Beatles Books

My guest today is David Jacks who joins me to discuss his biography of Peter Asher - 'A Life in Music'. Peter came into The Beatles world via his sister Jane's relationship with Paul McCartney, and soon Peter was a pop star himself as he and his musical partner Gordon Waller took one of Paul's songs to the top of the charts. Peter then went on to a hugely successful career in music production and...

I'm joined for this bonus episode by founding member of the band Buffalo Tom, Bill Janowitz to discuss his biography of Leon Russell. Perhaps best known in Beatles circles for his involvement in the Concert for Bangladesh - Leon was an incredible talent who had played on most of Phil Spector's biggest songs before starting a stellar solo career and formed a close friendship with George Harrison. 

My guest for this episode is Colin Hall, who joins me to discuss his book 'The Songs The Beatles Gave Away'. Colin is the custodian of Mendips, John Lennon's childhood home in Liverpool, and his book covers John and Paul's early years, and how their songwriting partnership developed into donating songs to other artists.   

I'm joined for this episode by Tony King to discuss his brilliant memoir 'The Tastemaker'. Tony joined Decca Records at 16, and as London started to swing, was one of it's most vital promotion men. Tony got to know The Beatles during the mid 60's, and by the start of the 70s was employed by Apple, and worked on promoting both John and Ringo's solo albums. His friendship with Elton John led him to...

I'm joined for this episode by Allan Kozinn and Adrian Sinclair to discuss volume 1 of 'McCaartney Legacy, the first in a multi volume set, beginning with covering the years 1969 -1973. This is such a heroic and exciting period for Paul, as he recreates himself in the immediate aftermath of the Beatles breakup – a period when, newly married and with a growing family, he conquered depression and se...

My guest today is Dafydd Rees who joins me to discuss his book 'The Beatles 1963 A Year in the Life'. At the start of 1963, The Beatles were a successful local Liverpool band with one hit single; twelve months, two albums and the arrival of Beatlemania later, they were on the cusp of world domination. Thoroughly researched and featuring interviews with 300 people - Dafydd shines a light onto that...

My guest today is Thomas Macfarlane who joins me to discuss his book 'Lennon and McCartney - Painting With Sound' This book explores the work of two of the most influential composers of the twentieth century. Five decades after the breakup of the Beatles, the music of John Lennon and Paul McCartney continues to fascinate and inspire. Evidence suggests that their uniquely eclectic approach can be t...

My returning guest for this episode is David Hepworth - who joins me to discuss his new book 'Abbey Road - The Inside Story of the World's Most Famous Recording Studio'. Many people will recognise the famous zebra crossing. Some visitors may have graffitied their name on its hallowed outer walls. Others might even have managed to penetrate the iron gates. But what draws in these thousands of fans...

My guest for this episode is John Higgs, who joins me to discuss his book 'Love and Let Die - Bond, The Beatles and The British Psyche'. Dr No, the first Bond film, and ‘Love Me Do’, the first Beatles record, were both released on the same day – Friday, 5 October 1962 - John's book looks at how and why these two cultural phenomena endure - what that says about Britain and what the future holds for...

I'm joined for this episode by Bernadette and Mike Byrne, who tell us two stories via their book 'The Birth of The Beatles Story'. Firstly, Bernadette was a Beatles fan from the Cavern, and tells us stories of their adventures in Liverpool, and how she ended up as George Harrison's girlfriend. Secondly, after noticing an influx of Beatle tourists in Liverpool through the 80's, Mike and Bernie hatc...

I'm joined for this episode by actor and director Jonathan Glew to discuss John Lennon's 'In His Own Write'. In 2015 Jonathan was granted the rights from Yoko Ono and the Lennon Estate to adapt John Lennon’s first book of poetry and prose into a theatrical production.  The show went on to be a huge hit at the 2015 Edinburgh Festival and was remounted at the V&A in 2016 where it ran alongside the ‘...

My guest for this episode is James Campion, who joins me to discuss his book 'Take A Sad Song...The Emotional Currency of Hey Jude'. James' book dives deeply into the song’s origins, recording, visual presentation, impact, and eventual influence on the remaining pat of The Beatles career

Paul Du Noyer returns to the pod to discuss his 2015 book 'Conversations With McCartney'.  In June 1989, Paul Du Noyer was contacted by Paul McCartney's office in London and asked to interview the star as they had met once before and enjoyed a good rapport. In the years that followed, Paul Du Noyer continued to meet, interview and work for Paul McCartney on a regular basis, producing magazine arti...

My guest for this episode is Jay Bergen, the attorney who represented John in his 1976 trial against Morris Levy, the mob connected owner of Roulette Records who had released 'Roots' - an unauthorised version of John's 'Rock n Roll' album. Jay shares his memories of the time he spent with John - what it was like interviewing him on the stand, and what he observed about John and Yoko, just as they...

My guest for this episode is Richard Mills, who joins me to discuss his book 'The Beatles and Fandom'. Richard's book is the first to discuss fan subcultures. It combines academic theory on fandom with compelling original research material to tell an alternative history of the Beatles phenomenon: a fans' history of the Beatles that runs concurrently with the popular story we all know.

I'm joined for this bonus episode by historian and writer Ted Widmer, who joins me to discuss his fabulous New Yorker piece on Stuart Sutcliffe. Ted tells about the time he spent with Stuart's sister, Pauline, how Stuart fitted in with the other Beatles, and how his early death cast a huge shadow over The Beatles for years to come.   You can read ted's piece here - https://www.newyorker.com/cultur...

My guest for this episode is Donald Brackett, who brings us his biography of Yoko Ono, 'A Artful Life'. Yoko is one of the most complicated and misunderstood characters in the whole Beatles story, she arrives fully formed into the story in her mid 30s - Donald's book provides some insightful and revealing detail on her life before she met John, looks at the impact he had on her art career, and how...

My guest for this episode is Jenny Boyd, younger sister of George's first wife Patti, who joins me to discuss her autobiography, 'Jennifer Juniper'.  Jenny shares with us tales of having George as her brother in law, modelling in Swinging London, living in San Francisco in 1967, and joining The Beatles on their meditation retreat to India in 1968.   Signed copies of Jenny's book can be ordered at...

I'm joined for this special bonus episode by Ryan Walsh, who discusses his fascinating article on Curt Claudio, the man that went to Tittenhurst in 1971 to talk to John, as captured by a film crew and originally shown in the 1988 'Imagine' film. Ryan shares detail on who this man was, why he felt the need to go to meet John and what happened to him, You can read the article here - https://medium.c...

I'm joined for this episode by Jon Stewart, guitarist in Britpop band Sleeper and Course Leader for the BA (Hons) Music Business at BIMM Institute, Brighton. Jon's book is a dual biography of John Lennon and Bob Dylan, and discusses their relationship; their politics; their understanding of history; and their deeply held spiritual beliefs. In revealing how each artist challenged the restrictive so...

I'm joined for this episode by Steve Matteo -who wrote his book on 'Let It Be' as part of the 33 1/3 series in 2003. We discuss how the book came together and how his view of the album and film changed as the project progressed.  We also share our thoughts on Peter Jackson's 'Get Back' series.

My guest for this episode is Bob Spitz - we look back at his 2005 biography of The Beatles. He shares the story of the writing of the book - the characters he met along the way, and how his view of the individual Beatles changed once he's finished writing. Bob also tells us about his latest book - a stirring and thrilling look at the 70s biggest band, Led Zeppelin.    More about Bob and his books...

I'm joined for this episode by Jude Southerland Kessler who discusses 'Shades of Life' - the most recent volume in her John Lennon Series, where she tells John's life story as historical narrative - where history is written in a story based form.  I was intrigued as to why an author would choose to write John's story in this style - and Jude tells us the challenges and rewards of writing in this s...

My guest for this episode is special correspondent for Vanity Fair Joe Hagan, who joins me to discuss his book 'Sticky Fingers - The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine' Rolling Stone plays a huge part in The Beatles story, be it John's 1970 Lennon Remembers interview, the famed February 1981 issue after John's death or is almost complete dismissal of Paul's solo work through...

My guest for this episode is Lance Richardson who joins me to discuss his book 'House of Nutter - The Rebel Tailor of Savile Row'. Lance's book charts the remarkable lives of both legendary tailor Tommy Nutter, and his photographer brother, David. Tommy found himself in the Beatle world via his partner, Peter Brown and The Beatles fell in love with his suits- John, Paul and Ringo are all wearing o...