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Interviews - Blog Posts
In The Beatles, we’d always had this running joke: “What are we going to do when the bubble bursts?” Then it did burst and I went up to my farm in Scotland, wondering what the hell I was going to do next. I seriously thought about giving up music altogether.
(Paul McCartney, July 2004, interview with Jon Wilde for UNCUT)
PLAYBOY: But in the last ten years you’ve never wondered if it [music] might not come as easily, as naturally again as it once did? LENNON: Sure I have. I thought, Maybe that’s it. Maybe music’s over. I mean, I was preparing not to make any music again…
(John Lennon, 1980, All We Are Saying, David Sheff)
Paul McCartney discusses the design for Sgt Pepper with Mike Read in an interview for BBC Radio 1 (broadcast 1989)
PAUL: See I always hark back, when I'm making a record, in my mind, to me - in Liverpool I used to get on the bus, Saturday morning, go down to this big department store called Lewis's, go in the record department, get my record, that was a big favourite I'd been saving up for, get on the bus, upstairs on the bus, and unwrap it. And then I had a half hour to look at it. I couldn't play it, but I could look at it, and read the sleeve note and look at the pictures and everything. So I knew that other people would be doing that kind of thing so we designed Pepper with that in mind, you know, the person who's just been to his version of Lewis's, he's got that half hour to go home. So we'll give him masses, he could look at this one for months, you know, because after all its only cardboard and it really doesn't cost more to put a complicated picture on than it does just to put a picture of an orange, or something. READ: Of course Brian Epstein's idea was it being brown paper bags. PAUL: Well Brian was very keen on the album, we'd played it [for] him once it was all finished out at George's house. He was very sort of flamboyant [Brian impression] 'Oh! It's wonderful.' He really loved it, you know, he did this big, theatrical [Brian impression] 'Oh it's a wonderful album!' And we said 'Well we're still thinking about the cover, you know, we can't quite decide how to do the cover.' He said [Brian impression] 'Put a brown paper bag on it, it doesn't matter. It's so wonderful.'
The Ultimate Beatle Guide: Interviews
1962
The Beatles first radio airplay with Pete Best (3rd August)
The Beatles first radio interview (27th October)
The Beatles rehearsals in The Cavern Club (October)
1963
The Beatles played on American radio for the first time (Late Feb)
The Beatles Ireland interview(Feb/March)
Please please me mini documentary (March 22nd)
The Beatles ‘Easy Beat’ Radio Show (April 3rd)
The Beatles BBC Radio show ‘Side By Side’ (April 4th)
The Beatles Swedish interview (August 23rd) part one
The Beatles Swedish interview (August 23rd) part two
Short interview with The Beatles (August 28th)
The Beatles interview with Dusty Springfield (October 4th)
The Beatles short interview with BBC News (October 16th)
The Beatles interview in Cheltenham (November 1st)
The Beatles Dublin interview (November 7th)
The Beatles ‘This Week’ interview uncut (November 7th)
The Beatles ‘Day By Day’ interview (November 12th)
The Beatles first time on American TV NBC News (November 18th)
The Beatles Come To Town: ABC Ardwick in Manchester (November 20th)
The Beatles Come To Town Behind The Scenes/Outtakes (November 20th)
The Beatles and fans interviews at ABC Cinema Carlisle (November 21st)
The Beatles interview with Ken Dodd (November 27th)
Morecambe and Wise Show featuring The Beatles (December 2nd)
The Beatles photoset at BBC radio show Saturday Club (December 17th)
Beatles Christmas message at Astoria by ‘Day By Day’ (December 24th)
1964
The Beatles awarded Silver Hearts (1964)
The Beatles Live At The BBC Full Album (1963/1964)
The Beatles Paris interview- starts at 2:00 (February 5th)
The Beatles arrive in America (February 7th)
The Beatles JFK Conference (February 7th)
The Beatles on Ed Sullivan (February 9th)
The Beatles Washington D.C interview (February 11th)
The Beatles L.A interview (Mid-Feb)
The Beatles U.S Documentary(Late Feb)
The Beatles return from the US (February 22nd)
The Beatles ‘Public Ear’ interview talking about John’s book (March 18th)
The Beatles fan Q&A interview (April 3rd)
Paul McCartney interviewed by David Frost (May 18th)
The Beatles perform ‘A Midsummers Night’s Dream (Late April)
The Beatles ‘Round Up’ interview (April 30th)
John Lennon and his Auntie Mimi airport interview (June 7th)
The Beatles Adelaide press conference (June 12th)
John Lennon and Paul McCartney Melbourne interview (June 15th)
John Lennon Melbourne interview (June 15th)
The Beatles Australian radio interview (Mid June)
The Beatles San Francisco press conference audio only (August 18th)
The Beatles Seattle press conference audio only (August 21st)
The Beatles Vancouver press conference audio only (August 22nd)
The Beatles New York press conference (August 28th)
The Beatles Boston press conference (September 12th)
The Beatles Ohio press conference (September 15th)
The Beatles Sydney conference with Jimmie Nicol (Mid-December)
The Beatles interview with Jimmie Nicol (Mid-December)
1965
Ringo Starr ‘Pop Personality’ interview (1965)
Ringo and Maureen interview (1965)
Ringo Starr’s interview after his operation (Early January)
The Beatles first interview talking about drug use (March)
Help! radio interview after returning from The Bahamas (March 12th)
John Lennon Cannes Help! interview (May)
John Lennon BBC interview (June 18th)
The Beatles New York press conference (August 13th)
The Beatles Toronto press conference (August 17th)
The Beatles Chicago press conference (August 20th)
The Beatles Metropolitan Stadium press conference (August 21st)
The Beatles Capitol Tower L.A press conference (August 29th)
The Beatles San Francisco press conference (August 31st)
The Beatles MBE interview part one (October 26th)
The Beatles MBE interview part two (October 26th)
The Beatles MBE interview part three (October 26th)
The Beatles MBE interview part four (October 26th)
George Harrison BBC interview (November 30th)
John Lennon BBC interview (November 30th)
1966
The Beatles in Hamburg interview (June 26th)
The Beatles Tokyo press conference (June 30th)
The Beatles Chicago press conference (August 12th)
The Beatles Toronto press conference audio only (August 17th)
The Beatles New York press conference (August 22nd)
The Beatles Warwick Hotel press conference (August 22nd)
The Beatles L.A press conference (August 24th)
John Lennon apologising for comparing The Beatles to Jesus (unsure of date)
1967
Paul McCartney ‘Special Underground’ interview (January 18th)
John Lennon and Paul McCartney TOTP interview (March 20th)
Paul McCartney LSD interview (June 27th)
John Lennon and George Harrison interview (August 27th)
The Beatles interview after Brian’s death (August 29th)
John Lennon radio interview (November)
1968
Paul McCartney and Jane Asher interview (26th March)
John Lennon and Paul McCartney NBC interview (May 14th)
The Beatles (Minus John) promoting ‘Yellow Submarine’ (July 8th)
Paul McCartney solo interview (November)
1969
As The Beatles were extremely close to breaking up there aren’t many interview and it’s hard to date everything, someone has kindly made a compilation of them talking though: (x)
George Harrison speaks about the future of The Beatles
Beatles Resources Masterpost
I've never seen anyone collect different Beatles resources all in one place, so I thought it would be nice to create a masterpost for newer or less research savvy Beatles fans looking for where to find them and learn more
Included below are Beatles movies, autobiographies, biographies, magazines, miscellaneous files, archive sites, and much more
This is by no means a comprehensive list of Beatles resources, as there is an often overwhelming amount of sources relating to and informative about the Beatles; this is simply a post to gather more important, prominent, and larger Beatle related texts and media together, as I would love for the online Beatles fan community to be more organized in its research and archive efforts
This is an extremely long post, enjoy!
*PLEASE READ DISCLAIMERS*
This post does not include links to Beatles music videos or where to listen to their music; however, I highly recommend listening to the updated remasters of The Beatles' albums done by Giles Martin, George Martin's son (the remasters done AFTER 2009) instead of the 2009 remasters when possible
There is a plethora of misinformation online about The Beatles so PLEASE do your own research, using reliable sources
Some sources have disclaimers attached, in case I believe they may to any degree be misleading or require additional context
All sources have been listed within sections chronologically, not in order of importance
If at any point any of the hyperlinks are broken or are not working, let me know and I’ll try my best to fix or update them
Some of the literary sources here are no longer being published, which is why I’m happy to supply the links here to read them online. However, if they are still in print and you’re able, please go borrow them from your local public library! Some of the movies and documentaries linked below can also be found on streaming or bought online; they are linked below for those unable to easily access them or for whatever other reason
There are some other important sources I could not find reuploads or scans of, but are still listed below in case someone is looking for more important sources
If I come across links to said sources I will edit this post and add them as hyperlinks. Additionally, if someone finds a working, safe link for anything listed without a link or for something they believe should be listed, they can message me and I'd be happy to add it
Movies Starring The Beatles as a Group
A Hard Day's Night (1964) dir. Richard Lester
Help! (1965) dir. Richard Lester
Magical Mystery Tour (1967) dir. The Beatles, Bernard Knowles
Yellow Submarine (1968) dir. George Dunning (The Beatles themselves do not voice their cartoon selves in this film)
Fictional/Partially Fictional Movies made by and/or Starring Beatles (A short selection of the films most often mentioned by Beatles fans)
How I Won the War (1967) dir. Richard Lester
Two Virgins (1968) dir. John Lennon, Yoko Ono
Candy (1968) dir. Christian Marquand
The Magic Christian (1969) dir. Joseph McGrath
Imagine (1972) dir. John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Steve Gebhardt (Some of the aspects in this film are fictional, and some are akin to a documentary)
Give My Regards to Broad Street (1984) dir. Peter Webb
Documentaries/Docuseries
Bed Peace (1969) dir. John Lennon, Yoko Ono (Yoko Ono has since said in 2020 she and John were naïve to think that doing the Bed-Ins would change the world)
Let It Be (1970 Original) dir. Michael Lindsay-Hogg
Let It Be (2024 Remaster) dir. Michael Lindsay-Hogg
The Concert for Bangladesh (1972) dir. Saul Swimmer
Imagine: John Lennon (1988) dir. Andrew Solt
The Beatles Anthology (1995) dir. Geoff Wonfor, Kevin Godley, Bob Smeaton (Focuses mainly on pre-1966 Beatles history and does not cover post-breakup events)
ep. 1 ep.2 George Harrison: Living in the Material World (2011) dir. Martin Scorsese
The True History of the Traveling Wilburys (2007) dir. Willy Smax
ep.1 ep.2 ep.3 Get Back (2021) dir. Peter Jackson
Yoko's Films (including films that list John Lennon as a co-director)
Rape (1969) dir. Yoko Ono, John Lennon
Fly (1970) dir. Yoko Ono, John Lennon
Up Your Legs Forever (1971) dir. Yoko Ono, John Lennon
Movies Made about The Beatles
The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash (1978) dir. Eric Idle, Gary Weis (Beatles parody)
I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978) dir. Robert Zemeckis
The Hours and Times (1991) dir. Christopher Munch (This film is speculative)
Two of Us (2000) dir. Michael Lindsay-Hogg (This film is speculative)
The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch (2003) dir. Eric Idle (Beatles parody)
Books Written by The Beatles
In His Own Write (1964) by John Lennon
A Spainard in the Works (1965) by John Lennon
I Me Mine (1980) by George Harrison
Skywriting by Word of Mouth (posthumous, 1986) by John Lennon (Partially autobiographical and partially fictional)
The Beatles Anthology (2000) by The Beatles (Book version of the docuseries)
Postcards from the Boys (2004) by Ringo Starr
The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present (2021) by Paul McCartney
Books Written about The Beatles
A Cellarful of Noise (1964) by Brian Epstein
Yellow Submarine Comic (1968) by Paul S. Newman
The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics (1969) ed. Alan Aldridge
The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics 2 (1971) ed. Alan Aldridge
A Twist of Lennon (1978) by Cynthia Lennon
Loving John (1983) by May Pang
Rock 'N' Roll Times: The Style and Spirit of the Early Beatles and Their First Fans (1983) by Jürgen Vollmer
John (2005) by Cynthia Lennon
Wonderful Today (2007) by Pattie Boyd with Penny Junor
Miss O'Dell: my hard days and long nights with the Beatles, the Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and the women they loved (2009) by Chris O'Dell
George Harrison: Living in the Material World (2011) by Olivia Harrison
George Harrison: Behind the Locked Door (2013) by Graeme Thomson
NOTE: Many beginner Beatles fans tend to read books written by authors Mark Lewisohn and Philip Norman as introductions to the Beatles; however, both of these authors can be incredibly biased for and against certain figures in Beatle history and require often hefty amounts of context to properly analyze them in an accurate manner, Norman in particular.
Magazines
The Beatles Book (Only Original 77 Issues) (1963-1969)
Paul McCartney Playgirl (1982)
Paul McCartney Playgirl (1985)
Archive and Timeline Sites
Meet The Beatles For Real (A site with mostly paparazzi, fan, and personal photos of the Beatles and their associates, along with some transcribed interviews, fan stories, and much more)
Beatles Bible (Primarily useful for basic information surrounding The Beatles' music together and solo can be found here, such as album/single release dates, in addition to pictures, a fan forum, and other basic info; not cumulative)
DM Beatles (Basic outlined timelines for 1963-1970 and album/single releases; not cumulative)
The Beatles On Film (A collection of almost every publicly available filmed video of The Beatles, together and solo, logged for reference purposes)
Beatles Interviews Database (Not cumulative)
Harrison Archive (Actively updating archive of interviews, fan encounters, quotes, and stories from or surrounding George Harrison; fun fact: Olivia Harrison, George's widow, follows the Instagram version of this archive)
The Paul McCartney Project (Archive of Paul McCartney interviews, dates for concerts, and more)
Misc. Documents/Videos
Around the Beatles (1964) dir. Rita Gillespie
The Beatles in Rishikesh Home Videos (1968)
The Beatles in Rishikesh Archival Footage and Home Videos (1968)
The John Lennon and Yoko Ono Playboy Interviews Transcript (1980)
The John Lennon and Yoko Ono Playboy Interviews Audio (1980)
John Lennon FBI Files
The Beatles FBI File
The Beatles Accepting Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction (1988)
The Beatles/Threetles Reunion at Friar Park (1994)
The Beatles/Threetles Studio Footage (1995)
Paul and George Anthology 3 Studio Interviews for VH1 (1997)
Concert for George (2002)
Animatics and Test Footage for Scrapped Motion Capture Yellow Submarine Remake (2009)
Audio Files
Beatles Christmas Records 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969
The Beatles Artifacts (Different takes/demos of songs along with studio chatter; the link supplied simply lines out what is on all of these Artifacts, as many of them are currently unavailable on Internet Archive)
John Lennon Last Interview (1980)
“Champions adjust.”
This obsessive behavior of mine is starting to get too, well, obsessive. Because that makes sense. 🙄
Anyway, I found a connection between Yellowjackets - Agatha All Along as recent as yesterday 😛
Here is the link to the full interview with both Lauren and Tawny.
Lauren and Kathryn played new age-y cult members in that Judd Apatow movie “Wanderlust.”
Annnnd of course I did a thing
Toon Talk Sessions - Rich Dannys
Welcome to the first episode of Toon Talk Sessions, a Toon Talk Weekly interview series!
Listen above of download the MP3 (67.4mb).
For some time now, we’ve wanted to sit down and interview the people that work behind the scenes on bringing our favorite cartoons to life. It’s no secret that animation is no small task and it requires a large team to create these awesome shows.
On this episode of Toon Talk Sessions Jake had the chance to talk with Canadian artist Rich Dannys about his work in cartoons.
Rich Dannys is a freelance illustrator and cartoonist, based in Oshawa, Ontario. He is an experienced Layout/Design artist, that has worked at many of Toronto’s finest animation studios. His style ranges from work featuring: animated cartoon & comic-book sensibilities – to vintage/retro motifs, with occasional ‘classical’ overtones.
Here are some of the topics covered in this episode:
How he got into the cartoon industry
His early work on Beetlejuice and the time he fired himself
Stories and the coolest scene from the Cadillacs and Dinosaurs series
Rich’s education and teaching experience in Canada
The extraordinary pipeline on his latest project, Welcome to the Wayne
His love of comics and where he finds inspiration
His advice for getting into the cartoon industry and improving your art
For more about Rich Dannys and his work you can find him at the following:
Tumblr - richdannys.tumblr.com/ Instagram - www.instagram.com/richdannys/ Portfolio - www.coroflot.com/Attezarf IMDb - www.imdb.com/name/nm2147403/
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Lookee what I got in today's mail.. My copy of 'EC Fan-Addict' #2!! Great articles on the comic art careers of Frazetta and Sid Check.. Plus, an interview with Al Feldstein?! Not available in any stores, folks.. To get your own copy, contact: ecfanaddicts_at_yahoo.com