Special Guest – Jay Bergen, author of Lennon, the Mobster & The Lawyer
Jay Bergen
Listen to the Interview here:
Don’t forget to register for 10 December John Lennon Focal Points Free webinar The Beatles Holiday Party Featuring Co-Host Joe Johnson of Beatle Brunch Radio Special Guests – Scott R. McKinley presentsThe Beatles 1964 Christmas Message!!
Upcoming guests on “Tell Me Why”David Bedford of The Beatles Bookstore, author of Liddypool, The Fab One Hundred and Four, The Country of Liverpool, and more… Bill King author of Large Time Editor of Beatlefan magazine Scott R. McKinley Narrator and Voice Actor for She Loves You, Vol. 3 in The John Lennon Series andJay Bergen’s Lennon, the Mobster & the Lawyer
Remember to visit the John Lennon Series to pre-order a signed, dated, numbered copy of Some Forever Shades of Life, Part Two(Aug. 1965 – March 1966) Book Release Party March 28-30, 2025 at The New York Metro Fest for Beatles Fans!
Discover Jude’s Books at The Beatles Bookstore
Shoulda Been There (Vol. 1) 1940 – Dec 1961
In Jude Kessler’s stunning debut narrative biography, you’ll learn the truths behind the Lennon legend. You’ll discover why the popular, rich, famous singer called himself a “Nowhere Man.” There are no hard copies left, but you can get it on Kindle by clicking here for $9.99
But for John Lennon, the hectic rise to glory failed to cure the constant Shivering Inside. He was still searching for something…or someone…to fill the hole in his heart. There are no hard copies left but you can get it on Kindle here for $9.99.
1964 in John’s life! “A Hard Day’s Night”, and created/recorded the accompanying, best-selling soundtrack; a World Tour, a Scottish sojourn, a lengthy North American Tour hitting cities all across the U.S. and Canada.
Many Beatles collectors are aware of the work of Doug Sulpy who over the years with his magazine entitled The910 (yes, a pun of the One after 909) has helped to do a wonderful job of attempting to catalog and criticize the tremendous amount of unreleased material by the Beatles. Doug has numerous book titles dealing with this subject and here are a few of them:
This title below deals with the existing video of the Beatles from 1964. Doug issued this as a hardback in an edition of only 100 copies of which I purchased a copy. Doug’s 910 magazine is now sold digitally only, in pdf format. This transition to the digital format is primarily due to high printing costs. However, Doug does continue to print the occasional limited edition hardback volume like the one below which is always exhaustively researched and well-documented.
The Beatles 1964 Video Guide
The back cover of the 100-copy hardback:
The Beatles 1964 Video Guide
Doug’s “John Hancock” on this special hardcover title of only 100 copies:
The Beatles 1964 Video Guide
Thomas The Tank
Ringo did a series of audio narrations of the Thomas the Tank children’s books. Expanding on his role as the conductor in the Thomas the Tank TV series, this is an example of one of the cassettes with book volumes based on the series. For collecting purposes I bought the complete Ringo cassette and CD collections of his storytelling ventures!
Thomas the Tank Engine
I love special releases like this that appeal to both children and adults. The book detailing the lyrics to Starr’s song appeals more to the children. The alternate version of Octopus’s Garden on the CD appeals to the Ringo music collector, primarily being adults.
Octopus’s Garden
A picture of the cd contained within the book and a brief bio on the author and the illustrator:
Octopus’s Garden
The back cover of my copy of the book which is available on Amazon:
Though this is a photography book containing other artists beside the Beatles, we can surmise why they were chosen for the cover. This wonderful photography book by noted photographer, John Rowland is signed by Mr. Rowland, and I acquired this signed copy from the book search service known as Abe Books.
The book was published in 2010 by Desert Springs Publishing. For further info contact: www.rockphotobook.com
The signature page of the Rowlands book:
The back cover of the book:
The Beatles Monopoly
Technically, this is not a Beatles print item, yet it does exhibit the overlap in collecting interests that I have for both Beatles print material and Beatles board games. Here is the special Yellow Submarine edition of Monopoly
The Beatles Yellow Submarine Monopoly
The back cover of the Yellow Submarine edition:
The Beatles Yellow Submarine Monopoly
An edition of the Monopoly board game that I bought that has the classic Abbey Road album cover:
The Beatles Monopoly
The back cover of the edition shown above:
The Beatles Monopoly
Another one of the world’s most popular board games and it is only fitting that there would also be a Beatles edition of SCRABBLE: I bought my copy either from eBay or The Fest for Beatles Fans:
The Beatles Scrabble
The back cover of the Scrabble game:
The Beatles Scrabble
Skywriting by Word of Mouth
A special limited edition of 500 copies only in a slipcase of John Lennon’s final self-penned book entitled “Skywriting By Word of Mouth.” Each copy was signed by Yoko Ono.Published by Harper & Row in 1986!
Skywriting by Word of Mouth
The cover of the book within the slipcase:
Skywriting by Word of Mouth
Yoko’s signature and the number of the edition:
Skywriting by Word of Mouth
In 2014 Tosh Berman, son of Wallace Berman, one of the individuals who appears on the cover of Sgt. Pepper, released this limited edition booklet of only 300 signed copies that details the story of his dad giving permission to Brian Epstein to use his photo on the cover of the LP and of Wallace Berman’s son’s interest in the Beatles. It is a small item of not many pages, but it is wonderful to read the special set of stories contained within!
The image of Mr. Berman contained on the Sgt. Pepper cover and the one that is within my copy of the Tosh Berman book which I love as a special collectable:Copies can often be found on both Ebay and Abe books!
Tosh Berman’s signature in my copy of the limited edition book:
Found this book in a Fest for Beatles catalog! It is a 3-volume set that features a special part dedicated not only in about 108 photos of the Beatles rarely if ever seen before, but details of the Beatles interactions over the years with members of the Hare Krishna movement. Here is an introduction of the book “Chasing Rhinos With the Swami”:
My copy was purchased through the Fest For Beatles Fans. I have seen copies advertised additionally on Ebay and Abe Books. The first volume was published in 2016. Volume 3 came out in 2021. This was followed by the 3 volumes set encased in a slipcase which was also being offered at The Fest for Beatles Fans!
A fabulous hardback Ringo Starr discography by author, Andrew James. It is detailed and all encompassing and it is a wonderful pickup for Beatles collectors. However, discographies all suffer from the same built-in problem. Unless the recording artist has passed away, in most cases the discogrpahy will not be up-to-date or current because the minute the artist issues another recording the book becomes lacking of the new releases. The completeness of their recorded legacy depends upon constantly updated versions of the book. It is frustrating to those who want a sense of completeness in their collections. However, we of course would much prefer the artist to be active healthy and with us for the natural course of their lives and to keep recording additional memories for us to savor.
My comments above may seem somewhat silly but the intention and purpose of the comments was simply to highlight a problem inherent in writing any books about artists that continue to record and remain active until they are elderly! Everyone’s primary concern should naturally be the well-being of the artist in question!
The well-researched discography was released in 2023 and I purchased it Online on Amazon. The book was independently published:
The back cover of the Andrew James book about Ringo’s recording career:
The Ringo Starr Discography
What do you think? What do Want to See?
In conclusion, is there a particular Beatles print/ related subject matter that you would like to see covered in greater detail on the blog? Please let us know what you would like to see more of, or less of, for that matter!
Thanks! Be healthy and be happy!
Buzz
Some great books about The Beatles at the Beatles Bookstore
The ongoing success of Inside No3 continues to make its mark with the Apple Records story going to radio!!
The revolutionary style of this book Inside No3 has shown the mark of Apple Records in a totally different way to many Beatles fans and has now been rewarded with the novel approach undertaken by author Nigel Pearce.
Radio Series
Apple Records – Inside Number Three
Inside No 3 has now been commissioned to be turned into a Radio Serial that delves so much deeper into the entire Apple Story. This will cover the entire first 10 years of the label from conception to its closing in 1976. Starting in 1966, the next Ten Years proved to be something that no one cover ever imagine. The ideas and scope of everybody who was involved with the label and the company, have ensured that a huge legacy has not only been left to the world, it continues to provide a “Revolutionary” inspiration to the art and music world, while at the same time still changing social attitudes everywhere.
Number 3 Savile Row
The Beatles may have left the world as a group in 1970, but the force and impact of this foursome still continues to grow and strengthen and Apple is a huge part of that. In short, it still lives up to its central theme of being a “Foundation for the Arts”.
Our First Four Set
Nigel’s book was indeed a completely different and novel way of showing the impact and direction of this ideal. While the book only shows around 10% of his entire collection, what is shown is in beautiful detail and colour, with the aim of supporting the artist shown to its fullest extent.
Nigel has much more in his archives including demo recordings, memos, photographs as well as every record issued from No 3 Savile Row London W.1, which at the present time is available for renting .
What’s The New Mary Jane
The series is currently in production and is being framed, for release next year along with a launch event to officially announce the series going to airwaves on the UK Radio network. More will be revealed about its scope and content along with its style, but suffice to say this has never been done before, so this is a real radio and music first . It is so exciting to contemplate. Stay tuned,, there is so much more to follow ……
Inside Number Three – The Illustrated History of Apple Records
Inside No3 takes you through that famous door, deep into the minds of all who worked there at Apple Records. This is done also in a very different way. This is not a kiss-and-tell diary, it is through fan adulation and understanding via a personal collection of artifacts and memorabilia that author Nigel Pearce has built up over the last 50 years.
I do not know if others share this perception but it seems that this particular book that Mark Lewisohn was involved with is not as well known as his other work. Perhaps that is due to the subject matter of the Beatles’ geographic locations. There have been several titles that have attempted this subject matter over the years and I do not know their relative success in terms of sales. I enjoyed the book as I have most of Mark’s work and the several print contributions of Piet Schreuders as well.
This particular edition of the book holds my interest because multiple author signatures of 2 or more in this case are often incredibly difficult to locate or find.
This is my signed version from all three authors of this book- Piet Schreuders, Mark Lewisohn, and Adam Smith. Multiple author-signed books are difficult to acquire unless you have all the authors available at the same location at the same time, or if you are extremely patient and somehow are able to track the signatures down individually! Sometimes the publisher of a book makes arrangements with them to sign a limited amount of books that can be used in a marketing promotional campaign for the title!
For a book that I gave my initial perception of as not being as well known as other Mark Lewisohn-involved works, Derek Taylor does not hesitate in his lavish praise for the book on its cover. Recommend you check this one out if you do not have it in your collection! I hold a fascination for some of the Beatles books that were not as widespread in their circulation or distribution with fans!
The Beatles’ London
The Beatles London
The signature page featuring all three of the author’s signatures:
Fan Recollection books about The Beatles and the ’60s, a specific time frame or era, have a very specialized audience. Some people love this type of book for the memories it stirs up in their own lives. For me, they serve a deeper sociological purpose. They demonstrate the shared sense of community that a mass audience once had when the communication outlets were fewer and far between.
With the advent of the internet and social media and the information that often comes to us inaccurately because of so many different sources with their own agendas and without a proper context, it is becoming increasingly difficult to judge what the “truth is” anymore.
Nostalgia
That is why nostalgia is so appealing to many of us as we get older. We often have the tendency to downplay the bad times or memories that may be associated with our growing up and we believe very strongly in the notion of the “Good Old Days” as a result stressing what made us happy when we were younger.
I personally enjoy books like the following title from Marti Edwards and Joe Carroccio. It was an enjoyable tale of a young lady who at the tender age of 16 sought to meet The Beatles. It is nice to read a book that deals with the sense of community people who hold a common interest can exhibit rather than the era the world seems to be living in now!
These types of books usually do not make a big impact in the marketplace because of the specialized interest inherent in a recollection book, but to me, they serve as important time capsules like newspaper clippings to preserve the events of long ago, long after the main characters of the story are no longer here to share those memories with the current generation… Thank you Marti for sharing your memories with us!
The Beatles and the Baby Boomers
16 in ’64 – The Beatles & The Baby Boomers
Back Cover of the book:
16 in ’64 – The Beatles & The Baby Boomers
Marti Edward’s inscription in my copy of the book:
16 in ’64 – The Beatles & The Baby Boomers
Buzz
Autobiography
Autobiographies by those people associated with The Beatles story
Of particular fascination to me as a collector of Beatles books are books like The Beatles and Bournemouth and The Beatles and Wales. I treasure reading books that deal with early European gigs in their rise and climb to worldwide fame. Even in recent years. for example, early recordings of the Beatles appearing at venues like the boy’s school in Stowe in the UK have appeared unexpectedly. That show was fascinating as their worldwide performances once fame was attained were only around 20-25 minutes in length. The Stowe school 1963 appearance was about an hour long and included many of their numbers that they only had performed previously at BBC radio sessions.
There are a few interesting books about other early Beatles UK gigs I would like to share a couple with you. The first one deals with the importance of Bournemouth in the Beatles story. Nick Churchill wrote this interesting volume with many great photos.
Publisher: Natula Publications
Publication date: January 1, 2011
The Beatles and Bournemouth
Some interesting details on the back cover that are discussed within the book:
The Beatles and Bournemouth
The Beatles and Wales by David Jones:
Publisher-St David’s Press
Publication date-1 Jan. 2001
The Beatles and Wales
The back cover discusses many of the details covered in this fascinating title:
The Beatles and Wales
Of the books or Beatles print material that you may have in your collection that detail a specific Beatles performance or city that they may have performed in, what is your favorite title and why?
