It’s a great story. The Woolton Village church fete, on 6th July 1957 is where John’s band The Quarry Men are playing on the back of a truck. Ivan Vaughan introduces his schoolfriend Paul McCartney to his friend and band… Read More ›
Beatles
Beatles Reunite As Ringo Starr Joins Paul McCartney Onstage In London
Beatles fans received an early Christmas present last night as the two surviving Beatles, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney, played together onstage for the first time since Ringo’s 2015 inauguration into the Rock n Roll Hall Of Fame, for the… Read More ›
He Wrote For Elvis And Performed The Greatest Ever Beatles Cover Version: The Story of Junior Parker
The first thing you should know about Little Junior Parker is that he wrote the song “Mystery Train”, which Elvis Presley covered and made famous. The funny thing is, as a songwriter Junior Parker wasn’t prolific. You could say he… Read More ›
A Brief History of The Beatles
Last week we published a Beatles Playlist of songs compiled by Every Record Tells A Story readers which we hope will persuade my friend, a Sceptical Swede that The Beatles are actually a half-decent band. In case you missed it,… Read More ›
The Ultimate Beatles Playlist (For People Who Don’t Like The Beatles)
In the last blog post, I introduced you to a friend from Sweden named Agaton who told me he had always found The Beatles’ music irritating. He asked me to come up with a playlist of Beatles tunes he would… Read More ›
Please Please Help! Build A Beatles Playlist For Someone Who “Doesn’t Like The Beatles”
I was catching up with a friend recently when he delivered something of a bolt from the blue. With a voice that appeared as nonchalant as that of a serial killer’s he confessed, without apparent shame, that he didn’t like… Read More ›
A Visit To Abbey Road Studios
Wednesday 6th June 1962. 6pm. The first visit of The Beatles to the EMI Studios in Abbey Road. John, Paul, George and Pete were still unsigned, and their equipment was shabby: wooden unpainted amplifiers, generating as much noise – according… Read More ›
The Best Cover Versions of Beatles songs – Part 2
The recent tribute to Macca – The Art of McCartney – featured dozens of cover versions of Paul’s solo work as well as his Beatles work, and it is fair to say that unless you were a fan of the… Read More ›
What Are The Best Cover Versions of Beatles Songs?
It is a truth universally acknowledged that you have to be either brave, stupid, or both to try to better the arrangement that The Fab Four chose themselves. It seems that they considered every arrangement, and then found the best… Read More ›
Buying Beatles, Dylan, Cash and Beach Boys on Vinyl
Instead of buying the Oasis (What’s The Story) Morning Glory box set, I have decided to spend the same amount of money building as good a record collection as is humanly possible. It isn’t clear quite why I am doing… Read More ›
Our Next Vinyl Challenger… “Gen X at Midlife” Throws Down The Gauntlet
Because I saw several people leave HMV the other day with nose bleeds when they saw how high the price was of the Oasis Box Set, (in case you are new to Every Record Tells A Story) I have been… Read More ›
Early Candidate For Music Book of the Year: “Beatles With An A” by Mauri Kunnas
In the year after the release of Mark Lewisohn’s 1,800 page Proustian Beatles biography “All These Years”, (merely part-one-of-a-trilogy) most Beatles writers have, quite justifiably one suspects, thrown down their pens in despair, turned to drink, or begun to dust… Read More ›
The Am-Azing (Moltmaker’s) Beatles Museum, Alkmaar
Alkmaar in Holland is perhaps best known for its traditional cheese market. Burly men have paraded the streets of Alkmaar for hundreds of years, all dressed in costumes whilst selling their wares. And there’s also a cheese market. Perhaps less… Read More ›
What Is The Greatest “Not Officially Released” Album?
There’s something about unreleased songs and albums which is wholly intriguing. An unreleased record taunts us whilst unheard, causing divine despair for the days that are no more, or whatever the poet said. Never mind the fact that the artist… Read More ›
45 Years Ago Today – The Beatles White Album: But Is It Better As A Single LP?
Today is the 45th anniversary of the release of “The Beatles”, which was released on 22nd November 1968. Today’s news that a track listing has surfaced of The Beatles White Album as a single LP – drawn up collectively by… Read More ›
