TONY PALMER’S BOOK ASSOCIATION WITH JOHN LENNON AND THE BEATLES
This was Tony Palmer’s 1970 book about the music scene in the late 1960s. It featured illustrations by Ralph Steadman who had often worked with writer, Hunter Thompson. The book featured a foreword by John Lennon and the 1970 edition featured a cover photo of John and Yoko being arraigned in the UK for the charges of marijuana possession. These charges eventually led the US government and the Nixon administration to try and deport John Lennon when he moved to the United States. Some people have speculated that it was not the conviction that the US government was worried about. Many postulate that John’s power with the youth especially during the social upheaval of the Vietnam conflict was the real reason the government tried to deport John!
Born Under a Bad Sign
Tony Palmer, Illustrations by Ralph Steadman
Published by William Kimber, London, 1970
The 126-copy limited signed edition-technically the book below is a 100-copy edition that was numbered 1-100.
Then there was a 26 copy limited lettered edition below this one:
This is one of 26 lettered copies of the new edition signed by Palmer and Steadman with an original signed artwork by Ralph Steadman. The copy that I was able to obtain was no. “H” of 26 books “numbered” A to Z. So it is no. 8 of 26 books issued in this very limited edition
Publication: [London / Maidstone], Lexington, KY and Tucson, AZ: Isolde Films / Steam Press with Petro III Graphics and Sylph Publications, 2004
The book came in a slipcase:
Tony Palmer was responsible for both an excellent book and a superb television series about the history of popular music.
Here is the book:
Tony Palmer’s classic series, The Story of Popular Music: All You Need is Love. A five DVD set which contained all 17 episodes of the fabulous TV series was issued!
The DVD set:
John Lennon and Tony Palmer were to have another connection as Palmer wrote a book called “The Trials of Oz” which John Lennon and Yoko wrote a few songs to raise money for the defendants in the OZ trial. Here is the Apple picture sleeve for those two songs. The A-side was sung by Bill Elliott, later of Splinter, and was produced by Mal Evans. The B-side , called “Do the Oz” was sung by John and Yoko. The songs did not do well commercially. The lead singer on the “God Save Us” track was to pass away in 2021.
I love it that new books i did not know existed are shared!
Glad you enjoy this stuff, Eddie. I still am amazed at some of the books that turn up that I was never aware of their existence. This is many years after I started to collect.