Beatles '64 - I'm a huge The Beatles fan! Is this worth a watch?

I loved The Beatles' Disney + epic 'Get Back' and was delighted to finally watch the latest resurgence of archive Beatles films, 'Beatles 64,' directed by Martin Scorsese. 

The film tells the story of the 'Fab Four' arriving in the States for a 2-week cultural tour (between 19th August and 20th September 1964) with a selection of talking heads who lived it, including archive gig footage. The real gem for any true hardcore Beatles fan is the 1964  backstage film of the band relaxing in a USA hotel ( it looks like a hotel scene from 'A Hard Day's Night) that has remained unseen until now. This 1964 footage (although directed by Scorsese) was filmed by two brothers who followed the band around America on their first stateside trip, capturing this magnificent music history for prosperity and Disney+ subscribers!!

Modern-day accounts of The Beatles hey-days come from an ageing Paul McCartney (who also shows off his 1964 photo collection) and Ringo Starr, interspersed with archive John Lennon and George Harrison interviews. The film also features an impressive collection of famous fans as Scorsese films chat with Smokey Robinson, Ronnie Spector, and David Lynch. Following the band to Washington, we get to see them debut on the Ed Sullivan Show with some live footage of that gig and watch John Lennon in a 1970s interview, one which I'd never seen before. It's a fantastic collection of footage - the film also tells the story of America's cultural resurgence, following the assassination of JFK at the end of '63. The Beatle's arrival in New York is seen as the awakening of a country coming out of collective mourning. 

As someone who's watched countless 'The Beatles' interviews, books and cinema, I was incredibly impressed by this film and felt I'd learned more about my favourite band. I've also discovered that Scorses' directed a George Harrison film called 'Living In The Material World' -that's my next watch! 

Words by @rybazoxo 

www.ryanoxleywriter.blogspot.com 

The Beatle Bandit by Nate Hendley. Happiness Is A Warm Gun?

 

The Beatle Bandit by Nate Hendley is a comprehensive deep dive into a gun-toting one-man crime spree from 1964 by Matthew Kerry Smith. Due to his bank-robbery attire, Smith was dubbed 'The Beatle Bandit' by the Canadian media, but as a solo artist, Matthew was quite a successful bandit, albeit for a few troublesome civilians who were killed whilst he carried out his crimes! In an interesting criminal character analysis, Nate Hendley takes apart the robber's personality. Matthew Kerry Smith was a bright but mentally disturbed, who launched his bank raids as some misguided attempt to galvanise the public, begin a revolution, and (laughably) overthrow the government. Funny, if it wasn't for his victims. One particular victim was military veteran Jack Blanc, who died in a gunfight with the robber. Following a manhunt, Smith was caught, jailed and given a death sentence. When police searched his home, Smith had an arsenal of personal weapons and even gained a small property empire from his proceeds of crime. The crimes themselves gained media attention and caused Canadian gun laws to be revised. 

The book's narrative is founded on court transcripts, police documents, extensive first-hand interviews, media accounts, and other sources.  Nate Hendley tells this story brilliantly, and as a fan of The Beatles, it wasn't a case I had heard of. It's an interesting sell on the story but as a reader of true crime, I am well aware of the monickers the media give to serial killers, murderers, & even terrorists (the ISIS Beatle bombers spring to mind) Nate Hendley is a great storyteller and tells this true crime story as it should be; facts, stats, first-hand witnesses, and news reports of the time. Nate  Hendley is a journalist and author. His other books include The Boy on the Bicycle, The Big Con, and Bonnie and Clyde; A Biography. All worth checking out, I think! 

Buy The Beatle Bandit Book via Dundurn Press HERE 

www.ryanoxleywriter.blogspot.com 

BOOK REVIEW - Philip Norman - The Reluctant Beatle

 

This book should have been titled ‘While My Guitar Gentle Weeps’. Not because this is an epic monolith of rock biographies, about the quiet Beatle, George Harrison, but because it made me cry like an out-of-tune Rickenbacker. Let's be clear on one thing: this book is awful. The notoriously ‘quiet Beatle’ was anything but a talent lost in the songwriting shadows of genius tunesmiths: John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Post-Beatle breakup, George Harrison was the most successful solo Beatles, outselling John and Paul until Lennon's untimely death. 

For a biography about George Harrison, you have to wade through 190 pages of well-written and well-worn Beatles lore before learning anything about the book's subject. Aside from Lennon and McCartney, George was best friends with Slowhands guitar genius, Eric Clapton, whose rather racy hands saw him have an affair with his best pals wife, Pattie Boyd. Aside from the genius of Something by The Beatles and Layla by Derek and the Dominoes, this book almost feels like a short biography of Eric Clapton as well. I never knew as much about Clapton until reading this biography of... you get my point. 

The subject matter is poorly researched, mistakenly authoritative and offers no further information on George that I couldn't have read elsewhere. The prologue, by the author, is also a back-handed apology for writing a 3000-word article about George, which slaughtered his songwriting skills, solo career, and reputation. Had I read that bit first, I would have avoided this book. 

Several years ago I read ‘SHOUT’ by the same author, and I’d forgotten that was awful too - lesson learnt! 

To quote the late George Harrison ‘ All Things Must Pass’... and so should this book, because it was rubbish.

I scored this book 2/5 on my GOODREADS feed. 

the book is available to buy here 

www.ryanoxleywriter.blogspot.com 

The Beatles - IN MY LIFE

This article was first published on The Beatles Story website in May 2020.

There are places I'll remember all my life, though some have changed...

It's probably one of my favourite memories of childhood; spending a rare family day out with my parents and brother. Unbeknown to me at the time, this was a day that would be seismic in terms of my music tastes, and creative hobbies, and would even affect my wedding day! 

A debt that I can never repay nor would I want to. The year was (probably) 1993, I was 12 years old and my Dad decided to take us for a day out to Liverpool. Being from Sheffield, UK, it's about a 2-hour drive and (as I was later to learn as an adult) it’s a brilliant day out / weekend away. I’d never heard of The Beatles until then. Ironically, as a child, I loved ‘Frog Chorus’ and Dear Prudence’ but not until many years later did I make a connection. 

Entering the exhibition, I remember thinking ‘here we go’ like any teenager, my enthusiasm for museums wasn't exactly high, yet, little did I know my cultural appetite was about to be whetted by an introduction to a band that 20+ years later, I would still be in awe of. Even now, I can still clearly remember hearing ‘ I wanna hold your hand’ ‘yellow submarine’ and ‘imagine’ for the first time. To say I was hooked would be an understatement. My aunty (an original 1960s Beatles girl) gave a cassette tape of ‘Beatles love songs, I went down to my local library and borrowed the back catalogues of albums, ‘Beatlemania’ had hit this awkward teenager with gusto. 

As a child, my grandfather often told me stories about playing the trumpet in his army days, the piano, and even the drums. As a kid I realised I’d inherited a natural affinity with musical instruments, thumping the keys of my Casio keyboard became a real hobby. In music class at school, my teacher Mr Scott (also forever indebted) had heard me talking about The Beatles and gave me a listen to a song called ‘Norwegian Wood ( this bird had flown)’. I'd only known the mop-top pop songs at the time, this was a later phase of the boys' music that was completely new to me. Arriving at music college, I started to learn guitar, and of course, as my Beatles obsession grew, I gained a girlfriend, joined a band and began learning those Lennon & McCartney standards. For my 18th birthday, Dad sprang a day out to Liverpool on me and I drank my first (legal) pint of beer in the cavern club. I stood on the stage (you could back then) and looked around this historic venue and breathed in the culture. Buying a t-shirt, coasters, and posters is customary on Mathew Street, as is having your picture taken with the Lennon statue - my love of Liverpool began at this point. Several nights out in the town, a trip to Brookside Close even, countless gigs, Albert Dock, Empire Theatre, shopping in the Cavern Quarter, too many to mention. 

Cultural gems aside, those four boys gave me a passion for music that’s never left me. I’d spend hours analysing Lennon's lyrics and McCartneys melodies in my music books (pre-internet days, no online tutorials then), and began reading the countless biographies, books, films and anthologies about the Liverpool lads. As Britpop exploded and Oasis idolised The Beatles, I suddenly became one of the cool kids at school, singing in a little beat combo myself. Great days, but I digress!

But of all these friends and lovers, no one compares with you…

Taking my first trip on the magical mystery tour bus is also a memory of utter joy. Jumping on board, I remember this being the first time I'd seen those suburbs of Liverpool, Woolton, Menlove Avenue, the dingle; all the places that John, Paul, George, and Ringo grew up, real places to see! I was ecstatic and in music heaven!. I've seen the Bootleg Beatles several times live too, I've even got ‘The Beatles’ tattooed on my arm in italic writing! I wanted the logo but bottled it for some reason. With framed pictures on my living room wall, my family always knew what to buy me for birthdays and Christmas. As girlfriends came and went, day jobs changed, and things changed, as they always do. The one constant though has always been The Beatles. Like I said at the beginning of this piece, the boys played their part on the most important day of my life - my wedding day!. 

I met Sarah in the summer of 2013. It was like the first time upon hearing The Beatles all over again. Just as life-affirming and just as seismic. After a few years together we decided to marry. She knew within moments of meeting me that I was a huge fan of The Beatles. As opening gambits go it's a good one. She took an instant liking to a few of the pop classics, including ‘fool on the hill’ ‘If I fell’ and Lennon’s most beautiful ‘In My Life’, and we decided upon the latter as the first dance on the big day!

An unparalleled moment for me in terms of emotion, a life-changing moment of course, and soundtracked by my love of The Beatles. And to top it off, can you guess where we spent our honeymoon? Yes, that's right - in Liverpool of course!

Some are dead, and some are living In my life, I've loved them all...

Dear John, Paul, George and Ringo,

Thank you. 

Love always, 

Ryan