The Beatles: Get Back (Review)

It feels like we've been waiting forever, but Peter Jackson's Get Back is finally here! What was originally supposed to be a two-hour documentary film (postponed for over a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic) is now a three-part series totalling almost eight hours. It's available to stream on Disney+ in its entirety. Get Back…

A Visit To Liverpool (And A Tour Of Lennon & McCartney’s Childhood Homes)

Well hello there! If you've been a regular reader of this blog over the years, I'd like to apologise for my very lengthy and unplanned absence. Truth be told, during what turned out to be the strangest two years ever, I didn't quite feel like posting. Or, rather, I didn't feel like I had anything…

What If Your Favourite Beatle Changes?

Whether they care to admit it or not, everybody has a favourite Beatle. Unless of course you don't like The Beatles at all, in which case I would suggest consulting a doctor — there's probably something you can take for that. There are a myriad of reasons why we might find ourselves drawn to a…

The Beatle Bore Meets Pete Best

First of all, I want to wish a belated Happy New Year to all who have been following this blog (even though it's almost the end of January already... oops). So 2020 is upon us, and I'm very happy to say that my year of new Beatle adventures kicked off in style a couple of…

How I Became A Beatlemaniac

It all started with a tape. Well, two tapes, actually. The Beatles' Red and Blue albums (or, to give them their official titles, 1962-1966 and 1967-1970) entered my life from almost the word go, sparking an obsession with the Fab Four from Liverpool that endures to this day. Most people have a story about a defining moment when…

How Women Influenced The Beatles

The Beatles were fortunate to have a number of strong women in their lives, who helped shape them into the people they became as well as providing creative inspiration. Whether it was the foundation laid by their mothers (and also, in John's case, his aunt) or the love and support of their wives, women have…

Why Did Hating Paul McCartney Become Cool?

There's no denying it: Paul McCartney gets a lot of hate. Not just from outside the Beatles fan community, but within it too. But why? What is it about him that offends certain people so much compared with his bandmates? In his excellent book, Dreaming the Beatles, Rob Sheffield writes that if you dislike The Beatles,…

Three Irish Fans, Two Beatles And A Rolling Stone: Paul McCartney in London, 16/12/18

Incredibly, it was eight years ago that I attended my second Paul McCartney concert in Dublin (I've written about both gigs on this blog before — here and here), so it was about time I got a chance to see him again. With a new album being released (the wonderful Egypt Station) I wondered if 2018…

The White Album: A Glorious Mess

The White Album was released 50 years ago today, and fans are still divided over whether it was one of The Beatles' greatest pieces of work or a bit of a mess. Double albums can be tricky; they're either so full of great material that the artist was unable to leave anything out, or they're…

Arise, Sir Ringo!

It finally happened: after years of campaigning from fans, Ringo Starr has officially been knighted. The announcement was made in the New Year's Honours List, with the investiture ceremony taking place at Buckingham Palace last week. Ringo is of course no stranger to the Queen's digs, having accepted an MBE there in 1965 with his…