Friday 30 March 2012

Paul at the Royal Albert Hall - Review, Pics and Video


Review by Ernie Sutton

When I reviewed Paul’s gig at the O2, London, in December 2011, I closed with the words “Would I go and see this again? You bet I would.” 

Well sooner than expected I found myself at this special charity gig in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust, at the Royal Albert Hall, who have supported this charity for a range of concerts for over a decade. 

c. The Beatles Shop

The evening started as it did at the O2, with a DJ playing new mixes of Paul, Beatle and John Lennon material. 

At 8:30 Kelly James introduced us to the charity and a short video was shown of a young boy recovering from a brain tumour. Then Roger Daltrey (of The Who) came onto the stage with a young lady called Lucy, who had been diagnosed with cancer at the age of just 17. 


c. The Beatles Shop

Roger is instrumental in putting these shows for the charity together, and Lucy told her story to a captivated audience. She occasionally lost track of where she was, but the crowd showed their appreciation with applause for her. Roger was superb with her saying to the audience “If I had to stand here and say this in front of you lot I would be shitting myself”. 

The audience and Lucy burst into laughter and Lucy was then far more relaxed and told her amazing story, paying tribute to her mum at the end, who was stood in the wings. 



c. The Beatles Shop

Paul Weller then came onto the stage and introduced Paul and the band. 

Because of these introductions, Paul had to cut some songs from the O2 gig; we didn’t mind the whole evening was about the Teenage Cancer Trust. Paul though, added “My Valentine” and “Magical Mystery Tour”, which opened the show. 


c. Ernie Sutton

Paul was on superb form all evening, despite a small hiccup in “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five”, where he got the words slightly wrong. “Did anyone spot the deliberate mistake?” he said at the end. Most of the music came from The Beatles/Wings periods, and the standard tributes to John and George were there, plus a tribute to Linda- not “My Love”, but “Maybe I’m Amazed”. “My Valentine” was dedicated to his new wife Nancy. 



c. Ernie Sutton

Paul got the audience rocking with some great rockers like “Back in the USSR”, “Juniors Farm” and “Paperback Writer”. It was great to see a lot of young fans in the audience really enjoying their night out- some there to see Paul for the first time. 

By the time “Hey Jude” was played the whole place was singing and standing- it was a fantastic end to the show. But wait there must be an encore! 


c. The Beatles Shop

Of course there was and “Day Tripper” had the place rocking again, before Paul introduced three special guests for the next number. Onto stage came Ronnie Wood, Roger Daltrey and Paul Weller to perform “Get Back”. By now the crowd were at fever pitch as the band left the stage again. 

The fans got their wish for more and Paul sang “Yesterday” with the whole audience joining in. The venue is so unique that the sound of the crowd just echoes around- apparently this is due to the mushrooms on the ceiling- put in after The Beatles performed there in the 60’s to avoid any echo- as Paul had told us earlier in the show. 

The Abbey Road medley- “Golden Slumbers””Carry That Weight” and “The End” completed a fantastic night. 



c. The Beatles Shop

There were videos accompanying some of the songs, but to be honest we didn’t need them, we were all having such a great time. 

A splendid time was had by all, and all in aid raising money for an excellent charity providing teenagers with hope for the future, which was what the whole evening was about. 



c. The Beatles Shop

Thanks again Paul for ANOTHER fantastic show and for helping this wonderful charity. 

www.teenagecancertrust.org 

Set List: Magical Mystery Tour/Juniors Farm/All My Loving/Drive My Car/Sing The Changes/The Night Before/Let Me Roll It/Paperback Writer/The Long and Winding Road/Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five/My Valentine/Maybe I’m Amazed/I’ve Just Seen a Face/Blackbird/Here Today/Dance Tonight/Eleanor Rigby/Band on the Run/Something/Back in the USSR/I’ve Got a Feeling/Hey Jude. Encore 1: Day Tripper/Get Back. Encore 2: Yesterday/Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End. 





The BBFC would like to thank the Beatles Shop (31 Mathew Street, www.beatleshop.co.uk) for allowing us to post these photos and video from Paul's concert at the Royal Albert Hall, in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust, on March 29.

ALL photos are copyright The Beatles Shop/The British Beatles Fan Club.  Do NOT reproduce without the express permission of the copyright holder.

Wednesday 28 March 2012

An Exciting New Beatles Tour with Julia Baird!



Julia Baird, John Lennon's sister, has been in touch with the BBFC with news of an exciting new Beatles tour.  

Julia asks:  "would anyone like to come with me on an exclusive Beatles Tour, in and around Liverpool? This will include Beatle history, lunch at The wonderful Town Hall, followed by a screening of 'A Hard Day's Night'. The tour will also offer the Athenaeum Club, Land Rover Experience, Peckforton Castle and much more."

Tours take place from Thursday to Tuesday, and run throughout 2012.  

For more information on this exciting tour, and to book, visit the website at www.beatlesviptours.com


Monday 26 March 2012

Paul and Linda McCartney’s Legendary Album RAM Set for Deluxe Reissue


UK Release: 21st May 2012 - US Release: 22nd May 2012 

Paul and Linda McCartney's 1971 album will be released across a variety of formats with new and exclusive content including a beautifully packaged Deluxe Edition Box Set - the ultimate collectible


"Ladies and gentlemen, this is an album from a long, long time ago, when the world was different. This is an album that is part of my history - it goes back to the wee hills of Scotland where it was formed. It's an album called RAM. It reminds me of my hippie days and the free attitude with which was created. I hope you're going to like it, because I do!" Paul McCartney, 2012

Following the successful recent reissues of McCartney, McCartney II, and this year's Grammy winner for Best Historical Album Band on the Run, RAM is the latest album from Paul's iconic back catalogue to get the deluxe Paul McCartney Archive Collection treatment. As with the previous releases in the series, Paul has personally overseen every aspect of the project and the result is spectacular. In keeping with the reissue campaign to date, the Deluxe Edition Box Set is the ultimate collectable for any fan of this album. Its stunningly presented 112-page book, photo prints, handwritten lyrics and notes, four CDs and a bonus film DVD, tells the full story of a classic album that has gone down in music history as one of the most revered in McCartney's catalogue.

RAM, originally released in May of 1971, is the only album to be credited to both Paul and Linda McCartney and was Paul's second post-Beatles LP. It was overshadowed at the time by the drama of the dissolution of The Beatles, as played out in the world's media. The album topped the charts hitting #1 in the UK and #2 in the US. While RAM polarized critics upon its release, music fans and critics alike since have overwhelmingly embraced it, with Rolling Stone, for example, revising their original review up to 4 stars. Recently RAM has enjoyed even further re-appraisal and acknowledgement including a number of tribute albums.

RAM was written by Paul and Linda, mostly at their Scottish farm on the Mull of Kintyre. In the autumn of 1970 they flew to New York to start the recording process. Without a band in place they auditioned and drafted musicians, who included future Wings drummer Denny Seiwell and guitarists David Spinozza and Hugh McCracken.

The band completed the album in early 1971 along with non-album tracks 'Another Day' and 'Oh Woman, Oh Why' which were released together as Paul's first post-Beatles single ahead of the release of RAM and became a Top 5 global hit. The multi-disc editions of the RAM reissue include both songs as bonus tracks. The album also gave Paul his first solo US number 1 single with 'Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey' and a Grammy win for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists.

RAM was also issued in mono with alternate mixes, which were only made available to radio stations at the time. This version has gone on to become one of the most sought after McCartney collectables. It will now be commercially available for the first time ever on CD as part of the Deluxe Edition as well as a limited run on vinyl.

1977 saw the release of Thrillington, an instrumental interpretation of RAM, which was originally recorded in 1971 at London's Abbey Road Studios and was arranged by Richard Hewson. It was released under the pseudonym Percy 'Thrills' Thrillington, an unknown eccentric socialite who often cropped up in mysterious newspaper classifieds. In reality Percy was a character devised by Paul and Linda. The idea behind it was simply to have some fun and the concept of doing a full orchestral album was an ambition long held by Paul.

The additional film content features previously unreleased and exclusive content including the brand-new documentary, "Ramming' narrated by Paul, as well as the original music videos for 'Heart Of The Country' and '3 Legs'.

The remastering work was done at Abbey Road using the same team who recently remastered the complete Beatles' catalogue.

RAM will be available across a variety of different formats:

· Standard Edition: 1 CD digipak Single disc, digitally remastered 12- track standard edition

· Special Edition: 2 CD digipak Remastered album and 8-track bonus audio CD including rarities, b-sides and the hit single, 'Another Day'.

· Deluxe Edition Box Set: 4 CD/1 DVD box set & download Remastered album, bonus audio CD, remastered Mono album, Thrillington CD, bonus film DVD, 112 page book, 5 prints in vintage style photographic wallet, 8 full size facsimiles of Paul's original handwritten lyric sheets and mini photographic book of outtakes from the original album cover photo shoot.

· Hi-Res: 24bit 96kHz files of the remastered and bonus audio CD, accessed via a download code inserted on a card within the deluxe edition package

· Vinyl: 2LP 180gm, gatefold vinyl with download Remastered album, bonus audio disc plus digital download of all 20 tracks

· Limited Edition Mono Vinyl: 1LP, Remastered mono album

Digital: RAM will be available for download across a variation of digital configurations including Mastered for iTunes and High Resolution




Sunday 25 March 2012

The Demolition of NEMS

The moment Beatle history was destroyed as the first floor of the NEMS Record store is torn down. This was where The Beatles signed their contract with Brian Epstein. 
(c) Jackie Spencer, www.beatleguides.com





Jackie Spencer, arguably the top tour guide in Liverpool, took this quick video clip yesterday. We would like to thank Jackie for allowing us to share this clip. Please DO NOT share or repost this link without the express permission of Jackie Spencer

Monday 12 March 2012

Inside Abbey Road

BBFC Member Paul Clements sent us this review of his recent trip inside Abbey Road Studios:
Just for anybody going on The future Abbey Road Studio Tours...

I went on one of the special anniversary tours with my 10 year old son Dylan.

Challen Studio Piano
Put your hand up fast when they ask if there are any pianists in the room as they want 3 volunteers to play the end of 'A Day In The Life'...on the original pianos used! It's only one chord and they'll show you how to play it! 

'The Mrs.Mills' Steinway Upright
Also, take your camera as they allow you to photograph/film all the instruments (Pianos/Organs/Keyboards/ and Ringos ashtray!), microphones and mixing desks on display in Studio 2.

Vintage Mixing Desk
The only thing you can't film is the lecture itself which by the way is excellent...and you get to sit on the famous Abbey Rd. 'Red Chairs'! 

A fantastic day..and I wouldn't have missed it for the world...! 



All photographs c. Paul Clements, and used here with permission.  Do not reproduce without the express permission of the copyright holder.  


Wednesday 7 March 2012

Hard Day's Night Hotel Offers Ultimate Beatles Package

The Ultimate Beatles Package (Full details below)

Package Price £384.00 for 2 persons.

Book Now !

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£384.00 for 2 persons for 2 nights bed & breakfast in a Luxury Room incl:
Entrance to the Cavern Club
2 passes for the Magical Mystery Tour
2 passes for the Beatles Story
Private taxi tour of Liverpool
Strawberry Field Cocktail