Monday, January 9, 2012

Give me a Chance: Book Review



Some stories of meeting one or more of the Beatles take more than just a magazine article to write, and such is the story of when Gail Renard met John and Yoko during the Montreal bed-in in 1969. Her story spans 8 wonderful days, and she has written a fabulous book about her days with the couple called Give me a Chance. I had the pleasure of just reading this book and I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to share the information about this book with all of you.

In 1969, Gail was a typical 17-year-old Beatle fan living in Montreal, Quebec. She was a member of the fan club, bought all the records, watched them on TV, etc etc. John was her favorite member of the band, and so when she heard that John and his new wife, Yoko, were going to be arriving in her town, she HAD TO see him! Never did she dream that she would find herself in his suite! At first, she had just planned on interviewing him for her school paper, which would have been awesome enough, but after the interview, John asked her to come back for the rest of the Bed In! Her job was to watch Kyoko, help Derek Taylor answer the telephones and help organize radio interviews (because she was familiar with the local radio and television stations). But she also was able to spend time just hanging out with John and Yoko and talking to them.

One of the highlights for me in this book was when she talked about watching the movie, A Hard Day's Night with John! What a surreal experience that had to have been! Gail was also present for the writing and recording of the peace anthem, "Give Peace a Chance."

Those of you who have read Beatle Book Monthly issues may remember reading her story in one of the later 1969 issues. (I did.) In the book, she tells the story about how John set it all up for her to write that story for the magazine. It is really amazing!

This book was a quick read and just a story that is so amazing that, as a Beatles fan, you have to read it! Gail also took some really rare photos of the Bed-in that are worth getting the book as well. 

Oh, when I contacted Gail and told her that I wanted to post on this blog about her book, she gave me permission to use the photograph of her and John as well as the cover of her book. She asked that it only be used on this blog. Please respect her wishes and do not post the photo elsewhere.

The link below is the affiliate link to Amazon, where you can purchase this book.  I get a small percentage of anything purchased through this link.  Money made from the Amazon Afflication is used to pay the annual fee to keep this site online.  Thank you for your support.  Sara

3 comments:

  1. This book was my thank you to John, for all he'd done for me. As John used to say, "You shoulda been there!" And now you can be. Peace & love, everyone!

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  2. Can't wait to get the book Gail - Thanks very much

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  3. @hopetone I hope you enjoy it. Happy reading!

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