Search Results for: the beatles

Apple and the company that owns the rights to the majority of the band’s music catalogue have denied the current string of reports claiming music from The Beatles will appear soon on iTunes. Reports claiming music from the band will show up online soon – clearly emanating from within Paul McCartney’s inner circle – have been circulating for the past week. Last night, an Apple representative dismissed the claims, telling Billboard: “This is not news nor is it a scoop.” More denial, too, from Sony/ATV Music Publishing, a joint venture between Michael Jackson and Sony which owns the rights to… Read more »

It may be almost 38 years since they officially split but the ability of all things Beatles to shake the world continues unabated. If proof were needed, reports yesterday that Sir Paul McCartney had given the go-ahead for the Fab Four’s back catalogue to be made available on iTunes and other digital download services “within months” made front-page news and set fans’ internet chat rooms buzzing. Official “no comments” that anything was imminent from both Apple Corps, owners of the Beatles’ legacy, and Apple, the creator of iTunes, which dismissed suggestions as “rumour and speculation,” could do little to dampen… Read more »

The Beatles are about to become radio stars in a whole new way. NASA on Monday will broadcast the Beatles’ song “Across the Universe” across the galaxy to Polaris, the North Star. This first-ever beaming of a radio song by the space agency directly into deep space is nostalgia-driven. It celebrates the 40th anniversary of the song, the 45th anniversary of NASA’s Deep Space Network, which communicates with its distant probes, and the 50th anniversary of NASA. “Send my love to the aliens,” Paul McCartney told NASA through a Beatles historian. “All the best, Paul.” The song, written by McCartney… Read more »

What could be better after a hard day’s sightseeing? Visitors to Liverpool, birthplace of the Beatles, can rest their heads in the Lennon or McCartney suites at the Fab Four-themed Hard Days Night Hotel that opened Friday. More than 45 years after John, Paul, George and Ringo emerged from Liverpool’s tiny, sweaty clubs to conquer the world, the Beatles industry is key to this battered-but-proud city’s attempt to transform itself from fading commercial hub to thriving cultural hotbed. The 110-room Hard Days Night Hotel hopes to be its newest attraction. “It’s stunning, spectacular,” said Julia Baird, John Lennon’s half-sister, after… Read more »

An independent Miami label says it plans to release never-before-heard Beatles live recordings made in 1962 at the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany. Fuego Entertainment has partnered with British producer/promoter Jeffrey Collins to put out his catalog holdings. They say those include a live Beatles performance of 15 songs at the club. No release date has been set for the recordings, which the label claims are the first to feature drummer Ringo Starr as part of the group. Other Beatles recordings from the Star Club have been released, but Fuego says its collection includes previously unheard tracks, such as covers… Read more »

An unheard recording originally made by the late John Lennon could find its way to commercial release later this year. The track, titled “Now And Then”, is to be compiled from archive Beatles recordings by the remaining Beatles, and is planned for release as single, reports the Daily Express. Alongside Lennon’s vocals, sessions from the late George Harrison will also be incorporated, as will drumming from Ringo Starr and vocals from Sir Paul McCartney. ELO musician Jeff Lynne was on board as the tracks original producer and reveals, “The song had a chorus but is almost totally lacking in verses.… Read more »

Arctic Monkeys extraordinary success looks set to continue with their new album release “Favourite Worst Nightmare”, with new chart rules resulting in a possible singles placing for all 12 tracks. The Sheffield band’s second album is already on track to break their own album sales record, and internet downloads mean that 10 of the tracks are already charting in the Top 75 singles chart, according to music chain HMV. For every seven singles being bought in the UK, one is an Arctic Monkeys track. HMV spokesman Gennaro Castaldo reveals to press “The Arctic Monkeys are currently on course to have… Read more »

The company representing The Beatles has settled a 30 million-pound ($59 million) royalty dispute with EMI Group, in a deal that could finally pave the way for the Liverpool band’s music to go online. Apple Corps, the company owned by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and the families of John Lennon and George Harrison, said in December 2005 it would sue the record company after negotiations broke down. Apple Corps said an audit had determined EMI had not been fulfilling the terms of its contract. “We have settled on mutually acceptable terms and there will be no further comment,” a spokeswoman… Read more »

By Boxes of photographic material – including the only remaining original transparencies from a 1963 Beatles photo session – were thrown out by a cleaner despite a note warning they weren’t trash, a lawsuit filed in Britain’s High Court claims. Apple Corps. Ltd., guardian of the Fab Four’s commercial interests, and EMI Records Ltd., which distributes the Beatles’ music, filed the lawsuit against the cleaning company, Crystal Services PLC, earlier this year. The lawsuit, obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, says more than 450 photographs, negatives and transparencies were lost, most of which were EMI’s photographic archive from 1997. Some… Read more »

Apple Inc. and EMI Group Plc will reveal a ground-breaking deal on Monday for Apple to sell the music label’s songs free from copy protection limits, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. The report said music giant EMI plans to sell “significant amounts” of its catalog without anti-piracy software, citing people familiar with the matter, and that the music label is considering not only Apple’s iTunes stores but other outlets. However, a separate source familiar with the situation told Reuters a Beatles deal was not the focus of Monday’s event. “There is no Beatles’ announcement,” the source said. EMI… Read more »