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OK, you got me thinking. This was done in 1993, I think, and as far as I know is to date the most detailed interview she's done on the Apple subject. Maybe not! Anyway, I thought people might be interested: http://www.billdeyoung.com/mh.htm. (Comment: Thanks, Bill. This is a great interview. We highly recommend it.)

Steve,

I hate to admit it, but I'm a closet "American Idol" watcher, and yes, they really did send the final 4 contestants to see "Love," on a private plane. Continuing the Beatles theme from a few shows ago, they played "Come Together" as they flew to Vegas, then intercut footage of the Fabs getting off the plane at JFK in '64, waving to the crowd, with footage of the 4 contestants getting off the plane in Vegas! Then there was a mob scene of "screaming fans" greeting them as they arrived at the Mirage, where they signed autographs and got hugged by fans! Followed by footage of them in the audience at the show, and then they went backstage and met the cast. David Cook (the rocker contestant) did say that the show was without a doubt, the best thing he's ever seen in his life! Don't say you heard it from me, ok??

Send him your thoughts about any Beatle topics you'd like to discuss. He'll be writing a couple of times a week. And, yes, we are no longer linking to Terry Ott. We wish him well.

Update (5/8/08)

Update (5/7/08)

TO ALL CONCERNED:

Here's the skinny on a worthy cause charity event to raise funds & awareness to assist "Alicia's House" Food Pantry feeding the hungry families having a hard time making the miracle happen.

• WHO: ALICIA'S HOUSE FOOD PANTRY
• WHAT: ABBEY ROAD - BEATLES TRIBUTE BAND & (opening band) KGB - Rock & Roll band performing 60's thru 70's rock
• Where: Beecher Community Hall 673 Penfield Street Beecher, IL.
• WHY: To raise funds and awareness for feeding the hungry families.
• WHEN: Saturday - May 17th - 2 shows - 1st one @ 1 pm & 2nd show @ 7 pm. FEEL FREE TO BRING CANNED GOODS!!! COST: $12 PER SHOW!

Any other questions please sound off and hope to see ya there! SPREAD THE WORD!!!! Warmest Regards, james jones.

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Rachael Ray announced on her show this morning that she is auctioning off a vintage refrigerator that has been autographed by guests from her second season, to benefit her YUM-O children's charity. I immediately thought of who would be on there, and when I went on the website to check, yep! Ringo did indeed autograph the refrigerator along with all the other big celebrities (Gene Simmons too!). Here is the link to the page that shows the fridge and there is a list of the autographs that are on it so far.

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Someone tell John Waters quick! Punk is a throwback to what the Beatles did in Hamburg. The Stones badboy image would not have had acceptance on this side of the ocean had the Beatles not crossed it, padded the scene for the likes of them or written their first song. Also, if he (John Waters) reads a little history, the Stones were not too proud of the fact that someone was stabbed and died right at the foot of their stage at Altamont.

The Beatles change popular culture in ways that cracked open closet doors of cross dressers, transsexuals and homosexuals (which their manager was) and led to the acceptance of the kind of campyness of movies like Hair Spray. The Beatles did not put Motown out of business. (Where'd that come from?)They had simultaneous hits with Motown artists. They, in fact, took turns at holding number one with the Temptations, Supremes, Four Tops, Smokey Robinson, etc week after week throughout the sixties. The Beatles injected life into what was an unimaginative, teen scene full of Bobby Vinton, Bobby Tillitson, Bobby Rydell and all the other bobbies. Their arrival resulted in an artistic Renaissance that has not been seen or matched since. They opened the door for true original guitar heroes like those in Led Zeppelin, the Who, Yes, Cream and an innumerable bunch of groups and artists that go beyond what is heard in today's standard "classic Rock" stations. The music scene after the Beatles included R & B, Folk, Blues, Gospel. Philharmonic orchestras expanded the rock band format into an array of production possibility... Love, The Moody Blues, Procol Harum...

The Beatles did not lead to the Monkees. Television executives with dollar-signs for irises led to the Monkees. The Beatles awoke and fulfilled the rebellion Elvis only hinted at. Where James Dean was a rebel without a cause as were all the fifties pompodour and ponytail-haired teens who acted tough but only succeeded in hanging out, The Beatles awakened an appetite and an urge for change. The Beatles appearance on Ed Sulliven lead to innumerable awakenings. Long hair on men was a controversial symbol.

Yippies did not make fun of hippies. Yippies were extreme hippies. They led action against the government. Abbey Hoffman tried to use the Woodstack stage. Hippies and the generational counter culture that resulted were part of the same ideological army. As to John Lennon's "Imagine" , it was an ideological song. Words carry messages. He was a songwriter. Just because he wrote "no possessions" didn't mean he should turn into Ghandi or Jesus and move out in front of the Dekota. Would John Waters give up possessions as a result of his disgust with what he considers John's Lennon's hypocrisy?

Re: Eric Hartvigsen's question on the possible Ringo remasters: I have a UK pressing of the original CD release of the Ringo album that I bought circa 1990. "Down and Out" was track four, right after "Photograph," so that does not point to the current listing being anything new. I suspect that the master for the single was used for those two songs, which is why they appear side by side. Side note: In general, UK and Japanese regular issue CDs of the 70's solo catalogs were mastered better than the US CDs. The UK Ringo is the version I listen to because of its superior sound, having also owned the US, the US gold disc and the Japanese.

Update (4/25/08)

Number of APPLE RECORDS sides available on iTUNES:

Chris Hodge on (4)

The Beatles (0)

If you're keeping score at home, yes, that represents Hodge's entire APPLE catalog.

Apple 43 "We're On Our Way" / "Supersoul" Chris Hodge (UK single)

1850 "We're On Our Way" / "Supersoul" Chris Hodge (U.S. single)

1858 "Goodbye, Sweet Lorraine" / "Contact Love" Chris Hodge (U.S. single).

Q: You’re critical of the Beatles. Do you really hate them?
A: I don’t want to say I hate the Beatles. I don’t own any of their records. They ruined rock and roll. They put Motown out of business. So I never bought a new record ever until punk came out. The Beatles led to the Monkees. And it was a little hard hearing Lennon sing about "no possessions" when he was living in the Dakota. I was a yippee. Hippies got on my nerves. We made fun of hippies. I didn’t know it, but I was waiting for punk. And so that’s what I mean about the Beatles. I know they were amazing songwriters and all that, but I liked the Rolling Stones. I would’ve rather been at Altamont than Woodstock. (Comment: We presume he knows the Beatles weren't at Woodstock.)

Hey Steve, just commenting on the question posed about the 2007 Ringo Remasters (?). I've been wondering the same thing for many months! Perhaps a UK lister could help us out with this, because there's one BIG difference with these "reissues". According to the tracklistings at many differing sites (amazon.uk, hmv.uk, etc), track #4 on "Ringo" is "Down and Out", which was the b-side to Ringo's "Photograph" single and did not appear on the Ringo (vinyl) album. When the disc made its conversion to CD, this track became a bonus track (#13), following the a/b coupling of "It Don't Come Easy" & "Early 1970". If the "new" CD truly features Down & Out as the 4th track, then it would logically follow that this is a new remaster, right? Or does logic fly out the window when discussing Beatle-related matters? ;-)

Just a quick input of needless opinion on my part regarding the latest and greatest(?) All Starr Band troupe. Rather than concentrating on the issue of ticket pricing.., which we all know is COMPLETELY out of kilter, my question is why has Ringo and his "people" seemingly forgotten where the southeastern portion of the country is?! I understand that with a 30 some odd city tour you're not going to have the capability of hitting all the spots, but there is quite a hole present between Ohio and Florida (Oh, some sites have indicated Nashville may be a performing site). D.C. seems to be the most glaring omission. Just curious if his spokesperson visits your wonderful site, and would like to respond? (Comment: We checked with his press spokesperson and we were referred to an updated press release that included two dates we didn't have, including one in Nashville at the Wildhorse Saloon on July 6. Her answer didn't indicate whether any additional dates would be added.)

Regarding Anita Williams complaint about Ringo's ticket prices: $330 for an entire family is a bargain in today's world. Big name artists from our generation, like the Stones, CSN&Y and Paul Charge up to $500.00 for one ticket!

Update (4/24/08)

Hi Steve,

I wonder if you, on any readers, can help with this query: On the UK EMI Catalogue web site and Amazon UK, the CD's 'Ringo' and 'Goodnight Vienna' are listed with a release date of 27 August 2007. See links below: http://www.esounds.com/esounds/EN/Details.aspx?ProductID=M0077771611445&VariantID=0077779588428 and http://www.esounds.com/esounds/EN/Details.aspx?ProductID=M50999105762&VariantID=0077778037828 . I emailed Amazon UK to clarify if these reissues are 2007 remasters, and recieved a reply confirming that they are! However, even so, I am dubious about trusting information from Amazon on this type of thing. Is there anyone out there who confirm whether these reissues are the standard 1991/2 remasters, or if they are new, 2007 remasters? I would imagine new remasters would recieve a fair bit of publicity, but it seems strange that EMI would do a 'straight' reissue of the '90's remasters, as the CDs were still in print, anyway. Keep up the great work! Paul Soper, UK

Re: Anita William's complaint about the price for Ringo tickets. By her math, her tickets come to only $55.00 each - a real bargain on today's concert scene. I have 6th row center seats to see Ringo. Face value is just $79.00, but fees from Ticketmaster and the venue (including a new $6.00 per ticket parking fee), totaled over $45.00 for my two tickets, pushing my purchase to over $200.00. Anita: just wait until Paul comes around again. I paid $279.00 face value plus fees to sit half-court on the side to see him. Non-charity Ringo tickets have yet to reach $100.00.

Steve,

I got a ticket for the Chicago show last Friday morning. Ticket's ranged from $35-85. Pretty reasonable consider what some groups are wanting. The catch was that the first 15 rows of the center section were reserved for people who bought the "Special Ringo Package" and those were $150.00 more. For that I'm getting a limited (to several thousand I'm sure) edition T-shirt, an autographed picture and drumstick. But I also got a front row seat. Is it worth it? I don't know but I paid for it so it must be. I'll hear a great band doing some great songs and . . . I'll be seing RINGO!!!!

Update (4/23/08)

My boyfriend and I have been looking forward to taking our kids to see Ringo this summer at when he goes on tour. We were however shocked to find that his prices are so exorbitant that we may have to give the show a pass. Between us we have four children, and for all six of us to take in the Ringo show, it would cost us $330.00—and that’s for the cheap sheats! C’mon Ringo. All that money, AND I’d have to sit through Billy Squier?!

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Update (4/3/08) Pattie Boyd will appear at a reception 7-10 p.m. Saturday for the opening of her exhibit running April 6-20 at the Morrison Hotel Gallery, 7517 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA. http://www.morrisonhotelgallery.com

Steve:

The so-called reunion of Eric Burdon and War is a BOGUS reunion. That line-up is not WAR! The only member of WAR who is participating is Lonnie Jordan! It is really just a reunion of Eric Burdon and Lonnie Jordan. The band "WAR" was Lonnie Jordan, Lee Oskar, Papa Dee Allen, Harold Brown, B.B. Dickerson, Howard Scott and Charles Miller. So Lonnie Jordan has just put a new band together, and is pretending that they are WAR. I'm not saying it won't be good, I'm just saying that it is false advertising. They should truthfully advertise it as "Eric Burdon reuniting with Lonnie Jordan (formerly of War)." I hate all these PHONEY reunions of bands getting back together, using the name of an old band, when there is only one original member. It happens way too often these days.

Update (4/2/08)

Hey Steve, glad you arrived on myspace. Thanks for the invite. I've followed your abbeyrd site since I arrived in San Diego. The best site! My cd "and so it goes..." featuring Tony Sheridan on five tracks, now has a life of its own. It was played on BBC last week and has been on KGB radio the whole month of March. What a trip! Cheers to you my pal, Dave

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Hi Steve,
Daytrippin' has just posted the first in-depth interview in almost three decades with Ringo's ex-girlfriend, Nancy Lee Andrews, about her relationship with Ringo Starr. She also discusses her new photography book, A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll." You can find it at http://daytrippin.com/nancyandrewsmar08.htm. Thanks, Trina

Update (3/16/08) Jane Lumb, an actress who had a small part in "A Hard Day's Night," has died as a result of breast cancer at age 56, reports Times Online. According to the obituary, she also appeared in the Rolling Stones promotional film for "Ruby Tuesday" and the film "Reflections on Love" (1966), in which she featured again with the Beatles and with Jenny Boyd, sister of George Harrison’s future wife Pattie, who appeared with her in "A Hard Day's Night," and which was directed by Joe Massot, who later made "Wonderwall." She also was in "Goldfinger" (1964), "Carry On Cleo" (1964), "Carry On Spying" (1964) and "Dr Who and the Daleks" (uncredited, 1965). Lumb’s partner for several years was Tony Hicks of the Hollies. In 1976, she married music business manager Tony Gourvish. The couple had a daughter. She later became involved with public relations, working with the bands Showaddywaddy and the Bay City Rollers, among others. (Comment: We -- and several others -- tried to research what part Lumb played and came up empty. If anyone knows, please tell us and we'll pass it on.) (Our thanks to everyone who helped research it to this point -- Patti Murawski, Kris Tash, Barb Pazmino and r.m.b.'s saki, among many others.)

Hi - Dave Humphries is the newest member of the Blindspot Family - his latest CD, "and so it goes..." (Blindspot 106) full of pop (ala Badfinger, The Lovin Spoonful and other masters of the three minute tune, is getting good reviews, ranging from The North County Times (CA) to The Durham Times (UK). On March 29 the album will be played on BBC Radio Merseyside's Juke Box Jury March 29, at 6:30 p.m. The show is hosted by documentary writer and author of Let's Go Down to the Cellar, Spencer Leigh. The show is also broadcast live online. Bart. http://www.myspace.com/blindspotrecordssd, http://www.myspace.com/davehumphriesmusic