Beatles Biography by Mark Lewisohn (6th edition)- plus Lewisohn news. *

Thanks for pointing out this podcast, this is very much up my alley.

 

Who are those shiny boys?

 

The Fabcast episode with Lewisohn is essential listening, albeit a frustrating one at times with the hosts interrupting Mark when he's apparently about to elaborate on an interesting point. You can download it via this link.....
Fabcast (podcast)

His Dorchester Hotel story appears to be news to many, although Peter Doggett did mention it in his excellent book "You Never Give Me Your Money" in 2009, the passage was as follows......

"Five months later, on 1 December 1983, the surviving Beatles and Yoko Ono endured an eight-hour legal conference at the Dorchester Hotel in London. During the preparation of alawsuit against EMI alleging underpayment of royalties, Starkey, Harrison and Ono had discovered the existence of the McCartney override, guaranteeing their colleague a higher return from the group's record sales than they were receiving. Harrison alleged – quite wrongly – that McCartney had deliberately prevented his colleagues from sharing this increase in revenues; he was reminded that McCartney had been negotiating his own solo contract, not a Beatles deal. But McCartney was prepared to offer a compromise: he would help the others achieve the same royalty rate he was receiving, if they each agreed to give him a substantial cash payment in recompense for his co-operation. Thus united, they would be in a more powerful position to extract money from EMI.

Starkey, Harrison and Ono agreed, but the meeting soon descended into petty squabbles. Weary of hearing the same circular arguments and convinced that all their problems ultimately stemmed from the Allen Klein contracts that he had never authorised, McCartney's patience finally snapped. Either the group came to a collective arrangement, he threatened, or he would use his veto and effectively capsize Apple. 'What about the tax?' the others asked, aware that the British government would claim almost everything if Apple were liquidated. McCartney replied that he didn't care: he'd rather lose the money than go through any more meetings like this. 'I don't need this grief,' he told his colleagues. Starkey pleaded with McCartney not to take away the promotion fees on which his financial survival depended. Eventually, the three Beatles and Ono managed to negotiate a ceasefire, McCartney promised Starkey another year's worth of support, and the weary participants left the hotel. "

 

Thanks for pointing this out and reminding me I need to go back and read the Doggett book more thoroughly -- I struggled with it because I sometimes find his tone a bit too editorializing, plus all the business deals make my head spin. Do we know his source for such detailed information from that meeting? I couldn't find it in his notes.

 

It's been ages since I've given it a listen, but there is a recording in circulation of Paul and Linda McCartney with legal counsel (it may have been Linda's brother John) and if I remember correctly, several details of the meeting were recounted.

Chip Madinger
www.lennonology.com

 

Today's news got me digging out the old Lewisohn recording session book from the late 80s.

Is it generally still pretty accurate, even pre anthology? Or are there lots of flaws discovered since that I shouldnt bother referring to this anymore?

It's this one

 

I've been rereading this myself over the past week... still very compelling, especially in the 1967-68 period. I know Lewisohn has repeatedly said there are a number of problems with the book that he hopes to use All These Years to correct. I too have been curious what specifically he meant.

 

(He means he didn't make enough money from it)

 

A lot of people have compared Mark's book to Robert A Caro's work. It was seeing that connection made so often that drove me to explore Caro's work last year, starting with the 4 volume (so far) LBJ biography. That was pretty good, but now I'm reading his first book - about Robert Moses and New York. It's truly staggering. Just as Mark's book takes you vividly inside 1950s Liverpool, so Caro's book does with 1930s New York. There's even a musical dimension, with songs like 'Sidewalks of New York' and 'Where Do We Go From Here?' entering the story.

Has anyone else had the 'Mark Lewisohn brought me here' experience with Caro's work?

 

A bit, but I haven't read The Power Broker... and now I will. Thanks!

 

Got me interested in the Moses book too.

 

I just finished the book, and it was a revelation to me. The band's early years (say, pre-'64) have always been a little less interesting to me, but it all really came alive in this book. Turns out Pete and Stu were real people who said things and whatnot! I only regret that I didn't read the unabridged version. I can't wait for Vol. 2, though it looks like I have no choice.

 

I've read all 4 volumes of Caro's LBJ bio. I'm looking forward to the next volume. While I thoroughly enjoy Lewisohn's work, I think Robert Caro is at the top of the heap along with David McCullough and Doris Kearns Goodwin for that style of history writing. John Farrell's recent Nixon bio is also quite good, btw.

 

With the pepper excitement, I realized I never got this, and the US never got the extended version. What's the overall thought on the extended vs abridged - abridged a more compelling read, extended every piece of minutiae?

 

Extended much more compelling once you get past 1950ish

 

I loved loved loved the "standard" version but have found the extended to be a bit of a slog. I think I got stuck in the era before the Beatles themselves were born when I took a break!

And that's even though I skipped some passages. I figured the world wouldn't end if I didn't read every little tidbit about what George's great-great-great uncle Herbert had for lunch on June 12, 1854!

 

Well, you picked the wrong lunch to skip. Herbert's meal basically set the whole Beatles ball rolling, so I recommend reading that chapter. ...

 

Six degrees of separation between Herbert's meal and George's biscuit. It's all interconnected.

 

Still on Robert A Caro, this is a great photo series from the NYT about his working methods. We need something similar for Mark Lewisohn!

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/20...erage&pgtype=article&region=EndOfArticle&_r=0

 

I found every word of the extended edition compelling and preferred it overall, but I'm a weirdo. Standard will be enough for most people -- though I hasten to add that if it wasn't so difficult /pricey for Americans to get hold of the long version I'd recommend it unreservedly.

While I'm here, quick question: is there any reason for someone who has Chronicle and Sessions to read The Beatles Live? One of the Beatles books I've never run across...

 

I would say "Yes!". Lewisohn does a great job recounting what they were playing in the years leading up to Beatlemnia. Those lists alone make it worthwhile.

 

Does anyone know what this reference to Ringo's 'promotion fees' is in reference to?

 

It's a great comparison-both are consummate researchers and great writers. I sought out The Power Broker after I finished the first 2 volumes of his LBJ biographies, it's a brilliant book.

 

I read the unabridged version of Lewisohn's book; to my surprise, it's one of the best books I have ever read. Much as I liked his earlier books, I thought of him only as a chronicler or compiler. As someone who talks and writes history for a living, I am impressed by his research, his ability to structure a narrative, his flair for establishing a place or time, and his subtlety in establishing a point of view. It is a remarkable achievment to hold readers so well over the span of so long a book. I admire Caro, too. He and Lewisohn are obviously very different human beings. I think Caro pushes his arguments and his point of view too hard occasionally, something Lewisohn avoids.