Paul McCartney working on new music

The legendary songsmith Paul McCartney has a new album in the works.

The ex-Beatle is teaming up with producer Greg Kurstin on the new and as yet unnamed record, Billboard reports. He told BBC Radio 6 during an interview: “Greg is musical and he’s great to work with.”

2017 is shaping up to be a busy year for the superstar, who reissued his 1989 solo album “Flowers in the Dirt” on March 24 to include previously unheard demo tracks.

McCartney is also set to play several live concert dates in Japan throughout the month of April. Meanwhile, the upcoming album does not yet have a launch date. JB

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

John Lennon's killer denied parole for 7th time

Mark David Chapman, who shot and killed former Beatle John Lennon 32 years ago, was denied parole for a seventh time, New York State's Department of Corrections said on Thursday.

Chapman, 57, is serving a prison sentence of 20 years to life for shooting Lennon four times in the back outside the musician's New York City apartment building on Dec. 8, 1980. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

His parole hearing was earlier this week at Wende Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison in Alden, New York, where he is being held, the department said.

Chapman has come up for parole every two years since 2000 and has been turned down each time.

After his last hearing in 2010, the three-member parole board cited in denying the request the disregard Chapman "displayed for the norms of our society and the sanctity of human life."

Ahead of that hearing, the parole division received dozens of letters arguing against Chapman's release, including one from Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, who said she believed Chapman posed a risk to her, Lennon's two sons, the public and himself.

Chapman was transferred in May to Wende from Attica Correctional Facility, the maximum-security penitentiary in Attica, New York, where he had been held for 31 years.

A corrections spokesman said at the time Chapman was placed in protective custody at Wende, but the reason was not made public. Wende is in western New York, east of Buffalo. — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Beatles film actor Victor Spinetti dies

LONDON - British actor Victor Spinetti, who befriended the Beatles while working on three of their biggest films in the 1960s, has died of cancer at the age of 82, his agent said on Tuesday.

The Welsh-born entertainer was caught up in the frenzy of Beatlemania after appearing with the Fab Four in "Help!", "A Hard Day's Night" and "Magical Mystery Tour".

It was his Tony Award-winning performance in the World War One musical satire "Oh! What a Lovely War" on Broadway that prompted the band to ask him to work with them.

A great story-teller, Spinetti used to joke that George Harrison had told him he had to be in all their films, otherwise "me mum won't come and see them, because she fancies you".

"He was a wonderful actor and a wonderful raconteur," his agent Barry Burnett told Reuters. "Everyone looked forward to having an evening with him because they were going to be entertained. He would start talking and he would never stop."

Young Beatles fans would scream and chase Spinetti down the street because of his links with the band, he added.

"He loved them - they became great friends," Burnett said. "One of his stories was that when he flew over to New York there were big crowds at the airport. So he said 'who's on the plane?' and they said 'well, they're waiting for you'. His association with the Beatles made him the next best thing to them."

In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spinetti starred with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and entertained thousands with a mix of songs and stories at his one-man show.

He worked alongside Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in a 1972 version of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas' "Under Milk Wood", as well as more than 30 other feature films.

Born in a coal-mining village in a tough part of south Wales in 1929 to an Italian father and a Welsh mother, Spinetti grew up above the family's fish and chip shop. He thought of becoming a teacher before going to drama school in Cardiff, the Welsh capital.

In a newspaper interview in 2008, Spinetti said he was baffled by actors who turned down work or refused to tour, telling drama students to learn "the three Rs: redundancy, rejection and resting".

"If you can handle those, do it. Don't do it because you want something, but because you have something to give," he said. — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

The Beatles Release Songs as Ringtones in iTunes Store

The Beatles have signed a deal with iTunes to release ringtones for each of the songs on 1, their career-spanning collection of Number One singles. The 30-second ringtones are available in the digital store now for $1.29 each, the same price as an individual song from the band's catalog.

The Beatles' music has been available in the iTunes store since November of 2010, but only after many years of negotiations. Though the band has since sold a huge number of mp3 downloads at the digital retailer, they may have waited too long to get in the ringtone business, as the market has been in decline since smartphones and ringtone-making apps have become more popular.

source: http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/blogs/gear-up/the-beatles-release-songs-as-ringtones-in-itunes-store-20120222

John Lennon Truly a Legend

Today marks the 31st death anniversary of Legendary Beatles member, one of the founders of The Beatles John Lennon. Legendary Beatle member/legend was shot by Mark David Chapman December 8, 1980, at the age of 40 outside his New York City apartment building and died at a local hospital about 15minutes later. John Lennon is truly a legend and everybody loves The Beatles!

John Lennon's tooth on the auction block in England

Legendary Beatles tooth is set for an auction with a reserve bidding price of $16000. Yes, John Lennon's tooth will be on the auction block in England at the Omega Auction House on November 5.



The tooth was given to the former Beatles' housekeeper Dot Jarlett when she worked for Lennon at Kenwood mansion in Surrey, England in the late 1960's.