Paul McCartney reveals how he came up with The Beatles’ ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ album title

Harrison Ford shared a story of how an afternoon with the late Jimmy Buffett inspired him to get his ear pierced. On Saturday, the 81-year-old actor was among stars who honored the musician during the Keep the Party Going: A Tribute to Jimmy Buffett event at Los Angeles' Hollywood Bowl. Buffet died in September at the age of 76 after a battle with skin cancer.

The Beatles released their debut single in the UK, 1962’s “Love Me Do,” as the first of many classic songs written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, their offspring have come together to bring back their tune-making magic.“Primrose Hill,” the new single by James McCartney — Sir Paul’s only son, with his late wife Linda — was co-written by Sean Ono Lennon, John’s youngest son from his marriage to Yoko Ono.And the next generation does their papas proud on this wistful beauty of a ballad that recalls some of the nostalgic reverie of “Now and Then” — which was released to much fanfare in November as the last Beatles song (and their first new tune since 1996).Released on Friday, “Primrose Hill” — which is a public park north of Regent’s Park in London — is the first-ever collaboration between McCartney, 46, and Lennon, 48.And if any song could sound just like taking a bittersweet stroll in the park with nothing but your longing memories, then this one pretty much captures it.There’s instantly something familiar about it — both the dreamy moodiness and McCartney’s lilting delivery — but it never seems to fall into Beatles mimicry.Nor does it ever reach the reach the heights of Beatles transcendence — I mean, how could it?The lyrics almost border on lovesick cliche at one point: “Forever’s not long enough to be loving you/Forever and a day/I look into your eyes, it’s such a great surprise/You take my breath away.”But if you just lose yourself in the warm, woozy feeling, you’ll get over that.And the bluesy guitar that comes in at the end adds a nice bite to the bliss.“ ‘Primrose Hill’ is here!” McCartney wrote in a post on Instagram, alongside a photo of him and Lennon.

Harrison Ford has a message for the late Jimmy Buffett — ears to ya.Ford, 81, revealed that he got his famous ear piercing years ago after a boozy lunch with the “Margaritaville” singer and late “60 Minutes” correspondent Ed Bradley.Ford made the admission during the “Keep the Party Going: A Tribute to Jimmy Buffett” concert, which was held April 12 at the Hollywood Bowl in LA, according to People.Buffett died last September at the age of 76. Bradley died in November 2006 at the age of 65.Ford appeared at the Buffett tribute to introduce a performance by Zac Brown Band and told the crowd that “Jimmy Buffett was a cool guy,” according to the report.“I remember one day that a long — some might say boozy — lunch with Jimmy and Ed Bradley, and it was Bradley’s birthday,” Ford said.

The Beatles’ classic 1970 documentary film Let It Be on May 8, NME can exclusively announce.The film, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, was first released in cinemas 54 years ago and has been difficult to obtain since – prompting considerable bootlegging. It features footage of the Fab Four while they were writing and recording their 12th and final studio album of the same name in January 1969 at London’s Twickenham Film Studios.Later in the film, the band moves to the headquarters of their company Apple Corps on Savile Row for further rehearsals and the iconic rooftop concert – the four Beatles’ last performance together as a group.As he did for the 2022 docuseries Get Back, which features extra archive material from the Let It Be shoot, acclaimed filmmaker Peter Jackson has used state-of-the-art digital technology to restore the 55-year-old film reels to crisp, modern quality.“Over the years, the original [film] print probably hasn’t been looked after that well and it didn’t look that good anymore,” Lindsay-Hogg told NME.

Sean Ono Lennon – the sons of Paul McCartney and John Lennon – have written a song together called ‘Primrose Hill’ – check it out below.The song is a tender acoustic number about spending time with a loved one at the popular London beauty spot, which appears on the single’s cover art.“I’ll always remember Primrose Hill,” James McCartney sings wistfully on the chorus, backed by a mellow guitar melody.“‘Primrose Hill’ is here!” shared James McCartney on social media alongside a picture with his co-writer. “Today I am so very excited to share my latest song co-written by my good friend @seanonolennon.

Selena Kuznikov Last year saw the release of the Beatles’ new song: “Now And Then,” which was promoted as the band’s final single — but there’s a new McCartney/Lennon pairing. Paul and the late Linda McCartney’s son (and youngest offspring), James McCartney has released a new song with his close friend and John Lennon‘s son, Sean Ono Lennon.

Paul McCartney was joined by The Eagles on a version of ‘Let It Be’ at a tribute concert for the late Jimmy Buffett at the Hollywood Bowl this week. The singer-songwriter, known for his tropical rock sound, died at the age of 76 last September after a four-year battle with skin cancer. The concert, titled ‘Keep the Party Going: A Tribute to Jimmy Buffett’ took place at the Los Angeles venue on Thursday (April 11), including appearances from Sheryl Crow, Brandi Carlile, Zac Brown, Jon Bon Jovi and Buffett’s band The Coral Reefer Band.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Paul McCartney was the obvious headliner of the bill Thursday at the Hollywood Bowl. But it was Buffett-mania that was in full sway, as a cast of dozens of singers and celebrity presenters — from Jane Fonda to Snoop Dogg — saluted or parroted a fallen musical hero for the three-and-a-half-hour “Keep The Party Going: A Tribute to Jimmy Buffett.” Most of the night’s entertainers covered Buffett classics or obscurities, although McCartney, the Eagles and Snoop Dogg broke with that to regale the full Bowl house with their own material, while Zac Brown and (sending in a video contribution) Dave Matthews debuted brand new songs saluting Buffett.

legendary musician recalled that he initially wanted to play guitar for the band instead of bass. However, his hopes were dashed after an incident at a show early in his career.McCartney explained that he was good at playing the guitar while “at home,” and bandmate John Lennon’s aunt, Mimi Smith, used to tell him that he was “much better than John.”“Mind you, when I first met John, he played banjo chords,” McCartney remembered.

Paul McCartney has shared an embarrassing story from early on in his career that he says made him want to quit playing live music.The former Beatle was speaking on the latest episode of his iHeartPodcast, McCartney: A Life in Lyrics, when he spoke about one of the band’s earliest shows together, which featured McCartney taking the coveted lead guitar role.“We had this gig and it was the first thing I ever played, and I was lead guitar player,” he explained. “John [Lennon] was rhythm.

The Beatles has revealed George Harrison‘s inspiration to pick up the guitar.Due for release this Thursday (April 11), All You Need Is Love is described as “a ground-breaking oral history of the Beatles and how it all came to an end”.It is comprised of interviews taken from the controversial book The Love You Make (1983), which was written by Steven Gaines and Peter Brown – the personal assistant to Beatles manager Brian Epstein.In one section, Harrison speaks about what first ignited his interest in becoming a musician.“I remember being a kid of about twelve, dreaming of big motorboats and tropical islands and things which had nothing to do with Liverpool, which was dark and cold,” he explained to Brown and Gaines in 1980 (via The Times).“I remember going to see Cliff Richard and thinking fuck it – I could do better than that.”As Guitar.COM notes, this rivalry would eventually encourage Harrison to perfect his guitar playing – with Richard going on to envy the Fab Four’s fame and success.In 1964, the singer responded to The Beatles’ performance on The Ed Sullivan Show by saying: “It’s ridiculous! Has everyone forgotten me? What’s going on?”Despite the competition between The Beatles and Richard, John Lennon reportedly once argued that British music would not have been the same if the ‘Devil Woman’ artist hadn’t come along.“Before Cliff Richard and ‘Move It’, there was nothing worth listening to in England,” he is said to have claimed (via Gold Radio UK).All You Need Is Love also includes the claim that Yoko Ono instructed John Lennon how to use heroin and details a Lennon encounter that made The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger feel “uncomfortable”.An official description reads: “Based on never-before-published or heard

All we are saying is… give peace a chance! @GBNews.

Beyoncé and Paul McCartney.The “Texas Hold ‘Em” singer covers the 1968 Beatles beauty “Blackbird” — written by Macca, although credited to both McCartney and John Lennon — on her countrified new album “Cowboy Carter” that was released last Friday to rave reviews (including mine) and record-shattering streams.Bey’s honey- and harmony-coated rendition of “The White Album” classic — featuring African-American female country singers Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy and Reyna Roberts making like Destiny’s Southern Child — is a revelation that repurposes the song from a black female perspective.And Sir Paul has given Beyonce’s “Blackbird” — which is styled as “Blackbiird” on “Cowboy Carter” — the most royal of blessings.“I am so happy with @beyonce’s version of my song ‘Blackbird,” he wrote in an Instagram post. “I think she does a magnificent version of it and it reinforces the civil rights message that inspired me to write the song in the first place.

Sir Paul McCartney is a fan of the Cowboy Carter rendition of his song, Blackbird, which he originally wrote in 1968.

Paul McCartney is addressing Beyoncé’s cover of “Blackbird,” featured on her new album Cowboy Carter.

Paul McCartney has commented on Beyoncé’s cover of his song ‘Blackbird’, commending her for using it to “ease racial tension”.Queen Bey included her version of the track on her new record ‘Cowboy Carter’, which was released last week (March 29). The song was originally released on The Beatles’ self-titled 1968 album, commonly referred to as ‘The White Album’.And now, McCartney has spoken publicly about the cover, saying: “I am so happy with @beyonce’s version of my song ‘Blackbird’.

Meredith Woerner Deputy Editor, Variety.com Paul McCartney has weighed in on Beyoncé’s cover of “Blackbird,” nestled at the front of her latest album “Cowboy Carter.” “I am so happy with @beyonce’s version of my song ‘Blackbird’. I think she does a magnificent version of it and it reinforces the civil rights message that inspired me to write the song in the first place.

Beyoncé used The Beatles’ original ‘Blackbird’ backing track in her cover of the song, recorded for ‘Cowboy Carter’.As well as covering the song for her new country album, it turns out the rendition of the band’s 1968 track are more similar than first thought – with it being revealed that the ‘Cowboy Carter’ version uses instrumental elements taken directly from the Beatles’ original master recording.According to Variety, that was confirmed by a representative for Beyoncé, who cited the singer’s team as well as other sourcesThe credits for the album have been gradually shared since the album’s release last week (March 29), and Paul McCartney is listed as playing guitar on the song, as well as one of the producers. However, there is no indication in the wording of the credits that his work on the track is taken from the 56-year-old original.Bey’s own spin on the song sees it renamed as ‘Blackbiird’ – making a nod to the album’s ‘Act II’ theme.

Beyoncé’s cover of The Beatles classic ‘Blackbird’, included on her new album ‘Cowboy Carter’, has prompted a lot of reactions among fans.‘Cowboy Carter’ was released today (March 29), her eighth studio album and the second in an expected trilogy that began with 2022’s ‘Renaissance’.The second track on the album is a cover of the 1968 Beatles song, which she has renamed ‘Blackbiird’. Given the album’s embrace of country influences – including a cover of Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’ and appearances from Willie Nelson and Linda Martell – and its themes concerning race in American music history, the song has been chosen pointedly.Listen to ‘Blackbiird’ here:Paul McCartney wrote ‘Blackbird’ during the civil rights struggle of the 1960s, just weeks after the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

Paul McCartney for being “too unflattering” is now headed to auction.The artwork in question is a wooden sculpture created by Wilfrid Wood, which was originally set to be released as part of the 2024 ‘Secret 7’ vinyl project – in a bid to raise money for War Child.The project runs alongside the host of gigs that War Child puts on to raise money for the charity, and consists of various artists releasing a limited edition 7” record for a specific track, which are later auctioned off.Between 2012 and 2020, it has raised over £500,000 for good causes. Previous sleeve designers include the likes of Ai Weiwei, Sir Peter Blake, Yoko Ono, David Shrigley, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Martin Parr and more.This year, musicians including Celeste, Hozier, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Specials, The Chemical Brothers and Paul McCartney were all involved in the campaign, and all records were exhibited and free to view at the NOW Gallery between March 2 to 17.However, for the latter, the single was withdrawn after the Beatles bassist took issue with how he was depicted in the artwork.The wooden sculpture was banned from the exhibition after the rock veteran deemed it “too unflattering”, according to the artist.