Beatles News Briefs

Imagine if the people in the Beatles' songs were real? That's what author Marcus Benjamin Ray Bradley's new book, "Imagining All the People" is all about -- a poetic re-telling of the people imagined in the lyrics of the Beatles in their songs. Bradley discusses the idea behind the book, the cooperative effort that put it together and his work in writing it. It's a geeky idea that takes the Beatles' songs places you'd never thought they'd go. Plus we have some late-breaking Beatles News Briefs. Have a listen! (You can find a video version on YouTube.)  

Canadian Beatles history authority Piers Hemmingsen and host Steve Marinucci discuss the recently published Blue Book volume of his "The Beatles In Canada" series and some of the ways that Beatlemania in Canada differed from America. We also talk about the unreleased Beatles '65 Toronto soundboard.

Among the other things we discuss are the Canadian Broadcasting Company's archival show "How the Beatles Changed the World." You can hear it here: How the Beatles Changed the World | CBC.ca   Another program that Piers and I discuss is this short report on the Sgt. Pepper album. And there's a third CBC program we found, this one from Oct. 4, 1964, called Beatlemania Takes Toronto in 1964.

(Note: This video version of our podcast is our first one and somewhat of an experiment. Let us know what you think at [email protected]. The video version of the podcast is available on YouTube at https://youtu.be/B8IStqFy4UA. The audio version is available in all the usual places where you get your podcasts.

#Beatles #Beatlemania #PiersHemmingsen #Canada #JohnLennon #PaulMcCartney #GeorgeHarrison #RingoStarr @followers

On this special show, we take a look back at some memorable moments from the shows we did in 2025. You'll hear from Joey Molland, Bruce Spizer, Piers Hemmingsen, Jude Southerland Kessler, Cha-Chi Loprete, Chris O'Dell, Gary Von Scyoc, Candy Leonard, Michele Wood Marotta, Al Sussman, Madeline Bocaro, Laurie Kaye, Rob Frith, Alan Weiss, Andru Reeve, Simon Weitzman, Alan G. Parker, Susan Ryan, Jeff Fisk, Tom Craig, Fred Velez and Bob Gannon, plus a portion of a press conference with Ringo Starr and members of the All-Starr Band. We hope hearing all these special moments from the shows will make you want to listen to the full shows. You can hear all of our shows at http://podbean.marinucci.com or  http://bystevemarinucci.blogspot.com or search for them on Podbean, on YouTube or on our Beatles News Briefs blog page.

On Dec. 8, 1980, journalist Alan Weiss, a local TV news producer on WABC-TV in New York City,  headed out on his motorcycle into the night. A crash with a taxi landed him in Roosevelt Hospital in New York City, where, lying on a gurney, he thought he heard a conversation that indicated that John Lennon had been shot and was in the emergency room next to him. How an injured Weiss managed to confirm the story and pass it first to his local news department, which then passed it on to the ABC network is part of the focus of our discussion in which we also examine how the local station and the network reacted to the story. The tragic news became one of the top stories of the year, for which Weiss won an Emmy. That and more on this edition of Beatles News Briefs hosted by Steve Marinucci. We hope you enjoy the show!    

In the first of two shows on the new documentary "Borrowed Time: Lennon's Last Decade," which debuts in the U.S. Dec. 8, we talk to its writer-director Alan G. Parker, who takes us behind the scenes of the making of the film that includes previously unseen and unheard details of a lavish tour planned by John Lennon and Yoko Ono to promote their "Double Fantasy" album. According to Parker, Lennon said the tour was designed to give Mick Jagger and Elton John "ulcers." We'll also bring you up to speed with some late-breaking Beatles news briefs and share our thoughts on the Anthology Collection, with a special focus on Anthology 4. We hope you enjoy the show! #JohnLennon #Beatles #BorrowedTime

In 1970, George Harrison and Pattie Boyd visited Florida to see relatives. While locals had passed on stories of the trip, no photos had emerged until recently. Jeff Fisk of the Deerfield Historical Society, along with photographer Tom Craig who prepared the photos for display, Margot Winick of the Beatles In Florida Facebook page and Sara Schmidt of the Meet the Beatles for Real website talk about how the photos were discovered and put on display. Jeff Fisk will also discuss his upcoming a free lecture Nov. 19 on the photos. You can see some of the pictures of George's visit at Pierwalkdeerfieldbeach.com, on YouTube, on Meet the Beatles For Real and on Instagram. Be sure to follow us, like us and review us (nicely, we hope!). (Poster here from exhibit just held. Courtesy Deerfield Beach Historical Society.)

Charles Rosenay!!! and Chachi Loprete, two well-known figures in the world of Beatles fandom, discuss their upcoming salute to Beatlemania taking place this Sunday, Nov. 16, in Arlington, Mass. featuring The Cyrkle, special guest Billy J. Kramer (both managed by legendary Beatles manager Brian Epstein), and the '60s Thunder. Listen to this podcast as Charles and Chachi preview some of what you'll see on Sunday and celebrate the magic of the Beatles.  

If you think the whole "Paul Is Dead" tale is past history, you may be surprised to find out that there are people who not only still believe in it but also new clues have been added to the mix just recently. Andru Reeve, author of "Turn Me On Dead Man," (Amazon link), the most comprehensive book on the subject, talks about the history of this tale and why some Beatles fans still take it very seriously. We'll also talk about the most recent clues. And we'll have some great Beatles news for you. Welcome aboard and we hope you enjoy the show. 

A deep discussion into the new John Lennon & Yoko Ono box set "Power To the People" as Steve Marinucci talks first with author Candy Leonard ("Beatleness"), who looks back at the era in which the "Some Time In New York City" album was originally released and the difficulties Lennon and Ono faced with drug busts and immigration troubles. She also reveals some interesting news about her classic book, "Beatleness." Then Gary Van Scyoc, bassist with the Elephant's Memory Band, the group that played with John & Yoko on the "Some Time In New York City" album and the Willowbrook concert, discusses the history of the Elephant's Memory band, his thoughts on the box set, what it was like having John Lennon and Yoko Ono performing and recording with him and the band and tells some interesting stories about working with them. Steve also reviews the Power To the People box set and reports the latest Beatles news. Please take a moment and review our show where you get our podcast. It would really help us. And if you aren’t a subscriber already, please hit the subscribe button to join us for each great show. Thank you. We appreciate you! #Beatles #The Beatles #JohnLennon #GeorgeHarrison #PaulMcCartney #RingoStarr

When we interviewed record dealer Rob Frith in show #91 in March, he told us about the Beatles Decca tape he had found in a collection he bought. After there were indications this wasn't just an ordinary tape, he said that if Paul McCartney wanted the tape, Frith would give it to him for free if he could give it to him personally. It was an idea that seemed like wishful thinking at the time, but believe it or not, it happened. He tells us the full story in detail -- what led to the meeting and what happened next (like Paul's reaction to getting the tape, having lunch with Paul and watching the band rehearse). And there's an even more unlikely finish to the story at the end that we didn't expect. Thanks for listening, and be sure to subscribe if you aren't a subscriber already. See you next time!