YELLOW SUBMARINE THEME PARK RIDE

9.18.99 - The Wall of Sound reports that a YS theme park ride has been developed and will premiere in Germany in November, and possibly in Sony's Japan amusement park by next summer. A U.S. debut is uncertain, though Sony has an amusement park planned for the San Francisco area, WOS says. Apple is said to be working on other possible amusement park rides based on Beatle songs.

VH1 PLANS FICTIONAL BEATLE FILM

9.9.99 - VH1 has an upcoming made-for-TV movie on John and Paul. The Hollywood Reporter says Aidan Quinn will play Paul and Jared Harris (I thought we'd seen somewhere that he's related to singer Richard Harris) will play John. No air date has been set. The film will focus on a meeting between McCartney and Lennon in New York in 1976. It will be directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who also directed "Let It Be."

PAUL MAKES SURPRISE MTV APPEARANCE

9.9.99 - The climax of Thursday's annual MTV Music Awards Show was a surprise appearance by Paul McCartney, who acted as co-presenter of the final award with some unknown named Madonna.The award was presented to Lauryn Hill, who Paul referred to as "Lawrence Hill." The show will be repeated often and we'll note a few of the repeat dates on the TV alert page.

EXTENSIVE JULIAN INTERVIEW

9.2.99 - Jody Denberg, who conducted the interview with Yoko Ono in advance of "The John Lennon Anthology," has done a long interview with Julian Lennon. An audio version has been issued as a promotional CD by Julian's record company, Music From Another Room. The transcript of the 73-minute interview can be read on the KGSR Radio website.

LIVERPOOL GOES YELLOW FOR THE BEATLES

8.31.99 - Liverpool fell under the spell of Beatlemania again as thousands gathered on Monday for a street party to relaunch "The Yellow Submarine," three decades after the classic animated film was made.
A day of celebration in the hometown of the world's best known pop group included performances by tribute bands from Brazil to Poland, and culminated with the world premiere of the remixed, renovated version of the Beatles cartoon. The Lord Mayor of Liverpool declared Monday Yellow Submarine Day.
The film, first released in 1968, follows the adventures of Captain Fred and his crew of Beatles as they sail through psychedelic seas to save Pepperland from the music-loathing Blue Meanies. It will go on sale worldwide on home video and video disc in mid-September, and 15 Beatles songs from it are being released on the same album for the first time.
The three surviving Beatles -- Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr -- have backed the project. John Lennon was shot dead by a deranged fan in New York in 1980.
Among other tributes for the "Fab Four" was a special stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service. A Eurostar train decorated with psychedelic scenes from the film will travel via the Channel Tunnel from London to Paris next week.
"Thirty years ago, through 'Yellow Submarine', the Beatles sent a message of peace and love around the globe," said Liverpool City Council leader Mike Storey.
"Now in the last summer of the century Liverpool is ready to be part of relaunching that positive message."
This time round, Beatlemania comes well packaged and in many forms -- among them tea sets for members of the so-called Love Generation.

LENNON'S GUITAR UP FOR SALE

6.18.99 - The guitar John Lennon was playing on the day he met Paul McCartney is expected to fetch up to $160,O00 when it is sold at auction next month.
Lennon was playing the Gallotone Champion with his band the Quarry Men at a church fete in 1957 when he befriended McCartney, who joined the band -- the forerunner of The Beatles.
On the neck of the guitar, which cost Lennon 10 pounds, is a plaque that recalls what he was once told by his Aunt Mimi: "Remember, you'll never earn your living by it."
Sotheby's will sell the guitar in London on September 14.

PAUL CLOSE TO NEW EMI CONTRACT

8.6.99 - Billboard reports Paul is close to signing a new EMI contract for at least three more albums. The deal is reported to be worth close to $30 million.

JULIAN SPEAKS OUT IN PARADE MAGAZINE

8.2.99 - Sean says he wants to make music on his own terms. "I know that being the son of John Lennon helped my music get noticed in the first place, and for that I'm thankful. If I wanted to, I could simply coast on the family name. But that has nothing to do with what I'm interested in. My music is my own." Looking toward the future, he said, "It will take people a long time to appreciate me for my music. So far, 'Into the Sun' hasn't earned enough to cover my expenses, and I want to be able to sustain myself. I don't just want to spend the Beatles' money. That would make me feel empty."

ISSUE DATE SET FOR NEW BEATLES STAMP

7.22.99 - The U.S. Postal Service Beatles stamps voted in last year in a nationwide poll will be issued Sept. 17. There is a picture of the stamp HERE.

"The Linda McCartney Story" Miniseries set for CBS

"Lady Linda" marks Metafilmic's first venture into television after the fall release of its feature, "What Dreams May Come," starring Robin Williams. Metafilmics is dedicated to development and production of spiritually informed projects. The Renaissance Literary Agency, in conjunction with NY-based literary agency Writers House, brokered the deal for the highly sought-after Linda McCartney biography.

GEORGE ON HIS NEW ALBUM "YELLOW SUBMARINE"

6.20.99 - The full interview, in the June 19 issue, has some interesting revelations: The album, according to author Timothy White, who interviewed George, is to be titled "Portrait of a Leg End." Songs include "Valentine," "Pisces Fish," and "Brainwashed." In the interview, Harrison decries the cynicism rampant today and says he still believes in the power of music "to inspire, give comfort or another outlook" on "all the terrible things" that "we're doing to ourselves and each other these days." Read the excerpts online here http://www.billboard.com/sr/beatles/.

or go get the magazine with the full interview.

PAUL'S RECORDING A NEW ALBUM

6.18.99 - In an interview with Clint O'Connor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Paul says the album came about because of Linda's encouragement. "We were talking about it last year. She'd say, 'You've got to do that. C'mon, get to it.' Unfortunately, she didn't live to see it. But it gave me an added impetus to carry on. It's for her.'' He said making the album took him back in time. ''One of the great buzzes about doing the album was sitting down with a cassette _ it would have been an actual 45 in those days _ with a piece of paper and a pencil, and getting the first line of the lyric. Then stopping the cassette, winding it back, getting the next line. And I was just like, 'My God, I have not done this since I was a teenager.' It brought it all back to me," he said. ''It was like when we first started the Beatles. If you wanted to know how a song went, you had to write it out yourself. So it was really cool.'' Playing with Paul on the album are Pink Floyd's David Gilmour and Mick Green on guitars; Ian Pace (Deep Purple) on drums, veteran British session man Pete Wingfield on keyboards and Paul on bass and vocals. ''It was just the five of us. We hung out for this week and just wailed, and ended up with 21 songs. Now we're selecting it down and choosing the very best. We're going to finish mixing it (this week, the article said), think of a title, get some artwork and put it out.'' One of those tracks is Larry Williams' "She Said Yeah." ''It was a labor of love," he said.