A flurry of developments in the lives and legacies of all four former Beatles permeated October 1988, starting with the debut of the feature-length IMAGINE film chronicling the life of John Lennon, opening in movie theaters across the world. This template for future Beatles archival projects was met with warm embrace by John's fans, and was an important milestone in the preservation of film footage and audio artifacts from throughout Lennon's life. Another former Beatle in preservation mode was Ringo Starr, having finally sought help for alcoholism with his wife Barbara Bach later in the ..read more

It's the summer of 1988 and a fresh wave of "Lennon Fever" was sweeping its way across pop culture. In this case, however, not all of the attention on the late great John Lennon was positive - case in point the scathing, unapologetic, and often needlessly cruel biography called The Lives of John Lennon by author Albert Goldman. Goldman's feet were held to the fire by a furious but captivated public...glued to the drama by a media apparatus unable to look away from this trainwreck of a depiction of John's life in book form. While this circus took a toll on Yoko Ono, the Lennon clan neverth ..read more

As the summer of 1988 heats up, a new super-group emerges from the primordial soup of rock'n'roll...they are The Traveling Wilburys. Born from a supplementary recording session in support of George Harrison's latest Cloud 9 single, George (aka Nelson Wilbury) was joined by fellow music legends Tom Petty, Jeff lynne, Bob Dylan and Roy Orbison to produce the superb track Handle With Care -- quickly deemed too good to be buried on an extended single release. Of course music and activity continued respectively for Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr at this time, but for the Yesterday & Today podca ..read more

It was a busy March in 1988, with new music, releases, conventions and interviews surrounding the world of the former Beatles. First up, a first since the Beatle days with George Harrison and Ringo Starr conducting an interview together for the television program Aspel & Company. This eventful exchange covered topics ranging from the death of John Lennon, the status of ex-Beatle relationships, lawsuits from the 70s and much more. In the new releases category, George's new single This Is Love is snatched up from the Cloud 9 LP -- and The Beatles CD leases wrap up with Past Masters (col ..read more

It's February 1988 and the promotional tour for George Harrison's Cloud 9 album remains in full swing. The former Beatle who often seemed the most uncomfortable with press tours was now in the thick of one, this time labeled as a "come back" story which further fried the nervous system. To cope, George (along with Cloud 9 producer Jeff Lynne) showed up for the radio program Rockline a few glugs too deep, and gave host Bob Coburn one of the most candid interviews Harrison would ever produce in his lifetime. Still, despite the annoyances of a media blitz, the "come back" narrative was ..read more

It's 1988 and a busy year of activity in Beatle world kicks off with a wave of retrospection. On January 20th the band was inducted into the Rock'n'Roll hall of fame, a recognition of their achievements in music and their cultural impact upon the world. Unfortunately for them (and for, apparently, one agitated Beach Boy also in attendance), the legal squabbles dogging Paul, George and Ringo for nearly two decades crept their way onto the award stage, made manifest by an absent Paul McCartney. Some tempers flared at this highly visible snub, but cooler heads did eventually prevail, wi ..read more

It's the end of 1987 and George Harrison is riding the wave of a major comeback. With a new hit single in Got My Mind Set On You speeding up the charts, and a new LP - Cloud 9 - connecting with both fans and critics in equal measure, Harrison's resurgence in the latter half of the 80s was proof positive once again of that lingering Beatle magic...so pervasive even nearing 20 years since the band's split. While Paul McCartney's greatest hits LP All the Best was no resurgence of fresh material, strong sales and a slew of tv appearances to promote the new single Once Upon A Long Ago put Macc ..read more

On November 2nd 1987 Dark Horse Records releases Cloud 9 by George Harrison. While George himself would insist (and rightly so) that one cannot be in the midst of a "comeback" if one has been there the entire time, no one - not even George - could not deny the reinvigorated attention upon his music heralded by the LP's lead-off #1 single Got My Mind Set On You. The happy album in which this smash-hit record resided within was produced by buddy Jeff Lynne to sound (controversially to some) much like Jeff's work with the Electric Light Orchestra - energetic, grand in scope, a ..read more

It's February of 1979 and George Harrison's follow-up LP to his 1976 effort Thirty Three & 1/3 is ready to drop! With a multi-year gestation period akin to that of the break between All Things Must Pass and Living In The Material World, this new, self-titled LP was yet another warmly-received return to form for George. Light-hearted singles fare such as Blow Away and If You Believe sat neatly next to the beautiful contemplation of a Your Love is Forever, joined by the blasts from Beatles past such as the resurrected White Album cut Not Guilty. 70's producer dujour Russ Titelman alongside c ..read more

On November 2nd 1987 Dark Horse Records releases Cloud 9 by George Harrison. While George himself would insist (and rightly so) that one cannot be in the midst of a "comeback" if one has been there the entire time, no one - not even George - could not deny the reinvigorated attention upon his music heralded by the LP's lead-off #1 single Got My Mind Set On You. The happy album in which this smash-hit record resided within was produced by buddy Jeff Lynne to sound (controversially to some) much like Jeff's work with the Electric Light Orchestra - energetic, grand in scope, a ..read more