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Daily Mirror
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Yoko Ono in startling new evidence over claims she broke up The Beatles
A leading Beatles historian has opened up about Yoko Ono's role in the demise of the band amid years of speculation that her presence in the recording studio caused friction Yoko Ono was not a factor in the break-up of The Beatles despite being blamed for decades, a historian claims. Martin Lewis points to Apple TV's recent Get Back series as evidence her presence in the Beatles studio did not cause the tension between John Lennon and his bandmates many insist was behind the demise. Yoko being at the 1969 Let it Be album recordings has gone down in music folklore as the beginning of the end for the Fab Four. But Martin, who has worked with both her and Paul McCartney in recent years, said: 'The fans wanted a villain. The media likes a villain. We all do. That's natural, but not reality.' Speaking about the Apple TV series, he added: 'They are in the studio. Yoko 's there, which was unusual. They didn't normally have wives or girlfriends in the studio. Who does John relate to through the whole eight hours? He looks at Yoko once in a blue moon. His eyes are on Paul. He's with his buddy of the last 13 years. It's all about John and Paul. READ MORE: Neil Young BST Hyde Park show is dramatically CUT OFF as bosses pull the plug 'Yoko was there, she wants to be there. He's not rude. He's just not interested. He's working with his mate and having fun. The whole film gives the lie to that nonsense. It's John and Paul, but bonding, writing, having fun, reminiscing. He's polite to Yoko. "She didn't break up the Beatles. John and Paul have been together since July 57, when they were 17 and 16 respectively. They were nearly 30. That's a long time. So they were growing apart. She's not the villain.' Martin also claimed racism played its part in the treatment of Yoko and her public perception. Speaking at the LA Jewish Film Festival's opening night film Midas Man, about Beatles manager Brian Epstein, he said: 'A lot of it was racist because John was dumping his English rose wife and going off with a Japanese and an Asian woman. John made a very interesting point… up until Yoko, he was [called in the media] John. 'The minute he met Yoko, he became Lennon.' In 2023, McCartney claimed Yoko's presence in the studio caused issues between him, Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison. He said: 'I don't think any of us particularly liked it. It was an interference in the workplace.' Martin claimed Yoko, 92, will not be writing a memoir to set the record straight on her lifelong negative representation. A recent book about her, Yoko, by David Sheff, said she was spending her last days 'listening to the wind' on a 600-acre farm bought with John in New York State. Daughter Kyoko Cox, 61, said of her mother: 'She believed she could change the world, and she did. Now she is able to be quiet - listen to the wind and watch the is very happy, in a happy place. This is genuine peacefulness.' In the biography, musician son Sean Lennon, 49, praises his mum for fighting adversity. Sean, who is now in charge of the family's interests in the Beatles estate, said: 'She had this ability to overcome difficulty with positive thinking. 'She really wanted to teach the world to do that. She taught my dad to do that. It's not going to stop a moving train, or a bullet. But I think there's something profound about it.' The couple met in November 1966 at London's Indica Gallery. They married in Gibraltar three years later. The Beatles split in 1970. John was murdered on the doorstep of his New York home in December 1980.
Boston Globe
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Bear McCreary talks Slash, squeezeboxes, and ‘The Singularity'
But when he was writing his rock concept album, 'The Singularity,' in 2023, he said, he knew he'd want to perform his own music live. 'I looked in the mirror and thought – am I going to be Keyboard Guy at my own rock show?' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up In the end, he had been studying guitar for less than a year when he played onstage beside his teenage musical idol, Guns n' Roses guitarist 'To this day, I would struggle to play 'Let it Be' on an acoustic guitar, but I can play my own rock riffs!' he said gleefully. 'I'm just always trying to learn new things.' As McCreary prepared to embark on the American leg of his 'Themes and Variations' tour with a seven-piece band, he spoke with the Globe about the musical friendships he's nurtured, reconnecting with his Armenian roots, and teaching himself the accordion at age 19. Advertisement Q. On the Themes and Variations tour, what repertoire are you prioritizing to play live? A. Each of these people has played with me for years. Lead singer and acoustic guitar Brendan McCreary is my brother. I've been making music with him my entire life. Paul Cartwright, my violinist, played on the first episode of 'Battlestar Galactica'; he's played on every episode of 'Outlander' and 'Rings of Power;' he's integral to my sound. I'm bringing Gene Hoglan, who was the drummer on 'The Singularity.' Everybody has that kind of personal connection to me. So the repertoire is a mixture of some songs from 'The Singularity' with themes from my scoring career, reconfigured a little to translate to this rock ensemble. Many of my scores make that leap easily. Like, when we play the theme from 'The Walking Dead,' you're gonna hear Paul on violin playing that main title piece just like on the original recording, but then as it evolves we get to bring the band in and supercharge it. Being able to bring these melodies into an environment where you get to see those of us that actually created it on stage; there's something really special about that for me. It's epic and emotional, and potentially loud. Bring some earplugs. It's a rock show. Q. You mentioned you're part Armenian; did you know the Boston area has a huge Armenian community? A. As does Glendale, out here. When I first moved to southern California, I was walking around seeing women that looked like my grandmother, and I was surprised because I didn't know much about my Armenian heritage growing up in Bellingham, Washington. My great-grandmother, who escaped the genocide and came through Ellis Island with her babe in arms, had a very common experience to some Armenians. They really wanted to create new roots, so they didn't raise their children speaking Armenian. They wanted to be American. Advertisement It was through Armenian musician circles [in L.A.] that I met Serj Tankian [from hard rock band System of a Down], and my brother and I have become very close with him. I haven't yet returned to Armenia, but that's on the horizon. I've been working on a theater piece about my family's journey for the last 20 years, and it will be something I get to one of these days because it's a harrowing, incredible story. When social movements take hold that try to oppress people, one great way to [further those movements] is to make sure that movies and games and shows don't feature oppressed people. So I'm always on the lookout. I like being part of stories that I think are important. Q. What are you working on that tells those kinds of 'important stories?' A. This is going to sound silly, but when I started working on 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,' and there was a Black elf and a Black dwarf, I was like, 'People will see there's a diversity of people in Middle Earth.' I think that's cool. I also don't think it's a big deal – like, we're talking about fantasy! But I knew there'd be treatises online about why [having Black characters] is impossible. Advertisement To which I'm like – that's a silly thing to get mad about, but I was proud of everybody on the show, and those actors are phenomenal. The show's doing well, and I have felt I'm able to do my part when they come on screen. They're heroes; I'm going to give them a hero's fanfare. I am making it contextually clear who this character is to the audience. Q. What made you decide to learn the accordion? A. I took piano lessons when I was a kid; in high school, I loved getting my friends together and playing in bands. I hated being stuck behind the keyboard. I hated it! But I didn't play guitar. So the accordion…you can see where I'm going with this. I can move around! It's funny, because I got the accordion when I was 19, and I was down in the basement of my dorm in college practicing and learning it. People would come downstairs because they were annoyed, because it was echoing through the cement halls, but they'd be standing there. My hair wasn't as long as it was now, but I'd be thrashing my head around, and when I was done they'd say – often – 'you look like Slash!' And of course, I loved Slash's playing. I played accordion like I wanted to be Slash, which is funny because now I work with him. Q. Have you told him that story? A. You know what, I haven't. I should admit it. Maybe he'll read it in this article. Interview has been condensed and edited. BEAR MCCREARY May 23, 8 p.m. Somerville Theatre. Advertisement A.Z. Madonna can be reached at
