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Post by jno on Apr 5, 2016 12:37:28 GMT
The Beatles split up in 1970. Since they split, whose solo work have you enjoyed the most / which of The Beatles do you think deserves most credit as a solo artist? Ok, Pete Best might be a best, but he's not included here.
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Post by ace5150 on Apr 5, 2016 16:03:47 GMT
Good one. I think Georges output was very selected and careful. John's is deemed legendary because he got whacked, Paul's is hit-and-miss and Ringos is virtually unknown outside the decent 'Photograph'
At a push, considering 75% of post-Beatles work is bilge, I'd plump for Macca..........JUST, and that's because of some of his Wings stuff, and NOTHING since 1978. Georges stuff is far better though, just less of it.
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Post by jno on Apr 5, 2016 16:44:13 GMT
I opted for George. His 'Cloud Nine' album is superb. I was 13 at the time and this was one of the first albums I literally played around and around again (on tape). This alone wins it for me plus the obvious 'My Sweet Lord' which I also like.
The first Travelling Wilburys album, admittedly not exclusively Harrison is also good.
I have never been really fussed on Paul's stuff other than 'Live & Let Die', 'We all stand together' and 'Ebony & Ivory'. The opening for 'Band On The Run' always reminds me of the 'George & Mildred' theme tune!
I am not a really big fan of any of John's solo stuff (although I will listen to Imagine/Merry Xmas etc.) and I do like Ringo's 'Photograph'.
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Post by chopper on Apr 5, 2016 16:52:45 GMT
3 to the obvious ones make a strong case,Lennon for Imagine album & the excellent Instant Karma. Macca for Band On The Run & the greatest Bond song ever in Live & Let Die Harrison's All Things Must Pass was another masterpiece & for this (just) gets my vote.
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Post by ace5150 on Apr 5, 2016 17:03:33 GMT
Lennons Instant Karma was his best work. Typical Yoko, selling the rights to Nike for a TV ad.
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Post by daz on Apr 5, 2016 18:34:49 GMT
I have to go with Macca, just for his sheer volume of output since the Beatles split. Yes, he has had some dodgy stuff, but I would say for the amount of releases he has had the quality is exceptional and he is not afraid to venture into new territory.
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Post by gustav on Apr 5, 2016 18:56:40 GMT
Despite Alan Partridge's famous assertion that Wings were "Only the band the Beatles could have been" I would pick George Harrison.
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Post by felixdeburgh on Apr 5, 2016 20:15:05 GMT
All 4 of them recorded some great stuff post-Beatles which is testament to just how good they were (and I include Ringo in that) so it's a tricky choice. I've gone for Macca (just) because whatever else you say about him, the man can certainly write a catchy tune and a decent love song, sometimes combining the two. Maybe I'm Amazed is just a brilliant song but there are so many others such as Another Day, Silly Love Songs, With A Little Luck, Listen To What The Man Said, My Love and of course, Live And Let Die. Cheesy though it is, I don't even mind Mull of Kintyre but I draw the line at The Frog Chorus.
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Post by minderfan84 on Apr 6, 2016 12:46:53 GMT
George Harrison was highly underrated as a solo artist a lot of his stuff is brilliant
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vicboy
One Of Your Own
Posts: 169
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Post by vicboy on Apr 6, 2016 20:20:22 GMT
I voted for Harrison and have to agree that he was highly underrated.
He was a very talented and thoughtful man who not only wrote some amazing music (I am always surprised when I hear Shirley Bassey singing 'Something' that he wrote this song) but also founded Handmade Films. Handmade Films backed, among others, The Life of Brian when most other studios had shunned it.
Let's also not forget he was in The Travelling Wilburys in the late 1980's.
Of course, Lennon and McCartney were brilliant as well but Harrison just seemed to have that bit more about him. Lennon had periods of inactivity but, to be fair, had probably, and not before time, found his feet as a solo artist not long before he was so terribly killed. I often wonder what he would have go on to do but for that night in 1980.
McCartney was always mainstream and his output was pretty impressive but most of it did lean towards the bland.
Let's not also forget that after the Beatles went to India to 'find themselves' it was Harrison who actually embraced much of what he had seen and learned. This was something which Lennon and McCartney did not do.
As for Ringo. Well, 'Photograph' was a decent song but he wisely has never tried to pretend he was much more than a support person for the three massive talents that he played with.
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Post by jno on Apr 7, 2016 3:26:19 GMT
...and he was pretty good in 'Thomas The Tank Engine'.
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Post by Portland Road on Apr 7, 2016 9:32:28 GMT
Very tough one this. It is easy just to say 'Paul McCartney', but a lot of his memorable work was of course with Wings (1972-79).
It can be difficult to separate him from Wings, just as it is difficult to separate Rod Stewart from The Faces, Bryan Ferry from Roxy Music etc.
But I think his solo hit singles & albums in 1970-71, and again during the 1980s, just set him ahead of John & George. What goes against the latter two is that there output was more intermittent. Meanwhile, Ringo probably wasn't as poor as some may think.
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Post by daz on Apr 7, 2016 12:04:22 GMT
Always feel a bit sorry for Ringo. He has ventured into all sorts of territories over the years and done well in them all. It is only when you compare him with his three bandmates that he appears to be in lesser company.
I think it was John that said that Ringo would have been a star without or without the Beatles.
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vicboy
One Of Your Own
Posts: 169
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Post by vicboy on Apr 7, 2016 19:06:09 GMT
Oh no...jno. Are you telling me that Thomas the Tank Engine wasn't real??
I can't have it...
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Post by ace5150 on Apr 7, 2016 19:10:59 GMT
Always feel a bit sorry for Ringo. I think it was John that said that Ringo would have been a star without or without the Beatles. The same John when asked if Ringo was the best drummer in the world, replied 'hes not even the best drummer in the band'
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Post by jno on Feb 28, 2017 18:56:25 GMT
As Beatle mania hits the forum over in off topic, I heard this other day and forgot to mention Pete Best on this thread:
Nice tune!
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Post by felixdeburgh on Feb 28, 2017 20:33:02 GMT
Always feel a bit sorry for Ringo. I think it was John that said that Ringo would have been a star without or without the Beatles. The same John when asked if Ringo was the best drummer in the world, replied 'hes not even the best drummer in the band' It's a great quote but unfortunately it's not true as John never said that, although it's sounds like the sort of acerbic but witty thing he would say. John rated Ringo very highly and wouldn't have said that about him, certainly not in public as they remained friends throughout. The actual quote came from Jasper Carrott after John had been shot dead and seems to have grown into an urban myth accepted as fact. Chief Beatles aficionado Mark Lewisohn claims to have read, listened and viewed every available John Lennon interview he ever did for his 3 part book (part 1 covering the period up to 1962 came out a couple of years ago, part 2 covering 62-66 is due in 2020!) and could find no trace of him ever having said it but did find the quote from Jasper Carrott.
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Post by Zimbo on Feb 28, 2017 20:45:57 GMT
Never knew that Felix. We can all smile now when we hear it as fact. I thought he might have said it as a joke, rather than anything malicious.
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Post by felixdeburgh on Feb 28, 2017 21:17:06 GMT
As I said, you can imagine him saying it but he didn't. People have put up pictures of Lennon being interviewed with supposed subtitles quoting him as saying it which fuels the story, but the actual transcripts show that he didn't.
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Post by jno on Mar 1, 2017 14:00:29 GMT
That Pete Best reference reminds me of that Smashie & Nicey sketch. They have an on air quiz question "Who did Ringo Starr replace in The Beatles? Send your answers in to Pete Best Competition, Radio Fab FM."
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Post by Portland Road on Mar 3, 2017 7:21:34 GMT
A speculative 1973 Beatles album could have had "Mind Games", "Give Me Love Give Me Peace On Earth, "Jet" and "Photograph".
If those tracks were added to Paul's 'Band On The Run' LP, it could have been the greatest Beatles LP of all.
jno - re: the Pete Best single - it appears to involve John Schroeder as co-writer and Love Affair/Tremeloes producer Mike Smith.
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Post by KarinB on Mar 8, 2017 11:33:46 GMT
I'm surprised George has so many votes. It certainly depends on your definition of 'deserves'. Is it commercial success, personal enjoyment of the music, amount of musical output, relevance through the decades ? I voted for John Lennon. I've just been bitten by a spider when I went out to the rubbish bin so I'm off to put some Stingose on it ! It stings.
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Post by KarinB on Mar 9, 2017 11:43:38 GMT
Maybe Stingose could advertise that as one of the pests that it works against. Summer has just ended here and it is not unusual to expect a spider to be out near the rubbish bins at night. It was dark and the sneaky little one bit me on the foot. Mind you, I suppose I might have nearly stood on him so can't blame him too much. (I don't know why, but I tend to expect spiders are he. Lol)
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Post by Portland Road on Mar 10, 2017 8:27:11 GMT
I'm surprised George has so many votes. It certainly depends on your definition of 'deserves'. Is it commercial success, personal enjoyment of the music, amount of musical output, relevance through the decades ? I voted for John Lennon. I've just been bitten by a spider when I went out to the rubbish bin so I'm off to put some Stingose on it ! It stings. George saw the little piggies, crawling in the dirt.... ....but he never mentioned any spiders....
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Post by Arch Stanton on Mar 11, 2017 8:06:18 GMT
I've just been bitten by a spider when I went out to the rubbish bin so I'm off to put some Stingose on it ! It stings. Same thing happened to this guy in this comic I read once. Spider Karin, Spider Karin, Does whatever a Spider Karin does... Etc. How big was it? What sort? Apologies for straying from the topic of beatles to spiders.
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Post by KarinB on Mar 12, 2017 13:13:46 GMT
I've just been bitten by a spider when I went out to the rubbish bin so I'm off to put some Stingose on it ! It stings. Same thing happened to this guy in this comic I read once. Spider Karin, Spider Karin, Does whatever a Spider Karin does... Etc. How big was it? What sort? Apologies for straying from the topic of beatles to spiders. I had no inclination to make myself a red lycra suit and fight crime so I believe it was a different spider from the chap you read about. I don't know how big the spider was. I just nicked out to put the kitchen tidy bag in the outside bin and it was dark. Well I know my way along the sideway without having to put the outside light on so I didn't. As soon as I was back inside there was a lump on my foot as big as a five cent piece ( let's say dime size for American forumites and five pence for the English folk. jno if you are reading this I have no idea about Euro coins) and it was so itchy. Those urban myths always go through your head about spiders laying eggs on people. Thankfully all fine now.
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Post by fordcapri on Sept 11, 2017 17:40:13 GMT
Come on, individually they were all pretty poor. Macca just turns out garbage and Lennon's reputation wasn't harmed at all when he took the bullet in 1980. I can't even bring myself to listen to anything from Ringo. So by default it has to be George.
P.S. The theme to The Zoo Gang was OK, as was Live and Let Die. Can't say I have a liking for anything else.
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Post by chopper on Sept 11, 2017 19:51:38 GMT
Some years ago - on Johnnie Walkers sounds of the 70's,he played a track by each of the recently split Fab Four who all had a track in the charts at the time - I was seriously impressed with Ringo's "It Don't Come Easy" although I believe George wrote it for him!......
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Post by pr1 on Sept 15, 2017 0:44:29 GMT
As far as the Beatles go I always prefered Lennon's songs but as solo artists I had to go with Harrison. All Things Must Pass is such an amazing album. I like a lot of Paul's stuff pre-MTV, especially the Band on the Run album. John's Plastic Ono Band and Imagine are also great albums. I remember in the mid-Seventies when Ringo had a few huge hit singles in the U.S.
I think all four of them made a good showing for themselves as solo artists.
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Post by Portland Road on Sept 16, 2017 6:34:25 GMT
Yes I do as well, and they (except perhaps Ringo) remained musically potent into the 80s, hinting at how The Beatles would have fared had they not split.
chopper - Ringo wrote 'It Don't Come Easy' himself, but George performed on and produced it. Individual members of The Beatles were frequently involved with the solo records of the other members.
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