Tag Archives: john lennon

RINGO STARR’S SHEA STADIUM DRUM KIT

Ringo Starr’s drums are on view at Bloomingdale’s, along with George Harrison and John Lennon guitars (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Bloomingdale’s
1000 Third Ave. at 59th St.
Through December, free
212-705-2098
www.ringosbeatlekits.com
www.bloomingdales.com

Fifty years ago this February, four mop-topped Liverpudlians landed in New York City and changed the world when they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. In honor of that event, as well as the release of new Beatles merchandise, Bloomingdale’s is displaying Ringo Starr’s Shea Stadium drum kit, consisting of the Ludwig 22-inch bass Richard Starkey played at Shea on August 15, 1965; floor and rack toms from the Fab Four’s 1964 and 1966 tours, which stopped at the home of the Mets on August 23, 1966; a Jazz Festival snare drum from Ringo’s second Oyster Black Pearl kit, used by Paul McCartney on Macca’s solo debut and various early Wings tunes and purchased at Manny’s Music Store on February 9, 1964; and Ringo’s original bass drum travel case. The display, inside a Plexiglas case in the men’s department next to Magnolia Bakery at the Third Ave. entrance, also includes a new model of George Harrison’s Signature Duo Jet Guitar, which the Quiet Beatle used on “Please Please Me” and appears on the cover of his 1987 album, Cloud Nine, as well as a John Lennon electric model. The memorabilia will be moving shortly to Los Angeles, but a whole lot more paraphernalia will be heading this way in February when Beatles Fest comes to town.

THE FEST FOR BEATLES FANS 2014

Lots of Fab Four memorabilia will be on sale and on view at the fortieth anniversary of the Fest for Beatles Fans

Lots of Fab Four memorabilia will be on sale and on view at fortieth anniversary of the Fest for Beatles Fans

Grand Hyatt
109 East 42nd St. at Lexington Ave.
February 7-9, adults $55 – $195 (through January 17)
www.thefest.com

When we were mere lads, we got our post-breakup, pre-iTunes Beatles fix by checking out Beatlemania on Broadway, seeing Paul McCartney and Wings at Madison Square Garden, and going to a Beatles Fest convention on Long Island, where we finally got to watch Magical Mystery Tour and went home with all kinds of little trinkets; we still have that Shea Stadium Beatles coin that nearly bankrupted us at six bucks. The elephant in the room back then was the constant speculation of a possible Beatles reunion, with all four Moptops still alive and well. But that all came to a startling end thirty-three years ago today, when John Lennon was assassinated at the age of forty. George Harrison’s death at the age of fifty-eight on November 29, 2001, closed another chapter in the continuing Fab Four saga. Paul and Ringo are still around, touring, making records, and playing new and old songs, but it will never be the same. Even Shea Stadium, where the Beatles played on August 15, 1965, is gone.

Longtime Beatles cover band Liverpool will be at NYC fest honoring fiftieth anniversary of Beatels' arrival in America

Longtime Beatles cover band Liverpool will be at NYC fest honoring fiftieth anniversary of Beatles’ arrival in America

But the memories will come flooding back February 7-9 when the Fest for Beatles Fans, which began in 1974, takes place at the Grand Hyatt, held in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the Beatles’ arrival at JFK airport on February 7, 1964, and one of the most famous television appearances of all time, when the Fab Four played on The Ed Sullivan Show. (The Fest will also be in Chicago August 15-17, then move on to Los Angeles October 10-12, cities that actually got two shows back in 1965.) The three-day Manhattan party will feature dozens of special guests giving talks, signing memorabilia, presenting videos and art exhibitions, participating in panel discussions, and playing live sets. Among those confirmed are Peter & Gordon’s Peter Asher; photographers Bob Gruen, Allen Tannenbaum, and Rob Shanahan; “Breakfast with the Beatles” DJ Ken Dashow; Beatles scholar Martin Lewis, who will serve as MC; newscaster Larry Kane; producer Mark Hudson; animator Ron Campbell; and lots of authors, historians, and cover bands. Performers include Chad & Jeremy, Billy J. Kramer, the Smithereens (re-creating the Beatles’ February 11, 1964, concert at the Washington Coliseum), and Donovan, who will also give a meditation lecture. There will be a Beatles marketplace, screenings of the documentary Good Ol’ Freda (with Freda Kelly), an auction, a dance party, costume and trivia contests, a parade, a walking tour, a tribute to the late Sid Bernstein, and much more. Ticket prices through January 17 range from $55 for Friday night to $79 for Saturday or Sunday to $195 for an all-access three-day pass; children six to sixteen are half price and those five and under free.

THE VINYL BUS

The Beatles Mobile Pop-up Shop will make its way through Manhattan on Tuesday

THE BEATLES MOBILE POP-UP SHOP
Multiple locations
Tuesday, November 13
www.thebeatles.com

We grew up listening to John, Paul, George, and Ringo on something called LPs, vinyl records that were placed on a turntable and spun around a spindle at 33⅓ revolutions per minute. We could even play these black mono discs backward, which on such records as The Beatles (aka The White Album) provided clues to a mystery about one of these Liverpudlian moptops’ possible early death. Big deals were made when their music first came out on CD and, more recently, became available on iTunes, but now we’re going back to the basics, as fourteen of the once-in-a-lifetime group’s albums — including such classics as With the Beatles, Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Magical Mystery Tour, a Hard Day’s Night, Yellow Submarine, Abbey Road, Let It Be, The Beatles, and Help! — are being released on 180g heavyweight vinyl in the remastered stereo versions as well as a deluxe limited edition box set. To celebrate the event, a double-decker bus will be traveling through New York City on November 13 selling copies of the records and more, making stops at Seventh Ave. and Fiftieth St. at 9:30, 550 Broadway between Prince and Spring Sts. at 12 noon, and 160 Broadway in the Financial District at 2:30. In addition, In Living Stereo on Great Jones St. will be hosting a listening party for the new records on December 5 at 7:00. Be sure to step right up to this magical mystery tour, which is dying to take you away to experience what will always be the greatest band in rock-and-roll history. (For those of you kids out there, we mean John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr.)

JOHN LENNON 70th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

New York City will be celebrating what would have been John Lennon’s seventieth birthday with a plethora of events this week (photo © Bob Gruen)

Multiple venues
October 6-9 (and beyond)
www.johnlennon.com

It’s hard to believe that in December it’ll be thirty years since John Lennon was murdered by Mark David Chapman in front of the Dakota on Central Park West. On October 9, the cool Beatle, who had fallen in love with his adopted home of New York, would have turned seventy years old. The city will be celebrating that never-reached milestone with a series of events all over town this week. Starting today and running through December 31, the Paley Center will be presenting “This Boy . . . John Lennon in Liverpool,” comprising rare photographs from John’s early years. On Thursday night at 7:00, the Paley Center will screen the American Masters film LennonNYC (Michael Epstein, 2010) as part of DocFest 2010, followed by a panel discussion with Epstein, Susan Lacy, Dick Cavett, and Dennis Elsas. In addition, the Paley Center has scheduled showings of IMAGINE: JOHN LENNON, WHAT’S HAPPENING! THE BEATLES IN THE U.S.A., THE U.S. VS. JOHN LENNON, and GIMME SOME TRUTH: THE MAKING OF JOHN LENNON’S IMAGINE ALBUM through the end of the year. On October 9, City Winery will be celebrating with “A John Lennon 70th Birthday Party,” featuring a VIP dinner and “Imagine Wine Flight” and performances by Kimya Dawson, Anais Mitchell, Freedy Johnston, Jesse Malin, the Chapin Sisters, Lisa Bouchelle, the Kennedys, and Tony Scherr; proceeds benefit the Food Bank of New York City. Also on October 9, LennonNYC will be screened for free at Central Park SummerStage at 7:00 (but you better get there a lot earlier). And finally, at the Morrison Hotel Gallery on Bowery, Julian Lennon’s photographs are being displayed for the first time, through October 10. Happy birthday, John!

JOHN LENNON: THE NEW YORK CITY YEARS

December 8 marks the 29th anniversary of the murder of John Lennon (photo by Bob Gruen)

December 8 marks the 29th anniversary of the murder of John Lennon in New York City (photo by Bob Gruen)

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex
76 Mercer St.
Through January 3
Timed tickets: $26.50
www.rockannex.com

It’s hard to believe that it’s been twenty-nine years since John Lennon was gunned down on December 8, 1980, by Mark David Chapman in front of the Dakota, where Lennon had lived with wife Yoko Ono for much of the 1970s. Lennon and Ono had just released the album DOUBLE FANTASY to wide acclaim and appeared ready to spend more time in the public spotlight. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex looks back at this period of Lennon’s life in the exhibition “John Lennon: The New York City Years,” comprising letters, photographs, instruments, handwritten lyrics, clothing, works of art, and other memorabilia and paraphernalia collected by Ono and curator Jim Henke. While the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – a rather dubious institution to begin with – is located in Cleveland, the organization set up an annex in SoHo last December. If you haven’t heard of it or been there, you’re not the only one; it has just been announced that the annex will be closing its doors on January 3. While the Web site claims that it’s merely “concluding its stay in New York” in preparation for a tour, low interest and attendance certainly contributed mightily to the decision. Of course, the admission charge of $26.50 for advance timed tickets didn’t help. However, if you’re seeking a way to pay tribute to the Smart Beatle, checking out this exhibit isn’t the worst idea we can think of.