Though the Beatles formed in 1960, it wasn’t until two years later that they scored their first hit, “Love Me Do.”

Their hometown of Liverpool is making plans to mark the occasion with a series of events running through the latter half of this year. It begins in August, the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ first show at the Cavern Club. The city’s leading tour operator is organizing International Beatles Week, with bands from more than 20 countries. In addition to concerts, the sponsor plans exhibitions, memorabilia sales, guest speakers, video shows, sightseeing tours and a convention.

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic will perform The Two of Us: The Lennon and McCartney Songbook in June, and the city’s Philharmonic Hall hosts a Beatles weekend in December.

In October, the “Love Me Do” weekend at Albert Dock will celebrate the release of the Beatles’ first single. [Read more...]

Even though they’re releasing albums within days of one another, Ringo Starr says he’s not in competition with Paul McCartney.

In an interview with Spinner, Ringo says it’s strictly a coincidence:

No, there’s no rivalry. Paul is Paul, Ringo is Ringo and this is what we do. We don’t phone each other and say, ‘You can’t you bring your record out because I’ve got one!’. We live our lives, we make our music and pick a release date. This was the date we picked and that’s just how it is.

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