This Day in Beatle History

May 17

1971 (May 17) - Paul Releases 'Monkberry Moon Delight' in the US

‘Monkberry Moon Delight’ Released in the US

1980 (May 17) - Paul and Linda on Saturday Night Live

Weeks after being detained in Tokyo on drug charges, Paul and Linda McCartney appear on Saturday Night Live.

2006 (May 17) - Paul and Heather Mills Announce Split

Paul McCartney and his wife Heather Mills admitted that they had given up the fight to save their marriage, saying that after four years together, they were going their separate ways.

2008 (Feb 20) - Beatles' Autographed Rolling Stones Album Auctioned

A 1976 Rolling Stones album bought for £2 at a car boot sale sold for £4,000 at an auction. The ‘Black and Blue’ LP was signed by John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Paul and Linda McCartney and George Harrison as well as members of the Rolling Stones. The seller obtained the album after haggling the cost down from £3.

May 18

1963 (May 18) - Tour With Roy Orbison Begins

The Beatles begin a ‘package tour’ with headliner Roy Orbison.

1967 (May 18) - Beatles Selected for 1st Global-Wide Satellite Broadcast

The Beatles were selected to represent the UK for the first-ever global-wide satellite broadcast. The group agreed to be shown in the studio recording a song written especially for the occasion, scheduled for June 25. John Lennon wrote ‘All You Need is Love’ which was thought to sum up the 1967 ‘summer of love’ and The Beatles’ sympathies. With the satellite broadcast being broadcast to many non-English-speaking countries, the BBC asked The Beatles to ‘keep it simple’.

1967 (May 18) - Paul and John Back 'The Stones'

John and Paul sing backing vocals on the Rolling Stones, ‘We Love You’ single.

2008 (Feb 20) - Beatles' Autographed Rolling Stones Album Auctioned

A 1976 Rolling Stones album bought for £2 at a car boot sale sold for £4,000 at an auction. The ‘Black and Blue’ LP was signed by John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Paul and Linda McCartney and George Harrison as well as members of the Rolling Stones. The seller obtained the album after haggling the cost down from £3.

2011 (May 18) - 'Lucy in the Sky' Handwritten Lyrics Sold

John Lennon’s handwritten lyrics for the 1967 Beatles song ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’ sold for $237,132 (£145,644) at an auction in the US. The sale of the sheet, which featured the song’s third verse and the opening words to ‘She’s Leaving Home’, took place at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills. Both songs feature on the 1967 album Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was speculated the song was about the drug LSD, however, The Beatles denied this, with Lennon saying the inspiration had come from a picture his son Julian had drawn of a classmate named Lucy Vodden – who died of the immune system disease Lupus in 2009.

May 19

1967 (May 19) - Press Party for the Sgt Pepper Album

The Beatles held a press party at manager’s Brian Epstein’s house in London for the launch of the Sgt. Pepper album. Linda Eastman was hired as the press photographer for the event.

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