Michael Caine Impressions
Doing impressions of Michael Caine, Swinging London institution and drinking buddy of John Lennon, has become a bit of a cottage industry in Great Britain. The slow-burning meme was kicked off (apparently) by comedy great and drinking buddy of Ringo Starr Peter Sellers in 1974...And I agree: for reasons I don't quite understand, I can't get enough Michael Caine impressions. Hear for [...]
Happy birthday, Ringo!
DEVIN McKINNEY • Hey! Let’s all wish Ringo the best on his 74th birthday. He’s still on tour, still looking great, still showing those peace fingers and giving a plug for love wherever he goes. I wrote a little birthday tribute to Ringo over at HiLobrow, a pop-culture site where I often contribute (edited by the great Josh Glenn, a guest contributor of [...]
The Nicol Theory
Did Jimmy leave a secret legacy? On June 22, Chris Carter's "Breakfast With the Beatles" unveiled an unreleased Beatles track that has fans buzzing: the full 42-second song that blares only for a few seconds from Ringo's transistor radio during the train scene in A Hard Day's Night. Thanks to Chris' kind permission, we were the first site to bring the [...]
Jude Southerland Kessler’s Lennon books: not nonfiction
Jude Southerland Kessler, author of series of books on the life of John Lennon. NANCY CARR • As the Beatles’ story is told and retold, the line between fact and fiction can grow vanishingly thin, and that’s why this interview with author Jude Southerland Kessler alarms me. She’s currently promoting volume three of a projected nine-book Lennon project she hopes will [...]
Unreleased Beatles song from Hard Day’s Night?
Okay folks, after checking with Chris Carter from KLOS' wonderful "Breakfast With the Beatles"—a Sunday morning institution in my household, and should be in yours, too--I snipped out this bit of new Beatle-music. Originally recorded during the sessions for "A Hard Day's Night," it was found by collector Dave Morrell, and had its worldwide debut on BWTB last Sunday. I couldn't find [...]
Ringo’s Radio Music from Hard Day’s Night
Just a quickie, 'cause I have a book to write and magazine to launch dammit-- Last Sunday, Chris Carter's excellent "Breakfast with the Beatles" played a complete song potentially recorded by The Beatles during the Hard Day's Night sessions in 1964. A loving recreation of anonymous Invasion pop, we've only heard a snippet of this before…at 4.01 in the video below: http://youtu.be/4Nq-GyLrtHc [...]
Happy birthday, Paul! (with a few notes on style)
Where can I find that jacket? DEVIN McKINNEY • Today is Paul McCartney’s 72nd birthday. He shows no signs of slowing, save for the current illness which his spokespeople will identify only as “a virus” and which has forced him to cancel several dates on his world tour—a contingency unprecedented, as far as I know, in his career. (Surely it’s [...]
Beatles in Austin
"We're coming to take you away -- FOREVER!" "Yoko, I've a feeling we're not in Manhattan anymore." NANCY CARR * My recent stroll down South Congress in Austin proved again that the Beatles are everywhere. I especially liked Sgt. Pepper's Day of the Dead Club Band at the Mi Casa folk art shop. The prize for sheer oddness [...]
Brian Epstein Marriage Tidbit
Mrs. Brian Epstein? (or Mrs. Lionel Bart? or Mrs. John Lennon?) MIKE GERBER • Happy to report that The Fifth Beatle, Vivek J. Tiwary's graphic novel about Brian Epstein, continues to carve out a bit of space in the culture. Here is an interesting interview with Tiwary. Apparently Tiwary's a strong supporter of marriage equality, and the book is affiliated [...]