obits Archives - Hey Dullblog, the Beatles fan blog

The Beatles and David Frost

By Michael Gerber|2021-09-15T19:57:15-07:00September 1, 2013|1968, Obituaries|

This Was The Guy That Was David Frost has died, suddenly it seems while on a cruise ship, at age 74. The most prominent overlap between The Beatles and David Frost was, of course, his involvement in their 1968 promo film for "Hey Jude" and "Revolution," which I've embedded at the end of this post. But there's much more to say about it than that. Frost was a quintessential "mid-Atlantic man" in the Beatle and solo era, and his passing is another reminder to examine that time, and celebrate the blending of American and British pop culture which made it [...]

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Tony Sheridan, 1940-2013

By Michael Gerber|2015-09-18T22:50:27-07:00February 18, 2013|Hamburg, Obituaries|

Tony Sheridan, an essential part of The Beatles' early story, has died. To quote Chris Carter from KLOS' "Breakfast With the Beatles," without Tony Sheridan, "we wouldn't have had The Beatles in the way we did." Allan Kozinn agrees: "Though Mr. Sheridan’s involvement with the Beatles was brief, it proved crucial to their career."Apparently he settled down in northern Germany. Here's the guys with Tony S., doing a song I'd never heard. Mach shau, fellas. http://www.youtube.com/embed/EtcN7HksEDE

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Lines for George

By Ed Park|2017-11-26T11:23:12-08:00April 29, 2012|George Harrison, Obituaries|

George Harrison, looking tough in this self-portrait. I had some thoughts re the recent George-is-overrated brouhaha...but I'm lazy, so instead I dug up this obituary I wrote for The Paper That Shall Not Be Named, over a decade ago (gulp!). The Man Who Wasn't There Ed Park published: December 04, 2001 I. About 23 times a year, by his count, the narrator of Nicholson Baker's novel The Mezzanine wonders, "McCartney more talented than Lennon?" The comparative gifts of George Harrison, who died last week at 58, could hardly provoke similar debate, yet it was his relative proficiency that made him desirable to the [...]

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And You’re Gone

By Devin McKinney|2014-07-07T13:40:32-07:00September 30, 2009|1967, John Lennon, Obituaries, Sgt. Pepper|

Lucy O'Donnell as a child; Lucy Vodden grown up DEVIN McKINNEY • But not forgotten. Lucy Vodden, who provided the inspiration for the Beatles’ song “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,” has died in London. She was 46. Her death, after a history of lupus, was announced Monday by St. Thomas’s Hospital in London, where she had been treated for more than five years, and by her husband, Ross Vodden. Ms. Vodden’s connection to the Beatles dates back to when she was Lucy O’Donnell, a schoolmate and friend of Julian Lennon…

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"Don’t touch Neil. He’s ours."

By Michael Gerber|2014-07-03T18:56:45-07:00March 25, 2008|Obituaries|

Neil Aspinall and Paul McCartney in 1969. Allan Kozinn, the NYT's resident Beatle expert, writes a top-notch obit of Neil Aspinall. And Beatle biographer Hunter Davies has some interesting things to say about Neil here. Hey Dullblog--your one-stop Neil Aspinall obituary source. Re: the photo: Sixties fashions were incredibly unkind to men over 25, don't you think?

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Send good vibes to Neil Aspinall

By Michael Gerber|2015-01-17T12:39:05-08:00March 23, 2008|Obituaries|

The right hand of the Fab Four. I heard this morning that Neil Aspinall, ex-Apple Corps exec and long-time right hand man to the Fabs, is seriously ill with cancer and receiving treatment at Sloan-Kettering in NYC.Perhaps the grapevine is incorrect in this case; hope so. But if not, I'm sure you'll all join me in wishing Neil--or, as the group christened him, "Nell"--a speedy and complete recovery.UPDATE: Unfortunately, Mr. Aspinall has died at the age of 66. The first obits are inevitably referring to Neil as "the fifth Beatle," and he probably was, beating Mal Evans out by virtue [...]

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