BLOGGER TEMPLATES AND TWITTER BACKGROUNDS

Pages

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Oasis' Liam Gallagher Buys Film Rights for Beatles Book Frontman will tackle story of Apple Corps in 'The Longest Cocktail Party'

Liam GallagherO

asis have earned no shortage of Beatles comparison over the years, and now frontman Liam Gallagher is taking his love of the Fab Four to the next level: he has acquired the cinematic rights to the book The Longest Cocktail Party, which tells the behind-the-scenes story of the Beatles' Apple Corps. Gallagher's newly formed In 1 Productions confirmed today that they will develop and produce a feature film based on Richard DiLello's 1973 book that tracks the rise and near fall of the Beatles' famed record label. No release date for the film has been announced.

"This will be a film with humor and affection providing an insider's look at what it meant to be a young man caught up in the wild swirl of the music business, celebrities and the tail end of the swinging Sixties' in London," reads a statement from Gallagher's company. DiLello, who began working for Apple in 1968, witnessed firsthand the demise of the Beatles, which coincided with record company's financial struggles. The film, like the book, will likely focus more on Apple Corps than the Beatles themselves, though the breakup of the band factors largely in the story.

It remains unclear what role Gallagher will play on the film — if he'll serve as producer, writer or one of the Beatles. Oasis will be the subject of their own film, an upcoming documentary that includes fans' stories about their connection with the band and its music. As Rolling Stone previously reported, Noel Gallagher quit the band with "great relief" in August 2009.

'Let It Be' 40 Years Later: A Look Back at the Beatles' Final LP

Forty years ago this weekend, the greatest band of all time gave the world their final album together: On May 8th, 1970, the Beatles released Let It Be, the Phil Spector-produced LP that featured hits like the title track, "The Long and Winding Road" and one of John Lennon's most famous compositions, "Across the Universe." While the album was recorded during the band's caustic final days, Let It Be would go on to become one of their most celebrated records: it ranked Number 86 in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

The story behind Let It Be is almost as mythic as the Beatles themselves. The band originally intended to record it as a live-in-the-studio album and movie in 1969. But the ambitious undertaking left the Beatles so weary, they abandoned the project to make Abbey Road instead. Later, Phil Spector added oversweetened orchestral overdubs to many of the album's tracks — even though the record features some of the band's strongest rock songs ever (including "Get Back"). In 1970, the Beatles released the documentary film of the same name, which captured the group's iconic performance atop the Apple Studios building in January 1969. Perhaps due its controversial and detailed look at the Beatles' interpersonal problems, the film itself remains unavailable on DVD.

Despite the album's status in rock history, Paul McCartney was never a fan of Phil Spector's production flourishes on Let It Be. In Rolling Stone's original review of the album, writer John Mendelsohn also criticized Spector's superfluous additions, saying the famed Wall of Sound producer rendered "The Long and Winding Road" "virtually unlistenable with hideously cloying strings and a ridiculous choir" when compared to the version that appeared on the Get Back bootlegs in May, 1969. (Sign up for All Access to read the original Let It Be review from 1970.) After years of dissatisfaction with the released version, McCartney announced plans to put out Let It Be… Naked in November 2003, which stripped the Let It Be songs of Spector's ornate production. (All Access members can read the 2003 review of Let It Be...Naked now.)

guestbook