We are delighted to announce all the details for our upcoming 36th Annual Chicago FEST FOR BEATLES FANS 2012 are now posted. The dates are August 10-12, 2012 at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare. This year we have 5 Special Guests who are joining us in Chicago for the first time. SPENCER DAVIS (Gimme Some Lovin’ & I’m A Man), Legendary Horn player TOM SCOTT, Original Beatles Fan Club Secretary FREDA KELLY, Beatles Recording Engineer KEN SCOTT, and Ringo’s Photographer ROB SHANAHAN. Of course LIVERPOOL will be performing all three evenings and backing our musical guests, and the always exciting and unpredictable MARK HUDSON leads in the musical jams and forum. CLICK HERE to see ALL the details. Hope you can join us.

The Beatles 1968 Classic Animated Film, Yellow Submarine is being issued on DVD and Blu-Ray on June 5th. The New version has been color corrected, not by computers, but by hand frame by frame. The results are amazing. The sound is also better than ever. If you want to see it on the big screen, tomorrow and Saturday may be your only chances. The Hi Definition film will be shown in over 230 theatres across the country but in a very limited showing. Thursday at 7:30PM and Saturday Matinees. Some of the theatres have additional showings. Don’t miss this opportunity. We went to the premiere on Saturday night at the famous Ziegfeld Theatre in NYC and was truly amazing, especially in a house full of Beatles fans. Al Brodax, the film’s Producer was in attendance. So find a theatre near you, get your friends and family together, and make it a very special evening. This may be the last chance to ever see this classic in a movie theatre!

Here is the link with details, plus every theatre showing the movie with showtimes.

http://yellowsubmarinethemovie.com/

To pre-order the DVD or Blu-Ray versions of Yellow Submarine go to www.thefest.com

It’s Saturday and only 6 days to go till we all meet up at THE FEST FOR BEATLES FANS 2012 – NEW YORK METRO, March 23-25 and take over the entire Crowne Plaza Meadowland Hotel, Secaucus, NJ! Our Special Guests are all set and excited for the event. Ex-Wings members Henry McCullough and Denny Seiwell have completed their Beatles Tribute CD, called Shabby Road, which will be world premiered at the FEST. We have heard it and it is full of great new interpretations of 11 Beatles Classics. They will also be playing a few of them live on our stage. Micky Dolenz has let us know that “A portion of the sales of the merchandise will be donated to MS in honor of the late/great Davy Jones.” This is Micky’s first ever FEST appearance and we want to make him feel at home for the weekend. Peter Asher and his super band are ready to treat us to his Musical Memoir of the 60s and Beyond Show, the first half on Saturday and second half on Sunday. The Event Schedule is now up on the site. Legendary Beatles promoter Sid Bernstein is dropping by on Saturday and Sunday afternoons and it is always a pleasure to have Sid join us. You never know who else will drop by to say hello. Tickets are still available in advance through the 22nd. After that Tickets will be sold at the Door. Hope to see you all there.

Only two days to go to get your FEST FOR BEATLES FANS 2012 NY METRO Tickets at the lowest prices. All plans are going very well and with two weeks to go and the excitement is building. Many of you have voiced concern about one of our Special Guests,  Micky Dolenz and sending him your best wishes and condolences, losing his fellow Monkee Davy Jones. I spoke with Micky today and he is very much looking forward to making his first appearance since his loss. He will be performing some of Davy’s songs in addition to his own Monkee songs. We are looking forward to giving him a warm FEST welcome.

FEBRUARY 25th: The past few weeks we have been writing about The Beatles conquering of America in 1964. GEORGE HARRISON, the youngest Beatle had not turned 21 yet! Today we celebrate his birthday and look at just some of his legacy. Look at him play on the first song The Beatles played on the Ed Sullivan Show, All My Loving. That guitar solo was magnificent, perfectly crafted and delivered with an exuding confidence and an amazing smile, center stage in between the two guys who would become the greatest songwriters (and much more) in history. Well, another in his position might have accepted his role, but not George. He also had that songwriting spirit and contributed 1 or 2 songs every year. He discovered there was more to him than being a Beatle, and found an Indian musical and spiritual culture that took him (and the world) to places we had never been. He even took John, Paul & Ringo with him! Musically, he exploded after that and all of a sudden George’s songs were just as important as John and Paul’s songs. Thousand of books have been written trying to figure out the how and why of The Beatles. It is really quite simple. They had the two greatest singers/songwriters, the greatest rock and roll drummer, and the lead guitarist who had a modest way of guiding those songs with seemingly perfect riffs and strong backing vocals, too. The breakup – that was simple too. Too much talent for one group and not enough vinyl to put it on! George’s All Things Must Pass was the direct result of the breakup. Now he, too, had a place to unleash his full songwriting prowess. As we celebrate his life today, go to his music, listen to some of his albums, smile and be thankful we were around to witness it all and spread the love. Happy Birthday George, wherever you are. You will live forever in our hearts.

Please go to our facebook page today to experience some of the things happening concerning George. Later this morning we will be sharing some exclusive material we think you will all enjoy.

TODAY IN BEATLES HISTORY: FEBRUARY 21, 1964. The Beatles continued the conquering of America with their second Live Ed Sullivan Show appearance. This time it was live from the Deauville Hotel in Miami Beach. They spent the next 5 days doing some promotional appearances, including mugging for Cassius Clay (Muhammed Ali), who was about to become the World Heavyweight Champ. They also had some time to relax and enjoy the Florida weather, boating and swimming. It was on Feb 21st, that I got my first up close encounter with the Beatles. It was during winter break and I was staying at a hotel two blocks away (by coincidence) and I watched them leave the hotel to go to the airport and back to London to begin filming A Hard Day’s Night. I got within a few feet and waved to them. They all waved back to me, too! I will always remember and cherish that moment as I ran down Collins Avenue next to their limousine.–Mark Lapidos

Photo by former Special Guest Harry Benson.

It was unlike any music and cultural explosion the world had ever seen, or will ever see again. The timing and circumstances and all the stars were in alignment as The Beatles took to the stage for the first time in the U.S. for their Live Performance on The Ed Sullivan Show, Sunday, February 9, 1964 at 8:00PM (EST). They began with All My Loving, the perfect upbeat song to start the show. They continued with Till There Was You, a ballad from the Show Music Man. During the song each Beatle was introduced to us by first name only. Under John’s name was the bombshell “Sorry girls, he’s married.” The Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein figured this song would be a good way to ‘get the parents’ interested was well.  All My Loving was never a single in the U.S. yet it managed to reach the Top 20, something totally unheard of at the time! 48 years later, all those preteens and teenagers at the time have a lifetime of super memories. The Beatles and Baby Boomers came of age at the same moment and it has been quite a ride, one we are thrilled and thankful to be a part of.

Paul has chosen this day to get his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It will be at 11:00AM (PST) in front of the Capitol Tower next to the stars of John, George and Ringo.

Paul has also chosen the day to have a show in the Capitol studio where he recorded some of the track on his just released CD Kisses on the Bottom. If you go to iTunes, the private concert will be streaming live at 7PM (PST).

Ringo is in the news as well, as he just announced his 13th All Starr Band tour. HERE is the link to his website with all the details.

THIS WEEK IN BEATLES HISTORY: FEBRUARY 7, 1964. The Beatles didn’t want to come to the states until they had a Number One Song! Well, not only did they have the #1 song, I Want To Hold Your Hand, but She Loves You was #2 and Please Please Me wasn’t too far behind! They arrived at the newly named JFK Airport in New York City to thousands of screaming teenagers, who played hooky from school on that Friday early afternoon. It was pandemonium on the streets outside the Plaza Hotel. The city had never seen anything like it! John, Paul & Ringo had a rehearsal and did a photo shoot in Central Park on Saturday, while George stayed back because he was sick. His sister Louise took care of him and he was all set for the Sunday performances. It is not an exaggeration to say that almost the entire country tuned in to the Ed Sullivan Show, on February 9th at 8PM EST to watch these 4 Lads from Liverpool who called themselves THE BEATLES! The world changed at that moment. From the first notes of All My Loving, we knew these guys were for real. 73 million people tuned, in which by percentage was the largest TV audience in history! They had their first U.S. Concert in Washington, DC two nights later and had to take the train down from NYC because of a snowstorm. This concert was shown in movie theatres  a few weeks later. The next day they were back in NYC for two performances at Carnegie Hall on Lincoln’s Birthday holiday (at the time). The next day they flew down to Miami Beach for their second live appearance and a bit of much needed R & R. For all of us who lived through it, we can not ever forget how exciting it was. For younger fans, go watch The Beatles on Ed Sullivan DVD or even A Hard Day’s Night to best see what was happening in early 1964!!

TODAY IN BEATLES HISTORY: JANUARY 30, 1969. The Beatles had been rehearsing, recording and filming the entire month of January, 1969, and they decided to end the film project with a live performance. So, at lunchtime, they headed up to the roof of Apple Records (3 Savile Row, London) and performed for around 40 minutes. It was difficult to see what was happening on that roof from the ground, but there was NO MISTAKING who was up there! Within minutes the streets were jammed with fans, who were treated to all new Beatles songs that would appear mostly on the Let It Be album and, of course, it became the grand finale to the movie of the same name. It was a pretty chilly day and “with a little help” from Billy Preston on keyboards, The Beatles had performed publicly for the first time in 2 1/2 years. It would be their last as a band. The most asked question we get is, When is Let It Be coming out on DVD? Only Apple knows, so we will all just have to be patient.

I want to thank all of you for your kind birthday wishes. Today is the day I turn that age made famous in that famous Beatles song from some album from 1967! I am a baby boomer and proud of it. My brother gave me the Introducing The Beatles Album for my 16th birthday in 1964. Meet The Beatles wasn’t released until the next day, but I was already a fan for life by then! To be able to put on Beatles Fans’ Celebrations for the past 37 years is a dream come true. I thank all of you for being part of that dream. Now I will go listen to Side Two, Track 2 of that album that now takes on a whole new perspective!!

Mark Lapidos
President and Founder of THE FEST FOR BEATLES FANS