HAPPY NEW YEAR 2015!

Happy New Year 2015 ! Dearest friends I wish you a year full of love, prosperity, success and happiness. Thank you for your support, Peace & Love and All the Best to you!

HAPPY 52nd BIRTHDAY TO HEATHER LOUISE MCCARTNEY

Heather Louise McCartney (born Heather Louise See; December 31, 1962) American potter and artist, daughter of Linda Eastman McCartney and adopted daughter of Paul McCartney.

Heather was born in Tucson, Arizona to Linda Eastman (later McCartney) and Joseph Melville See Jr., an American geologist. Her parents separated after eighteen months of marriage, with her mother marrying Paul McCartney in 1969 when Heather was six years old. 

 

During this time Heather was formally adopted by McCartney, also making an appearance in the Beatles film Let It Be. A half-sister, Mary, was born in 1969, followed by another half-sister, Stella, in 1971 and a half-brother, James, in 1977. 

She has said that although See had a lifelong influence on her, she considers Paul to be her father.

 

Heather began showing an interest in art, taking up printing at the Photographers' Workshop in Covent Garden and winning the Young Black and White Printer of the Year Award in Ilford for a photo she called "Waterfall" She later went on to art college, where she focused on pottery and design. 

Heather was hospitalized briefly in her twenties for treatment of an emotional disorder and traveled to Mexico a few years after being released, where she lived among natives of the Huichol and Tarahumara tribes. 

Heather later moved to Arizona to live with her biological father and eventually returned to England to work as a potter.

In line with the beliefs of her parents and half-siblings, she is a vegetarian and is passionate about animal rights.
In 1999 McCartney launched a line of houseware products called the Heather McCartney Houseware Collection

CHANGE BEGINS WITHIN - PREMIERES SUNDAY, JANUARY 4

On April 4, 2012, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr reunited onstage in New York City for an exhilarating, star-studded benefit concert, “Change Begins Within,” that launched the David Lynch Foundation into an entirely new level of public awareness. 

As the headline performers at a sold-out Radio City Music Hall, they helped raise funds for the Foundation’s international initiative to teach one million at-risk children to meditate—and to begin to change their world from within. Tune in Sunday, January 4 at 8pET | 5pPT on AXS TV

15 YEARS AGO: GEORGE ATTACKED

15 Years Ago: George Harrison Attacked, Nearly Killed in His Own Home 

“They used us as an excuse to go mad, the world did,” George Harrison said in the Beatles‘ 1995 ‘Anthology’ documentary. “And then blamed it on us.” But even he could never suspect that, four years later, those words would ring true again when, on Dec. 30, 1999, a mad man attacked Harrison in his own house, nearly killing him. 

At approximately 3:30AM, Michael Abram, a 33-year old native of Liverpool, avoided security by scaling the fence of Harrison’s Friar Park estate near Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire and entered the mansion by throwing a statue through a window, which woke up the sleeping Harrisons. 

George confronted Abram, who was screaming at the spiritual Beatle with a knife in his hand. The 56-year old Harrison ran at Abram to try to tackle and disarm him. The attempt was unsuccessful, and George was stabbed repeatedly in the chest. Meanwhile, Harrison’s wife, Olivia, whose mother was staying with the Harrisons at the time, struck Abram with a lamp, causing him to drop the knife. Abram then went after Olivia by trying to strangle her with the lamp’s cord, but she was able to escape. Police arrived after 15 minutes and arrested Abram. Paramedics stopped Harrison’s bleeding and took him to a nearby hospital, where he was treated for a punctured lung. According to the hospital’s medical director, some of the wounds were very close to major arteries, which would have been fatal if they had been hit. The investigation determined that this was not a simple burglary gone wrong, but a planned attack on Harrison. 

The prosecutor said that Abram “believed that The Beatles were witches who flew around on broomsticks. Subsequently, George Harrison possessed him and that he had been sent on a mission by God to kill him. He saw George as a sorcerer and a devil.” Abram was found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to a psychiatric hospital, where he stayed until mid-2002. With his customary dry wit, Harrison said that his would-be assassin “wasn’t a burglar, and he certainly wasn’t auditioning for the Traveling Wilburys.”

MAUREEN COX (1946 - 1994)

Maureen Starkey Tigrett, née Mary Cox (4 August 1946–30 December 1994) was the first wife of Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey) the drummer of the Beatles.

Early Life

Mary Cox was born on August 4, 1946 in Liverpool, England. She was the only child of Joseph and Florence Cox. She left school at fourteen to be a hairdresser, and at around this time changed her name to "Maureen". To her friends, she was known as "Mo".

Knowing Ringo and courtship

At the age of fourteen, Maureen was interested in the Merseybeat sound. She often visited the Cavern. In the Cavern, she met John Brynne, who belonged to the group: "Rory Storm and The Hurricanes", and they started dating. This lasted until 1962 when they broke up.

On seeing The Beatles regularly, she developed a crush on Ringo. She asked Ringo for an autograph. About three weeks later Ringo began noticing her and asked her for a dance at the cavern. Soon after this they started dating.

Maureen was still going to the Cavern to observe the gigs of The Beatles. But this was sometimes dangerous. 

In September 1963, Ringo invited her to go to Greece together with Paul and his girlfriend (at the time) Jane Asher. Maureen went to Greece without the permission of her parents, afraid that they would not give her permission to go, but her parents ended up finding out through the newspapers.

While not that loved by fans, Maureen answered the letters they wrote to Ringo.

The courtship of her and Ringo would end for a time in 1964 when, since then, the Beatles were doing more and becoming more famous. When Ringo was operated on his tonsils, Maureen went to visit. Ringo proposed to Maureen in the hospital, and she accepted. 

Marriage with Ringo

In January 1965, Maureen discovered she was pregnant. She was eighteen at the time. There was no other option than to marry Ringo.

On February 11, 1965 at 8:00 am, Ringo and Maureen were married, at Caxton Hall Registry Office. The best man was Brian Epstein and the reception was at Brian's house. 

Photo: Maureen and Ringo with their parents.On the left, the parents of Maureen. On the right, the parents of Ringo.

Ringo and Maureen's wedding.

Children with Ringo

On September the 13th, 1965, Maureen gave birth to her first child, Zak Richard Starkey, in the National Maternity Hospital in Queen Charlotte. This was the same day the single "Yesterday" was published. On August 19th, 1967, Jason Starkey was born. On November the 17th, 1970, Lee Parkin Starkey was born.

Birth of Zak Starkey, September 13, 1965.

Birth of Jason, August 19, 1967

Birth of Lee, November 17, 1970

Starkey marriage problems 

By the time Lee was born in 1970, Ringo had already aburido of all and the marriage was already in trouble. When the Beatles broke up in 19701, so did the marriage Starkey; Ringo's infidelities and his increasing alcoholism became a problem for the whole family. In 1972, Starkey visited the Harrison. George, at the time (alcohol or drugs) confessed how much he loved Maureen. (A rumour says Ringo proposed to swap partners, IS JUST A RUMOUR). Maureen was a small affair with George. Despite all the problems facing marriage, Maureen did not want a divorce.

End of marriage to Ringo

Ringo insisted that it was better to divorce, so divorce Maureen accept reluctantly. In July 1975, the couple separated at Ringo's affair with the American model Nancy Andrews discovered.

Maureen life after the end of her marriage to Ringo

Maureen and Isaac.

In the early 80s, Maureen began a relationship with the owner of the Hard Rock Cafe, Isaac Tigrett. There was an attempt of reconciliation between Maureen and Ringo when he finished with Nancy, but it was too late because Ringo had been in love with his partner from the movie "The Cavern", Barbara Bach. So Maureen return to the arms of Isaac.

In 1987, Maureen gave birth to her fourth child, Augusta Tigrett.

Ringo and Maureen became grandparents thanks to his son Zak in 1987.

The May 27, 1989, Isaac married Maureen and deciding to split his time between Los Angeles, California and Boston.

Last days of life and death

In the opening of "Houses Of Blues" Maureen suddenly fainted. At first she was diagnosed with a mild anaemia, that would later become a form of leukaemia called Mylodisplasia. She was admitted to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in October 1994. Hcicieron All physicians did everything they could to save her life, but unfortunately she lost the battle.

On December 30, 1994, Maureen Starkey Tigrett died at age 47 from leukaemia. Her husband Isaac, her children, her mother and her ex-husband were with her when she passed away. Ringo had had a chance to tell her how much he had loved for the years they were together.

Paul McCartney wrote "Little Willow" in dedication to Maureen.

GLYN JOHNS LASHES OUT AT PHIL SPECTOR´S WORK WITH THE BEATLES: "LET IT BE IS A BOUNCH OF GARBAGE"

Paul with Glyn Johns

Glyn Johns lashes out at Phil Spector’s work with the Beatles: ‘Let It Be is a bunch of garbage’ Glyn Johns was famously brought in to make some sense of the hours upon hours of rehearsal tapes that eventually became the Beatles’ Let It Be, though both of his initial mixes were subsequently rejected. 

He’d envisioned the project, then titled Get Back, as a verite project — something that showed the Beatles as they were, with studio flubs, off-the-cuff chatter and goofy cover tunes in tact. That’s not how it turned out, of course. John Lennon subsequently passed the moldering tapes to Phil Spector, who then added his infamous Wall of Sound production techniques to an album that had once been framed as an attempt to get back to the basics. Johns, in a new talk with the New York Times, clearly remains horrified — 45 years later.

“I was disappointed that Lennon got away with giving it to Spector, and even more disappointed with what Spector did to it,” says Johns, who has just released a new memoir titled Sound Man. “It has nothing to do with the Beatles at all. Let It Be is a bunch of garbage.” Glyn Johns initially began work on the Get Back tapes in March of 1969, even as the Beatles started tandem sessions for the album that would become Abbey Road. 

After his initial pass was turned down, additional sessions were held in early January 1970. Johns was handed the tapes again, and once again failed to earn the Beatles’ approval. By March, Spector had been given the same songs; he completed the heavily overdubbed project in April 1970. “As I say in the book, he puked all over it,” John adds. “I’ve never listened to the whole thing, I’ve only listened to the first few bars of some things and said, ‘Oh, forget it.’ It was ridiculously, disgustingly syrupy.” 

Paul McCartney agreed, eventually releasing his own stripped-down mix in 2003, called Let It Be: Naked. It is a remixed and remastered version of their 1970 album Let It Be.The project was overseen by Paul,who felt that Phil Spector's production did not accurately represent the group's "stripped-down" intentions for the original album. Let It Be... Naked presents the songs "naked"—without Spector's overdubs and without the incidental studio chatter featured between most cuts of the original album. Let It Be... Naked also replaces "Dig It" and "Maggie Mae" with "Don't Let Me Down", originally featured as the B-side of the "Get Back" single.

 

ALLEN KLEIN´s GAL LOSES BATTLE FOR $1M IN ARTWORK

The longtime live-in girlfriend of Allen Klein, the late Beatles and Rolling Stones manager, has lost her battle to keep $1 million in artwork that she says were gifts from him.

Iris Keitel had tried to gain access to Klein’s gift tax receipts to prove he had a “practice of making substantial gifts” to others before he died in 2009.

Manhattan Surrogate’s Court Judge Nora Anderson ruled there was “no correlation.”

“Even if she were able to establish, for example, that decedent gifted 90 percent of his estate to others, that fact would be useless in helping her prove decedent gifted anything to her,” Anderson said.

Allen Klein

Keitel, 72, had been warring with Klein’s son Jody Klein, who claimed she hauled off 15 artworks, including a $120,000 painting by Jeanne Rij-Rousseau, to which she wasn’t entitled.

In 2012, Klein’s label, ABKCO, owned by his son, sued Keitel to get back art including a John Lennon drawing “Let’s Have a Dream.”

Klein, whose aggressive management style was blamed for the Beatles’ 1970 breakup, lived with Keitel for 30 years on East 58th Street.

Reached by phone, Keitel declined to comment. 

Music manager Allen Klein, whose clients included the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, died in 2009, after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Klein was 77.

PAUL INDUCTED INTO AMERICA’s POP MUSIC HALL OF FAME 2015

Paul is part of the third annual class of inductees into America’s Pop Music Hall of Fame, an institution based in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, that was founded in 2012. 

Paul is among the latest inductees into America's Pop Music Hall of Fame.  The rock legend is part of organization's recently announced third class of members, along with Linda Ronstadt, the Eagles, and The Everly Brothers.

Tom Jones, the Righteous Brothers, the Four Seasons, and Glen Campbell are also among the 14 artists recognized this time around.  And it's the second time McCartney is getting the nod.  He was also part of the Pop Music Hall's inaugural class as a member of The Beatles.

Artists who charted a song more than 40 years ago are eligible for induction.  Nominees are selected by a panel of musicians, disc jockeys, and journalists, but the public picks the inductees.  Other previous inductees include the Beach Boys, the Bee Gees, Elton John, the Carpenters, and The Monkees. 

 

To be eligible for induction into America’s Pop Music Hall of Fame, an artist must have had a charting song before 1974.  The honorees were chosen by a popular vote conducted via the Hall of Fame’s website, from of a list of 25 nominees picked by a national panel of music industry insiders.  More than 1 million votes were cast.

A permanent home for America’s Pop Music Hall of Fame is planned in or near Canonsburg that would include a 1,900-seat performance venue and a museum featuring permanent and rotating exhibits.  The city, located 18 miles outside of Pittsburgh, is the hometown of both Perry Como and Bobby Vinton, who also happened to be among the inaugural inductees into the America’s Pop Music Hall of Fame.

America's Pop Music Hall of Fame Class of 2015

Paul Anka
Glen Campbell
Chubby Checker
The Eagles
The Everly Brothers
The Four Seasons
Tom Jones
Les Paul & Mary Ford
Paul McCartney
Ricky Nelson
The Righteous Brothers
Linda Ronstadt
Johnny Tillotson
Andy Williams 

PAUL MAY BE SET TO BID AGAIN FOR THE BEATLES SONGSngs

Paul may be set to bid again for the Beatles songs he has yearned to buy for at least 30 years. According to reports, Sony execs were discussing selling the 250 tracks back to Paul.

 

Paul could be set to once again clench ownership of The Beatles back catalogue.

According to a report by The Sun, Paul is set to make a bid for possession of the music after eyeing it up for thirty years.

The turnaround comes after leaked Sony emails revealed that executives were considering selling the rights back to the 72-year-old hitmaker.

This includes a share in more than 250 songs which were written by Paul and John.

A source told the website: “Paul will want to buy the catalogue.”

The illustrious back catalogue has eluded Macca ever since it was purchased by Michael Jackson in 1985. At the time, Jackson forked out a massive £47.5 million to nab the tracks before Paul could.

He later sold half the catalogue to Sony in 1995 in a deal worth £95 million.

PAUL AND NANCY HIT THE GYM AT CHRISTMAS

Paul was spotted after a workout with wife Nancy Shevell, jumping into their burgundy Lexus on Christmas Eve.Paul and Nancy Shevell hit the gym at Christmas

The couple jumped in their burgundy Lexus after a workout this week

PAUL: SIMPLY HAVING A TANGERINE XMAS

Paul recently revealed on his website that a few nuts and a tangerine comprised the usual Christmas present for him as a boy.

'I think waking up as a really little kid on Christmas morning, and just seeing the white pillowcase that we used to get, " he recalled. Yes, it was like a stocking but Mum and Dad used to put it in a white pillowcase, and it would be a present, a couple of nuts and a tangerine."

He readily admits that the family were not wealthy by any means. "We weren't well off so it wouldn't be like kids today with their serious couple-of-hundred-quid presents. But yeah, it was just so exciting it was the "He's been! He's been!" Just totally buying into this idea that Santa had been in your bedroom and left this white pillow-case."

It wasn't so much the value of the presents, Macca points out, "though that was good too - it was just this idea of, "He's been!" I think that's what it is. The favourite memories come through your childhood innocence.'

The Liverpudlian also revealed that Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire by Nat King Cole was his favourite Christmas song. His favourite seasonal movie was It's a Wonderful Life, with James Stewart.

He also acknowledged the genius of singer Joe Cocker, who died after a battle with lung cancer on December 22.

Referring to the musician's cover version of The Beatles With A Little Help From My Friends, he declared: "It totally turned the song into a soul anthem and I was forever grateful to him for doing that."

IMPOSSIBLE FAN Q&A - EXTRA QUESTIONS #3

UPDATED - SATURDAY 27TH DECEMBER
---
It was impossible (see what we did there!) for Paul to answer everybody's questions at his Impossible.com songwriting talk with Lily Cole.
Fortunately, PaulMcCartney.com was on hand to record a few more questions after Paul left, which he kindly answered for us later that day. Check it out below (sorry about the quality of the audio!)...
And remember to read the full transcript from Paul's talk HERE!
---
QUESTION 1
"Hi Paul, I was wondering if you were interested in how the Foo Fighters recorded their new album in eight different cities across America? What affect does the location of a recording of an album have on you as a songwriter? For example, when you recorded 'Band on the Run' in Nigeria, how did that influence the songs on that album?"



Paul: "Yeah, I think there is a small affect. But generally it’s more of an atmosphere thing for me. Some people will go to Memphis and do a blues album. For me, I went to Nigeria loving the Nigerian rhythms, and that kind of crept into ‘Band on the Run’ a little bit. A couple of the tracks have got the sort of [sings ‘Ho! Hey Ho!’ from ‘Mrs Vandebilt’]. You know, that’s in there, and it’s a little bit African. 
"But I’d arrived there basically with the album written. So in the arrangements, it didn’t affect the songs at all. But in the atmosphere, it does a bit. 
"I think if I was writing songs in the place that would probably affect it. But actually in my case I think it’s quite small."

QUESTION 2:
"How do you feel about students now studying popular music with a focus on The Beatles?" (Asked by student studying for an MA in Popular Music in Liverpool.)

 

Paul: "For me it’s ridiculous, and yet very flattering. Ridiculous because we never studied anything, we just loved our popular music: Elvis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Fats Domino, etc. And it wasn’t a case of ‘studying’ it. I think for us, we’d have felt it would have ruined it to study it. We wanted to make our own minds up just by listening to it. So our study was listening. But to be told - as I was years ago now - that The Beatles were in my kid’s history books? That was like ‘What?! Unbelievable, man!’ Can you imagine when we were at school, finding yourself in a history book?!
"So it’s very flattering, and I think it’s a kind of cool idea really, you know, like in LIPA. So yeah, it’s very flattering. At the same time, I don’t think that by studying popular music you can become a great popular musician; it may be that you use it to teach other people about the history, that’s all valuable. But to think that you can go to a college and come out like Bob Dylan? Someone like Bob Dylan, you can’t make. It was an early decision when we were thinking of our policies for LIPA, we said: ‘We want to train people to be all rounders. Give them as much info as we can. But you can’t tell them how to become a Bob Dylan or a John Lennon, because you know, nobody knows how that happens’." 

QUESTION 3:
"How do you jot down ideas for songs when you don’t have an instrument, and how do you keep hold of them in your head before going into the studio?"



Paul: "I use a little cassette recorder, which is very old fashioned but it works for me. It’s like a Dictaphone that people would use, like to remember a speech or something. I will just go to the piano very quickly and sort of write a sketch. The trouble with that is you write too many sketches! I’ve got a lot of songs I need to finish!
"The good thing about it is that you didn’t really make a proper recording. Because what can become a problem is if you’ve got a really good sounding demo, you go into the studio to make the record and you can never get the feel of the demo. It’s like, ‘Arrghhhhhh!’ I make bad quality demos so that my record has to be better quality. So I can never say, ‘We can use the demo’."
PaulMcCartney.com: "Do you have the instrumentation and arrangements in mind before you go into the studio? Or do you experiment when you’re recording and go with what works best?"
 
Paul: "Yeah, often you have a pretty good idea of how you want it to sound and then you make the rest up in the studio. That’s how you record, you know. If it’s just me doing all the parts, then I really kind of make it up, but based on an idea of how I wanted it to sound. When you’ve written a song, you sort of think, ‘This should be a guitar, drums should be doing this’. It’s a bit of a combination of both."

RINGO’s NEW ALBUM WILL BE OUT NEXT YEAR

Ringo, who will soon be honored alongside the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Class of 2015, has completed his next record. He broke the news in a video update to his fans, which is embedded above. “I’ve finished my record, mixed the record and, next year, it will be out on Universal Records,” he says. He then hints that the All-Starr Band may be touring in February and March, and wishes everybody a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year before signing off with his customary, “Peace and love.” In the background, his 1999 version of ‘Blue Christmas’ plays. 

The as-yet unnamed disc will be Starr’s 18th studio record, and ninth since 1992. His most recent, ‘Ringo 2012,’ was released in January 2012. Earlier this month, Starr, along with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joan Jett and Lou Reed, was elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is the last of the Beatles to be inducted for their solo careers. “I think it’s good,” he said. “I didn’t know that George and John were in it. I’m not keeping up with it all the time. It means recognition. And it means, finally, the four of us are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, even though we were the biggest pop group in the land, though now it all looks funny in black and white.” The induction ceremony will take place April 18.

JOHN IN NEW YORK

Some of the more memorable New York City landmarks that John touched.

St. Regis Hotel - 2 East 55th Street
This was the first New York residence for John Lennon and Yoko Ono. In October 1971, this is also where Lennon recorded the first acoustic guitar demo of his now famous holiday anthem, Happy Xmas (War is Over).

105 Bank Street
John lived here with his wife Yoko Ono from 1971 to 1973. It was in Greenwich Village where Lennon began to immerse himself in the city’s art and political culture.

156 Prince Street – Greenwich Village
This was the apartment where Yippie leaders Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin would often meet. John would join them here to powwow in the early 1970s.





The Record Plant - 321 West 44th Street - (former location)
This is where famed record producer Phil Spector put together musicians to help Lennon record Happy Xmas (War is Over) in the fall of 1971. On the second day of recording, the Harlem Community Choir, which was comprised of about 30 children ranging from ages 4 to 12, were brought into the studio to record backing vocals for the song.

434 52nd St. apartment
This is where John lived briefly in 1973 and 1974 with his girlfriend May Pang after John had separated from Yoko. It was on the roof of this building were photographer Bob Gruen took the famous photos of Lennon wearing a now-iconic New York City T-shirt

The Hit Factory - 421 West 54th Street -(former location)
Hit Factory, This is where recording studio New York is where Lennon recorded his final album Double Fantasy.
































Café La Fortuna - 69 West 71st Street la fortuna Located just around the corner from the Dakota, this was one of Lennon’s favorite neighborhood haunts to go have coffee. The business has since closed.

Charivari - 18 West 57th Street charivari This former fashion boutique was where Lennon purchased the parka he was wearing the day he passed away.

The Dakota
The Lennons moved to this famed Gothic apartment complex in the mid-1970s from their address on Bank Street.

Strawberry Fields
Located across the street from the Dakota, Strawberry Fields is the living memorial created in honor of John Lennon after his death.

BBC RADIO 2 : PAUL MCCARTNEY´EPISODES (AUDIO)

LISTEN .... HERE

BEATLES ATTRACTIONS SET TO MAKE A FAB ADDITION TO ACC LIVERPOOL's DELEGATE CARD

The Beatles Story museum at Liverpool's Albert Dock is now included on the ACC Liverpool Delegate Card

A ‘Delegate Card’ issued to visitors by the company behind the ECHO Arena and BT Convention Centre has been updated to include more offers.

ACC Liverpool makes the card is available to all visitors attending conferences at the waterfront venue which from next year will also include Exhibition Centre Liverpool.

The Delegate Card was created to encourage delegates to explore as much of the city as possible with a series of offers, discounts and privileges. It also provides an incentive for visitors to return with their friends and families.

Liverpool One, City Central BID and Albert Dock are official partners.

In 2015, 37 businesses including hotels, restaurants, shops and attractions will be taking part in the initiative. For the first time it will incorporate an Experience the Beatles section which includes offers from The Beatles Story, Cavern Club and Magical Mystery Tour bus.

Since opening in 2008, it is estimated that ACC Liverpool has generated £860m for the city region, bringing in 4.3m customers to 1,300 events, and the Delegate Card is an attempt to grow that number.

Vicky Jaycock, commercial development manager of ACC Liverpool, said: “Our objective is to bring quality events to the city, attract as many visitors as possible and in turn continue to generate economic benefit to local businesses and the region.

“The Delegate Card provides an opportunity for guests to make the most of their time here in Liverpool and, as it’s valid for 12 months, we hope they will return and spread the word, thereby increasing visitor spend.”

WIN FIVE ‘CIRQUE DU SOLEIL MJ ONE AND THE BEATLES LOVE PRIZE PACKS’ IN BEATLES MAGAZINE

This holiday season, head out to Las Vegas and experience two awe-inspiring Cirque du Soleil shows featuring the music from two of the most iconic names in the Music Industry; Michael Jackson ONE and The Beatles LOVE. Log on to cirquedusoleil.com for a special ticket package now.
* PRIZE PACK:
– MJ One Hat
– MJ One Souvenir Programs
– MJ One Urban Pins (Sunglasses Shape)
– LOVE T-Shirt
– LOVE Hats
– LOVE Waterbottle

CONTEST RULES  

To all the Beatles Magazine members 

CONTEST: DEC 15-  DEC 26

RESULTS:  DEC 27 

WINNERS MAILED PRIZE PACK

(Contest is open only to US residents)

Enter to win! :
*BLOGGER : http://beatlesmagazine.blogspot.com/
*FACEBOOK : http://www.facebook.com/pages/BEATLES-MAGAZINE/203029830658
*TWITTER : http://twitter.com/BEATLESMAGAZINE
*GOOGLE+: https://plus.google.com/+LOVELYRITABEATLESMAGAZINE/posts?hl=es&partnerid=gplp0
*PINTEREST: http://www.pinterest.com/beatlesmagazine/pins/

 

FREE DOWNLOADS FROM PAULMCCARTNEY.COM

Regular visitors to PaulMcCartney.com will have seen we recently added a new 'Downloads' section to Paul's website.

To tie-in with the November release of the classic Wings albums 'Venus and Mars' and 'At The Speed Of Sound' we allowed fans to download three exclusive Wings songs only available here at PaulMcCartney.com; 'Letting Go [Extended Version]', 'Love My Baby [From 'One Hand Clapping']' and 'Rock Show [New Version]'.

We've now added a few more items to the 'Downloads' section including a new colouring in image of the cover for Paul's single 'Wonderful Christmastime'. We've also added a new wordsearch full of Paul's 2014 activities!

Check out the 'Downloads' section by clicking HERE!

WINGS 'RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REGGAE' VIDEO WITH UNPUBLISHED PHOTOS

Merry Christmas from Paul and http://www.PaulMcCartney.com

To celebrate, this year we have dug through the Wings archive and found some previously unpublished photos of the band. We then set them to the recording of ‘Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reggae’.

Wings’ version of ‘Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer’ was recorded in May 1975 at Abbey Road then released as the b-side of ‘Wonderful Christmastime’. It also featured as a bonus track on the 1993 remaster of 'Back To The Egg'.

By the time the track was released as a b-side, the Wings line-up had changed to include Laurence Juber on guitar and Steve Holly on drums.

WIN FIVE ‘CIRQUE DU SOLEIL MJ ONE AND THE BEATLES LOVE PRIZE PACKS’ IN BEATLES MAGAZINE

This holiday season, head out to Las Vegas and experience two awe-inspiring Cirque du Soleil shows featuring the music from two of the most iconic names in the Music Industry; Michael Jackson ONE and The Beatles LOVE. Log on to cirquedusoleil.com for a special ticket package now.
* PRIZE PACK:
– MJ One Hat
– MJ One Souvenir Programs
– MJ One Urban Pins (Sunglasses Shape)
– LOVE T-Shirt
– LOVE Hats
– LOVE Waterbottle

CONTEST RULES  

To all the Beatles Magazine members 

CONTEST: DEC 15-  DEC 26

RESULTS:  DEC 27 

WINNERS MAILED PRIZE PACK

(Contest is open only to US residents)

Enter to win! :
*BLOGGER : http://beatlesmagazine.blogspot.com/
*FACEBOOK : http://www.facebook.com/pages/BEATLES-MAGAZINE/203029830658
*TWITTER : http://twitter.com/BEATLESMAGAZINE
*GOOGLE+: https://plus.google.com/+LOVELYRITABEATLESMAGAZINE/posts?hl=es&partnerid=gplp0
*PINTEREST: http://www.pinterest.com/beatlesmagazine/pins/

 

WHEN THE BEATLES GAVE FANS A 'CRIMBLE' PRESENT: AUDIO

In the 1960s, the Beatles sent their most loyal fans a Christmas gift every year — a flexi-disc. NPR's Rachel Martin talks to music writer Colin Fleming about the annual holiday single.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Christmas is the time of year for carols, presents, festive cheer, and if you were a member of The Beatles Fan Club back in the 1960s, it was the season for a special edition flexi-disc from John, Paul, George and Ringo.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "EVERYWHERE IT'S CHRISTMAS")

THE BEATLES: (Singing) Everywhere it's Christmas. Everywhere it's song. London, Paris, Rome and New York and Tokyo, Hong Kong.

MARTIN: With us to talk about this rather odd collection of recordings is Colin Fleming. He writes about a whole lot of things including the Beatles. So Colin, tell me more about these recordings.

COLIN FLEMING: Well, it's awfully strange what's selling, you might say. Every year the Beatles would take a break from whatever they were working on in the fall, and they would assemble at Abbey Road. And they would cut what was called a Christmas flexi. Basically it's a cheap single, you know, plastic, bendy. And it would go out only to members of their fan clubs. Their PR guy, Tony Barrow, wrote a script which they would break from almost immediately, like bad schoolboys at the end of term. And they also absolutely excelled at good natured knavery.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GOOD KING WENCESLAS")

THE BEATLES: (Singing) Good King Wenceslas last looked out on the feast of Stephen. As the slow ray round about, deep and crisp and crispy.

MARTIN: (Laughter) Did these musical messages change as the years passed because they did these for a while?

FLEMING: Yeah. They definitely did change. As their music got more out there, so did the Christmas flexis. John Lennon is just relentlessly doing his Joycean puns. They sound sometimes like they had been a bit at the cider, you might say, and maybe something a touch stronger than cider. And Lennon, you know, on the '65 one, which is, you know, when they were recording "Rubber Soul." So they stop, like, what is probably the greatest album in rock history up until that point for Lennon to do his absolutely crazy sort of Irish Heat Miser bit.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO YOU LISTENERS")

JOHN LENNON: (Singing) Happy Christmas to you listeners where in e ye crae no voo. We belong to edinbody. Don't you make it new. Oh, we titother Jack MacGregor pon his bonnie ho, Hock yer punny Christmas with a pound of Irish stew.

MARTIN: Oh, man. So am I right that these are the recordings that were happening as these Christmas holiday presents to their fans before they even really got into their actual psychedelic years as a band. What happened then?

FLEMING: The '66 flexi has aspects of it where Lennon, McCartney are doing a short story together that's, like, something out of, like, Pinter. And also portions sound like "Tomorrow Never Knows" goes to, like, Christmas town.

And then in '67 there's a full on song which is very simple, very tuneful, has all of McCartney's hallmarks. But interestingly it has some melodic devices that he would later use in a song called "Come And Get It" which they gave away to "Badfinger," which was one of the very best songs they ever wrote that they did not do themselves.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CHRISTMAS TIME IS HERE AGAIN")

THE BEATLES: (Singing) Ain't been round since you know when - Christmas time is here again.

MARTIN: So what about at the end of their career, you know, the Yoko years when things are getting a little tense?

FLEMING: Yeah. The last two were '68 and '69. And they are - yup - they're grim. They're recording them separately. And so you're going to want to stick to the ones from the first few years. I always like the notion that, you know, Santa would directly chart a course to your individual chimney. And I feel like with the directness of approach with the flexis, The Beatles were doing this exact same thing for their fans.

MARTIN: Colin Fleming whose "The Anglerfish Comedy Troupe: Stories From The Abyss" comes out in August. Hey, Colin, thanks so much.

FLEMING: All right. Thank you, Rachel.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CHRISTMAS TIME IS HERE AGAIN")

PAUL MCCARTNEY: This is Paul McCartney here. I'd just like to wish you everything you wish yourselves for Christmas.

THE BEATLES: (Singing) Christmas time is here again.

GEORGE HARRISON: George Harrison speaking. I'd like to take this opportunity of wishing you a very Merry Christmas, listeners everywhere.

MARTIN: You're listening to WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News.