The blog is designed to feature both old and new Beatles-related print material including books, magazines, posters, or correspondence with people that have a Beatles connection or association. The blog will also feature books from people that have worked with the individual members of the group during their solo careers! Looking forward to seeing you here! Looking forward to your participation and feedback on the blog!
John “Buzz” Bezzini has one of the world’s largest collections of Beatles books and he will share his thoughts and opinions on some of the more rare and unusual Beatles titles.
John taught a course in 1984 called “The Beatles in Retrospect” marking the 20th anniversary of the Beatles’ arrival in America.
John also holds a Master’s Degree in Communication.
Enjoy Buzz’s Beatles Book Blog.
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From the Merriam-Webster Dictionary: lulu – Noun-slang: one that is remarkable or wonderful
I first heard about Lulu when watching her film performance in the wonderful To Sir with Love and hearing her sing the wonderful title song of the movie. There is a quick Beatles reference in the film by the way! Lulu has had many Beatles connections over the years. She appeared in the TV program The Music of Lennon and McCartney, was with Ringo on a Monty Python sketch. She berated John Lennon openly for flirting with Patti Boyd at the party for Magical Mystery Tour. She was married to Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees and they were living near Ringo’s home. Maurice Gibb was a member of the Fut who did the Beatles sendup of “Have You Heard the Word”.
A fascinating article appearing at the Beatles Bible site discussing the seemingly lost 1969 ITV tribute to George Martin which featured both Ringo Starr and Lulu:
Lulu appeared on a radio special done at Abbey Road which was a tribute to John Lennon, years after his assassination, at which she sang a couple of numbers in John’s honor!
Lulu appears on a special album of duets contributing to McCartney’s song, Let Em In.
Here is Lulu’s signed autobiography which I recently acquired: 2002 Publication – Little, Brown Book Group TimeWarner Books
Lulu’s signature in the book:
While browsing Amazon books recently, I also found this book which appears to be independently published from 2020 ironically by a company entitled: Lulu Publishing. Though a small paperback of approximately 60 pages, I bought a copy because it seemed to collect most of the Beatles Lulu associations in a single volume!
Lulu & The Beatles! Paperback – March 10, 2020
by Harry Lime (Author)
March 10, 2020 Lulu Press, Inc.
Lulu and the Beatles!
The back cover of the book:
Lulu with Ringo, Spike Milligan, and Friends
What a conclusion, quite the LULU!
Buzz
Biography
Biographical books about The Beatles or those associated with them
One of the more fascinating aspects of collecting is to own an item not possessed by many other people. (The exclusivity aspect of collecting). However, it must be noted that for me, it expresses more of a feeling of pride to own something like this rather than being boastful with the negative effect of making someone feel bad because the item cannot be obtained by them. Unfortunately, there are many collectors like that in the world.
I’m sure that you may have encountered some of them in your search for Beatles-related items. However, unlike many other limited edition books, this fabulous book about the Beatles solo years and the recordings that were made was issued to the mass audience in a more affordable softcover copy so that if you wanted one, you could find and purchase it quite easily. With a book as well-researched and documented such as this, over time, the prices that even the softcover copies demand are becoming increasingly more expensive and the best option for many is to purchase the digital pdf copy of the book which has many updates by Chip and Mark.
The book you see pictured below is the special hardcover edition of the work of Chip Madinger and Mark Easter, and it is a special edition indeed as there are only 9 copies of this hardcover edition in existence. The book presented here is copy #2 of the 9 copies that were printed. It will always hold a special place in my Beatles library.
Eight Arms To Hold You
This hardcover edition was also signed by the two authors!
The Signed Copy of the Book
A summary of the contents of the book is on the back cover:
Back Cover of Eight Arms To Hold You
Do you have a favourite Beatles book that is rare or is a particularly treasured possession? Let me know in the comments.
The following photos of this limited edition signed Paul McCartney “Blackbird Singing” represent a sad story in my life in regards to collecting. These are saved old archived photos of the book title that I took once the book had arrived and they represent a very sad reawakening of the character of someone that I had called a friend and trusted. As it turns out my faith and trust were unfortunately misplaced.
When my mom passed away, the friend assisted in the cleanup of her home to get the 2 family house in proper shape for our family to sell the home. Well, a few items disappeared from my collection as a result and this was one of those items. When a sacred trust is broken, it cuts to the bone. Unfortunately, my collection was so massive, that I did not notice the item was missing until much later when I also discovered my former friend had passed away.
I hate to bring people down with sad tidings but one of the things we need to deal with in life is to learn how to deal with big disappointments and to find a way to cope with our losses both with people and things! You also learn that there are some people that you can trust and others you can not. Above you heard an example of mistrust of one individual but here is a better part of the story and it involves a “true” friend:
This item held a special memory for me as the person who was my best man at my wedding, who also happened to be my boss was also a big Beatles fan. I was the type of fan who always kept us up-to-date with the latest Beatles news. I had learned that Mark Lapidos of the Fest for Beatles Fans had arranged to sell copies of a signed and numbered edition of Paul’s poetry book “Blackbird Singing” and he gave the time they would go on sale in his regular newsletter, and unfortunately we would both be at work at that time of the sale. My friend said, don’t worry John, and when the time arrived for the book sale, he got through on his cell phone and ordered us two copies. I quickly compensated him for his trouble and the cost of my copy of the book. My dear friend who was kind enough to order the 2 books has since passed away from a respiratory problem.
The lesson I learned from all of this, without trying to be too preachy, is to be grateful for what you have as things are fleeting but true good friends are with you always. Hopefully, this story did not depress anyone! I hope you enjoy the photos that remain of the book…
OR “EVERYBODY’S GOT SOMETHING TO HIDE EXCEPT FOR ME AND MY MONKEY” (MONKEES)
The connections that the Beatles had with the Monkees – there were many! (much too numerous to discuss all of them here) However, the night that Beatles took to the stage of the Ed Sullivan Show on Feb 9, 1964, there was also a future Monkee on stage. Davy Jones was starring in the Broadway production of Oliver and also performed on Sullivan’s show that legendary night. Little could Davy Jones have imagined that a short time later, the band he was to become a part of, the Monkees, would be compared to the headliners of that very evening!
The Monkees, a band that the California television network executives intended to create/ manufacture and use the success and the formula of the film A Hard Day’s Night as the model for engineering an American band aspiring to fame and fortune. The networks recruited many prominent songwriters like Harry Nilsson, Neil Diamond, Boyce and Hart, among many others to write hit material for the Monkees and for a time the Monkees actually surpassed the Beatles in both popularity and record sales. It must be noted that this occurred when the Beatles were making their stylistic transition away from the standard pop “I love you songs” to what could be termed as more sophisticated and adventuresome material!
The Beatles and The Monkees
Wanted to use this post to highlight some of the close associations that members of the Beatles and the Monkees were to develop over the years. The Beatles had helped to set the stage for the Monkees’ success in America and they probably realized that the Monkees record sales were rivaling their own so they needed to keep their record sales rivals close to the vest. Conversely, the Monkees were well aware of the enormous songwriting talents of the band across the pond and their worldwide appeal and they may have had some insecurities about depending on outside sources to write their own hit material! This was also to change as the Monkees began to insist at having more input into the creation of their own musical output as time went on.
I would like to alert you to this fantastic article written by Beatles and Monkees historian, Steve Bradley!!! I love this site and you will too!
The first book item I would like to highlight is this Mike Nesmith book: The late Mike Nesmith wrote this excellent book and one of the stories he tells within is his account of staying at John Lennon’s Kenwood estate in 1967. He was also present at some of the Sgt. Pepper sessions.
Loved the book but it was also very sad as it served as a reminder of all the people from that era who are no longer with us!
Mike Nesmith Book
Mike Nesmith signed and personalized this copy of the book for me:
Signed Copy of the Mike Nesmith Book
Mike was actually present when Tony Bramwell filmed the “A Day in the Life” video and you can see him in the Apple owned film on YouTube!
Found another link on the internet that shows Ringo and Mike sitting together at the Pepper sessions:
A few years ago I picked up this wonderful 2 cd set featuring Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits and Micky Dolenz of the Monkees discussing their past success and memories. There were many Beatle-related tales including Micky talking about hearing one of the first playbacks of “Good Morning, Good Morning” from Sgt. Pepper at Abbey Road and a story Micky told about jamming with John Lennon, Harry Nilsson, and Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys at Dolenz’s home studio. Micky says he still has the tapes and they are nothing to write home about, but the story he tells about John Lennon and Brian Wilson at his studio is priceless!
The famous 1973 photo by Richard Creamer which appeared in a multitude of newspapers and pop magazines helped to boost the fame and national exposure of singer Anne Murray as she was photographed with the legendary Hollywood Vampires featuring John Lennon, Harry Nilsson, Alice Cooper and Micky Dolenz. This was the beginning of the so-called Lost Weekend of John Lennon!
Micky Dolenz’s signature on a Fest for Beatles Fans program. This page also features the signatures of Peter Asher from Peter and Gordon, Henry McCullough, the late lead guitarist of Wings, Denny Seiwell, a former drummer for Paul McCartney and Wings, Mark Hudson, formerly of the Hudson brothers and a former Ringo Starr producer!
In conclusion, despite being rivals, the Beatles and the Monkees mutually respected one another and their respective achievements and they both came to realize there were many pitfalls in rising to the top and trying to stay there!
Recently I received a notice from a great Beatles friend of mine from Virginia informing me of an exciting new quarterly Beatles magazine entitled “The Beatles Magazine.”
The novel approach this magazine was taking was that the issue dates were going to correspond with the time that the actual events occurred back in the sixties. Based on the description offered for the magazine, I decided to subscribe and when I received the first issue, I was amazed at the content I was reading because the stories were written as if we were in the year when the actual events occurred.
John Lennon and Bob Wooler
For example, A few sample stories are an account of Paul’s 21st birthday party with John’s confrontation with Bob Wooler which almost put a stop to the Beatles before they climbed to the pinnacle of fame. Another superb article is an account of Paul’s writing an early Beatles song entitled “Pinwheel Twist”. Another fascinating article from the first issue is Pete Best’s assessment of why he was let go by the Beatles.
It is a quarterly magazine that takes a unique perspective to the articles written about our favorite group. If you notice the cover of the first issue shown below, you will notice that the date provided in the magazine for the first issue is 1963. It is a unique perspective for the mag because it highlights information that occurred back in 1963 as if it were being written today with additional information provided. After receiving the first issue, I was heartbroken to hear that not enough people subscribed to the magazine to be able to provide the funds in order to finance future issues of the magazine.
Single Issue
To me this was a disheartening revelation as this magazine was clearly aimed at a very serious and knowledgeable Beatles fan base. Because of economic realities, the one-issue magazine became an instant collector’s item. Ironically, it is the fan base that suffers as this magazine was both innovative, informative and clearly original and unique in its approach to Beatles information. I thank the publisher for the opportunity to have received and read this excellent magazine. It is my sincere wish that this idea be revisited at a future date as the premise of the magazine was simply too good of an idea to disappear.
The Beatles Magazine
The Beatles Magazine Inside Feature
Such a shame that the magazine only had a single issue, but what a collector’s item!
What is your favorite Beatles magazine? Do you subscribe to one at the moment?
In my book, The Country of Liverpool, I was told about an amazing club that was in Liverpool during the 1980s, which had a link to D-day, 6th June 1944. Mick Kinney, bass player with Phil Brady and the Ranchers, told me about the strangest club ever!
“One of our greatest and strangest experiences was playing on this boat at the docks in Liverpool. It was called the Club Ship Landfall, but we called it the Bad Ship Landfall. It was a large landing craft.
“This guy, Joe McGlory,” recalled Mick, “who owned a number of pubs in Liverpool, came up to us one night when we were playing for him. He says; ‘Hey Phil, you’re not going to believe this, but I’ve bought a boat and turned it into a club! It is down at the dock. I want you to play there, but it’s a late finish, so you can do your early gig and then come down and do the spot there about 12:30-2:30am. We did it for about three years. It was a bizarre place.
“The first time we saw it we went down after a gig and there was this huge boat in the dock with a gang plank that you walked over on. It’s an old army boat, one of those landing craft where the front comes down to unload whatever it was carrying. It had port holes down the side too. It was huge.”
D-Day Landing Craft
The Landfall was the LCT 7074 Landing Craft Tank and was used at D-Day in June 1944 at the Normandy Invasion. It landed tanks and troops on Gold beach on D-Day and continued to carry supplies across the English Channel over the next few months. She arrived in Liverpool in 1945 with a view to her being converted into an emergency repair ship for the Far East, but the Japanese surrender meant it wasn’t needed. It remained in Liverpool and was turned into a club, permanently based in Bramley-Moore Dock.
The LCT 7074 Landing Craft
“It had all been converted inside, so that when you went in around the middle, if you turned left, there was a disco, or to the right it was a club, and neither sound bled into the other club. It had a proper stage in each club and because it had double doors for each club, it was perfect. So it became the place to go for the lads after they’d finished playing. We played the Friday night and Saturday nights, so everyone knew Phil would be on, so they’d come down for a couple of pints. It was a bit rough and you’d get a couple of sconeheads, but it was good. That was around 1980.
The Guy Got Bottled
“There was one nasty incident when a guy got bottled. The other lad smashed a bottle and then cut the guy’s throat, so the blood was spurting out everywhere. He was losing a lot of blood and by the time the ambulance got there he was about to pass out. There was just this pool of blood by his foot where it had run down his body. Unreal. He lived though. We were playing when it happened and it was right in front of us. You had to be careful because there were some strange people who turned up there!
“By the time we finished playing, especially in the summer, the sun was already up and we were going home while the birds were singing, about 5 o’clock in the morning.”
Ford Cortina
“I remember coming out of the club one night with Phil, who had a Mark 3 Ford Cortina, bright yellow, vinyl roof and sports wheels. He said; ‘there’s a guy in my car and he’s trying to rob it’ but he didn’t see us. So I went over and opened the door. He was shocked, so I punched him and dragged him out of the car. Phil came over and started battering him with a mic stand! It was hilarious! The kid jumped up and started running away so Phil threw the mic stand at him and it hit him on the back! So, he fell on the floor and rolled over, before jumping up and saying; ‘I’ll be back with my brothers’ etc. A strange experience!”
The Landing Craft Now
Who knew that the only surviving Landing Craft from D-Day on 6th June 1944 would end up in Liverpool? The craft was taken to Portsmouth and restored to its original state and is on display at the “D-Day Story” museum.
