Latest Beatles News
John Lennon's eldest son Julian Lennon has listed his dream French Riviera property for sale. The four-story, five-bedroom home comes with a guide price of $27.6 million (£22 million). Described as a "classic" and a "passion project," the captivating, white-shuttered 18th-century house features a music studio, cinema room, its own chapel, and a Venetian mosaic floor. Musician, photographer and philanthropist Lennon -- the only child of John Lennon and his first wife, Cynthia -- has owned the house for the past 25 years. The grounds feature a swimming pool and pool house and a terrace with views across the Mediterranean Sea. - Music-News.com, 4/13/24......
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Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, Ringo Starr is set to share "February Sky," the first single from his forthcoming EP, Crooked Boy, on Apr. 12. Ringo penned the song -- along with the EP's other three tracks -- with renowned songwriter and producer Linda Perry, who has worked with the likes of Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani, Pink and Adele. The other songs are: "Gonna Need Someone," "Adeline" and the title track. "Linda made me a great EP -- she produced it in her studio and then sent me the tracks and I added the drumming and my vocals," Starr said, adding "February Sky is great -- very moody -- but since Linda wrote these specifically for me -- it of course has to have a positive peace and love element." The EP -- Ringo's fourth consecutive in a row -- will be released on a limited-edition marble vinyl on Record Store Day, Apr. 20, 2024. The following Friday, Apr. 26, it will be released digitally. Black vinyl and CD versions will hit stores on May 31. Meanwhile, Ringo and his All Starr Band are hitting the road this spring for 12 shows, beginning May 23 with six dates at the Venetian Theatre in Las Vegas through June 2, then a June 9 date at Hildago's State Farm Arena. Meanwhile, Ringo's son Zak Starkey has teased a new star-studded charity album with his dad alongside the likes of Elton John, Slash and Iggy Pop. Zak, who is currently the drummer for The Who, shared the details in a post on Instagram earlier in April, writing "Duff [McKagan] and I went in a local studio and cut bass for a cover of T-Rex's 'Children Of The Revolution'. My dad played drums in LA (while I fudged the bass) then in Rio, Duff cut bass. A couple of weeks after the tour we cut guitars in NYC with Slash -- sent the track with sshh guide vocal to Elton who played amazing piano." He went on to reveal that the track was currently being mixed, saying the final record would be auctioned off for the Teenage Cancer Trust -- of which The Who's Roger Daltrey is an Honorary Patron. In other Beatles-related news, a Beatles memorabilia collection worth up to $3,000,000 is currently up for auction on the website GottaHaveRockandRoll.com Some highlights include the quartet's signed artwork of "Peace to Monterey" with "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club'' handwritten lyrics, which is estimated to be worth $2 million. The auction features two sessions, on Apr. 12 and Apr. 13. - Music-News.com...... After Beyoncé featured a cover of the Beatles' 1968 "White Album" track "Blackbird" on her new country-themed album Cowboy Carter, Paul McCartney took to his Instagram page to praise the pop icon's rendition of the song. "I am so happy with @beyonce's version of my song 'Blackbird," Sir Paul wrote in a caption of a carousel comprised of a photo of the two artists and the standard Cowboy Carter artwork. "I think she does a magnificent version of it and it reinforces the civil rights message that inspired me to write the song in the first place. I think Beyoncé has done a fab version and would urge anyone who has not heard it yet to check it out. You are going to love it!," he added. Beyoncé's "Blackbird," stylized as "Blackbiird" on her new LP, reimagines the acoustic original with additional bass, orchestral flourishes and lush harmonies (and lead vocals on the final verse) from a quartet of rising female Black country performers, including Tanner Adell, Reyna Roberts, Brittney Spencer and Tiera Kennedy. McCartney -- whose original master recording is used in Beyoncé's version, also revealed that he had the chance to speak with the singer about her take on "Blackbird." "I spoke to her on FaceTime and she thanked me for writing it and letting her do it," wrote Paul, who attended one of Beyoncé's 2023 Renaissance World Tour concerts. "I told her the pleasure [of her cover] was all mine and I thought she had done a killer version of the song. When I saw the footage on the television in the early 60s of the black girls being turned away from school, I found it shocking and I can't believe that still in these days there are places where this kind of thing is happening right now. Anything my song and Beyoncé's fabulous version can do to ease racial tension would be a great thing and makes me very proud." In another Beatles connection, Emmy-winning documentarian Ken Burns recently compared Cowboy Carter to "The White Album," citing both records' extensive exploration of different musical genres. - Billboard...... 
John Sinclair, the counterculture poet and political activist who was also the former manager of the Detroit rock band MC5 and helped launch the career of Iggy Pop, died on Apr. 2 at Detroit Receiving Hospital following congestive heart failure. He was 82. Mr. Sinclair was an influential activist who was best known for his fight toward legalizing marijuana in the US and for his role in MC5. Born on Oct. 2, 1941 in the Flint, Mich. suburb of Davison, Mr. Sinclair was also a champion of civil rights and co-founder of the radical anti-racist group the White Panther Party. He also helped launch the seminal punk rock band Iggy Pop and the Stooges, and managed the MC5 through 1969, helping the group score its contract with Elektra Records. Mr. Sinclair was famously arrested for allegedly giving two cannabis joints to police officers in the late 1960s and sentenced to 10 years in prison. He served 29 months but was released a few days after John Lennon, Stevie Wonder, Bob Seger and others performed in front of 15,000 attendees at the University of Michigan's Crisler Arena. Lennon also wrote a song named after Mr. Sinclair that appeared on his 1972 solo album, Sometime In New York City. Mr. Sinclair also faced charges of conspiracy to destroy government property in 1972, which went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and resulted in a landmark decision that prohibited the government's use of electronic surveillance without a warrant. After those cases, Mr. Sinclair spent time living in Amsterdam -- where he established the John Sinclair Foundation to promote arts and media -- and New Orleans, where he continued writing and performing. He formed bands, including several iterations of his Blues Scholars, and recorded a litany of albums, including the highly regarded Guitar Army in 2007. He also hosted performances at the Detroit Jazz Center in the city's downtown and launched the Radio Free Amsterdam channel online. Over the years, Mr. Sinclair also promoted concerts and festivals and helped to establish the Detroit Artists Workshop and Detroit Jazz Center. He taught blues history at Wayne State University and wrote liner notes for albums by such artists as The Isley Brothers and Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes. His death comes just two months after MC5 guitarist and co-founder Wayne Kramer died at the age of 75 after battling pancreatic cancer. "He was a truly interesting man, one of a kind. Thanks and praises," Iggy Pop posted on X following his passing. Billy Fuller, Robert Plant's bassist, also paid his respects. He wrote: "RIP John Sinclair I met him once when I was asked to bring some smoke for him before his gig at the Thekla in 2002. He signed my copy of [the MC5's] Kick Out The Jams as a thank you." Mr. Sinclair had been in poor health for a number of years, including diabetes, and was admitted to the hospital during the weekend to treat a leg sore that had become infected and turned into sepsis. He's survived by two daughters, Marianne and Celia. Memorial arrangements are pending. - New Musical Express...... Paul McCartney's original, handwritten lyrics for the 1967 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band track "Lovely Rita" will be among the items to be sold at the ABAA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, which returns to Manhattan's Park Avenue Armory from Apr. 4-7. Now in its 64th year, the celebrated book fair will boast Sir Paul's lyrics in black ink on a piece of paper, torn from a spiral notebook. Also included are Macca's later revisions in blue ink (he changed "writing all the numbers in her little black book" to "filling in a ticket with her little blue pen," neither of which made it to the final product). Biblioctopus Rare Books brings the item to the fair with an asking price of $650,000. And if you're a Beatles fanatic who can't quite cover the "Lovely Rita" asking price, you can also check out an original artwork by Dutch art collective The Fool (Marijke Koger and Simon Posthuma) that the Beatles commissioned for Sgt. Pepper's. The piece, available from Voewood Rare Books, is signed by Ringo Starr as "Billy S" (Billy Shears, his fictional Pepper persona). Details about the "Lovely Rita" lyrics and the 2024 Antiquarian Book Fair can be found at nyantiquarianbookfair.com. Meanwhile, "banned" and "unflattering" artwork that an artist claimed was banned by McCartney for being "too unflattering" is now headed to auction. However, it has since emerged that the Beatles' icon has never seen the piece. The artwork in question is a wooden sculpture created by Wilfrid Wood, which was originally set to be released as part of the 2024 Secret 7 vinyl project -- in a bid to raise money for the charity War Child. The project is being released in conjunction with a host of gigs that War Child puts on to raise money for its charity, and consists of various artists including McCartney releasing a limited edition 7" record for a specific track, which are later auctioned off. However, the single artwork for McCartney was withdrawn. Wood claimed that the wooden sculpture was banned from the exhibition after the rock veteran deemed it "too unflattering," according to the artist. Wood then took to Instagram to share that he will be auctioning the piece off personally anyway, and donating the proceeds to War Child UK. However, a spokesperson for McCartney has since revealed to New Musical Express that McCartney "never saw this artwork". - Billboard/New Musical Express...... 
John Lennon and Yoko Ono's son Sean Lennon wished his mom Yoko a happy Mothers Day during the Mar. 10 Academy Awards show. Mar. 10 was not only the date of the Oscars ceremony, but it's also Mother's Day in the U.K. During filmmakers Dave Mullins and Brad Booker's emotional Best Animated Short win for "WAR IS OVER! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko, Sean Ono Lennon" -- Sean made sure to give his mom an extra special shout-out -- even though the "wrap-it-up" music was already playing. "My mother turned 91 this February," he told the audience. "Can everyone say 'happy Mother's Day to Yoko'?" At his request, the audience in front of him wished Ono a happy holiday in unison. Ono and John collaborated a number of times before Lennon was fatally shot in 1980, notably on "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)." The track has gone down in history as a classic Christmas tune, reaching its latest peak of No. 38 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2022 -- more than 50 years after it was first released. - Billboard...... An upcoming BBC documentary series reveals that Paul McCartney was once so moved by the plight of a group of climate activists after they were seized in Russia during a protest and thrown in jail in 2013 that he attempted to convince Russian president Vladimir Putin to release them. As detailed in On Thin Ice: Putin V Greenpeace, the activists were aiming to film an oil rush in Arctic Russian waters, but 28 of them were arrested on their ship the Arctic Sunrise and charged under piracy and hooliganism charges. The arrest prompted McCartney, who famously played in Moscow's Red Square in 2003, to write a personal letter to Putin, imploring him to release the campaigners. "Forty-five years ago I wrote a song about Russia for The White Album ['Back In The U.S.S.R.'], back when it wasn't fashionable for English people to say nice things about your country," he wrote. "That song had one of my favourite Beatles lines in it: 'Been away so long I hardly knew the place, gee it's good to be back home.' Could you make that come true for the Greenpeace prisoners?," he added. The prisoners served a three month sentence before being released. Curve Media's On Thin Ice: Putin V Greenpeace is being positioned as the BBC's latest box-set series for BBC Two and iPlayer and will break with tradition by airing via bitesized half-hour episodes. - New Musical Express...... Paul McCartney will be among the artists paying tribute to the late Jimmy Buffet with a "Keep the Party Going" concert on Apr. 11 during an all-star concert at the Hollywood Bowl. The Live Nation/Hewitt Silva presents show will also feature performances from the Eagles, Jon Bon Jovi, Zac Brown, Jackson Browne, Brandi Carlile, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Sheryl Crow, Mac McAnally, Pitbull, The Coral Reefer Band and more special guests to be announced later. Tickets for the celebration of life event will go on sale to the general public on Mar. 15. Buffett died at his home in Sag Harbor on Long Island, N.Y., on Sept. 1, 2023 from skin cancer. He was 76 years old. Earlier in Marh, the video for his single "The University of Bourbon Street" -- from his final studio album, November's Equal Strain on All Parts -- was released. On the album Buffett performs a tribute to his favorite city with help from the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. - Billboard...... 
Music producer Mark Ronson (Amy Winehouse, the Barbie soundtrack) says he "called in some favors" to encourage the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to induct his stepfather Mick Jones' famous rock band, Foreigner, into the Rock Hall in 2024. Appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Feb. 26, Ronson revealed he put together a compilation of videos from famous friends vocalizing their support for the rock band, including Paul McCartney. "I called in some favors. So there's some people I've met along the way making music myself that I knew were fans of Foreigner, like Jack Black and Dave Grohl and Slash." But when he got the former Beatles' superstar's submission, he said he was shocked to find that it was somewhat off-color. Fallon then rolled the clip, self-filmed by McCartney in his car. "Foreigner not in the Hall of Fame? What the f--k?," Macca succinctly declares in the video before abruptly ending the recording. "I've never heard Paul McCartney curse," said Ronson. "He's a knight! I don't want to be the first person to ever post a video of Paul McCartney dropping the f-bomb." Sir Paul's video can be viewed on X, while Ronson's full interview with Fallon is available on YouTube. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductions are set to be announced in late April. Meanwhile, Foreigner's big moment continues as another late night host, Jimmy Kimmel, has tweaked Foreigner's 1977 breakthrough hit "Feels Like the First Time" in a new ad for Kimmel's upcoming fourth time hosting the Academy Awards, set for Mar. 10. The copy line of the ad, which can be viewed on Instagram, reads "Feels Like the Very Fourth Time," since this is Kimmel's fourth time as host. In other McCartney news, it has been revealed by Japanese composer Koji Kondo that McCartney once brought him backstage to sing the iconic Super Mario Bros. for him. In an interview with the Washington Post, Kondo said he and Super Mario Bros. creator Shigeru Miyamoto went to see Paul in 1986 while he was touring Japan. After learning they were in the audience, Paul and his wife Linda invited them backstage. Upon meeting Kondo and Miyamoto, the first thing the McCartneys did was sing the first six notes of the Super Mario Bros. theme (available on YouTube). It was an "incredible moment," said Kondo. In 2014, McCartney wrote the song "Hope For The Future" for online shooter Destiny, alongside several of game's main themes. There is also speculation more McCartney music may feature in Destiny 2's The Final Shape soundtrack, which is set for release in June. - Billboard/New Musical Express, 2/27/24...... |  |  |
IIn other Beatles-related news, a bullet once fired from the same gun that killed John Lennon is set to go up for auction in Newcastle, UK. The bullet was given to Northumbria Police officer Brian Taylor by the New York Police Department, after they allowed him to shoot the gun on a visit to the department. Taylor recently passed away, and now the bullet will be going under the hammer at Newcastle auctioneers Anderson & Garland on February 29. Taylor had kept the bullet in a frame for the rest of his life, with the auction house's director describing it as "one of those slightly macabre lots you get now and again that draws everyone's attention." "There is a Beatles fanbase that is fanatical and a market for just about anything Beatles," he continued. "But very seldomly do you get something so unusual and unique, it's difficult to know what it's worth and whether there's a market for it or not. It's a really interesting piece of Beatles memorabilia that probably can't be replicated." Mark David Chapman shot and killed Lennon on Dec. 8, 1980 as the musician and wife Yoko Ono were returning to their Dakota Building apartment in New York City's Upper West Side. Chapman then remained at the scene until police arrived, and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced to serve a prison term of twenty years to life. In 2022, Chapman said he shot Lennon because he "wanted to be somebody and nothing was going to stop that." He has been denied parole 12 times. - NME...... Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, 1917, Spectre) has been given the green light to begin work on four separate feature films that will tell the individual stories of Beatles John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. In announcing the project on Feb. 20, Sony Pictures said the project will mark the first time the band's Apple Corps Ltd. and the two surviving group members and the families of the deceased two have given full access to life story and music rights for a scripted film. "I'm honored to be telling the story of the greatest rock band of all time, and excited to challenge the notion of what constitutes a trip to the movies," said Mendes in a statement. Mendes will direct the four stand-alone theatrical movies -- with each one told from one band member's point of view -- as well as intersecting to tell the full story of the Fab Four for the project, which promises to be "innovative and groundbreaking." - Billboard...... In other Beatles news, the British woman who found and returned Paul McCartney's long-lost bass guitar is now hoping that she may be in store for a reward. Cathy Guest found the bass in her attic following the death of her husband Hadyn, who Cathy believes in turn inherited the bass from his brother Graham. The 1961 Hofner 500/1 bass -- which has been dubbed the most important bass in history for its role in recording numerous Beatles hits including "Love Me Do," "She Loves You" and "Twist and Shout" -- was stolen from the musician in 1972, only to be returned to him earlier in February. Speaking to the UK paper The Sun, Guest said that she slipped a hand-written letter into the guitar case before she returned it, explaining her financial situation as a single parent looking after two school children. "My husband inherited it when another family member died and he'd had it for years," she said. "He had no idea where it came from. He was a keen musician and used to play all the guitars at home, including Paul's bass. We both loved music and I still go to gigs every weekend." McCartney purchased the instrument in 1961 for £30 ($38) in Hamburg, Germany. Meanwhile, Paul's son James McCartney has announced his first new single since 2016. James posted on X on Feb. 12 that his new song "Beautiful" will be released on Feb. 23. James, a multi-instrumentalist who began releasing his own solo material in 2010, grew up contributing to recording sessions for his famous dad's albums Flaming Pie in 1997 and Driving Rain in 2001, as well as his mother Linda McCartney's 1998 release Wide Prairie. He released his debut LP, Me, in 2013, and followed up with 2016's The Blackberry Train. - New Musical Express...... 
A 50th anniversary reissue of Paul McCartney and Wings's classic 1973 set Band on the Run has returned to the Billboard Hot 200 album chart after more than a decade. The album re-entered the Top Album Sales chart at No. 5, debuted at No. 7 on the Vinyl Albums tally, re-entered at No. 6 on Tastemaker Albums and debuted at No. 37 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums. On the overall Billboard 200 chart, where the album hit No. 1 in 1974, the set re-entered at No. 156 -- its first appearance on the chart since Jan. 1, 2011. The album sold 8,000 copies in the U.S. in the week ending Feb. 8 (up 14,681%) according to Luminate. The reissued Band on the Run is available in a number of formats, including a single-LP vinyl release cut at half-speed, a double-LP vinyl set at half-speed with a bonus "underdubbed" version of the album, and as a double-CD set (also with the underdubbed mixes). "This is Band on the Run in a way you've never heard before," McCartney said of the new remixes last December. "When you are making a song and putting on additional parts, like an extra guitar, that's an overdub. Well, this version of the album is the opposite, underdubbed." Meanwhile, Sir Paul reunited with pop sensation Taylor Swift for a short time during Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Feb. 11. The Beatles legend and the "All Too Well" singer had previously teamed up a few years ago for a wide-ranging conversation for Rolling Stone magazine's "Musicians on Musicians" series. Before that, McCartney has said that "Who Cares," an anti-bullying track from his 2018 solo album Egypt Station, was actually inspired by Swift and the fan connection she has. In still more Macca news, a five-year search by music instrument manufacturer Hofner has reunited Sir Paul with his beloved 1961 Hofner electric bass guitar that went missing a half century ago. McCartney had asked Hofner to help find the missing instrument that helped launch Beatlemania phenomenon in the early 1960s, according to Scott Jones, a journalist who teamed up with Hofner executive Nick Wass to track it down. McCartney bought the bass for about £30 ($37) in 1961 when the Beatles were developing their chops during a series of residencies in Hamburg, Germany. The instrument was played on the Beatles first two records and featured on hits such as "Love Me Do," "Twist and Shout," and "She Loves You." It was rumored to have been stolen around the time the Beatles were recording their final album, Let it Be, in 1969. But no one was sure when it went missing. The big break came in Sept. 2023 when sound engineer Ian Horne, who had worked with McCartney's band Wings, got in touch. He said the bass had been swiped from the back of his van one night in the Notting Hill section of London in 1972. Horne couldn't remember the date, but a former trainee reporter for a London newspaper got in touch and said he had written an article on the theft. Scott's wife Naomi Jones located the item in the British Library that provided the date and other details. They were then contacted by a person who said their father had stolen the bass. "The thief didn't set out to steal McCartney's instrument and panicked when he realized what he had," Jones said. The man ended up selling it to Ron Guest, landlord of the Admiral Blake pub, for a few pounds and some beers. As the Joneses were starting to look for relatives of Guest, word had already reached his family. His daughter-in-law contacted McCartney's studio. Cathy Guest said that the old bass that had been in her attic for years looked like the one they were looking for. It had been passed from Ron Guest to his oldest son, who died in car wreck, and then to a younger son, Haydn Guest, who was married to Cathy and died in 2020. The instrument was returned to McCartney in December and then it took about two months to authenticate it. The instrument is estimated to be worth £10 million ($12.6 million US). - Billboard/AP...... 
To commemorate the 60th anniversary of The Beatles' legendary Feb. 9, 1964 appearance on America's The Ed Sullivan Show, toymaker MEGA/Mattel is releasing a one-of-a-kind construction set that replicates the "arrows" stage that was specially made for the broadcast, and includes four 2-inch posable micro-figures of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, complete with swappable instruments. The 681-piece set is currently available for $79.99 at select Walmart stores, online at Walmart.co, and on the Beatles official website. The Beatles' performance on The Ed Sullivan Show launched the "British invasion" and birthed Beatlemania Stateside as the show received more than 50,000 ticket requests for the 728-seat studio. By comparison, Elvis Presley drove more than 7,000 ticket requests for his Sullivan show debut in 1957. The Beatles appeared on the show three times in 1964 and several other times over the next four years but stopped performing live on the show in 1966, opting instead for pre-taped performances. The band's final appearance on Sullivan show, a pre-taped performance, was on Mar. 1, 1970. - Billboard...... In a new interview with the UK's MOJO magazine, Paul McCartney credited Johnny Cash for inspiring him to form his '70s band Wings. "After the end of The Beatles I was faced with certain alternatives," Sir Paul says. "One was to give up music entirely and do God knows what. Another was to start a super-band with very famous people, Eric Clapton and so on. I didn't like either so I thought: 'How did The Beatles start?' It was a bunch of mates who didn't know what they were doing," he continued. "That's when I realised maybe there is a third alternative: to get a band that isn't massively famous, to not worry if we don't know what we're doing because we would form our character by learning along the way. It was a real act of faith. It was crazy, actually." Macca then said he watched Johnny Cash one night with his wife, Linda, and found his idea for a new band. "We were in bed one night," he said, "newly married, when Johnny Cash came on the telly with a new band he'd formed with Carl Perkins, a big hero of mine. There they were, playing with some country musicians I had never heard of, looking like they were having fun. I thought: here's Johnny, he's back, he's doing it. So I turned to Linda and said: Do you want to form a band? And she went: 'Sure.' That's how our relationship was. Do you want to go and live on a farm in Scotland? 'Why not?'" Wings are set to release the 50th anniversary reissue of their seminal album, Band On The Run, including some new "underdub" mixes, on Feb. 2. "This is Band on the Run in a way you've never heard before," said McCartney of the new mixes. "When you are making a song and putting on additional parts, like an extra guitar, that's an overdub. Well, this version of the album is the opposite, underdubbed." The new Band on the Run comes two months after the death of former Wings member Denny Laine on Dec. 5. - New Musical Express...... Paul McCartney's younger brother Mike McCartney has shared a health update after spending his 80th birthday in hospital. On Jan. 8, Mike shared a photo of himself on X/Twitter, aged 22, saying: "I'm now 80..can u believe! and haven't changed at all! You won't believe how I spent my 80th!" A week later, he then explained more on the same platform, telling followers: "I mentioned you wouldn't believe HOW I spent my 80th birthday didn't I? "The glorious celebrations were spent in our local hospital! The NHS nurses, doctors & staff were, as always magnificent. I'm now, thankfully out. Thanks to the NHS very much." In 2022, Mike McCartney backed plans to open up the pair's childhood home in Liverpool for unsigned artists to use as a base to write, perform and gain inspiration from. The Forthlin Sessions initiative will see artists chosen by Mike and local partners to write music at the same place where Paul and John Lennon forged their distinguished songwriting partnership. 20, Forthlin Road in Liverpool is where the pair wrote hits including "Saw Her Standing There" and "When I'm 64." The property is now owned by the National Trust. - New Musical Express...... 
Leon Wildes, a prominent immigration lawyer best known for his landmark, yearslong fight in the 1970s to prevent John Lennon from being deported and enable the former Beatle to receive permanent residency in the U.S., died on Jan. 8 at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan. He was 90. Mr. Wildes' son -- immigration attorney and Englewood, N.J. Mayor Michael Wildes -- said his father had been in failing health after a series of strokes. "Dad felt he effectively lived the American Dream for a kid from Olyphant PA and spent his life facilitating the same experience for scores more," said Michael Wildes, who is also the managing partner for the firm his father helped start, Wildes & Weinberg. "He was beloved by his family, was extraordinarily humble, and beloved by our Bar." Leon Wildes was a graduate of the New York University School of Law who co-founded Wildes & Weinberg in 1960 and, by the end of the decade, had gained enough stature to serve as president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. His name would become part of musical and political history after an old law school classmate, Alan Kahn, called in 1972 and told him that Lennon and Yoko Ono needed his help getting their visas extended. Mr. Wildes agreed to meet with the couple at the Manhattan offices of Apple Records, the label founded by the Beatles in the late 1960s. But he did have one embarrassing confession about Lennon and his artist wife. "I have no idea who these people are," he told Kahn, later saying he misheard their names as "Jack Lemmon and Yoko Moto." What Mr. Wildes initially thought would be a formality turned into one of the most dramatic legal struggles of the era. John and Yoko had moved from England to New York City, trying to track down Ono's daughter from a previous marriage, Kyoko Chan Cox, whom her ex-husband had abducted. The couple also were active in the New Left politics of the time, opposing the Vietnam War and backing efforts to defeat Pres. Richard Nixon in his bid for re-election. With the minimum voting age lowered from 21 to 18, Lennon's plans included a 1972 tour of the U.S. that would potentially attract millions of young people. As government files later revealed, some Nixon supporters feared that Lennon could damage Nixon politically. In a Feb. 1972 memo sent to Sen. Strom Thurmond, a South Carolina Republican and a member of a Senate subcommittee on internal security, aides recommended a "strategic countermeasure," terminating Lennon's visa. The government would also try to deport Ono, a Tokyo native, but she was granted permanent residency in 1973. Descended from European Jews, Mr. Wildes grew up in a small Pennsylvania community where he was often the only Jew in his class. He attended Yeshiva College as an undergraduate and became interested in immigration law after working with the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society in the late 1950s. Mr. Wildes published articles in the Cardozo Law Review among other journals and wrote a book on the Lennon case, John Lennon Vs. the USA, that was published in 2016. An opera fan when he was young, he would become fully vested in the Beatles universe, to the point of using "Imagine" as music when a caller to his office was placed on hold. He remained close to Yoko, appeared in the 2006 documentary The U.S. vs. John Lennon and even attended some Beatles conventions, among them the Chicago-based Fest for Beatles Fans. - Billboard, 1/13/24...... In a new interview with Record Collector magazine, '60s pop singing-songwriting legend Donovan revealed he used to hang out with the Beatles and pulled guitarist George Harrison to one side to teach him "a few tricks" so he could pen his own tunes after being "in the shadow" of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. "I became George's mentor for songwriting," the Scottish musician said. "He was in the shadow of John and Paul for so many years and I said, 'Look, I'll show you a few tricks, how to encourage the songs.' There's a way to encourage the song to come. You can tease it, like fishing. I told him how to play a chord then put your ear on the guitar, listen to the open chord and try a tempo. You can hear melodies, believe it or not. Melodies appear, but you've got to be quick to catch them." The "Sunshine Superman" hitmaker -- who was a prominent figure of the Flower Power era of the late '60s -- also recalled how "dangerous" it was playing shows with little security to stop fans ramming toward him or The Fab Four. "As soon as the last song was over, they'd turn the lights on, say goodnight, and get in their cars. And what would happen? The whole audience would swarm towards the stage. That became a big problem." - Music-News.com...... 
David Leland, a writer, director and actor who worked with George Harrison, Paul McCartney and the Travelling Wilburys over his five-decade career, passed away on Christmas Eve surrounded by his family, according to a press release. He was 82. Initially trained as an actor at the Central School of Speech and Drama and later moving into stage management and direction at the Crucible Theatre, Mr. Leland collaborated with British actors including Michael Palin and Terry Jones early in their careers, as well as an as-yet-undiscovered Victoria Wood, who wrote her first play, "Talent," for him to direct. He also gave Pierce Brosnan his first opportunity to act on stage in the British premiere of Tennessee Williams' "The Red Devil Battery Sign," which Mr. Leland directed. Mr. Leland was a close friend of George Harrison's and worked with him on several occasions, directing several Traveling Wilburys videos including "Handle With Care" and the 1988 film Checking Out, on which Harrison served as a producer. His other music video work included Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down" (which also featured Harrison and Ringo Starr), and McCartney's "Brown Eyed Handsome Man." He also directed the documentary Concert For George (2003) following Harrison's own death, which was a concert film of a memorial concert event which took place at the Royal Albert Hall, featuring the remaining Beatles, Petty and Eric Clapton. Mr. Leland won a Grammy Award for his work, while the DVD was certified platinum eight times over. He also worked extensively as a screenwriter for both TV and film, with his film credits including Made In Britain (1982), Birth Of A Nation (1983) and Wish You Were Here (1987). The UK's BAFTA Awards posted a tribute to Mr. Leland on X/Twitter, saying they were "saddened" to hear of his death. Other tributes came from Pierce Brosnan, Liam Neeson and Monty Python's Terry Gillam. - NME, 1/2/24...... Speaking on his Paul McCartney: A Life in Lyrics podcast, Paul McCartney has admitted the Beatles classic "Let It Be" was subconsciously inspired by William Shakespeare's "Hamlet." "In those days [at school], I had to learn [Shakespeare] speeches off by heart. So I could still do a bit of 'to be or not to be', or 'O that this too too solid flesh'. And it had been pointed out to me recently that Hamlet, when he has been poisoned, he actually says, 'Let it be' - act five, scene two. He says 'Let be' the first time, then the second time he says, 'Had I but time -- as this fell sergeant, Death, Is strict in his arrest -- oh, I could tell you. But let it be Horatio.'" He added: "I was interested that I was exposed to those words during a time when I was studying Shakespeare so that years later the phrase appears to me in a dream with my mother saying it." Sir Paul, 81, previously explained how the idea for the song came to him in a dream about his mother during the intense writing sessions for the Beatles' 1968 "White Album." His mother Mary Patricia McCartney died of cancer in 1956, when he was 14. He later said: "It was great to visit with her again. I felt very blessed to have that dream. So that got me writing 'Let It Be'." In another interview, he clamed she said to him in the dream: "'It will be all right, just let it be.'" - Music-News.com...... 
Julian Lennon has spoken out about his relationship with his half-brother Sean Ono Lennon, saying that rumours of an alleged feud between them are "such bull." The elder son of John Lennon reflected on his relationship with his sibling during a new interview with Esquire, and shut down speculation that there was any feelings of rivalry between them. The conversation arose as he looked back at the red carpet premiere of the Beatles' 2021 documentary series Get Back, which he attended with Sean. Recalling the event, he explained that Sean initially had reservations about attending. "He felt overwhelming pressure. And I didn't particularly want to go. But he said he felt obligated to go," he told the magazine. "So, because I love him so much I said, 'Listen, I'm coming with you. We'll face the demons together.' And it's funny because there's always been, especially in the U.K. press, 'Lennon Sons Feuding,' this, that. We've never had a fight in our life. It's such bull." Julian also revealed that he's been "driven up the wall" by the Beatles' classic "Hey Jude." Paul McCartney wrote the 1968 non-album single about John's break-up with Julian's mother, Cynthia. The couple had separated and John began a relationship with Yoko Ono, whom he married in 1969. "It's a beautiful sentiment, no question about that, and I'm very thankful - but I've also been driven up the wall by it," he told Esquire. "I love the fact that he wrote a song about me and for Mum, but depending on what side of the bed one woke up on, and where you're hearing it, it can be a good or a slightly frustrating thing." - New Musical Express...... A 50th anniversary edition of Paul McCartney & Wings' acclaimed 1973 LP Band on the Run has been announced that will be available in a range of formats, including a set of "Underdubbed" mixes. These new unreleased rough mixes were made by Geoff Emerick and Pete Swettenham at AIR Studios on Oct. 14, 1973. "This is Band on the Run in a way you've never heard before," McCartney says of the new remixes. "When you are making a song and putting on additional parts, like an extra guitar, that's an overdub. Well, this version of the album is the opposite, underdubbed." The Band On The Run reissue will be available in vinyl, CD, digital and Dolby ATMOS formats. McCartney formed Wings in 1971, with himself and his wife Linda McCartney as the two permanent members. Band On The Run was Wings' third album, and went on to win multiple Grammy Awards and topped the charts in several countries including the UK. McCartney has been playing tracks from Band On The Run such as "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five" and "Jet" on his current tour. He is now playing the South American leg of his international "Got Back" tour until Dec. 16, where he will finish in Rio de Janeiro. - New Musical Express...... 
English rock musician Denny Laine, a co-founding former member of The Moody Blues and a member of the Paul McCartney-led '70s band Wings, died on Dec. 5 of a bacterial infection that followed a serious bout of Covid-19. He was 79. Laine's wife Elizabeth Hines posted the announcement on Instagram, stating that her husband had passed away due to Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD). "My darling husband passed away peacefully early this morning," she began. "He and I both believed he would overcome his health setbacks and return to the rehabilitation center and eventually home. Unfortunately, his lung disease, Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD), is unpredictable and aggressive; each infection weakened and damaged his lungs. He fought everyday. He was so strong and brave, never complained. All he wanted was to be home with me and his pet kitty, Charley, playing his gypsy guitar." Hines said Laine was "so very thankful" for the love and support he had received during his "health crisis." "It was my absolute honor and privilege to not only be his wife, but to care for him during his illness and vulnerability," she added. Born on Oct. 29, 1944 in Birmingham, Laine played in his first band The Diplomats (which featured ELO drummer Bev Bevans). From there, he would go on to found The Moody Blues in 1964 with singer Mike Pinder, Ray Thomas and drummer Graeme Edge, who died in 2021 aged 80. He sang on the band's cover of "Go Now," which would eventually top the UK charts and solidify their success. From there, Laine formed the Electric String Band, and would also play with Ginger Baker's Air Force. But it was a call from Paul McCartney that would see Laine join Wings, becoming a constant member of the band. It was he, Paul and his wife Linda that would go on to make their most celebrated album, Band On The Run, in 1973. 
Wings officially wrapped by the 1980s, but Laine and McCartney stayed in touch, with Laine playing on Macca's Tug of War (1982) and Pipes of Peace (1983), in addition to co-writing the "Ebony and Ivory" B-side, "Rainclouds." After learning of Laine's death, Paul McCartney took to Instagram to mourn the loss: "I have many fond memories of my time with Denny: from the early days when The Beatles toured with the Moody Blues," he wrote alongside a throwback picture of Laine. "Our two bands had a lot of respect for each other and a lot of fun together. Denny joined Wings at the outset. He was an outstanding vocalist and guitar player. His most famous performance is probably 'Go Now' an old Bessie Banks song which he would sing brilliantly. He and I wrote some songs together the most successful being 'Mull of Kintyre' which was a big hit in the Seventies. We had drifted apart but in recent years managed to re-establish our friendship and share memories of our times together." He continued, "Denny was a great talent with a fine sense of humour and was always ready to help other people. He will be missed by all his fans and remembered with great fondness by his friends. I send my condolences and best wishes to his wife, Elizabeth and family. Peace and love Denny. It was a pleasure to know you. We are all going to miss you." Laine is survived by his widow Hines and his five children. - NME...... Rare and long-lost photos, contact sheets & original negatives of rock music legends including Paul and Linda McCartney, John Lennon, Joan Baez, The Supremes, The Carpenters, The Rolling Stones, Jimmy Cliff and more are up for auction through Dec. 10 at entertainment.ha.com. Bidding is open on the Heritage Auction sale, which also features a treasure-trove of rare and some previously unseen images of music legends including Creedence Clearwater Revival, Donovan, Marianne Faithful, Tim Buckley and others shot by renowned music photographer and photojournalist Shepard Sherbell. Some of the items include the original negatives. The auction closes Dec. 10, 2023. All items come with a certificate of authenticity (COA) from Heritage Auctions. - M4G Media...... The Beatles are back at No. 1 on a Billboard airplay chart for the first time in over 50 years as their "final song" "Now and Then" jumped from the second to the top spot on the Adult Alternative Airplay tally dated Dec. 9. It's the band's first No. 1 on that particular survey, which began in 1996. The Beatles previously peaked at No. 11 on that chart with "Free as a Bird" that same year. The last time the group notched a No. 1 on a Billboard radio chart was 1970, when "Let It Be" (the Fab Four's sole other airplay leader) ruled Adult Contemporary for four weeks beginning that April. However the Beatles can boast their share of chart-toppers elsewhere, including a record 20 No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100. Billed as the Beatles' final song, "Now and Then" was recorded as a demo in 1977 by John Lennon and finished at last by surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, among others, after multiple attempts via new technology to extract Lennon's vocals from the original demo, along with guitar parts from George Harrison. It's included on the reissues of the group's 1962-1966 and 1967-1970 compilations, initially released in 1973 and re-released Nov. 10. - Billboard...... 
In other Beatles-related news, a new documentary series about the Dec. 8, 1980 assassination of John Lennon has a claim that Lennon's murderer Mark David Chapman apologized to his group after shooting Lennon dead outside of his New York City apartment block. According to a witness interviewed for the Apple TV+ docuseries, which begins streaming on Dec. 6, Chapman "actually apologized to us... He said: 'Gee I'm sorry I ruined your night'." The witness responded: "You gotta be kidding me, you just ruined your whole life." First announced in October, John Lennon: Murder Without A Trial examines the pre-meditated crime by the troubled Chapman and its aftermath, and its producers were "granted extensive Freedom of Information Act requests from the New York City Police Department, the Board of Parole and the District Attorney's office." It also features interviews with Lennon's friends and Chapman's defense lawyers, psychiatrists, detectives and prosecutors. It also makes use of previously unseen photos from the scene of the crime. The three-part series is narrated by actor Kiefer Sutherland. Its trailer has been shared on YouTube. - New Musical Express...... One of Paul McCartney's iconic Hofner bass guitars from the 1960's that the former Beatle gifted to a music executive in the 1990's is up for auction at GottaHaveRockandRoll.com. A photograph accompanying this guitar shows McCartney playing the bass with a clear photo-match to the signature on the body of the guitar. The music legend has signed the body of the guitar, "Paul McCartney waz here." The gem can be viewed at GottaHaveRockandRoll.com. - Music-News.com
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