Yoko Ono is known for her strikingly long black hair covering her face in the sixties. Yoko now admits that she was hiding behind her hair because she was insecure about her looks. As a child, her mother would tell her she had a strong jawline like a guy and that it wasn’t womanly. Yoko thinks she got her strong jawline (which I think looks great) from her Dad. Yoko told ContactMusic that she has always felt she had more masculine than feminine features adding, “I wouldn’t say I am particularly feminine”.

Yoko now admits, “I used to hide my jaws with my long hair” and “I kept to myself”.

John Lennon would reassure his wife Yoko of her beauty continuously. He would move the hair from her face and tell her to show her face because it’s beautiful. He questioned why she would hide behind her hair. But, John Lennon’s mean streak would come out now and then, and he’d tease her by calling her…

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A new play based on the Backbeat Beatles film is set to open. The play tells the tale of the pre-fame Early Beatles days of Hamburg Germany.

The Backbeat Beatles movie was directed by Ian Softley in 1994. Director Softley will be adapting the film for the stage. He says that he was visualizing a theater production when he directed the film. He saw the dramatic paintings of the original Beatles Bass player, Stewart Sutcliffe and stunning photography of his girlfriend and Beatles photographer Astrid Kirchherr woven into a narrative with the energy and excitement of great live music. He notes that the early day Beatles had the rawness and energy like a punk band. He hopes to recreate that rawness and energy in the stage production.

Stewart Sutcliffe stayed behind in Germany with his girlfriend Astrid when the rest of the lads returned to their native Liverpool. Stewart Sutcliffe tragically died in Read more »

Ever wonder about the Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds meaning?

Lucy Vodden was the childhood inspiration for the Beatles Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. She has passed away at the age of 46. She had been treated for Lupus for five years at St. Thomas Hospital in London.

The story began when John Lennon’s son Julian brought home a painting from school. Lennon asked his son what the drawing was, and Julian announced to his Dad, “It’s Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”. The drawing was of Jullian’s 4 year old classmate Lucy O’Donnell. (She later married and changed her name to Lucy Vodden.)

After the release of the song the Beatles landmark Sgt. Pepper album, the press Read more »

Which Beatles RockBand should you buy? It’s a bit confusing, so I’ve written it all out for you. Find out what game bundle edition is best for you. Also, See what cool accessories are available…

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Looking for some cool Beatles Clothing? Here is my top 5 most popular Beatles T Shirt list…

Shea Stadium Beatles T Shirt

This Beatles T shirt has a poster advertising the Beatles second appearance in Shea Stadium on August 23rd 1966. The Beatles first appearance at Shea was a year earlier when they opened their 1965 North American tour to a record audience of over 55,000 screaming fans. It was the first concert in a major stadium and set records for attendance and earnings. The Beatles at Shea Stadium opened the doors for today’s huge arena concerts.

Get your Shea Stadium Beatles T Shirt

Beatles Logo T Shirt

Classic understated black Beatles T Shirt with the Beatles “drop T” logo. Let everyone know the name of you’re favorite band. The Beatles iconic drop-T logo made its first appearance in 1963. It was designed by Ivor Arbiter and was first used on the front drum head of Ringo’s bass drum. This Beatles T Shirt is officially licensed from the Beatles and has screen printed lettering on a black preshrunk 6oz cotton T Shirt.

Buy your Beatles Logo T Shirt Read more »

Paul McCartney told the Boston Herald that the rumors of his retirement were as false as the infamous 1960s rumor that he was dead. McCartney insists he is not retiring and he’s still not dead.

The rumor seemed to have been started after the British Newspaper The Sun reported McCartney was planning one last big world tour before heading for retirement. The rumor was that McCartney wanted to retire before turning 70 because it was more and more difficult for his aging body to go on the road. I can tell you first hand after seeing McCartney perform in CitiField, his voice is stronger than ever, and he has the same spring in his step that he had as a young Beatle. Read more »

Rare Beatles photos snapped when the band were guests in a hotel have emerged and are going up for sale. The Beatles unseen photos were captured at Askers Road House Hotel in England.

The rare Beatles pictures show the band in a relaxed mood. The black & white snapshots include the hotel owner standing with the band, John Lennon playing with a camera and the Beatles in a car. The hotel owner later gave the photos to her friend. The friend’s daughter is now putting the previously unseen Beatles pics up for auction. The hotel owner’s daughter, who wants to remain anonymous, remembers her mother being particularly thrilled one day. Her friend who was a hotel owner arrived to tell her Mother that the Beatles were going to be guests at the hotel. Although it was to be kept quite, she recalls her mother coming home with the pictures. At the time of the band’s hotel stay, the seller was a young girl and a huge fan of the Beatles .

Amy Brenan, from Duke’s auctioneers in Dorchester, notes that the rare Beatles photos are candid shots and not posed like so many that you see. The Liverpool Lads are wearing suits and they seem at ease posing with the hotel owner. The auctioneer estimates the pictures were snapped in the mid sixties, possibly in ‘66 because that’s the time when the band performed in Bournemouth England along the coast and went down into Devon. All six photos, two of which are copied, capture the the band in the spirit of the moment. She adds that the hotel owner is passed on so we can’t ask her exactly when the pictures were taken. Beatles memorabilia is more popular now than ever, and although the auctioneer put an estimate of 30 to 60 English pounds on rare Beatles photos, they’re sure they’ll go for even more.

Other Beatles Memorabilia already sold by Duke’s Grove Auction House include a complete set of signatures on the back of a birth certificate autographed by the lads during the filming of Help!.

The Beatles unseen photos auction will be held at Duke’s Grove Auctions on August 11th in Dorchester England.

- Beatles Geek Pete
Visit my blog for more Beatles News and cool Beatles Gifts
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Paul McCartney dedicated a song to Michelle Obama at his Washington D.C. Concert Saturday August 1st. The song was obviously the classic Beatles Michelle.

McCartney sung the romantic love ballad to the First Lady in front of 60,000 fans at Washington’s FedEX Field. Unfortunately there weren’t 60,001 in the audience. The First Lady had left the concert early to go on vacation at Camp David.

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Last year, during an MTV Europe award show where McCartney was presented with the Ultimate Legend Award, Paul thanked everyone in America for voting for Mr. Obama. McCartney later told reporters that he would love to sing for President Obama and his Wife. He hinted that he had a song ready to sing for Michelle Obama.

I was fortunate enough to have gone to McCartney’s CitiField concert and remember he used images of President Obama projected behind the band at one point. During his introduction to the White Album classic “Black Bird” McCartney told the audience the song was written about the Black struggle in the 1960s. It felt good that things have progressed since the writing of “Black Bird”.

The Beatles classic “Michelle” wasn’t written about a particular Michelle. “Michelle, ma belle” was suggested to McCartney by a French Teacher who was a friend. She also translated McCartney’s lyric, “These are words that go together well” into the french “Sont des mots qui vont tres bien ensemble” which was also used in the song. Although his friend didn’t receive writing credit, McCartney did mail her a nice check. Not a bad payday for writing two words of a Beatles song.

In the Paul McCartney Autobiography, he remembers how the now classic Michelle was easy to mix since it was only four tracks. He recalled how there were no decisions to make during mixing since they’d made them all in the writing and in the recording. He added that it took only about a half an hour to mix. With minimum effort and expense, the simple song racked up over four million broadcast performances over the years. The song even won a Grammy in 1966 for Song of the Year.

McCartney goes on to recollect in the Paul McCartney Autobiography how, not long after Michelle came out, photographer David Bailey told McCartney he thought it was a tongue in cheek joke. He thought “Michelle” was a parody of a French song. At the time McCartney literally told him to F-Off. But, now he understands what he meant and agrees it was in a way a parody of a French song.

- Beatles Geek Pete
Visit my blog for more Beatles News & cool Beatles Gifts
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John Lennon’s first son Julian collaborated with his dad when he was still in nursery school when his now famous drawing of his school friend was titled “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”. With an interesting title to start with, father Lennon proceeded to write a Beatles classic.

Now almost 30 years after his father’s death, Julian Lennon is considering co-writing with his father again. This time father John Lennon will be providing the lyrics and son Julian the tune. Julian had purchased John’s handwritten lyrics from an auction at Sotheby’s a decade ago.

The lyrics are estimated to be from around 1966 around the period of Revolver and Strawberry Fields although the lyrical style is more like the early Beatles. Perhaps that’s why the lyrics were never used for a Beatles song. Lennon had moved onto more Dylan and Lewis Carol inspired poetic lyrics full of imagery. The lyrics were written on the back of a note to George Harrison from Japanese fans, which is why it is speculated that the lyrics were written after the Beatles toured Japan.

Recently Julian said, “I don’t believe the lyrics have been used anywhere,” he explained. “If the time was right, if it felt right, then I would consider looking at the lyrics and maybe trying to work with them and write something. But obviously only in honour of Dad. I guess in some respect it would be like coming home.”

John Lennon’s handwritten lyrics read, “Little girl I’ve come to stay/And this time I just have to say/ I love you/If she turns you down and you’re rejected/Try again the best you can/Call to see her when you’re least expected/Tell her now she’ll understand.”

John Lennon’s handwritten lyrics are on display in Liverpool’s Beatles Story Museum as part of an exhibition put on by Julian and his mother Cynthia who was Lennon’s first wife. The exhibition tells the emotional and intimate personal story of the life of the Lennon family. It gives a unique and emotive insight into life with John Lennon that only Cynthia and Julian can give.

Throughout the exhibition Julian and Cynthia recollect their memories, experiences and emotions of their lives with John. The story is brought to you through personal interviews, family photos and the Lennon’s’ unseen collection of memorabilia.

The exhibition is called “White Feather: The Spirit of Lennon Exhibit”. Julian explains the origin of the name, “One thing Dad said to me should he pass away, if there was any way of letting me know he was going to be ok the message would come to me in the form of a white feather. Then something happened to me about ten years ago when I was on tour in Australia. I was presented with a white feather by an Aboriginal tribal elder, which definitely took my breath away. One thing for sure is that the white feather always represented peace to me.”

White Feather: The Spirit of Lennon Exhibit will be on display at Liverpool’s Pier Head in the Beatles Story Museum until December 31st 2009.

- Beatle Geek Pete
Visit my blog for more Beatles News and Beatles Merchandise

I’m still recuperating from the Paul McCartney historic concert at the new Mets Citi Field. Here are some highlights…

For those who don’t know, the Beatles were the first band to play in a huge sports arena. It was in the Summer of 1965 at the New York Mets Shea Stadium. Of course these days huge concerts in sports arenas are common. But, back then the pioneering Beatles actually sung through the stadium’s PA announcement system (Now up at bat… The Beatles… ECHO Echo echo). The original Beatles set list was only 12 songs long and could barely be heard by the 55,000 screaming girls in the audience (OK, there were some screaming dudes too.)

I was actually married at the old 1960s World’s Fair building right where the Beatles Helicopter landed after their Shea Stadium concert. We had our buffet on the same roof where the Beatles made their quick escape decades before. The building had a heliport on the roof which is now a big patio with a beautful view of Manhattan. I’m sure nobody who celebrates their wedding there has any clue of the history.
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For some reason that escapes me, they tore down Shea Stadium last year and built a new baseball stadium right next to it. As a Beatles Tribute, Paul McCartney was asked to be the first to play the new Mets Ballpark.

McCartney had made a guest appearance when Billy Joel played the last show of Shea Stadium last year. I happened to be driving home from the airport just as McCartney’s Limo exited Shea and I drove along side for while as McCartney headed home with a large police escort to the Hamptons. McCartney returned the favor to Billy Joel by having him as a guest on the first night of the new stadium.

McCartney’s voice was the stongest I’ve heard it in the three times I’ve seen him. At sixty seven, his voice is still as strong as it was in his twentys (even if he had a bad hair day in the misty New York weather). You can see in these video hightlights how much fun McCartney was having…

My highlight of the show was when Paul paid tribute to his recently deceased friend George Harrison. Paul played Harrison’s song “Something” on a ukulele that George had given him. As in the Concert for George Harrison DVD performance, the whole band comes in and they morph into the recorded version with photos of George behind the band. It was a very touching moment when Paul turned around at the end of the tribute and raised two peace signs to the large image of George Harrison being projected behind him. Here’s Paul singing Something…

- Beatle Geek Pete
Visit my blog for Beatles Merchandise & News