John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr during rehearsals for The Beatles' first appearance on Ready, Steady, Go, 4th October 1963. Part 1 (part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10)
With thanks to @i-am-the-oyster for bringing this video to my attention!
if i somehow own a movie theatre when the sam mendes beatles biopics come out i’m going to falsely advertise tickets to the films, then once everyone’s seated i’ll lock the doors and forcibly show two of us instead
John Lennon explaining who "(Just Like) Starting Over" is for
This interview took place only 12 hours before he lost his life. He was so looking forward to the 80s. I had this edit sitting in my folder for two months because it hurt listening to it. John had such a difficult childhood (losing his mother, his friend dying), his stardom weigh him down mentally, his marriage was a failure (and he couldn't really live in freedom with the person he truly loved due to societal norms). And then he gets robbed of his life in the most brutal way. How absolutely devastating...
In this clip, he clearly says the song is not for Yoko.
I was visualizing all the people of my age group from the 60s.... Having gone through everything together, I am singing to them. I'm really talking to the people that grew up with me and saying here I am now, how are you? How's your relationship going? Did you get through it all? Wasn't the 70s a drag? You know, here we are. Well, let's try and make the 80s good, you know, because it's still up to us to make what we can of it. It's not out of our control.
We have grown, we have grown
Although our love is still special
Let's take a chance and fly away
Somewhere alone
It's been too long since we took the time
But when I see you darling
It's like we both are falling in love again
It'll be just like starting over
Everyday we used to make it love
Why can't we be making love nice and easy
It's time to spread our wings and fly
Don't let another day go by my love
It'll be just like starting over
We'll be together all alone again
Like we used to in the early days
These parts of the lyrics specifically can only pertain to one person he grew up with. George Harrison.
One day I’ll sit down and give an extensive talk on my experience with synesthesia, but for now I’ll just say that for me, music has always been tied to my art. Inextricably. When I put on music as I paint it’s not just background noise, it’s actively informing the piece. This is an example of me taking that to the logical extreme, this entire piece was made and crafted by the music I heard as I painted it. Using Beatles (and solo career) songs from across their lifespan, the finished piece becomes a visual symphony of shared history between Paul McCartney and John Lennon. Everything shared, and everything left unsaid.
John Lennon and Paul McCartney during rehearsals for The Beatles' first appearance on Ready, Steady, Go, 4th October 1963. Part 2 (part 1, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10)
whenever i think to myself y’know what my mental health is doing okay at the moment… let’s change that… i just put on (just like) starting over followed directly by here today. instant nervous breakdown, works every time.
that means a lot - the beatles // the lyrics, 2021 // yvonne’s the one - 10cc // however absurd - paul mccartney // road - paul mccartney // interview for the adam buxton podcast, 2020 // emma, 1815