BC the Beatles

We’re thrilled to welcome the incredible Michael Lindsay-Hogg to the podcast. Michael is, of course, the director of the Beatles’ film “Let it Be,” now fully restored and available worldwide on Disney Plus.

Michael joined us to talk about his original vision for "Let it Be," its relationship to "Get Back," and give us the details on how he originally wanted the film to end. And of course we couldn’t resist asking him about one our ...

The trailer for the restored version of Michael Lindsay-Hogg's "Let it Be" film dropped this week, and we couldn't be more excited! So in anticipation of the big day, we combined two of our favorite "Let it Be" episodes from the archives.

1. Giles Martin on Remixing a #NextGen "Let it Be" — our first interview with Giles from 2021, where he tells us about everything from making the Beatles sound “fresh” for a new generation to dea...

This week, we welcome Melissa Brumm, Co-Producer and Creative Director for the Abbey Road on the River music festival.

Abbey Road on the River (AROTR) is the world’s largest Beatles-inspired music festival (and is very close to Allison's heart!). Since 2002, AROTR has celebrated the best in Beatles music, hosting Beatles and other classic rock tribute bands, as well as many of the original bands themselves.

Now taking place in Jef...

In an April 1973 press conference, John Lennon and Yoko Ono declared the birth of Nutopia, a "conceptual country" founded in response to John's ongoing immigration struggles. In past weeks, Nutopia has resurfaced online through a new website.

We look at the history of Nutopia's founding, born out of John's wild journey to U.S. citizenship. And we explore the newest incarnation of Nutopia as an online presence, just in time for the ...

When we first started this podcast way back in 2018, one of the reasons we called it “BECAUSE the Beatles” was because we wanted to be able to not only talk about the Beatles, but anything adjacent to them in any way … hence "because" the Beatles. And one of our original reasons was because we wanted to do the episode we’re FINALLY doing today — an episode on Cilla Black! 

Cilla is unique in the Beatles’ story — the only woman mana...

This week, we're sharing an episode of one of our favorite Beatles-adjacent podcasts, We Say Yeah!, a show about Cliff Richard and the Shadows. This is one of the only — if not the only — podcasts exclusively about Cliff Richard, who was, of course, a huge success in the UK, and a contemporary of the Beatles. Erika was recently a guest host, discussing Wonderful Life, a movie musical that was released mere days before A Hard Day's ...

Today we're joined by Laurie Kaye, author of the new book, Confessions of a Rock 'N' Roll Name-Dropper: My Life Leading up to John Lennon’s Last Interview.

As a young rock journalist, Laurie got the opportunity of a lifetime: to spend the day with John and Yoko at their home in New York City. She and her team spent hours with the couple, and the resulting interview was one of the most candid John had ever given. It touched on a wid...

Our excitement over the upcoming Sam Mendes Beatles biopics got us thinking about some of our favorite Beatles movies. From classics like Birth of the Beatles and Backbeat, to contemporary Beatles stories like Nowhere Boy and Yesterday, we look at some of the most impactful biopics to hit both the big and small screens.

And, inspired by the recent Academy Awards—and Sean Lennon’s win for the animated short, War is Over!—we created ...

Sara Schmidt returns to the podcast to discuss her new book, Dear Beatle People: The Story of the Beatles North American Fan Club.

Dear Beatle People: The Story of the Beatles’ North American Fan Club tells the stories of both the official and unofficial fan clubs in the US and Canada. With over 100 photos and rare historical documents like fan club membership cards and letters, this book gives new insights into the engine that fue...

Four new Beatles biopics are coming, and we're obsessed! Oscar- and TONY-award winning director Sam Mendes will direct the films, slated for 2027, with full life rights for all four Beatles.

We break down what we know so far, speculate on what's to come, and opine on our dream casts.

Plus, we look at Pattie Boyd's upcoming auction full of memories of her time with both George Harrison and Eric Clapton, and congratulate Paul on bein...

This week marks what would have been George Harrison’s birthday… or is it birthdays? So we pulled one of our most popular episodes out of the archives in his honor. We’re looking at George’s early life in Liverpool, his all-encompassing guitar obsession, and the talent that even impressed the much-older John Lennon. Plus, we attempt to get to the bottom of the age-old question: what is George’s actual birthday?

Links we mentioned:

This Valentine's Day, we're reading some of the love letters fans sent to the Beatles 60 years ago this year, published in 1964's Love Letters to the Beatles. Plus a recap of the 2024 Fest for Beatles Fans at the fabulous TWA hotel!

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It’s the 60th anniversary of the Beatles’ first American visit and their groundbreaking appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. We’re tracing the twists and turns that brought the Beatles to America, and opened the doors to a cultural revolution in the process.

And we tell the story of Erika’s grandfather, the jazz guitarist who met the Beatles, got his picture taken by none other than Paul McCartney, and maybe… overdubbed George Harr...

This week, we welcome Dr. Richard Mills, author of the book The Beatles and Fandom: Sex, Death, and Progressive Nostalgia, as we discuss the intricacies of Beatles fandom in all its glory. From sex and death to slash fanfic and tribute bands, join us for this fun trip down the rabbit hole of the quirky, creative, and sometimes freaky fan world.

Read the AMAZING “Into My Life” fanfic: https://www.alsfrombothsides.org/intomylife/inde...

The infamous "Butcher" cover inspired near-universal shock and disgust when it appeared as the original cover of The Beatles' Yesterday...and Today album. It was recalled after a single day, and albums with a butcher cover hidden underneath the replacement photo became one of the most highly-sought-after Beatles collectibles. But how much do you really know about the butcher cover?

We go through all the twists and turns of this fas...

This week, we're exploring the Beatles' fashion sense and influence with Deirdre Kelly, author of the new book Fashioning the Beatles: The Looks that Shook the World.

Deirdre is a Canadian journalist, author and arts critic. Other books include the best-selling Paris Times Eight and Ballerina: Sex, Scandal and Suffering Behind the Symbol of Perfection.

Deirdre previously served as dance critic, pop music reviewer, and fashion repor...

The Beatles’ Anthology yielded more than an audio trip through the group’s history, it also produced the first “new” Beatles song since the band’s breakup in 1970. Utilizing a demo recorded by John Lennon in the 1970s, “Free As a Bird” became a sensation, with many fans likening its premiere to the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. This is the story of how that track came to be, its reception, and the history behind its iconic music...

For our last holiday hiatus episode, we’re going back to our archives again, to look at a New Year's day that may have been one of the most pivotal moments in the Beatles’ career.

After just one month of being their manager, Brian Epstein arranged something that was unthinkable even weeks before — an audition with Decca, one of the UK’s top record labels. 

So on a freezing New Year's Day in 1962, the Beatles made a treacherous trip...

For the last episode of 2023, we're re-living the most exciting thing to happen in the Beatles world this year: the release of "the last Beatles song," 'Now and Then.'

When 'Now and Then' was released in November, Allison joined a roundtable discussion with friends from two other Beatles podcasts: Tommy, Becker, and RB from Blotto Beatles; and Jonathan from Ranking the Beatles. They talked about everything — the arrangement, the so...