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William Shears Campbell said

AppleScruffJunior said

Phil Spector is dead - I can't imagine anyone here is mourning his loss.

  

Are there many groups mourning his loss?

  

You'd be surprised.

Following the death of Daily Express journalist Judith Simons, among her belongings was found a letter from Aunt Mimi, written on 24 January 1981, thanking Judith for her condolences:

It reads:

Dear Judith,

Thank you for your letter, kind thoughts.

I'm trying to accept this terrible thing which has happened, but finding it very hard. He had such faith himself, I'm trying to do the same.

He phoned the night before, witty, funny, bubbling over with excitement, coming over very soon. Couldn't wait to see me. So I'm glad of that.

If I'm in London, I'll get in touch with you. Kind thoughts to you too.

Mimi.

Mark Lewisohn has said the letter "provides solid confirmation that, but for his murder, Lennon would have returned to Britain during 1981 for the first time in 10 years."

The letter is being auctioned by Tracks Ltd.

At the beginning of December last year, Bob Dylan released in limited numbers (100 copies) his annual European round-up of unreleased material from 50 years ago, Bob Dylan – 50th Anniversary Collection: 1970, to prevent it falling out of copyright.

Viewed as little more than a housekeeping exercise by Dylan, little effort is put into these releases, though they are invaluable to fans who - in the age of the internet - are easily able to find digital copies to download somewhere on the web. The 1970 edition was always of interest to Beatles fans as it included a 1 May 1970 session with George, from which only a couple of tracks had seen the light of day (on different volumes of his Bootleg Series releases).

I missed the announcement of this on 18 December, but for the first time a 50th Anniversary Collection is to receive a full commercial release in February as Bob Dylan – 1970 (50th Anniversary Collection):

By Popular Demand, Bob Dylan – 1970 (50th Anniversary Collection) to Be Widely Released by Columbia Records/Legacy Recordings on February 26, 2021

3-Disc Collection of Previously Unavailable Studio Performances includes Complete May 1,1970 Session featuring George Harrison

December 18, 2020-New York, NY-Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, announce the forthcoming release of Bob Dylan – 1970, the first widely available pressing of a three-disc collection of long-sought-after studio recordings, on Friday, February 26.

The recordings on Bob Dylan – 1970 were first released in a limited edition on December 4 as part of the Bob Dylan – 50th Anniversary Collection copyright extension series (which began in 2012). The buzz surrounding the 1970 performances, notably Dylan’s studio sit-down with George Harrison on May 1, created a demand for a broader release of these historic tracks.

Bob Dylan – 1970 includes previously unreleased outtakes from the sessions that produced Self Portrait and New Morning as well as the complete May 1, 1970 studio recordings with George Harrison , which capture the pair performing together on nine tracks*, including Dylan originals ("One Too Many Mornings," "Gates of Eden," "Mama, You Been On My Mind"), covers (the Everly Brothers' "All I Have to Do Is Dream," Carl Perkins' "Matchbox ") and more.

Here is the track listing:

* The official release only credits George on the songs he played guitar and sang with Bob; he also plays guitar on the majority of other songs recorded during the session.

Paul announced yesterday that he will be following up his children's book Hey Grandude! with Grandude's Green Submarine, to be published 2 September.

Penguin Random House Children’s UK and Random House Children’s Books in the US are delighted to announce the forthcoming publication of Grandude’s Green Submarine the picture book sequel to Hey Grandude! written by one of the world’s most famous and best loved grandfathers, Paul McCartney . 

Hey Grandude!, Paul McCartney ’s first picture book was published to global success in September 2019. The book was a New York Times Number 1 bestseller, selling 300,000 copies around the world with translations in 32 languages and counting. It introduced a magical grandpa – the eponymous Grandude - who was inspired by a nickname Paul’s own eight grandchildren had given him.

Grandude’s Green Submarine continues the adventures of Grandude and his grandchildren as they set off on a quest to find their music-loving grandmother, Nandude! It’s an action-packed extravaganza of wild imagination and fun for all the family, a read-aloud that’s perfect for sharing, destined to become a timeless classic.

Paul said: "I’m really happy with how 'Hey Grandude!' was received as this was a very personal story for me, celebrating Grandudes everywhere and their relationships and adventures with their grandchildren. I love that it has become a book read to grandkids at bedtime all around the world. I always said if people liked the first book and there was an appetite for more I would write some further adventures for Grandude – so he’s back and this time with his special invention, Grandude’s green submarine!"

Mmmm... green submarine!?

Something slightly familiar about that.

More here.

A press release yesterday revealed that May Pang is issuing photographs from the "lost weekend" as NFTs (I don't really understand NFTs, but from what I do understand they seem to be like the digital equivalent of either unique or limited edition physical product, and have code within them which can't be changed identifying the owner) in conjunction with Oasis Digital Studios and McCartney Multimedia, Inc.

McCartney Multimedia, Inc. is another of those companies (like Mrs. McCartney's Teas and Mrs. McCartney's Wines) owned by Jim McCartney's (Paul's father) second wife, Angie, and her daughter Ruth (who seems to be mainly in charge now as her mother is 83).

"I am thrilled to be working with David and his team at Oasis Digital Studios along with Ruth and McCartney Multimedia, Inc for this new NFT platform to bring a new perspective to my personal and private photographic collection of my time with John. Now let's Rock'n'Roll!" commented May Pang, Artist