Saturday, 30 November 2013

NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER: WHAT´S THAT YOU´RE DOING? (No.11/VOL.1)

November Newsletter: 'What's That You're Doing? (No.11/Vol.1)'
The November edition of 'What's That You're Doing?' has been published today. The newsletter collects together the main stories from PaulMcCartney.com over the past month.

Fans can read the newsletter online HERE!

You can sign up to receive the monthly newsletter, as well as all the latest updates on Paul's news, releases, tour dates and pre-sales, by clicking HERE!

Friday, 29 November 2013

PAUL: YOU GAVE ME THE ANSWER - EMI ASKS...

'You Gave Me The Answer' - Emi asks...
Paul recently completed his first tour of Japan for 11 years culminating last Thursday with a triumphant show to just under 50,000 fans at the Tokyo Dome. The tour saw Paul perform six sold out dates spread across Osaka, Fukuoka and Tokyo.
Stand out moments from Paul's trip include: being met by thousands of excited fans at Osaka airport, watching sumo wrestling in Fukuoka and meeting with survivors of the Fukushima disaster in Tokyo.

To celebrate the tour PaulMcCartney.com sat down with Paul to do a Japan-related Q&A, including Japanese fan questions submitted through 'You Gave Me The Answer'. We posted five of the Q&As in English and Japanese during Paul's tour and now, for this month's 'You Gave Me The Answer', we publish the sixth and final one.

REMEMBERING GEORGE IN BEATLES MAGAZINE (FACEBOOK)

REMEMBERING GEORGE HARRISON. 
Live, Music, Videos, Audio, Beatles Magazine Radio Special Broadcast and more all the day in BEATLES MAGAZINE in FACEBOOK....HERE.




Thursday, 28 November 2013

YOKO KONO SELLS DOWNING STREET CO-OP FOR NEARLY $9 M.


Most famous for her relationship with John Lennon, Yoko Ono has a considerable—if unusual—oeuvre of her own. In 1964, she performed Cut Piece, in which she appeared on stage draped with fabric that she invited audiences to snip away, leaving her nude. Later, she made experimental films centered on human buttocks, and installed Wish Tree in the sculpture garden at the Museum of Modern Art.
Maintaining an empty multimillion-dollar apartment in a Manhattan co-op building would seem a not-unlikely avant garde maneuver for Ms. Ono, and for years she did just that. Ms. Ono’s son Sean occupied the penthouse at 49 Downing Street, which Ms. Ono purchased in 1995, only briefly, but an October lawsuit against the co-op board suggested that the unit’s vacancy was not a performance art piece. (Ms. Ono claimed that the board arbitrarily blocked potential buyers because they preferred the penthouse empty, rather than occupied by a family with children.)
That brouhaha, however, seems to have settled. The apartment, listed most recently for $8.99 million, has just entered contract, according to Sotheby’s, where it was listed with Paula Allen. (Sotheby’s offered the unit for the same price in July, and it reappeared in November—apparently following the resolution of courtroom hostilities—asking a mere $6.5 million.)
Occupying a former stable, the co-op sprawls some 5,700 square feet, taking in light from all four cardinal directions. Exposed brick, soaring ceilings, and wooden posts and beams recall the space’s equestrian history, and combine with vast white walls and hardwood floors to express in superlative fashion the luxurious rustic chic widely associated with upmarket downtown lofts. A personal entrance and garage, the listing suggests, lend the unit the “privacy of townhouse living in a classic loft building.” It’s something of a wonder that the apartment’s first-floor studio, elevator, library, terrace and greenhouse could not entice Sean Lennon to spend more time there. Then again, he surely has always had his pick of toys. (Pic:A spread fit for a king—and his noble steed.)
Ms. Ono, for her part, has long lived in the ultra-exclusive Dakota, on Central Park West. At 80, she is perhaps irrevocably attached to that building’s old-world charms—however egalitarian the rhetoric of her artistic endeavors. (It is, too, the place she shared with John Lennon. And sentiment still counts, even in the cold hard world of super-luxury real estate.)        
The property’s new owners remain for the time being a mystery. In light of the apartment’s price point, though, it is entirely possible that they count horses among their collections. If so, they will of course need to board them somewhere other than their new stable. Given the co-op board’s feelings about having youngsters on the premises, we shudder to think what they might say about ponies.

CIVIC HONOUR FOR LINDA MCCARTNEY CANCER CENTRE

A breast cancer treatment centre in Liverpool is being granted the Freedom of the City.


The Linda McCartney Centre, based at the Royal Liverpool Hospital, is named after Sir Paul McCartney's wife, who died from breast cancer in 1998.

The honour is to recognise work being done at the unit on advanced and innovative treatments for cancer.

AT THE BBC, THE BEATLES SHOCKED AN INSTITUTION


England got a lot more of The Beatles than Americans did during the group’s formative years. Between 1962 and 1965, The Beatles were featured on 53 BBC radio programs, including their own series Pop Go the Beatles. They performed originals and covers and chatted with BBC hosts.
The Beatles: On Air-Live at the BBC Volume 2 has just been released. Kevin Howlett produced both that and the newly re-mastered reissue of the first volume, which was originally released in 1994. For reasons he explains to Fresh Air host Terry Gross, Howlett had to search for many of these recordings, and they weren’t easy to find.
Howlett has written a new companion book called The Beatles: The BBC Archives that includes transcriptions of the band’s BBC radio and TV interviews as well as fascinating internal memos about the Beatles and their music.

READ MORE...HERE.

JULIAN LENNON: FUV LIVE - 2013

In 2011 Julian decided to return to making music and began work on a new album. Officially released worldwide in 2013 Everything Changes is his first album in fifteen years and the title seems to be the perfect description for Julian’s approach to his life and career.
Talking with him at WFUV in November 2013, he performed songs from his new album and we discussed a variety of subjects – including why he finally chose to reference a well-known Beatles lyric in his own music, reclaim his family legacy, recording with Steven Tyler and how a comment John once made inspired Julian to create the charitable White Feather Foundation.
You can hear this interview here:
[recorded: 11/12/13]

Listen





Wednesday, 27 November 2013

THE BEATLES: THE MAKING OF THE "WORDS OF LOVE" VIDEO

Find out how the brand new animated video for the Beatles "Words of Love" was made by the team at Passion Pictures.

With interviews with Pete Candeland and Giles Dill of Passion Pictures.


On Air: Live at the BBC Volume 2" is out now:

Amazon: http://gnikn.us/1iikVHR

itunes: http://gnikn.us/1aJAwZs


PAUL WINS VEGFESTUK AWARD FOR "BEST INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT OF THE DECADE"


Paul Wins VegfestUK Award for 'Best Individual Achievement of the Decade'
Paul has been awarded the 'Best Individual Achievement of the Decade' at the 10th Anniversary VegfestUK Awards.

The accolade was presented to Paul in recognition of his continued championing of vegetarianism, such as through his work with the Meat Free Monday campaign. The award was voted for by members of the public prior to the London Vegfest which took place recently at Kensington Olympia.

For more information on the awards check out their website HERE!

Tuesday, 26 November 2013

UNPUBLISHED PHOTOS OF THE BEATLES AT THE "YELLOW SUBMARINE" STUDIOS IN LONDON - PICTURES

These incredible images show members of The Beatles during a visit to the studio where the animated film Yellow Submarine was drawn.
The previously unpublished collection is due to be auctioned at the Omega Auctions in Stockport, Cheshire on Friday, with experts suggesting the pictures could fetch as much as £50,000.
Freelance photographer Stephen Archetti took the snaps between 1967 and 1968 at the TVC Studios in London, with the collection boasting 65 pictures of the band from 161 transparencies. 
  • PA
  • PA
  • PA
  • PA
  • PA
  • PA
  • PA
  • PA
  • PA
  • PA
  • PA

 

REBEKAH BROOKS IS ACCUSED OF SAYING PAUL's PHONE WAS 'EASY' TO HACK

phone hacking, rebekah brooks, the sun, news of the world, eimear cook, voicemails, celebrities, knightsbright, juror, london, sir paul mccartnets, old bailey,FORMER newspaper editor Rebekah Brooks confessed to hacking Sir Paul McCartney's phone, the Old Bailey was told yesterday.

The ex-boss of The Sun and now defunct News Of The World made the admission to the former wife of golf ace Colin Montgomerie, it was said.
She told Eimear Cook it was "easy" to illegally intercept the voicemails of celebrities, jurors heard.
Mrs Cook, wed to former Ryder Cup captain Monty, 50, between 1990 and 2006, said she met Brooks for lunch in Knightsbridge, central London, in 2005.
The engagement was arranged after she became the target of a "hatchet job" by papers including The Sun, she said.
phone hacking, rebekah brooks, the sun, news of the world, eimear cook, voicemails, celebrities, knightsbright, juror, london, sir paul mccartnets, old bailey,
Cook,pictured with ex-husband Colin Montgomerie,gives evidence
Mrs Cook, who has since remarried, added: "The bit I remember the most was her saying how easy it was to listen to people's voicemails.

"She couldn't believe that famous people, that have all these advisors, that they don't know to change their PIN code to make their phone secure."
The blonde Scot said Brooks, 45, boasted a NOTW story about pop legend Macca, 71, came from hacking.
She said: "She told me (Heather Mills and Paul McCartney) had had a big argument in New York, and Heather had thrown her engagement ring out of the window. I had the impression she was talking about Paul McCartney's phone, that it had not had its PIN code changed."
Brooks' QC Jonathan Laidlaw accused Mrs Cook of making up the conversation about phone hacking.
He said it could not have taken place because Mrs Cook had muddled up the date of the meal.
Brooks and others deny charges including phone hacking, misconduct in public office and perverting justice. The trial continues.

PRODUCER JACK DOUGLAS ON WORKING WITH JOHN (VIDEO)

During his long career as a sound engineer and producer Jack Douglas has worked with some of rock’s most elite musicians – Alice Cooper, Miles Davis, The Who and Cheap Trick. He produced Aerosmith’s blockbuster ’70s albums and is again collaborating with the rock legends on their forthcoming record.
Among his crowning achievements was his work helming John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Double Fantasy album – the last record to be released during Lennon’s life.

Douglas stopped by Gibson’s New York City Showroom and spoke about his trip to Liverpool as a young man, discussed how he and Lennon became friends and told the story behind Double Fantasy.

LOUISE HARRISON, 82 LIVES BROKE AND ALONE IN RURAL MISSOURI

(Daily Mail) - Sister of late Beatle George Harrison, 82, lives broke and alone in rural Missouri after his family 'cut her out of his $300million will and stopped the allowance he paid to support her'

  • Louise Harrison - the sister of late-Beatle George Harrison is living in a very modest home in rural Missouri
  • The 82-year-old lives alone and has been cut-off from the music legends will
  • She still has to work - managing a Beatles tribute band out of her home in Branson
  • Claims to not be bitter that she was cut off from a $2,000 monthly pension after the Beatle died from cancer in November 2001
  • No longer has any contact with her sister-in-law Olivia or nephew Dhani

George Harrison was worth more than $300 million when he died, but the music legend's 82-year-old sister now struggles to get by - living in a pre-fabricated home in small-town near Branson, Missouri - practically a million miles away from the glamor of Beatlemania.
While her brother lived in a lavish 120-room Victorian mansion outside London, which he left to wife Olivia and son Dhani when he died in November 2001, sister Louise Harrison has been cut-off from the family, leaving her unable to support herself without working - managing a touring Beatles tribute band.
However, displaying the quiet stoicism which her brother was world-famous for, Louise claims in the best traditions of the 1960s supergroup that all she needs is love, because she 'doesn't mind not living in a castle because she would rather be broke than live rich and heartless.'
Circled is the Branson, Missouri property that Louise Harrison calls home - the proud Liverpudlian - who has lived in American for over 50-years says she wants nothing from the family of her famous brother
Gifted a $2,000 a month pension by her brother for tax reasons in 1980 to help her get by, Louise who lives alone near to gritty Branson, found herself unceremoniously cut off by her brother's estate almost a year to the day he died of complications from lung cancer in 2001.
Louise found this sum of money to be adequate for her lifestyle.
She was given not given a reason why by her brother's widow Olivia or son, Dhani, who is now 35, but Louise said she knows that if her brother was still alive she would be receiving the money.
'But I don't care about the money, it's been over ten years and I haven't made any ripples,' said Louise, who has lived in the United States for more than 50-years - moving here with her first husband before the Beatles rocketed to world fame in 1964.
 
'It was my pension from him - it was his intention to make it last my lifetime.'
'He said, 'Given my financial situation, there is no reason on earth why my sister should ever be in need.
'But I was never concerned about the termination of the pension, I have found a way to make a living.
'I don't have any blame for anyone and I was brought up as a Harrison and to be self-reliant.'
Louise relives and revels in the glory days of the Fab-Four's rise to fame with the Liverpool Legends, the tribute band she manages.
Touring with them regularly, she does make appearances with the band and entertains the crowds after shows with her fond recollections of her brother and of course, John, Paul and Ringo.
Louise and George


However, with the end of the touring schedule, business has been slow and money has become tough - with Louise this month alone having to gift a down-payment on a new car to her grandson after his fiancé crashed and wrote-off his other vehicle.
'I am struggling for money, like everyone, but I am not on the breadline, I am not 'skint' as they would say in Britain,' said Louise.
'But, I feel very fortunate to own outright the land that my two homes sit on - which is better than most.'
While, Missouri has a checkered reputation as a den of meth-production and drug addiction, thankfully Louise claims that she has seen none of that in her neighborhood of Merriam Woods.
'I own the land which my house stands and my neck-of-the-woods is carefully managed by the local-assembly-men and a vigilant police force,' said Louise.
Despite this, Merriam Woods is a world away from George Harrison's huge mansion Friar Park in Henley-on-Thames, which conservative estimates value at $40 million.
Louise has fondly spoken often in the past of growing up with her little brother in a small terraced Liverpool home.

George was the youngest of four children and was doted on by his elder siblings.
'George was a smashing kid, always smiling. He was a great brother,' she said in an interview to this publication in 2009.
'I was very protective of him, he was just my little kid baby brother.'
Louise moved to Illinois with her Scottish mining engineer husband, Gordon Caldwell and had two children in the late 1950s.
Meanwhile, back in Britain, George met a young man named Paul McCartney and together they joined a band named The Quarrymen, which was one of the first names The Beatles tried out.
In October 1962, Love Me Do was released in the UK and the nation became gripped by the four mop-tops and their sensational style.
However, at that moment, the band was unknown in America - which was a situation that their equally storied manager Brian Epstein hoped to change.
Louise, stepped up to the task and she took it upon herself to visit every small-town DJ she could, asking them to play her 'kid brother's band's' songs.

Incredibly, she got their hit From Me To You played on a local Illinois radio station in June 1963 - the first known example of The Beatles getting airplay in the United States.
  • When George Harrison died in 2001 he left the vast majority of his $300 million fortune to his wife Olivia and son Dhani.
  • He gave 10 percent to the Hare Krishna faith he famously embraced in the 1960s
  • His assets included a series of properties around the world including one on Hamilton Island in Australia's Great Barrier Reef - and a secluded ocean-front home on the Hawaiian island of Maui
  • He also owned Friar Park - a 120-room mansion in Henley-on-Thames where he was stabbed by a crazed intruder in 1999
  • His estate also included the rights to his hit songs, including 'My Sweet Lord' - which was part of his mega-hit triple album, 'All Things Must Pass'.
She still has letters from Brian Epstein, expressing gratitude for how she helped them break America.
'I did all I could to help my kid brother,' she says. In 1963, George spent two weeks at Louise's home.
He was able to walk the streets unrecognized, he went camping and played with a local band in front of a small crowd of 150.
Five months later he returned to the U.S. with The Beatles to appear on The Ed Sullivan show - and the history of popular music changed forever.
Louise traveled to New York to see her now world-famous brother and met John, Ringo and Paul and eventually George's then girlfriend, Patti Boyd - who he would end up writing Something for.
Louise recalls that the moniker of the Quiet Beatle was bestowed on her brother - for the wrong reasons.
George was in fact suffering a strep throat at the time and as a result couldn't speak to the press or address the hordes of screaming girls who had flocked to see him.
The brother and sister spent the 1960s and the 1970s very close, but George reportedly distanced himself from her in the mid-Nineties, however - because he disapproved of the conversion of her old Illinois home into a 'Beatles bed-and-breakfast' inn, called A Hard Day's Night.
Louise does not own the establishment, but did use her name to help promote it because the town had fallen on hard times.
She was says that she was trying to help them economically.
George with His Parents Harold And Louise Harrison at home in Liverpool
When George lay dying in hospital in Staten Island more than 10 years ago they reunited.
Louise was led into a room where she found a familiar, though diminished figure propped up in a reclining chair, clinging to life.
The only other people present were Olivia and her sister Linda, Dhani.
They left Louise and George to hold hands and reconcile for 90 minutes.
'George was pretty frail, yet he was also still vibrant,' she recalled in a 2002 interview.
'His eyes were still bright. He was still George. He must have been in pain, but he didn't show it. We reminisced about our childhood, and his sense of humor was the same as ever.
'People always teased him about his sticky-out ears; now his oxygen tubes were hanging over them. He laughed and said: 'My ears finally came in useful for something.'
As their time together drew to a close, George humbly apologized to his sister. 'You know, I could have been a lot more help to you; I'm sorry,' he told her.
They parted with what she calls a 'Harrison hug'. George smiled weakly. 'Remember to pass it on, sis,' he bade her; she promised she would.

THE BEATLES: SONGS FOR PHILIPPINES

Artists are joining forces to raise money for the Philippine Red Cross in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan.

Record labels Sony, Warner Music and Universal have put together a genre-spanning compilation album called Songs for the Philippines. The album features 39 hit songs. Features classic tracks like The Beatles' Across the Universe & Let It Be. The compilation album is available on iTunes ($9.99). All proceeds will be donated to the cause.



Here's the complete track list:
1. The Beatles, Across the Universe
2. Bob Dylan, Shelter From the Storm
3. Michael Bublé, Have I Told You Lately That I Love You
4. U2, In A Little While
5. Bruno Mars, Count On Me
6. Beyoncé, I Was Here
7. Eminem, Stan (live from BBC Radio 1)
8. Cher, Sirens
9. Adele, Make You Feel My Love
10. Katy Perry, Unconditionally (Johnson Somerset remix)
11. One Direction, Best Song Ever
12. fun., Carry On
13. Lady Gaga, Born This Way (the Country Road version)
14. Justin Timberlake, Mirrors
15. Justin Bieber, I Would
16. Alicia Keys, New Day
17. Imagine Dragons, 30 Lives
18. Madonna, Like A Prayer
19. Pink, Sober
20. Kylie Minogue, I Believe In You
21. Enrique Iglesias, Hero
22. Red Hot Chili Peppers, Factory of Faith
23. Linkin Park, Roads Untraveled
24. Kings of Leon, Use Somebody
25. Muse, Explorers
26. Lorde, The Love Club
27. Josh Groban, Brave
28. Kelly Clarkson, Stronger
29. Paolo Nutini, Simple Things
30. Ellie Goulding, I Know You Care
31. James Blunt, Carry You Home
32. Pitbull featuring Christina Aguilera, Feel This Moment
33. Earth, Wind & Fire, Sign On
34. Apl.De.App, Going Out featuring Damian Leroy
35. Sara Bareilles, Brave
36. Jessica Sanchez, Lead Me Home
37. Lily Allen, Smile
38. The Fray, Love Don't Die
39. The Beatles, Let It Be

RINGO REUNITES WITH FANS FROM PHOTOGRAPH - VIDEO

It's a story 49 years in the making: Six New Jersey teens skipped school to see the Beatles arrive in the United States in 1964 and ended up immortalized by budding photographer Ringo. 

 



This past weekend, the five surviving Beatles fans finally got the chance to meet Ringo in Las Vegas after revealing their identities in October.
"I never knew that you were such a gifted photographer," chuckled Arlene Norbe. 
"That's a lucky shot ... don't tell anyone," joked Starr of the photo.
Norbe, along with Gary Van Deursen, Suzanne Rayot, Charlie Schwartz and Bob Toth met the former Beatle, who was having an exhibit of his photography (chronicled in his new book "Photograph"), and saw him play live with his All Starr Band. (The missing member of the sextet was Matt Blender, who passed away in 2011.)
It all began when the then teens, hoping to get a glimpse of their musical heroes, drove along a motorcade. (Van Deursen told TODAY in October that he thought they were driving past a funeraat first, then quickly realized the members of the Beatles were in those cars.) Starr rolled down his window and stuck out his camera for a quick, candid shot. 
The picture that started it all, above, and the teens reunited on TODAY in October.
The picture that started it all, above, and the teens reunited on TODAY in October.
For years no one identified the occupants of the car — and the mystery was solved only after an article in USA Today sparked a nationwide search. The gang surfaced and sat down for an interview on TODAY, and finally everything came together in Vegas.
"That photo became much bigger than I thought it ever would," said Starr. "I mean, I just put it in the book because it's a great shot and then, suddenly in America, everyone was trying to find them!"
For years, the gang knew they'd met Starr, who also spoke with them briefly as they peeped from their car, but they never knew the photograph was of any consequence. Now, after all this time, the story has come full circle.
Or has it? Van Deursen disagrees with that idea. "I don't want to say it's full circle, because that's like you're getting to the end of something. It's a journey that we're still going on."
 
"I finally became a centrefold," Suzanne Rayot, 66, told Starr during a meeting backstage. "Thanks for taking such a wonderful picture," added Arlene Norbe, also 66. "I never knew that you were such a gifted photographer." Starr replied: "That's a lucky shot – don't tell anyone"
They were joined by Gary Van Deursen and Robert Toth, both 66, and Charlie Schwartz, 67. A sixth friend, Matt Blender, who is barely visible in the photograph, died in 2011.
Asked what it was like to meet the stars of his photograph, the 73-year-old drummer said: "Far-out... I just happened to like to take photos, so I was like 'I'll take a photo'," Starr told NBC, which organised the meeting. "You know what I mean? It wasn't a big deal, really. It was just a lucky break. 
Ringo poses for photos with "kids in the car" Bob Toth, Gary Van Deursen, Suzanne Rayot, Arlene Norbe and Charlie Schwartz at the first public launch of Ringo's book in Las Vegas

SKETCH BY JOHN COULD SELL FOR MORE THAN £10,000 IN ONLINE AUCTION

  • Valued at between £6,000 and £10,000, but expert says Lennon's artwork has previously sold for £100,000 and this sale could 'go through the roof'
  • Double-sided sketch was drawn by the musician in 1964
An ink sketch by John - drawn in a 'light-bulb moment' - is expected to sell for thousands of pounds in an online auction next month.
The drawing has officially been valued at between £6,000 and £10,000, but an expert has said previous artistic works by Lennon have sold for £100,000 and that this offering could 'go through the roof'.
The double-sided doodle, which features surreal characters in red ink on both sides of a piece of paper, measuring five inches by ten, was hand-drawn by the late musician in 1964.
This rare sketch by Beatle John Lennon is expected to sell for thousands of pounds in an online auction
The double-sided doodle,on a piece of paper measuring fives inches by ten,was drawn by John in 1964.

Music memorabilia expert Ted Owen said: ‘What’s lovely about it is he’s obviously been sitting down at the dinner table or out to dinner somewhere, picked up a piece of paper and had an idea.
‘It’s the lightbulb moment. This took him into a whole different genre of being an artist.’
The front of the paper features three characters, including one smoking a cigarette. The reverse side has varying forms of head and face shapes.
Similar characters appeared in Lennon’s book, In His Own Right, which was produced in 1964.

The sketch, by John, is to go on sale with a copy of In His Own Right and a picture of the Beatles


The doodles will be sold in a frame with a copy of the book and a promotional photograph, showing all four Beatles, at its press launch.
It will be auctioned on Cashintheattic.com on December 4.
Mr Owen said: ‘What’s nice about this is that it’s early. It’s before he started marketing his artwork.
The sketch was drawn by Lennon in 1964, the year that The Beatles conquered America
'What a lot of people don’t recognise is that John Lennon was a brilliant artist in his own right. Some of his work fetches up to £100,000.
'I would reckon that it’s got to be somewhere in excess of six, seven, eight, nine or ten thousand – it’s a wide estimate but it’s rare. It could go through the roof.’
Lennon's sketches are not the first of the band's doodles to go up for auction.
A rudimentary doodle drawn by Paul McCartney when he was a teenager in the late 1950s fetched £3,764 when it was sold in March this year.
In May 2011 John Lennon's handwritten lyrics for the song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, including a rough sketch by Lennon of four people in a room with windows draped in curtains, sold for £145,644 in a US auction.

And in June 2010 Lennon's handwritten lyrics for Beatles hit A Day In The Life sold for £810,273.78 when they went under the hammer.
A scrapbook autographed by The Beatles recently sold at auction for £3,200.
The book was owned by a young fan who met the fab four backstage during a recording of 'Thank Your Lucky Stars.'
It was snapped by an American at the sale in Wareham, Dorset.
The winning bidder, who did not want to be named, said: 'I have never bid in an auction before, but have loved the Beatles since I was three.
'I will never sell them and intend to leave them to my niece if anything happens to me.'

 

 

A HARD DAY'S NIGHT FOR JOHN AND BANDMATES AS BEATLEMANIA TAKES THE WORLD BY STORM


In 1964, the year that John Lennon drew his prized sketch, The Beatles had become international stars and were embarking on their first ever world tour playing to thousands of hysterical fans in Europe, Australia and Hong Kong. 
As Beatlemania hit its peak, the group took the US by storm, leading the 'British Invasion' of the US pop market.
On February 7, the group  left Heathrow airport to the sound of four thousand fans waving and screaming as their plane took off for New York.
Shortly after their arrival, the band famously performed on The Ed Sullivan Show, watched by approximately 73 million viewers, and managed to achieve six simultaneous songs in the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in April of that year - a record no other act has managed to equal.
It was in 1964 that The Beatles played themselves in mock-documentary A Hard Day's Night, which premiered in London in July.
They had already released the accompanying album of the same name, which featured hits including its eponynmous title track and And I Love Her, followed in December with Beatles For Sale, their fourth album in just 21 months which included the track Eight Days A Week.
In August the group were introduced to Bob Dylan, a meeting which would go on to have an influence the future musical output of both acts.
Lennon was still married to his first wife Cynthia during this period, and the couple had their son Julian the year earlier. Lennon had been encouraged to keep both the marriage and child a secret from fans as manager Brian Epstein feared it could threaten the ban's commercial success.

IMAGINE ON PURE AUDIO - HIGH FIDELITY

High Fidelity Pure Audio – the Universal Music led initiative to reissue high resolution music physically on audio-only blu-ray discs – have announced that John Lennon’s 1971 album Imagine is to lead its next wave of releases.
John’s second studio album is arguably the highest profile release on the format to date, although this year has also seen the of the reissue of Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On on HFPA.

Imagine contains some of Lennon’s best loved solo material. As well as the title track, it includes Jealous Guy, Gimme Some Truth and the McCartney baiting How Do You Sleep?. Klaus Voorman – whose association with The Beatles dates back to the Hamburg years – plays bass on the record, and George Harrison contributes guitar to many tracks.
Imagine was remixed in 1999 “under the personal supervision of Yoko Ono” but that remix was superseded in 2010 by a new Abbey Road Studios remaster that reverted to the original mix. Audiophile specialist Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MSFL) have also reissued the album in the past on CD and LP. The last official release of Imagine in any form was a Record Store Day 40th Anniversary Edition. This was a vinyl LP accompanied by a twelve-inch EP which contained six session tracks that had been previously released on the John Lennon Anthology box set.
The High Fidelity Pure Audio version of Imagine is released on 16 December 2013.

Monday, 25 November 2013

MYSTICAL WEAPONS, WITH SEAN LENNON

Sean Lennon returns to the WNYC Studio with Mystical Weapons, his improvisational collaboration with Deerhoof drummer Greg Saunier; artist, animator and projectionist Martha Colburn; and multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily. Both Sean and Shahzad share electric guitars, basses, and keyboards. Martha Colburn handles her films the way a performing DJ handles records: using the projectors like turntables, the images are mixed and manipulated live, with visuals forming an important component of the Mystical Weapons experience.
 
David Garland welcomes the group to the sound-only world of radio, they perform one short and one long set, and they talk about the project. Session music mix by Greg Saunier! This program first aired January 13, 2013. On November 29th The Brooklyn label Northern Spy Records will issue a limited edition, one-sided LP of music from this session, featuring an original illustration by Sean Lennon screen-printed on the B side, released exclusively for Record Store Day Black Friday 2013.


JULIAN WITH NEW DOCUMENTARY - VIDEO


Some may not know this, but John Lennon’s son is very good in the kitchen, revealing that if he weren't a singer or visual artist, he’d likely be a chef. 
 
But recipes weren't the reason why Lennon stopped by CBSNews.com last week. He was here to tell the story behind “Everything Changes,” his fifth studio album and the first to hit the U.S. in 15 years. 





















The set comes nearly 30 years after Lennon unveiled his debut, “Vallotte,” which spawned the hit “Too Late for Goodbyes” and earned a young Lennon a best new artist Grammy nomination.
Ever since he's been in and out of the music industry, exploring his other passions during those long stints in between albums. “I love the writing and recording and performing but all the business stuff in between is not something I care for too much...In regards to all the work I do I very much consider it from an angle of being a true artist," said Lennon. "And a lot of use of was being made of whose son I was, Beatles...and all of that. And I wanted to push away from that – and I wanted to prove myself –- to myself first and foremost –- that was actually I guess as good as I think I am in the songwriting department and all the work I'm doing.”

 
But a couple of years ago, the timing for new music just felt right, so Lennon, 50, hit the studio to record the tracks for “Everything Changes." The songs that made it on the album span many themes –- from romance and introspection to humanitarian concerns. The lead single, "Someday," features mystical Eastern melodic motifs, as well as a guest appearance by Steven Tyler.
The Aerosmith frontman is one of the many people featured in the upcoming Lennon documentary, "Through the Picture Window," due out next month. Available as both a physical DVD and an app, the project will also feature 14 videos and another 14 acoustic versions from "Everything Changes." There's also footage of Lennon's photography exhibits and an inside look at his White Feather Foundation.
Mostly, the documentary gives insight into who Lennon is today. The Lennon I met is laid back, passionate, comfortable with himself and serious about his career. He says he tweets and updates his Facebook page on a regular basis -- and enjoys it.
"Through the Picture Window" explores the many sides of Lennon by showing the recording process of the album and providing a behind-the-scenes look at Lennon the photographer.
"It [the documentary] deals with some of the past issues, a lot of ideas and thoughts," he said. "There was a lot of realizations that came to be out of doing the documentary because it involves of dear, dear friends from the music industry as well, like Bono, and many other guys who have been around and observed me from the early days. And they put their two cents in, too."

PAUL: 1,000th FAN IMAGE REGRAMMED

For the past couple of months we have been regramming our favourite fan images at the 'NEW' Instagram account. Fans have been sending in their photos every time they see the word new, plus photos of themselves with their copy of Paul's 'NEW' album along with their favourite tracks and the country they live in.

Today we regrammed our 1,000th image! We wanted that image to be special and we hope you'll agree this one's very cool. 

STELLA MCCARTNEY DESIGNS RIBBON FOR VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

StellaMcCartney for the Kering Foundation. Stop violence against women.



 STELLA’S RIBBON FOR WOMEN: Monday is the International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women. It’s a cause supported by the Kering Corporate Foundation and Stella McCartney, who sits on the Kering Foundation’s board and has designed a limited-edition white ribbon badge as part of the Violence Against Women awareness campaign.

Badges will be given out to customers who make a purchase in one of the 57 flagships of Kering Luxury Brands in Europe from Friday to Nov. 30.

Since 1991, the white ribbon has been the symbol of the campaign to stop violence against women. McCartney was part of the digital campaign last year, through which the badge was shared with 15 million people on the Web (Twibbon.com).

“The global violence statistics against women are horrific and it has inspired me to bring attention to this incredibly important awareness campaign by designing this badge,” said McCartney. “I cannot stress enough how important it is that people are aware of the facts and gain information to make changes so desperately needed to end this terrible violence.”