Dio men tried to hire Van Halen

Dio rhythm section Vinny Appice and Jimmy Bain decided to aim high when they went to start a project after leaving Ronnie James Dio’s band – they called Eddie Van Halen.

And while the axe icon was honoured to be asked, he had a very good reason for saying no.

Drummer Appice and bassist Bain are back together in Last In Line, which also features Dio co-founders Viv Campbell and Claude Schnell, plus Andy Freeman in place of the late, great frontman.

Asked if there’s anyone he’d still like to work with, Appice tells My Global Mind: “There are lots of cool people. It would be fun to play with Eddie Van Halen – we both know Eddie. We almost played with him one time, a long time ago.

“Jimmy and I were putting something together. I called him and he called me back, and I didn’t know it was him. ‘Vinny, it’s Eddie.’ I went, ‘Eddie?’ Then I caught on.

“I said, ‘You’re probably busy, but we were thinking about you. We thought we’d start at the top for guitar players.’ He said, ‘Aw, man, that’s really cool, and I appreciate it, dude. But I’m joined with my brother.’”

Appice has worked with some big names in his time, but for him they don’t come bigger than his stint with John Lennon, which took place in 1975 while he was working with his first professional band, BOMF.

The nine-piece were managed by Jimmy Iovine, who was working with the ex-Beatle at the time, meaning they were often in New York’s Record Plant studios at the same time. Appice recalls: “One day they needed handclaps and they said, ‘Can you guys come down and do some handclaps for us?’ The band and I went down and we saw John in the control room. We were like, ‘Oh shit, it’s John Lennon.’

“We did handclaps – that’s me on Whatever Gets You Through The Night. A couple of days later he comes up and hangs out. We were like, ‘Oh fuck’ when we were playing. But he dug the band so we did a gig with him, at the New York Hilton for Lew Grade.

“We did three videos and we did eight songs in the studio with John producing. You’d hear him in the headphones telling you what to play. We’d play pool with him. It was just insane – that was a highlight.”

Last In Line played a brief debut tour in the UK in August, which was curtailed by guitarist Campbell’s cancer treatment. Appice has vowed there’s more to come from the band. Last night Campbell reported: “Did my second to last chemo today – only one more to go. Strangely, my hair’s already started to grow back a little.”

source: classicrockmagazine.com

Beatles fans come together to set anniversary record

LONDON – Fifty years after John Lennon’s harmonica heralded the first entry of the Beatles into the charts, fans came together in the Fab Four’s home town of Liverpool in northern England on Friday to deliver a record-breaking rendition of their debut single.

Aficionados poured in from as far afield as Peru and Tokyo for a weekend of live music and Beatlemania, which kicked off with 1,631 people singing “Love Me Do” outside the city’s central Liver Building.

Local choirs, school groups and lunching office workers joined in, breaking the previous record for singing “in the round” – where two groups sing exactly the same melody, beginning at different times – to break the previous record of 897, according to Guinness World Records.

“The demographics here today are interesting – it goes from people in their 70s to school kids,” said Dave Jones, who runs Liverpool’s famous Cavern Club where the Beatles were the house band between 1961 and 1963 and which is staging a weekend-long extravaganza of their music.

“We’re trying to recreate the atmosphere of those glory days in the 60s,” Jones told Reuters. “It’s generation after generation enjoying the music.”

The 50th birthday of Love Me Do is also the anniversary of a lucky break for the band.

Beatles producer George Martin told the BBC the song was the “best of a bad bunch”. The broadcaster plans to air a documentary this weekend containing claims that the band’s manager bought thousands of copies to help the record get to number 17 in the UK charts.

Auction house Sotheby’s is marking the anniversary by selling the original collage used for the insert of the 1967 Beatles album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Sotheby’s expects it to sell for 50,000-80,000 pounds ($81,000-$129,500).

source: interaksyon.com

Beatles’ first single ‘Love Me Do’ turns 50

LONDON – The Beatles’ debut tune that helped launch Britain into the Swinging Sixties and ignite a worldwide obsession for the four-man band from Liverpool celebrates its 50th birthday on Friday.

Even though it only peaked at number 17 on the British charts, “Love Me Do” was not only the group’s first record but also their first hit.

“It’s obviously the first single, but more importantly, it established their policy of only releasing songs that were written by the Beatles themselves,” said Hamish MacBain, assistant editor at British music magazine NME.

“The fashion at that time was not for big groups to write their own material, so the Beatles were being quite radical in that sense by issuing a single that they had written themselves,” MacBain told AFP.

“Love Me Do” was recorded in September 1962, though the so-called “fifth Beatle”, producer George Martin, pushed for the release of another song, penned by British singer Adam Faith but performed by the Fab Four.

But the Beatles got their way, and “Love Me Do”, written like so many of their succeeding hits by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, went on sale on October 5, 1962.

The group’s insistence that their singles at least should be all their own work “established a trend that lasted obviously their entire career and became the norm for big groups that became rock bands”, MacBain said.

“You were not considered a serious rock band by the mid-60s unless you were writing your own material.”

The catchy lyrics and recognisable harmonies of “Love Me Do” were recorded at London’s Abbey Road studios, later made famous by the group as the title of one of their LPs.

Although it kick-started their career and became a British hit, “Love Me Do” did not spark Beatlemania, said Simon Zagorski-Thomas, a reader in music at University of West London’s college of music.

“‘Love Me Do’ was an interesting song, but it wasn’t the thing that really launched their career,” he told AFP.

Instead, it was the group’s 1964 appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in the United States that made the Beatles a phenomenon distinct from all previous British bands and launched them globally.

“Love Me Do” is not considered by most observers to be among the Beatles’ masterpieces, MacBain said.

“In terms of songwriting it’s pretty basic, and it’s certainly not as good as the stuff they were coming out with a few months later.”

“P.S. I Love You” was recorded on the B-side of the track, and both songs were featured on the group’s first album “Please Please Me”, named after their second hit single, which was released in March 1963 and included songs they had not written.

BBC Four TV will air a documentary on Sunday about “Love Me Do,” with an eyewitness account claiming that the group’s manager Brian Epstein bought 10,000 copies of the single to boost sales.

While the rumour has never been proved, Epstein’s friend and business associate, Joe Flannery, claims in the documentary that the copies were purchased.

Remastered versions of The Beatles’ studio albums will be released on vinyl on November 13 in North America.

source: interaksyon.com

John Lennon's killer up for parole for seventh time

NEW YORK -- Mark David Chapman, the disturbed man who shot dead Beatles frontman John Lennon, is up for parole for the seventh time, with a decision expected later this week, prison officials said Sunday.

The hearing is set to begin on Tuesday and will last two to three days, New York State prison service spokeswoman Linda Foglia told AFP, adding that she expects a decision "by the end of the week."

Chapman, 57, was sentenced in 1981 to between 20 years and life in prison for Lennon's murder on December 8, 1980, as the legendary singer-songwriter was walking with his wife Yoko Ono to their home by New York's Central Park.

Chapman, who was mentally unstable and just 25 at the time, had staked out the musician's apartment building.

Earlier in the day the musician had even autographed a copy of his latest album "Double Fantasy" for the man who would kill him.

Chapman eventually pleaded guilty to the murder, and is currently being held at the Wende maximum security prison in Alden, New York.

source: interaksyon.com

John Lennon's killer seeks freedom again

New York (CNN) -- Mark David Chapman, John Lennon's convicted killer, is up for parole for the seventh time and may be questioned as early as Tuesday, authorities said Friday.

His latest quest for freedom comes ahead of the 32nd anniversary of the death of the former Beatle, a British singer-songwriter who was gunned down outside his Manhattan apartment on December 8, 1980.

Chapman is scheduled to be interviewed by two or three members of the parole board, according to Carole Claren-Weaver, a spokeswoman for the New York Department of Corrections.

He was last up for parole in 2010, but was denied because his "discretionary release remains inappropriate at this time and incompatible with the welfare of the community," according to the New York State Division of Parole.

He was also denied parole in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008.

Chapman, 57, is serving a sentence of 20 years to life in prison, and is being held at the Wende Correctional Facility in Alden, New York.

He is in protective custody in a single-person cell, Claren-Weaver said, and is allowed out three hours per day.

Since his transfer from Attica earlier this year, Chapman has reapplied to participate in a state program called "family reunion," which allows inmates to spend more time with family members.

Chapman has not had an infraction since 1994. It is not clear if he currently has legal representation.

Yoko Ono, Lennon's widow, in previous years has submitted a letter requesting that parole be denied. She could not be immediately reached for comment.

source: CNN

John Lennon

December 8 marks the 30th death anniversary of John Lennon, one of the most influential rock icon. He was born October 9, 1940 in Liverpool UK.

John Lennon was gunned down and killed in front of his New York apartment at 10:50 PM by Mark David Chapman while returning from a recording session. Later on, Mark David Chapman pleaded guilty to murder and he was sentenced to 20 years to life imprisonment.


A lot of fans are gathering at a memorial garden in Central Park, New York, opposite the apartment block where he was shot dead. A vigil will also be held in Liverpool at a monument dedicated to the singer where fans will light candles and sing his songs.


One of the most popular song of John Lennon is "Imagine" and it continues to be a hit even after his death.

Imagine Lyrics:


Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace…

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one