|
|
|
 |
||
|
A R C H I V E D N E W S - 2 0 0 2 War of words between Sir Paul and Yoko - Dec 2002 A battle has broken out between Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono. The row follows a new album released by Paul in America last month; entitled Back in the US it lists 19 Beatles songs as written by 'Paul McCartney and John Lennon'. Up till now all the songs written by Paul and John carry the classic Lennon-McCartney signature. But now McCartney, whose argument is that he did more work than Lennon on songs like Yesterday, The Long and Winding Road and Hey Jude, says it is right he has the lead credit. Yoko is furious - she wants the Beatles credits to stay as they have always been - and has instructed her lawyers to investigate the situation. Blind Date star Cilla Black remembers John Lennon - Dec 2002 In an interview with the Daily Mail on Saturday 7 Dec Cilla Black, 60s singing star and hostess of TV's Blind Date, revealed she is preparing to go back on the road. Describing herself as "the Madonna of the 1960s" Cilla was a huge singing star 40 years ago. And she owes it all to John Lennon, "John was responsible for my biggest break". Cilla, a cloakroom attendant at the famous Cavern Club, seized every chance to get up on stage and sing with all the local groups including the Beatles. It was John who raved about her to Brian Epstein and Epstein signed her up, the only female singer he ever had under contract. She immediately had two number 1 hits - 'Anyone Who Had A Heart' and 'You're My World'. In the interview Cilla Black remembers John as a very
sexy man, "sex appeal oozed from John's every pore. We obviously
adored Paul, with that lovely baby face and everything. But what John
didn't realise was that he had this incredible sexual power. It's a shame
really, because he never really knew he had that." Keith Gray wrote to lennon.net with news of a Magic
weekend in Newquay … I'm working on a book which celebrates the visit of the Beatles to my home town of Newquay, Cornwall, in September 1967. 35 years ago their Magical Mystery tour bus arrived in the town to film scenes for their movie and sparked a wave of Beatlemania! To commemorate the Beatles' original visit I arranged a
special weekend in October. I managed to interest the Tourism Association with the idea
of an official commemorative plaque which was unveiled by the Mayor of
the Restormel district. Now that the plaque is installed I'm hoping that
someone with Beatle connections will come and be photographed My book will be called "1967 Mystery Tour Memories … the fab four days of the Beatles in Newquay" and I hope to have it finished by the spring of next year. Beatles Sale - 4 Dec 2002 An autographed copy of the 1965 Beatles album 'Rubber Soul' was bought for £25,850 in London yesterday. Its value lies in its rarity, "It is the only autographed copy of 'Rubber Soul' I've ever seen," said Sotheby's expert Stephen Maycock. At the same auction an autographed copy of 'Please Please
Me' went for a very large sum too, but considerably less at £8,300.
Stephen Maycock explains, "There is a pecking order for autographed
albums, 'Please Please Me' is one of the most commonly seen. This 'Rubber Soul' album was actually signed in the summer of 1968 when the vendor came home to find the Beatles being filmed outside her house in Wapping, East London. She dashed inside, picked up her album and got them all to sign it! It's interesting that a signed copy of 'Rubber Soul'
is far rarer than say a signed 'Sgt Pepper', though fans may consider
the latter more collectable because of its landmark status. Great Britons: Results - 24 Nov 2002 More than 1.2 million votes were cast in the poll for the greatest ever Briton. Sir Winston Churchill took the title with 447,423 votes. John Lennon made it to 7th place.
The top 10 was:
Churchill, Brunel, Princess Diana, Charles Darwin, William Shakespeare, Sir Isaac Newton, Elizabeth I, John Lennon, Horatio Nelson, Oliver Cromwell Great Britons - 20 Nov 2002 Last night the BBC TV series, Great Britons, celebrated the latest in the nominations for the title of Great Briton. The subject was John Lennon. Comedian Alan Davies presented the story of Lennon and the Beatles and reasoned that John should be awarded the title on the basis that "It's hard to imagine anyone in British history who has given more enjoyment and excitement to more people than Lennon." Although Davies argued a compelling case he acknowledged that the unconventional Lennon with his deep distrust of nationhood and patriotism would probably have loathed the idea of being called a Great Briton. After the programme the voting pushed John Lennon into 6th place! The series concludes on Sunday 24th November, BBC 2 9-11 p.m.) when there is the last chance to hear all the arguments for the Top 10 and viewers have their final chance to vote for their favourite. Sale of John Lennon mementoes in London - 20 Nov 2002 Yesterday the auctioneers Cooper Owen hosted a sale in London of John Lennon mementoes. On auction was John's signed job card from the Scaris and Brick waterworks, Liverpool, in 1959 showing that he lasted just over a month before being dismissed as unsuitable. The very next day on August 29, 1959, he played his first gig with the group that were to become the Beatles. The card sold for £6,500. Of greatest interest was the first Phantom Vox organ guitar which was presented to John and Paul McCartney at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1964. Designed to look and play like an electric guitar but sound like an organ it was not considered very successful by the two musicians! This did not reach its reserve price. Cooper Owen hold a Beatles memorabilia sale every autumn. Mind Games - Nov 2002 John Lennon's 'Mind Games' was reissued 5th November. First released on 2nd November 1973 in the US and in GB on 16th November, the album got to number 9 in both countries. This was the first album John produced himself, and though it features a couple of love songs to Yoko, ironically by the time the album was released John and Yoko were estranged and had temporarily separated. The lead track, 'Mind Games', which gave the album its title, was inspired by the book of the same name by Robert Masters and Jean Houston. This was an instruction book of exercises devised to enhance consciousness-raising. John said, "I have read three important and revolutionary books in the last three years: Yoko Ono's 'Grapefruit', Arthur Janov's 'Primal Scream' and now 'Mind Games'. I suggest you read and experience them!" Although the album was released nearly 30 years ago it still bears listening to again, especially for the haunting title track. Order your copy now : Is John Lennon the Greatest Briton of all time? - Oct 2002 A new BBC TV programme sets out to discover who we think deserves the title of Greatest Briton. The Top 10 as voted by the general public was revealed on Sunday 20th October. The list, in no particular order, includes Sir Winston Churchill, William Shakespeare, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Oliver Cromwell, Charles Darwin, Diana, Princess of Wales, Elizabeth I, Viscount Horatio Nelson, Sir Issac Newton... and John Lennon! Now the search is on for who will take the top spot! Over the next few weeks high profile supporters of each of the top 10 will present a film biography of their chosen subject to persuade us that their candidate is the greatest. Comedian Alan Davies presents an hour long portrait of John Lennon on Tuesday 19th November at 9pm on BBC 2. You can vote for your choice by calling 0901 122 1066 (calls cost no more than 25p) or you can register your vote online at www.bbc.co.uk/greatbritons. The winner will be announced on BBC 2 on 24th November. Love Me Do - Oct 2002 It was 40 years ago… …when the Beatles released their first UK single, 'Love Me Do' on October 5th 1962. John Lennon's first professional mouth organ was given to him as a boy on a bus journey from Liverpool to Edinburgh after a fellow passenger had left it behind. We can only speculate whether or not this was the same one he played on 'Love Me Do', which is particularly remembered for Lennon's harmonica solo. Although the recording reached only number 17 in the
UK, its US release in November 1964 saw the song achieve No. 1 status
and remain in the charts for 14 weeks. Despite the drums being played
by session musician Alan White, it set the simple yet effective style
that was to help the Beatles top the charts for years to come. By the sea, near a cave, a garden in the shade
- August 2002 Durness, the Scottish village where John Lennon spent his childhood summer holidays was recently the subject of a BBC programme. John's cousin Stanley Parkes recalls "John was nine when he started coming up with us to the croft in Durness. The croft belonged to my stepfather and John just loved the wildness and openness of the place." The Durness Gardening Group contacted The Beechgrove Garden, the popular television programme, when they decided to landscape the area around the village hall. The gardeners had the idea to commemorate John Lennon's connection with Durness by creating a memorial garden. The seaside town of Durness is on the most northern coast
of Scotland. Exposed to the elements with poor soil the project proved
quite a challenge for the local gardeners. But all the hard work has paid
off as the garden was opened in August (2002) to the delight of everyone.
The memorial to John is a set of three standing stones, created by local
craftsman Neil Fuller, which feature lyrics from the Beatles song, In
My Life. The stones were one part of the newly created garden which also
features a courtyard and sheltered areas.
Stanley talks about John's love for Durness (Listen) and the memorial garden for John (Listen) The Beechgrove Garden was shown on BBC2 Scotland on Thursday 22nd August at 8.30 p.m.
|
|
© 2004 Lennon by Lennon Ltd. All rights reserved |
 |
