Latest news with #Beatle
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Former Beatle, 84, Reveals the Surprising Origins of His Catchphrase
Former Beatle, 84, Reveals the Surprising Origins of His Catchphrase originally appeared on Parade. When the average person hears the name Ringo Starr, a few things might come to mind: The Beatles. Drums. "Yellow Submarine." Thomas and Friends. And, of course, there's always the musician's iconic catchphrase: "Peace and love." It's long been assumed by many that Starr, 84, came up with his motto after visiting India with the other Beatles — John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison — in 1968. But as he recently told the Associated Press, Starr was actually inspired to coin the phrase after spending time in a particular American city. 'It actually came, for me, from San Francisco, where the hippies were,' Starr said. 'They were, of course, great peace and lovers, and then it changed. But I found a picture the other day of the four of us [giving the peace sign]...I didn't invent it, I just picked it up. Johnwas a big proponent of peace and love, and it just came to me.' In the years since, however, Starr has come to appreciate the true value of his message, which the world might need to hear now more than ever. 'I think it's important every day — and right now the world is going through a madness. Maybe it'll help,' Starr said. Later in the same interview, the drummer admitted that he's naturally 'an optimist, not a pessimist," referencing the challenges of his early life (which included contracting tuberculosis and spending two years in a sanatorium, where he learned to play the drums). 'I just feel positive,' he explained, 'Not every day, and not all my life, but some of those things I knew I needed from what I was 13, really ill in hospital.' Starr's sunny attitude has clearly paid off — and he's apparently not slowing down anytime in the near future. Later this month, the soon-to-be 85-year-old is heading out on tour with his All Star Beatle, 84, Reveals the Surprising Origins of His Catchphrase first appeared on Parade on Jun 2, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
Perth Now
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Jackie Chan thought Michael Cera was a competition winner
Jackie Chan mistook Michael Cera for a competition winner. The martial arts legend was at the BBC Radio 2 studios to promote his new film 'The Karate Kid: Legends', while Michael had been plugging his latest project 'The Phoenician Scheme', and when he heard Jackie was in the building, he couldn't resist the chance to get his photo taken with him, though he admitted the 71-year-old star had no idea who he was. Speaking to NME, Michael explained a photographer told him Jackie was in the building. He added: 'She asked if I knew Jackie Chan, which I don't, so she said 'come meet him'. That was that. 'When I met him though, he was like 'who is this person, what's going on?'. We took a picture but I think he thought I was a competition winner. "He was like, 'OK let's do a picture real quick. Come on.' Not rudely. But I felt like I was invading his little personal time with his team before he goes on the radio. "So I was like, 'What am I doing here?' But everyone was very sweet and I got to meet Jackie.' The 36-year-old actor is a big fan of the Beatles and though he thinks it would be "cool" to meet surviving band members Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Ringo Starr, he'd also find it "weird". He said of the possibility: 'It would be cool but also strange. I don't know what I'd say [if I did meet them]. It would be weird to say anything. They'd be so bored by whatever I had to say, because they've heard it eight billion times from every other person on the planet. It must be hard to be a Beatle.' Michael - who has two sons with wife Nadine - released his debut album 'True That' in 2014 but hasn't released further music since 2017's 'Best I Can' and admitted he simply doesn't have the time to work on any at the moment. He said: 'I haven't really been creating any music recently. 'I play music every day but I have little kids now, so I just don't have time or focus to do anything productive in that way. I hope to again though. "Normally [everything I make] is for a specific project or has a specific intention but it's just my time management [right now].'
Scottish Sun
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Scots singer sneakily put her CD through top DJ's letterbox in a bid to become a star
'I remember getting hold of his address and going to deliver a CD to his letterbox at like midnight at his home in central London where he lived at the time' PUNK SHOCKER Scots singer sneakily put her CD through top DJ's letterbox in a bid to become a star SINGER Sandi Thom has revealed how her incredible ride to the top of the charts all started 20 years ago when she took a clandestine drive to the home of broadcasting legend Johnnie Walker. The musician from Banff, Aberdeenshire, had just independently pressed her first single I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers in my Hair) when she made the cheeky decision to pop a copy through Johnnie's letterbox. 6 Sandi Thom as she is now and the single that started it all. 6 Sir Sean Connery was a fan of the Scots singer. 6 Sandi graduated from Sir Paul McCartney's Liverpool music school and went on to play the same stage as Queen's Brian May. 6 The Scot landed her big break after popping her indy single through the letterbox of DJ Johnnie Walker. The next day the late DJ played her track for the first time to his millions of listeners on his Radio 2 Drivetime show - which eventually led to it topping charts in the UK and around the world. Sandi - who is on the comeback trail - says: 'Johnnie was the first person to play that song on air. 'I remember getting hold of his address and going to deliver a CD to his letterbox at like midnight at his home in central London where he lived at the time. 'You had to physically deliver CDs at the time because in 2005 you couldn't just send them as an audio file. 'I put the CD through his letterbox and drove home and the next morning he listened to it, loved it, then played it on his show. That was the start of everything for me.' That breakthrough hit took Sandi on an incredible journey that saw her support George Michael and play on the same stage as Queen's Brian May. While she also performed in front of Sir Sean Connery and future President Donald Trump at a star-studded bash in New York. She even duetted with the late SNP chief Alex Salmond in Aberdeenshire. But Sandi maintains that she was no 'overnight success' and it had actually taken her 10 years of 'hard graft' to achieve her dream. Sandie, 43, explains: 'I have been performing since I was 14, so that's nearly 30 years ago. Paul McCartney wows the crowds in Manchester with stonking three-hour set - and Beatle John Lennon makes an appearance too 'I'd play in local pubs in the northeast of Scotland - that's where I cut my teeth performing. 'I had already been performing for about 10 years when I popped that CD through Johnnie's letterbox.' Sandi trained at Sir Paul McCartney's prestigious Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts where the former Beatle personally gave her tips on launching her career. But the canny Scot also seized the opportunities presented by the new world of streaming, when she began broadcasting 'concerts' from her flat in Tooting, London on the now defunct platform MySpace. She recalls: 'I was part of that initial digital revolution as nobody had ever heard of streaming anything live at the time.' The success of those shows led to her landing a major recording deal with music giants RCA who then formerly released I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers in my Hair) which went to No1 in the UK, Ireland and Australia in May 2006. She followed that up with her chart topping debut album Smile…It Confuses People and soon found herself living the rock star life she had always dreamed of. Sandi says: 'I always knew since I was little that this was what I wanted to do. 'I made so many amazing records with people all over the world including in Nashville, Los Angles, New York and London. 'I lived in Malibu and stood on the same stage as George Michael as I was his support act and opened up for him in stadiums all across Scandinavia playing to 80,000 people a night. It was amazing. 'I also shared a stage with Brian May at the Royal Albert Hall. I've done some really fantastic things.' In 2007 Sandi took to the catwalk at the Dressed To Kilt fashion show as part of the Tartan Week Celebrations in New York. 6 Sandi even performed a bizarre duet with then First Minister Alex Salmond. She says: 'I was invited there by Vivienne Westwood to model a tartan outfit because she was renowned for that punk look that a lot of it incorporated tartan and I obviously sang about being a punk rocker. 'There were many people there and one of them was Donald Trump and also Sean Connery. 'I never have ever had a conversation with Trump, but I did have many conversations with Sean Connery. 'Not only just at that event, but also I once performed at the Library of Congress in Washington for Scottish delegates. 'Sean had such a great presence, as he's got such stature, height and everything, and his wife (Micheline Roquebrune) was like the cutest little thing ever.' In 2009 she performed an unusual duet with then First Minister Alex Salmond - who passed away suddenly last year aged 69 - when they sang Caledonia on stage in her hometown of Banff. Sandi, who was raised by helicopter pilot dad Sandy and marketing manager mum Josie, says: 'That was such a great informal evening. 'I performed duets with many people that night including my dad. But it's a great memory.' SANDI'S KID IS EVER PRESENT AT MUM'S GIGS SANDI has lived in such diverse places as Wales, Malibu and the Middle East since finding fame 20 years ago - but reveals she moved home to Scotland's northeast again. The singer who was born in Banff and raised in MacDuff, Aberdeenshire, has returned to her roots to raise her nine year old son Logan. And now that she's found contentment back in the family fold with her folks Sandy and Josie, she is ready to unleash a new musical direction for her fans. Sandi: 'I live really close to my mum and my dad lives a little bit further north. 'We're all very close and it's great for me because obviously I'm a singer, but I also have a nine year old son and dogs. So I need the support network. 'But Logan comes with me to many of my shows. He has been to loads of my gigs. 'He's the kid that'll sit on the drum riser at the back of the stage in front of a crowd of 15,000 people being as cool as a cucumber.' She adds: 'But I was in the studio yesterday and what I will say is that my next album is going to challenge me - in the respect that I might sing in a different language. 'So that's going to challenge me as a singer more than anything else.' However Sandi's pop star bubble burst in 2015 when she blasted Radio 2 - who had launched her career - for failing to play her new single Earthquake. The singer posted a Facebook video, ranting: 'Honest to God I'm f***ing sick to death of the bulls**t. Enough I'm done. F**k you Radio 2.' Sandi later blamed the outburst on being pregnant with her first and only child Logan, but she did turn her back on the music industry and move to Bahrain where she set up a sanctuary for stray dogs. But now she's back , relaunching herself on the music scene this time without the help of her radio pal Johnnie, who died on Hogmanay last year aged 79. She says: 'The music industry has held so many greats, not just artists, but also people like Johnny who are broadcasting legends. 'I think it was such a compliment that Johnnie gave me his blessing even if he did only get to hear about me from a CD through his letterbox.' *Sandi will play Banff Castle Rocks festival on August 30. For more info visit:
Perth Now
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Roger Daltrey informed Zak Starkey he was 'retired, not fired' by The Who
Zak Starkey says The Who's frontman Roger Daltrey told him he had been "retired, not fired" as the band's drummer. There has been much confusion about the sticksman's status in the band; having been fired and reinstated a couple of times over the past weeks. Zak recently jumped on the phone with Roger, who informed him that the rock legends - also including guitarist Pete Townshend - had decided to free him of his duties to work on other projects, including his band Mantra Of The Cosmos, but insisted he was not being "fired". Detailing their debrief, Zak posted to Instagram: "NOISE and CONFUSION!!!! I had a great phone chat with Roger [Daltrey] at the end of last week which truly confused both of us!!! "Rog said I hadn't been 'fired'…I had been 'retired' to work on my own projects. I explained to Rog that I have just spent nearly 8 weeks at my studio in Jamaica completing these projects, that my group Mantra Of The Cosmos was releasing one single at the beginning of June and after that had run its course ( usually 5/6 weeks )." It turns out, Zak - the son of Beatle Sir Ringo Starr - was "completely available", but he's "left it there" and insisted there are no hard feelings. He added: "I was completely available for the foreseeable future….Rog said 'Oh!' and we kind of left it there- On good terms and great friends as we have always been. "Gotta love these guys. As my mum used to say 'The mind boggles!!!' XXX. (sic)" Zak's caption was accompanied by a picture with the text: "Drummers: From Keith Moon to Zak Starkey and Beyonce." The drummer was believed to have been fired from the group after almost 30 years in the wake of a disagreement over his performance at a show at the Royal Albert Hall for the Teenage Cancer Trust charity in March. However, he was reinstated in a matter of days with Pete saying in a statement: "There have been some communication issues, personal and private on all sides, that needed to be dealt with, and these have been aired happily." On May 18, Pete confirmed that Zak will not be joining the pair for their final tour of North America. Zak then claimed he was fired two weeks after being "reinstated", and allegedly told to make up that he was leaving the legendary band due to his other work commitments. Scott Devours, who played in Roger's solo band, is Zak's replacement on the tour.
The Citizen
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
New film unveils the world of John Lennon and Yoko Ono
'One To One: John & Yoko' has been described as loud, honest, emotional, and unlike any documentary about Lennon and Ono made before. John Lennon remains one of the most influential musicians and social activists of all time. Not only did he, together with Paul McCartney and the Beatles, seed much of rock and roll as well know it today, but Lennon's activism showed the impact that celebrity can have on highlighting issues and agitating for change. With wife and muse Yoko Ono, the often controversial pair dented social constructs and made history, and helped turn the tide of their time. One To One: John & Yoko is a new film that tells this story. It has been described as loud, honest, emotional, and unlike any documentary about Lennon and Ono made before. It's not a biography. Not a timeline. The movie is more akin to a human story seen through the fuzz of a television set. In 1972, John Lennon was no longer a Beatle. He was a husband, a performer, an activist, and more than ever, a man trying to make sense of a world in chaos around him. Yoko Ono was by his side, not just as an inspirer, but as a creator, an artist, and equal in every way. Together they moved to Greenwich Village in New York, watched far too much American television, and tried to change the world. Not rock & roll nostalgia Directed by Kevin Macdonald and Sam Rice-Edwards, the documentary is not your standard trumpeting of rock & roll nostalgia. Instead, it is an immersive, sometimes jarring, often beautiful, cinematic experience that takes its audience inside the world as John and Yoko saw it. Literally. 'Kevin came up with the idea,' Rice-Edwards said. 'Why don't we show the world the way John and Yoko would have experienced it through their television in 1972? That became the lens through which the story unfolds.' John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Picture: Supplied John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Picture: Supplied It is an experimental route for a documentary, but it works. With thousands of hours of archive American television footage used, mixed with intimate and in many cases never-before-seen material from the Lennon estate, the film delivers fresh perspectives and insight. It is not just another portrait of fame or popcorn ego-trip in fandom. It is an honest endeavour to see and feel what John and Yoko actually felt. 'There were two types of archives,' Rice-Edwards said. 'The footage with John and Yoko, which was limited, but incredibly powerful, and then the seemingly endless material from 1972 American television. We watched everything from war coverage to daytime game shows, Nixon speeches, Coca-Cola adverts, all of it. We filtered and refined until we were left with what really told the story of that time.' Also Read: A Million Ways To Die, NFOH reincarnated That window in time was politically and culturally charged. The war in Vietnam raged on. The youth vote was in play. Nixon was under scrutiny. The country was divided and Lennon, newly arrived in America, believed he could make a difference. 'They (John and Yoko) fell in with radicals, artists, and activists,' Rice-Edwards said. 'There was this incredible optimism. They really thought they could change the world. But over time, they realised the world does not change as easily as you might hope. And so, they changed from global revolution to human connection, from grand gestures to smaller, more meaningful ones.' Meaningful human connection It was a moment on television that inspired the One to One benefit concert, the centrepiece of the film. A segment by broadcaster Geraldo Rivera about a school for children with disabilities struck a chord with both John and Yoko. 'They both had traumatic childhoods,' Rice-Edwards said. 'Yoko's daughter had been kidnapped. There was this intense emotional connection, and they wanted to do something about it.' The concert, which took place on 30 August 1972 at Madison Square Garden, was Lennon's only full-length solo show ever. But it was not recorded under ideal conditions. 'Everyone working on it was apparently really high,' Rice-Edwards said. 'So, the footage was chaotic, and the sound was poor. Sean Ono Lennon went back and completely reworked the audio. He took it to another level. We would hear the music as we were editing, and with every version it got better. By the time we did the final mix, it blew us away.' The film also attempts to correct the imbalance in how Yoko has been portrayed over the years. 'We did not feel the need to defend her,' he said. 'We just let the archive speak. She is strong, creative, compassionate, and central to everything. When Sean saw the film, he said it was the most honest portrayal of his mother ever made. That meant a lot to us.' Beyond politics and the rage of the time Beyond the music and politics and the rage of the time, One to One is also about perspective. 'What really surprised us,' Rice-Edwards said, 'was how much 1972 looked like now. The environment, race, gender, immigration, populist leaders, culture wars. It is all there. In a strange way, stepping back into that world tells us something urgent about the one we are in now.' One to One: John & Yoko screens exclusively in IMAX at selected Ster-Kinekor cinemas. It opens in South Africa for limited screenings on 6, 7 and 8 June. Also Read: Taryn Nissen's the heroine of ink
