wogew.blogspot.com On the cover of Rolling Stone... Posted by Roger Stormo Wednesday, March 25, 2015 Ringo Starr returns to the Rolling Stone cover solo for the first time since 1981 this week, musing on everything from a hypothetical Beatles reunion to why he decided to get clean in 1988. Film and teaser here: Rolling Stone Magazine.
Ringo will also be talking about his new album, "Postcards from Paradise" on "the Ellen DeGeneres show" on 31. March as well as on "Conan" April 1 (true). Uncut Magazine is looking for questions to ask Ringo for an upcoming feature, submit your question(s) through this page: http://www.uncut.co.uk/news/ask-ringo-67271
www.newsweek.com Moscow Discusses Plans for John Lennon Monument BY DAMIEN SHARKOV 03/24/2015 Moscow city council is currently discussing a proposal to commission a statue of rock legend John Lennon in the Russian capital, according to notes for an upcoming council meeting. Moscow councillors will meet next month to discuss the erection or relocation of monuments in the Russian capital, and as well as suggestions to honour the city’s military medics and students, the local governing body will also discuss whether to erect a statue of Beatles frontman and rock'n'roll icon John Lennon. The initiative for building the monument has been proposed by fans of the musician, who are also prepared to cover the costs of designing and building it, Moscow Council’s head of monumental art Lev Lavrenov told local TV channel M24, who also added that usually similar monuments are requested to be erected in central Moscow. A girl writes a message on the legendary John Lennon's Wall in the historical center of Prague, December 8, 2010, to commemorate his murder outside his Manhattan apartment building in New York 30 years ago. PETR JOSEK/REUTERS Alexey Bogaevsky, the founder of Russia’s 30,000-strong Beatles fan community beatles.ru says he supports the move and the community plans to petition Moscow city council on where they ought to place the monument, if approved. “The place we want to offer is the Vorobyovy Hills, where in December 1980 the youth rally in memory of Lennon was brutally dispersed by the police,” Bogaevsky says. Currently another Lennon monument exists in Russia’s Altai Republic purporting to be the only depiction of the Liverpool-born musician made entirely from marble, while in St Petersburg’s renowned artist commune on Pushkinskaya street a tribute to John Lennon and his former bandmates exists as the road has unofficially been renamed “John Lennon street”. Lennon monument in Russia’s Altai Republic According to Bogaevsky, Lennon was very influential in Russia and many former-Soviet states during the Cold War despite the political divide between Moscow and the west, leading to the Beatles frontman being immortalised in stone in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Bogaevsky believes as Russia’s relationship with the west has deteriorated over the Ukraine crisis, a new monument dedicated to John Lennon has increased significance. “Now the Lennon monument can be a symbol which can unite east and west,” Bogaevsky says. The Moscow city council has not yet commented on what the monument would look like nor where in the city it will be placed but a decision on it could be taken as soon as April 14. John Lennon achieved worldwide fame as the singer and guitarist of Liverpool four piece the Beatles, widely regarded as one of the most influential bands in modern music. Lennon was shot dead in New York City in 1980.
Watch Paul And Nancy Dancing For International Day of Happiness
The United Nations Foundation and Pharrell Williams have teamed up to make this year’s International Day of Happiness really special. Today, Friday 20th March, everybody is invited to join a global ‘Happy Party’ online to spread happiness and increase awareness about climate change.
You can join in by clicking HERE! (make sure to strike your happiest pose!)
Paul was happy (sorry!) to get involved with the #HAPPYDAY campaign. You can watch him with wife Nancy dancing to the track below:
For more information about the International Day of Happiness click HERE!
Earlier this week we scored a pristine copy of this Beatle book from one of our favourite discount bookstores – Basement Books in central Sydney. In fact it was still sealed in heat-shrink and so it is absolutely a mint copy.
The title of this large, coffee-table style book says exactly what its content is all about: Fab Gear – The Beatles and Fashion, and author Paolo Hewitt (his blog is http://paolohewitt.blogspot.com.au/ ) focusses on that topic exclusively.
This book contains a wealth of photographs, like the one above, which are included because they show the variety of fashion over the years, the fine cut, or the design details of what the group were wearing at particular times. Look at those jackets John and Paul are wearing. This photo was taken at the London Palladium in February, 1965. John’s is a particularly stylish, four-button cut, while with Paul it’s the detail of the doubled-up buttons and cuffs, and the buttoned down shirt with no tie which are interesting.
As you browse through Fab Gear Hewitt gives information about where the Beatles purchased their clothing (or where they had it made), and who they knew and followed in the industry. It becomes clear that the Beatles indeed were style gurus very interested in clothing, fashion, and the design of what they wore – both as a group and as individuals. In the photos below Ringo is dressed very much in a Mod style, with his three button suit and button-down polka-dot shirt. John sports a look that Van Morrison would appropriate years later. The pair’s stylish but casual look is in contrast to the smaller, earlier picture where the band is dressed far more formally:
From the earliest stages of being a band the Beatles had a keen sense of themselves as being more than just musicians. They were a force for change and what they wore was another way of pushing the boundaries. Hewitt’s book is divided up into five main themes to examine this thesis: the early years and influences from the late1950s in Liverpool and Hamburg; the early 1960s in London and Brian Epstein’s influence on their look and style; the mid-to-late1960s and Swinging London; the Beatles and their affect on hairstyles; and a chapter dedicated to the Beatles’ venture into creating and selling their own fashion designs at the Apple clothing boutique:
In fact this book has one of the best chapters we’ve seen on the ill-fated Apple shop set up to sell Apple clothing and which the Beatles opened on December 7, 1967 at 94 Baker Street in London. It closed its doors just seven months later. Not only do we get the back-story to it’s inception and speedy downfall, we get images of hand-drawn designs, fabric samples and prices:
This clip, from the movie Hot Millions, provides one of the few filmed glimpses inside the Apple shop:
There was also a separate Apple Tailoring shop (at 161 King’s Road) which included an Apple Hair salon in the basement! It is at Apple Tailoring we discover an Australian connection in the form one John Crittle. Crittle was a fashion innovator whose designs the Beatles had been taken with since the Sgt Pepper days. When they wanted to start their own tailoring company they turned to him. He’s pictured below – and if you don’t think you know his work, think again. Crittle designed the suits worn by three of the band (John, Ringo and Paul) as they walked across that famous pedestrian crossing outside the EMI studios on Abbey Road: We are very much enjoying dipping into Fab Gear. There are so many interesting stories and you’ll never look at a Beatle album cover, publicity shot, promotional film, or magazine/newspaper image the same way again. For a quick spin through the history and influence the band had on fashion (and that fashion had on them) it’s an indispensable book. We guarantee you’ll learn something you didn’t know about the Beatles:
www.broadwayworld.com Paul McCartney to Perform at New York's Robin Hood Benefit This May by Music News Desk March 19 2015 Paul McCartney and The Robin Hood Foundation today announced that McCartney and his band will be performing at Robin Hood's annual benefit, to be held May 12 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.Robin Hood is New York's largest poverty-fighting organization and every dollar raised at the benefit will go to support the most effective poverty-fighting programs throughout the five boroughs. Paul McCartney is no stranger to Robin Hood. Immediately following the 9/11, he generously donated his legendary talents to the Concert for New York City, which raised more than $36 million to provide direct financial assistance to the families of victims who lost their lives in the terror attacks in New York, Washington, DC, and Pennsylvania.In addition, the money raised provided emergency assistance and support, as well as long-term mental health care and other health services to First Responders, their families and low-income New Yorkers who lost their jobs as a result of the attacks. More recently, McCartney headlined the Robin Hood 12-12-12 Concert for Sandy Relief, which raised more than $50 million in one night to help front-line organizations that were helping victims of Hurricane Sandy throughout New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. "I know that with Robin Hood 100% of the money raised goes right to the organizations helping people on the edge," said Mr. McCartney. "As an honorary New Yorker, I'm proud to help Robin Hood continue their efforts to help the neediest people get the support and tools they need to build better lives for themselves and their families." "All of us at Robin Hood are honored to have Paul perform at our Benefit," said David Saltzman, executive director of Robin Hood.We know from past experience he will blow the doors off the Javits Center with a musical performance that should not be missed; we continue to be overwhelmed by Paul's generosity of spirit and his willingness to use his incredible talents to aid New Yorkers in need." Please contact Debbie Fife at 212-245-6570 x 20 or benefit@robinhood.org for tickets and table information. About Robin Hood Robin Hood is New York's largest poverty-fighting organization, and since 1988 has focused on finding, funding, and creating programs and schools that generate meaningful and measurable results for families in New York's poorest neighborhoods. Since its founding, Robin Hood has raised more than $2 billion in dollars, goods and services to provide hundreds of the most effective soup kitchens, homeless shelters, schools, job-training programs and other vital services that give New York's neediest citizens the tools they need to build better lives.Robin Hood's board of directors pays all administrative, fundraising and evaluation costs, so 100% of your donation goes directly to organizations helping New Yorkers in need. About Paul McCartney Paul McCartney was born in Liverpool on 18th June 1942. He was raised in the city and educated at the Liverpool Institute. Since writing his first song at the age of 14, Paul McCartney has dreamed and dared to be different. In the sixties, as the writer and co-author of their greatest songs, he changed the world of music with The Beatles. Legendary albums include:Please Please Me, Revolver, Help!, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band andThe White Album. Paul has continued to push boundaries over the last 30 years, first as a solo artist, then with Wings (with albums that includedBand on the RunandAt The Speed Of Sound) and following that as a solo artist again, with recent highlights including 2013's global hit albumNEW. 2014 saw Paul release Hope For the Future,the title track for the record-breaking video gameDestiny. Paul McCartney is also an accomplished award-winning classical composer. His most recent classical album Ecce Cor Meum ( Behold My Heart) won the Best Album Award at the Classical Brit Awards. In 2011 Paul composed the score for the New York City Ballet Ocean's Kingdom. An 18-time Grammy winner and recipient of The Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement and Trustees Awards, McCartney's list of international accolades reads like no other: 2012 saw Paul adding the MusiCares Person of the Year to this unrivalled list. The award recognized both his incomparable creative achievements and his lifelong commitment to charitable work, which includes decades' worth of philanthropic activities for PETA, LIPA, One Voice, The Vegetarian Society, Nordoff Robbins and Adopt-A-Minefieldnot to mention his participation in historic benefit concerts including Live Aid in 1985, The Concert for New York City in 2001, Live 8 in 2005 and 12-12-12. In 2010, Paul made two visits to the White House, receiving singular honors on each trip. In June of that yearhe performed in front of President Barack Obama and his family while becoming the first-ever British recipient of the prestigious Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Paul returned to the White House that December (where even the President joked about Paul becoming a regular) as a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors. Equally renowned for his live performances as he is for his songwriting, Paul McCartney has performed sold-out concerts to millions of people all over the world winning rave reviews along the way.In the space of 18 months his latestOut Theretour, which commenced in 2013 and is still going strong, has seen him perform 63 shows in 11 different countries to almost 2 million people. A freeman of The City of Liverpool and Lead Patron of The Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, Paul McCartney was appointed Fellow of The Royal College of Music in 1995 by The Prince Of Wales. In 1996 Paul McCartney was knighted by H.M. The Queen for his services to music. Photo: Facebook SOURCE Robin Hood
Paul McCartney to get back to the Budokan Very special additional Japanese 'Out There' tour date added
Paul McCartney – Nippon Budokan – Tuesday 28th April PaulMcCartney.com pre-sale to take place at 10am (local / 1am GMT) on Saturday 21st March
With just over one month to go until Paul returns to Japan with his 'Out There' tour, Paul announces today a special one off show at the Nippon Budokan on Tuesday 28th April.
The special show was originally planned for last year but for reasons beyond his control Paul was forced to cancel his Japanese tour dates.
Almost 49 years since The Beatles began the Asian leg of their 1966 tour at the Budokan, Paul will return to the legendary venue with his current tour.
Speaking about his return Paul said: “It’s very exciting to be returning to the Budokan because it is a very special place and was the first place we played in Japan. There was a lot of controversy at the time but I now know that it is a regular venue for a lot of people. But for me it has a very special place in my memory.”
A combination of fans and protestors meant that the 1966 shows were heavily guarded and the only people allowed on the venue floor for the concerts were security and accredited journalists. At the time Paul and the band couldn’t even leave the hotel they were staying in.
The 'Out There' tour features music from one of the best loved catalogues in popular music. Paul performs songs that span his entire career - as a solo artist, member of Wings and of course as a Beatle. Paul’s current live show is nearly three hours long with over 35 songs in his set, when The Beatles performed in Japan their set list was made up of 11 songs.
In November 2013 Paul toured through Japan playing six sold out shows in Tokyo, Fukuoka and Osaka.
2015 Japanese Tour Dates:
April 21st: Kyocera Dome, Osaka April 23rd: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo April 25th: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo April 27th: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo
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