Latest Beatles News

Rare and long-lost photos, contact sheets & original negatives of rock music legends including Paul and Linda McCartney, John Lennon, Joan Baez, The Supremes, The Carpenters, The Rolling Stones, Jimmy Cliff and more are up for auction through Dec. 10 at entertainment.ha.com. Bidding is open on the Heritage Auction sale, which also features a treasure-trove of rare and some previously unseen images of music legends including Creedence Clearwater Revival, Donovan, Marianne Faithful, Tim Buckley and others shot by renowned music photographer and photojournalist Shepard Sherbell. Some of the items include the original negatives. The auction closes Dec. 10, 2023. All items come with a certificate of authenticity (COA) from Heritage Auctions. - M4G Media...... The Beatles are back at No. 1 on a Billboard airplay chart for the first time in over 50 years as their "final song" "Now and Then" jumped from the second to the top spot on the Adult Alternative Airplay tally dated Dec. 9. It's the band's first No. 1 on that particular survey, which began in 1996. The Beatles previously peaked at No. 11 on that chart with "Free as a Bird" that same year. The last time the group notched a No. 1 on a Billboard radio chart was 1970, when "Let It Be" (the Fab Four's sole other airplay leader) ruled Adult Contemporary for four weeks beginning that April. However the Beatles can boast their share of chart-toppers elsewhere, including a record 20 No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100. Billed as the Beatles' final song, "Now and Then" was recorded as a demo in 1977 by John Lennon and finished at last by surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, among others, after multiple attempts via new technology to extract Lennon's vocals from the original demo, along with guitar parts from George Harrison. It's included on the reissues of the group's 1962-1966 and 1967-1970 compilations, initially released in 1973 and re-released Nov. 10. - Billboard...... In other Beatles-related news, a new documentary series about the Dec. 8, 1980 assassination of John Lennon has a claim that Lennon's murderer Mark David Chapman apologized to his group after shooting Lennon dead outside of his New York City apartment block. According to a witness interviewed for the Apple TV+ docuseries, which begins streaming on Dec. 6, Chapman "actually apologized to us... He said: 'Gee I'm sorry I ruined your night'." The witness responded: "You gotta be kidding me, you just ruined your whole life." First announced in October, John Lennon: Murder Without A Trial examines the pre-meditated crime by the troubled Chapman and its aftermath, and its producers were "granted extensive Freedom of Information Act requests from the New York City Police Department, the Board of Parole and the District Attorney's office." It also features interviews with Lennon's friends and Chapman's defense lawyers, psychiatrists, detectives and prosecutors. It also makes use of previously unseen photos from the scene of the crime. The three-part series is narrated by actor Kiefer Sutherland. Its trailer has been shared on YouTube. - New Musical Express...... One of Paul McCartney's iconic Hofner bass guitars from the 1960's that the former Beatle gifted to a music executive in the 1990's is up for auction at GottaHaveRockandRoll.com. A photograph accompanying this guitar shows McCartney playing the bass with a clear photo-match to the signature on the body of the guitar. The music legend has signed the body of the guitar, "Paul McCartney waz here." The gem can be viewed at GottaHaveRockandRoll.com. - Music-News.com...... Meanwhile, it has been revealed that McCartney and Elton John are set to appear in the upcoming sequel to the classic 1984 "mockumentary" comedy This Is Spinal Tap. Rob Reiner, who directed the original film starring Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer, confirmed various guest stars in the sequel during an appearance on the UK-based Leicester Square Theatre Podcast with host Richard Herring. Speaking on the podcast about the sequel, which was announced in May 2022, Reiner said: "We're going to start shooting in the end of February. Everybody's back. Paul McCartney is joining us, and Elton John. And a few other surprises, Garth Brooks." Along with directing the sequel, Reiner is set to reprise his role as filmmaker Marty DiBergi. McKean, Guest and Shearer will all return as the fictional metal band, comprised of David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel and Derek Smalls respectively. Regarding the plot, the sequel looks set to see DiBergi shoot a second film for the band in a bid for redemption. The Spinal Tap sequel was originally slated to be released in March 2024 to coincide with the original film's 40th anniversary. With filming set to begin in February, however, it's unclear when the sequel will be released. - New Musical Express...... In other Beatles-related news, the Fab Four's "Red" and "Blue" compilation albums have re-entered Billboard's Top Album Sales chart (dated Nov. 25) at Nos. 6 and 5, respectively, following their expanded reissue on Nov. 10. The titles sold 22,000 and 24,000 in the week ending Nov. 16 in the U.S., according to Luminate. Each told sold less than 500 copies in the previous week. For both titles, it is their largest sales week since the week ending Dec. 24, 1994, when they sold 37,000 and 40,000, respectively. Upon their original release in 1973, the 1962-1966 album contained 26 songs, while 1967-1970 held 28 tunes. For the 2023 reissue, 21 songs were added to the two albums -- 12 songs on 1962-1966 and nine on 1967-1970. The latter's additional cuts include the recently released new single "Now and Then," which debuted in the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 - marking the Fab Four's 35th top 10-charting hit. - Billboard...... Dolly Parton has revealed that she sent a "love note" to Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr asking them to contribute to a cover of the Beatles classic "Let It Be" for her new album RockStar. "I just sent them a love note through their managers, and I just said what I was doing. And I said, 'I didn't want to put you on the spot, but I'd love to have you sing with me on my rock album. And if you're interested, call me at this number'," Parton said in an interview with National Public Radio. "And [they] said, yes, we'd love to, and I was very honored and very proud and very humbled by that." A video for Dolly's version of "Let It Be" can be streamed on YouTube. Meanwhile, the Beatles have launched an official Christmas sweater ahead of the festive season through their Apple Corps Ltd. company. It pays homage to the band's iconic Abbey Road album cover, with the Fab Four wearing red Santa hats as they stride across the crossing near Abbey Road Studios in London. As described in a press release, the top is also "set in a winter wonderland surrounded by a snowscape scene and traditional Fair Isle Christmas motifs with The Beatles logo above" and the "subtle and stylish grey knit is finished with red sleeves and hems for a festive touch." UK Christmas sweater dealer Notjust clothing and Earth Merch have teamed up with Apple Corps to launch the new ethically-made jumper to celebrate the release of the Beatles' latest No. 1 hit "Now And Then." Priced at £44.99, the jumper is available now at the Notjust clothing site. In still more Fab Four news, Ringo Starr has dispelled the "terrible rumours" of John Lennon not singing on "Now and Then." Speaking with the AARP, the famous drummer also took a moment to dispel some rumors about the track's creation. "There were terrible rumors that it's not John, it's A.I., whatever bullshit people said," she said. "Paul and I would not have done that. It's a beautiful song and a nice way to finally close that door." "Now and Then" has become the group's first Billboard Top 10 since 1996. - New Musical Express/Billboard...... A selection of the Beatles' catalog has been added to YouTube Shorts for the first time. In total, 75 songs from the legendary band's recently reissued greatest hits compilations "The Red Album" and "The Blue Album" are now available on the platform, with the aim of introducing "a new generation of fans to the incredible history of one of the most important bands in modern music, opening up a whole new way for fans to creatively engage with their catalog." Also available on YouTube shorts is the recent single "Now And Then," the last track to feature all four Beatles members. The single, which was released Nov. 2, has topped the UK Charts 60 years after their first Number One. It is the band's 18th Number One single, with the last being 1969's "The Ballad Of John And Yoko." This feat means that the band now boast the longest period between an artist's first and last Number One single -- with their first being "From Me to You"' in May 1963 (60 years and six months ago). Previously, Elvis Presley held the record with 47 years and six months between his 1957 hit "All Shook Up" and a reissue of "It's Now or Never" that was released in 2005. - New Musical Express...... In an amazing Billboard chart feat, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones have appeared together in the Top 10 of a Billboard chart 59 years after first appearing on the tally for the week of Dec. 12, 1964. On that date, the Beatles' "I Feel Fine" rose to No. 5 from No. 22 in its second week on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, jumping over the Stones' "Time Is on My Side," which held at No. 6. Now the two iconic bands are together again in the top 10 of a Billboard ranking, with the Beatles' "Now and Then" debuting at No. 9 on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart, dated Nov. 18, 2023, with the Stones' "Angry" reaching a new high of No. 6 in its ninth week on the list. "Now and Then" marks the Fab Four's first time in the Top 10 of a radio ranking since "Free As a Bird" debuted and peaked at No. 8, in the song's lone week in the top 10, on the Mainstream Rock Airplay chart dated Dec. 9, 1995. "Now and Then" also marks the Beatles' first Top 10 song on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart. - Billboard...... The Beatles' "final song" "Now and Then" has debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Digital Song Sales chart dated Nov. 11. In the Oct. 27-Nov. 2 tracking week, "Now and Then" sold 16,000 downloads in the U.S., according to Luminate. The song also starts at No. 1 on Rock Digital Song Sales, and is Fab Four's first leader on each retail ranking. (The band's digital catalog was first made available in the iTunes Store in Nov. 2010.) Elsewhere, "Now and Then" starts at Nos. 7 and 11 on the multi-metric Hot Rock Songs and Hot Rock & Alternative Songs charts, respectively, with its sales and airplay also augmented by 2.3 million official U.S. streams Nov. 2. "Now and Then" is also heading for a U.K. No. 1 based on sales and streaming data captured from the first 48 hours in the chart week. It's in the pole position, outselling the rest of the top 5 combined, the Official Charts Company reports. If it holds its spot, "Now And Then" will become the band's 18th U.K. chart-leader, and their first in 54 years, since "The Ballad of John and Yoko" topped the weekly tally back in 1969. Meanwhile, Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson, who has directed and shared the official "Now and Then" video on YouTube, has suggested that more new music from The Beatles is "conceivable." Looking back at his time working on both the "Now and Then" and 2022 Get Back eight-hour docu-series projects, Jackson said that he thinks it is "conceivable" that more new music from the band could be developed. "We can take a performance from Get Back, separate John [Lennon] and George [Harrison], and then have Paul [McCartney] and Ringo [Starr] add a chorus or harmonies," he recently told London's Sunday Times, reflecting on the series which saw him sift through 60 hours of footage and 150 hours of audio. "You might end up with a decent song," he added. "But I haven't had conversations with Paul about that." - Billboard...... The highly anticipated "final" Beatles song, "Now And Then," was released on Nov. 2, 60 years after the release of the iconic British band's 1963 debut studio album Please Please Me. "Now and Then" can be streamed on Spotify.com, which this summer surviving Beatle Paul McCartney explained how Artificial Intelligence (AI) wold be used to complete it. "Can't say too much at this stage but to be clear, nothing has been artificially or synthetically created," McCartney wrote on X/Twitter. "It's all real and we all play on it. We cleaned up some existing recordings -- a process which has gone on for years." He later clarified his comments during a radio interview with the BBC, explaining that AI would be used to separate vocal tracks from background noise and instruments and "extricate" late bandmate John Lennon's vocals from an old recording for use on the final master of the song. A lovelorn guitar-centric rock ballad, "Now And Then" was originally written and recorded by Lennon around 1977 as a solo piano track. After his death in 1980, the unfinished demo floated in limbo -- at times being considered as a Beatles reunion single -- and was ultimately shelved for almost three decades. Now, the song will find a home on the expanded reissue of 1973's 1967-1970 compilation (aka "The Blue Album") -- currently slated for a Nov. 10 release -- and have the distinction of being the final Beatles song. The official video of "Now And Then," directed by Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson, has also been released and shared on YouTube. The poignant 12-minute film tells the story behind the band's "final" song and features exclusive footage and commentary from McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison, as well as Sean Ono Lennon and director Jackson. - Billboard/NME...... The Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have announced details of the release of their "final song" "Now And Then," along with news of expanded reissues of their 1973 "Red" and "Blue" greatest hits albums. "Now and Then" will arrive on Nov. 2 at 10 a.m. ET/7 a.m. PT from Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe, and it marks the last song written by John Lennon, McCartney, George Harrison and Starr. McCartney and Starr finished the song together, more than 40 years after its inception. The double A-side single also includes a sweet full-circle moment, as it's paired with "Love Me Do," featuring the original cover art shot by Ed Ruscha. Both songs have been mixed in stereo and Dolby Atmos. Additionally, a 12-minute Now and Then -- The Last Beatles Song documentary film will arrive on Nov. 1. The Oliver Murray-written doc will tell the story behind the track and will feature exclusive footage and commentary from McCartney, Starr and Harrison, as well as Sean Ono Lennon and The Beatles: Get Back director Peter Jackson. "Now and Then" begins in the late 1970s, when John recorded a demo with vocals and piano at his home in New York's Dakota Building. In 1994, his wife, Yoko Ono Lennon, gave the recording to Paul, George and Ringo, along with John's demos for "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love." Those two songs were released as singles in 1995-96, reaching No. 6 and No. 11, respectively, on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2022, Paul and Ringo set out to complete "Now and Then." In addition to John's vocal, the song includes electric and acoustic guitar recorded in 1995 by Harrison; Starr's new drum part; and bass, guitar and piano from McCartney, who also added a slide guitar solo inspired by George. "It was the closest we'll ever come to having him back in the room, so it was very emotional for all of us. It was like John was there, you know. It's far out," Starr said of the process in a press statement, with McCartney adding, "It's quite emotional. And we all play on it, it's a genuine Beatles recording. In 2023 to still be working on Beatles music, and about to release a new song the public haven't heard, I think it's an exciting thing." Meanwhile, on Nov. 10, expanded editions of The Beatles/1962-1966 (often called "The Red Album") and The Beatles/1967-1970 ("The Blue Album") will be released in 2023 Edition packages by Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe. The original editions, released in 1973, three years after The Beatles' break-up, reached No. 3 and No. 1, respectively, on the Billboard Hot 200. - Billboard...... Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, the 1980 assassination of John Lennon is being documented in a new series by Apple TV+. John Lennon: Murder Without A Trial is narrated by actor Kiefer Sutherland and will look into the pre-meditated crime and its aftermath by troubled fan Mark David Chapman, who fatally shot the former Beatle outside of his New York City apartment block on Dec. 8, 1980. Makers of 3-part docu-series were "granted extensive Freedom of Information Act requests from the New York City Police Department, the Board of Parole and the District Attorney's office," according to a press release, and the series includes interviews with Lennon's friends and Chapman's defence lawyers, psychiatrists, detectives and prosecutors. A premiere date has not yet been confirmed. Chapman pleaded guilty to the crime. In 1981 he was ordered to receive psychiatric treatment and was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. In 2021 he was denied parole for the 12th time. His story was previously dramatized onscreen in the 2007 film Chapter 27, which starred Jared Leto. - New Musical Express, 10/27/23...... A new George Harrison biography from Beatles biographer Philip Norman, George Harrison: The Reluctant Beatle includes Harrison's sarcastic reaction to being stabbed 40 times in a 1999 incident at his home, which left the musician fighting for his life. The moment took place when George and his wife Olivia Harrison became victims of a home invasion, and upon hearing someone break into his home, the guitarist got out of bed to investigate. From there, he was soon confronted by a man named Michael Abram who was holding a knife. An altercation followed as Harrison attempted to wrestle the knife out of Abram's hands, however, the intruder managed to get on top of the Beatle and stabbed him 40 times. He only stopped upon being struck over the head with a lamp by Olivia. In the book, the incident is described in detail and it is also revealed how Harrison described the attack to his son Dhani Harrison with a darkly witty sense of humor. According to Dhani, Harrison described Abram by saying: "He wasn't a burglar and he certainly wasn't auditioning for the Traveling Wilburys." Harrison had already been diagnosed with cancer at the time, and of the 40 stab wounds, one punctured his lung. It was presumed by doctors that the attack worsened his condition. He died of cancer in 2001 -- two years after the incident. - New Musical Express...... Kicking off his 2023 tour of Australia, Paul McCartney played the Beatles classic "She's A Woman" for the first time in nearly 20 years at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Oct. 18. His first performance in over a year, the Adelaide gig spanned across nearly three hours and included a mix of his solo hits, as well as discography with the Beatles and Wings. "She's A Woman," originally the Fab Four's B-side to "I Feel Fine" and their last single release of 1964, was last played live by Macca in 2004. Elsewhere in the setlist, McCartney opened the show with "Can't Buy Me Love" -- the same as seen in previous dates of his "Got Back" tour -- before launcing into the Wings tracks "Junior's Farm" and "Letting Go." No tracks from his latest album McCartney III were featured in the 39-song setlist, although he did bring out songs such as "Come On To Me," "My Valentine," "Maybe I'm Amazed" and "Dance Tonight" from his solo discography, and even an old pre-Beatles The Quarrymen number, "In Spite Of All The Danger." His "She's A Woman" performance has been shared on YouTube. The remaining dates of his Oz tour will continue on Oct. 21 in Melbourne; from there, he will also play shows in Newcastle, Sydney and Brisbane. The Australian dates will conclude with a gig at Heritage Bank Stadium, Gold Coast on Nov. 4. He will then make his way to Brazil for five shows, beginning on Nov. 30. In other McCartney news, the star has recently spoken about the Beatles' feelings towards Yoko Ono during a new episode of his new 12-part podcast series, McCartney: A Life In Lyrics -- stating that he saw her presence during the Beatles' recording sessions as "an interference in the workplace." "John and Yoko had got together and that was bound to have an effect on the dynamics of the group," McCartney said in an interview with poet Paul Muldoon. "Things like Yoko being literally in the middle of the recording session [were] something you had to deal with... Anything that disturbs us, is disturbing. We would allow this and not make a fuss. And yet at the same time, I don't think any of us particularly liked it." - New Musical Express, 10/19/23...... The Jimi Hendrix Experience A Jimi Hendrix Experience cover of the title track of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album has been newly unearthed and released to the public for the first time. The track, which has been shared on YouTube, had its world premiere on the SiriusXM radio show Breakfast With the Beatles, which was guest hosted by former Rolling Stone editor David Fricke. "Here is the sound of the most exciting new group in the world, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, live in rock's greatest year -- and performing the opening theme song from The Beatles' Summer of Love masterpiece," Fricke said as he introduced the song. Fricke continued: "It is a pleasure and honour to play it, for the first time anywhere, on the Beatles Channel." The track serves as the lead song on the forthcoming album Jimi Hendrix Experience: Hollywood Bowl August 18, 1967, which is set for release on Nov. 10. The LP will also feature such JHE originals as "Purple Haze," "The Wind Cries Mary," "Foxey Lady" and "Fire," as well as covers of the likes of Howlin' Wolf ("Killing Floor"), Bob Dylan ("Like a Rolling Stone"), The Troggs ('Wild Thing") and Muddy Waters ("Catfish Blues"). According to legend, Beatles Paul McCartney and George Harrison were able to witness the Hendrix and his band cover their song mere days after the release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in the middle of 1967. Occurring at the Saville Theatre in London on June 4, Hendrix played the song for the pair backstage on a portable record player and then opened the show with the Jimi Hendrix Experience's own dramatic interpretation. - New Musical Express, 10/13/23...... Ringo Starr released a new four-song EP titled Rewind Forward on Oct. 13, which features a song written for Ringo by his former bandmate Paul McCartney. Ringo says his request to Paul to write a song for him came about during one of the pair's frequent conversations. "We were Facetiming each other -- we do that quite a bit -- and I say, 'I'm doing an EP. Write me a song.' And he said, 'OK,'" Starr told Billboard during a recent interview outside West Hollywood's famoust Sunset Marquis hotel. "And he not only wrote it, he's on bass, he's singing on it. He's all over it. He actually put his drums on it." But fans won't hear Sir Paul's drumming on the song: Starr may be the only musician in the world who could tell McCartney his contribution wasn't up to par. When asked how he rates McCartney as a drummer, Starr laughs and, without missing a beat, says, "I wiped him off completely and did it myself. It would be like me sending him a track and I'm on bass." This year also marks the 50th anniversary of "Photograph," the sweeping, nostalgic tune co-written by Starr and George Harrison that became Starr's first solo No. 1 hit in 1973. "We were on a yacht. We were at the Cannes Film Festival," Starr says of writing the song, but the details pretty much end there. "I've very little memory of whatever went on on that holiday," he says with a chuckle, before going into a sweet remembrance of working with Harrison over the years. "George was like my producer for awhile. He took care of me. He put the right chords in because I could only play three," he says. "There's a great piece of footage where I'm playing 'Octopus's Garden' and he's going [shouts] 'F!' I don't know where F is. 'G flat!' He's just shouting out these chords, laying on the settee. Look, I can play any song in the world as long as it's in C," Ringo says, laughing loudly at himself. Ringo has just wrapped the 2023 edition of his annual All-Starr Band tour, which includes such musicians as Colin Hay, Hamish Stuart and Edgar Winter. "We love it. I know the audience loves me. And I love them," Starr says. "And the band has only one rule: We're not there to be miserable. And I'll support you to the best of my ability and I expect the same from you. We do it for each other." - Billboard...... In other Beatles-related news, Paul McCartney took to Instagram on Oct. 9 to mark his 12th wedding anniversary to his wife Nancy Shevell. "Happy anniversary to my lovely wife, Nancy," the 81-year-old wrote alongside a photo of him and his wife, 63. Macca added in the caption, "Let's have a great one - Paul." Fans flooded the comments section with congratulatory messages for the couple, with one fan writing, "Congrats to the happy couple. Look'in good guys," while another commented, "Happy anniversary to my favorite Beatle and his wife." McCartney and businesswoman Shevell met in 2007. They tied the knot four years later in 2011 in London. - Music-News.com...... Paul McCartney launched his new A Life in Lyrics podcast on Oct. 4 with the first episode breaking down the creation of the Beatles' 1966 classic "Eleanor Rigby." In episode one Sir Pual explains where the title for the song came from, sharing that the name for the song came from a grave that he and his late bandmate John Lennon saw. "There is a grave which John and I wandered around endlessly talking about our future," he recalled in the podcast. "And there is a grave there [with the name Eleanor Rigby]. I don't remember ever having seeing that gravestone but it's been suggested to me that psychologically I would have seen it." He also shared where the famous lyric "wearing a face that she keeps in a jar by the door" originated from, attributing the words to his mother and her love and use of Nivea cold cream. "My mum's favourite was Nivea and I love it to this day. It kind of scared me a little that women used quite so much cold cream, and it was my dread, when I got older and got married, that I would marry someone who would [wear a lot of cold cream] and put one of those big shower caps on and the curlers and have masses of things. So that played on my mind quite a bit, so she's wearing a face that she keeps in a jar by the door," he said. McCartney: A Life In Lyrics, based on McCartney's best-selling book The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present was co-produced by Pushkin Industries and iHeartPodcasts. Superfans can binge all of the first season immediately with a Pushkin+ subscription. A new episode will come out every week, and Season 2 will follow with an additional 12 episodes set for release in February of 2024. In other Beatles-related news, Ringo Starr has recently said that the "final" Beatles song -- which has been made with help from artificial intelligence (AI) -- "should have been out already." Speaking to AP News, Starr said when asked when fans can expect to hear the track or find out the title, he responded: "It should've been out already." "Can't say too much at this stage but to be clear, nothing has been artificially or synthetically created," Paul McCartney said in a June 22 tweet. "It's all real and we all play on it. We cleaned up some existing recordings -- a process which has gone on for years. No one is more excited than us to be sharing something with you later in the year," he added. - New Musical Express...... Ringo Starr took a tumble onstage on Sept. 20 during a gig at Albuquerque, N.M.'s Rio Rancho Events Center while making his way back onstage during the band's encore performance of John Lennon & Plastic Ono Band's "Give Peace A Chance." Starr, 83, quickly got to his feet after the fall and joined his band to sing the chorus. There were no later reports of any injuries suffered. Moments after the fall, Starr cracked a joke about the mishap. "I fell over just to tell you that, thank you," he said. - New Musical Express...... George Harrison's son Dhani Harrison has returned with a new single titled "Damn That Frequency," a psychedelic track that features Graham Coxon of Blur on the saxophone. Harrison will officially premiere the new single live at two intimate gigs in London on Oct. 18 and 19. A visualizer for the song can be viewed on YouTube. Dhani last released solo music in 2017 with his IN///PARALLEL album. - New Musical Express...... The actual loudspeakers and amplifiers used by The Beatles in the recording of such iconic LP's as Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, "The White Album," and Abbey Road as well as Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon are up for auction with an opening bid of $250,000. The pair of speakers and amps were used in the recording of practically every Beatles album, and housed in E.M.I.'s legendary Abbey Road Studios. The are currently up for sale at the GottaHaveRockandRoll.com website through Sept. 22. Meanwhile, rare archive of material relating John Lennon and Yoko Ono's famous 1969 "Bed In For Peace" in Holland is also up for sale at the gottahaverockandroll site. The archive consists of various signed photographs and other ephemera, with the highlight being two questionnaires filled out by Lennon during the "Bed-In" at the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel in Holland between Mar. 25-31, 1969. In the questionnaire Lennon asks simple questions, with one answer being, "I feel tired. I want peace. And Food." - Music-News.com...... A global search appeal for Paul McCartney's original Höfner 500/1 Violin Bass guitar which the Beatles legend played on such hits as "Love Me Do," "She Loves You" and "Twist and Shout" has been organized by husband and wife team Scott and Naomi Jones, who are journalists and TV producers, and the Höfner guitar company. Since launching on Sept. 2, "The Lost Bass" project has received hundreds of strong leads to track down "the most important bass in history" after the Höfner company's Nick Wass told the BBC that Sir Paul asked him about the guitar during a recent conversation, which kickstarted the search to find it. "It's not clear where it was stored, who might have been there," Wass said. "For most people, they will remember it it's the bass that made the Beatles." The bass, which disappeared in Jan. 1969 when the Beatles were in London recording the "Get Back/Let It Be" sessions, was the first bass McCartney ever bought -- he purchased it in 1961 for the equivalent of $38 in Hamburg, Germany. Jones first became interested in the guitar's whereabouts after watching McCartney headline Glastonbury last year. He approached Höfner only to discover they were already having conversations about tracking it down: "Paul said to Höfner 'surely if anyone can find this guitar, it's you guys', and that's how it all came about," Jones said. "Now we're working together on this. Nick has more technical knowledge about this guitar than anyone on the planet, and me and my Naomi are bringing some investigative skills." Paul McCartney Since the project launched, the team has already received hundreds of emails, with Jones saying that two in particular were picked out because the information "instantly marries up with something that was known before." "We didn't expect to get necessarily thousands of super-hot leads instantly what I'm anticipating is that people who know something will probably just sort of reflect on what they know and then come forward at some point," he added. Jones concedes that it was possible someone could "innocently" own the bass "without realizing what they've got." He added that it's "worth looking at [finding] the John Lennon acoustic guitar" that he used to write "I Want To Hold Your Hand." "That guitar was stolen from a Beatles Christmas show in Finsbury Park in 1963 but it turned up 51 years later in America and somebody bought that guitar for innocently for 175 dollars." A photo of McCartney playing "The Lost Bass" in 1969 has been posted on TheLostBass.com's Twitter/X page. - Billboard...... Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have added another first to their legendary Beatles Billboard pop chart history by having the first song that shared credited billing between the two, or any of the four Beatles including John Lennon and George Harrison, enter the charts outside the group. Dolly Parton's version of the Fab Four classic "Let It Be," featuring Paul and Ringo, arrived on the Rock Digital Song Sales chart at No. 2, the Country Digital Song Sales at No. 15, and No. 22 on the all-genre Digital Song Sales chart for the week dated Sept. 2. The new version of "Let It Be" is set to be included on Parton's 30-song album Rockstar, which will drop Nov. 17. The Beatles' original topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in 1970. The closest such occurrence previously happened with McCartney and Starr both received credit on Give My Regards to Broad Street, which hit No. 17 on the now defunct Top Videocassettes Sales and No. 30 on Top Videocassettes Rentals charts in 1985. Other collaborations between former Beatles include Harrison's All Things Must Pass LP on which Starr played drums on several tracks, and all three living Beatles at the time contributed to Harrison's 1981 No. 2 single "All Those Years Ago." Meanwhile, both McCartney, 81, and Starr, 83, have busy schedules in the coming weeks. Starr resumes touring with his All Starr Band Sept. 15 in Lake Tahoe, Nev., and will release the four-song EP Rewind Forward on Oct. 13, and McCartney's Got Back Tour hits Australia on Oct. 18. - Billboard......Paul McCartney announced on his Instagram account on Aug. 23 he'll be performing his first concert in Mexico City in six years on Nov. 14 at the Mexican capital's Foro Sol as part of his international Got Back Tour. "I'm very excited to say that I'm going to Mexico to give some concerts with my Got Back Tour in November," Sir Paul said in a press release. "I have very good memories of Mexico. Every time we're there we have a great time. So let's create more wonderful memories let's rock let's roll. And let's have a party! Party!," he added. Macca's Got Back Tour kicked off on Apr. 28, 2022, in Spokane, Wash., and toured 13 U.S. cities. In June 2022, the former Beatle headlined the Glastonbury Festival in England. After his visit to Mexico, McCartney will continue his tour in Brazil, where he has five concerts scheduled between November and December. - Billboard...... In other Beatles-related news, Ringo Starr released "Rewind Forward" on Aug. 23, the first single and title track from his forthcoming four-track EP which will drop on Oct. 13. Rewind Forward also will feature "Feeling the Sunlight," which he recorded with his old bandmate Paul McCartney. Commenting on the EP's title, Ringo said, "Rewind Forward was something I said out of the blue -- it's just one of those lines like a 'Hard Day's Night'. It just came to me. But it doesn't really make sense. I was trying to explain it to myself and the best I can tell you about what it means is: sometimes when you want to go forward you have to go back first." The EP also features the tracks "Shadows on the Wall" and "Miss Jean," which saw Ringo collaborating with other "old and new friends," including long-time collaborators Steve Lukather and Joe Williams who wrote the opening song "Shadows on the Wall." The EP also features contributions from Benmont Tench, Mike Campbell, Ian Hunter, Joe Walsh and Steve Dudas, among others. All songs were recorded at Ringo's home studio in Los Angeles except "Feeling the Sunlight," which was largely recorded in Britain. The new EP is the first fresh material Ringo has put out since his previous EPs Zoom in, Change the World and EP3 which dropped in Sept. 2022. Ringo will kick off a 14-city North American autumn tour with his All Starr Band on 17 Sept. 17 at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, Canada. - Music-News.com, 8/23/23...... Twenty-five letters sent to George Harrison's mother Louise Harrison during the height of '60s Beatlemania from a young fan named Janet Gray are due to go under the hammer at the Liverpool Beatles Memorabilia Auction on Aug. 26. The pair are said to have had regular written correspondence between 1963 and 1966, and in one of the letters, Louise reavealed that she was "disgusted" at how audiences would scream throughout the Beatles' live shows. "I was disgusted at the way the so-called fans just screamed" at one of the Beatles' gigs in Manchester, Louise wrote. "Nobody with any sense would pay and queue for a ticket just to stand on a seat and scream and not hear one sound from the stage," she added. "I was really ashamed I was a female." The letter in question is expected to fetch £100-£150. Offering Gray some advice regarding her home life, Louise wrote: "I hope you will try and remember that your mum is your best friend, even if you don't see eye-to-eye on some issues. Thank God I get on fine with all my four children and they with each other." Per BeatlesStory.com, Louise and George's father Harold would "invite fans into their home and loved chatting to fans about their son's success." The late musician's mother -- who died in 1970, aged 59 -- is said to have replied to thousands of letters from Beatles fans around the world. In another letter dated Aug. 14, 1966, Louise expressed her concern for her famous son's health, mentioned a minor car crash he'd been involved in, and admitted to feeling overwhelmed by all the fan mail she had received. "I am hoping the boys will have a successful tour of America despite all the rumours we have heard," she wrote. More info on the upcoming auction can be found at BeatlesAuction.co.uk. - The BBC/New Musical Express, 8/15/23...... In other Beatles-related news, Dolly Parton shared her cover of "Let It Be" featuring Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Mick Fleetwood and Peter Frampton on YouTube on Aug. 18. The country superstar's take on the Beatles classic is taken from her forthcoming 49th solo studio album, Rockstar, which will drop Nov. 17. Parton previously shared a cover of Queen's "We Are the Champions" from the new album. - NME, 8/15/23...... Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, Alice Cooper has told the Ohio radio station QFM96 that he believes the Beatles would "absolutely" have reunited if John Lennon hadn't been murdered in 1980, a decade after the rock legends split acrimoniously. "Absolutely," Cooper said. "Here's the thing about them. When they were after each other's throats, when it came to the breakup and all that stuff, if anybody in the Vampires back in those days -- that was our drinking club -- if anybody said anything bad about Paul, John would take a swing at you, because that was his best friend. If anybody said anything about John to Paul, Paul would walk out of the room. He'd just walk out. Because you are not allowed to talk about their best friends. They were best friends no matter what was going on in the whole thing." Alice, 75, suggested Lennon wanted to make their music "more political" and that McCartney wasn't keen. He added: "One went one way, and one went the other. I think John wanted to be more political. Paul was not into that that much." The Coop's '70s L.A. drinking club, which also included the likes of Lennon, Ringo Starr, Keith Moon and Harry Nilsson, shares a name with his current supergroup the Hollywood Vampires with Johnny Depp, Joe Perry, and more. Meanwhile, Cooper has released the third single from his new LP Road, which is set to drop on Aug. 25. Alice said of the song: "'Welcome to the Show' is just that: telling the audience here it is. The show is ready to go, and we are fully loaded. Here it comes!" Road is Alice's first new music since his 2021 LP Detroit Stories, for which he has reunited with longtime rock producer Bob Ezrin. He recently wrapped a summer tour with the Hollywood Vampires. Music-News.com3...... Paul McCartney, who composed his 1991 "Liverpool Oratorio" work with composer Carl Davis, has paid tribute to the composer after Mr. Davis' family announced on Aug. 3 that he had died following a brain haemorrhage. "I was very sad to hear that my friend Carl Davis had passed away. Carl and I wrote the 'Liverpool Oratorio' together. It was my first full-length classical venture and I really enjoyed working with him to make it happen. I would show up at his house and we would start writing," McCartney posted on Twitter on Aug. 7. He added: "I would suggest an idea and he would write it down on the manuscript paper which made it easy for him to play the idea back to me and we progressed like that. He was a very skilful and fun man to be with." McCartney also shared a photo of the two sitting together at the piano, and closed his message with: "When we came to perform the piece at Liverpool Cathedral it was very exciting for me who had once failed an audition for the choir at the cathedral to be back there with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. I enjoyed my time with Carl very much and send my love and sympathies." Mr. Davis won a BAFTA and Ivor Novello award for his work on 1981's The French Lieutenant's Woman, and also worked on the BBC's 1995 adaptation of Pride And Prejudice. In other McCartney news, the Beatles legend has just added a second Sydney show to his forthcoming Australia tour, slated for this October and November. "Sydney, we've got great news!," reads an Aug. 6 message on McCartney's Twitter account. "Paul has added a second and final show at Allianz Stadium on October 28th, to his #PaulMcCartneyGotBack tour! More Information at https://t.co/KhK4WK9uaZ." McCartney announced on Aug. 1 that he'll launch a 6-city, 7-date tour down under on Oct. 18 in Adelaide, wrapping on Nov. 4 in Gold Coast. The announcement came just a day after he teased an international tour, and it is currently unclear if the musician will announce more global tour dates for the "Got Back" tour. - New Musical Express...... On Aug. 1, Paul McCartney announced his first tour of Australia in six years will commence on Oct. 18 in Adelaide. The day before, Sir Paul had teased on his social media outlets that he had "news coming soon" of some type of world tour on his social media outlets, and delivered the following day with his announcement of an "intimate" date at Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Oct. 18, the only arena show on the itinerary which also includes stops in Melbourne (10/21), Newcastle (10/24), Sydney (10/27) and Brisbane (11/1) before wrapping at Gold Coast's Heritage Bank Stadium on Nov. 4. When McCartney and the Beatles played Adelaide in 1964, at the very peak of their powers, an estimated 350,000 people lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the Fab Four. That's roughly one-third the city's current population. "I've got so many amazing memories of my time in Australia over the years," McCartney said in a statement. "Our last trip was so much fun. We had such an incredible time. Each show was a party so we know this is going to be incredibly special. Australia we are going to rock! I can't wait to see you." Joining Macca down under will be his longtime band, Paul "Wix" Wickens (keyboards), Brian Ray (bass/guitar), Rusty Anderson (guitar) and Abe Laboriel Jr (drums). - Billboard...... Paul McCartney and Steven Spielberg were spotted attending a screening of Christopher Nolan's new movie Oppenheimer at a cinema in New York's summer vacation hotspot the Hamptons on July 24. Sir Paul and the famous Jaws and Raiders of the Lost Ark director have known each other since 1986, when the former Beatle told Rolling Stone at the time that he sought out Spielberg's advice on the possibility of making a movie about the Fab Four's career. More recently, Spielberg noted that The Beatles song "Michelle" from 1965's Rubber Soul brought back memories of his first kiss in college. A pic of the two famous entertainment personalities attending Oppenheimer was shared on Christopher Nolan's Twitter account. Meanwhile, Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy recently said his wardrobe for the movie was partly inspired by David Bowie during his Thin White Duke era. "Chris sent me a couple of shots of David Bowie, certain periods in David Bowie's career, like Thin White Duke and around 'Young Americans' time," Murphy said. "He had these massive trousers and he was so emaciated but so fucking cool. So we used that, weirdly, for some of Oppenheimer's trousers." - New Musical Express...... In a new interview in the UK paper The Guardian where fans asked Brian May questions, the Queen guitarist was asked which artist he regretted not having the chance to work with. May responded: "I very seldom turn down a collaboration. A regret is that I didn't get the chance to work with John Lennon." He added: "The Beatles didn't always agree, they were always pulling and pushing -- a bit like us and Queen -- and I think John would be such a stronger pusher and puller. You'd have to work really hard to keep up, to believe in your instincts. I could imagine us hitting it off." - New Musical Express...... The likes of Paul McCartney, Dolly Parton, Ian Anderson, Lindsey Buckingham, Peter Gabriel, Carly Simon and Paul Rodgers were among the many music stars wishing Yusuf/Cat Stevensa happy 75th birthday on July 21. Yusuf first found fame with his debut album Matthew And Son when he was just 18 in 1967, before releasing such hits as "The First Cut Is The Deepest," "Father And Son," "Morning Has Broken," "Peace Train" and "Wild World" during a career that has spanned over 50 years. Yusuf, whose latest effort is 2023's King of a Land, told fans on his birthday that "Thanks to the One who gave us life after our lifeless non-existence -- to You is the Journeying." Posting to social media, Paul McCartney said: "It was wonderful to hang out with Cat in the '60s. We had some fun experiences together and I have always admired his music. It was a great pleasure to meet his wife and children in latter years and see how happy they all are as a family. From Cat to Yusuf he is a great singer and song writer and easy to admire." - NME...... On July 18 Paul McCartney announced a new podcast on the iheart.com site, McCartney: A Life in Lyrics, will be released on Sept. 20, 2023. Each episode will see Sir Paul focusing on a single song from his work in the Beatles and Wings as well as his solo career. Tracks included in the first season of the podcast series include "Eleanor Rigby," "Let It Be" and "Live and Let Die," among others. The series, which superfans can binge the entire first season of immediately through a subscription at Pushkin+, will also provide listeners an unrivaled opportunity to sit in on conversations between Macca and poet Paul Muldoon, who wrote the foreword to McCartney's bestselling book, The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present. "When we listened back to the tapes, we realized there was something very special happening in these conversations," explained Muldoon in the prologue episode which is out now. "It was McCartney unfiltered. It was like going back to an old snapshot album, looking back on work I haven't thought much about for quite a few years," McCartney added. Regular fans can start listening to the first episode via iHeartRadio, Apple, Spotify, and other podcast platforms on Sept. 20, with a new episode coming out every week. Season one will feature 12 episodes and Season 2 will follow with an additional 12 episodes set for release in Feb. 2024. - New Musical Express