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Book Review:
The book "We're Going To See The Beatles" takes the stories of 42 fans and goes through the Beatles timeline starting at the onset of Beatlemania and The Ed Sullivan Show. We hear stories from the fans joy and elation at first seeing the Beatles on Ed Sullivan and instantly falling in love. They were hooked. There is a neat story of a girl Linda Binns who actually met the Beatles and chatted with them during a train ride to Washington DC. Some of you may have even seen the then nine year old girl in the Maysles documentary film of the Beatles First US Visit. It was exhilarating to read her story and how close she got to them. There was even a marriage proposal, but you'll have to read the book to find out from whom. After The Ed Sullivan Show, the Beatles then embarked on their first tour of the US. We read of several people's journey and experiences of those concerts. The constant and inevitable parallel is the sound. Nothing but deafening screams. Most couldn't hear a note of music, but that didn't matter. Just being able to breath the same air as the Beatles were breathing was enough for them. The book then goes on to tell tales of the Beatles '65 and '66 tours with much of the same testimony. But now the fans have noticed how much the Beatles are changing in their music and attitudes. Especially by '66. It started with the backlash of the alleged snub of Imedla Marcos in Manila to the response of the US to John's now infamous Jesus statement. The fans could tell that these concerts in '66 might very well be the last chance they'd get to see the Beatles perform live and they were correct. The book also delves into life after touring and how the Beatles continued to impact their lives. For some, the end of touring meant the end of interest in the Beatles. They had no room to grow and were content with the mop top memories. For many others, the albums Rubber Soul and Revolver brought the Beatles brand new fans. We start hearing more from the guys now. Times were changing and so were most of the fans. It was an evolution for the ages. Overall this reader quite enjoyed "We're Going To See The Beatles". It gave me a chance to live a day in the life of a "real" Beatles fan who had the opportunity to experience the Beatles firsthand. I could feel the excitement of the girls getting ready for a concert and wanted to scream along when they first laid eyes on the boys coming onto the stage at Shea Stadium. I will forever be envious. So for the second generation fans like myself or the first generation fans who want to relive the mania, I highly recommend this nicely written and well told book. -- Susan Fischer
Review of By Susan Ryan
Kessler states that the effort to produce this book has consumed much of the last 20 years of her life, and it shows. The research is meticulous, down to the tiniest details, and as soon as one begins reading they are transported into the world that was John Lennon's young life. The story begins with his birth in 1940, and Kessler's insight into imagining the personalities of Lennon's mother, Julia, and Aunt Mimi, are remarkable. The reader can almost imagine oneself in the room as the young mother argues with a nurse during her labor and delivery, and running along the bomb-scarred streets of Liverpool with Mimi as she rushes to her sister's side to catch her first glimpse of the baby whom she would raise as a son. Indeed, it is this "fly on the wall" approach that is most interesting and endearing about this book. For those fans who have spent years immersing themselves in the minutae of John Lennon's life, who know every nuance, every story, every episode, there is much to savor here. After all, what truly devoted fans have not envisioned these scenes in their heads since…well…forever, and wished they could have been there as it happened? It has often been said that the Beatles' story would read like fiction if it wasn't true, and there is, and has been since the beginning, a certain mystique attached to the story of the four boys from a grimy industrial city in the north of England who rose to unimagined heights of fame and fortune. Kessler manages to bring these people and places to vivid, colorful life with her charming narrative style and keen sense of the diverse personalities involved in the drama. It is here that her research pays off in huge ways -- the reader can "feel" these places, "know" these people -- and understand what made them tick. The book goes on to discuss at great length the life lessons that made John Lennon into "John Lennon." All the characters are here -- his free-spirited mother, absent father, gentle Uncle George, stern Aunt Mimi, lifelong friends like Pete Shotton and Ivan Vaughn and Stuart Sutcliffe, and of course, most importantly, one Paul McCartney and one George Harrison. It goes into imaginative detail about every single tale that has become part of the myth -- sometimes even if the retelling manages to bust that myth. For instance, though there are various accounts of Lennon being born during an air raid, Kessler points out in her notes that, after researching the date and time extensively, there was no air raid in Liverpool on October 9, 1940. And so, though she tells the story of John's birth and Mimi's run to the hospital that day, the bombs are absent, as it really was that night. It is engaging storytelling like this, not meant to so much as squash the myths as it is to bolster them with researched facts, that make this book so much fun. The story of the tragic deaths of Uncle George and Julia are here, as are retellings of Lennon's art college days, the formation of the Quarrymen, his meetings with Paul, George and Stuart, the early trips to Hamburg, and countless other anecdotes that are so well known. Kessler has used many sources for her research, some of them books that many fans probably own, and some of them personal interviews and recollections from the actual parties involved. The combination really does make for a unique kind of biography. The book includes lengthy endnotes detailing all the source materials, a "who's who" enumerating all the real people who populate this story, plus personal photographs and information about Kessler's many trips to Liverpool to document the research. However, she also does one thing that this reviewer, at least, found to be somewhat unnecessary. After a lively and engrossing telling of an anecdote, she feels compelled to put copious amounts of documentation at the end of every chapter, disrupting the flow of the overall narrative. Frankly, since the book is being presented as a novel based in fact from the get-go, these justifications and constant disclaimers that "all conversation is conjecture" unceremoniously tear the reader back into the here and now when all they'd really rather do is remain in Kessler's fully realized world of 1940s and 50s Liverpool, and in fact, tend to become tedious overkill after a while, even seeming like apologetic justifications. If readers are able to skip the sometimes multi-paragraph end notes, this may not be much of an issue, but I found them personally quite distracting at times. Generally, though, there is much to recommend in this book. The biggest issue is certainly not the fictionalized, "novel-style" approach to the material. Clearly this was, and is, a great labor of love by Kessler, and it shows in every highly documented, beautifully edited, lovingly constructed bit of this self-published book. This is absolutely engaging and absorbing, and well worth seeking out if Lennon-loving readers are looking for something a little bit different and a heck of a lot of fun to add to a collection on their Beatles bookshelf.
Review of By Shelley Germeaux
by Julia Baird (published by Hodder & Stroughton 2007) Review by Shelley
Germeaux
Imagine This, by John Lennon's half-sister Julia Baird, reveals what it was like growing up with John, as well as the harsher reality behind family myths. Her memories of the fun-loving mother that John immortalized in his song, "Julia" are heartwarming, but cut short by tragedy and confusion. Julia's long journey to discover the truth led her to an aging aunt's bedside who began to tell her how, among many other things, little John came to live with his Aunt Mimi instead of his mother. Ms. Baird's previous book, John Lennon, My Brother, (Henry Holt & Co, 1988), contained some of the same stories, but the revelations in the new book are stunning. The additional research she has done is vast and includes genealogical information, as well as another 19 years of experiences with family members, many who have now passed on. This latest work by Ms. Baird renders most other biographies on John's childhood obsolete. Imagine This describes John's Aunt Mimi as a bully whose constant intervention in her sister, Julia's life had a devastating impact. Her forcible removal of John from Julia's home when he was five years old did him irreversible emotional damage that he never recovered from. Julia was not the irresponsible waif that Mimi portrayed her to be, but a heartbroken mother steamrolled by a domineering sister. Ms. Baird asserts that Mimi went to great lengths to keep John and his mother apart throughout his childhood years, making Julia's untimely death when he was 17 all the more tragic. One thing that will surprise most people is that Julia Lennon, John's mother, actually had four children, two of which were cruelly taken from her at the hands of Mimi and her father. Julia was one of five sisters. She first married Alf Lennon after a ten-year romance, in 1938. John was born October 9, 1940. When Alf seemed more married to the sea than her, the marriage fell apart, but his constant absence made it impossible to get a legal divorce. In 1944 while Alf was at sea, during WWII, she had a brief affair with a Welsh sailor and became pregnant. Her father and sister Mimi were outraged at her behavior and insisted that the baby be given up for adoption. Victoria was born in June of 1945 and given to a Norwegian family. This fact was hidden from the other three children for many years, and Ms. Baird recounts the shock that overwhelmed her when discovering it. Julia soon met and fell in love with a man named Bobby Dykins and she and young John moved in with him, into a tiny flat. Since they could not marry legally, Mimi and her father were once again enraged and demanded that Julia give John to Mimi, so he wouldn‚t be raised in a "house of sin". When she refused, they got the help of social workers who finally ordered that John be given to Mimi until the situation improved. Julia and Bobby Dykins had a happy common law marriage for the next 12 years, having two daughters, Julia (Baird) in 1947, and Jackie in 1949. The children were never recognized as "real" family by the aunts because they were "illegitimate." Tragedy struck in 1958 when Julia was struck by a car and killed. Her death was not revealed to her daughters, Julia and Jackie, for several months, creating a lifelong emotional struggle born of confusion and sadness. Subsequently, their father Bobby's death, also by car accident, left daughters Julia and Jackie nowhere to turn in their grief, as the aunts in town had closed their doors to them. Ms. Baird discovered only recently that Mimi had a long-term affair after her husband's death with a student lodger over 20 years her junior. The relationship began while John was still living in the home, so the hypocrisy is apparent, given Mimi's condemnation of Julia's lifestyle. Ms. Baird met up with the man, now 72, for the complete story, which is quite fascinating. Ms. Baird joyfully accepted a renewed relationship with John in 1975 after he tracked her down, and a series of phone calls and letters followed. But soon, wife Yoko Ono suddenly began intercepting the calls, cutting off communication with the brother she had missed throughout the busy Beatle years. She would also later discover that son Julian's calls had also been intercepted, leaving John to believe that Julian had stopped calling. As a result, she began to see Yoko as John's subconscious replacement for Mimi. John's tragic death on December 8, 1980 caused yet another devastating blow in her life, especially since he had promised he would be "coming home" to Liverpool early in 1981. Her strained communications with Yoko after his death included an argument concerning a family home in Liverpool that became Yoko's after John died, and the awful discovery that even Mimi's home now belonged to Yoko. The frustrating battle is recounted in detail as Ms. Baird describes her attempts to prove to Yoko that John bought the houses for the family during the Beatle years. In 1998 the long lost sister given up for adoption, Victoria, made herself known to the family, revealing that her name was changed to Ingrid. Ms. Baird shares the family's attempts to bring her into their lives. Julia Baird's journey is one of great sadness, while acknowledging the great opportunity for her own healing through the writing of this book. Imagine This restores truth to long-standing misperceptions about John Lennon's childhood and gives long awaited vindication to the mother that John, Julia, and Jackie adored. This should be the first book anyone reads on John Lennon's beginnings in Liverpool. Concert Review: By Shelley Germeaux
Sean Lennon's newest album, Friendly Fire, was released October 3. Just his second album in eight years, Sean has been busy the last couple of months promote it. After doing several interviews in October, including an appearance on David Letterman, he toured the world for the month of November with over a dozen shows. Appearing everywhere from Glasgow to Liverpool, to Paris, Amsterdam, and L.A, his final performance was here in Seattle, Washington. However he has done more gigs in December on the east coast, and he doesn't plan on slowing down, he told me after the show.
Sean appeared with his band at Neumo's Crystal Ball Reading Room in Seattle on November 22. The crowd was an eclectic mix of Sean's younger fans in their teens and 20s, and the older set who were obviously Beatle fans anxious to tip their hats to John Lennon's son. Some had their children with them as well. It was an "all ages" event, meaning no alcohol was allowed inside the performance area, although there was a full bar adjacent to it. The show was an early one, beginning at 6:30 with an opening act. Lennon came on stage around 7:30 with his band mates, including long-time friend Yuka Honda (Cibo Matto), to enthusiastic cheers, saying it was "awesome to be back in Seattle." Sean said he had friends in Seattle and loved doing gigs here. "We've had an amazing time on this tour, and it's kind of sad because this is our last show," he said, to a collective burst of moans from the audience. "But isn't it great because you know, we did it here in Seattle." The room cheered. Opening with the title song, Friendly Fire, he continued with the full repertoire of the album for the next hour: Falling Out of Love, the popular Dead Meat, Parachute, Spectacle, Wait For Me, Headlights, On Again Off Again, Would I Be the One (by Mark Bolan), and Tomorrow. His interaction with the audience was warm, intimate and conversational, making everyone feel more like personal friends than fans. "Check it out, I bought this guitar in Portland!" he says quietly into the microphone, showing off his white Vox Spitfire, to a cheering audience, who were enthusiastic that he‚d found something he liked in our beloved Northwest. "It sounds really great. It was 500 bucks, dude, a 1966! I think Buddha or Jesus was looking down on me. I left the price tag on it," he says. Laughter and applause filled the room. He wasted no time in demonstrating his skill as a guitarist, launching into a riff from Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well", then some of Led Zeppelin's "The Ocean." After one of his songs he commented on his relationship with Yuka Honda, saying, "It's not easy to have working relationships for more than like six hours," he bemused, "so the fact that we've been playing together for more than twelve years, is so important to me. So here she is, Yuka Honda." Extending his arm towards a smiling Yuka on keyboards, the fans cheered as she waved. He then introduced Kevin Bryer, guitarist, Billy Dobrelle on drums, and the "handsome Italian man from Brooklyn", bassist Brian Albetto. The crowd was friendly and happy with the show, including a few older fans who were quite drunk, sitting in the above balcony. "I love you, Sean!" a man yells from the balcony. "Yeah, I love you too," he replies, then mutters, "He's in the drinking section," (roar of laughter) "and the rest of us get Shirley Temples." This got him thinking about his own thirsty plight on stage after awhile. "Hey, the band needs beers," he begged. "You can take it out of my paycheck, and I'm over 18 or 21 or whatever." (laughter) "This is a great place but they run it like the Pentagon." (more laughter) "They were like, 'Are you over 21? and I'm like, slightly!" Unfortunately, none of us were successful in persuading the bartender to let us take some beers to Sean Lennon, because it was, yes, we remember, an all-ages event. Sean even grabbed a cigarette for a couple of minutes and some people yelled, "No smoking!"So he had to put that out, too. Sean at 31 bears a striking resemblance to his father, down to his profile, despite his much darker hair and taller stature. His voice at first seems higher and softer than Dad's, but if you listen to John Lennon's solo material, you would change your mind, especially with the inherited nasal tone that made John's voice so distinctive. His large glasses, reminiscent of John‚s style in 1980, are just as thick as his father's. Later he commented on the quality of today's music, saying, "Do you remember when music that was popular was also good?" A roar of laughter went up in the crowd, and he added, "and there was no such thing as Britney Spears?" Ironic that our parents said the same thing when Sean's father was becoming popular! It was a laid-back show well suited for the intimate gathering and ended after an hour, seemingly much too soon. After a couple of encores he disappeared down the stairs. I was impressed by Sean's performance and his comfort with the audience. He's a skilled musician; and I already loved his new album before I got there, so it was an enjoyable concert.
We were permitted backstage to meet Sean since we were with Alan White (pictured above), drummer for Yes, and formerly with John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band, performing on the Imagine album and many others. Our group included Alan's wife Gigi, Gillian Gaar (Goldmine), my husband, and me. Sean stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at us as we walked down, looking like he was waiting for guests to show up at his party. "Hi, I'm Sean," he said, as he extended his hand to each of us individually. His demeanor was incredibly sweet and unassuming.
Sean‚s excitement at meeting a former drummer for his father was wonderful to witness first hand. Listening to Alan talk with Sean was like watching a protective uncle bond with a nephew, and I am privileged to have witnessed it. Alan shared some humorous stories with Sean about his dad, and praised Sean's musicianship. Sean's face lit up when Alan told him he could see some of his dad's style in his guitar playing. Sean replied happily, "Well, he's a really big influence to me." Sean said they were going to just take a couple of weeks off now that this tour was over, and then they were going back out again and keep playing. He's determined to keep busy and make sure Capitol (his record company) doesn't forget who he is. As Sean signed my CD I told him I wrote for Daytrippin'. He looked up at me and said, "Hey, you‚ve gotta get the Beatle fans to listen to my music!" We discussed the possibility of an interview in the near future, so stay tuned!
Friendly Fire could be your new best friend, along with a favorite bottle of wine, especially if you've just gone through a tough time in love. For example, "Dead Meat" begins with a hauntingly sweet but ominous lullaby tune, then "Dead meat/ don't you know you're dead meat/ you just messed with the wrong team." "Parachute" is great for slow-dancing, but with a stark fatalism: "If I have to die tonight/I'd rather be with you/cut the parachute before we hit the ground." "Friendly Fire" accuses, "You launched the first assault with the first cannon ball/my soldiers were sleeping." "Tomorrow" vows, "I promise to stop loving you tomorrow," while "Falling Out of Love" slowly weeps, "Please just forget me/never let me into your heart/cuz the one thing I'm afraid of/is falling out of love." "Spectacle" is a take off of Billy Joel's "Big Shot" at a slower tempo, with "you're always such a spectacle/ you said you would but you never will change." There's a George Harrison feel to this song. In his words, admittedly this album is more "taking a bath music" than for rocking out, contrasting with his first album, Into the Sun. It has a sweet, warm melodic flow to it, reminiscent of his father's love songs on Mind Games, Double Fantasy and Milk and Honey, but with Sean's individual style, featuring edgier tunes and skillful guitar work. It comes with a bonus DVD of music videos, one for each song. His insecurities, sadness and pain are reflected here using multiple mediums. The music videos set the scene for the dramas, including an old fashioned duel, with Sean himself playing the lead roles. Ethereal and artsy, it underscores the story of love gained and love lost through betrayal and then tragic death. Like his father, Sean wears his heart on his sleeve. Sean's music is truly his own. But while he forges ahead, independent of the legacy that precedes him, there are Beatlesque moments in the new album. This is something he now seems to embrace. His passion for his music will solidify his future as a musician and songwriter. Sean has a website and even
has his own message board on-line at www.seanonolennon.com.
For Sean's current schedule, check out his website and click
on "calendars." And stay tuned for my future chat with
him. --Shelley Germeaux (pictured above with Sean Lennon) is the West Coast Correspondent for Daytrippin' Magazine. She can be reached at Shelleyg999@comcast.net Startling Revelations about Geoff Emerick's new book Read Ken Scott's remarks and Geoff Emerick's response about the book "Here, There and Everywhere" on our Letters to the Editor Page
On Wed. Dec. 14, 2005 on "Late Night With Conan O'Brien", Conan did a comedy bit in which he mentioned that Bob Spitz's Beatles bio was full of errors. He showed an actual error in the book (the Feb. 1964 photo of John in Central Park holding the little girl who is misidentified as Julian). It appears that Conan got the story from the recent article in the New York Daily News in which Rush and Malloy reported Daytrippin's list of errors (see below), using that "John holding the girl" photo caption as an example. Then he proceeded to show other miscaptioned photos, but they were gag photos designed to spoof Spitz's errors. One was Conan saying "Here are other photo-caption errors. Like look at this one!" and it's a photo of the Beatles at the Cavern, except that it's the faces of KISS photoshopped over them. He says "C'mon everyone knows that's not even the Beatles!" Another one was the Beatles rooftop concert, but in the background they photoshopped a "Taco Bell" sign. He says "oh, like Taco Bell was around in 1969!" DAYTRIPPIN's Review mentioned in the NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Rush and Molloy Column The article from Dec. 5, 2005 is reprinted below: Daytrippin' over a bio's mistakes Bob Spitz's new biography, "The Beatles," has been getting some good reviews, but rabid fans of the Fab Four have been picking the book apart. Little, Brown has promised to correct 16 or so errors in the 1,000-page book after it came under attack by Beatlemaniacs. For instance, a caption in Spitz's book reads: "In a rare display of fatherhood, John shows off Julian, age 2, to Uncle Paul and Uncle Ringo." But the fan site daytrippin.com points out that, in fact, "John was holding someone else's daughter. Julian, John's 10-month old son, was in Liverpool at his aunt's house." Other quibbles would probably fly by even Paul and Ringo. "'Run for Your Life' was not one of the last songs to be recorded for 'Rubber Soul'; actually it was one of the first," says daytrippin.com. Spitz's editor Geoff Shandler tells us: "These were innocent mistakes. But we like the books to be as good as they can be, and we were embarrassed about it and we promptly corrected it." Shandler argues that the nitpickers may actually be upset because Spitz doesn't "always paint a pretty picture of John. It doesn't portray him as the working-class hero that some people want him to be." (Thanks to Jim Ryan)
Steve, There are two sides to every story. In all fairness, I hope you will be willing to post this to represent Daytrippin's point of view after we have been verbally attacked by author Bob Spitz in your interview and countless times by Terry Ott on his blog. I read your e-mail interview
with Bob Spitz and I am very disturbed by it. On a personal level, I am almost 99% sure that the female blogger Spitz is referring to in the last question of your interview is me. He said: "However, early on, before publication, I was forwarded a vicious and mean-spirited letter by a blogger who said she was determined to discredit me. Incredibly, she hadn't even read the book, just the photo captions, but that was enough for her to send hundreds of emails and jam book-buying websites, which tells you all you really need to know about this person.. Unfortunately, I responded to her, which I regret [oh! do I regret it!], but from that moment on I decided not to give people like that any credence." I feel the need to explain the circumstances since I am being attacked unfairly. I received a complimentary copy of the book (the FINAL version in hardcover) from Spitz' publisher, Time Warner, in order to decide if my website, Daytrippin', would be willing to offer these books as the prize in our Monthly Online Beatles Giveaway which we have been doing for years. Naturally, when I first open a book, I look at the photo section. Just reading some of the captions, I noticed four blatant errors. I was shocked and stunned to see this, so I immediately e-mailed the publisher and CC'd a copy of the e-mail to Spitz. I pointed out that I was quite disappointed to see these FOUR errors and that I could not accept the book for our Beatles giveaway. The reason I CC'd the author was I thought he would like to know that there were blatant errors in his book, not because I was out to "discredit" him. If he cared about all the research he'd done on this book, you think he would have been curious to know about these four errors that could be spotted just by opening the book. Instead of offering a professional response, like " I appreciate you notifying me of these mistakes", he immediately attacked me distastefully on a personal level. The word for word quote is posted at http://www.daytrippin.com/reviews.htm At that point, I started receiving e-mails from other Daytrippin' contributors who were also finding other errors in the book (not just in the photo captions). As you know, Steve, Daytrippin' Magazine has been a respected Beatles magazine for over seven years being sold all over the world in record stores and through subscription. We recently stopped publishing in print format in early 2005, but continue to offer original news and articles on our website. As the editor and publisher of Daytrippin', I have strived for over seven years to offer objective articles on Beatle topics. I have never been out to "discredit" anyone. Once word was getting around that there were numerous errors in this book, we felt the need to let Beatles fans know about this before they made their decision to purchase the book. We were astonished that all the mainstream reviewers were not even mentioning the fact that there were any errors in the book. All Daytrippin' did was post our own review of the book on our website. We did not "send hundreds of emails and jam book-buying websites," because frankly we do not have the time. Several of my fellow Beatle friends and colleagues were urging me to make more of a stink about Spitz because of the rude comment he made to me, but I felt that we made our statement in the review and we should let the fans judge for themselves. Maybe Spitz felt like we put our more effort than we did because the review on our website got picked up by the New York Daily News. Columnists Rush and Molloy mentioned our findings in their column on http://www.nydailynews.com/news/gossip/story/371630p-316189c.html (scroll down to second article). A few days later, lo and behold, the Conan O'Brien show seemed to have picked up on the Rush and Molloy article and used the story as part of a comedy routine. On Wed. Dec. 14, 2005 on "Late Night With Conan O'Brien", Conan did a comedy bit in which he mentioned that Bob Spitz's Beatles bio was full of errors. He showed an actual error in the book (the Feb. 1964 photo of John in Central Park holding the little girl who is misidentified as Julian) which we had mentioned in our review. Then he proceeded to show other miscaptioned photos, but they were gag photos designed to spoof Spitz's errors. The truth is I am not happy to be pointing out errors in a new Beatles biography. I am sad that it is a fact. I am glad that Spitz and his publisher finally acknowledge that there are errors in at least the photo captions. But I have received plenty of e-mails from fans who are finding more and more errors in the actual text. In response to us just stating truthful facts about his book, Spitz has the nerve to label us in these terms: "The fanatics who raised a huff in the manner they did are no different than religious fanatics determined to hurt people in order to protect their extremist views." Spitz obviously cannot handle any criticism in a professional manner, so he has to personally attack people who are just stating the facts. Any journalist knows you have to get your facts straight. To call us "fanatics" because we run a Beatles fan site is ridiculous. Fans turn to sites such as Daytrippin' and the Abbey Road Web Page to find more detailed information on the Beatles that they can't find from mainstream news sights. In this instance, our review of Spitz' book provides information that has obviously been omitted from mainstream outlets. Spitz should know that as Beatles fans, "All we want is the truth, just give us some truth." And I also must address Terry Ott who has been posting extremely offensive blogs on your site about Daytrippin' in response to our review of Spitz' book. Not only has he attacked Daytrippin' (which astonishingly Ott used to write for), but he also personally went after specific contributors to the Spitz book review. His latest rant: "The Daytipper enemas were all wrapped and placed by the tree, with hopes that all deserving twits would get one for free" or calling Daytrippin' "another Beatles internet wankette fanziner". First of all, I am shocked that your reputable website would be distributing such negative messages to and about fellow Beatles fans. Second, Terry Ott considers himself a journalist, yet like Spitz, prefers to respond to any differing viewpoints with disgusting personal attacks. The Beatles were about peace and love and I will not take part in furthering any negativity linked with their legacy. If Spitz and Ott think they are doing a service by verbally attacking people who are only searching for the truth, then they have no business in writing anything related to the Beatles legacy. Intelligent fans will eventually realize who has their best interests at heart. Trina Yannicos
Review: The Beatles: The Biography by Bob Spitz Time Warner Book Group,
2005 (posted October 26, 2005)
It's obvious that there was a gross lack of regard for editing and checking source material in the compilation of this book. As we began to notice glaring errors with some shock, we then began hearing from others, most notably Mark Naboshek who sent us quite a list, which we have included. Mark is a well-known Beatles collector and writer for Beatlology Magazine with a tremendous knowledge of Beatles history. He has also fact-checked Elizabeth Partridge's new book "John Lennon: All I Want is the Truth" as well as "Lennon Legend" by Jim Henke, no doubt helping them achieve the status they deserve, as well-researched books. Mark, in his email to us, expresses the dilemma any Beatles fan would feel after just looking at the errors in the photo captions alone: "When the photo captions in a book are this grossly incorrect, it makes me wonder how much of the book's text is incorrect….An elementary knowledge of the band, a little research, would have taken him (Spitz) far. If I found several errors in one photo section, I shudder to think how many errors the text will have. The bookmark (I saw in the book) stated, "This is the book you've been waiting for!" Thanks, but I think I'll wait for Mark Lewisohn's three-volume Beatles bio. Now THAT'S something worth waiting for!" Another friend who picked up on many of the text errors right off the bat, commented that these are the easy ones; anyone could have spotted them. He said, "I don't want to miss the forest for the trees, but at this point in Beatles scholarship, there's really no excuse for some of these errors. I'll send a complete list when I'm done. I have a feeling it's going to be rather long." A comment from a music forum echoes these sentiments. After saying "quite a few errors and plain wrong information", adds, "Nothing new here, no tremendous insight." It continues, "I had a couple of laughs at some of the mis-heard interview transcriptions…". He refers to Spitz talking about the Beatles eating 'chick butties' and Bob indicates in the book that he thinks these are "chicken sandwiches". This amused reader ends with, "I'm a born and bred Liverpudlian and we never ate such a thing as chick butties. CHIP butties, yes…." Some errors in Beatle books can be forgiven, like mistakes due to memory loss by the people who were actually there. But when a new mega- biography on The Beatles comes out that claims to offer new, inside information to The Beatles story, you bet it's going to get examined. Bob Spitz has made a purposeful effort at consulting many different published sources to write a Beatles history. So he should have gotten it right. Regarding Terry Ott's commentary on "Beatle Bits" on the Abbey Road site on October 23, it seems Ott must have gone to the same writing school as Bob Spitz. Instead of generating an educated opinion on the subject of whether Beatle "experts" have become too picky or not, he spews insults at those who might care if a book is accurate or not, citing the uproar over Bob Spitz's errors. In his eyes, people like us are "dopey get-a-lifers" who "wank about mundane points of view". We are now "Beatle fetish freaks" who are "dissing any author who dares to make a mistake" and now have nothing to do but "post snotty comments." I guess in his eyes it's OK to do a sloppy job without checking source material, and forget that the work should be fact checked by several experts prior to pressing "print" for the last time and having it bound. Even self-published books with fewer resources have retained a higher standard of accuracy-- and astonishingly this book is published by Time Warner! The list of errors follows: Please remember these are at "first glance" since these errors were found within minutes of picking up the book and thumbing through it. It is in no way meant to be all-inclusive. We believe that if we have found this many errors already, there must be pages more. But as we see it, you the fans should have this information as we are getting it, as soon as possible. Photo captions: 1. Numerous photos from their fall 1960 visit to Hamburg were captioned as being taken at the Star Club. Interesting...since the Star Club didn't open until 1962. We all know that on their first trip to Hamburg in 1960, they played the Indra and Kaiserkeller. 2. Photos taken in Hamburg in 1961 were ALSO captioned as shots from the Star Club when, in fact, they were taken at the Top Ten Club. Again, the Star Club didn't open until 1962. 3. Even Astrid's famous "Hugo Haas" fairground photo taken in Hamburg in 1960 was captioned as being taken after they played a gig at the Star Club! Again, no cigar! 4. There's a photo showing Gerry Marsden, George's friend Arthur Kelly, George and Pattie. It's captioned as having been taken at Paul's 21st birthday party (which would have been in June 1963). Hmmm. George and Pattie didn't meet until the spring of 1964 when "A Hard Day's Night" was being filmed. 5. Page 6 of photos the caption reads: "George with Pattie Boyd, soon after they met on the set of Help!" Wrong: refer to #4 above 6. One of Albert Marrion's famous leather suit photos from December 1961 was labeled as The Beatles in 1962. Nope. 7. There's a photo identified as a shot of The Beatles playing one of their final gigs at the Cavern in 1963. It's clearly NOT taken at the Cavern, making this a gross faux paux! 8. Page 16 of photos: "The Beatles last appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in August 1965" is wrong. The photo is from their Feb. 1964 appearance. 9. Page 5 of photos: "In a rare display of fatherhood, John shows off Julian, age two, to Uncle Paul and Uncle Ringo". That photo is from the Central Park, NYC photo shoot in Feb. 1964, where John was holding someone else's daughter. Julian, John's ten month old son was in Liverpool at his aunt's house. (For the record, the little girl's name was Debbie Fyall and her father was a London Daily Express reporter following the Beatles. Of course, Bob could have found that out with simple research. There was a 40th anniversary story about that little girl and it can be seen at http://www.nydailynews.com/news/gossip/story/158154p-138835c.html ) Text: 10. p 419: Twist and Shout was the "first EP ever to enter the top 10." How's that? What about the 13 EPs Cliff Richard had in the top 10, the 6 by The Shadows, 2 by Adam Faith and 1 by Peter Sellers, to name just a few, all prior to August 1963, when Twist and Shout entered the top 10. 11. p587: Run For Your Life was "one of the last songs recorded for the album." It was actually the very first. 12. p588: Rubber Soul was to have "an unheard of 14 cuts." All their UK albums thus far had 14 cuts, except A Hard Day's Night, with 13. 13. p591: George Martin was "not a pianist by training." Piano was a required instrument of all students at Guildhall, easily checkable in All You Need Is Ears, which Spitz cites repeatedly. 14. p604: "layers of overdubs on take 5 of Got To Get You Into My Life." This is on Anthology 2, just two tracks of the four were used, no tape reductions. 15. p605: backward sounds on Taxman and She Said She Said. Not exactly sure what Ringo is doing on She Said; it sounds backward at certain points, but there's no evidence to support that anything was backward on that song, and the way it was recorded left no room for backward additions. Ditto Taxman. 16. p612: George Martin recorded Spike Jones! I guess he's older than we thought. Of course we must acknowledge that many Beatle books in the past have been known to contain a factual error or two. As the author himself, Bob Spitz, writes: "One of the drawbacks in preparing a definitive biography of the Beatles is the stunning lack of reliable source material. Most of the nearly 500 volumes that make up their canon lack proper citations, and even in those remarkable cases where sources are offered, the accuracy remains suspect . . . For better or worse, misinformation has always been a key element of the Beatles' legend." But who would've thought he was describing his own book? There may be some good aspects of this book as reported by the New York Times' Janet Maslin (one only wishes Allan Kozinn was the one to review the book). However, in her one-sided review, she failed to mention that the book contains inaccuracies. Something else must be noted. Outside of a blatant disregard for accuracy, we are appalled by Mr. Spitz's lack of professionalism when confronted with our concerns over his book. Daytrippin's editor, Trina Yannicos, sent a letter to him, outlining just a few of the errors in his book. This was Bob Spitz's response, quoted word for word: "You need an enema. Really! Do something useful with your life." Did his publicist advise him that a response like this would be good promotion for his book? The bottom line is this: We, as Beatle fans and journalists, feel a responsibility for getting the history of the Beatles correct, for this generation as well as the ones to come. We've seen the horrors that myth and error can cause for historical legends. With so many resources available to us now, the "truth is out there", so let's not foul it up. We think we'll take Bob Spitz's advice, and do something useful--we won't be wasting time reading his book, looking for more inaccuracies. We've got better things to do. --Trina Yannicos and Shelley
Germeaux Movie: Sid Bernstein Presents . . . Review by Maureen Shames "Sid Bernstein Presents..." is a poignant documentary that shakes it up, baby! Don't go in with any preconceived notions-- this film reveals daunting information about the world famous promoter who brought the Beatles to America and turned the entertainment industry on its ear. At 87, Sid Bernstein makes a fascinating subject because he has a willingness to allow his life to be depicted with honesty. Bernstein exposes his greatest vulnerabilities and idiosyncrasies: he is financially unstable, a food lover and a pack rat. Otherwise, he's everything his reputation promises-- a kind, gentle, mega-successful promoter who shaped rock and roll and nearly lived the American dream. Evan Strome and Jason Ressler, the film's co-directors and co-producers courageously bring us into all the nooks and crannies of Bernstein's life. They are willing to poke into just about everything and at one moment we find ourselves getting ready with Bernstein in the bathroom, (help!) We are introduced to Sid's wife Gerry and their six children, all of whom are quite personable. Some provide interviews that are tremendously moving and likely to evoke laughter and tears. It is apparent love is abundant among the family, but there is also some craziness as a result of the music industry. The six children grew up in a household where wannabes invaded the privacy of their home to visit their famed father. Like fictional sitcom families, such as The Huxtables or The Brady Bunch, the Bernsteins sometimes met celebrities whom the rest of us only dreamed about. Former teen idol David Cassidy at the height of his career posed with the Bernstein family in a picture and this speaks volumes. A disturbing problem is Bernstein didn't get to experience the fruits of his labor financially. He was driven to succeed in the business out of a strong passion for music. The Bernstein family suffers harsh consequences. In a telling moment, one son shares an anecdote of how his father once took $1,995 from his hidden stash of $2,000 and left an apologetic note promising to repay it some day. Gerry once left Sid for five months primarily because of the financial stress. They are now closer than ever, but financial instability still haunts them. Their landlord sends eviction notices to them as their children grapple with how to provide relief. Bernstein's situation seems quite ironic and unexpected since he achieved extraordinary success as a promoter. He grew up with Jewish middle class parents in New York and was a self starter. Since the beginning, Bernstein had an ear for when a group or artist had the talent to make it in entertainment, but just as importantly he had right on instincts on how to promote them. Without hearing a solitary note, Bernstein made his most famous move of all time when he began to arrange for the Beatles to come to America based on information he read in a British newspaper. Bernstein had the magic touch and still does. A favorite part of the film was seeing Sid make an announcement at Shea Stadium the day the Beatles performed a sold-out show some 40 years ago. Yeah, yeah, yeah! Bernstein became the father of the British Invasion and also brought over The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Moody Blues and numerous others. Many of these historical moments are captured through old movies to the backdrop of a fabulous sound track. This film rocks! You will sit on the edge of your seat as celebrities share their insights about Bernstein. The film's most prominent interviews include a diverse array of stars such as Lenny Kravitz, Shirley MacLaine, Steven Van Zandt, Paul Anka, Dick Clark, The Rascals, Jerry Vale, Phoebe Snow, The Animals and more. Interviews seem to be refreshingly uncensored. James Brown gives the stand-out interview of the movie. He sheds new light on Bernstein's impact on society. Brown states that Bernstein was the first to make strides to improve racial relations by promoting rock concert events that brought blacks and whites together in mainstream venues. Old movie footage shows dignitaries who were on the forefront for racial equality such as the late Martin Luther King Jr. and the late President John F. Kennedy Jr. Bernstein was in good company with his beliefs and actions. I won't give away the rest but know this: Sid Bernstein paved the way for us to experience the best music ever. It's no surprise that he was a dear friend of the late great John Lennon. They shared a vision that music could bring people together. I recommend, "Sid Bernstein Presents..." to anyone ready for a compelling look at one of the most genuine people to see the top of the mountain.
 Book:
Lennon
Revealedby Larry Kane Review by Shelley
Germeaux, In "Lennon Revealed", Larry Kane gently peers behind the walls of John Lennon's well-crafted image and produces surprising revelations and a refreshing perspective. Lennon's superstar status has been buried in so much myth and sensationalism over the last forty years that the basic truths of his life have been effectively lost. In this book, on the 25th anniversary of John Lennon's tragic assassination, Kane begins to break down those myths and reveal John Lennon simply as a man. Kane shares his own memories of his sixteen-year professional friendship with Lennon, but focuses heavily on interviews with John's many friends and associates throughout his life, including his widow Yoko Ono. Most of these "friends and lovers" have been largely ignored for previous works about John, including long-time girlfriend May Pang, who in this book finally gets the chance to set the record straight about her ten -year friendship with John. But there are many others in the backstage wings of John's life who now tell their stories, from television broadcasters to radio DJ's and Apple employees, to the guy who watered his trees. They all shared a piece of John's life and provide an intimate glimpse into John's heart and soul. Heartfelt letters from many fans who were impacted by John's life and his death fill the final chapters. Kane wants to understand the truth about John Lennon and digs to find it, like an archeologist carefully brushing away dirt from buried gems. He is respectful of everyone's memories, weaving them honorably into the quilt that is John's history. He knows that not all the pieces match perfectly. But we have a much broader view now about John's inner workings, his feelings, and emotions than we did before. It's an honest portrayal that will be welcome news for any true Lennon follower. The discoveries are vast. We find the deepest loves of his life and hear stories behind the scenes that are sweetly genuine, seeing John's growth through the years as he battled insecurities and addictions that plagued his relationships. We see how being raised by both a domineering aunt and a fun-loving mother determined how he chose future mates. Kane discusses John's inborn trait to actively protest authority figures and social injustice and the trouble he faced as a result, from schoolteachers to deportation threats by the U.S. Government. Other themes include his biggest fears during his touring days with the Beatles, and his daily concern for Cynthia and son Julian; the reason for his deep attraction to Yoko and the needs she fulfilled; his personal relationships with the other Beatles after the breakup; his affinity for the four New York neighborhoods he called home in the last nine years of his life; the dilemma he faced between Yoko and May and the guilt that drove him to be a good father to Sean; his charity work at fundraisers that set a new standard for celebrities; and the parallel between John's moods and his music, which provided his fans with an authentic piece of himself that wasn't always popular, but endeared him to the world. "Lennon Revealed" provides an honest, realistic look at John Lennon's life, mind and emotions with fairness, genuine respect, and love for the man that has not been displayed in other biographies about him. It will create a shift in perception about the flip side of who John was, his compassion and deep sensitivities. It's a positive, human approach that John himself would deeply appreciate.
A brief review By Susan Fischer There have been many books written about the life of John Lennon. They tell you about major milestones, facts and fiction, bed-ins, lost weekends and bread baking. They tell you everything imaginable about John down to his preference of breakfast cereal. But Larry Kane's Lennon Revealed is different from these books. It portrays John's sensitivity, compassion and his insecurities. It portrays John as a living, breathing human being, faults and all. The retelling of stories from Ticket To Ride gives the reader a bit of deja-vu in Lennon Revealed. But with the mix of great interviews and the author's exquisite writing, your deja-vu will be a distant memory. Now to the good stuff! The interviews in Lennon Revealed were a wonderful glimpse into the world of Lennon. From the obvious candidate, Yoko Ono (who isn't the horrible monster that nearly every Lennon book portrays her to be) to an ordinary young man who met and was fortunate enough to befriend his idol, the reader gets an honest and truthful glimpse into the life of John Lennon through those who knew him the best. Another enjoyable aspect of Lennon Revealed dealt with Lennon's generosity and charity and his constant plight for the "working class hero". From the days of "hair peace" to Mr. Kane's insightful story of John's assistance with a Philadelphia fundraiser for charity. Those stories told volumes about how much he cared about the human race. Each of his contributions made the world a little bit better. The final chapter is a first for any of the Lennon books I've been fortunate enough to read over the years. It is filled with stories from the fans; the people who Lennon would inspire and touch in so many ways. From teenagers who weren't even alive when we lost John, to those who were there from the beginning to the tragic end and everyone in between. Their words of joy, grief, inspiration and love are a fabulous addition to a very candid, honest and beautiful book. I am honored to be one of those fans who are included in the book. ("The More I Love Him", page 277) There are many more gems in Lennon Revealed about Lennon's life and I urge everyone to give it a read. It's insightful, honest and leaves the reader with a better sense of who John Lennon really was; a father, a husband, a friend, a lover, a New Yorker, a poet, a musician, a humanitarian and a human being.
By Shelley Germeaux October 4, 2005
John Lennon would have
celebrated his 65th birthday on October 9, and with the 25th
anniversary of his death just around the corner, there is a
plethora of new books about him hitting the book stores as
we speak. Here is a healthy overview of them to help you
decide where you're going to spend your Lennon-bucks
first. JOHN
by Cynthia Lennon In her new introduction she
says it's time to tell the full truth. She's more candid
about the time John hit her. (Other than being a huge shock,
most people are pleasantly surprised that this was the only
time.)She is blatantly honest about Aunt Mimi's rough
demeanor that served to alienate John from the motherly love
he needed; and finally she, (as well as Larry Kane, and
formerly Julia Baird) sets the record straight that Julia
did not give John over to Mimi. It was Mimi who took John
away. The effect of Yoko's actions towards Julian,
especially after John's tragic death, is heartbreaking. It
is refreshing, honest and heartfelt, from a woman who was
there for nearly the entire duration of the Beatles'
existence, cut short by John's relationship with Yoko Ono.
Highly recommended. See the website her and Julian share at
www.lennon.net (Note: I will be submitting a full book
review soon. So stay tuned.) John
Lennon: The New York Years,
by Bob Gruen, dedicated to Yoko Ono A collection of photos and stories by Bob Gruen, personal friend and photographer to John Lennon and Yoko Ono between 1971-1980. It's a beautiful book for any coffee table, with an excellent layout and quality. Who wouldn't want this great photo of John Lennon smiling up at them? Many of his pictures are well known to fans, representing the major post-Beatles events in John's life: the Elephant's Memory days, with John wearing the "You are Here" shirt, the production of Sometime in New York City, the One-to-One concert with John sporting the famous "army jacket", while talking about John's feelings he was being followed by the FBI. There is a gap during John's time in L.A., "the lost weekend", then resumes with the Walls and Bridges photos (with all the glasses) in the summer of '74, the NYC t-shirt sessions, the Statue of Liberty shots, and finally the Dakota pictures with baby Sean. You might ask why he's put
these pictures out again. His first book of photos, "Listen
to These Pictures" (re-printed in Japanese with photo of
Yoko inside the front in 1989, titled "Bob Gruen's Works:
John Lennon"), came out in 1985, then the expensive Genesis
edition,"Sometime in New York City", offered originally at
$450 and signed by Bob and Yoko, came out in the late '90's.
In looking at these first two books, you see most of the
same photos and stories as in this new book. This edition is
in the middle of the two: much nicer than the first book,
but more affordable than the out-of-print Genesis version,
which is too expensive to leave out on your table. So in
asking the question as to what Bob offers in this book that
is not in the first two, I laid them side by side to see for
myself. This edition contains more color and larger photos than the first book, but of course not as elegant as the Genesis version. He's a little more generous with previously rejected photos in this edition, and he is a now a bit more candid in the stories. For example, he tells the real story about the night at Jerry Rubin's in 1972, probably since Yoko is too, these days and getting quite a bit of mileage off it. (See interview with Larry Kane for Lennon Revealed; and it was a theme in the Lennon Musical, as well as the liner notes for the Lennon Anthology box set). There's even a picture of John drunk, with reels of tape on his head from that night. So I guess Bob doesn't have to carefully skirt around that story anymore. He also is open about the night John asked him to drive him over to May Pang's apartment, confessing that he and Yoko were separated. In the summer of 1974, after his return from L.A., there's a funny photo of John in a cute pose on the roof, amongst the "NYC" photos. This pose is refreshing because it makes John seem a little more "human" than the other more famous NYC shots, which seem a little detached because they are so "posed". But Bob does try to avoid the fact that these famous and well-loved photos were taken on the roof of the apartment John and May Pang shared together at that time, only saying, "John had a penthouse apartment on the eastside." He does mention that May was the one who tried to take photos of the UFO from that rooftop, and you put two and two together. You have to smile at his sensitivity to Yoko's feelings, as he does dedicate the book to her. (There are also two photos of May Pang's in the very back of the book, at the end, but only one of them credited to her in very tiny letters. Oddly, she is not thanked for the photos in the acknowledgements, and the cover of the book indicates that all images are by Bob Gruen.) If you have to decide where
to spend your Lennon-bucks this fall, consider whether you
have one or both of Bob's first books because of the
repeated stories and photos. But if you missed out on the
Genesis edition especially, it's definitely a good
choice. Charlie Lennon: Uncle to a Beatle, by Scott Wheeler, forward by Bill Harry (paperback; Wheeler Communications) $26.99 What a Lennon family history treasure! Charlie Lennon, who passed away in 2002, was the feisty brother to John's father, Alf. He was a frequent visitor at Beatle week in Liverpool, charming fans all around the world and endearing them all to his heart. Long-time friend Scott Wheeler and fellow musician helped sort out his belongings after he died, finding a bundle of photos that the world has never seen until now. These include John's grandparents Jack and Polly, and their children. (One error in Cynthia Lennon's new book: Polly did not die in childbirth. She lived until 1949, and the pictures are here to prove it. Alf went to an orphanage simply because Polly could not care for all the kids herself.) Part I, entitled "In his own write" is in Charlie's own words, taken from many interviews over a period of 13 years and covers everything from his war service, lodge memberships, his confrontation with Julia's lover, John Dykins, taking care of his dying brother George, his brief visit to Kenwood to see John and Cynthia, his letter to John telling him off about the lies he's been told about his father, ordering him to meet with his dad and give him a chance (which he did), and meeting up with Julian after his father's death. You can almost here his Liverpudlian scouse, complete with cuss words. Can it get any better than this? You can only smile. In Part II we learn so much about the Beatle goings-on in Liverpool over the years: about the author's visit with the Harrisons, seeing a real Beatles concert in 1964, the full history of the Cavern club closing and re-opening, which prompted the reunion of the Quarrymen. We walk through the history of the Beatle conventions in Liverpool and dozens of photographs of Charlie with fans. Also the memorial service for John Lennon in 1980, visits with Pete Best, Julia Baird, and the musical adventures of being in a band with Uncle Charlie. There is scandal within the pages, one involving the mystery surrounding an alleged daughter of John Lennon's that surfaced in 1998, around the same time that John's half-sister, adopted out of wedlock in 1945, also surfaced. While the half-sister is for real, even the author is no longer sure about the daughter. Tributes follow by the late Alistair Taylor, Spencer Leigh, and Sam Leach, among many others. This book is a real treasure
for deeply committed Lennon-ologists who would have loved to
sit down with a real live aging Lennon over tea and look
through scrapbooks without yawning. A lot of history in
these pages! Something that I hope every member of John's
family will have in their possession. After hearing only
Mimi's side of the story all those years, it's refreshing to
hear from a Lennon, the other side of the story. Lennon Revealed, by Larry Kane, forward by Mark Hudson (Running Press)$29.95 Larry Kane, reporter and
author of the very popular Ticket To Ride in 2004, about his
travels with the Beatles on their 64-65 tours, now shares
his personal memories of John Lennon, while also
interviewing over 70 friends of John's. He searches for the
truth of John Lennon as a man, and many interesting,
lesser-known revelations come to light. Another look at his
intimate (however you want to take that) relationship with
Stu Sutcliffe; his intention, actually taped during an
interview, of being a good father to Julian and husband to
Cynthia; an honest look at his relationship with May Pang;
and the supposed fling with Brian Epstein, which Brian
himself refuted to Larry. Myths are put to rest in this
book, agendas are put aside, and this author is not afraid
to be fair and honest. Highly recommended. (please see my
complete review of "Lennon Revealed" on this site, as well
as my interview with Larry Kane. Also see
www.lennonrevealed.com for more information. You can read
the essay I submitted as well as others under the section
for fan stories. These heartfelt memoirs about John have
been generously included in the book alongside many others,
including Tony Perkins of Good Morning America. Marx and Lennon: The Parallel Sayings, by Joey Green, forward by Yoko Ono (Hyperion Books, paperback, $8.95)
The rest of the book consists of parallel sayings on each page, showing what both men said about the same subjects. For example: Marx: "Sir, are you trying to offer me a bribe? How much?" After a reporter asks if the Beatles will sing something, Lennon responds, "No, we need money first." The book highlights the many ways the men were very alike in their humor and outlook on life, as well as many coincidental circumstances. I recommend it for fun as a coffee table conversational piece.
If you are intrigued by the paranormal, here's a new book about rock stars and spiritual phenomena in their lives. There's a big chapter on John Lennon in here, of course beginning with the UFO siting with May Pang in 1974. A huge section is devoted to psychic Helene Iulo's experiences with John Lennon's spirit and apparitions in photos. There are other stories about John here too, like the one where a famous singer hears John singing in her house. It turns out he lived in this house while in L.A for a time. It's fun to read whether you
believe everything or not. It was offered on Amazon in the
used category as low as $10 with shipping. Also covered in
these perfect-for Halloween stories: the other individual
Beatles, Yoko Ono and her interest in ancient Egyptian
princesses and UFO "starship" themed albums over the years;
David Bowie (of course), Jimi Hendrix (no doubt), Michael
Jackson (definitely), Elton John, Elvis, Mick Jagger,
Madonna, and the list goes on and on. It's not all about
ghosts and UFO's. It's also about spirituality and the
messages these stars are to impart to us during their
lifetimes. Other Lennon books due out soon: Remembering John Lennon: 25 Years Later, from Life Magazine, a pictorial due this month. Memories of John Lennon --Introduced and edited by Yoko Ono, this is a compilation of memories by friends, due out in December.
CD: Chaos
& Creation in the
Backyard September 15, 2005 By Shelley Germeaux If you were debating: Buy
it!!! After listening to "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard" and watching the Special Edition DVD accompanying it, I am totally inspired. We bought it at Best Buy for about $18.00. The DVD gives you a great visual to the behind the scenes sto |
On
first glance, Jude Southerland Kessler's new novel,
Not
only is the song Liverpool 8 great, but so is the
Imagine
This: Growing up with my brother John Lennon
Demonstrating
his true generosity with fans, he excused himself for a
moment to go find a family that was in the front of the
stage. The little boy Miles (pictured with Sean on the
right) from that family had asked Sean for an autograph at
the end of the show, and Sean leaned over and promised he
would do it afterwards. He ran up the stairs and returned
with the overjoyed family. After a photo taking session and
autographs for everyone, Sean had a bit more time to
chat.
Here's
an idea for a new Beatles trivia game--take the new
biography, The Beatles, by Bob Spitz, and try to see
how many factual errors you can find throughout the book. A
group of Beatle fans have already started the game and as
you can see below, our list is quite extensive.
Cynthia Lennon, John's
first wife, takes a bolder stab at writing her intimate
memoirs of her ten years with John. In her first book, "A
Twist of Lennon", written in 1973, she was being careful to
not anger John, while also hiding her true pain. Back then,
not wanting to rock the boat, she was still the good British
girl John married. But no more.
This is a delightful
little bathroom book showing the synchronicities between
Marx and Lennon (humorously saying it's definitely not Karl
Marx and Vladimir Lennin). The introduction as well as first
chapter, "Parallel Sayings, Parallel lives" are very
interesting, showing some strange coincidences. Remember the
Beatles were compared to the Marx Brothers when "A Hard
Day's Night" came out, and the Beatles even said they
watched the Marx film "Duck Soup" for their inspiration.
Marx and Lennon, both considered the leaders of their
groups, and both called "the witty one", were both born in
October, exactly 50 years apart. Both men admired each
other's work. 
