Beatles news briefs: Imagine there's a billboard
More on the rooftop tributes: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has a report on the outcome of the Seattle event attended by Ken Mansfield, who we interviewed. The P-I says Alan White of Yes, who also played on the Lennon "Imagine" sessions, was in attendance. And the UK Telegraph has a story on the London rooftop show that didn't happen, though their story puts the blame squarely on the authorities and not safety concerns of the building.
Of rooftops of a different sort, above, in all its splendor, is Yoko's "Imagine Peace" billboard in Washington, D.C. Frank C. Branchini took the photo while there for the inauguration. It has quite an aura viewed this way. Mikihiko Hori has a slide show of the billboard on flickr with pics of the building at various times of the day.
Evelyn Schwarz of Beatlemania magazine in Germany has some background on the Paul/Stella McCartney video from our last Beatle news roundup. Here's what she sent:
"A few words about that "Paul and Stella McCartney" YouTube clip.
It is a portion from the BBC special "Imagine ... Stella's Story,"
director Geoff Wonfor.
Original Air Date: 2 May 2003 UK TV BBC 1
A longer (audio) porton w/narration over from the TV special is as "Song For Stella" on this (bootleg) set
2CD Medium Rare, CD2 track 2 "Song For Stella" (0:44)
The clip looks like mid 90's. This is not "Stella May Day" (1 May 1995 Hoig Hill Mill Studio, Sussex),
at least this certain portion is not included in the circulated audio portions of the track "Stella May Day" (http://webpages.charter.net/ram71/1995.htm), but has similar heavy electric amplified guitar sound.
So maybe the clip is from Spring 1995 and to see in connection with that special song Paul wrote for Stella's student fashion collection premiere for Central St. Martin's School of art in London (12 June 1995)
A note
about Julian Lennon: He's been invited to do the U.N. benefit, but his participation is, at this point, unconfirmed.
Chris Carter's
"Breakfast With the Beatles" show today (Sunday) will include a mono version of "Helter Skelter" and "It's So Hard" from the "Imagine" sessions.
The San Francisco Chronicle has the first two parts of a four-part series (with the last two parts coming Feb. 9 and 19) by veteran music writer Joel Selvin called
"The Musical History Tour" featuring San Francisco Bay Area musical landmarks. Of course, one is Candlestick Park, where the Beatles final public concert (as opposed to the rooftop one) was held. The series includes a couple of Jim Marshall's iconic pics of the Fabs.
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