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Help! Calling on all Beatles fans

May 17, 2018, 2:53 am
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Help us secure the future of the iconic Strawberry Field site by joining our ‘Strawberry Field Buy a Brick’ fundraising campaign.

The Strawberry Field site, treasured by John Lennon, has become a gathering place for Beatles fans from across the globe. Fans will now have an exciting opportunity to own a piece of the old Victorian Building that stood on site when John used to spend his time there.

There is a limited edition of 2,500 bricks, which will be released in 5 batches. Each brick is individually numbered which comes complete with a certificate of authentication.

Strawberry Field holds a special place in the history of The Beatles, with John Lennon’s experiences in and around the children’s home providing inspiration for the unforgettable song, ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’.

Julia Baird, John Lennon's sister and Hon President of the Strawberry Field project says "I am sure that all Beatles fans will find a way to support this significant project that will bring hope to so many young adults with learning disabilities. With Fathers' Day coming soon, what better present could there be for lovers of Strawberry Fields Forever!"

John grew up with his aunt Mimi just a stone’s throw away from the site, he used to jump over the wall to play and regularly joined the children during the annual Garden Party and was said to find peace and refuge in the grounds. The large Victorian mansion was the centre piece of the estate, then sadly it was demolished in the 1970s but during the development work for the new plans, we have managed to salvage a number of original bricks.

Owners of this last piece of Beatles heritage in Liverpool, The Salvation Army, have ambitious plans to redevelop the site. The new vision for Strawberry Field will weave together educational, cultural, heritage and spiritual exploration in one bold, imaginative plan.

To own a piece of Strawberry Field is a special gift for the Beatles fan in your life.  If you are scratching your head wondering what gift to get this year for your Dad, then look no further! But hurry we are now taking advance orders to be delivered in time for Father’s Day on 17 June 2018.

Bricks are priced at £75 per brick; orders are limited to 4 bricks per customer.
Also on offer is the opportunity to purchase a ‘Bundle’ package which includes a brick, a t-shirt and a mug all for the great price of £95. The first release is available for pre order now simply go to store.strawberryfieldliverpool.com to secure this special piece of memorabilia.

You can also purchase a range of exclusive merchandise that will also support the fundraising campaign to help us open the famous red gates to the public for the very first time.

Jules Sherwood, Fundraising Development Manager at The Salvation Army said,

“Help us bring Strawberry Field back to life again, we have big plans and we need your support to achieve them. We have had amazing support and encouragement from Beatles fans and the Beatles Industry Group in the City, we hope this opportunity to be part of the past and future of Strawberry Field will appeal to fans around the word.”
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John & Yoko exhibition opens

May 18, 2018, 1:57 am
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Yoko Ono is in Liverpool to open the new exhibition. Photo: Mark McNulty
Today, the new John&Yoko exhibition opens in the Museum of Liverpool, titled Double Fantasy – John & Yoko, and it will be running until 22 April, 2019. Yoko Ono has taken the trip from New York to be present at the opening. Perhaps one can also expect to see John and Yoko's son Sean Lennon there, as he recently published a selfie from a Thames boat trip, together with George's son, Dhani Harrison.

"The Thames they are a Changin!" is the text which followed this image on Sean's Instragram and Facebook accounts.
Double Fantasy - John&Yoko is a free exhibition, celebrating the meeting of two of the world’s most creative artists who expressed their deep and powerful love for one another through their art, music and film. They used their fame and influence to campaign for peace and human rights across the world, transforming not only their own lives, but art, music and activism forever.

Featuring personal objects alongside art, music and film produced by John and Yoko, the exhibition is drawn from Yoko’s own private collection, some of which has never been displayed.

See our blog post from March for more details of this exhibition.
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White album in surround sound

May 28, 2018, 8:49 am
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There are news going 'round that Tim Young has finished mastering the Beatles'"The Beatles" (aka White Album) in 5.1 surround sound as well as in stereo at Metropolis Mastering in London. He had been going a few times to Abbey Road for meetings with Giles Martin during the project. The actual mixings were done by Giles Martin and probably Sam Okell.

Tim Young also did the mastering of the Love album, in 2006.

Record Collector, June 2018 edition.
Meanwhile, UK magazine Record Collector is dressing up in white album clothes for their June issue.

There are no further news regarding the 50th anniversary "white album", so don't bother to ask about formats, the Esher demos etc ;-)
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New Yellow Submarine picture disc

May 30, 2018, 6:06 am
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New picture disc release
July 6, 2018, there is going to be a new picture disc release of the single "Yellow Submarine" b/w "Eleanor Rigby". This will be a limited edition, although we have no figures. The vinyl picture disc will be housed in a card sleeve with a die-cut hole on the front to show the disc.



Originally released as a single in 1966, this new release ties in with the 50th anniversary of the "Yellow Submarine" film, which premiered in the summer of 1968. A number of products featuring the cartoon designs from the film have been licensed from Apple Corps Ltd. this year, including clothing, figurines, a graphic novel, a book and other paper ephemera.
Back cover

Link to pre-order
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Researcher uncovers the White Album cover

May 30, 2018, 2:47 pm
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The simplistic design of The Beatles'"white album" sleeve: was it really a work of art? Or was it Richard Hamilton plagiarising himself? Perhaps he thought the pay wasn't much, so he didn't want to put a lot of effort into it. Like, "Here's a poster, and you get the cover for free".

BEATLES AND WHITE ALBUM DESIGN

Written and researched by Kevin Bradford

In what can be now seen as a trilogy is a transformation of The Beatles from pop stars to pop artists beginning with Revolver, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and The White Album.

Pepper was the Beatles in an art gallery. "The white album" was the collection of the art.

It is no coincidence that McCartney had befriended Robert Fraser at exactly this time. Fraser and his gallery was the hot spot for Paul to be introduced to Peter Blake, Jann Haworth and Richard Hamilton. It was Fraser's suggestion that The Beatles hire real artists to make their album covers. One could infer that he considered Voormann's "Revolver" cover to not be done of a "real artist" or that he hoped to gain a contract with his own roster of "real artists" that he also represented.

Revolver, designed by Klaus Voormann - not considered as a "real artist"?

It was through Fraser that Paul bought his Magritte art and was the impeteus for the Apple label art. Both the art for the Sgt. Pepper cover as well as the "White Album" only got the artists £200 British Pounds for each of the designs. It can be argued it was a measly sum and Blake has made issue about that since.

This reasoning as to why the White Album was a simplistic white cover has been discussed many times over the years. The reasons have been given as:
1. To create a numbered edition like art
2. It was a response to Pepper and psychedelia
3. They wanted to not be judged by the cover but as artists etc.

Hamilton said it best without saying it in one of his last interviews, "It should be treated like a very small edition publication of poems or something!"  What people don't realise is that he literally did just that.

From 1960 to 1966, Hamilton produced a series of monographs for the William and Noma Copley Foundation. The series covered  René Magritte, Thomas Albert Sills, James Metcalf, Serge Charchoune, Jacques  Herold, Hans Bellmer, Richard Lindner, Bernard Pfriem, Eduardo Paolozzi and Diter Rot.

Magritte was the first artist in the series of monographs.
Hamilton's design for Bernard Pfriem
All one need do is look at the design of these covers to know that Hamilton was emulating his previous layout for these other "artists". Interestingly enough is that Lindner and Magritte were
part of the Sgt. Pepper character background and Apple art influence.

Design for Serge Charcoune
Lindner's inclusion was more likely because of Jann Haworth than anything else. These monographs would have been known to Robert Fraser and possibly Paul as a reference guide especially concerning Magritte and Hamilton's association with both Paul and Robert Fraser's Gallery.

Copley (right) and Magritte
The monograph series ended in 1966, not long before William and Noma Copley’s divorce. Timing is everything! Enter Beatles.

The term album comes from latin from the word albus... which means white.
The players:

Richard William Hamilton CH (24 February 1922 – 13 September 2011) was an English painter and collage artist. By many, he was considered the father of pop-art in England. From the mid-1960s, Hamilton was represented by Robert Fraser and even produced a series of prints, Swinging London, based on Fraser's arrest, along with Mick Jagger, for possession of drugs. This association with the 1960s pop music scene continued as Hamilton became friends with Paul McCartney resulting in him producing the cover design and poster collage for the Beatles' White Album.

William N. Copley (1919 – 1996) also known as CPLY, was an American painter, writer, gallerist, collector, patron, publisher and art entrepreneur. Copley and his second wife, Noma Rathner, developed the William and Noma Copley Foundation, later known as the Cassandra Collection, in 1953. The William and Noma Copley Foundation was a non-profit co-founded in 1954 by the newly wedded couple. The two shared the dual aim to “encourage the creative arts” through grants, an enterprise which was made possible by William Copley’s significant inheritance. In addition to its grant program, the William and Noma Copley Foundation also published a series of monographs supervised by artist Richard Hamilton. Ten publications appeared between 1960 and 1966.

The term "monographia" is derived from the Greek "mono" (single) and grapho (to write), meaning "writing on a single subject". Monographic series (alternatively, monographs in series) are scholarly and scientific books released in successive volumes, each of which is structured like a separate book or scholarly monograph. In many cases each volume in such a series itself contains individual chapters or articles written by different authors, usually on the same general theme. And that's perhaps a good way to describe The Beatles'"white album", had it been a book and not a music record.

Richard Hamilton about the White album, by Pete Stern
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Help! and the Trifecta of Vocal Fills

May 31, 2018, 5:47 am
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By guest blogger Michael A Massetti

The Beatles were masterful song writers, composers, musicians, and singers. Their library of music is rich with tricks and techniques that captured the ears (and hearts) of their fans then and now. Their compositions and recordings remain relevant decades later.

Help! was released in July, 1965 and became The Beatles’ 10th overall #1 single. It came out after Eight Days A Week in February in the US and after Ticket to Ride, which was released in April of that same year, continuing the relentless march of number 1 singles the Beatles released in such a short window of time.

Help! was The Beatles’ second movie and soundtrack album. Both albums (including A Hard Day’s Night) lead off with a title track that displayed musical magic and severable memorable “bits”, as Paul often says to describe their music. In particular, the harmony and backing vocal fill tracks in the verses of Help! danced between leading, trailing, and in synch with the lead vocals.

By this time, the collaboration between the four lads and their esteemed producer (and, 5th Beatle), George Martin, was paying tremendous dividends. The title for the movie was presented to them in April. Within two weeks, John had written the song and the first recording was on April 13. The finished product demonstrates how tightly coupled the Beatles were with George and what they could achieve, even under tremendous time pressure.

Help! was truly a call out by John as his life ventured from struggling artists to global superstars and was quite a departure from the love songs they wrote that dominated 1964 and early 1965. Originally written as a more melancholy blues song, The Beatles “popped” it up to capture the delight of their worldwide fans – most likely encouraged by George Martin to speed up the original pace of the song.



You may remember, as they entered 1965, their ages ranged from 21 to 24. Nothing could have prepared them for the immense popularity they had already achieved. Nor could they have anticipated the pressures that mounted with every successful album, movie, concert, and more. Life was no longer simple. The Beatles were no longer “just a rock and roll band” as John liked to lament.

Let’s start with the first verse. After the opening chorus with all three Beatles singing “Help!” in advance of John’s solo bits such as “I need somebody” and “Not just anybody,” all three sang in pleading voices “Help!” The first verse begins with Paul and George singing “When …” John proceeds to sing the lead.

Within the first three lines of this verse, Paul and George proceed John’s lyric, follow immediately in harmony, and then sing along together. They continue to bounce from proceeding to trailing and synchronously.

LEAD – John BACKING – Paul/GeorgeVocal Fills

WhenLead
When I was young


When I was young …Lag
… oh so much younger than today


I never needLead
I never needed anybody’s

… help in any way… help in any waySynchronous

NowLead
But now these days are gone


These days are gone … Lag
And I’m not so self-assured


And now I findLead
Now I find, I’ve changed my mind,

I’ve opened up the doorsI’ve opened up the doorsSynchronous

The song is loaded up with vocal fills that go back and forth during the verse. The Beatles established an early pattern of Lead-Lag-Lead-Synchronous in the first verse. Additionally, as they did often in their early recordings, there was both a mono and stereo version of the song. The vocal fills remained the same, though.

Help! moves along at a nice pace as it sits on a steady rhythm the lads provided with John’s acoustic guitar, George’s electric guitar, Paul’s bass, and Ringo’s drums and tambourines. One almost loses the fact that John is making a plea for support after nearly 2 years of Beatlemania has enveloped the 4 young lads due to the song’s upbeat energy.

In the chorus, John leads with “Help me if you can I’m feeling down and I do appreciate you being ‘round” before Paul and George join back in during “Help me get my feet back on the ground … won’t you please Help! me.” In contrast to the verses, they reverted back to instrumental fills of lead guitar by George and drums by Ringo to tie it all together.

The words beg the listener’s emotions to feel sympathy and somberness for John. At the same time, the song moves along with a vibrant gripping pace. Help! is filled with lyrics and music that hold steady throughout, almost distracting one from the darker message. Later on, John would acknowledge how happy he was with the song and it was the first of many of John’s truly introspective and honest songs.

The second verse provides more of the same back and forth and repeats the Lead-Lag-Lead-Synchronous fills of Paul’s and George’s backup vocals.

LEAD – John BACKING – Paul/GeorgeVocal Fills

NowLead
And now my life has changed

… in oh so many ways… my life has changedLag

My independ …Lead
My independence seems to

… vanish in the haze… vanish in the hazeSynchronous

ButLead
But ev’ry now and then


… now and then Lag
… I feel so insecure


I know that ILead
I know that I just need you like

… I’ve never done before… I’ve never done beforeSynchronous

The final verse is a repeat of the opening one, but they changed the pattern just a bit. The first part of the verse has John singing solo with a bit more sadness in his tone. The second half picks up from the earlier pattern of Lead-Lag-Lead-Synchronous backing vocals.

LEAD – John BACKING – Paul/GeorgeVocal Fills
When I was young

… oh so much younger than today

I never needed anybody’s

… help in any way


NowLead
But now these days are gone


These days are gone … Lag
And I’m not so self-assured


And now I findLead
Now I find, I’ve changed my mind,

I’ve opened up the doorsI’ve opened up the doorsSynchronous

And, in the end, they replay the chorus just as they did the prior two times. To end the song, they truncated the flow with their final “Help me, help me … oooooohhhhhh” and faded out.

Help! is an example of the Beatles’ creativity and innovation. As singers, songwriters, musicians, and composers, The Beatles developed a bag of musical and lyrical tricks second to none. The vocal fills in Help! is an early example of how creative they were despite the time pressure of a major movie release looming.

Clearly, they really did not need much help at all.


Visit Michael's blog!
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Set list for Ringo's summer tour

June 2, 2018, 7:17 am
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Setlist from a "test concert" in Atlantic City
Ringo and his All Starr Band have kicked off their summer tour, which brings them to Europe and Israel. The kick-off took place in Atlantic City yesterday night, and there will be one more show there tonight, before they head across the Atlantic ocean for L'Olympia in Paris.
The band:
Ringo Starr
Gregg Rollie- Santana
Colin Hay- Men at Work
Steve Lukather- Toto
Graham Gouldman - 10CC
Warren Ham
Gregg Bissonette
We have gotten hold of a set list from last night, so these are the songs most likely to appear in the European tour. Don't look if you want to be surprised!



  1. Matchbox - Ringo Starr. Beatles
  2. It Don't Come Easy - Ringo Starr
  3. What Goes On - Ringo Starr. Beatles
  4. Dreadlock Holiday - Graham Gouldman. 10CC
  5. Evil ways - Gregg Rollie. Santana
  6. Rosanna - Steve Lukather. Toto
  7. Down Under - Colin Hay. Men at Work
  8. Boys - Ringo Starr. Beatles
  9. Don't Pass Me By - Ringo Starr. Beatles
  10. Yellow Submarine - Ringo Starr. Beatles
  11. I'm Not in Love - Graham Gouldman. 10CC
  12. Black Magic Woman - Gregg Rollie. Santana
  13. You're 16 - Ringo Starr
  14. Anthem - Ringo Starr
  15. Overkill - Colin Hay. Men at Work
  16. Africa - Steve Lukather. Toto
  17. Oye Como Va - Gregg Rollie. Santana
  18. I Wanna Be Your Man - Ringo Starr. Beatles
  19. Things We Do For Love - Graham Gouldman. 10CC
  20. Who Can It Be Now - Colin Hay. Men at Work
  21. Hold the Line - Steve Lukather. Toto
  22. Photograph - Ringo Starr
  23. Act Naturally - Ringo Starr. Beatles
  24. With a Little Help From My Friends - Ringo Starr. Beatles
  25. Give Peace a Chance - Ringo Starr. Plastic Ono Band
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New from HMC this summer

June 4, 2018, 6:39 am
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We have not received any preview of the cover this time, but Collector's Music Reviews are teasing us with this video (below) from a forthcoming TMOQ Gazette bootleg release (Volume 37, if we have counted correct), as usual comprising a DVD and a CD. "Rare, Unseen and Unheard" is the tantalising title, and we hear that we are to be treated with stuff that is "all new and unseen, except by the absolute highest end collectors and traders". Furthermore, the material in the video hints that the release will feature new, alternative shots and outtakes, similar to what the late Keith Sluchansky showed us bits and pieces of on his Revolver TV YouTube channel.

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Joan Baez surprises Ringo

June 7, 2018, 12:26 am
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L'Olympia in Paris. Photo: Texi Kristiansen
Folk singer Joan Baez unexpectedly showed up on stage during Ringo Starr's opening concert for his European tour, at the Olympia in Paris yesterday. Her appearance seemed to be a surprise for Ringo as well, and when Baez gave the singing drummer a hug, he forgot to sing his lines.

Currently out on her own "Fare Thee Well tour", Joan Baez is currently playing a string of concerts at the Olympia, from June 4 to June 17, but last night was her day off.

At a press conference earlier in the day, Sir Ringo announced that a brand new book from him will be out soon, entitled, "Another Day In The Life".

The third in Ringo’s series of books, following the sell-out success of "Postcards From The Boys" (2003) and "Photograph" (2013), will present a previously unpublished collection of his photographs, captioned with his own thoughts and anecdotes, in addition to contributions from Paul McCartney, Joe Walsh and a host of other friends.

There's a new book coming from Ringo.

Fans can also expect the book to include quirky observational images and behind the scenes photos taken during events such as Ringo’s acceptance of a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and his return to New York’s Plaza Hotel, 50 years after The Beatles first visited the US.

Ringo said: "I love taking photos of random things, and seeing how they all fit together. Whether it is at home or on the road, certain things catch my eye – and when I see something that interests me, that’s the emotion of it, and I want to capture it. I am a photographer as well as a musician.  I love working with Genesis and had so much fun putting this collection of images together, both taken by me + a few collected along the way. I hope you enjoy it too."

The book is due out via Genesis Publications when Ringo starts his tour of North America, later in the year.

Compared to the concert in Atlantic City we reported from recently, Ringo and his All Starr Band had dropped three of the songs when playing in Paris.

Set list L’Olympia – Paris:




  1. Matchbox - Ringo Starr
  2. It Don't Come Easy - Ringo Starr
  3. Dreadlock Holiday - Graham Gouldman. 10CC
  4. Evil ways - Gregg Rollie. Santana
  5. Rosanna - Steve Lukather. Toto
  6. Down Under - Colin Hay. Men at Work
  7. Boys - Ringo Starr
  8. Don't Pass Me By - Ringo Starr
  9. Yellow Submarine - Ringo Starr
  10. I'm Not in Love - Graham Gouldman. 10CC
  11. Black Magic Woman - Gregg Rollie. Santana
  12. You're 16 - Ringo Starr
  13. Anthem - Ringo Starr
  14. Who Can It Be Now - Colin Hay. Men at Work
  15. The Things We Do For Love - Graham Gouldman. 10CC
  16. Oye Como Va - Gregg Rollie. Santana
  17. I Wanna Be Your Man - Ringo Starr
  18. Hold the Line - Steve Lukather. Toto
  19. Photograph - Ringo Starr
  20. Act Naturally - Ringo Starr
  21. With a Little Help From My Friends - Ringo Starr
  22. Give Peace a Chance - Ringo Starr


Spilt på den første konserten i Atlantic City, men droppet i Paris:
What Goes On - Ringo Starr
Africa – Steve Lukather. Toto
Overkill - Colin Hay. Men at Work
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Parlogram launched new auction site

June 7, 2018, 6:29 am
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Parlogram launched their own auction site.
Noted seller of high-quality Beatles items on ebay, Parlogram, have launched an online auction site of their own: ParlogramAuctions.com
The launch auction includes a number of interesting signed Beatles and solo items. There are also many pristine UK original LPs, including Near Mint mono AND stereo 1st press copies of the 'Please, Please Me' LP. The sale is a timed online auction and the catalogue is available to previewing now. Bidding starts on June 19th for 10 days until 29th June.

The Austrian company will be holding other such auctions throughout the year as well as set sale 'Buy It Now' items which will run concurrently.

Former head of the Rock & Pop memorabilia department at Phillips Auctioneers in London, Andrew Milton heads the company.
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Carpool karaoke with Paul in Liverpool

June 9, 2018, 8:27 am
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Paul and Paul by the docks. Photo: © Jackie Spencer
Today in Liverpool, Paul McCartney was seen filming a session of "Carpool Karaoke" with James Cordon. The pair also visited the former McCartney home in Forthlin Road, and the Beatles statues down by the docks. These images were captured by Beatles tour guide Jackie Spencer near the statues, where she had just finished one of her tours.

Photo: © Jackie Spencer

Carpool Karaoke is a recurring segment on "The Late Late Show" with James Corden in which British comedian James Corden, the host of the show, invites famous musical guests to sing along to their songs with him whilst he is driving. The idea comes from a British "Comic Relief" sketch, which featured George Michael in the car, but both Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr appeared in another segment.

Photo: © Jackie Spencer
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Paul plays the Phil - debuts new song

June 10, 2018, 7:02 am
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Yesterday - during Paul McCartney's surprise visit to Liverpool - fifty ticketholders were treated to an intimate concert at posh "The Phil" - The Philharmonic Pub and Dining rooms. Back in the late fifities and early sixties, John Lennon used to have a few ints there, together with his friend, Stu Sutcliffe, the Beatles' first bass guitarist.
The day before yesterday, the tv audience company SRO Audiences was looking for local people to be in the audience for an exclusive secret gig with a "global superstar". The lucky few who successfully applied for the free tickets took away a pleasant surprise: The "global superstar" was Paul McCartney. He played a gig in front of 50 fans in the Philharmonic pub as part of his surprise visit to Liverpool yesterday.

Some film footage have now started to leak from the concert, including the clip below, which sounds like a new song, likely from McCartney's upcoming studio album, which has been in the works for at least a year.


Set list in no particular order:
A Hard Days Night, Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, Jet,  Drive My Car, Love Me Do, I've Just Seen a Face, I'll Come On to You (? - new song), I've Got a Feeling, Lady Madonna, Hey Jude (with James Corden), Back in the USSR and Birthday.
In March, when asked who he would love to see take part in the show, James Corden told BANG Showbiz "Paul McCartney I think. He would be amazing." This may have been what took place in Liverpool yesterday, as Paul and James were seen driving together, James at the wheel.

During his visit, McCartney was also seen in the Penny Lane district, where he proceeded to sign one of the street signs. Of course, Penny Lane has been plagued by souvenir seekers stealing the street signs, so for many years, the only street signs have been painted on to brick walls.

Mark Ashworth, a fellow blogger point out the spot where Paul has signed.
Paul's signatur
In Penny Lane
Here's one more photo from Paul McCartney’s visit to Penny Lane. The shelter in the middle of the roundabout in the background. The shelter housed a Sgt Pepper Bistro in the nineties, and got an extra floor a couple of years back, but the refurbishing stopped and nothing has happened since.

The video below has been put together from several sources.


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Klaus Voormann (80) joins Ringo on stage in Hamburg

June 12, 2018, 2:40 am
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Ringo in Hamburg yesterday
Ringo made good on his promise to perform in Hamburg yesterday, after having to cancel Sunday's concert due to illness. On stage with him during "With A Little Help From My Friends" was 80 year old Klaus Voormann. The two of them met in 1960 at the Kaiserkeller in Hamburg when Ringo was the drummer for Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, who alternated with the Beatles at the club. Klaus later moved to London, and became the bass guitarist for Manfred Mann, as well as designing the album cover of "Revolver" for the Beatles.
Becoming a session musician in the seventies, Voormann played on a number of solo Beatles albums for John, George and Ringo. When the remaining Beatles were putting together "The Beatles Anthology" in the mid nineties, Voormann again designed the album and home video release art. Both Ringo and Paul McCartney played on Voormann's album, "A Sideman's Journey", which was released in 2009.

Here's a little bit of film from the Hamburg concert, uploaded to YouTube by Jan Reuter.



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Hamburg meeting and soundcheck

June 13, 2018, 12:08 am
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Taken from behind the band at the City Park in Hamburg. Photo: ©Rockabella 2018/Donny Wightman
Former President of the Norwegian Wood Beatles fan club, Linda Engebråten, and former secretary in the same club, Joakim Krane Bech were among those who travelled to Hamburg for Ringo Starr's concert on Sunday. When the concert was postponed to Monday night, they knew that they would not be able to make it. They were travelling by car, and had to start their journey back to Norway before showstart in order to make it back in time for work. The couple are both teachers. Of course, missing the concert was a disappointment to them, but they did get a huge compensation: They got to meet Ringo! This was a goal they had been working towards for some time, and their efforts finally paid off, just an hour before the concert was going to take place.

Ringo, Linda & Joakim, just an hour before the concert.
Linda: "Our little get together took place in the area behind the stage. Sir Ringo was very welcoming, nice and talkative. And he was sorry that we had to miss the concert, due to our departure for the trip home. We joked and laughed together, took pictures, got hugs and, of course, some peace and love. Unreal. And absolutely amazing!"

While they were waiting to meet up with Ringo, the band was having their soundcheck, and Joakim was kind enough to jot down for us what he heard:

1. I’m Not In Love (intro)
2. Jam (instrumental)
3. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (part of)
4. Tomorrow Never Knows (mainly instrumental jam, some vocals)
5. Things We Said Today (part of)
6. Matchbox (part of)
7. Dreadlock Holiday (intro)
8. Dreadlock Holiday (about half the song, w/vocals)
9. The Things We Do For Love (about half the song, w/vocals)
10. The Things We Do For Love (first verse only)
11. Who Can It Be Now? (w/vocals)
12. Rosanna (w/vocals, first verse only)
13. Rosanna
14. Rosanna (intro only)
15. Back in Black (part of)
16. Rosanna
17. I’m Not In Love
18. Photograph (intro only, played on acoustic guitar)
19. Matchbox (intro only)

Ringo did not participate in the soundcheck. Linda and Joakim arrived on the scene while the band was playing, so there may have been other songs played before they got there.
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McCartney on Carpool Karaoke - and new album?

June 13, 2018, 11:18 am
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James Corden and Paul McCartney
The Late Late Show tweeted earlier today: "It’s happening! Carpool Karaoke with Paul McCartney premieres next week during our four nights in London!"

So, watch wherever it is you get these programmes.

Meanwhile, in this news clip, the MSN anchor man casually let it slip that Paul McCartney will release his new album this Friday! Macca has been sending cryptic messages on social media channels of late, including changing his various profile pictures to this:

An early clue to a new direction?
 A vulture on a pyramid being bombarded by sonics or a train track in a tunnel? Who knows? And there are also these black and white studio pics, posted on Macca's Instagram, such as this one:

Stay tuned!
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Teaser trailer for Carpool Karaoke with Paul McCartney

June 18, 2018, 10:58 pm
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Oh, and it looks like Paul has finally revealed the name of his upcoming album; Egypt Station.


The title was also used on this 1988 painting of his:

"Egypt Station" by Paul McCartney
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Paul's new single revealed, album details to follow

June 19, 2018, 12:09 pm
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Image released for the new single, due out tomorrow.
PAUL McCARTNEY TO RELEASE ALL-NEW DOUBLE A-SIDE SINGLE

“I DON’T KNOW”/“COME ON TO ME”

AVAILABLE WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20th on CAPITOL RECORDS

Following a whirlwind week that saw his Instagram presence rebooted as he played one of the most intimate gigs of his storied career, Paul McCartney is done keeping the world in suspense: “I Don’t Know” and “Come On To Me,” will be released tomorrow as a double A-Side single.

The first tastes of Paul’s brand new studio album due out later this year on Capitol Records, the two A-sides are polar opposites: “I Don’t Know” being a plaintive, soul-soothing ballad as only Paul can deliver, and “Come On To Me” a raucous stomper that fans that first spark of chemistry into a rocking blaze.


Worldwide speculation about a new Paul McCartney album instantly reached fever pitch as his Instagram account whited out last week—only to ratchet higher as Paul was spotted taking selfies at landmarks in Liverpool the same day. The evening’s climactic event was a surprise gig at the tiny Liverpool Philharmonic Pub, during which “Come On To Me” made its live debut alongside a set of classics spanning Paul’s career.

Paul’s new album is slated for Fall 2018 release on Capitol Records. Further details will be announced shortly.
So much for the press release. From what we have been hearing here at The Daily Beatle, there is going to be a DeLuxe edition of the new album as well, with bonus material. All in all, 16 tracks will be made available, counting all formats of the release, including possible download only tracks. The two single titles 'Come On To Me' and 'I Don't Know' will be tracks 2 & 3 on the standard edition of the album, and they will be available tomorrow at 12:00 Noon Eastern Time. An early Amazon link (since removed) reveals the album's name as "Egypt Station" (like some of the fans guessed) and the release date to be 7. September. Vinyl editions will be released, regular and coloured vinyl. A special Target edition is also in the works. And that's the rumour mill.
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Paul on the radio

June 20, 2018, 2:54 am
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An interview with Paul McCartney will be broadcast on BBC Radio 2 this evening.
Sir Paul chats to Jo Whiley and Simon Mayo about his just announced new material, including songs "I Don't Know" and "Come On To Me". The three hour long BBC 2 radio show is going live on the air at 5:05pm, we are sorry that we don't have any information about exactly when the McCartney segment will be sent. The radio show will be available on the internet after it has been broadcast on the air. Link.

Here is a clip from the interview, where Paul is talking about recently revisiting his old family home on 20 Forthlin Road, Liverpool.

A new interview with Paul McCartney will also be made available on diymag.com today.
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Carpool Karaoke on YouTube

June 21, 2018, 11:24 pm
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James Corden and Paul in Penny Lane
The Paul McCartney episode of Late Late Show from London has been aired in Great Britain and USA. London Beatles guide Richard Porter was in the studio audience during the live part of the programme, but Paul wasn't - he was in Athens! The band Foo Fighters was in the studio, though. Richard writes about his experience in his blog. In the "Carpool Karaoke"-part, the following songs are sung:

In the car:
-Drive My Car
-Penny Lane
-Let It Be

In 20 Forthlin Road:
-She Loves You
-When I’m Sixty-Four (på husets piano)

Back in the car:
-Blackbird
-Come On To Me

At the gig in the Philharmonic pub:
-A Hard Days Night
-Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
-Love Me Do
-Back in the U.S.S.R.
-Hey Jude

And here's Paul's segment - as published officially on YouTube!

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Anniversary edition of White Album confirmed - by Paul!

June 22, 2018, 3:55 am
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There WILL BE a 50th anniversary edition of The Beatles'"White album", Paul has confirmed.
In an interview promoting his upcoming new album, "Egypt Station", Paul McCartney happened to mention The Beatles' white album sessions and this prompted the interviewer to ask, innocently: "Have you finished preparing the 50th anniversary package of that one yet"? And Paul took the bait: "It’s all in place, I’ve just got a couple of essays [to approve]. It’s all lined up and it’s really good." And that was the confirmation, this is the first time someone in "the inner circle" has actually confirmed that the 50th anniversary edition of "The Beatles" will indeed become reality.

But the rumours have been floating in such a manner that it's not strange if the interviewer Lisa Wright really thought that the anniversary edition of "the white album" was a sure thing. As early as amidst the hoopla last year just before the 50th anniversary "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", remixing producer Giles Martin tweeted and talked in a radio programme about doing "the next one". Following a storm of re-tweets and questions, Martin had to make a statement that he hadn't actually meant to confirm that there was going to be an anniversary "white album" release. Then this May, mastering engineer Tim Young happened to mention to someone that had just finished mastering the Beatles'"White Album" in 5.1 surround sound as well as in stereo at Metropolis Mastering in London. But still, that was "off the record", until now.

But back to the McCartney interview, he actually also seemed to confirm that at least some Kinfauns demos may be part of the package:

"Are there any moments you’d forgotten about when you were trawling back through the archives"?

"Something sparks another memory, but it’s really nice because we were a great little band – I think we can agree on that. So for me to be a part of that and to be remembering it is great; all these little things remind me of it and I do learn things".

"The album itself [‘The White Album’] is very cool and it sounds like you’re in the room; that’s the great thing about doing remasters. But we’ve also got some demos of the songs, so you get things stripped right back to just John’s voice and a guitar. You just think, how fucking good was John?! Amazing. We were just doing it; it was amazing. We were having a good time".
The full interview can be found here.

Recording "Honey Pie".
The idea that they were having a good time are words not all critics of the Beatles would describe the white album sessions with. After all, it was during the recordings of this particular album that the first Beatle let it know that he had had enough, and he was quitting. The quitter? Ringo Starr! So the drummer took his family to Sardinia for a holiday, while the band struggled on with the recordings, taking turns playing drums. After a while, Ringo was to return to the EMI studios in Abbey Road, and was warmly welcomed back with a sign and with lots of flowers decorating his drum booth, courtesy of George Harrison.

Someone else who didn't want to be part of the white album sessions was The Beatles' engineer, Geoff Emerick. Having started engineering for the band on "Revolver" and then working on "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (which he later was awarded a Grammy for), Emerick already abandoned them during the recording of songs for "Magical Mystery Tour", and Ken Scott took his place. Scott actually made his debut as a recording engineer during "Your Mother Should Know", and had to figure out what all the knobs, meters, levers and wheels on the recording console did to the sound. But by the time the white album sessions started, Scott had learned his trade, and had already worked on the "Wonderwall Music" album with George Harrison - the Beatle he would remain the closest to.

We had a chance to hear Scott talk about the white album sessions when he visited Oslo earlier this summer. Surprisingly, Scott also remembered the sessions as "a good time", and said that after Ringo's return, The Beatles were back to being a group again - and fed off each other in a big way during these sessions. This is quite contrary to the popular belief that these sessions were fragmented, and that not many members of the group were together in the studio at the same time. On the contrary, Scott says, they recorded songs as a band - much more so than during the Sgt Pepper recording sessions. It was only when they were approaching deadline for delivering the new album that they split up work between them and started recording on their own in separate studios, Scott maintains. And it only became a double album when they realised how much material they had. There was no way they would be able to wither it down to "one super single album".

Ken Scott holding the "Norwegian Wood" magazine, alongside Roger Stormo. Photo: Audun Molde.
Scott also told an interesting story about mixing the album with Paul McCartney. They were mixing "Helter Skelter" in stereo, when - after having faded the song - Paul told him to fade it back up again. Scott was puzzled, and even more so when Paul asked for another fade - and then wanted the volume quickly back up again to capture Ringo's "I've got blisters on my fingers!" The puzzled engineer asked Paul the reasoning behind this, as this was different from what they had done during the mono mix. Paul replied that they had been getting letters from fans asking how come there were differences between their mono and stereo albums? So they reasoned that by making these differences even more easily discovered, they could probably sell two albums to people instead of just one! Scott explained that the earlier differences between mono and stereo mixes were accidentally created because engineers and producers never took notes during mixing. And since mono mixing in 1963-1967 took place first, and stereo mixes were done days, maybe weeks and in some cases years after mono mixing, some of the choices made during mono mixing had been forgotten about.

Now that "the secret" is out, perhaps Giles Martin and others are more free to comment on the upcoming release (most likely slated for November 9), although they are probably instructed to keep quiet until the press brief, currently slated for September.

As you may or may not know, there was a 30th anniversary edition of The Beatles'"white album" back in 1998.

The 30th anniversary white album release was a limited edition.
However, sonically the sound was the same as on the original, 1987 first "fatbox" CD release of the album, only the splitting up of tracks were different (where, in segues, one track ends and another starts), plus the 30th anniversary packaging mimicked the original vinyl release, with a cardboard cover, black inner sleeves, miniature portraits and poster.

When the catalogue got a makeover for the remastered CDs of 2009, the sound was improved, and the packaging pretty much replicated the 30th anniversary edition. The remastering project for both mono and stereo versions was led by EMI senior studio engineers Allan Rouse and Guy Massey.

As mixing for stereo had made much improvement by 1968, there really hasn't been much demand for a new edition "white album" remixed in "new" stereo, and we don't know if this is Giles Martin's approach. What we do know, is that stereo and surround mastering has taken place. Whether or not this is "new" stereo or if the stereo image has remained the same is anyone's guess, until this kind of information is revealed. And nothing has been said about mono this time. Still, Paul's mention of essays and demos do point to a comprehensive boxed set.
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