This is the story of the Cavern Club - the most famous club in the world. The Cavern saw the birth of the Beatles and Merseybeat, and more. Respected author, music journalist and Merseybeat historian Spencer Leigh - with a little help from Sir Paul McCartney, who provides the Foreword - tells the Cavern's history by talking to the owners, hundreds of musicians who played at the club, the backroom staff and fans. Spencer paints a vivid picture of the Cavern, from its days as a jazz club, through the Beatles years to the present
In 2001 the Guinness Book of Records declared Liverpool the “City of Pop” for producing more hit records than any other city. The Beat Goes On is a historical account of popular music in Liverpool that explores the contextual, creative, and geographical factors that have contributed to the city’s status as a major center of musical creativity. With contributions from experts in popular music history, cultural geography, ethnography, and musicology, alongside essays and interviews with Liverpool musicians and rare archival images, this volume offers an interdisciplinary exploration of the city’s unique place in the realm of popular music.
The collection of essays, interviews and poetry compares and contrasts the work of people such as Adrian Henri and Roger McGough with the new crop of Liverpool poets such as Matt Simpson and Deryn Rees-Jones.
The Paul McCartney Encyclopedia is the most comprehensive book about Paul McCartney ever written. By best-selling author and Beatles expert Bill Harry, this A-Z of over half a million words will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about one of the greatest songwriters of the twentieth century. What is the truth behind his relationship with Yoko Ono? What was George Harrison's attitude toward him? Why did he decide to dissolve the Beatles? Did he and John Lennon come to a reconciliation? What was his opinion about taking LSD? What was Paul's life like behind bars in Japan? Why has his former council house become a shrine? With almost 2000 entries covering his family history from birth, his many love affairs, his opinions about drugs, his songs, records, concerts and honours bestowed upon him over the years, together with a full discography and bibliogaphy, this book is packed with new material and unique insights into the life of Paul McCartney. Over 2000 seperate entries and 500,000 words make this the definitive book on Paul McCartney. Bill Harry is the leading authority on the Beatles and founder of the music paper Mersey Beat, that helped launch the Beatles.
Summer with Monika is an honest and touching portrait of a romance, charting the progress of a love affair from the delicious intimacy of the honeymoon, with the milk bottles turning to cheese on the doorstep, through the stage of quarrels, jealousy, recriminations and boredom, to the point where love is as nice as a cup of tea in bed. Re-issued for its 50th anniversary, Summer with Monika is a hidden gem of British love poetry featuring beautiful illustrations from Children's Laureate Chris Riddell.
The Casbah Coffee Club, which opened in Liverpool on 29 August 1959, was the brainchild of Mrs. Mona Best, the mother of Pete Best. It is well known that Pete Best was the drummer for The Beatles in their early days in Liverpool and Hamburg. Less well known is that The Beatles' origins were in fact at Pete's mother's club - it was at the Casbah and with Mona Best's blessing that the greatest popular music phenomenon of the twentieth century began. This book tells the story of how Mona Best created the Casbah, and in the process played a major part in creating The Beatles. The band played the Casbah over ninety times, first as The Quarrymen, then as The Silver Beatles and finally as The Beatles. The Casbah's significance cannot be overestimated - it brought together some of the greatest names in rock music and became the catalyst for the Mersey Beat phenomenon which swept Liverpool in the early sixties. Seen here for the first time in forty years is the club's interior as it was at the very beginning, juxtaposed with the rooms as they are today, and still showing the ceilings that were painted by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Pete Best. A wealth of rare material from the Casbah and the Bests' own archives, together with newly commissioned images by photographer Sandro Sodano, documents the club's and The Beatles' intertwined story. Accompanied by a personal memoir of this extraordinary time, written by Roag Best with his brothers Pete and Rory, this is both a moving family tribute from the Bests to their mother, and a unique insight into a remarkable period of Beatles history.
HOW COULD DRUMMER JIMMIE NICOL SIMPLY VANISH AFTER PLAYING WITH THE BEATLES IN 1964? The Beatle Who Vanished is the first historical account of Jimmie Nicol, an unknown drummer whose journey from humble beginnings to saving The Beatles' first world tour was only one part of his legend. Though his 13 days of fame made headlines, the true mystery of Nicol's story is riddled with blacklisting, betrayal, drugs, divorce, bankruptcy and an eventual disappearance that led many to question whether he is dead or alive. Discover the incredible details of a Beatles story never before revealed! *Draws on new documentary evidence *Interviews with The Beatles, Nicol and eyewitnesses *Inner circle tour accounts of Nicol and The Beatles *Uncovers the secrets behind his post-Beatles career and disappearance *Over 100 rare archival photographs and memorabilia illustrations * Features a Foreword by Former Beatles Bass Player, Chas Newby
