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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Some enterprising magazine publications like UNCUT Magazine in the UK have undertaken a cross-marketing campaign in transforming a magazine title about the Beatles into a hardcover book. To those who prefer to purchase hardcover books of the Beatles, this campaign helps to satisfy that particular collecting impulse.
A friend of mine from the UK, Seamus Hayes informed me of another marketing strategy for Beatles-related magazines. This is a issue of ‘The Ultimate Music Guide of the Beatles:The Complete Story of the Beatles” issued by UNCUT magazine in the UK. It is in the magazine format with a picture on the cover taken from the Beatles Mad Day Out photography session from 1968. The magazine with the Mad Day Out cover photograph was issued in 2024 but there are earlier versions of that magazine issued with a different cover.
The magazine which is large at 172 pages with many beautiful photos is impressive. This is followed by a recent unique strategy aimed directly at Beatles collectors. Uncut magazine decided to take their Ultimate Music Guide of the Beatles and print 2 hardcover editions of most of the content that appears in the Mad Day Out cover magazine, one with a red background and one with a blue background featuring two different early Beatles photographs. My psychological justification for getting all three was now complete as being in hardback format, I was now securing two more hardcover Beatles books for my collection. I am quite aware that to many if not most people, that is not the best choice both in a practical and financial manner. Living in the States, I was cursing at the international postage costs situation but Seamus Hayes, my collecting buddy in the UK has helped me significantly in helping me deal with this situation. As fellow collectors we help each other out in our collecting obsession! Cross-referencing the book and magazine formats, especially if one format adds additional material or articles not previously available in the other formats, makes it more appealing to own both. This is especially important if you fall under the completist collector mentality!
Uncut Magazine is simultaneously published 2 hardcover editions of the magazine with a different cover from their early years. It is quite the formula as the magazine contains updated Beatle information that may be missing from the book, yet the hardcover book format offersdurability and probably a much longer shelf lifespan.
I am glad I came across this with the assistance of Seamus Hayes as I love unusual editions of Beatles print material and being in hardcover format it is like acquiring another Beatles book instead of a magazine. It is more durable, less fragile, and longer lasting. I must admit I prefer the 1968 Magazine photo much better than the earlier Beatles edition of the magazine and the covers of the hardcover books!
A CRITIQUE:
For collectors the trouble with purchasing ANY version of something called The Beatles Complete Story is that term is never truly 100% accurate as there are always new events that continue to come to the foreground that add to the story. Maybe it would be more accurate to call it “The Nearly Complete Story” or “The Far From Complete Story,” if you are a cynic. However, if you suffer from so-called malady of being a completist collector, you fall prey to getting them all ensuring you will be getting all the information you may be missing in the other editions. This is good for the magazines business but the pocketbook suffers as a result!
This is my copy of the 2024 Magazine Issue cover:
2017 Issue of the Complete Story:An earlier edition of the magazine
The link originally sent to me by Seamus Hayes regarding the red cover of the hardback edition of the Complete Story:
This is the marketing appeal used to describe the 400 copy blue covered hardback edition of the magazine:
“Presenting The Ultimate Music Guide to The Beatles in a limited-edition hardback book! With a print run of just 400 copies, each book will have a limited-edition numbered icon on the endpaper.
Every album reviewed in depth, including the latest remixes/remasters
Classic archive interviews
8-page foldout Miscellany timeline
Get Back: reviewed
Store-exclusive hardback edition, with only 400 published, each edition indvidually numbered.“
My copy of the blue hardback:
The back cover of the blue hardback:
It appears that I have copy #150 of the 400 copy blue covered hardback:
In conclusion, if you consider yourself a completist collector, what are the collectibles that you treasure the most where you may feel the impulse to acquire “all” of the information that is available to you about the subject.
For those who do not fall under that collecting category, what are the psychological restraints that you put on yourself on collecting that are outside of the financial arguments! What items do you feel compelled to buy and WHY?
THEY READ THE NEWS TODAY OH BOY – AND THEN THEY WROTE A BEATLES SONG ABOUT IT!!!
After the Beatles stopped touring, John Lennon led more of a suburban lifestyle than bachelor Paul who was keeping more in touch with city life and all the inspiration that provided. Paul was meeting directly with many of the elements and individuals of the avant-garde and was experimenting with such things as tape-loops. In later years Paul held some resentment towards John being acknowledged as the avant-garde Beatle when actually it was Paul that first ventured into the field. Living in the suburbs, John often found inspiration for his songs in everyday occurrences that appeared in either newspaper articles or things he may have seen on TV.
A few examples will be shown below and I hope you will enjoy the post!
A couple of newspaper accounts that served as the inspiration for John Lennon to write “Mean Mr. Mustard.”
The Real Mean Mr Mustard
The Real Mean Mr Mustard
A reproduction of the circus poster that John found in an antique shop that served as the inspiration for the song “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite” on Sgt Pepper. As most of the lyrics are provided on the poster, the skill was to properly edit the words, create the melody, and have George Martin work his wizardry to get the sounds and feel of a circus environment.
Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite
The song ” A Day in the Life” was inspired by a news report of the death of the Guiness heir, Tara Browne!
The Story of Tara Browne
Which is your favourite?
Buzz
OUR FEATURED BOOK
My Ticket To Ride
How I Ran Away to England to Meet the Beatles and Got Rock and Roll Banned in Cleveland (A True Story from 1964)
A true-adventure coming-of-age tale set in the exhilarating first wave of
Beatlemania. In 1964, 16-year-old Janice escapes a grim foster home in
Cleveland by running away to London to meet the Beatles—and
unwittingly becomes international news. Looks back at an era when
young women exercising control in their lives threatened adult society.
This post represents a mixed bag of Beatles-related signature signed books and photographs. Some of these you may have seen on previous posts. Others are brand new:
Let’s begin with the man who engineered two of Ringo’s most successful albums in the 70s, “Ringo” and “Goodnight Vienna.” His name is Bill Schnee and Ringo was so pleased with his work on the “Ringo” album that he mentions Bill Schnee’s name in the song “You and Me, Babe” which was co-written by George Harrison and Beatles associate, Mal Evans.
The back cover of the LP:
The Goodnight Vienna LP
ENGINEER-BILL SCHNEE
The engineer who has quite the resume, wrote a book detailing his recording experiences of a very exciting time in music history. The book can be found at Amazon and also on Ebay and other book search services.I was very happy to acquire a copy of this wonderful book.
Back cover of the book:
The artists that Bill had engineered over his career is semmingly endless.
Bill took the time to inscribe a copy of his book for me and he was very kind in doing so!
Beatles-related Signature – Bill Schnee
Here are a couple samples from YouTube of Bill Schnee’s work
When you ask of a song to help define a decade, there are many Beatles songs that could fit that bill. However, few tunes could match the definition of 1967 better than Procol Harum’s “Whiter Shade of Pale” with that haunting melody. The lead singer was the late Gary Brooker.
GARY BROOKER
Here is a signed Gary Brooker photowhich I acquired from a prominent author.
Here are a few fascinating videos of Gary’s work over the years:
The Smother Brothers had a strong Beatles-related history. They helped to premiere the Hey Jude and Revolution promo videos on their network show. They also had a surprise guest appearance by George Harrison on a separate program.
Years later they were to perform the “No No Song” on their show with RIngo Starr. Tommy Smothers was also at the Bed-In for Peace of John and Yoko where he was enlisted to play guitar along with John on the recording of “Give Peace a Chance.” John Lennon was once thrown out of a Smother Brothers performance at the Troubador as John and Harry Nilsson heckled the duo with no mercy being shown. They were both shown the door. When they recovered from their drunken display, Lennon and Nilsson sent their apologies to the comedy duo!
An autographed photo of the famous duo: Unfortunately, Tommy Smothers was to pass away from lung cancer in 2023 at the age of 86.
Here are a few YouTube videos that demonstrate a few of the interactions between a member of the Beatles and the Smothers Brothers:
Late night talk-show host Dick Cavett has had many interactions with the solo Beatles and here are a few: John Lennon appeared twice on the Cavett show and performed in the 2nd appearance. George Harrison appeared once on the show and performed the song Two-Faced Man with Gary Wright.
His Name Is Legs (Ladies and Gentleman) · George Harrison Extra Texture-credits list ℗ 2014 G.H. Estate Limited under exclusive license to BMG Rights Management (US) LLC Released on: 1975-09-22 Guitar, Piano, Producer: George Harrison Horns: Chuck Findley Horns: Tom Scott Keyboards: David Foster Sound Engineer: George Peckham Piano: Billy Preston Sound Engineer: Norman Kinney Sound Engineer: Phil McDonald Vocals: Legs Larry Smith Composer: George Harrison
Mr. Paul McCartney was involved in the production of this number: He produced it under the name Apollo C. Vermouth. The track was composed by Neil Innes.
The book Perry published of his memoirs a couple of years before his passing. Even the title of the book has a solo-Beatle association being the same name as a hit George Harrison album
Some YouTube examples of Perry’s work with the solo Beatles and other very prominent artists like Carly Simon, Barbra Streisand and Harry Nilsson
The bookplate that I created for the Cloud Nine book bearing the signature of Richard Perry. Acquired the signature from someone I have exchanged emails with for a long time and who has helped me increase my signature collection significantly!
LEW GRADE
The TV advertisement of the ABC special designed to honor ATV mogul, Lew Grade! This man because of his involvement in purchasing the Lennon McCartney songwriting publishing rights from Dick James led to many troublesome times between Lennon and McCartney and Grade. Grade was later to dispose of the catalog and it ended up in the hands of Michael Jackson.
This is the TV advertisement of the Tribute to Sir Lew Grade (who later became a Lord) on the ABC television network in America.To this day I do not understand the real reason that John performed at this tribute because it is apparent from many of his public statements that he resented and/or despised the man!
One of the signatures that I have acquired of the man the Beatles resented:
A recent book title that I acquired that deals with some of the business activities of the man:
Publishing information:
ROBERT RODRIGUEZ AND JERRY HAMMACK
Two Beatles-book authors that I respect and admire very much, Robert Rodriguez and Jerry Hammack. Their books are very informative and well-researched. Recently I acquired a signed copy of this book which is the 1st volume of a two book series which tells the Beatles story in a historical context, neatly tying the Beatles music into the cultural events going on simultaneously.
In a marketing move the authors also produced a black and white edition at a lower price.
DAVID BEDFORD – ANDREW PHILLIPS
Can’t help but rave about the efforts of authors David Bedford and Andrew Phillips on this title which explores the many “what if” situations that the Beatles encountered on their rise to the top of the mountaintop. Was it fate or was it pure chance that they made it so big? With this book you get the chance to make your own evaluation…
Back cover of the book:
The last numbered copy of the 500 copy harback edition of the book:
DAVID SHEFF
The man who did the famous Playboy interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono has now written the biography of Yoko Ono
This is front cover of the book:
The back cover of the book:
A signed David Sheff Yoko book that appeared on Ebay. Hoping that the Fest for Beatles Fans can acquire some signed copies of the book as I would love to purchase one…
A few samples of David Sheff being interviewed about his book on YouTube:
Neil Innes was Ron Nasty in the Rutles, was active in the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, had a strong association with Monty Python and was an immensely talented musician and comedian. Neil Innes passed away in 2019
Neil’s wife, Yvonne, was dedicated to writing this history and tribute to her late husband as a form of closure to this wonderfully talented man’s life.
NEIL INNES BOOK – WRITTEN BY HIS WIFE YVONNE
Back cover of the Innes book:
A wonderful inscribed inscription from Neil Innes’ wife, Yvonne:
The book is available at the Fest For Beatles Fans and at Amazon. Copies are also available at Ebay and other book search services!
A few YouTube samples of Neil’s association with the Beatles. Interesting to watch at your leisure!
Tony King became an Apple executive and his work ethic was admired by the solo Beatles. In the last couple of years, Faber & Faber have published his book”The Tastemaker Tony King” My Life with the Legends and Geniuses of RockMusic
The cover of King’s book:
Back Cover of the book:
A rare signature, indeed. For some strange reason you do not see many signed copies of the Tony King book. I was so fortunate to be able to find one for the collection on Abe Books.
This is a rare Tony King letter written on Apple stationary
JACKIE LOMAX
A guitar player who the Beatles knew back in the Cavern days. Jackie Lomax was a member of the Undertakers group.
Years later George Harrison signed him to Apple records. Beatles tour expert and author, Charles Rosenay!!!, was able to secure a copy of Jackie’s signature on this Beatles booklet by Peter Dicks.
Some background info about Jackie that appears in the booklet:
This is the signature page of the booklet- signed in 2009
LAURENCE OLIVIER– AND SEVERAL OF HIS CONNECTIONS TO THE BEATLES!
Acquired this signed photo of one of the greatest actors of all-time, Laurence Olivier. This photo was from the only acting collaboration Mr. Olivier performed with Hartford Connecticut native, the legendary Katherine Hepburn. It is from the ABC television movie, “Love Among the Ruins” when at the end of the film, Olivier quotes from the Robert Browning poem that inspired John Lennon to write the beautiful song, “Grow Old With Me.” He expresses his love for Ms. Hepburn’s character by quoting a line from the famous Browning poem to her.
Victor Spinetti collaborated with Lord Laurence Olivier in a 1968 stage adaptation of a John Lennon work, The Lennon Play: In His Own Write, for the National Theatre!!!
Olivier’s signature on a photo taken for the ABC television presentation of “Love Among the Ruins.”
The book of “The Lennon Play” signed by one of the collaborators , actor and Beatles friend, Victor Spinetti. It was Spinetti who negotiated with Laurence Olivier to back John’s play. The National Theatre’s stage version of John Lennon’s book In His Own Write, directed by Victor Spinetti, had its 1968 debut at the Old Vic Theatre on London’s Waterloo Road.
Adrienne Kennedy also shares her memories of working with and meeting a Beatle in the following title co-authored with her son Adam!
Mom, How Did You Meet the Beatles by Adrienne Kennedy and Adam P. Kennedy
Publisher
Samuel French, Inc.
Publish Date
November 08, 2010
Spinetti’s signature which I acquired at a Fest for Beatles Fans in New Jersey
ANTHONY FAWCETT – ONE OF THE RAREST SIGNED BEATLES BOOKS THAT I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO FIND
Anthony Fawcett-John and Yoko’s personal assistant’s book, “One Day At A Time”, one of the most difficult Beatles-related books to find signed. Took me more than 30 years to find a signed copy of this book.Patience is a virtue that I do not have, yet one did turn up recently on the Abe Books site. I quickly snapped it up. I do not understand why there ae not many signed copies of this book? Regardless, I am very appreciative and happy that I was able to find one!
A rare signed copy of the Anthony Fawcett Lennon book! This is the copy I was recently able to acquire.
YOKO ONO
When Yoko began her Starpeace Tour throughout Eastern Europe she signed a few copies of the program. Here is one I acquired mnay years ago…
The tour itinerary on the back cover of the program:
PETER NOONE
Received this signed inscribed album from Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits
A few YouTube postings dealing with Peter’s association with the Beatles
Helen Anderson is a kind and congenial artist that I have correponded with by email for several years now. She was John and Cynthia Lennon’s classmate at Liverpool Art College. Acquired this inscribed print from Helen a while back portraying John Lennon at his easel at the college. I love this sketch very much!
Helen was also responsible for designing John’s cap which became famous during the “Help” era. You can see it here at her website:
Best wishes to you Helen, always! We are proud to have you as a subscribing member of this blog!
P.J. PROBY
P.J was an American singer who was very popular in England and in Europe. Hewas given an early Beatles number by Paul that the Beatles did not release their own version of until the Beatles Anthology project!
Acquired this signed P.J Proby item from a fellow collector. Proby portrayed Elvis Presley in this London musical in 1996.
MICHAEL BRAUN
Loved finding this rarity on Abe Books, a signed book of one of the best early biographies regarding the Beatles. John Lennon said it was the most honest portrayal of the “real” Beatles. See the fascinating story below of who Michael Braun had inscribed the book to:
When I received this mysterious book from Ebay, I could not find the author’s name. This is your Life( The Beatles) Hardcover – August 12, 2018. Only learned the author’s name from Amazon when doing a search. Since very little is known about this book and what the motivation of the author was, so the book is clouded in mystery. Was the book done this way to avoid possible legal issues regarding the use of Beatles photographs? I do not know, I can only speculate. However the mystery surrounding the title was sufficient for me to seek out a copy for my collection.
This is your Life (The Beatles) Hardcover – August 12, 2018
by Tom Power (Author) 36 page hardcover Published by Blurb
Amazon’s description:
This books looks at the life of the Beatles great photos and facts and news about the Beatles. All time greatest pop band ever
When I saw this book advertised on Ebay several years ago it was commanding huge prices. Also saw the listing a couple of times on Abe Books. It is a very small book, not only in size but in the number of pages.
The ISBN # which appears on the back cover:
Notice there is no photograph that appears on the front and back covers, nor is there an author’s name
A sample page froom the book. There is not much text in the title as it is predominantly photos
ALAN LORD–A 30 Copy Rarity
This book deals with people who have covered the songs of Lennon and McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. At 522 pages, it looks at CDs, albums, and singles from virtually every corner of the world. What makes this book especially attractive for collectors is that at the present time, there are only 30 known current copiesof the book in existence.
Privately Published Beatles Book
A fascinating aspect of collecting Beatles print-related material is the many privately published books that are lurking out there for the discerning collector. There are many treasures that are not well-known by the public as they are not affiliated with a major publisher and are published privately by the author. As a collector, these books have many special collector attributes. Because they are privately published, often the number of these books issued is severely restricted or limited because of the high cost of printing a large volume of the title. Would like to highlight one of these privately published books that I was able to acquire recently on eBay, thanks to being alerted by a fellow collector, Seamus Hayes.
If you have questions about the book, the author has provided his email
alanlorduk@yahoo.co.uk
HELP! I NEED SOMEBODY
NOW IF ONLY SOMEONE CAN HELP ME FIND THE SIGNATURE/ AUTOGRAPH OF THE LATE DECCA RECORDS EXECUTIVE, DICK ROWE. THEN I CAN CLOSE THE BOOK!!! LOL!UNLESS THE POSSIBLE EXCEPTION ARISES OF ACQUIRING THE SIGNATURES OF MAGIC ALEX AND THE MAHARISHI!
Buzz
GET YOUR COPY OF THE FEATURED BOOK – THE BEATLES: WHAT IF?
The Beatles What If? Limited Edition Hardback
How different would the world have been without The Beatles?
This book explores the many times The Beatles story could have turned out so differently. What if it didn’t happen the way it did?
The author of 4 books that chronicle the life of Dave Morrell in the music industry as a promoter and his many interactions with the Beatles over the years. You will want to compile this entire set of books in your collection to hear the many fascinating stories that Dave has to tell. One of the stories is how he was able to obtain a signed Butcher Cover from John Lennon in the early 70s. He was also able to obtain the signatures of Paul and Ringo on that fabulous collector’s item as well. A while back Dave decided to sell this precious item at auction but he still holds the excellent memories associated with that wonderful item.
His four books are available on both Amazon and Ebay.
Dave Morrell’s Books
Dave Morrell’s signed Butcher cover that he personally received from John Lennon. Later on, both Paul and Ringo signed the LP.
David was to eventually put his very rare treasure up for sale/offers. I undertand that a nice sales price was finally realized !!!
A fascinating article written by Steve Marinucci that deals with a rare cassette tape of George Harrison playing John Lennon songs in India for a small audience. Dave Morrell is one of the few people that has heard this tape when the auction house that had the tape allowed him to listen to it. No one knows where the tape is now or if it ever was sold by the original owner. In either case it makes a fascinating story and Mr. Morrell has many of those type of stories within his four books.
In conclusion, not only is Dave a very knowledgeable Beatles fan, but he has a great sense of humor, a warm personality, and he is another one of “those fans” that always somehow turned out to be at the right place at the right time.
Luckily he has preserved many of those memories for us all in his 4 books.
Buzz
Our Featured Book at the Beatles Bookstore
It’s All Too Much
It’s All Too Much is the unique memoir by music industry veteran David Stark, who grew up in north London during the 1960s as a dedicated Beatles fan and was lucky enough to meet his musical heroes on various memorable occasions. From gate-crashing the Yellow Submarine film premiere in 1968 (aged just fifteen) and ending up sitting directly behind the group, to meeting all of them individually in some extraordinary circumstances, David has some highly entertaining stories about his many Beatles encounters which have never been told before.
There are not too many Beatles record covers that received such high praise as the Klaus Voormann designed cover for the album “Revolver.” This is a special limited edition print produced and signed by Klaus showing an excerpt of his graphic novel book of how the album cover was produced.
Klaus Voormann Revolver Artwork
Klaus Voormann Signed Graphic Novel
I actually almost let this book release slip by me as I was not aware for some reason that Klaus had already released the signed graphic novel of his making of the Revolver cover. Here are the front cover, the signature page, a sample page from the graphic novel and the back cover of the book.
Klaus Voormann Graphic Novel
Klaus Voormann signature
Klaus is a very talented artist and his Revolver is such an iconic cover.
Do you like Klaus’ design? Let me know.
BUZZ
Our Featured Book at The Beatles Bookstore
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.
We do all LIVE in a YELLOW SUBMARINE!!! Now, what about the Beatles cartoons?
There is some controversy about the quality of the cartoons as it relates to the Beatles legacy, but a completist Beatles collector wants it all, even if it highlights what may not have been the best decision made for their career. The series was groundbreaking though as it was one of the first cartoon series based on real life personalities.
One signed edition of a book that I was missing in the collection until recently was the book written by the late Al Brodax, who was not only responsible for the Beatles animated cartoon series in the mid-sixties, but also the Beatles 3rd feature film, Yellow Submarine. According to many, the Beatles had relatively little direct involvement in the film, yet they came around and did a cameo appearance in the film when they realized how good the final product turned out to be. The following article link suggests that the Beatles had many ideas for the film that were used in the movie but they were not given credit for…
Check out this link for more info and input on this issue…
This is the cover of the Brodax book, issued in 2004 by Limelight Editions of New York
The Making of Yellow Submarine
Here is the signature page of Al Brodax, who died in 2016 at the age of ninety!
The Making of Yellow Submarine
The back cover of the 2004 edition of the book:
Another sample of Al’s signature that I have in the collection. I used this for comparative purposes to establish signature authenticity!
The Beatles Cartoons – Beatletoons
A fantastic book about the Beatles Cartoons written by Mitchell Axelrod, published by Wynn Publishing in 1999. This is an excellent book!
Beatletoons – Beatles Cartoons
Both of these books are available to be purchased at numerous sources, Amazon, eBay, Abe Books and at book search service sites.
Yellow Submarine – Heinz Edelmann
Would like to close this post with the signature of the man who was primarily responsible for the unique characters created for the Yellow Submarine film, Heinz Edelmann. According to several sources, Heinz did not make a habit of signing material having to do with Yellow Submarine…
