It's for You - A long-lost demo disc recorded by Paul McCartney that was given to Cilla Black has sold for £18,000 at auction, the Beatles expert who found it has said. Black, who died in 2015, had a UK top 10 hit in 1964 with It's for You, written by McCartney and John Lennon. McCartney recorded his own version earlier that year, which was delivered to Black while she was performing at the London Palladium. It was believed to have been lost or destroyed until her nephew found it. The disc fetched £18,000 at the Beatles Memorabilia Auction at Unity Theatre in Liverpool.
Open House - Prince's private estate and studio complex will open for daily public tours later this year. Fans of the late star will get the chance to tour the huge Paisley Park complex in the Minneapolis suburb of Chanhassen from October. The move was announced by the trust company overseeing his estate, and the tours will be managed by the company that runs Elvis Presley's Graceland home. Prince's sister Tyka Nelson said: "Opening Paisley Park is something that Prince always wanted to do and was actively working on.
Heartfelt Tribute - The city to which he gave his heart in the 1961 song returned the affection for Tony Bennett with a weekend of celebrations. The veteran singer was honoured by the people of San Francisco in celebrations to mark his 90th birthday. The centrepiece of the weekend of events was a statue of the crooner that will sit on top of Nob Hill.
Hanoi Gold - Cameron Mackintosh's new production of Miss Saigon is to tour the UK next year. The Boublil and Schonberg musical, which completed a West End run earlier this year, will open at Curve in Leicester on July 3, 2017. It will then play at venues including Birmingham Hippodrome, the Wales Millennium Centre and the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh. It is currently booking to March 2018, when it plays at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton, but further dates are to be announced.
Mackintosh said, "It's hard to believe that it has been over 25 years since Miss Saigon first opened, but if anything, the tragic love story of the show has become even more relevant today. This new production, directed by Laurence Connor, takes a grittier, more realistic approach than the original production while still delivering the power and epic sweep of Boublil and Schonberg's tremendous score."
Hasta Siempre - Legendary Mexican singer Juan Gabriel has died aged 66 of a heart attack in California, days after performing to 17,000 fans at the Los Angeles Forum. Born into poverty, Alberto Aguilera Valadez, his real name, rose to sell more than 100m albums and had his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Latin American leaders have paid tribute to a singer sometimes likened to Elvis Presley. "His music was his legacy for the world," Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said on Twitter. "He left us too soon."
(Jim Evans)
