I have to peer closely. Is that really us? “What have you in common with the child of five whose photograph your mother keeps on the mantelpiece? Nothing, except that you happen to be the same person.” George Orwell My mum’s cousin, Margie Beirne left us in December. Margie was…

Eloping couple marry in Gibraltar Two days after Paul and Linda’s wedding, John and Yoko are in a car on their way to visit John’s Aunt Mimi. After a deep discussion on the back seat, they announce glad tidings to their driver. “We’ve decided to get married.” “Congratulations, sir. When’…

‘He’s very ‘dose’, John Paul McCartney and George Harrison lived in council houses (social housing). Neither considered themselves to be poor or deprived. They were, however, very conscious of a social divide between their households and that of their new friend and band leader, John Lennon. Aunt Mimi was also…

Neglected Alabama ‘country soul pioneer’ ended up driving a bus “If the Beatles wanted a sound, it was R&B. That’s what we used to listen to and what we wanted to be like. Black, that was basically it. Arthur Alexander.” Paul McCartney quoted in Mark Lewisohn (2013). The Beatles: All…

The ‘rather sad’ news about a friend of The Beatles He blew his mind out in a car. He didn’t notice that the lights had changed A crowd of people stood and stared. They’d seen his face before A Day in the Life (Lennon & McCartney) John Lennon was an…

The George Martin who the Beatles first met in 1962 presented as Professor Higgins to their Eliza Doolittle. With his smart suit, upper class (southern) accent and courtly manners he appeared to be what Brian Epstein described as “a stern but fair-minded schoolmaster”. …

Producer initially more charmed by the Beatles manager than their music. Despite their local success in Liverpool and Hamburg — and Brian Epstein’s tireless efforts — The Beatles struggled to get their first recording deal. Columbia, HMV, Pye, Philips, and Oriole all turned them down. …

A room to let in a villa on Old Bailey Street. What was not to like? Well… All I want is a room somewhere/Far away from the cold night air/With one enormous chair/Oh, wouldn’t it be loverly? Lerner & Loewe Old Bailey Street, Hong Kong Island An Indian man called Ronald showed me around the apartment…

They never worked directly together directly but their careers intersected In some respects Burt Bacharach seemed to to represent the antithesis of what The Beatles offered. Bacharach, suave, handsome, classically trained and perhaps a tiny bit square was much more an establishment figure in the George Martin mode. …