Concert Dates, Concert Tour News, Artist Information

Filmmaker David Lynch Working on Project on Beatles’ Guru

NME.com reports that David Lynch is making a film about the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the Beatles’ meditation guru who passed away in February 2008. The director will reportedly be traveling to India next month to begin work on the project. Lynch recently collaborated with Danger Mouse and Sparkle Horse on their project, Dark Night Of The Soul. Lynch recently told Nymag.com, “It won’t be a so-called David Lynch film, really; it will be about Maharishi and the knowledge he brought out. It’ll hold a lot of abstractions. We’re on our way to India in December to start the India part of it.”

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi gained notoriety in the west after musicians like the Fab Four attended his meditation classes in Rishikesh, India during the late 1960s. The Beatles later referenced their guru in songs like “Sexy Sadie” and a song called “Child Of Nature,” which is an early version of John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy.” Lynch did not reveal whether any of the living Beatles (Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr) would appear in the film but did add, “It’ll have to go in the documentary department, I think. I don’t think it’ll be a ‘talking heads’ kind of thing, but we’re going to do a lot of interviews with people. We’ll interview—I hope—in India, a 97-year-old man who was with Maharishi from the beginning and get stories of times that weren’t so well recorded.”

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Paul McCartney Does Broadway?

Not exactly. Billboard.com reports that Paul McCartney’s MPL Music Publishing is behind former Del Fuegos rocker and now-family musician Dan Zanes new Broadway songs collection 76 Trombones. Zanes revealed to Billboard.com, “It was kind of unusual to get a call from Paul McCartney’s publishing company—right away that caught my attention. They said, ‘We would love it if you could use a good amount from Sir Paul’s catalog,’ but they said ‘it’s really very, very open-ended,’ and they were incredibly cool about it from the beginning to end. And, really, he’s got so much great music it was very easy to just stay within the MLP tunes.”

76 Trombones comes out Tuesday (Nov. 24) and features cameos by Brian Stokes Mitchell and Matthew Broderick, among others. Although Sir Paul doesn’t appear on the Broadway songs effort, Zanes was able to meet McCartney after the album was recorded at the recent tribute to legendary Broadway composer Frank Loesser (Loesser’s catalog is also part of 76 Trombones). Of their encounter, Zanes recalled, “(McCartney had listened to the CD and told me that he loved it and that we put a twist on the songs, and that felt great to hear. He was very gracious and encouraging and excited about the CD. I couldn’t have asked for more.”

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Ozzy Osbourne Flattered by Apparent Paul McCartney Snub?

It isn’t what it sounds like. As reported by Contact Music, Sir Paul McCartney refused to collaborate with rocker Ozzy Osbourne, but only because the former Beatle didn’t think he could improve upon Ozzy’s record! During a chance meeting with McCartney, the Black Sabbath frontman asked him if he wanted to jam together, but Paul told Ozzy that he didn’t want to risk ruin his music!

Ozzy Osbourne told the British magazine Heat of the pair of legendary musicians’ meeting, “Meeting Paul McCartney was f***ing phenomenal. I was in the studio at the same time as him, and tried to get him to play bass on one of my songs. But he said he couldn’t improve on the bass-line that was there. I said, ‘Are you kidding? You could piss on the record and I’d make my life.’” 

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Paul McCartney To Be Honored By U.S. Library of Congress

Paul McCartney is set to receive the U.S. Library of Congress’ third Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, reports Billboard.com. James Billington, Librarian of Congress, announced the prize today (Nov. 16), revealing that an all-star tribute concerts (performers to be announced) will take place in early 2010. Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon are previous winners of the Gershwin prize, with the Library of Congress housing the manuscripts of the songwriting pair George and Ira Gershwin.

The 67-year-old former Beatle recently wrapped up a five-week North American tour this summer and stopped in the Washington, D.C. area. McCartney also announced plans for a European tour to begin in December.

Paul McCartney’s European tour dates:

Dec. 2: Hamburg, Germany (Color Line Arena)
Dec. 3: Berlin, Germany (O2 World)
Dec. 9: Arnhem, Netherlands (Gelredome)
Dec. 10: Paris, France (Bercy)
Dec. 16: Cologne, Germany (Koln Arena)
Dec. 20: Dublin, Ireland (The O2)
Dec. 22: London (The O2 Arena)

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‘Sgt. Pepper’s’ Tunes Coming to ‘The Beatles: Rock Band’ Tomorrow

Rolling Stone reports that the entire Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album will be made available for download on The Beatles: Rock Band staring tomorrow (Nov. 17). The title track and hits like “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds,” “With A Little Help From My Friends,” “Getting Better” and “Good Morning Good Morning” were included in the original game while the remaining eight tracks, such as “A Day In The Life,” will arrive on Xbox 360s, PS3s and Wiis tomorrow. The tracks from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band will either be made available as a complete package or separately, depending on video game platform.

The next album slated to arrive on The Beatles: Rock Band is the Fab Four’s album Rubber Soul. Another one of the Beatles’ legendary albums, Abbey Road, is already available on the wildly popular game.

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Paul Performs “Hey Jude” with Take That, Lily Allen, Leona Lewis

Robbie Williams reunited with his former Take That bandmates at London’s Royal Albert Hall for a benefit concert last night (Nov. 12) and former Beatle Paul McCartney and English songstresses Lily Allen and Leona Lewis joined them on stage, reports Consequence of Sound. Although the reunion lasted mere seconds (57 according to The Daily Mirror), Williams did hint that a big reunion may be in store saying backstage, “The reunion’s not happening tonight—we have to wait for something very special. But the ball is rolling for a Take That album with me. I was tearing up when I was on stage with the lads.”

Benefiting the British charity Children In Need, the concert features a sing-a-long of the Beatles’ tune “Hey Jude” featuring Paul McCartney, Leona Lewis, Lily Allan and the member of Take That. Watch the performance of “Hey Jude” at Consequence of Sound.

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Turkey Day Specials for Paul McCartney and Beyonce

After giving thanks and polishing off turkey and the rest of the fixings, music fans can enjoy back-to-back one-hour specials starring Paul McCartney and Beyonce on Thanksgiving night (Nov. 16). As reported by Billboard.com, television network ABC will air the pair of Turkey Day specials. At 9:00pm EST, Beyonce’s one-hour special, featuring a taped concert that the “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)” singer performed in Las Vegas over the summer, will air, after which point the Paul McCartney special will take the small screen.

The former Beatle’s one-hour Thanksgiving special will feature footage from McCartney’s July concert at New York City’s Citi Field as well as footage from the legendary 1965 concert performed by McCartney and the rest of the Fab Four at Shea Stadium. Both ABC Thanksgiving specials will feature interviews with Beyonce and Paul McCartney and glimpses of behind-the-scenes footage as well.

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Stella McCartney Among Those Honored at ‘Glamour’ Magazine’s Women of the Year Awards

Glamour magazine’s Women of the Year awards ceremony was held at New York’s famed Carnegie Hall last night (Nov. 9) and Paul McCartney’s daughter, designer Stella McCartney, was among those honored. 81-year-old poet Maya Angelou received a standing ovation for her acceptance speech for winning the lifetime achievement award. “I am grateful to be a woman. I must have done something great in another life,” said Angelou, also saying to the men: “You have to write your own poem,” amid laughter.

CNN anchor Christiana Amanpour, tennis star Serena Williams, actress Amy Poehler, pop star Rihanna, Maria Shriver, Susan Rice and American TV journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were among those honored, while Michael Douglas and wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, model Iman, Matt Lauer, former President Bill Clinton and Katie Couric were presenters. Although Paul McCartney wasn’t on hand to watch his daughter be honored at the event, her award was presented by three Beatle wives: Yoko Ono (widow of John Lennon), Olivia Harrison (widow of George Harrison) and Barbara Starkey (wife of living Beatle Ringo Starr). Read more about Glamour magazine’s Women of the Year awards at NPR.org. 

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Paul McCartney’s Son Following in His Famous Father’s Footsteps

As reported by the New York Post, Paul McCartney’s musician son James is set to make his performance debut at Maharishi University in Iowa later this month. James McCartney, 32, will perform on Nov. 14 with his band as part of the fourth annual David Lynch “Change Begins Within” benefit, with the proceeds benefiting teaching at-risk youth to meditate. James’ performance debut will likely be a lot mellower than his father’s American debut, when the Beatles came to the Big Apple in February 1964 to kick off their very first U.S. tour with a live gig on TV from the Ed Sullivan Theater.

According to Dailymail.co.uk, James McCartney formerly waited tables to make ends meet and declined to use his famous surname, but that has all changed! James reportedly had a falling out with his father over his ex-wife Heather Mills, but now father and son are working on an album together. Said the former Beatle to Billboard recently, “I’m actually doing some recording with my son, James. We’re looking at the idea of him making an album. He’s going it all. He’s writing it all. It’s sensational. There’s nothing set in stone yet—the plan is for me just to do some recording with him. But it’s really exciting.”

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Director of ‘Yellow Submarine’ Remake Wants Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to be Involved

Director, producer and screenwriter Robert Zemeckis is helming the remake of the classic Beatles’ animated movie Yellow Submarine, and according to Prefixmag.com wants living Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to be part of the project. Zemeckis recently told MTV, “We haven’t gotten the word yet on the two surviving Beatles, whether they’re interested in doing it or not. The Beatles have always been a great source of inspiration for me. I think it’s a perfect example of a movie that can be re-envisioned in the digital cinema and be absolutely beyond spectacular. I call it, ‘Yellow Submarine: The Digital Trip!’”

Released in 1968, the original Yellow Submarine was directed by George Dunning and written by Lee Minoff. The Fab Four created the film, which features the band journeying to save Pepperland from the evil Blue Meanies on a yellow submarine, at the apex of their popularity. The psychedelic cartoon is best-known for its “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” sequence.

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