Michael Gerber • Hey Dullblog, the Beatles fan blog

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By Michael Gerber|2015-08-26T15:57:03-07:00August 25, 2015|books|

Trustworthy? Anybody read it? Still in my to-read pile Those of you not subscribed to comment updates (and why not?) might have missed the discussion smoldering over on the "Paul Better Than John" post. Thanks to all who are chiming in, it's what makes this site great. The rest of you, please comment! We're still not as lively as we were on the crappy old Blogger site, for reasons I'm not quite sure of, but am determined to address. Loyal commenter @Karen writes: "Our recent conversation about Lewisohn and his conclusions about the Blackpool incident got me thinking about a [...]

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John Lennon, Where Are You?

By Michael Gerber|2015-08-21T22:44:15-07:00August 21, 2015|1980|

Inside: Laurence Shames' "John Lennon, Where Are You?" I am in the process of throwing out the contents of several filing cabinets, almost a decade's worth of paper. It's quite a daunting task. This morning I unearthed something cowering among the dust and silverfish that I thought might be of interest: "John Lennon, Where Are You?" by Laurence Shames. Published in the November 1980 issue of Esquire, Shames' unsuccessful attempt to meet and interview the ex-Beatle is a fascinating portrait of Lennon taken from an oblique angle. It's nowhere online, so I've uploaded the PDF below, to make the information [...]

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Off to the Fest for Beatles Fans! And a nugget…

By Michael Gerber|2015-08-14T11:11:57-07:00August 14, 2015|The Fest for Beatles Fans, Uncategorized|

OK, OK, we're uniting...sheesh So the redoubtable Nancy and I are planning to meet up at Beatlefest Chicago tomorrow. Nancy's daughter is also coming. I am not at all sure she realizes what she's in for, so pray for her. You should go, if you can. The Chicago Fest is a great one (never been to NYC, plan on changing that). On top of all the Beatley goodness, the Fest for Beatles Fans is always a hell of a time-machine: nothing evokes the heady mix of bewildered hope, outsized ambition and creeping angst that was Mike Gerber's teenage years, quite [...]

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Paul Better Than John? Hell Has Frozen Over!

By Michael Gerber|2015-08-24T07:52:36-07:00August 13, 2015|Rolling Stone, Uncategorized|

"REMINDER -- All edit ppl MUST attend 2pm mtg on songwriters list fuckup" Longtime reader Paul Guay alerted me to the following tidbit: In Rolling Stone's latest listifiction, The 100 Greatest Songwriters -- ogle it here -- Paul McCartney is listed at #2, one spot ahead of John Lennon. As Paul wrote, "Hell has indeed frozen over." As a once-and-future magazine person, I bet the halls were slick with blood over this one. From the outside at least, RS doesn't seem like the kind of place one could thrive openly preferring McCartney over Lennon; the implications would be too much [...]

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Cilla Black Sings Alfie

By Michael Gerber|2015-08-05T11:43:52-07:00August 5, 2015|Brian Epstein|

Attached to an email from the indefatigable "Fifth Beatle" (a graphic novelization of the life of Brian Epstein -- now being published in Japan!), was this wonderful clip from 1965. In it the dearly departed sings "Alfie" the theme song from the Michael Caine classic. ...which you should see, if you haven't. (Kate and I will be watching "The Ipcress File" on TCM this Thursday, speaking of. Caine impressions to follow.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAuoNa5g6i8

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Oasis: “Tomorrow Never Knows”

By Michael Gerber|2015-07-25T11:31:48-07:00July 25, 2015|Beatle-inspired, Covers|

I'm really of two minds about Oasis', and specifically Liam Gallagher's, love of The Beatles. On the one hand, this is a nice little cover of "Tomorrow Never Knows." (Extra points for Johnny Marr.) On the other, I just read what the Gallagher brothers supposedly did to John Lennon's talisman. You know the one he wore practically daily from early '67 to late '68. First Noel: “I bought [Liam] a few presents in the 90’s. I bought him a thing from an auction which was an Indian necklace thing that John Lennon wore when he went to see the Maharishi. It's worth [...]

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The Future of Beatlefest

By Michael Gerber|2015-07-25T17:31:14-07:00July 23, 2015|The Fest for Beatles Fans|

Mark Lapidos with Paul and Linda McCartney, 1976 ...and yes, I know it's The Fest for Beatles Fans. But to me, it will forever and always be "Beatlefest," because that's what it was when I was 14 and the world still made some kind of sense. So now that we've set an appropriately crotchety tone for this post, onward. (Actually, not quite yet. The ungainly name that Mark Lapidos' wonderful convention has been shackled with since 2002 brings up something to keep in mind as you read: what Beatlefest was, is, and will be, is entirely up to the 800-pound [...]

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Los Angeles Beatles fans: Wanna go see a movie?

By Michael Gerber|2015-07-25T17:21:48-07:00July 20, 2015|Beatles in LA, Movies|

There's something a little anime about this poster. The Beatles flying towards you, presumably screaming One of the more dubious pleasures of our current age is the ability to meet the people who create the things you like. This streamlines the disillusionment process in ways our ancestors considered unimaginable. Imagine if John, Paul, George and Ringo could've met Elvis as impressionable teenagers in 1957, instead of getting famously underwhelmed that night in 1965. Why, there might have never been a Beatles... "Mum, did you know my English teacher Skyped with Elvis?" "I don't know if you should believe everything Mr. [...]

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McCartney Esquire interview

By Michael Gerber|2022-09-04T18:04:31-07:00July 15, 2015|Paul McCartney|

Commenter @Hologram Sam posted this interview in a comment thread a couple of days ago, but after reading it, I thought it was interesting enough to surface on the front page. There's actually some freshness to the intro (who called Paul "the most Beatley Beatle of them all" and can I shake his/her hand?). This bit I found both fluid and fascinating because, well, what Beatlefan hasn't wondered what in blazes do they do all day?: "His touring routine is well established: breakfast, a workout, perhaps a massage, then meetings with his team. If the weather's clement and security conditions are favourable, a bike ride [...]

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Man Plays Yesterday During Brain Surgery

By Michael Gerber|2015-07-17T11:38:10-07:00June 8, 2015|Beatle-inspired|

I just had to forward this. Yeah, he's kinda slow on some of the chord changes, but...STILL IMPRESSIVE. I'm putting this into the category "Beatle-inspired" because, holy moley that's fandom. Somewhere, John Lennon is miffed because the guy isn't playing "I Am the Walrus." https://youtu.be/zgs6viZaMOM

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