David Bowie Joins The Beatles (An Alternate Beatles Timeline)

David Bowie had gone through a lot of turbulence in the years leading up to 1981. He had rejoined his old band, the Beatles the previous year following a period of independence that had rewarded him musical freedom. The reunion, however, was short lived when John Lennon was shot dead that December. The band quickly issued their final statement in April 1981 and then dispersed. Bowie looked back at what had happened and contemplated his place in the ever-changing music world. Now that he had to continue on as a solo artist permanently, could he sustain his current popularity? Bowie had indulged himself in art rock for the good part of half a decade, and yet, it felt so different from the punk and new wave that had dominated airwaves for the last few years. Regardless of what genre he would frequent next, Bowie was keen on staying on top, even without a band. Bowie began work on a new album almost immediately following the Beatles' dissolution. In retrospect, it was actually quite ea

Following the release of Station to Station and John Lennon and David Bowie's departure from the Beatles, Paul McCartney spent the majority of 1976 holed up in his home in Peasmarsh, East Sussex. He had become depressed from the state his now 15 year old band was in. He had his wife, Linda, and his kids, but most of all, he had music to keep him busy. And it was Linda who persuaded McCartney to record solo to keep himself busy from the stress that the Beatles had put on him. This would be his second solo record, following his self-titled album two years prior that sold fairly well. Surrounded by the soothing sounds and sights of nature in the quaint town he now resided in, he was persuaded to continue the soft rock sound he had achieved from his first record. Unlike his first album, there was very little variation in genre. He chose a sound, and he stuck to it. The album would release October 15, 1976 to, again, fairly popular reviews and sales. In fact, the album fared slightly wo

August 6, 1980. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and David Bowie, all together again after four years at the Hit Factory in New York City. It was here where they decided they would make their comeback. It was the first day of recording, which coincidentally was also the 20 year anniversary of the band changing their name to the Beatles. The vibe in the studio was immediately positive, with the sessions starting with informal jamming and the like. The bad blood that had persisted in previous years had faded, and all five classic members had come into the studio with new songs for the band to perform. Lennon's songs all had a homemade feel to them, with retrospect and nostalgia being a big theme for him. Meanwhile, Harrison's originals were mostly introspective and looked outward instead of inward, yet they still had a tinge of Beatles in them. McCartney's songwriting was as it always was, writing hit after hit as if it were the easiest thing in the w

Following the Beatles' temporary hiatus, Ringo Starr spent most of 1979 hiring musicians and old friends to make an album of his own. He had made an album of traditional pop classics titled Sentimental Journey back in 1970, but that was more of a passion project. This would establish him as a pop act of his own, showing the world that he didn't need the other Beatles. The first people Ringo phoned for the project were the other Beatles, with David Bowie, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and even John Lennon agreeing to help in some capacity. McCartney wrote and played on "Pure Gold", Harrison on "When Every Song Is Sung", Bowie played on his cover of "Bad Boy", and Lennon played piano on "Cookin' (In the Kitchen of Love)". Eric Clapton also wrote "This Be Called a Song" for Starr to sing. Starr's longtime friend Vini Poncia produced the sessions. The title came about from a newspaper article Starr had read back in 1976.

Paul McCartney just couldn't sit still for even a minute. He and everybody else knew it. He always had to be doing some sort of work. So when the Beatles temporarily broke up in February 1979, his mind started racing. He used the majority of the year to organize a series of benefit concerts called "Concerts for the People of Kampuchea". In the same vain as his bandmate George Harrison's "Concert for Bangla Desh" eight years prior, the money from the concerts would go to victims of war-torn Cambodia. Along with Kurt Waldheim, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, McCartney managed to get a series of well-known stars, both old and new, to perform. These included The Who, Queen, Elvis Costello and The Clash, all of which were still making hits. But it would the last star to become involved that would make headlines. Fresh out of Berlin and a short world tour, David Bowie had settled down in New York City. Drug-free and in his best years, he decided to ch

After the middling success of The Wings of an Eagle , Paul McCartney knew it was time for another change in sound. In the late 60s up until the mid 70s, musical style changes came very naturally to the band, and it progressed as time went on. Times were different now, two of the members from that period of time were gone, and they had just released their worst selling album ever. Too little time had passed to let the sound change on its own, so McCartney decided to force change on them. In September 1978, Blondie released their third album Parallel Lines . McCartney first listened to it on the day of release and instantly fell in love with the record, especially its standout song "Heart of Glass". McCartney wanted the Beatles to make an album like that, album full of new wave/disco tunes that would be accessible to all ages. Recording started a month later, and there was immediate backlash to the new change in style by George Harrison and Denny Laine (Linda McCartney had left

Things were looking up for David Bowie. His heavy drug addiction was in the past, the so-called "Bowie ban" by his label, RCA had concluded, and he was once again in the studio with his friend Brian Eno to record the follow-up to Day and Night . About half of the songs had already either been written or recorded by the time of the previous album's release, so he already had something to work with. They got to work in late March 1978, searching for new themes to go with. As the previous album was composed entirely of instrumental soundscapes, this album would contain relatively conventional songs with Bowie's voice present throughout most of it, although the instruments and sounds used in Day and Night would still be very prevalent here, plus even more. As the sessions went on, Eno introduced something to Bowie that would completely change the course of recording: a deck of cards Eno produced himself called "Oblique Strategies". These cards were made to prom

By the time that the Beatles had finished their world tour in early 1974, they had already begun working on a successor album to Ziggy Stardust and His Band on the Run . And while the album in question would, over time, turn into Future Legends , a classic Beatles album now, it originally started off quite different. Originally known as Tragic Moments , this would have accompanied the "Nineteen Eighty-Four" movie that the band was supposed to star in. When plans for the movie fell through, plans for the album were also changed, and the Beatles decided to go for a more eclectic, varied style of music that would assist in their transition to funk rock starting with Gouster . However, it was well known through the music scene that there were plenty of unreleased outtakes from these early 1974 sessions, and as the 70's became the 80's, people began to get their hands on these outtakes in the form of bootlegs. These bootlegs, some called Tragic Moments and others not, wer

David Bowie had made the trip to Berlin in late 1976. Eager to make connections and draw inspiration from the burgeoning German culture, Bowie, and his good friends Iggy Pop and Brian Eno, took many trips around the city wanting to find out what Berlin got what America don't. They found their answer in krautrock, a broad genre of German experimental rock, careened by Tangerine Dream, Neu!, and Kraftwerk. Bowie had first heard the of the genre when the Beatles' own Station to Station was described as such. He knew it was the natural next step in his musical direction, and he decided to climb the next rung of his ladder of musical excellence. Or at least that would've happened immediately if Bowie hadn't gotten caught up producing Iggy Pop's debut record, The Idiot . Similarly krautrock/art rock, the album was divisive, being a major sound change for the former Stooge. This put Bowie's label, RCA, into a panic of if Bowie's eventually next solo album would so

John Lennon quit. David Bowie left. Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr were absolutely dumbfounded at their place in the music industry in mid 1976. A temporary hiatus was in order to get their bearings together, but none of them knew what this meant for the band upon their eventual return to writing and recording. McCartney continued playing with his side band, Wings, throughout 1976, playing small clubs and venues to anyone who'll listen. His band was comprised of himself, his wife Linda, Denny Laine formerly of the Moody Blues and Ginger Baker's Air Force, and session musicians Jimmy McCulloch and Joe English. These shows went over well, with the band playing a healthy mix of Beatles songs and songs that Paul had written by himself while on the road. It was during these shows that people started to notice that Denny's position in the live band was almost akin to John Lennon and his partnership with McCartney. This gave McCartney an idea that would manifest o

THE BEATLES - BEATLES LIVE Released:  29 June 1974 Genre:  Rock Producer:  The Beatles, George Martin, Tony Visconti Side A Band on the Run 1984 Jet Instant Karma! Hi, Hi, Hi Side B Cold Turkey It Don't Come Easy Rebel Rebel I've Just Seen a Face Suffragette City Side C Changes Come Together A Cracked Actor Photograph Live and Let Die Side D Rock 'n' Roll with Me Lady Madonna Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds I Saw Her Standing There Side E Rock Show New York City Imagine Rock 'n' Roll Suicide Side F Goodnight Vienna Maybe I'm Amazed Give Peace a Chance Soily Big Brother Chant A mix for this album will be coming in the distant future.

THE BEATLES - 1962-1966 Released:  2 April 1973 Genre:  Rock, pop Producer:  George Martin Side A Love Me Do Please Please Me From Me to You She Loves You I Want to Hold Your Hand All My Loving Can't Buy Me Love Side B A Hard Day's Night And I Love Her Eight Days a Week I Feel Fine Ticket to Ride Yesterday Side C Help! You've Got to Hide Your Love Away We Can Work It Out Day Tripper Drive My Car Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) Side D Nowhere Man Michelle In My Life Girl Paperback Writer Eleanor Rigby Yellow Submarine THE BEATLES - 1967-1970 Released:  2 April 1973 Genre:  Rock, pop Producer:  George Martin, Glyn Johns Side A Strawberry Fields Forever Penny Lane With a Little Help from My Friends Love You 'till Tuesday Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds A Day in the Life All You Need Is Love Side B I Am the Walrus Hello, Goodbye Magical Mystery Tour Lady Madonna Karma Man Hey Jude Revolution Side C Dear Prudence Blackbird While My Guitar Gently Weeps Helter Skelter Get B

David Bowie had left the Beatles so he could find himself and, hopefully, quit his crippling drug habit that had been a part of him for the best part of 3 years. But this all didn't happen immediately. He was quite lazy, and took up temporary residence in Los Angeles, alongside the other former Beatle John Lennon. Kicked from his own band, Lennon was also starting to recover from his own drug and alcohol problems, although he was quite lazy as well. In the middle of it all was Harry Nilsson, a close friend of both Lennon and Bowie, a chart-topper in his own right. He never had a crippling drug addiction and his heavy drinking had subsided due to a ruptured vocal cord in 1974. During these times, the three hanged out often, usually ending the night at one of their favorite bars or restaurants. One night, Nilsson mentioned that the three of them should record an album together, although it was not a serious offer. The next morning, Bowie called the other two saying he had booked stud

Following the back-to-back successes of Gouster and Oldies but Mouldies , the Beatles' next record would be made under tense conditions. Infighting had flared up again, similar to the Get Back sessions of 1969, no doubt due to the personal lives of most of the band's members being in shambles. John Lennon and George Harrison were fighting double heroin addictions, David Bowie basically depended on cocaine, and Ringo Starr was a functioning alcoholic. Only Paul McCartney stayed clean throughout the turbulent 70's, thanks to the help of his loyal wife, Linda. The band had initially decided to take a break from recording to pursue other ventures. Starr and Bowie pursued their film careers, starring in "Lisztomania" and "The Man Who Fell from Earth" respectively. McCartney spent time with his family, and Harrison spent more time out with his new friends from Monty Python. But it was Lennon's antics that made headlines. Still apart from his estranged wi