We tried to telephone, they said you were not home

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...that's a lie... but this is the facts about the song 'No Reply'. The tracks that opened the album 'Beatles For Sale' in 1964.

1. This was one of John Lennon's first songs to tell a complete story. The boy knocks on his girl's door, knows she is home because he sees her in the window, but she does not answer. Lennon wrote the song when he was inspired by the song "Silhouettes." He said, "I had that image of walking down the street and seeing her silhouetted in the window and not answering the phone." Music publisher Dick James told Lennon that it was the first "complete" song that John had ever written: It had a beginning and an end. (Thanks to our Beatles expert Pattie Noah - check her out at luvmedeux.com.)


2. This starts with a vocal, which was rare for the time.


3. Lennon's original intent for this song was for it to be a waltz. The demo The Beatles recorded at the last session for A Hard Day's Night is performed in this style. (thanks, Adrian - Wilmington, DE)

Beatles Haircut

By Bill Harry

read the full story here

Moptops? What do you mean!

I never noticed anything particular about John, George, Paul, Pete or Stuart's hairstyles in the early days -- apart from the fact that initially some of them sported the traditional Tony Curtis style that was popular in Liverpool in the late fifties. It was a style referred to as a d.a. (duck's arse, because of the way the hair curled at the rear).

I had mine done at Max the Mad Russian's, near the Majestic Cinema in town.
Nor did I notice anything specific about their hair when they returned back from Germany. Looking at the photos of the time, taken by Astrid and by Mersey Beat photographers, I couldn't see anything that was radically different from the style most Liverpool youngsters and group members sported.

Then, when Brian Epstein took them over, I noticed that not only did he spruce them up in mohair suits made by his tailor Beno Dorn in Birkenhead, but he took them to Horne Brothers at the corner of Lord Street and had lots of publicity photographs taken of them enjoying a new coiffeur by the unknown barber there. I say unknown, because no one these days could quote the name of the barber who gave them the style, on the instruction of Brian Epstein, when he took them to the fashionable barbers in April 1963. Dezo Hoffmann photographed them having their hair cut and was to comment, "The hairdresser was a friend of theirs who liked Astrid Kirchherr's idea of longer hair for the Beatles. He would groom and discipline their hair for them every week."

Despite Brian and his Horne Brothers publicity pictures to herald a new Beatles image (he took them to the Empire Theatre to watch the Shadows, in their mohair suits, and pointed out how they bowed to the audience at the end of their act. John and Pete didn't like to abandon their leather gear, but they were outvoted. Once suited in mohair, with tidy shirts and tie, John again tried to rebel by unfastened the top button of his shirt when they went on stage, but Paul always stepped forward to fasten it again. Brian gave them neatly typed sheets instructing them not to swear or smoke on stage - paving the way for the Rolling Stones to adopt the image of 'the savage young Beatles', that Brian had carefully smoothed away), their hair style began to change initially in Hamburg.

The Hug

Thank you, security guard. BTW from his face (and his strange acting lips) George didn't seem to mind at all. Oh how I miss the good old days.

The Beatles Anthology (sample)

Yes, I got this book. And this entry's going to show some pages of it. One by one. Here's the first two.:)

Fab Four Live

Nothing but a great fabs live in colors. Click to see in a larger size.

Pentax Ringo

> I saw today the Beatles anthology on video and when they went to America the> first time,> Paul says: We had a lot of fun taking photographs with our Pentax.> Later you see some photos of Ringo Starr and George Harrison with cameras.> > Are there any more famous Pentax users than the Beatles?>

You should get a hold of a copy of Hard Day's Night. In it, Ringowalks around with his beautiful black pre-Spotmatic around his neckquite a bit.

There are several other celebs who are captured sporting Spotties backin the '60's. One that I recall was an English Royal, one of theprincesses, maybe Anne? Anyway she had one, and she was photographedwearing it.

Don't forget, back in the 60's, Spotmatics outsold all other brands of35mm SLR - combined! Hard to believe, but true. There were lots of'em out there....

read more at.... here.

BREAKING NEWS: New found Quarry Men photo!

Experts still confuse about the date taken. Was it June22,1957 or July 6,1957 the day John met Paul? Mark Lewisohn believes in the second theory. See notes for each member's name.

This photo was recently found by Rod Davis, a Quarry Man.

John Lennon@RollingStone January 1981-cover

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December 8, 1980 .It was taken a few hours before he died...when he saw a test Polaroid photo of this John said to the photographer "You have captured our relationship exactly."

That day is really the Beatles last day.

Billboard history MEET THE BEATLES tops chart!

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It's February 29,1964. See which album you STILL have now!

Thanks GoogleBooks!

Beatles@RollingStone1968-cover

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John talks about his Macrobiotics. Yoko about her films. And the Beatles about their new records...turn out to be the White Album.

I want you to meet Yoko Ono

A new exhibit chronicling John Lennon's New York years will feature guitars, handwritten lyrics, personal items and also the bloody clothes he was wearing the night he was shot.

Lennon moved to New York City with his wife Yoko Ono in 1971, almost two years after he left the Beatles.

The exhibit is especially emotional for Ono, who said including his bloody clothes was a hard decision. But, she said she ultimately decided to do it in order to let people see the effects of gun violence.

Music buffs and Beatles fans won't be disappointed in the display. The music icon's legendary instruments, handwritten lyrics, other clothing and personal possessions will be on display at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Annex NYC in SoHo.

The Beatles' passion for music and art will be explored by the exhibit, but it will also try to capture Lennon's verve for politics and social activism.

read full story here

Woman I can hardly express.....

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One of my favorite Lennon love songs. Simple,honest and very sweet. His version is very unique, a few dare to cover.

Woman I can hardly express,
My mixed emotion at my thoughtlessness,
After all I'm forever in your debt,
And woman I will try express,
My inner feelings and thankfullness,
For showing me the meaning of succsess,
oooh well, well,
oooh well, well,

Woman I know you understand
The little child inside the man,
Please remember my life is in your hands,
And woman hold me close to your heart,
However, distant don't keep us apart,
After all it is written in the stars,
oooh well, well,
oooh well, well,

Woman please let me explain,
I never mean(t) to cause you sorrow or pain,
So let me tell you again and again and again,
I love you (yeah, yeah) now and forever,
I love you (yeah, yeah) now and forever,
I love you (yeah, yeah) now and forever,
I love you (yeah, yeah)...

"She was just beauty queen..."--- "No no no...you know what I mean...."

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John and Paul, writing the classic 'I Saw Her Standing There' at Paul's home Forthlin Road. Late 1962.

The Beatles' first day

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22 August 1962, Cavern early morning rehearsal. This is perhaps one of the first photos of Beatles with a new drummer who has rings in his fingers. When I look at this photo today, I see the history, classic!

(In fact, the FAB FOUR first day is 18 August 1962. But there's no photo that day until this one.)

JOHN LENNON THE ICON ( White Album photo session)

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Rare photo outtakes from 1968.I guess this is a Lennon image most fans remember. Round glasses, quite long hair and a serious look.Click to see the larger size.

THE Walk

A 10-minute photo shoot. Four guys crossing a street. What could be less eventful? But the photograph taken for the last record the Beatles made, Abbey Road, has become a classic of album art — one of the best-known and most copied images in popular music.

It was Paul McCartney who came up with the street-crossing idea and worked out the details with photographer Iain Macmillan. The other Beatles liked the idea — ''with varying degrees of enthusiasm,'' says Macmillan — and agreed to meet at 10 a.m. on Aug. 8, 1969, outside their Abbey Road studio. A bobby held up traffic while the band walked back and forth across the street three times. Perched on a ladder in the middle of the road, Macmillan snapped six pictures from which McCartney chose the cover shot.

''It was nerve-racking,'' remembers Macmillan. ''Getting them to walk in the right way was difficult.''

The result was ironically eloquent, a jarringly mundane image of the larger-than-life Beatles. Even 28 years later, fans still flock to the site of the crossing and re-create the picture themselves.

Of course, not only tourists have been imitating the famous photo over the years. Booker T. & the M.G.'s ambled across a Memphis street for their 1970 album, McLemore Avenue, and alterna-funk band the Red Hot Chili Peppers cheekily parodied it on their 1988 The Abbey Road E.P., while the cover of rapper Chubb Rock's recent album, The Mind, also pays tribute. Even McCartney has joined the fun, digitally spoofing the famous scene for his 1993 album Paul Is Live (whose very title plays off the old rumors of McCartney's death, supposedly proven by evidence in the original photograph). Why is the cover so imitated? ''You can replicate it wherever you're making a record,'' says James Henke, chief curator of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. And hey, an association with the Beatles' best-selling album can't hurt. What band wouldn't want to carry that kind of weight? -EW.COM

Jump!

The Beatles seem to always love to jump. That's why there's no one higher than them. It's the cutiest jump in rock, I guess.

John Lennon answers a fan's letter

From the Beatles book monthly No.2/1963.


Dear Beatles Book,

I'm a girl from Finland--you know, the country where polar bears walk the streets. I've heard and read very much about the Beatles and I've seen pictures too. But I've never heard the boys playing. Oh, I'm sad about that. The records haven't come to Finland yet but I'll keep waiting. Do they sing on their records? I've seen pictures where they're keeping their mouths open so I expect they do. I hope I didn't disturb you too much by sending a letter from so faaaar away. I with the Beatles could sometimes in the future come to Finland and then you can be sure they would get a big welcome. About those polar beats in the streets. That's a BIG lie. Here it is only Finnish girls who DRESS UP in polar bear furs! Wishing you good luck in the future.

Yours truly,
(signed) Gula Lindroos,
Helsingfors, Finland
-----------------------

John Lennon of the Beatles writes:

What a fab letter! I'm arranging for a copy of our new single "She Loves You" to be sent out to Gula...then she'll know we can't sing!

7 facts you should know about....the Beatles' "Rain"

1.Ringo has said this is his best drumming on a Beatles song.
2.This was the first song to use a tape played backwards, which created the strange audio effect. John Lennon discovered the technique when he put the tape for "Tomorrow Never Knows" on the wrong way. He was stoned at the time, and producer George Martin had to convince him that using a backward recording for the entire song was a bad idea. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)
3.Lennon wrote most of this. It was his first song to get really deep, exploring themes of reality and illusion.
4.The backwards vocal at the end fade out is actually the songs first line: "When the rain comes they run and hide their heads". (thanks, chet - saratoga springs, NY)
5.This was one of the first Beatles records to feature loud, booming bass. McCartney's bassline is extremely recognizable, in contrast to The Beatles' older records. (thanks, Chris LaBenne - Niles, OH)
6.This was released as the B-side of "Paperback Writer." It was recorded during the Revolver sessions. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)
7.The rhythm track was played fast and slowed down on tape.

"The Beatles" by Astrid

"The Beatles were the first English people I met, and you must remember, this was not long after the war. We all learned that these other people were not the enemies we believed they were. We listened to one another. Yes, I gave Stuart the haircut first--John made fun of it. But soon he wanted one, too, and so did the others. The same haircuts or not, each of them was strongly individual. I could tell right away."

-Astrid Kirchherr, photographer

Why the Beatles still rule the world?