The blog is designed to feature old and new Beatles-related print material including books, magazines, posters & autographs of people that have a Beatles connection or association. The blog also features books from people that have worked with the solo members of the group after the breakup. Looking forward to seeing you as a subscribing member of the blog and I eagerly anticipate your participation and feedback on the blog!
John “Buzz” Bezzini has one of the world’s largest collections of Beatles books and Beatles-related print material and he will share his thoughts and opinions on some of the more obscure & rare and unusual Beatles titles in addition to the new and forthcoming titles as well!
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!
Don’t Worry Kyoko – the coat! The UK company called TRACKS is a wonderful place to track down Beatles-related memorabilia. My collecting interests are usually restricted to print items that have some type of Beatles connection, but in this case I got a bit of both. I got one of Kyoko Chan Cox’s (Yoko’s daughter with Tony Cox) Apple ‘Fool ‘designed children’s coats along with a signed letter of verification from her dad, Anthony (Tony Cox) verifying that it indeed was an Apple-designed coat that Kyoko owned as a child.
Kyoko was present at many notable Lennon/ Ono news events like the Bed-In for Peace, and Kyoko was also in the auto accident when John was driving to Scotland when he, Julian, Kyoko, and Yoko were involved in an auto mishap due to John’s terrible driving skills.
Would love to trace down a signature of Kyoko’s for my Beatles-related signature collection but I am aware that she leads a very private life and must respect that decision. Kyoko married and became the mother of two children, Emi and Jack. Jack has backed his uncle Sean on bass on a couple of his recordings including the recording of “Isolation” that was posted on YouTube and appears as a link below. Kyoko now sees her mom on a much more frequent basis than she was able to as a child.
TRACKS memorabilia may be on the more expensive side of the ledger but at least the buyer can be assured of a quality item and one whose authenticity the company has pledged to stand behind….. Hope you enjoy the items I am sharing with you now!
The Fool-designed coat from the Apple clothing store on Baker Street. You can see the Apple patch in the neck area of the coat:
The Coat Designed by The Fool Which Kyoko Wore
Here is the signed letter from Tony Cox, Kyoko’s dad and Yoko’s second husband:
Letter from Tony Cox
Sean Lennon with his nephew Jack, Kyoko’s son, on bass:
Someone also posted this rare excerpt footage on YouTube of the Plastic Ono Band at the Lyceum ballroom where the band played versions of “Cold Turkey” and “Don’t Worry Kyoko”. I wonder if footage of the full performances exist?
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.
I recently 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!
The Magical Mystery Tour can still divide fans. Earlier in 1967, much is known about the ornate Beatles album cover of Sgt Pepper which was put together and organized by noted designer and artist, Peter Blake with his associate on the LP – Jann Haworth.
However, it seems not as much is known in Beatles collecting circles about the designer to one of the follow-up releases that appeared after the death of Brian Epstein when Paul McCartney began to step into Brian’s role to keep the Beatles as a working and thriving entity and to organize the group’s recording activities.
The follow-up to the Sgt. Pepper design was the Magical Mystery Tour cover. The following photo features both the signatures of one of the engineers on some of the recordings, Ken Brown, and the designer of the album cover, John Van Hamersveld. I have seen only a few Beatles items signed by John Van Hamersveld over many years of collecting. I pounced on this signed album cover on eBay as a result!
John Van Hamersveld (born September 1, 1941, Baltimore, Maryland) is an American graphic artist and illustrator who designed record jackets for pop and psychedelic bands from the 1960s onward. He designed the covers of The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour and the Rolling Stones. Exile on Main Street. His first major assignment, in 1963, was designing the poster for the surf film The Endless Summer.
Magical Mystery Tour cover
Possibly Van Hamersveld’s most famous design
The Endless Summer (John Van Hamersveld illustration)
John Van Hamersveld cover
Did you like Magical Mystery Tour? What do you think? Let me know below.
The Beatles throughout their history virtually always gave their audiences a positive vibe either through their musical messaging or through their unique sense of humor.
However, one could argue that the same can’t be said about everyone that they associated with over the years.
Most of the people I am referring to were business people, but there were some book authors as well that fit into that category, though only one will be mentioned in this post.
It is sad to say, but the quest for money from many former Beatles associates lends credence to the old cliche that “money is the root of all evil.” At least that is how the Beatles themselves perceived some of these people.
Here are a few print samples from people that have received much negative attention from Beatles fans over the years.
Would love to see some commentary from readers of this post as to whether you agree with the choices picked on this page or whether the criticism is being too harsh?
The late Dick James
Former Beatles music and song publisher and before that a singer in the 50’s
Mr. James was generally perceived as being a positive force initially in the Beatles career as he helped to construct their songwriting empire by publishing their songs.
However, as time progressed and internal struggles began within the band, James decided to sell his controlling interest the Beatles publishing to Sir Lew Grade, who happens to be another entry on this post today. The Beatles were to resent why the controlling interest to the songs were not being offered to them, especially after all of the money they had made for D. James.
In my collecting fervor I also collect the signatures of people that may be perceived negatively in the Beatles story. Not because I possibly admire the people in question, but simply because they played a prominent role in the Beatles history and story.
The signature of Dick James- I was able to obtain this 1950’s signature of Dick James. He signed this document in the 1950’s while he was still a professional singer!
Dick James Signature
Dick James as a young man:
Dick James
Dick James as the Beatles knew him- picture from Ebay
Dick James
Dick James sang the theme song for a Robin Hood TV series in the UK. An interesting aside is both Peter Asher and his sister Jane made guest acting appearances on the UK Robin Hood show.
John Lennon certainly thought this gentleman didn’t make the grade!! The late Sir Lew Grade who eventually became Lord Grade
A UK TV mogul who was to acquire the Beatles publishing catalog from Dick James and then was later to sell the catalog to Michael Jackson, much to the Beatles chagrin.
Lew Grade
A signed first class airline menu signed by Lew Grade when he was a Lord:
Lew Grade signature
A Grade signature on a piece of paperthat I acquired on eBay:
Lew Grade signature
John Lennon’s supposed reason for having his two-faced band members when he appeared on the Sir Lew Grade Television special, John’s last live appearance.
The note has appeared at several places on the internet but it is not known if this signature has ever been officially authenticated?
John’s Autograph?
A photo of John’s two-faced band at the Sir Lew Grade special.
John’s two-faced band
Looking for the GOLD MAN!!! Albert Goldman
One of the authors chosen for the dark side of the force is the late Albert Goldman. Even if all of the negative information printed about John in this book was true, there is no doubt in my opinion that the tone of this bio was intended to character assassinate John as the author had done with other victims, Lenny Bruce, Elvis and one he was planning before his death, Jim Morrison.
The tone of this book was pure vitriol and one wonders if one of the motivating factors for writing this book was the supposed $800,000 advance. Even some of Goldman’s researchers have indicated that he was actively and urgently seeking out the dirt on John in order to ensure more book sales!
The signature of Goldman in the book. Albert was to die on an International airline flight to the UK.
I was never able to obtain the signature of Allen Klein touted as one of the primary reasons the Beatles split up as Apple was crumbling. The business differences in the Beatles manager choice between John and Paul is probably the primary reason for the Beatles split. Allen is given the most blame for the Beatles split, but in my opinion he was not the sole reason for their demise.
The other party to the Beatles split was the McCartney decision to want his father-in-law, Lee Eastman as his business manager. Though Lee was a brilliant businessman, it probably was not a wise proposition to have a family member as the group’s manager as there would always be the prospect that he would be perceived as favoring Paul in his business decisions.
Perhaps it would have been a better course of action if they had been able to find a more neutral overseer or business manager to avoid the eventual disaster. Remember this decision had a lot of factors, for example John Lennon had to find out by accident that Paul had bought more Northern Songs shares without telling him.
They had held close to equal shares prior to that incident. Finding that out, I personally believe that John had lost some trust in his former partner.One could also argue that Klein was using the knowledge of Paul buying the stock as leverage for his influence on John. In either case it was not a healthy environment!
Here is a photo that appeared in 1971 in Billboard of pop producer Don Kirshner, John Lennon and Lee Eastman, Linda’s dad.Highly unusual photo in that Eastman was portrayed so negatively in many interviews that John did, yet here they seem to be having a good time.
Magic Alex
Magic Alex, aka Alexis Madras was touted as an electronics experts but many of his ideas turned up to be just that “ideas” that did not work. John in particular was enamored of Alex’s gadgets but the Beatles were soon to realize that the Beatles were to part with a lot of their money following the Magic Alex advice.
He was singlehandedly able to show how naive’ the Beatles could be in their business decisions. John in particular was susceptible to believing seemingly bizarre proposals that he heard from Alexis!
Alex was supposedly the individual who caused the controversy with the Beatles leaving India and the Maharishi, as it was Alex, who was the source that was allegedly spreading nasty rumors about the Maharishi’s behavior.
John, George, Yoko, and Mal Evans at the marriage of Alex.
