Tuesday, September 25, 2012

TODAY IN BEATLES HISTORY! Beatles Cartoon Debuts!!

Remember Saturday morning cartoons?!On this day back in 1965 music lovers and children of all ages were treated to the first episode of The Beatles cartoon series. Voiced by Paul Frees (John & George) and Lance Percival (Paul & Ringo), the series took the Fab Four on a series of misadventures including hunting for exotic birds and visiting Transylvania. It aired 39 episodes that spanned 3 seasons. The final show broadcast on October 21, 1967. The Beatles cartoon series is now syndicated globally and has even inspired a line of toys by MacFarlane Toys.

Happy debut anniversary, Beatles cartoon!

Newly Released Photos of John Lennon!!


Image by Zdenko Hirschler

From the Daily Mail (UK)

Bob's note: WATCH "HOW I WON THE WAR"... IT'S HI-HO-LARIOUS!!

The famous mop-top haircut, leather jacket and guitar are gone, replaced by military fatigues and army boots. Yet the slight young man enjoying a game of cricket in the desert is unmistakable.

Image by Zdenko Hirschler
The pictures of John Lennon, taken in 1966 and seen here for the first time, show him on the set of the film How I Won The War during a brief break from The Beatles. Directed by Richard Lester, who also made A Hard Day’s Night and Help! with the Fab Four, the film offered Lennon, then 26, a serious acting role.

It also gave him a rare opportunity to escape from his increasingly enervating life with The Beatles, who were at the peak of their fame and besieged by screaming fans wherever they went.

It had been a stressful year for Lennon. In March of that year, he had caused worldwide outrage with his comment in an interview that The Beatles were ‘more popular than Jesus’. Partly as a result of the public backlash, particularly in America, their tour of the US that August would be their last...

Read more and check out more fab images of John!

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

John Lennon voted NME's Utimate Icon!!

From NME.com

John Lennon has been named as NME's Ultimate Musical Icon of the last 60 years.

The Beatles' co-frontman topped the poll, which began with 60 nominees in March of this year, beating out the likes of David Bowie, Amy Winehouse, Arctic Monkeys' Alex Turner, Morrissey, Liam Gallagher and Damon Albarn to take the crown.

Former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher came second in the poll, with David Bowie in third and Alex Turner in fourth. Nirvana's Kurt Cobain came fifth, Amy Winehouse came sixth, with Jimi Hendrix in seventh place.

Morrissey ranked in eighth place, with Noel Gallagher in ninth and Ian Curtis in 10th place..

Read more and see NME's Ultimate Icon runner-ups...

(Thank you to THE BIG BEAT's "Producer Monica" for the heads up on this story)

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

John Lennon's Irish Island Up for Sale!

From IrishCentral.com

It's the island where John Lennon saw himself and Yoko Ono retiring to with a crazy scrapbook of memories, but nowadays Dorinish Island is home only to sheep and seagulls.

According to San Francisco Gate, the island the size of a dozen soccer fields off Ireland's west coast is being offered as a spiritual retreat to a potential new owner for the knockdown price of $384,000, 45 years after the Beatles legendary songwriter bought it.

Before he was shot by a deranged Mark Chapman in New York in 1980, Lennon revealed to friends his plan to build a home and retire to the island. But his death changed that and Ono eventually sold it to local farmers in 1984...

Read More...

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Rock You Like A Hurricane; Rory Storm and the Hurricanes' Recording Found!

From NME

Image from NME
Recordings of The Beatles' drummer Ringo Starr's first band Rory Storm And The Hurricanes have been discovered, 50 years after they were originally made.

The tapes were recorded in March 1960, a full two years before Starr  was asked by producer Brian Epstein to join The Beatles.

The band performed alongside The Beatles during their stint in Hamburg and were considered to be one of the leading lights of the Liverpool scene. They were fronted by Rory Storm [whose real name is Alan Caldwell], who died in 1972. It is in the basement of his sister's house that the new tapes have been found."

The tapes include tracks recorded at the Jive Hive club in north Liverpool, and at Storm's house...

Read More...

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Paul McCartney to be Honoured in France

From The Guardian

Paul McCartney is to receive France's highest cultural distinction at a ceremony this week. President François Hollande will decorate the former Beatle with the country's Legion of Honour, as the rank of officer.

Hollande's office made the announcement on Sunday, ahead of the gala ceremony to be held on 8 September. McCartney will be the first British musician to be awarded the Legion of Honour. Previous recipients include JK Rowling, Aung San Suu Kyi, Ravi Shankar and Vladimir Putin. Most members of the order are French citizens: more than 17,000 people have been given the rank of officer, which is the Legion's middle grade...

Read More...