Fifty years ago, on January 31, 1967, the Beatles found themselves in the midst of a two-day film shoot for the “Strawberry Fields Forever” promotional video with director Peter Goldmann in Sevenoaks, Kent. During a production break, John Lennon was browsing the wares of a local antique store, when an old Victorian circus poster caught […]
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Everything Fab Four: The Strange, Nefarious Life of Magic Alex
Yanni “Magic Alex” Mardas, the self-styled inventor who died of natural causes in Athens last week, was quite easily one of the most bizarre personages among the Beatles’ menagerie of hangers-on during the late 1960s. While much of the band’s entourage consisted of inveterate loyalists such as Neil Aspinall and Mal Evans, Magic Alex was […]
Everything Fab Four: By George, It’s Your Birthday!
When George Martin marked his 41st birthday on January 3, 1967, he was standing on the precipice of a vastly new and different era as the Beatles’ producer. With the triumphs of Rubber Soul and Revolver having considerably widened the Beatles’ demographic from youth culture to fans of all ages, the man who had brought […]
Everything Fab Four: Annual Holiday Gift Roundup!
Welcome, Beatles fans, to the First-Annual Everything Fab Four Holiday Gift Guide! I am delighted to report that I have pre-tested each and every item on the list. Up first we have the irrepressible Happy Socks, which have gone viral just in time for the holiday season. The whimsical marketing campaign alone is worth a […]
Everything Fab Four: Remembering the Beatles’ Dark Horse
The darkest day on the Beatles’ calendar is, without a doubt, December 8th, 1980, when John Lennon was senselessly wrenched from the world. But November 29th, 2001—the date of George Harrison’s untimely death at age 58—makes for a close second. Little doubt exists among the group’s biographers and critics that George’s talent developed somewhat belatedly. […]