A relatively hard to find McCartney book and an unreleased John Lennon book from the same company
Paul McCartney
Sire-Chappell published a series of music profile books back in the seventies. One that did see the light of day was the McCartney book that is featured below, which I have had in my collection for many years and have thoroughly enjoyed. There was also supposed to have been a Lennon book issued by the same company, that was never released or issued. The proof or evidence of that is known by the back cover of one of the actually released Sire-Chappell books.
John Lennon
You can see the proposed Lennon cover photo in the 2nd photo shown below. The Lennon book never came out as the final manuscript was not delivered to the publisher by the author for some reason. I know nothing more than that and that reason was given on a discussion group on the Internet, so I do not know how much validity that holds. In either case we do know that a Lennon book was indeed planned by the back cover of one of the actual released Sire-Chappell books.
The Proposed Books including one on John Lennon
I love stories like this that deal with the “what if’s” surrounding collecting possibilities that might have been.
After all these interesting blogs with new information on the Beatles I believe it is time to reflect and ask ourselves the question, why are we still spending so much time on the Beatles 53 years after they broke up? Why are we still intrigued by them?
What is the secret of their unprecedented fame?
And what about their music? It is still interesting. You still discover new things. Its simplicity. Its complexity. Why has their music remained fresh after all these years while other music of the same or later years now sounds hopelessly outdated?
One of our authors, Peter Eijgenhuijsen, has tried to unravel just that in his book The Beatles Era, A Quest for the Secret of the Beatles.
I highly recommend this book to you, a book that is not about what happened, but about why it happened.
Hardcover (with dust jacket), limited edition, numbered and signed, comes with one big colored poster, two small black and white posters, one quote card, one bookmark and four wallet-size photos of the individual Beatles.
The Beatles in the Philippines-Learn about the controversy surrounding the Beatles and the Marcos family. Many people have speculated that what happened to the Beatles in Manila hastened their decision to permanently stop touring!
This book is only available through Facebook. A signed limited edition of 1,000 copies which chronicles the Beatles controversial escapades in the Philippines.
Contact information in the Philippines for those who may be interested in the book:
Available at Popular Bookstore, 305 FLP Building, Tomas Morato Avenue, Quezon City. For orders and inquiries, please message/ e-mail us at pobost@yahoo.com.ph, you may also contact 8332-1567 ; 949 1234 464 BUSINESS HOURS: 09:00 AM – 05:00 PM ; Monday to Friday except Holidays
The Beatles in Manila Book Package
This book was brought to my attention by Seamus Hayes, an excellent Beatles book and print collector from the UK. I thank him for his diligence as you have to be a Facebook member to be able to buy this book. My Facebook days are over, but new and better things are on the horizon though…!!! Stay tuned!
Thanks to Seamus, I was able to acquire a copy of this book for the collection, the last signed and numbered copy! Grateful to my good friends across the pond!
The Beatles in Manila Book
My Signed Copy – Number 1000
The Stack of Signed Books – Going Fast
Hope you enjoy this amazing book about one of the most famous incidents in the Beatles touring years.
A few interesting John Lennon print items I was able to acquire on eBay in the last 5 years:
The first item is an educational guide printed by the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame intended to help educators in the task of being able to teach youngsters about the life and contributions of John Lennon to both music and culture.
John Lennon His Life And Work A Guide For Educators Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame
Guide to Lennon His Life and Work
Contents
Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame
This is the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame Lennon catalog summarizing John’s life and contributions to worldwide culture. This wonderful book is available both at the Hall of Fame in Cleveland, at their website, and through such organizations as eBay.
Lennon His Life and Work
John Lennon Tribute Tribute Concert 1990
A wonderful Lennon tribute concert program from Liverpool in 1990. This is the program that was available at the event. I love items like this as it serves as a memento of the concert even if you were not fortunate enough to be able to attend. There was a DVD, laser disk, and VHS release of this concert, with actor Michael Douglas serving as the narrator/host.
Before I departed Facebook, the announcement came across the medium that Lizzie Bravo had passed away from heart problems at age 70. I was fortunate to have had the good fortune to have many communications with the very prominent and celebrated Lizzie on Instant Messenger on Facebook. She was a wonderful lady with a warm heart and so many great memories of her travelling from her native Brazil in the sixties to London, to be present during the Beatles golden age of musical creations.
Across The Universe
She was also one of two fans, Gayleen Pease was the other, who was invited to sing backing vocals on John Lennon’s song “Across the Universe” in 1968. I firmly believe “Across the Universe” is one of the Beatles’ most underrated numbers. Several years ago, Lizzie published her Beatles memoirs in a book that was published in her native Brazil. I was able to purchase a signed copy from her.
Lizzie’s Inscription for John
I loved the photos, but I am not knowledgeable of the Portuguese language, so I missed out on most of the stories behind the photos. At the end of her life, Lizzie had completed her English translation of her book and was seeking out the best publication arrangement that she could find for its release.
Lizzie Bravo’s Book
Several months after her passing, I contacted Lizzie’s daughter to ask her if she had plans to complete her mom’s wish to one day issue the book in English. She promised me that she would eventually issue her mom’s book in English as that would ensure a much wider audience for the book by the prominent Beatles fan. I have included several photos here of the Brazilian edition of the book and I am sure we will all look forward to the day when her family is able to produce the English language edition for Beatles fans everywhere.
Our genuine raffle is for 4 people to join as our VIP ‘Tommy Hanley’ guests at our table of 10, alongside Tony, Tommy’s son, meeting at 11.30am for pre-lunch drinks, and a 3-course lunch (with even more drinks) and legendary broadcaster “Whispering” Bob Harris, the unmistakable voice of the Old Grey Whistle test & BBC Music radio. Bob shares five decades of remarkable stories from the Beatles to Dolly Parton hosted by his great friend Charles Dagnall.
The Event
The event is at Balls Brothers wine bar, Minster Exchange on Thurs 26 Oct, 2023. The event closes at 4PM, after which the lucky winners, with not one but two unique limited edition copies of ‘With a Little Help From My Lens’ by Tommy Hanley, may wander back to the citizenM hotel, (rated 8.7 Fabulous, on Booking.com), 40 Trinity Square, City of London, EC3N 4DJ, and freshen up in two King size rooms, ready for an evening at leisure, exploring the sites of London, as you please. Breakfast is included in the package prior to check out Friday 27th Oct.
Who was Tommy Hanley? Tommy was a London born, professional photographer, that during his 50-year career, photographed numerous musical rock, pop and jazz artists, of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. It all started in 1963 when he took the iconic shot of four lads from Liverpool before they went on stage to perform to screaming hoards, at the Odeon cinema, Luton, UK on September 6th. Tommy’s own story starts right there, and he transformed his journey into a special collector’s book, ‘With A Little Help From My Lens’.
With A Little Help From My Lens
Curated by his son Tony, and brought to fruition, as a labour of love, this unique publication, features over 300 glorious images (many of which are unseen), and from behind the camera, is Tommy’s original story, covering three decades, up to his final departure from Apple Corp, where in ’95, he was the ‘go to’ archivist for the upcoming Anthology project.
This unique collector’s book is genuinely limited to 1000 COPIES ONLY WORLDWIDE. It is retailed at £495ea and selling fast. It is not available in any store, or on any website, other than www.tommyhanley.com. When the last copy has gone, then its most definitely GONE FOR EVER!
Don’t forget to recommend The Beatles Bookstore Blog to your friends!
“With a Little Help From My Lens” – a selection of book testimonials are: –
‘Tom’s beautiful book is most impressive. His son, Tony has taken the care and attention to present Toms images and well written text to make it a quality product and a book that will be loved by any Beatles fan.
Jill Furmanovsky – Photographer Oasis, Blondie, and numerous other artists. Rockarchive.com
‘Thank you so much for finishing your father’s wonderful book. Just finished its read last night and am very enlightened. Loved everything about it. It was not like a “history documentary”, but more like sitting with an old friend as he tells his stories. And such great photos. Originally thought I was crazy, as it is the most I have ever paid for a book, but in the end, well worth it. Glad it is a contribution to me & my son’s (overgrown) collection.
Shelley, USA (Genuine book purchase)
‘My latest TV documentary ‘A Love Letter To The Beatles.’ charts the massive impact that The Beatles meant to a generation. To stare into very soul of The Beatles, Tommy Hanley’s book ‘With a Little Help From My Lens; is a massive hit! Tommy’s images evidence that he was there in the epicentre, and visually tells the stories of the most extraordinary career in music history. His talent behind the lens makes us feel like we are in front of it, in the room with John, Paul, George, Ringo, their families, colleagues and entourages. It’s a remarkable achievement to have been able to document such a journey in so much detail and bought to life in this not to be missed, first-class publication.
Simon Weitzman. Author & Film Director.
Tom Hanley, noted and distinguished photographer, was there to photograph the Beatles during their heyday and rise to the pinnacle of fame and notoriety also had the distinction of being there to help chronicle the demise of the world’s greatest entertainment phenomenon. When Tom Hanley passed away in November of 2021, his son fulfilled a promise to his dad with this great book, a wonderful collection of many of his Beatle photos taken over the years. When I learned that Tony was issuing only 1,000 copies of this book and it was not to be produced in any other form whatsoever, I knew I had to have one and I was fortunate to have been able to purchase copy #900 of 1,000 issued. I was not disappointed. It is a fabulous book. If you are a Beatles book collector, this is one you will NEED for your collection. “With a Little Help From My Lens” is one of the best photography books about the world’s best pop band, without question, and one of my favourite books in my massive Beatles library!
Mr John Bezzini, USA. Probably THE person with THE largest Beatle book collection IN THE WORLD!
