On 11th August 1960, Paul McCartney telephoned Mona Best to ask if Pete could come for an audition on the 12th August and if he wanted to come to Hamburg with them.
Pete was delighted and made his way to the Wyvern Club (later the Blue Angel) where he passed the audition.
The Unknown Drummers
There was an “unknown drummer” who was also approached who decided not to go for an audition. When researching Finding the Fourth Beatle, David Bedford unearthed another drummer who could have gone for an audition, but decided not to!
How Many Beatles Drummers?
How many Beatles drummers can you name? In our book, we have 23 drummers between 1956 and 1970. If you can’t get 23 drummers, then you need this book!
Do we really understand why a band like The Beatles is considered a unique phenomenon? For decades historians, writers, media makers, and enthusiasts have done their best to discover and explain how it was possible that four friends from the north of England conquered the world. With their approach to song writing, recording and performing. But with so much more. What makes and keeps The Beatles unique and why are we probably still talking about them a century from now?
In his recently published book “The Beatles Era: a quest for the secret of The Beatles” Peter Eijgenhuijsen shares his search for the secret of The Beatles in a clever and compact way in a hundred pages. In doing so, Eijgenhuijsen reflects on what it means to live in “The Beatles Era” We are all in that happy circumstance. Although the band stopped decades ago: many of us experienced the rise, thedecline, but also the solo years of the Fab Four. Others only hooked up in those solo years. Anyway: with two living Beatles in our midst, we still belong to what Eijgenhuijsen calls The Beatles Era. And that, of course, makes us privileged people.
Discover more about this fascinating topic here (The first part is in Dutch, with an English translation further down the page).
The Beatles Era
Get your copy of Peter’s excellent book from the Beatles Bookstore now
SheSaidSheSaid Interview with Beatles Stylist Leslie Cavendish
June 2, 2021
Leslie Cavendish, trained in London by Vidal Sassoon as a master stylist (truly an artist), became not only The Beatles’ personal stylist, but also their trusted friend. He developed their post-Fabs look during the later Beatle years. They set him up in his own salon near the Apple Boutique.
His days were spent in the Apple offices, and he was a member of the Magical Mystery Tour Bus! When George Harrison invited the Hell’s Angels to Apple, they stayed in Leslie’s home! Leslie, with his own wry humor and delightful personality, will tell you true Beatles stories you’ve NEVER heard before?
Which Beatle was called “The Headmaster” and couldn’t sit still for a haircut? What were the earliest days of Yoko’s presence in Apple like? How did Jane Asher figure into Leslie’s career? This is a riveting interview. And his book, The Cutting Edge, is even better.
BBC Producer Peter Pilbeam who recorded The Beatles
The Beatles at the BBC Manchester – 8th February 1962
The Beatles first appearance on BBC Radio was in March 1962. Brian Epstein arranged an audition for them with Peter Pilbeam at the Playhouse Theatre and, though Brian had requested the opportunity for all three vocalists to be heard, Pilbeam only wanted to listen to John and Paul. He decided to assess them both to see if they would be suitable, and gave them the opportunity to perform four songs.
The Beatles performed two of their own songs, “Like Dreamers Do” and “Hello Little Girl”, plus “Memphis Tennessee” and “Till There Was You”. They had played all of these songs at Decca just a few weeks earlier, and it was surprising that they included “Till There Was You”, which was a disaster for McCartney at the audition.
The Beatles at the BBC
Paul showed his nerves again. However, this time the boys passed the audition, making Pilbeam the first BBC producer to book The Beatles. He remembered that they stood out among the many other groups that had auditioned, recalling that there was a “load of rubbish – masses of rubbish – and then out of the blue this group turned up at the Playhouse at one of our audition sessions – called The Beatles.” As with most places The Beatles went, their name was perceived as slightly odd. It was a “weird name and everybody said ‘Yuk!’”, Pilbeam said, “but I was impressed with them at the time.”
However, what was interesting was the comments Pilbeam made on their audition report form:
“More Country and Western”
“I wrote that they were ‘an unusual group not as rocky as most, more country and western with a tendency to play music’. This probably sounds awfully crude, but it was praise indeed,” he said. “Many groups just relied on noise to get them through the audition.”
Excerpt from The Country of Liverpool. Get your copy now
The Country of Liverpool: Nashville of The North (SOFTBACK)
The Country of Liverpool: Nashville of the North by David Bedford. The Untold Story of the Country Roots of The Beatles and Liverpool
£25.00Original price was: £25.00.£20.00Current price is: £20.00.
Review in Shindig for David Stark’s book “It’s All Too Much”
Get Your Copy Now
It’s All Too Much
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.
Angie McCartney was part of the inner circle of Fab Fourdom in Liverpool in the 60’s, and as the step-mother to Sir Paul she has had many interactions with rockstars and royalty, pop stars and presidents, and they all have one thing in common… they’re Beatle fans.
Angie with Paul at Aintree Racecourse
Now that Beatle Tourism is a burgeoning industry, Angie’s travel-size book takes you down memory lane to Penny Lane and 85+ other points of interest on the long and winding road. You’ll be directed to spots in the Mop Top maps of Liverpool, London, Hamburg, New York and Los Angeles, you’ll discover nuggets and stories to satisfy the day tripper in you!
QR CODE WITH SMARTBOOK TECHNOLOGY
The book also features SmartBook® technology from McCartney Multimedia, and by scanning the QR codes with your smart-phone, you’ll be transported to a destination of fascination online, with links to tours, maps, trivia, videos, much more information than we can fit in a postcard sized book, and a deeper dive into these tourist locations and their magical history.
EXAMPLE: BEATLES PLATZ, HAMBURG
If you want to find out more about the Beatles Platz in Hamburg, you would scan the QR code in the book and it takes you to a webpage like this
Beatles Platz page in “Here, There and Everywhere”
Beatles Platz on Google Maps, linked from the book and webpage
We hope you travel safely and create memories for a lifetime as in these legendary locations, a splendid time is guaranteed for all!
Get a copy of Angie’s Book now
Here, There & Everywhere: Legendary Locations for The Day Tripper
Angie’s travel-size book takes you down memory lane to Penny Lane and 85+ other points of interest on the long and winding road. You’ll be directed to spots in the Mop Top maps of Liverpool, London, Hamburg, New York and Los Angeles, you’ll discover nuggets and stories to satisfy the day tripper in you!
