In contrast, he’s still in touch with Paul, and goes to his concerts and he saw Ringo recently.

Interviewer Spencer Leigh who has been broadcasting on BBC Merseyside for 30 years asked Billy, “Was there a danger that his future wasn’t going anywhere signing on with Brian Epstein since Brian’s focus was the Beatles?”

Billy replied, “Brian devoted quite a lot of time with me, came to see me, came to critique me, how I sat on the stage, he would have it all written down when he came to see me. Though some of the criticisms were valid, some were not.”

Regarding how he had his first hit single, Billy says that Brian gave him a demo of “Do you Want to Know a Secret” that John Lennon had written, and the demo contained the sound of a toilet flushing which John had added to the tape for laughs. He said he wishes he still had those demo tapes but they’re long gone and he never thought about saving them back in the early days.

Billy said he was nervous playing in Hamburg at the Star Club, and that for most bands, they either got really good or they packed it up and went home. He said the Hamburg audiences didn’t respond to the new song, “Do you Want to Know a Secret”, so he didn’t expect the song to do much when it was released back home in England.

To his great surprise, when he came back home from Hamburg, “Do you Want to Know a Secret” was released and went straight to #1. Over the next few years, his band, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, had several hit singles and top selling albums.

He’s been in the states since the sixties and still enjoys performing. Billy says he’s thrilled and excited to be back in Liverpool to play after so many years. He hasn’t written a book yet, but says “it’s coming soon” and he joked he already has thought of the title for the new book, “I Was There”.

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For the sixth time, Mark David Chapman, 55, is seeking release as part of a routine review of sentences at Attica prison in northern New York state, where he is an inmate. His hearing was scheduled for Tuesday.

“Mr. Chapman was informed today that his parole interview has been postponed one month,” the parole board said. “The Division of Parole is awaiting the receipt of additional information so that the record is complete for Mr. Chapman’s upcoming parole interview.”

The board’s decision would be announced the day after hearings are completed.

Chapman shot Lennon to death outside his Manhattan apartment building on December 8, 1980, an act that stunned the world and in the view of many historians marked the end of an era.

Chapman was sentenced in 1981 to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years in prison.

The widow of the former Beatle, Yoko Ono, has said on repeated occasions that she is opposed to Chapman’s release because she still considers him a threat to her family. His requests for parole have been rejected every two years since 2000

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So PBS is marking the occasion with 2-hour Nov. 22 American Masters special that chronicles his solo career in the last decade of his life, which he spent in New York City with his wife Yoko Ono. It ended tragically, of course, when he was murdered by Mark David Chapman outside the Dakota, his apartment building on the Upper West Side.

But before that, there was plenty of music and good times. In interviews, recording-studio bandmates recalled his precision,collaboration, frequent changes and good humor as he recorded iconic songs such as Imagine and his final album, Double Fantasy. How he continued a practice, begun while a Beatle, how deliberately playing D notes out of tune on his guitar (back then, so his mother would recognize which guitar was his). And how he pulled back from recording for most of the last five years of his life to focus on raising his second son, Sean.

“He was a very astute artist, and a perfectionist,” Ono told TV critics Thursday. And “he loved New York so much. He said, ‘Well, I wish I was born here.’” And New Yorkers were kinder: “They did approach him in a very nice way,” whereas in London, “He had a very bad time becaue I was there. Everyone hated him for being with me.” (Ono is often blamed for the Beatles’ breakup).

The film includes audio from four or five recording sessions not previously heard. And producers found archival footage “I didn’t know existed,” Ono says. “There are many gritty moments in the film. Some parts of it were painful for me.” But “this is something John would have approved. It was a part of his life he really loved, because it was New York…It was his love, and also (the place of) his death.”

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Ono has consistently opposed parole for Mark David Chapman and has again sent a letter to the parole board, her lawyer, Peter Shukat, told the Daily News.

“Her position has not changed,” Shukat said in an article published Tuesday.

Lennon was shot to death on December 8, 1980, outside the famed Dakota apartment building just west of Central Park as he and Ono returned home from a recording session

Chapman — now 55 and serving a 20-years-to-life sentence for the slaying — is scheduled to be interviewed by a three-member parole board panel during the week of August 9. It will be his sixth bid for parole.

Shukat refused to say whether Ono’s most recent letter to the board is the same one she has submitted every two years since Chapman first became eligible for parole in 2000.

In that letter, Ono wrote that if Chapman is released, “I am afraid it will bring back the nightmare, the chaos and confusion once again. Myself and John’s two sons would not feel safe for the rest of our lives.”

She also wrote that Chapman would not be safe if allowed back on the streets.

Due to his notoriety, Chapman is kept in a special unit apart from the upstate Attica prison’s general population. He works as a porter, cleaning up offices, and assists inmates in one of the prison’s law libraries.

Despite some early minor prison violations, Chapman’s record has been clean since 1994, the Daily News said.

Robert Gangi, head of the prisoners’ rights group, Correctional Association of America, doubts Chapman will be released because of the public outrage it would cause.

“Given that he committed a high-profile crime and he killed one of the most famous and most beloved figures literally in the world, it’s highly unlikely three parole commissioners would vote to grant him release,” Gangi told the News.

Lennon would have been 70 this October

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Love blossomed for the couple on set while they filmed the story of the future Beatle’s teenage years. A statement issued on the couple’s behalf said: “Sam Taylor-Wood and Aaron Johnson are happy to announce the birth of their daughter Wylda Rae, who was born on July 7, in London.” Acclaimed biopic Nowhere Boy was Sam’s first foray into directing a feature-length film.

The pair announced their engagement on the night of the film’s premiere in October last year and in January they confirmed they were expecting their first child together. Sam already has two daughters with her ex-husband, art dealer Jay Jopling.
Despite the 23-year age gap, the couple have said their friends and family are “really supportive” of their relationship.

Sam, who has battled cancer twice, said previously: “(They have reacted) really positively. They know how intensely we feel.” Aaron has described himself as “a very lucky man” after landing a breakthrough film role as well as a wife-to-be. He said previously: “(My friends and family have been) really lovely and supportive.”

Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Aaron’s co-star in the movie Kick-Ass, posted on the website Twitter: “Aaron Johnson’s baby was born!! So exciting!” Earlier this year Aaron was named best newcomer at the prestigious Jameson Empire Awards for his portrayal of the young Lennon in the movie. Last month he was voted Man Of The Year at the Glamour Awards.

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The best thing about this book, if you’re a real die hard fan of the fab four, is that obviously this book contains hundreds and hundreds of photos of the boys from fans everywhere. These photos was sold in auctions (and I must say, it probably costs fortunes!).

Another good thing about it is that it’s not a standard book that you read from cover to cover… You don’t even have to read it if you want to.. you can just stare at the pictures.. but in my case, I just flip it wherever (whenever time frame of the Beatles I want to be) and I read along..

And now, for tonight… here are some Beatles quotes from the interview The Beatles made in a press conference in Adelaide…. Page 122-123 of the book, “The Touring Days”

Reporter: Well fellas, tell me, what did you think of the Adelaide reception?
John Lennon: Oh, it was great@ The best ever.
Reporter: Was it like I’d mentioned to you on the plane it would be?
John Lennon: Yeah, it was better!
Reporter: Was it like you’d ever had before?
George Harrison: No, much better.
John Lennon: We’d never done one of those “drives” as well. It was marvelous.
Reporter: How would it compare with the ones in the United States when you arrived there?
Paul McCartney: This was bigger. There was more people there.
Reporter: Do you think it was very well conducted?
John Lennon: Yes. Everybody was well behaved.
Reporter: Did you get a fright at all outside the Town hall?
John Lennon: Not fright. Shock, you know, because there was so many.
George Harrison: I had a feeling we might’ve got shot, ‘cosw it’s the first time we’d been sitting inthe back of a car waving, you know.

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Q: How was your trip?
John Lennon: It was like a plane trip, you know.

Q: How often do you get haircuts?
John Lennon: Uh, about once every three weeks.

Q: Who is your tailer?
Paul McCartney: A fella called Millings.

Q: What did you have to eat today?
John Lennon: Corn flakes with jelly beans and chips

Q: Is your hair real?
Paul McCartney: Is yours?

Read more about the tour in Larry Kane’s Book:

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Dude, need I say more? Happy Birthday to John Lennon! And I can’t wait for my very own Rockband Game.. please buy my Guitar Hero World Tour. :)

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The personal narration of life with John Lennon – by his son Julian, and Julian’s mother, Cynthia with the opening of White Feather: The Spirit of Lennon. This is this coming June 17, 2009

Beginning in Merseyside with the meeting at art college of John and Cynthia it follows the journey from their clandestine marriage and the birth of Julian, both of which coincide with the sharply increasing trajectory of the band’s fame and fortune. The exhibition culminates in the story of Cynthia and John’s separation and divorce, givingvisitors the chance to immerse themselves in the personal journey of a normal family’s struggle to cope with the effects of fame thrown upon them; particularly relevant in today’s celebrity conscious society.

Nothing demonstrates this more acutely than the title of the exhibition, ”White Feather”. During a tender moment when Julian was a child, John first spoke to him about the white feather.

As Julian explains: ”The white feather is so prevalent in my life. One thing for sure is that it’s always represented peace to me. And one of the things my father said to me was that should he pass away, if there was some way of letting me know he was going to be ok, or that we were all going to be ok, it was by in some way, shape or form presenting me with a white feather.”

Then, around ten years ago while Julian was on tour in Australia, a group of Aborigines presented him with a white feather, asking him to be the voice for their plight. It was a breathtaking and inspirational moment for Julian. This episode motivated Julian to set up The White Feather Foundation, a charity that embraces environmental and humanitarian issues and helps to raise funds to improve the life of others.

Julian Lennon says: ”John Lennon is an idol to millions of people who grew up loving his music and ideals, but to me he is the father I loved and lost. I hope this exhibition lets people see another aspect of his life and our time together as a family. This collection represents something of great importance to us as it is part of our history.”

Jerry Goldman Managing Director of the Beatles Story comments: ”The Beatles Story is dedicated to celebrating the music and cultural influence of the Beatles. We are delighted to be working with Julian and Cynthia to tell their story of their life with John through this world exclusive exhibition at our new venue.”

White Feather: The Spirit of Lennon, takes place at the recently expanded world famous Beatles Story within the new Mersey Ferries terminal building on Liverpool’s renowned waterfront before touring worldwide.

Neil Scales, Chief Executive and Director General of Merseytravel, which owns the Beatles Story, says: “This is a story about a family; but it is also a story of global significance and one that opens up the lives of John, Cynthia and Julian in a way never seen before. We are in the business of creating the world’s number one Beatles experience at the Beatles Story and to have this exclusive on our doorstep – John’s home town – is a privilege.”

To find out more about the exhibition go to: http://www.whitefeatherexhibition.com/

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Looks like Yoko Ono will be coming back to the place where they stayed all day with JOhn Lennon in their pajamas.

Here’s what we read:

Niagara Falls Mayor Ted Salci said he has contacted Ono’s management and asked if she could attend the Lundy’s Lane event, especially because it falls almost 40 years to the day that she and Lennon were at Niagara Falls. Ono could not be reached for comment.

“We’ll give her the red carpet treatment,” Salci said. “We’ll give her the key to the city, or whatever else she wants.”

“All We Are Saying,” key words from Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance” — a song he first recorded and released in 1969 — will feature music from various Southern Ontario youth groups.

Ono did appear in Montreal earlier this year as part of that city’s celebration of the couple’s “bed-in” for peace.

It was during the bed-in that Lennon and Ono made the day-long side trip from Montreal to Niagara Falls, at the urging of Roy Kerwood, a then-18-year-old photography student who befriended the famous couple. Later that year, Lennon made a rare in-concert appearance at a rock and roll revival festival at Toronto’s Varsity Stadium. The Beatles officially broke up in 1970.

Salci said the official invitation came at the behest of Bill Colclough, Lundy’s Lane Historical Museum public programmer and organizer of the “All We Are Saying” event.

“I know the history,” Colclough said. “If we asked, I’m not sure it would go very far. But, coming from the mayor and city council, it might carry more weight with Yoko Ono.”

Niagara Falls has had its fair share of famous visitors. Two weeks, actor Brad Pitt took two of his children on the Maid of the Mist. Princess Diana also rode the Maid of the Mist in 1991 and the Rolling Stones were riders on the Maid of the Mist in 1975.

“Yoko will be in good company,” Colclough said.

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