J’s blog

ABC's "At the Movies" reviewer's both gave four (out of five) stars to, "The US vs. John Lennon", the film to be screened by the Magnetic Island Film Society this Saturday. It's a doco, "tracing John Lennon's metamorphosis from lovable Beatle, to anti-war activist," and "the true story of how and why the US government tried to silence him..." David Stratton writes, "It's a fascinating chapter in the popular culture of the late 20th Century that John Lennon, soon after the immensely popular group, The Beatles, imploded, quickly became, in the eyes of the Nixon Administration, an enemy of America. "This very comprehensive and informative documentary, by David Leaf and John Scheinfeld, concentrates on the post-Beatles period....more...

Yesterday-The Beatles Tribute Show Band salutes the Fab Four and packs the Liverpool Club Theater at Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City. Yesterday takes the stage in Atlantic City and Lake Tahoe, as founder Don Bellezzo joins forces with Yesterday Productions' Barbara McKeown to bring to life their critically acclaimed show, The British Are Coming! The reviews have come in from all over regarding Yesterday-The Beatles Tribute Show Band and the marks are high. The Tropicana Hotel/Casino has outdone itself by bringing in this gem of a show that pays homage to one of the greatest bands of all time, The Beatles. The founder of Yesterday is Don Bellezzo, himself a first class musician who actually portrays John Lennon in the show. The show is a look back at when the Fab Four ruled the world and focuses on a few of their most famous appearances. Their debut on the Ed Sullivan Show and the record setting concerts at the Hollywood Bowl and Shea Stadium. The enthusiasm of the musicians can be felt by the sold out audiences that have attended the shows. The music and vocals are spot on and unwavering. The British Are Coming! is a Yesterday Productions Presentation, Barbara McKeown, producer. The show at the Tropicana has been extended indefinitely. Audiences can relive the magic of the legendary Beatles and experience Yesterday, as the Beatles Tribute Show Band presents The British Are Coming!! Wednesdays through Sundays at the Liverpool Club Theater located in the North Tower of the Tropicana directly across from the box office. Tickets are $25.00 each and show times are at 8:30pm each night. You can find out more information about both the Atlantic City and the Lake Tahoe Horizon Casino Resort venues by going to www.legendsofyesterday.com and for media inquiries contact Neil Cirucci at neilciruccipr@aol.com.

Press Release

WHEN the 36 students at Reservoir's Maharishi School return to the classroom this week, there will be the usual buzz that comes from the thrill of seeing classmates and starting a school year. But by 9.30am, shoes will be off and all will be quiet. Complete silence will descend over the school as the students and teachers sit crossed-legged on the floor and meditate. Breathing and pulse rates will slow as students quickly settle into their transcendental meditation — a technique that teaches pupils to slow their mental activity and experience pure consciousness. ...more...

Singer Sean Lennon invoked the image and personality of his father, the late Beatles star John Lennon, during a recent visit to New York. The (London) Daily Mail said Friday that as Sean Lennon and his girlfriend, Kemp Muhl, wandered around New York, their photographed image was nearly identical to that of a 1969 photograph of the late rock singer and his wife, Yoko Ono. Not only does the 32-year-old son of the late Beatles great have many of his father's physical traits, but apparently some of his musical abilities as well....more...

We moved to the Springwood Estate, in Allerton, Liverpool, in 1949, when I was two and a half. Initially, it was just my mother (also named Julia), my father, John Albert, known as Bobby, and myself. Jackie, my sister, came along that October. And, of course, there was John. He was six years older than me, and he didn’t live with us, because Mimi, my mother’s eldest sister, had misappropriated him. She disapproved of a wartime affair my mother had had while married to John’s father, a merchant seaman who was away for years at a time. When my mother fell pregnant as a result, Mimi and Pop, my maternal grandfather, insisted that she give up the child. Later, my mother met my father, and that was the last straw, because they lived together without getting married. So, John went to live with Mimi at her house, Mendips, in May 1946 – she took him to live a morally upright life, to get him away from the sins of his mother. ...more...

Singer Paul McCartney was seen wearing the same clothes from the night before while leaving a London hotel Friday morning, leading to talk of a late visit. The former Beatles star had spent Thursday night reminiscing with actor Jack Nicholson and former model Twiggy, but the Daily Mail said McCartney's clothes indicated he likely spent the night on Twiggy's sofa. The British newspaper said that adorned in last night's outfit, the 58-year-old singer happily dealt with a pack of assembled photographers Friday outside the popular celebrity haunt, The Ivy. Twiggy, still a veritable modeling icon despite being 58 years old, has been a staunch supporter of McCartney during his turbulent divorce from former model Heather Mills....more...

WITH EACH tide, the Irish Sea covers the iron-clad men, some of them already half-buried in the rippling sands, and then reveals them anew. They create an immediate sense of company, of belonging, on what would otherwise be a bleak shoreline. The distant thump of heavy machine-gun fire from the army range further up the coast, and the dawn mist in the estuary, add to the surreal atmosphere. "Someone's stolen the sea today," says Cook, straightening his back and making a stab at the trademark Liverpudlian humour. The high blades of Burbo Bank offshore wind farm can just be seen, poking through the fog. Cook, a plasterwork restorer, loves being by the sea. He likes the feeling of freedom and possibility that the coast gives him. "That's Wales down there," he says. "Beyond that is Ireland and then you don't stop until America." It takes a while - several visits, in fact - for Liverpool to click, but in that sentence, the beachcomber has captured the essence of the place. Like the iconic Liver Building at Albert Docks, Gormley's statues look to the horizon, to Ireland and the Atlantic: the two huge influences on the city. That combination, that ebb and flow across the sea, shaped Liverpool into the least English of England's cities. To understand Liverpool you have to acknowledge that Britain, for the most part, lies to the east of it....more...

Casting is complete for the inaugural Public LAB production of Mom, How Did You Meet The Beatles?, which is set to begin performances Feb. 4. Penned by Adrienne Kennedy and her son, Adam P. Kennedy, Mom, How Did You Meet The Beatles? marks the first production of the newly founded developmental works series uniting the Public and LAByrinth Theater companies. The play chronicles Adrienne Kennedy's search for fame and fortune in 1960's London. As an innocent abroad, Kennedy encounters numerous British writers as well as the likes of Laurence Olivier, James Baldwin, Ricki Huston and The Beatles. Barrymore winner Brenda Pressley, whose credits include Seven Guitars, Marvin's Room and the Broadway production of Dreamgirls, portrays Ms. Kennedy, with William DeMeritt as her son, Adam. Public resident director Peter DuBois directs the inaugural work for the Public LAB. Dubois previously staged A View from 151st Street and Jack Goes Boating....more...

In 1966, a British reporter stopped Paul McCartney outside of Abbey Road studio in London and asked him why The Beatles were no longer touring. "If you never toured again," the reporter asked, "would it worry you?" "Ah, I don't know," McCartney replied. "No, I don't think so. Because we can't develop when no one can hear us. You know what I mean? So for us, to perform, it's difficult. We want to do it, but if we're not listened to, and we can't even hear ourselves, then we can't improve in that. We can't get any better." Perhaps it was just as well that The Beatles stopped performing publicly, given the constant screaming and the limitations presented by the technology of the day. Much of the music they recorded after 1966 couldn't be re-created onstage anyway....more...

This week the Non Domestic Goddess Club was pleased to read that there appears to have been an eleventh-hour thawing of relations between Heather Mills and Sir Paul McCartney, and that an out-of-court settlement may even be reached before next month's hearing. We are pleased about this because we have always been fans of Heather and have been extremely shocked by the disgraceful and pernicious way she has been treated. We do not know Heather exactly, but this is what we would say to her if we did: "Heather, we have always, always admired you. We have admired you ever since we first saw you in 1999 on TV at the Pride of Britain awards, giving a gong to the most photogenic freckle-nosed schoolboy who dialled 999 while his mum was in a diabetic coma through no fault of her own, beyond being 42-stone overweight. This was so moving that there was even a tear in Carol Vorderman's eye, and she is as tough as old boots. ...more...