Beatles News Briefs

Dive into a one‑of‑a‑kind conversation connecting The Beatles, the iconic 1960s TV series The Prisoner, and the legendary Welsh village of Portmeirion. In this special episode, Beatles News Briefs host and veteran Beatles reporter Steve Marinucci is joined by renowned archivist Keith Badman and Meurig Jones, Portmeirion’s longtime location manager, for an unforgettable deep‑dive into music history, television culture, and rare behind‑the‑scenes stories.

Speaking to us directly from inside Portmeirion, Jones shares exclusive, little‑known accounts of the Beatles’ visits to the village—stories involving all four Beatles and many of their closest associates. Discover why the band was fascinated by The Prisoner, how the show’s surreal setting influenced them, and what kept drawing them, most of all George Harrison, back to this magical location.

Fresh from his own recent trip, Keith Badman adds vivid details about exploring the filming sites, the Beatles‑related landmarks, and the enduring cultural impact of both the band and the series.

This episode is packed with rare insights, historical gems, and fun, engaging storytelling—a must‑see and/or hear for Beatles fans, The Prisoner devotees, and anyone captivated by Portmeirion’s unique charm.

And there's a bonus for those who view it on YouTube: The video version includes photos provided by Meurig Jones.  

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You can binge listen to all of our episodes free at Podbean, on YouTube or on our Beatles News Briefs blog page.

CONTACT INFO: You can contact us about the show at [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you with your thoughts and feedback on our shows. We hope you enjoy the shows and we thank you very much for listening. We really appreciate you!

NEW! We've created a really fab (we think so!) Beatles News Briefs playlist on Spotify to go with the show that you can contribute to.   Send your suggestions to [email protected] and we may use them to add to the playlist.

Our guest this week is author Dave Schwensen,, whose book "The Beatles In Cleveland," is the authoritative work on the two Beatles concerts in that city that were stopped by the police because of riotous fans. Schwensen announces here he's releasing an expanded edition of that book and he tells us all about it. We also review Paul McCartney's new "The Boys of Dungeon Lane" album. And we'll also some Beatles news briefs as well. Ready? Steady? Go! 

 

P.S. if you go to our video version of this podcast on YouTube, you'll see two unreleased photos of Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones with Dave Schwensen.  

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You can binge listen to all of our episodes free at Podbean, on YouTube or on our Beatles News Briefs blog page.

CONTACT INFO: You can contact us about the show at [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you with your thoughts and feedback on our shows. We hope you enjoy the shows and we thank you very much for listening. We really appreciate you!

NEW! We've created a really fab (we think so!) Beatles News Briefs playlist on Spotify to go with the show that you can contribute to.   Send your suggestions to [email protected] and we may use them to add to the playlist.

Welcome back, everyone! I’m your host, Steve Marinucci — and today’s episode is a big one.

We’re joined by someone who was inside one of the most ambitious Beatles projects ever created: Keith Badman, who worked on the original Beatles Anthology and is a veteran of major pop‑music deep‑dives.

Keith pulls back the curtain on what it was really like to help build the Anthology, the hunt for never‑before‑seen clips, and the detective work required to bring lost Beatles and pop music history back to life. He'll relate the story of showing a found clip to a British singing legend and their reaction.  He even teases the subject of his next Beatles history book — a project packed with archival discoveries and now nearing the finish line.

Plus, we’ll share a review of “John & Yoko: Power to the People” and wrap up with the latest Beatles News Briefs you need to know.

Here we go. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You can binge listen to all of our episodes free at Podbean, on YouTube or on our Beatles News Briefs blog page.

CONTACT INFO: You can contact us about the show at [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you with your thoughts and feedback on our shows. We hope you enjoy the shows and we thank you very much for listening. We really appreciate you!

NEW! We've created a really fab (we think so!) Beatles News Briefs playlist on Spotify to go with the show that you can contribute to.   Send your suggestions to [email protected] and we may use them to add to the playlist.

UK author and broadcaster Spencer Leigh joins Steve Marinucci to discuss the fight to save Liverpool’s music landmarks and shares revealing Beatles stories about Brian Epstein and the firing of Pete Best. We also talk with Luis Lopez, one of the “Lucky 39” invited to the secret Paul McCartney listening session for "The Boys of Dungeon Lane" — complete with a surprise appearance by Paul himself. Luis gives an inside look at the whole adventure. Plus: our review of the new documentary "Peter Asher: Everywhere Man" and early thoughts on Ringo Starr’s new album "Long Long Road."

If you enjoy this episode, please give us a thumbs up and subscribe — it makes us feel great and helps our work grow. We appreciate you!!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You can binge listen to all of our episodes free at Podbean, on YouTube or on our Beatles News Briefs blog page.

CONTACT INFO: You can contact us about the show at [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you with your thoughts and feedback on our shows. We hope you enjoy the shows and we thank you very much for listening. We really appreciate you!

NEW! We've created a really fab (we think so!) Beatles News Briefs playlist on Spotify to go with the show that you can contribute to.   Send your suggestions to [email protected] and we may use them to add to the playlist.

In the first part of the show, we feature four female Beatles scholars, including author Christine Feldman-Barrett talking about her book "A Women's History of the Beatles." In part two, we feature an exclusive interview with Don Geller and Dayna Goldfine, the co-producers of the new documentary "Peter Asher: Everywhere Man" on the making of the film. A lot for you to listen to and to discuss here. We hope you enjoy it, give us a like on the video and subscribe so you can get first word of our newest episodes.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You can binge listen to all of our episodes free at Podbean, on YouTube or on our Beatles News Briefs blog page.

CONTACT INFO: You can contact us about the show at [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you with your thoughts and feedback on our shows. We hope you enjoy the shows and we thank you very much for listening. We really appreciate you!

NEW! We've created a really fab (we think so!) Beatles News Briefs playlist on Spotify to go with the show that you can contribute to.   Send your suggestions to [email protected] and we may use them to add to the playlist.