Lennon's "Mother" featured on Nowhere Boy soundtrack

Yoko Ono gave her permission to use John Lennon's song "Mother" on the soundtrack for the new Lennon docu-drama "Nowhere Boy."

Nowhere Boy -- early review

From The Hollywood Reporter:

Sam Taylor-Wood's "Nowhere Boy" is a passable look at the early life of John Lennon when he was estranged from his mother and raised by his aunt. Fans hoping to discover more about the source of the prickly Beatle's creativity will not find it here.

Strong performances by Kristin Scott Thomas as the stern Aunt Mimi, who raised the future Beatle from the age of 5, and Anne-Marie Duff as his troubled mother heighten the dramatic appeal of what otherwise is quite a dull film.

Nowhere Man movie trailer

A peek at the upcoming John Lennon docudrama:

Ringo's Photo-Album magazine cover

John Lennon Teen Screen magazine cover

Beatles New Musical Express summer special cover

McCartney plans European tour, Christmas concert

Details on Paul's upcoming tour plans:

Sir Paul McCartney is to play a one-off Christmas show in London.

The former Beatle will end a seven-date European tour, his first in five years, with a concert at The O2 arena on December 22.

Beatles Rave magazine cover

George Marting recovering from surgery

Beatles producer Sir George Martin is recovering from an unspecified "routine surgery," the BBC reports.

He spent one night in hospital and is now back at home," [Martin's manager] Adam Sharp said.

Beatles Mono and Stero boxes available again soon from Amazon

Those still pining for box sets of the remastered Beatles recordings won't have much longer to wait if ordering from Amazon.

The in-stock date for the Mono Box (mine has been on order for weeks and weeks!) has now been updated to Oct. 22. The Stereo Box is still listed as in-stock for Oct. 31.

Click the links to order yours!

Beatles Teen-Ville magazine cover

KRLA Beat magazine Beatles cover

Sgt. Pepper artist Peter Blake collaborates with Brian Wilson

Artist Peter Blake, famed for creating the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper album cover, has produced an exhibition and book of artworks inspired by Brian Wilson's That Lucky Old Sun album.

Download free Rusty Anderson-Paul McCartney tune

Amazon is offering a free download of "Where Would We Go," a song by Paul McCartney and his touring guitarist Rusty Anderson, off Anderson's new album Born on Earth.

Beatles Ringo magazine

Beatles Paul magazine

Beatles George magazine

McCartney's Good Evening New York City bonus disk material revealed

From Paul's official site:

Paul's deluxe edition of 'Good Evening New York City' will be packed with extra special bonus material, including the video of Paul's traffic stopping performance on the Late Show. In addition there will also be the documentary 'Good Evening People', filmed by the audience at Citi Field sharing their Paul experiences. The final added extra is the full performance of 'I'm Down' from Citi Field.

Track Listing:

Live on the Late Show with David Letterman
1. Get Back
2. Sing The Changes
3. Coming Up
4. Band On The Run
5. Let Me Roll It
6. Helter Skelter
7. Back In The USSR

Good Evening People (Audience Documentary Film)

I’m Down (Full Performance)

Good Evening New York City is released on the 17th November in the US and the 23rd November in the UK.

Liverpool plans Beatles Trail

A trail of Beatles sites through the Fabs' native city is being debated by Liverpool city leaders.

Ideas for the trail – dubbed ‘The Long and Winding Road’ after the Let It Be track – include plotting the fateful route taken from the NEMS record store in Whitechapel to the Cavern on Mathew Street.

Track list for McCartney's new live CD/DVD

Paul McCartney has announced the track list for his upcoming Good Evening New York City:

PAUL McCARTNEY - GOOD EVENING NEW YORK CITY
Paul McCartney’s Historic Citi Field Opening Show

Disc 1 - Audio CD

1. Drive My Car
2. Jet
3. Only Mama Knows
4. Flaming Pie
5. Got To Get You Into My Life
6. Let Me Roll It
7. Highway
8. The Long And Winding Road
9. My Love
10. Blackbird
11. Here Today
12. Dance Tonight
13. Calico Skies
14. Mrs Vandebilt
15. Eleanor Rigby
16. Sing The Changes
17. Band On The Run

Disc 2 - Audio CD

1. Back In The USSR
2. I’m Down
3. Something
4. I’ve Got A Feeling
5. Paperback Writer
6. A Day In The Life / Give Peace A Chance
7. Let It Be
8. Live And Let Die
9. Hey Jude
10. Day Tripper
11. Lady Madonna
12. I Saw Her Standing There
13. Yesterday
14. Helter Skelter
15. Get Back
16. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band / The End

Disc 3 – DVD

1. Drive My Car
2. Jet
3. Only Mama Knows
4. Flaming Pie
5. Got To Get You Into My Life
6. Let Me Roll It
7. Highway
8. The Long And Winding Road
9. My Love
10. Blackbird
11. Here Today
12. Dance Tonight
13. Calico Skies
14. Mrs Vandebilt
15. Eleanor Rigby
16. Sing The Changes
17. Band On The Run
18. Back In The USSR
19. I’m Down
20. Something
21. I’ve Got A Feeling
22. Paperback Writer
23. A Day In The Life / Give Peace A Chance
24. Let It Be
25. Live And Let Die
26. Hey Jude
27. Day Tripper
28. Lady Madonna
29. I Saw Her Standing There
30. Yesterday
31. Helter Skelter
32. Get Back
33. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band / The End

Vintage Sgt. Pepper ads

Wogblog takes a look at Capitol's ads for various incarnations of the Sgt. Pepper album.

Paul McCartney Hit Parader magazine cover

George Harrison Teen Set magazine cover

British Library presents rare Beatles artifacts

From Beatlestweets, a look at some of the cool artifacts available for free viewing at the British Library.

Only steps from Euston Station in London is a treasure trove of Beatles artifacts, including some things that you can't find anywhere else in the world. Best of all? Entry to the library is completely free so you can see all these wonderful things without spending any money.

Understandably, the library doesn't allow pictures to be taken (but we snuck a few with our cell 'phone!). The main exhibit case contains original lyrics, some music manuscripts, records and original pictures.

Beatles Rave magazine cover

Cynthia Lennon, Pattie Boyd to open new art center in Armenia

The former wives of John Lennon and George Harrison will make a joint appearance during grand opening ceremonies for the Cafesjian Center for the Arts in Yerevan.

Lennon and Boyd will share the stage for the first time ever, and lend intimate insight into their husbands' extraordinary lives and music. A book signing of John by Cynthia Lennon and Wonderful Tonight by Pattie Boyd - who was also married to the blues musician Eric ­Clapton - will follow the interview.

"The Beatles were the single most influential cultural phenomenon of the 20th century," Dr. Michael De Marsche, the executive director of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts, stated. "Their music was one of the first things to blast through the Iron Curtain, and for many people, especially the generation of the 1960s, the Beatles represent freedom."

The interview will take place in the Center's new Special Events Auditorium. Lennon and Boyd will take the stage and answer questions from Dr. De Marsche. The afternoon will conclude with questions from the audience.

An exhibition of Pattie Boyd's photography, titled, "Pattie Boyd: Yesterday and Today," will open November 8 and will be on view until January 31, 2010. The exhibition lends an intimate view into the lives of George Harrison, Eric Clapton, the Beatles, and Pattie Boyd herself. This unique collection of photographs, representing 40 years of work, has garnered attention from art critics internationally, and has toured two continents.

Remembering John Lennon

Wiki cross-referenced guide to the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper cover

Handy link: A guide to all the folks featured on the cover of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper cover, with Wikipedia links to each.

Paul McCartney/Mary Hopkin Flip magazine cover

Beatles in Mono box back in stock Nov. 1 at Amazon, stereo box too

Amazon is now listing the Beatles in Mono box set as back in stock Nov. 1--good news for those of us awaiting backordered sets, and for folks who haven't ordered them yet.

Amazon also ran out of the Beatles in Stereo box a while back. That's also listed as back in stock Nov. 1.

Paul McCartney signs record deal with Mercury

Paul's new live album will be released on the Mercury label.

The superstar has shunned major labels since ending his four-decade long deal with Parlophone, choosing instead to release tracks through coffee shop chain Starbucks' label and independent company One Little Indian.

But McCartney has struck a new deal with Universal-owned Mercury Records for the UK release of Good Evening New York, recorded over three nights at New York's Citi Field baseball stadium earlier this year.

PBS to air "How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin"

Check for this next month on your local PBS station:

NEW YORK- On November 9th, WNET.ORG will air a special one-hour documentary about The Beatles to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin tells the extraordinary and untold story of how the Beatles punctured the Iron Curtain. In a personal journey through Russia by award-winning director Leslie Woodhead, he tells in first-person accounts the story of a secret revolution which contributed to the fall of communism.

How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin is a production of WNET.ORG - one of America’s most prolific and respected public media providers, in association with Blakeway Productions of London.

On August 1962, director Leslie Woodhead made a two-minute film in Liverpool's Cavern Club with a raw and unrecorded group of unknown rockers- the Beatles. Twenty-five years later, while making a series of films in Russia, Woodhead would learn just how powerful Beatlemania was. Even though they were never to play in the Soviet Union, the Beatles' music and their rebellious style had soaked into the lives of a generation of kids.

“I’ve always been fascinated by the story of how the moptops conquered the world,” said filmmaker Leslie Woodhead. “And since I’ve made a series of documentaries in the former Evil Empire over the past 30 years, I have a special taste for this film. “

This film introduces the world to the Russian Beatles generation and hears personal stories about how the Fab Four changed their lives, gave them hope, and helped to undermine the foundations of the Soviet system. The film showcases archival Soviet-era footage, laced with interviews with Soviet Beatles fans that reflect – and reveal – just how they managed to listen to the outlawed music of the Fab Four.

Art Troitsky, Russia’s leading rock music writer and self-proclaimed “radical young man” during the Beatles era, describes just how important the band was, behind the Iron Curtain. “In the big bad West,” he says, “they’ve had whole huge institutions which spent millions of dollars for undermining the Soviet system. And I’m sure that the impact of all those stupid Cold War institutions has been much, much smaller than the impact of the Beatles.”

"How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin" is a one-hour documentary produced, directed and narrated by Leslie Woodhead, an award-winning documentary filmmaker. The program features interviews with Kolya Vasin, a Beatles “super fan” from St. Petersburg who built a “Temple of Peace and Love” to John Lennon; Sergei Ivanov, Russia’s Deputy Premier, who insisted that he learned English from smuggled Beatles records; rock commentator Artemy Troitsky; and numerous Soviet Beatles cover bands, including bandmates Yury Pelyushonok, Yuri Yakovlev and Anatoly Chernuchevich who reunited for this film, writing and performing a new song called “Kruschev Era Rock.”

To coincide with the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, WNET.ORG will premiere the documentary on Monday, November 9th at 10:00 p.m. (EST, check local listings) to be shown nationally throughout the PBS network.