Buzz, Author at The Beatles Bookstore

Posted on 07/02/202428/06/2024 by Buzz — 2 Comments

COME AND GET IT IF YOU WANT IT

A MAGIC CHRISTIAN MYSTERY and BEATLE CONNECTIONS GALORE

According to reports, this version of the Paul McCartney song was released around the same time as the Apple Badfinger version. The Magic Christian version was not a hit. Produced by the late keyboardist, Gary Wright, who was to back both George Harrison and Ringo Starr in their solo careers.

Ex-Move guitarist Trevor Burton was supposedly involved with this recording and speculation abounds that Denny Laine and Steve Gibbons also played a role in the record. I believe Beatles associate Tony Bramwell has mentioned at one time that Denny Laine had a role in this recording. I was able to find a copy of this recording at the DISCOGS site. Some of the 45’s issued had the song title listed as “If You Want It” rather than “Come and Get It.” The first pressings had the publisher listed as Apple. Later copies had the publisher listed as Northern Songs!

A different title is used on this McCartney tune as well as having a different publisher listed.

If You Want It by The Magic Christians

THE MAGIC CHRISTIANS

There is another connection. The Magic Christians were supposedly made up of some of the members of the group Balls which included Denny Laine who was with the Moody Blues and later with Wings and the flip side of one of the 45’s by Balls was written by both Denny Laine and Alan White who was to join the Plastic Ono Band and later the group Yes. Alan and Denny both passed away a while back. Because of the scarcity of a Denny Laine/ Alan White co-authored track and the multiple solo Beatles and McCartney connections, I bought a copy of the 45 at the Discogs site.

BALLS

This is the rare Denmark picture sleeve to the Balls 45 which contains the obscure Denny Laine/ Alan White co-authored track called “Janie Slow Down.” Odd that Denny Laine would play with Wings and Alan White would end up being in a band with John Lennon and also backing George Harrison!

Here is a brief history of the group Balls provided by this internet link:

Balls, a Birmingham supergroup of the 1960s (brumbeat.net)

Balls also did an Apple acetate of the song “Fight For My Country.”

Great Book About Badfinger

Posted on 04/02/202408/07/2024 by Buzz — Leave a comment

EASY RIDER WITH A LENNON MAGAZINE IN THE HOPPER

REBELS WITH A CAUSE “GOING AGAINST THE GRAIN”

I recently obtained the late actor Dennis Hopper’s copy of this magazine featuring Mr. Lennon and Miss Ono on the cover. The issue of the magazine is from 1969. Got it for a very reasonable price, on eBay!

EBay description of the item fiba: Actualite, Issue #1, 1969. Side-stapled, 56 pgs. Includes articles on Turkish & Greek cinema, the fiba award for best films (8-page section on winning films No5 & Two Virgins by Yoko Ono, with brief article by Ono), poem by Lionel Ziprin, Zeffirelli’s Romeo & Juliet, and more. From a collection of publications obtained from the estate of Dennis Hopper.

There are a couple of Beatle/Lennon connections with the late Dennis Hopper. He co-starred with Peter Fonda in Easy Rider and Fonda turned out to be the inspiration for the Beatles tune, “She Said, She Said.” The late Terry Southern, who helped to co-write the screenplay for “Easy RIder” also wrote “The Magic Christian” and “Candy,” which were film vehicles for Ringo Starr. Terry Southern also taped an hour-long cassette of John Lennon jamming with Mick Jagger during the “Lost Weekend.”

Dennis Hopper

Background of Dennis Hopper from Wikipedia–Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor and film director. He is known for his roles as mentally disturbed outsiders and rebels.
Hopper made his directorial film debut with Easy Rider (1969), which he and co-star Peter Fonda wrote with Terry Southern. The film earned Hopper a Cannes Film Festival Award and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Hopper was also in a few films associated with another prominent rebel, James Dean, “Rebel Without a Cause” and “Giant”!

Posted on 26/01/202428/06/2024 by Buzz — Leave a comment

A WONDERFUL NON-BEATLES BOOK WITH A “BEATLE” AND A “STONE” ON THE COVER

I bought this wonderful non-Beatles book of photographs a while back by noted photographer Ron Galella.

Mr. Galella was well known for being persistent in following and taking photos of many famous celebrities, many whom often did not want to be photographed, leading to what certainly can be termed as “iconic photos.”

Galella notes in the book that 2 of his best-selling photos that he ever shot were the cover of this book shown here which is my copy of the book that I recently purchased. One is of cultural icons Mick Jagger and John Lennon with companion May Pang taken at a Jimmy Cagney Lifetime tribute in 1974 (March 13th, 1974, in Los Angeles) during the famous “Lost Weekend.” The other photo Mr. Galella mentions is the one of the widow of assassinated President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jackie, who was later to marry Greek shipping magnate, Aristotle Onassis, (outside her NY apartment on Oct 7, 1971.) (Not shown here)

One thing I have noticed over the years as a collector is the incredible surface naivety of the individual Beatles in not being able to realize the full extent the admiration that other celebrities and well-known personalities had for THEM. John in particular was often overwhelmed when he would be at a Hollywood party as to how the famous actors and actresses would swarm around the Beatles vying for their attention.

The book was self-published by Mr. Galella in 2021 and presents many candid shots of so many well-known people which was an apparent Galella modus operandi and specialty during his great career.

Recommend this one for your collections so you can share in the roving eye talents of the famous Ron Galella!

My copy of the wonderful book of photos by Ron Galella: