Sunday, January 31, 2016
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Friday, January 29, 2016
Beatles Bits: Weeky news roundup
Two 1967 portraits of Paul McCartney by famed British artist John Bratby have gone on display in Hastings, England, but a third has eluded curators.
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Paul McCartney has stirred up some trouble Down Under after an ill-advised Facebook post.
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Martin Guitars has created a 75th anniversary John Lennon D-28 acoustic model. Only 75 models have been produced and they sell for nearly $12K a pop.
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Ringo Starr's second childhood homes at 10 Admiral Grove, in Liverpool is up for auction.
Former Oasis singer Liam Gallagher has reportedly dropped out of a project to make a movie based on Richard DiLello's insider book about the Beatles' Apple Corps, "The Longest Cocktail Party."
Ringo Starr has announced the following U.S. tour dates for his All-Star Band:
Bratby, who died in his adopted home town of Hastings in 1992 whilst walking home from his local fish and chip shop the day after his 64th birthday, was one of the British art scene’s great “radical realists” of the 1950s and ’60s. Celebrities who sat for him included McCartney, Michael Palin, Arthur Askey and Claire Rayner.
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Paul McCartney has stirred up some trouble Down Under after an ill-advised Facebook post.
“Salutations to our cousins down under on Australia Day. Have a great one. Watch out for flying kangaroos!” but then next to the comment posted a picture of himself taken in 2002 draped in an Australian flag. The image was a promo shot from the Australian tour he cancelled.
The post agitated Australian fans who had not been treated to a McCartney tour since 1993.
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Martin Guitars has created a 75th anniversary John Lennon D-28 acoustic model. Only 75 models have been produced and they sell for nearly $12K a pop.
Ringo Starr's second childhood homes at 10 Admiral Grove, in Liverpool is up for auction.
The two-bed Victorian terrace property was a regular haunt for the Fab Four in their early days as well as other high-profile figures in the Merseybeat scene including the late Cilla Black. The Empress pub at the end of Admiral Grove also appeared on the front of Ringo's first solo album, Sentimental Journey.-----
... The house has a guide price of £55,000, but auctioneer Countrywide hopes it might go for more by attracting investors with an interest in the Fab Four.
A number of restrictions have been placed on the sale of the house so that it cannot become a tourist attraction or museum.
Former Oasis singer Liam Gallagher has reportedly dropped out of a project to make a movie based on Richard DiLello's insider book about the Beatles' Apple Corps, "The Longest Cocktail Party."
"Liam invested heavily in the film when he bought the rights and was intent on making it happen," a source tells Britain's The Sun newspaper. "He commissioned someone to write it, started a production company and got a top director on board in the form of Michael. After that, things started to go downhill. The script was all wrong and they couldn't get access to The Beatles' back catalogue. Now Liam has backed out of the project.-----
Ringo Starr has announced the following U.S. tour dates for his All-Star Band:
06/03: Syracuse, NY @ Lakeview Amphitheater
06/04: Salamanca, NY @ Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino
06/05: Port Chester, NY @ Capitol Theatre
06/07: Englewood, NJ @ Bergen Performing Arts Center
06/08: Bangor, ME @ Cross Insurance Center
06/10: Gilford, NH @ Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
06/11: Worcester, MA @ DCU Center
06/12: Reading, PA @ Santander Arena
06/15: Staten Island, NY @ St. George Theatre
06/17: Washington DC @ Warner Theatre
06/18: Cary, NC @ Koka Booth Amphitheatre
06/19: Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
06/21: Fort Wayne, IN @ Foellinger Theatre
06/22: Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
06/23: Detroit, MI @ Fox Theatre
06/25: Lincoln, NE @ Pinewood Bowl Theater
06/26: Wichita, KS @ Hartman Arena
06/28: Denver, CO @ Paramount Theatre
07/01: San Diego, CA @ Humphreys Concerts
07/02: Los Angeles, CA @ The Greek Theatre
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Monday, January 25, 2016
Friday, January 22, 2016
Beatle Bits: Weekly news roundup
A Palm Beach home once owned by John Lennon and Yoko Ono sold this week for $23 million.
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British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Tory Member of Parliament Karl McCartney (no relation to Paul, that we know of) this week used a tortured series of Beatles song references to mock a suggestion by Labor Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn that Britain disarm the warheads on its nuclear submarines.
The Deutsche Grammophon label has provided a clever Beatles 1 parody cover for an upcoming classical compilation.
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Speaking of "Love," the long-running Las Vegas Beatles-themed show is being updated:
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Canadian Beatles historian Piers Hemmingsen dishes on the Ottawa Police patch that appears on Paul McCartney's Sgt. Pepper uniform:
John and Yoko Ono bought the mansion in 1980 for $750,000, shortly before the former Beatle was slain in New York City. Yoko Ono spent $3 million restoring it.
Mizner called the mansion El Solano. He built it for himself before selling it to Howard Vanderbilt.
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British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Tory Member of Parliament Karl McCartney (no relation to Paul, that we know of) this week used a tortured series of Beatles song references to mock a suggestion by Labor Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn that Britain disarm the warheads on its nuclear submarines.
Blair: "There is a comic element to sending submarines to sea without missiles in, but in fact it is absolutely serious because the deterrent has been, on a cross-party basis, an absolutely key part of our defence and making sure we have got the ultimate insurance policy, which we support on this side and we should vote on in this House."------
"All I can say when it comes to Beatles songs, I suspect that the Leader of the Opposition prefers Back In The U.S.S.R."
The Deutsche Grammophon label has provided a clever Beatles 1 parody cover for an upcoming classical compilation.
Speaking of "Love," the long-running Las Vegas Beatles-themed show is being updated:
“ ‘Love’ is undergoing a major refresh right now. We’ll go down mid-February and come back at the end of February with a whole refreshed version of the show, then have a grand celebration probably in June,” said Jerry in our interview.
“ We’re going to add elements over the next couple of months, technological stuff, then in June we’ll do another red carpet event around Paul McCartney and Ringo’s schedule for the 10th anniversary.
“Yoko and Olivia have been quite involved, Paul and Ringo at more of a distance, but the women are very involved in it. They’ve been around all the time running support and adding creative input.”
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Canadian Beatles historian Piers Hemmingsen dishes on the Ottawa Police patch that appears on Paul McCartney's Sgt. Pepper uniform:
His research reveals that during a visit to Toronto in 1964, four OPP arm badges were presented as a unique gift of appreciation by an OPP Corporal at Malton Airport to one of the three of The Beatles on Tues. Sept. 28. They were waiting to board their chartered plane bound for Montreal.
“George was not feeling well that day and chose to board the plane early as the other 3 Beatles stood in the sunshine on the tarmac waving to fans (who had skipped school that day) surrounded by their OPP security detail. It is likely that the four badges were received by one Beatle (Paul, John or Ringo), and simply stuffed in a bag.
“The badge must have been lying around on Paul's bureau for over two years before it beckoned him for use in early 1967.”
Thursday, January 21, 2016
New Book: The Beatles and the Historians: An Analysis of Writings about the Fab Four
Out in July 2016. No details available, yet:
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
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