McCartney. An Announcement Made

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The mystery surrounding the last two days of audio and visual teasers has been revealed.

Paul McCartney is releasing another retrospective of his solo, Wings and Fireman work called Pure McCartney.Pure_McCartney_Pack_Shot

It will be available on June 10, and will be issued as a 2CD set (with 39 tracks), a 4CD set and book (with 67 tracks), a 4LP vinyl version (with 41 tracks), and digitally. All the songs have previously been released.

Pure McCartney is like Paul’s own personal favourites, strung together randomly in a playlist. Writing on his official website McCartney said “Me and my team came up with the idea of putting together a collection of my recordings with nothing else in mind other than having something fun to listen to. Maybe it’s to be enjoyed on a long car journey, or an evening at home, or at a party with friends? So we got our heads together and came up with these diverse playlists from various periods of my long and winding career.”

McCartney. A Second Clue

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The Paul McCartney official YouTube is now running this:

Word is that this is a teaser for a new “Best Of” compilation. Glass Onion has gone through the video slowly and listed some 67 tracks in all:
Maybe I’m Amazed (McCartney)
Heart of the Country (RAM)
Jet (Band on the Run)
Warm and Beautiful (Wings at the Speed of Sound)
Silly Love Songs (Wings at the Speed of Sound)
Listen to What The Man Said (Venus and Mars)
Dear Boy (RAM)
The Song We Were Singing (Flaming Pie)
Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey (RAM)
Early Days (New)
Big Barn Red (Red Rose Speedway)
Another Day (non-album single)
Flaming Pie (Flaming Pie)
Jenny Wren (Chaos and Creation in the Back Yard)
Too Many People (RAM)
Let Me Roll It (Band on the Run)
New (New)
Live and Let Die (non-album single)
English Tea (Chaos and Creation in the Back Yard)
Mull of Kintyre (non album single)
Save Us (New)
My Love (Red Rose Speedway)
Bip Bop (Wild Life)
Let ‘Em In (Wings at the Speed of Sound)
Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five (Band on the Run)
Calico Skies (Flaming Pie)
Hi Hi Hi (non-album single)
Waterfalls (McCartney II)
Band on the Run (Band on the Run)
Appreciate (New)
Sing The Changes (The Fireman – Electric Arguments)
Arrow Through Me (Back To The Egg)
Every Night (McCartney)
Junior’s Farm (non-album single)
Mrs Vandebilt (Band on the Run)
Say Say Say (2015 remix) (Pipes of Peace)
My Valentine (Kisses on the Bottom)
Pipes of Peace (Pipes of Peace)
The World Tonight (Flaming Pie)
Dance Tonight (Memory Almost Full)
Souvenir (Flaming Pie)
Ebony and Ivory (Tug of War)
Fine Line (Chaos and Creation in the Back Yard)
Here Today (Tug of War)
Press (Press to Play)
Wanderlust (Tug of War)
Winedark Open Sea (Off The Ground)
Beautiful Night (Flaming Pie)
Girlfriend (London Town)
Queenie Eye (New)
We All Stand Together (non-album single)
Coming Up (McCartney II)
Too Much Rain (Chaos and Creation in the Back Yard)
Good Times Coming / Feel The Sun (Press to Play)
Goodnight Tonight (non-album single)
Baby’s Request (Back to the Egg or Kisses on the Bottom)
With A Little Luck (London Town)
Little Willow (Flaming Pie)
Only Mama Knows (Memory Almost Full)
Don’t Let It Bring You Down (London Town)
The Back Seat of My Car (RAM)
No More Lonely Nights (Give My Regards to Broad Street)
Temporary Secretary (McCartney II)
Great Day (Flaming Pie)
Venus and Mars/Rock Show (Venus and Mars)
Hope For The Future (non-album single)
Junk (McCartney)

Meanwhile, WogBlog has a cover image and says it will be called “Pure McCartney”. It will come in either a 2CD or 4 CD Deluxe set:

Pure_McCartney_Pack_Shot

McCartney. But What Does It Mean?

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This five second, cut-up audio grab has recently been posted on the official Paul McCartney Twitter and Facebook accounts:

What does it mean?

Beatles Record Sold for £77,500 at Auction

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The BBC is reporting that one of the Beatles’ rarest records ever has sold for £77,500 (that’s US$111,721 or AU$147,115) at auction. That was more than seven times the estimated selling price.

Beatles Rare Record

The record, a 10″ 78rpm single with “Hello Little Girl” on one side and “Till There Was You” on the other, was made at the HMV store in London and is a one-off.

It was sold at auction after being locked away for more than fifty years at the home of Les Maguire, the former keyboardist with Gerry and The Pacemakers. He was given the disc in 1963 by the Beatles’ then manager Brian Epstein. Maguire put it away and never thought about it again. Until now.

Let’s hope his granddaughter is able to buy a house with the proceeds.

The record was purchased by “an anonymous British collector”. Wonder if it was Sir Paul McCartney?

Beatles sale. File photo dated 21/02/16 of an 78RPM Beatles acetate, considered to be the record that launched the Beatles, and one of the rarest and most collectable of all Beatles records, which was sold by Omega Auctions to a UK collector for £77500 against an estimate of £10000. Issue date: Tuesday March 22, 2016. Photo credit should read: Peter Byrne/PA Wire URN:25895790

Beatles sale. File photo dated 21/02/16 of an 78RPM Beatles acetate, considered to be the record that launched the Beatles, and one of the rarest and most collectable of all Beatles records, which was sold by Omega Auctions to a UK collector for £77500 against an estimate of £10000. Issue date: Tuesday March 22, 2016. Photo credit should read: Peter Byrne/PA Wire URN:25895790

Sony to Buy Remaining Shares in Beatle Music Publishing

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Billboard is reporting that after lengthy negotiations Sony has agreed on a deal with the Michael Jackson estate to purchase his 50% share of their Sony/ATV music publishing company.sonyATV_logo-1024x268This would give Sony sole publishing rights to the majority of the Beatle song catalogue. The deal is expected to fetch US$750 million for the Jackson estate. The catalog, which owns publishing rights for some 750,000 songs, also including tracks by Taylor Swift, the Rolling Stones, Marvin Gaye and many others.

Michael Jackson first purchased ATV Music, which owned the Beatle rights, twenty one years ago. Eleven years ago it was merged with Sony Music.

“This transaction further allows us to continue our efforts of maximizing the value of Michael’s estate for the benefit of his children,” said estate co-executors John Branca and John McClain. “It also further validates Michael’s foresight and genius in investing in music publishing. His ATV catalogue, purchased in 1985 for a net acquisition cost of $41.5 million, was the cornerstone of the joint venture and, as evidenced by the value of this transaction, is considered one of the smartest investments in music history.”

Rolling Stone magazine is also carrying the story.

 

Vale Sir George Martin

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Sir George Martin, producer of the Beatles, has died aged 90. Often referred to as The Fifth Beatle, he signed the band to Parlophone Records (the EMI subsidiary label he was responsible for) and closely shepherded their recording career – making an invaluable contribution to their sound and their musical growth. Sir George 1 Sir George 2 Sir George 3 Sir George 4 Sir George 5

The news first emerged in a Tweet from Ringo Starr and was later confirmed by Universal Music Group and by Martin’s management.

Go well, Sir George, and thanks for the wealth of great music you leave behind.

The Beatles: A 5 Minute Drum Chronology

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This is worth checking out. The drummer is Kye Smith:

It’s filmed on a rooftop in Newcastle, Australia. Most probably the roof of The Great Northern Hotel on the corner of Scott and Watt Streets.

It illustrates that Kye is a talented drummer, but also (as one person points out in the comments section) that Ringo Starr created memorable, catchy, inventive drum fills and riffs for almost every song he recorded. It’s not so much about style as about musicality, rather than simply providing a backbeat.

We also like the nice touch of the record sleeve images to illustrate the origins of each song.

Beatle LEGO Kits?

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How cool would it be to have some official Beatle LEGO?

You can go online now and purchase un-official kits, but so far the LEGO company hasn’t made any formally available. That’s not for the want of trying. Some fans are determined and have applied through LEGO’s “Ideas” page process.

The “Ideas” page invites submissions and then there’s a voting process. If you can get 10,000 votes your idea is then properly considered by LEGO as to whether it could/should go into production.

We’ve been contacted by Beatle and LEGO fan JoeMT who writes:

“I am an avid LEGO builder and mutual Beatles fan. I am on a site called LEGO Ideas where you can post an idea for a LEGO set. If the project receives 10,000 votes, it has a chance at being produced by LEGO. I need as many people as possible to vote for The Beatles Cavern Club. Thanks! Joe”

Joe’s idea is for an early Beatles scene at the Cavern Club:Beatles Lego CavernBeatles Lego

If you like Joe’s idea then why not vote, or share the link and help him along?

There’s one other Beatle design on the “Ideas” page that’s already garnered the required 10,000 votes and is now well on its way to further consideration – a Beatles LEGO Yellow Submarine: Yellow Sub LEGO 1Yellow Sub LEGO 2Yellow Sub LEGO 3

I think I’d buy both these ideas!

The Beatles in 1960’s Cuba

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We stumbled across an interesting podcast this week from Australian radio station FBI FM.

On their weekly magazine show All The Best they ran an item about Ernesto Juan Castellans, a Cuban author, journalist and hard-core music fan living and working in Cuba in the 1960s and 70s when rock’n’roll was banned under Fidel Castro’s communist regime. If you click on the link you can hear the segment (it starts about 3 minutes in). It is really worth a listen.

Castellans loved many bands, foremost among them the Beatles. But Cuban youth couldn’t easily access the records and tapes of their musical idols. They could tune in to US radio though – but even doing that was dangerous because listening to US music stations was also illegal. You had to be very careful.

Castellans persevered, the ban on rock music was eventually lifted, and he was instrumental in establishing the first Beatle conventions in Cuba, featuring top Beatle authors and cover bands. Those gatherings began a total shift in attitude, eventually leading to a complete turnaround by the Cuban government when it came to Beatle music. It even established a John Lennon Park in Havana (with its own official John Lennon statue):Lennon-Havana  You can read more about Castellans here.

Happy Beatle Valentines Day

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Happy Valentines!

Some thoughts on the best Beatle love songs. In two posts:

10 of the Best Beatle Love Songs

10 More of the Best Beatle Love SongsBeatle Valentine