The Beatles Bookstore

In 1988 I was privileged to visit the Casbah in Liverpool and meet one of the first female rock ‘n’ roll promoters, Mona Best. While I visited that legendary site, I lacked the foresight to ask Mona for her autograph. Mona was one of the first female rock ‘n’ roll promoters and she also served in a surrogate managerial role for the early Beatles giving them the opportunity to hone their skills in her coffee club named the Casbah. Her son, Pete Best, of course was the first Beatles drummer. The Casbah was truly the first important stepping-stone in the Beatles early career. Mona’s business acumen and good promotional instincts knowing what would be popular were important ingredients in the Casbah’s success.

Many years later I was fortunate to be able to find this website Home – Pete Best and they were offering an item for sale which I could not resist. They were offering Mona Best’s signed postcards in a beautifully framed presentation featuring an early Mona Best photograph along with one of her signed postcards from her personal postcard collection.

I was so happy to be able to purchase this wonderful memento from the Best family as I had foolishly and neglectfully had not asked Mona for her autograph on the 1988 tour of her historical coffee club where the Beatles began!

ONE OF THE FAVORITE ITEMS IN MY COLLECTION:

This is the item that caught my eye at the Best website: It came in a nice frame: The item sold-out very quickly!

This is a closeup of the Mona Best signature that I acquired for my collection on my framed Mona Best memento:

Drummer Pete Best signed the certificate of authenticity on the back of the framed Mona Best item. (shown below) The Best family made 97 of these. Look at that wonderful list of talent that Mona Best was to promote. She was certainly ahead of her time and a true pioneer!

This item is one of the primary items in my collection due to the contributions that Mona and her family made to the legendary Beatles story!

A link to purchase The Beatles: The True Beginnings book:

Bundle! True Beginnings and a signed Pete Best photo – Pete Best

THE BEATLES MUSEUM–ONE OF THE WORLD’S BEST

The Best family, under the auspices and guidance of Roag Best, run the fabulous Beatles Museum on Mathew Street in Liverpool. I sincerely hope that I may one day be able to travel back to Liverpool to visit this wonderful museum which is preserving so many fabulous items of musical and historical importance. I have heard so many positive comments about this wonderful 3 floor Beatles Museum!

Here is the Beatles Museum website:

Liverpool Beatles Museum | The Liverpool Beatles Museum houses one of the largest Beatles collections in the world, featuring over 1000 never before seen authentic items across three floors.

Hope you enjoyed the discussion of this wonderful collectable that I purchased from the Best family. It is one of the best items in my collection and was happy that the family was able to share it with people for their personal collections. The 97 Mona Best framed photograph and postcards sold-out in a flash, confirming my instincts!

Be happy and be healthy!
Buzz

A book to raise funds for BBC Children in Need:

Remember the book “The Curious Tale of Fi-Rex” from Oct. of 2015 that Paul McCartney, One Direction and many other celebrity authors contributed to?

The cover of the book which lists the contributors:

The back cover of the book:

A small excerpt of Paul’s contribution. You will need to get the book to read the rest of his story and the other contributors….

The Curious Tale of Fi-Rex by One Direction & Sir Paul McCartney & Take That & Jamie And Jools Oliver & Andy Murray & Kate Moss & Kylie Minogue & Bear… (9781910884003)

From the Allbookstores.com website:

The Curious Tale of Fi-Rex
“One Direction’s collaboration with Sir Paul McCartney resulted in the creation of The Curious Tale of Fi-Rex, a children’s book aimed at raising awareness for the Children in Need charity. The book features One Direction as frogs and includes contributions from various celebrities, including Kate Moss, Kylie Minogue, and Rod Stewart. The proceeds from the book’s sale go directly to support the Children in Need charity.”

AMAZON DESCRIPTION OF THE BOOK:

“For the first time ever some of the most famous names in music, sport and show business have got together for a game of consequences to raise money for the BBC Children in Need Appeal. Each participating celebrity has written a section armed only with the information of the main character a half-girl, half-dinosaur called Fi-Rex and with only the final line of the previous part. This unique idea has resulted in a hilarious tale which twists and turns like no other from which we will raise thousands of pounds for BBC Children in Need.“

An additional internet description of the book:

“An incredible tale written as a game of consequences where each section has been written by different celebrity authors. As a result this fantastic story is hilarious, unique and thrilling all at the same time – and the celebrity guest authors show their true brilliant colours within each of their sections.“

Fat Fox Books Ltd

Sir Paul McCartney turns One Direction into frogs for Children In Need book | Contactmusic.com

AMAZON US:

The Curious Tale of Fi-Rex: 9780992872885: Amazon.com: Books

AMAZON UK:

The Curious Tale of Fi-Rex: Amazon.co.uk: One Direction, Sir Paul McCartney, Take That, Jamie and Jools Oliver, Andy Murray, Kate Moss, Kylie Minogue, Bear Grylls, Wayne and Colleen Rooney, Amanda Holden, Denise Van Outen, Rod Stewart, Penny Lancaster, Ronan Keating, Leigh Francis plus many more, Julia Patton: 9780992872885: Books

Paul McCartney contributes to “The Curious Tale of Fi-Rex” children book • The Paul McCartney Project

PAUL McCARTNEY AND NICKY HOPKINS & CHILDREN IN NEED-AN EARLIER FUNDRAISING VENTURE!

Much is known about Nicky Hopkins marvelous session work with both John Lennon and George Harrison following the breakup of the Beatles. Not as much is known, especially in the United States about a charity single written by keyboard player Nicky Hopkins and Craig Mathieson in the late 80’s. Paul McCartney not only produced the track but played bass on it as well. It was recorded at Paul’s Sussex studio.

The proceeds of the single were to go to the BBC sponsored “Children in Need” project. The charity is for disadvantaged children and young people in the UK and the BBC has helped with this charity since 1980 and they have raised nearly a billion pounds in those years according to this Wikipedia source:

Children in Need – Wikipedia

The drummer on the track was Woody Woodmansey who was the drummer for many early Bowie albums. With the death of David Bowie in January of 2016, Woodmansey became the last surviving member of the Spiders from Mars group ensemble.

I was able to locate and purchase a copy of this charity single at the Discogs music search service. This is the front cover of the 45:

Hope you enjoyed this blog piece about the BBC’s wonderful attempts through many significant musical personalities to raise funds for Children in Need!

Be healthy and be happy!

Buzz

HOW MANY OF YOU THINK YOU COULD ANSWER ALL 1500 QUESTIONS IN THESE 3 LIVERPOOL BEATLES BOOKS WITHOUT LOOKING FOR THE ANSWERS???

Prior to 2022, I had a Facebook Beatles Print page which had more than 5200 subscribers. I remember writing a piece about this trilogy of fine Beatles trivia books compiled by Pam Blanchfield with technical advice and design work by John Blanchfield.

When I acquired this set of three small books, I distinctly remember that one of the three books was extremely difficult to find. Being a completist collector, that caused me great anxiety because when I make the decision to acquire all the books in a set, I hate the thought of missing a part of the set. Finally, through Instant Messaging the author on Facebook, I was able to find the rarity to be able to complete the set. As I recall the toughest and most difficult to find of these Beatles Trivia books was the first one that appears on this post with the yellow/orange cover. The trivia questions in these three books are well-balanced for difficulty, but I would venture to say that even the most ardent and knowledgeable Beatles fan will not be able to instantly know all 1500 answers to the 3 books trivia questions from memory! If you can, you probably possess a photographic memory and I extend my congratulations!

As we age, trivia is a great exercise to help keep the mind sharp. Do any of you have the Beatles Trivia Pursuit Board games in your collections?

Liverpool “Beatles” Pop Culture Quiz: 500 Questions and Answers Paperback

Conceived, designed & researched by Pam Blanchfield

Database design & technical advice by John Blanchfield

Published by Keyprints 2008

As I recall this book was the most difficult to find in the set of 3 Beatles Trivia books:

No longer available at Amazon:

Liverpool “Beatles” Pop Culture Quiz: 500 Questions and Answers: Blanchfield, Pam: 9780955898808: Amazon.com: Books

Back cover of the book:

Liverpool “Beatles” Scene Culture Quiz Paperback
Conceived, designed & researched by Pam Blanchfield

Database design & technical advice by John Blanchfield

Published by Keyprints 2008

I currently see only 1 remaining copy at Amazon:

Liverpool “Beatles” Scene Culture Quiz: Blanchfield, Pam: 9780955898815: Amazon.com: Books

Back cover of the book:

Liverpool “Beatles” Scouse Culture Quiz Paperback – January 1, 2008
by Pam Blanchfield (Designer), John Blanchfield (Designer)

Conceived, designed & researched by Pam Blanchfield

Database design & technical advice by John Blanchfield

Published by Keyprints 2008

No copies currently available on Amazon:

Liverpool “Beatles” Scouse Culture Quiz: Blanchfield, Pam: 9780955898822: Amazon.com: Books

Back cover of the book:

The author was so kind in being able to sign and inscribe a copy of this book for me when I had my Facebook page:

In concluding this post, I would like to pose a few questions concerning Beatles trivia.

What is the most difficult Beatles trivia question you have ever come across? Were you able to instantly answer it?

Have you ever read a Beatles trivia book or participated in a Beatles Trivia board game book where you feel that the answer provided was inaccurate or wrong?

Be healthy and be happy!

Buzz

OUR FEATURED BOOK – INSPECTOR ROCKE – BEATLES FACTION

This blog takes pride in being able to present the notification of new and forthcoming books about the Beatles from many prominent authors. Both these authors, Ken Womack and Scott Freiman are leaders in their respective areas of expertise. I love their work and you will too. The career of the Beatles will be covered in a two-book series using the red and blue motif created by the Beatles red and blue album 2 disk sets that presented many of the musical highlights of their career!

Amazon Description of the forthcoming book by Kenneth Womack (Author) & Scott Freiman (Author)

“World renowned Beatles experts provide groundbreaking insights into the Fab Four’s artistry, from Please Please Me to the incredible heights of Rubber Soul and Revolver.

Dive into the songwriting, musicianship, and production of some of the most influential popular music ever created. In this revelatory assessment of the band’s artistic development from 1962 to 1966, Kenneth Womack and Scott Freiman provide accessible, close readings of songs – based on cutting-edge Beatles research – and tackle hard-hitting questions: What were the song’s origins, and how was it written? How was the song transformed in the studio? What instruments were used and how did that impact the song’s arrangement?

Discover the lyrical and musical elements that give these songs their magic and the techniques used by producer George Martin and engineers Norman Smith and Geoff Emerick that add that extra spark, bringing these songs to fruition. The unparalleled artistic journeys of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr as the Beatles are revealed here.”

Background Information about the Authors from Amazon:

Kenneth Womack is one of the world’s foremost writers and thinkers about the Beatles. He is Professor of English and Popular Music at Monmouth University, USA. He also serves as the Music Culture critic for Salon, as well as a contributor to a host of print and web outlets, including Slate, Billboard, Time, Variety, USA Today, The Guardian, Smithsonian Magazine, The Independent, NBC News, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. He is the author of The Beatles Encyclopedia (2014), Maximum Volume (2017), Sound Pictures (2018), Solid State (2019), John Lennon 1980 (2020), and Living the Beatles Legend: The Untold Story of Mal Evans (2023). In October 2020, Rolling Stone magazine published a feature story outlining Womack’s groundbreaking research associated with Lennon’s life and work.

Scott Freiman is the composer, producer, and music tech entrepreneur behind the acclaimed PBS series Deconstructing the Beatles. Over the years, he has presented his lectures to sold-out audiences at theaters nationwide and has spoken at colleges, universities, and corporations, including Pixar, Google, and Facebook. He co-hosts the monthly Fab Four Master Class with fellow musicologist Kenneth Womack, with whom he leads annual Beatles-themed trips to Liverpool and London.

For those who like to pre-order their Beatles titles, here are the Amazon US and Amazon UK links! To be published by Bloomsbury

AMAZON US:
The Beatles’ Touring Era: Inside the Fab Four’s Musical Artistry, Song by Song, 1962-1966: Amazon.co.uk: Scott Freiman, Kenneth Womack: 9798216275497: Books

AMAZON UK:

The Beatles’ Touring Era: Inside the Fab Four’s Musical Artistry, Song by Song, 1962-1966: Amazon.co.uk: Scott Freiman, Kenneth Womack: 9798216275497: Books

Looking forward, as many of you reading this are, to add this forthcoming 2-book series from two excellent Beatles lore presenters to your collections!

Be healthy and be happy!

Buzz

BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE RUTLES IDLE MIND – LOL!

The late Beatle friend and associate Neil Aspinall once gave a private screening of the pre-Anthology Beatles Anthology documentary which at the time had the title of The Long and Winding Road to none other than Eric Idle of The Rutles. Viewing this Aspinall documentary gave Eric Idle the idea and inspiration to write the script for his successful Beatles parody entitled, All You Need Is Cash.

A Fanzine/booklet celebrating The Rutles, a parody of The Beatles created by Eric Idle (Monty Python’s Flying Circus) and Neil Innes (The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band) is shown here!

14 pages, with color & B&W photos, with text by Eric Idle, signed on the cover by Eric Idle. I was able to recently acquire this signed booklet on eBay!

SOME NASTY MUSIC BY NEIL INNES

The Rutles 2 – Can’t Buy Me Lunch (Official Documentary)

A favorite Rutles song:

THE RUTLES – Cheese And Onions (1969)

The Rutles: Goose-Step Mama

An excellent Neil Innes interview:

Interview with Neil Innes – The Rutles – YouTube

Interview with Neil Innes (Part 2) – John Lennon et al

An interesting YouTube post about the Rutles:

Get Up And Go- The Making Of The Rutles (2008)

Hope this post has brought a big smile to you!

Best wishes!

Be healthy and be happy!

Buzz

OUR FEATURED BOOK