WikiProject The Beatles Newsletter
Issue 003 – July 2006

Beatles News

• Billy Preston, often considered the Fifth Beatle, died on 6 June at age 59. The American soul musician was a long term friend of The Beatles and was the only person to receive joint credit on a Beatles single ("Get Back"). Preston was an Apple Records recording artist and he performed at George Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh and at the Concert for George, both energetic and memorable performances. He also played regularly with The Rolling Stones and a number of other artists.

• Apple Corps has combined forces with Cirque du Soleil to create a show called "LOVE", featuring music by The Beatles, to be produced at the Mirage theatre in Las Vegas. The deal is reportedly worth US$30 million. George Harrison had originally been involved, as well as George Martin and Giles Martin. Preview performances began June 2, with the gala opening occurring on June 30.

Project News

• New article classification system, for our use and for Wikipedia 1.0. Very important and we need editor involvement. How can you help? Rate articles! It's easy:
  • Visit Wikipedia:WikiProject The Beatles/Article Classification and read about how to grade.
  • Visit Category:Unassessed Beatles articles and select an article to review.
  • After deciding what grade it should have, modify the invocation of {{WPBeatles}} on the talk page to add parms. The template itself gives you the parameters to use. For example, change {{WPBeatles}} to {{WPBeatles|B|Low}} if you think it's a low-importance, B-class article. Save your changes and make sure the talk page is now showing the ratings.
  • Click on the link in the template to edit the /comments subpage and explain why you rated the article the way you did. Don't forget to sign with ~~~~. Save that too.
  • Questions? Ask Kingboyk or Lar for help.

• Want to stay up on new project developments? Watchlist all of the WikiProject pages plus The Beatles and each of the 4 members, to get a feel for what's happening. Also monitor and regularly review Wikipedia:Version 1.0 Editorial Team/The Beatles articles by quality log. If an article is listed on there as "added", go check the article's history. If it's new since the Project began add it to the Project Log as a new article and up the counter by one :)

• The charity album No One's Gonna Change Our World has been adopted by simonthebold.

• Ten new articles have been listed in the Project Log since 1 June.

Member News

• New members to the project since the last issue include DslSWF, Goldom, Afghan Historian, Scolaire, bl4d3, and Vint.

• LessHeard vanU and Lar have been awarded Barnstars for unrelated activities.

Issue of the Month

Preparing articles for inclusion in Wikipedia 1.0.

From the Editors

It was a bit of a struggle to get this month's newsletter done, as we did it without a lead editor. Hopefully, next month you'll jump in and be our lead editor. Big news is that WP:1.0 is coming along nicely and our article classification system has changed to conform to it.

If you've just joined, add your name to the Participants section of Wikipedia:WikiProject The Beatles. You'll get a mention in the next issue of the Newsletter and get it delivered as desired. Also, please include your own promotions and awards in future issues. Don't be shy!

Lastly, this is your newsletter and you can be involved in the creation of the next issue (Issue 004 – August 2006). Any and all contributions are welcome. Simply let yourself be known to any of the undersigned, or just start editing!

Contributors to this Issue

• GPHemsley (Editor)
• LessHeard vanU (Editor)
• kingboyk (Editor)
• Lar (Editor, Distributor)

WikiProject The Beatles Newsletter
Issue 004 – August 2006

Issue of the Month

Despite it being the lead news article of last month, there is still help required in the assessing of articles and the migrating of comments. Lar is willing to provide assistance to those unsure how to do this.

Beatles News

• The Beatles in the news. Suggestions:

Project News

• The Beatles article, the "Flagship" of the Project, is currently under review with regard to its Featured Article status. It is hoped that the review will identify those areas that need some(/lots of) remedial work, and that the Project participants and those editors who are involved in the the FA admin pages to can work together to "save" the status of the article.
  • At the moment there is some discussion as to why it has been listed, and what may be needed to help it retain its FA status. It may well be that some work is going to be required in formulating a plan of action, and then some more in achieving those aims.
  • The FA status is obviously quite important to the Project, and it would be appreciated if participants are able to provide assistance in keeping the article up to standard. The editors would be grateful if those persons receiving this Newsletter could spare some of their time, energy and brainpower in keeping this jewel in our crown in its proper place. Please go to Wikipedia:Featured article review/The Beatles and get involved! Thank you.

Notable updates

• The compilation album The Beatles 1962-1966 has been adopted by PhattyFatt.

• Four new articles have been listed in the Project Log since 1 July:
  • All You Need is Ears, the George Martin memoir (Stevage)
  • Radha Krsna Temple, the ISKCON headquarters and album (Simon123, Kingboyk)
  • A Cellar Full of Noise, the Brian Epstein autobiography (El Slameron)
  • Wings Over Europe Tour, the Wings concert tour in Europe (Danthemankhan)

• Two Beatles related articles, The Beatles trivia and George Smith (John Lennon) , were nominated for deletion. Both were kept on the basis that no consensus was reached.

Member News

• New members to the project since the last issue include Doctorfreedom, Red Alien, dure, PhattyFatt and Caesar.

From the Editors

As mentioned in the Project News section, The Beatles article has just been listed for a review of its Featured Article status. Working on this is quite important.

If you've just joined, add your name to the Participants section of Wikipedia:WikiProject The Beatles. You'll get a mention in the next issue of the Newsletter and get it delivered as desired. Also, please include your own promotions and awards in future issues. Don't be shy!

Lastly, this is your newsletter and you can be involved in the creation of the next issue (Issue 005 – September 2006). Any and all contributions are welcome. Simply let yourself be known to any of the undersigned, or just start editing!

Contributors to this Issue

• LessHeard vanU (Lead Editor)
• GPHemsley (Editor)
• kingboyk (Editor)
• Lar (Editor, Distributor)

WikiProject The Beatles Newsletter
Issue 005 – September 2006

Beatles News

• The Beatles are suing Capitol Records and EMI over royalties and the rights to the band's master recordings. (Billboard)

• Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band tops a British poll as the best number-one album of all time, with Revolver, Abbey Road, and The Beatles (album) also in the top 10. (BBC)

Project News

• Unfortunately, the Featured Article badge on The Beatles was revoked. The article was immediately nominated for Good Article status, which it received later that same day. Project member Kingboyk said of the nomination, "I'm quite happy about it really, as I feel that GA is about where we're at and gives some incentive to work on the article."

• Eleanor Rigby (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) failed in its good article nomination, but only on two minor points (see its talk page). If you want a Blue Peter badge, why not fix those issues and resubmit it?

• We have a new category for Beatles articles needing attention. If you're looking for something to work on, the articles in this category and the subcategories need some TLC. To put an article in this category, tag its talk page with {{WPBeatles|attention=yes}}.

• Kingboyk has given {{WPBeatles}} another major overhaul, and has assessed all of the Beatles articles. He would be grateful if other editors would leave comments on the state of articles, needed improvements and so on, by clicking the Comments link in the template. Also, feel free to revise the gradings—the assessments were done quickly, and article quality can change.

• No articles have been adopted this past month. Adopt one now!

• Two new articles have been listed in the Project Log since 1 August:
  • Wings Over the World tour, the Wings concert tour around the world (Danthemankhan)
  • You'll Be Mine, an obscure early Lennon/McCartney song (The4sword)

Member News

• New members to the project since the last issue include luckymustard, Liverpool Scouse, and The4sword.

• Kingboyk has been running his homegrown AWB semi-bot to help the folks out at the biography WikiProject.

• Liverpool Scouse has offered to take any desired pictures of the Liverpool area, upon request.

Issue of the Month

The featured article status of The Beatles was revoked.

From the Editors

A month of slow progress and some amazing efforts. Still need help getting comments shifted. Don't forget to log your accomplishments!

If you've just joined, add your name to the Participants section of Wikipedia:WikiProject The Beatles. You'll get a mention in the next issue of the Newsletter and get it delivered as desired. Also, please include your own promotions and awards in future issues. Don't be shy!

Lastly, this is your newsletter and you can be involved in the creation of the next issue (Issue 006 – October 2006). Any and all contributions are welcome. Simply let yourself be known to any of the undersigned, or just start editing!

Contributors to this Issue

• GPHemsley (Lead Editor)
• kingboyk (Editor)
• Lar (Editor, Distributor)

WikiProject The Beatles Newsletter
Issue 006 – October 2006

Beatles News

• The Royal Mail has recently announced that commemorative stamps featuring various album covers from The Beatles will be released in January 2007. The covers to be commemorated are With the Beatles, Revolver, Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, Abbey Road, and Let It Be.

• The site of the former Casbah Club, operated by Mona Best (mother of Pete) in the basement of her house, and where the nascent Beatles played and rehearsed, has been accorded Grade II Listed status following a recommendation by British Heritage.

Project News

• Some Project articles are having their Featured Article status reviewed, and the comments are not encouraging. The articles are A Day in the Life and A Hard Day's Night (song). (She Loves You has already had its FA status revoked.) Please participate in the discussion and help improve the articles!

• Beatlesque has been overhauled by andreasegde.

• Brian Epstein has been adopted by Liverpool Scouse.

• Five new articles have been listed in the Project Log since 1 September:
  • Valotte, a Julian Lennon studio album from 1984 (NaLaochra)
  • The Secret Value of Daydreaming, a Julian Lennon studio album from 1986 (NaLaochra)
  • Mr Jordan, a Julian Lennon studio album from 1989 (NaLaochra)
  • Help Yourself, a Julian Lennon studio album from 1991 (NaLaochra)
  • Photograph Smile, a Julian Lennon studio album from 1998 (NaLaochra)

• In other Project news, the articles The Beatles trivia and John Lennon were nominated for deletion, presumably as vandalism, but the deletions were quickly vetoed.

Member News

• New members to the project since the last issue include I Am The Walrus and NaLaochra.

• As usual, the self-effacing individuals who contribute to the Project are far too modest to mention any Barnstars or other awards they may have received. Obviously they feel their editing/contributing is reward enough.

Issue of the Month

The lead article of the Project recently lost its FA status, and now some of the other articles are being reviewed. Citations and references within articles are again the major concern. Contributors who have literature (books, magazines, links, etc.) are especially needed to provide the necessary citations. It is not enough for editors to know the facts; they need to be backed up by other sources. All help, both within the articles and the discussion, would be appreciated.

From the Editors

If you've just joined, add your name to the Participants section of Wikipedia:WikiProject The Beatles. You'll get a mention in the next issue of the Newsletter and get it delivered as desired. Also, please include your own promotions and awards in future issues. Don't be shy!

Lastly, this is your newsletter and you can be involved in the creation of the next issue (Issue 007 – November 2006). Any and all contributions are welcome. Simply let yourself be known to any of the undersigned, or just start editing!

Come back, Kingboyk! The children miss you!

Contributors to this Issue

• LessHeard vanU (Lead Editor)
• GPHemsley (Editor)
• kingboyk (Editor)
• Lar (Editor, Distributor)

WikiProject The Beatles Newsletter
Issue 007 – November 2006

Issue of the Month

Again, the issue of the month is inline citations. A Day in the Life, A Hard Day's Night (song), and Get Back have all been defeatured, as they failed to satisfy criterion 1(c) of What is a featured article?, and other song FAs are due for the chopping block. Inline citations are an important aspect of articles—they ensure verifiability and reliability, and they remove original research. Additionally, they give readers the option to read the original source material and view it within context.

Basically:

1. All direct quotations attributed to Beatles members pooled from interviews need full inline citations.
2. All critical comments about songs or albums need full inline citations to notable music critics, magazines opinions, or reviews, as opposed to being merely comments by Wikipedians.
3. Inline citations need: author name, article name, publication date, and name of publication. Such info is still preferable even if quoting from an interview posted upon a website; when this is the case, place the URL link at the end of the citation with the date it was last accessed. (This will help editors retrieve the page using the Wayback Machine, should the link go dead in the future.)

Beatles News

• The Beatles are due to release a soundtrack album, LOVE, at the end of November, as a companion to their Cirque du Soleil adaptation of the same name. It will feature remastered and remixed versions of their previously released songs, including some new medleys.
• Paul's getting a divorce. Pain, arguing, and fighting abound.

Project News

• Featured Article drive: A number of project members are collaborating on Paul McCartney's article, with the aim of getting it to Featured Article status. The work is going well and all help is welcome! Check in at Talk:Paul McCartney if you want to help.

• The Wings tours are really nicely documented now (see Category:Wings tours), but Category:The Beatles tours is almost empty. Kingboyk and the rest of us would love to see (and read) articles on each Beatles tour, including the pre-fame tours of the UK—and the Hamburg trips, of course!

• The article on Alistair Taylor has been adopted by Alexcalamaro.

• Two new articles have been listed in the Project Log since 1 October:
  • "I'll Be on My Way", a Lennon/McCartney song from 1963 (Zakko)
  • Wings tours, a list of Wings concert tours (Kingboyk)

• The hottest Project page this month has been Paul McCartney, involved in the Featured Article drive, as mentioned above.

Member News

• New members to the project since the last issue include NauticaShades, Raymond Arritt, Alexcalamaro, Willie the Walrein, Peanut33Tillman, and Samboha.

• Our project members are too modest to report any awards they may have given or received.

From the Editors

Wherever possible, editors should help to trim down on list-like prose within Beatles articles. They should convert list-like sections into fluent, cohesive prose which ties an article's sections together. Lists make articles disjointed, awkward, and difficult to read.

Be sure to take part in the Featured Article drive, and don't forget those inline citations!

If you've just joined, add your name to the Participants section of Wikipedia:WikiProject The Beatles. You'll get a mention in the next issue of the Newsletter and get it delivered as desired. Also, please include your own promotions and awards in future issues. Don't be shy!

Lastly, this is your newsletter and you can be involved in the creation of the next issue (Issue 008 – December 2006). Any and all contributions are welcome. Simply let yourself be known to any of the undersigned, or just start editing!

Contributors to this Issue

• GPHemsley (Lead Editor)
• LuciferMorgan (Editor)
• Kingboyk (Editor)
• Lar (Distributor)