The Beatles: Getting back, coming together! - FUNFARE by Ricardo F. Lo

I’m stuck in the Beatles Era, as most Baby Boomers are, incurably (but happily) afflicted with Beatlemania.

In my CD rack is a complete collection of Beatles songs, from Love Me Do to Let It Be. My heart bled - and how! - when the Fab Four (John, Paul, George and Ringo) split up even before they could celebrate their 10th anniversary together and 30 years ago (last Dec. 31), Paul McCartney officially unplugged the group by filing a case in court.

My heart bled even more when John Lennon was shot to death in 1980 by Mark Chapman (whose petition for parole was successfully blocked by Lennon’s widow, the Yoko Ono, saying that if Chapman were to be set free, he would endanger not only their lives but those of other people); when Paul’s wife Linda Eastman succumbed to breast cancer three years ago; when an intruder broke into the London residence of George Harrison and stabbed him; and, way back in 1964, the foursome were almost lynched at the airport by the cops all because they failed to honor an invitation by the First Lady, Imelda Marcos, to see her at Malacañang.

But my heart skipped several beats when I learned that the Fab Four (hello there, John, wherever you are!) are getting back and coming together again in an album (released locally by OctoArts-EMI) entitled The Beatles Anthology 1 carrying their 27 No. 1 hits, namely (take note now) Love Me Do, From Me To You, She Loves You, I Want to Hold Your Hand, Can’t Buy Me Love, A Hard Day’s Night, I Feel Fine, Eight Days a Week, Ticket to Ride, Help!, Yesterday, Day Tripper, We Can Work It Out, Paperback Writer, Yellow Submarine, Eleanor Rigby, Penny Lane, All You Need is Love, Hello Goodbye, Lady Madonna, Hey Jude, Get Back, The Ballad of John & Yoko, Something, Come Together, Let It Be and The Long and Winding Road.

Twenty-seven all in all. Count ’em!

When I got a complimentary copy of The Beatles Anthology 1 from Maristel Fernandez-Sampedro, OctoArts-EMI’s advertising and promotions manager, I rushed to my CD player and listened to all 27 songs, embarking yet again on another trip down Memory Lane. When I’m feeling low or when I’m hit by writer’s block, all I do is play a Beatles song and, presto, the skies brighten up even on a stormy day and becomes so clear I can see forever - and write well (I guess).

The release of the album is a good reason for Beatlemaniacs to celebrate, isn’t it? And a good vehicle for some sweet reminiscing, too, isn’t it?

Here we go (on a Yellow Submarine guided by Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Day-Tripping on The Long and Winding Road with a right turn on Abbey Road, led on by the Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band):

• I was drawn into Beatlemania by a girl (I Saw (Her) Standing There (by the dorm window) singing Mister Moonlight as I passed by, singing the same tune over and over again as I passed by everyday. I was sure she was trying to catch my attention.

• I realized that people Can’t Buy Me Love no matter how hard they tried to, not when the object of your fascination was as much of a letdown as Eleanor Rigby (you know, the lady who keeps her face in a jar by the door - how pathetic!).

• I was dead sure that Hey Jude was a sexy, sex-oriented song about, yes, the sex act. Or how else would you interpret the line "so let it out and let it in?" Easy does it, man! The movement you need is on your shoulder.

• When I asked a college classmate, also "an aspiring writer," to send me a sample of her poem, she sent me the lyrics of Yesterday (you know, "suddenly, I was half the man I used to be") and I was moved by the simplicity of her verse which wasn’t any less meaningful, until I found out that she copied the whole lyrics of that Beatles song which is said to be the most-recorded song in music history.

• When Martin Nievera (or his staff) made the big mistake of inviting me to guest on martin late @ night and "blackmailed" me into singing (on national television - horrors!), I chose In My Life and when Martin asked why, I told him that – didn’t he know? – I’m a hopeless Beatlemaniac and, besides, according to a British magazine survey, In My Life is the greatest pop song ever written (you know, "there are places I remember in my life though some have changed, some forever not for better, some have gone and some remain"). Touching song, isn’t it? It never fails to make me cry (sob!).

Anyway, to commemorate the Beatles reunion (even if only on disc/CD), Funfare is running this nostalgic piece (and another one next Monday) and, in a tie-up with OctoArts-EMI, a little Beatles "quiz" consisting of 14 questions (prepared by OctoArts-EMI and not by Funfare). The first 20 readers who send the correct answers will each win a copy of The Beatles Anthology 1. (Send entries to OctoArts-EMI Music, 25th Floor, Atlanta Centre, Annapolis, Greenhills, San Juan; or e-mail to [email protected]; or call 723-08-61 to 70.)

Here are the questions:

1. Who are The Beatles?

2. Who is their long-time producer?

3. Who among The Beatles said that they are more popular than God?

4. What is the title of the new single included in The Beatles Anthology 1, recorded by John Lennon before his death?

5. Who among the Fab Four formed The Wings after the group disbanded?

6. What is the title of The Beatles’ very first US No. 1 hit?

7. What is the first US show that The Beatles guested on?

8. Who among The Beatles wrote the song Something?

9. What is The Beatles’ very first single?

10. What was the official worldwide release of The Beatles Anthology 1? (Clue: The date is associated with "bad luck.")

11. Which Beatles song spent the most weeks at the top spot in the Billboard charts?

12. What is the name of the studio where all The Beatles’ recordings were remastered?

13. What was the very first Beatles song that topped the UK charts?

14. How many No. 1 hits did The Beatles have?

(Note: Answers to the questions and names of the 20 winners will be published by Funfare end of the month, as soon as deadline is over. Meanwhile, you visit the official Beatles website at www.thebeatles.com.)