- The Monthly Newsletter
CONTENTS
●Beatles Social Network
●Interview with Billy J
Kramer
●Beatles History - The
Quarrymen
●Book Review
●Special Offers on the
Beatles Shopping Mall
●Upcoming events
●Competition
●Special features
Beatles Social Network
Beatles Shopping Mall
The Beatles Website
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In this First Issue of The Newsletter
Welcome to the first issue of your new
monthly newsletter.
We will be bringing you the latest Beatles
news, plus exclusive interviews and
articles.
If you are a free member, then you will
see some of the parts of this newsletter,
whereas our “Silver Beatle” and “Golden
Slumbers” members will see all the pages.
For this first issue, every member will
receive the full newsletter and so, if you
like what you see, and haven’t already
signed up for our membership, then why
Inside this Issue
Win a copy of “Shoulda
Been There” by Jude
Southerland Kessler
Special offer from The
Beatles Shopping Mall
History of The Beatles:
The Quarrymen
Interview wih Billy J.
Kramer
not take this opportunity to join us, and
support our project. Articles for Silver
Beatle/ Golden Slumbers members are
indicated on Contents page.
As a member, you will receive the full
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n Contents
n Competition
n Interview with Billy J
Kramer
n Special Offers
Only $2 per month
As well as this exclusive newsletter, you
will receive special offers and free gifts
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Only $5 per month
For the “Golden Slumbers”, on top of the
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with
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from the founder of Mersey Beat, and
good friend of John Lennon and Stuart
Sutcliffe, due out soon.
To sign up now, go to:
We hope you enjoy the newsletter. Now
read on...............
David Bedford
Top: Chas Newby at the Fest in New Jersey
Bottom: Cover of
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In the Newsletter this month
There are lots of articles for you to
enjoy in this first issue. Simply click
on the article to read it, and on the
“Contents” link at the bottom of
each page to return to this page.
Those marked (members) will be for
members in the future.
n Did you see The Beatles in
concert in the US?
n Mersey Beatle
n Liverpool’s Photo Archives
(members)
n Beatles Social Network
n Beatles Art - Eric Cash
n Global Beatles Day
n Good Ol’ Freda review (members)
n Paul McCartney in Concert
n Review of the Fest for Beatles
fans in New Jersey
n Interview - Billy J Kramer
(members)
n History of The Beatles: The
Quarrymen (members)
n Beatles Shopping Mall - special
offers
n The Beatles Bookstore
n Book Review
n Beatles Rarity (members)
n The Beatles Website.com
n Shelley Germeaux - John Lennon
n Beatles Radio - with Ken
Michaels
Billy J Kramer on stage with Liverpool at the Fest for Beatles Fans, New Jersey
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The Mersey Beatle - by Bill Harry
In this issue, and in future issues, there will be interviews, photos, stories, news and much much more.
Bill Harry, art college friend of John
Lennon and Stuart Sutcliffe, is one
of the world’s most prolific Beatles
authors.
As founder of the ground-breaking
music paper in Liverpool, Mersey
Beat, he catalogued The Beatles’
rise from obscurity to fame in
unparalleled detail, as well as
following the fortunes of the
famous, and not-so famous Liverpool
bands.
Now, he is launching an exclusive
new fanzine, Mersey Beatle, which
will be issued quarterly initially, with
a view to moving to monthly
eventually.
Each issue will feature unique,
original stories, from Bill, as well as
the many people he has interviewed
over the years.
You will gain an even greater
knowledge of The Beatles through
the features and stories in 32 fullcolour pages online.
This is only available to Golden
Slumbers’ members, so sign up now,
at only $5 a per month.
JOIN NOW
The First Issue:
● Bill Harry - Who
broke the
Lennon/
McCartney
agreement?
● Pete Best on
Rory Storm
● Peter Noone
● Meating a
Beatle
● Sci-fi days
● Mersey Eye
● Mersey
Memories
● Amazing Azing
● Much more….
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The Beatles Social Network - Updates
Keeping up with the latest on the
so much more on your
? Don’t miss out on the latest news, events, friendships and
.
With over 1560 members, the
Beatles Social Network is the only
place to be for Beatles fans around
the world.
With lots of features, you may not
be making the most of them all, so
here is a reminder of what you can
find there:
● Have you invited your
friends - use the “Invite”
button
● Events - add your Beatlesrelated events, or see what
is coming up soon, so you
don’t miss out.
● Beatles News - twice a day,
the latest Beatles news is
updated from Beatles
News.com, The Examiner
and more
● Store - we have selected
sellers offering some great
Beatles items for sale
● Updates - let us know what
you are doing, listening to,
or any great news to share
● Questions - ask a question
or answer one that has been
raised
● Photos - thanks for the great
photos you are uploading have you seen them all?
● Blogs - read the latest
blogs, or let us know if you
want to start one yourself.
● Groups - join a group, or
start your own one
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The Fest for Beatles Fans - New Jersey April 2013
The annual Beatles festival in New Jersey was another great weekend, and a tantalising look forward to Chicago in
August. David Bedford reflects on the weekend’s highlights.
Yet again, Mark Lapidos’ Fest for
Beatles Fans was a triumph! With so
many great guests, it is a fantastic
weekend for Beatles fans.
As one of the guest speakers, I have
a special insight into the hard work
that goes on to make a festival like
this possible.
Headlining the event were two of
the British Invasion’s biggest
successes: Billy J Kramer and Peter
Noone from Hermans Hermits.
Billy J Kramer was launching his new
CD,
. (See interview
on page XXXX). With his new band,
including Liberty Devitto, he took to
the stage at the Fest and had the
audience singing along to his
famous hits, and enjoying the songs
from his latest album.
However, possibly the biggest
success of the weekend was one of
the guests brought in to support the
sales of a new book about Jimmie
Nicol by Jim Berkenstadt, “The
Beatles Who Vanished”.
Chas Newby, who played bass for
The Beatles over the Christmas
period of December 1960, wrote the
foreword to Jim’s book, and was
there to help promote the book and
do signings. How often can you get
a real Beatle to attend a festival like
this?
Chas took to the stage with resident
band Liverpool on each of the nights
was an instant success!
As he came off stage, I asked him
how he felt. “I feel like I’m 18 again
on stage at Litherland Town Hall!”
A great weekend - and next year the
Fest will be in New York City
between 7th and 9th February
celebrating 50 years since The
Beatles arrived in the US.
Also Chicago: 10-12 Aug 2013
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“I Won The Fight” - The NEW CD from Billy J Kramer
As one of the biggest stars to emerge from
Liverpool in the wake of The Beatles, Billy J.
Kramer was managed by Brian Epstein and had
hit songs written for him by Lennon and
McCartney. Now, 50 years later, Billy has
returned to the recording studio to release a new
album, I Won The Fight.
When I go back there I walk the streets and get
a great vibe.
for a song, so I wrote that one down; ‘The
Sunsets of Santa Fe’. I sent the song to Billy
Kinsley (from the Merseybeats) in Liverpool for
the background vocals (who did an amazing job),
then to Chicago for some added guitar and back
to New York for the strings. I’ve never done
anything like that before over the internet.
One of the tracks he is most proud of on the new
album is “To Liverpool With Love”, which seemed
a good place to start; talking about this song,
and his home town of Liverpool. The first thing I
noticed was that he has a slight American
accent, which he puts down to spending the last
27 years married to his American wife, Roni.
However, like may Scousers, in between
sentences he will throw in “you know”, which is
so Liverpool! “There is a part of me that is still
Liverpool, and always will be,” said Kramer
proudly.
We talked about his new album, which is his first
for over thirty years. “I’m really happy with it,”
he said, “which is the first in a long time. It is the
first time I have written a lot of the songs myself.
One song is called ‘I Can’t Keep the Dog Outside
Tonight’ which is symbolic about someone who,
as time goes by, becomes more mellow and less
selfish.
“That is where that first song came from, and
the start of it. I then wrote the song which is
going to be my new single, called “To Liverpool
With Love”. It’s like an autobiographical song
about how I feel about the city that was my
home. It mentions my old girlfriend; John and
Paul; Brian, plus a lot of other references to
growing up in Liverpool. I’m looking forward to
seeing how people respond to it. No matter
where you go, it is always a part of me. I wanted
to write about Liverpool, because even though I
live in New York, Liverpool is still very special.
“I then wrote the title song, ‘I Won The Fight’. It
goes back to the time when I was working for
British Railways, and I got the offer from Brian
Epstein to turn professional, and they gave me a
hard time. It applies to me as well, because when
I was younger I had a lot of issues, which is what
I think they call them today. We called them
hang-ups! I’m older and wiser, and feel I’m in a
really nice place at this time in my life. I used to
drink quite a lot, and do a lot of other things
that aren’t good for you back in my younger
days, but I’ve been clean and sober for 27 years,
which is where I got the title, ‘I Won The Fight’.
“I spend a lot of time in Santa Fe, New Mexico
and a neighbour talked to me about the sunsets
of Santa Fe, and I thought that was a good title
“I’d had one song in my head for many years,
which was a kind of rockabilly song called,
‘You’re Right, I’m Wrong’.
“I have put together a selection of songs that are
different, and maybe not all typical Billy J.
Kramer songs. But I also revisited some of the
great songs that I remembered from years ago. I
sat down in the studio with the guys and played
them “The Story of My Life” on my guitar, and
they said that they thought it was such a cool
song, and asked where I got it from? I remember
Michael Holliday having a hit with it in 1950
when I was a kid, and I thought it would be nice
to pay a tribute to him, because I felt he never
got the recognition he deserved.
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“There was one time, back in the sixties, when I
was in a studio in London with about 30 minutes
to go, and John Lennon walked in with a song
called ‘I’m in Love’, and we did two quick takes,
but I never went back to it. The Fourmost then
brought out a version of it, and I thought no
more about it. I was sitting in a café in New York
when I heard my version. EMI had put it on my
box-set, and there’s me and John talking on it,
and I wondered where they’d got it from,
because I hadn’t heard it for 40 years. So, as a
tribute to John, I decided to go back and record
my version of it for this album.”
With so many of the tracks being written by
Billy, I asked him how he felt about putting an
album out of his material and being judged on it.
“I feel very good about it,” he said. “All I can
say is that I’ve had more enjoyment doing this
CD now, than at any time in my life.” That took
me aback slightly. That is a big statement,
considering the level of success that he achieved.
Why was this so different?
“I always felt that recording, because of the way
I was when I was younger, made me very
intimidated, especially by George Martin. The
big-time EMI studios were, I hate to say it, like
going to the dentist. I could never sleep the night
before, and I don’t think that I performed as well
as I could have done. To me, with just a
microphone to yourself, is, and I hate to use the
phrase, is like nailing yourself to the cross. When
I first went into the studio with ‘The Sunsets of
Santa Fe’, I was very nervous. But when I got a
positive reaction from the people listening to it,
my confidence grew. It was so different to see a
song starting with just me and the guitar and
growing into the finished song. I am thrilled to
have my great friend and extraordinary drummer
Liberty Devitto playing drums on all of the
tracks. It was a fantastic experience, and I have
to admit, being the boss was kind of tough,
because that was a new experience for me. I’ve
had so much enjoyment from doing this.”
When you compare this to Billy’s time with
Epstein, he was handed a finished song for which
he had to learn the vocals and perform it. Now,
he is seeing the genesis of the song from his
imagination, through to the finished track.
We then looked back to his career in the sixties,
and the time that Lennon first came to him with
a song. “I was appearing in Bournemouth, and it
was my 20th birthday,” recalled Billy, “and I was
backstage. He was reading the Melody Maker,
and he said to me, ‘we’ve got into the charts for
the first time in the United States’. I told him I
was so happy for him, but he then turned the
conversation around with the offer. ‘I’ve got this
great song for you’, so I asked if he was going
to play it for me, and he said ‘No!’ but told me
not to worry, and that next time I was at Abbey
Road, he would be there with the song for me.
“I just assumed he would never show, but I
couldn’t believe it, because one day John turned
up, took me into a room with him, and he played
‘Bad To Me’; It was a wonderful experience. I
thanked him and was very grateful. But then he
said to me; ‘I want your opinion on this one. Tell
me what you think of it?’ and he played me ‘I
Want To Hold Your Hand’, so I said, ‘Can I have
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that one?’ He quickly laughed and replied that
they were keeping that one for themselves. We
had to learn ‘Bad To Me’ there and then in the
studio, and we only had three hours. To be
honest, ‘Bad To Me’ didn’t come very easily to
me, so I suggested to George Martin that we do
the B-side, ‘I Call Your Name’ first, and release
that one as the A-side. George said that it
sounded too Beatle-ish, so he insisted we do ‘Bad
To Me’. I actually had a disagreement with
George Martin about the key for the song. He
said that he knew what my best key was, and my
vocal ability, but I said I wanted to try and
change it from E down to D, and we dropped it
down, and had it in the can in three or four
takes. We did all of that in three hours.
are screaming for you! I always found it to be
very strange.”
This idea of the pressure brought up a question
for me. Did having Lennon and McCartney
writing songs which he recorded and The Beatles’
manager looking after him, did that put extra
pressure on him? “Believe it or not, it didn’t,”
stated Kramer. “I think in a way, because I knew
them before they made it, they were just fellow
Liverpudlians that I happened to be working
with.
“In comparison, ‘The Sunsets of Santa Fe’ took
weeks to complete, because I didn’t want to do a
‘moon, spoon’ type of song. I have discovered
how long it can take for a song to get through
to the finished version. However, ‘I Won The
Fight’ was an afternoon jam, and we recorded it
the next day. It has been a fun process.”
From the album, I wanted to take Billy back to
growing up in Liverpool, and how he got started
in the music business, which he was obviously
happy to do. “Nobody knows what is going to
happen, but when I was a lad, my mother used to
take me on the bus into Liverpool, and I would
walk into Rushworth & Draper music store, and
look at all of these beautiful Gibson guitars
behind the glass cases. I had this feeling that one
day I would do something musically.
In the 60’s, the pressure on me was incredible.
You’re just this overweight, chubby kid, and then
two days later after appearing on television, you
become good looking overnight. How do you
become good looking overnight? One day you
can’t get the girls, and then two weeks later they
‘Do You Want To Know A Secret’ was the only
Lennon/ McCartney song that I actually learned
before I recorded it. Brian gave me a tape of
John singing it with just his guitar, and we
learned it. “We put it in our show, and when we
were in Hamburg we did it every night, and,
truthfully, we had not gotten the greatest
response from it live.” George Martin still
wanted to release it as a single. However, when I
returned to the UK, I went to Manchester to do
the television show People and Places, and the
breaking news story was the infamous Profumo
scandal which was rocking the government in
Britain, and everyone was talking about secrets.
The song just took off from there. I was amazed
by it. Nobody else at that time had had a hit
with a Lennon/ McCartney song, and I remember
when we did the Lennon and McCartney TV
Show, John and Paul thanked me for believing in
them as songwriters, before anybody else.”
I remember when I was in the process of getting
my first band together, I went to Litherland Hall,
and BobWooler told us that this band called The
Beatles were coming from Hamburg, so I really
wanted to see them. I was just totally blown
away by them. They were rock ‘n’ roll! I
remember walking home with my friends and
saying that they were really going to make it:
they could be bigger than Elvis! My friends just
thought I had drunk too much.
The impact of Lennon and McCartney onto
Billy’s career cannot be underestimated, so I
asked him how they first met. “I first came
across John and Paul at an audition at the
Aintree Institute, and I was living in nearby
Bootle. We put all of our equipment on the
pavement and took it up there by bus. We got
six bookings from that audition with promoter
Brian Kelly, and it was that night that I first met
The Beatles backstage. I remember commenting
to John that I’d seen them at several places, and
that he had a cool guitar, the Rickenbacker. He
was very friendly, and asked me if I wanted to
play it.
I remember when I was in the process of getting
my first band together, I went to Litherland Hall,
and BobWooler told us that this band called The
Beatles were coming from Hamburg, so I really
wanted to see them. I was just totally blown
away by them. They were rock ‘n’ roll! I
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remember walking home with my friends and
saying that they were really going to make it:
they could be bigger than Elvis! My friends just
thought I had drunk too much.
The impact of Lennon and McCartney onto
Billy’s career cannot be underestimated, so I
asked him how they first met. “I first came
across John and Paul at an audition at the
Aintree Institute, and I was living in nearby
Bootle. We put all of our equipment on the
pavement and took it up there by bus. We got
six bookings from that audition with promoter
Brian Kelly, and it was that night that I first met
The Beatles backstage. I remember commenting
to John that I’d seen them at several places, and
that he had a cool guitar, the Rickenbacker. He
was very friendly, and asked me if I wanted to
play it.
“We started doing a lot of gigs with them, like
the Majestic Ballroom, Blair Hall and others. The
wonderful thing was that they were just regular
people, but interesting and so talented. We
always had a great time together. “Firstly, the
other bands wore suits and ties, handkerchiefs in
the pockets, and just covered the Top 40 songs.
I was the same, but they were doing songs that I
had never heard before, and they knocked me
out. I knew there were some good bands about,
but nothing like them.”
I took Billy back to the start of his career, and
discussed how he went from guitarist to
reluctant vocalist. “I started playing guitar, and
was quite content to stand at the back and play,
have a pint of beer, and watch someone else
cavort around. Our band was playing one of our
first gigs at the Conservative Club in Green Lane,
and the guys in the band said they thought that
my guitar playing was ok, but maybe I should
just sing. So, I did some songs at the front in the
first set, and it went well, so I left my guitar in
the dressing room, concentrating only on singing
for the second set, which went better, as I’d had
a couple of beers. When we had finished, I went
back to the dressing room, and the guitar had
been stolen! I thought singing would just be a
novelty, as I didn’t think I was that good.
“As I had borrowed the money from my brother
and had to pay him bak, I couldn’t afford
another guitar, and that was that. It is funny the
way life goes, as I was working for British
Railways who were about to send me off for
training at Crewe. This meant moving away from
Liverpool for a year. I went to the boss, and told
him I didn’t want to leave Liverpool and he just
stepped in and told me that I had to grow up
because one day I would have to leave Liverpool,
and face the world. I assumed my singing days
were over, but the Mersey Beat polls came out
with me in third place, which resulted in Brian
offering to manage me. I would not have had
anybody else apart from him looking after me. I
could see what a good job he was doing with The
Beatles, and wanted the same for me.”
This brought us nicely onto the subject of Brian
Epstein. “Brian has become this forgotten man,”
proclaimed Billy, “and I have been pushing for
him to get in to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. I
saw Brian when he came back from London,
brow beaten, unsuccessfully trying to get a
record deal for The Beatles and he believed in
them and hung in there. As far as I’m
concerned, The Beatles are the biggest rock ‘n’
roll band the world has ever seen, or will ever
see, and they are still the biggest 50 years later.
The fact that Brian, who brought The Beatles to
the world, has not been inducted into the Hall of
Fame I think is disgraceful. There is a place for
him, an award for non-performers, and there are
many people who are in there who aren’t as
deserving as Brian. The whole thing makes me
totally crazy. That is partially what inspired my
new song, ‘To Liverpool With Love’, so the song
is a tribute to Brian as well as Liverpool.
“To me, the fans who have bought the records,
are the ones who should decide who goes into
the Hall of Fame. It disappoints me that the fans
don’t have a say in it. “Without Brian doing
what he did, they might well have been missed!
They won’t be playing Justin Bieber songs in 50
years. The bands that have happened since The
Beatles owe something to Brian and The Beatles.
They opened the doors for all of these bands and
artists. To me, I look at The Beatles at being the
gods, and we followed in their path, and I’m very
grateful for that.
“Brian wasn’t the typical sleazy rock ‘n’ roll
manager. He was a very impressive person when
you met him. He was immaculately dressed, and
was unlike anyone I have ever come across.
When he died, well I can just say that it is
something that I still struggle with. I have never
found anybody who was fit to lace his shoes! He
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was a class act, and when he met people, he left
an impression. Some people make comments that
he didn’t do this, and he did that wrong, and he
made the wrong deals with merchandise, but
there was nothing like it in place to follow:
nothing like that had ever been done before. He
had to learn as he went along, and make it up as
he encountered each new problem.
“Brian used to come to my shows, and would be
there unannounced. He would come backstage
after the show with his notebook, and talk
through the songs I was singing, how I
introduced the songs, what I said on stage, what
I wore and every aspect of the performance. He
looked at every detail of my performance to
make me better. I remember when he offered to
become my manager: I was well known for
wearing bright suits and gold lame jackets. ‘The
first thing I’m going to do Billy’ Epstein said, ‘is
to put away the Christmas tree!’ He took me to
a tailor and dressed me how he thought I should
dress on stage. He taught me to bow on stage,
and every aspect of presentation.”
One of the most controversial topics that still
raises its head is the decision Brian made to put
The Beatles into suits. How did Billy think this
affected their chance of fame? “I don’t think The
Beatles would have been accepted if they were
still in their leathers,” he said. “A lot of people
questioned it at the time, but it is history and
what he did must have been right.”
Billy then returned to the subject of his new
song, “To Liverpool With Love”, and quoted
some of the lyrics that he was inspired to write,
remembering his friends.
“I always love to come back to Liverpool, and
when I came back two years ago, I brought my
band from America and other friends from over
here, and they just fell in love with the place, and
want to come back. They had such a good time.
I used to come back and get recognised easily,
but now I’m not as recognisable and I love to go
and walk the place and soak it in: it’s home.”
A conversation with Billy has to include how he
went from being William Ashton to Billy J.
Kramer. I started by asking whether he thinks of
himself as Billy J or William Ashton? “Oh, as
William Howard Ashton, as it’s not such a bad
name. The ‘Kramer’ was from a suggestion by
the band. The guys said I had to have a stage
name. Well I said it had to be Billy, so we wrote
a load of names on a piece of paper and rang up
a telephone operator and said, ‘Which name do
you like the best?’ She said ‘Kramer’, so that was
it.”
It was John who suggested I call myself Billy J.
Brian called me into the office, as there was
something he wanted to talk to me about. When
I got there, John was already in the room, and he
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suggested calling myself Billy J. Kramer, as it will
make it more sellable, so I’m very grateful for
what he did for me.
When talking about The Beatles, Billy is always
keen to give credit to the help that he received
from them. “They helped so many people, and
I’ve always regarded myself as a pretty good
singer and entertainer, but it wouldn’t have
happened without them. I was there at the right
time, and the amazing thing is that I never asked
for the songs. When I did ‘Little Children’, Brian
wasn’t very happy about that, because he
thought that I’d insulted the biggest songwriters
in the world, but I thought I’d got a really good
song and wanted to record it. They did come to
me with three Lennon/ McCartney songs, but I
didn’t think were of the same calibre as the
others, which John admitted years later, when he
said ‘Billy J wasn’t stupid in turning down the
songs’. The only one I can remember was ‘One
and One is Two’.
“I also remember when we were doing a summer
season in Blackpool, and The Beatles were there
too. Paul came into the dressing room with his
guitar and played me ‘Yesterday’, so I told him it
was a lovely song, but I wanted to do a rock ‘n’
roll song. That’s where my head was at the time.
I don’t regret that decision, because I felt we
should be playing pop songs to a younger
audience, and here we were stuck in Blackpool
for four months playing to a very adult audience.
I had just had a hit with ‘Trains and Boats and
Planes’ and I was thinking that I should be doing
more upbeat rock ‘n’ roll songs.
“What not a lot of people realise is that I had
‘Needles and Pins’ and ‘When You Walk In The
Room’ before anybody else. When I came to New
York with Brian in 1963, before The Beatles
came over, I was given the songs, but I couldn’t
get the band to play them. That is possibly the
(soccer). I played for the school cricket team, but
one thing that really annoyed me, because I knew we were rubbish anyway.”
they were great songs.
As we finished our chat, Billy made an interesting
“I actually came to New York with Brian before comment. “I think that I am enjoying my career
the Beatles. When I came to New York, I did
more now than at any other time in my life. I think
some radio and tv work. People always go on
I’m more comfortable with myself, and when people
about the holiday that John took with Brian, and ask why I’ve chosen to do this now, I tell them it is
go on about the gay thing, but nobody has ever because now it feels alright. I feel good about life.”
asked me if Brian hit on me. The truth is no, he
didn’t. Brian went and did his thing, and I went Billy appeared at the Fest for Beatles Fans in New
and did my thing. Brian thought at the time that Jersey in April 2013, and gave an incredible
I had the right clean-cut image and style and
performance.
could make it there, plus I didn’t have a Beatle
haircut or even have my hair long, unlike today.” THE NEW CD IS AVAILABLE FROM BILLY’S
WEBSITE - IT IS SUPERB!
As a twenty year old young man, leaving
Liverpool for the first time, New York must have
David Bedford
been daunting for him. I asked Billy what he felt
like when he first arrived. “I wanted to get on
the first plane back to Liverpool. I was
intimidated and overwhelmed, and it was a very
scary experience. I was like that for many years
after it too. New York people are very much like
Liverpool people: they tell it how it is, to your
face. It is obviously on a much bigger scale, but
there are a lot of similarities. I can understand
why John Lennon fell in love with it.
“I think I would come back to Liverpool one day,
because my family is there and I have friends
there too. As I’m getting older, you naturally get
nostalgic for your hometown. After all, you can’t
take the scouse out of a scouser. I used to love
to go to New Brighton Baths, on the ferry, and
would love to do it again. I’m so glad to hear
that New Brighton is on the up again, which I
think is great. I had some happy days there. I
also miss Norris Green Swimming Baths, and
Balliol Road Swimming Baths. I used to love
swimming, but I was never good at football
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Book Launch in Penny Lane - Judith Kristen
On the latest leg of her European book
tour, Judith Kristen turned up at the
Penny Lane Development Trust to sign
her books for the adoring public!
When thinking of a name for the book
tour, she was inspired by the stories of
The Beatles being driven around the UK
in their little unheated van by Neil
Aspinall, and how they drove with a
broken windshield, just to get to a gig.
Inspired indeed.
Judith was at Penny Lane to promote her
new book, “Once Upon a Time in
Liverpool”, and also sign copies of her
best-selling book, “A Date With A
Beatle”.
Special guest was Freda Kelly, Beatles
fan club secretary, who turned up to
support Judith. As it was round the
corner from my house, I couldn’t resist
going to see my good friend.
Julie Gornell (PLDT) and Judith
Excellent fun!
David Bedford
Judith, Helen, Pete, Freda Kelly and David Bedford
In 1964, The Beatles phenomenon swept the nation, and tenacious sixteen-year-old JUDY came down with a bad case of Beatlemania. JUDY
spent "Eight Days a Week" with a dream to meet her idol - George Harrison. Thanks to a series of strange, but fortunate events, dream becomes
reality for the devoted teen. A must read for anyone who lived through it,
or for those who wish they had!
"This is a rollicking roller coaster of a ride as a feisty female set her sights
on the Beatles - George in particular - during the Fab Four’s first American trip.
Find out more at the
official website:
Films such as ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ and ‘Secrets’ tried to capture
the moment with fictional fans, but this is the real thing. I found it fascinating!"
Bill Harry, Founder of Mersey Beat
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The History of The Beatles by David Bedford
The Quarry Bank School song contained
the words “Quarrymen, strong before our
birth”, which probably gave John Lennon
and Pete Shotton the idea for the group’s
name. The Quarry Bank motto was “Out
of this rock, you will find truth”, which
was ultimately what Lennon filtered
through his music.
You will often see their name split as
Quarry Men—this is how it appeared on
Colin’s drum. If you ask Nigel Walley, he
would be adamant that it is Quarry Men,
as two separate words. However, speaking to the original group members who
were still performing—Rod Davis, Colin
Hanton, Eric Griffiths, Len Garry and
John Duff Lowe—they have always used
Quarrymen, one word. “It was only split
to fit on the drum head and the tea-chest
bass”, Rod Davis said.
Skiffle
Lonnie Donegan was responsible for the
introduction of skiffle music in Britain
when his record, “Rock Island Line” hit
the U.K. in 1956, and
made it to No.1 in the U.S. chart. Skiffle
groups started springing from nowhere
because performers did not need technology or musical expertise. The basic line-up
for a group was a guitar, banjo, washboard, tea-chest bass and if fortunate, a
drummer. The music was quite straightforward, and didn’t need much musical
tuition or know-how.
Guitar sales surged, and an estimated
5,000 skiffle groups formed in England
around this time. The tea-chest bass has
been described in various books, but rare-
ly accurately. It was a square packing
case that used to contain the tea
being imported to the United Kingdom,
hence tea-chest. It was upturned, painted,
and then a brush handle was strung to
the box, and as it was pulled tight, the
player would twang the string, making
the sound reverberate in the sound box at
the bottom.
Paul McCartney remembered the numerous skiffle contests The Quarrymen entered and once commented that they
“were always beaten by the girl who
played the spoons”. Her name was Marie
and she was part of a skiffle group called
the “Broadway Skiffle Kids” that appeared on the ‘Carroll Levis Junior Discoveries Show’.
The skiffle craze didn’t last long as “Rock
Island Line” was knocked off the top of
the U.S. charts by Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel”. Rock ‘n’ roll was here to
stay and by the end of 1957 skiffle was
already on its way out.
Quarrymen line-up
The Quarrymen were formed in the middle of 1956, though no precise date is
available. Many books suggest it was
1957, but not according to Len Garry,
The Quarrymen’s one-time tea-chest bass
player. Len remembers joining the band
around September 1956. Eric Griffiths
recalled a schoolmate named George Lee
who initially suggested a skiffle group,
but nobody knows what happened to
him. To be formed at Quarry Bank, the
time frame had to be before mid-July
when school finished for the summer
break.
John Lennon was the instigator with his Quarry Bank schoolmates—Pete Shotton Eric Griffiths and Rod Davis. The initial
line-up was John on guitar and vocals, with Pete Shotton on
washboard (who also helped John make the first tea-chest bass).
They enlisted Bill Smith to play tea-chest bass, and practiced in
Shotton’s air raid shelter in the garden. They sought out the only
person they knew at school who had a guitar—Eric Griffiths. He
couldn’t play either, so he and John learned together from John’s
mum, Julia. They took a few guitar lessons in Hunts Cross,
but they couldn’t be bothered with all that theory rubbish.
Another Quarry Bank pupil and friend, Rod Davis, had ac-
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quired a banjo around this time. Because he had an instrument, he was
in.
Pete’s shelter was a good place to practise, as was Julia’s house. Eric and Rod’s
home also provided musical refuge at
times. Eric suggested one afternoon that
his friend Colin Hanton play drums with
the group. Drummers were a rarity in the
1950s and worth their weight in gold.
He was duly invited to join them.
After toying with the name Black Jacks
for a couple of weeks, they settled on The
Quarrymen. Pete Shotton claimed it fell
to him to name the group. The main reason for choosing the name has been welldocumented and the lyrics of the school
song back that account. Shotton said
another reason they chose The Quarrymen was because of the massive stone
quarry in Woolton, off Quarry Street.
Pete said, “Since our native Woolton was
pocked with sandstone quarries, and
most of us attended Quarry Bank School,
The Quarrymen seemed as good a choice
as any”. So in that sense, living in the
shadow of the quarry, they were also
‘Quarrymen’.
Colin Hanton concurs with Pete. “Many
years ago, because I didn’t know about
The Quarrymen name being associated
with the school song, I always linked it
with Woolton Quarry. There was a public
footpath just past the church, which took
you through the middle of the quarry (it
is still there) and this was the route to
John’s house for me, Eric and Rod.
Therefore, we were all familiar with
the quarry. The others lived by it, and
we walked through it. I went to St.
Mary’s School which was right next to
the quarry, and when they were dynamiting they used to do three blasts
on this horn, so if you heard that you
ducked, so it was still an active quarry when I was at school, which was
1949.
as a draughtsman. His mother Bessie owned and ran a
number of small shops around Woolton Village, including
one in Quarry Street. He had an older sister, Joan, an older brother Ernest and a younger brother, David. Pete and
John Lennon attended Sunday School together and often
spent their collection money on sweets; a suggestion from
John who couldn’t believe they took the money to church
and put it in the offering plate.
So that was it; they were The Quarrymen. When Paul met John at the
Woolton fete, The Quarrymen were
playing at St. Peter’s Church, built
from the local quarry, and the field
where they played is right on the top
edge of the quarry.
Discovering John’s middle name was Winston, Pete taunted him by calling him ‘Winnie’. Pete went to Mosspits
School where John initially attended. They both eventually
progressed to Quarry Bank School, and became the
dreaded duo, terrorizing Quarry Bank and Woolton. They
were lifelong friends and John helped to set Pete up in
business, eventually recruiting him into Apple in the late
‘60s. Pete wasn’t musical and was only in the group because he was John’s best mate. Pete wanted to leave, but
didn’t have the heart to tell John. John wanted him out,
Not long after they were formed, another friend, Bill Smith, proved
unreliable as a tea-chest bass player.
He was replaced by Ivan Vaughan, or
sometimes Nigel Walley. A permanent tea-chest bass player was required and another of Ivan’s mates
from the Liverpool Institute, Len Garry, was asked by John and Pete to
join. Len was also a good singer and
shared the vocals with John.
And so, by the end of 1956, The
Quarrymen Skiffle Group had a
settled line-up in place. They were:
John, Pete, Eric, Rod, Colin
and Len. Three years later when they
finished using The Quarrymen
name, they had added other musicians such as John Duff Lowe and
Ken Brown as well as future Beatles
Paul and George.
Pete Shotton
Pete Shotton was born on 4 August
1941. His parents hailed from the
North East of England, and moved to
Liverpool after his father, George, left
the Merchant Navy and landed a job
in Tate & Lyle
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didn’t have the heart to tell John. John
wanted him out, but couldn’t sack his
best mate. It all happened one day in August 1957 at a wedding reception in Toxteth. They were both drunk and were
sitting on the floor laughing and
joking. Intoxicated, Pete plucked up the
courage to tell John he wanted to leave.
With that, Lennon picked up Pete’s washboard and smashed it over his friend’s
head.
“That takes care of that problem, doesn’t
it?” laughed John. That was it—no one
lost face, although Pete nearly lost half
his head.
Eric Griffiths
Eric was born in North Wales and his parents were both Welsh. Eric’s father was a
male nurse before World War II and was
later called up for duty as a pilot. He was
killed in 1941 over the North Sea. At the
age of three, Eric moved to his grandparent’s house in Bootle. When Eric turned
ten, he moved into a semi-detached house
in Halewood Drive in Woolton, where he
lived until he was eighteen. He attended
Belle Vale Primary School, and was one of
only two students who passed the elevenplus exam. He attended Quarry Bank. On
4 September 1952, he was placed in the
same form as John Lennon and Pete Shotton. Eric was a founding member of The
Quarrymen and performed with them on
guitar, but was eased out when George
appeared.
Eric remembered an interesting story that
could have changed the history of the
group. “Not long after Paul joined, I remember walking down the road with
John, with Paul talking to Pete behind us.
John, feeling perhaps that Paul was starting to dominate a bit, or even take over,
suggested to me that maybe they should
split the group, and he and I start again
together. I told John that we needed Paul
as he was so good and contributed a lot
to the group. John agreed, and the subject was never mentioned again”. That,
says Eric, was his contribution to The
Beatles—not letting John get rid of Paul.
Thank you, Eric.
When they had four guitars—John, Paul,
George and Eric—someone had to go.
Opinions differ on who made the call.
Some say it was left to Nigel, now acting
as manager, to ring Eric up with a proposition. However, Colin remembers it was
he who spoke to Eric, who had rung
Paul’s house at Forthlin Road during a Quarrymen rehearsal
that he hadn’t been invited to. Eric was given what is commonly
referred to as ‘Hobson’s choice’. Buy a bass guitar or leave the
group. Paul and John wouldn’t dismiss him—one more sacking
they couldn’t face. Eric was angry and wanted to speak to John,
but was told he wasn’t there. Eric was convinced John was lurking in the background. Eric couldn’t afford a bass guitar and amplifier—not many people his age could—and so he was left with
no option. The lads were never that diplomatic, nor forthright at
sacking musicians.
Eric died at the beginning of 2005 after a short battle with cancer. A gentleman, and a gentle man, I met him at the concert The
Quarrymen performed at Dovedale School for me in 2004, and it
was through Eric that I made the final arrangements for the concert. Like the other Quarrymen, he was great fun with no pretensions, for which he could have been excused having been an
integral part of the story.
Rod Davis
Rodney Verso Davis was born in Sefton General Hospital on 7
November 1941. His father was a clerk at Tate & Lyle’s sugar
refinery in Liverpool. They owned their house at 129, King’s
Drive in Woolton, which they bought in 1939. The Davis family
were also one of the first families to have a car in the area, which
they occasionally used to travel to gigs when Rod’s father could
take them. Rod attended Sunday School with John, Pete, Nigel
and Ivan at St. Peter’s.
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He was given piano lessons, but didn’t
keep up with them. When he purchased a
banjo from a relative, he was added to
The Quarrymen line-up. But soon after
the famous summer fete, he left the
group to pursue his love of folk music.
After John had played his copy of
“Rock Island Line” to death on his record
player, Rod bought it from him for half-acrown.
Colin Hanton
Colin was born in Bootle, but his father’s
family was from County Wexford and his
mother’s family from Dublin, Ireland. His
father, John, was a fireman in the Bootle
Fire Brigade in Liverpool. During the war,
he saw action as Bootle suffered in the
May Blitz when the Luftwaffe tried to
attack the great Liverpool docks, gateway to America.
Colin remembers Liverpool practically
being on fire. In 1942, his father’s fire
crew received a direct hit. John was the
only one to survive and spent many
months in hospital. In 1945, the family
moved to a rented house in Woolton—
swapping houses with family members
who wanted to return to Bootle.
Colin then returned to Bootle after his
mum died when he was only nine-years
old. The family then moved again to 4,
Heyscroft Road in Woolton. This time he
attended St. Mary’s Catholic primary
school in Woolton and then senior school
in Horrock’s Avenue, Garston.
He met Eric on the bus, and Eric soon
discovered he had a set of drums, and
quickly recruited Colin into the group. He
was the last of the original Quarrymen to
leave, following a row with Paul after a
gig in Norris Green.
Colin told me:
“We were at the Finch Lane Busmen’s
Sports & Social Club. We all turned up
and George’s dad was there. I didn’t
know why we were there, as I didn’t
spend much time with John and Paul, I
just received a call to say we were playing
somewhere.
“There was a manager from the Pivvy in
Lodge Lane there, as they had started
bingo and wanted a resident group for
thirty minutes in between houses. He
came along to see us perform. We were in
the dressing room, which was nice, and
they had pictures of famous people who
played there.
We even had proper curtains on the stage. As the curtains
opened, John started straight into the songs, and then he would
introduce us. After our last song—we did about five songs—the
curtains were due to close, but they were stuck, so John joked,
‘While they get the curtains fixed we’ll play another song’.
We did “Lost John” and then the curtains did close this time.
We went backstage and the manager came to see us and said
‘That was an excellent show lads, so there’s a pint at the bar
for you’, which was a mistake. We didn’t just stop at one, and
then me, Paul and John were drunk, and there was only poor
George who wasn’t drunk. I don’t remember much, but we went
back on stage for the second half, and at one point I said to
John, ‘What are we doing?’ and Paul laughed and John said,
‘See, he doesn’t even know what we’re doing,’—if you weren’t
drunk you’d be embarrassed.
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“We finished our set and went into the
dressing room, then the manager came in
and said, ‘You’ve blown it lads, that was
a disaster’. The man from the Pivvy then
came in and he had obviously just come
off stage as he still had his stage make-up
with plenty of rouge, eye make-up and
stuff. John was slouched in the corner
and he ribbed the poor man unmercifully,
as only John could. He was telling us
about being professional and how to treat
your audience and I was suddenly
sobering up quickly as I didn’t know it
was an audition. I remember standing on
the tables and singing, and I was
wondering what was happening, and then
things didn’t seem that funny anymore.
“We jumped on the bus, and I don’t
normally tell this part of the story, but
Paul had started to do this funny voice. I
had some deaf friends, and you know
how a deaf person speaks, well he
was doing this voice. I’m sure he wasn’t
insulting deaf people, as that wasn’t his
way, but I was in this drunken state
sobering up. Paul kept making these
noises and talking in this stupid voice,
and I just rounded on him and verbally
attacked him. I don’t think it would have
come to anything, but Pete Shotton was
with us and he shouted, ‘This is our stop
Colin’. So we ran down the stairs, I
grabbed my drums and we jumped off. Of
course, it wasn’t our stop; we were in the
middle of Old Swan or somewhere, so
I think that was his way of diffusing
things.
“And that was that. So we had to get the
bus back to Woolton. I just went back to
my house and put my drums away and
that was me, finished. I never told them I
was quitting but they never contacted
me again. I thought I don’t need this. We
just had the row, I told Paul to shut up
and I think he was shocked. They
probably didn’t want me and I didn’t
want them so that was it.
He died prematurely from Parkinson’s Disease in 1994 at
the age of fifty-two. His death prompted Paul to start writing
poetry again.
“No regrets. You can’t have regrets. You
just have the life you’ve been given. I
could have given up my trade, gone to
Hamburg and been sent back with
nothing, so I didn’t, and I’m still working
now.
Of course, I’ve had a bit of a life again
recently with The Quarrymen,
which is great”.
Ivan Vaughan:
Ivan attended Dovedale School with John
Lennon, and was John’s neighbour: their
gardens backed on to each other. When
John attended Quarry Bank, Ivan went to
the Liverpool Institute where he met a lad
born on the same day as him: Paul McCartney.
The two became friends, which enabled
Ivan to take Paul to meet his old friend
John at St. Peter’s Church fete on 6 July
1957. If it hadn’t been for Ivan, there is
a good chance that John and Paul would
not have formed their great partnership.
In fact, they probably would never have
met, as they lived in different areas and
attended different schools. Ivan was their
only common link.
Ivan was drafted by The Beatles in the
late sixties to set up a private school for
Apple, but this never materialized.
Nigel Walley:
Nigel lived in a house near to Ivan called ‘Leosdene’ in Vale Road,
where both Pete Shotton and Ivan Vaughan resided. John referred to him as ‘Wallogs’. After occasionally playing tea-chest
bass he became The Quarrymen’s first manager, placing a card in
a local Woolton Sweet Shop window. It read: Country. Western.
Rock ‘n’ roll. Skiffle The Quarry Men. Open for engagements.
It was Nigel’s contact through Lee Park Golf Club where he
worked that he met Dr. Sytner, whose son Alan ran The Cavern
Club. The group performed at Lee Park as an audition, and were
subsequently booked. They appeared at The Cavern in August,
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1957. Even though Paul had met John a
month earlier, he did not appear with
them at The Cavern.
According to Bill Harry’s
, Nigel was squeezed out of
The Quarrymen after Paul allegedly complained that they weren’t earning enough
to allow Nigel to take his ten per cent
commission, so he was asked to leave.
Len Garry
Len was born in Liverpool on 6 January
1942. His father Harry was a printer
. His mother Phylwith the
lis was a hairdresser, and continued to
work at home. Len had an older brother
Walter. They lived at 77, Lance Lane, just
off Woolton Road. Len went to Mosspits
Primary School, where Pete Shotton had
attended the year before (though they
didn’t know each other at the time).
Len took piano lessons, but soon gave up.
He often visited his grandparent’s baby
wear shop on Woolton Road to listen to
records in the flat above the shop. Len
passed the exam for the Liverpool Institute, where he soon made friends with a
lad from Woolton named Ivan Vaughan.
Ivan introduced him to John, and they
became friends. Len joined The Quarrymen on the tea-chest bass and played
with them until he contracted tubercular
meningitis, which meant a long stay in
hospital. The Quarrymen carried on playing without him.
The Quarrymen had a settles line-up by
the beginning of 1957, which turned out
to be a momentous year.
On 22 June 1957, The Quarrymen were
invited by Charlie Roberts to perform at
the street party in Rosebery Street, Toxteth, when the very first photograph of
The Quarrymen was taken.
Charlie Roberts took three photographs
that captured his friends performing on
the back of a lorry.
All was going well, when John became
the target of a gang of lads in the crowd.
Apparently, John had been making eyes
at the girls in the crowd, and their boyfriends didn’t like it!
When the word went round that they were going to jump John,
Charlie got a message to the group and told them to finish quickly!
They dived into Charlie’s house and waited there until the coast
was clear. Not a great start!
All this was good preparation for what was to follow soon, because there next booking was at the Woolton Garden Fete taking
place at St. Peter’s Church, Woolton. It was here that Paul McCartney would be introduced to John Lennon.
But that is in the next issue………………….….
Taken from “Liddypool: Birthplace of The Beatles” by David Bedford
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The Beatles Shopping Mall - Can Buy Me, Love
Have you ever been stuck for what to buy
your friend or relative who is a BIG
Beatles fan - just like you?
Well, the answer is often to wait until a
Beatles festival comes to town, and then
you are confronted by a myriad of Beatles
gifts and items that you want to buy it
all, but then you have to wait until the
next one comes to town!
What we have done is bring the Beatles
vendors to you, 24/7, 365 days a year.
We will be adding more quality vendors
as we expand this year, to give you the
widest possible choice of what to buy, at
the best prices too.
Each month, we will feature a different
vendor, so you can see what products are
on offer.
We will also, for those “Silver Beatles” or
“Golden Slumbers” members, have a special offer on selected items with moneyoff vouchers.
●
●
●
●
●
Beatles Music
Beatles DVDs and CDs
Beatles Collectibles
Beatles Art
Beatles Toys and Games
And so much more.
Come and do your shopping in one place
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The Beatles Shopping Mall - Featured Vendor
Our first “featured vendor” is Matt Adams, who runs The Beatles Shopping
Mall.
Since 1985 I have done nearly a hundred
Beatles conventions in the USA. I have
also attended conventions in the United
Kingdom, Japan, Canada and all over
Europe in my search for Beatles treasure.
Today, I am still a full-time collectibles
dealer specializing in Beatles Memorabilia,
and have handled well over $1,000,000
in just Beatles merchandise, I have consulted on newer licensed Beatles product
as well as appraised large Beatles collections.
For ten years I was an annual advisor on
several collectible subjects, and have been
mentioned in numerous credits in
and the
produced by Collector Books
in Paducah, Kentucky.
I was captivated as a youngster in the
early 70’s by the Beatles’ sound, not fully
understanding why I liked them so much
until I became a teenager and started to
connect the dots. I read every book on
the Beatles I could put my hands on and
by 15 I was riding the bus, soliciting rides
with anyone I could to get to secondhand record shops and larger record
shows to find more Beatles goodies.
One of my fondest memories is from an
early record show. I was buying a rare
Love Comes To Everyone Picture Sleeve for $125,
but only after a friendly dealer vouched for my
check. I was only 16 at the time. That sleeve is
now worth upwards of $2,000 for a truly mint
specimen.
I began selling at record shows when I was I in
high school. At 19 I fell into my first Beatles Collection deal at a local record shop. The owner
egged me on to buy it because another dealer had
failed to pick it up after several months. My mother, believing in my quest and ambition, helped get
me the financing that launched me.
That Collection provided the inventory for my first
Beatles Convention in NY in 1985, which was
hugely successful for me. So I put everything I
made from that one show back into anything
Beatles I could find. I have sold just about everything the Beatles made, both vintage & new since.
Matt
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The Beatles Bookstore
The Beatles Bookstore is run by Jude
Southerland Kessler, author of the brilliant series of books on the life of John
Lennon. We asked Jude to tell us why the
Beatles Bookstore is so unique.
“At every Beatles Festival, you will see a
number of Beatles authors patiently waiting to talk to the fans, and enjoying every
minute!
“The feedback from the fans is that you
enjoy the chance to meet the authors,
and ask us questions about our books,
and why we wrote it. From that conversation, the fans can decide if they want to
buy the book, or not. For many fans, the
chance to buy the book from the author,
and get a signed copy, is very important.
“So, we thought, ‘why not give the
Beatles fans access to the authors, not
just at the Beatles festivals, but all year
round’.
“That is what The Beatles Bookstore is all
about. We have put together a website
which you can visit any day, and see a
variety of Beatles books by different authors. However, what we also wanted to
do was try and give you a preview of the
book, and include interviews and reviews
of the books too.
“And if that wasn’t enough, you get the
chance to contact the author directly, ask
them questions, and then, if you like the
book, you can purchase a signed copy
from the author.
“We hope you like The Beatles Bookstore
- come on in and meet us!”
"What was the date for the opening of the Casbah and what nonBeatle played with the band at the Casbah until a disagreement
over finances caused a 'parting of the ways'?"
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Interview with Jude Southerland Kessler
After spending more than 20 years on
research that included seven trips to
Liverpool and hundreds of interviews
with family, friends, and acquaintances, Jude Southerland Kessler is writing
on the life of John Lennon. Her first
book, Shoulda Been There, was published in November of 2009. Originally
planned as a trilogy, the project has
grown to an incredible nine volumes
that will span the life of John Lennon
from birth to death.
Using strict adherence to detail, including the “Scouse” vocabulary, and
cross-checking facts to printed material
and conversations with “those who
were there,” Kessler puts together a
documented historical novel that takes
the reader on a journey into the life of
one of the most influential people of
the 20th century.
Shivering Inside, published in 2010, is
the second volume in the series and
covers the period from 10 December
1961 to mid-April 1963, when the life
of Lennon and the Beatles became a
non-stop blur. The third book in the
series, She Loves You, will be released
in 2013.
Editor Tom Aguiar recently got the
opportunity to spend some time with
Jude and talk about Shivering Inside
and her passion for John Lennon.
one who knows so much about the lads from Liddy!
ple LOVE a well-documented, researched novel on
the life of John Lennon?” It seemed to be the best
way to acquaint non-fans with John’s amazing personality and accomplishments.
OG: Right off, I want to say that I recently read
Shivering Inside and I was blown away, just like I
was with Should Been There. Absolutely incredi- I just had no idea that doing the research in order to
ble work! Congratulations.
get the facts RIGHT would take me 20 years – seven
years of which I spent going back and forth to LiverJK: “TA!” as we say in Liddypool. I’m so glad
pool. I knew that author Irving Stone had spent six
that you enjoyed it. My parents keep telling me
years in Italy poring over rare diaries and letters and
that they liked Shivering Inside so much more
documentation before writing The Agony and The
than Shoulda Been There, but I’m pretty certain
Ecstasy. So, I realized a book of that nature would
that’s because Shivering Inside was dedicated to
be a research challenge. But 20 years? I never anticithem! I have some readers who prefer the early
pated that it would take that long to collect the facts,
years and love Shoulda…and others who seem to weed out the myths, do the interviews, and build the
love the rise to British fame epoch and favor Shiv- story.
ering. As long as they read John’s story, I’m happy. That’s my purpose: to get John’s story out
Tom, those books that had been previously written
there, especially to those who aren’t huge fans and about John were documentaries, collected essays,
don’t know it well. I’m like the little boy that King collected interviews, coffee-table picture books,
Arthur cornered at the end of “Camelot.” He tells children’s books, etc. But no one had ever taken the
that boy to run away from the battle, to live, and to exact facts and made them into a novel so that readdevote his life to telling the story of the Knights of ers could “relive” John’s life with him. I wanted to
the Round Table and Camelot. I am devoting my do what no one had ever done and to give people
life to telling the story of John.
what Bill Harry called “a fly-on-the-wall” experience of John’s personal moments.
OG: I recently saw an article that estimated the
Read the full interview here
number of books out there on the Beatles as more
than 4,000. A large number of them, good and
bad, deal with John Lennon. So I have to ask, why
did you decide to write about John Lennon?
Hasn’t everything been said, and in every way you
can imagine?
JK: In 1986, I was reading Michener’s novel, The
Origin, on the life of Charles Darwin. And I had
read all of Irving Stone’s well-researched and docOctopus’ Garden: Thanks for talking umented works on Van Gogh, Michelangelo, Linthe time to talk with us, Jude.
coln, John Adams, etc. So I thought to myself, “If
I’m willing to wade through 900 pages on the life
Jude Kessler: Tom, it’s always a pleas- of Darwin…page after page about his rocks and
ure to visit with you, whether in person fossils and theories…how much more would peoat the New Jersey Fest for Beatles Fans
or via e-mail! Great to chat with some-
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The Beatles Rarity with Happy Nat
My name is Happy Nat and I invite
all of you die-hard Beatles Fans
out there to check out
TheBeatlesRarity.com. The centerpiece of the site is a weekly feature
out on Mondays called The Beatles
Rarity Of The Week (i.e. BROW)
and it includes lots of info and a
stream so that you can actually
listen in on your computer to a
rare Beatles track - rare in the
sense that you can't just go out
right now and buy it in the store. and lots more.
It's a lot of fun and if you're not
careful, you'll end up learning a fat Collector's Corner is a feature on the site
and yellow submarine full of
where collectible vinyl is discussed in detail.
Beatles history as you read along. Items such as the legendary Beatles "Butcher
BROW has been online since 2007 Cover" are explained with a rundown of what
and every week is posted on the they're worth, how to spot the fakes and all
site so you can always go back
the details on why and how these albums or
and catch up on the rarities ofsingles came to be so valuable and sought
fered up over the last 6 years any- out by Beatlenuts like you and me.
time you like.
Here we go again with another #askNat, a
little reader’s question parley that we’ve been
going through on the site each week. This
week’s question is a follow up sent in by Elliott
Marx of Chatsworth, California who had previously asked about The Beatles cover of Mitch
Murray’s “How Do You Do It.” This time
around, after hearing my recent BROW post
with George Harrison and Paul Simon singing
“Rock Island Line,” Elliott, after pointing out
that all four of The Beatles have recorded their
own separate accounts of that song, asks:
What are some other songs besides “Rock Island Line” that all four of the Beatles have individually performed/recorded?
A very interesting question this is, Elliott! First
off let’s point out that Elliott is right and that
If that's not enough there's also recorded
all four of the fabs have in fact recorded this
Other interesting items on the site interviews from many Beatle-people you'd
little Leadbelly popularized rocker a time or
include a feature called #askNat recognize from their legacy to include Denny two, if not more.
where I answer one or more
Laine, Sid Bernstein, Brian Ray, Freda Kelly
Beatles-related questions sent in by and lots more.
In this audio sample we hear different accounts
readers. It's sort of Beatles-only
of the song by all four in John-Paul-Georgeversion of
(or should I I'm only scratching the surface here - there's Ringo order.
say
?) and covers questions podcasts, news on new releases and more,
on many topics like "where did
more, more. If you are a die hard fan - come
that Beatles 'Drop T' logo come
see me, Happy Nat, at:
In this composite, John Lennon’s part was refrom" or "what did George Martin
corded in the mid to late 70' s as a home-remean by a shorter 'White Album'"
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corded acoustic demo. Paul
McCartney’s version was likely
recorded around 1989 and was
featured on his Oobu Joobu Radio
serial which aired in the summer of
1995. George Harrison’s version
was recorded with Paul Simon live
on the set of Saturday Night Live
on November 20, 1976 and was
the subject of the recent BROW I
mentioned earlier. Ringo Starr’s
version, is a full fledged studio
account with Kenny Wayne Shepherd on guitar and featured on
Ringo’s album Ringo 2012.
Each of the Beatles, once the band
had split up had no real interest in
recording any of the other Beatles
songs. While there are a few exceptions to this, the common link
to the interest of all four Beatles is
instead the golden age rock ‘n roll
classics that each of The Beatles
grew up with in their formative
years. “Rock Island Line” is a
great example of this.
However, here is another example
of a song that this time happens
to be a Beatles classic sung at
separate times by each of The
Beatles in John-Paul-George-Ringo
order (Note: If both sound files
play simultaneously hit the pause
button on the player above before
playing this one).
Membership
With Elliott’s question in mind, some other
considerations (all but one are rock ‘n’ roll
standards) include:
Buddy Holly’s “Peggy Sue” – My collection
includes John, Paul, George doing the song
and a separate version with John and Ringo
singing it together.
Carl Perkin’s “Blue Suede Shoes” – My
collection includes John, Paul, George doing the song and a separate version with
John and Ringo singing it together.
In this composite John’s part was a parody
(obviously) recorded during his sessions for
“Whatever Gets You Thru The Night.” This can
be heard on the John Lennon Anthology CD
box set. Paul’s was recorded on May 9, 2002
in Dallas, TX and can be heard on his Back In
The U.S. CD or DVD. George Harrison’s version, once again, was recorded with Paul Simon live on the set of Saturday Night Live on
November 20, 1976 (hear that here) and Ringo’s version is a recording from John Lennon’s
31st birthday party in a Syracuse hotel room.
Ringo is accompanied by John, his wife Maureen, Klaus Voormann, Allen Ginsberg, Jim
Keltner, Mal Evans, Neil Aspinall and Eric Clapton.
Carl Perkin’s “Matchbox” – My collection
includes John, Paul, George, and Ringo
singing the song but George’s version was
with the Beatles in 1960.
Elvis Presley’s “That’s All Right (Mama)” –
My collection includes John, Paul, George
doing the song and a separate version with
George and Ringo singing it together.
John Lennon’s “Give Peace A Chance” –
My collection includes versions by John,
Paul and Ringo.
I’m sure there are more of these. To search
for some yourself, feel free to use my
search engine on the site to locate rare
Beatle-related recordings.
Update!: To hear a third composite for a differAgain, great question Elliott and thanks!
ent song done by all 4 Beatles, visit the website!
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The Beatles Website.com is the
main website of Fab Four and
More Inc.
We want to be the first place to
visit for Beatles fans, and the last
word on The Beatles. Through our
Beatles information, Beatles lists,
Beatles websites and information
on all aspects of The Beatles, we
want to help you find what you
need to know.
From this one, memorable website,
you can access:
- we are charting Beatles
history, day-by-day
- the UK and US singles
and albums
We aim to provide the best Beatles
- want to check a lyric, or even
information for you on the internet, whether on our websites, or find the guitar chords for Beatles songs? We
have them too.
sign-posting to you to the best
websites.
- look up where The Beatles
were
performing
on
tour around the world
On this website, we want to provide you with the basic information you are looking for.
Our new events Calendar can be updated
with your event, so that other Beatles fans
can know what is happening near them.
For more information, contact us at
Liddypool is the only Beatles book that is just about Liverpool. Covering the early history of The Beatles, Liddypool
is:
● Over 330 colour pages
● Over 800 images
● 108 Beatles photos, including rare and previously
unseen
● The history of Liverpool
● Every venue they played - over 100
● Their schools and homes
● Maps and photographs of every location in Liverpool with a Beatles connection
● Interviews with Beatles people, like The Quarrymen, Pete Best, Allan Williams, Julia Baird, Alistair
Taylor and many more.
www.liddypool.com
Beatles Social Network
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March 22nd. The entire album was recorded in
just one day, unheard of in this day and age.
John Lennon saved what he could of his voice
I am honored to have the opportu- for the last number,
which
nity to submit this letter to the
left him dripping in sweat as he was also suffermembers of the Beatles Social Net- ing from a cold. Not able to do a second take,
work. David Bedford has done an the first take ended up on the album. (And we
incredible job putting together this thought it was great.)
“Grand Central Station” for
Beatles fans all over the world.
As we only begin to pay homage to all the 50th
It’s great to know that the Beatles anniversaries of the Fab Four, they are still makare still a major force in today’s
ing news. Yes, the remaining Beatles, as well as
music—50 years later---and that their families, are still rockin’.
,
they have not faded in importance. now 70, is ready to launch his new world tour,
called “Out There”. Check out his tour dates at
My 2012 year-in-review sums up his site. Macca-mania is still alive and well!
just how active the remaining two
Beatles are, still performing live for Paul announced that Seattle has been added to
packed audiences. The Beatles’
the tour dates on July 19 at Safeco Field.
music and films are still in such
demand that they are now being
just released his new DVD, “Ringo
re-released on iTunes and Blu-Ray at the Ryman”, filmed in July of 2012 of the
formats, as well as the retro forAll-Starr band. And “Ringo: Peace and Love”,
mat of vinyl.
a special exhibit about Ringo’s music and life, is
opening at the GRAMMY Museum in L.A. this
Beatles related historic events are June.
turning fifty now--1963 was a
turning point for the Beatles, as
John Lennon and George Harrison were recentworld-wide fame was just around ly honored with an English Heritage Blue Plaque
the corner. And this is just the
in London, at the Apple Boutique Building on
beginning--wait till 2014. Their
Baker Street. In 1968 the Beatles enraged local
debut album,
businesses with the psychedelic paint job on the
recently hit the milestone on
Membership
building. The reason Paul and Ringo aren’t
on it? English Heritage Blue Plaques are
only for those who have died.
Julian Lennon, John’s first son, turned 50
(Happy birthday Julian!) and in commemoration of his birthday, he is releasing his
single, “Someday”. It’s hard to believe that
a Beatle son, let alone their music, could be
fifty years old. James McCartney, Paul’s
son, also began a forty-seven city tour in
the U.S. on April 6, and an album is forthcoming.
His next show is April 9 in San Francisco.
Dhani Harrison’s band, thenewno2, provided the haunting soundtrack to the film,
“Beautiful Creatures.”
Beatles Social Network
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John Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono is
reforming the Plastic Ono Band
for this year’s Meltdown Festival
at London’s Southbank Centre, for
a full performance of the
, on June 14, in
which ‘a host of very special
guests’ will perform.
The Beatles Website
(author of The Beatle Who Vanished) and Lanea
Stagg (author of
) while enjoying the company of
well-known regulars such as Dave Bedford and
Bruce Spizer was a real thrill. Each author
brought something special to the realm of
Beatles' expertise; it was exciting!
“Artists Eric Cash and Georgina Flood had
Yoko and her son
booths next to one another, and these two
have formed an activist group
amazing artists worked beautifully together,
called “Artists Against Fracking”. enhancing one another. And when Mark HudNew York’s governor is debating son shared the stage with Tom Scott and Peter
whether to allow the procedure in Noone on Saturday night, it was pure
the state, for extracting oil. You
rock'n'roll. The theme this year seemed to be
can watch the video at that site, artistic collaboration and cooperation. There
of Yoko and Sean’s song, “Don’t was an atmosphere of love and friendship! In
Frack my Mother.” (Watch their fact, it was more than a fest...it was a family
performance on Jimmy Fallon’s
reunion!"
show here.)
, DJ for L.A.’s longest running
just
radio show on Sunwrapped up its New Jersey fest
day mornings, also has news. He has anthis weekend, with many guests of nounced he is starting a new show called
honor, performers, authors and
“British Invasion.” It will be broadcast on Sirius
artists. Author Jude Southerland XM Radio, for the first time on Sunday, April 7,
Kessler (The John Lennon Series) at 9:00 am ET.
wrote to say, "This year's Fest for
Beatles Fans was the best of the
I have been the John Lennon Examiner for three
last ten years. Meeting Chas New- years now, and my stories have included everyby was a landmark moment. He's thing from news, to exclusive interviews, book
not only a fantastic bass player,
reviews, event coverage as well as historical
but one heck of a wonderful
perspectives on John’s incredible life.
guy...charming and humble!
It’s 2013--But I think the music of the Beatles
“And working beside new Beatles will continue to be around for a long, long time.
authors such as Jim Berkenstadt You can subscribe to the John Lennon Examiner
Membership
at that site, and you will get instant notifications of articles I post. Also check out
my Facebook page called John Lennon
News and Biography, and you can follow
me on Twitter @LennonNews. Many of my
readers aren’t on Facebook or on Twitter;
so I have also started a monthly
newsletter that is sent out via
email. If you are interested in receiving
that, please email me at
shelley999@comcast.net and I will gladly
add you to that list.
Happy Beatling,
Shelley Germeaux
Follow me on
at@LennonNews
Follow me on
News
at @SeattleRock-
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Piano-based songs, Songs featuring Harmonica, interview clips and Beatles trivia at Ken's
Beatles & Carl Perkins set, Songs with John
website at www.kenmichaelsradio.com/
Lennon on lead guitar, Salutes to Apple
Records, Bonus Tracks for Solo-Albums, Sets
This year marks the 30th Anniver- with specific words in the titles, etc.
It was an honor for me to interview Tony
sary since Ken Michaels started
Sheridan in 1992. You can listen to most
hosting his weekly radio show on "Every Little Thing" also includes a selection of of my interview discussing the songs he
the Beatles. Ken's show brings the over 20 different Beatles games and trivia
recorded with The Beatles in 1961 and
most unique mix of the Beatles'
mixed into the show, interviews with people in more.
group recordings and solo-music, the Beatles world, and the latest in Beatles
Listen again on the home page of my webalong with anything connected to news. It's an all encompassing show aimed to
site here .RIP Tony.
the Beatles---cover versions, side please every level of Beatles fan.
projects, music from family members, tribute songs, artists that
Originally called "The All-Request Beatles
influenced the Beatles, as well as Show," it was renamed "The Beatles: Every Little "Wings Over America" comes out this
Beatlesque music-artists that the Thing" when it debuted on XM Radio in 2003. month! To celebrate, I'm giving away a
Beatles influenced!
The show is heard as a live broadcast Wednes- copy on my website with this week's
day nights 8-10pm (est) on 88.7 WNHU, West Beatles trivia-one of my easier questions! So
Every show includes thematic sets Haven, CT, and can be streamed at
it's MACCA MONTH with 4 weeks of trivia
on a range of fun topics such as
http://www.wnhu.net/, and is also heard as a syn- concerning Paul on the website, celebrating
Songs featuring Paul McCartney dicated show on 16 stations in the U.S.
Wings Over America, Rock Show coming
on drums, Songs that pair up Eric
on DVD, his Out There tour, and birthday
Clapton with a Beatle, Solo-Beatle Fans can find the growing list of stations cur(June 18.) Join in on the fun at
collaborations with each other,
rently running "Every Little Thing," along with
www.kenmichaelsradio.com
EVERY LITTLE
THING
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WE WANT THE BEATLES!
The Backstage Story Of How The
Fab Four Rocked America!
The Historic Tours of 1964-1966
Announcing an exciting new book detailing The Beatles' three North American tours (1964-66). Written by Chuck
Gunderson, the country's leading authority on the subject, this comprehensive volume will give the reader a
city-by-city synopsis of the group's activities as they traveled the United
States and Canada for their groundbreaking series of concerts.
From San Francisco's Cow Palace show
on August 19, 1964 through their
last-ever live performance at the city's
famed Candlestick Park on August 29,
1966, this book will cover the music
and the madness that characterized
their North American tours. Supported
by hundreds of photographs and images of rare memorabilia, it will truly be
THE definitive reference for what is
arguably the most important period in
The Beatles' long and winding career.
the behind-the-scenes negotiations, the mayhem at the
airports and hotels, the cheeky quotes delivered at the
press conferences, the opening acts, the concerts and
the stories behind the shows through the eyes of the
Beatles, their entourage, the promoters, the emcees
and the fans. If you witnessed the mania firsthand,
you'll relive the excitement in the pages of this book. If
you were born too late to be a part of those halcyon
days, you'll learn what it was like to be swept up and
carried away by the phenomena of the greatest musical act of all time.
Produced in a slick, glossy, full-color format, this book
will be published in late fall 2013 or early 2014 in
conjunction with the 50th anniversary of The Beatles'
first visit to America and their first American tour. It
will be, without question, one of the truly essential
books for any Beatles library.
Best of all, you can participate in the creation of this
landmark work. The author is currently seeking both
professional and amateur photos from the 1964,
1965 and 1966 North American tours, with an emphasis on unpublished images. All contributors will be
given a credit in the acknowledgements section of the
Never before has The Beatles' North
American concert experience been cov- book and, depending on the quality, grade and rarity
of the image, financial compensation may be given.
ered in such depth. You'll read about
Before submitting photos, please scan them at a
high resolution, preferably 300 dpi. Also, please
list the city and year for each image.
Did you see The Beatles in concert? Were you
one of the thousands who waited for their airport
arrival or who stormed their hotel when they
played your city? Did you take a photo of them,
which you would like to be featured in this book?
If so, contact me at the email address below.
This book will take you on an incredible trip
around the US with The Beatles like never before.
This is your front row ticket to a fascinating,
rarely-reported chapter in The Beatles' legendary
story.
More details will follow as the book gets ready
for publication at the end of 2013.
You can contact the author at
Chuck Gunderson
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Meet Eric Cash, Beatles Artist
where he developed a 1950s retro American
advertising art style which is a trademark style
for him today.
The front cover, “All You Need Is
Love” is by Eric, and the images
above, seen on every page, are
some of Eric’s work too.
Eric also became well-known in the commercial
art field as a sports artist. He has painted commissions for professional athletes and pro sports
teams and his work has appeared on sports
trading cards for such iconic card companies as
Donruss and Upper Deck.
Eric Cash was born in Dallas, Texas and, like most of the other kids
in the 1960s, grew up listening to
The Beatles. He has always loved
drawing and painting and the
Beatles and sports have always
been two of his favorite subjects
to paint.
As time passed, Eric was able to fulfill some of
his earliest artistic goals: getting work published in books, on magazine covers, creating
art for sports trading cards and winning awards
from such prestigious industry publications as
Communication Arts and Graphis. But he realized that one of his earliest (and greatest) passions — painting images of The Beatles — had
been lying dormant. Since resurrecting this pasHe won his first art contest at the sion a few years ago, he has created numerous
age of eight. Through his teen
works of The Beatles, both individual and
years, he continued to win art
group, and shows no sign of slowing down.
competitions, selling his first paint- Now a vendor at the twice-yearly Fest For
ing at the age of nineteen. Several
years later, he enrolled at the Art
Institute of Dallas, graduating
with “Best Illustration Portfolio”
and the prestigious “Best Overall
Portfolio” honors.
After earning his education in art,
he worked at a few small studios
before finally landing a job as Senior illustrator at the Fossil Studios
Beatles Fans, he has earned the respect and
admiration of Beatles fans across the country who now eagerly anticipate each new
painting. Several of his Beatle pieces have
been published in books and magazines.
He still lives in Dallas with his wife Misty
and two children, Ethan and Emma.
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Global Beatles Day - 25th June
It is a global event. A day honoring the phenomenon and ideals of
the Beatles. Honoring them for
their gifts to the world including,
but not limited to, music, the ideals of peace and love, and the expansion of consciousness. For
helping to introduce and promote
Eastern music and philosophy into
the western world. For helping to
promote and enlighten white audiences to rhythm and blues artists.
buy cards, or gifts. Just a day set aside to reYou can order special merchandise to help
flect, promote good ideas, and send good inten- promote GBD. Simply visit
tions into the present which becomes the
future. It is not about being a "fan", it is about
so much more.
I propose the date should be June
25th. This was the day "All You
Need Is Love" was broadcast in the
first global transmission of a song/
message of peace.
"All You Need Is Love" is a song
written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon/McCartney. It was
first performed by The Beatles on
Our World, the first live global
television link. Broadcast to 26
countries and watched by 400
million, the programme was broadcast via satellite on June 25,
1967. The Summer of Love. No
need for people to proclaim, or
Join in now!
Think how you can join the growing idea of a Global
Beatles Day in your town, county, country and across
the world.
Go to the website:
Or go to the
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The Beatles Website
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Good Ol’ Freda Film Launched in Texas
well as the long shots of her driving into the car
park and, at the very end, driving out.
It was a stunningly beautiful film,
both humorous and touching. As Freda began talking at the end about all
the people who had left us, I was a bit
overwhelmed. When Freda broke
down, well, it was all I could do to
maintain my composure. What a
heartfelt moment that was. I think
every true Beatles fan has gotten
misty-eyed with that scene. Just a
beautiful thing and you can bet that
we all knew (as best as we could) how
Freda was feeling at that moment. It
was a wonderful time for her, but
now very much a part of her past. All
through the film, the audience both
laughed and cried along with Freda.
I also loved seeing all the photos of Freda that I'd
never seen, especially the one of her standing under
one of the arches at the Cavern. NEVER seen that
one. It was also great seeing the archival footage of
Freda from the late 60s.
And having those four Beatles songs in the film just
made it all the better. The placement of the songs
was perfect. I'd been wondering where "I Will" would
fit in and it worked very well at the end of the film.
I thought the non-Beatles songs were very appropriate for the eras reflected in the film. Perfect music an admirable quality and one that I know enselection! Don't know who made those selections,
deared her to the Beatles and certainly was the
but kudos to them!
reason she worked for them for ten years. She
could be trusted – and that was important to
As the closing credits began, the entire theater ap- them.
plauded. Most people remained seated to watch the
closing credits, but a few stood up and started out Even if I didn't already know Freda, this film
of the theater – before Ringo even appeared. It was would have made me feel as if I'd known her for
a real treat to see his appearance at the end. I think years. It has that kind of effect. It makes us
those who left as the closing credits began missed
feel like we've all been over to Freda's house for
something special.
tea while she regaled us with her stories -- and
that's a great testament to Freda as a person
The story was so entertaining (as I
and Ryan as a filmmaker. It's not an easy task
knew it would be!) and the film itself All that said...
to accomplish, but they did it.
was masterfully done by Ryan. He has
What
really
came
across
strongly
in
the
film,
so much to be proud of with that
film. So professional and so clever. I though, was Freda's warmth, charm and humility -- Everyone involved is to be lauded for a truly
touching, often hilarious film. Beautifully filmed
LOVED – just LOVED – the opening her unpretentious nature. This was a woman who
was
a
Beatles
fan
like
we
all
were,
but
one
who
was
and directed, beautifully composed shots, great
credits as the Christmas record was
sound, great music–and, at its heart, a beautiplaying. The visuals were very creative given an incredible opportunity. Eppy could have
chosen
from
any
number
of
girls
to
serve
as
fan
club
ful, wonderful, humble woman in the form of
(the scrapbook effect with the yellowed tape was inspired). I loved the secretary, but he chose Freda. Best of all, she never one Freda Kelly.
exploited her Beatles association and remained very
shots of Freda working at her desk
(filmed from outside her window) as private about it for all these years. Her loyalty was
www.goodolfreda.com
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Into Liverpool’s Archives - with David Bedford
This month, we start with George
Harrison.
First photo is of Arnold Grove,
photographed in the 1970s,
where, at number 12, George was
born.
Arnold Grove has hardly changed,
and is still a quiet cul-de-sac in
Wavertree, Liverpool.
Also in the archives are the school
registers of most of Liverpool’s
schools, including Dovedale
School, where George, John Lennon and Ivan Vaughan all attended. Here is George’s entry in the
register.
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Maybe I’m Amazed - by Kathy Cook
Paul McCartney at the
Amway Center, Florida
– 18th May 2013
My daughter and husband
bought me the tickets for Mother’s Day. My seats were not
floor seats, but they were on
the first tier, row 7 seat 11.
When I got to the Amway, I was
very happy to see that my seat
was on the left side of the stage,
but in front of the stage, not
next to it. I was literally about
40 feet from Paul’s microphone!
I felt like my seats were even
better than the floor seats, because I was slightly above everyone and with all the extra
equipment and extra stage in
the front, I had a better view.
There were two large screens
that scrolled pictures of The
Beatles and different stages of
Paul’s life and career while
remixed Beatles and Wings’
songs played.
When Paul came on stage,
18,000 fans roared. I was so excited, because with the excep-
tion of the Beatle concert I went to in
Chicago when I was a young girl, this was
the only other time I had seen a Beatle in
concert. Paul was very animated and
when he started playing “Eight Days a
Week”, the crowd exploded.
He took his jacket off after a couple of
songs, and you could tell he was perspiring. He sang a mix of Beatle and Wings
songs, and he sang “My Valentine”
which he said he wrote for Nancy. At the
end of the song, he shaped his hands into a heart on his chest. A few songs later,
he sang “Maybe I’m Amazed” and told
us he wrote that song for his wife Linda.
He changed guitars frequently, and he
played on two different pianos, including
one that looked psychedelic.
About a third of the way through the
show, all the band members joined Paul
on stage to play on guitars to “Hope and Deliverance”. I wasn’t familiar with the song, but it was nice to see
them perform it.
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and he had quite a few. Paul said he
visited George one time and Paul
played him the song “Something” on
the ukulele. On stage, he started
playing “Something” with the ukulele
by himself, and the band joined in
about half-way through and finished
the song with him. He said that Frank
Sinatra once told The Beatles that
“Something” was his favorite Lennon
and McCartney song. That got quite a
few laughs, because George Harrison
wrote it.
Paul told little stories throughout the
night about the songs that he and John
Lennon wrote.
“Blackbird” is one of the songs that he
said he wrote during all the struggles of
the civil rights in the U.S. He moved to
the front stage that rose up about 20
feet. After “Blackbird”, he said he wrote
the next song, “Here Today”, about the
words he wished he had said to John before he was shot and killed in 1980.
When he was finished he touched his
hand to his heart, and the stage lowered.
He sang some more Wings songs and after singing “Mrs. Vanderbilt”, he told the
audience that the Russians loved that
song because of the ‘Ho-Hey-Ho’.
When he brought out his ukulele, he said
that George Harrison loved the ukulele
Paul looked really good, and sounded
great! He was very active on stage
and seemed to be having a really
good time. Someone in the crowd
yelled out “I love you Paul” and he
yelled out that he loved them too!
There was a woman in the audience
with a poster that said she had been
to his concert in Brazil. He told us
about his friend Harold and told us to
Google “McCartney’s grasshoppers”
to watch the video.
Towards the end of his main set, he
sang “Live and Let Die” and the stage
exploded in huge blasts of fire and
fireworks. It was amazing.
He came back twice for encores and
preformed about 8 more songs and
ended the concert with “Golden
Slumbers”/“Carry That Weight”/“The
End”
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The show was about 2 hours and 45 minutes, but felt shorter. Nobody wanted
him to leave, but he kept saying, “I am
tired”, but we didn’t care, we wanted
more.
It was an amazing show and I was so happy I was able to see a Beatle again. I took
hundreds of pictures. I have included the
set list.
Kathy Cook
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Setlist:
Eight Days a Week (The Beatles song)
(live debut)
Junior’s Farm (Wings song)
All My Loving (The Beatles song)
Listen to What the Man Said (Wings
song) (solo band live debut)
Let Me Roll It (Wings song)
Paperback Writer (The Beatles song)
My Valentine
Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five
(Wings song)
The Long and Winding Road (The
Beatles song)
Maybe I’m Amazed
Hope of Deliverance
We Can Work It Out (The Beatles
song)
Another Day
And I Love Her (The Beatles song)
Blackbird (The Beatles song)
Here Today
Your Mother Should Know (The
Beatles song) (live debut)
Lady Madonna (The Beatles song)
All Together Now (The Beatles song)
(live debut)
Mrs. Vandebilt (Wings song)
Eleanor Rigby (The Beatles song)
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! (The
Beatles song) (live debut
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