Michael Gerber • Hey Dullblog, the Beatles fan blog

Hooray, or uh-oh, I can’t decide

By Michael Gerber|2013-08-07T04:34:55-07:00April 16, 2013|biography, books, John Lennon, Paul McCartney|

Beatle biographer Philip Norman is writing a new McCartney bio. The New York Times reports that Philip Norman has been signed to do a new McCartney bio. One part of me: all right! Other part of me: oh no. Philip Norman is an excellent writer, with a beyond-thorough grounding in the subject. There is nobody who possesses better tools with which to create the definitive biography of Paul McCartney. He's very smart, knows England of that period, knows rock, knows London, knows The Beatles, knows John Lennon. Unlike Miles, he's his own man; unlike Lewisohn, he's a journalist. Shout: The [...]

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Recording the White Album

By Michael Gerber|2013-09-02T08:09:52-07:00April 8, 2013|1968, The White Album|

Rejected cover for the White Album. Find out more about it here. Over on another thread, Anonymous posted the following question, which I thought was meaty enough to merit its own post: Hey guys, this is way off topic but if you get to it I'd love to hear your thoughts. The White Album was the first major project to use 8 track recording. I've recently read somewhere that the engineers were confused about the distinctive sound they produced and went so far as to check the machine. They later discovered it was the solid state mixing board that caused [...]

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David Bailey shoots Brian Epstein and the Beatles

By Michael Gerber|2013-11-06T19:27:08-08:00March 12, 2013|1965, Brian Epstein, John and Paul|

Devin just posted this wonderful photo of Brian Epstein on Facebook. When I asked him about it, he told me it was taken by David Bailey. Which led me, as the internet does, to this shot of BE from Bailey's famous 1964 Box of Pinups: Also in Box of Pinups was this photo below, my all-time favorite John and Paul shot. (John himself preferred another shot from the same session.) I adore David Bailey photos of The Beatles—and lots of other things, too. You can find many photos from Box of Pinups in this photoset. Well worth looking through if you love Swinging [...]

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Lennon: "Fascinating."

By Michael Gerber|2014-07-23T11:57:10-07:00March 9, 2013|1976, John Lennon|

In 1976, a fan mailed a questionnaire to Mr. Lennon in the Dakota, and John was gracious enough to fill it out and send it back. I discovered this fascinating tidbit of Beatle-ania (first reported on Lists of Note) from this Beatle blog here. The comment thread is eerily similar to one we've been having re: RAM and "How Do You Sleep?" I guess all Beatle roads do lead to John and Paul.

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Lennon on McCartney and Ono: interview recordings newly available

By Michael Gerber|2016-08-22T14:35:47-07:00March 5, 2013|John and Paul, john and yoko|

We're rolling, John Salon is highlighting interview recordings made by Cass Calder Smith, including a few with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, that are now available via iTunes. Two Lennon/Ono excerpts are available for free streaming here. Smith was a New York radio host when he made the tapes; he's now in his mid-70s, and his son has taken over the project of releasing the interviews. One of the Lennon interviews was conducted by Smith the day "Imagine" went on sale. Smith evidently told Lennon that when he played "How Do You Sleep?" on his radio show, "a lot of [...]

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I wonder if we can get a Dullblog bulk discount?

By Michael Gerber|2013-09-04T12:35:36-07:00March 4, 2013|biography, books|

If anyone will know, it's Mark Lewisohn MIKE GERBER • Volume One of Mark Lewisohn's Beatles bio series is slated for October, promising to be full of Lewisohn's trainspotter-y goodness! Just who was Torchy the Battery-Boy, and how did he influence a young Paul McCartney? Did George Harrison first read two of the Four Noble Truths scrawled on the wall of his father's city bus? Brief but exciting web-teaser is here.

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A few fab cakes

By Michael Gerber|2014-07-23T11:57:15-07:00February 26, 2013|Beatle-inspired|

The Cakewrecks blog focuses on those occasions when "professional cakes go horribly, hilariously wrong," but on Sundays it features successful confectionary feats. If you're in the mood for something sweet, you can read the whole post, which includes a dozen Beatles cakes, here.

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Harmony lesson: "This Boy"

By Michael Gerber|2013-02-21T02:48:00-08:00February 21, 2013|1963|

I stumbled upon this video and just had to share it, not only because the guy is strangely gripping to watch, but also because it reminded me exactly why I love, and will always come back to, The Beatles: their music is thrillingly, achingly beautiful. Thanks, guys.So enjoy. And I dare you not to sing along.

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Tony Sheridan, 1940-2013

By Michael Gerber|2015-09-18T22:50:27-07:00February 18, 2013|Hamburg, Obituaries|

Tony Sheridan, an essential part of The Beatles' early story, has died. To quote Chris Carter from KLOS' "Breakfast With the Beatles," without Tony Sheridan, "we wouldn't have had The Beatles in the way we did." Allan Kozinn agrees: "Though Mr. Sheridan’s involvement with the Beatles was brief, it proved crucial to their career."Apparently he settled down in northern Germany. Here's the guys with Tony S., doing a song I'd never heard. Mach shau, fellas. http://www.youtube.com/embed/EtcN7HksEDE

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Before "Toot and a Snore"

By Michael Gerber|2014-12-30T20:12:54-08:00February 4, 2013|1974, bootlegs, John and Paul|

The act you've known for all these years, in Santa Monica, 1974. Here are some photos from Retronaut.com — the last photo of John and Paul — taken at Peter Lawford's old beach house here in Santa Monica. Whenever I want to bask in some ghosts (Marilyn and Jack! Marilyn and Bobby! Nilsson and Baron Von Moon!) I bike down six blocks; the house is right on the PCH. It's surprisingly small; glamour required less square-footage back in those days. Anyway, according to Retronaut, these were taken in March 1974, at the time of the infamous "A Toot And a Snore" [...]

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About Michael Gerber