An online Beatles fan club for and about Beatle fans
Thursday, March 29, 2018
The right place at the right time
A group of fans were standing outside MPL in London, hoping that when Paul McCartney exited the building, he would sign autographs and allow photos. Lucky for them, that is exactly what happened. Even luckier was the delivery guy that just happened to have been making deliveries that day in Soho. (noticed the yellow helmet in the photographs above) He was on his scooter and noticed the commotion going on outside of MPL and spotted Paul McCartney in the small crowd. He got right up there and got an autograph too and then got back to work.
A night out with her step-son
On January 12, 1978, Yoko and Julian had a night out on the town when they went to see the Magic Show with Doug Henning on Broadway. I guess John stayed at home with baby Sean that night? I think it is nice to see Yoko treating Julian like a son.
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Maximum Volume - the life of Beatles Producer George Martin - A book review
You might think you know a lot about the Beatles' producer, George Martin. however, you really don't know this man until you have read Dr. Kenneth Womack's biography, Maximum Volume: The Life of the Beatles Producer George Martin. This volume covers the first 40 years of George's life.
The book follows George's life from childhood until the Beatles' Rubber Soul album. It gives amazing insight into the record sessions of the Beatles and other in Epstein's stable of artists. You really realize what a huge role George played in forming the Beatles early songs and albums. he gave many suggestions and tried new techniques that made those songs to have the sound that we all have grown to love. No doubt about it, George Martin was very talented and the Beatles would not have been as successful without him. Many people consider him to be the "5th Beatle" and after reading this book, you will have no doubts that he deserves that title. (Although I personally think Martin and Epstein are tied as the 5th Beatle because both of them had played such an important role in different areas of their career. That is a discussion for another time).
I did not realize that George had such a rough life. I guess I just assumed that he had a posh upbringing. However, he came from a challenging family and was stuck in an unhappy marriage for a long time. EMI was not treating him nor paying him the way the Beatles' producer should have been treated or paid.
One new thing I learned from this book was minor, but I found it interesting is about the time that George Martin (along with his mistress, Judy) went on a ski trip with John and Cynthia Lennon in 1965. George ended up with a broken leg. I incorrectly thought he broke his leg on the slopes. Actually, he broke his leg inside while John and George were wearing ski tights and leaping around like ballet dancers for their girls' amusement. That such must have been a funny sight until George landed on his leg the wrong way and broke it.
This isn't an easy book to read. The vocabulary is at times difficult and I had to slow down and really concentrate to comprehend. I especially found the first few chapters to be the hardest to read. The story seemed to pick up once George began working at EMI. there were a few minor factual errors, but not many. (The Beatles were in Australia with Jimmie Nicol, not New Zealand for example.)
This is an excellent book and one that needed to be written. I will be reading the next volume because I am excited to learn more about George Martin's accomplishments.
The link below is the affiliate link to Amazon, where you can purchase this book. I get a small percentage of anything purchased through this link. Money made from the Amazon Afflication is used to pay the annual fee to keep this site online. Thank you for your support. Sara
Tuesday, March 27, 2018
Monday, March 26, 2018
Fred and Yoko
Two people you never would have thought were photographed together -- Fred Astaire and Yoko Ono.
Sunday, March 25, 2018
March for our lives
Most of you know that I am not a politically minded person. I usually keep my thoughts on controversial matters to myself. I wanted to post these photos of Paul and Nancy at the March for our lives gathering in New York for a few reasons. First of all, they are photos of Paul meeting fans and that is the main focus of the blog. The second reason is that I personally was touched by the fact that he was marching for his "best friend that was a victim of gun violence." He was there near the Dakota building for John. That brought tears to my eyes.
I don't' want this post to be about guns. Each of us has our own views on this matter and spatting things off on a Beatles blog isn't going to change anything.
I want to focus on the fact that Paul and Nancy were there for John.
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| With Billy Jean King |
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