BC the Beatles REBEAT Magazine

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 Jeffersonville, Indiana, AROTR presents over 250 Beatles and ‘60s-themed concerts featuring bands from all over the world. Each year, more than 20,000 Beatles fans gather to reunite with their AROTR family and celebrate the music of the Fab Four over Memorial Day weekend.
Melissa previews this year’s AROTR, and gives us a look into the many elements that go in to producing a huge music festival. And Allison and Melissa reminisce about their history with the festival, as well as the Beatles tribute band scene.
Learn more about Abbey Road on the River and get tickets
Listen to the AROTR podcast, Something will Happen
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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  50th anniversary release of John's album, Milk and Honey.
Plus, we dive in to the brand new Lennon/McCartney song—Sean Lennon and James McCartney, that is! And we answer the age-old question: "does a Maccarita contain orange juice?"
Become a citizen of Nutopia
For an in-depth dive into John's U.S. immigration journey, check out John Lennon vs. the USA, by John's immigration lawyer, Leon Wildes
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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 managed by Brian Epstein, and, as we’ll discuss, she was one of his favorite artistes and close to him personally too.
Later in her life, she became known as a TV presenter and the recipient of an OBE for her contribution to entertainment. She had 19 Top 40 singles in the UK, including two #1 hits - “Anyone Who Had a Heart” and “You’re My World” — and recorded 15 studio albums. And this past year she became one of the best memes on TikTok.
This episode focuses on the beginnings of her fame and hitmaking — and of course, references the spectacular made-for-TV miniseries Cilla, which we highly recommend. 
Learn more about Cilla
Cilla biopic on iTV
"Surprise Surprise" on TikTok
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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 Night, but couldn't be more different.
About the podcast: Cliff Richard & The Shadows dominated the British pop and rock music world from 1958 to 1963 and weathered the storm of Beatlemania to continue to release hits for years to come. Many were even recorded in Studio Two at Abbey Road…and they wrote a lot of their own material!). Although pre-Beatles British rock and roll music is largely ignored by American rock historians, the We Say Yeah! podcast has spent nearly three years reviewing every single, EP and LP released by Cliff and The Shadows (either together or apart) in chronological order. 
Hosted by David “Ghosty” Wills, former Sirius/XM DJ and cartoon voice actor, each month’s episode features the host and a guest not only reviewing records but also venturing into sidebar discussions about popular music of the era, the film and television industry in Europe and more! 
In addition to hosting We Say Yeah!, David has been a Beatles fan since the age of 12 but came in through Paul McCartney’s solo career (which he says he loves “more than anything else on Earth”). He became a fan of Cliff Richard through his early 80’s U.S. hits and when he discovered an album of his 60’s hits.
Listen and subscribe to We Say Yeah!
Hear the full soundtrack to the film Wonderful Life
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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 wide range of topics, including their latest album release, John’s Lost Weekend, and his thoughts on Paul and the Beatles. It ended on an optimistic note, with John having high hopes for the future. But that day was December 8, 1980, and that interview was the last one that John ever gave. A few short hours later, John was tragically murdered.
Laurie tells this story, and so many more, in her new book. In this memoir, Laurie details her life up to that fateful day in 1980, a day she called “both the best and worst day of my life.” 
Laurie Kaye began her career at San Francisco’s top 40 station KFRC-AM, where she was both an on-air reporter and writer. She later moved to RKO radio, where she co-produced many rock specials, including RKO Presents the Beatles (later expanded and renamed The Beatles from Liverpool to Legend). Other notable projects include writing Dick Clark’s weekly radio countdown show and leading the location production of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’s Special Extended DVD Edition. Laurie now works in the film and tv industry, handling creative content and line producing for network docuseries.
Buy the book, Confessions of a Rock and Roll Namedropper: My Life Leading up to John Lennon’s Last Interview
Visit Laurie Kaye online
Hear John Lennon’s last interview, The Dakota Apartments, December 8, 1980
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+Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter/X for photos, videos, and more from this episode & past episodes — we’re @bcthebeatles everywhere.+Follow BC the Beatles on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you’re listening now.+Buy us a coffee! www.ko-fi.com/bcthebeatles+Contact us at bcthebeatles@gmail.com.

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 our own awards show for all things Beatles movies. Do you agree with our picks for the best—and the worst—in the Beatles Cinematic Universe? Find us on social media and let us know!
Our first Beatles biopics episode, discussing the upcoming Sam Mendes films
More about Sean Lennon’s animated short, War is Over!
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Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter/X for photos, videos, and more from this episode & past episodes — we’re @bcthebeatles everywhere.
Follow BC the Beatles on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you’re listening now.
Buy us a coffee! www.ko-fi.com/bcthebeatles
Contact us at bcthebeatles@gmail.com.