John Lennon
What did John Lennon, Jacques Cousteau, Simon Wiesenthal and Freddie Mercury have in common?
They were all stamp collectors, and feature among Robert Irwin’s oddball fraternity caught up in a collecting mania spanning centuries
Poor little rich girl: the extraordinary life of Yoko Ono
Her background was one of privilege and she married one of the most famous men of our time but the Japanese artist suffered her fair share of grief and misfortune
The problem with Paul McCartney is he wrote too many good songs
Don Bradman, the greatest cricketer of all time, was once asked if he reckoned he could have maintained his batting…
The show belongs to Jonathan Slinger and Ben Whishaw: Waiting for Godot reviewed
Waiting for Godot is a church service for suicidal unbelievers. Those who attend the rite on a regular basis find…
On the road with Danny Lyon
The celebrated photojournalist describes his peripatetic youth recording revolution in Haiti, hunger and homelessness in Mexico and the civil rights movement in the US
James Bond and the Beatles at war for Britain’s soul
‘Better use your sense,’ advised Bob Dylan: ‘take what you have gathered from coincidence.’ John Higgs is a master of…
More mesmerising than it should be – Disney+'s The Beatles: Get Back reviewed
My late friend Alexander Nekrassov loathed the Beatles, which I used to think was a wantonly contrary position akin to…
Why the mid-1960s was the golden age of pop music
On a Monday evening in May 1966, Paul McCartney and John Lennon visited a nightclub called Dolly’s in Jermyn Street.…
It's amazing how little insight Paul McCartney has into the Beatles' genius
The Paul people are out in force these days. A New Yorker profile, a book and a new documentary have…
The nearest thing to Paul McCartney’s autobiography: his guide to the Beatles’ songbook
Whatever your favourite theory of creativity, Paul McCartney has a cheery thumbs-up to offer. You think the secret is putting…
'You should see some of the other scripts that come through': Robert Carlyle interviewed
Robert Jackman talks to Robert Carlyle about Begbie, playing a Tory prime minister and the merits of keeping your head down
The joy of ironing
On the Saturday morning of the Ascension Day bank holiday, I swung down the stairs and ladder to the little…
As pretty as anything he’s written in four decades: McCartney III reviewed
Grade: A- The greatest songwriter of the 20th century, or just one of the top two or three? Who…
Beautiful voice, pretentious album: Fiona Apple’s Fetch the Bolt Cutters reviewed
Grade: C+ Where did they all come from, the quirky yet meaningful rock chicks who don’t have a decent song…
Sex and sycophancy at Rolling Stone
Many moons ago, I worked at the New Musical Express magazine, which transformed me from virgin schoolgirl to the fabulous…
The Heckler: love your music, Macca, just not sure about you
It’s slightly galling, after years of sticking up for Paul McCartney, to read a new biography of the bloke and…
David Bowie once praised Hitler… but he was always changing his tune
I was desperately worried that you hadn’t read or heard enough platitudinous drivel about David Bowie — and therefore felt…
John Lennon’s desert island luxury
Beatlebone is an account of a journey, a psychedelic odyssey, its protagonist — at times its narrator — John Lennon,…
I’ve never thought much of John Lennon’s music – until now
It’s probably blasphemous to admit that I’ve never thought very much of John Lennon’s music. Common sense tells me it…
Ringo's no joke. He was a genius and the Beatles were lucky to have him
Ringo’s no joke, says James Woodall. He was a genius and the Beatles were lucky to have him
Life is full of little endings. We should pay them more attention
Life is full of little endings. We should pay them more attention
