When They Was Fab: Electric Arguments About the Beatles

More from the "Gab Four" as we continue our look at April 4, 1962 - The Beatles at the Stowe School.    George Harrison's guitar comes through loud and clear, but a bout with the cold or flu has limited what he can do with his voice.    Despite this issue, the band does their best and still finds a way to change the lives of the young men who will become the next generation of power brokers in the UK.

The "Gab Four" come together (and join the party).     Lonnie Pena, Jon Stone and Marv Quibell join me for the first of a two-parter where we go in depth on Ringo's new release ("Rewind Forward"), his appearance in the Nils Lofgren video, and the dual autumn/winter tours.    (The All-Starr's and Sir Macca).    This leads into the beginning of our usual in-depth look at the Stowe school tape, which managed to grow legs and crawl out of the British Library in the recent past!

This week, Lonnie Pena and I are joined by Nashville Hall of Fame songwriter Kent Blazy.     We discuss his recent trip to Liverpool, and how visiting the Beatles sites inspired him to write and record his new collection: "From the Beatles To the Bluebird."     We also touch on his thoughts on fame (one of his frequent collaborators is country superstar Garth Brooks), the uniqueness of the 12-string, and how he frequently tries to channel Lennon/McCartney when he starts a new project.

A very special live edition of When They Was Fab.     I am joined by "The Co-Pips" - Dr. Kit O'Toole (Queen of all Beatles Media, Talk More Talk, Toppermost of the Poppermost) and Dr. Kenneth Womack (Everything Fab Four, the keeper of Mal Evans' flame, and author of more books than you can shake a stick at).     Our topic:    "Alpha Omega", "Red and Blue", "Original Greatest Hits", "20 Greatest Hits", a bit about "Now and Then" (nothing new, unfortunately) and somehow the Star Club Tapes.

August 11, new show!    Kit O'Toole and Martin Quibell join me to preview our various appearances at Fest for Beatles Fans Chicago!    Tune in, turn on, and join us as we do live renditions of this very show (Red and Blue in 2023), "Toppermost of the Poppermost", and various other panels.    We'll have Fun, Fun, Fun! (oops, wrong band)

Frequent and beloved guest Darin Murphy (Skyrocket, HeartByrne, Cotton Mather) joins us to obsess a bit more on the guitars that The Beatles used on "The Beatles" (aka: "The White Album").     Diversions into the Fender VI (bass), Ringo and his attempt at using a double bass kit, and even a bit of Andy Summers, Eric Clapton and the "Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton" (aka: "The Beano Album")

Aubrey "Po" Powell and Storm Thorgerson were once known as "Hipgnosis".     It is not an exaggeration to say that their collective was responsible for much of the significant album cover artwork of the 1970's.     This includes Wings from "Band on the Run" through "Back to the Egg", and Aubrey Powell would continue on-and-off with McCartney through "Off the Ground" and his 1992 World Tour.

Martin and I sit down to go through the rest of Paul McCartney's "1964: Eyes of the Storm".     Liverpool, London, Paris, New York, DC and Miami.     A Beatle's eye view of a much too serious world.     We also get a brief drop-in from Kit O'Toole as we discuss the news - Penn Jillete's revelations concerning the "new" Beatles single, Paul McCartney and Paul Muldoon's forthcoming podcast, and some mumblings on Shankar Family and Friends, the lack of an announcement of the next "Archive Edition" from Paul McCartney and Wings, and more...

Stuart Sutcliffe is remembered as the one-time bass player of the Beatles, and artist who happened to die under tragic circumstances, but is that all their is to the young man?    Jon Stone and I look at a BBC Four Documentary from 2005 (a decade after the story was fictionalized in "Backbeat") which features interviews with many of the participants telling Stuart's story in their own words.

Paul McCartney has done two major interviews supporting his show at the National Portrait Gallery in London, and the global release of "1964: Eyes of the Storm"    We look at the highlights of his program with Stanley Tucci, and the Tribeca Film Festival interview with Conan O'Brien (now available in audio in full from the "Conan O'Brien needs a Friend" podcast.