It’s been 50 years since The Beatles released Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, an album widely considered to be among the best rock albums of all time, and aside from a very cool documentary about the making of Sgt Pepper (which was released on Septembers 8th) some cool collectible memorabilia is also making its way to the market. In honor of this exciting anniversary, 3D design company Lovepop have released The Beatles Sgt. Pepper 3D Card! This gorgeous design was created in partnership with The Beatles and is one of three officially licensed designs that include a fabulous 3D rendering of the Yellow Submarine, and the iconic scene of The Beatles crossing Abbey Road.
I suspect you may feel the need to own these. The Beatles‘ cards sell for $15 each or $40 for a pack of all three designs, and can be purchased at This Link!
It was 1967 and photographer David Magnus stepped into the ultimate temple of musical genius and creativity known as Abbey Road Studios in London. There, he joined The Beatles and their invited guests, who would all participate in the first world-wide global satellite broadcast performance of a song John Lennon had written called “All You Need Is Love.” Little did David know at the time that he would be the only photographer there.
The Beatles sang “All You Need Is Love” for a global audience, and Magnus’s beautiful never-before-seen images, now on exhibit (and for sale) at the Morrison Hotel Gallery in SoHo, NYC take you on a journey inside what went on in front of the television cameras and behind the scenes on the day of that their global satellite broadcast, which happened fifty years ago. We attended the show’s opening reception at MHG back in June and had a groovy time. Please enjoy our photos from the show!
John Lennon at the Mic
Here’s are a few more details of that day 50 years ago:
On June 25, 1967, performers representing 19 countries from around the world appeared on Our World, the first international television production broadcast by satellite.
Mick Jagger and John Lennon
An estimated 400 million viewers watched the two-and-a-half hour program, which featured talent including Pablo Picasso and Maria Callas and was closed out by a performance of “All You Need Is Love” by The Beatles.
Paul McCartney Triptych
Photographer David Magnus was a friend of and regular collaborator with the band, was on hand to take pictures of the historic gig. The majority of these photos have never been seen before by the public.
George Harrison and Wife Pattie Boyd with Brian Epstein
George Harrison at the Mic
All You Need is Love Installation View
Paul and John with Ringo in Foreground
John and Paul with Brian
From the Same Series as Above, But Now Including George on the Far Left
The Beatles Dining in the Studio Commissary
When I look at this photo of Ringo at his drumkit, I just see Barry Wom from The Rutles. Anyone else?
George and John Getting Some Tea
High res images from the All You Need is Love collection can be found at the Morrison Hotel Gallery Website (Click This Link), where you will also find information on how to purchase these fine art prints. The gallery is located at 116 Prince Street, 2nd Floor in SoHo, New York City.
If you’ve already been to the absolutely phenomenal Rolling Stones ‘ career retrospective, Exhibitionism (which, go!), you may recognize this drumkit belonging to drummer Charlie Watts, which is on display in the recording gallery. This 1965, 4-piece Ludwig kit in a Sky Blue Pearl shell finish with a keystone badge (indicating a drum made in the 1960s), was used from 1965 -to mid-1968 by Watts on most of the band’s studio recordings and live performances.
Watts remembers that, “Everyone in the early ‘60s wanted Ludwig, so I got mine from the same place Ringo [Starr] got this, I think, which was Drum City, in Shaftesbury Avenue. Ringo’s was dark grey pearl and mine was sky blue – very camp.”
Exhibitionism continues through March 12th, 2017 at Industria, Located at West 12th and Washington Streets in the Meat Packing District.
All Photos of the Exhibit By Gail (Click on Any Image to Enlarge)
On Thursday, February 6th, one of our favorite venues, the Morrison Hotel Gallery on Prince Street launched a truly exceptional photography show celebrating the 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ first arrival in the States in 1964.
The Beatles at Abbey Road Studio, England 1963 By Terry O’Neill
This exhibit was curated by Julian Lennon, who personally selected 50 photographs of his late father, John Lennon, and his band mates Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison to honor the 50th Anniversary celebration, which has been marked by a variety of events this week including the Fest for Beatles Fans going on it NYC this weekend. Twenty-five photos are on exhibit at MHG’s New York space with an additional twenty-five on display at its sister gallery in Los Angeles.
Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the Opening Reception (Keep in mind that the quality of these original photographs is vastly superior to my representations).
Ringo at His Kit
Paul and George on the Beach By Curt Gunther (1964)
Brian Epstein and The Beatles By Curt Gunther (1964)
The Beatles with Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) in the Ring By Charles Trainor (1964)
The Beatles in Scotland By Robert Whitaker (1964)
The Beatles and Ed Sullivan Back Stage By Charles Trainor (1964)
The Beatles Arrive in NYC By Ken Regan (1964)
Pattie Boyd, former wife of George Harrison and muse who inspired songs like “Something” and “For You Blue” was at the reception and graciously signed my copy of her book.
Needless to say, but you can see I am about to, This exhibit is not to be missed for any Beatles Fan.
The Morrison Hotel Gallery is now Located in its New Space at 116 Prince Street, Second Floor NYC.
London – June 25, 2013 – The Beatles’ second feature film, 1965’s Help!, makes its worldwide digital release debut today, exclusively on the iTunes Store (www.iTunes.com/TheBeatles). The digitally restored film and 5.1 soundtrack features iTunes Extras including a 30-minute documentary about the making of the film, memories of the cast and crew, an in-depth look at the restoration process, an outtake scene, original theatrical trailers and radio spots and detailed art, including a companion piece with an introduction by the film’s director, Richard Lester and an appreciation by Martin Scorsese.
Help!’s debut on the iTunes Store and Blu-ray follows the 2012 release of The Beatles’ digitally restored Yellow Submarine and Magical Mystery Tourfeature films on iTunes, Blu-ray and DVD with extensive extras. Help!’srestoration for its 2007 DVD debut wowed viewers, earning five-times platinum sales in the U.S. and praise from a broad range of top media outlets around the world, including USA Today heralding the DVD as “a grand re-release,” The Guardian’s appreciation of the film’s director, Richard Lester, saying “Lester matches The Beatles’ ‘star’ power with smart, colourful visuals and casual surrealism,” The Los Angeles Times’ restoration rave: “With dynamic compression that was standard in the 1960s lifted for the digital age, the full range of the group’s musicality comes through – it’s like several coats of dust have been cleaned off an old master’s painting,” and four-star reviews from Rolling Stone and MOJO with the latter saying, “They really don’t make them like this anymore.”
Directed by Richard Lester, who also directed the band’s debut feature film, 1964’sA Hard Day’s Night, Help!follows The Beatles as they become passive recipients of an outside plot that revolves around Ringo’s possession of a sacrificial ring, which he cannot remove from his finger. As a result, he and his bandmates John, Paul and George are chased from London to the Austrian Alps and the Bahamas by religious cult members, a mad scientist and the London police.
In addition to starring The Beatles, Help! boasts a witty script, a great cast of British character actors, and classic Beatles songs “Help!,” “You’re Going To Lose That Girl,” “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away,” “Ticket To Ride,” “I Need You,” “The Night Before,” and “Another Girl.”
Help!’s iTunes digital download pairs the digitally restored original film with these iTunes Extras:
• “The Beatles in Help!” – a 30-minute documentary about the making of the film with Richard Lester, the cast and crew, including exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of The Beatles on-set.
• “A Missing Scene” – a film outtake, featuring Wendy Richard
• “The Restoration of Help!” – an in-depth look at the restoration process
• “Memories of Help!” – the cast and crew reminisce
• 1965 Theatrical Trailers – two original U.S. trailers and one original Spanish trailer
• 1965 U.S. Radio Spots (hidden in menus)
CAST
The Beatles:
John………..………………………………………………………..John Lennon
Paul………………………………………………………………Paul McCartney
George……….…………………………………………………George Harrison
Ringo……….…………………………………………………………Ringo Starr
Clang………………………………………………………………….Leo McKern
Ahme…………………………………………………………………Eleanor Bron
Foot…………………………………………………………….Victor Spinetti
Algernon…………………………………………………………Roy Kinnear
Superintendent……………………………………………..Patrick Cargill
Bhuta………………………………………………………………John Bluthal
Jeweller………………………………………………………………Peter Copley
Doorman…………………………………………………………………Alfie Bass
Abdul…………………………………………………………..…Warren Mitchell
Lawnmower…………………………………………………………Bruce Lacey
Cross channel swimmer……………………………………………Mal Evans
Women in street…………………Dandy Nichols and Gretchen Franklin
PRODUCTION
Director ……………………………………………………………Richard Lester
Producer …………………………………………………………Walter Shenson
Screenplay…………………………………..Marc Behm and Charles Wood
Story by………………………………………………………………..Marc Behm
Director of Photography…………………………………………David Watkin
Production Manager……………………………………………….John Pellatt
Art Director………………………………………………………Raymond Simm
Colour Consultant and Titles…………………………………Robert Freeman
Costume Designer…………………………………………………….Julie Harris
Musical Director………………………………………………………Ken Thorne
Songs composed by…………………..John Lennon and Paul McCartney and George Harrison
Songs performed by…………………………………………………The Beatles
Songs produced by……………………………………………..George Martin
Earlier this week, I attended a party at The Cutting Room and ran into my friend Billy Amendola, who I got to know during my 13 years spent writing for Modern Drummer magazine. Billy is not only a fantastic writer and editor, but he’s also quite an accomplished working drummer, having racked up a couple of dance hits during the 70s with the band Mantus, as well as playing drums on many of Debbie Gibson’s hits. Billy told me about a project he just completed called Influenced, featuring a song he wrote with a couple of his industry friends called “She Does.” He turned me on to the video, and I was instantly blown away by how much this track sounds like The Beatles.
Actually, The Beatles comparison is not at all surprising, when you consider that they recruited producer Mark Hudson for lead vocals. I remember having a ridiculous crush on Mark Hudson when I was probably 13, and he and his two brothers, Brett and Bill (father of actress Kate Hudson) had a summer replacement television series, The Hudson Brothers comedy variety hour. I even owned a couple of the Hudson Brothers excellent albums, which I absolutely adored because all of their songs sounded so much like The Beatles.
In his career, Mark has worked with huge hit makers including Ringo Starr, and I know Billy is also a hugeBeatles fan, so, again, the similarity is no surprise. What’s also a standout on this track is how guitarist Vinnie Zummo (formerly with Joe Jackson) completely channels George Harrison’s Elmore James-influenced slide guitar.
The track was produced by Billy’s son, Matty, who I used to fondly refer to as “Matty’s Fro,” owing to his impressive Afro hairstyle! Matty has gone on to become quite adept producer and multi-instrumentalist in his own right, and it’s fantastic to hear father and son working together on such a solid track. Please enjoy!
Dave Grohl, Lars Ulrich and Tre Cool Are Among the Richest Drummers in The World (Image Source)
Celebrity Net Worth, a website I had no idea even existed before this morning, has just published a fun list of the Thirty Richest Drummers in the World, and it’s just the kind of thing that makes me wish I were in a room full of drummers right now, so we could discuss it. First of all, the list is comprised of all Rock Drummers, which is amazing. Also, in addition to guys you’d expect to see on the list – such as Ringo Starr (at #1) and Charlie Watts (at #6, just below The Eagles’ Don Henley and Lars Ulrich of Metallica) there are couple of BIG surprises.
Danny Carey of Tool, a band that, while totally awesome, didn’t (as far as I know) really sell a lot of records, nor are they even still together as a band, comes in at #21 with an impressive $40 Million Net Worth. Danny Carey! I would guess that Danny not only invested well, but that he also makes a good chunk of change from his Drum Clinics and the instructional videos he makes. Another surprise is Steven Adler’s placing at #29, with $15 Million in assets. Woo! As the first person to be officially fired from Guns ‘N’ Roses, hilariously, for drug abuse, it’s heartening to learn that not only is Stevennot destitute, but that he will surely be set for life as long as he doesn’t relapse. Yay, Steven! Here’s the full list:
The 30 Richest Drummers in the World
#1: Ringo Starr Net Worth – $300 Million (The Beatles)
#2: Phil Collins Net Worth – $250 Million (Solo, Genesis)
#3: Dave Grohl Net Worth – $225 Million (Nirvana, Foo Fighters)
#4: Don Henley Net Worth – $200 Million (The Eagles)
#5: Lars Ulrich Net Worth – $175 Million (Metallica)
#6: Charlie Watts Net Worth – $160 Million (The Rolling Stones)
#7: Larry Mullen Jr Net Worth – $150 Million (U2)
#8: Roger Taylor Net Worth – $105 Million (Queen)
#9: Joey Kramer Net Worth – $100 Million (Aerosmith)
#10: Chad Smith Net Worth – $90 Million (The Red Hot Chili Peppers)
#11: Travis Barker Net Worth – $85 Million (Blink 182, The Aquabats)
#12: Stewart Copeland Net Worth – $80 Million (The Police)
#13: Alex Van Halen Net Worth – $75 Million (Van Halen)
#14: Nick Mason Net Worth – $75 Million (Pink Floyd)
#15: Tommy Lee Net Worth – $70 Million (Motley Crue)
#16: Bill Ward Net Worth – $65 Million (Black Sabbath)
#17: Jon Fishman Net Worth – $60 Million (Phish)
#18: Carter Beauford Net Worth – $55 Million (Dave Matthews Band)
#19: Rick Allen Net Worth – $50 Million (Def Leppard)
#20: Tre Cool Net Worth – $45 Million (Green Day)
#21: Danny Carey Net Worth – $40 Million (Tool)
#22: Tico Torres Net Worth – $40 Million (Bon Jovi)
#23: Max Weinberg Net Worth – $35 Million (Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, Conan O’Brien)
#24: Mickey Hart Net Worth – $30 Million (The Grateful Dead)
#25: Bill Kreutzmann Net Worth – $25 Million (The Grateful Dead)
#26: Neil Peart Net Worth – $22 Million (Rush)
#27: Taylor Hawkins Net Worth – $20 Million (Foo Fighters)
#28: Questlove Net Worth – $16 Million (The Roots, Jimmy Fallon)
#29: Steven Adler Net Worth – $15 Million (Guns N’ Roses)
#30: Mick Fleetwood Net Worth – $8.5 Million (Fleetwood Mac)
Ringo Starr Arrives for his Exhibit at Pop International Gallery, Soho (All Photos By Gail)
There’s a wickedly humorous story in Beatles’ legend that goes something like this: when asked by a journalist if Ringo Starr was the best drummer he’d ever heard, John Lennon replied, “Ringo isn’t even the best drummer in the Beatles.” As hilarious as that joke is, I think that Ringo Jokes exist for the same reason that Blonde Jokes exist: because people are jealous. I mean, Ringo Starr was in The fucking Beatles, and The Beatles invented everything! As far as I’m concerned, he has carte blanche to do whatever he wants. Ringo Starr!
In addition to currently being on a national concert tour with the most recent incarnation of his All Starr Band, Ringo is also touring his original artwork. On Monday, June 25th, he made a pit stop in Soho to host a VIP reception at Pop International Gallery on West Broadway. The packed-to-capacity gallery space was filled mostly with “VIP” patrons who had previously purchased signed copies of the drummer’s colorful, school of Pop art, but plenty of Music Biz celebrities and Ringo supporters were on hand as well.
We spotted the legendary Todd Rundgren (a current member of Ringo’s All Starr consortium) as well as previous RASB contributors like drummer Greg Bissonette and MTV-Generation rocker Billy Squier, who has been flying below the radar lately but still looks fantastic.
As celebrity artwork goes, I have seen work by Academy Award Nominated Directors and Tabloid-Fodder Rock Has-Beens that did not impress me much, but Ringo’s work is vibrant and accessible. It’s easy to see the influence of modern Pop innovators such as Peter Max and Andy Warhol in Starr’s work, but he also has his own whimsical style that is distinctly Ringo.
Part of all proceeds from sales also go to support The Lotus Foundation, a charity founded by Ringo and his wife Barbara Bach. The foundation’s primary objectives are to offer financial aid and assistance to facilitate family and child welfare, women’s issues, animal protection, addiction recovery and education.
We had a fun time at the reception and really enjoyed Ringo’s art work. And while it was a minor thrill to be in such close proximity to THE Ringo Starr, it was a wee bit of a bummer to be actually unable to meet him, due to his giant body guards and the mob scene-generating essence of the situation (i.e. Live Beatle in Person) in general. So close, and yet so far, as they say.
Pop International Galleries is Located at 473 West Broadway, New York, NY 10012
It is no secret that The Beatles were, and are, the greatest band ever in the Universe of all time. That said, I’m down for any exhibit of Beatles’ photographs even if I’ve already seen those same pictures a hundred million billion times. Because, The Beatles! You might think, “Gee wiz Gail, isn’t it hard to keep getting excited about The Beatles 40 years after they broke up?” But the answer would be no, no it is not.
Beatles Four Color Portraits by Robert Whitaker (This Image Courtesy MH Gallery, All Other Photos By Gail)
Thanks to a really excellent plastic surgeon, former Beatle Paul McCartney still looks pretty darn good at 70, but, really, nothing on earth compares to the breathtaking gorgeousness that was Paul when he was in his twenties. Such seriously unchained hotness. It burns my retinas just to look at him. If you also enjoy looking at pictures of The Beatles you can start thanking me now for telling you about an exhibit called Unseen Beatles, which just opened at The Morrison Hotel Gallery loft in Soho. As the title would suggest, these are rare photos of the Fab Four shot by photographers Robert Whitaker and Curt Gunther around 1964. This collection includes live/performance shots, back stage shots, candid shots and portraits of The Beatles both by themselves (or sometimes with fans members of their entourage) and as a group.
A few of my favorites are a large portrait of Ringo reading a copy of 16 Magazine (featuring a Beatles cover story), an interior car shot with Paul making a crazy “O Face” and a shot of John and Ringo with some fans outside what looks like a barn, where Ringo schools everyone on how a cowboy hat is worn. Ringo!
George Harrison with Brian Epstein, John Lennon Imposter in Background
As Emerson Lake & Palmer once said “You Gotta See the Show,” but if you need further encouragement, you can view a series of selected photos from Unseen Beatles (some just for sale but not hung in the exhibit) at This Link.
Unseen Beatles, featuring The Photography of Robert Whitaker and Curt Gunther Will be on Exhibit at the Morrison Hotel Gallery Loft located at 119 Prince Street in SoHo, New York City through the end of Summer, 2012.
