RIP Neil Aspinall

Ex-chief exec of Apple and Beatles confidante Neil Aspinall, died yesterday aged 66.

He was one of only two people of any importance in the Beatles history who never sold their story.

Neil knew everything, everybody, and has now, has taken it to the grave.

Neil was there from the very beginning, joining the Beatles crew as road manager. He was a constant friend and associate, until a few months ago when he retired as head of Apple Corps.

He met wife Suzy during the making of A Hard Day's Night and they married in 1968.

Aspinall was executive producer on the massive-selling Beatles Anthology albums in the 1990s and was behind other recent successes such as the Beatles' One album.

Former Apple press officer Geoff Baker previously described Aspinall as "the fifth Beatle".

Apple Corps aide and ABC TV producer David Saltz paid tribute to Aspinall following his death.

He described him as "the most brilliant and inspirational guy that everybody just gravitated around".

As well as his work with the Beatles, Aspinall created Standby Films with his wife, which made the 1999 Jimi Hendrix film, Hendrix: Band Of Gypsys.

Also an artist, Aspinall was involved with Sir Paul McCartney in founding the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts

Peel Day...

>In memory of the great John Peel...gone but always missed.

Victoria xxx

RIP Virgin Megastore

Really sad when I heard the news yesterday that Richard Branson has decided to sell Virgin Megastores to a management buyout company.

I worked at the Virgin Megastore in Reading when I was 16 for a couple for years and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I later went onto HMV in Kingston where I stayed for a number of years.

It seems to me that the music industry just did not react quickly enough to the Internet, Other industries like print and film etc have has the distinct advantage of learning from the mistakes the music industry made.

Some people are positive on the news:

"The fact that the management has been able to secure funding for this deal shows the robust prospects for entertainment retail," said the Entertainment Retailers Association's chairman, Paul Quirk. "The computer games and DVD markets are buoyant and even in music, despite misguided predictions that somehow record stores are finished, 90% of sales are still on physical formats."

However, with Fopp recently nearly going the same way as MVC, Tower et al it seems the beloved record shop could be something of the past with HMV being the only major music retailer on the high street.

Sad days :(

RIP Tony Wilson

I was lying in bed on Friday night listening to BBC World Service when I heard the news that Tony Wilson had passed away.

Tony suffered a heart attack last week and died at the Christie Hospital on Friday. He had also been battling kidney cancer.

Love him or hate him Tony was responsible for signing some of the best bands of the past 20 years - New Order and Joy Division anyone?

Also responsible for the legendary Hacienda nightclub in Manchester Tony will be missed by many.

Paul Ryder, guitarist with the Happy Mondays, told the Guardian newspaper: "I would still be working at the post office if it wasn't for Tony. He was the one that gave working kids like me and Shaun [his brother, the band's lead singer] their chance."

It seems kinda sad that the man has passed andthe Hacienda is now appartments for rich young things.

Thoughts are with his family and friends.

"He may be twat but he's our twat."

God rest his soul.