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Friday 19 October 2007

Kurt's Black Beatles Sabbath

A NEW film on the tragically shortened life of Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain confirm the unhappy grungemeister's love for the Beatles.

Kurt Cobain: About a Son is reviewed positively here, recounting how gifts of Beatles albums from a favourite aunt inspired Cobain's rock blueprint - Beatle-ish melodicism delivered with Black Sabbath's power.

Michael Azerrad's non-fiction film has already been screened at the Toronto International Film Festival with attendant warnings that it is not easy viewing.

DVD features new footage



A NEW DVD shows behind the scenes and fan shot footage of The Beatles.

There's a pretty positive review of The Unseen Beatles here. It's a BBC/Warners release and from what I can find out on the web it may well not be available in the United Kingdom but is available from many webshops.

More Macca memories in double disc

COULD Christmas be on the way? Paul McCartney is reissuing his Memory Almost Full album in a deluxe edition with a DVD.

As well as footage from a 'secret' show at The Electric Ballroom in Camden, London, on June 7, there are additional songs too: Dusty Springfield cover, '
In Private', 'Why So Blue' and '222', promo clips from 'Ever Present Past' and 'Dance Tonight', complete the package.

Beatles track 'Drive My Car' is among the live tracks with 'Dance Tonight', 'Nod Your Head', 'House of Wax' and 'Only Mama Knows'.

Beware The Beatles! Spammers use MP3 bait

IT'S a compliment in a way, showing people still click with and on The Beatles, but internet security experts message labs are warning that MP3 files promising The Fab Four are delivering Mean Mr Mustard stock tips.

Elvis Presley and Britney Spears are also featuring in the scam which promises beautiful music but delivers an audio stock pitch.

So beware attachments, elvis.mp3, britney.mp3, and beatles.mp3.

Thursday 18 October 2007

Pete Best article

FAMED as the unluckiest man in pop, you can read an article on Pete Best here. It's billed as an interview but there are few quotes, none the less it's an interesting read.

Apple insider's second Beatle book

PRODUCER and former manager of the American division of Apple Records Ken Mansfield (pictured) is to release his second insider account of the Fabs: The White Book - The Beatles, The Bands, The Biz, An Insider's Look at An Era.

A man who stood on the rooftop while The Beatles blasted out their final live performance over Saville Row can certainly say he saw history. There's an excellent website featuring an excerpt and a video interview with the author.

Former president of Apple Records, Jack Oliver, said of the author, who is now described as a Christian comedian and motivational speaker: " He is one of the few insiders left that bore witness to the highs and lows of those insane days when we ruled the world."


This is Mansfield's second memoir of his Apple days following, The Beatles, The Bible and Bodega Bay.

In fact, the author now uses the work of the band as part of his Christian ministry - the luxury lifestyle led to personal disaster before Mansfield was born-again.

As well as The Beatles,
Willie Nelson, the Beach Boys, Stan Kenton, Judy Garland, Merle Haggard, Lou Rawls, Andy Williams, David Cassidy, Dolly Parton, and the Flying Burrito Brothers feature on Mansfields CV.

Monday 15 October 2007

Murray's Beatles Mad Day Out pictures

PHOTOGRAPHER Tom Murray had an assignment on July 28, 1968. The job? Shoot 'a pop group' with veteran war photographer Don McMullin.

The 'pop group' turned out to be you know who and Murray's images from what was the last official Beatle publicity shoot are currently in Glasgow, prints can be bought from the Original Art Shop.

Liverpool Museum celebrates Paul and John meeting





THE stage on which Paul McCartney watched The Quarrymen play on Saturday, July 6 1957 is being restored at the Museum of Liverpool.

St Peter's Church Hall, Woolton won its place in musical history as the place where John met Paul for the first time and the pair traded guitar licks. When the hall was renovated the city's museum snapped up the stage, which it hopes will be a major part of its planned revamp.

Staff at the museum want to find the rest of the audience too, so they can get the details of the reconstructed stage right.

John Lennon said of the most famous church fete in musical history: "That was the day, the day I met Paul, that it started moving."

Paul Gallagher of the Museum of Liverpool said: "This stage is very significant in the history of popular music. If John hadn't met Paul that day there could have been no Beatles or the international popularity of the Liverpool sound which spearheaded a musical and social revolution."

The museum is also hosting an exhibition of photographs by the late Hungarian-born photographer Michael Peto.

The pictures, taken during the filming of the Fab's 1965 film Help, were bequeathed to the University of Dundee and this is their first airing in The Beatle's home city.

Peto's Beatle work is also available in a limited edition book from Genesis Publications and the University of Dundee.











Beatles book looks deep into cultural impact.


CAN'T Buy Me Love: The Beatles, Britain and America is garnering good reviews for author Jonathan Gould.

Gould (pictured below) is a musician himself, well in deference to the olde joke, a drummer, and the book has been 20 years in the writing, there's an extract here and it's available from the usual outlets and as an e-book from Random House's website.

Claiming to take a deeper cultural look at the life and music of the Fab Four according to Blogcritic reviewer Glen Boyd, "What makes this book an essential read is the way Gould recounts the events with the careful eye to detail of an historian, while remembering the music with the fondness of a devoted fan."




Sunday 14 October 2007

Paul Versus Pete


THE Observer's monthly music magazine features an interview of Sir Paul McCartney conducted by Babyshambles lead singer and ex-Libertine Pete Doherty - who was 'released' from rehab for the occasion.



It's an interesting conversation between two musicians which opens with Doherty giving 'the scouser who has everything' a silver chip fork - a new item in the cutlery draw to The Cast Iron Shore - and rambles from clothes to Punk to paparazzi to The Smiths to Tony Hancock.

Sir Paul Versus Peter Docherty in full.



Mr Doherty does his Shambolic thing, in a field.