Lennon solo singles set for 45 rpm release on Record Store Day

From the Beatles Examiner:

EMI announced today it will release a limited edition "John Lennon Singles Bag," a three disc set of 45 RPM vinyl singles by Lennon on April 17 in support of Record Store Day.

The set will contain three vinyl 45 RPM records with artwork. The three records are:

- Single 1: John Lennon “Mother” / Yoko Ono “Why”
- Single 2: John Lennon “Imagine” / John Lennon “It’s So Hard”
- Single 3: John Lennon “Watching the Wheels” / Yoko Ono “Yes, I’m Your Angel.”

More info on Record Store Day.

Former Doctor Who plays John Lennon

One-time Doctor Who Christopher Eccleston is playing John Lennon in a new BBC mini-series.

The 45-year-old has donned glasses and grown his hair to take the role of the musical legend for new BBC4 drama Lennon Naked.

In a newly released publicity shot the former Time Lord wears a replica white suit worn by Lennon in 1968 at an art gallery with wife Yoko Ono.

The one-off 90-minute film, which looks at Beatle’s life from 1967 to 1971, will be part of the BBC’s new spring drama season.

Review: Nowhere Boy soundtrack

The film this soundtrack accompanies hasn't opened here yet, but I imagine it makes a suitable backing to the story, which charts the young John Lennon's coming of age.

Naturally, the musical focus is on early rock'n'roll: Elvis, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Eddie Cochran, the usual suspects. A nice touch is the addition of a few newly recorded tunes by the "Nowhere Boys" (the press release and liners on the promo copy I received don't identify the musicians' identities. These are skiffle-like covers of rock'n'roll tunes and the early Lennon-McCartney tune "In Spite of All the Danger," which attempt to capture the early Fabs' sound.

The only tune by the real John Lennon is "Mother."

All in all, a good collection of 50s rock'n'roll standards. Not something you need if you already have such tunes in your library, but I suppose it may serve as a nice introduction to viewers new to this era of rock and to the story of Lennon's early years.

Complete track list:

Disc: 1
1. Jerry Lee Lewis - Wild One
2. Dickie Valentine - Mr Sandman
3. Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats - Rocket 88
4. Elvis Presley - Shake, Rattle & Roll
5. Wanda Jackson - Hard Headed Woman
6. Screamin' Jay Hawkins - I Put A Spell On You
7. The Nowhere Boys - Maggie May
8. The Nowhere Boys - That'll Be The Day
9. Eddie Bond & The Stompers - Rockin' Daddy
10. Eddie Cochran - Twenty Flight Rock
11. The Nowhere Boys - That's Alright Mamma
12. The Nowhere Boys - Raunchy
13. The Nowhere Boys - Movin' and Groovin'
14. Big Mama Thornton - Hound Dog
15. Gene Vincent And The Blue Caps - Be-Bop-A-Lula
16. Aaron Johnson - Hello Little Girl
17. The Nowhere Boys -In Spite Of All The Danger
Disc: 2
1. John Lennon - Mother
2. Chuck Berry - Roll Over Beethoven
3. Bill Haley & His Comets - Rock Around The Clock
4. Little Richard - Rip It Up
5. Elvis Presley - Baby, Let's Play House
6. Buddy Holly - Peggy Sue
7. Buddy Knox - Party Doll
8. Bobby Fuller Four - I Fought The Law
9. Vince Taylor & His Playboys - Brand New Cadillac
10. Dale Hawkins - Susie-Q
11. Shirley & Lee - Let The Good Times Roll
12. Barrett Strong - Money (That's What I Want)
13. Fats Domino - Ain't That A Shame
14. Lloyd Price - Stagger Lee
15. Frankie Vaughan - These Dangerous Years
16. The Del-Vikings - Come Go With Me

"Lost" Lennon interview published

The New Statesman features a previously unpublished 1968 interview with John and Yoko.

Details on Nowhere Boy soundtrack

Here's cover art and the preliminary tracklisting for the official "Nowhere Boy" soundtrack.

CD1
Wild One - Jerry Lee Lewis
Mr Sandman - Dickie Valentine
Rocket 88 - Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats
Shake, Rattle & Roll - Elvis Presley
Hard Headed Woman - Wanda Jackson
I Put A Spell On You - Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Maggie May - The Nowhere Boys
That'll Be The Day - The Nowhere Boys
Rockin' Daddy - Eddie Bond & The Stompers
Twenty Flight Rock - Eddie Cochran
That's Alright Mamma - The Nowhere Boys
Movin and Groovin - The Nowhere Boys
Raunchy - The Nowhere Boys
Hound Dog - Big Mama Thornton
Be-Bop-A-Lula - Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps
Hello Little Girl - Aaron Johnson
In Spite Of All The Danger - The Nowhere Boys
Mother - John Lennon

CD2
Elvis Presley - Baby Let's Play House
The Isley Brothers -Twist & Shout
Duane Eddy - Rebel Rouser
Charlie Rich - She Loved Everybody But Me
Lonnie Donegan - Putting on the Style
Buddy Holly - Peggy Sue
Frankie Vaughan - These Dangerous Years
Dale Hawkins - Susie-Q
Barrett Strong - Money (That's What I Want)
The Del Vikings - Come Go With Me
Bill Haley - Rock Around the Clock
Lloyd Price - Stagger Lee
Little Richard - Rip It Up
Alligator Charles - See You Later
Little Richard - Long Tall Sally
Chan Romero - The Hippy Hippy Shake
Buddy Knox - Party Doll
Shirley & Lee - Let the Good Times Roll
Fats Domino - Ain't That A Shame
Everly Brothers - Bye, Bye Love
Bobby Fuller Four - I Fought The Law
Jimmy Lloyd - I Got A Rocket In My Pocket

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:

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

Original "Lucy in the Sky" dies

The woman who, as a girl, inspired fellow student Julian Lennon to draw a picture he called "Lucy in the Sky with Diamond," which in turn inspired his dad, John, to write a song of the same name, has died.

The St Thomas' Lupus Trust charity said O'Donnell had died aged 46 after losing a fight against the autoimmune disease lupus.

It said Julian and his mother Cynthia, Lennon's first wife, were "shocked and saddened by the loss of Lucy".

"It's so sad that she had finally lost the battle she fought so bravely for so long," the Trust's campaign director Angie Davidson said.

Beatles bigger than Jesus on Google

John Lennon was right!

Lennon autographed magazine fetches $12,713

A copy of 1966 Datebook magazine containing John Lennon's "bigger than Jesus" comments has sold for #12,713 at auction.

An orthopedia surgeon at New York's Mount Sinai Medical Center had the winning bid Thursday in a 17-day online auction run by RR Auction of Amherst, N.H.

Lennon signed "John C. Lennon" above his photo in the September 1966 "Datebook," even though his middle initial is W. for Winston.

In the magazine, Lennon said: "Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that; I'm right and I will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now. I don't know which will go first - rock 'n' roll or Christianity."

Yoko donates big money to John's art school

Yoko Ono is donating £260,000 to Liverpool's John Moores University, where John Lennon studied art.

The artist is using her cash to fund a new John Lennon Imagine Awards scheme for Liverpool John Moores students who have been in care or become estranged from their families.

Lost Lennon interviews presented

Times Online has a new piece by John Lennon/Beatles biographer Ray Connelly, in which he shares some previously unpublished tidbits from his interviews with Lennon.

Vintage John Lennon Disc and Music Echo cover

Lennon-signed copy of infamous Datebook mag up for auction

A John Lennon-autographed 1966 issue of Datebook magazine which contains Lennon's controversial comments comparing Beatlemania and Christianity is up for auction.

"Christianity will go," Lennon said in the September 1966 issue of the American teen magazine Datebook. "It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that; I'm right and I will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now. I don't know which will go first - rock and roll or Christianity."



Lennon, whose middle initial at birth was "W" for "Winston" (later changed to "O" for "Ono"), signed across the photo accompanying his printed interview with the name "John C. Lennon." Presumably this was a sacrilegious reference to Christ.



The autographed magazine belonged to Datebook publisher Arthur Unger, who sent reprints of the Lennon article to Bible belt radio stations. Subsequently, masses of people burned their Beatles records in protest.

...The John Lennon-autographed magazine is being auctioned on RRAuction.com in an online auction running from Aug. 31 through Sept. 16. For additional information, call 603-732-4280.

Rare, acoustic version of Lennon's "Watching the Wheels" features in new film soundtrack

NOTE: It's been pointed out that this version of Lennon's tune first appeared on Capitol's John Lennon Acoustic compilation from a few years back.

A John Lennon acoustic demo of “Watching the Wheels,” appears on the soundtrack to writer/director Judd Apatow’s upcoming "Funny People." You can listen to it here.

The soundtrack also features Paul McCartney’s “Great Day” (from his 1997 album Flaming Pie) and Ringo Starr’s “Photograph” (co-written with George Harrison for the 1973 Ringo album).

Video: Liverpool Cathedral bells play "Imagine"

From last week:

NYC Lennon exhibit includes clothes he was murdered in

The BBC has more info on the John Lennon exhibit now on display at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Annex in New York, including the details that the clothes Lennon was wearing when he was killed are included, although they are still wrapped in a sealed paper bag. Quite morbid, and I don't really understand their inclusion.

His widow Yoko Ono, who has created the display, said the clothes were "hard to include" and she feared she "might be criticised as well" for including them.

The Liverpool Daily Post offers a little more context to Yoko's decision:

But ultimately, Ono said she thought it was important to let people see the effects of gun violence.