Take It Away is one of those songs that I didn't like when I originally heard it, but over the years it has really grown on me and has become a song that I really enjoy.
The video is really good. You have Paul, Linda, Ringo, and George Martin, and a guy that I always thought was John Ritter when I was young (I know, it isn't NOT John Ritter and it is Eric Stewart). I also think it is great that the 700 extras in the concert scene were actually Paul fans that were members of the Fun Club that lives in the London area and received special invites to participate in this video shoot. What an amazing opportunity for those fans. They could have gotten 700 random people, but to actually get Paul's hard-core fan base, was really great.
The brand new music video for "My Sweet Lord" has dropped and it is interesting. I honestly don't get how the video fits with the song. However, it is pretty fun to watch because there are all sorts of great cameos and Easter eggs.
Ringo Starr and Joe Walsh are in the movie theater, having popcorn and Ringo then throws popcorn on the guy that is looking for clues. A few moments later, Weird Al is serving up some popcorn and Ringo comes by and shows how to drum with a flashlight until Joe drags Ringo back into the theater.
I also spotted Jeff Lynne, Olivia Harrison, Dhani Harrison and a few other people.
There were posters for "All Things Must Pass" in the movie theater and the items listed for sale behind Weird Al are actually the title of some of the songs on "All Things Must Pass." You also see some of George's gnomes sitting in a few places. I will have to watch again and see what other George Easter Eggs I spy. The movie everyone is watching is something that we've seen in the "Living in the Material World" documentary, with George peeking out from behind the tulips. I think it is longer than what we have previously seen.
I tried to take a few screen grabs to share, but go on Youtube and check it out for yourself. I liked the video, but I don't like it for "My Sweet Lord."
Is it just me or is this video for "Find My Way" (re-imagined by Beck) a little creepy? They used something known as "deepfake" technology to make an actor, Jordan Johnson look like 1964 era Paul. I think it looks more like a Beatles-look a-like from a tribute band.
Interested (as seen in this screenshot), is that the REAL Paul McCartney pops up in the video for a quick moment.
At first glance I think to myself, "Paul--- 1963" and then I look again and go, "Oh wait -- it's the Coming Up video." Paul did a very nice job of making himself look like he was 21.
When I was a kid in the 1980's, the video of "I've Got My Mind Set on You" by George Harrison was on heavy rotation on MTV. I didn't even make the connection that the guy that sang this song was the same George from the Beatles at that time, but I loved this video.
Maybe it was because I was just 9 years old when it was popular, but I thought the things moving in the house and the mouse playing a pipe like a saxaphone was so funny. But the funniest part to me was when he sang "It's gonna take money...." and a bunch of bills flew onto the floor.
Come to find out, the guy that directed this video also did the Rutles! No wonder I like it so much!
After I got to know who George was, I thought the video was shot at Friar Park. No -- sound studio in L.A.
To hear the Director talk about this and a funny story about the guy that does the backflip in the film, take a listen to the "Something about the Beatles" podcast (episode 133).
The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper suits have become some of the most iconic symbols and beloved symbols of the Beatles. At every Beatles convention and fan gathering, there are people dressed in green, blue, orange and pink "Pepper" suits.
But whenever you really think about it, the Sgt. Pepper suits weren't worn by the Beatles very often. The Sgt. Pepper suits were originally designed by M. Berman Ltd. They suits themselves are really unique. They aren't just carbon copies in different colors. Each suit has different patterns and designs. George and Paul are wearing their MBE and John purposely isn't---instead he is wearing medals borrowed from Mona Best. Great information about the ins and out of these suits can be found at this site (which even gives me a shout out!)
The first time the Beatles put the suits on was on March 30, 1967 during the Sgt. Pepper album photo shoot.
The only other time all four Beatles are seen wearing the Sgt. Pepper suits are in November 1967 when the did the promo film for "Hello Goodbye."
I have heard a story about John walking around London wearing his suit while tripping on LSD, but that is just a story and has never been confirmed.
All four suits are currently in possession of Paul, Ringo, Olivia and Yoko. Yoko has loaned John's suit to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland right now. Ringo and George's have been on display at museums in the past, but as far as I know they aren't right now.
George is the one Beatle that kept bringing his suit out after the Beatle years.
He wore it in the video for his song "Ding Dong"
And for the video for "When we was fab" in 1987--although it has been said that this is a copy and not the original
The When we was Fab single even shows him wearing a Sgt. Pepper suit
Paul's suit is seen in the video for "My Brave Face," although the one the Japanese collector guy holds up is a copy. Apparently Paul didn't want it being handled.
Ringo's suit was rumored to have been destroyed in a house fire in 1979. Thankfully that was just a rumor and Ringo still has his pink suit. Just a few days ago Ringo was pictured wearing one (is it the original? I am not sure) to celebrate the Beatles 50th Anniversary.
The Sgt. Pepper suit has almost became bigger than the album. I get it---I really do. However, I would never wear one to a Beatles gathering.
It was 50 years ago today-- on February 11, 1965 that Richard Starkey married Maureen Cox. This was a time of mixed feelings for many Beatle fans. Quite a few Ringo fans were heartbroken over the news of Ringo and Mo's marriage. Girls were seen crying, wearing black arm bands for weeks afterwards and one fan I spoke to said that she had bought a wedding band to give to Ringo, and wore it every day. Once he got married, she took it off and put it on her keyring...in case Ringo and Maureen didn't work out. And she still had it on her key chain to show me!
But I believe that most fans were accepting of Ringo's marriage. They were sad but Maureen was living their dream.....a Beatles fan who married one of the Beatles! And Maureen came across as very likable and a good match for Ringo. One thing was obvious: fans might have not been happy that one less Beatle was available to marry, but it did not hinder the Beatles popularity one bit.
I would think that most fans felt the way things are depicted in this song, "Treat him Tender, Maureen."
Here is an article written by Cheryl Hillman for The Beatles Charlton Publication in 1965.
The marriage of the year
By Cheryl Hillman
One night in 1962, a girl called Mary Cox was in the Cavern Club. She was an apprentice hairdresser in a local salon and a Cavern "regular." A boy asked her to dance and she found out that his name was Richard Starkey -- "Ringo" to his friends and that he lived in Dingle. He had been with the Beatles for just a week and was finding a lot of opposition from Pete Best fans who were up in arms against his dismissal from the group. He asked Maureen (as she was known to her friends) for a date, and she accepted. That was the start of a serious but short romance. Short because within weeks The Beatles had hit number one position in the charts and England had gone Beatle crazy.
When the Beatles left Liverpool to go on a mad whirl of one-night stands and television shows, Maureen thought that she had seen the last of the boy she loved. Ringo had had other girlfriends, and now that millions of girls were screaming over him she didn't expect him to do anything but forget her. She realized that the only thing to do was to carry on as if she had never met him. But, of course, she didn't forget him.
Maureen lived with her parents in a tiny terrace house in Boundary street, in the poor dockside area of Liverpool. Probably nobody was more surprised than her when at the first opportunity Ringo sought her out and dated her again. He saw her as often as he could after that, ringing up the hairdressing salon where they soon found out who her mysterious boyfriend was, but they kept her secret for her. the cloak and dagger romance must have been a hard, but exciting secret for the girls in the salon to keep.
At one point news of the romance did leak out, but both Ringo and Maureen denied it so emphatically and seem so hurt by the "rumor" that most people soon dismissed it as being another piece of slanderous Beatle gossip. When Maureen joined Ringo (she has always called him Richie) on a Caribbean cruise with Paul and Jane Asher, the talk started again. Would Ringo and Maureen marry?
One morning Ringo and Maureen were at London's famous Ad Lib Club. It was 2a.m. and in the romantic atmosphere Ringo asked her to marry him. Maureen's a petite, shy, dark-haired beauty, accepted. Ringo wanted a quiet wedding. not because he had wedding nerves (he had made too many entrances on stage to worry about walking down the aisle), but because he knew that if his marriage was given a great deal of publicity he, being a Beatle, would get nearly all the limelight on their wedding day. Ringo, being the person he is, was determined that it was going to Maureen's day. so their wedding, like their romance, was carried out under the heading Top Secret.
At 8:15 on the morning of Thursday 11th February a small group of people filed into a London Register office. 24 year old Ringo and 18 year old Maureen became Mr. & Mrs. Richard Starkey. The ceremony was performed by the Registrar Mr. Barry Digweed in a large room with red curtains and pale grey, red-patterned wallpaper, at Caxton Hall, Westminster. the couple exchanged rings. Ringo gave Maureen a heavily ornamented ring. Maureen, a sky, quiet person slipped onto Ringo's finger a simple plain gold band. as might have been expected, Brian Epstein, whom the Beatles look upon as a real friend and advisor was best man. John Lennon and George Harrison witnessed the marriage certificate. Cynthia Lennon, Maureen's parents and Ringo's mother and step-father made up the rest of the wedding party. And so, while most of England was having breakfast, Ringo married the girl he had met back home in Liverpool's cellar club in Mathew Street.
Tickets for the Beatles show in Cardiff on November 7, 1964 sold out rather quickly and thousands of fans who sent in for tickets were unable to go to the concert that day.
On the day of the show, the first fan in line was Jean tTidcombe, who was 15 years old and excited to be there. The line of fans waiting to see the Beatles arrive and start the show went all around the building and nearby workmen felt sorry for the them and made them tea to drink. One fan told the press, "If I don't see the Beatles, I wont' commit suicide, but I will probably go mad." And just like what I experienced while waiting for Paul McCartney's arrival in Kansas City this past summer, those standing near the stage doors were gossiping about what time the lads would make their appearance. Some fans said that they always arrived at 3pm, while others pointed out that they wee late for some of the other shows and didn't arrive until just before curtain time. In the end it was around 5pm when they finally departed from the police van and into the venue. There is a youtube video of the arrival
Fab fans seemed to enjoy the opening acts, especially Sounds Inc. and Mary Well. And Tommy Quickly, who was often ignored and screamed through, was also well received in Cardiff. However, when the curtain went up and the Beatles began to Twist and Shout, the polite audience turned in to hysterics. The got up on their chairs and were jumping up and down, much to the dismay of the security there who thought the fans were going to get hurt. 50 security men were standing at the front of the stage, ready to take action if any of the screaming fans decided to rush the stage.
Reporter Philip Walker, who was located right by the stage and had plenty of jelly babies thrown on him said that "The Beatles are a fine act. What could be heard of their singing sounded just like their records, which isn't always the case with pop groups."
A fan named Mike posted on the Beatles Bible this past January, " I remember going to see this concert with my sister ( from Newport by
train),,it was the 6 .30 pm show, I remember Mary Wells singing ‘My Guy”
The Beatles opened with ‘twist and shout’,,they were were dressed in
light grey ‘beatle jackets’ near the end of the song, John Lennon took
his tie off and threw it into the front row !,,,,It was a loud, crazy
night. I still have the ticket stub, and one from the Bob Dylan 1966
show !"
During the 1964 tour, while in Scotland, the Beatles stayed at the Four Seasons hotel. Here is what the newspaper said about their stay. And some photos from the tour just for fun.
Also here is a bit of an interesting video clip from when they were at the Four Seasons
Late on Monday night [19 October, 1964], with rain dripping off
floodlit trees, inverted in a plurality of puddles, four travel weary
tourists from Liverpool arrive at the Four Seasons Hotel, St. Fillans.
They were staying for only two nights, but a reception committee
waited to usher them and their retinue straight into the dining-room to
partake of early morning nourishment.
The Beatles enjoyed four juicy steaks after a hard day's night at
their show in Edinburgh [19 October, 1964: ABC Cinema, Edinburgh].
They went to bed early - on Tuesday morning - and slept long after
sunrise. John and Paul, who shared a chalet, were out and about first.
They took a short walk on the shores of Loch Earn, whetting their appetite for lunch.
They found the invigorating fresh air a bit chilly, but waited to try
to entice a dog into the loch by throwing sticks for it to retrieve.
The dog was not playing, however, and refused to do more than paddle.
While John and Paul enjoyed lunch in the hotel dining-room, George and Ringo had breakfast in bed.
John and Paul later tried their hand at boating and went out on Loch
Earn. After some confusion at the start, until everyone had learned how
to drive their boats, they went off and beat up the loch for
half-an-hour or so.
Ringo and George did not appear until it was almost time to leave for
the Dundee concert. They were slow to appear in the morning, but were
the last to go to bed on their return from Dundee.
Police had to be called to disperse several car loads of teenagers
and students who had followed the group back from Dundee on Tuesday
night.
Later on Tuesday a party was held for the four Liverpool tourists by the manager of the hotel and his friends.
Paul retired first and John followed. Ringo and George decided to
take a boat out early on Wednesday morning and spent some time messing
around on the pier.
On Wednesday morning the only Beatle to appear in public was Paul
McCartney. The other three preferred the peaceful seclusion of their
chalets to the quite bustle of the dining-room.
The handful of fans who had gathered hoping to have autograph books
signed were disappointed when the Beatles' limousine collected the
famous four from their chalet and drove straight off to Glasgow.
The Beatles like this part of the countryside and found the peace and
quiet of St. Fillans a pleasant change. Paul wistfully wished he had a
cottage there but realised it was out of the question.
The Beatles need a lot of sleep on their tours and the quiet of St. Fillans is the place to get it.
The admin. has done something really great! He has put all of the video footage that is available from when John was filming walking around New York city on November 15, 1974 into one film so that we can see all of it. I love how John interacts with the fans this day. It is really a some fun footage.
I know for many of you, it will be hard to believe that this year is the 40th anniversary Beatlefest, which is the longest running consecutive Beatles fan convention. This year marks my 20th anniversary of going to the Fest, so I have been there for half of the time (not bad for a 37 year old!). I know that quit a few of you have been to Beatlefests over the past 40 years and have great memories of speakers, music, videos and friends. While I have a lot of complaints about Beatlefest, overall I have to say that it is my favorite thing that I do every summer. I look forward to the Fest in Chicago all year round because it simply is fun. It is the one time of the year that I can be around other people who love the Fab 4 as much as I do (or maybe even more if that is possible). I can listen to geeky speakers and talk to friends in person and sing all the Beatles songs until my hearts content. I will be going to the Chicago Beatlefest again this year, although I will have to leave early on Sunday before it is over because I have my first day of the school year that Monday. So I hope to see many of you there again!
Carol and Mark Lapidos at the 2014 New York Fest
All of this Beatles fun is due to one person. Mark Lapidos not only created Beatlefest, but he has ran it with very little bumps for the past 40 years. I can't say enough how much I appreciate Mark Lapidos and all of the work he has done to not only start a Beatles convention but to keep it going. Many, many other Beatle fan conventions have came and gone over the years and yet Beatlefest is the only one that remains for the longest amount of time. Mark has to be doing something right. Do I agree with everything he does? Heck no! Do I complain about it every single year when I return? Heck yeah! I still think that the Fest needs a make-over of sorts if it is going to continue on after Paul and Ringo are gone, but that is a discussion for another day. One of the reasons why I believe that the Fest has lasted so long is because Mark Lapidos as always been a true Beatle fan. I know that some people might not believe this because they have the impression that Mark is just into it to make money off the Beatles name. But I have seen Mark bid on things with excitement during the auction, I heard him speak about seeing George Harrison at the Bangladesh concert, about going to England in 1969 and hanging around EMI and seeing the Beatles, about seeing Wings over America, etc etc. He still has passion and love for the Beatles and that is what I think is the most important thing if you are running a fan convention.
Mark with Paul and Linda
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Beatlefest, Mark Lapidos gave a talk about how he came up with the idea for the Fest and how he asked John Lennon "permission" before he went ahead with his plans. It was exactly 40 years ago today that Mark went to John Lennon's hotel room and talked to him about his idea of having a Beatle fan convention. And during that talk this past February, I sat right in the front on the floor and recorded the entire time (18 minutes long). It is really interesting. I think my favorite part is how John donated a guitar to be raffled off for a charity and how he almost came to Beatlefest to pick the raffle ticket. You just have to hear the story. It is pretty amazing.
When a fellow Beatle fan has a "Beatles victory" I enjoy celebrating it. That is in part what this blog is for: celebrating our Beatles encounters. One of the people who has been a long-time active participant in this blog, Shari, created a video for the song "Appreciate" found on the Paul McCartney "New" album. It is a great video! But the exciting part of this is that it was spotted by MPL and was featured on the Paul McCartney twitter account (and elsewhere)!!! That means that it is quite possible that Paul himself watched Shari's video and if Paul didn't watch it, then at least the people at MPL watched it and loved it! As a fan, this is pretty exciting stuff! You can read more about Shari's video here . I also send her a few questions and here are her answers.
Sara: How did you get into the Beatles?
Shari: I've been a Beatles fan
since I was 8, when I discovered reruns of the Saturday morning cartoon.
I wasn't allowed to listen to
rock music, so stumbling upon that cartoon opened so many worlds to me,
and I was forever hooked. I credit that cartoon with a lifelong
association of music with images, and I was obsessed with music videos
in the 80s. I suppose it was inevitable I'd eventually want to make one
of my own.
Sara: Have you ever made a video using Beatles (or solo) music before? Shari: This was my first music
video ever, though I made a humorous video last year with two friends of
mine called "Sh*t Duran Duran Fans Say," which is also on my channel at
YouTube.
Sara: What other Beatles songs do you think would make good music videos? Shari: My favorite Beatle song is "Norwegian Wood," and that would
have made for an interesting video.
Hmmm... as far as "NEW" is concerned, I'd love to see videos for my
other favorite songs: "Alligator," "On My Way to Work" "Road" and
"Struggle" (Japanese track).
Sara: Did anyone that you asked to be in your video hear the Paul song, Appreciate? Shari: Only one. A fellow
photography major asked me if the song was from Paul's latest album, and
that floored me. Most of the time, my assistant and I kept it simple
and told them it was for a video about the things people appreciated in
life, and that was enough to get most people we approached to agree to
it.
Sara: When I was watching the video, I thought it was interesting that many of the signs were written in languages other than English. Were you surprised by that? Shari: Not at all, since it was shot on a campus with an international student body. I was happy they wanted to and I encouraged it.
Sara: Do you think Paul himself watched your video? Shari: I was told that the praise came
from the top. My first reaction was shock, which gave way to pure
giddiness. I'm honored to say the least, and I wish I could have been a
fly on the wall to see his reaction!
Sara: What response have you gotten from other fans on your video? Shari: It's been overwhelmingly
positive, and I'm so touched its struck a chord with them. Some people
were hearing "Appreciate" for the first time, and its gained some more
fans. I really hope Paul considers releasing it as a single!
Well I really "Appreciate" Shari taking the time to answer my questions! I am sure that I speak for everyone who reads MTBFR in congratulating you on a great video and receiving the recognition from MPL!
Apple Scruffs singing "Hey Jude" on the steps of Savile Row
George had just walked out and Mal is leading Ringo through the crowd of fans and reporters
Ringo heading towards the car
Someone handed Ringo a hat that he puts on for a second before handing it back and getting into the car
One of the Apple Scruffs with the hat Ringo was wearing smiles for the cameras.
There is a video on youtube (you can find it on Meet The Beatles for Real facebook page) of Derek Taylor and Mavis Smith being interviewed about the Beatles break-up. The end of that interview shows a reporter standing outside of Savile Row. You can see the Apple Scruffs with their purses hanging standing around while reporters are trying to get something from them. There is a very short snippet of them singing "Hey Jude." Then George walks out (I could hear him say Hare Krishna) and Mal leads Ringo out.
It is interesting footage, especially when you consider that the announcement by Paul that the Beatles had broke up was out that day. No one there was crying. I was watching the George documentary and they showed a little bit of this footage and then they showed girls crying. So this is insane,but I recognized those girls as being from Paul's wedding in March 1969. So the George documentary talked about the Beatles break up and wanted us to think that people were outside Savile Row crying, so they showed crying fans from when Paul got married. How deceptive! As you can see from this footage and screen caps that I made from it, no one was crying on the steps. I guess one of my biggest pet peeves is people re-writing Beatle history. I try my best to keep the history intact, but it seems like finding the truth is getting harder and harder. Okay...my rant is now over.
