An online Beatles fan club for and about Beatle fans
Monday, October 31, 2016
Sunday, October 30, 2016
A drunken man
This photo was taken July 5, 1965 in Madrid Spain when the Beatles were guests of the mayor, who had a party in their honor. According to the caption of the photo, Paul is here pretending like he is a drunk man. Pretending? No one will know for sure!
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
The Beatles, Apple and Me: An e- book review
Some people might say that enough Beatle insiders have written books and we don't need any more and I would highly disagree with that statement because each person that worked with the Beatles in some capacity brings his own side of the story and experiences which in turn gives us a more completed story of the Beatles.
One insider wrote an e-book called The Beatles, Apple and Me. Stephen Maltz was the Beatles' Accountant and Financial Adviser for almost four years. He was extremely influential in starting up Apple Corp and the Apple Boutique. He was the person, in 1966, who informed the Beatles that they were spending more money than they were making and told them that they had to start paying taxes (which inspired George to write the song Taxman), and he also was the guy that got the ball rolling when the Beatles decided that they wanted to buy their own island in Greece AND he is the person that had to deal with a lot of Magic Alex's insanity.
This ebook was very interesting, and I read quite a few things that I hadn't previously known. I did find some of the legal jargon and all of the numbers to be sort of boring and confusing. If you have a background in finance or law, I am sure you would have understood and enjoyed those sections much better than I did. Maltz must have kept all of his old letters and notes from meetings because he is extremely factual in his writing. He will give dates and say what was discussed who was at the meeting and what the next steps were going to be. His book truly shows how much Brian Epstein's death broke up the Beatles and what a loss the whole organization was after he died.
I thought it was interesting to read about the ideas that Maltz had for Apple Corp what things took off and what things never happened. He had some stellar suggestions and it a shame that he wasn't listened to.
The most interesting part of the book to me was the chapter about the Apple Boutique. Maltz thought it would be a good investment for the Beatles to open a clothing shop because the Beatles had such a big influence on fashion. The property of the Apple Boutique was bought, and The Fool was hired to design clothing and paint a mural on the outside of the building. Maltz had plans to go to a council meeting and talk to the business and residents of the area about the mural and hopefully by talking to them, get their approval. However, John Dunbar, who managed the Fool got a story in the Sunday newspaper about the Fool and the mural that was to be painted and the city council was extremely upset they they weren't talked to about this and said that under no circumstances would the mural go up. As we know, the Fool went ahead and painted the mural and sure enough they were forced to paint over it with white. Maltz also suggested to the Beatles that they hire employees with a background in fashion and sales to manage the shop. They thought Pete Shotton and Jenny Boyd were better choices even though neither one of them had worked in a boutique. Once it became apparent that the clothing shop was not bringing in the money they had anticipated, Maltz and the guys talked about it, and it was decided that the shop would stay open and they would sell their remaining stock until the beginning of December 1968. According to Maltz, Yoko came in and told John that he didn't need to make money and that the shop should be closed right away and all of the merchandise given away. And as we know, that is exactly what happened--much to Stephen Maltz's dismay. He says that this maneuver (which he stresses came from Yoko) caused Apple to lose a large amount of money however the sale of the building made up for most of it. However, this all was the last straw for him and he resigned from Apple Corp and took a new job away from the Beatles. Before he left, he wrote the infamous six-page letter to each Beatle saying that they would be broke soon and that their finances were a mess. You most likely have read about this letter in Beatles biographies, but the text of the letter is presented in this book.
I really thought this book was interesting and should be read by anyone who wants to know more about the formation of Apple. It is only available as an e-book. And be purchased for about $5.00 on Amazon.
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
https://amzn.to/3IIkqcR
One insider wrote an e-book called The Beatles, Apple and Me. Stephen Maltz was the Beatles' Accountant and Financial Adviser for almost four years. He was extremely influential in starting up Apple Corp and the Apple Boutique. He was the person, in 1966, who informed the Beatles that they were spending more money than they were making and told them that they had to start paying taxes (which inspired George to write the song Taxman), and he also was the guy that got the ball rolling when the Beatles decided that they wanted to buy their own island in Greece AND he is the person that had to deal with a lot of Magic Alex's insanity.
 |
| Steve is next to Ringo at the Magical Mystery Tour Fancy Dress party in 1967 |
This ebook was very interesting, and I read quite a few things that I hadn't previously known. I did find some of the legal jargon and all of the numbers to be sort of boring and confusing. If you have a background in finance or law, I am sure you would have understood and enjoyed those sections much better than I did. Maltz must have kept all of his old letters and notes from meetings because he is extremely factual in his writing. He will give dates and say what was discussed who was at the meeting and what the next steps were going to be. His book truly shows how much Brian Epstein's death broke up the Beatles and what a loss the whole organization was after he died.
I thought it was interesting to read about the ideas that Maltz had for Apple Corp what things took off and what things never happened. He had some stellar suggestions and it a shame that he wasn't listened to.
The most interesting part of the book to me was the chapter about the Apple Boutique. Maltz thought it would be a good investment for the Beatles to open a clothing shop because the Beatles had such a big influence on fashion. The property of the Apple Boutique was bought, and The Fool was hired to design clothing and paint a mural on the outside of the building. Maltz had plans to go to a council meeting and talk to the business and residents of the area about the mural and hopefully by talking to them, get their approval. However, John Dunbar, who managed the Fool got a story in the Sunday newspaper about the Fool and the mural that was to be painted and the city council was extremely upset they they weren't talked to about this and said that under no circumstances would the mural go up. As we know, the Fool went ahead and painted the mural and sure enough they were forced to paint over it with white. Maltz also suggested to the Beatles that they hire employees with a background in fashion and sales to manage the shop. They thought Pete Shotton and Jenny Boyd were better choices even though neither one of them had worked in a boutique. Once it became apparent that the clothing shop was not bringing in the money they had anticipated, Maltz and the guys talked about it, and it was decided that the shop would stay open and they would sell their remaining stock until the beginning of December 1968. According to Maltz, Yoko came in and told John that he didn't need to make money and that the shop should be closed right away and all of the merchandise given away. And as we know, that is exactly what happened--much to Stephen Maltz's dismay. He says that this maneuver (which he stresses came from Yoko) caused Apple to lose a large amount of money however the sale of the building made up for most of it. However, this all was the last straw for him and he resigned from Apple Corp and took a new job away from the Beatles. Before he left, he wrote the infamous six-page letter to each Beatle saying that they would be broke soon and that their finances were a mess. You most likely have read about this letter in Beatles biographies, but the text of the letter is presented in this book.
 |
| The Author in California in 1968 wearing an outfit from the Apple Boutique |
I really thought this book was interesting and should be read by anyone who wants to know more about the formation of Apple. It is only available as an e-book. And be purchased for about $5.00 on Amazon.
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
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Dakota Bound!
Notice the Dakota building in the background of this New York photo from February 1964? John had no clue that in less than 10 years time from this photo, he would purchase an apartment in that building.
Monday, October 24, 2016
Tatum Verbeck is having the best month ever!
I would guess that it will be a long time before Tatum Verbeck comes down out of the clouds. She managed to do something that the majority of us only dream about. She has met both Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr all within the same month!
This 12 year old middle schooler is one luck girl! She was called up onto the stage and held hands with Paul --who also kissed her on the cheek-- on October 6th during Paul's Sacramento concert. Then on October 19th she went to Reno, where she was able to interview Ringo backstage before the show as a reporter for American Girl magazine. The report I read claims that they "exchanged autographs," if that is correct, I would be highly surprised, as it would be the first autograph Ringo has given out to a fan since he declared no more autographs in 2008.
Tatum is a very lucky girl!!
This 12 year old middle schooler is one luck girl! She was called up onto the stage and held hands with Paul --who also kissed her on the cheek-- on October 6th during Paul's Sacramento concert. Then on October 19th she went to Reno, where she was able to interview Ringo backstage before the show as a reporter for American Girl magazine. The report I read claims that they "exchanged autographs," if that is correct, I would be highly surprised, as it would be the first autograph Ringo has given out to a fan since he declared no more autographs in 2008.
Tatum is a very lucky girl!!
Sunday, October 23, 2016
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Early photo traders
I love things like this! We know that this is a photograph of John Lennon with Margaret Hunt, who wrote one of my absolute favorite book about a fan meeting the Beatles. However, when you look at the autograph on the back, you see that John made it out to "Marie" and not to "Marg."
It seems like this photo was from the earliest days of Beatles photo trading. I love this because I still to this very day trade Beatles photos with other fans. Every week I am trading rare Beatles photos on facebook messenger or email. But in 1962, fans traded photos in person. Fans would get photos taken with one of the Beatles and get extra prints made and trade them for photos that others fans had taken of themselves with one of the guys. Marg and Marie traded photos. Marie got this one of Marg and John, which she got signed and Marg left with one of Marie and one of the guys.
This photo and autograph can be yours for $5,000 (or best offer) on ebay right now!
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
16 in '64: A Book Review
Book 16 in '64 is a cute little book written by Marti Edwards and Joe Carroccio about Marti's experiences growing up in the Chicago suburbs in the 1960s. Chicago radio station WLS first played the Beatles in February of 1963, and so Marti was lucky to have heard Beatles music before most others in the country and she loved the music and boys so much that she started a fan club called "The Chicagoland Beatle People." Her club quickly grew in popularity, and soon Marti decided that she was going to meet the Beatles in person.
You will just have to read about HOW she went about getting to meet the fellows, but it all happened during the press conference during the Beatles 1964 tour during their Chicago appearance. It is a really amazing story! I read the chapter of the book while sitting in the waiting room of a doctor's office. I was literally on the edge of my seat the entire chapter, and when the person I was waiting for came out, I made him wait until I was done reading because I just had to finish that chapter.
Marti continued with the club and saw the Beatles in 1965 and 1966. I wish she had gone into her stories of these concerts as much as she did the 1964 concert. While she didn't get to meet the Beatles during the other years, her concert stories would have been great to have read in more detail.
Most of the book isn't about the Beatles, but about a girl who was a Beatles fan who was a teenager in the 1960s. I found it interesting that Marti was 16 in 1964 (as the title states), and that made her a tad bit older than other fans that we have read about. So her experience was slightly different because she had more freedom than the 12 year old fans we usually read about. I also liked reading about her growing up in the suburbs. She painted a wonderful mental picture of what life was like in the early 1960s.
At the end of the book, there was a list of photos and things from 1964. I felt like this part was just a filler and was not necessary, but others might enjoy it. If someone could explain to me why Mario (as in Luigi's brother) was in the mix, that would be great.
This was a fun little book and made for a quick read. You can get it through the book's webpage
where you can order a copy of the book OR get the ebook version for just $2.50 (the e-book is $3.00 on Amazon).
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
You will just have to read about HOW she went about getting to meet the fellows, but it all happened during the press conference during the Beatles 1964 tour during their Chicago appearance. It is a really amazing story! I read the chapter of the book while sitting in the waiting room of a doctor's office. I was literally on the edge of my seat the entire chapter, and when the person I was waiting for came out, I made him wait until I was done reading because I just had to finish that chapter.
 |
| Marti is meeting the Beatles---what a story! |
Marti continued with the club and saw the Beatles in 1965 and 1966. I wish she had gone into her stories of these concerts as much as she did the 1964 concert. While she didn't get to meet the Beatles during the other years, her concert stories would have been great to have read in more detail.
Most of the book isn't about the Beatles, but about a girl who was a Beatles fan who was a teenager in the 1960s. I found it interesting that Marti was 16 in 1964 (as the title states), and that made her a tad bit older than other fans that we have read about. So her experience was slightly different because she had more freedom than the 12 year old fans we usually read about. I also liked reading about her growing up in the suburbs. She painted a wonderful mental picture of what life was like in the early 1960s.
At the end of the book, there was a list of photos and things from 1964. I felt like this part was just a filler and was not necessary, but others might enjoy it. If someone could explain to me why Mario (as in Luigi's brother) was in the mix, that would be great.
This was a fun little book and made for a quick read. You can get it through the book's webpage
where you can order a copy of the book OR get the ebook version for just $2.50 (the e-book is $3.00 on Amazon).
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
https://amzn.to/3Io4nAB
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