Beatles News

Self-proclaimed "opinionated" Brighton area author Ted Montgomery said he hopes he has written "a good bar stool book that gives you good things to argue over."

When it comes to music, everyone has their own likes and dislikes about what sounds good. 

Montgomery, who lives in Green Oak Township said he did not hold back his personal opinions when penning his new book. 

He poured over an enormous catalog of hundreds of songs by former member of The Beatles and prolific solo musician Paul McCartney.  

Montgomery's new book "The Paul McCartney Catalog: A Complete Annotated Discography of Solo Works, 1967-2019" covers 52 years of music, videos, radio shows and other materials the 77-year-old British rocker released, mostly after The Beatles officially split in 1970. 

The first of 18 occasions Montgomery saw Paul McCartney perform live was in 1976.

Source: Jennifer Timar, Livingston Daily

It was the news that had millions of fans not so much gently weeping as crying for help – the Beatles were no more.

While technically speaking the Fab Four were not officially dissolved until 1975, Paul McCartney’s bombshell press release on April 10, 1970 marks the end of the world’s favourite band.

He could see no future in his famed songwriting partnership with John Lennon, Paul said while promoting a solo album, and did not miss either George Harrison or Ringo Starr.

Five decades on and debate still rages over what – or who, in the case of Yoko Ono – broke up the Beatles.

Following the split, John, Paul, George and Ringo went their separate ways, pursuing successful solo careers while the band’s music swelled in popularity.

Here’s what they did next:

Source: breakingnews.ie

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Fifty years ago, when Paul McCartney announced he had left the Beatles, the news dashed the hopes of millions of fans, while fueling false reunion rumors that persisted well into the new decade.

In a press release, on April 10, 1970, for his first solo album, “McCartney,” he leaked his intention to leave. In doing so, he shocked his three bandmates.

The Beatles had symbolized the great communal spirit of the era. How could they possibly come apart?

Few at the time were aware of the underlying fissures. The power struggles in the group had been mounting at least since their manager, Brian Epstein, died in August of 1967

Source: Tim Riley, The Conversation/smithsonianmag.com

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A rare photograph of the trio who evolved into the Beatles has emerged.

The previously-unpublished photo of The Quarrymen shows Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison a year before becoming The Beatles.

The picture, captured in a Liverpool home in 1959, has surfaced on the 50th anniversary of McCartney announcing he was leaving the group.

"History shines in every dimly-lit detail," said Beatles' historian and author Mark Lewisohn.

"Within a year of this moment the Quarrymen had become The Beatles, professional musicians playing long hours in Hamburg," he added.

"Four years from here they'd have attained the inconceivable level of fame and popularity that joyously maintains to this day - out from this Liverpool room and across the universe."

Lennon formed the skiffle and rock 'n' roll group in early 1957 alongside Rod Davis, Pete Shotton, Colin Hanton, Eric Griffiths and Len Garry.

The group was later joined by McCartney and Harrison.

McCartney, Lennon and Harrison evolved into The Beatles, along with Pete Best, until he was replaced by Ringo Starr in August 1962.

Source: BBC

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After eight years that shook the world, redefined music and rerouted popular culture, it took just one word to kill off the best band that ever lived. “Are you planning a new album or single with The Beatles?” Paul McCartney was asked in a press release for his first solo album McCartney, sent to journalists on 9 April 1970. Answer: “No”. And to drive the final nail home: “Do you foresee a time when Lennon-McCartney becomes an active songwriting partnership again?” “No.”

With that, the dream was over. On 10 April, the Daily Mirror ran the front-page headline “Paul Quits The Beatles”, and the media across the world ignited. Fans and reporters gathered outside the offices of Apple Corps at 3 Savile Row, distraught or eulogising. “The event is so momentous that historians may, one day, view it as a landmark in the decline of the British Empire,” reported a CBS News crew from America. “The Beatles are breaking up.”

Source: independent.co.uk

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As soon as you drop the needle on side two of Abbey Road and immediately here that blissful opening chord of ‘Here Comes The Sun’ you know you’re in for a delightful treat. However, as we look to delve deeper into a Beatles classic, we’re exploring the isolated vocal version of the track which delivers the poignant uplifting lyrics to the forefront.

The back story of the song is a fascinating one. Despite the positivity that the song oozes, it was actually written during a dark period of George Harrison’s life. Following his arrest for possession of marijuana, which arrived shortly after having his tonsils removed and him quitting The Beatles briefly, the stress and negativity all got too much for the guitarist and he needed to escape.

Harrison, searching for a moment of calm. escaped to Eric Clapton’s peaceful Surrey retreat. Reflecting on the period of his life years later, he disclosed in detail in his autobiography I, Me, Mine: “‘Here Comes the Sun’ was written at the time when Apple was getting like school, where we had to go and be businessmen: ‘Sign this’ and ‘sign that.’ Anyway, it seems as if winter in England goes on forever, details

The Beatles’ classic Abbey Road is one of the most famous albums of all time. It’s famous because it includes songs like “Something” and “Come Together.” In addition, it gave us one of the most iconic images ever: its cover.

The cover shows John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, walking across Abbey Road. Surprisingly, the album wasn’t supposed to be called Abbey Road. It wasn’t supposed to feature Abbey Road on its cover either.
Abbey Road was originally going to be called Mount Everest. The reason? Well, the Fab Four were known for their sense of humor. They were also known for littering their albums and songs with inside jokes. One reason they liked the title Mount Everest was because engineer Geoff Emerick would smoke a brand of cigarettes called Everest.

Source: cheatsheet.com

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Paul McCartney confirmed yesterday that he had broken with the Beatles. But it seems certain that even if he wants to, circumstances will prevent him from straying too far.

The issue is complicated by McCartney’s refusal to speak to the world beyond filling in the answers to a questionnaire drawn up by the Beatles’ organisation, Apple. He did say then he did not know whether his break with the Beatles was temporary or permanent; that he did not have any relationship with Mr Alan Klein, the Beatles business manager (a figure of some importance in this matter); that Mr Klein did not represent him in any way; that he had no plans to record with other Beatle members in the future; that he could not imagine writing with John Lennon again; and that in making his first solo album he had not missed the talents of the other Beatles.

Source: Jackie Leishman/theguardian.com

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Easter is synonymous with many things, but one of the most recent is ‘Brian's life’, the great comedy of the Monty Python released in 1979. However, it was about not to be, since the mythical comic group was about to not be able to make the film and only the intervention of George Harrison allowed the film to go ahead.

The problems came a year earlier, with everything ready to start filming. It was then that Bernard Delfont, CEO of EMI at the time, read the script that the company had acquired and decided to withdraw the funding necessary to be able to make ‘Brian's Life’ just a couple of days before the recordings began. He thought he was blasphemous and didn't want to get into trouble, so He decided to wash his hands and leave the Monty Python to their fate.

Source: Maria Rivera/asapland.com

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ON April 10, 1970, the music world shifted on its axis with the news that the Beatles had split. The revelation came after Paul McCartney announced he was officially breaking the bonds of brotherhood he shared with John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. Millions of fans went into an emotional tailspin. The band’s Apple offices in London were under siege from thousands of weeping fans. And the man from CBS news adopted the sombre tone normally reserved for a death in the Royal Family by heralding it as “an event so momentous that historians may one day view it as a landmark in the decline of the British Empire". Yet, 50 years on from that tremulous day, the Beatles still retain a foothold in the public psyche. Last year, a rebooted version of their final album, Abbey Road, was Britain’s biggest selling vinyl record. Ken McNab, author of the best-selling And In The End, The Last Days Of The Beatles, asked seven well-known Scots why the Beatles remain shining stars in rock’s firmament.

Source: heraldscotland.com

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