Paul McCartney just added the San Diego gig for his 2014 Out There tour set for September 28.It will be his first concert in the city since the 1976 Wings Over America tour.Featuring his backing band for 10 plus years,Brian Ray and Rusty Anderson on guitars,Abe Laboriel Jr on drums and Paul Wickens on keyboards the Out There tour now has 20 stops in the US that highlights McCartney's new album NEW and featuring the greatest music from the last 50 years.
PAUL McCARTNEY OUT THERE U.S. TOUR 2014
July 5: Albany, NY – Times Union Center July 7: Pittsburgh, PA – Consol Energy Center July 9: Chicago, IL – United Center July 12: Fargo, ND – Fargodome July 14: Lincoln, NE – Pinnacle Bank Arena July 16: Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center August 2: Minneapolis, MN – Target Field August 5: Missoula, MT – Washington-Grizzly Stadium August 7: Salt Lake City, UT – EnergySolutions Arena August 10: Los Angeles, CA – Dodger Stadium August 12: Phoenix, AZ – US Airways Center August 14: San Francisco, CA – Candlestick Park September 28: San Diego, CA — Petco Park October 2: Lubbock, TX – United Spirit Arena October 11: New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center October 13: Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center October 15: Atlanta, GA – Philips Arena October 16: Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena October 25: Jacksonville, FL – Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena October 28: Louisville, KY – Yum! Center October 30: Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Coliseum
Award winning director Ron Howard is set to make an authorized Beatles documentary highlighting the band's touring years from 1960 to their very last in 1966.The highly acclaimed director who is famous for such memorable films like Apollo 13, Coccoon,How The Grinch Stole Christmas and A Beautiful Mind which all earned him an Academy Award is also looking for people that might share their memories or even connections with the fab four during that period when rock music took a quick turn and changed the way we know it today.
Howard's message was:
"If you or someone you know has visual or audio materials that document the Beatles' live tours, we want to hear from you! We are looking for rare or unusual footage, photographs, and audio recordings, particularly those that highlight the fan experience -– what it was like to be a part of the frenzy.If you have materials you believe belong in this film, please contact us using the form below"
McCartney rocks Albany,NY(photo by Associated Press)
After two months of touring hiatus due to an unexpected illness, Sir Paul McCartney went back to the stage July 5 at Times Union Center in Albany,NY.
Paul has 19 stops in the US most of which were rescheduled after the former Beatle postponed the June dates of his US tour to October.
The former Beatle was hospitalized in Tokyo last May prompting him to cancel the entire Asian leg of his tour that includes what would've been his first concert ever in South Korea.
Opening his set with "Eight Days A Week",Paul rocked Albany with 40 songs in his setlist under a three hour time frame.Some of the hits were Beatles classics that became regulars on his concert tours like "Hey Jude" and "Let It Be".His wife Nancy,is also in attendance where Paul dedicated the song "My Valentine" to her.With one new song on the set "On My Way To Work" wherein Paul took reference to his absence and even stating that the song was performed live for the very first time.
McCartney also paid tributes to his late bandmates John Lennon and George Harrison by singing "Here Today" and "Something" with the latter where he did his trademark ukelele intro and getting a full band rendition build up like what he first did 12 years ago at Concert For George.
And like some of his shows,he brought a couple onstage during the second encore where a man proposed to his girlfriend making the former Beatle the best matchmaker,yet.
McCartney also paid tribute to his friend and late rock musician Jimi Hendrix by doing an instrumental interlude of "Purple Haze".McCartney closed the show with three songs from the Abbey Road medley:Golden Slumbers,Carry That Weight and The End.
Last winter,Sir Paul marked the 50th anniversary of the Beatles coming to the United States along with former bandmate Ringo Starr who is also on the road this summer.His 2014 tour also include the historic farewell concert to Candlestick Park in San Francisco where the Beatles held their final concert back in 1966.
Paul McCartney's Albany Concert Set List:
1.Eight Days A Week
2.Save Us
3.All My Loving
4.Listen To What The Man Said
5.Let Me Roll It
6.Paperbackwriter
7.My Valentine
8.Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five
9.The Long And Winding Road
10.Maybe Im Amazed
11.I've Just Seen A Face
12.On My Way To Work
13.We Can Work It Out
14.Another Day
15.And I Love Her
16.Blackbird
17.Here Today
18.New
19.Queenie Eye
20.Lady Madonna
21.All Together Now
22.Lovely Rita
23.Everybody Out There
24.Eleanor Rigby
25.Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite
26.Something
27.Obladi Oblada
28.Band On The Run
29.Back In The USSR
30.Let It Be
31.Live And Let Die
32.Hey Jude
Encore:
33.Day Tripper
34.Hi Hi Hi
35.Get Back
Encore 2:
36.Yesterday
37.When I'm Sixty Four
38.Golden Slumbers
39.Carry That Weight
40.The End
Sir Paul McCartney made an announcement via youtube regarding him going back on the road once again as his Out There tour is set to resume July 5 in Albany,NY. Paul stated about looking good and feeling great,referring to his condition after falling into illness and making an awesome recovery.With an added stop in Greensboro,NC set on October 30,McCartney is now set to rock the US with an air guitar gesture at the end of the video.
Sir Paul has cancelled the Asian leg of his tour last May after getting ill while on tour of Japan.McCartney has also postponed the June US dates and moved it instead on October.
PAUL McCARTNEY 'OUT THERE' U.S. TOUR 2014
July 5: Albany, NY – Times Union Center
July 7: Pittsburgh, PA – Consol Energy Center
July 9: Chicago, IL – United Center
July 12: Fargo, ND – Fargodome
July 14: Lincoln, NE – Pinnacle Bank Arena
July 16: Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center
August 2: Minneapolis, MN – Target Field
August 5: Missoula, MT – Washington-Grizzly Stadium
August 7: Salt Lake City, UT – EnergySolutions Arena
August 10: Los Angeles, CA – Dodger Stadium
August 12: Phoenix, AZ – US Airways Center
August 14: San Francisco, CA – Candlestick Park
October 2: Lubbock, TX – United Spirit Arena
October 11: New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center
October 13: Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
October 15: Atlanta, GA – Philips Arena
October 16: Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
October 25: Jacksonville, FL – Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
October 28: Louisville, KY – Yum! Center
October 30: Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Coliseum
July 6,2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' first movie A HARD DAY'S NIGHT in which the date of the filming marked its golden anniversary four months earlier.
Being the first of the fab four's five films,the movie highlights the day in the life of a rock n' roll band in which no film has ever done before.
The film starts with George,John and Ringo being chased by female fans with George even tripping and slumping straight into the sidewalk.The Beatles' acting debut marks the band into another level,thus,the film became one of the most influential in the history of rock music.
The movie captures the humor of being in a rock group ran by paranoid producers and mischievous family members.It also shows the life of handling fame while seeking personal joy amidst touring and management pressures.It shadows the Beatles as "prisoners" as it was pointed out by Paul's grandfather(played by Irish actor Wilfrid Brambell) during a train scene featuring a cameo appearance by Pattie Boyd who later became the wife of George Harrison.Such word was probably used to symbolize the price of fame wherein they no longer have privacy and were already considered to be public property.
1964 was when Beatlemania was at its peak,the lads has just conquered the United States and Elvis was practically overwhelmed with the sudden change in rock music with bands on both sides of the Atlantic having a 'friendly competition' with one another.Nevertheless,the bands that came from across the pond were much stronger and they just couldn't stop coming--rock music has changed indeed and it became the standard the way we hear it today.
The title of both the song and film was inspired by Ringo's whining about being tired from working all day and night.With the beginning scene featuring the band being chased off by female fans,director Richard Lester captured the band as near as how they deal with their own personal lives though he stated on one interview that such exposure of one's own personal life is considered x-rated during that time-at least thats what an x-rating means back then.
Wilfrid Brambell played Paul's fictional "grandfather"
The film was not only known for its famous songs but also it introduced the world into British humor.Homegrown manufactured bands like the Monkees got the idea of a television show because of this movie.John Lennon and Paul McCartney were said to have written the title track and got it delivered in less than 24 hours.And the fact that the movie's soundtrack is the sole Beatles album that has songs that were written alone by the Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership.Other albums by the band if not with covers included in it such as the early stuff,were filled with songs written by the latter half of George Harrison and Ringo Starr.A DVD/Blu Ray re-issue was released last June 24 containing loads of extras and a documentary made by director Richard Lester.
(photo right:Pattie Boyd who made a cameo appearance in the movie and later became Mrs George Harrison)
THE SOUNDTRACK:
The soundtrack album came out four days later after the film was released.The release pattern during that time was different with the UK/ worldwide release and the US release.The latter's release,however was with a different song lineup with only nine songs including "I'll Cry Instead" with the other five songs on the original side two removed to the band's surprise.In its replacement instead were the film scores that can be heard on the movie.The action taken by Capitol and United Artists wasn't taken kindly by the fab four especially Paul McCartney,considering that their US distributor has been altering their albums since the very beginning.Both albums in their respective formats went to number one on both sides of the Atlantic.
The original UK and worldwide release contains 13 songs,some of which were never sung on the film.
TRACK LISTING:
All tracks were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
1.A HARD DAY'S NIGHT 2.I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER 3.IF I
FELL 4.I'M HAPPY JUST TO DANCE WITH YOU 5.AND I LOVE
HER 6.TELL ME WHY 7.CAN'T BUY ME LOVE 8.ANY TIME
AT ALL 9.I'LL CRY INSTEAD 10.THINGS WE SAID
TODAY 11.WHEN I GET HOME 12.YOU CAN'T DO
THAT 13.I'LL BE BACK
The original 13 track lineup was released in the US on February 26,1987 through the unification effort made by EMI and the US version was hereby deleted to avoid confusions among Beatles fans.The latter version however,was reissued on both box sets,first on the Capitol albums Volume 1 and later on the re-issued US box sets celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Beatles arriving in America.
For my article about the story of the Beatles albums click here
In 1976,George Harrison was sued by Bright Tunes for an alleged plagiarism,citing similarities between his song "My Sweet Lord" which was included on his 1970 album All Things Must Pass and the Chiffons' "He's So Fine" which was written by Robert Mack.The lawsuit was actually passed five years earlier but it wasn't until 1976 when the court hearings started to proceed with music experts examining every detail between the two songs and Harrison attending the proceedings with guitar in hand,arguing the fact that the two songs were different from one another.
Harrison lost the case and the sad thing is that he had to pay for the damages to none other than Allen Klein,who he was so eager to have as Beatles manager post-Epstein.Klein seemed to have double crossed Lennon,Harrison and Starr who backed him up during the Beatles' darkest hour in 1969 which eventually led to the band's breakup.With McCartney leaving the group,the other three ended up suing Klein as well which eventually led to the latter spending some time in prison for some things that he did anyway.
Here are the songs that were the subject of plagiarism on this topic,first let's listen to "My Sweet Lord" and later compare it to the Chiffons' "He's So Fine" which was also posted below on this page:
And here's the Chiffons with "He's So Fine"
On that same year in 1976,George wrote and recorded "This Song" in which he made a parody of the court proceedings that he went through with his composition in which the judge ruled out that he subconsciously plagiarised it with another song.The song even has a music video which was way ahead of its time as MTV wasn't around until 1981.Complete with courtroom dramas with several of his friends helping him out like drummer Jim Keltner who played with all four ex-Beatles acting as the judge and Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones dressed in drag and acted as one of the juries.
Adding insult to injury,singer/comedian Jonathan King made a parody of both songs by singing "He's So Fine" set to the tune of "My Sweet Lord" complete with slide guitar and acoustic arrangements.His parody made loyal Beatles and Harrison fans uncomfortable....
2014 saw the Rock N' Roll Hall Of Fame having Brian Epstein and former Rolling Stones manager Andrew Oldham among its inductees.The first time a rock manager has ever been inducted on since the committee was founded over thirty years ago.The Hall of Fame is filled with controversy as it was criticized on different occassions regarding its eligibility and was questioned about some of the artists that were being nominated and inducted later on.
Brian Epstein's life is full of mystery and controversy itself,being the manager of the Beatles and a fact that he was a failure at acting and a disappointment at the army surprised his family on how he became a successful enterpreneur.
He was running his record store NEMS and was astonished when somebody asked him a record he had never heard of.The single was "My Bonnie" by Tony Sheridan which is also known to be one of the first recordings done by the Beatles as backing musicians to another artist.Epstein took pride in knowing the latest records at the time as his store was known to be the biggest in Northern England.He decided to go to the Cavern and check the band out.After having introduced himself,the Beatles were impressed by his personality that they agreed to be managed.
The first move was to kick Pete Best out of the band and have Ringo in his replacement and the Beatles were on their way. By the time Beatlemania was at its peak in the UK and later in the US,Epstein was enjoying a number of blind dates,nasal laughter and decided to rest in his laurels.He busied himself managing other bands and artists while the fab four conquered the entire world.
Brian Epstein was known to be gay though he didn't really came out of the closet during the peak of his career.Several rumors about his sexuality continued even after his death and that also includes a rumored possibility of having a relationship with John Lennon.Rumor goes that Epstein was attracted at first to Lennon,that prompted him to introduce himself to the band.Paul McCartney denied such accusations in an interview stressing the fact that there never was a relationship and that Lennon is purely heterosexual.
The pressures of being a manager took toll on him that he started having sleep disorders and was diagnosed with severe depression.Eric Andersen and the Cyrkle were among the artists that he managed across the pond with the former he spent a lot of time with in late 1966 and early 1967.Though he had a lot of boys and girls in his inner circle it was said that it was the Beatles where he kept returning to.Though he knew deep inside that his prime group is outgrowing him,a split with the fab four was said to have been mooted,but the band threatened to break up themselves than have that partition with him.
Epstein was said to have been hit the most when the Beatles decided to retire from playing live performances.Touring problems prompted the band to quit and it was decided that they'll just concentrate on the music they were making in the studio.Hurt and worried with the bleakness of the future,Epstein retreated further into drugs and several attempts to influence the fab four's musical direction often ended in humiliation especially at the hands of Lennon.
Brian Epstein died on August 27,1967 on an overdose of sleeping pills.He even went to a rehab a few weeks before he died,perhaps being stoned and depressed out of his mind that he managed to forget how many he should take,so he took them all.
BANDS AND SOLO ARTISTS UNDER BRIAN EPSTEIN'S MANAGEMENT
The Beatles (1963-1967,his death)
Cilla Black
The Fourmost
The Paramounts
The Big Three
Cliff Bennett And The Rebel Rousers
Gerry and the Pacemakers
The Cyrkle
Eric Andersen
The Rustiks
Billy J Kramer and the Dakotas
The Applejacks
The Moody Blues (1965-1967)
Cream (1966-1967,his death)- In partnership with Robert Stigwood
Bee Gees (1966-1967,his death)-In partnership with Robert Stigwood
