Michael McCartney Book – “Remember”

Posted on January 27, 2014 by beatlesblogger

Got the chance to go to a CD and book fair recently and picked up what is really a very nice second-hand book of photographs and memories by Michael McCartney (or Mike McGear as he is sometimes known).

Beatles books are dime a dozen – but this one is special because it’s an historic and unique window into the behind-the-scenes life not only of Paul McCartney and the Beatles, but the whole Liverpool scene which spawned the band.

The book is called Remember: Recollections and Photographs of the Beatles, and it was released in 1992 by Friedman Books:

Michael McCartney is the younger brother of Paul, and with camera in hand he had a backstage pass to record the evolution of the Beatles. His book is filled with amazing photographs from the very earliest days of his and Paul’s lives – from intimate family photos, right through to the onset of Beatlemania and the contrast of crowds everywhere.

McCartney’s photographs have been frequently used by his older brother, notably scattered throughout this film clip for the Wings song “Let ‘Em In” from 1976 (which also name-checks “brother Michael”):

Many of those images in the promo film clip appear in this book. Paul McCartney also used a Michael McCartney image for the CD single “No Other Baby”, a song taken from his 1999 album Run Devil Run:

Michael McCartney writes that the photograph (above) is of their cousin Bett Robbins (right), her son Ted (left)- with Paul sitting in the middle sitting in Ted’s pushchair. “By this time Paul was so obsessed with the guitar that he took it everywhere – the bogs, the bus, and even the beach….”. The photo was taken on the same day as this one below. It is the same group, but this time with Paul and Michael’s dad Jim McCartney included:

Michael’s work was used for the front cover of Paul’s 2005 solo release Chaos and Creation in the Backyard:

That photo appears on page 26 of Remember: Recollections and Photographs of the Beatles. On the opposite page is this image – a striking one – again of Paul with his guitar:

There are of course many photographs of Paul, but also some wonderfully unique images of the other Beatles as young men:

In this year of looking back on 50 years of the Beatles, Remember: Recollections and Photographs of the Beatles is well worth looking out for to add to your collection. It came out in 1992 so you will have to hunt around for it, but it’s a unique insight into the early days of the band. You can find out more about Michael McCartney in these two interesting articles: Part One and Part Two.

All These Years – Tune In – Extended Special Edition Unboxing

Posted on December 22, 2013 by beatlesblogger

We’ve finally secured a copy of Mark Lewisohn’s Extended Special Edition of The Beatles: All These Years Vol.1: Tune In. The box-set book has been out of stock in Australia for a few weeks, but new supplies have arrived.

Here, for your viewing pleasure, is an unboxing of this treasure of packaging and the fine art of book-binding. The set comes in shrink-wrap. Here’s the front and side of the main outer box:

And the rear:

The base of the box (still in its shrink-wrap) carries some interesting information:

Sean Garrehy designed the box set. He’s Art Director at LBBG (Little Brown Book Group) – the UK publishers. Mike Wykes is the owner of Handmade Press, an art and design studio based in Leicester in the UK. As you’ll see later the hand-written design elements of the box set are in Lewisohn’s own writing.

Using a razor blade to carefully remove the shrink-wrap from the base of the box you can slide it up and off:

This reveals the two hardback volumes (together totalling 1728 pages) making up the extended text of All These Years Vol.1: Tune In. These sit inside an inner, three-sided cardboard holder:

So far, so good. This is an impressively packaged and presented item. Here are the three sides of the inner holder. First the right-hand side:

The left side:

And the rear panel:

When you remove the two books there’s more detail on the inside of the holder. On the right-hand side is a map of Liverpool:

On the rear panel just the word “Why?”:

And on the left a pic and short bio of Mark Lewisohn:

The books themselves are great. Very understated, but oozing quality and all the hallmarks of the bookmakers art. Lewisohn’s website says that they’re printed on New Langely Antique Wove woodfree paper, with red-and-white head and tail bands and red ribbon marker. The covers are very textured, deeply embossed and look good. One comes in dark grey, the other in red:

Inside there are more photo sections than in the standard editions (and hence more photos) – and many of the photos are laid out in a different way. Here are a couple of examples:

For a comparison between this special edition and the standard UK release here they are standing side-by-side:

Now that we have it we can’t wait for the holiday season to begin so that we can start ploughing through this baby! All the reviews so far agree: this is the definitive Beatles biography, bar none. And it’s beautiful to boot.

See also the UK and US standard editions compared.

A New Paul McCartney Recording Sessions Book

Posted on December 21, 2013 by beatlesblogger

In something of a first in the publishing world comes a new book detailing the background to every Paul McCartney song, from McCartney (1969), to New (2013).

“Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969-2013). A Journey Through Paul
McCartney’s Songs After The Beatles” is written by Italian author, researcher and collector Luca Perasi. It details the stories behind each of McCartney’s 383 compositions in their chronological order of recording. There are recording dates, studios and who played what on each song.

The book includes 70 exclusive interviews with the musicians, arrangers, producers and collaborators who worked with McCartney through the years, including Denny Seiwell, Laurence Juber, Carl Davis, Neil Dorfsman, Jerry Marotta, and Steve Holly…to name just a few. The foreword is by long-time Abbey Road Studios recording engineer Tony Clark.

All These Years – Tune In – Deluxe (Frustration….)

Posted on December 5, 2013 by beatlesblogger

We want to get a copy of the Mark Lewisohn extended special deluxe edition of The Beatles: All These Years Vol.1: Tune In.

Only thing is there seem to be none available anywhere in Australia at the moment. The local importers site says they are available, but no bookshops have them in stock. It looks like they only brought in limited numbers and they have sold out straight away.

In frustration we went searching the web to find out what we were missing out on. Here’s a special edition visual hit:

Gotta say, it looks nice.

P.S. Check out Lewisohn’s Twitter feed as well. And this.

Beatles Across the World – Book and Prints

Posted on November 23, 2013 by beatlesblogger

Stumbled across a cheap but only just-released book this week. Penned by a writer named John Stanley, it’s called The Beatles Across the World. Here are the front and rear covers:

The Beatles Across the World just 64 pages (it’s no Lewisohn Tune In, which runs to 946 pages!), and has clearly been released to capitalise on the 50th anniversary of the group’s appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show in the US – and the Beatle-mania which subsequently erupted across that country.

This publication is interesting though. It comes in a carboard folder which opens to reveal two pouches inside, one to hold the book on one side:

Plus on the other side another pouch which hold six 8×10 black and white Beatle prints:

Here’s the front cover of the folder:Go to the publishers website (Park Lane Books) to find out more, or click here for the Australian distributor, Herron Books.

The Beatles in America – New Limited Edition Book

Posted on November 16, 2013 by beatlesblogger

We’re a bit slow in discovering this. There’s a new book released in conjunction with the Smithsonian and Grammy Museums to celebrate the 50th anniversary next year of the Beatles conquering America.

It features articles by Ringo Starr, Smokey Robinson, Brian Wilson, Lester Bangs and Mikal Gilmore amongst others, plus previously unpublished photos.

With the price of just US$9.99 (plus postage) it seems like a bargain and worth getting.

The book being described as a “Limited Edition”. You can order The Beatles in America online direct for the Smithsonian store.

Mark Lewisohn “Tune In” Book Competition – We Have a Winner

Posted on November 9, 2013 by beatlesblogger

Thanks to everyone who entered our Mark Lewisohn The Beatles: All These Years Volume One: Tune In competition.

We asked the question: “How old was Paul McCartney when John Lennon invited him to join his group The Quarry Men?” The correct answer was that Paul was fifteen years old.

Our winner is John from Roebling, New Jersey in the United States.

Congratulations John. The US publishers Crown Archetype will be sending a copy of the book your way very soon. Enjoy!

The next date to watch out for is November 14 and the release of the extended special edition of the book.

More soon…..

The Beatles: Tune In – US and UK Edition Comparison…and a Competition!

Posted on November 2, 2013 by beatlesblogger

Part One of Mark Lewisohn’s new biography of the Beatles is now out in two separate hard cover editions – one for the United States market, and one for the UK.

So, how are they similar – and how do they differ?

Here are some photos to show you in a direct side-by-side comparison. The UK edition is 946 pages. It appears on the left. The US edition is 932 pages and it appears on the right:

The book spines with their dust jackets on:

And without:

There’s an interesting and as-yet unexplained design element about the spines. On both dust-jackets you can see the word “All”. My guess is that Volume 2 will have the the word “These”, and Volume 3 will have the word “Years”. When they are eventually lined up on our bookshelves they will collectively read “All These Years”.

The UK edition gets fancy end papers, front and rear. The front ones show pictures of a youthful John and Paul:

The rear has George and Ringo. It is a nice additional design touch:

The US edition has plain end papers. Here are the title pages. First, the UK edition:

And the US:

You’ll be pleased to know that despite the design and layout differences the contents are exactly the same. Both have the same text and chapters, and both have three sections with pages of historic photographs – some of which have never been previously published.

In the UK The Beatles: All These Years Volume One: Tune In is published by Little Brown. In the Unites States the book is published by Crown Archetype.

Now, the people at Crown Archetype have kindly given Beatles Blog a US edition of the book to give away to a lucky reader. All you need to do is answer this simple question:

How old was Paul McCartney when John Lennon invited him to join his group The Quarry Men?

The first correct answer to reach beatlesblogger @ gmail . com will win a US copy of Mark Lewisohn’s book – kindly provided by publishers Crown Archetype.

The Beatles: BBC Archives – 1962-1970 – A Review

Posted on October 28, 2013 by beatlesblogger

There are three distinct aspects to the Beatles’ main output and the direct connection they had with their audience. These are the band’s official studio recordings; their live performances; and (as this book examines in intricate and fascinating detail) their appearances during the height of their popularity on radio and television.

Kevin Howlett, a former BBC radio producer, has for many years been chronicling the band’s long and close association with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). If you want proof that their output on radio and TV was prolific here are some stats: the Beatles performed a huge catalogue of songs across 275 performances at the BBC between March 1962 and June 1965. They appeared on 39 radio shows just in 1963 and, on one single day, recorded 18 songs for three editions of the BBC’s “Pop Go The Beatles” series in a session lasting just under seven hours. In total they played 88 different songs, most done in one take with little time to correct mistakes.

What also has to be remembered is the extent to which the BBC was at the core of daily life in the UK. Unlike the multiple channels and sources of information we take for granted today, no other broadcasting organisation was licensed to operate in the UK until 1973. It seems extraordinary and almost incomprehensible now. There was some competition from overseas and “pirate” radio stations, but during the life of the Beatles as a band the BBC pretty much had the market to itself.

This book The Beatles: the BBC Archives: 1962-1970 isn’t the first go Kevin Howlett has had at writing about the close relationship between these two icons of British life in the sixties. It is however the most comprehensive and beautifully produced effort so far. Beatles Blog has in its collection a small 1982 softback book called The Beatles at the Beeb – The Story of their Radio Career 1962-65:

Howlett tried again in 1996 with The Beatles at the BBC, the Radio Years. However both these previous attempts are nothing on his latest effort.

What Kevin Howlett has done with this book is to significantly expand the scope and the content of his subject to produce the definitive examination of the Beatles interaction with their fans using BBC radio and television.

The new work comes packaged in an impressive look-alike (and slightly used) 1960’s BBC reel-to-reel tape box:

Inside is the book, which contains many pictures, examples of contracts, internal memos and letters, memorabilia and complete details of all their appearances, along with a discography of the songs that the Beatles performed. If the songs were covers then there are details of the original artists too.

We learn that some 36 of the 88 songs they performed were never issued on record and, with the exception of the Beatle original “I’ll Be On My Way”, these unreleased tracks were all cover versions. Inside the book there are lift out prints and and removable facsimile documents – making this a great collectable item in itself.

The photo (above) shows the band performing at the BBC Playhouse Theatre for Easy Beat on 16 October, 1963 – the day after news of the group’s participation in the Royal Variety Performance was announced (Photo © Press Association)

I love these sort of reproduction books, with removable documents, ticket stubs, mini-flyers and posters. I have two others which are similar: The Treasures of the Beatles, and Lennon Legend: An Illustrated Life of John Lennon.

This photo (also from the book) shows George, Paul and John with the BBC’s Bernie Andrews, producer of the show Saturday Club. It is dated 17 December, 1963 (Photo © BBC Worldwide):

Kevin Howlett is now very much an insider in the Beatles camp, having completed a number of prestigious Apple Records re-issue projects for them. He co-wrote the liner notes for the digitally remastered CD catalogue in 2009. Howlett wrote the notes and produced the ‘Fly On The Wall’ bonus disc for the 2003 Beatles remixed album Let It Be …Naked. He also wrote the liner notes for the original 1994 double CD and LP package Live at the BBC, and has done the same for the forthcoming set On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2 (to be released on November 11). Both feature previously unreleased recordings and studio chatter by the Beatles made available for the first time. The new release will include early hits and cover songs recorded at the BBC in 1963 and 1964, audio of the group talking to radio presenters such as Radio 2’s Brian Matthew, different versions of some of the songs from the first Live at the BBC album, and interviews recorded in November 1965 and May 1966 for the BBC “Pop Profile” series.

A remastered version of the original Live At The BBC will also come out on 11 November to coincide with the release of Volume 2.

So, Howlett knows his subject. His book The Beatles: The BBC Archives: 1962-1970 is destined to become the ultimate publication detailing in every respect the the band’s interaction with it’s adoring public via the BBC – then one of the most important and dominant media outlets in Britain. It is published in the US by Harper Design (Harper Collins), and in the UK by Ebury Publishing (BBC Books).

Lewisohn’s US Edition – Out 10/29

Posted on October 24, 2013 by beatlesblogger

Mark Lewisohn will soon be promoting the impending United States version of his book Tune In: The Beatles – All These Years Volume 1. (It’s officially due on 29 October)

In the USA the title gets a different cover art treatment to the British edition:

Mark Lewisohn will be attending two special signings in New York City, one on 10/25 and the other on 10/26. He’ll be at Bloomingdale’s 59th Street store. On 10/25 he’ll be in-store at 12:30pm, and on 10/26 at 2pm.

We’re sure NYC fans would love to get along to this event.

Beatles Blog has a copy of the US edition to give away to one of our lucky readers. Stay tuned for more details soon.

Beatles Blog

Adventures in collecting Beatles music

Category Archives: Beatles Books

All These Years – Tune In – Extended Special Edition Unboxing

A New Paul McCartney Recording Sessions Book

All These Years – Tune In – Deluxe (Frustration….)

Beatles Across the World – Book and Prints

The Beatles in America – New Limited Edition Book

Mark Lewisohn “Tune In” Book Competition – We Have a Winner

The Beatles: Tune In – US and UK Edition Comparison…and a Competition!

The Beatles: BBC Archives – 1962-1970 – A Review

Lewisohn’s US Edition – Out 10/29

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: