Yesterday and Today

It’s the summer of 1987, and once again a Beatle joins the Prince's Trust stage — and this time not one but TWO! First up the heretofore reclusive George Harrison, busy preparing his latest audio album and dipping his toe back into the waters of pop star life for the first time since his musical hiatus began nearly half a decade prior. Joining George to sing an all-star rendition of With A Little...

The next wave of Beatles compact discs arrived as spring turned to summer, 1987 - marking (handily) the 20th anniversary of Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Taking the theme of "It was twenty years ago today" and running with it, Apple and their distribution arms at Capitol and EMI launched an elaborate campaign that culminated in a documentary film featuring current interviews with both Paul...

And speaking of things that are "now" and "then"... It's 1987 and another momentous chapter in the Beatles story is unfolding at break-neck pace. As Capitol/EMI plan for the launch of the first round of Beatles CDs (heralding the arrival of fab four music on compact disc for the first time), Paul, George and Ringo were all in their respective studios preparing new music. First up, the rambling Dua...

As the year 1986 draws to a close, the musical direction and legacy of the three surviving former Beatles rounds the corner on another eventful decade. With Paul McCartney still busy promoting his less-than-smash-hit LP Press to Play - Macca turns his attention to a new year that would embrace the successes of his past...and an eye toward the next phase of his career in the latter half of the deca...

As Paul McCartney's latest studio album, Press to Play, at last reached the ears of the listening public, the modest success of its top 40 lead-off single Press must have been bittersweet for its creator. After nearly two years of gestation, Paul's failure to crack the top 20 on either side of the Atlantic with the catchy earworm foreshadowed the album's lukewarm reception worldwide (as compared t...

Oklahoma was never like this...it's summer of 1986 and a new Paul McCartney album is on sale worldwide! Press to Play - Paul's 5th solo studio album in nearly as many years - represented a man on a mission to capture the sounds of the day, forge a new songwriting partnership, and undo the negative attention his Give My Regards to Broadstreet project attracted from all the bitter critics seeking to...

As Spring turns to summer in 1986, a flurry of activity points to an early clue to the new direction for the key players in Beatle World. Julian Lennon, fresh off the release of his sophomore LP The Secret Value of Daydreaming, embarked on his second North American tour in June. Ringo Starr's children's entertainment resume grew once more in May, with freshly re-recorded voice acting on the animat...

George Harrison's return to the limelight was underway in the Spring of 1986, with yet another public appearance fresh off the heels of his Shanghai Surprise press tour. This time the former Beatle took to the stage for the charity concert Heartbeat '86 - and, playing alongside rock contemporaries including former Wings founding member Denny Laine, it's easy to see a relaxed Harrison having fun pl...

It's 1986 and the latter half of the 80s is off with a bang...but not a hitch. The set of George Harrison's latest Hand Made Film's project, Shanghai Surprise, found itself rife with unwanted press attention after a skirmish between star Sean Penn (beside girlfriend and co-star Madonna) and the paparazzi - eager for a story. George himself flew down to the filming location to quell tensions and en...

The YESTERDAY & TODAY and TAKE IT AWAY podcasts are crossing over! In this special double-feature, double-interview episode, hosts Wayne Kaminski, Chris Mercer and Paul Kaminski join forces to discuss Paul McCartney historiography with special guest authors who have fresh releases on shelves now. Luca Perasi is certainly no stranger to the TAKE IT AWAY podcast -- Luca was interviewed by Chris...

It's the end of 1985, and in many ways the end cap on a year of realignment for the former Beatles. While the successes of the Spies Like Us single and his lauded Live Aid performance kept Paul McCartney a part of the cultural conversation, Macca's critical and commercial wounds from 1984's Broadstreet fiasco remained. Ringo Starr and George Harrison's continued musical silence left only Julian Le...

It's the fall of 1985 and new music from the three remaining former Beatles abounds! First up, in their first joint concert appearance together since the Concert for Bangladesh over a decade prior, George Harrison and Ringo Starr are once again singing together on stage -- this time in support of rockabilly legend and founding rock and roll pioneer Carl Perkins. In a new special titled Carl Perkin...

As summer turned to fall in 1985, the aftermath of the LIVE AID benefit concert continued to ring in the ears of the collective musical consciousness. Paul McCartney's appearance in the show, albeit minus the rumored involvement of George and Ringo, was a welcome revitalization of Macca's profile following the disastrous reception of his Give My Regards to Broadstreet film. The aforementioned Geor...

It's July 13th, 1985 and a historic event is taking place on both sides of the Atlantic. It's LIVE AID, a worldwide televised live concert featuring the biggest acts in music -- united in support of Ethiopian famine relief. Organizer Bob Geldof, known as lead singer for the Boomtown Rats, organized the largest known concert fundraising effort in history - inspired in many ways by George Harrison's...

It's the spring of 1985 and Paul McCartney is hard at work recording a new album at his Hog Hill Mill studio. In a shift away from his prior work in the decade, Paul sought to recreate a "band" environment with co-writing partner Eric Stewart, drummer Jerry Marotta and guitarist Carlos Alomar - along with himself and Linda - likely as a reaction to the crumbling critical reaction to his recent pro...

It's 1985, and after a whirlwind prior year the three remaining former Beatles are laying relatively low in their respective corners of the globe. Unable to accept the shortfall of his first solo cinematic debut, Paul McCartney is back in the studio - specifically his newly-minted Hog Hill Mill Studio - doing the one thing that always helps him in times of trouble: making new music. Sessions for h...

It's the grand finale of 1984 - a year in Beatles history full of big swings, big misses, and new beginnings for the remaining three former Beatles. Despite the musical successes of Paul's latest project, the US flop of McCartney's Give My Regards to Broadstreet film left a bitter taste in the mouth of its creator - blaming frustrated screenwriters-turned critics for its failures. The Maccas put o...

At last, after years of preparation, planning and hard work, Paul McCartney's Give My Regards to Broadstreet has arrived! First up in the release schedule is the soundtrack album, featuring new Macca tracks (including the successful No More Lonely Nights single) as well as incidental music and re-recorded Beatles tracks featured in the film. As expected, the LP performed well, hitting the coveted...

It's October 1984 and Paul McCartney has begun his press tour to promote the upcoming release of GIVE MY REGARDS TO BROADSTREET. Nerves were abound, as this was Macca's theatrical screenwriting debut, and initial reactions seem to be mixed at best - judged perhaps unfairly to the beloved Beatles films A Hard Days Night and Help!. With nostalgia twinkling in the eyes of fans and knives being sharpe...

So far 1984 has seen the release of two new Lennon projects, starting with the posthumous Milk & Honey LP and continuing on with the Every Man Has A Woman single & compilation album. But in October another new Lennon release arrived in the form of Julian Lennon's debut solo LP Valotte. This slickly-produced and catchy collection of songs from John's first born son was an instant success, w...

It's summer 1984, and to ring in the 4th of July The Beach Boys are playing to.record-shattering attendance in Washington D.C. - with some special guests. Emerging in support of his former 60s rivals was Ringo Starr, joining Mike, Carl, Bruce and Al to play some of the Beach Boys biggest hits - as well as a rousing rendition of Back in the USSR (written in the style of the Beach Boys by Paul back...

As winter thaws to spring in 1984, a fresh batch of singles plucked from John Lennon's posthumous Milk & Honey LP are released on Polydor Records. Stepping Out and Borrowed Time saw some diminishing returns from the previous singles and LP release, but no one could deny the cold comfort of new John Lennon music back on the charts. Producer Jack Douglas found himself victorious in the court cas...

As the press tour for the Pipes of Peace LP wound down, Paul McCartney's So Bad music video featuring Ringo Starr heralded the arrival of the forthcoming Macca movie Give My Regards To Broadstreet. But as if from a bolt from above, the other half of the Lennon/McCartney songwriting partnership was about to have one final collection of unheard new material ready to compete with his bandmate. On Jan...

With Paul McCartney's latest solo effort Pipes of Peace, Macca remained on track to continue his hit-making streak through to the end of 1983. Promotion for this new LP - which featured the smash-hit single Say Say Say as its lead-off track - was brisk, and while reviews weren't as kind as they had been to its predecessor Tug of War, Pipes of Peace proved to be the kind of commercial seller that w...

A new solo album is on the way from Paul McCartney in the fall of 1983 - and all eyes were on the follow-up effort to his smash hit LP Tug of War the year prior. Pipes of Peace, however, was a markedly different record from it predecessor - acting in some ways as a peaceful, chipper answer to the heavy, dramatic leanings of much of the previous LP. Uncharacteristic introspection was still on the m...