Beatles Bookstore author Terry Crain makes an appearance on the excellent new Abbey Lane Podcast, talking about his book, NEMS AND THE BUSINESS OF SELLING BEATLES MERCHANDISE IN THE U.S. 1964-1966
Terry Crain on Abbey Lane!
Category: The Beatles
David Stark – guided london tour
This Sunday 14th I’ll be guesting on a special virtual Beatles Tour of London with guide & expert Richard Porter, visiting various iconic locations as mentioned in the book. We’ll be “passing by” Abbey Road Studios, Hammersmith Odeon, the London Pavilion Cinema, the Saville Theatre, the Apple building at 3 Savile Row, John & Yoko’s flat at 34 Montagu Square among many other London locations, as well as Aunt Mimi’s house in Dorset.
The tour starts at 7.00pm GMT (12 noon EST), entry is £10. These Zoom tours are always a lot of fun and also give participants a chance to ask questions along the way. Book in advance here, your Zoom link will be sent before the tour starts.
Meet The Beatles: David Stark’s London, Sunday March 14th
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/meet-the-beatles-david-starks-london-tickets-143756526641
Best wishes,
David
GET YOUR COPY OF DAVID’S BOOK NOW
LEt me take you down – travel with sandi
What is like for an American Beatles fab to travel to the UK and walk in the footsteps of The Beatles? Meet Sandi Borowsky, who did just that and has captured the essence of Liverpool and London as she takes you on her pilgrimage.
Here is an interview with Sandi talking about her incredible book.
Review
“Sandi Anne Borowsky’s Exploring Fab Four Landmarks is spot on!
With vivid descriptions of her surroundings and adventures, plus colorful, close-up photographs (taken by the author, herself), we feel like we are traveling through England right alongside her!
She takes us on a tour of important Beatle landmarks, as well as places we wouldn’t expect to see (from a very special bathroom to a sudden shocker at Strawberry Fields! Read about it in this book!). We learn how resourceful Sandi is and of her absolute love, love, love of coffee…and ice (find out in these pages!)!
We come to know her friends or “mates” (both old and new) and the warmth and good humor of the British people, through Sandi’s retelling of conversations and events. One of Sandi’s friends and her grandmother even knew Ringo (Sandi’s favorite Beatle!)and his “mum!”
“Love one another” and peace us Sandi’s wish for us all. She hopes you have as much fun reading about her absolutely Fab adventures as she did having them!
So let the movie in your mind begin!”
Howard Cohen, November 29, 2019
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Beatles, cowboys & country music
The Country of Liverpool: Nashville of the North by David Bedford: A Review
“Fans of the Beatles are familiar with the group’s affinity for country music created in America. What many people don’t realize is that in the 1960s and up to today, country music experienced tremendous popularity in Europe as evidenced by its root in the skiffle craze that eventually developed into British rock and roll music. The interest of the Beatles and others is not as simplistic as records coming off the ships berthing in Liverpool. It is much deeper and more substantive.
“The earliest immigrants to the American colonies from Britain and Ireland brought with them folk songs, hymns, and primitive African blues. The songs told stories of love, war, legends, and more and were written with a regular rhythm generations remember and repeat easily. The early settlers came from Britain, Ireland, and Scotland, and found homes in the Appalachian Mountains. As time went on, the descendants moved to other parts of the new world and the songs began to evolve and develop into what eventually became all the splinter forms of the country music genre, from country and western to bluegrass and beyond.
1950s, Westerns and Cowboys
“Bedford expertly describes the growth of country music in the US and how it is also firmly formed in the roots of rock and roll of the early 1950s in the music of Buddy Holly, Johnny Cash, and others. Interest in the country and western genre in both America and Britain also included western movies and American cowboys and it was a regular occurrence for British youth to attend Saturday movies to revel in their interest. Many Liverpool bands took names that were reminiscent of the American cowboy, as well.
“The cowboy image quickly evolved into the British rocker. Country and western music did not disappear with the advent of the Liverpool rock scene. Far from it. It had a strong following in Europe that continued to grow, despite slipping into the background. Country stars such as Phil Brady blossomed and grew in their own right and there were many, many clubs that specialized in country music.
Posters, Tickets and Clipping
“Bedford presents the story in a way that keeps the reader interested. His research skills are deep and impeccable. He uses old photos and posters as key parts of the story with a charm that adds to the book.
“David Bedford has tackled subjects, that other authors sidestep, in his books, such as Liddypool, The Fab One Hundred and Four and Finding the Fourth Beatle, and presents topics that are new to readers. The Country of Liverpool is no exception and cements Bedford’s standing as one of the top Beatles historians of today. An excellent book and an excellent story told in a way that is interesting, educational, and just plain enjoyable.
Another must-have for Beatles, and music, fans.”
Tom Aguiar
Adapted with permission from Octopus’ Garden fanzine, Volume 30, Issue #3, March 2021. Review by Tom Aguiar.
beatles Authors on the history of rock ‘n’ roll show
| Hello everyone, Here’s the recording of my radio show I did on the Beatles with four authors. I didn’t get a chance to record the show because it wasn’t connected, so one of the guests, Gary Fearon recorded it for me. The radio show on The History of Rock and Roll today was interesting but got some good interviews with the authors. David Bedford was good on his books on Liddypool on Liverpool and different landmarks, The Fab One Hundred and Four on the musical evolution of The Beatles, Finding the Fourth Beatle on different drummers and The Country of Liverpool on Country music. He’s really good to talk to. Mark Brickley is excellent on Postcards From Liverpool, he met Paul McCartney and Ringo in Los Angeles in 2012, been to different Beatle Fests, different Beatle landmarks, he interviewed Jackie Lomax, James McCartney, Ron McNeil of the Fab Four, Pete Best and few others, and he discussed on the music as well. Gary Fearon is informative the Beatles solos and behind the songs on his book After Abbey Road, and Paul Ferrante is interesting on 30 Minutes in Memphis based on Beatles live performances in Memphis from 1966. I like you to please bear with me that there’s been some technical issues because of the new radio board and there’s some parts are not connected and not programed, you can hear me but I sound a little low, I sounded ok, you can hear music, but the background isn’t connected, only you can hear the front, and for the phone system I can’t answer or say hi to the guest, because when they call in they’ll go live on the air, there won’t be an opportunity to talk before they’re live on the air. So I have them call on my cell to say hi and then have them call the radio number. It was unexpected. I like to apologize for this issue. Thanks for your understanding. LISTEN NOW Meagan Pease WHAM-O!!! |
rare Photo of the cavern club in 1957
On 16th January 1957, The Cavern Club opened. Discover a rare photograph and the inside story of the world-famous Cavern Club.
“The above is the poster that Tony Booth produced for the Cavern Club during the summer of 2016 in preparation for the club’s 60th anniversary celebrations in January the following year. It really showcases the range of styles and creativity of a unique, unsung lettering artist who certainly played an important part in the marketing of music history. Posters and flyers were the social media of the sixties and they helped create the legends of the era.”
Debbie Greenberg saw The Beatles at every performance in the ’60s at The Cavern, before her father went on to buy The Cavern. In her book, Cavern Club: The Inside Story, she talks about the opening of the Cavern Club in January 1957.
The Opening of The Cavern Club: 16th January 1957
“Alan Sytner ran The Cavern strictly as a jazz club but starting in 1957 he allowed skiffle groups to play, getting very annoyed if any of them tried to play rock ‘n’ roll. The Quarrymen Skiffle Group, precursor to the Beatles, first played the Cavern on a date no-one can pinpoint in mid 1957 and again on 7th August 1957, only weeks after John Lennon met Paul at St. Peter’s Church Garden fete in Woolton Village.
John upset Sytner by playing rock ‘n’ roll numbers. Paul didn’t appear with them, though he’d just been recruited. He was away at Scout Camp with his brother Mike in Hathersage, Derbyshire. While at camp, Mike broke his arm when he fell out of an oak tree he was climbing.”
Rare, Unpublished Photograph of The Cavern
Debbie recently uncovered the following photograph of Joyce Lee, showing The Cavern Club in early 1957.
“In 1959, Alan moved to London and left his father, Dr. Joseph Sytner, to run the club until a buyer could be found. Ray McFall was a clerk with the Sytner family’s accountants and occasionally sat in at the Cavern cash desk. His offer of £2,750 to buy the club was accepted, and he officially took over the Cavern on 31st October 1959.”
The 60th Anniversary of The Cavern Club Opening
On the 60th anniversary of the Cavern Club in 2017, Debbie and her husband Nigel met with the star of the night, 70s pop star Gilbert O’Sullivan, who played a fantastic set in front of an exclusive packed Cavern crowd.
Debbie also posed with former Beatles Fan Club Secretary, Freda Kelly.
The Inside Story of The Cavern
To discover this and so many more amazing stories about the famous Cavern Club, read Debbie’s book:
Cavern Club – The Inside Story
