the Beatles years included "Blackbird," which McCartney prefaced with an anecdote about how the classic acoustic riff had grown out of his and George Harrison's attempts at playing Bach; a ukulele-driven rendition of Harrison's "Something;" "A Day in the Life" (which segued into Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance"); a rollicking "Back in the U.S.S.R." and an encore performance of "Lady Madonna."

Throughout the night, McCartney's sense of showmanship was as loopy as ever. He's still the cute one that way. And he genuinely seemed like he'd have played another hour when he told the crowd, "There does come a time where we have got to go home. And strangely, it coincides with the time when you've gotta go."

Of course, by that point, he'd already given the audience everything a reasonable Beatles fan could look for in a rock show while making a case for himself as a still-vital artist whose recent work can hold its head high in the company of all those classics.

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February 2010

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February 23, 2010  Abbey Road Studios Declared a National Landmark!

London, England (CNN) -- The iconic Abbey Road Studios made famous by the Beatles are being declared a national historic landmark, British Culture Minister Margaret Hodge announced Tuesday.

"My favorite song of all time, 'If I fell' by the Beatles, was recorded there in 1964, and to have played a part in preserving this world-famous venue is as exciting for me as hearing that song for the first time. Well, almost!" Hodge said in a statement.

"Whether your tastes are for classical, hard rock or pop music, one of your favourites is more than likely to have recorded at Abbey Road," she added.

The studios became an international cultural touchstone when the Beatles were photographed crossing the road there for the cover of their album "Abbey Road."

But it's not only where the Beatles recorded "All You Need is Love" and numerous other songs, but where much of Britain's best known music of the 20th century was laid down.

Rock stars Pink Floyd and Cliff Richard, composer Sir Edward Elgar, and the movie soundtracks for "Star Wars" and the "Harry Potter" films were recorded there.

Hodge declared the site in west London a Grade II listed building based on its "outstanding cultural interest." The classification means that "although changes to the interior are not prohibited, care must be taken to ensure that any alterations with respect to its character and interest are fully considered," the ministry said.

There was intense speculation last week that the studios were for sale, but the owner shot down the notion on Sunday.

The music label that owns them is seeking a partner to help pay for upgrades, according to Terra Firma, which controls record label EMI, the owner of the recording studios.

"EMI confirms that it is holding preliminary discussions for the revitalization of Abbey Road with interested and appropriate third parties," Terra Firma said Sunday.

But that does not mean the studios are for sale, it added.

"In mid-2009, we did receive an offer to buy Abbey Road for in excess of £30 million (currently about $46 million), but this was rejected since we believe that Abbey Road should remain in EMI's ownership," the music company said in a statement.

The company said Sunday it supported the listing of the building as a historic landmark, before the culture ministry's announcement.

Terra Firma bought EMI in 2007.

Andrew Lloyd Webber, the composer of "Phantom of the Opera" and "Cats" and one of Britain's richest men, is "very interested" in buying the studios, a representative said Friday.

"He first recorded there in 1967 with Tim Rice. Andrew has since recorded most of his musicals there," said the representative, Jenni Pain.

"He thinks it is vital that the studios are saved for the future of the music industry in the UK. Abbey Road has such great facilities, with three major recording studios, and Andrew has probably brought more musicians to record there than anyone else, because it has the capacity to record large orchestral productions."

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February 22, 2010  EMI Says Abbey Road Not for Sale

LONDON – Cash-strapped music company EMI Group Ltd. has shelved plans to sell Abbey Road and is now looking for an investor to help save the London recording studio made famous by The Beatles.

News last week that EMI had been speaking to potential buyers sparked dismay among music fans. Former Beatle Paul McCartney said he hoped Abbey Road could be preserved, and the National Trust heritage group said it was considering buying the building.

But EMI now says it wants to keep the facility and is talking to "interested and appropriate third parties" about a revitalization project.

Abbey Road is one of the world's most famous music studios, used by artists including Pink Floyd, Jeff Beck and Radiohead.

EMI said Sunday it had rejected a 30 million pound ($50 million) offer for Abbey Road last year.

It said Abbey Road had been losing money "for a number of years ... and we have developed plans to revitalize the studios. These plans would involve a substantial injection of new capital."

EMI — whose artists include Coldplay, Lily Allen and Robbie Williams — has struggled financially since it was bought in 2007 for 2.4 billion pounds by private equity firm Terra Firma Capital Partners.

An audited report released earlier this month revealed that Terra Firma needs a huge cash infusion by June to avoid defaulting on its loans from Citigroup Inc. and may require more than $165 million to last through this year.

EMI's predecessor bought the Georgian town house in London's residential St. John's Wood neighborhood for 100,000 pounds in 1929 and turned it into one of the world's most sophisticated recording studios. Edward Elgar recorded "Land of Hope and Glory" with the London Symphony Orchestra there in the 1930s. It is still used by orchestras; the soundtracks of the "Harry Potter" and "Lord of the Rings" films were recorded at Abbey Road.

It is most closely associated with The Beatles, who made the bulk of their recordings from 1962 onwards at Abbey Road, developing an ever-more sophisticated sound under producer George Martin.

The crosswalk in front of the studio was immortalized on the cover of the band's 1969 album "Abbey Road," and still draws tourists eager to recreate the image for their holiday snapshots.

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February 19, 2010  John Lennon plays dead in prophetic unseen photo left in bank vault for 30 years

Sprawled dead on the floor as his concerned bandmates crouch over him, this chilling photo of John Lennon is a haunting premonition of what was to come.
The photo appears to forsee the moment twelve years later when Lennon would be gunned down in New York by crazed fan Mark Chapman.

The image was captured by society photographer Tom Murray during the Fab Four's last official photoshoot in 1968.

It was among a number of photographs which were made public today after lying unseen in an envelope for decades.

Mr Murray is selling copies of the photographs for £325 each or £425 with a frame but experts believe the originals are worth £100,000 each.

Another photograph shows The Beatles standing on a rooftop, their fists raised, in a mock fight.

Although Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr were sparring in jest, tensions between them had already surfaced and the band split two years later.

The unseen images are part of a collection known as the Mad Day Out, so called because the shoot was last minute and the schedule so hectic.

Worth £100,000 each, they were finally discovered when Mr Murray decided to clear out his studio one day.

In 1968 Mr Murray was invited to join renowned photographer Don McCullin to assist him in a photo shoot of a rock group.

Such was the secrecy of the assignment that Mr Murray had no idea who his subjects were to be before he met them.

'It was a mad day rushing around London,' the photographer said. 'One shot included a man sleeping on a park bench. He never woke while the photos were taken.

'We would stay half an hour at each location before too many people arrived. I doubt you could do it now. With a band as big as The Beatles you'd be inundated with people in about a minute and a half now.'

After the shoot Mr Murray was invited back to Paul McCartney's home for tea, where the last photographs were taken.

'It was an extraordinary day,' he added. 'From two rolls of film there are 23 surviving shots. The colours are astonishing and it's basically because the original slides were kept in the dark in an envelope for so many years.

'They weren't shown to anybody, so they lost very little in all those years. And, of course, the lucky thing is that I shot them in colour instead of black and white.

'I just feel privileged that I was part of this historical day - getting close to The Beatles was a dream come true.'

Despite the apparent camaraderie in the photographs, public rifts between the band members emerged that year.

During recording sessions for the White Album, which stretched from late May to mid-October 1968, relations among the band's members grew openly divisive.

Starr quit for a period, leaving McCartney to perform drums on several tracks.

Lennon's romantic preoccupation with avant-garde artist Yoko Ono contributed to tension within the band and he lost interest in co-writing with McCartney.

The Mad Day Out exhibition opened at The Three White Walls gallery in Birmingham yesterday and will run until March 29.

Gallery manager Naomi Gall said: 'We are really pleased to be able to exhibit this exciting collection of Tom Murray's work. We anticipate the exhibition is going to be our most popular yet.'

The 23 surviving shots taken in everyday locations have been hailed as some of the most important photographs ever taken of the group.

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February 19, 2010  National Trust may save Abbey Road studios

Andrew Lloyd Webber has vowed to buy the Abbey Road studios at any cost to preserve its status as the home of British music.

The composer, who has an estimated fortune of £750million, wants to step in and take ownership of the studios in St John's Wood, North-West London, after troubled record group EMI put the building up for sale.

The showbusiness world has launched a full-scale bid to prevent the site being sold to property developers and being bulldozed.

The studios are steeped in history, with the Beatles recording their greatest hits there and featuring the zebra crossing outside on the cover of their Abbey Road album.

Sir Paul McCartney is 'desperate' for the building to remain a working recording studio. The National Trust has also said it is interested in buying it.

EMI is believed to have turned down an offer of just over £30million and yesterday a source close to Lord Lloyd-Webber said: 'Andrew knows that any offer will have to be north of £30million.

'He wants to buy Abbey Road because it is very dear to his heart. When he records there, he uses an orchestra with up to 90 musicians, and there aren't many places you can do that.'

A spokesman for the composer told the Mail: 'Andrew first recorded there in 1967 with Tim Rice and has since recorded most of his musicals there, from Jesus Christ Superstar to his new musical Love Never Dies.

'He thinks it is vital that the studios are saved for the future of the music industry in the UK. Abbey Road has such great facilities, with three major recording studios.'
The informal leader of the 'Save Abbey Road' campaign is DJ Chris Evans, who believes the studios should be sold to the National Trust, which already owns both Sir Paul's and John Lennon's childhood homes in Liverpool.

However, McCartney wants the building to continue as a recording studio.

A source close to the former Beatle said: 'Sir Paul is desperate to keep Abbey Road open as a working studio.

'Of course, if that could be married with the National Trust's ownership that would be a good scenario.'

The source ruled out Sir Paul, who lives in St John's Wood, rescuing the property himself, saying he was 'not in the business of buying recording studios'.

Dame Fiona Reynolds, director general of the National Trust, said the charity would be interested in buying the property. 

She said: 'We were absolutely bowled over by Chris Evans, Sir Paul McCartney and other people saying the studios really needed to be saved, and could we help.

'The answer is only if people really want us to and only if they help us. So I really want to know what people think.'

She revealed there had already been interest from the U.S. to help the National Trust purchase the site and said she expected support from Japan as well.

She urged pop legends who have recorded at the studios to help the National Trust secure the building for the nation.

She said: 'Not just The Beatles, but Cliff Richard, Pink Floyd, Radiohead and Oasis.

'Maybe they can help us because they are the kind of people who have huge affection for this place.'

Evans is planning to play only records that have been recorded at Abbey Road on his Radio 2 show this morning.

He said: 'All records lead to Abbey Road. We will have a big pre-weekend push in our innocent but sincere efforts to heighten awareness of the importance of saving Abbey Road as a musical landmark.

'The National Trust wants it to happen  -  and has the power to move mountains  -  but only if there is public support. So come on, gang, today is the day.'

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February 18, 2010  National Trust may save Abbey Road studios

LONDON – Britain's National Trust may intervene to protect the Abbey Road studios where the Beatles recorded most of their hits.

The London studios are being put up for sale by the cash-strapped record company EMI.

The possibility that the studios might fall into private hands and be demolished has sparked a national outcry spurred by former Beatle Paul McCartney and prominent disk jockey Chris Evans.

The National Trust said Thursday that public input is being sought before making any decision to buy the studios.

A spokesman says the National Trust has already received an astonishing amount of support for the idea.

The value of the studios in the upscale St. John's Wood neighborhood is estimated at more than 10 million pounds ($16 million.)

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February 16, 2010  Hard-up EMI seeks buyer for Abbey Road studios

LONDON – Cash-strapped music company EMI Group Ltd. is seeking a buyer for Abbey Road studios, where The Beatles recorded some of their most famous songs, a person familiar with the situation said Tuesday.

The person said talks had been going on for several months, but a buyer had not yet been found. The individual spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are private.

A spokesman for EMI refused to comment on the sale bid, which could raise tens of millions of dollars for the label.

EMI, whose artists include Coldplay, Lily Allen and Robbie Williams, has struggled financially since it was bought in 2007 for 2.4 billion pounds by private equity firm Terra Firma Capital Partners.

Several big-name acts, including Radiohead and the Rolling Stones, quit the label amid the cutbacks and restructuring that followed Terra Firma's takeover.

An audited report released last week revealed that Terra Firma needs a huge cash infusion by June to avoid defaulting on its loans from Citigroup Inc. and may require more than $165 million to last through this year.

If funds can't be raised and the loan goes into default, Citigroup could seize EMI and cause it to be sold or broken up.

Abbey Road is one of the company's most high-profile assets, as both a recording studio and a tourist attraction for Beatles fans.

EMI bought the Georgian town house in London's residential St. John's Wood neighborhood in 1929 and turned it into one of the world's most sophisticated recording studios.

Since the 1960s, it has been one of the world's most famous rock music studios. Albums recorded there include Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon," Wings' "Band on the Run" and Radiohead's "OK Computer."

It is most closely associated with The Beatles, who recorded most of their albums there. The crosswalk in front of the north London studio was immortalized on the cover The Beatles' final studio album, 1969's "Abbey Road."

Potential buyers beware: The famous black-and-white crossing is not included in the deal.

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February 9, 2010  Ringo's new Starr: Now the Beatles drummer gets his own spot on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame

Ringo Starr was added to the Hollywood Walk of Fame last night during a ceremony to mark the pavement attraction's 50th anniversary.  The Beatles drummer became the 2,401st celebrity to have his name added to the Walk of Fame - 12 years after the group as a whole were given a star.  The Walk of Fame already includes individual stars for John Lennon and George Harrison.  But in what seems a rather surprising oversight, Sir Paul McCartney is now the only Beatle to not have his own plaque.  'This is the start of the next 50 years of stars,' he said outside the Capitol Records building. 'I'm proud to be the first one.'  'It's cool to get one at night,' said Starr. 'I don't know about you, but where I live, the stars come out at night.'  Those by Starr's side for the unveiling included his wife, actress Barbara Bach, musicians Joe Walsh and Ben Harper, producer Don Was, director David Lynch and actor Noah Wyle.  Both Harper and Walsh appear on Starr’s just-released 15th solo album, Y Not.  Sir Paul, who was present at the unveiling of Harrison's posthumous star last year, is currently in England and did not attend yesterday's ceremony.  'This is the start of the next 50 years of stars,' he said outside the Capitol Records building. 'I'm proud to be the first one.'  'It's cool to get one at night,' said Starr. 'I don't know about you, but where I live, the stars come out at night.'  Those by Starr's side for the unveiling included his wife, actress Barbara Bach, musicians Joe Walsh and Ben Harper, producer Don Was, director David Lynch and actor Noah Wyle.  Both Harper and Walsh appear on Starr’s just-released 15th solo album, Y Not.   Sir Paul, who was present at the unveiling of Harrison's posthumous star last year, is currently in England and did not attend yesterday's ceremony.  The Hollywood Walk of Fame's anniversary celebration will continue throughout the year with a community festival in July and a gala in November in which every living celebrity who has received a star will be invited to attend.
Other celebrities due to receive stars this year include rockers ZZ Top, comedian Adam Sandler and talk show host Jimmy Kimmel.

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February 3, 2010  Why I've turned to God at 70, by reformed Ringo Starr...that's 44 years after Lennon said the Beatles were bigger than Jesus  by Ben Todd (UK Daily Mail)

John Lennon caused a worldwide storm by claiming that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus.  Now, more than four decades on, it seems his former bandmate Ringo Starr has acknowledged a humbler place in the grand scheme of things.  The drummer says he has found God - after taking a long and winding road to enlightenment.  He admitted he lost his way when he was younger, both as a Beatle experimenting with marijuana and LSD and afterwards when he suffered alcohol and cocaine problems in the late 1970s.  But the musician, who has since become teetotal and quit his 60-a-day cigarette habit, says that religion now plays an important role in his life.  Starr, who turns 70 later this year, said: 'I feel the older I get, the more I'm learning to handle life. Being on this quest for a long time, it's all about finding yourself.  'For me, God is in my life. I don't hide from that. I think the search has been on since the 1960s.  'I stepped off the path there for many years and found my way back onto it, thank God.' Starr was speaking at an event at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.  It was in 1966 that his late bandmate John Lennon announced that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus Christ.  In an interview with the London Evening Standard, Lennon - who was murdered in 1980 - said: 'Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue with that. I'm right and I will be proved right.

  

'We're more popular than Jesus now. I don't know which will go first - rock and roll or Christianity-Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me.'  When a U.S. magazine reprinted some of the interview, protests broke out in the Staes and Beatles records were publicly burned.  The protests then spread to other countries, including Mexico, South Africa and Spain.  The Fab Four's 1966 tour was their last and they split in 1970.  In his latest interview Starr - a vegetarian who is married to former Bond girl Barbara Bach and now splits his time between homes in Los Angeles, London and Monaco - also told how he finds it far easier to deal with life now he is approaching his 70th birthday in July.  He said: 'Seventy's not as big as 40 was. Forty was "Oh, God, 40!"  'There's that damn song, Life Begins at 40. No, it's not so big any more. I am nearly 70, and I'd love to be nearly 40, but that's never going to happen.  'I feel the older I get, the more I'm learning to handle life.'  Starr is not the first Sixties music icon to embrace religion.  In 1978, Bob Dylan became a bornagain Christian, but by 1983 this period appeared to end and the singer reportedly reverted to his roots in Judaism.

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January 2010

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By RANDY LEWIS
Los Angeles Times
HOLLYWOOD — It’s easy to understand musician Dhani Harrison’s antipathy toward the general concept of being in a rock band. After all, he got loads of priceless firsthand information from his father about the ups and downs of making it to the absolute peak of pop music success during his tenure with The Beatles.

It was George Harrison who famously said, “The biggest break in my career was getting into The Beatles in 1962. The second biggest break since then is getting out of them.” He also once observed that “I wanted to be successful, not famous.”

There’s no question that Dhani (pronounced Danny) inherited his father’s skepticism about the rewards that a life as a member of a rock band might promise, but he’s one of a growing number of offspring of ’60s and ’70s pop music titans who are interested in establishing their own musical credentials.

That group includes Julian and Sean Lennon, drummers Zak Starkey (Ringo Starr’s son) and Jason Bonham (son of Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham), singer-songwriters Harper Simon (son of Paul Simon) and Ben Taylor (son of James Taylor and Carly Simon).

“I hate bands,” Harrison, 31, says recently in the confines of the office he’s setting up in a Santa Monica business park. “I’m never being in a band ever again.”

So, what does he call Thenewno2, an ensemble of musicians he started with his friend Oli Hecks?

“It’s a good hang,” he says, flashing a smile uncannily like his father’s.

He also has his dad’s fine features, dark brown hair and quick sense of humor.

From the outside, though, Thenewno2 looks a lot like a band, in which guitarist, singer and songwriter Harrison and guitarist-keyboardist Jonathan Sadoff are joined by guitarist Jeremy Faccone, bassist Nick Fyffe and drummer Frank Zummo.

Harrison notes that Hecks, with whom he wrote most of the songs on the group’s debut, “You Are Here,” is sitting out this current tour to concentrate on film work. That’s one indicator of the new model these creative partners are mapping out. Each has multiple talents and passions, none of which they’re willing to set aside to focus full time on playing in a rock band.

“We’re all studio nerds — that’s who I’ve surrounded myself with,” Harrison says. “Every single person in the band is also a mix engineer or a soundtrack engineer or a composer or a filmmaker or some other kind of nerd. I design video games — that’s my nerdy side.”

In fact, Harrison was instrumental in helping Harmonix, MTV Games and Apple Corps Ltd. develop “The Beatles: Rock Band” and contributed significantly to the look and content of the game.

Harrison looks at the groove-driven music he’s making with Thenewno2 as just one manifestation of the creative community he’s trying to nurture at the headquarters of the operation he’s dubbed Hot Records West. The space was still being outfitted with equipment for the various studios, offices, rehearsal and performance areas on the day a reporter dropped in for a visit.

“My goal was to get everyone and all of the equipment in one room,” he says. “Then we realized it would have to be a lot of different rooms. Jon said yesterday, ‘I just went from a scoring session to a meeting to a rehearsal and I haven’t left the building.’ That’s the object: To get minimum amount of having to be on the freeway and maximum amount of cool people in L.A. stopping by.”

Harrison projects the sense that he prefers the cloistered environs of an artistic enclave to the glad-handing that characterizes nightclub life.

“I would just rather get holed up in a building, Capt. Nemo style, and take my work back underground to stop it falling into the wrong hands,” he says.

A key part of that work is building the group’s fully interactive Web site. It’s still in beta-testing mode but ultimately will allow the band to initiate webcasts or live video chats when they’re in the mood to reach out beyond the walls of the studio, and to interact to a new degree with fans during the periods when they aren’t touring in the traditional sense.

“Dhani is very into technology … and likes to be on the forefront of everything,” the band’s manager, David Zonshine, says. “He wants fans to experience something new and fresh.”

Harrison has one luxury most start-up enterprises don’t: the fortune his father left to him and his mother, Olivia Harrison, which has been estimated by some British publications at more than $200 million.

Back in the real — as opposed to the virtual — world, Thenewno2 landed spots at both Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and Chicago’s Lollapalooza in 2009, and with a lineup that continues to evolve, they’re excited about getting in front of Wolfmother’s crowd.

“I feel like a soccer team manager, putting out different teams for different things,” Harrison says, “and this is definitely the team I’d field against Wolfmother. We have a new rhythm section and it’s a funky, full-on rock version.”

Which makes him sound a lot like the member of, well, a band.

“As much as we say we don’t like bands and stuff,” Sadoff says, “it’s kind of the most fun thing in the world, ever.”

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December

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Yoko Ono Talks Drums With Modern Drummer  January 2010 Issue  by Billy Amendola

At the young age of seventy-six, there’s just no slowing down for artist, activist, and avant-garde queen Yoko Ono, widow of the late Beatle John Lennon. Her latest CD, Between My Head And The Sky, made with her new Plastic Ono Band, was coproduced by Yoko and her son, Sean Lennon—who, besides playing guitar, keys, and bass, also plays drums on a few tracks. The disc is receiving the best reviews Ono has received in her forty-plus years as an entertainer.

Through the years Yoko’s life has been complex, controversial, and very rewarding. Some have labeled her brilliant; others have denounced her—and many are still trying to figure her out. Having met her on two occasions, I can say that in my experience she’s been sweet, smart, and focused, and she knows exactly what she’s doing at all times. MD is honored that she would take the time to talk drums with us.

MD: What does drumming mean to you?
Yoko: In a summer night, you hear the sounds of drums coming from the park. The trees cover the scene, so you don’t quite see what’s going on. But you hear the drums. And it’s beautiful and mysterious! I would sit on the edge of my large window and listen to it for the longest time. That’s what the sound of drums is to me. It is the heartbeat of the universe. The drummers are letting us touch the heartbeat of the universe through their drumming. And when I hear all these drummers and the drummers on my record—Sean, Yuko “Mi-Gu” Araki, and Shahzad Ismaily—I cherish them; each one has their way. I appreciate the differences and love them all.

MD: Do you explain the rhythms you’re looking for to the drummers on your records or leave it up to them?
Yoko: It all depends. Sometimes I feel it necessary to explain, and sometimes I don’t have to.

MD: Do you think of the drums—feel, tempo—in the very early stages when you’re writing a song?
Yoko: Yes. The feel and the tempo definitely come to me right away while I’m writing the song. But layers of drumming keep being added as well—in my mind, and physically, in the studio.

MD: How do you feel about programmed drums as opposed to live drums?
Yoko: Again, it all depends on the song. I love experimenting. So I have fun using programmed drums and live drums together, as well as using them separately. I usually like to double and triple the drumming. You may be interested to know that I did scratching on my records pretty early on—like all the DJs do these days. I love that scratch sound.

MD: Have you ever sat behind the drumkit and played?
Yoko: I kind of tried…like a four-year-old would. Nothing interesting came out of it!

MD: Over the years you’ve worked with many top drummers, like Rick Marotta, Steve Gadd, Andy Newmark, Yogi Horton, Jim Gordon, Tony Williams, Ringo, and Jim Keltner, to name but a few….
Yoko: I think I was simply very lucky. Tony was on my Walking On Thin Ice album and the track “Sky People” from Starpeace. And I remember being surprised that Jim Keltner did a very interesting drumming duet with my voice on my album Fly. Especially the song “O’Wind.” It wasn’t rock; I don’t know what to call it—almost Indian, but not quite. And it was done with no overdubs.

MD: What are your thoughts on Ringo as a drummer?
Yoko: Ringo is the most underrated drummer in the industry! His drumming is like life—it gives you the most solid beat. When he drummed on my Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band album, I was totally amazed that he had no difficulty in following the very complex improvisational vocals I did—again, no overdubs. I think his incredible drumming was what made so many great Beatles songs possible. We thank you, Ringo!

For updates and more, visit www.yoko-ono.com, www.IMAGINEPEACE.com, and www.myspace.com/officialyokoono.

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November

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November 23, 2009  Ringo Declares "Y Not"

For the first time ever, Starr produces himself on his most personal album yet.  Ringo is joined on Y Not by old and new friends including Paul McCartney, with whom Starr sings on Y Not's stunning first single, "Walk With You," a moving new song about the power of friendship. Ringo meets Hip-O on Starr's latest solo effort released January 12th on Hip-O Records/UMe

Throughout recorded history, great artists across the universe have dared to ask "Why?"  On January 12, 2010, one brave man named Ringo finally boldly declares the ultimate answer -- Y Not.

For the first time in one of popular music's most enduring and illustrious careers, Ringo Starr has decided to take charge and produce himself. The result is perhaps the most personal and impressive album of this rock legend's entire solo career.  How on earth did Starr finally locate the absolutely perfect producer to work with him? "Well, I looked in the mirror," Ringo says with a smile.  "And I was looking real groovy that day."

Starr's decision to take a stronger role in the recording of his latest and greatest solo album was a significant and fortuitous one. "I didn't do it at the start," Starr says. "I was the least involved in the production of the Beatle records. And then with my solo records, I worked with some other great producers like Richard Perry, Arif Mardin, and Don Was. So it just seemed like that's the way that it goes. Then suddenly, it's another point in your life, and you say, `I'm going do this now.' So I'll be producing anything I make from now on. That's the good news. It's a confidence thing, I suppose. And Y Not  is really another way of me saying, "Yes, I can."

The joyous result of Starr looking in the mirror is Y Not, a groovy and deeply felt song cycle that finds Ringo leading a smaller core group of old and new friends including longtime pal and recent brother-in-law Joe Walsh, Dave Stewart and longtime Roundheads member Steve Dudas on guitar, Benmont Tench of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on keyboards, Don Was and Mike Bradford on bass. The album also features Starr's engineer and co-producer Bruce Sugar on keyboards, as well as some special guests like Joss Stone, Ben Harper and Richard Marx on vocals, Ann Marie Calhoun on violin and Tina Sugandh  -- aka Tina The Tabla Girl – on tabla and chanting.  Starr's songwriting collaborators on Y Not also include familiar and new names like Joe Walsh, Dave Stewart. Joss Stone, Glen Ballard, Richard Marx, Van Dyke Parks, Gary Nicholson plus Gary Wright and his former Roundhead band member, Gary Burr. 

Yet no collaborator featured on Y Not is likely to receive as much attention as Starr's former bandmate and longstanding mate Paul McCartney, who adds a characteristically brilliant bass part to the inspiring "Peace Dream" -- Starr's latest heartfelt plea for peace and love -- and even more notably provides his unmistakably fabulous vocals to "Walk With You," an exquisite new composition by Starr and Van Dyke Parks.

"Walk With You" is a moving, even spiritual meditation about the lasting power of friendship, and McCartney's inspired participation on the track was a testament to McCartney's generosity of spirit and musical talent. "Paul was doing the Grammys, so he came over to the house and was playing bass on `Peace Dream." So I played him this other track and Paul said, `Give me the headphones. Give me a pair of cans.'  And he went to the mike and he just invented that part where he follows on my vocal. That was all Paul McCartney, and there could be nothing better.  He makes it bigger and he makes it fuller. It makes the song like a conversation between us, and that was Paul's idea to do his part one beat behind me. That's why he's a gen-i-us and an incredible bass player."
 
Indeed, there's a whole lot of genius on display throughout Y Not.  Highpoints here include "Fill In The Blanks," the album's rocking opening track written, played and sung only by Starr and Walsh.  Then there's "The Other Side Of Liverpool," a revealing autobiographical song that explores Starr's earliest and darkest days.  "People believe I was born, was a Beatle and lived in a big house," Starr explains. "And where I come from was a very dark, damp, violent neighborhood. I wanted to write another little snapshot of my life, and I'm going to do this every album. It's better for me than doing it in a book. In two lines I can say what would take five pages. Like the song says,  "The other side of Liverpool is cold and damp/Only way out of there/drums, guitar and amp."

Starr was already particularly thrilled with one early review for the first album he produced that came from someone he helped produce too. "I just played it for my son Zak," Starr explains. "And Zak was so great. He said, "Dad, it's great. This rocks! You should have been doing this forever. It's nice coming from your boy, especially since he's a really good drummer."

Listen for yourself.  And hear Ringo Starr – also a really good drummer -- doing exactly what he should be doing today and forever.

Why?

Y Not.

-- David Wild, November 2009

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November 18, 2009  Yellow Submarine remake officially announced

The Walt Disney Studios has made a  deal with Apple Corps Ltd. to develop a new 3D performance capture adaptation  of the 1968 hit animated film “Yellow Submarine” to be written and  directed by Robert Zemeckis, it was announced  today at the D23 Expo by Dick Cook, chairman, The Walt  Disney Studios. The film will be created by ImageMovers Digital, Disney’s state-of-the-art performance capture animation studio operated in conjunction with Zemeckis and his partners, Jack Rapke and Steve Starkey, who will serve as producers on the project.

For this fantastic new voyage to Pepperland, Zemeckis will incorporate the 16 Beatles songs and recordings from the original motion picture licensed from Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC and EMI-Capitol Records, respectively.  The songs include “All Together Now,” “All You Need Is Love,” “Eleanor Rigby,” “Lucy  in the Sky with Diamonds” and “With A Little Help From My Friends” while combining his unique vision and style to bring this dazzling tale to life.

In making the announcement, Cook said, “This is truly an inspired collaboration, and a wonderful opportunity to revisit one of the most imaginative and memorable musical fantasies of all time.  To be working with the amazing folks at Apple Corps, and to have Bob helming the sub is truly as good as it gets.  With all those incredible Beatles songs and imagery, the spectacular vision of Bob and his pioneering team at ImageMovers Digital, and a classic adventure full of wit and action, we’re sure that moviegoers are going to have a great time on this latest trip to Pepperland.”

Zemeckis said, “’Yellow Submarine’ is one of the  greatest fantasy films of all time, and making this new 3D performance capture  movie is a dream come true for me.  With the latest advances in technology, we will be able to take moviegoers on a voyage unlike any other, and bring new excitement and dimension to Pepperland and the various sea worlds they encounter. I’m thrilled to be working with the good folks at Apple Corps and our partners at Disney on this epic retelling of one of my all time favorite films.”

Jeff Jones, CEO, Apple Corps Ltd., said, “With The Beatles and Walt Disney Studios, we have a partnership between two of the best loved creative entities in the world.  We’re very excited about the magical fantasy that will result from this collaboration.  The marriage of the music of The Beatles with the talent and technical wizardry of Robert Zemeckis and ImageMovers Digital should produce something very special.  We look forward to working with Bob and his team on realising his new vision for ‘Yellow Submarine’”.

The original motion picture (released in the U.S. on November 13, 1968) based on the music of The Beatles was directed by George Dunning and featured the inspired art direction and design of Heinz Edelmann. The movie is set in Pepperland, an undersea paradise inhabited by music lovers who live in peace and harmony and are protected by Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. That is…until they are threatened by the music hating Blue Meanies.   It’s up to John, Paul, George and Ringo to set off on a magical adventure in their yellow submarine and bring music and harmony back to Pepperland.

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November 18, 2009  Paul McCartney in Concert on ABC Thanksgiving night

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November 18, 2009  Terra Firma's Latest Bid To Save EMI Is Rejected  By Toby Lewis and Dana Cimilluca  The Wall Street Journal 

Citigroup Inc. has rejected Terra Firma Capital Partners Ltd.'s latest bid to restructure EMI Group Ltd., as the music company's lender and its owner haggle over how to address its debt burden.

Citigroup in the past few weeks rebuffed a proposal from the buyout firm in which Terra Firma would inject about GBP 1 billion, or $1.67 billion, into EMI in exchange for Citigroup forgiving a similar proportion of its GBP 2.6 billion of EMI loans, according to people familiar with the matter. The plan would have required Citigroup to write off more debt than it was comfortable with, one of the people said. It is unclear if and when Terra Firma intends to make a new offer.

Either way, the proposal shows the lengths Terra Firma is willing to go to rescue EMI, a big bet it made at the height of the private-equity boom that has soured. About 80% of Terra Firma's investors voted in favor of letting the firm to invest the additional GBP 1 billion, though this would have raised Terra Firma funds' EMI exposure to about 40%, one person familiar with the buyout firm said. Typical private-equity-fund exposure to a single deal is 10% to 20%.

Terra Firma earlier this year offered to inject GBP 300 million into EMI, an offer Citigroup also rebuffed, a person familiar with the matter has said.

Citigroup became Terra Firma's sole lender after the credit crunch made it difficult to syndicate the debt to other investments when the GBP 2.4 billion deal was agreed to in 2007.

Yet even as Terra Firma attempts to rescue its investment, it is sharply reducing its managerial involvement in the company.

The U.K. private-equity firm is withdrawing about 10 of its executives who help run EMI on a day-to-day basis, one person said.

Terra Firma had close to 40 executives at EMI at the height of its involvement. Since then, Terra Firma Chairman Guy Hands has stepped away from day-to-day control of the music division, which is at the heart of EMI's troubles.

Music companies, like other pre-Web media, have been ravaged by the circulation of their content for free on the Internet. EMI's problems have been compounded by a loss of market share and of some of its key talent since the takeover. Terra Firma already has written down the value of a large portion of its EMI investment and been forced to inject extra cash into the company to avoid default on the Citigroup loan.

Since September 2008, EMI's music division has failed at least three so-called covenant tests that force it to keep its cash flow at a certain level relative to its debt. EMI passed the latest test, in September, a person familiar with the matter said, which could give Terra Firma some breathing room in the Citigroup discussions.

Across the buyout world, private-equity firms are seeking to restructure the balance sheets of companies they bought during the buyout boom after a softening economy has eaten into their ability to manage all the debt they took on in the deals.

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November 15, 2009  Money Can't Buy Me Beatles:  The rights holders of Fab Four music keep the Internet at arms length

By L. GORDON CROVITZ - THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

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November 3, 2009   How Leon Wildes helped John Lennon stay in the city he loved

"I didn't expect I'd be talking about the Bible this morning," says Leon Wildes, but it hardly slows him down.

"I was going to be a rabbi," he continues, "and in college I studied the Bible. And in the Bible, in some 34 instances,

probably the most repeated mandate is 'Love the stranger.' I have found that as a kind of byword in my  professional life. "

Wildes wound up founding, not a temple, but Wildes & Weinberg, an immigration firm that takes to heart not only that biblical phrase but Emma Lazarus' words: "Give me your tired, your poor/ Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."

Of course, Wildes' most famous client was hardly poor.

In 1972, Wildes represented John Lennon and Yoko Ono during what turned into a five year deportation battle with the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which wanted to deport Lennon, ostensibly because of a drug conviction in England in 1968. It has since been revealed, however, that the Nixon administration wanted Lennon deported because of worries over his activism and power with young people. The 1972 presidential election, after all, would be the first in which 18-year-olds could vote.

 The lawyer and the former Beatle were very different people but it's no stretch to say that "Love the stranger" is not far from "Imagine all the people/Living life in peace." "No question about it," says Wildes. "He was very respectful of my religious views and we had a lot in common like that. He was concerned that religion was being confused and misused by the system. It wasn't  being used as the common ground in society that it should have been."

In the 2006 documentary The Us. vs.John Lennon, Lennon, in a clip from The Dick Cavett Show in the early 1970s, talked up his attorney. "Our lawyer's name is Leon Wildes," Lennon said. "He's not a radical lawyer. He's not a William Kunstler. Nothing like that.

We went to an immigration lawyer who knew about immigration. And he has really been surprised because he's worked in immigration for 15 years. He's really been surprised by some of the things that have gone on,"

Wildes, himself a talking head in the documentary, says, "My original comment to them about the case was that I thought it was a loser. Why? Because most of my clients end up in a deportation proceeding, and, if they lose, that's the end of it. If they appeal that decision, they go to the Board of Immigration Appeals, and that is hardly ever successful."

During this period, Wildes kept applying for stays and even sued Attorney General John Mitchell. Meanwhile, Lennon confided in him about a prescient sense of foreboding he had.  "He was very concerned he was going to be shot," Wildes remembers. "We talked about. that many times and that was in the background [during the trial]." At the same time, Wildes, adds, "He was not a guy to take a back seat."

Neither is Wildes - the immigration battle rages more than ever. "We deal with people who are completely strange to our ways, and often, through no fault of their own, end up on the wrong side of the law," he says. "And, unfortunately, the government takes an approach to violation of immigration status as though it was a criminal violation, which it isn't. [If] somebody is admitted to the United States and overstays, it's a civil matter."

Wildes' arguments are not only moral but economic: "Legalizing aliens and collecting all their tax money-that we're losing at this point-makes a lot of sense." He adds, "Essentially, we're all immigrants here."  In addition to his practice, Wildes teaches immigration law at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. He lectures, publishes, has testified before the U.S. Congress as an expert in immigration matters, and in 1989 was awarded the Edith Lowenstein Memorial Award for Outstanding Contributions to the field.  

Here's one such contribution. In Us. vs.John Lennon, Wildes recalls, with a smile, the moment the Court of Appeals ruled in their favor.

"I called John, and he said, 'Wait, what do you mean we won? You told us it was a loser.' I said, 'Yes, because I didn't want to build up your hopes too much.' And he said, ' Leon , I'm just going over to New York Hospital because Yoko is giving birth any minute. I'll call you from there.' At about 5:30 the next morning  I was bleary when he called-and he said, 'This is John.' And I said John who?' And he said, John Lennon, and I have a beautiful boy.'''

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October

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October 29, 2009  John Lennon film brings London festival to an end

LONDON (Reuters) - The London film festival closes on Thursday with the world premiere of "Nowhere Boy," about John Lennon's rebellious teenage years and his torrid relationship with his aunt and mother before the Beatles were formed.

The directorial debut of video artist Sam Taylor-Wood, the movie stars Aaron Johnson as an angry, confused Lennon who struggles to understand why his mother Julia left him with his aunt Mimi when he was a small boy.

The film plays on the contrast between his "buttoned-up," straight-laced aunt, played by Kristin Scott Thomas, and his fun-loving mother (Anne-Marie Duff) who encourages him to listen to rock'n'roll and teaches him the banjo.

Asked how reliable her account of the star's troubled youth was, Taylor-Wood told BBC Radio:

"There are often versions of truth. Maybe if you'd spoken to Mimi she'd have had one version and Julia, his mother, would have had another version. So as much as possible I think it's pretty close."

She also confessed that tackling a subject as revered as Lennon in her first feature film was daunting.

"I think I went into it fairly naively," said the 42-year-old.

"It wasn't really until I spent a lot of time in Liverpool and walking around that it started to dawn on me the magnitude of the subject matter I'd taken on. And there were moments when I thought, 'I just can't handle this, this is too big.'"

DEBT TO MINGHELLA

The script was written by Matt Greenhalgh, who won acclaim for his screenplay for another rock biopic "Control," about the life and death of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis.

Greenhalgh said he went to Liverpool in northern England and visited the area where Lennon grew up as well as St. Peter's Church Hall where he famously first met Paul McCartney.

His story traces the formative months of The Beatles and ends with the band about to leave for Hamburg, an early step on their way to becoming the most successful pop act in history.

"It's always nice to think of characters as kids because you can actually create them -- it doesn't come with too much baggage," Greenhalgh said in production notes for the film.

Taylor-Wood, best known for her video installations and a string of celebrity subjects and friends, switched to film with the encouragement of the late director Anthony Minghella.

"He gave me the confidence because he genuinely believed I could do it and told me so," she said.

The gala screening of Nowhere Boy marks the end of the 2009 London film festival, which has lasted 16 days and showcased around 200 feature films.

The annual event is attempting to compete with major international festivals like Venice and Cannes, and this year introduced a best film award which brings it closer into line with its rivals. French drama "A Prophet" scooped the prize.

The majority of its movies have already been shown elsewhere, however, with only a few exceptions including Wes Anderson's animated "Fantastic Mr Fox," which opened the festival and ensured George Clooney was on the red carpet.

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October 22, 2009  Paul McCartney plans European tour in December

LONDON – Paul McCartney will return to Hamburg, where The Beatles honed their craft, to launch his first European tour in five years.

McCartney announced Thursday he will play the German city on Dec. 2 to kick off the "Good Evening Europe" tour.

The former Beatle also plans shows in Berlin, the Dutch city of Arnhem, Paris, Cologne and Dublin. The seven-date tour ends at London's O2 Arena on Dec. 22.

The tour follows a string of North American dates earlier this year.

The 67-year-old McCartney plans to release a live album from the U.S. tour, "Good Evening New York City."

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October 18, 2009  Abbey Road Coming to Beatles Rock Band This Week

The first full album to hit Beatles coming tomorrow on 360 and Wii, Thursday for PS3

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September

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September 29, 2009  How George Harrison forged the Beatles' signatures for a dying fan

George Harrison is believed to have forged all the signatures of the Beatles to make a dying fan’s wish come true.

The report emerged after an autographed picture of  the band was sold at Keys auctioneers in Aylsham, Norfolk on Friday.
It was donated by Harry Bartlett, of Rickinghall, Suffolk, whose daughter Ann received  the photograph shortly before her death in the late 1960s at the age of 16.

  The autographed Beatles photographs and a picture of Ann Bartlett, who was just 16 when she died from leukaemia in the 1960s

Andrew Bullock of Keys said it was thought Harrison had copied the signatures of his fellow band members - Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and John Lennon.  'We've sent it to a handwriting expert and it's just about 100 per cent certain that they were done by George,' he said.  'There are quite a few photographs in existence with autographs that were all signed by George. He got quite good at doing it.  'In this case, where you have got this poor girl who is terminally ill, he was probably aware of the situation and thought he should get it sent off as soon as possible.
'That adds a certain something and is actually quite nice.'
The lot, which also included a signed photograph of Harrison, sold for £1,300 to an anonymous telephone bidder.  Proceeds from the sale will go towards leukaemia research at the University of East Anglia.

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September 17, 2009 Magazine signed by John Lennon sells for $12,713

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September 10, 2009  Beatles Set to Dominate UK Charts Once Again

LONDON (Reuters) – The Beatles look set to dominate Britain's pop charts once again this week with the Fab Four predicted to take five of the top 20 album places, the Official Charts Company said Thursday.

Digitally remastered versions of the band's albums went on sale Wednesday, and combined with an interactive video game, it led to a brief return to "Beatlemania" around the world.

The Official Charts Company said as well as taking at least five of the top 20 spots, the band was expected to have 15 albums in the top 75 when the charts are released Sunday.

It predicted that EMI Music's reissues of "Abbey Road" and "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" would be the biggest sellers.

"These results for the reissues indicate that Beatlemania is alive and well," said the company's managing director Martin Talbot.

"There are still three more sales days to be counted -- today, Friday and Saturday -- so this story is not complete yet. But already it is clear that the Beatles' enduring appeal shows no signs of waning."

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August

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August 25, 2009  Aug. 17 declared Paul McCartney Day in state of Oklahoma

The state of Oklahoma declared Monday Paul McCartney Day. The former Beatle performs tonight at BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla.

The honor was issued as a joint effort by Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry and Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor.

“Whereas, Paul McCartney is a genuine living legend, among the most successful recording artists in history of popular music, as his enormous contributions to music through The Beatles, Wings and his solo career have been justly celebrated worldwide," the declaration stated.

"Over five decades, Sir Paul McCartney has given us some of the greatest and most memorable pop music of all time. He is truly a living legend whose impact on music and popular culture is incalculable. Tulsa and the entire State of Oklahoma are honored by his visit," said Gov. Henry.

"For generations, from the Beatles to Wings to his solo career, Paul McCartney's music has reached across time and space to touch us all," said Mayor Taylor, in a statement. "It is fitting that this icon in popular music celebrate with us as we mark the first year anniversary in the BOK Center, a venue that will entertain generations to come. We are honored to have Sir Paul McCartney in Tulsa, and glad to be the host on this special day."

"Oklahoma was never like this.." from "Press" on "Press to Play" by Paul McCartney

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August 17, 2009  Unheard studio banter part of BBC "Beatles Week"

LONDON (Reuters Life!) – The BBC will air a documentary next month featuring hitherto unheard out-takes of conversation between the members of the Beatles at London's Abbey Road recording studios.

Beatles Week, to be aired on BBC2 and BBC4 from September 5, coincides with the September 9 release of the digitally remastered original Beatles catalog and "The Beatles: Rock Band" video game, the band's first big leap into the world of digital music.

"This is a chance for viewers to enjoy some rare footage and fascinating insights into the career of the greatest pop group of all time," said George Entwistle of the BBC.

The week will open with "The Beatles On Record," a history of the band in the studio featuring more than 60 songs, rare footage and photographs from the group's archives and never-before-heard fragments of chat.

It will be followed by the first TV airing of "The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit," the Maysles brothers' film charting the Fab Four's arrival in the United States in 1964 when Beatlemania first ignited there.

Among the other highlights is "Storyville: How The Beatles Rocked the Kremlin," a documentary by Leslie Woodhead about how the band profoundly affected young Russians even though it was never able to play in the Soviet Union.

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August 7, 2009  Forty years on, Beatles fans flock to Abbey Road crosswalk

June

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June 28, 2009  Hello Goodbye: Jackson's Beatles rights at risk

The Fab Four's prized catalog -- specifically 267 songs mostly written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney -- is embarking on a long and winding road of ownership uncertainty following the death of Michael Jackson on Thursday.

The pop singer and Sony Corp's Sony Music arm operated a lucrative joint venture that either owns or administers the copyrights to about 750,000 compositions written by the likes of Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, Taylor Swift and the Jonas Brothers.

Industry analysts estimate that Sony/ATV Music Publishing is worth at least $1 billion, making Jackson one savvy entertainer. His initial investment cost him $47.5 million in 1985. Music publishing is considered a license to print money. Not quite as exciting as the piracy-ravaged recorded-music side, it involves collecting royalties from such diverse avenues as downloads, radio airplay and videogames.

But mystery now surrounds the beneficial ownership of Jackson's stake. According to a lawsuit filed in 2002 by a creditor, he secured bank loans totaling $270 million two years earlier using both his Sony/ATV stake and the copyrights to his own songs as collateral.

Jackson lived an extravagant lifestyle, even as his commercial appeal dwindled amid damaging child-abuse allegations and changing music tastes. The Wall Street Journal reported in 2005 that his cash reserves ran so low earlier that year that he worried about paying his electric bill. The paper reported earlier this month that he had racked up about $500 million of debt.

"VERY COMPLEX" VALUATIONS

A clearer picture of his finances will emerge during the administration period of his estate that usually lasts about 18 months, said Renee Gabbard of the law firm Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker in Costa Mesa, California.

Jackson's executors will evaluate his assets, file the estate tax return and invite creditors to submit invoices, said Gabbard, who has a number of wealthy clients with entertainment-related estates.

The process of valuing estate assets, especially intellectual property like music copyrights, is "very complex" and often takes "quite a while," said Gabbard.

"When you have entertainers and musicians they usually have quite extensive royalty contracts. It's very tough to put a value on a catalog of songs," she said.

Jackson and Sony formed their joint venture in 1995, with the singer contributing ATV Songs, whose 4,000 tunes included most of the Beatles catalog. He had bought ATV a decade earlier from Australian businessman Robert Holmes a Court, famously outbidding McCartney in the process.

Jackson was not involved in the day-to-day operations of Sony/ATV, but as a lover of the songwriting process was known to be "incredibly proud" of the company and its fast growth, according to a publishing industry source.

A spokesman for Sony/ATV declined to comment.

His stakes in both Sony/ATV and in Mijac, which holds his own copyrights, were owned by trusts. It was not clear if they were irrevocable or not. If they are revocable, then they could be dismantled to satisfy creditors, Gabbard said.

The estate would first pay federal taxes owed on Jackson's assets, most notably the publishing companies. The remaining assets then would go to satisfy creditors and the balance probably would be placed into separate trusts for his beneficiaries, most likely his children, Gabbard said.

But the publishing industry source said it was too premature to speculate about a possible change in ownership at Sony/ATV, which is run by music industry veteran Martin Bandier.

Additionally, each side is reportedly entitled to make a counter-offer if the other side lines up a buyer, or to bid for the other half it does not own.

The Beatles catalog, meanwhile, just keeps raking in money. The group's CDs will be reissued on September 9, the same day that a Fab Four version of the "Rock Band" videogame hits stores.

(Additional reporting by Dean Goodman, Editing by Anthony Boadle)

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June 7, 2009  McCartney to sing at New York Mets stadium in July

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April

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April 18, 2009  An energized Paul McCartney opens Coachella fest

INDIO, Calif. – Energized by the desert air and memory of his late wife, a playful and passionate Paul McCartney riffed on "Foxy Lady," led an after-midnight "Hey Jude" singalong and dedicated songs to his former bandmates at the Coachella music festival that kicked off Friday.

McCartney took off his black jacket five songs in and didn't put it back on for the next 29, strutting the stage in boots, black pants, a white shirt and suspenders that he tugged at wryly.

"It's going to be a good weekend, dear," he told the crowd of thousands gathered for the three-day festival, which erupted in cheers with the first chords of Beatles tunes like "Eleanor Rigby." It was McCartney's first appearance at a U.S. festival as a solo artist.

In the 2 1/2-hour set, including two encores, McCartney dedicated "Long and Winding Road" and "My Love Does It Good" to his late wife Linda, who died at the couple's ranch at Tucson, Ariz., 11 years earlier to the day.

"It's an emotional day for me. That's good, that's OK," he said, pounding his chest. "Lot of heart, lot of emotion."

Before a moving performance of "Blackbird," he noted that it had been written in response to the 60s civil rights movement. "Now you've got President Obama. Yeah, you know we've come a long way."

Switching from serious to cheerily self-aware, he led call-and-response chants only to wave them off quickly as "messing around," and dismissed signs held by front-row fans — including one that asked for his guitar pick.

"No! It's mine!" McCartney said. "Anyway, if I make a mistake, I can blame the signs."

There were mistakes. McCartney was proficient but sometimes out-of-sync with the four-man band backing him. But he clearly enjoyed himself, plowing through songs from his "Fireman" album, "Band on the Run" from the Wings, and Fab Four favorites like "Back in the USSR," "Paperback Writer" and, for the finale, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."

McCartney launched brightly into "Something" with only his voice and a ukulele he said was given to him by George Harrison, before his band mates and the crowd joined in.

The first day of the festival also featured Morrissey, Leonard Cohen, the Hold Steady, Franz Ferdinand and the Ting Tings. It drew a number of young Hollywood stars to this desert city southeast of Palm Springs.

Anne Hathaway was spotted in the VIP area wearing patterned harem pants and a cardigan, while Morrissey's set drew the attention of "Twilight" actor Robert Pattinson, wearing skinny cut-off jeans, and Kirsten Dunst in a short-sleeve mini-dress. Kate Bosworth, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Chloe Sevigny and Zoe Kravitz were also spotted in the VIP area.

Police reported 18 arrests for drug- and alcohol-related crimes, and fire officials took three patrons to hospitals.

Las Vegas-based The Killers and M.I.A., a replacement for Amy Winehouse, headline a more youthful Saturday lineup. My Bloody Valentine and The Cure cap off Sunday night.

The recession has forced music festivals nationwide to lower prices or downsize, and three-day, $269 tickets to Coachella were available on a layaway plan. Single-day tickets were $120 at the door. Organizers have not yet announced attendance or ticket sales.

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April 14, 2009  George Harrison gets Hollywood star

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March

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March 28, 2009  BEATLES - LENNON'S SISTER FACING LAWSUIT OVER FILM

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March 19, 2009  Beatles to launch download site

George Harrison's son Dhani is launching a Beatles-only download site.  Harrison says the Beatles estate has created its own "online delivery system" instead of making the group's songs available on iTunes.  He claims the iconic British pop group is losing money because Apple's famed downloading program doesn't charge enough for songs.  Harrison told Blender magazine: "We're losing money every day. So what do you do? You have to have your own delivery system, or you have to do a good deal with Apple CEO Steve Jobs.  "But he says that a download is worth 99 cents, and we disagree."  Fans will be able to download songs from the site in "the near future".  Dhani also revealed details about The Beatles' 'Rock Band' video game, which is due for release in September.  He said: "The game will feature stuff that has never been heard, never been released. I took the project to Apple Records and sort of convinced everybody to have a presentation.  "My job description is being enthusiastic. We've been working on it for the past two years. This is the first one that is going to be totally, historically accurate. It's been a real headache, but it's been the most enjoyable work I've done in my life."

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March 19, 2009  Reggae band covers Beatles' album `Sgt. Peppers'

AUSTIN, Texas – Could the Beatles have been Rastafarians at heart?

It's easy to wonder while listening to the Easy Star All-Stars reggae re-imagining of the Beatles' classic "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." After all, the Beatles did sing the famous lyric: "I get high with a little help from my friends."

The Easy Star All-Stars, a collective of reggae musicians, will release their third album cover of a concept classic on April 14 with their "Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band." It follows their versions of Radiohead's "OK Computer" ("Radiodread") and Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" ("Dub Side of the Moon").

It may sound like a novelty act, but both albums were popular, staying on Billboard's reggae charts for years, and drew good reviews. Arrangements bring a reggae beat to familiar songs and often fill in horns where there was previously jagged guitars. Mentions of "God" are replaced with "Jah." And modern disenchantment — at least in Radiohead's case — becomes warm optimism.

Even Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke said he liked the Toots & the Maytal's version of their "Let Down" on "Radiodread."

The band has both a studio version including numerous guest stars — led by producer and music director Michael Goldwasser — and a touring group. Ras I-Ray, a bassist who has been on all the tours, calls the performing contingent "the road warriors."

At the South By Southwest Music Conference and Festival, I-Ray and singer Kristy Rock (also an Easy Star veteran) sat down for an interview about the unusual experience of playing Beatles tunes as reggae songs.

"We're definitely bringing reggae music to a wider audience. We're almost like ambassadors to reggae," said Rock. "I remember looking out in the audience and seeing some people (with their arms crossed) and they're obviously big Pink Floyd fans. But by the end, they're smiling."

Both said the most common comment they get is: "I don't like reggae, but ..."

In an e-mail, Goldwasser explained the band's appeal: "We are not just covering some songs — we are painstakingly adapting entire albums to a different genre. ... It's like being a theater director and coming up with a new interpretation and staging of a classic, well-loved play, and then applying that spirit to several plays."

And, of course, the band is hoping to hear a reaction from Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to their version of "Sgt. Peppers."

"I'm expecting it just because I want it to happen," said I-Ray. "I'm putting myself in his shoes. If I were Sir Paul and I was browsing a record store, I'd pick it up."

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March 5, 2009  Beatles McCartney, Starr to play N.Y. charity show

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Former Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr will perform at a New York concert next month to help raise money for a program that encourages troubled children to meditate, organizers said.

McCartney will headline the "Change Begins Within" fund-raiser at Radio City Music Hall on April 4, while Starr is among the "special guests."

A spokeswoman said on Thursday that the pair were currently scheduled to play separate sets, and any plans for a joint performance would be announced at a later date.

McCartney and Starr, the last two surviving members of the Fab Four, most recently shared a stage in 2002 at a memorial concert in London for fallen bandmate George Harrison.

The Beatles, led by Harrison, helped popularize Transcendental Meditation in 1967 when they sought spiritual guidance from an Indian guru, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. But a planned two-month pilgrimage to India the following year ended badly when Starr split after two weeks, in part because of dietary concerns. A disenchanted John Lennon later ripped their guru in a song called "Maharishi," whose title was changed to "Sexy Sadie" for legal reasons.

In a statement about the show, McCartney said Transcendental Meditation helps him find "moments of serenity." Starr simply said the aims of the charity were "wonderful."

The event will benefit filmmaker David Lynch's eponymous foundation, which says it has provided scholarships since 2005 for more than 60,000 students, parents, and teachers around the world to learn to meditate.

The lineup also includes Sheryl Crow, Donovan, Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder, blues-folk musician Ben Harper and techno star Moby. Tickets, priced between $79.50 and $504.50, will go on sale on Monday.

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March 5, 2009  Beatles edition of `Rock Band' video game planned

NEW YORK – Rock Band is getting the perhaps greatest rock group of all time: The Beatles.

The Beatles' management said Thursday that a Beatles version of the Rock Band video game will debut Sept. 9. In addition, they'll sell accompanying instruments modeled after the ones used by the band.

This is the first time Rock Band has based a game on one group, according to MTV Games. It has not yet been determined what Beatles songs will be included in the edition, available for Xbox360, Playstation 3, and Wii video game consoles.

Representatives of the Beatles and Rock Band had been planning a collaboration for months, but initially, the final project was not supposed to be a Rock Band game, but another type of game compatible with the instruments used for the popular series.

But MTV Games said in a statement: "As we moved through the creative process, it just seemed to make sense to clearly highlight the association between The Beatles game and the critically acclaimed Rock Band franchise. The game is being developed by Harmonix and will utilize and build upon the core foundation of Rock Band to create a brand new and innovative Beatles experience."

Giles Martin, son of Beatles producer George Martin, is developing the product. The Beatles, who broke up nearly four decades ago, have been slow in embracing new technology: their music is still not available for sale on iTunes.

The band's management, Apple Corps Ltd., is partners in the project with MTV Games and Harmonix.

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February

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Beatles History:  February 20, 1964 -  the U.K. flies 24,000 rolls of Beatles wallpaper to U.S.

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February 13, 2009  Sirius XM Launch of Paul’s Fireman Radio

Fireman Radio to give listeners unprecedented access to Paul McCartney.  Paul to host “fireside chats”

SIRIUS XM Radio announced that it will launch a limited-run channel devoted to the music of Paul McCartney, in celebration of his new critically acclaimed album recorded under the guise of his alter ego, The Fireman. Paul McCartney’s Fireman Radio, and will premiere tomorrow, Valentine’s Day, February 14 and will air through Friday, March 13 on The Bridge, SIRIUS channel 33 and XM channel 27.

The channel will feature a rare in-depth and revealing interview with Paul. During the interview, Paul shares his inspiration behind his secret Fireman projects. Paul’s Fireman Radio is an exclusive commercial-free channel, completely devoted to McCartney’s legendary and expansive post-Beatles music-making and will include music from his solo records, tracks from every Wings album, the three Fireman albums, 1993’s Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest, 1998’s Rushes and 2008’s Electric Arguments as well as musical surprises from Paul’s vault.

Additionally, Paul will host exclusive “fireside chats” where he will discuss music, politics, news and any other topic he feels compelled to discuss. Paul, on Fireman Radio, will take SIRIUS XM listeners on an in-depth exploration of each song from The Fireman’s latest album, Electric Arguments. He will speak candidly and openly about every track and will shed new light on this acclaimed music project, which for years has been shrouded in secrecy. On Paul’s Fireman Radio, he pulls back the curtain to reveal the creative process behind The Fireman. Never before has Paul shared so many personal insights into this fascinating chapter in his musical legacy.

“Paul’s Fireman Radio allows all of us the privilege to hear a revealing side of one of the world’s biggest artists, sharing his work in a way that is unprecedented in its scale, unduplicated in its intimacy, and completely unique to SIRIUS XM,” said Scott Greenstein, President and Chief Content Officer, SIRIUS XM Radio.

It has been ten years since Paul and Youth, the bassist in British post-punk rock band Killing Joke and a respected producer, have collaborated on their experimental side project, The Fireman. In November of 2008, The Fireman released their third album, Electric Arguments.

I (Mark) have been asked to record a Guest DJ segment for Fireman Radio, and I am honored to be part of the programming. You will have to check www.sirius.com/firemanradio to find out when it will run. This dedicated web page for Paul McCartney’s Fireman Radio, includes video clips of an exclusive Macca interview conducted at our  SIRIUS XM studios on January 14.

For more information, please visit www.sirius.com or www.xmradio.com

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February 1, 2009  Paul McCartney to headline California's Coachella

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Paul McCartney will headline the opening day of the Coachella music festival in California this spring, the singer's Web site said on Friday.  The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, held in the sparsely populated California desert, began in 1999 as a place to showcase mostly alternative rock acts aimed at young fans. But in recent years it has grown into one of the largest music events of its kind with a wide array of singers and bands.  The 66-year-old former Beatle will top the bill on April 17, followed the next day by U.S. rock band The Killers and by British group The Cure on the festival's third and final day.  "I have heard that Coachella is one of the greatest festivals in the world. I'm really excited to get out there and rock!," McCartney said in a statement.  McCartney in November stole the show at the MTV Europe Music Awards, when he accepted an Ultimate Legend prize from the pop channel in his home city of Liverpool, England.  McCartney last September played in Israel for the first time under tight security, in a show described as a make-up concert from when the Beatles were blocked from the Jewish State in the 1960s.  The bill for this year's festival also includes embattled British soul singer Amy Winehouse, Canadian-born icon Leonard Cohen, and the band Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

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February 1, 2009  Professor Uses Mathematics to Decode Beatles Tunes

(By Easha Anand Wall Street Journal)  HALIFAX, Canada -- It is here, in a cluttered mathematician's office, under blackboards jammed with equations and functional analysis, that one of Western culture's greatest mysteries has finally been solved: Why has no one been able to replicate the first chord in The Beatles' pop hit "A Hard Day's Night"?

Not stopping there, this sleuth is using math in his quest to answer an even more-elusive question, about the contested authorship of the Fab Four's "In My Life."

"Whether they realize it or not, the best songwriters have always relied on mathematics," says Jason Brown, a mathematician who is tackling such puzzlers in between chairing the math department at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and playing his own Beatles-esque songs.

Since the 1960s, Beatles aficionados have pored over the group's recordings and memorabilia in search of answers to questions about both their music and their lives. An as-yet-unpublished Beatles track Paul McCartney recently mentioned made headlines internationally. Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn, who is working on a trilogy about the British rock group, examined church records to find the precise day that John Lennon met Mr. McCartney.

Now Mr. Brown, 47 years old, is revisiting these questions from another angle. His approach is sparking controversy among fans who believe the band's mystique defies calculation. An article by Mr. Brown on his research published in Guitar Player magazine three years ago spawned heated discussions in both the math and music blogospheres.

"Some people thought what he was doing was sacrilegious," says Matt Blackett, an associate editor at Guitar Player. "As a fellow Beatles fanatic, I just thought it was awesome."

A spokesman for Mr. McCartney said he was unavailable and other former group members didn't respond to request for comment. Generally, the group has been evasive when faced with fans' efforts to dissect their work.

Growing up in the Toronto suburbs, Mr. Brown learned piano, but gave it up at age 12 for guitar, after hearing the Beatles' "Red Album," and becoming obsessed with the group. Like many Beatles fans, Mr. Brown was fascinated with the opening chord of "A Hard Day's Night." The chord has at least four sheet music variants, but nobody has ever quite replicated it, and the Beatles haven't revealed how they produced the complex sound. Mr. Brown said he spent hours experimenting before it occurred to him: "Music is basically just math."

It isn't surprising that Mr. Brown turned to mathematics. He talks about the lyrics of 1960s songwriter Randy Newman in terms of metamathematics. When he sees broccoli, he thinks of fractals, a concept in chaos theory. Piles of graph-theory tomes litter his office, and Greek letters and Roman numerals cover his chalkboard.

Mr. Brown realized he could use a discrete Fourier transform, a mathematical technique for breaking up complicated signals into simpler functions and known as DFT. He used digital equipment to show the chord as a series of numbers, tens of thousands per second, and then applied a DFT to convert the chord into dozens of simpler functions, each representing a single sound frequency.

Mr. Brown knew there is no such thing as a pure tone: Each instrument emits one sound for the note played and then sounds that are multiples of that note's frequency, as the string vibrates back on itself. Of his dozens of frequencies, some were background noise and some--the ones he wanted to ferret out--were the notes the Beatles struck.

The professor started making deductions. The loudest notes were likely Mr. McCartney's bass. The lowest had to be the original note played, since a string can generate waves along half or a third of its length, but not twice its length. But no matter how he divvied up the notes, something didn't fit.

It is well-documented that Mr. Harrison played a 12-string guitar for the recording of "A Hard Day's Night." For every guitar note played, there had to be another one octave higher, since his guitar strings were pressed down in pairs.

But three frequencies for an F note were left, none of which were an octave apart. Even if Mr. Brown assumed Mr. Lennon played one F note on his six-string guitar, Mr. Brown still had two unexplained frequencies.

After weeks of staring at six-decimal-place amplitude values, Mr. Brown suddenly remembered how, as a child, he used to stick his head inside his parents' grand piano to see how it worked. He ran to a nearby music shop, and poked his head inside the Yamahas there.

Sure enough, there were three strings under the F key, corresponding to the three sets of harmonics he had seen. Buried under the iconic guitar chord was a piano note.

Other problems have since yielded to Mr. Brown's mathematics. Fans have always marveled at Mr. Harrison's guitar solo in "A Hard Day's Night," a rapid-fire sequence of 1/16th notes, accompanied on piano, that seemed to require superhuman dexterity.

Mr. Brown noticed that a piano is strung differently in its lower octaves, with two strings, rather than three, under each hammer. He saw only two frequencies for each piano note in the guitar solo, suggesting that the solo had been played one octave lower than the recorded version sounded. It had also been played at half-speed, he concluded, then sped up on tape to make the released version sound as if had been played faster and at a higher octave.

Mr. Brown's latest project is figuring out which Beatle wrote "In My Life." Both Messrs. Lennon and McCartney claim to have written the majority of the tune.

To settle the dispute, Mr. Brown is feeding hundreds of Beatles songs with known authorship into a computer program. In academia, his specialty is graph theory, which examines networks of points--called "nodes"--and arrows connecting them--known as "edges." In this problem, each chord in the Beatles canon is a node, and edges connect chords played in succession.

With a few dozen songs entered, the graphs are taking shape: Mr. Lennon's looks like a demented flower, with loops everywhere, representing his trademark repeated chords, while Mr. McCartney's is more freeform. When Mr. Brown is finished, he'll plug "In My Life" into his program and see which graph fits it better.

Meanwhile, Mr. Brown is applying his mathematical analysis to write his own Beatles-esque music. At the studio of sound engineer and drummer Scott Ferguson, Mr. Brown tunes up with bassist Alex Vaughan and vocalist Hal Bruce. Messrs. Ferguson and Bruce are professional Beatles "celebrators" (they prefer the term to "impersonator"), and the four are united by their love of the British band. Sketches of Mr. Lennon adorn the studio, and the musicians refer to the Fab Four as if they are old friends. "Paul was just so melodic," sighs Mr. Bruce.

The band launches in on "A Million Whys,'' a song Mr. Brown mathematically designed to sound like a Beatles tune. Mr. Brown croons into a studio mic, black Reeboks tapping.

Afterward, the group dissects the track. "I'm clashing with something or other," says Mr. Ferguson. Though Mr. Brown wrote the song based on formula, the musicians refine it based on their musical instinct.

Jim Vallance, who has written songs for Tina Turner and Aerosmith, says that's proof that some facets of music defy equations. "Scientists have discovered everything about Stradivarius' violins: the wood density, the varnish, the glue," he says. "But no one has been able to replicate the 'sound.' Same with the Beatles. You can't measure heart and soul."

Other Beatles fans describe Mr. Brown's research as a fancy way of packaging what they already know. Walt Everett, author of "The Beatles as Musicians," dismisses Mr. Brown's findings about the piano notes in the opening chord of "A Hard Day's Night,'' saying he had already noticed the piano presence.

Mr. Brown stands by his approach. "Everyone thinks they've analyzed a chord, but they don't agree," he says. "You can't argue with the math."

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January

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January 31, 2009 Seattle tribute band's ultimate tribute: re-creating Beatles on the roof

By Mark Rahner  Seattle Times staff reporter

The chills Susan Guidry felt Friday weren't from the cold air outside Pike Place Market. Watching the tribute band Crème Tangerine on the Copacabana Café's terrace re-enact the Beatles' legendary London rooftop concert on its 40th anniversary, Guidry remembered seeing the supergroup perform in Seattle in 1964 and meeting them afterward.  

Guidry, 59, was one of a few hundred people who crowded the street for the lunchtime show, organized by former Apple Records U.S. manager Ken Mansfield, who was on the London roof in 1969 with the Beatles for what turned out to be their final performance.

"It just gives me an upset stomach, because George (Harrison) and John (Lennon) are gone. But it's fabulous, too," Guidry said.

Of the dozen people who gathered on the roof that day, only six are still alive, including Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Mansfield, Yoko Ono and Alan Parsons, who at the time was working for producer Glyn Johns.

"To this day, we're friends forever, bound by that moment," Mansfield said of Parsons. "Like two guys in a foxhole."

Mansfield recalled, "I've never been so cold in my life as I was that day in London. But it was absolutely the high point of my career."

He remembered standing beside Ono: "They give Yoko way too much credit for breaking up the band," he said. "They were a rock 'n' roll band and had been through a lot and it was time to break up."

Organizing the Pike Place concert "was my own personal way of paying tribute," Mansfield said.

Crème Tangerine followed a set list similar to the one that the Beatles performed in London, playing "Don't Let Me Down," "Get Back," "Dig a Pony," "I've Got a Feeling," "I Want You/She's So Heavy" and "One After 909."

Guitarist Tim Mushen watched the crowd grow -- along with his own excitement. "Obviously, we have great respect for what the Beatles did," he said. "And it's just fun to have all the people here."

Among them: Stavros Anastasiou, 51, of Bellevue, who watched footage of the original performance on a Beatles video anthology.

"These guys sound great," he said, of Crème Tangerine.

Beside him, Love Israel, 68, of Bothell, called it "beautiful."

"Everyone feels the old feeling of love they felt in the '60s," he said. "Everyone needs to be reminded that love is the answer."

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January 29, 2009   Newcomer Aaron Johnson to play John Lennon in film about his teenage years

(dailymail.co.uk)  Fast-rising newcomer Aaron Johnson will portray John Lennon in a film about his teenage years, and the two women who dominated and shaped his early life  -  his mother and his aunt  -  will be played by Anne-Marie Duff and Kristin Scott Thomas.
Aaron, 18, has signed a contract to portray one of the world's most celebrated and influential rock artists.
Hundreds of teens were auditioned the length and breadth of the country but it was felt that Aaron, who sings and plays guitar, had the acting talent to bring the Lennon depicted in Matt Greenhalgh's screenplay to life.Greenhalgh wrote his script from a memoir by Julia Baird, Lennon's stepsister.
The actor has just completed Matthew Vaughn's film Kick-Ass and last summer enjoyed some 'heat' from playing the teenage hunk in Gurinder Chadha's Angus, Thongs And Perfect Snogging.
The film, Nowhere Boy, will begin shooting on locations in and around Liverpool in March, with Ealing Studios being used for interior scenes.
Sam Taylor Wood, the film's director, met with Kristin Scott Thomas in New York. She watched the actress in The Seagull on Broadway and went to her dressing room after the play.
'I told her she would be right to play John Lennon's Aunt Mimi and we talked and talked about it and she agreed,' the director told me when we chatted at the Ivy restaurant in London.
Ms Scott Thomas has now finished in The Seagull and
this weekend she will be in LA for the Golden Globes, where she is a best-actress nominee for her role in the film I've Loved You So Long.
Taylor Wood explained that she wanted powerful actresses who could understand and get across to the audience the complex relationship between Lennon's mother Julia (Anne-Marie) and his Aunt Mimi.
'Mimi was the eldest sister, born in the early part of the last century and Julia came later and they couldn't have been more different,' she said.
'Mimi was strict and very proper but she knew how to enjoy a joke, and Julia was the sister who was what today we'd call laid-back. She liked music and was a bit bohemian and didn't take things as seriously as Mimi.
'It's the clash of these two different psychological forces that was to shape the man who would become John Lennon,' Ms Taylor Wood explained.
The film will open in 1940 with Lennon's birth and a visit from his Aunt Mimi during an air raid. When Julia's marriage breaks up she gives her son to Mimi to raise.
The film then skips forward to Fifties Liverpool and the moment when Mimi discovers that someone has given Lennon a guitar and he's about to form a group called The Quarrymen.
The powerful combination of Taylor Wood and Greenhalgh has attracted a high-calibre cast and crew.
Award-winning cinematographer Seamus McGarvey will shoot the picture and producers at Ecosse Films, HanWay Films, the UK Film Council and Film 4 will approach Yoko Ono (although I hope not all at once) to seek permission to use certain song titles in the film.

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January 26, 2009   Paul McCartney Rep Rips Wedding Rumors

Los Angeles (E! Online) – When it comes to Paul McCartney wedding rumors, the British tabs won't let it be.

A rep for the former Beatle is smacking down a pair of newspaper stories that he is looking to get hitched with lady love Nancy Shevell now that her divorce has become official.

"[There's] no truth to it," says publicist Paul Freundlich.

Both the Sunday Mirror and Sunday Telegraph reported that McCartney sought and received the all-clear from his four adult children, including fashion designer Stella, to marry the New York native.

The newspapers claimed that the New York State Supreme Court had granted Shevell a divorce from  Bruce Blakeman on Dec. 9, ending a 23-year union. However, neither publiciation cited any public legal documents, and and none have surfaced so far.

Shevell's attorney, Michael Stutman, declined to comment on the status of the divorce. He referred all questions to his client, who was not immediately available.

The 49-year-old Shevell, a board member of the Big Apple's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and her 52-year-old estranged husband, a Port Authority commissioner, lawyer and former Nassau County legislator, amicably split in 2007. They have a 17-month-old son.

According to the British tabs, Shevell and McCartney had known each other almost three decades before they were photographed smooching outside a Long Island sushi joint in November 2007. Both own residences in the Hamptons.

You'd think McCartney would be a bit gunshy about rushing to the altar. His divorce from second wife Heather Mills, finalized last year, cost the former moptop nearly $50 million.

Betrothed or no, McCartney today became the latest star to sign on for a Grammy performance. He's up for two trophies at the Feb. 8 ceremony.

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January 10, 2009 Beatle who turned into a beach boy: Sir Paul McCartney makes waves on holiday in Mexico

By Jo Clements dailymail.co.uk

In his heyday, he was a sex symbol for millions of screaming teenagers.
But as Paul McCartney famously foresaw in his 1967 song When I'm Sixty Four, such physical attractions rarely stand the test of time.  As he shuffled along the beach in Mexico with his girlfriend Nancy Shevell.  At 66, and having just emerged from a bitter divorce from Heather Mills, Sir Paul could argue he has every excuse for a less than perfect appearance.  But it seems that, having found love again, he is still young at heart. He and Miss Shevell, who have been dating for more than a year, held hands and laughed as they leapt over the waves in the New Year sunshine.
The 48-year-old New York socialite, who is vice-president of her wealthy family's firm, showed off a sleek and toned figure in her halter-neck bikini.  McCartney was first seen with his current girlfriend in 2007, while his divorce was being battled out in the courts.  Miss Shevell is legally separated from her husband Bruce Blakeman. They have a teenage son, Arlen.

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January 8, 2009  Beatles music pulled from Norwegian podcasts

LONDON (Billboard) – Norway's national broadcaster has pulled a series of 212 podcasts each featuring a different song by the Beatles. The podcasts would have essentially constituted giving away the entire Beatles catalog for free.

Although the band's music has not been licensed for the Internet, NRK said on Tuesday that its 2007 radio series "Our Daily Beatles" would be made available as a free podcast. Each installment features the story behind a Beatles track; a version without music ran as a podcast in 2007.

The broadcaster planned to make all 212 episodes available by the end of the month, but 14 episodes were briefly made available to download. It then emerged that NRK's rights agreement with music-label trade group IFPI allows only podcasts from shows broadcast in the previous four weeks.

"The Beatles comes under our agreement with IFPI, which says that we only can put up shows for download that were aired the latest four weeks, and where the music is less than 70 percent of the show's length," said the statement. "'Our Daily Beatles' aired in 2007, so we have to pull the podcast. If it was aired today, we could have podcasted the next four weeks within the agreement. We could have done it, but choose not to."

NRK is in talks with IFPI on a new rights agreement, but it is unlikely to enable the Beatles' music to be available online, given the absence of Internet licensing for the band so far.

The Web site Examiner.com posted the following statement from the Beatles' Apple Corps Ltd.: "It has recently been reported that a Norwegian broadcasting company, NRK, will make Beatles music available for download via a series of podcasts. These podcasts are not authorized by Apple Corps Ltd."

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January 6, 2009  MICHAEL JACKSON - JACKSON 'TO LEAVE BEATLES SONGS TO MCCARTNEY'

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