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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When I ran the now defunct Beatles in Print page on Facebook, I posted the following item on that page and it seemed to generate a lot of keen interest.
Most Beatles collectors would probably agree that one of the most desirable pieces of Beatles memorabilia to have an authentic set of their four signatures. I was fortunate to have purchased a set from the Sotheby’s auction house before the price explosion of autographs occurred following the death of John Lennon. Collecting is often a feature of being at the right place at the right time and going with your instincts. I could kick myself as I once had the opportunity to purchase John Lennon’s handwritten lyrics to “Because” and I did not pull the trigger figuring it was way too expensive.
Well, you can “imagine” what I think of that decision now! However I was happy with this purchase, it features all four of the Beatles signatures on a NEMS stock transfer issued in 1967 several months following the death of their manager, Brian Epstein. What is unusual about this document is that it also features the signatures of Brian Epstein’s mother, Queenie Epstein, and his brother Clive Epstein. The signature of Ringo is very rare as well as he signs the document in his real name-R. Starkey (Richard Starkey). Documents with the signatures that appear with this configuration are extremely rare. Signatures from 1967 are also well-sought after as that was the year credited to be the apex of their career.
A photo of part of the back of the stock transfer that features the four signatures of the Beatles.
Despite owning a massive Beatles book collection, there are only a few Beatles titles that I can honestly say that once I began reading it, I finished reading it in one sitting. “It’s All Too Much” is one of those titles, David Stark has led the life that most Beatles fans can only dream of. The beneficiary of good timing, good luck, and his own uncanny ability to think quickly on his feet, has led David to lead a charmed Beatles fan’s life.
We are so fortunate to have this book, a collection of stories about David’s extraordinary encounters with the Beatles over the years. His Yellow Submarine premiere story is worth the price of the book alone. David has so many Beatles-related adventures to discuss in the book, it is virtually mind-blowing! He worked for Beatles publisher Dick James for a short while and he has many
links and connections to the music industry. He is also a musician and a drummer in the band “The Trembling Wilburys.” David is also involved with Paul McCartney’s LIPA and has the honor of giving out one of the school’s most prestigious honors.
This is the cover of his wonderful book that you will not be able to put down once you begin reading it.
As a special surprise and gift to all of us at the blog. David has given me permission to post one of his precious Beatles-related artifacts (though not in the book).
Here is David’s note to me recently:
“Here’s something you will love, a note I own from George to an engineer named Cormack about (I presume) the soundtrack to the Raga film about Ravi Shankar, probably around 1971.”
George Harrison note owned by David
This is the tremendous band that David is the drummer for and he performed a tribute to George in March of 2023.
The Trembling Wilburys
The Trembling Wilburys is the UK’s finest tribute to rock supergroup the Traveling Wilburys, featuring a line-up of top musicians and vocalists who perfectly recreate the unique sounds & style of the amazing band created in 1988 by George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne.
Band members include Andy McNish as Bob Dylan and Tom Petty; Dave Collison as Roy Orbison; Michael Goulding as George Harrison; and Marko Laver as Jeff Lynne; lead guitarist Dzal Martin (Terry Reid/Equals); keyboard player Steve Salvari (Central Line/Chaka Khan); and drummer Dave Stark (John Lennon Experience/Dave Stark Five).
Their superb show features a great mix of Traveling Wilburys’ classics such as ‘End of The Line’, ‘Handle With Care’ and ‘She’s My Baby’, as well as solo hits by all five original Wilburys plus Beatles and ELO classics, including ‘Here Comes the Sun’, ‘Taxman’, ‘Hold On Tight’ and ‘Roll Over Beethoven’. An incredible band who deliver a high-octane show of the highest standard, don’t miss them!
The Trembling Wilburys
David Stark has provided the ticket link to the Feb 2024 event.
It’s All Too Much is the unique memoir by music industry veteran David Stark, who grew up in north London during the 1960s as a dedicated Beatles fan and was lucky enough to meet his musical heroes on various memorable occasions. From gate-crashing the Yellow Submarine film premiere in 1968 (aged just fifteen) and ending up sitting directly behind the group, to meeting all of them individually in some extraordinary circumstances, David has some highly entertaining stories about his many Beatles encounters which have never been told before.
I bought this wonderful non-Beatles book of photographs a while back by noted photographer Ron Galella.
Mr. Galella was well known for being persistent in following and taking photos of many famous celebrities, many whom often did not want to be photographed, leading to what certainly can be termed as “iconic photos.”
Galella notes in the book that 2 of his best-selling photos that he ever shot were the cover of this book shown here which is my copy of the book that I recently purchased. One is of cultural icons Mick Jagger and John Lennon with companion May Pang taken at a Jimmy Cagney Lifetime tribute in 1974 (March 13th, 1974, in Los Angeles) during the famous “Lost Weekend.” The other photo Mr. Galella mentions is the one of the widow of assassinated President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jackie, who was later to marry Greek shipping magnate, Aristotle Onassis, (outside her NY apartment on Oct 7, 1971.) (Not shown here)
One thing I have noticed over the years as a collector is the incredible surface naivety of the individual Beatles in not being able to realize the full extent the admiration that other celebrities and well-known personalities had for THEM. John in particular was often overwhelmed when he would be at a Hollywood party as to how the famous actors and actresses would swarm around the Beatles vying for their attention.
The book was self-published by Mr. Galella in 2021 and presents many candid shots of so many well-known people which was an apparent Galella modus operandi and specialty during his great career.
Recommend this one for your collections so you can share in the roving eye talents of the famous Ron Galella!
My copy of the wonderful book of photos by Ron Galella:
100 Iconic Photographs by Ron Galella
Do you like photo books? Do you have a favourite photographer? Let me know in the comments below.
These two books have the movie “Help!” as a common denominator. If you love photographs of the Beatles from that era, you will love both of these books in my humble opinion!
FIRST EDITION Eight Arms to Hold You 50 Years of Help! and the Beatles
Publisher ACC Art Books 2017 Simon Wells, Paul Skellett
This is a superb book with so many outstanding photographs from the individuals mentioned in the eBay book description which is from a current listing on the site the last time I checked there. This publication is a boxed set and is a first-class production. If you get a chance to find one of these books, it is well worth the purchase! The quality of the photos is superb.
Here is the eBay description of this excellent book
The follow-up to the successful Hard Day’s Night, with rare unseen photos- Help! is considered the forerunner to contemporary rock musicals and pop videos, with rare and unseen photos- The film includes a host of classic tracks such as Ticket To Ride, You’re Going To Lose That Girl, and the title track, Help! Remarkable as it may seem, this is the first book on The Beatles’ film Help! and that in itself is a rare milestone in Fab Four history.
So put down your mobile phone, turn off your satellite TV and unplug the internet, and travel back 50 years to wallow in the beauty of The Beatles as never presented before. It may seem clichéd to say this, but truly, a splendid time is guaranteed for all.
Simon Wells, from the introduction.
“Eight Arms to Hold You is a unique publication. It features both rare and unseen photos and materials from the movie Help!, drawn from archives on all four corners of the planet; all of which is forensically remastered by one of the country’s best forensic art and image restorers, Paul Skellett. The book is curated by world-renowned Beatles author, Simon Wells (Beatles 365 Days and Beatles Japan ). This is one of the most meticulously researched and restored Beatles titles to date, with support from Rex Features Archive, The British Film Institute, The Pete Nash Collection, The Vincent Vigil Collection, The Mark Hayward Collection, The Cavern Club, The Beatles Story Museum, The Hard Days Night Hotel, The Beatles Fest and many other private collectors.
Richard Lester, the legendary director of Help! has also lent his assistance in releasing parts of his private collection (including the original hand-noted script) as well as being part of the book’s final approval process. The project has renowned Beatles researcher and author Simon Wells on board to curate and narrate the story, with specialist forensic art and photography restorer, Paul Skellett handling the full image remastering process.
Help! Eight Arms to Hold YouHelp! Eight Arms to Hold You
Another excellent photo book of photos from the first color film of the Beatles. Many previously unseen photos. This makes a great companion piece to the book shown above. Like Lennon/ McCartney, the two books make a great duo!!!
THE BEATLES: PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE SET OF HELP! By Emilio Lari & Alastair Gordon
HERE WAS THE EBAY BOOK DESCRIPTION WHEN PURCHASED:
Published in 2015 by Rizzoli International Publications, Incorporated
An extraordinary collection of mostly unseen photographs of the Beatles during the making of Help!. Published to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of the release of the Beatles’ second motion picture, Help! , this almost entirely unpublished collection of photographs marks a pivotal turning point in the band’s history, as they evolved from much-loved musicians into the most important group of all time.
The Beatles’ first movie filmed in color, Help! is a madcap adventure featuring cinematography and film sequences widely considered to be hugely influential to the modern performance-style music videos of today. Specialist set photographer Emilio Lari was invited by director Richard Lester to shoot stills of the production at Twickenham Studios and document behind-the-scenes larking about as the band relaxed in their hotel between takes. With an introduction by Lester and intimate, never-before-seen images, The Beatles: Help! provides new and fascinating insights into the band that changed the history of music and the world.
Photographs from the set of Help!Photographs from the set of Help!
Added this huge colorful poster of Lennon the Musical to the collection from eBay. As many of you are aware, I love collecting not only rare and unusual Beatles items, but I like the ones with an interesting story. This Lennon musical was put together by Yoko Ono around 2005. It had a very short run due to the bad critical reviews.
Now and Then
However it did mark the first public performance of two of John’s rare and unreleased songs at that time of “India, India” and what was supposed to be the third Beatles Anthology reunion song, “Now and Then.” The song was actually called “I Don’t Want To Lose You” in the musical. Two people have posted their own camera shot versions of the musical on YouTube. I suspect it will only be a matter of time before the powers that be have it removed from YouTube.
The rarity of this subway poster due to the short running time of the musical was the main attraction to me purchasing it. I can only imagine the exorbitant cost of having this framed.
LENNON THE MUSICAL 5FT SUBWAY POSTER BROADWAY
LENNON THE MUSICAL 5FT SUBWAY POSTER BROADWAY NYC JOHN LENNON THE BEATLES 2005
RARE EDITION OF THIS POSTER MEASURES A LARGE 45X60 INCHES
AUTHENTIC POSTER FROM THE BROADWAY SHOW RELEASE FOR NYC SUBWAYS
Lennon – The Musical
For those of you who are not members of my Beatles print blog. Here is the link.
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Octopus’ Garden, the Beatles fanzine. With the digital age, many Beatles fanzines have bitten the dust. NOT THIS ONE! Over 30 years in operation
This is a great Beatles fanzine based in Massachusetts run by Tom Aguiar, a member of this blog. The magazine/ fanzine is entitled “OCTOPUS’ GARDEN.”
What you see here is an older issue of the magazine followed by 4 special magazines to celebrate the 80th birthday of the Fabs. I love this magazine and you will too. Contact information is provided on the last graphic. Tom has been very active in helping to increase the number of subscribing members to this blog. Thanks, Tom for helping promote the blog and having such a great magazine/fanzine!!!
To subscribe to Octopus’ Garden: Send information and funds to Octopus’ Garden, P.O. Box 3683, Peabody, MA 01961-3683, USA. Octopus’ Garden’s e-mail address is Beatles94@excite.com or Facebook at Octopus’ Garden Fanzine.
Do you subscribe to a Fanzine? Which One? Have you come across Octopus’ Garden before? If not, you should subscribe! Let me know in the comments below.
