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17 December 2012
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We have a thread for new books, @Bongo. And that thread title is, as I’m sure you know, a total car crash.
Still, thanks for the info. 
"I only said we were bigger than Rod... and now there's all this!" Ron Nasty
To @ Ron Nasty it's @ mja6758
The Beatles Bible 2020 non-Canon Poll Part One: 1958-1963 and Part Two: 1964-August 1966
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20 August 2013
Online Just a reminder to use Joe’s link when you buy books, music, or anything from Amazon.
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BongoCan buy Joe love! Amazon | iTunes
Check here for "how do I do this" guide to the forum. 
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11.17am
1 July 2020
Offline I recently bought “riding so high” and it was quite interesting! Keep this up, Joe! You’re a great author!
Elmore James' got nothing on this baby!
3.29pm
11 September 2018
Offline I’m not sure if it’s been mentioned elsewhere (surely it has) but I’ve just finished reading Craig Brown’s 1234: The Beatles In Time, which Mrs Japanese bought me for my birthday. I enjoyed it very much.
4.48am
10 November 2020
Offline New unseen Beatles pictures? Just take my money…
7.59am
6 November 2010
Offline Tony Japanese said
I’m not sure if it’s been mentioned elsewhere (surely it has) but I’ve just finished reading Craig Brown’s 1234: The Beatles In Time, which Mrs Japanese bought me for my birthday. I enjoyed it very much.
I’m getting this one for Christmas. From reviews I’ve seen so far, it doesn’t contain a lot of new information for die hard fans, but the story is told in quite an exciting way. Would you agree?
I’ll be sure to post again once I’ve read it. 
I think it's great you're going through a phase,
and I'm awfully glad it'll all be over in a couple
of days
2020
1.37pm
11 September 2018
Offline kelicopter said
Tony Japanese said
I’m not sure if it’s been mentioned elsewhere (surely it has) but I’ve just finished reading Craig Brown’s 1234: The Beatles In Time, which Mrs Japanese bought me for my birthday. I enjoyed it very much.
I’m getting this one for Christmas. From reviews I’ve seen so far, it doesn’t contain a lot of new information for die hard fans, but the story is told in quite an exciting way. Would you agree?
I’ll be sure to post again once I’ve read it.
It contained new information for me, but mainly from the point of view of other artists and sections that weren’t specifically about the Beatles (i.e. Judy Garland/Brian Epstein, The Ronettes etc). The pace was consistent throughout and it wasn’t trying to be something it couldn’t.
Let me know what you though of it.
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kelicopter4.50am
14 June 2016
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I bought John Lennon 1980: The Last Days In The Life after work today – I’ve taken a photo of it.
I’m fascinated by the later years of John not because of how he died but because of how he lived. This book will be all about that. Excited to get started. I’ll take my time and savour it.
1.The Beatles 2.Sgt. Pepper 3.Abbey Road 4.Magical Mystery Tour 5.Rubber Soul 6.Revolver 7.Help! 8.Let It Be
9.A Hard Day’s Night 10.Please Please Me 11.Beatles For Sale 12.With The Beatles 13.Yellow Submarine
2020 Most Avid John Fan: 
5.20pm
6 November 2010
Offline Tony Japanese said
kelicopter said
Tony Japanese said
I’m not sure if it’s been mentioned elsewhere (surely it has) but I’ve just finished reading Craig Brown’s 1234: The Beatles In Time, which Mrs Japanese bought me for my birthday. I enjoyed it very much.
I’m getting this one for Christmas. From reviews I’ve seen so far, it doesn’t contain a lot of new information for die hard fans, but the story is told in quite an exciting way. Would you agree?
I’ll be sure to post again once I’ve read it.
It contained new information for me, but mainly from the point of view of other artists and sections that weren’t specifically about the Beatles (i.e. Judy Garland/Brian Epstein, The Ronettes etc). The pace was consistent throughout and it wasn’t trying to be something it couldn’t.
Let me know what you though of it.
I finished this a while ago but forgot to post my opinion!
As someone who isn’t the biggest non fiction reader, I still managed to devour this book quite quickIy. I think the relatively short chapter lengths and good humour helped keep it exciting and readable. I also really enjoyed the Ronnie Spector anecdotes, as well as the disappointing stories from when John met Elvis Presley and Bridget Bardot respectively (knowing how much he admired them both, these stories are both so hilariously anticlimactic.)
My one annoyance was when the author would include his personal experience from his researching the book. For example, he clashed with the National Trust volunteers when he was recording and making notes in the Beatles childhood homes in Liverpool. He included their names and didn’t exactly describe them in a very favourable light – was that really necessary to include in a book on Beatles history?
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ewe2I think it's great you're going through a phase,
and I'm awfully glad it'll all be over in a couple
of days
2020
5.53pm
Reviewers
17 December 2012
Offline They’re not very popular, @kelicopter. They’re a husband and wife, one who does Paul’s house and the other John’s, both employed by the National Trust until last year (rather than volunteers), and were not highly regarded for their tours. When @Ahhh Girl and I were in Liverpool and mentioned we were doing the NT tour of the houses the next day, our Fab Four Taxi driver immediately warned us about the couple. Even the NT minibus driver the next day when we were driving out to John’s felt the need to mention they were an “interesting” couple.
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Ahhh Girl, kelicopter, ewe2"I only said we were bigger than Rod... and now there's all this!" Ron Nasty
To @ Ron Nasty it's @ mja6758
The Beatles Bible 2020 non-Canon Poll Part One: 1958-1963 and Part Two: 1964-August 1966
2.20am
6 November 2010
Offline I actually was also warned by my Fab Four Taxi driver about the couple, but I assumed that they both had expressed annoyance at all the different drivers coming and going outside the houses all day. (I got the impression that each tour operator hates and bad mouths all rival tours for being in their way!)
And I personally didn’t have an issue with either of them when I visited the houses myself. I still don’t think it needed to be mentioned in the book, but then again I am not a best selling biography writer so 
I think it's great you're going through a phase,
and I'm awfully glad it'll all be over in a couple
of days
2020
3.55pm
Members
18 March 2013
Online I had a really nice substitute lady at John’s house. She seemed surprised that I knew the grandfather clock was Uncle George’s.
I had the wife of the couple at Paul’s house, she seemed nice, wanted to make sure everyone enjoyed the tour and she was ok with people stealing the lavender from the house as well. Also do they say to everyone that Mary and Jim’s room is getting renovated rather than saying it’s always just permanently locked/is the tour guide’s personal room? I thought that was such a lie when she told us their room was being renovated.
I also read the book Keli and didn’t particularly like that part either, it seemed unnecessarily nasty and the author came off as a bit of a di*khead. From his writing you can tell the rest of the tour group hated him as well. From the tour guide’s perspective, I wouldn’t like to pick up a Beatles book and read horrible things about me when I’m just doing my job and this guy wants to make the situation very uncomfortable by trying to record me/take notes when I didn’t give him permission to do so.
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INTROVERTS UNITE! Separately....in your own homes!
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Make Love, Not Wardrobes!
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"Stop throwing jelly beans at me"- George Harrison
7.55pm
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17 December 2012
Offline I just saw it as commentary on the Liverpool tourist trail and industry. The couple have appeared in plenty of documentaries and other books where they’re possibly portrayed in a better light, but you can’t pick and choose. I’d have found it more intrusive than I did had they never done interviews themselves. Given the length of their tenure as custodians of John and Paul’s homes, the faces associated with those places for 1000s of visitors, they became leading figures in the Liverpool Beatles industry, and have often cooperated with publicity over the years, so that makes them legitimate subjects for discussion, in my opinion.
"I only said we were bigger than Rod... and now there's all this!" Ron Nasty
To @ Ron Nasty it's @ mja6758
The Beatles Bible 2020 non-Canon Poll Part One: 1958-1963 and Part Two: 1964-August 1966
12.30am
14 June 2016
Offline Finished the book. It’s not long, nor does it contain anything different. But it’s well done, bringing into focus how December 8 was just another day in John’s schedule that happened to end with random violence. There’s a healthy amount of foreboding though as it quotes things John said about death. I like how the author didn’t refer to the jerk, or even recount the incident. I’d recommend it.
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ewe21.The Beatles 2.Sgt. Pepper 3.Abbey Road 4.Magical Mystery Tour 5.Rubber Soul 6.Revolver 7.Help! 8.Let It Be
9.A Hard Day’s Night 10.Please Please Me 11.Beatles For Sale 12.With The Beatles 13.Yellow Submarine
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7.02am
Members
18 March 2013
Online Ron Nasty said
I just saw it as commentary on the Liverpool tourist trail and industry. The couple have appeared in plenty of documentaries and other books where they’re possibly portrayed in a better light, but you can’t pick and choose. I’d have found it more intrusive than I did had they never done interviews themselves. Given the length of their tenure as custodians of John and Paul’s homes, the faces associated with those places for 1000s of visitors, they became leading figures in the Liverpool Beatles industry, and have often cooperated with publicity over the years, so that makes them legitimate subjects for discussion, in my opinion.
I think it’s one thing to do an interview though, when you’re kind of separated from your job and have time to prepare and get into the ‘mind space’ of doing an interview than when you’re actually walking around doing your day-to-day job.
I used to do tours and I would have found it awfully disruptive and distracting if someone just whipped out a notepad and started writing down what I was saying. I had someone before who was doing Irish studies in college ask could they record me doing my tour before I had started and I said “sure, no problem”, but if they had just taken out their phone and assumed that I would be alright with that then I would not be happy. It’s all kind of a matter of mutual respect and consent, which Brown (to me at the very least) didn’t seem to honour.
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INTROVERTS UNITE! Separately....in your own homes!
***
Make Love, Not Wardrobes!
***
"Stop throwing jelly beans at me"- George Harrison
