The Beatles’ ‘Abbey Road’ Is UK’s No. 1 Again, 49 Years & 252 Days Later
‘Abbey Road’ becomes the album with the longest-ever span between runs at No. 1 in the UK.
(↓From udiscovermusic.com)
The Beatles’ 1969 classic Abbey Road has today (4) made a triumphant return to No. 1 in the UK, and the group have broken their own longevity record in the process.
The 50th anniversary editionsof the album take it back into the Official Charts Company survey at the top, 49 years and 252 days since its 17-week run there ended on 31 January 1970. That outdoes the 49 years and 125 days between the end of the original run for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and its return to the top on its 50th anniversary in June 2017.
Sir Paul McCartney has commented on the news by saying: “It’s hard to believe that Abbey Road still holds up after all these years. But then again it’s a bloody cool album.” Some 9,000 of the reissue’s combined sales total came on vinyl, making it No. 1 on that chart too.
The chart history of Abbey Road in the UK is a long and interesting one, with multiple runs on the bestsellers like many of its bedfellows. It debuted at No. 1 on the list dated 4 October 1969, taking over at the top from Blind Faith’s eponymous and only studio album, which had spent two weeks there.
Abbey Road enjoyed an initial 11-week span at the summit, before falling to No. 2 just before Christmas, behind the Rolling Stones’ new entry with Let It Bleed. But it was behind for only one week, spending six more there before the sequence ended on that January 1970 date. It was then in the top ten for a further 13 weeks, in an unbroken run of 61 weeks on the chart as a whole, until November 1970.
The album made minor chart inroads on several occasions until 1973. It briefly reappeared when it was released on CD for the first time in 1987. In 2009, a 40th anniversary edition took it back into the UK top ten for a week at No. 6; its last showing before the new 50th anniversary releases was in August this year, when it showed at No. 95 for a week.
Japanese Emperor Naruhito greets thousands in public debut
Imperial Palace holds event five months early in light of nation's celebratory mood
TOKYO -- Emperor Naruhito on Saturday made his first public appearance since his succession, greeting the tens of thousands of people who gathered at the Imperial Palace for an event that was initially scheduled for October.
"I am deeply grateful and pleased that I am receiving congratulations from you all today," said Emperor Naruhito, 59, from the balcony of the palace, standing with his wife, Empress Masako, and other members of the Imperial family. "I wish for your health and happiness, and sincerely hope that our nation can join with other countries and make progress together towards world peace."
This marked the first time Emperor Naruhito appeared before the general public since ascending to the Chrysanthemum Throne on Wednesday. About 141,000 people showed up, exceeding the roughly 110,000 in attendance for his father's first public appearance as emperor in November 1990.
The emperor and empress smiled and waved to the well-wishers along with other Imperial family members in six balcony appearances starting about 10 a.m. Emperor Emeritus Akihito, 85, who abdicated on Tuesday and has withdrawn from public service, and his wife, Empress Emerita Michiko, were not present.
When Emperor Emeritus Akihito ascended to the throne in January 1989, the nation was still mourning the death of his father Hirohito. His succession was not celebrated by the people at a public greeting session until nearly two years later.
Initial plans called for Emperor Naruhito's first public greeting to be held Oct. 26, after the Oct. 22 ceremony to proclaim the enthronement of the emperor. But in early March, the date was moved up based on opinions sent to the Imperial Household Agency that a public celebration immediately after the ascension would be better.
As Japan is in the middle of a 10-day holiday, police anticipated a large number of well-wishers. Thousands of officers were deployed to provide security, setting up checkpoints on roads near the palace. Police vehicles were used as road blocks to prevent any vehicular attacks on the crowd while units to deal with drone attacks were also standing by.
The name for the new imperial era to begin on May 1 this year will be Reiwa, the government announced on April 1.
The new era name, to follow Heisei beginning on May 1, when Crown Prince Naruhito takes the throne, will be Reiwa (令和), announced Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide just before noon on April 1.
The characters in the new name come from the preface to a series of poems in the Man’yōshū, a collection of Japanese poetry compiled in the eighth century. Poets including Yamanoue no Okura, thought to be the author of this text, gathered to admire plum blossoms and recite poems about their beauty. In the opening lines, as translated by Edwin Cranston, “It is now the choice month of early spring; the weather is fine, the wind is soft. The plum blossoms open . . .” the choice month is 令月, providing the first character in the new era name; the wind is soft, 風和, provides the second.
In his statement on the new era name provided after the chief cabinet secretary’s announcement, Prime Minister Abe Shinzō explained the poetic preface as encapsulating “the arrival of spring following winter’s bitter cold, and the spectacle of the plum blossoms in splendid bloom.”
The era names used to date have all had their provenance in Chinese literary classics, making Reiwa the first to come from a domestic source. Prime Minister Abe described the significance of going to the Man’yōshū for inspiration: “This poetry collection, from some 1,200 years ago, contains verse created not just by members of the imperial and other noble families, but also by soldiers and farmers—people from all levels of society. It paints a picture of a broad range of the lives of the people, going beyond social status, and is a symbol of the rich popular culture of Japan.” He also sought to tie the floral verse that provided the new era name to Japan’s future: “We hope to create a Japan brimming with hope, where all people can see their own flowers bloom to the fullest.”
On the morning of April 1, the government convened a meeting of academics and leaders in various fields to gain their views on several candidate names. Input was then sought from the president and vice-president of the House of Councillors and the speaker and vice-speaker of the House of Representatives, after which the cabinet met to deliberate on the choice and make the final decision.
Ichiro walks off into history before packed Tokyo Dome crowd
The Associated Press
Seattle Mariners right fielder Ichiro Suzuki waves to spectators while leaving the field for defensive substitution in the eighth inning of a game against against the Oakland Athletics at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo on Thursday.
The Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Ichiro Suzuki has said “sayonara.”
The 45-year-old Seattle Mariners star announced his retirement Thursday night, shortly after waving goodbye at the Tokyo Dome during a 5-4 win over Oakland in 12 innings.
Ichiro went 0 for 4 and was pulled from right field in the eighth, saluting his adoring fans in the packed crowd. He drew hugs from teammates in a three-minute walk that signaled to all his great career had ended.
The outfielder said in a statement after the game that he had “achieved so many of my dreams in baseball, both in my career in Japan and, since 2001, in Major League Baseball.”
He added that he was “honored to end my big league career where it started, with Seattle, and think it is fitting that my last games as a professional were played in my home country of Japan.”
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The Associated Press
Seattle Mariners right fielder Ichiro Suzuki stretches on the field prior to q game against the Oakland Athletics at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo on Thursday. Japanese in the background reads: “Ultraman.”
Ichiro was a 10-time All-Star in the majors. He got 3,089 hits over a 19-year career in the big leagues after getting 1,278 while starring in Japan. His combined total of 4,367 is a professional record.
Tasuku Honjo, professor at Japan's Kyoto University, will be awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along with U.S. immunologist James Allison for their establishment of entirely new methods to fight cancer utilizing the immune system, Sweden's Karolinska Institute said Monday.
Honjo, 76, is the first Japanese Nobel winner since 2016, when Yoshinori Ohsumi, honorary professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, won the same prize, and the fifth laureate in physiology or medicine.
"I'm surprised," Honjo told a press conference held at his university. "I think I'm really a lucky person."
Although surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy with anticancer drugs are major methods to treat cancer patients, immune therapies developed by Honjo and Allison, 70, have drawn attention in recent years.
"By stimulating the inherent ability of our immune system to attack tumor cells this year's Nobel Laureates have established an entirely new principle for cancer therapy," the Nobel Assembly at the leading Swedish medical institute said in a statement.
Momoko Sakura, Author of Chibi Maruko-chan Manga, Dies at 53
Tokyo, Aug. 27 (Jiji Press)--Momoko Sakura, the author of the long-running Chibi Maruko-chan manga series, died of breast cancer on Aug. 15, it was learned Monday. She was 53.
After making her debut as a manga artist in 1984, she started releasing Chibi Maruko-chan on Ribon, a girls' monthly manga magazine by major publishing company Shueisha Inc., in 1986.
In the comedy manga series, Sakura, a native of the central Japan city of Shizuoka, depicted episodes from the everyday life of its main character, Maruko, an elementary school third-grader, and her interactions with her family and friends, based on her own childhood experiences.
Comic books of Chibi Maruko-chan were released in 16 volumes, with cumulative sales topping 32 million copies. Chibi Maruko-chan was made into a television anime in 1990, as well as animation movies later.
The TV anime is still aired by Fuji Television Network Inc. The broadcaster said that it will continue airing Chibi Maruko-chan after the death of the author.
Tokyo, May 17 (Jiji Press)--Japanese singer Hideki Saijo, who grabbed the hearts of young women and many other fans mainly in the 1970s with hit songs including "Kizudarake no Lola" (Scarred Lola), died of acute heart failure at a hospital in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, on Wednesday night. He was 63.
In 1972, Saijo, a native of the western Japan city of Hiroshima, whose real name was Tatsuo Kimoto, made his debut as a professional singer with "Koisuru Kisetsu" (Season for Falling in Love). In 1974, he released Kizudarake no Lola.
With his good looks and eye-catching performances, Saijo dominated the Japanese show business with Hiromi Go and Goro Noguchi, who were together called "shin gosanke," or the new big three among male pop stars.
Saijo sang the Japanese version of U.S. disco group Village People's "Y.M.C.A.," released as "Young Man," which went on sale in 1979 and became a smash hit.
His performance of forming the letters Y, M, C and A with his arms as he sang the song became a boom and was imitated by people of all generations.
Japan-born British author Kazuo Ishiguro wins Nobel Prize in Literature
After the Bob Dylan Nobel prize backlash, will honoring Kazuo Ishiguro ‘make the world happy’?
Kazuo Ishiguro speaks to the media in the garden of his home in London after being awarded the 2017 Nobel prize in literature. (Neil Hall/Epa-Efe/Rex/Shutterstock)
In 2016, the Swedish Academy shocked, delighted and, yes, outraged the world by awarding the Nobel Prize in literature to American musician Bob Dylan. Even Dylan seemed ambivalent about the honor, refusing to acknowledge it for days and then declining to attend the awards ceremony.
The academy’s ways are mysterious, but this year’s choice — British novelist Kazuo Ishiguro — certainly looks like a course correction, a return to mean, as it were.
Sara Danius, permanent secretary of the academy, said she hoped the committee’s choice would “make the world happy.”
It has. Very happy.
Ishiguro is the traditional “great” writer everybody likes to see win the Nobel Prize. Japanese-born and 62 years old, he’s known across the globe for “The Remains of the Day” and “Never Let Me Go,” best-selling novels both adapted into well-received movies. He’s popular but not pop, liberal but not a wacky communist, mature but not is-he-still-alive? If you belong to a book club, you’ve read at least one of his books.
He is, in other words, the kind of choice that makes us think the Swedes know what they’re doing — as when they picked beloved Canadian short-story maestro Alice Munro in 2013, as opposed to when they selected Italian left-wing playwright-provocateur Dario Fo in 1997.
But at least one very important person doesn’t see anything “corrective” about the Swedes’ latest choice. Among those who weren’t disappointed by Dylan’s win last year is the new laureate himself.
“Bob Dylan was my creative hero when I was growing up,” Ishiguro said Thursday by phone from London. “When he won the Nobel, I was ecstatic. It’s an added thrill that I follow directly in his footsteps.”
That’s not surprising. While some Nobel Prize-winning writers have been known for works of arid intellectuality, Ishiguro is after something else entirely. “I’m not a message person,” he said. “It’s been important to me that my work works through the emotions. I went into this because I wanted to share emotions with people, rather than intellectual ideas. Yes, I use words, and ideas certainly go in there, but, for me, the reason I want to write novels instead of essays is because I want to say, ‘This is how this one person over here feels’ — and you recognize it. That’s an important thing to do, a simple thing to do, to try to connect with each other.”
Others’ reactions to the news have been overwhelmingly positive — if surprised.
Ishiguro’s wife, Lorna MacDougall, saw the announcement first on her phone. “I thought it was fake news,” she said from London. “When I got home today, there was the whole world press in our little suburban street.”
Salman Rushdie, a longtime contender himself for the Nobel Prize, issued a statement: “Many congratulations to my old friend Ish, whose work I’ve loved and admired ever since I first read ‘A Pale View of Hills.’ And he plays the guitar and writes songs too! Roll over Bob Dylan.”
Britain’s former poet laureate Andrew Motion told the Guardian, “Ishiguro’s imaginative world has the great virtue and value of being simultaneously highly individual and deeply familiar — a world of puzzlement, isolation, watchfulness, threat and wonder. How does he do it? Among other means, by resting his stories on founding principles which combine a very fastidious kind of reserve with equally vivid indications of emotional intensity. It’s a remarkable and fascinating combination, and wonderful to see it recognized by the Nobel Prize-givers.”
“I’m not a message person,” says Ishiguro, shown here talking with reporters in London Thursday. “It’s been important to me that my work works through the emotions.” (Neil Hall/Epa-Efe/Rex/Shutterstock)
Joyce Carol Oates, a novelist whose name is often mentioned as a possible Nobel winner, tweeted: “Ishiguro very deserving. Beautiful melancholy work. Favorite is ‘Never Let Me Go.’ ”
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Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Richard Ford commended the academy’s choice. “I’m thrilled for Ish to win, and personally for him, as he’s an old pal,” he wrote via email. “He’s the genuine article: uncommonly serious and complex of thought, but not unmirthful, and not sobersided. And he’s immensely readable. What else would you want from a Nobel laureate?”
And, of course, his American publisher is delighted, too. Sonny Mehta, Ishiguro’s editor at Knopf, said, “I’ve always thought that Ish is an amazing writer. The breadth of his work as a novelist is astonishing. We’ve had the good fortune of being his publisher since ‘The Remains of the Day,’ a book that readers around the world have come to cherish. This acknowledgment from the Swedish Academy is the most wonderful news.”
Knopf immediately announced plans to print 200,000 copies of Ishiguro’s backlist, including 75,000 copies of “Never Let Me Go,” 50,000 for “Remains of the Day” and 25,000 for “Buried Giant.”
Jet, Jet, Jet, I can almost remember their funny faces That time you told them that you were going to be marrying soon
And Jet I thought the only lonely place was on the moon Jet Jet Jet was your father as bold as the sergeant major How come he told you were hardly old enough yet And jet I thought the major was a lady suffragette Jet Jet
Ah mater want Jet to always love me Ah mater want Jet to always love me Ah mater…much later
Jet
And Jet I thought the major was a lady suffragette Jet Jet An mater want Jet to always love me Ah mater want Jet to always love me Ah mater…much later
Jet with the wind in your hair Of a thousand laces Climb on the back and we'll go for a ride in the sky And Jet I thought That the major was a little lady suffragette
Jet-Jet And Jet you know I thought you was a little lady suffragette Jet A little lady My little lady…yes
