This massive biography of the Beatles will undoubtedly become the definitive book on the band. Not only has the author conducted literally hundreds of interviews, sometimes with people who have never spoken before about their links with the Beatles, or have never spoken so candidly before; he has also told the story of their entire career, tour by tour, gig by gig, with an enthralling narrative drive. His re-creation, for example, of the Beatles' exhausting early years playing in Hamburg in Germany - performing set after set all night, every night, to often violent audiences, and living in squalid conditions at the mercy of rapacious promoters, is a tour de force. The book also casts new light on many aspects of a story, which, most people might assume has been done to death - especially by talking to the band members friends and family as well as all those musicians whose paths crossed with the Beatles over the years. Here is Ringo's boyhood best friend, George's first girlfriend, Paul's first serious love (never before interviewed), and every one of John's art school mates. Here is Terry Doran, the Apple executive and George's confidante, who has never before spoken about that era, and a whole host of archival material never before consulted. It will be an essential purchase for every Beatles lover.
2007