ON THIS DAY: THE OFFICIAL BEATLES' FAN CLUB IN ENGLAND IS CLOSED

When the Beatles broke up in 1970, you might have expected the band’s official fan club to end as well. But, much as members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr continued with solo careers, the club endured, as did its factions. There were George chapters and John chapters and so on in the so-called Apple Tree, and the main, Liverpool-based fan club focused on all things Apple Records-related.

Freda Kelly – who swooned over the group at the Cavern Club as a teen – had been hired by manager Brian Epstein to serve as the club’s secretary in the Beatles’ early days and remained in her position after they split. Other people managed the individual chapters, one of which likely helped bring about the end of all the Beatles clubs.

Pat Kinzer (later Kinzer Mancuso) ran the George fan club, which initially had been held in high regard by both Harrison and his father Harold. That’s because, in 1970, Kinzer had co-founded a memorial fund in honor of George’s late mother, Louise, who recently had died from cancer. Kinzer had encouraged fan club members to donate to the hospital that had treated Mrs. Harrison.

But she ran afoul of “the quiet Beatle” in late 1971, when she published quotes from an interview with George’s wife Pattie, in which she claimed the couple were planning to adopt a child. Reportedly, Harrison was upset at his wife for speaking so candidly about their personal life. He was just as dismayed when he saw the details in the latest fan club letter. He sought out manager Allen Klein to tell him about his anger over the “garbage” he had read.

“On Jan. 19, 1972, I received a letter in the mail on Apple letterhead. It was from Laura Cayne, director of Apple Tree, and was addressed to all area secretaries and chapter presidents. In this letter, Laura said the Beatles wished to have their fan clubs in England and the United States dissolved,” Kinzer Mancuso wrote in her book, Do You Want to Know a Secret? “I was very curious to know whose newsletter was the ‘trigger.’ About a week later, I found out that it was the Harrison Herald-George Gernal. I received a mimeographed letter on Jan. 24 from Joanne Maggio, the head of all the chapters of Apple Tree. In the letter, she said Laura Cayne informed her a couple of weeks prior that she had been called into Allen Klein’s office. Allen Klein wanted to know who Pat Kinzer was.”

 

 

Kinzer was so distraught about the end of the club that she sent letters to Harrison, his family members and other people involved in the Beatles fan clubs. One of the few response came from Kelly, telling her that she didn’t deserve sole blame for this.

“I know that your newsletter did cause a lot of trouble,” Kelly wrote, “but PLEASE don’t think it was you who caused the closure of this fan club.”

She went on to explain that there had been a meeting at Apple’s headquarters in January, attended by Harrison, Starr and others related to the Beatles and Apple Records. They were debating the future of the fan club and weighed its cost and value to a band that no longer existed. Then Kelly, who had grown up, gotten married and had a child during her Beatle years, shared some personal circumstances.

“I told them that I was pregnant, and they said, ‘Well, do you think you’d be going back to work?’ And I said, ‘I won’t be going back to work, I’ll have two children then,’” Kelly recalled in the documentary Good Ol’ Freda. “And then George finally spoke up; he said, ‘Freda, you were there in the beginning, you’re there at the end. Let’s call it a day, let’s end the fan club’.”

The individual chapters sent out final letters in the months after that meeting. After almost a decade heading the official club, Kelly sent out one last notice in March, letting fans know that the organization would cease to exist at the end of the month. She also pleaded for no more letters to be sent to the fan club, because of the volume of mail that still required answering.

According to a 2013 profile of Kelly in The Guardian, the former fan club secretary continued to answer letters for the next three years after the club ended. “You can’t just close a fan club overnight,” she said.

 

 

 

 

 

50 YEARS AGO: PHOTOGRAPHIC SESSION FOR LP 'SGT.PEPPER´S LONELY HEART CLUB BAND'

The cover for The Beatles' 'Sgt. Pepper's' was shot 50 years ago today, photographic session for LP 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band', Michael Cooper's London photographic studio

The shoot took place at 4 Chelsea Manor Studios, 1-11 Flood Street, just off King's Road in Chelsea. The studios opened in 1902, and Cooper established his studio from 22 July 1966.

The Beatles arrived in the late afternoon. The soon-to-be-famous collage, designed by Peter Blake and his wife Jann Haworth, had been assembled in the studio during the preceding eight days.

 In addition to the front cover shot, The Beatles also posed for the images used on the back cover and the gatefold sleeve.

PAUL CLAIMS SONY IS DEVALUING HIS BEATLES RIGHTS

His lawyer also tells a judge that without resolution to his attempt to reclaim rights, McCartney would be exposing himself — and others — to liability. 

On Wednesday, Paul responded to Sony/ATV's suggestion that he brought an "unripe" lawsuit seeking confirmation he'll reclaim rights to Beatles songs next year. In a letter to the judge, his lawyer Michael Jacobs writes, "Delay would not simplify the parties' dispute, but it would prejudice McCartney. As long as Sony/ATV refuses to disavow any right to sue for breach of contract, McCartney has a cloud over the title to his works, which devalues his rights."

Paul sued in January and looked for assurance that under §304(c) of the U.S. Copyright Act, he has the ability to grab back rights to works by serving a notice of termination. The legendary musician expects to do so in 2018, but he's worried, due to a case involving a Sony affiliate over in the U.K. There, an English court ruled that Duran Duran's contractual promise to not transfer its interest in copyrights foreclosed the band's ability to terminate a grant of rights. The British justice believes it isn't necessary to heed an aspect of American copyright law that states that termination of a grant "may be effected notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary."

In reaction to the lawsuit, Sony sent its own letter to the judge in anticipation of a conference that would lay out a forthcoming motion to dismiss.

Sony's lawyer wrote that the publisher had made no statement challenging the validity of Paul's termination notices, that the Duran Duran case was still pending on appeal and that without an outcome, McCartney "impermissibly seeks an advisory opinion on a hypothetical claim."

On behalf of McCartney, Jacobs retorts, "By seeking to dismiss this lawsuit, Sony/ATV intends to leave Paul in suspense. Is he exposed to claims for damages if he relies on his undisputed rights under U.S. copyright law or not? Will it sue him for breach of contract or not? Can he license his copyrights as his termination notices become effective, or does that present legal risks? Will third parties be willing to negotiate with Paul, and at what reduction in price, concerned that they may ultimately face a Sony/ATV lawsuit for interference with contractual relations?"

It's suggested that Sony/ATV could sign an unconditional covenant not to sue and eliminate the threat (both to McCartney and third parties who might wish to make deals with him). Absent that, the New York federal judge is told to exercise jurisdiction and resolve the situation.

Sony is also arguing that U.K. law applies, and so it makes sense that a U.K. judge would tackle any case.

Specifically, its lawyer Donald Zakarin wrote, "Here, Plaintiff is a U.K. citizen and the Grants were negotiated and entered into in the U.K. with U.K. companies with respect to songs presumably written in the U.K. in return for payment in the U.K."

Jacobs responds, "Because McCartney’s termination notices apply only to his rights arising under U.S. copyright law, the Court need not undertake a traditional conflicts of laws analysis."

YOU GAVE ME THE ANSWER – Stephen From Australia Asks…

 

In celebration of the release of the Flowers In The Dirt reissue this month we felt it was the perfect time to go deeper into one of Paul’s songs with Elvis Costello. There were lots of questions around the Paul and Elvis collaboration, but one from Stephen in Australia really caught our attention:

"I always wondered what the song ‘That Day Is Done’ is about. It sounds to me like it is someone talking from the grave?"

‘That Day Is Done’ - which features the lyric “She sprinkles flowers in the dirt” - is a real fan favourite (you have to listen to the demo version from the reissue!) so we spoke with Paul to shed some light on the track…

“Thanks for your question, Stephen. Well, when I was working with Elvis Costello, he told me about a funeral of a favourite relative of his and it became the inspiration for this song. It really was Elvis’ story that I empathised with and we eventually took the lyric, ‘Flowers In The Dirt’ for the title of the album. I suggest actually on this one you talk to Elvis…”

So of course, that’s what we did! And here’s Elvis’ take on the origins of the track:

“The starting point of the lyric for ‘That Day Is Done’ came from my anxiety about possibly not being there for the funeral of my Grandmother (or Nana as I called her). By the way, she was also the subject of ‘Veronica’ (her third name). Odd that the question mentioned voices from the grave. That device was taken from William Kennedy's book, ‘Ironweed’, rather than a ‘Halloween’ idea.”

So there we have it - a very touching song about a very touching subject.  

DHANI HARRISON TO INDUCT ELO IN ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame revealed the remaining inductors for its Class of 2017 today (March 29) with the announcement that ELO would be inducted by Dhani Harrison, son of George Harrison. The former Beatles was a frequent collaborator with ELO’s Jeff Lynne, most notably in the ’80s supergroup the Traveling Wilburys.

Also in today’s announcement was the news that Journey would be inducted by Train frontman Pat Monahan, Pharrell Williams would be doing the honors for Nile Rodgers and Snoop Dogg for Tupac Shakur‘s posthumous induction.

The Class of 2017 will be inducted on April 7 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. 

Additional performers include Lenny Kravitz (in a special tribute performance to Prince), Alicia Keys, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Indigo Girls, and others.

The Rock Hall had previously revealed that Neil Young will induct Pearl Jam, Jackson Browne will do the honors for Joan Baez, and Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson of Rush will induct Yes.

The #RockHall2017 ceremony will once again exclusively premiere on HBO, on April 29 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT.

1964 JOHN LENNON SUIT UP FOR AUCTION

 

A suit that was custom made for John Lennon is set to go under the hammer this week. 

Featuring a gray houndstooth pattern, the woollen suit was worn by the music icon in 1964 while performing with The Beatles. It was designed by the band's tailor Douglas Millings and features two handwritten labels marked ‘John' on the breast pocket interior and on the trousers.

The suit will be put up for auction by Nate D. Sanders Auctions on March 30, with bidding beginning at $50,000.

 

 

 

 

 

GEORGE: "I WAS INSPIRED TO WRITE ‘MY SWEET LORD’ BY THE EDWIN HAWKINS SINGERS’VERSION OF ‘OH HAPPY DAY’ "

"I was inspired to write ‘My Sweet Lord’ by the Edwin Hawkins Singers’ version of ‘Oh Happy Day’. I thought a lot about whether to do ‘My Sweet Lord’ or not, because I would be committing myself publicly and I anticipated that a lot of people might get weird about it. Many people fear the words ‘Lord’ and ‘God’ - makes them angry for some strange reason.

The point was, I was sticking my neck out on the chopping block because now I would have to live up something, but at the same time I thought, ‘Nobody’s saying it; I wish somebody else was doing it.’ You know, everybody is going ‘Be-bop baby’ - Ok it may be good to dance to, but I was naïve and thought we should express our feelings to each other – not suppress them and keep holding them back. Well, it was what I felt, and why should I be untrue to myself? I came to believe in the importance that if you feel something strong enough then you should say it.

I wasn’t consciously aware of the similarity between ‘He’s So Fine’ and ‘My Sweet Lord’ when I wrote the song as It was more improvised and not so fixed, although when my version of the song came out and started to get a lot of airplay people started talking about it and it was then I thought, ‘Why didn’t I realise?’. It would have been very easy to change a note here or there, and not affect the feeling of the record.

I thought ‘My Sweet Lord’ was a good ‘record’. In the recording industry there are ‘songs’ and ‘records’ - anyway I thought the overall sound of the record was as important as the words or tune – the atmosphere really. I wanted to show that ‘Halleluja’ and ‘Hare Krishna’ are quite the same thing. I did the voices singing ‘Halleluja’ first and then the change to ‘Hare Krishna’ so that people would be chanting the Maha Mantra – before they knew what was going on! I had been chanting ‘Hare Krishna’ for a long time and this song was a simple idea of how to do a Western pop equivalent to a ‘mantra’, which repeats over and over again, holy names.

I don’t feel guilty or bad about it, in fact it saved many a heroin addict’s life. I know the motive behind writing the song in the first place and its effect far exceeded the legal hassle. ‘This Song’, discussed later, has more to say about the legal thing."

Excerpted from the book 'I Me Mine'

PAUL ATTENDED TO "THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG" IN NEW YORK

Paul McCartney in the audience last night at the Lyceum Theatre, New York City.

The Play That Goes Wrong performing at the Lyceum Theatre, this funny comedy won the Best New Comedy at the 2015 Laurence Olivier Awards and is now playing on Broadway, featuring the original London cast, and with J.J. Abrams making his debut as a theatrical producer.

PAUL SAYS NO COLLABORATION COMPARES TO JOHN

Paul claimed, the best Beatles hits were written in the bedroom. He said John and he would sit opposite each other on twin beds facing one another and keep strumming ideas to each other like a ping pong match.

Paul told the interviewer in terms of collaborations his best was with John and that it was a fact he had come to accept. He compared strumming along with Lennon in front of him to that of staring in front of a mirror. As Paul was left-handed, John was right-handed. He added since John's passing it is that one memory he has held onto throughout the years.

Paul further added that while John was the best, he looks forward to collaborating with other artists. He said each artist brings their own unique mix to a song, the Daily Mail reported. He said Stevie Wonder would show up late for dinner when invited as he would be running his fingers over the keyboard figuring a song. Further, he added that with Michael Jackson he sat in his office and played on his piano and a song was made up in an instant.

Furthermore, Paul said he was having fun making a new album. He said he is working with a producer who previously worked with Adele and is responsible for her success at the recent Grammys. He said his only worry was that people would claim he was courting the 'flavour of the month."

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FLASHBACK: RINGO AND BUCK OWENS PLAY COWBOYS IN 'ACT NATURALLY'

"Act Naturally," written by Johnny Russell, was a tune the songwriter couldn't get anyone interested in recording, until a writer friend of his named Voni Morrison pitched it to rising country superstar Buck Owens, who recorded it at Hollywood's Capitol Studios in February 1963, the same month the Beatles recorded the bulk of their debut LP, Please Please Me. The song would top the country chart for Owens in June of that year, becoming the Bakersfield-based musician's first Number One. In 1965, when the Beatles released their second film, Help!, the song, led by Ringo's twangy vocal, was included on the soundtrack LP's non-film-related B-side. The song was something of an in-joke about Ringo's then-budding acting career, but it would also achieve legendary status as the flipside of the Paul-dominated single, "Yesterday."

On March 27th, 1989, Buck Owens joined Ringo at Abbey Road Studios in London, where the Beatles had recorded so many of their iconic recordings, to update "Act Naturally" as a duet. The tune was accompanied by an elaborate music video with a Western theme, as Starr and Owens, decked out in cowboy garb ride into a dust-filled ghost town on horseback, enter a saloon and order a couple of whiskeys from bartender Vic Tayback, best known for his role as Mel in the TV series, Alice. The ghost town, it turns out, is actually a movie set and as the tune begins to play, Owens emerges from a trailer strumming one of his famous red, white and blue guitars. At the start of his own verse, Starr, dressed in black and wearing a cowboy hat similar to Owens', descends on a movie-camera crane and the two ham it up, play-fighting about which performer will be the bigger star. The song, of course, has nothing to do with Hollywood ambitions, it's really all about a dejected man and not having to act the part in the movie about his "sad and lonely" life. 

Just two months after recording the song together, Ringo would perform with his All Starr Band, the supergroup that would, in its first incarnation, include among its ranks Joe Walsh, Nils Lofgren, Dr. John, Billy Preston, Clarence Clemons and The Band members Rick Danko and Levon Helm. 

Still going strong, on October 13th the All Starr Band will kick off its latest tour this fall with eight shows at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. 

The trek is currently slated to run through November 16th in Newark, New Jersey. Since 2012, the band has included Todd Rundgren, Gregg Rolie, Steve Lukather, Richard Page, Warren Ham and Gregg Bissonette, the longest-serving All Starr Band in the group's nearly 30-year history. 

BEHIND THE SCENES OF CIRQUE DU SOLEIL’S THE BEATLES LOVE

“Pretty much anything artistically that touches the show is what I’m working with,” explains Melanie Lalande, artistic director of Cirque du Soleil’s Beatles LOVE,who has a dance background and the calm demeanor of someone who has everything under control. Not only is she up to the complicated task, she loves being in the middle of it all.

“You know, I love performers. I love their energy. I think that they kind of dedicate their lives to being in front of you guys and taking you away for 90 minutes. And they do it twice a day every day. So I think that’s an interesting way to spend your life and I want to be part of that.”

What is one thing that would surprise audiences about The Beatles LOVE rehearsals?

“I think that it is fascinating that everything you can do on the stage, I can do off the stage in the training room,” Lalande says. “That is how the training room is set up. So while you see the artists out her [on the main stage rehearsing], they’re also backstage training for it all. So their work ethic is awesome. I mean clearly to get here it has to be, but the facility is set up for that to happen as well. It’s pretty impressive.

“We really tried, especially with the refresh—we tried even more to sort of bring you into the world of the Beatles,” Lalande says. “We really wanted to…make it an immersive experience for you, and give you that feeling like you were going on the journey with them.”

The result is a mesmerizing show that touches all of the senses. From sound and color, to astounding acrobatics and beautiful memory-elicitation, The Beatles LOVE is a magical mystery tour that takes audiences into a world of timeless music, revisiting the classics while carving out a spectacular new experience. Leave it to the Beatles to rock our world again. What was it like for Lalande to be on the receiving end of the Beatles seal of approval?

“It’s really an awesome responsibility and I don’t take it lightly,” she says. “So I know in my eye and what I am witnessing sort of has a critical presence for continuing their work in the world.”

The Beatles LOVE, like so many Cirque du Soleil shows, is the perfect example of teamwork in action. Everyone has to literally have everyone else’s back in order to make the magic happen. Is there a life lesson Lalande thinks we can take from the show and that experience?

“That’s a beautiful question,” says the artistic director. “I think that there are many life lessons that you can take from this. But one of the best ones is to trust the moment. And I think that’s what they’re developing—these artists and this audience. They’re trusting the moment together, and that’s why I feel you are so deeply touched by the show.”

Open rehearsals are fascinating, but it is the live performance that will make your head spin in the most amazing way. 

Fans exit the show with beautiful songs on their minds and streamers and pieces of confetti still in their hair (The Beatles LOVE uses 65 pounds of confetti each week.).

RINGO ANNOUNCED A FALL 2017 TOUR US TOUR

Ringo announced today a fall 2017 U.S. tour with his long-running All-Starr Band. The trek launches October 13th with an eight-date stint at Las Vegas' Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino and concludes November 16th in Newark, New Jersey. 

The current line-up of Starr's evolving live supergroup has been in place since 2012. The band features multi-instrumentalist/art-pop singer-songwriter Todd Rundgren, keyboardist Gregg Rolie (Santana, Journey), guitarist Steve Lukather (Toto), bassist Richard Page (Mr. Mister), woodwind player Warren Ham (Bloodrock, Kansas) and drummer Gregg Bissonette. 

"The dream is still unfolding," Ringo said in a statement. "I love to play, and I love to play with this band. I can't say that enough, and we're on the road again."

The band announced 19 shows on Monday, and additional dates will be revealed soon.

Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band Tour Dates

October 13, 14, 17, 20, 21, 24, 27, 28 - Las Vegas, NV @ Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino
October 30 - El Paso, TX @ Abraham Chavez Theatre
October 31 - Austin TX @ Moody Theater
November 2 - Sugarland, TX @ Smart Sugarland Civic Center
November 4 - Thackerville, OK @ Global Events Center at Winstar
November 7, 8 - Ft Lauderdale, FL @ Parker Playhouse
November 11 - Atlanta, GA @ Fox Theater
November 12 - Norfolk, VA @ ODU Pavilion
November 14 - Morristown, NJ @ Mayo Performing Arts Center
November 15 - New York City, NY @ Beacon Theater
November 16 - Newark, NJ @ New Jersey Performing Arts Center

PAUL ATTENDED TO EAST REGIONAL CHAMPINSHIP GAME IN NEW YORK

Among those in attendance at Madison Square Garden were Paul McCartney with Nancy and her son Arlen, , Hall of Famer Rick Barry, whose son Canyon plays for Florida and Darius Rucker.

 

Paul, Nancy and Arlen during the East Regional championship game of the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament, Sunday in New York.
South Carolina won 77-70.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/college/mens-basketball/article140909463.html#storylink=cpy

PAUL REVEALED HIS FUTURE PLANS INCLUDING A COLLABORATION WITH PRODUCER GREG KURSTIN

Paul has revealed that he’s currently working on a brand new album with the Greg Kurstin, the producer behind Adele’s ‘Hello’ and countless other records.

Paul spoke to BBC 6 Music’s Matt Everitt about writing with John Lennon, working with Stevie Wonder and his new, upcoming album "Flowers in the Dirt".
Paul said, “I’m making a new album which is great fun. I’m in the middle of that. I’m working with a producer I first worked with two years ago on a piece of music I’m doing for an animated film”.
This new record would be the first solo album since ‘New’ back in 2013.

Referring to Adele producer, Greg Kurstin, Paul said, “he went on to work with Beck and got Best Album of the Year with Beck. Then he went on to work with Adele and has just got Song of the Year, Record of the Year, with Adele, of course and just got Producer of the Year.

“My only worry is, people are going to go, “Oh there’s Paul going with the flavour of the month””.

Paul didn’t reveal any details of what we can expect from the album or when we can expect it.

PAUL: ‘I WROTE MY BEST HITS IN MY BEDROOM’: PAUL SAYS HE AND JOHN PENNED THEIR BEST BEATLES HITS WHILE SAT ‘OPPOSITE EACH OTHER ON TWIN BEDS’

Paul has revealed that he and John Lennon wrote their best tracks while sitting ‘opposite each other on twin beds’.

The Beatles star recalled moments where the two of them would ‘spin off each other’ as they came up with new melodies.

Asked about his experience of writing music, the 74-year-old, who formed the Beatles in 1960 with Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, said: ‘There’s a million ways to write, but the way I always used to write was with John and it would be across from each other, either in a hotel bedroom on the twin beds, with an acoustic guitar and we’re just looking at each other.

Paul said it was 'always my big memory' seeing John Lennon (right) come up with melodies in front of him

‘He’d make up something, I’d make up something and we’d just spin off each other.

‘It’s always my big memory, is seeing John there, him being right-handed, me being left-handed, it felt to me like I was looking in a mirror.’

He said that the reason they worked so well together was because they had grown up together, and therefore had ‘developed a way of working’.

Such was his fondness for that method that when it came to writing his final album of the 80s, Flowers In The Dirt, with Elvis Costello, he did the same.

Speaking to DJ Matt Everitt on BBC Radio 6 Music, he said: ‘But it was a great way to work and because we were kids together, and we’d known each other since our teenage years, we’d developed a way of working that would be one of us would start an idea, and the other one would spin off it.

Sir Paul was so fond of his method that he replicated it writing his final 80s album with Elvis Costello 

‘Obviously, it was very successful. So that was a way I had learned to write and it was the way I liked to write and Elvis was very happy to work like that. So it was like a repeat of that process, and so he was John, basically, and I was Paul.’

The songwriting partnership between Lennon and Sir Paul is one of the most successful collaborations in history.

The partnership was different to most others in that both Lennon and Sir Paul wrote words and music.

The Beatles released 12 albums between 1963 and 1970 and have more number one albums then any other British group

The Beatles released 12 albums between 1963 and 1970 and have had more British number one albums and singles than any other group.

Speaking of working alongside Lennon, Sir Paul said he could ‘never have a better collaborator’.

‘That is just a fact’, he added.

‘So I don’t try and escape it. I just know there’s no way I can find someone now who’s going to write better stuff with me than I wrote with John.’

Paul is worried his new album is going to be 'the flavour of the month'

Sir Paul went on to discuss the new album he has been working on with Adele’s producer Greg Kurstin, but said he is concerned people will think he is ‘going with the flavour of the month’.

He said: ‘I’m making a new album which is great fun. I’m working with a producer I first worked with two years ago on a piece of music I’m doing for an animated film. Since then, he went on to work with Beck and got album of the year with Beck.

‘Then he went on to work with Adele and has just got song of the year, record of the year, with Adele, and just got producer of the year. So my only worry is, people are going to go, “Oh, there’s Paul going with the flavour of the month”.´






source:dailymail

TRIBUTES PAID AFTER PETE SHOTTON PASSES AWAY

Tributes have been paid to Pete Shotton, the best friend of John Lennon, who has died aged 75.

It is thought he died from a heart attack at his home in Knutsford, Cheshire and funeral arrangements are currently being made.

Pete attended Dovedale Primary School and Quarry Bank High School alongside the future Beatle, and he later joined John – as a washboard player – in The Quarrymen.

Pete Shotton with John Lennon at Quarry Bank High School

At school the inseparable friends came to be known as “Shennon and Lotton” or “Lotton and Shennon.”

Pete, with the financial backing of his long-time friend, bought a supermarket in Hayling Island, near Portsmouth, and later founded and built up the successful Fatty Arbuckle’s chain of restaurants, which he sold in the early 2000s.

Pete was the co-author of John Lennon: In My Life, which was published in 1983, and later republished as The Beatles, Lennon and Me.

He remained close to John during The Beatles’ heyday, and his step son, Phillip Gouldbourn, told the ECHO: “One thing he was really proud of was that he was at times the only person, outside The Beatles and the producer, engineer and technicians, who was allowed in the studio with the band when they were recording.”

Pete, who had a son, step son and two grandchildren, even enjoyed a songwriting role with the Fab Four. He contributed to the 1967 song I am The Walrus after visiting John at his home, Kenwood, in Weybridge, Surrey.

As he was piecing the song together, John asked his old school friend about a playground nursery rhyme they used to sing, and Pete recalled it as “Yellow matter custard, green slop pie/All mixed together with a dead dog’s eye/Slap it on a butty, 10 foot thick/Then wash it all down with a cup of cold sick.”

John was inspired by this to write the line: “Yellow matter custard, dripping from a dead dog’s eye.”

Phillip added: “He remained close to John until Yoko Ono came on the scene. He said she took him from being a pop star to an artist and he respected that and took a back seat.”

Bill Harry, founder of the Mersey Beat newspaper and a close friend of John’s at Liverpool College of Art, said: “Pete was the closest friend John ever had, apart from The Beatles. John respected Pete because he stood up to him and could be a bit like John – a bit sarcastic and moody. John went to Pete for advice on lots of things, and their friendship from schooldays continued right through the 1960s. And I know they did meet up in New York in the 1970s.”

After leaving school, Pete became a police cadet, but this didn’t work out.

Bill added: “John set him on the road in his business and Pete, who had a very active personality, became a tremendously successful businessman.”

And Carl Cookson, who was a friend and neighbour of Pete’s in Knutsford, said: “He was a very modest and unassuming man – a really warm and nice person.”

PETE SHOTTON DIES AT THE AGE OF 75

Peter Shotton (4 August 1941 – 24 March 2017), commonly referred to as Pete Shotton, was an English businessman and former washboard player. He is known for his long friendship with John Lennon of The Beatles. He was a member of The Quarrymen, the precursor of the Beatles, and remained close to the group during their career.

He built an independent career as a restaurant manager, eventually founding the Fatty Arbuckle's chain of restaurants.

Shotton died on 24 March 2017 at his home in Knutsford, Cheshire.

Shotton was a close childhood friend of Lennon's, and attended Dovedale Infants School and Quarry Bank Grammar School at the same time as the future Beatle. The two boys were frequently in trouble with their teachers and with their headmaster, and they came to be known at Quarry Bank as "Shennon and Lotton" or "Lotton and Shennon."

In 1957, Shotton was Lennon's bandmate in The Quarrymen, playing percussion (specifically, a washboard), until Paul McCartney joined. He was "fired" from the band when, after confiding that he really did not enjoy playing, Lennon smashed the washboard over his head at a party. However, he remained a friend and confidant – as he became friends with all of the Beatles as the group formed.

After the Beatles became famous, Lennon and George Harrison bought a supermarket on Hayling Island, and gave it to Shotton to run. Later, he served as manager of the Apple Boutique, then as the first managing director of Apple Corps.

Pete Shotton with John, Cynthia and friends

After Lennon began a relationship with Yoko Ono and Apple started to flounder, Shotton parted company with Lennon and the Beatles. He resumed his ownership of the Hayling Island supermarket, which he continued to run until the late 1970s. He then began the Fatty Arbuckle's chain of restaurants, a franchise designed to bring the feel of the American diner to Britain. The franchise was highly successful in the 1980s and was later sold for an undisclosed sum. He later moved to Dublin, Ireland, living as a tax exile.

Upon hearing the news that John had been murdered on 8 December 1980, Shotton visited Harrison at Friar Park, George's home.

Shotton is the co-author of John Lennon: In My Life (1983, republished later as The Beatles, Lennon and Me), which told the story of their friendship, from the age of six until Lennon's death.

Pete Shotton in 1984

THE 2017 REISSUE OF PAUL´S 1989 INTERNATIONAL #1 ALBUM - FLOWERS IN THE DIRT - IS OUT NOW !

The Paul McCartney Archive Collection release of Flowers In The Dirt was, as always, personally supervised by Paul himself and is available in the following formats: 3CD+DVD Deluxe Edition, 2CD Special Edition, 2LP Vinyl and Digital.

 

*Fans can purchase their copy of Flowers In The Dirt via the below links:

DELUXE EDITION (3CD/1DVD): Click HERE!
 

SPECIAL EDITION (2CD): Click HERE!
 

VINYL (2LP): Click HERE!

Check out the Deluxe Edition in the video below:

LONG AWAITED 10th INSTALMENT OF THE GRAMMY-WINNING ARCHIVE COLLECTION OUT MARCH 24 VIA MPL/Capitol/UMe   

FORMATS TO INCLUDE 2CD SPECIAL EDITION, 2LP VINYL AND  3CD+DVD DELUXE EDITION BOX SET FEATURING PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED DEMOS, UNSEEN ARCHIVAL VIDEO, NOTEBOOK OF PAUL’S HANDWRITTEN LYRICS AND NOTES, LINDA McCARTNEY FLOWERS IN THE DIRT  EXHIBITION CATALOGUE, 112-PAGE HARDCOVER BOOK DOCUMENTING THE MAKING OF THE ALBUM AND MORE 

 

FLOWERS IN THE DIRT
TRACKLISTING:
 
*DELUXE EDITION (3CD/1DVD)
DISC 1 (Plus HD audio download):
1. My Brave Face (2017 Remaster)
2. Rough Ride (2017 Remaster)
3. You Want Her Too (2017 Remaster)
4. Distractions (2017 Remaster)
5. We Got Married (2017 Remaster)
6. Put It There (2017 Remaster)
7. Figure Of Eight (2017 Remaster)
8. This One (2017 Remaster)
9. Don’t Be Careless Love (2017 Remaster)
10. That Day Is Done (2017 Remaster)
11. How Many People (2017 Remaster)
12. Motor Of Love (2017 Remaster)
13. Où Est Le Soleil? (2017 Remaster)
 
DISC 2 (Plus HD audio download):

1. The Lovers That Never Were (Original Demo)
2. Tommy’s Coming Home (Original Demo)
3. Twenty Fine Fingers (Original Demo)
4. So Like Candy (Original Demo)
5. You Want Her Too (Original Demo)
6. That Day Is Done (Original Demo)
7. Don’t Be Careless Love (Original Demo)
8. My Brave Face (Original Demo)
9. Playboy To A Man (Original Demo)
 
DISC 3 (Plus HD audio download):

1. The Lovers That Never Were (1988 Demo)
2. Tommy’s Coming Home (1988 Demo)
3. Twenty Fine Fingers (1988 Demo)
4. So Like Candy (1988 Demo)
5. You Want Her Too (1988 Demo)
6. That Day Is Done (1988 Demo)
7. Don’t Be Careless Love (1988 Demo)
8. My Brave Face (1988 Demo)
9. Playboy To A Man (1988 Demo)
 
DVD 

Music Videos:
1. My Brave Face
2. My Brave Face (Version 2)
3. This One (Version 1)
4. This One (Version 2)
5. Figure Of Eight
6. Party Party
7. Où Est Le Soleil?
8. Put It There
9. Distractions
10. We Got Married
Creating Flowers in the Dirt:

1. Paul And Elvis
2. Buds In The Studio
3. The Making Of ‘This One’
(The Dean Chamberlain One)
Put It There:
1. Put It There Documentary

DOWNLOAD ONLY:
Original B-sides, remixes and single edits:
1. Back On My Feet
2. Flying To My Home
3. The First Stone
4. Good Sign
5. This One (Club Lovejoys Mix)
6. Figure Of Eight (12” Bob Clearmountain Mix)
7. Loveliest Thing
8. Où Est Le Soleil? (12” Mix)
9. Où Est Le Soleil? (Tub Dub Mix)
10. Où Est Le Soleil? (7” Mix)
11. Où Est Le Soleil? (Instrumental)
12. Party Party (Original Mix)
13. Party Party (Club Mix)
Cassette demos:
1. I Don’t Want To Confess
2. Shallow Grave
3. Mistress And Maid
---
 

*SPECIAL EDITION (2CD)
DISC 1:
1. My Brave Face (2017 Remaster)
2. Rough Ride (2017 Remaster)
3. You Want Her Too (2017 Remaster)
4. Distractions (2017 Remaster)
5. We Got Married (2017 Remaster)
6. Put It There (2017 Remaster)
7. Figure Of Eight (2017 Remaster)
8. This One (2017 Remaster)
9. Don’t Be Careless Love (2017 Remaster)
10. That Day Is Done (2017 Remaster)
11. How Many People (2017 Remaster)
12. Motor Of Love (2017 Remaster)
13. Où Est Le Soleil? (2017 Remaster)
 
DISC 2:
1. The Lovers That Never Were (Original Demo)
2. Tommy’s Coming Home (Original Demo)
3. Twenty Fine Fingers (Original Demo)
4. So Like Candy (Original Demo)
5. You Want Her Too (Original Demo)
6. That Day Is Done (Original Demo)
7. Don’t Be Careless Love (Original Demo)
8. My Brave Face (Original Demo)
9. Playboy To A Man (Original Demo)
---
 

*VINYL (2LP)
Disc 1
Side A:
1. My Brave Face (2017 Remaster)
2. Rough Ride (2017 Remaster)
3. You Want Her Too (2017 Remaster)
4. Distractions (2017 Remaster)
5. We Got Married (2017 Remaster)
6. Put It There (2017 Remaster)
Side B:
7. Figure Of Eight (2017 Remaster)
8. This One (2017 Remaster)
9. Don’t Be Careless Love (2017 Remaster)
10. That Day Is Done (2017 Remaster)
11. How Many People (2017 Remaster)
12. Motor Of Love (2017 Remaster)
13. Où Est Le Soleil? (2017 Remaster) (**not on vinyl, this track will be available with the accompanying digital download). 
 
Disc 2
Side A:
1. The Lovers That Never Were (Original Demo)
2. Tommy’s Coming Home (Original Demo)
3. Twenty Fine Fingers (Original Demo)
4. So Like Candy (Original Demo)
Side B:
5. You Want Her Too (Original Demo)
6. That Day Is Done (Original Demo)
7. Don’t Be Careless Love (Original Demo)
8. My Brave Face (Original Demo)
9. Playboy To A Man (Original Demo)