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is the news section
of The Beatles News and Information Service. It includes all the latest
Beatles news edited by Richard Porter with the help our correspondants
throughout the world. Our WWW version has the benefit of being updated
regularly.
This pagewill be updated daily - so come back soon! If you would like to submit a news
item to us click here as we
want to keep this page as up to date as possible and can only do it with your help.
If you would like to get in touch with us:
The stage of St Peter's Church Hall in Woolton, Liverpool, on which John Lennon played with his pre-Beatle band,
The Quarrymen, could be lost forever.
The vicar of St Peter's Church, Canon John Roberts, wants it removed to
create 'a design of parish centre suited to modern needs.'
But Beatles fans are up in arms at the proposed refit, due to start in
three weeks time.
Liverpool Beatles fan club president Jean Catherall said: 'This stage
pre-dates the Cavern in Beatles' history. I think it should be preserved.
'If John Lennon hadn't been playing there when Paul McCartney first met
him, then the entire phenomenon of the Beatles may never have
happened.'
And she added: 'I think the stage should stay exactly where it is. It is in
the original venue, which is also part of the story.'
It was at St Peter's Church Hall on July 6th 1997 that John Lennon met Paul McCartney for the first time.
Despite this, Canon Roberts said: 'We are not here to run a museum. The
present interior is not designed to fit the present day activity of a lively
parish.'
Canon Roberts said Beatles fans had only ever been able to offer up to
£800 to rescue the stage, whereas parishioners had raised the money needed
for the refit.
Mike Storey, Liverpool city council leader Mike Storey, a member of the St
Peter's congregation, said: 'I don't see why the stage cannot be
reconstructed somewhere else.
It could be carefully dismantled to allow this to happen. But it should not
just be chopped up.'
Paul McCartney will lead a fashion for ecology drive at Kew Gardens on Monday March 26th when he launches a range of scarves inspired by some of the last photographs by his late wife Linda.
The scarves are based on photographs that Linda shot at Kew Gardens in February 1998 when she took pictures for the project to support Kew's Millennium Seed Bank, based at Wakehurst Place in Sussex.
As Linda intended, designs drawn from her photographic images of Kew have been created for the scarves by her friend Sue Timney. The scarves have been produced to aid and promote the Millenium Seed Bank, an essential conservation initiative to which Linda was committed.
The scarves - in three distinct designs, Daisy Chain, Lovingi Memory, and Flower Garden, - or on sale from March 26th at Kew Gardens' Victoria Gate Shop and through Kew Gardens' mail order tel 020 8332 5654. These beautiful scarves are made of satin devore, velvet devore, silk and viscose and come in a selection of vibrant colours, and are priced between £49.99 and £89.99.
An exhibition of Linda's photographic work depicting Kew Gardens will be on display at the Kew Gardens Gallery from Tuesday 27th March until Monday April 16th. The exhibition will also include a display of scarves, designed by Sue Timney, as well as information regarding Kew's Millenium Seed Bank initiative. Entrance is free to visitors of Kew Gardens.
Webmaster's note - I'll be attending the event and will report back as soon as I get home
In the evening Paul gave an unscheduled appearance at a poetry reading at the Everyman Theatre along with Willy Russell, Tom Pickard and Adrian Mitchell, who edited Blackbird Singing.
'This is my first ever poetry reading, and I'm not in the least bit
nervous, of course,' Paul joked as he took the stage.
McCartney was offered readings at the Royal National Theater in
London, the Oxford Union, and the Los Angeles Festival of Books,
but preferred to launch the book with a hometown gig, according to a
representative for McCartney. "He said, 'If I'm going to do this, I
want to do it in Liverpool first,'" the rep said.
Paul performed Ivan, the poem he wrote in tribute to the late Ivan Vaughan, who, of course, introduced Paul to John Lennon. He also performed Jerk of Jerks - his poem about John Lennons killer. From his Beatles catalogue he performed Maxwells Silver Hammer and Why Don't We Do IT In The Road.
For Liverpool Echo's full report of the event click here/a>
We've news of TWO new Rutles projects. The first is the first release of the first Rutles film All You Need is Cash on DVD. It features 5.1 sound mixes, a new introduction
and a differnet commentary by Eric Idle, deleted scenes, and extended interviews with Mick Jagger and Paul Simon.
It has also been revealed that Eric Idle is working on a second film. Sources close to the project say it is a send up of the recent Beatles Revolution ABC special with lots of celebs sharing their memories of the Rutles.
Paul is to be interviewed by talk show host Charlie Rose April 24 at the 92nd Street YMHA in New York City.
The event sold out very quickly but we will posting a full report on this website right after the event.
Fans can expect to hear the songs they know and love - as well as some favorites Ringo
hasn't played on tour before including Octopuses Garden and Don't Pass Me By. As
far as the All Starrs go - that will be a totally new set including Lucky Man, Breakfast
in America, Goodbye Stranger, Logical Song, All the Young Dudes, Cleveland
Rocks, Things Can Only Get Better, No One Is To Blame, and Glamorous Life.
The tour will coincide with the much anticipated All Starr Box set and DVD.
I'll be writing a full review of the 'fest in the next few days but briefly here were some of the highlights.
The reaction to my slideshow - especially after I talked about Esther. I was very moved.
There's lots of Beatles news to add since I've been away which I'll be posting in the next couple of days so come back soon.
The long-awaited Hard Day's Night Hotel has finally got the go-ahead to be built in Liverpool.
A breakthrough in a long-running row over state subsidies between Brussels
and the Government means Liverpool can now begin to draw down a £400m
European Objective One grant.
Cavern City Tours, who own the Cavern Club and were planning the hotel, were relying on the grant to build the hotel in North John St. It is now expected the hotel could be open with 2 years.
Bilboard have reported that there will be two Wings CD sets released in conjunction with the Wingspan project.
The first set of two CDs in released on May 8th. One disc is titled "Hits"; it features 19 tracks such as "Band On The
Run", "Live and Let Die". and "Silly Love Songs". The other, "History" has
22 tracks, including album cuts "Tug Of War" and "Let Me Roll It" and a new
mix of "No More Lonely Nights."
Finally a boxed set devoted to Wings will be out by the holidays on
MPL/Capitol, with a wealth of rarities, studio outtakes, and previously
unissued, early live tracks.
It has been revealed that a special limited edition of 500 copies of Blackbird Singing will be available with each copy signed by Paul with a share of the proceeds going to cancer research.
The publishers have guarrenteed a certain number of books to Beatlefest and they are still taking orders. For more info go to the Beatlefest website at
Don't delay though - at the time of writing they were selling out fast.
The Beatles dominate the new, Wall of Fame on Mathew Street, a tribute to the scores of different bands and singers from the city who have reached the number one spot.
The Wall, just a few yards from the world famous Cavern Club, will feature 53 bronze discs representing the chart topping hits which have come out of the city since the charts began 48 years ago.
The Beatles have 17 discs on the wall. Other bands featured include Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Sonia, Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Searchers, Cilla Black, Mel C and Atomic Kitten.
There will be space left for future number ones, and as well as the discs themselves there will also be a multi lingual introduction to the Wall, a key to each of the records and specially made bronze musical notes across the Wall.
And a unique music themed wrought iron Beatles bench – commissioned after a design competition - is also to be unveiled on the site, possibly along with a John Lennon statue which could be moved up from down the road.
In the latest round of awards announced by the RIAA The Beatles were awarded many more platinum records.
Beatles 1 jumped up from five to seven times platinum. In addition, The Beatles White Album was certified at nineteen million, The Beatles 1962-1966 reached fifteen million, The Beatles 1967-1970 reached sixteen million, Abbey Road hit twelve million and Beatles for Sale and the sixteen-disc Multiselection Box Set reached platinum status. This brings the Beatles' album certifications to a whopping 163.5 million units.
The Beatlews were placed at number 3 in the Forbes Magazine list of celebrity earners of 2000
The group earned 70 million dollars (£46.2 million) from their greatest hits
record released last year and their lucrative back-catalogue.
They were the only band in the top 10, although teen sensation Britney
Spears came in at number four, because of her 38.5 million-dollar (£25.4
million) record and concert ticket sales.
The biggest earner was Tom Cruise with Tiger Woods at 3.
A musical based on the songs of The Beatles is to open in London in May.
"All You Need Is Love" opens at the Queen's on 29 May 2001, following previews from 21 May.
In 'All You Need Is Love,' a man and a woman, one-time lovers, set off on a magical mystery tour of yesterday. The portrait of the couple's love affair is set against classic Beatles' hits, which bring back youthful hopes and forgotten passions. With a little help from their friends, the couple recapture their treasured moments of a time when all they needed was love and their troubles seemed so far away.
The opening of 'All You Need is Love' follows the success of 'Mama Mia' - a musical based on the songs of Abba, which has broken box office records at the Prince Edward Theatre.
We will bring you more details of the musical as soon as we hear them.
The John Lennon video, Gimme Some Truth, the Making of Imagine, won the Best Long Form Music Video at the Grammy awards in LA last night.
Penny Lane, one of the most famous addresses in the world, is to see the
return of its traditional street signs.
For years, Beatles fans making the pilgrimage to the South Liverpool
thoroughfare have had to photograph a street sign painted on bare brickwork.
The original signs disappeared at the hands of souvenir hunters.
But new vandal-proof signs have been ordered for the lane made famous by the
Beatles song.
Fans of the Beatles will be able to buy copies of the Penny Lane street sign
for £20 courtesy of the city council.
They will become the most photographed street signs in Liverpool as fans of
John, Paul, George and Ringo take a Magical Mystery Tour of the band's
favourite haunts.
Council sign makers at Long Lane, Aintree, have spent months designing and
making the signs.
Penny Lane will be the first to have them fitted, with other Liverpool roads
will get them later.
Fleetwood Owen, who recently sold John's piano he used to write Imagine are to sell another of his pianos at auction - this time his Steinway piano from the Dakota. The 'Rock & Pop
Legends', auction is to be held at the Hard Rock Cafe in London on 27th March 2001.
Other Beatles related lots include: John Lennon's Mercedes 600 Pullman limousine; Unpublished photographs of the Beatles at the Star Club Hamburg;
A rare blue vinyl pressing of the Beatles White Album;
John Lennon and George Harrison portraits by the artist Arthur Delaney plus many others.
The catalogue for this sale will be available to view online from the end of
this month at http://www.fleetwoodowen.com Hard copies will also be available to buy, please contact
customerservice@fleetwoodowen.com.
The Beatles topped the list of richest entertainers for 2000. According to The Mirror newspaper they earned £50 million each. Of course much of this was down to sales of Beatles One. I wonder how much they will earn in 2001 with a whole year of sales of the album.
added 19th February
PAUL McCARTNEY'S Wings are to fly again. The
TV story of the band and a double CD of Wings
hits will be released worldwide in May. The Beatles
Anthology-style project, which has been three years
in the making, will be launched under the banner
Wingspan. The two-hour film will reveal the inside
story of Wings for the first time on television.
Led by extensive and candid interviews with
Paul McCartney, Wingspan reveals how, whilst trying
to raise a young family and follow The Beatles,
Paul and Linda formed a back-to-basics band that
rose to become one of the biggest rock groups of
The Seventies. Featuring never-before-seen home
movie footage of Paul and Linda and their family,
together with previously-private band archive and
rare concert film, Wingspan will tell how Paul
McCartney, devastated by the break-up of
The Beatles, restarted his career from scratch -
with him, Linda, their children, pet dogs and the band
all driving around Britain in a van asking for work.
Instead of arriving at stadium concerts in police-escorted
limousines, Wings drove themselves to small halls
unannounced and uninvited, and were paid for their
impromptu shows in 50p pieces. Besides following
Paul and Linda's private family life from 1970-1980,
Wingspan reveals how - despite the headaches and
handicaps of Beatles law suits, police pot busts and
BBC airplay band - Wings soared to success with hit
singles, No.1 albums and eventually even a bigger
stadium show than that of The Beatles.
Wingspan will be premiered primetime on
American TV in early May and then broadcast
around the world. Alongside the TV film, EMI/Capitol
Records will release a double CD featuring 40 Wings
songs, which will be supported by the re-issue of videos
and promo films and a worldwide media, internet and
advertising campaign. Said Paul McCartney: "I always thought
that you couldn't follow The Beatles; Wingspan is the story
and the soundtrack of how we set out to do it".
Celebrating the recent 30th Anniversary release of
ALL THINGS MUST PASS, George Harrison announces his
first official website, www.allthingsmustpass.com.
George will also embark on his first experience with
online chats by participating in two 30-minute chats
on Thursday, February 15th, 2001. The first one will
begin at 8:00 p.m. eastern/5:00 p.m. pacific on
Yahoo!Chat, located at http://www.msn.com. For a direct link
to the chat log onto http://allthingsmustpass.com
George took special interest in the ALL THINGS MUST
PASS website. Designed by @radicalmedia.com, the
designers worked closely with the Harrison family to
build this rich media showcase of Harrison's experiences,
humor, and unique sense of imagination. Users are invited
to explore Harrison's world via quirky animations and
rich media showcases. The artwork features the elements
from both the original 1971 cover as well as the 2001
version. Fans will recognize Harrison's garden gnomes,
who playfully roam through each of the sections on the
site, including: George Harrison, where one can learn
more about the musician; All Things Must Pass, where
one can browse through album-related documents and view
online videos for the songs "Let It Down" and
"What Is Life?"; The Daily Bread, where one can view
unique items from Harrison's personal archive; Cyril's
Rare Guitar Shop, a look at Harrison's guitar collection;
and Fun Stuff, where one can find various digital souvenirs.
'Websites for me are still new territory,' said
George Harrison. 'I still don't really know what they
are supposed to do. But it was fun thinking of ideas
and seeing them put together on the screen. I hope
people enjoy it.'
Upon its original release, ALL THINGS MUST PASS, became
the first #1 album with the first #1 single
My Sweet Lord by a solo Beatle. Featuring some
legendary players including Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton,
Billy Preston and an uncredited Phil Collins, the 1970
release was produced by George Harrison and Phil Spector,
was engineered by Ken Scott and Phil McDonald, and
featured orchestral arrangements by John Barham. The
30th anniversary release was in stores on January 23rd
and debuted at #4 on Soundscan's Catalog Chart. Now
digitally re-mastered, it features five previously
unreleased tracks, including My Sweet Lord (2000) -
an updated version which George produced 'to create
something extra,' a specially packaged 20 page booklet
with rare photographs and newly written liner notes by
George Harrison.
Both Hey Jude and the Meet The Beatles album have been indicted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.
The new list brings to 530 the number of titles inducted since the trustees
of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences established the Hall
of Fame in 1973. The Hall of Fame recognizes recordings -- both singles and
albums -- of enduring artistic quality or historical significance.
The tape was found by one Elaine Bowden, 64, of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, was given the three tapes by
family friend and die-hard Beatles fan, the late Dominic Dross, whom she
said 'followed them wherever they went'.
Mrs Bowden said the tapes, which lay in the bottom of a drawer for three
years, contain known Beatles' numbers and an unreleased song called Watching
Rainbows, as well as the band talking and laughing during practice sessions.
She claimed Mr Dross was allowed to sit in on these sessions.
'He told us he followed them wherever they went. Music was his passion and I
think The Beatles let him record them practising,' she said.
This story beggers belief. For a start can the name Dominic Dross be for real. Also who ever heard of The Beatles letting a fan into the recording studios and taping a session.
No, I think you'll find Ms Bowden has got hold of a tape of a bootleg - Watching Rainbows was performed by The Beatles on 14th January 1969 at Twickenham Film Studios as part of the Get Back project. Of course numerous bootlegs came from those sessions. Sorry Ms Bowden, I don't think you'll make much money out of this.
Paul McCartney is set to start work on his first album of new songs for four years, reports rollingstone.com.
They report that sessions are to start at the old A&M Studios in Hollywood. David Kahne, who produced albums by Sublime and Sugar Ray, will produce the sessions. Engineer of the sessions will be long term Macca associate Geoff Emerick.
The line-up of special guests for the NY Metro Beatlefest has been announced. They include
Syd Bernstein - who promoted The Beatles famous Shea Stadium and Carnegie Hall shows
Hamish Stuart and Robbie MacIntosh - from Paul's band
Paul Saltzman - writer of the book 'The Beatles in Rishikesh
Jim Horn - Top session man whose played with all four Beatles and toured with George.
Sam Leach - early promoter of Beatles shows in Liverpool.
Richard Porter - your webmaster!!! I'm very much looking forward to my first Beatlefest and honoured to be a guest amongst such illustrious company
For more info on the Beatlefest please see their website at http://www.beatlefest.com
Ravi Shankar, the famous sitar player and, of course, a close friend of George Harrison, has been presented with the British Honour CBE by the British High Commisioner in India.
Culture secretary Chris Smith said: 'I am delighted Ravi Shankar has been
given this honour. Ravi has long been recognised as one of the greatest
exponents of Indian classical music.'
worldpop.com are reporting that Wingspan, the documentary about Wings, will be released in May. Worldpop say that a double CD will be released of Wings greatest hits will be released and a TV documentary aired at the same time.
Previous reports say that the CD will include some unreleased tracks too - sounds like the much talked about 'Hot Hits and Cold Cuts' collection Paul has been thinking about for over 20 years.
What would you like to see on the CD and video. Paul has got many unreleased films in his archive ie the recording of the Rockestra theme, film of his 1972 European tour etc.
To express your views please click on the icon below and leave a message on our new message board.
Liverpool's Mathew Street Festival is to go live on the Internet this year - putting the city on a global stage.
The event on August Bank Holiday, Saturday- Monday, August 25-27, will become the largest multi-music web-cast event in history.
The global web cast will provide live coverage from six outdoor stages and the world famous Cavern Club. Two roaming camera crews will also film the three-day event.
Viewers will be able to log on to any performance, on any stage, with guaranteed quality audio and visual reception.
The festival's organisers, who inside nine years have turned the event into Europe's biggest annual city centre based music festival, are expecting a global audience of two million people for the record breaking cybrerspace broadcast.
Steve McGriskin, Mathew Street Festival Director, said the Beatles popularity is enduring with record sales of their recent '1' album.
He added: 'The Mathew Street Festival is a global event now and one, which can command a global audience. The web-cast is the next step in making the festival as famous as Rio's Carnival and New Orleans' Mardi Gras.
'This is not just about the Beatles but all forms of popular music. To be able to see it as it happens, whether you're in Los Angeles or Liverpool can only be good news for the festival's future.'
The festival showcases every musical genre known to man, from the fab four to funk.
Last year's festival, which celebrated the 30th anniversary of the 'Let It Be' Album, attracted more than 300,000 people to the city from as far as Japan, Australia, South America, USA and Europe. More than 200 bands played live on six major outdoor stages, and at over 40 indoor venues.
The web-cast has been set up by Livelink 200 ltd, a non-profit making Merseyside company, which specializes in outside broadcasting via satellite and the Internet.
Anyone surfing the Internet will be able to access the Livelink 200 site http://www.livelink2000.com and tune in to coverage of the festival.
For further information on the festival people can log on to http://www.mathewstreetfestival.com
Leader of Liverpool city council, Councillor Mike Storey said: 'This year's festival will once again put Liverpool on a world stage - a new generation of music will be able to log-on and tune-in.
'The web cast is a fantastic addition. I'm sure the unique atmosphere of the festival will easily be felt across the world.
'The city will be buzzing this summer, with a whole host of music events in our programme for Liverpool Music City. The festival will definitely be one of the highlights and will have a large part to play in our bid for the European Capital of Culture in 2008.'
Record Collector magazine are speculating that Neil Aspinall to to retire from Apple this year. Neil has been running the company almost since it was formed and has suffered two heart attacks in recent years.
Record Collector are speculating that George Harrison might take over the day to day running of the company.
Beatles official biographer Hunter Davies is to write the biography of The Quarrymen, John Lennon's skiffle group that evolved into The Beatles.
We know what happened to John, but what happened to the other 5? Hunter Davies tells the story of each of the other members over the last 40 years, from their first hand memories of knowing and playing with John Lennon at school. As he tells their individual stories, he relates what the Beatles themselves were doing, jumping from the ordinary lives of the ex Quarrymen to what the Beatles were doing at the exact same time. They met again, for the first time in 40 years, in 1997, in Liverpool at a Cavern reunion. The book will be published in May
According to Beatles Monthly a Linda McCartney tribute album is currently being recorded at Abbey Road and Air Studios. The profits will be donated to the Women and Cancer Fund. All Saints have contributed a version of 'We Can Work it Out' to the project
Klaus Voorman is to give an exhibition of his drawings, paintings and prints at the Gallery 27, Cork Street, London from 14th to the 17th February. The artwork is from a book called 'Hamburg Days', his collaboration with Astrid about The Beatles time in Hamburg. Klaus also designed the sleeves for Revolver and The Beatles Anthology.
Details have been announced of the 2001 Liverpool Beatles Week. On Thursday 23rd August in the evening there will be a special Beatleweek Gala at the Liverpool Town
Hall in the city centre. This is where the Fabs had their civic reception in 1964 before the Premiere of A Hard Day's Night.
Friday 24th sees an afternoon concert featuring the solo work of Lennon and McCartney featuring John Keats and Bob Bartey. In the evening is a Beatles Years concert featuring the Overtures.
Saturday 25th in the morning is the annual auction followed by a concert in Chavasse Park re-creating The Rolling Stones Rock n Roll Circus, featuring The Counterfeit Stones and Gary Gibson. This could be one of the highlights of the weekend. The evening sees a concert by The Beats from Argentina, The Fab Four from Australia, Revolution from LA Hard Nights
Day from Texas and the Snails from Moldova. Each group will play a set from different stages of The Beatles career.
As usual the Convention takes place on Sunday 26th. Confirmed guests so far include Pete Best, Klaus Voorman and Mike Smith of Decca, the man who turned down the Beatles.
On Monday 27th is the Mathew Street Festival with a concert by the Fab Faux in the evening.
Tuesday 28th sees a welcome return to Liverpool by 1964 - The Tribute.
For more information go to the Beatleweek Website at http://www.cavern-liverpool.co.uk
Paul McCartney has stated to a reporter from the Daily Mirror he is NOT getting married.
He added, 'I'm not getting married in
the same church as Mary. I'm NOT going to the Mull of Kintyre or Jamaica for
my honeymoon'.
So there you have it.
Paul McCartney is to marry Heather Mills in June, the Sunday People are reporting. They also say the wedding will take place in the same church where Paul's daughter mary got married and that George and Ringo will be amongst the guests.
The source of this story seems to be 'a close friend' of Paul and Heather but as yet there has been no confirmation of this story from Paul or Heather.
It should be added this isn't the first time The People have had a story about Paul and Heather and they haven't always been 100 per cent accurate.
Paul McCartney is to sign copies of his book of poems in Liverpool on March 19th. As yet we haven't got confirmation of the venue.
The book is to be called Blackbird Singing and many of the poems were inspired by Linda. The book is dedicated to Linda and Paul and Linda's children.
Pauls poems, published by Faber & Faber, include a dozen that reveal his deep relationship with his late wife.
Talking about his music he said, 'I don't listen to anything, and I don't read the papers, and I don't watch TV, and I don't go to concerts. And so my music, it doesn't matter if I did it twenty years ago or if I did it tomorrow. It doesn't go with trends. My trousers don't get wider and tighter every six months. My music just stays what it is, and that's the way I like it.'
So do we George
Thanks to Wayne Spencer for this story
Annanova are speculating that Paul, George and Ringi will give a free concert in the grounds of Buckingham Palace to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee next year.
They are saying that the Threetles will be one of the many artists appearing to reflect music in the Queen's reign.
Well that's the first reunion rumour of 2001. What's next, the Fabs on the moon?
The Next London Beatles Day is to be held on March 11th at its' usual venue - the Bonnington Hotel in Southampton Row. It lasts from 11am to 4pm. See you there.
It has been reported that Paul McCarney has contributed a track to an Ian Dury Tribute Album which is due out next month.
Paul has recorded a version of I'm Partial
To Your Abracadabraâ the third track on Dury's classic 1977 album New Boots
and Panties.
The tribute album, which will be called Brand New Boots and Pantiesâ
features every track on the 1977 album sung by a different artist. Artists
lined up to contribute include Billy Bragg, who has recorded Billericay
Dickieâ Eagle Eye Cherry, Madness, Dury's backing band The Blockheads.
Sir Paul McCartney is in India to
attend the Kumbh Mela, world's largest religious gathering in the northern
town of Allahabad, report NineMSN.com.
They report that Times of India said the Paul checked into New Delhi's tony
Maurya hotel on Tuesday night with an 'attractive blonde companion' and
signed themselves in as 'Mr. and Mrs. Mitchelle.' I'm surprised the reporter didn't recognise Heather Mills.
According to hotel sources, McCartney stayed ensconced in his room for the
better part of his stay and refused to interact with hotel staff or guests,'
the newspaper said, adding that he was accompanied by a 'posse of private
security men.' This doesn't sound like Paul at all. Maybe it is a hoax story - we'll let you know if we hear any more.
Imagine being able to own the
original recording consoles that captured some of the Beatles' earliest
hits,
a rare set of Beatles Christmas decorations or a guitar signed by George
Harrison.
Rock enthusiasts throughout the world will have the chance to bid
on these and more than 100 items from Hard Rock Cafe's renowned collection,
as
Hard Rock Cafe International launches an online Beatles Memorabilia Auction
January 15-31 on http://www.hardrock.com and eBay as part of Hard Rock Cafe
International's 30th anniversary commemoration. All proceeds from the
Beatles
memorabilia auction will go to the Hard Rock Foundation non-profit
organization that donates to charities worldwide.
The Beatles Memorabilia Auction will give thousands of Beatles
fans
the chance to share in Hard Rock's collection of one of a kind memorabilia.
Additionally, Hard Rock merchandise collectors, who enjoy trading and
collecting Hard Rock's commemorative pins, signature logo T-shirts and
merchandise, will also have the chance to bid on eBay -- giving fans the
opportunity to connect with one another and connect back to the Hard Rock
Cafe
experience.
Visitors will have the chance to click onto http://www.hardrock.com and
then link to eBay to bid on individual rare Beatles memorabilia or groups of
unique Beatles items. Collectors can bid on a black Applause acoustic
guitar
signed by George Harrison, as well as two recording consoles used by George
Martin at EMI to record many of the Beatles most popular songs. In
addition,
visitors can bid on a rare set of Beatles figurines designed as Christmas
ornaments, an original 1960s Beatles gumball machine and RIAA certified gold
album awards for "Yellow Submarine," "At the Hollywood Bowl," "Sgt. Pepper's
Lonely Heart's Club Band," "The Beatles 1967-1970" and "Abbey Road."
The online auction also offers the chance to bid on several items
offered
as themed groupings. This valuable offer features the chance to bid for
collections such as a 'Yellow Submarine Package' that includes themed
memorabilia, party invitations and sets of Yellow Submarine stationery.
Additional items on auction include an 'Apple Collection' featuring Apple
merchandise, logo watch and clock; four color lithographs of each Beatle by
Nicholas Volpe; and a musical set including a toy drum kit, new beat guitar,
hummer and harmonica.
The Beatles Anthology Book was the 8th best seller of 2000 in the Hard Back Non Fiction category - according to Barnes and Noble - not a bad placing as it came out reasonably late in the year.
VH1 in the UK is holding a new Beatles Night on Sunday January 14th. Highlights include the first showing in the UK of John Lennon, Behind the Music and a new Beatles Greatest Hits.
Here is the full list of what they are showing:
1400 Beatles Top 10
I've just received an e-mail from Mark Lapidos asking me to be an official guest at the New York Metro Beatlefest in March. I will be telling stories of The Beatles' London and selling copies of my book.
It will be the first US Beatlefest I've attended and will seem strange without Esther but I'm very honoured to be asked.
Imagine has been voted Britain's favourite number one single in a UK television poll.
According to the findings which were broadcast on Channel Four, Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody finished runner-up by just two votes and Hey Jude was in third place.
Dancing Queen, by Abba, and Every Breath You Take, by the Police, completed the top five all-time favourites.
Modern acts also figured in the poll, with Oasis' hit Don't Look Back In Anger charting at number eight and the Verve's, The Drugs Don't Work, charting at number seven.
More than 100,000 people cast their votes in the huge survey to find The 100 Greatest Number One Singles for the programme.
George Harrison has been giving many media interviews to promote the re-release of All Things Must Pass.
The most controversial interview so far appeared in the Daily Mirror he has accused his fellow Beatles of being egomaniacs who stifled his
talent. And he claims that many of the songs he has written since the group
broke up are better than their greatest hits.
He said: 'Paul and John were obviously talented and they were a great duo,
but they also had a massive ego which left little room for others. I felt
ignored and undervalued for years. Not all the songs released back then
were good, far from it.
Since the split I have written songs which are just as good if not better
than the best of the Beatles.
The difference is that the Beatles' songs would go to the top of the chart
in a matter of days.'
This site you are reading has been nominated at 'Best Beatles News Site' in prestigious 'Laxton Superb' Awards. It is the third year running we have been nominated
The awards, begun in 1998 by The Beatles site at About.com, are the most
prestigious Beatles Website awards on the net. They receive thousands of votes
a year and are supported by some of the net's most popular websites.
The Daily Mirror have reported that Paul's children have ended their rift with their father's girlfriend Heather Mills.
They reported that 'Even Mary and James, who were especially close to their mum, realise how
happy
their dad is and that's what matters to them.'
Funny how I saw Paul, Heather, Mary and James together in London a few months ago having a laugh and a joke. Also weren't Paul and Heather with Mary and baby Arthur when they were photographed in a London last year.
I think the 'rift' was a British tabloid invention.
Yoko Ono's daughter, Kyoko, has spoken for the first time about the
pressures in her early life which led her to choose a life with her father.
Now Kyoko, 37, has contributed to a Channel 4 portrait of her mother, the
avant-garde artist and musician widely seen as the catalyst for The Beatles'
split.
The pair were reunited four years ago after Kyoko became engaged. She had
resolved to contact her mother before she married to let her know she was
alive and well.
Speaking about her early life, she said life with Lennon and Ono had been a
drag.
"I remember as a kid having to lie down in the back of cars and, when I came
back from dance lessons, having to go out the back door," she says in the
documentary.
British film-maker Ursula Macfarlane spent nine months putting together The
Real Yoko Ono, interviewing her subjects in New York.
Sean Lennon tells of public misconceptions about his mother
being "this kind of dark and angry and destructive force in The Beatles'
lives and my father's life" which, he implies, were racist.
The show airs on Channel Four on Sunday 7th January at 10.35pm
To Coincide with the release of All Things Must Pass, George has just launched an official website of the same name. It is really cool and has loads of Pythonesque humour on it.
To go to the website click here
If you would like to get in touch with us: click here,
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