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october 31,2001

The first run of "Driving Rain" both in the U.S. and UK will have the
original booklet and inlay cards without any mention of "Freedom," but
the song will be identified on the package by a sticker. The discs will
all have the song. It was too late to reprint the booklets and get the CD
out on time, he says, for its Nov. 13th release date. Future runs will
include updated booklets and artwork that will reflect the added track.
About the single: In the UK, on Nov. 5, EMI will release a "CD-2" of
"From a Lover to a Friend." The track listing will be as follows: 1)
"Freedom"; 2) "From a Lover to a Friend" 3) "From a Lover to a Friend"
(David Kahne remix #2). "Freedom" is actually identified as "Freedom
(studio mix)". For the American single, "From a Lover to a Friend" has
been scrapped. The replacement will have "Freedom" (studio mix), as in
the UK, "From a Lover to a Friend" and a third track. Release for the
U.S. single has not been firmed up. Also, the cover of the promotional
single for "Freedom," that safety pin is the American flag badge that
Paul's been wearing lately. You can hear "Freedom" at Paul's Capitol

sept.22 2001

PRESS RELEASE : PAUL McCARTNEY TO STAGE NEW YORK BENEFIT CONCERT FOR FIREFIGHTERS
Paul McCartney is to stage a ebenfit concert in New York next month in aid of the city's firefighters. Paul, who has been in New York since The World Trade Center disaster, announced the benefit show today (Friday) on New York's WPLJ radio station. Said Paul: "I was here in New York when the disaster happened. I was actually on a plane, on the tarmac, when the pilot said it's all been closed down. I've been here in New York ever since and, in a way, I was pleased to be here to witness all the heroism. "At the time of the disaster I was flying home in order to plan a concert that I was going to do in Russia, in Red Square in October. That doesn't seem appropriate now, so I've postponed it. "But what I am going to do is to do a concert here in New York within the next month to benefit all the firemen. I have a connection there, my father was a fireman in Liverpool during World War Two. Anyway, we are looking at venues in New York now to do this benefit concert next month".Paul added: "I'd also just like to take a second to say to all the people of New York - God bless everyone and good luck to us all, and my thanks to all the heroes and heroines who've been helping with the situation". During World War Two, Paul's father Jim McCartney was a volunteer fireman in Liverpool. Between August 1940 and January 1942, Liverpool endured 68 air-raids, which killed or injured more than 4,500 of the population and destroyed more that 10,000 homes in the city.

Beatles swing into dot-com age November 2, 2000 LONDON, England (Reuters) -- The Beatles are to launch their first official Web site, more than 30 years after the group split up. The site, www.thebeatles.com, will go live on November 13 and will be the band's only official presence on the Internet among a flood of unofficial fan sites. "Over the past few years, given the thousands of unofficial sites, there has been much speculation as to when the Beatles would create their own," a spokeswoman for the band said. "With a new CD coming out, it is the right time to put them on the Web and into the dot-com era." REFERENCE • Fans won't let it be • Recurring Beatlemania • Review: 'Anthology' • In their own words • Revolver' voted tops • Lennon's last song • 'Worthless' gold discs • Lennon piano battle • Beatles Quiz The launch of the site will be tied to the release of the band's latest collection, simply called "1," which features all 27 of the Fab Four's number one hits. The band's management have been resistant to the idea of setting up a Beatles site, but hopes the venture will appeal to a younger audience more familiar with using a computer than an old-fashioned record player. "They thought it was the right way to show the Beatles to a new generation," the spokeswoman said. The band's three surviving members, Sir Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, as well as John Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, have all contributed to the site. Despite other celebrities falling victim to cybersquatters -- people who register the domain names of famous people in the hope of making a quick profit -- the Beatles had no trouble registering the name of their choice, the spokeswoman said. The site will allow visitors to watch footage of the Beatles' performances, contact one another and take virtual tours through the Abbey Road studios where the band made most of their music. A team of web designers has been working on the site for a year. While the content will initially concentrate on "1," new aspects will be added over time.

Martin remastering Beatles' CDs

By TERRY OTT
For JAM! Music

A remixed version of former Beatle John Lennon's 1971 critically acclaimed "Imagine" album will be reissued in Canada on Tuesday (Feb. 15), and JAM! has learned that the entire Beatles back catalogue is currently being remastered for release -- though EMI admits that process could "take years" due to the use of complicated "surround sound" production.

EMI Canada spokesperson Beth Waldman told JAM! that former Beatles producer Sir George Martin is "as we speak, working on the entire Beatles catalogue," and that we could "quite possibly" see more 5-1 remastered Beatles product this year.

As for "Imagine", the new version was remixed and remastered under the supervision of Yoko Ono at Abbey Road Studios in London late last year. The CD features a 16-page booklet with full lyrics -- including a reproduction of part of Lennon's handwritten words for "How Do You Sleep?", Lennon's biting retort to Paul McCartney's "Dear Friend" -- and 18 "rare photographs from the Lennon/Ono archives."

Meanwhile, Lennon fans who were expecting CD bonus tracks are in for a disappointment: There are none. However, the companion DVD release, "Gimme Some Truth -- The making Of John Lennon's Imagine Album," is a different story. (The DVD comes out in Canada on March 28.)

The 103-minute DVD employs the same Dolby 5-1 surround sound mix used in last year's reissue of the "Yellow Submarine" movie. The interactive DVD will also feature completely different mixes of "Imagine" songs, as well as "unique audio/visual interview material recorded at the time of the album sessions."

The DVD will also contain a Lennon discography, which will allow the listener to hear a sample of one track per album.

Of special note to Lennon fans will be footage shot in and around his Ascot, England, home where the recording of "Imagine" took place. Among other scenes, Lennon is shown playing basketball with jazz legend Miles Davis and hanging out with Jack Nicholson and Andy Warhol.

In addition, an edited 56-minute version of "Gimme Some Truth", similar to the version that will be available on VHS, will air on MuchMoreMusic in Canada in April.

According to Jan Cees ter Brugge, an employee at European television network RTL who has seen the film, Ono, acting as executive producer on "Gimme Some Truth", has already tinkered with the original remix she delivered to the network in December, and re-arranged some of the voice-overs and vocal/music mix.

"(It's) a complete new soundtrack ... lots of things are changed," said ter Brugge on the AbbeyRd website.

For her part, Ono is "so grateful that EMI Records and Abbey Road Studios took so much time and care to bring this project to fruition," she said in a statement. "In Abbey Road Studios, I found the engineers top-notch, and the studios were the latest and the best."