johnvdk
And That's A Start
Posts: 1
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Post by johnvdk on Mar 8, 2015 14:32:05 GMT
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Post by mrmustard on Mar 8, 2015 22:32:34 GMT
Hey Johnvdk, welcome to the forum. As an avid collector of Beatles books, I immediately looked into Behind That Locked Door as I don't have this one. It does get mixed reviews on Amazon. How does it compare to While My Guitar Gently Weeps - The Music Of George Harrison? Well done on getting your own book out there.
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Post by oldswanrory on Mar 19, 2015 12:23:03 GMT
No, never went there. There was a cafe nearby that I went in a couple of times. The Buttonhole
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Post by oldswanrory on Mar 19, 2015 12:25:53 GMT
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Post by oldswanrory on Mar 19, 2015 12:26:56 GMT
If you can get hold of the Tom Egbers Book simply entitled Rory Storm I can give you a guide into how to translate it from Dutch to English. You do need patience but what a story. I would like to know how you do it please Pothos.
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Post by pothos on Mar 19, 2015 12:50:50 GMT
You obviously need the book.
Scan a page. Change the page from Jpeg (as it is a picture to docex) Use google translate to get the new text into English.
Someone might have a quicker way as this too me weeks.
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Post by oldswanrory on Mar 19, 2015 12:52:33 GMT
Can I do it from a kindle version?
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Post by pothos on Mar 19, 2015 16:59:41 GMT
I have no idea as I do not own a kindle but the book is on Amazon in that format. I think a few poster were not enamoured with the translation options on these devices.
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Post by bluemeaniepaul74 on Jun 29, 2015 17:58:24 GMT
I went to 'Bygone Times' in Lancashire today and was lucky enough to find a few Beatle books (at reasonably reasonable prices) and I was just wondering whether anyone had read any of them???
A Twist of Lennon - Cynthia Lennon
The Encyclopedia of Beatles People - Bill Harry
Drummed Out ~ The Sacking of Pete Best - Spencer Leigh
My Beatles Hell ~ The Tragical History Tour of Beryl Adams - Lew Baxter
Victor Spinetti Up Front - Victor Spinetti (has a nice picture of Spinetti and Lennon on front cover)
I also had Mark Lewisohn's 'Beatles Chronicles' in my basket but put it back because it was £10
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Post by Amadeus on Jun 29, 2015 18:05:57 GMT
Mark Lewisohn's 'Chronicles' is great if you need to know what they did every day. I've never read the rest of them. I guess John tried to keep Cyn's book from coming out but he couldn't.
I'm reading You Never Give Me Your Money. All about Apple and the legal problems and personal problems from the break up till now.
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Post by mrmustard on Jun 29, 2015 19:44:45 GMT
I've got Drummed Out. Excellent book as are all Spencer Leigh's Beatle books.
Haven't read A Twist Of Lennon but I have 'John' the follow up by Cynthia. Apparently she didn't really dish the dirt in the first book and painted John in a more favourable light than he should have been.
I've got a The Beatles Chronicle - you should have kept that in your basket!
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Post by mrmustard on Jun 29, 2015 19:48:09 GMT
Mark Lewisohn's 'Chronicles' is great if you need to know what they did every day. I've never read the rest of them. I guess John tried to keep Cyn's book from coming out but he couldn't. I'm reading You Never Give Me Your Money. All about Apple and the legal problems and personal problems from the break up till now. Brilliant book. Got that too. Have you ever read Growing Up With The Beatles by Ron Schamburg?
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Post by bluemeaniepaul74 on Jun 29, 2015 20:25:20 GMT
I think I'll go with the Spencer Leigh one first then. I agree with Mr Mustard, You Never Give Me Your Money is a great read.
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Post by Amadeus on Jun 30, 2015 23:19:05 GMT
Never read Growing Up With....
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Post by brewmaster on Sept 26, 2015 12:03:34 GMT
I have recently read two books about bass players. The first was In spite of everything , a biography of Jet Harris. I found this was a depressing book, mainly because Jet's life was a very depressing story. Although he had a promising start, and redemption in later years, the bulk of his life was as an alcoholic, impoverished and bitter. Although various sources disagree about aspects of Jet's downfall, they all agree he was a world-class drinker. Until reading this I never fully grasped what being an alcoholic meant. Jet would sleep with a bottle of vodka next to the bed. On awakening he would drink half the contents, get up, have a cup of tea, drink the remaining vodka, then go to the pub. This was his daily routine for years. Despite this, he married three times, as well as having several [sometimes concurrent] girlfriends, even though he was notably mean when drunk. His first marriage ended because his wife, Carol Costa had an affair with Cliff Richard, when Jet was in The Shadows. The book suggests that this was Cliff's only sexual experience with a woman. The book has interviews with significant figures including Clem Cattini, Cliff Richard, Bruce Welch, Tony Meehan, and Brian 'Licorice' Locking, Among other snippets we can surmise that a chap called Gerry Salisbury was most likely the first Brit to own a bass guitar. Finally, the book has a terrible cover photo, of Jet looking like a wizened “Steptoe” character. We much prefer to remember him from his Shadows days: It really is a tragedy for an artist to spend time struggling for recognition, playing in coffee bars and carrying his bass on the bus; then almost as soon as he finds fame for it to be ruined by addiction. And that, basically is the story of Jet Harris. ++++++++++++++++ The second book is Travelling Man, on the road with The Searchers I was a bit disappointed that this book didn't go deeply into his actual musical career, with Cliff Bennett's Rebel Rousers, then The Searchers, until I discovered that Frank had already written The Searchers and Me which covered the actual musical history in detail. I will be buying this in the near future. However, I was far from disappointed once I started reading the present book. My goodness, the guy can write! He is one of the funniest writers about the music scene I have read, and he points much of his humorous barbs at himself, in a charmingly self-deprecating way. As the title suggests, the book deals with life on the road, in the air and at sea, while working as a musician. From entertaining the troops in the Falklands, to touring Australia with the Rolling Stones, Frank gives us a close-up, and always funny, insight behind the scenes. Some gems: “Here in England, Tommy Steele had been hailed as the answer to Elvis. If that was the answer, then someone had seriously misunderstood the question” On touring with Dusty Springfield “Dusty would arrive by limo each morning, her mascara truck following behind and taking up the whole block” “Del Shannon was still riding high on the success of hits like Runaway, in those heady days before you could go out and buy a similar haircut to his for £6.50 a yard at Carpet World” And finally, “A fan by my side remarked that Keith Richards could make his guitar talk. I could see what he meant. And I could almost hear the guitar saying 'take your hands off me you clumsy oaf' ” There's lots. Lots more, including reminiscences of his days at the famed Star Club, and the general Hamburg scene. A thoroughly delightful read.
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Post by pothos on Oct 2, 2015 22:50:20 GMT
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Post by Bongo on Oct 2, 2015 23:39:22 GMT
Anyone mention PLAYBOY magazine. Pretty sure there was a John Lennon interview in there somewhere....
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Post by brewmaster on Oct 25, 2015 13:11:13 GMT
In 1955 Bo Diddley cut a track which really established him as a singer/guitarist. Racking his brains, he came up with the title "Bo Diddley" for his composition, which featured a driving, insistent chord figure that made the song unforgettable. That sequence was copied in songs by numerous artists, including Buddy Holly, The Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen. The resulting massive sales netted Bo, in the words of Mr Heylin, "diddley squat" However, our sympathy for poor Bo is tempered when we learn that that signature riff was itself nicked from the earlier song "Hambone" This tale introduces It's one for the Money a book I'd wanted to read ever since hearing Clinton Heylin being interviewed on the topic of song plagiarism, by Spencer Leigh. As soon as the book was published I ordered a copy, and delved into the shark infested world of the song writing business. Having written numerous books, including works on Dylan, Springsteen and The Beatles, Clinton Heylin has a vast knowledge of pop/Rock music, and this current work takes in the whole sweep of the business, from the Delta blues of 1900, right up to Sam Smith. The thesis has three main strands: 1] Songwriters copying existing works, from the distant, or, even recent, past. As I have said before "Imitation is the flattest form of sincerity." 2] Songwriters being ripped off by music publishers, who firstly sign them to extortionate contracts, then further steal from the meagre percentages left to the writer. 3] Writers refusing to share credit. A typical example will be a guitarist coming up with a riff that defines the whole song; which goes on to sell millions, while the lead singer claims sole publishing credit. As a fan I arrived at the Beatles section of the book with some trepidation, but was delighted to find that Mr Heylin found no fault with the works of Lennon-McCartney. Virtually the only problems were with the well-known "My Sweet Lord" court case, and a Chuck Berry line used in a song by John. In the main The Beatles are more sinned against than sinners. At the time all that was known was hat The Beatles had reached number seventeen in the charts, and their next record sounded great. What bargaining power did Brian have? Would any other London publishers have given a more favourable contract? As the book demonstrates, most were voracious sharks. What is certain to me, is that no other Liverpool manager could have even got a meeting with London based impresarios and publishers. What is sometimes hard to understand was that The Beatles had entered a business which was specifically designed to fleece the talent. What was needed would have been for some star, such as Cliff, to give an interview spilling the beans on the iniquities of Tin Pan Alley. That never happened, and it was eventually The Beatles themselves who changed the business forever.... although it was still shark infested. So, the great hits of Lennon-McCartney were wholly original, which is more that can be said of material by The Who, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan and, especially the Rolling Stones. Several of the Stones' hits were copies, and Jagger-Richards were also stingy about sharing writing credits with other band members. Punk... although espousing a "Year Zero" approach to music, actually lifted big chunks from the existing opus of performers they supposedly despised. The topic of legal battles over copyright could be rather dry, but Mr Heylin has a witty style that keeps the reader fully engaged. Although music is, obviously, about listening, we also enjoy discussing it, as evidenced by this forum. This book provides a great deal to talk about, and I enjoyed it immensely.
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Post by pothos on Oct 25, 2015 16:12:26 GMT
Sound's like an interesting book. Does it mention the Pistols ABBA connection.
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Post by brewmaster on Oct 25, 2015 17:30:22 GMT
Yes, it discusses the Pretty Vacant rip, amongst others.
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