The Beatles

[SpacedX]

1 hour ago, Free Falling Foxes said:

Available online, complete editions Beatles Book magazine.

And culled from the June 1966 edition - "whenever they appeared on the balcony before cheering crowds in Australia, the boys couldn't help giving Hitler-type salutes."

 

 

Edited 24 January by SpacedX

[davieG]

[davieG]

Abbey Road Tribute  · 

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Quarrymen Songs Which Didn’t Die

“When I’m Sixty-Four” (McCartney)

Written in April or May 1956, when Paul was 14 years okd.

“I wrote a lot of stuff thinking I was going to end up in the cabaret, not realizing that rock and roll was particularly going to happen. When I was fourteen there wasn't much of a clue that it was going to happen."

The Quarrymen, and later The Beatles, used "When I'm Sixty-Four" as a song they could play acoustically when their amplifiers broke down or the electricity went off during performances, especially during their Cavern Club days.

The song was finally recorded for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967).

[The Bear]

When I'm 64 is a crap song tbf. Deserve to be in a cabaret and not on a Beatles album. 

[Fox92]

1 minute ago, The Bear said:

When I'm 64 is a crap song tbf. Deserve to be in a cabaret and not on a Beatles album. 

I like it but it's not near the quality of a Beatles song. A song that Lennon hated anyway so I don't think you're alone in that opinion.

[The Bear]

3 minutes ago, Fox92 said:

I like it but it's not near the quality of a Beatles song. A song that Lennon hated anyway so I don't think you're alone in that opinion.

On La Di Oh Bla Da is another similar one but I actually quite like that. 

 

McCartney had that very melodic catchy sound on tap which is why I prefer his songs generally to Lennon's. 

[SpacedX]

12 minutes ago, The Bear said:

When I'm 64 is a crap song tbf. Deserve to be in a cabaret and not on a Beatles album. 

Agree. Symptomatic of what Lennon derisively termed his "Granny music". Dreadful. 

 

I've posted before in respect of how much stronger Sgt. Pepper, Revolver and Rubber Soul in particular could have been if some of the throwaway material had been discarded in favour of the accompanying singles at the time that EMI pressurised them to release. To be fair, it was very much a singles market at the time. Imagine Sgt. Pepper binning 'When I'm 64' and 'Good Morning Good Morning' in favour of 'Penny Lane' and Strawberry Fields Forever' for which they were originally intended. 

 

Quality control seriously lapsed during the White Album which could have been trimmed into a leaner much stronger release - and possibly their finest. 

[Free Falling Foxes]

2 hours ago, SpacedX said:

Agree. Symptomatic of what Lennon derisively termed his "Granny music". Dreadful. 

 

I've posted before in respect of how much stronger Sgt. Pepper, Revolver and Rubber Soul in particular could have been if some of the throwaway material had been discarded in favour of the accompanying singles at the time that EMI pressurised them to release. To be fair, it was very much a singles market at the time. Imagine Sgt. Pepper binning 'When I'm 64' and 'Good Morning Good Morning' in favour of 'Penny Lane' and Strawberry Fields Forever' for which they were originally intended. 

 

Quality control seriously lapsed during the White Album which could have been trimmed into a leaner much stronger release - and possibly their finest. 

The Beatles and George Martin had a policy of not putting singles on albums. George Martin said they felt it was 'conning' the public.

I don't believe there was pressure from EMI either, regarding Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane. It was their manager, Brian Epstein, who felt they needed a lift and a single release was way overdue.

GM then offered the two titles mentioned, which were going on the album but were then left off for the reasons I've already mentioned.

 

Regarding 'throwaway' songs you refer to; When I'm 64, was a big hit with mums and dad's at the time and remember, The Beatles appeal was broad.

I also would contest that Good Morning, Good Morning is not a throwaway either.

 

I agree - and so would George Martin - that the White Album could have been an outstanding single album as opposed to being 'only' very good.

Apparently, the extra songs were including as a way of meeting a contractual commitment. Plus, of course, they had written quite a lot in India prior to the recording.

[SpacedX]

2 hours ago, Free Falling Foxes said:

The Beatles and George Martin had a policy of not putting singles on albums. George Martin said they felt it was 'conning' the public.

I don't believe there was pressure from EMI either, regarding Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane. It was their manager, Brian Epstein, who felt they needed a lift and a single release was way overdue.

GM then offered the two titles mentioned, which were going on the album but were then left off for the reasons I've already mentioned.

 

Regarding 'throwaway' songs you refer to; When I'm 64, was a big hit with mums and dad's at the time and remember, The Beatles appeal was broad.

I also would contest that Good Morning, Good Morning is not a throwaway either.

 

I agree - and so would George Martin - that the White Album could have been an outstanding single album as opposed to being 'only' very good.

Apparently, the extra songs were including as a way of meeting a contractual commitment. Plus, of course, they had written quite a lot in India prior to the recording.

I've had these exchanges before. It comes down to personal taste, I guess but Lennon himself regarded 'Good Morning Good Morning' as nothing more than a filler and complete rubbish. That said, he was very scathing about much of The Beatles work in the immediate years after the split. 

 

You are correct that The Beatles did have a policy of not including singles on the albums, of that there is no doubt, but some of the material that was released in that format had not expressly been written with that intention in mind and as I said, there most definitely was enormous pressure from EMI to keep churning them out.  'Penny Lane' and 'Strawberry Fields Forever' are examples of this. Recorded when the Beatles reconvened in late 1966/early 67, they were originally intended for the new project surrounding their childhood lives in Liverpool and in a sense, autobiographical. George Martin regarded the omission of both songs on Sgt Pepper the "greatest mistake of his professional career", and I completely agree. EMI liked Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane so pressured them into releasing them as a Double-A side for release in February 1967. Both would have been preferable to 'When I'm 64' and the banal mediocrity of 'Good Morning Good Morning' that drew casual inspiration from a cornflakes advertisement.  Like I say, one of the things that has always struck me about Beatles albums is how much stronger they would have been if EMI hadn't placed so much contractual pressure on them to release singles, which had far more commercially appeal and marketing potential than albums. Imagine Rubber Soul minus 'What Goes On' and 'Run For Your Life' (fillers, which Lennon himself abhorred), and with the addition of 'Day Tripper' 'We Can Work it Out' -which would have been the case today. Or Revolver minus 'Good Day Sunshine' and 'I Want to Tell You' replaced by 'Paperback Writer' and 'Rain'. However, without the singles and a public forever eager to be sated with ever more material, the phenomenon would not have been as it was and they wouldn't have been granted the autonomy to become a studio band that they benefitted from later in their career. Also the grueling schedule that was thrust upon them was borderline criminal. Look at how 'Beatles for Sale' was recorded on the fly. A very, very tight professional live band able to flit in and out of the studio in between their hectic itinerary and the by then debilitating curse of Beatlemania...but it did lead to the inclusion of some rather uninspired standards/covers simply in the interest of expediency. 

 

Regarding the White Album and contractual commitment in releasing a double LP with 30 songs and uncertainty looming, the Beatles were able to fulfill their contract with EMI through a single release. You are also correct that they had amassed a large amount of material during the stay in India - not so much George though, who remained, with John, the longest. The result was a fascinating album, albeit quite disjointed due to the disharmony in the group during recording and a piece of work that contains some questionable material from the stay in Rishikesh that was to surface again on Abbey Road. What was inspired though on this occasion was the release of Hey Jude as a single to herald the launch of the Apple label. A huge gamble given its unprecedented length. 

Edited 20 March by SpacedX

[Fox92]

4 hours ago, The Bear said:

On La Di Oh Bla Da is another similar one but I actually quite like that. 

 

McCartney had that very melodic catchy sound on tap which is why I prefer his songs generally to Lennon's. 

Honestly I don't think there's been anyone like McCartney in modern/pop music. He must be able to pull melodies from anywhere.

[SpacedX]

On 20/03/2025 at 18:46, Fox92 said:

Honestly I don't think there's been anyone like McCartney in modern/pop music. He must be able to pull melodies from anywhere.

Unfortunately, out of his arse on far too many occasions. 

[davieG]

Abbey Road Tribute  · 

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In 1962, “Chains”, written by Carole King, was a chart topping R&B song in both the US and Liverpool.

With the song’s irregular foot-stomping, hand-clapping rhythm, it became a favorite of the Beatles, who incorporated it into their early club set lists with George on the lead vocal.

When the band recorded their first album, ‘Please Please Me’, in February 1963, “Chains" was one of six cover songs to make the cut.

John played harmonica and it was the first time many fans heard George’s lead vocals on a commercially released song

The band also did covers of some of Carole’s other songs as a live band, including “Keep Your Hands Off My Baby” and “Locomotion.”

If you played Carole King’s hits back to back, they would play for about five hours. Along with her husband Gerry Goffen, they wrote an amazing number of hits for other bands including, “If It’s Over” (Mariah Carey), “Don’t Bring Me Down” (The Animals), “I’m Into Something Good” (Herman’s Hermits), “Up On The Roof” (Drifters), “Go Away Little Girl” (Steve Lawrence/ Donny Osmond), “He Hit Me (and It Felt Like a Kiss)” (The Crystals), “The Loco-Motion" (Little Eva/ Grand Funk Railroad/Kylie Minogue), “Take Good Care of My Baby," (Bobby Vee), “You’ve Got a Friend” (James Taylor), “You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman” (Aretha Franklin) and “The Porpoise Song (Theme From 'Head')," (The Monkees).

John and Paul often said they wanted to be the British songwriting duo equivalent of Goffin and King.

Carole and

[Dr Marco]

On 20/03/2025 at 19:46, Fox92 said:

Honestly I don't think there's been anyone like McCartney in modern/pop music. He must be able to pull melodies from anywhere.

Brian Wilson

 

 

Edited 23 March by Dr Marco

[SpacedX]

5 hours ago, Dr Marco said:

Brian Wilson

 

 

I commented earlier in this thread that this track in particular is up there with anything that the Beatles composed. 

[davieG]

Fab four stars revealed for major Beatles films

 

Paul Mescal and Barry Keoghan have been confirmed as part of the all-star line-up who will play members of the Beatles in four major new films about the band.

Normal People and Gladiator II actor Mescal will portray Sir Paul McCartney, while Saltburn star Keoghan will step into Ringo Starr's shoes.

The acting supergroup will also feature Harris Dickinson, who was most recently seen opposite Nicole Kidman in Babygirl, as John Lennon.

And Joseph Quinn will go from Marvel's Fantastic Four to the Fab Four, playing George Harrison in the big-screen quadrilogy, which will be directed by Sir Sam Mendes.

 

 

More here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8eplyxp3wjo

[The Bear]

All 4 actors look like weirdos. 

[spacemunky]

10 hours ago, davieG said:

Fab four stars revealed for major Beatles films

 

Paul Mescal and Barry Keoghan have been confirmed as part of the all-star line-up who will play members of the Beatles in four major new films about the band.

Normal People and Gladiator II actor Mescal will portray Sir Paul McCartney, while Saltburn star Keoghan will step into Ringo Starr's shoes.

The acting supergroup will also feature Harris Dickinson, who was most recently seen opposite Nicole Kidman in Babygirl, as John Lennon.

And Joseph Quinn will go from Marvel's Fantastic Four to the Fab Four, playing George Harrison in the big-screen quadrilogy, which will be directed by Sir Sam Mendes.

 

 

More here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8eplyxp3wjo

2028? As if we'll still be here 

[SouthStandUpperTier]

23 hours ago, davieG said:

Fab four stars revealed for major Beatles films

 

Paul Mescal and Barry Keoghan have been confirmed as part of the all-star line-up who will play members of the Beatles in four major new films about the band.

Normal People and Gladiator II actor Mescal will portray Sir Paul McCartney, while Saltburn star Keoghan will step into Ringo Starr's shoes.

The acting supergroup will also feature Harris Dickinson, who was most recently seen opposite Nicole Kidman in Babygirl, as John Lennon.

And Joseph Quinn will go from Marvel's Fantastic Four to the Fab Four, playing George Harrison in the big-screen quadrilogy, which will be directed by Sir Sam Mendes.

 

 

More here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8eplyxp3wjo

Could be decent, if we can all overlook the fact that none of them look even remotely like the person they are supposed to be playing.

[purpleronnie]

Never really understood the appeal of biopics when they're often numerous really good documentaries out there.

[Foxdiamond]

On 02/04/2025 at 13:05, purpleronnie said:

Never really understood the appeal of biopics when they're often numerous really good documentaries out there.

Particularly when there is so much footage available of The Beatles.

[Fox92]

On 02/04/2025 at 13:05, purpleronnie said:

Never really understood the appeal of biopics when they're often numerous really good documentaries out there.

 

10 minutes ago, Foxdiamond said:

Particularly when there is so much footage available of The Beatles.

And also two members are still alive.

 

I saw someone releasing a book about McCartney. The bloke is still alive, I'm pretty sure he can confirm or deny what happened.