jueves, 31 de mayo de 2012

The Beatles' Year Of Living Dangerously

www.mojo4music.com

The Beatles' Year Of Living Dangerously

25/05/2012
With the death of Brian Epstein in August 1967 the Beatles were transformed from a well-disciplined group of loveable mop-tops to a fractured long-haired collective pursuing four different creative paths. Meanwhile, their psychedelic revolution was heading mainstream in the guise of their animated musical movie, Yellow Submarine (reissued in new digital finery next month). As a companion piece to MOJO 224's 19-page Beatles special (on sale now) we submit the video evidence from the year the Fabs went mad.

August 27, 1967
The now-famous footage of The Beatles responding to the news of their manager's death. Watching it again, you see George and John moving in two very different emotional directions.
September 18, 1967
The Beatles ogle the Bonzo Dog Band at Raymond's Revue Bar for the penultimate scene of their Magical Mystery Tour film. Look out for Viv Stanshall's Lindsay Kemp-inspired moves.
October 11, 1967
John and Yoko collaborate in public for the first time. In this fascinating interview from December 12, 1968, Yoko, and then John, discuss their art with Dutch sociologist Abram De Swaan, in the waiting room of Lennon's Knightsbridge dentist. Lennon looks distinctly groggy when he finally appears...
And here's John and Yoko on the David Frost Show on Saturday 24 August 1968, talking about the You Are Here art exhibition, from July 1968:
November 18, 1967
George Harrison works on the Wonderwall soundtrack with the Remo Four. Here is their collaborative track In The First Place, as used in the Wonderwall trailer.
December 11, 1967
Apple Music sign Grapefruit. Here's a nice example of Grapefruit Mk1's mop-top charm.
And here's an equally illustrative example of how, as Grapefruit's John Perry puts it inMOJO 224, Grapefruit Mk2 "ruined ourselves by growing long hair and smoking funny cigarettes"...
January 25, 1968
John, Paul, George and Ringo film their Yellow submarine cameos. Here they are:
And here's a little insight into the chaotic genius that went into the construction of the film:
February 11, 1968
The Beatles film the TV promo for Lady Madonna. Here's how Tony Bramwell's remarkable footage was originally edited.
And here's the restored footage, recut to the original performance, Hey Bulldog...
March 8, 1968
Paul Jones' solo 7-inch And The Sun Will Shine, is released, with Paul McCartney on drums. But, as Jones tells MOJO 224, "The way he played on the B-side, The Dog Presides, Goodness me!" Jeff Beck (on guitar) and Jones's harmonica aren't bad either...
April, 16, 1968
Apple Publicity Limited is formed. Why not let Peter Asher, head of A&R, tell you about it himself?
May 23, 1968
The Beatles are interviewed for Tony Palmer's landmark BBC rock doc, All My Loving. John Lennon acts as go-between. Here's a little snippet of its revolutionary genius:
June 18, 1968
The John Lennon play: In His Own Write, opens at the Old Vic Theatre. Here John Lennon and director Victor Spinetti discuss the production on the BBC arts programme, Release.
July 28, 1968
Fed up with the photos of them in circulation, The Beatles invite war photographer Don McCullin on a Mad Day Out. Here is some ultra rare film footage of the day.

George Harrison's Widow Rules Out Hologram Revival

www.contactmusic.com

George Harrison's Widow Rules Out Hologram Revival

30 May 2012
George Harrison's widow Olivia has ruled out ever reviving the Beatles legend's image with an onstage hologram, insisting she wouldn't be able to "handle" seeing it.
Last month (Apr12) the audience at the Coachella festival in California was left stunned when Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre 'performed' with a ghostly image of their late rap pal Tupac Shakur.
The headline-grabbing performance sparked much debate about the possibilities of bringing back other dead music legends - but Fab Four star Harrison's wife has ruled out the chance of a Beatles reunion.
She tells Mojo magazine, "No, I don't think I could handle that. I think that would be unkind and unfair to him too. He needs to be where he is, y'know (sic) - I'm sure he's occupied."

Beatle Ringo encourages us to save water

www.biggreensmile.com

Beatle Ringo encourages us to save water

By Simon
29, May 2012
Ringo Starr formally opened the WaterAid garden at the Chelsea Flower Show and used the opportunity to take a swipe at the water companies who, in failing to fix leaks, allow water to go to waste.
The former Beatle who has been associated with WaterAid since 2003 said: "In this country, we take water for granted - the water companies just let it leak away. It’s shameful. In many parts of the world one bucket of clean water can keep a family going for two days."
The garden, known as The Herbert Smith Garden for WaterAid, went on to win a Silver Award.
Barbara Frost, chief executive of WaterAid, said: "The garden aims to highlight the impact of WaterAid’s work – demonstrating the importance of safe water to drink, improved hygiene and sanitation for the world’s poorest people.
"In Zambia, Herbert Smith’s continued support is helping us transform lives with access to these basic services. We’re so thrilled to have Ringo Starr’s support, his involvement will help promote WaterAid’s work at the show, which attracts 157,000 visitors each year."
It’s also good to hear Ringo highlight the shameful waste of water in this country. It’s up to all of us to do what we can to save water, but perhaps the water companies could take the initiative and lead by example?

THANK YOU VERY MUCH (GRACIAS POR SU VISITA)

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GEORGE : Chants Of India Interview part 3.mp4

GEORGE : Chants Of India Interview part 2.mp4

GEORGE : Chants Of India Interview part 1.mp4

miércoles, 30 de mayo de 2012

Paul McCartney discusses songwriting and RAM with Mansun's Paul Draper

drownedinsound.com
Paul McCartney discusses songwriting and RAM with Mansun's Paul Draper
by Sean Adamms
May 28th, 2012


Last week, Sir Paul McCartney sat down with musician Paul Draper (of DiS heroes Mansun), to discuss songwriting and re-issue of RAM.
When we were initially asked if Drowned in Sound like to interview Paul McCartney , we knew that this would have  to be done by someone who was not just a fan with an encyclopedic knowledge, but by someone who could provide a unique perspective.

In the weeks leading up to this interview, a few names of candidates came up, but there was one artist that seemed like the perfect choice. Partly because his music had such a profound influence on DiS' readership (for me personally, his album Six helped expand my understanding an appreciation of not just songs but of the possibilities of music). There's the attention to ornate production details, the epic scope of the arrangements, the conceptual ideas... The fact he grew up in Liverpool, wrote a song entitled 'Taxloss' inspired by 'Taxman' and was named "Paul" after one of the Fab Four, it meant that, in the end, there was really only one person DiS could send along to do this. So, when Paul Draper from the band Mansun agreed to take on the task, an in-depth conversation ensued about the art of songcraft, production, inspiration and motivation and more...
 
Paul Draper: I met you in 2000 at Air Studios, when my band Mansun were recording with Hugh Padgham and we met in the canteen. And we released three albums on Parlophone...
Paul McCartney: Oh, so we’re label mates!
And I’m from Wavertree in Liverpool originally...
As long as you've still got your health, nevermind...
Ha, yeah, that sounds exactly like something my mum would say... ok, so first question... can you remember what you were doing on the day RAM was released first time around?
I can’t really remember, no. Those were "wooly years" [Sir Paul does a half-wink]. I don’t really remember release days. They are kind of important to people in the business, but they are not really that important to artists because you've done your thing, you have mixed it, you’ve done your cover, you’ve chatted to all the people at the label, and then I sort of go off into the sunset. I can’t really remember the day, but I can remember a lot of things about making the album and writing things, but the release day, I can’t remember what that was like.
Can you remember an average day of your life. I believe you spent a lot of time in Scotland.
Yeah, at the beginning of the album, when I was writing it, I spent a lot of time in Scotland, and the average day there would be: get up, have breakfast with the family, then maybe go into my little studio. I always had a little four track studio, which is what The Beatles always used to record on. That’s a real discipline recording on a four track, you’ve either gotta know exactly what you’re doing or you have got to start bouncing tracks. You can imagine, when you get into that, it’s addictive.
On a average day, I could have done that. I could have gone for a horse ride, as Linda was a big horse rider. At some point in the day we would have gone for a horse ride. I might have played with the kids, and they liked to go on horse rides too. Then in the evening, I’d drink whisky, of which there was a large supply in Scotland.
I do remember watching an interview where you said you maybe drank a little bit too much Whisky...
Yeah... no I did, yeah. That was kind of a feature of that time, because what happened was The Beatles, towards the end, was very constricting. You were in a corporate world suddenly, and I’m sure you know all about that. It’s not what you get into music for, but it’s there, it’s a fact of life, especially when you were the label. We were doing Apple, The Beatles 'Apple', and it got very heavy, so me and Linda escaped with the kids, but the business hassles were still there. So I think I was just trying to escape in my own mind. I had the freedom to have just have a drink whenever I fancied it. I'd go into the studio, maybe have another drink and so on. I over did it, basically, I got to a point where Linda had to say ‘look, you should cool it’.
Did you find at that time that you had a structured way of working? When you did McCartney I through to RAM, was that from a backlog of a big wealth of material or did you stop and have a writer’s block and then write a bunch of new material?
Some of it I had from just sitting around my house with my acoustic. Most of them, I would just sit down and write. Having written with John for all those years, we had a kind of system, which was: you just sat with a pad of paper and a pencil, and you sat at your guitar or your piano, and you make a song, and within about three hours, you should have finished the song. That’s how we always did it. So I continued to do it that way.
I remember with some songs, I would go out into the fields if it was a nice day with my guitar, so those would probably be like ‘Heart of the Country’ and the more pastoral efforts. It was mainly just what I’ve always done. Then, if I would have a writer’s block, I look back now and can say that was the over stimulation. I’d be getting like ‘heeyyyy, nice and fuzzy’ and it’s not a good thing to write. Least for me it’s not. Me and John were always very straight when we wrote, and it was normally in the middle of the day when you had your wits about you.
Looking back on it, the writer’s block that I would have occasionally, would just be getting hung up on a phrase. You know, ‘sweet little long-haired lady’, ‘fine little long-haired baby’, and you’d just go on for hours on this one phrase. What I’d do now - and I was just saying this up in Liverpool to some of my ‘songwriter students’ - is that if you ever get a block, just steamroll through it and fix it later.
RAM on!
[Laughs] RAM on! So you get from A to Z. If there’s a big mistake in the middle of it, it doesn’t matter, just don’t get stuck at that mistake. I think I got some writer’s blocks, a bit, around that time, but mainly I would just steam through and write a song, write the lyrics down and just remember them. Then when I’d go off with a band, like I did with RAM in New York, I’d know them all.
Did you have them all on dictaphone or did you just know them from memory?
I don’t think I had a dictaphone. I don’t think they even had dictaphones then, but the rule was ‘if you can’t remember them, they’re no good’ and it’s actually a very good rule! It came out of necessity, because me and John would write at his place in Weybridge or my place, and we’d sit down for about three hours and write something like ‘I once had a girl or should I say, she once had me’. John would come up with that line and then we’d sit down and finish it all out, we’d go ‘yeah’ and laugh, and do little nudges and winks as we filled out the song. Eventually she’s got a nice flat, Norwegian wood, and then we’d light a fire, isn’t it good. We figured we’d burn her place down, that’ll show her!
So anyway, we’d finish that and go our separate ways and I’d probably drive back to London and he’d just go about his day, and then in the evening, you’d sometimes think, how did that song go? You’d look at the lyrics and go ‘Norwegian wood, I once had a girl...’ and that was the risky moment, when you could have forgotten it, because there was nothing down, it was just in our two heads, his head or mine, and nobody else heard it until we took it to the studio.
What would always happen - thank you lord - would be the next morning, you’d wake up and you’d remember it, like it had marinated in your brain, and you kind of forget what’s in there marinating and you wake up the next day and you kind of go ‘oh, I once had a girl, oh yeah...’ and you’d play it a couple of times, and that would marinate for that day. So we just learned them all, and the only thing we had was the lyric sheet, he’d write one out, I’d write one out.
Talking about the songs you’ve written. There seems to be two types of songs you were writing at the time around RAM, and that probably went on from the late 60s. To me, having had a go at songwriting in my life, there’s the really organic ones, like, as you say ‘Heart of the Country’, and then you’ve got the ones like ‘Uncle Albert’ with the tempo changes and really structured, and really complex things. Do you think you were influenced by the early prog-rock movement, I guess you wouldn’t say RAM was a prog-rock album? Do you think you were influenced by seeing Pink Floyd at the Roundhouse...
What I take the influence back to was A Teenage Opera. That was a very early record in the late 60s, by Keith West... it was his only, like, big hit. That was episodic, there was a bit and it went 'buh-buh-bum', then it went there, and there, and there [Sir Paul makes some stacking gestures with his hands]. I think that was the first record I heard, and we heard, and we thought ‘that’s interesting’. You can have a song here, then you can cut like a film to another song, and you can even cut the tempo and go slow and so on. That was really the one that was the biggest influence, and then lots of people started doing it. We'd do it a bit, prog-rock did it, Townshend started doing it a bit, The Who opera and all that. I think it was just that one record that made you realise that it didn’t have to be the same tempo or the same key all the way through, you could cut like a film.
Was that two different ways of writing that you were trying to employ? Because ‘Heart of the Country’ seems to me, as you say, to be something that you just sat down and wrote...
Yeah, it’s like a little folk country song.
...whereas with other songs you seem it’s so complicated and intricate that it would have to be mapped out. Even something like where you would change the chord on every two beats in the bar on a track like ‘Lovely Rita’ or something like that, and I think it’s one of the hardest things for a writer to do. So many modern songs just change on the beat, and some of the stuff you were doing was so complex...
Yeah, well, you know, I think the thing is, we started, in early rock ‘n’ roll with three chords. We learned those three chords in a number of keys, A, D, E, was the first. Then E, A, B7, which meant you could be in E and do three chords. C, F, G7, but it was always the three chords but in different keys. Then we started to nick C out of its world, the world of C, and put it into the E world, so instead of just E 'dun-dum-dunna', A 'doo-doo-doo', B 'doo-dunna', E. Then you’d go E to A to C or whatever and you’d just see other chords you could stick in.
So it was a gradual development and you were just learning other chords. Then if there was a song that you wanted to do, that was, really chordy... I was just thinking the other day, I liked the song 'Till There Was You’, I didn’t realise at the time that it was out of a musical called The Music Man, I just heard it as a song and I kinda liked it, so I just learned it. I think have even got the sheet music or something. The chords were quite [shrugs]. This was in F, and you were learning the demented chord or whatever. This was like F demen-ted! And C dee-luded! And E distracted! So there was all these kind of weird little chords that were adding to our armory of where we could go, you know. Like you say, once we got a lot of those then you would even try changing in the middle of a bar and that’s another advance.
Was that a conscious thing that you were doing while you were writing?
Yeah, you would just see where you could go with the thing. We never wanted to do the same thing twice. So, you know, even if Ringo would play the same drum kit and beat, for the second song of the day - because we’d usually end up doing four songs a day, in the early days of The Beatles - and we’d say ‘didn’t you just play that snare drum’ he’d go ‘yeah’ and we’d say ‘can’t you hit on the back of a packing case then’. We just didn’t want the same sound on the next record. Whereas now, you’ll get a guy who’ll use the whole of his kit for the whole album, there’s nothing wrong with that, but we were always just trying to make a different sound and see how far we could push it.
So all of that came into play and on ‘Till There Was You’ there was a guy in Hessy’s, do you remember Hessy’s?
Yeah, I sure do. I could only afford to buy plectrums there when I was a kid...
We were the same.
It’s not there now.
It was the golden palace, with all those guitars. Just to walk in it was enough. There was a guy who worked there called Jim Gretty. We’d all hang out with Jim, and he was like an older guy. He was a jazz guitar player and he played this chord, that he showed us, this big F bar thing, but [Sir Paul leans over and picks up his acoustic guitar] and he do this little things and it was like a monster chord, but we learned it you know. It was like [strums] waaah, you know... so I stuck it in ‘Michelle’ then.
Once you’d learnt a chord, we’d go home and we’d practice it. It was only that Jim would just show us it in the shop. He had a guitar and he’d show aspiring young guitarists who went ‘hang on a minute, how’s that played’ and he’d show us like a 7th [strums] and our little fingers could barely reach to there [nods]
Then you’d work that chord in. That appeared in ‘Till There Was You’ and then ‘Michelle’ so that’s how it all worked, you’d just be learning new chords and would try to vary it.
Check back later this week for part two of this interview, including an introduction from Paul Draper about his experience.

Paul Discusses RAM Reissue And Songwriting

www.paulmccartney.com



Paul recently sat down with Paul Draper from the band Mansun to discuss the reissue of RAM for Drowned In Sound.

The interview features Paul talking candidly about his musical influences growing up, and the methods in which he learnt and experimented with his style of songwriting.

To read about Paul being taught the ‘F demen-ted’ and ‘C dee-luded’ chords, see the next : part one of the interview.

Chefe da segurança de Paul McCartney fala sobre a turnê no Brasil

Carl Perkins ft. Paul McCartney - My Old Friend

martes, 29 de mayo de 2012

Only 7 Days Before Yellow Submarine Arrives!‏

thebeatles.com


Left

Time to Stow the Gab and Turn-to! It's Only 7 Days Before Yellow Submarine Arrives!

28th May 2012

seven days to go
It's just seven days before the newly restored classic Beatles animated film arrives on Blu-ray, DVD and iTunes - but you can pre-order your copy of the film today!
Yellow Submarine, based upon a song by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, is a fantastic tale brimming with peace, love, and hope, propelled by Beatles songs, including "Eleanor Rigby," "When I'm Sixty-Four," "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," "All You Need Is Love," and "It's All Too Much."
trailerWatch the trailer at yellowsubmarine.com
The Beatles' classic 1968 animated feature film has been digitally restored for DVD and Blu-ray release on June 4th (June 5th in North America). Due to the delicate nature of the hand-drawn original artwork, no automated software was used in the digital clean-up of the film's restored photochemical elements. This was all done by hand, frame by frame.
The official stores have some exclusive bundles to coincide with the release of Yellow Submarine - an exclusive T-shirt which features original sketches from the Yellow Submarine film, 8 Replica Cinema Lobby Cards & a Replica Film Premiere Cinema Ticket.
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trailer
Many thanks
thebeatles.com

MY OLD FRIEND

beatlephotoblog.com
MY OLD FRIEND
May 29th, 2012




In 1981, just after John Lennon died, Paul and Linda invited Carl Perkins to stay with them in Montserrat. Paul wanted Carl’s help recording a song called ‘Get It’ for his new album, Tug Of War. Carl spent eight days with them, and George and Ringo had been there to help out as well. It was a great time between old friends who had shared such a legendary musical past.
The night before he left, a song came to Carl that summed up his warm feelings about the visit, and he couldn’t get it out of his mind. It was so strong that Carl didn’t even write it down, which was strange for him. He usually always wrote his songs down immediately.
In the morning, Carl Perkins sang the song, which he named My Old Friend, for Linda and Paul, saying it was his gift for having him as a guest. Half way through the song, after singing “if we never meet again this side of life, in a little while, over yonder, where there’s peace and quiet, my old friend, won’t you think about me every now and then?” tears streamed down Paul’s face and he stood up and stepped outside.
“Paul was crying, tears were rolling down his pretty cheeks, and Linda said, “Carl, thank you so much.” I said, “Linda, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry.” She said, “But he’s crying, and he needed to. He hasn’t been able to really break down since that happened to John.” And she put her arm around me and said, “But how did you know?” I said, “Know what?” She said, “There’s two people in the world that know what John Lennon said to Paul, the last thing he said to him. But now there’s three, and one of them’s you, you know it.” I said, “Girl, you’re freaking me out! I don’t know what you’re talking about!” She said that the last words that John Lennon said to Paul in the hallway of the Dakota building were, he patted him on the shoulder and said, ‘Think about me every now and then, old friend.’”
Carl had no doubt that the song was from John Lennon, as a gift to Paul.

Sir Paul and friends out for posh dinner

www.thesun.co.uk
Sir Paul and friends out for posh dinner
By ANDREW SNELL
Published: 23rd May 201

STOP us if you’ve heard this one before.

A Beatle, a Rolling Stone and a comedian walk into a bar...
But that was the case last night when Paul McCartney, Ronnie Wood and Ricky Gervais were all spotted dining out at a posh London restaurant.
All three took their partners along to the plush Murano restaurant in Mayfair.
Ronnie was there with his girlfriend Sally Humphrey, while fellow rock legend Sir Paul took his wife Nancy.
Comic Gervais was out with long term girlfriend Jane Fallon.
As a dinner party list, that takes some beating.
Paul MCartney and wife Nancy
Rock royalty ... Sir Paul McCartney with wife Nancy

Ricky Gervais with partner Jane
Funnyman ... Ricky Gervais with partner Jane

Ronnie Wood and girlfriend Sally
Rolling Stone ... Ronnie Wood and girlfriend Sally

Who'll be picked to perform God Save The Queen?

www.dailymail.co.uk
Ear plugs at the ready, Ma'am! Kylie, Tom Jones and Robbie Williams... But who'll be picked to perform God Save The Queen?

By ALISON BOSHOFF
26 May 2012

The Queen’s choice is Sir Cliff Richard, 71, who is going to serenade her with Congratulations.
And the Duke of Edinburgh has apparently requested Dame Shirley Bassey, the diva’s diva who is still going strong at 75. She will sweep into London  from the tax haven of Monaco, where she lives.
Indeed, despite the inclusion of bright young things JLS and Jessie J, Bank Holiday Monday’s Diamond Jubilee concert is aimed squarely at middle-aged Middle England.
The performers, who include Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Elton John, will play to an audience of 10,000 on a specially constructed stage on the Victoria memorial in front of Buckingham Palace. 
Kylie Minogue
Shirley Bassey
Line-up: Kylie Minogue is tipped to sing the Anthem. Shirley Bassey  was apparently requested to perform by the Duke of Edinburgh
That alone has cost £200,000 to put up and the BBC has spent a further £300,000 on spectacular lighting.
The three-hour extravaganza will be broadcast live on BBC 1 and Radio 2 from 7.30pm.
As you might expect, the mix of input from the Palace, the BBC and the creative approach of the rock industry has been at times incendiary. 
There have been terrible rows over who — if anyone — will be willing to sing God Save The Queen, and mutterings of dissent between the artists, not all of whom are the best of friends.
    For instance there was talk of Jessie J and Tom Jones, both judges on BBC’s The Voice, being kept apart after it was suggested that their on-screen rivalry had spilled over into real life. 
    But Jones was at pains last week to talk of his fondness for his high-maintenance co-star in a radio interview.
    And some performers don’t get on with Annie Lennox, who has a reputation for being intense to the point of rudeness.
    While the BBC says there have been no discussions about the National Anthem, it is rumoured that Sir Paul McCartney let it be known he did not wish to sing it.
    Lancashire operatic tenor Alfie Boe is the favourite to take on the job.
    The BBC insists it’ll be performed in a way the audience will find ‘unexpected’ — which usually means it’ll be a duet, perhaps with Kylie Minogue, who is famously easy-going.
    It is no surprise that those who’ve agreed to play have been told rather sternly they are to behave on the big day. 
    Even their backstage demands have been kept as simple as possible. So far, Macca has asked for vegetarian food and incense, and Elton is said to want Diet Coke in cans, San Pellegrino water and ‘relaxed’ lighting. (Coming from someone as high-maintenance as Elton, that’s virtually agreeing to do the gig in bare feet.) 
    Jessie J has asked for salt-and-vinegar Snack a Jacks and mint tea, while Kylie just wants herbal tea and honey. 
    Sir Tom has put in for his usual rider — French white wine of a decent vintage and black hand towels to mop up sweat (white ones become too grubby from melting stage make-up.)
    Robbie Williams
    Tom Jones
    The performers - including Robbie Williams  and Tom Jones  - will play an audience of 10,000 on a specially constructed stage on the Victoria memorial in front of Buckingham Palace
    But what about the music?
    Sir Cliff Richard has been told the artists have six minutes each.
    Gary Barlow, creative head of the venture, says they have been told to play music that is positive and uplifting, that there will be ‘zero tolerance’ for any bad behaviour, and they aren’t being paid a penny.
    You can’t imagine Sir Cliff falling foul of any of these rules, but there are still a few issues and wrinkles.
    As of this week, Sir Elton apparently wanted to play Candle In The Wind, the ballad forever associated with the late Princess of Wales after he played it at her funeral. 
    They were close friends, and it's thought he wants to sing it to reflect her importance at this event, which will be attended by Princes William and Harry.
    However, there is nervousness in some quarters about how it might go down at the Palace. 
    One of Elton’s friends sighed: ‘I don’t know if he’s doing it. It all has to go through Gary Barlow. At the moment it changes every hour.’
    The concert will cost £4 million to stage — stumped up by the BBC, which has the broadcast rights. Producer Dickinson says she’s confident it’ll make money from sales in Japan, Germany and across the Commonwealth. In the U.S., the event will be screened on ABC. 
    The BBC has hired renowned designer Mark Fisher, who has previously worked with U2 and The Rolling Stones, to make the stage as spectacular as possible — more so than the Golden Jubilee concert. 
    That kicked off, of course, with Brian May famously performing God Save The Queen on the roof of the Palace. 
    May says he’s not been invited this time: ‘No, we haven’t been asked at all, which is a shame.
    Sir Paul McCartney
    Jessie J
    Paul McCartney  apparently demurred at the suggestion he should sing the Anthem. Jessie J  has asked for salt-and-vinegar Snack a Jacks and mint tea for backstage
    ‘Maybe next time we will, the one after Diamond, whatever that is. I don’t know how they’re going to top the Golden Jubilee event, but that’s Gary Barlow’s problem. They’ll have to drop him from a helicopter or something.’
    Indeed, it is quite a problem. For although Barlow made some rather confident noises about only wanting ‘world-class’ performers there is a long list of some of the best British stars who are simply not going to be there. 
    Phil Collins, Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton and Ozzy Osbourne performed a decade ago at the Party At The Palace for the Golden Jubilee — but won’t take part this time.
    Ozzy’s spokesman says he wasn’t even asked; Clapton’s just that he’s not going to be there. 
    And The Rolling Stones, arguably our biggest musical export, won’t be, either — a spokesman will only confirm that they are ‘not playing for the Queen or the Olympics’.
    In truth Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are at such daggers drawn after decades of an increasingly fractious relationship that they are unable to agree on a touring schedule for their own 50th anniversary this year.
    Meanwhile, Adele, Britain’s most successful female singer in decades, has also declined. She, it seems, was not persuaded by Gary Barlow’s approaches.
    And even though he made a trip to America earlier this year to try to woo recording stars there, he also failed to secure Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Britney Spears, all of whom were on a wish-list. 
    Robbie Williams, his former Take That bandmate, did agree to perform, and it’s thought Barlow plans to sing with him at some point, though he is not going to have his own slot on the running order. 
    Princes William and Harry also wanted to see Jay-Z on the bill, but again he turned the Queen down.
    There's a hope the Prince Harry might make a surprise stage visit to shake a tambourine when Gary Barlow performs Sing.
    That should at least make the Queen smile. For there are some signs that, at 86, she’s not completely in the mood for a pop festival on her doorstep.
    Barlow does not expect her to attend the whole show, and thinks she will probably only stay to hear Sir Cliff.
    In a TV interview he said: ‘The first thing she asked me was: “What time does the concert finish?” 
    I said: “Oh, about half past ten, your Majesty.” 
    ‘She said: “How long does it take to take down all the equipment then?” 
    I said: “About seven hours,” and she said: “So they’re going to be taking it down all through the night, so all my family who live at the front of the Palace are going to be kept awake all night?” 
    I said: “Yeah”. It was really awkward!’
    It should be noted that at the Golden Jubilee concert which overran she was present only for the final hour and a half, and even then was wearing ear protectors.
    This time around, despite the best efforts of Barlow and numerous meetings about the project, again she seems unlikely to be entirely approving.
    Barlow said: ‘She chooses when she comes and goes, so she’ll probably be heading out when I start to sing and back when Cliff starts to sing,’ he said. 
    It all sounds like a right royal headache.