Peter Blake unveiled his Albert Hall triptych today.  It looks like his album cover of the Beatles Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club band says the photo's caption in The Times.  And it does. Blake used the occasion to lambast the price of modern artists' work. Blake only got £200 from Apple for that iconic image and explains "that his new mural had been easier to make than the Beatles artwork because of advances in technology" (The Times 30/4/14 p3).  I know which one I prefer: the cheap one.

People who have performed at the Albert Hall by Peter Blake

I turned on the telly tonight to watch the first episode of the Welsh police drama "Hinterland".  I just caught the end of a trailer for a new BBC quiz show "The Link".  It included a contestant giving the answer Paul McCartney - unfortunately I didn't catch the question, or should that be link.

Another day painting - with R2 on, of course.  At around mid-day "Get Back" was played but more interesting was a trailer for Jeremy Vine's series "What makes us human" - it featured John Lennon talking about  sitting in bed and growing his hair (for peace presumably).  I can remember sending an aging friend a card with that iconic bed-in image on the front; my message - 1960s Hair Peace, 1990s Hair Piece!

"I Should Coco by Supergrass was the biggest-selling debut on Parlophone since Please Please Me by the Beatles" ... so says Will Hodgkinson in an article about Britpop.  I can't believe it started over 20 years ago!  Nothing like music (or films) to remind you of the passage of time - and how old you're getting. (The Times: T2 25/4/14 p4)

I spent the whole day in the company of R2 whilst painting my front room.  After the mid-day news "Listen to what the man said" by Wings was played.

"Mastermind" final tonight.  Clive Dunning, who's previous speciality was John Lennon, answered questions on Philip Larkin - a favourite of both Mike's and mine (I chose a line from "Arundel Tomb" for Mike's funeral service programme). One of Clive's answers tonight was "High Windows" ... the question was:

"Which collection includes the lines ... between the end of the Chatterley ban and the Beatles' first LP"?

I'm pleased that a man of such good taste won the trophy!

Enjoyed  "Carry that Weight" on Ken Bruce's R2 show.  Although the lyrics don't quite fit the occasion, it still felt appropriate for today - the 2yr and 8 month "anniversary" of Mike's death.

Boy, you're going to carry that weight,
Carry that weight a long time
Boy, you're going to carry that weight
Carry that weight a long time

I never give you my pillow
I only send you my invitations
And in the middle of the celebrations
I break down

Boy, you're going to carry that weight
Carry that weight a long time
Boy, you're going to carry that weight
Carry that weight a long time 

 

Good, but Beatle-free trip to Worcester. On the way back, we popped into Droitwich for cake, coffee and browse of the charity shops.  Pat, drawn to the bookshelves as always, spotted  a couple of Beatles titles in the Cancer Research shop but was delighted to pick up a book of "quotes" (?) and have it fall open on the exact page entry for Penny Lane and the story behind the Beatles song. I can remember the page number (73) but not the book's title - must take more care in future!

Off to Worcester today for a one night holiday.  I set the alarm for 7.50 am and woke up to Zoe Ball (R2) and an unfamiliar John Lennon song - too dopey to catch its title.

"Sir Paul McCartney is selling Barnaby Rudge, the 52ft  converted fishing boat that he bought with his late wife, Linda" (Times 21/4/14 p18).  Me and my late partner, Mike, had a meal on another Beatles boat whilst on holiday in Madeira.  Mike  savoured ... every minute.

Also in the news today, David Bailey's photo of The Queen.  "Bailey, 76 ... made his name as a photographer chronicling the Swinging Sixties from the Beatles to the Krays" (The Times 21/4/14 p3). Maybe that's the reason why The Queen is smiling so "mischievously".

"I bit the bullet and sold all my Patsy clothes ... I feel fine ... Except for a wonderful pair of camouflage ankle boots with stiletto heels that Patsy wore to Abbey Road when she and Eddy inadvertently wiped the tape recording of the only unreleased Beatles song in existence. I loved those boots ..." So said Joanna Lumley in yesterday's Times Magazine  (p19).  I loved "Ab Fab" but I don't remember this episode.

Johnnie Walker ("Sounds of the 70s" R2) had a Beatles tale too.  He recalled the time when Paul and Linda went to the USA to visit John Lennon.   One evening they sat in his apartment watching TV: "Saturday Night Live".  The host sent out a plea to them - to come on his show.  They considered getting in a cab and going to the studio ... but they were tired.  It was the last time the two Beatles saw each other before Lennon's death. I caught this little gem whilst painting a window surround - very pleased with self that I didn't drop my brush or fall of the ladder in my dash to get a pen & paper.

A week doesn't go by without a trip to Wilkos.  Today I went in for primer paint and some wild bird seed.  "Penny Lane" came on (appropriate title for this cheap store) but it was spoilt by the announcement "Jack, please go to the tills".

My purse (image from Beatles Shop website)

I walked to, & around, Burbage Woods today - bluebells lovely.  I came home via Aston Flamville - highland cattle and alpacas enjoying the sun, and the blossom in the cemetery was gorgeous.  My final stop was the village shop.  The lady on the till commented on my Beatles "Love me do" purse; very keen to know where I bought it.  "Past Times" I think, but I suggested she try the Beatles Liverpool Shop website.

I'm pleased to say that "Later ..." is back.  One of tonight's guests was Englebert Humperdinck - whilst chatting to Jools he let slip that one of his records ("Last Waltz", I think) knocked a Beatles, song off No.1

Finished work a little early today so went to TK Max for a browse.  I bought a light blue lacy crochet throw and a jug ... whilst pondering the latter I saw this on the shelf above.  I think it's a lunchbox and it's definitely decorated with Peter Blake's iconic album cover for "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Band". Must be Nuneaton's most liked Beatles image - second outing in 7 days (see 10th April's post for Lucy's T-Shirt).

Back home I heard John Lennon's "Woman" (R2). At the time I was being very womanly - turning my new throw into a curtain for the bathroom window!

Finally got round to watching last week's episode of "Mastermind".  I was rewarded with Clive Dunning ... whose specialist subject was:
"Life and music of John Lennon".  Questions not too hard, I got about half (I'm sure Mike would have got them all).  Clive won this semi-final round - so well done mate, and thanks for the reference.

One last look at The Times' Magazine before recycling it. I read a piece about Rachel Zoe: a Hollywood stylist.  She's proud to have been married to the same man for 23 years, Rodger Berman.  The journalist describes him as her "Beatles-haired husband and a former Wall Street banker".  No sign of his hairdo in the accompanying photo - he's wearing a beanie.

Browsing T2 en route to the crossword I spotted this photo of Lennon, Yoko & Roberta Flack.
Roberta is coming to England next month ..."joining the ever-growing chorus of pensionable pop superstars still touring, including ...Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones ... Her most recent album was "Let it be Roberta" in 2012, a fine anthology of jazzy Beatles covers.  A former friend & neighbour of Lennon's ... she remains on good terms with Yoko Ono ... " When Roberta sent the album to Paul McCartney, his comment was "Great Job" ; her future projects may include a second Beatles collection. (The Times: T2 14/4/14 p8-9) 

Here's a taster of her "Let it Be" album: nothing to beat "The first time I saw your face"  - but then I don't like jazz & but love this McColl song.

I spent this morning reading yesterday's Times.  Local author Sue Townsend's obituary was a must.  On turning the page I was drawn to the baby announcement of Robert Magnus Stark (p79):
"Magnus seems to love his music - the Beatles' Get Back is ... a favourite of his. "When I was pregnant he used to kick a lot when that song was on, and now when he hears it he likes to move around", explains Lara [mum]". A BeatleWatcher of the future maybe?

I always read the travel section in the paper's Weekend Supplement. "A weekend in ..." feature went to Toledo, Spain (p33). The writer enthuses about the El Greco Museum:
"It is jaw-dropping to see so many masterpieces in such a small space - like watching the Beatles play in your gran's front room". 

King Harold on his "deathpad"

I had an hour or so to kill before getting ready to go out so turned on the TV. "Shrek the third" was on (BBC1) - never seen it before. Early on in the film King Harold (the frog) dies and a funeral is held to the sounds of Paul McCartney's "Live and Let Die" - a nod to the frog chorus maybe?  Turned it off shortly afterwards - not as good as the other Shrek movies but at least it gave me a rather surprising Beatle reference.

Friend Dawn texts me to say that she is looking for late minute holiday deals and stumbled across the Four Seasons Hotel, Perthshire.  The Hotel boasts that the Beatles stayed in one of their chalets in 1964 after playing at Dundee.

I always associate Friday night with gardening - thanks to Gardener's World - but this evening I caught up with British Gardens in Time: Great Dixter (BBC4 at 9.00 pm).  It's owner, Christopher Lloyd, was not only a great gardener and writer he was also a good host.  One of his friends remembers been persuaded to attend a party because  "Paul McCartney - you know, from the pop combo" was coming.  Love that phrase, and the fact I got a Beatle reference in a gardening programme.

I didn't expect R2 to be such a rich seam of Beatles numbers!  But it is -today Chris Evans' "Big Screen Belter" was Bette Midler covering In my life - rather liked it.

At work, student Lucy, wearing a Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band T-shirt asked me to help her with referencing her coursework.  She's a fan of the band and so is her grandma.  They plan to see a tribute band at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry next month - to celebrate gran's birthday.

Reading The Times late at night in bed I read "Musician whose instrumental signature tune Guitar Boogie proved too tricky for Paul McCartney"  It's the byline on Arthur Smith's obituary (p58).  The article quotes Paul McCartney at length - he was a big fan of Arthurs, but his inability to play this particular tune forced the group to recruit George Harrison as lead guitarist. 

De Montfort's latest brochure came through the letterbox today.  Flicking through I noticed that the
Bootleg Beatles - "incredible recreation of the greatest songbook of all time"
are playing on 6th December.  Mike and I saw these guys a couple of times - once in Leicester and again in Northampton (I think): a great tribute act.

And when I tested this video clip, Ringo (my budgie) went crazy.  I think he misses Mike's practice sessions.

"McCain is releasing an outdoor and print campaign that spoofs one of the most iconic images in British music history. The ads, ... show four farmers striding across a potato field in a scene reminiscent of The Beatles’ Abbey Road cover. The work stresses that McCain uses only British potatoes"


It seems you can have chips with everything - even The Beatles!  I saw this on a hoarding on our way to Leicester on Saturday night and again today in The Times' Magazine (8/4/14)

Chris Evans (R2) played two Beatles' songs back to back today:
"I feel fine" and "I read the news today" (hope I've got the titles right).

But my favourite reference of the day was the glimpse of one of our students walking passed the Study Centre wearing a T-Shirt with pictures of the group and the slogan:
"the Beatles are coming"

Turned on the radio today to hear Dennis of Dr. Hook, who grew up in New Jersey, explaining to Terry Wogan why he now lives in England.  As a teenager he was fascinated by a country that produced the music and groups of the sixties, especially The Beatles.

As I was about to leave the house to put flowers on Mike's grave I heard this song on Tony Blackburn's chart show on R2:
Yesterday
No tears today, but still a poignant listen. 

In the evening I went to a 50th birthday party at St Gabriel's Community Centre in Leicester.  There was a live band - lots of contemporary covers but they also played 3 Beatles numbers including "Get Back" and
John Lennon's "Imagine".
Good band and good to know that I can now listen & dance to live music without getting the blues.

Nigella Lawson is not welcome in America because of drug allegations - in discussing this news item Chris Evans (R2 Breakfast Show) named other celebrities who have been banned for the same reason including:
Paul McCartney

And tonight - a real treat: a repeat (on BBC4) of an excellent 2-part Arena documentary:
The Brian Epstein Story
Those early days of Brian and the band never cease to fascinate. And I expect some of the following programmes on the Sounds of the Sixties will include Beatle numbers too.  I'll have to "catch-up" with these later in the week.

"There is a decent tradition of brilliant British bands cracking America - think the Beatles ..."
That's how David Sanderson starts his article about the Artic Monkeys American tour in The Times today (p23)

And in the paper's obituary (p53) of music business executive Jill Sinclair it mentions that she worked with
Paul McCartney.

Magical Mystery [Sewing] Tour
is how one of the contestants on the BBC2's Great British Sewing Bee referred to her dressmaking projects on tonight's programme.  It may not be a bone-fide Beatle reference but it certainly made me think of the song ... and the bus ... which my late partner, Mike, took great pleasure in riding on when it came to Hinckley several years ago.