The Authors

These days' I'm fairly picky as to what new Beatle or related products I'll buy. This is due, mainly because of the sheer amount of complete and utter garbage that has been released or published. Leaving the audio and video side of things out for now, I'd like to talk about what I consider the essentials from the literary world. In reality there are really three genres to look at. It's either going to be a memoir type, a research type or a technical type. For me there are a few authors of whom I'll just instinctively reach out for my wallet. John C. Winn, Doug Sulpy, Bruce Spizer, Keith Badman spring to mind. Between them, these guys have sorted the wheat from the chaff, laid down the actual background with dates and times, providing an informative and definitive timeline of events.
There are a few other guys out there also worth a mention. These are the guys who have written and researched "one off" books like The Beatles Gear by Andy Babuik. A superb book for fans and in particular musician fans who really understand and appreciate the detail he has gone into regarding the differences between the various Vox amps, guitars and gadgets....and it's also a book with a very spooky photograph taken in a German music shop of John Lennon's future Rickenbacker BEFORE he purchased it! Looking at it is odd; the poor instrument had no idea what it was in for!! It went on to be one of the most famous guitars in the world...and you know, having owned one myself, they're not even that great, as guitars go. They just sort of have something only a Rick could give you. Other notable tomes include the definitive Hamburg releases by way of Hans Olf Gottfriedson's "From The Cavern To The Star Club". A mighty piece of work and a free record into the bargain (a 7" vinyl reproduction of My Bonnie) Of course the average fan could tell you it would take a huge book to tell you about the amount of times we've been ripped off by the Polydor recordings from Germany!
One of the very best books I think I've ever seen comes in a reproduction 2" EMI Tape box and is entitled "Recording The Beatles". What an amazing piece of work. This book is very technical and even with 25 plus years of sound engineering experience is quite difficult to follow and completely understand, as the language of recording has changed so much since EMI Abbey Road were in the music making business during the early 1960's up until now. However it provides a totally fascinating glimpse into how those brilliant records were made. It's one of those books which is a must have in my opinion. It's also very expensive and very big and very heavy...in short it's just ...er...very!
I've left the last author until last as it was he who ultimately defined the "new" generation of respected writers and created the genre in which most of the authors above now exist. It can only be the mighty Mark Lewishom. From his early writings in the The Beatle Book Monthly, he has systematically changed how not just Beatle fans but (modern) musical historians and archivists think over a period which must be coming up towards 30 years now. He was the guy who wrote Sessions and The Beatles Live as well as many other landmark works. He is currently preparing the "definitive history of the group" and I for one simply cannot wait to get my teeth into it as it will, without doubt, be the most exhaustively written account yet published. By the time all three (yes three!) volumes are in the public domain, an unbelievable 17 years will have passed by! The first volume, which will take the reader up to the end of 1963, is expected in stores by 2010. God only knows what it will unearth, but one thing is for sure, Mr Lewshom has an eye for detail, and if it's in there, it's probably been corroborated over and over across many primary and secondary sources. As he has said himself, the "time is now" to complete such a project as the band and it's first hand witnesses are fast fading into history. Sad but true. However, we are promised "thorough, balanced, comprehensive histories", and not just another sensationalist rip-off rehash retelling of the same wrong facts with a couple of pics thrown in. The Beatles were the ultimate band - warts and all! Therefore, ultimate book telling their story should reflect that. Bring it on I say, bring it on