Veteran broadcaster sizes up incoming Fab Four film project that also stars Barry Keoghan\n<\/p>\n
His new series of Fanning at Whelan\u2019s will feature not one but two famous siblings in the form of Billie Eilish\u2019s brother Finneas, and Paul Mescal\u2019s sister Nell. Also featured will be Billions star Damien Lewis, who has an eponymous five-piece band.<\/p>\n
While filming the show, Nell revealed to Fanning (69) how her BAFTA-winning brother is struggling with one aspect of playing Paul McCartney in the new Beatles biopics.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the interview, I said to her, \u2018Are you impressed I never mentioned Paul?\u2019 and she said \u2018Yeah\u2019,\u201d said Fanning.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really funny as at one stage, we were walking down the road and she said, \u2018He\u2019s freaking out at the moment.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I asked why, she said he has to learn not just to play the bass guitar, but to play it upside down because he\u2019s right-handed and Paul (McCartney) had a left-handed one. So he\u2019s really trying to learn it.\u201d <\/p>\n
Paul Mescal, Joseph Quinn, Barry Keoghan and Harris Dickinson promote the upcoming films ‘The Beatles’: Photo: Gabe Ginsberg\/WireImage<\/p>\n
The ambitious project marks the first time The Beatles, Apple Corps Ltd and John Lennon and George Harrison\u2019s families have granted full life story and music rights for a film.<\/p>\n
Each film will focus on a different band member with Oscar-nominee Saoirse Ronan playing McCartney\u2019s wife, Linda McCartney.<\/p>\n
An ardent Beatles fan, Fanning said it remains to be seen if the biopics will hit the right note with audiences.<\/p>\n
\nI just don\u2019t see how that\u2019s going to work but anything to do with the Beatles is fine by me<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\u201cIt is either going to be amazing or it will be what Sam Mendes is capable of doing, which is believing in his own ego. Four full movies by 2028 is a lot,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, they will have to interlock a bit. I just don\u2019t see how that\u2019s going to work but anything to do with the Beatles is fine by me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Describing himself as their \u201cnumber one fan\u201d, he has loved The Beatles since he was a child.<\/p>\n
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The Beatles pictured on their arrival in London following a tour of Australia in 1964. Fox Photos\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cI was about five when they released their first single (in 1962) and by the age of six I was in their fan club. They reared me, alongside my parents. It was them and Bob Dylan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But he is less effusive when it comes to the live performances of Dylan, who played the 3Arena earlier this week. Fanning has seen him play many times but believes he is \u201cdreadful live\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s 84 \u2013 you\u2019d wonder why he\u2019s still touring. I wish he\u2019d stop coming to Dublin and then I won\u2019t have to go. But I go because it\u2019s Bob Dylan. You have to worship at the shrine.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen him 16 times and he\u2019s never been good live. I saved money once, when I was on the dole, to go to London to see him and I thought, \u2018He\u2019s not great\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went back the following night, I was five seats from the front and he was still s**te.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Bob](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/e52b16bf-691d-4604-bad6-4897cecb776e.jpg\")
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Bob Dylan<\/p>\n
Also a huge U2 fan, the foursome are expected to release some new music over the coming year or two as they\u2019re busy in the studio.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are recording away, but they\u2019re always recording, so I\u2019m sure they\u2019ll have an album out. I\u2019m sure they will tour and do dates,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Fanning, one of the longest-lasting stars in RT\u00c9 having started with them in 1979, currently fronts an evening show on RT\u00c9 Gold from 6-8pm.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m doing six nights a week, two hours a night. I play about 800 tracks a week, which is a lot of music. Then on Saturday it\u2019s all about the history of rock. That\u2019s all anecdotes and about 20pc talking,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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The Beatles in their Sgt Pepper outfits. Photo: Disney+<\/p>\n
The busy broadcaster also has a new documentary on late legend David Bowie and Limerick\u2019s The Cranberries. Fortunately for Fanning, he still loves working in the entertainment industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have loved every minute of it. I have been really lucky and want to keep the luck going. That\u2019s the problem; I love it so much, I just want to keep doing it. People say don\u2019t make your hobby your job \u2013 are you mad? I\u2019m delighted I was able to do that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
RT\u00c9 Radio 1 recently saw its biggest reshuffle in over a decade. While Fanning \u201cdoesn\u2019t listen to the radio much\u201d, he supports the shake-up by RT\u00c9 director of audio Patricia Monahan.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s great. Patricia had to do something, and she\u2019s done something, and I think it\u2019s brilliant,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cComplacency does set in in RT\u00c9. I haven\u2019t heard Kieran Cuddihy yet. But I\u2019ve been on his programme a few times on Newstalk and I bet you he\u2019s really good.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only thing with Liveline is, the public run it, you don\u2019t run it. It\u2019s not about you, and then it becomes you. I\u2019d say he\u2019s brilliant on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tune into Fanning at Whelan\u2019s in association with Guinness every Saturday night at 10pm on Virgin Media Two and Virgin Media Play from December 6, with each episode repeated on Thursday nights at 11pm on Virgin Media One.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Veteran broadcaster sizes up incoming Fab Four film project that also stars Barry Keoghan His new series of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":206160,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[264],"tags":[18,117,19,17,57978,337,1181,19344,338,3380,34851],"class_list":{"0":"post-206159","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-eire","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-melanie-finn","13":"tag-music","14":"tag-rte","15":"tag-saoirse-ronan","16":"tag-the-beatles","17":"tag-u2","18":"tag-virgin-media-television"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115631909024462106","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206159"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206159\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/206160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=206159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=206159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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