The blog is designed to feature both old and new Beatles-related print material including books, magazines, posters, or correspondence with people that have a Beatles connection or association. The blog will also feature books from people that have worked with the individual members of the group during their solo careers! Looking forward to seeing you here! Looking forward to your participation and feedback on the blog!
John “Buzz” Bezzini has one of the world’s largest collections of Beatles books and he will share his thoughts and opinions on some of the more rare and unusual Beatles titles.
John taught a course in 1984 called “The Beatles in Retrospect” marking the 20th anniversary of the Beatles’ arrival in America.
John also holds a Master’s Degree in Communication.
Enjoy Buzz’s Beatles Book Blog.
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Don’t forget that there are hundreds of Blog Posts here, so check them out on the Index at the bottom of the page!
John Lennon was to star with Michael Crawford in the anti-war film satire directed by Richard Lester entitled How I Won the War. This was to be a very productive period for John, as he was also to compose one of his masterpieces “Strawberry Fields Forever” in Almeria , Spain during the filming of the movie.
The book:
London: Century, 1999
Michael Crawford
Crawford’s signature in the book
Michael Crawford’s Signature
Back Cover of Crawford’s book
Back Cover of Crawford’s Book
John Lennon as Musketeer Gripweed and Michael Crawford as Lieutenant Earnest Goodbody:
Was able to acquire a special edition DVD of the film on Ebay which also had a mini magazine of photos taken from the film
Photos from How I Won The War
The paperback version of the book by Patrick Ryan released in 1967 and published by Ballantine books:
The Novel – How I Won The War
Michael Crawford, of course, was to ascend to superstardom status in his role of the Phantom in the Andrew Lloyd Webber smash hit musical of the “Phantom of the Opera.”
Have you watched the film? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.
I would like to take this opportunity to highlight many of the exciting, informative, and educational literary works of our blog administrator, David Bedford. I first met David at a Fest for Beatles Fans several years ago and was instantly impressed with his pleasant personality. It was a great way to meet David, sharing the atmosphere of a great Beatles-related gathering.
With my large Beatles book collection, very few authors can truly impress me either with new information or a different perspective about the Beatles story. David has fulfilled both of those tasks for me. Here is a brief summary of some of his excellent books and work….David’s Beatles knowledge is often understated as he helps to expand the horizons of the Beatles knowledge-base for all of us to enjoy and relish.
All of the Beatles history is certainly not available to all of us, but David has made a significant contribution in uncovering a lot of information about our favorite band not previously known! For that accomplishment, we should all be very grateful!!!
Liddypool
David’s Liddypool book helps us all to understand why the force that rocked the world had to come from Liverpool. From the unique Scouse sense of humor to the ability of the Liverpudlians to take American music and present it back to America and the rest of the world in a unique and fascinating form/way.
Liddypool by David Bedford
Finding The Fourth Beatle
One of my favorite Bedford/ Popper books where virtually all of the people who at one time played drums for the Beatles are explored: Finding the Fourth Beatle. Guaranteed that you probably will learn quite a few things that you never knew before about the multiple individuals who played drums for the band. I found this book to be extremely informative and details not previously known to the public are finally exposed in this great work!
Finding the Fourth Beatle
The Country of Liverpool: Nashville of The North
Another interesting book by David explores the influence of country music on Liverpool and how the Liverpool groups were able to synergistically mold country and pop music. The book also deals with the origins of skiffle and the Country roots of The Beatles. An excellent book by David!
The Country of Liverpool
The Beatles Fab Four Cities
David is one of the authors of this virtual travelogue of Beatles sites throughout 4 major world cities of Liverpool, Hamburg, London, and New York! The other authors of this wonderful book – The Beatles Fab Four Cities – are Susan Ryan and Richard Porter. Their expertise in the Beatles-related sites in the 4 cities mentioned is second to none!
The Beatles Fab Four Cities
The Fab One Hundred and Four: The Evolution of The Beatles
This book happens to be one of my favorites not only for the photographs of rare and some unknown Beatles-related personalities but of the numerous previously unknown stories that are revealed within this book. Can’t miss with this title: The Fab One Hundred and Four: The Evolution of The Beatles
The Fab One Hundred and Four
Inspector Rocke
David has even toyed with murder fiction that is set in Liverpool, of course! Inspector Rocke. An excellent read and fiction of this type is very difficult to write. Kudos to you David!
Inspector Rocke
Bill Zygmant: Where Did You Get That Shirt?
David Bedford and Paul Skellett used their respective talents and helped to organize this fabulous limited edition book by noted photographer, Bill Zygmant. Bill took some of the last photos of John and Yoko before they moved permanently to the United States. The fabulous photos of the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix contained within this book are other major highlights.
Bill Zygmant
Looking for Lennon
One other David Bedford item I would like to mention is the documentary that David acted as the historian on and that is the fabulous DVD of “Looking for Lennon.”
I loved this examination of the early days about the founder of the world’s greatest pop band!
Additional details of the people that were involved with the creation of this project are provided at this link
Most of the book titles mentioned above are available at The Beatles bookstore with the link at the top of this page, or by clicking on the links and covers of the books.
In a previous post, I referred to the three wonderful Beatles Undercover books that author Kris Engelhardt has released over the years which can be found on Amazon.
One of the highlights for me of reading his three excellent books was being able to locate and purchase a copy of an LP that I never knew existed prior to the reading of his books. In his extensive research, Kris was able to discover an album by a group named Ivory that was recorded in Barbados and featured two rare Paul McCartney tracks entitled “Runaway” and “Freedom Land.”
These tracks were recorded in the ’80s when Paul and Linda visited Barbados on holiday. Paul recorded the demo there but apparently, an agreement was made that the group could use Paul’s songs on their LP, but not Paul’s version of the numbers. It was rumored that Paul’s demo of the songs did actually appear at an auction once. However, I have not seen that substantiated anywhere!
Rare McCartney Songs
Recording a couple of rare McCartney songs for a group looking to expose their talents can be a double-edged sword, as having those rarities can certainly garnish much interest for the band as a result of having recorded them, but it also runs the risk of removing the focus of the group as the mainstay of the LP and in being able to highlight the group’s independent musical talents. This is a fact of life whenever a former Beatle assists another artist with their recordings.
At least, Ivory has achieved a special status that one of the greatest songwriters ever, has worked with them. They have been immortalized for that achievement, both on the vinyl and now in a Beatles book!
I am personally very happy and pleased to own the three Engelhardt Beatles books and the special rare Ivory LP that his books made me aware of:
These are the 3 Kris Engelhardt Beatles titlesthat have enlightened me to so many Beatles-related rarities:
This is the rare LP issued only in Barbados featuring the two rare McCartney-penned tunes that Paul gave to Ivory to record. After learning about this LP from the author’s books, I conducted an extensive search for the LP and was finally able to locate a copy. It took a considerable amount of time and effort to secure a copy but the seller could sympathize and understand my fervent obsession in obtaining the disk for the collection!
Front cover of the “Ivory” LP entitled “Print Out”
Front cover of the “Ivory” LP entitled “Print Out”
A signed photo of the group “Ivory”
A signed photo of the group “Ivory”
Album Credits for the Ivory “Print Out” LP:
The two songs do appear on YouTube as someone has posted them there: Also, Kris Engelhardt has informed me that the Ivory recordings were also available for download, I believe on iTunes!
Apologies for the bad pun: wanted to present you with these three examples posted on YouTube of John’s first wife Cynthia Lennon performing the Gene Raskin-written hit song for Mary Hopkin “Those Were the Days,” and two other songs:
A portfolio of photographs of Cynthia’s relationships from John Lennon onwards:
John Lennon and Cyn:
John and Cynthia
Cynthia and Roberto Bassanini
Julian Lennon has often declared Roberto as the much-needed father figure when John left Cynthia for Yoko Ono.
Cynthia and Roberto Bassanini
Cynthia and John Twist:
Twist was married to Cynthia when John was assassinated:
Cynthia and John Twist
Jim Christie and Cynthia – though not married – this was the longest relationship:
Jim Christie and Cynthia
Julian, Cynthia, and Noel Charles, Cynthia’s last husband:
Julian, Cynthia and Noel Charles
John Lennon – 10 years (1958 – 1968); married.
Roberto Bassanini – 5 years (1969 – 1973); married
John Twist – 7 years (1975 – 1982); married
Jim Christie – 17 years (1982 – 1999); boyfriend
Noel Charles – approximately 14 years (1999 – 2013); married
Cynthia passed away in 2015 from cancer. Julian was by her side when she passed.
What is your opinion of Cynthia’s musical performances? Some people have speculated that even after her split with John, she loved him until the end of her life, based on the many interviews she has given over the years.
