(Entered 10/28/97)

Parlophone has announced the release of a new John Lennon Greatest Hits compilation on October 27 titled "Lennon Legend". The set contains 20 songs and a photo insert. The track list is as follows: #1-Imagine; #2-"Instant Karma!" (A personal favorite of ours!); #3-"Mother"; #4-"Jealous Guy"; #5-"Power to the People"; #6-"Cold Turkey"; #7-"Love"; #8-"Mind Games"; #9-"Whatever Gets you Through the Night"; #10-"Number 9 Dream"; #11-"Stand By Me"; #12-"(Just Like) Starting Over"; #13-"Woman"; #14-"Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)"; #15-"Watching the Wheels"; #16-"Nobody Told Me"; #17-"Borrowed Time"; #18-"Working Class Hero"; #19-"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)"; #20-"Give Peace a Chance."

(Entered 10/16/97)

Stella McCartney drew attention that would make veteran designers salivate. Photographers turned their lenses from the Paris runway - where Kate Moss and others strutted Wednesday in 1940s-style silk dresses and satin lingerie gowns edged with lace - to snap Demi Moore, Ringo Starr and proud parents Paul McCartney and rarely seen of late wife Linda. The designer didn't play down her roots: The spring/summer clothes were introduced by the Beatles tune All You Need Is Love. She dedicated the collection to Linda, who has battled breast cancer. Dawn Mello, president of Bergdorf Goodman, pronounced Stella "one of our great talents for the future. I think she will start a trend toward femininity that will influence other designers."

Refer to:
http://www.usatoday.com/life/enter/lep1.htm

(Entered 10/15/97)

Reuters reported on October 15 that Paul McCartney won a standing ovation Tuesday (OCtober 14) for the world premiere of his first solo classical music symphony. London's Royal Albert Hall echoed to screams of delight and cries of "We love you, Paul" as the London Symphony Orchestra and choir played the last notes of McCartney's symphonic poem "Standing Stone." The 75-minute-long work took four years to write.

Paul's wife Linda accompanied him to the world premiere, making her first public appearance since suffering from breast cancer 18 months ago. McCartney was called back to the stage six times by cheering crowds, who have already put the symphony at the top of the U.S. classical music charts and at number two in the British classical charts.

"I've loved the stretch of writing 'Standing Stone'," McCartney told a news conference before the performance. "It's exciting for me to work in a different musical field, although I really see no barriers in music and I still love my rock and roll."

"Standing Stone" has received less than rave reviews from critics. Some classical music critics have already dismissed it as "background music." Hilary French, writing in the Times, called it "a sad monument; it is tired, it is middle-aged." Rock music critic Andrew Smith said the symphony had a "few pretty tunes, but lacks a spine, an overriding vision."

But Paul appeared unperturbed by the critics and isn't ashamed of his scant classical musical background. "I don't know much about classical music at all. When I was a kid, my dad always used to turn it off when it came on the radio," said 55-year-old McCartney. "Sometimes it is a bit of an advantage to not know much. Ignorance is bliss in my case," he added.

Billboard online has reported that Paul plans the release next year of an album of short classical music pieces he composed in preparation for "Standing Stone." In a Billboard Bulletin exclusive, McCartney revealed his plans for the album, including its tentative title, "Working Classical," which he explained as a nod to his "working-class" roots.

The EMI Classics album "Paul McCartney's Standing Stone" debuted recently at No. 1 on Billboard's Classical Albums chart. The work will have its U.S. concert premiere November 19 at New York's Carnegie Hall.

(Entered 10/15/97)

Hundreds of John's fans blocked Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, when they congregated to celebrate his birthday. John's fans marked his birthday on October 9 by playing his music around his star on the HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME and lighting candles in his honor. And the 500 fans even shared a huge birthday cake with the message, "We love John Lennon and The Beatles." Jerry Rubin from the ALLIANCE FOR SURVIVAL, said the day was even more special because John's son Sean turned 22 on that day as well. Rubin adds, "We know that John is looking down on us honoring his birthday and I'm sure he is proud his music is lasting longer than his lifetime." The Alliance For Survival also used this birthday bash to launch a campaign calling for the Beatles to have their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Rubin says,"We already have well above 2,000 signatures and I think having a star for all the Beatles, not just John, is long overdue."

Refer to: CyberSleaze for Friday the 10th of October, 1997

http://metaverse.com/vibe/sleaze/00latest.html

For More Yoko News Go: Ono-Web

(Entered 10/12/97)

Paul's daughter, Stella McCartney will unveil her debut collection for the fashion house Chloe at the Paris fashion show which opens 10/13/97. Stella will present her collection Wednesday at the Opera Garnier. The collection is expected to be a highlight of the nine - day Spring - Summer ready - to - wear season. Paul and Linda McCartney are expected to be there as Stella sends about 100 outfits down the runway.

(Entered 10/7/97)

A philosophy professor known in academic circles as a pioneer in quantitative aesthetic theory (!!), has developed his own mathematical formula for judging rock bands and their music. According to the calculations of Crispin Sartwell of Penn State University, the Rolling Stones are a better rock band than the Beatles. The basic reason, according to Sartwell, is that the Beatles departed from rock 'n roll's African-American blues traditions in order to become "avant-garde artists." The symbol of their "downfall," he says, is "Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band," an album Sartwell describes as "truly bad."

(Entered 10/3/97)

Music critic and Arkansas native, Robert Palmer, will apparently be getting the liver transplant he needs. The Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported that Palmer, who wrote the liner notes for Yoko's ONOBOX, has been transferred to a New York hospital where the transplant is scheduled. The National Music Critics Association arranged for the trip. The surgeon and perhaps the assisting doctors have agreed to waive their fees for Palmer's transplant which will save him more than $200,000. Palmer still has to raise about $135,000 to pay for the hospital's minimum costs. Yoko, who sent Palmer $400 worth of flowers while he was in University Hospital before being transferred to New York, has arranged for a New York apartment for Palmer and his wife, JoBeth Briton, after the surgery.

(Thanks to Melba Sharp)

(Entered 10/3/97)

Paul says he was very pleased after his new symphony, "Standing Stone" went to Number One in the U.S. classical charts. "This is brilliant news, it's amazing. From New York to Los Angeles, Chicago to New Orleans, 'Standing Stone' is Number One," he said in a statement. McCartney, whose first classical work was the 1991 Liverpool Oratorio, is set to stage the world premiere of his new work at the Royal Albert Hall in London on October 14. The piece will be performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. McCartney has urged other rock stars to follow his lead. "I don't see any fences between pop and classical music but I think too many people do. To me, writing any kind of music gives me a kick."

(Entered 9/30/97)

Jurgen Vollmer, who befriended the Beatles in Hamburg in 1960, has gathered his stylish photographs of the early, pre-Ringo Beatles in a traveling gallery exhibit and an expensive new book, both titled Jurgen Vollmer: From Hamburg to Hollywood (Genesis Publications of England, $179).

"I was a teen-ager and I am also a very shy person, and George Harrison was a little shy and a teen-ager," recalls Vollmer, now 55. "He was a nice and sweet person. John Lennon had a little arrogant sneer, and he made all these ironic comments; he didn't put you at ease. But it was an act. Once I got to know him better, he was a softy. He projected that rough and tough rocker image. He wasn't at all, but he fooled me in the beginning. . . . Paul McCartney actually was always nice. He was smiling. He was a gentleman par excellence."

"Jurgen Vollmer was the first photographer to capture the beauty and the spirit of the Beatles," Lennon wrote in 1975 after using a Vollmer shot as the cover of his Rock and Roll album. "We tried very hard to find someone with his touch after we returned from Hamburg, Germany. . . . Nobody could."

The show is running at Govinda Gallery in Washington, D.C., through Saturday. It will move to New Orleans' Gallery for Fine Photography and galleries in Los Angeles and New York. The book is available by phone: 800-775-1111.

By Andy Seiler, USA TODAY

Go Here For More:
http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/lmds008.htm

(Entered 9/25/97)

By Steve James

LOS ANGELES (Reuter) - The FBI Thursday released previously censored files on former Beatle John Lennon, who was under surveillance in the early 1970s because of fears he would incite anti-war violence.

The move was hailed as a victory by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, which filed suit 14 years ago to have the files on the slain rock star made public.

"These released documents prove that the investigation of John Lennon was motivated by the fear of his political influence and not any criminal activity," the ACLU said in a statment.

"This is a victory for every person in the United States who is worried about excesses of the government," Ramona Ripston, executive director of ACLU/Southern California, said.

The FBI later responded, saying the investigation reflected the ethos of a different era. "The FBI is required by law to release raw information from its files that was collected during an earlier era in our history, when different concerns drove the FBI, the U.S. government, the news media and public sentiment," the FBI said in a statement. "Under today's laws and investigative guidelines, this type of investigation would not have been initiated by the FBI."

At Thursday's ACLU news conference, historian Jon Wiener, who had sought the documents under the Freedom of Information Act, said the FBI investigation appeared to have been based on the Nixon administration's fear of Lennon's influence over voters in the 1972 presidential election. Richard Nixon was seeking re-election, and the unpopular Vietnam War was at its height.

"The Nixon administration wanted to silence John Lennon as a spokesman for the anti-war movement. But all he was saying was, 'Give Peace a Chance,"' said Wiener, whose book "Come Together: John Lennon in His Time" was published in 1985.

Besides releasing 80 previously censored pages, which the FBI had earlier said contained information that was confidential or related to national security, the agency agreed to pay $204,000 for Wiener's legal fees and costs.

Asked if Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, approved of the ACLU's action, Wiener said he had not spoken to her recently. "But I understand she prefers to focus on the future rather than the past," he said.

Reuters/Variety

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(Entered 9/16/97)

Paul McCartney, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins and Sting were among the rock stars who joined forces to raise more than $1 million at a benefit concert for volcano-ravaged Montserrat. Last night's (9/15/97) show at London's Royal Albert Hall was the most star-studded line-up of rockers since the 1985 Live Aid concert for African famine relief. All of the artists had recorded at George Martin's studio on the Caribbean island. Forty countries have purchased broadcast rights to the concert.

(Entered 9/15/97)

An authorized biography of Paul McCartney will be released in early October. Barry Miles interviewed Paul for several hours and bases his book on those talks. This is no Albert Goldman attack-book, but Paul does attempt to tell-all. He re-tells stories about the Beatles' early drug days (Bob Dylan first turned the B's on to marijuana, then Paul turned Mick Jagger on to it). Paul claims he played the dominant role in his songwriting partnership with John Lennon, and originally wanted the credits to read "McCartney-Lennon" instead of the other way around. The competition between John and Paul is old news: John took swipes at Paul after the Beatles break-up and Paul has been trying to re-establish his role in the Beatles since John's death. Paul realizes he may only succeed in seeming to be self-serving and makes this statement in the book: "I'd like to register the fact that John was great, and I did love him, lest it be seen that I'm trying now to do my own revisionism." All of this is old news to old Beatle fans, but we understand there are some interesting photos in the book.

(Entered 9/9/97)

Derek Taylor, who was the Beatles' press aide at the height of their fame, has died at the age of 65 of cancer. Paul McCartney said, "He was a beautiful man. It's time for tears, and words may come later." Taylor was hired by Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein, in April of 1964 to be his personal assistant and scriptwriter. He traveled with the Beatles on their world tour in '64, then later moved to California to be publicist for the Byrds and the Beach Boys. In 1968, Taylor returned to England to resume working with the Beatles until their breakup in 1970. In the mid-80's he returned to Apple Corps to help launch the "Beatles Anthology." Derek Taylor seemed to be loved by one and all through the years. A gentleman and a writer with great style, he will be missed.

(Entered 9/8/97)

Princess Diana was a big fan of pop music and now some of the people she was friends with and whose music she enjoyed are teaming up for a tribute album. Paul McCartney is among those who have agreed to record an album with proceeds to a memorial fund set up in Diana's name. Other artists set to perform on the album include the Rolling Stones, Sting (who was at her funeral Saturday), Elton John's new version of "Candle in the Wind" will be included, plus Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Annie Lennox and Bryan Adams will appear.

(Entered 9/2/97)

The New York Post Online has an item in their Gossip column about the movie Yoko is reportedly supporting that will concentrate on John and Yoko's relationship. The column is a rather uncomplimentary piece dealing with Yoko's motive for participating in such a movie. The Post's gossip columnist is claiming the movie will be used as payback for all the insults thrown at the Lenonos in the months and years following John's death when rattlesnake-like attacks by authors such as Albert Goldman were published. The column also hints that the recently-mended relationship between Yoko and Paul McCartney is on the fritz again.