Nothing Is Real - A Beatles Podcast

Hey Jude - Part One When John & Cynthia returned from India in April 1968, the future was unwritten. What nobody could have guessed was just how quickly the future was going to happen. Yoko enters.  Live on tape from Dublin & Belfast, it’s Nothing Is Real.  Website: http://www.nothingisrealpod.com Twitter: @BeatlesPod Facebook Group: http://tiny.cc/NIRFBG YouTube: http://tiny.cc/...

S06E05: The Beatles & The Maharishi - Part Two From the moment The Beatles first met the Maharishi, the wheels were set in motion for a trip to his ashram in Rishikesh, India. What began as a unified exercise in blue skies and meditation gradually came to mean something different for each Beatle. Live on tape from Dublin & Belfast, it’s Nothing Is Real.  Website: http://www.nothi...

The Beatles & The Maharishi - Part One The Beatles met the Maharishi for the first time on Thursday, followed him to Bangor on Friday, and denounced drugs on Saturday before receiving devastating news on Sunday that would change the band forever.   Live on tape from Dublin & Belfast, it’s Nothing Is Real.  Website: http://www.nothingisrealpod.com Twitter: @BeatlesPod Faceboo...

The Last Year of Brian Epstein - Part Two In the aftermath of Sgt Pepper, Brian delivered his last grand plan: the Our World telecast. Then the Beatles decide to take a trip to see the Maharishi, and Brian says he’ll join them after the bank holiday weekend. Live on tape from Dublin & Belfast, it’s Nothing Is Real. Website: http://www.nothingisrealpod.com Twitter: @BeatlesPod Facebook Group: h...

S06Bonus: The 1958 Echo Lake Home Tapes April 1st sees the release of a remarkable album: The Music of the Beatles as Channeled in 1958 by the Echo Lake Home for the Potentially Clairvoyant. Acclaimed UK music journalist Solomon Davies joins Steven & Jason to talk about the discovery of this musical & scientific wonder. Live on tape from Dublin & Belfast & 1958, it’s Nothing I...

S06E02: The Last Year of Brian Epstein - Part One When the Beatles came off the stage at Candlestick Park, the man who had spent just over five years getting them there wondered what to do next. Where do you go after you reach the toppermost of the poppermost?  Live on tape from Dublin & Belfast, it’s Nothing Is Real.  Website: http://www.nothingisrealpod.com Twitter: @Beat...

S06E01: The Unmade Third Movies The plan was that 1966 would follow the template of 1964 & 1965: a movie and two albums. The problem was that after A Hard Day’s Night & Help! where could the Fab Four go next?  Live on tape from Dublin & Belfast, it’s Nothing Is Real.  Website: http://www.nothingisrealpod.com Twitter: @BeatlesPod Facebook Group: http://tiny.cc/NIRFBG YouT...

Welcome to Season Six Spring is in the air and it’s a new season of Nothing Is Real. For the first time we are going to tell you what to expect over the next three months, plus some additional surprises.  Live on tape from Dublin & Belfast, it’s Nothing Is Real.  Website: http://www.nothingisrealpod.com Twitter: @BeatlesPod Facebook Group: http://tiny.cc/NIRFBG YouTube: http://tiny.c...

Season 5 BONUS - Get Back: The IMAX Report On the 53rd anniversary of the Beatles Rooftop performance, Peter Jackson’s Get Back rooftop sequence debuted on IMAX with a Q&A from the man himself. With an on-site report, Steven & Jason are joined by Nothing Is Real’s roving North America correspondent, William Hinson.  Live on tape from Dublin, Belfast & Winston Salem, North Car...

Review of 2021: That Was The Year That Was As the rest of the family wrestle for control of the TV remote, pour yourself another drink and find a quiet spot to join Steven, Jason, and Adrian reflecting on the joy that was 2021. Live on tape from Christmas, it’s Nothing Is Real.  Website: http://www.nothingisrealpod.com Twitter: @BeatlesPod Facebook Group: http://tiny.cc/NIRFBG YouTube: http:/...

 Rubber Soul - Part Three To get Rubber Soul finished The Beatles pull an all-nighter and raid the Abbey Road cupboard for leftover tracks. Then the album needs a name, a cover, and a totally different American version.  Live on tape from Dublin & Belfast, it’s Nothing Is Real.  Website: http://www.nothingisrealpod.com Twitter: @BeatlesPod Facebook Group: http://tiny.cc/NIR...

Rubber Soul - Part Two With an album due on shop shelves in six weeks, and less than of it recorded, it makes total sense for The Beatles to take part in a TV variety special.  Live on tape from Dublin & Belfast, it’s Nothing Is Real.  Website: http://www.nothingisrealpod.com Twitter: @BeatlesPod Facebook Group: http://tiny.cc/NIRFBG YouTube: http://tiny.cc/NIRYT  Support: http:...

Rubber Soul - Part One It’s October 1965 and the Beatles have 14 sessions to record a new album - plus an extra day for the single. The album is due in the shops on December 3rd. That album turns out to be Rubber Soul. How did that happen?  Live on tape from Dublin & Belfast, it’s Nothing Is Real.  Website: http://www.nothingisrealpod.com Twitter: @BeatlesPod Facebook Group: http://t...

S05E12: You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)  In 1988 when asked for his favorite Beatles song, Paul McCartney offered up You Know My Name (Look Up The Number). Released in 1970 it was the last new Beatles b-side and it showed that right up to the end they could still surprise and delight.  Live on tape from Dublin & Belfast, it’s Nothing Is Real.  Website: http://www.nothingis...

S05E11: Nothing Is Real LIVE - The Beatles In Ireland  Two years on from NIR’s live debut, Steven & Jason are once again in front of an audience at the 2021 Dublin Beatles Festival. This time they’re battling the conspiracy theory that The Beatles are from Liverpool. Could it be that they are actually Ireland’s greatest band?  Live on tape, in front of an audience, from Dublin, it’s...

The Beatles Get Back Nearly three years on from the announcement of The Beatles Get Back, Peter Jackson’s movie is finally here. Except it’s not a movie, it is January 1969 distilled into 7 hours and 48 minutes, and it’s everything.  Live on tape from Dublin, it’s Nothing Is Real.  Website: http://www.nothingisrealpod.com Twitter: @BeatlesPod Facebook Group: http://tiny.cc/NIRFBG Yo...

The Beatles Get Back - The Night Before The wait is nearly over. With only 24 hours to go before the world gets to see Peter Jackson’s The Beatles Get Back, Steven & Jason gather their thoughts ahead of its release and ahead of a full Nothing Is Real episode on this incredible docuseries.  Live on tape from Dublin, it’s Nothing Is Real.  Website: http://www.nothingisrealpod.com Twitt...

You Can’t Catch Me: Come Together Part Two As 1972 rolled into 1973, so did the litigation relating to the inspiration John Lennon had when writing Come Together. The knock-on effects would be heard on John’s solo albums and teach us the important life lesson to always read the small print about mail order distribution. Live on tape from Dublin & Belfast, it’s Nothing Is Real.  Website: h...

You Can’t Catch Me: Come Together Part One Having been sidelined by a car accident, John Lennon reappeared at the Abbey Road sessions with a gem: Come Together. Although a great example of the Beatles as a creative entity, the track would cast a huge shadow over John’s solo work in the 70s.  Live on tape from Dublin & Belfast, it’s Nothing Is Real.  Website: http://www.noth...

Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Movie This 1978 movie, a BeeGees-Frampton vehicle is a rightly derided folly. The bigger question is: Why does this even exist at all? Follow all the threads and even Brian Epstein plays an indirect role. Steven & Jason explain.  Live on tape from Dublin & Belfast, it’s Nothing Is Real.  Website: http://www.nothingisrealpod.com Twitter:...

The Laurence Juber Interview: Part Two As a member of Wings, Laurence Juber is sent off on promotional duties for the mighty Back To The Egg album and the new line-up hits the road for the 1979 Wings U.K. winter tour. Then Wings arrive in two places: Japan, and the 1980s.  Live on tape from Dublin & Belfast & Los Angeles, it’s Nothing Is Real.  Website: http://www.nothingisr...

05E06: The Laurence Juber Interview: Part One Before he joined Wings in 1978, Laurence Juber was already a musician’s musician. In this first part, he recounts how he brought his formal musical training in college to the busy world of 1970s sessions, and then he crosses paths with Denny Laine and Mike McCartney… Live on tape from Dublin & Belfast & Los Angeles, it’s Nothing Is Real. ...

The Concert for Bangladesh: Part Two It’s Monday, July 26th, 1971 and rehearsals start for the George Harrison & Friends gig due to happen the following Sunday. Will Eric get on a plane? Is Bob going to be there? Has Allen cleared everything with the taxman?  Live on tape from Dublin & Belfast, it’s Nothing Is Real.  Website: http://www.nothingisrealpod.com Twitter: @BeatlesPod F...

05E03: The Concert for Bangladesh: Part One In March 1971, the people of what was known as East Pakistan declared their independence as Bangladesh, triggering a liberation war and a humanitarian crisis. Meanwhile, ex-Beatle George Harrison was king of the world with a number one single and album under his belt. How did these two things become forever entwined? Enter Ravi Shankar…  L...

S05E02: Side Two of the White Album: Part Two Steven & Jason set off on part two of their ascent of the mountain that is the second side of The White Album, starting at the Rocky Racoon Base Camp.  Live on tape from Dublin & Belfast, it’s Nothing Is Real.  Website: http://www.nothingisrealpod.com Twitter: @BeatlesPod Facebook Group: http://tiny.cc/NIRFBG YouTube: http://tiny.cc/N...