Ringo special from 1978
This trip back to 1978 is posted without comment, for the hardy of mind, body and spirit. Ognir Rrats syas, "Eniacoc si a avulleh gurd." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ueuop3bRZHE
Albert Brooks on John Lennon
Brooks, Lennon, et al. [Stalwart @Hologram Sam posted some of this as a comment, but it's just too good not to surface on the main page. Albert Brooks is a comedian's comedian—someone I want to get for Bystander—and his seminal comedy LP "Comedy Minus One" came out in 1973. This is from a 2012 Vanity Fair interview by Judd Apatow.—M.G.] J.A. You said you were friends with Harry Nilsson? A.B. I was. He was one of these comedy-freak guys. He would come and see my shows and he was very sweet and a massive drinker. I didn’t drink and I wound up being [...]
More Beatle Cars!
I have been busy with other stuff and just saw Nancy's wonderful Beatle Cars post. As a fan of 60s sports cars and the Fabs, I have just too much to say for a comment. If you want to afford any of these cars, you can try your luck winning a bucket-load of cash on sites such as 해외정식사이트. John's 1965 Phantom V—For example, did Nancy mention that Lennon's famous psychedelic Rolls had a backseat that converted into a double bed? (I foresee no problems at all with that, Cyn.) And also the first blackened privacy windows seen in the UK (ditto) [...]
Bert Parks Sings “Let ‘Em In”
Just when I think, "I fully and completely grok the sublime weirdness of the 1960s and 70s," I discover something more. Another level (of which there are, as we all know, seven). In the future, historians will conclude, "Everybody was absurdly high. All the time." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJBDcb7kq_g As a palate-cleanser, here is a relatively non-insane modern remix from the people (person?) at Disco Purrfection. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T553QuLWHwg
Sympathy for the Devil?
James Angleton, head of CIA Counterintelligence from 1954-1975. His opinion about The Beatles remains a mystery. Just a quick post, but a thought that I believe is important enough to surface up top. Recently some commenters have been using the Krays thread to explore conspiracy theories surrounding John Lennon's murder. This topic is, to me, more than fair game—it has been bubbling under the surface of Hey Dullblog for at least a decade, and I am perfectly happy to have commenters surmise, as long as it's done in an appropriately forensic manner. Adults speaking facts to other adults. What do [...]
Paul McCartney: The Lyrics
According to commenter @HologramSam and Rolling Stone: Continuing the unbroken string of 58 straight Christmases with more Beatle-crap to buy, it's just been announced that Paul's dropping a new book this November. Called, Paul McCartney: The Lyrics, it's meant to stand in for an autobiography (which I think we already got with Many Years From Now). Sez Paul, “More often than I can count, I’ve been asked if I would write an autobiography, but the time has never been right. The one thing I’ve always managed to do, whether at home or on the road, is to write new songs,” McCartney said [...]
Sgt Pepper Unmasked!
Who's Who (not shown: The Who) Longtime readers of this blog know that I maintain it simply as an excuse to avoid grown-up work. And also, that I love Sgt. Pepper. It is my single desert island disc, as pedestrian as that choice is, because to me, Pepper contains so much more time than any other Beatles record. What do I mean? (When you have to type that sentence in an piece of prose, you know you're fucking the writing up.—Ed.) Well, one of the things that I love most about Pepper—almost as much as the music—is how it intentionally [...]
The Beatles and the Krays
Reggie (left) and Ronnie Kray, photographed by David Bailey For those (mostly American?) readers who haven't run across Ronnie and Reggie Kray, they were a pair of murderous twin brother gangsters who ruled the London underworld in the 1960s. Probably the most notorious British criminals since Jack the Ripper (sorry, Crippen). Before settling down to serious lawbreaking, the Krays were amateur boxers run out of the Army for being too wild; Ronnie was gay (sorry: "I'm bisexual, not gay. Bisexual") and Reggie was straight. Ronnie was also paranoid schizophrenic, while Reggie was apparently neurotypical which is…kinda worse? So what do [...]
The Merseybeat gang, circa 1962
Frequent commenter LeighAnn pointed me to this great photo which Ringo put up on his Instagram (@ringostarrmusic) in remembrance of the late, great Gerry Marsden. "3..2..1..JUMP!"
Bernie and the Beatles
After Senator Bernie Sanders showed up at yesterday's inauguration looking a bit, shall we say, casual, the photo spawned a thousand memes, with the Progressive octogenarian popping up in every famous shot imaginable. Of course the Beatles were part of this, so Michael Bleicher and I assembled some of the best examples. Add more in the comments.