Quick news links


(This page will contain links to selected items of interest we haven't covered elsewhere.)


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Update (6/30/09)

  • Several internet sites (including Paste Magazine) are claiming that Jeff Lynne is supposedly planning to fix up some unreleased George Harrison songs for release. The rumor seemed to catch on after Olivia Harrison's recent comments about taking a look at some of the tracks George left unfinished after his death. A source who has a connection to Lynne is checking on this, but for now, we're not taking it too seriously considering the source was a British tabloid that likes to pull stuff out of thin air.
  • Can you mix Michael Jackson and George Harrison? Someone has on YouTube, mashing "Isn't It a Pity" and "I Want You Back." The result, called, "I Want Pity," is fairly cohesive.
  • More news links and Beatle news in our latest Beatles Examiner column.

    Update (6/28/09)

  • The author of the book "How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n Roll: An Alternative History of American Popular Music" told the Boston Herald the book isn't anti-Beatles. “I grant you ‘destroy’ is a provocative word," says author Elijah Wald. "The title is an attempt to make people pick up the book. But if Paul McCartney picked it up, I don’t think he’d disagree. He is truly conscious that the music he loved (as a kid) was gone by the late ’60s and the Beatles were largely responsible for that.”
  • More news links and Beatle news in our latest Beatles Examiner column.

    Update (6/27/09)

  • The Joel Plaskett Emergency will open for Paul McCartney in Halifax. The group announced it on their website.
  • thenewno2 will be live at Cinespace, 6356 Hollywood Blvd., 2nd level, Hollywood, CA, this Sunday, according to Absolutely Dhani Harrison.com.
  • More news links in our latest Beatles Examiner column.

    Update (6/26/09)

  • Pete Best is on an Upper Deck football card. Actually, four of them. You think we're joking? It's here. (Thanks to Shaun Weiss.)
  • More news links in our latest Beatles Examiner column.

    Update (6/25/09)

  • Talking about another concert, the Halifax Regional Council has agreed to exempt upcoming concerts in the city by Paul McCartney and KISS from laws governing volume, reports MetroNews.ca. One councilman, Steve Streatch, said he didn't support the McCartney concert because of McCartney's protest a few years ago of the Atlantic Canadian seal hunt. Others on the council, however, were enthusiastic about it. (Thanks to Patti M.)
  • More Beatle news and news links in our latest Beatles Examiner column.

    Update (6/24/09)

  • "The Beatles International," a five DVD set repackaging of the Artsmagic travelogue DVDs "The Beatles London," "The Beatles Liverpool" and "The Beatles Hamburg and the Hamburg Sound," will be released June 30. We've reviewed these in the past and given them good marks. The detail in these tours almost gets to the point of being obsessive, but then some of us probably don't mind that, do we? (Thanks to Bart Mendoza for the tip on this.) And if you like Elvis Presley, you may also be interested in Artsmagic's "Elvis' Memphis - A Magical History Tour" and "Beyond Elvis' Memphis." Just as the Beatles discs tour Beatle-related sites, the Elvis discs hit the well-known (and not so well-known) locations associated with Elvis. "Elvis' Memphis - A Magical History Tour" includes stops at Sun Studios and Graceland (though outside the gates), while "Beyond Elvis' Memphis" visits his birthplace of Tupelo, Miss., among other locations. Interesting stuff.
  • The Grammy Foundation has announced it is holding a Grammy Foundation Auction with Rolling Stone magazine on eBay. They're auctioning off issues of the magazine, both vintage and more recent, with the covers signed by the cover subjects, including Keith Richards, Ron Wood, Sting, Paul Simon, Neil Diamond, Dustin Hoffman, Jack Nicholson and Rob Zombie. The auction goes through July 2.

    Update (6/23/09)
  • Happy birthday to Stuart Sutcliffe, who would have turned 69 years old on June 23.
  • And on Monday, we posted a rare interview in our Beatles Examiner space with singer Emitt Rhodes. For those for whom the name might not be familiar, Rhodes developed a critical and fan following in the '70s for his music that brought a lot of comparisons to a certain Mr. McCartney. Those songs included "Live" (with the Merry-Go-Round, before he went solo), "Fresh As a Daisy" and "Live Till You Die." In the interview, he talks about those Beatle comparisons, how the Beatles affected him and his experience seeing the Beatles in concert. And we'll have another exclusive interview up soon.
  • More Beatle news and news links in our latest Beatles Examiner column.

    Update (6/22/09)

  • More Beatle news and newslinks in our latest Beatles Examiner column.

    Update (6/21/09)

  • In his latest blog, Julian Lennon has endorsed the Peace One Day campaign, which is trying create a real day of peace on Sept. 21.
  • More Beatle news links in our latest Beatles Examiner column.

    Update (6/20/09)

  • What would be an unbelievable Beatles prize? How about a chance to win the original copy of their first management contract with Brian Epstein? That's what http://www.imagine.uk.com is offering. All you have to do is figure out the document's value in 2008. Entry fee is £10. Sounds like there's another catch, but they say no.
  • OVOW Communications has announced rare videos of live performances from the Prince's Trust Concert featuring George Harrison, Paul McCartney and Tina Turner are now available in the iTunes music store. Proceeds benefit the Prince's Trust.

    Update (6/19/09)

  • Ali Akbar Khan, Ravi Shankar's sarod player at the Concert for Bangladesh, has died at age 87, reports the Washington Post. In an interview with Reuters, he was critical of the concert, saying, "That was not music but I'd say a war of music." He also said he put toilet paper in his ears to block the noise, according to the Post.
  • This Sunday's edition of "Chris Carter's 'Breakfast With the Beatles'" on Sirius 25/XM 59 will feature a playlist of fast tempo songs for a Beatle dance party. Special guest will be Kim Fowley, who introduced the Plastic Ono Band in the Toronto performance that makes up "John Lennon & The Plastic Ono Band: Live in Toronto '69" coming out on Shout Factory next week.

    Update (6/18/09)

  • Goldmine has an article about an upcoming book, "The Searchers and Me" by Jack Allen.
  • More news links in our latest Beatles Examiner column.

    Update (6/17/09)

  • In Christie's upcoming "Rock Culture: Rock and Pop Memorabilia" sale on July 1, the auction house will feature some Beatles acetates of "Love Me Do," "Revolver" and "Hey Bulldog." Also featured: a 1958 Hofner Senator guitar owned by John Lennon, supported with documentation written by George Harrison. For a look at the items in the auction, go to Christie's website and punch in reference #5871.
  • May Pang, in Liverpool for the opening of the "White Feather: The Spirit of Lennon" exhibit at the Beatles Story, visited Mendips, reported the Liverpool Daily Post.

    Update (6/16/09)
  • HwyCDRev's latest blog is about Olivia's interview with Chris Carter on his "Breakfast With the Beatles."
  • More news links and Beatle news briefs in our latest Beatle news briefs Examiner.com column.

    Update (6/15/09)

  • A trivia question. On the first show the week that John Lennon and Yoko Ono hosted "The Mike Douglas Show," what was the very first song Mike Douglas sang to open that show? Answer: "Michelle." (Honest.)
  • More Beatle news briefs on our Beatles Examiner page.

    Update (6/14/09)

  • Our Laurence Juber interview is here.

    Update (6/13/09)

  • More news links and Beatle news briefs in our latest Beatle news briefs Examiner.com column.

    Update (6/12/09)

  • Look for a special interview with former Wings guitarist Laurence Juber on our Beatles Examiner page Friday. He'll talk about his career and his time with Wings.
  • Yoko Ono was given a lifetime achievement award Thursday from MOJO magazine, reports the BBC.
  • Two Beatle fans talk about seeing the Beatles in Detroit in 1964 in the Detroit News.
  • Yoko Ono tweet on Thursday: "When you say 'I love you', you are not just saying it to that person. You are saying 'I love you' to yourself, the planet & the Universe."
  • More news links and Beatle news briefs in our latest Beatle news briefs Examiner.com column.

    Update (6/11/09)

  • Ron Richards, a record producer who worked at EMI and played a role in recordings by the Beatles, P.J. Proby, Gerry and the Pacemakers and, especially, the Hollies, has died, reports the UK Independent. The Hollies website has a special tribute.
  • A local man is trying to save the Hard Day's Night Bed and Breakfast in Benton, Ill., which once served as lodging for George Harrison in a pre-fame visit to the States, reports the Benton Evening News.
  • When we reviewed the "John Lennon & The Plastic Ono Band: Live in Toronto '69" DVD, we mentioned the audio recording was pretty much unavailable domestically, except for a Mobile Fidelity release. But on June 16, a new vinyl "Live Peace In Toronto" will be released. It's one of the latest "From the Capitol Vaults" vinyl reissues. And like the original release, this one comes with a spiral-bound 1970 calendar. Other vinyl reissues out the same day include two albums from the Beach Boys, "Sunflower" and "Surf's Up."
  • More Beatle news in our latest Beatles Examiner column.

    Update (6/9/09)

  • Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon and his girlfriend Charlotte Kemp Muhl attended the 53rd Biennale International Art Exhibition in Venice, where Yoko picked up the Golden Lion lifetime achievement award. You can see pictures in a special Examiner.com column.

    Update (6/8/09)

  • Legendary songwriting team Lieber & Stoller will be doing an in-store autograph signing for their new book "Jerry Lieber & Mike Stoller in Conversation with David Ritz" at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Barnes & Noble bookstore, 1972 Broadway at 66th Street in Manhattan, N.Y. Songs that The Beatles recorded by Lieber & Stoller were "Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey" (seen above in a clip from YouTube), "Searchin'," and "Three Cool Cats." Both John and Julian Lennon also recorded "Stand By Me." Leiber and Stoller, who have worked together for more than 50 years, have been inducted into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame, the Record Producers' Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They also share a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. (Thanks to Charles Rosenay!!!)

    Update (6/7/09)

  • Julian Lennon has come to the aid of the woman who inspired "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" and is now suffering from an incurable disease, reports Times Online.
  • In the wake of the stories this week about fake celebrity Twitter accounts for Phil Spector and Dhani Harrison, we're glad to see Twitter is instituting celebrity account verifications.
  • More quick news links in our latest Examiner.com column.

    Update (6/5/09)

  • The @DhaniHarrison account on Twitter we outed Wednesday 'fessed up Thursday and admitted he was an imposter. He tried to sound very apologetic before his posts disappeared from the system. "I just want you to know that I only pretended to be him because I like him so much and I love his dad so much!," the imposter said.
  • One of Yoko Ono's tweets Thursday: "Thoughts are infectious. Send it out. It's Time for Action. The Action is PEACE."
  • Here's a great video of Sean Lennon and friends at Chimera Music's debut gig in Tokyo.
  • Now on eBay: a first edition vinyl stereo pressing of "A Collection of Beatles Oldies" and a mono vinyl "Collection of Beatles Oldies".
  • "The Beatles: Rock Band" and the Beatles' remastered albums aren't the only Beatle product coming on 9/9/09. Apple Jam’s CD, "Off the Beatle Track,” also released that day, will feature cover versions of Lennon/-McCartney compositions not released originally by the Beatles. Songs include “Bad to Me”, "I'll Keep You Satisfied," "I Don't Want To See You Again," “A World Without Love”, and “I’ll Be on My Way.” "We are using the same microphones, gear, and studio techniques of the period to make the album sound just like an early Beatles record,” says Rick Lovrovich, founding member of the group. You can hear song samples from 14 tracks at http://samples.offthebeatletrack.com.
  • More news links in our latest Beatles Examiner column.

    Update (6/4/09)
  • Yoko Ono posted some news on her blog Wednesday morning: Her latest song "I'm Not Getting Enough" will be No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart this weekend.
  • The Times of London reached into its archives and pulled out its original review of "Let It Be" and other archival links.
  • More news links in our latest Examiner.com story.

    Update (6/3/09)

  • More news links in our latest Examiner.com story.

    Update (6/2/09)

  • From Paul McCartney's website: "Tickets for Paul's forthcoming show in Halifax, Nova Scotia on Saturday July 11th are on sale now. You can get them from www.ticketatlantic.com or by phone (+1) 902-451-1221.
  • Former Wings guitarist Laurence Juber will perform in concert 8 p.m. June 13 at Boulevard Music, 4316 Sepulveda Blvd. Culver City. We've seen Laurence in concert several times both at Beatle conventions and away from them and he is a wonderful guitarist to see and hear. Tickets are $17.50 and are available by calling (310) 398-2583 or at www.boulevardmusic.com.
  • Here are some great old pics of the four Fabs from the '70s. (Thanks to Barbara Pazmino.)
  • More news links in our latest Examiner.com column.

    Update (6/1/09)

  • thenewno2 will be playing Lollapalooza 2009. They're listed on the roster page on the festival's website. Among the other names playing the festival: Depeche Mode, Kings of Leon, Lou Reed, Snoop Dog, Tool, the Killers, Jane's Addiction and Ben Harper and Relentless 7. (thanks to Patti Murawski.)
  • On Sunday, we posted the news that the Liverpool music paper Mersey Beat will be making a special return for Beatle Week in August. The story features comments from founder, editor and publisher Bill Harry.
  • On June 1, 1969, "Give Peace a Chance" was in Montreal. Yoko Ono's Imagine Peace website has an excerpt from Anthony Fawcett's book, "One Day at a Time," that discusses the bed-ins and the song "Give Peace a Chance." At the bottom of the page is a YouTube video with the song.
  • More news links in our latest Examiner.com column.

    Update (5/31/09)

  • Times Online has an excerpt of Jerry Lawton's book, "I Met the Walrus: How One Day with John Lennon Changed My Life Forever," the story of how he interviewed John Lennon and Yoko Ono in Montreal 40 years ago.
  • More news links in our latest Examiner.com column.

    Update (5/29/09)

  • A new Beatles exhibit, "Beatlemania," opens May 29 in Hamburg. Located in the Reeperbahn, it features original items and presentations on the group from its beginnings to its breakup. More information (in German) is here.
  • If you like Beatles trivia, we added a new set of preview questions for "The Beatles Trivial Pursuit: Collector's Edition" Thursday.
  • And this week, we also finished up a three-part series "Did America almost miss meeting the Beatles" with an interview from Charles Tillinghast, a former Capitol Records lawyer who worked there during the Beatle years. (If you missed the series, here are links to part one and part two.) Though it didn't happen, I think there was the very real possibility that America could have met the Beatles quite differently, and history could have been different. Thankfully, it happened the way it did because it couldn't have happened any better.
  • More news links in our latest Examiner.com column.

    Update (5/27/09)

  • A Paul McCartney spokesman Tuesday denied a tabloid report that McCartney and Dylan would definitely be working together, calling it "speculation." (We have an exclusive report on Examiner.com.)
  • An estimated 33,000 people attended this year's Abbey Road on the River festival this past weekend in Kentucky, the festival said in a press release. "Abbey Road on the River reached its highest attendance since the festival came to Louisville, Kentucky five years ago, reporting over 33,000 attendees, breaking last year’s record of 25,000. The Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates the Beatles tribute festival had a $3 million economic impact for the city. Event organizer Gary Jacob says he hopes to bring the festival back to Louisville in 2010, but his decision depends largely upon the festival’s ability to attract corporate sponsorships."
  • More newslinks in our latest Examiner.com column.

    Update (5/27/09)

  • Last season's "American Idol," David Cook, has made known who his dream songwriting partner would be -- Paul McCartney. "I have a dream person I'd like to write with, and that's Paul McCartney. Sir Paul McCartney, I should say. ... Paul, if you're ever looking for an intern, I'm available," he told MTV.com.
  • The Hudson Reporter conducted a debate for candidates for mayor for Hoboken, N.J., which was, incidentally, Frank Sinatra's hometown. The video for the debate, available here, begins with "The Long and Winding Road," and includes, amazingly enough, a question asking who each candidate's favorite Beatle is. It comes in 11 minutes of part 4.
  • Are Capt. Kirk and Mr. Spock in the new "Star Trek" film inspired by John Lennon and Paul McCartney? That's what Bob Orci, who co-wrote the film, suggests in this interview on ComicBookMovie.com.

    Update (5/26/09)

  • Along with the exhibit of photos of John and Yoko in Montreal at the Stephen Bulger Gallery in Toronto that we've written about previously, the Gallery is also running Beatle-related films this week with free screenings of "The U.S. Vs. John Lennon," "Imagine" and "Across the Universe." The schedule is on their blog.
  • Here's a collection of pictures from this year's Abbey Road on the River from the Louisville Courier-Journal.
  • A few different pictures (and many of the ones that we ran) from the "John Lennon: The New York Years" exhibit are on Yoko's official flikr account.
  • More newslinks on our latest Examiner column.

    Update (5/25/09)

  • Exhibits of John and Yoko Montreal bed-in photos by Gerry Deiter ("Give Peace a Chance: John and Yoko's Bed-in for Peace") will open May 26 at both the Stephen Bulger Gallery in Toronto (though June 2), and the Beatles Story in Liverpool (through Sept. 20). A third exhibit runs June 12 to Sept. 7 at Bethel Woods Arts Center, in upstate New York. More information: http://www.peaceworksnow.com.
  • More newslinks are on Examiner.com. (Worth the trip!)

    Update (5/24/09)

  • Remember 16 Magazine? We have a little item about it on Examiner.com.
  • Be sure to check out While the flowers gently wept: Remembering the garden for George Harrison on Examiner.com.
  • We recently showed you photos from the Montreal exhbit honoring John Lennon and Yoko Ono's bed-in for peace there 40 years ago. A new book, "Give Peace a Chance: John and Yoko's Bed-in for Peace" by Gerry Deiter and Joan Athey, features over 80 photos from the event originally taken by Deiter on assignment for LIFE magazine. Athey, a friend of Deiter, compiled the book after the photographer's death in 1985. In addition, Yoko Ono has contributed a statement to the book.
  • Interested in playing the New Band stage at this year’s Mathew Street Festiva/? The New Band Stage features musicians from Merseyside that are either signed or about to be signed. There are seven slots available. Email submissions must arrive no later than 11:59 p.m. May 29. This year’s festival takes place 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 30-31 as part of the Beatles Week activities. At the Mathew Street Festival, there will also be a Beatles tribute band stage, and, for the first time ever, an American Bands stage, which will be emceed by Charles F. Rosenay!!! of Liverpool Productions, who also happens to be Horror Happenings Examiner on Examiner.com. Interested bands can download the application here.

    Update (5/23/09)

  • A much discussed story Friday was the story in the UK Sun that Paul McCartney's house in the UK can no longer be seen on Google Street View. According to the report, it was asked to be taken off for security reasons.
  • Beginning May 30, Laurence Juber will begin a series of dates in the U.S. with a gig in Syracuse, N.Y. The gigs will cover a number of states on both coasts through August. You can find upcoming dates on his website. And as someone who has seen his show more than once, we recommend it.
  • You can find more news links in our latest Examiner.com column.

    Update (5/22/09)

  • It's interesting reading Heather Mills' fairly gentle Twitter posts. They come across like a soap opera. Is this really the same woman we read about in the tabloids again and again?
  • Abbey Road on the River is now going on through Sunday. Friday events include the world premiere of "The Day The Beatles Met," an original play by students from The Youth Performing Arts School. More information on the fest: http://www.abbeyroadontheriver.com/index.php.
  • A few weeks ago, we mentioned "The Mammoth Book of the Beatles," available in the U.S. through Amazon.com, in the UK through Amazon.co.uk and in Canada through Amazon.ca. We have a copy in hand now and will tell you it looks fairly good. The book runs about a 40-60 split between archival material and newer items written by Sean Egan. Egan's material is thorough and opinionated. It's the archival essays, though, that are the real attraction. We wish there were more. Still, though, this is a good book to have. And with nearly 600 pages, there's a lot to read.
  • Now on eBay: vendor is selling what is advertised as pieces of the Star Club stage. Also available, ending May 26, a collection of 13 Beatles CDs with long boxes.
  • More newslinks in our latest Examiner.com column.

    Update (5/21/09)
  • The 30th anniversary of "The Secret Policeman's Ball" will be celebrated in a two-city film festival June 11-19 in Los Angeles and June 26 - July 31 in New York. This first-ever retrospective of "The Secret Policeman's Ball" series will present rare versions of films, TV specials and documentaries, some of which aren't on video. The festival is produced by Martin Lewis, who co-produced the first four shows and helped conceive Amnesty's 1988 "Human Rights Now!" world tour. There are many Beatle connections intertwined with the history of the Ball with Yoko Ono appearing and George Harrison and Paul McCartney lending support. Neil Innes is confirmed to appear in Los Angeles and other performers are in the process of being scheduled. For more information and tickets, http://www.secretpolicemansball.com/.

    Update (5/20/09)

  • Yoko Ono put out a Twitter post Tuesday asking for requests for songs for her performance at London's Meltdown Festival in June.

    Hi everyone! What songs would you like to hear at the South Bank @meltdownfest gig? (no promises,mind!) love, yoko


  • Sean Lennon and Julian Lennon were photographed attending the OneDreamRush Party at the Chacha Club during the 62nd Cannes Film Festival Monday in Cannes, France.
  • We had a preview of some of the questions you'll find in The Beatles Trivial Pursuit: Collector's Edition in a column posted Tuesday.
  • We also posted the first of a three part series: Did America almost miss meeting the Beatles? Part 1 -- Disagreement at Capitol. The series looks at the Beatles in America from three different perspectives. Look for part 2 later in the week and part 3 early next week, both on Examiner.com.
  • Batman Examiner Joshua Lapin-Bertone is also a huge Beatles fan. He traveled to Georgia for a show featuring May Pang and Nancy Andrews and took pictures and did a podcast of it.
  • More Beatle news briefs in our latest column on Examiner.com.

    Update (5/19/09)

  • The National Dance Institute's 2009 Event of the Year will be "A Celebration of John Lennon," June 20-22, 2009 at the LaGuardia High School Concert Hall in New York City. The show will feature original dance interpretations of Lennon’s life set to his music and done by dancers ages 9-15. Songs will include “Day Tripper,” “A Day in the Life,” “Help!,” “Come Together,” “Can’t Buy Me Love” and “Imagine.” Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door and can be purchased online at www.nationaldance.org or by calling (212) 352-3101 or (866) 811-4111. A webpage for the event is here. You can see a preview “Imagine” performed by NDI children here. Susan Ryan has a report on the gala as performed at the Nokia Theater in Times Square on April 30 on the Daytrippin' site.
  • We posted a story Monday morning about a Russian singer who'll make her U.S. debut at Abbey Road on the River this month.
  • The Yoko Ono lecture at Stanford we wrote about in January is now online in a four-part video at her Imagine Peace website.
  • Yer Blog has a birthday tribute to Pete Townshend.
  • More newslinks in our latest Examiner.com column.

    Update (5/18/09)

  • In a Twitter post Sunday, Yoko Ono gave instructions on how to enter the poetry contest she judging. (Don't ask me to translate Twitter):

    Tweet your #haiku about British Summer to @kingsplace. Best appear on board at KingsX Station, London UK http://tiny.cc/hai


  • Speaking of Twitter, Heather Mills now has an account there.

    Update (5/16/09)

  • Now on eBay: three Beatles CDs in sealed long boxes. And until May 18, six sets of vintage Beatles trading cards.
  • For anyone interested in some technical legal discussions (yeah, right!), David Kronemyer has posted an essay called "The Beatles’ Contract History with Capitol Records." More importantly, though, he has pdf links to the actual contracts from 1962, 1967 and 1969. He also has a related article, "How Many Records Did the Beatles Actually Sell?" All the sales information comes from public records. By the way, the answer to the question of how many they sold since 1964 is 139.5 million records, he says.

    Update (5/14/09)
  • There's a lot of buzz going around about the Beatles Trivial Pursuit game. We have all the details for that and the new Beatles "Revolver" puzzle in this Wednesday post. Judging from the initial reaction we're getting through Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, these are gonna be huge, huge sellers this year.
  • Available now on eBay until May 18: A lot with six sets of Beatles trading cards, including "A Hard Day's Night," the color and diary sets.
  • More news links in our latest Examiner.com column.

    Update (5/13/09)

  • Mary Hopkin recently did some rare radio interviews to talk about her music. You can hear six clips here. Mary answered some questions for us in an email interview in February. We reviewed her albums she's sold through http://www.maryhopkinmusic.com in this March column.
  • On her MySpace blog, Yoko Ono posted a message to the bell ringers at Liverpool Cathedral, where they'll ring out "Imagine" this Saturday at noon, 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. local time:

    Dear Drew, Cleo, Sam and all the bell ringers at Liverpool Cathedral
    
         
    
        The sound of your bells will travel around the world and remind people of
        John Lennon and his belief that there is an urgent need for world
        peace… like the church bell in the town, which used to ring as the
        warning to people about impending disasters like flood and fire!
    
        Thank you for thinking of a very important way of bringing change to the consciousness of the world.
    
        I will hear your bells, too, in New York where I will be working that day.
    
        Think Peace, Spread Peace, IMAGINE PEACE!
    
        We are all together.
    
         
    
        I love you!
        Yoko Ono Lennon, May ‘09


  • Yoko's new album of remixes, "I'm Not Getting Enough", is No. 9 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club chart, up from 11 the previous week in its seventh week on the charts.
  • Richard Porter of The Beatles in London.com sent us this note Tuesday: "Hi Steve, Ringo Starr and George Martin were at Abbey Road Studios today! I didn't see them but a couple from my London Beatles walking tour who stayed around at the end of my tour taking photos saw them