Sir Paul reconnects with the Philippines

Sir Paul McCartney, photo courtesy of his website

Forty seven years had passed since Paul McCartney set foot on Philippine soil as a member of the Beatles during their 1966 World Tour,and no he didn't have any good memories out of that tour and perhaps that is the main cause why the Beatles had stopped playing live.As nothing can be more dangerous with what they had experienced in Manila.

But last July 19, things seem to have change with Paul's bad sentiment about the Philippines that he wrote a letter to Filipino president Benigno Aquino III regarding the welfare of Mali,the lone elephant at the Manila Zoo.The elephant was known to have suffered stress in captivity and was having all sorts of skin diseases that needed medical attention.

Sir Paul McCartney has been supporting PETA and has been speaking for the organization since the early 90s with his late wife Linda.Both Paul and Linda has also been promoting vegetarianism and the banning of  the killing of animals for food consumption,a matter that has caused some problems with some of their road crew who didn't even want to become veggie.

Mali,the lone elephant at the Manila Zoo has been in captivity for the last 33 years.The elephant was a gift from the Sri Lankan government to the Marcoses in 1981 when the elephant was only three years old.Marcos was known to have ruled the Philippines for 20 years from 1965 to 1986.The elephant  recently was noted to have a sore foot and several skin problems that has urged PETA to plea with the Philippine government to transfer Mali to a sanctuary in Thailand to be able to give her the proper care she needs.

Mali at Manila Zoo,photo:PETA

The letter of Sir Paul's to President Aquino was addressed to the Malacanang Palace which is the official residence and office of the Philippine president.

His Excellency Benigno Aquino III
President of the Republic of the Philippines
Office of the President Malacañang Palace

Dear Mr. President,

I am writing to add my voice to the many others who are supporting the transfer of Mali, the lonely elephant currently being held at the Manila Zoo, to a sanctuary in Thailand as soon as possible. I respectfully urge you to use your good offices to expedite the transfer as, with every single day that she remains in the zoo, Mali suffers.

I have great regard for governments that intervene on behalf of animals, just as yours did with the May 2012 directive ordering that Mali be evaluated and considered for transfer. That said, time is passing, and it has been more than a year since that directive was issued—yet Mali seems no closer to enjoying her well-deserved retirement at an approved sanctuary.

I have heard from my friends at PETA that various government authorities are continuing to deny that Mali’s welfare should be within their jurisdiction and that the veterinarian who was brought in to perform a health assessment failed to address Mali’s debilitating foot problems and the unimaginable loneliness of a herd animal kept alone. Action must be taken for this ailing elephant, and you hold the key. The video footage of Mali is heartbreaking. You only have to have a heart to see what so many experts have already pointed out: that the way she continuously favours one leg is a sign of constant pain. I was shocked to learn that Mali has never even received proper preventive foot care when foot and joint problems are the leading cause of death among captive elephants kept on hard surfaces and when this type of care is something that every reputable zoo in the world offers. Please know that everyone who cares for elephants is awaiting the day when Mali will leave the zoo for her new retirement home at the sanctuary and—surrounded by other elephants—take her first steps in freedom. With the stroke of a pen, you can bring an end to her suffering, and I urge you, with all my heart, to direct that Mali be given that joy now.

Let me end with a quote from Mahatma Gandhi that I hope you believe in, too: “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

Sincerely,

Paul McCartney

Filipino President Benigno Aquino III

 Paul's plea and concern however,was greeted with a not-so- kind reply by the mayor of Manila and former Philippine president Joseph Estrada.The latter was remembered to be the 13th president of the island nation whose government was overthrown on a non-violent revolution in 2001 when he was found guilty of plunder and was even convicted for years until then-President Arroyo granted him a pardon and forgave his misdeeds.Estrada got back into power as Manila mayor on a recent 2013 election.A former actor,mayor,senator and president, Estrada has been into much controversy and was known to have regarded himself as the Filipino counterpart of Ronald Reagan's. In a published article from the Philippine Star,Estrada rudely answered back to Sir Paul's plea telling him to stop interfering with issues in the Philippines.Estrada even challenged McCartney to change his citizenship from British to Filipino so he can freely interfere with what he regarded as purely Filipino affairs.[No reply has been yet posted by President Aquino].

Sir Paul probably was thinking that much has changed with the Philippines with Aquino having a good household name when it comes to Philippine politics that he decided to give it a shot.But an ill-mannered reply by Manila's mayor probably had taken him a-back.And yet made it again unclear for a possible comeback tour of the Philippines.The memories by then goes back forty seven years ago during the Beatles' disastrous tour of Manila in 1966.

Promotional poster of the Beatles 1966 Manila concert

(c)Keith Vernon Adagio

RELATED ARTICLES: Rock Music's Worst Nightmare:The Beatles in Manila

The Heartbreaking Story Behind the Success Of Wings' 1976 World Tour

Paul McCartney with his dad Jim

 Lets face it,rock stars are just like any other guy at the showbusiness,you wont really know how they feel inside,they just do what they do and entertain us on their magical concerts everytime there's a new album out and going on tour to promote it along with their greatest hits.

As a matter of fact,the guys at the rock music biz were more notorious than the guys in the cinemas but I think we should not move into that.

We all know that Paul McCartney's exceptional musical talent is in the genes.His dad Jim played in a band before the second world war,he played the trombone but had quit when his teeth fell off.Jim switched to piano but their gig was cancelled  when the war broke out.After Paul's birth,he switched jobs and became a cotton salesman.Paul's mom Mary on the other hand,was a nurse and she died when Paul and his brother Michael were still very young.

Jim McCartney who was born in 1902 had a huge influence on Paul's music though Paul didn't really described him as the dad who taught him everything.One interesting fact however was the humor in the film A Hard Day's Night had included during a scene in the press room wherein the Beatles had managed to deal with tons of reporters asking different questions in which one of them had dared to ask Paul "Do you often see your father?" Paul chuffingly answered back "No,we're just good friends" though the story of the film were regarded as fictionized-it shows the day in the life of being in a rock n' roll band and being in the road during that moment when rock music was rapidly evolving at a fast and dizzy rate.Paul had described his parents as a little bit strict and has set the rules though he admitted that he didn't listen to all of them.

Little Paul McCartney with his dad Jim undated photo

Though not directly involved,Jim had a strong influence on the Beatles particularly in the band's early days.During a  gig in Liverpool,former drummer Pete Best had difficulty getting on the bus the band had been using,Best couldn't get free from the grips of the adoring crowd and Neil Aspinall had to shoo them away so he could get into the tour bus as Paul,George and John waited for him.It was then said that it was Jim who accused Best of trying to get even with the band's popularity at the time.Though there are no substantial evidences that the said incident somehow had led to Best's firing.

Jim McCartney eventually remarried and a woman named Angie became Paul's stepmother.Her daughter from a previous marriage Ruth was adopted by Jim and became a stepsister to both Paul and Mike.Jim married widow Angela Williams in 1964 at the height of Beatlemania,Angie is 28 years younger than Jim who was 62 at the time.Presently,both mother and daughter now lives in Playa Del Ray,California where they are successfully running a Multimedia business.

Paul with dad Jim,stepmom Angie and stepsister Ruth

Showbusiness is showbusiness as they say and no matter how things gets rough the show must go on.Well there are few artists I've known who had lived with that saying.During Cream's reunion tour in 2005,Eric Clapton had to get on with the band despite of having a flu,and on the band's final show in London,Clapton looked awful but decided to get on with it for its too late to cancel the show and the audience was anticipating this once in a lifetime event.Cream sounded good despite of Clapton's health- imagine his head must be going berzerk with all that loud noise they were making.Another artist in that field is James Brown who admitted that he do his shows even if he's sick.

The Beatles made it to the top of the charts and the world over but as it was said on one of George Harrison's songs all things must  pass away.After seven years of worldwide chart domination,the band was over and John,Paul,George and Ringo each went their separate ways.It was widely known that it was Paul McCartney himself who was badly hit with the split amid all the legal problems the band was facing.Eventually he turned to his parents for support and inspiration and Let It Be was conceived with McCartney saying that his mom Mary came to him in a dream giving him a good advice to chill and keep his head up during this very difficult situation.

Paul formed his own band Wings in 1971 and took the time to start over again having the tour of the British Universities as his band's "Hamburg" where they would play unannounced to the delight of the students.During this time his dad Jim's health was slowly deteriorating due to severe arthritis.

As I mentioned before,rock stars are like any other guys in the showbusiness,no matter how bad they feel the show must indeed go on.Wings got past into a major European tour in 1973 where Linda admitted that she cried before they left for France coz she was too nervous to go.This major concert tour unlike their previous,was booked in advance as the music press were sharpening their knives on the arrival of Paul McCartney's new band.Obviously,everyone will compare what they saw and hear to the Beatles.McCartney has stated several times that with Wings,the Beatles were indeed a tough act to follow and even admitted that he is under pressure of changing his own sound.

Paul McCartney on Wings' 1976 World Tour

Wings had a major concert tour in 1976 which highlighted the band as stadium rock juggernauts.It was also during this tour that Paul received one heartbreaking news,his dad Jim has passed away due to complications from arthritis.They were on the European leg of their world tour when Paul had a phone call from his stepmom Angie telling him the sad news.Angie McCartney then described Paul being shocked upon hearing the news,but who wouldn't feel such a thing hearing that your loved one has just passed away?

A 2005 interview with Reader's Digest saw Paul answering a question about if he ever cried when his mom passed away.His mother Mary,succumbed to breast cancer in 1956 when Paul was only 14 years old,coincidentially,Paul's wife Linda also died from the same illness.Paul said that he did cried when his mom died but he therefore stress the fact that he indeed cried in private.One such reason he was pointing out is  that because he was  a guy,and in Liverpool at least during that time,they were too tough to shed tears in public-that was the reason anyway.But then he said that with John Lennon's death he learned not to hold back the tears any longer in reference to his song "Here Today" in which he wrote upon hearing of Lennon's assassination.

When his dad Jim McCartney died on March 18,1976,Wings was on the European leg of their world tour and in a troubled frame of mind,Paul was adviced not to come for his dad's funeral by his stepmom saying that if he'll throw everything away and come up to Liverpool for the funeral it'll all be just a circus and definitely wont bring his dad back. Paul then realized all the media and people that'll ruin his dad's solemn moment that he decided that what his stepmom had said makes sense after all.So he went on with the tour where they held their first performance for that year in Copenhagen,Denmark.Paul never saw his dad again,even for the very last time.That is,the price of fame,and the show must go on.

Paul McCartney did went on and did what he was born to do.Carrying in his heart and mind the memories of his dad who has always been proud of him and his music.


(c) Keith Vernon Adagio

THE FORGOTTEN BEATLE...

Stuart Sutcliffe

When the Beatles disbanded in 1970 many of the fans were devastated and most of the girls and boys who have grown up with them seem to have a memory of how the band have shaped their lives.Many people including rock critics seem to have pinpoint on the so-called 'friendship' of both John Lennon and Paul McCartney going sour as they both ridicule each other on their solo albums,at least in the early parts of it.

As rock fans at the time continue to be saddened on both Lennon and McCartney falling out each other,many people didn't know that John Lennon was sad over the loss of his best friend,something that he kindles even in the band's latter days,and that wasn't even Paul McCartney.

Stuart Sutcliffe had quitted the band even before the Beatles rose to fame,his life was documented in the 1994 film Backbeat where Sutcliffe was portrayed by actor Stephen Dorff.The film was accepted by the public with mixed reviews,Paul McCartney even stated that he wasn't very much impressed with the film,pointing to several inaccuracies.

Sutcliffe was the Beatles' original bass player,and one would wonder what the future of the Beatles might have been if he didn't quit the group and went back to art college in early 1962.The same year saw his death of an apparent brain hemorrhage.Sutcliffe was John Lennon's best friend in the band,his drinking buddy and partner in crime.They always watch for each other's backs everytime there was trouble in one way or another.

Stu,as most of the other Beatles call him,was also centered on the doubts of his musical abilities.It was often mentioned on various Beatles books that Sutcliffe could hardly play good bass with Paul McCartney saying to have stirred things up with the band that he was in fact unhappy with Stu's playing.This was also documented in the controversial film mentioned here before,but as far as movie makers and biography writers is concerned,nobody really knew about Stu's musical abilities except those people who really knew him and heard him play on the Cavern.Reading several articles both online and from people who knew him back in the Beatles' days as a bar band,I saw the strong opposing details that made me think again on who really was Stu and his role in the band as a bass player.

Who really is Stuart Sutcliffe? Is he really the worst musician Backbeat has portrayed him that he was? 

Stuart Sutcliffe 1961

I've talked to some people and to a friend who turned out to be a former neighbor of the band and hearing from him these  first hand infos and his sharp mind on how he recall of hearing Sutcliffe play at the Cavern and even describing how brilliant a musician he was!! Well the rest as they say,is legend.Numerous speculations and perhaps one music writer's  imagination on how the life of Stu might have been considering that his candle was far too short and he lived in only a few short years in this world.

One interesting article I suppose will make his role in the band somewhat mythical is featured here where it was straightened out on how the life of Stu really meant and his role to the Beatles was.Everyone would wonder what the Beatles might have looked like if Stuart Sutcliffe didn't trade his bass to a canvass and a few brushes as he chose to go back to art college even before the Beatles made it to the top of the world.

Love triangle:Klaus,Astrid and Stu

Stu's social life on the other hand,was even more famous even before the Harrison-Boyd-Clapton affair
became the talk of the town.

It was widely known that Astrid Kircheer was Klaus Voormann's girlfriend until Sutcliffe came along.With some rumors of the Voormann-Kircheer relationship as platonic,one would argue on how things went on the two of them that Astrid decided to leave Voormann for Stu[Voormann was portrayed weeping at the film Backbeat though the accuracy of the film is somewhat questioned].

Sutcliffe and Kircheer got engaged with him leaving the Beatles to go back to art college.Stu started to complain of severe headaches later on and he eventually collapsed in the middle of an art class while in Hamburg,he was rushed to the hospital but died on the way.The cause of his death was eventually ruled out as brain hemorrhage.Having involved with lots of fist fights at the often riotous early Beatles gigs and even sustaining a fractured skull at one point he was thrown off a brick wall with both Lennon and Pete Best aiding for his rescue seems to be the eventual cause of this.

Sutcliffe died at a young and tender age of 21.His remains were brought back to his hometown of Liverpool and there it was laid to rest.

Stuart Sutcliffe(left) with George Harrison

(c) Keith Vernon Adagio

PLEASE PLEASE ME AT 50

March 22,2013 will mark the 50th anniversary of  the Beatles' debut album Please Please Me.

Released in 1963,the album was noted to have been recorded on a 12 hour period lasting from 10 in the morning and finishing off at 10 in the evening.The Beatles were well rehearsed and of the 14 tracks from the album,eight of them were original compositions written by the band's songwriting team of John Lennon and Paul McCartney which was then noted on the album credits as McCartney-Lennon.

Recorded a month earlier on February 11,several artists marked the 50th anniversary of its recording by emulating the 12-hour recording period made by the band during that chilly month of  February 1963 .Artists include Joss Stone and Mick Hucknall who praised the Beatles' debut as a beautiful album.

John with the famous harmonica,Please Please Me sessions

The album was preceded with a single Love Me Do,released a year earlier in 1962,it was known to be the first Beatles song to gain international success.With its famous harmonica riff made by none other than John Lennon himself,Lennon usually call this wind instrument as a "mouth organ" back in the early sixties.

The 1962 single somewhat differ from the one included in the album-anyone can point it out on Paul's vocal and the drumming pattern made by Ringo Starr.The album version,however,is the most famous version that is usually heard up to this day on both classic rock and AM radios across the United States.

George Martin was reputedly unhappy with Ringo's drumming  on the 1962 single that he decided to re-record the song and hire session musician Andy White to play drums on the track.Ringo,looking a little sheepish,played tambourine as he let expert ears prevail.The result was an instant success.The single version,was included later on in the Past Masters singles compilation album together with other singles that were neither on the original 13 albums conceived by EMI in 1988.

McCartney and Lennon,Please Please Me sessions

The album's famous cover photo was taken by Welsh photographer Angus McBean at the stairwell of EMI's  London headquarters.In 1969,the Beatles' had asked McBean to recreate the photoshoot at the same venue for a supposed to be cover of the Beatles' Get Back album.Having the album retitled as Let It Be and with all the commotions going  in the band,the supposed to be cover photo was shelved and was used instead on the compilation album The Beatles 1967-1970 released in 1973.

Please Please Me went to number one in the UK charts and highlighted the rise of Beatlemania not only in the British Isles but in other parts of the world.It was unfortunate,however,that the album wasn't released in the United States where the American distributor Capitol Records failed to recognize the brilliance of the album.As to how or why Capitol altered the first seven Beatles LPs remains unclear up to this day.With several stories citing the record company maximizing its profits, hence,creating more Beatles albums will mean more sales.Sensible enough,Capitol was lambasted by the fab four themselves with the controversial cover photo of the compilation album Yesterday And Today with the band in butcher suits with decapitated dolls and chunks of meat as a protest,hereby having the nickname "Butcher cover".

The Beatles,Please Please Me sessions 1963

It wasn't until 1987 when EMI unified the catalogue and Please Please Me was finally released domestically in the US with the band's American LPs deleted and got only available in bootlegs and box sets.

[To see the story of the Beatles' original albums and how they were altered by Capitol click here ]

Please Please Me  spawned hit single after hit single including its title track.The album featured these early Beatles signature songs that defined the era of how the fab four changed the course of rock music forever: "I Saw Her Standing There","Twist And Shout" and "Boys" were not only catchy,danceable tunes but they define of how rock music was taken to another level that succeeding bands up to this day would follow in the Beatles' footsteps.

TRACK LISTING:

1.I Saw Her Standing There (McCartney-Lennon)
2.Misery (McCartney-Lennon)
3.Anna(Go To Him) (Alexander)
4.Chains (Goffin-King)
5.Boys  (Dixon-Farrell)
6.Ask Me Why (McCartney-Lennon)
7.Please Please Me (McCartney-Lennon)
8.Love Me Do (McCartney-Lennon)
9.P.S. I Love You (McCartney-Lennon)
10.Baby It's You (David-Williams-Bacharach)
11.Do You Want To Know A Secret (McCartney-Lennon)
12. A Taste Of Honey (Scott-Marlow)
13.There's A Place (McCartney-Lennon)
14.Twist And Shout (Medley-Russell)

Fifty years have passed and the album still sounds fresh as if it was recorded yesterday.The band's enduring appeal and the trend they have set for rock music has never gone obsolete. With the fab four setting up the standard for a modern day rock band,the legacy of the Beatles will continue to inspire kids and generations ahead of us.

KLAUS VOORMANN:ONE BEATLE FRIEND

Klaus Voormann,photo from his own website

It was August 1971,a bearded man was playing bass for George Harrison's Concert For Bangladesh benefit show.As some people might ask "who's that guy playing bass?",as if he was a new kid on the block picked by George and invited him on the show.Truth is,he's been in the music scene for years and has known the Beatles even before the band rose to fame.

Klaus Voormann is a German artist,bass player and album producer.His heavy involvement with the Beatles had started way back in 1960 when the band was  playing clubs in Hamburg,Germany.As John Lennon had noted "I was born in Liverpool but I grew up in Hamburg",his early meeting with the fab four(whose drummer back then was Pete Best) would mean a long-term association that would last even after the band had already broke up:playing on  solo albums by George Harrison,Ringo Starr and doing a stint as a bass player on John Lennon's post-Beatle outfit-Plastic Ono Band.

Klaus is also responsible for being the guy who had influenced the fabs by having that now famous mop-top hairdo.As German boys usually have that "bowl cut" outfit during that time,his girlfriend at the time,Astrid Kirchheer first did the now famous mop top to Stuart Sutcliffe who was then the Beatles' bass player after he saw Voormann wearing that hairstyle.Eventually,Voormann's relationship with Kirchheer would not last as she left him later on for Sutcliffe.The 1994 film Backbeat which hightlights the Beatles' life as a bar band in Hamburg portrays a young Klaus Voormann weeping after he was spurned and left by his lover Astrid.Though the film itself was marred with controversies over some "inaccuracies" with Paul McCartney even stating that he was not very much impressed with the outcome of the movie.Though no one can ever know what really happened out there on Voormann's part after Kirchheer shitted on him and left him cold for Stu,it was later claimed that the two of them remained close friends.Sutcliffe,on the other hand,died of  a brain hemorrhage in 1962 shortly after he left the band.Kirchheer went on to be a photographer and took photos of the Beatles during the early days of Beatlemania.Voormann on the other hand,had moved to England with the fab four where he shared a flat with George Harrison.

Klaus Voormann with the famous Beatle "haircut"

Voormann was said to be speaking in halting English when he first met the fabs but he learned quick and even became the bass player for Manfred Mann from 1966 to 1969.Perhaps Voormann is best known by Beatles fans as the man who is responsible for the artwork of  Revolver-the Beatles' 7th studio album known for its psychedelic rock and was ranked by Rolling Stone as one of the greatest albums of all time.The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die along with other Beatles albums.Voormann had worked on a collage with part line drawing of John,Paul,George and Ringo.The photographs attached to the drawings were taken by Bob Whitaker with Voormann's own photo and signature attached on Harrison's hair on the cover.The album was the last to be altered by Capitol Records in the United States in the 1960s where it was released with only 11 songs--with three of its tracks removed and was included on the US compilation album Yesterday And Today hence known for its famous butcher cover with the Beatles' expressing their protest towards their American distributor.The album with its original 14 track lineup was finally released domestically in 1987 thanks to EMI's unification effort and the band's American albums by then were deleted and was available only in bootlegs and box sets.The album went to number one on both sides of the Atlantic.With its timeless appeal,the album was even parodied several times including that of the Simpsons with Homer and some of his 'friends' gracing the cover.

Revolver album cover designed by Klaus Voormann

Voormann had also worked with other bands like the Bee Gees who were then known in the 1960s as a psychedelic rock group and far from the disco trio as many young folks know them today.The album was called Bee Gees 1st and was the band's first international album after the Gibb brothers had moved back to England from Australia where they were already established celebrities.

Bee Gees 1st album cover design by Klaus Voormann

The Bee Gees by then was a quintet with the Gibb brothers Barry,Robin and Maurice plus two friends Vince Melouney on lead guitar and Colin Petersen on drums.The band then was managed by Robert Stigwood  in partnership with Brian Epstein-the Beatles' manager as to how Voormann and the Bee Gees' paths have come across.Released in 1967,Bee Gees 1st was a success with mixed reviews pointing on several US deejays and other countries mistaking it as a Beatles record.

Talking about the Bee Gees,while we were on the subject,Voormann is also repsonsible for the artwork of the band's 1968 album Idea-on its American release,the album was featured with a composite head outline of Barry Gibb's with some sites claiming it was Voormann's face on it but it was more clear that it was Barry Gibb's face outlined on the American cover.

Idea,US edition,album design by Klaus Voormann

The album was also a success for the band with the British edition featuring Vince Melouney on vocals on one track called "Such A Shame".The track,however was removed on the US album release and was replaced instead with a more catchier song written and sung by Robin and Barry Gibb called "I've Gotta Get A Message To You".

Voormann busied himself as a bass player,record producer,and session musician.When Paul McCartney first announced the Beatles' breakup in 1970.It was rumored that he will be replacing Paul as bass player for the Beatles with John,George and Ringo.Wikipedia even mentioned a group with the three remaining Beatles as the Ladders as to who or what was their source on that claim is uncertain,as it was not to be,for Lennon had said in a 1971 interview for Rolling Stone that he had already told the rest of the band that he was leaving on the fall of 1969 even before Paul announced the band's dissolution the following year.Though John Lennon was reportedly present during the early days of January 1970 during the mixing and overdubs on Let It Be,some Beatles scholars admitted of being confused on the exact date of Lennon's departure or if he really left at all.John and Yoko were said to have the McCartneys on their shit list during this time period for they are mad at Paul for saying that the band was no more when they claimed they should be the one to say it first.Linda McCartney responded on an interview for Playboy in the early eighties saying that it was madness on who's going to tell it first,even remembering that difficult time wherein she had to deal with all their problems with the Beatles.So the supposed to be supergroup of Klaus Voormann with the other three Beatles didn't materialize but instead he played as a session musician on their solo albums.He also played bass for other artists like Lou Reed,Eric Clapton,Carly Simon and James Taylor.Voormann had an international hit with "The Mighty Quinn" a 1969 song by Manfred Mann where he played flute,bass and did the backing vocals.

Klaus Voormann(left) with George Harrison,Concert For Bangladesh

He produced other records in the late seventies and early eighties including the international disco hit "Da Da Da" by the German group Trio released in 1982.In 1989,he retired from the music business and settled in Munich with his second wife and two children.

In 2003,he designed the album sleeve for the Norwegian punk band Turbonegro and has worked with artists like Wet Wet Wet and former singer of the Animals Eric Burdon on one of his recent solo albums.

In 2009,he released his first and only solo album A Sideman's Journey featuring remakes and re-recordings of his past accomplishments with other artists in the 60s and 70s.The album also features contributions by former Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr along with Cat Stevens,Joe Walsh and many others.

(Right:Voormann's first and only solo album A Sideman's Journey,credited to Voormann & Friends)

Today Klaus Voormann lives in his native Germany where he spends some time painting and recording.



(c) Keith Vernon Adagio

Tony Sheridan passed away at 72

Tony Sheridan,British rock n roll musician who was considered to be the first Beatles collaborator died at age 72 last February 16.His song "My Bonnie" credited to Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers(the Beatles) is considered to be the very first Beatles recording pre-Parlophone.

Sheridan had met the Beatles during the band's early days in Hamburg,Germany having been played at clubs near each other.John Lennon,Paul McCartney,George Harrison and then drummer Pete Best started collaborating with Sheridan and had recorded a number of singles aside from My Bonnie--When The Saints Go Marching In,Cry For A Shadow,and Aint She Sweet with both the latter two appearing on the 1995 Beatles Anthology album as a re-recorded version credited to the band alone in 1961."Cry For A Shadow" on the other hand, was an instrumental guitar piece written by George Harrison and John Lennon as a tribute or how they envied the Shadows--another British rock group known for their surf guitar style.

The report was first released by UK's the Telegraph after the news of his death became viral on both facebook and twitter.An obituary by rock magazine Rolling Stone was also released a day after his reported passing.Sheridan had a heart surgery in Germany and has been reported to be hospitalized as early as December 2012.

ANTHONY ESMOND SHERIDAN McGINNITY aka TONY SHERIDAN (May 21,1940-February 16,2013)

TWO VIRGINS

Two Virgins album cover released in 1968

In 1968,a strange album had hit the record stores.Also strange in content,the album was noted for its lurid cover,though the sleeve is considered to be a little tame in today's standards.The LP was banned in different States particularly that of Massachusetts for allegedly promoting pornography.

The album was called Two Virgins,which is considered to be John Lennon's first solo project in collaboration with Yoko Ono.Presented in its full name Unfinished Music No.1:Two Virgins,the album is composed of that electronic drone and tape loops in the same vein as the White Album's "Revolution 9".

There was no music being played except for some background noises and John calling Yoko and Ono doing the compliment.It was all very strange and the LP belongs to the avant garde genre of music.

Two Virgins is John Lennon's first solo LP,and it was noted to be the album that made Lennon eligible to be nominated to the Rock N' Roll Hall Of Fame in 1994 as a solo artist.An artist or group will be eligible for induction to the Hall Of Fame  25 years after the release of the first album.
John Lennon had already been inducted as a member of the Beatles in 1988 and was the first person to be inducted twice: as a band member and as a solo artist.He was presented by none other than his former songwriting partner and bandmate Paul McCartney.

Lennon was said to be the first Beatle to pop the balloons of pretentiousness that was going on in the band's inner circle.When Two Virgins had hit the shops the other Beatles expressed their horror,McCartney [who probably bit his lip as to hold back his real feelings] provided a note on the cover "When two great Saints meet, it is a humbling experience. The long battles to prove he was a Saint." This was contrary to what Francie Schwartz has to say about what was going on between the two giants of rock music during the late sixties.As told earlier,John Lennon was the first member ever to pop the balloons of pretentiousness regarding what was going on with the band and Schwartz,who was a former live-in girlfriend of McCartney's tells all in her book Body Count.Unlike any other books,Francie had kinder memories of Yoko Ono contrary to other Beatles books citing her as the evil witch who broke up the band.

The Beatles were in shambles after their manager Brian Epstein died of a drug overdose in August 1967.And Francie Schwartz claimed that she was a witness on how things got sour between Lennon and McCartney.According to her book,their friendship had ended at the time she was living at McCartney's house around in 1968 and surprisingly,John and Yoko had been living there too.Schwartz had mentioned on how John and Yoko loved reading all their fan mails and about Paul not even touching his.One day,as Francie claims,Lennon and Ono were surprised to see a note on the table addressed to them,it was typewritten,they opened it and they were all appalled with the note saying "You and your jap tart think you're hot shit",and then according to Francie,Paul got down from upstairs wearing nothing but trousers and said to the couple that he did that note for a lark.That was the moment when John Lennon looked at Paul as if he was saying "Do I know you?".Then as Francie later have claimed,that was the beginning of the end for the songwriting partners,they may have worked together after that,but it was never the same.

With John Lennon being the rebel Beatle must've exposed the naked truth on how he felt as if he was choking on what was going on with the Beatles-at least during that point of time.Business problems,management pressure all took toll on four of them.After all,it was John Lennon who later claimed that he had wanted to leave and only had the guts to tell the others about it later even before Paul announced the band's breakup in 1970.Lennon on the other hand,had already started making solo albums even when he was still with the Beatles with Two Virgins as his debut that was to be followed by two more albums in 1969: Life With The Lions and The Wedding Album.

With its complete title Unfinished Music  No.1:Two Virgins,the album lost momentum in the British charts possibly due to poor distribution.Lennon was even persuaded to shelf it until November of 1968 which by then the White Album would be safely in the stores for the other Beatles didnt want their double LP to coincide with this provocative oddity.Nevertheless,Two Virgins still managed to chart in the United States reaching number 124 on the Billboard 200 albums.

TRACK LISTING:

All selections by Yoko Ono and John Lennon except noted:

1.Two Virgins Number 1
2.Together (De Sylva,Brown,Henderson)
3.Two Virgins No 2
4.Two Virgins No.3
4.Two Virgins No.4
5.Two Virgins No. 5
6.Two Virgins No 6
7.Two Virgins No 7
8.Two Virgins No 8
9.Two Virgins No 9
10.Two Virgins No 10

Bonus Track: Remember Love (Yoko Ono)--added on the 1997 re-issue.

The controversial cover photo was taken by the couple using a time-delay camera at the basement of Ringo Starr's apartment. The album provoked an outrage with 30,000 copies impounded in New Jersey and other states stating that the cover art was indeed obscene and pornographic.Lennon defended the album saying that the photos were that of two shy people and even said that he wont give a shit about anyone during a bed-in at Amsterdam Hilton in 1969.Later,Lennon said that the cover photo were that of two slightly overweight ex-junkies,as Lennon and Ono's heroin addiction was told to the public as the Beatles' scene were getting heavy.The couple were later busted in London and Ono had a miscarriage.

One will wonder what was Lennon thinking at the time when he got the avant garde music and controversial cover for this album? In the meantime,it was also reported that Lennon filmed his own penis on various stages of erection for Yoko Ono's much publicized art film,wittily titled Erection.The film was said to have been mysteriously withdrawn.

Back cover of the album Two Virgins with the couple showing their behinds

(c) Keith Vernon Adagio