Author: Hunter Davies

Publisher: W. W. Norton; Updated edition

Pub. in: April, 2006

ISBN: 0393328864

Pages: 135

Measurements: 9.7 x 7.4 x 1.1 inches

Origin of product: USA

Order code: BA00526

Other information:  

This is the only biography authorized by the Beatles themselves, and it gives a detailed account of the rise to fame of the Fab Four, and many details of each band member's life. Davies was asked by Harrison not to print certain details, and an aunt suggested he revise some of the account of John's early life to make it sound better. Some details couldn't be divulged at the time, such as Brian Epstein's gay orientation, and the extent to which John was into drugs, although you get a sense of this from some brief passages in the book although Davies obviously avoids dwelling for too long on these issues. Still, despite glossing over a few negatives like these, Davies nevertheless had access to information that no other writer had, and no doubt the book benefits from that despite its being slightly sanitized.

One thing that distinguises this book from all the other bios is Davies spent a year living and travelling with the Beatles and observing them in their day-to-day lives. The year was 1967, and although the group was soon to break-up, 1967 was still a great year for the band and Davies gives many fine insights and details into the life of the group during this period. Davies enlivens the account with anecdotes and stories from many relatives and friends who knew the Beatles best.

I want to take a brief detour here to tell you about a funny piece of Beatles trivia I discovered recently, and I just have to mention it here, since I don't recall seeing it in the book. Supposedly The Beatles loved cartoons, and a friend of mine who is a big Beatles fan and trivia buff and I got to talking about it, and since I'm sort of a trivia nut myself, he suggested an unlikely cartoon, which was Popeye the Sailor, and challenged me to find a connection to the Beatles. Well, it's not known if this was a cartoon the Beatles liked or not, but after doing only about an hour of research on the web, I came up with a funny but true connection.
I found out one of the songs the Beatles often performed during their Hamburg years, before they were writing all their own songs, was "Falling in Love Again," by Sammy Lerner, an important songwriter of the 40s and 50s. But it so happens that Lerner also was enlisted to write the theme song for the Popeye the Sailor cartoon, which he did. So it turns out that there is indeed a connection between the Beatles and Popeye in that Lerner composed songs for, shall we say, both groups of singers. :-)
Anyway, I hope you didn't mind my little digression, but getting back to the book, this is a fine biography of the Beatles and is especially strong in its treatment of their early years and rise to fame. Although updated in the later edition, there isn't as much information about the post-1970 years, but as others have pointed out about the book, it's about the famous band's rise, not about their fall.

(From quoting Magellan, USA)

Target readers: General readers, especially The Beatles fans.

Better with The Beatles Anthology :

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