Beatle Cars

By |2022-04-11T09:46:06-07:00April 14, 2021|1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, Magical Mystery Tour, Psychedelia, Sgt. Pepper|

One of the perks of the mega-fame and fortune the Beatles enjoyed in the 1960s was buying cool automobiles. I think that a look at one of the cars owned by each Beatle in the mid-1960s reveals something about the personality of each. On to the cars: Ringo owned this 1964 Facel Vega Facel II, which autoblog.com describes as "a brutally powerful, but supremely comfortable four-place coupe that didn't skimp on style. Power came from a thumping 6.3-liter Chrysler Typhoon V8 that turned out up to 390 horsepower and could scoot the Facel II to a reported top speed of 150 miles [...]

The Beatles in Manila, 1966

By |2015-09-17T14:39:19-07:00September 14, 2015|1966|

"Maybe your last chance to see the Beatles! Don't ask how we know this!" And what does the ol' "to-post" file have for us this morning? Why, it's a webpage dedicated to the Beatles in Manila, the feel-baddiest moment in all of Beatlemania. We all know the story of their ill-fated trip to the Philippines -- "snubbing" Imelda Marcos, their security mysteriously disappearing, Fabs and entourage making wills and quietly peeing themselves as they waited on the tarmac -- but this site has some nice added bits. (By the way, I've always assumed that it's even odds the Beatles knew [...]

BEATLES-STREEP-SHEA SHOCKER: IT’S NOT HER!!!!

By |2015-08-14T05:33:15-07:00August 13, 2015|1966, alternate history, Beatle myth, Beatles on the Web, Meryl Streep|

DEVIN McKINNEY  ·  Few things have been more spew-worthy on TV this last couple of weeks than the ads for Ricki and the Flash, with Meryl Streep as—ehh, who gives a shit. Read the Internet for the plot blurb. But the spectacle of this preeningest, phoniest of actors trying to look rocky and raunchy, let alone trying to sing that way, so offends my primordial brain that I’m driven against my higher controls to cringe, wince, twitch, and spit every time it comes on. I don’t want Meryl Streep herself to die, understand; but I would kill her fame in an instant, had [...]

The Beatles in St. Louis, 1966

By |2014-12-05T11:20:16-08:00December 5, 2014|1966, concert|

Meet the Beatles for Real is a favorite blog of many Dullblog readers, but that's not the only link. The blog's proprietor, Sara, is a proud product of the St. Louis metro area, just like yours truly. So when I heard that Sara is writing a book of fan memories of the Fabs' one and only concert in St. Louis, naturally I did two things: put her in touch with my Aunt (hi Mary!) who went to the concert; and I offered to post an Author Query on her behalf: Hello Beatlefans! This is Sara from the Meet the Beatles for Real [...]

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Update: George Harrison’s India photos (and John’s Spain ones)

By |2015-04-14T04:44:35-07:00July 17, 2014|1966, George Harrison, India, Photos|

Shooting Film has a lovely post collecting all of the fisheye selfies taken by The Quiet One in India in 1966. You should read the whole post, but I'll paste the whole set of George Harrison's India photos below. [h/t Dangerous Minds, whose ever-snappy writeup is here.] FISHEYES FOREVER: ...and as a special Dullblog bonus, here's another fisheye shot from the same period, which I first saw in Devin's book Magic Circles. John's in Almería, Spain, filming How I Won the War. DM here: Thanks to Mike for posting what I knew was the only possible closing photo for my book. I [...]

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The Beatles and the Dalai Lama

By |2014-07-08T10:37:54-07:00July 7, 2014|1966, Revolver|

Yesterday, after reading Devin's lovely commemoration of everybody's favorite drummer (both here on Dullblog and on HiLobrow), I was quite tickled to find out -- via Facebook -- that Ringo shares a birthday with the current Dalai Lama. Then, after I'd written this entire post, I confirmed the birthdays and found that Facebook was wrong. The Dalai Lama, born in 1935 as Lhamo Dondrub, made the scene on July 6th, while the ever laid-back Ringo emerged a day later on July 7th. I am keeping this post up, however, as a mute testimony to the dangers of trusting Facebook, especially for you young [...]

Happy birthday, Paul! (with a few notes on style)

By |2014-07-01T10:18:27-07:00June 18, 2014|1966, 1970s, birthdays, books, Linda McCartney, McCartney family, Paul McCartney, Photos|

Where can I find that jacket? DEVIN McKINNEY  •  Today is Paul McCartney’s 72nd birthday. He shows no signs of slowing, save for the current illness which his spokespeople will identify only as “a virus” and which has forced him to cancel several dates on his world tour—a contingency unprecedented, as far as I know, in his career. (Surely it’s ironic in some way that he’s taking his rest in Tokyo, cite of his traumatic 1980 pot bust.) What can you say on Paul’s birthday but “Happy birthday”? What can you ask but the same question you’ve asked on every [...]

Paperback Writer mistakes

By |2014-03-21T09:59:32-07:00March 21, 2014|1966|

Dig the lineup on this EP. Way to confuse Portuguese fans, EMI. Eagle-eared commenter Bill Garrity writes to say: "I was just listening to 'Paperback Writer' and wondered if anybody noticed some flubs along with background noise — coughs, extraneous breathing, muttering, etc. Notable are the following: 0:08-0:10 extraneous breathing 0:57 cough 1:19-1:21 missed cue on background vocal 1:45-1:48 extraneous breath, sniffling or something like that, someone practicing a background vocal. Let me know!" Can you hear these, and any more? Let Bill know in the comments! PS—Certainly filming this video was a mistake. Most Bored Beatles Ever. http://youtu.be/pz9G5sIS62I

Cries and Whispers, Crashes and Flutters: 10 Favorite Beatles Musical Micro-Moments

By |2016-12-03T07:44:13-08:00November 27, 2013|1963, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, John Lennon, Lennon, McCartney, Paul McCartney, Ringo, Ringo Starr|

Recording "Real Love," 1994:Gut genius at work. DEVIN McKINNEY  •  We all know you can take the Beatles to the outer limit and upper extremity of significance—Best thing in universal history—and then narrow that unit to its subordinate but still-impressive absolutes:  Best miracle of the 20th century; best socio-cultural force of the 1960s; Best group of the “rock era.” Having accepted all of that, you can, and we all have, then go superlative in descending levels of specificity: Best album; best song; best vocal performance—John; best vocal performance—Paul; best bass playing; best guitar solo; best everything else. But have we [...]

Literary approaches to the Beatles; or, the difference between a book and a record

By |2013-12-11T09:29:27-08:00October 30, 2013|1966, Beatles on the Web, books, Eleanor Rigby, John Gardner, Robin Wood|

DEVIN McKINNEY  •  Once, a long time ago, I tried to maintain, just for the record, a running tab of Beatles references or mentions that cropped up in the course of my day.  During that period (the latter half of the 1980s), the daily references were not many; the group’s public profile was in a relative slough of despond, and looking back, we can pinpoint those years  as equidistant between the first Great Beatles Revival (1976-78) and the second (1994-95).  Though I lost the tabulation long ago (so much for “the record”), I can bet it would, if compared to similar checklists [...]

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