The Cavern had failed to keep going in the wake of The Beatles’ success with owner Ray McFall being declared bankrupt. In stepped Debbie’s father Alf Geoghegan and friend Joe Davey: Debbie was asked by her father if he should buy it! Guess what she said? A grand re-opening was planned.
The Prime Minister Harold Wilsonand VIP Guests
Prime Minister Harold Wilson
After months of working all the hours that God sent the day of the re-opening of the original Cavern Club finally arrived. The Prime Minister Harold Wilson, resident of No 10 Downing Street would metaphorically turn the key to another famous No 10.. My dad, (Alf Geoghegan) and Joe Davey had bought the lease to the Cavern in March 1966 when the previous owner (Ray McFall) went bankrupt.
Invitation List
Saturday 23rd July 1966
The day arrived and the world’s press was waiting. The red carpet was laid down on Mathew Street and a red ribbon hung across the entrance to the Cavern. Inside, champagne was on ice and canapes were prepared. At 12.15pm the resident of No. 10 Downing Street would metaphorically turn the key to another famous No. 10. Liverpool’s famous pop shrine was to be given a new lease of life.
Excitement and anticipation quickly overcame our exhaustion when the police opened the barriers for the Lord Mayor’s shiny black limousine which pulled to a gentle stop outside the club. Excited chatter burst into a crescendo of cheers and whistles as the chauffeur opened the door for Harold Wilson to alight, followed by his wife Mary and his son Giles with the Lord Mayor close behind. The police held the press back as they surrounded the car and converged towards the entrance of the Cavern, all vying for the best shots.
The World’s Press
Mathew Street was bursting at the seams with throngs of people eager to catch a glimpse of the V I P’s and celebrities that were arriving for the grand re-opening. Harold Wilson, followed by distinguished guests made their way down to the Cavern stage for the speeches and the unveiling of the commemorative plaque. The World’s Press simultaneously switched on their light meters and the surge of electricity caused the lights to fuse.
Is There an Electrician in the House?
None of the microphones worked and my dad had to shout from the stage “Is there an electrician in the house.” From somewhere in the darkness a voice answered, ‘I know where the electrics are, I’ll sort it.” We never knew who this saviour was until fifteen years later: that is a whole story in itself!
The ceremony resumed and the celebrations began.
The VIP Guest list
VIP Guest List 1
An eighteen-hour star studded marathon followed in three sessions. The Hideaways kicked off the entertainment, followed by numerous local bands and acts included Billy J Kramer, Marty Wilde, George Fame, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky Mick and Titch, The Bachelors, The Searchers ,The Fourmost, The Merseys, Solomon Burke, Rufus Thomas, The Scaffold, and The Pete Best Combo.
This first-hand account of Debbie’s teen years frequenting and eventually helping to run the original Cavern Club is the authentic inside story of the Beatles launch pad, full of triumphs and failures – and surprise celebrity encounters.
£17.25Original price was: £17.25.£13.50Current price is: £13.50.
Rarely do I see a John Lennon film that deals with the last ten years of his life that I am impressed with, but Borrowed Time does that. This dvd is a clear exception to that observation. The Blu-ray 2 disc set features a 3 1/2 hour Director’s Cut of the film which contains numerous interviews and details that are not available on the 2 hour version of the film.
The story covers the last ten years of Lennon’s life when he and Yoko decided to move permanently from the UK to New York.
One of the reasons given for the departure of the two from the UK, according to some of the interviews on the discs seemed to be the intense hostility directed at Yoko Ono from both the UK press and fans. The attitude also became a staple belief in the US but it apparently was not as pronounced or as vicious. That is the theory. I do not know if there is any empirical support for that contention. It is ironic that many of the same people who loved John’s message of peace and love during the Beatles years, had trouble accepting John’s desire to be with the person he loved in a post-Beatles world.
They blamed Yoko for the breakup of the Beatles without having access to all of the information of the multiple internal band problems the band had. Those problems indicated that they were slowly crumbling from within. For example, George Harrison was emerging as a songwriter equal to and in some circumstances even occasionally superior to his mentors, Paul McCartney and John Lennon. Yet the space on Beatles albums for George’s songs was still being severely limited and restricted. Business differences were an enormous factor as well in the disintegration.
There is a tendency to want to explain the disintegration of the group by blaming a single source or enemy like in the case of Allen Klein. He may have been the main culprit but there were other business issues in the group causing problems that are often ignored by the public and press discourse. I suspect this is due to the tendency for the public to have the need to explain all of the problems being attributable to a single source or villain. I am sure the reality of the situation was far more complex than that and we will never have the full perspective of what caused the band’s split to be irrevocable.
Life and fate can be fickle as the decision of the couple to move to America for a more critically acceptable environment was possibly a strong determining factor that led to John’s early death. Gun availability in the UK is certainly frowned upon there! Borrowed Time is not a film that portrays John Lennon as a saint. His weaknesses, his naivete and the parts of his personality that were disliked by others are discussed. In balance, we also see a man of tremendous talent and courage that was not afraid to go against outdated views of what is considered acceptable in a culture. He challenged many widely held accepted norms. Whether you agreed with him or his philosophy was not as important as the end result of him declaring his beliefs -“It made you think about them.”
The story is wisely told in this dvd set with interviews of many of the participants in the Lennon lives during those 10 years from 1970 through the year it all ended in 1980. I found the director’s cut-the longer film, to be superior to the other disc not only because it has significantly more content but the interviews in this disc are generally considerably longer. Many of the individuals that appear in the Director’s cut have fascinating tales to tell like Jay Bergen, John’s attorney during the Morris Levy trial.
(check out Jay Bergen’s wonderful book about his times with John)
The Borrowed Time disc reveals that in 1981 John Lennon and Yoko were planning to return to the UK and they were planning a limited concert tour. There are even details of the stage design for the tour that were being considered for the shows which would have been considered revolutionary for the time.
The interviews provided in this film will help the viewer understand why John Lennon was so important to so many people and why we miss him so much more than 40 years after his unnatural passing. Unlike portrayals of John as a saint following his passing, this film gives a far more accurate and balanced description of a man who had many faults but was always searching for the answer!
Beatles scholar Ken Womack contributes many astute comments and observations throughout this film, also lending credibility to the film’s quality. Check out Ken’s wonderful Lennon book:
Mark Cunningham who was a former member of my Facebook page Beatles in Print Together and Solo has written the original music in the film along with Steve Tilling. The high cost of the copyrights and charges for using the original Lennon material must have been extraordinary for an independently produced film with a finite budget. The two gentlemen, Cunningham and Tilling did an excellent job in providing a wonderful musical bed for the story.
Would like to provide a few YouTube interviews with Alan Parker where he discusses the film in far greater detail than this post:
The flip side of the Blu-ray featuring the credits of the discs:
Borrowed Time – Lennon’s Last Decade
A PREVIOUS ALAN G. PARKER FILM
I find all of Alan Parker’s film work about the Beatles to be extremely interesting and informative. Here is a wonderful account of the 50th anniversary of Sgt. Pepper with commentary and interviews about the creation of the classic LP.
You never get cheated by the content in any Parker Beatles film. Here is an Alan. G Parker interview about the Sgt. Pepper film: Please note that due to significant copyright charges to use the Beatles and Lennon musical material is so astronomical, it is a wonder and quite honestly a pleasant surprise that Mr. Parker has told two beautiful stories about the creation of the music without the astronomical cost of using the Beatles/Lennon music in the films. Shows that the man has imagination…
Currently the Borrowed Time dvd is available at Amazon UK and a distribution deal for the US has apparently been completed and is scheduled/slated for August of 2025!
OUR BOOK OF THE WEEK – THE CAVERN – THE INSIDE STORY
Cavern Club – The Inside Story
This first-hand account of Debbie’s teen years frequenting and eventually helping to run the original Cavern Club is the authentic inside story of the Beatles launch pad, full of triumphs and failures – and surprise celebrity encounters.
£17.25Original price was: £17.25.£13.50Current price is: £13.50.
A bit of info about The Authorfrom the publisher Simon and Schuster’s website:
Jim Windolf is a features editor at TheNew York Times. He has published articles, reviews, essays and humor pieces in Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, New York magazine, Rolling Stone, and many other publications. Additionally, his short fiction has appeared in Ontario Review, 3:AM Magazine, and other literary journals. He lives in New York City.
Introduction:
Part of the goal of this Beatles book blog is to present the early notification of interesting Beatles-related titles that are expected in the near future so that you are able to receive advance notice of books that you may be interested in acquiring down the road. This forthcoming title by New York Times journalist Jim Windolf, is one of those book titles that I know will be of intense interest to me and hopefully to you as well!
I recently reached out to the author and he was so kind in sending me a very quick reply in regards to my book inquiry concerning his forthcoming April 2026 Dylan/Beatles book release:
Hi John
“I’m in the middle of writing the last chapter! I started four years ago and I’m actually kind of sad that the writing of it will be coming to an end soon. I hope you will like it once it’s out in the world.”
Yours Jim
When a writer stipulates that he is sad that the writing of his book is coming to an end, to me that is a very good sign. It indicates that he loves the subject matter and the topic he is intellectually exploring. What could be a better topic than examining the influence and effect that two of the cultural giants of the sixties had upon one another and ultimately to the world. Both artists embodied a unique sense of mystery (what would be their next musical or cultural statement).
Audiences awaited with eager anticipation each artist’s new release to see where their viewpoints and musical contributions would lead us. Though some say that we overly-glamorize the sixties because it was a tumultuous decade, it was also a decade that was filled with excitement, innovation, and a seemingly greater concern for human rights!
The Amazon links for those wishing to pre-order this April 2026 release:
Amazon Detailed Description of the Jim Windolf book:
“Persuasive, captivating, and bursting with insight, this dual biography by acclaimed New York Times journalist Jim Windolf dives into the surprisingly supportive, occasionally rivalrous, and always fertile relationship between Bob Dylan and The Beatles, uncovering how they inspired and transformed each other as songwriters, recording artists, and cultural icons.
Few artists have shaped pop culture as profoundly as the Beatles and Bob Dylan. In Where the Music Had to Go, journalist Jim Windolf unveils the profound and often startling relationship between these era-defining musical acts. This must-read work explores how Dylan and the Beatles not only transformed the music scene but also each other, creating a legacy that continues to resonate.
From Dylan’s early dismissal of the Beatles as being for “teenyboppers” to his jaw-dropping realization of their talent, the book captures the pivotal moments that pushed Dylan to “go electric” and inspired the Beatles to deepen their lyrics. Packed with vivid anecdotes—imagine the Beatles rehearsing Dylan songs or Dylan spending hours at Lennon’s childhood home—the book paints a picture of a relationship full of camaraderie, rivalry, and mutual evolution.
Windolf’s meticulous research uncovers hidden gems, peeling back layers of history to reveal the stories fans didn’t even know they were missing. From Lennon’s and McCartney’s lyrical transformations to George Harrison’s growth as a songwriter, the book showcases the ripple effects of the Beatles-Dylan connection.
More than a music biography, this is a front-row seat to the forces that shaped the sound of a generation. With Windolf’s captivating storytelling and unrivaled insight, Where the Music Had to Go offers an unmissable experience for music lovers, history buffs, and anyone curious about the magic that happens when legends collide.”
I trust my instincts as whether I am going to enjoy a book title that I have yet to read. I have no doubts that my eager anticipation of this title will be thoroughly satisfied in April of 2026!
Question for discussion:
Which artist, Bob Dylan or the Beatles, had the greatest impact on the decade of the 60s, both cultural and musical?
Please defend your responses with clear evidence to support your positions! I look forward to reading your opinions in the Comments section!
Thank you!
Be healthy and be happy!
Buzz
OUR BOOK OF THE WEEK – THE FAB ONE HUNDRED AND FOUR
The Fab One Hundred and Four: The Evolution of The Beatles
The Fab one hundred and Four: The Evolution of The Beatles tells how the four Quarrymen became the Fab Four of John, Paul, George and Ringo.
£49.00Original price was: £49.00.£20.00Current price is: £20.00.
The new book by David Bedford and Andrew Phillips, The Beatles What If? has Beatles fans talking around the world! Find out why in this interview on Robert Miller’s “Follow Your Dreams” podcast.
We discuss different scenarios in Beatles history where everything COULD have worked out differently. DO you agree or disagree? Let us know in the comments.
WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM THEIR FRIENDS: New for 2025, a fun guide to the history and music of the Beatles Hardcover – 5 Jun. 2025by Stuart Maconie (Author)Publisher:HarperNorth
Recently acquired this brand new Beatles book title by UK author, Stuart Maconie. Stylistically it is my favorite type of Beatles book composed of short story vignettes about people in the Beatles lives that have a common thread and element that ties them together. The focus of this title is to present a potpourri of individuals that had some impact on the Beatles lives during their rise to worldwide fame and power. Some of the individuals examined had a significant impact on their careers.
Others, may have been more of a happenstance nature. I found this book to be very entertaining and unlike a narrative style of writing, one does not need to refer to or read the book in a linear fashion. You can open it randomly and read an interesting tale of a Beatle associate or friend that may have helped in some way to be a part of the fairy-tale story of the Beatles. I have little doubt that you will enjoy the book very much. A wealth of information is offered and Mr. Maconie is a good writer!
The only issue I have about the book is that there is no Table of Contents or Index. There is a list of 100 numerically numbered individuals that had an influence or impact on the Beatles lives throughout their journey but you virtually have to come upon them by accident while reading. The eras of the Beatles are separated by three separate headings like: Part 1-Before the Beatles, Part 2-With The Beatles and Part 3- Beyond the Beatles. The hundred individuals discussed in the book are also somewhat separated by the year they became the most important in the Beatles lives. I have to be honest, that is my main criticism of the book. I would like to have had an index or table of contents to more easily locate the individuals I would prefer to read about!
Currently, the book is listed on Amazon UK. I imagine it will appear on Amazon US in the near future:
Here you are Stuart, on the blog! Wishing you much success with this title.
The back cover of the book:
A few details about the author offered on the book’s dustjacket:
“Everyone knows a Beatles tune. But their story goes beyond the omnipresent songs and iconic albums. Theirs is a tale that has become one of the core stories we tell about ourselves as a nation. The Beatles narrative has both shaped and reflected the country we live in today. Four lads from Liverpool have taken a seat alongside Shakespeare as one of our key cultural exports to the world, a world they changed and re-made in their own image in a blaze of creativity. But these four distinct personalities changed the world not in isolation but with more than a little help from their friends.
Like all the best stories there’s an incredible supporting cast, and all the most compelling elements of the great dramas: ambition, power, triumph, disaster, heartbreak, tragedy, drama, intrigue, lust…and of course, love.
Split into 3 sections, Before The Beatles, With the Beatles and Beyond the Beatles, bestselling writer and broadcaster Stuart Maconie tells the epic tale of the people who made the band who made Britain, and along the way adds his own experiences, encounters and conversations that show the Beatles like you’ve never seen them before.”
“Born in London, Jon Kremer has lived in the Bournemouth area since his teenage years began, coinciding with the start of the Sixties. Owner of Bournemouth’s original vintage vinyl shop Bus Stop Records, he experienced many aspects of the UK music industry through a long-standing friendship with “Year of the Cat” singer-songwriter Al Stewart.
A Sixties music highlight was meeting the Beatles at the height of Beatlemania. The backstory to Jon and Al finding themselves in the backstage company of John Lennon, moments after the Fabs had first performed “She Loves You” live for an audience, days before the record’s release, became known as ‘The Men from Rickenbacker’. The tale of two teenagers pretending to be representatives of Rickenbacker guitars and needing to talk with the Beatles, eventually was retold many times in books, magazines, newspapers, and tour programmes, plus TV and radio.
One publication revisited the story in depth: Jon Kremer’s first book, the now out-of-print Bournemouth A Go! Go! – A Sixties Memoir. A look back to that exciting decade of pop culture, with the early 1960s Bournemouth music scene featuring Andy Summers, Robert Fripp, Zoot Money, Greg Lake, Tony Blackburn, and Al Stewart.
A long-time fascination with the, often obscure, or overlooked, key history making moments, creating and energising, the story of pop ‘n’ rock led to Jon Kremer writing Chain Reaction. Jon is married to artist Abi Kremer, who, with their son Daniel, shares his love of Sixties music.”
The best way that I can summarize Jon’s two books is that they remind me of a pleasant dream that you have and then you awake and the next time you go off to dreamland, another wonderful episode of the story is illustrated in the subsequent dream! That may sound very melodramatic to you but it is an honest genuine sentiment of an exciting historical time whose memories needed to be preserved for posterity! Jon has done a great job with that task! You can genuinely feel the emotions of what Al and Jon must have felt going through their experiences and the advantage that we as readers have in knowing what was about to happen in the musical world.
Paperback – 21 May 2025-
New Haven Publishing Ltd
The new revised and updated edition of Jon Kremer’s excellent set of books:
The Beatles in Bournemouth and Beyond
Back cover of the new book:
The Beatles in Bournemouth and Beyond
Jon’s gracious signature and inscription from his new book:Thanks for the warm message, Jon (without an h)! It is much appreciated:
Not a Beatles book per se! However it does highlight the tremendous impact that the lads from Liverpool not only had on the world but their fellow countrymen as well. I refer to Jon Kremer and musician Al Stewart. When I saw this title advertised on Amazon UK, I was immediately intrigued. I have always been a fan of Al Stewart and when I became aware that author Jon Kremer had created not one, but two books detailing the story of two young friends playing John Lennon’s Rickenbacker guitar in a Bournemouth theater in the UK prior to the release of She Loves You and Jon’s wonderful story of his involvement with accompanying his musician friend Al Stewart on his successful journey to stardom, I knew I needed to acquire and read this title!
The book will hold and captivate your interest especially if you are a fan of sixties music. Additionally the book serves as a great reminder of how great an impact the Beatles had on people that wanted a career or destiny in the creation of fine music. Al Stewart, though he had several pop hit singles, was far more impressed with the folk idiom of the 60s rather than rock. The stories in this book by Jon Kremer are fascinating to say the least. Al Stewart was more of a Bob Dylan fan than a Beatles fan. When you listen to Al’s lyrics, you will understand how important the words are in a song that tell tales of the human condition that have an emotional impact.
Yoko Ono
Paul Simon and Bob Dylan both play significant roles in the Al Stewart narrative as depicted by Jon Kremer.
Wait until you read the story about AL Stewart’s involvement in Yoko Ono’s Bottoms film and the fascinating transition Al made from the beat group idiom to more of a folky approach to the creation of his music. Jon also tells the story of how many British geographic regions like Bournemouth, during the musical explosion of 1963, had their own special clubs somewhat akin to Liverpool’s Cavern as a breeding ground for excellent music!
Paul and Linda McCartney
So happy that Jon was able to preserve so many of these great memories in print. For example I loved reading his accounts of meeting Paul and Linda McCartney in 1973 at the Bournemouth Winter Gardens and his photos to illustrate that meeting! So many surprises on virtually every page of this work.
The purpose of this post is to introduce you to both the out of print edition by Jon Kremer of his earlier work entitled Bournemouth A Go! Go! A Sixties Memoir, released in 2012 and the title recently released – the updated and expanded/revised edition, issued in May of 2025, entitled A Go! Go! Revisited: Beatles – Bournemouth – And Beyond.
This is the original out of print edition of the book with the Amazon description:
Bournemouth A Go! Go!: A Sixties Memoir Paperback – 8 Nov. 2012
by Jon Kremer (Author)
Back cover of the first edition of the book:
Jon Kremer’s signature in the out-of-print edition of the book:
Amazon description:
The year is 1963. The year of Beatlemania and the Beatles are appearing in Bournemouth for a 6 day run of shows at the Gaumont theatre. In Bournemouth A Go! Go! Jon Kremer recalls those days when he and long-time friend Al Stewart, then teenagers, talked their way into the Beatles company that week in August. Jon’s memoir tells of his role in Al’s journey from beat groups to worldwide success with Year of the Cat and includes the story The Men from Rickenbacker, when they each played John Lennon’s guitar, and the etiquette involved in offering a Beatle a cigarette.
The full text and images contained within the original edition are annotated with substantial footnotes, complemented with additional photos.
As Beatlemania swept across Britain in 1963 two teenagers, Jon Kremer and Al Stewart, in a story that came to be known as The Men from Rickenbacker, took turns in playing John Lennon’s guitar, backstage with the Beatles in Bournemouth, the week “She Loves You” was released.
A Go! Go! Revisited details the event and Jon’s role in Al Stewart’s journey from ‘60s beat groups to worldwide success with “Year of the Cat”. Also, the South Coast town’s music scene of the early sixties, including, Robert Fripp, Andy Summers, Greg Lake, Zoot Money, and Tony Blackburn, is recalled, while exploring that exciting decade of pop-culture with warm nostalgia.
An excellent interview by Steve Houk with Al Stewart
Al Stewart on Living on Music– Learn how Al Stewart helped to finance Yoko Ono’s Bottoms (#4 film) and how his advice to John Lennon made the 2nd Beatles show at the Gaumont in 63 a big audio disappointment to the audience…
A REMINDER TO SAVOR THE GOOD MOMENTS & CONCLUDING REMARKS:
When you get the opportunity, I highly recommend the 2 books explored in this post. They are both packed with information that explores the British breeding ground for so much talent that was to invade the world with a vengeance during the time frame of the 60s.
In closing, one of the most poignant and riveting quotes/lines that Jon wrote about in his book was when he was describing his opinions of a special screening of the How I Won the War Dick Lester film that he attended when it originally came out. John Lennon was of course featured in the film as Private Gripweed! Though not impressed with the film itself, a Lennon line from the How I Won The War stood out for Jon when he was writing this book.
The statement Kremer makes on page 181 of his book really got to me personally as well as a reader reminding me of the fragile nature of life, a subtle urging to savor the happy memories and events as they can disappear in a flash! Jon Kremer marveled at the irony of remembering and viewing the man on film that also had allowed two young men to play that famous John Lennon Rickenbacker guitar back in 1963 when She Loves You was breaking into the songbook of our lives. Lennon was acting in a film that was a satire on war. The line that got to Kremer while writing the book and remembering the film featuring John Lennon, would be a quote from the script of the movie that would seemingly foreshadow the sad and violent ending of that same man thirteen years later!
What is the cliche? Art Imitates Life?
Thank you Jon, for taking us on this wonderful journey of the sixties and beyond. Highly recommend that you seek out these books, though finding the first edition will be a far more difficult task as it is currently out-of-print! Jon’s wonderful stories make me want to visit Bournemouth one of these days!
Be healthy and be happy!
Buzz
OUR BOOK OF THE WEEK – THE FAB ONE HUNDRED AND FOUR
The Fab One Hundred and Four: The Evolution of The Beatles
The Fab one hundred and Four: The Evolution of The Beatles tells how the four Quarrymen became the Fab Four of John, Paul, George and Ringo.
£49.00Original price was: £49.00.£20.00Current price is: £20.00.
