There are many Beatle-related books that may have escaped our attention over the years for one reason or another. Normally I don’t like “speculative books” that deal with events that might have been. In this case, I will make an exception. Released in 2020, it is the author’s speculation as to what “may have been” credible Beatle LP’s culled from their solo output. If specific solo tracks were placed in specific running order by George Martin, could they have passed the test of being considered as being the quality and high standards of being “new Beatles albums” in the 10 to twelve year period following their breakup?
Books like this this can either enrage fans or engage them as how often when you may have heard a certain solo track over the years, you may have mentioned to yourself- “that would have made a great Beatles track” or I wish “Paul was singing harmony on that track” as it would have made a world of difference.”
Some of the author’s analysis I can fully agree with and understand, but some tracks I could never see as being done on a distinct new group LP. However, I did find the analysis and speculation to be both entertaining and gripping at times.
Some see any type of historical speculation as fruitless as “things” did not simply happen that way. However when we watch a fictional movie with a good story, can we not be both pleased and entertained?
The author should be given credit for making the attempt as most hardcore Beatles fans would could reject this concept out of hand!
The facet of this book that I most enjoyed was the analysis of why certain solo tracks would have mixed well with other solo attempts to make a cogent and acceptable Beatles LP. For people well-schooled in production values, specifically, that would have been a big hurdle in putting these imaginary Beatles albums together based on their solo track output!
Author Rick Prescott’s book was a much larger book than I anticipated as it is more than 500 pages of his analysis. The odd thing is we all would probably find “different” reasons for agreeing or disagreeing with the author’s choices throughout the book. That is the most compelling reason for me to find this book a welcome enterprise and exercise!
Save the Beatles!: The Rescued Albums: 1970-1982 Paperback – April 10, 2020
What do you think? Would it have been possible to make several beautiful Beatles albums with the output they produced in their early solo years nearly a decade after their split? If so, would love to hear some of your suggestions of the collection of tracks that would have made true quality albums of Beatles stature!!! Take some time with this, as I would love to read your comments!
(author of Paul McCartney After the Beatles: A Musical Appreciation Series)
Notification of the availability of the title should appear or is expected sometime in late August 2025 at the following websites: Meadow Music Publishing Link
A listing of other Adrian Allan books including several more McCartney books concerning his various tours and live appearances over the years:
The author’s own description of his latest work about Paul McCartney:
“This book is a comprehensive assessment of McCartney’s 1993 New World Tour.
It was intended to be a glorious follow-up to the highly successful World Tour of 1989-90. However, there were some issues – the critics did not warm to the album Off the Ground. The tour ran into financial difficulties in the USA, which led to the resignation of McCartney’s manager, Richard Ogden. However, the tour was still a success for the fans – as proven by the many fan accounts within the book. This would be the last time that McCartney would work with this line-up, apart from Wix – his trusted keyboard player and musical director. McCartney then spent 1994 working on the Beatles Anthology project, putting touring behind him until after the turn of the millennium.”
Back cover of the book:
Adrian has graciously allowed us to post a few sample pages from his new book:
Adrian has written many wonderful books concerning Paul McCartney’s various live concert appearances and tours. His great knowledge of music, embellished with his teaching experience and expertise is clear and evident in all of his titles that I have read. If you are interested, please check out the links provided at the beginning of this post.
Will end this post with a question for the people who have experienced multi-McCartney live shows over the years. What was your personal favorite of the times you may have seen Paul perform live? Why was it your favorite show? My favorite show was a McCartney show in Boston where I was fortunate to be able to secure a front row seat. I was sitting two seats away from Heather Mills at the time.
A great book that I acquired from the Beatles Museum in Germany. With foreign language books that are Beatles-related, my primary area of focus of what to look for when I am contemplating acquiring a copy is “does the book have a significant amount of rare or unusual photos that are notcommonly available in other English language publications.” This publication fits the bill. The book details the story of John Lennon in Verden during the filming of How I Won the War.
Special thanks go out to Alfred Ebeling for informing me about and recommending this book for my collection!!!
Luckily I can read and understand a bit of German but it is the photographs that made the acquisition of the book both necessary and special to me.
You can hopefully find the book through German Amazon (though not currently available at that site) or use the many book search services that are available when trying to find a particular book title in Europe. Both eBay and Abe books prove to be valuable sources in locating harder to find Beatles-related books.
Ein Beatle in Verden – John Lennon: Eine Dokumentation zum Film “Wie ich den Krieg gewann” Hardcover – 25 Feb. 2025
by Gerd Coordes (Author), Volker Rebell (Author)
Publisher:
Rebell, Volker
The memorial tribute of John in Verden celebrating the time he spent there while makingHow I Won the War:
This photo of author and Beatles UK tour guide, Richard Porter, along with blog administrator, author and tour guide, David Bedford, at the Verden John Lennon memorial in Germany, was kindly sent to me by Mr. Porter.
A German promotional poster for the film presented in the book:
A few sample pages from the book (fair use)
Director Dick Lester discussing a scene he was about to orchestrate. Photo is credited at the bottom of the page!
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.
