Sex-Appeal Saturday

So, everyone knows it's George I fancy, but I'm not sure if I've ever seen a more beautiful picture of Paul. I mean, really. Look at him. Yowza.

Thought for Thursday

“None of us wanted to be the bass player. In our minds he was the fat guy who always played at the back.”

Whatsoever Wednesday

wha?

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Testimonial Tuesday

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Monday Minutiae

* Note: Very rarely will I post the same entry to multiple blogs, but this particular entry will be on Paul, John and George's blogs today.

In 1960, the Beatles went off to Hamburg, Germany for the first time. George had to lie about his age in order to perform, as he was only 17 years old at the time.

They had been performing under less-than-ideal conditions at a place called the Indra and then later, when neighbors started complaining about the noise, at the Kaiserkeller- sleeping in a storeroom at the Bambi Kino, a nearby theater owned by Bruno Koschmider, who also owned the clubs the boys were playing at. As Paul describes it: "We lived backstage in the Bambi Kino, next to the toilets, and you could always smell them. The room had been an old storeroom, and there were just concrete walls and nothing else. No heat, no wallpaper, not a lick of paint; and two sets of bunk beds, with not very much covers—Union Jack flags—we were frozen."

John was equally unimpressed:
"We were put in this pigsty. We were living in a toilet, like right next to the ladies' toilet. We'd go to bed late and be woken up next day by the sound of the cinema(porn)show and old German fraus (women) pissing next door."

In addition, the boys' only option for washing and shaving was to use cold water from the urinals in the bathroom.

Having heard of a better club called the Top Ten, they began negotiations with the owner to perform there. According to George, the sound system was better, it looked nicer and it would pay a bit more.

The story goes that Koschmider, being less than thrilled at the boys breaking their contract with him, called the cops on George and reported him for being underage. The police arranged for his deportation shortly thereafter.

George says that he stayed up all night with John, teaching him his guitar parts before he was deported so that the Beatles could continue to play.

He wasn't alone back home for very long though. Bandmates Paul McCartney and Pete Best were soon deported as well. Going back to the Bambi Kino to gather their things, they grabbed a condom from their belongings, nailed it to the wall and set fire to it. No real damage was done, but they were reported to the authorities for attempted arson.


The Indra in the 1960's:


The Beatles on their first night at the Indra club (left to right: John, George, Pete, Paul and Stu in matching lilac jackets that Paul's neighbor made for them):


George, John, Pete, Paul and Stu later in the evening:


George, John and Paul:


The Indra as it looks today:


Grosse Freiheit in the 1960's (site of the Kaiserkeller club):


concert poster for the Beatles and Rory Storm (to date, no proven photos of either band playing there in 1960 have surfaced):


the Kaiserkeller today:


The Top Ten Club:


The Beatles at the Top Ten club (left to right: Pete, Paul, George, John and Stu):


The location of the former Top Ten Club as it appears today:


George in their room at the Bambi Kino:


Paul and John in their room at the Bambi Kino:


The boys at Harold's cafe in Hamburg, with an unidentified man who looks rather enamored with George (who could blame him?):


A scantily clad John on the street:


John was known to have said "I may have been born in Liverpool, but I grew up in Hamburg."

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Sunday Silliness

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Sex-Appeal Saturday!

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Fretful Friday

With Paul on lead and rhythm guitar and with no bass track at all, "I've Just Seen A Face" was definitely a departure from the Beatles norm in 1965. It's also the first all-acoustic song that the Beatles recorded.

It has remained one of Paul's favorites, as evidenced by the number of times he has played it on solo/post-Beatles tours and performances. With Paul playing an Epiphone Texan FT-79 acoustic guitar, here is the remastered version of the original recording.



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Thought for Thursday

Last night, PBS aired the all-star concert heralding Paul McCartney as the latest recipient of the Gershwin Prize. The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song is an award given to a composer or performer for their lifetime contributions to popular music. This is only the third Gershwin Prize to be awarded, the first two being presented to Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder. Making it even more special for Paul to win this esteemed award is his memory of his father playing Gershwin compositions for him on the piano when Paul was young.

Included in the line-up of performers who paid tribute to Paul McCartney were the Jonas Brothers, Dave Grohl, Stevie Wonder, Emmylou Harris, Faith Hill, Elvis Costello, Jack White and Sir Paul himself, who brought his Hofner bass out again to share the spotlight - the same Hofner bass he played on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964 and during the Beatles rooftop concert in 1969.

President Obama presenting Paul with the award


My personal favorites of the evening:

Elvis Costello- Penny Lane


Jack White- Mother Nature's Son


Dave Grohl- Band on the Run


And our Thought for Thursday - Paul, on performing "Ebony and Ivory", a duet he recorded with Stevie Wonder in 1982:

"One of the highs was singing Ebony and Ivory with Stevie because we'd never done it live together, so that was great. To sing it live together for the very first time with the first black president there, it suddenly gave a great significance to the song."




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Whatsoever Wednesday

Chris Farley "interviews" Paul McCartney:



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Testimonial Tuesday

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Monday Minutiae

What exactly does "Helter Skelter" mean, anyway?
Well, first, to start at the beginning..

Paul wrote the song after reading a magazine article about The Who's newest single, called "I Can See For Miles".

In Paul's words:

"Umm, that came about just 'cause I'd read a review of a record which said, 'and this group really got us wild, there's echo on everything, they're screaming their heads off.' And I just remember thinking, 'Oh, it'd be great to do one. Pity they've done it. Must be great — really screaming record.' And then I heard their record and it was quite straight, and it was very sort of sophisticated. It wasn't rough and screaming and tape echo at all. So I thought, 'Oh well, we'll do one like that, then.' And I had this song called 'Helter Skelter,' which is just a ridiculous song. So we did it like that, 'cuz I like noise." ~ Paul McCartney

Critics tended to like the song, although one did say that the song will "scare and unsettle" listeners, due to its "undercurrent of violence" and Paul's "savage vocal delivery."

We all know that Charles Manson misunderstood the intention of the song, though I'm going to leave Manson out of this, because *he* is scary and unsettling.

Back to the question of what does "helter skelter" mean? Well, some people use it as a way to say that something is in disarray or chaos - "the clothes were flung about all helter skelter" for example. There is also an amusement park attraction called "Helter Skelter" which seems to be referenced in the first verse of the song, literally or otherwise:

"When I get to the bottom
I go back to the top of the slide
Where I stop and turn
and I go for a ride
Till I get to the bottom and I see you again"










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Sunday Silliness

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Sex-Appeal Saturday!

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Fretful Friday

With its descending chromatic bassline, Dear Prudence is a favorite amongst many - written by John in India for Prudence Farrow (Mia's sister) because she was so fanatical about her meditation that she became a recluse and wouldn't socialize with the others. Upon learning of the song (George told her about it as they were leaving India) she said that it was a very beautiful thing for them to have done and that she was flattered.

Ringo had left the band prior to the recording of Dear Prudence, so Paul had to fill in for him on drums. In addition to playing bass and drums on the song, he also sang backing vocals, provided handclaps and played the tambourine and flugelhorn.


Prudence Farrow in Rishikesh, India



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Thought for Thursday

"When two great saints meet, it's a humbling experience." ~Paul McCartney

Eric Cash's painting "The Introduction":



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Whatsoever Wednesday

Here Comes the Son..

Paul and James:

James singing his song "My Friend":

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Testimonial Tuesday

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Monday Minutiae

In the movie A Hard Day's Night, the Beatles are accompanied by Paul's grandfather Wilfrid Brambell (not actually related to Paul in real life). In various parts of the movie, he is referred to as being "very clean". What makes this so funny is that in the UK, Wilfrid was best known for his role on the BBC television program Steptoe and Son, which features a running joke of Wilfrid's character Albert being referred to as a "dirty old man".




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Sunday Silliness

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Sex-Appeal Saturday!

This picture is 19 kinds of sexy.


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Fretful Friday

In 1969, Paul dug out his 1963 Hofner bass for the Beatles rooftop concert.
The sticker at the top of the bass says "Bassman".





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Thought for Thursday

"You can judge a man's true character by the way he treats his fellow animals."
~Paul

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Whatsoever Wednesday

Hey there, Paul.




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Testimonial Tuesday

Matchbox 20 - She Came In Through the Bathroom Window




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Monday Minutiae

After Paul's song Penny Lane was released, the street sign at the real Penny Lane in Liverpool disappeared. It was replaced numerous times, but it never remained there long. Eventually, they just started painting the street name on the buildings.




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Sunday Silliness

Press: Recently there has been an article published in Rolling Stone magazine stating that Day Tripper was about a prostitute, and Norwegian Wood was about a lesbian. What was your intent when writing these songs?
Paul: We were just trying to write songs about prostitutes and lesbians.






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Sex-Appeal Saturday!

The wet hair. Those lips. I'm a goner.



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Fretful Friday

A very young Paul and his Hofner.

The double-tracked guitar solo in the song "And Your Bird Can Sing" (played by Paul McCartney and George Harrison) ranked #69 on the Rolling Stone magazine's "100 Greatest Guitar Solos" list.

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Thought for Thursday

"Imagination grows by exercise, and contrary to common belief, is more powerful in the mature than in the young." ~Paul McCartney

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Whatsoever Wednesday

Paul performing "Maybe I'm Amazed" in Moscow - 2003



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