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Second-Hand Beatles Songs – A Covers Story

Second Hand Beatles by Alan Lord
Second Hand Beatles by Alan Lord

Privately Published Beatles Book

A fascinating aspect of collecting Beatles print-related material is the many privately published books that are lurking out there for the discerning collector. There are many treasures that are not well-known by the public as they are not affiliated with a major publisher and are published privately by the author. As a collector, these books have many special collector attributes. Because they are privately published, often the number of these books issued is severely restricted or limited because of the high cost of printing a large volume of the title. Would like to highlight one of these privately published books that I was able to acquire recently on eBay, thanks to being alerted by a fellow collector, Seamus Hayes. 

Beatles Songs of Lennon/McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr

This book deals with people who have covered the songs of Lennon and McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. At 522 pages, it looks at CDs, albums, and singles from virtually every corner of the world. What makes this book especially attractive for collectors is that at the present time, there are only 30 known current copies of the book in existence.

Second-Hand Beatles back cover
Second-Hand Beatles back cover

Would love to see this book be available to a much wider audience with a major publisher. However, I must also be honest, as a collector, the smaller number of privately published copies enhances the special quality of possessing a very rare item. Personally extending my best wishes for the author to find the mass circulation publisher that he is looking for.

I am not currently selling any more via eBay but if you know of anyone who wants to purchase a copy please give them this e mail address below to make contact. Many thanks
Alan Lord

alanlorduk@yahoo.co.uk

Special books like this deserve to be made available to the large Beatles book collector audience.

What is your favourite cover of a Beatles song? Let me know in the comments below.

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The Newest Arrivals in The Beatles Bookstore

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TRANSLATIONS NEEDED WITH THESE TWO BEATLES BOOKS!!!

Klaus Voormann's Book in German
Klaus Voormann’s Book in German

There are a couple of Beatles-related books, one written in German and the other one in French that deserve to have English language translations!

Warum spielst du Imagine nicht auf dem weißen Klavier, John? Hardcover

The first book which the title translates to “Why Don’t You Play ‘Imagine’ on the White Piano, John”, was written by longtime Beatle associate, Klaus Voormann. It has been reported that Klaus does have a desire to have the book translated but he has not yet found a translator that he has complete faith in. It truly is a shame that English-language audiences have been denied the opportunity to read Klaus’s great stories.

German Edition Published by Heyne Verlag, Munich   October 31, 2003

My brother’s name was John Lennon

John Lennon’s mom Julia had a child after John, Julia, and Jacqui. Her name was Victoria, changed to Ingrid by her adoptive parents. Julia gave the child up for adoption and John never met her. This book written only in French is Victoria/Ingrid’s story. Though certainly not containing much, if any, Beatle information, it certainly would be nice to be able to read her story. Would also love to see a book written about John Lennon’s two half-brothers, David and Robin Lennon. These were the two children fathered by John Lennon’s dad, Freddie, with his second wife, Pauline Lennon. It would be interesting to know why the two brothers have shunned absolutely any association whatsoever with their famous brother!

French edition by Ingrid Pedersen Publisher ‏ : Michel Lafon (June 9 2005)

My Brother’s Name Was John Lennon

Have you got either of these two books? Have you translated them? Would be interested to hear from you.

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Other Books on John Lennon

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A Sad Song and Make It Better – Julian Lennon

Letter from Julian
Letter from Julian Lennon

Julian Lennon

To show the kindness and wonderful character of Julian Lennon, I had inquired if Julian would like a rare audio copy of his grandfather Freddie singing a song in the Dutch language taken from a rare 45. His early web designer who is now deceased, forwarded my inquiry to Julian personally as to whether he would like a CD copy of his grandfather’s recording that was released to capitalize on his son, John’s, immense fame.

Julian was very interested in acquiring a copy of the song, so I mailed it to him. A couple of months later I received the handwritten thank you note shown above from him. I quickly noticed that Julian had written the note on the 5th of November which is “Guy Fawkes” day in England and the date was famously mentioned by Julian’s dad on his song “Remember.”

Freddie Lennon – In Dutch!

This is the rare recording that I sent to Julian and resulted in the kind note he sent me above. This is the Dutch picture sleeve of the song. Many have heard the English language version of the song, but only a comparative few have heard the Dutch language version. A historical oddity about this recording is that both Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding of the Jimi Hendrix Experience played on this record. One other oddity is that Life is misspelled as Live on the 45’s sleeve. Freddie actually made an appearance on Dutch TV to lip-sync the number. Too bad a film of that does not exist!

Freddie Lennon My Life and My Home
Freddie Lennon My Life and My Home

Julian

This wonderful item in the collection was acquired by me by asking a Brazilian friend of mine, who has since passed on, to attend a Julian photography exhibit in São Paulo. She did, as she was a great Julian fan and she asked Julian if he could inscribe my name on the lyrics of a song he had performed on the radio while on tour in the late 90’s. Although he has never stated directly who the song is about, it is certainly clear who he is referring to. When the item arrived from Brazil, I quickly had the lyrics framed with a white feather to highlight the magical significance of what Julian’s dad told him the white feather might indicate or should be interpreted by his son to mean one day!

Julian Lennon – Loving Is Easy When You Don’t Count The Costs

White Feather Foundation

Julian’s White Feather Foundation has done such superb work in many philanthropic causes around the world. He is to be commended as his activism is supporting the goal to make the world a better place!

Loving Is Easy by Julian Lennon
Loving Is Easy by Julian Lennon

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Discover Books About John Lennon

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How Klaus Voormann Introduced Himself to The Beatles: Walk Don’t Run

Klaus Voormann: Walk Don't Run by The Typhoons
Klaus Voormann: Walk Don’t Run by The Typhoons

Klaus Voormann

This is the picture sleeve that Klaus Voormann used to introduce himself to the Beatles. I have been trying to find this sleeve for many years but it simply is too expensive for me to acquire!

Klaus introduced himself to John Lennon at one of the German clubs where they were playing long hours – The Kaiserkeller – and truly honing their musical craft. To impress John, he showed John a picture sleeve he had recently designed the cover of. The sleeve was “Walk Don’t Run” by the Typhoons.

The song was also a hit for the Ventures. The sleeve is what holds the interest to many collectors as it was one of the first commercial record designs that Klaus Voormann created. When Klaus showed the sleeve to John Lennon, John told Klaus, go see “Stu” (Sutcliffe) as he is the artistic one.” This quote has been relayed by Klaus on several Youtube videos.

Astrid

When Klaus told his friend Astrid about the band and brought her to see them, she met and fell in love with Stu, and also began a time when she photographed the band and took some of the best photos ever of them. Sadly, her romance with Stu was to be short-lived as he died of a cerebral hemorrhage at a very young age. Fate was also to deny Stu the opportunity to see how big his former bandmates were to become in the musical world. Shortly before he died, Stu had left the Beatles to pursue his artistic career.

I have been looking for this picture sleeve for quite some time but unfortunately, it commands some very high prices, and I have had no luck securing a copy for what I deem to be a reasonable figure.

Hope you enjoy this!!!

Buzz

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You Read The News Today – Oh Boy!

A B Rhodes Books
A B Rhodes Books

He Read The News Today Oh Boy!

A small sample of the book catalog of A. B. Rhodes. He has published numerous Beatles books and had the great idea of publishing his private collection of newspaper and magazine articles as a series of books through the publisher, Lulu. This page is regularly updated as the collection grows.

In my opinion they serve as excellent time capsules to the Beatles era.

Advertising the Beatles Volume 1

This book is the first volume of a compilation series of one fan’s collection of advertisements promoting anything related to The Beatles. Songs; Albums; Films, the Apple Years and even some of the solo years.

Advertising the Beatles Volume
Advertising the Beatles Volume

Advertising the Beatles Volume 2

Advertising The Beatles
Advertising The Beatles

The Fabulous Beatles 1964

The Fabulous Beatles 1964
The Fabulous Beatles 1964

The Fabulous Beatles 1965

The Fabulous Beatles 1965
The Fabulous Beatles 1965

The Fabulous Beatles 1966

The Fabulous Beatles 1966
The Fabulous Beatles 1964

The Beatles Rave

The Beatles Rave
The Beatles Rave
The Beatles Rave 1965
The Beatles Rave 1965
The Beatles Rave 66-70
The Beatles Rave 66-70

Early Beatles In The News

Early Beatles In The News
Early Beatles In The News
Early Beatles In The News 2
Early Beatles In The News 2
Early Beatles In The News 3
Early Beatles In The News 3
Early Beatles In The News 4
Early Beatles In The News 4

Beatles Beat

The Beatles Beat
The Beatles Beat

The Beatles World Scrapbook

The Beatles World Scrapbook
The Beatles World Scrapbook
The Beatles World Scrapbook 2
The Beatles World Scrapbook 2
The Beatles World Scrapbook 3
The Beatles World Scrapbook 3

The Beatles in The Mirror – 1964-1965

The Beatles in The Mirror 1964 - 1965
The Beatles in The Mirror 1964 – 1965
The Beatles in The Mirror 1966 - 1969
The Beatles in The Mirror 1966 – 1969

Solo Beatles In The Mirror 1970-1974

By A. B. Rhodes

Book Description from Lulu

1970-1974 were the first years of Solo Beatles. After conquering the world through the 1960’s, their fans and the media were waiting to see what the four (now) ex-Beatles, could do as individuals. This book contains newspaper articles, photos, interviews from that time. Taken from one life long fan’s collection, it provides a fascinating insight into the world of music in the 1970’s. The original articles as they appeared all those years ago. A terrific addition to and Beatles fans bookshelf!

Solo Beatles in the Mirror 1970-1974
Solo Beatles in the Mirror 1970-1974

Solo Beatles in the Mirror – 1975 – 1979

The Solo Beatles in The Mirror 1975 - 1979

The Beatles Beat 1970-1975

by A.B. Rhodes A well-informed London-based monthly music magazine featuring pop and beat groups of the 1960’s through to rock and progressive groups of the 1970’s and 80’s. Originally christened Beat Monthly it was renamed Beat Instrumental Monthly by issue 18 and then Beat Instrumental magazine from issue 37. It catered for musicians with reviews of musical instruments, guitars, effects, amps, and production equipment along with some great interviews, music news articles, and record album reviews which attracted many non-musicians. This book has been compiled as a reference for all Beatle fans by a lifelong Beatles fan so that fans (past, present, and future) can see how the media reported on John, Paul, George & Ringo back in the 1960s and up to the mid-1970s.

Beatles Beat 1970 - 75
Beatles Beat 1970 – 75

What a fantastic resource these books are! Well done A. B. Rhodes!

To get copies, click here: Lulu Books– A.B Rhodes

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The Quarrymen: Rare Recollections of 6th July 1957

The Quarrymen on Doug Chadwick's Lorry
The Quarrymen on Doug Chadwick’s Lorry – Copyright Rod Davis/ James Davis

Doug Chadwick – Driver of The Lorry

Doug Chadwick was the driver of the lorry that famously carried John Lennon and the Quarrymen on the day that John met Paul.

Photo by Chris Chadwick of his dad Doug Chadwick, the lorry driver on July 6, 1957. The photo was taken at the Beatles Story in Liverpool!

Doug Chadwick by the display in The Beatles Story
Doug Chadwick by the display in The Beatles Story

Doug Chadwick’s kind note to me that accompanied the photo.

Letter from Doug Chadwick
Letter from Doug Chadwick

It is my understanding that Quarrymen Rod Davis’s dad, James Davis, took the famous photos from July 6, 1957, of the Quarrymen on their way to the Woolton Village Fete! It is amazing that not only are there photos from that day, but a reel-to-reel recording of two of the songs that the Quarrymen played that day also survives!

The Quarrymen on Doug Chadwick's Lorry - copyright Rod Davis/ James Davis
The Quarrymen on Doug Chadwick’s Lorry – copyright Rod Davis/ James Davis

An excellent video by our blog administrator, David Bedford regarding that very historic day!!! The Day John Met Paul – The Quarrymen 6th July 1957

My signed photo by the photographer that took the original photo, Geoff Rhind. Geoff’s signature is on the border surrounding the photo. Three Quarrymen also signed this photo! This photo was acquired through the kindness of Quarrymen member, Rod Davis!

Quarrymen photo signed by photographer Geoff Rhind, plus Colin Hanton, Rod Davis and Len Garry
Quarrymen photo signed by photographer Geoff Rhind, plus Colin Hanton, Rod Davis and Len Garry

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Discover More About The Quarrymen with Those Famous Photos