The literary Beatle

Cleveland Reference

We have already established that I am obsessed with the Beatles 1966 North American tour.  One of the two concerts that interests me the most is the one in Cleveland, Ohio on August 14, 2016.   I like to think about the fans that rushed the stage and wonder what it must have been like to have been there that night.


There are two great books that focus on the Beatles in Cleveland, and have great stories that go along with the 1966 tour.

The first book is Dave Schwenson's book "the Beatles in Cleveland" and the second book is Confessions of a Beatlemaniac by Dee Elias.

Catching up on some reading

I am pretty sure that these guys are some of the small group of male Beatle fans in 1964.   I am pretty sure that they are camped out to get Beatles concert tickets.   And they seem to be set.  They have a radio to listen to Beatles music and books and magazine about the Beatles to read.  Food, water, blankets?  Nah....all you need is Beatles, right?  (okay it does look like they might have some sleeping bags that they are propped up on).  

Beautiful John autograph

I spotted this John autograph on ebay tonight. I think it is a beautiful autograph. I love how he signed a drawing of both him and Yoko. I don't know...the whole thing is just so clear and bright. If my name was Mike, maybe I would think about buying it. But then who am I kidding? I will never have the type of money that is needed to own a John Lennon autograph.

Book review: The Lost Beatles Photographs by Larry Marion

I know that those of you who regularly visit this blog love Beatles photos as much as I do, so I wanted you all to be aware (in case you aren't already) of a new book called The Lost Beatles Photographs by Larry Marion. Now I know what you might be thinking: "Lost photos? Whatever....every time someone calls a photo 'lost,' it ends up being the same old stuff I have seen a million times." Well I am here to happily tell you that there are Beatles photos I have never seen before in this book!

The photo book is from the archives of Bob Bonis from all three of the North American tours. Before getting this book, I had heard the name of Bob Bonis before, but I never realized that he wasn't a photographer. He was the U.S. Tour manager for all of the North American tours and took photos of the guys along the way. And his photos are amazing! I am very pleased with the number of beautiful color photos in the book. These colored photos look so modern and bright. They are gorgeous!

If you know me, you will know that my favorite section of the book is the 1966 tour. There are photos of the evening Memphis concert in there! I have been searching for good photos from the evening show for YEARS. And there they are. Some are in color, and others in black and white. There are also some great photos from the St. Louis show, and since that is where I live, those were special for me to see. Most of the photos in the book are either on-stage or backstage, which gives a nice overview of candid and live shots.

I especially appreciated that Bob didn't just photograph the Fab Four. You also see some new photos of Brian Epstein, Mal Evans, Neil Aspinall, and some of the others who traveled on the road with them. I think it is great for Beatles fans to see the other guys as well.

But the very best part of this book: Everything is dated!! You don't have to guess "what concert is this?" Because everything is labeled perfectly. Therefore, this book is a must for all of you who date photos.

Honestly, it takes a lot for me to recommend a Beatles book. I have hundreds of titles in my library, and most of the photo books just repeat the same stuff. This book is a must-have! So go order it now!!

Photos were posted with permission from Harper Collins Publishers


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/49z9sC5

The first ever "Meet the Beatles for Real" contest!!!

Hello blog readers! I have a very special treat for you. I was recently contacted by the publishers of a new book about Paul McCartney called: "Fab an Intimate Life of Paul McCartney" written by Howard Sounes. who after checking out this blog, wanted to send me a copy of the book for me to read. I was pretty excited about this, as you can imagine. I am really just a chubby girl in Illinois who loves the Beatles and has fun with this little blog. So to get a book about Paul McCartney's life for free was awesome! Well I got the book in the post today and I am going to start reading it tonight. But the good news for you all is: they sent me 2 books! So I am going to have a little contest and the winner is going to win this 634 page hardback book that retails for $29.95.

Here is what you need to do if you want to have a chance at winning this book.

1. Send me a fan photo to my email: Starshyne9@yahoo.com I am running low on fan photos to post at the moment. If you send me one that is not already on this blog OR an upgraded version of one that is then you will have your name put into the drawing twice. However, I don't' want to leave anyone out. If you do not have any fan photos that haven't already been posted here that is fine. Pick out your personal favorite and email it to me. Those will be into the drawing one time.

2. All entries must be emailed to me, Sara, at Starshyne9@yahoo.com by 10:00pm Central Time on October 31, 2010. I will announce the winner of the contest on Monday November 1, 2010 in the evening my time.

3. If you are the winner, you will need to email me your address so I can post the book to you. If the winner fails to email me this information within 5 days of the contest ending, then I will pick someone else.

I hope this can be a fun way to post some new photos or even some old favorites. Good luck! If you have any questions please ask them in the comments, because others might be thinking of the same question.

Luv you all!
Sara S.

John heading home photo

Why are you wasting your time here when you should be at the Beatles photo blog?? Miss Tammy has posted some AMAZING photos that have made me wet my pants in excitement. Here is one of those photos. It was taken I would guess a fan on an airplane from South Africa to New York in May 1980.

Now there has been a lot of discussion about John actually going to Capetown, South Africa in May of 1980. Honestly, there isn't a LOT of information about this trip (it was a short get-away). I quickly scanned my books tonight and I found the most information in the book Nowhere Man by Robert Rosen I will type here part of what it says. I don't' want to type up the whole chapter because it is a little....well...gross!!

The last week of April 1980, Yoko told John that a karmically cleansing directional voyage to the south and east was imperative - he was to leave immediately for Cape Town, South Africa. This was, perhaps, a peculiar choice of destination. The South African Broadcasting Company had banned Beatles music for five years in the wake of John's 1966 comment that the group was more popular than Jesus. And even after lifting the ban, they kept Lennon's solo work blacklisted. Nonetheless, he jumped at the opportunity to get away. Even though he thought the karmic cleansing was a load of bloody crap, he felt the isolation would be beneficial. And having been to C-town before, he knew that it was a good place to get jacked off.

The journey inspired John. He took notes on everything: the scenery, the cab ride to Cape Town form the airport, and his cab driver and self-appointed tour guide, Mohammad. After checking into the Mount Nelson Hotel under an assumed name, John went shopping for a raincoat, shampoo and macrobiotic fruit.

Back at the hotel bar, he couldn't' figure out how much money to put in the cigarette machine. A businessman who recognized him from the plane offered him a cigarette, which he happily accepted.

That day, every time John set foot outside his hotel room, somebody recognized him. Strangers offered him drugs and whores, but he declined. A pretty, blond hotel waitress tried to pick him up, but he turned her down. The last thing he wanted was a story in the gossip rags about being seen in public with a waitress. Alone in his room, he clipped classified ads for massage parlors form a local sex tabloid.....

John sat in his hotel room that night reading the local newspaper. An article reported that he'd been spotted buying a raincoat. HE felt strange -- like a flying saucer. He suspected reporters had somehow gotten into his hotel room when he was out.

Later in the week, he telephoned May Pang. She was depressed and unemployed. They chatted for an hour; he promised to send her a postcard Next he telephoned Yoko. She played a tape of a song she'd just written. John thought that the lyrics were great, but he was concerned that the muse had given Yoko exactly one melody, which she was doomed to repeat for the rest of her life. HE asked God to inspire his wife.

The following afternoon, John sat in his hotel room eating his macrobiotic fruit. He decided to return to the massage parlor....

The next day John returned to Cold Spring Harbor, only the tarot card reader Charlie Swan aware of exactly what he'd been doing in Africa.

The other tidbit about his South African trip comes from a source I find to be more reliable, and that is Philip Norman's book <>John Lennon The Life.

For much of this turbulent time for Yoko, as things turned out, John was not in the same home, the same town, or, finally, even the same country. As spring turned Central Park's trees into pink and white froth, the all-powerful numerologist, Takashi Yoshikawa- presciently but, alas, far, far too prematurely -- detected clouds of evil beginning to form above his head and worked out the direction in which he needed to travel to escape them. At the end of May, he flew off alone on the prescribed course, ending up in Cape Town, South Africa.

Books

If any of you ever happen to come by my house, make sure that you ask to go into my basement. The reason why is that I have a secret library down there. And it isn't just any library. It is a Beatles library. I have so many Beatles books on shelves that it would blow your mind! I have books written in Japanese and German just because I want the photos (can't read a word!). There have been 100's of books on the Beatles written and I swear I own a majority of them. And I have read almost all of them as well. But then I am a Beatles freak who is also a reading teacher, so what should you expect?

Anyhow I decided to make a list of all the Beatles books I have that were written by fans about their experiences meeting the Beatles. It is easy for me to reproduce a magazine article for you all to read, but not so much an entire book. So here is a list and you can check these books out on your own!

Please let me know if you have a book that isn't on my list that should be.

Waiting for the Beatles by Carol Bedford. Published in 1985.
This book is the story of Beatles fan, Carol Bedford from Texas who travels to London and spends her time waiting to see the Beatles from 1969 to the early 1970's. She is a key member of the Apple Scruffs and has many stories to tell about her time around the Beatles.

All Our Loving by Carolyn Lee Mitchell. Published in 1988.
This book has a variey of stories of girls who saw the Beatle sin concert or met them, but the bulk of the book is about Carolyn and the time she spent in London getting the attention of Paul McCartney.

Paul McCartney, London NW8-1967 by Paul Wane
This is a photo book of photographs taken by fans of Paul McCartney at his home in London. There are also a lot of little stories that go along with the photograhs. A Sgt. Pepper's recording book similar to this one has also been published (but alas I don't own it).

Do you want to know a Secret? by Pat Kinzer Mancuso published in 2005
This is the story of the offical George Harrison fan club and how it was formed. Pat met George on two occassions and was friendly with the Harrison family. A very interesting read!

We're Going to see the Beatles! by Garry Berman published in 2008
This book is full of little short stories of fans from the 1960's and what the Beatles meant to them growing up. A lot of stories included are about seeing them in concert and few about meeting them.

A Date with a Beatle by Judith Kristen published in 2009
This is the story of Judith, a George Harrison fan. It is about her adventures in 1964 in trying to meet George. This book is like that movie, I want to hold your hand, coming to life.

Apple Scruffs

From the Longest Cocktail Party by Richard DiLello

The House Hippie saw them standing in quiet knots of two and threes all through that first Wigmore Street summer and thought to himself, "They'll go away when the weather gets bad." He was wrong.

After seeing them day after day for month after month he started looking at them. He noticed a handful of faces that were permanent pavement fixtures. When he went to deliver a parcel to Paul McCartney's house they would be there. When he had to go to Abbey Road they were there. When a shorter journey was involved to Trident Studios where one of them might be working they were there.

They would be standing by the cast-iron white picket fence outside Number 3 when he went in at ten and some nights leaving at eight they would still be there. The faces would remind him that he had seen them at least half a dozen times that day as he had exited on a half of dozen separate missions.

There are Beatle fans and there are Beatles fans; that much he knew. It was becoming clearer to The House Hippie that these girls were not just any old Beatle fans. They were always positioned on opposite sides of the steps when the obvious, one-day-wonder fans from America and Europe were out in force for an unimpressive two-hour vigil. They retained an aloofness from these hysterical screamers that bordered on supreme dignity.

It never mattered what the weather was doing. They stood there and allowed the rain to soak them and the wind to cut through their young-girl clothes. At last it dawned on him. He knew they would be there longer than anyone else; after everyone else had left, they would still be there.