Beatles News Archives
Who is Derek Taylor ?
Derek Taylor (7 May 1932 – 8 September 1997) was an English journalist, writer and publicist, best known for his work as press officer for The Beatles. He had started his career as a local journalist in Liverpool working for the Liverpool Daily Post and Echo. Taylor served as press officer for the Beatles’ first concert tour of the US in the summer of 1964 – resigning from his position at the end of the tour.
Taylor was a key participant in the team that produced the historic Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and served as its publicist and spokesman.
George Harrison’s song “Blue Jay Way” was written during Harrison’s 1967 visit to California, on a foggy night waiting for Taylor and his wife to come visit (“There’s a fog upon L.A. / And my friends have lost their way”). Finding a small electric organ in his rented house (on Blue Jay Way), Harrison worked on the song until they arrived.
Taylor was also a catalyst in Harry Nilsson’s musical career; hearing Nilsson’s song “1941” on a car radio, he bought a case (twenty-five copies) of his album Pandemonium Shadow Show, sending copies to different industry people – including all four Beatles, who became enamored of his talent and invited Nilsson to London. Nilsson subsequently became a collaborator and good friend of both John Lennon andRingo Starr.
In early 1968, Taylor returned to England to work for the Beatles again, as the press officer for the newly created Apple Corps. As a key executive at Apple, Taylor had a major role in the company’s activities, involved in many of the key projects of the Beatles and Apple. His prominent role is documented in The Longest Cocktail Party, a memoir of Apple in the late 1960s by Taylor’s junior assistant (dubbed the Apple “house hippie”) Richard DiLello, and in other Beatles biographies.
Taylor was referenced in the lyrics of John Lennon’s song, “The Ballad of John and Yoko” and later, “Give Peace a Chance”, along with Tommy Smothers, Timothy Leary, and Norman Mailer, who like Taylor were all present at the recording of the song.
n 1980, Taylor collaborated again with George Harrison, helping Harrison to complete his autobiography I Me Mine. In 1981, his on set account of the production of Raiders Of The Lost Ark was published asThe Making of Raiders of The Lost Ark by Ballantine Books. Taylor subsequently wrote his own autobiography Fifty Years Adrift (In An Open Necked Shirt), published in December 1983 by Genesis Publications for which Harrison provided a glowing introduction to the signed, limited edition volume. Only 2,000 were printed, and the book quickly became a collectors’ item.
In 1987, It Was Twenty Years Ago Today (Fireside for Simon & Schuster), celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the release of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, providing a detailed documentary of the people and events that shaped the album and the wider events of the Summer Of Love counterculture. The book includes archive interviews and photographs as well as extensive transcripts from aGranada TV documentary instigated by Taylor also titled It Was Twenty Years Ago Today.
As Time Goes by: Living in the Sixties (Rock and Roll Remembrances Series No 3) (Popular Culture Ink) was published in June 1990 in the US, while in the UK Bois Books published What You Cannot Finishand Take A Sad Song in 1995, coinciding with the release of the Beatles Anthology. Posthumous volumes include ‘Beatles’ (Ebury Press 1999). In addition, an audio CD, Here There and Everywhere: Derek Taylor Interviews The Beatles, was released on the Thunderbolt label in 2001.
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…
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 the rest of this entry
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 the rest of this entry
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…
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.
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 the rest of this entry
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 .
Rare Beatles Photo from the Telegraph.co.uk
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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