A week before Christmas: “Oddly, it was George and I who made the first moves, running around town in search of venues to play.” Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 81.
“disgruntled and very angry”: C. Lennon, A Twist, p. 52.
Williams was in no mood: “There’s nothing I can do for you at the moment,” he told them. “I’m up to my eyes in trouble.” Williams, “Liverpool Scene,” p. 113.
“job for life”/“drinking heavily”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“She was always there”: Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 81.
“She gave them the kind of work”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
The Seniors had played there: Davies, Beatles, p. 91.
“a revelation to behold”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/4/97.
“and had the nerve to play”: John Cochrane in Leigh, Drummed Out!, p. 19.
“We’d been pussyfooting”: Pat Clusky in ibid.
“were utterly, utterly devastated”: Bill Harry interview with Pauline Sutcliffe (audio), undated.
He had written before Christmas: Ibid.
“He didn’t seem keen”: Letter, Stuart Sutcliffe to Pauline Sutcliffe, 12/24/60.
“anybody would be taking her son”: Bill Harry interview with Pauline Sutcliffe (audio), undated.
“picking on him”: Davies, Beatles, p. 98.
“Come home sooner”: Letter, George Harrison to Stuart Sutcliffe, 12/16/60.
Without a bass: Gottfridsson, From Cavern to Star-Club, p. 64.
“put Liverpool on the map”: Ray McFall in Leigh, Let’s Go Down the Cavern, p. 26.
“doing the jazzy-type stuff”: Author interview with Ray Ennis, 10/1/97.
An ersatz ventilation pipe: Leigh, Let’s Go Down to the Cavern, p. 24.
“The Cavern was a shithole”: Author interview with Adrian Barber, 10/4/97.
“At first, it was difficult to breathe”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“It was as if they’d gone”: Author interview with Dot Rhone Becker, 11/19/98.
“Lovely lovely lovely… Cyn”: Hello!, 5/7/94.
“John was a flirt”: Ibid.
For months, Peter Eckhorn: Miles, Paul McCartney, pp. 74–75.
Pete Best worked the same: Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 89.
Impervious to his parents’ dismay: “They were going to be together and that was that, whether we liked it or not.” Bill Harry interview with Pauline Sutcliffe (audio), undated.
In January he had been beaten: Millie Sutcliffe in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, pp. 60–61; Best & Harry, Best Years, p. 92.
John also broke: Best & Harry, Best Years, p. 92; Aspinall, Rave, 1966; also “John dived to Stuart’s defense and got his finger broken in the process.” Hello!, 5/7/94.
“We’d listen to both sides”: Best & Harry, Best Years, p. 99.
they “clubbed together”: “NEMS had fantastic listening booths. They’d take a stack of records in there and if someone really loved one…” Author interview with Gibson Kemp, 8/12/97.
“If someone got out of line”: Author interview with Adrian Barber, 8/4/97.
“He liked us backing him”: Best & Harry, Best Years, p. 106.
powsas: C. Lennon, A Twist, p. 57.
“Here’s something to keep”: Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 95.
“in letters from Germany”: Bill Harry interview with Pauline Sutcliffe (audio), undated.
“It was loose”: Author interview with Beryl Williams, 11/2/97.
“[It] struck me as being”: Williams, “Liverpool Scene,” p. 123.
Stuart’s follow-up letter: Ibid.
“he wasn’t disappointed”: Author interview with Beryl Williams, 11/2/97.
“It was loud”: Jürgen Vollmer, 8/82, AGA.
“In my art school”: Astrid Kirchherr in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 67.
Out of ignorance: “This was going too far, we all thought…. ” Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 94; Davies, Beatles, p. 103.
“The pills and booze”: C. Lennon, A Twist, p. 55.
“he seemed more grown-up”: Author interview with Dot Rhone Becker, 11/19/98.
John took Cynthia: C. Lennon, A Twist, p. 54.
“She sounded as though she could”: Ibid., p. 55.
Astrid and John… held hands: “We would hold hands occasionally, but he would find it hard even to do that.” Astrid Kirchherr in Coleman, Lennon, p. 129.
Paul and Dot bunked: “We had our own bedroom. I don’t remember seeing much of Rosa.” Author interview with Dot Rhone Becker, 11/19/98.
“with such a wallop”: Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 103.
“They beat the shit out of each other”: Author interview with confidential source.
“It was the beginning of the end”: Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 103.
“he was only lending it”: Paul McCartney in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 70.
a gold band: Author interview with Dot Rhone Becker, 11/19/98.
“like lepers”: Author interview with Ray Ennis, 10/1/97.
Tommy Kent: Gottfridsson, From Cavern to Star-Club, p. 68.
“He said we were the best”: Liverpool Echo, 2/20/96.
Kaempfert’s response was polite: “He certainly showed little excitement at what we were doing.” Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 104.
The Beatles were stunned: Best & Harry, Best Years, p. 108.
It was a sticky piece: “It was presented as: ‘That is the deal you’re going to get.’ ” Ibid.
“What the hell”: Ibid.
along with George’s instrumental: Pete Best in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 71.
“represented something new”: “They were a new invention in those days.” Karl Hinze in Gottfridsson, From Cavern to Star-Club, p. 83.
the 500 Limited bus: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“Look at this. I’ve just received it”: Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 73.
“Mein Herz ist bei dir nur”: Polydor, no. NH 24673; English release date: BBC, Arena archives.
“Up until then”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“Let me play it tonight”: Ibid.
“Go and tell him to get fucking well stuffed”: Ibid.
“There was only one record store”: Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 73.
In a datebook he carried: Personal diary of Brian Epstein, 1949; courtesy of Bryan Barrett.
“lived for Beethoven, Mozart”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
a collection of the Brandenburg Concertos: “My mother gave them to me when I was nineteen, for my birthday.” Desert Island Discs, 11/30/64.
“The closest Brian ever got”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/3/97.
He was born on September 19, 1934: Stella Epstein Cantor, Arena archives.
“She knew what it meant to be a lady”: Author interview with Rex Makin, 11/1/97.
“Tell me, Auntie”: Stella Epstein Cantor, Arena archives.
“Queenie treated him as an equal”: Author interview with Rex Makin, 11/1/97.
“one of those out-of-sorts boys”: Epstein, Cellarful, p. 25.
“problem child”: “When my mother, distressed and weeping, pleaded with the head-master that I should be given another term, he replied, ‘Madam, we have no room for your problem child.’ ” From Brian Epstein’s handwritten journal, 1957.
“It was at this school”: Ibid.
“benevolent academies”: “They solved [my school problem]… by sending me to one of those benevolent academies where failures are welcomed…. ” Epstein, Cellarful, p. 29.
“I tried very hard”: Brian Epstein’s datebook, 1949.
A portfolio of eight drawings: Brian Epstein, portfolio, courtesy of Bryan Barrett.
Harry… “went up the pole”: Stella Epstein Cantor, Arena archives.
it “was impossible”/“it would be stupid”: Brian Epstein’s handwritten journal, 1957, p. 6.
“In a rage of temper”: Ibid.
“reported for duty”: Epstein, Cellarful, p. 31.
“a keen interest in display work”: “I worked well and had some new ideas.” Brian Epstein, handwritten journal, 1957, p. 6.
The window sets he redressed: “I placed chairs in the windows with their backs to the window shoppers.” Epstein, Cellarful, p. 33.
Isaac was neither amused: Author interview with Rex Makin, 11/1/97.
“latent homosexuality”: “It is possible even then I may have been able to settle down after all that had happened, remaining, as I did, unaware of my latent homosexuality.” Brian Epstein, handwritten journal, 1957, p. 6.
“Within the first few weeks”: Ibid.
“confused”: “My mind was confused and my nervous system weakened.” Ibid., p. 7.
About the same time, he was robbed: Ibid., pp. 7–8.
In his autobiography, Brian invents: Epstein, Cellarful, p. 36.
“on medical grounds”: Ibid., p. 37.
“homosexual life and its various rendezvous”: Brian Epstein, handwritten journal, 1957, p. 8.
“My life became a succession”: Ibid.
At twenty-one, he was appointed: Ibid., p. 9.
Without any warning, he packed: Ibid., p. 8.
“I confessed everything”: Ibid., p. 9.
Incredible as it may seem, Brian impressed: Norman, Shout!, p. 131.
Peter O’Toole, Albert Finney: Brian Epstein, handwritten journal, 1957, p. 7.
His own class boasted: Epstein, Cellarful, p. 40.
“the narcissism… and the detachment”: Ibid.
“a second male lead”: Norman, Shout!, p. 131.
Loneliness was partly to blame: “Living alone in London I felt acute frustration and loneliness.” Brian Epstein, handwritten journal, 1957, p. 5.
On the evening of April 17: Ibid., p. 11.
“mind went in great fear”: Ibid.
“[And] after a few minutes”: Ibid., p. 14.
Miraculously, a family solicitor: Author interview with Rex Makin, 11/1/97.
This time, he got involved with: Ibid.
“They arranged for a drop”: Ibid.
“he was oblivious”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/9/97.
“My girlfriend and I”: Author interview with Mike Rice, 7/27/98.
“the most important record outlet”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
“There was really no radio”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/9/97.
A grainy picture of Gene Vincent: Mersey Beat, 7/6/61.
He split the cover price: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/4/97.
“He looked extremely smart”: Ibid., 8/2/97.
“I can’t understand it”: Ibid.
BEATLES SIGN RECORDING CONTRACT!: Mersey Beat, 7/20/61.
“This is actually in Liverpool?”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/2/97.
“Record Releases by Brian Epstein”: Mersey Beat, 8/3/61. “He became our record reviewer.” Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/2/97.
“What about these Beatles?”: Ibid.
Legend has it that Brian: Epstein, Cellarful, p. 43.
“The name ‘Beatle’ meant”: Ibid.
“He would have had to have been blind”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/2/97.
“Do you remember that record”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
“The Beatles are at the Cavern”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/2/97.
A letter from Stuart had indicated: Jürgen Vollmer, 8/82, AGA.
“I showed them all the places”: Ibid.
“We both detested pop”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
“hovering around the counter”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“Then, I’m sorry to have to tell you”: Ibid.
They knew who he was: Davies, Beatles, p. 125.
“And what brings Mr. Epstein”: Ibid.
“We just popped in”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
“absolutely awful”/“remarkable”: Ibid.
“Do you think I should manage them?”: Ibid.
“delicious-sounding” names: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/2/97.
here Names of Liverpool bands: Leigh, Let’s Go Down the Cavern, dedication page; and Mersey Beat, various issues, 7/6/61–2/13/64.
Slightly over three hundred… bands: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
Bands played what they wanted: Author interview with Howie Casey, 10/27/97.
Brian was “besotted”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
“John, especially”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/9/97.
“with all the pride of a peacock”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“for a chat”: Epstein, Cellarful, p. 48.
“never know what made [him] say”: Ibid.
On December 3, 1961: Lewisohn, Chronicle, p. 35; Epstein, Cellarful, p. 49.
“rattled on the glass”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“This is me dad”: Davies, Beatles, p. 126; confirmed by Bob Wooler in author interview, 10/30/97.
“Apparently quite a number of people want it”: Davies, Beatles, p. 126.
“he was picking his words very carefully”: Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 127.
“Certainly there were several things”: Ibid.
“they were delighted that a proper businessman”: Hello!, 5/14/94.
Paul… “was more ambitious”: Author interview with Dot Rhone Becker, 11/19/98.
wiles of “a Jewboy”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/2/97.
“The novelty” would eventually wear off: Davies, Beatles, p. 129.
“They were as unruly a bunch”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“thieves”: Brown & Gaines, Love You Make, p. 68.
“a right load of layabouts”: Leigh, Drummed Out!, p. 28.
“I wouldn’t touch ’em”: Williams, “Liverpool Scene”; Lewisohn, Chronicle, p. 35.
“there was an immediate bond”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/3/97.
same compatible relationship with Andrew Lloyd Webber: Ibid.
“Presumably I looked as if I were… perfectly normal”: Ibid.
“a very unhappy man”: Ibid.
“Money was the deciding factor”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/9/97.
“he’d discovered a gold mine”: Author interview with Rex Makin, 11/1/97.
“Harry was indignant”: Ibid.
“the Beatles would be bigger”: “He assured my parents and me that they would be bigger than Elvis Presley.” Clive Epstein in Coleman, Lennon, p. 158; also author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
if Queenie wasn’t any more optimistic: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/3/97.
Besides, she knew how stubborn Brian was: Brown & Gaines, Love You Make, p. 67.
“Okay, you’re on”: Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 130.
276–77 “Right, then, Brian—manage us”: Norman, Shout!, p. 140.
Stuart wasn’t expected to return: Bill Harry interview with Pauline Sutcliffe (audio), undated.
Both Beatles had kept up a… correspondence: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/7/97.
“a restlessness about life”: Coleman, Lennon, p. 159.
“clearly distressed—bizarre”: Bill Harry interview with Pauline Sutcliffe (audio), undated.
“Stuart looked absolutely god-awful”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/5/97.
“there was no supporting evidence”: Bill Harry interview with Pauline Sutcliffe (audio), undated.
“Stuart fell over”: Rod Murray, 8/82, AGA.
A grant had come through: “[He] got a tremendous grant… from the German government on Paolozzi’s recommendation.” Millie Sutcliffe in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 92.
“but not both”: Ibid.
but writing stories and poems: Astrid Kirchherr in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 91.
“good sense to keep away from”: Bill Harry interview with Pauline Sutcliffe (audio), undated.
“to smarten them up”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
Leather and jeans were fine for the Cavern: “He claimed that no one in the world of entertainment outside our present environment would tolerate our slovenly look.” Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 133.
Brian expected everyone to show up on time: Coleman, Lennon, p. 157.
“Brian believed that would be very good for us”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 96.
“Paul was Mr. Show Business”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/9/97.
“a nice old ballroom”: Author interview with Sam Leach, 10/6/97.
“Where are we going, boys?”: Anthology, vol. 1.
A graduate of the Merchant Taylors’ School: Leigh, Drummed Out!, p. 31.
Barrow not only spoke the language: Liverpool Echo, 1959–61.
“a schoolboy”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
Each week, before placing the NEMS record order: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/9/97.
“I have this fabulous group”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
“instantly impressive”: Ibid.
“bright lights”: Author interview with Richard Rowe Jr., 8/19/97.
Brian was “very taken” with Smith: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
After a rousing lunchtime session: Best & Harry, Best Years, p. 137.
“Right,” Smith said without any ado: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
“ill humor”: Author interview with Dot Rhone Becker, 11/19/98.
“very late” the next morning: Pete Best in Leigh, Drummed Out!, p. 31.
“He was frothing at the mouth”: Best & Harry, Best Years, p. 137.
He’d been out late at a party: Lewisohn, Chronicle, p. 52.
studios were “freezing cold”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
“ill at ease”: Lewisohn, Chronicle, p. 52.
“[He] believed that the way to impress Mike Smith”: Norman, Shout!, p. 143.
“all these weird novelty things”: Letter, John Lennon to Tony Barrow, 12/63; also: Beatles Book Monthly, 1/83, p. 7.
“We thought hard about the material”: Pete Best in Leigh, Drummed Out!, p. 90.
“fairly silly repertoire”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 89.
their performance was flat: Decca audition tape, 1/1/62.
too many “pretty” numbers: “Decca didn’t want all that pretty-pretty kind of number.” Letter, John Lennon to Tony Barrow, 12/63; also: Beatles Book Monthly, 1/83, p. 7.
work had been “productive”: Best & Harry, Best Years, p. 139.
“Can’t see any problems”: Ibid.
Brian surprised them by ordering: Norman, Shout!, p. 144.
“What a great way to start 1962”: Best & Harry, Best Years, p. 139.
“best group in Liverpool”: Mersey Beat, 1/4/62.
“He was always on the phone to Polydor”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
“It became hard, right off the bat”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/3/97.
“Whatever you do… don’t tell Daddy”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
“Nine times out of ten”: Author interview with Colin Manley, 10/3/97.
“Shut yer fucking yap!”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“rude photos”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/5/97.
“We always stayed out of their way”: Author interview with Dot Rhone Becker, 1/19/98.
Brian repeated his foremost goal: Letter from R. N. White to Brian Epstein, 12/7/61.
“Whilst we appreciate the talents”: Ibid., 12/14/61.
“amazing record collection”: “He sent to America for some of it but acquired the best stuff on the black market.” Author interview with Richard Rowe Jr., 8/19/97.
“No, Mike, it’s impossible”: Dick Rowe in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 88.
“Liverpool could have been in Greenland”: Ibid.
“He had very substantial accounts”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/3/97.
“thought it was awful”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
Philips also passed: Letter from E. J. Harvey to Brian Epstein, 2/11/62.
“It appears that we are cursed”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/8/97.
“The people at Decca didn’t like the boys’ sound”: Dick Rowe in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 90.
“You couldn’t get in”: Ibid., p. 89.
“You have a good record business”: Ibid., p. 90.
“completely shattered”: Beatles Book Monthly, 11/82, p. 32.
“Now, who hasn’t [already] got a group”: Related by Kim Bennett, assistant to Sid Coleman, Beatles Book Monthly, 5/69, p. 8.
HMV and Columbia got the heavy hitters: Martin, All You Need, p. 83.
“It was the bastard child”: Author interview with Colin Manley, 10/2/97.
“a lot of traditional Scottish bands”: Author interview with Ron Richards, 12/29/97.
Martin would have “to do something” bold: Martin, All You Need, p. 84.
“between the cracks”: Ibid.
“We had gone from being known as a sad little company”: Author interview with Ron Richards, 12/29/97.
297–98 “so soft the engineers had… difficulty”: Ibid.
“not to be so clever”: Letter, John Lennon to Tony Barrow, Beatles Book Monthly, 1/83, p. 7.
“Right. Try Embassy”: Epstein, Cellarful, p. 58.
“Brian Epstein decided that everyone”: Leigh, Let’s Go Down the Cavern, p. 59.
He was “embarrassed”: Pete Best in Leigh, Drummed Out!, p. 26.
“Almost since he joined”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/1/97.
“If one of the others got more applause”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
A poster for The Outlaw: Leigh, Drummed Out!, p. 26.
“He was the only Beatle I mentioned”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“That had always been Paul’s role”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/2/97.
“brilliant”/“they were going to conquer the world”: George Martin, Arena archives.
“had seen it all before”: Ibid.
“He… expressed surprise”: Martin, All You Need, p. 122.
“unswerving devotion”: George Martin, Arena archives.
“a big hype”: Martin, All You Need, p. 122.
“very mediocre”: Ibid.
“You know, I really can’t judge”: George Martin, Arena archives.
“Brian’s investment in the band”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
“Brian was too captivated”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/3/97.
By February, he was taking amphetamines: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
“Brian didn’t want to go to gigs”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/3/97.
“with his hair combed forward”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/2/97.
“We’d heard Brian was queer”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 88.
“They always knew he was a queen”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/3/97.
“I see that new Dirk Bogarde film”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“Within forty-eight hours”: Ian Sharp, 8/84, AGA.
“The Beatles were home in Hamburg”: Author interview with Adrian Barber, 10/4/97.
An omen presented itself: “I had German measles so I went a day later than the other guys…. ” George Harrison in Anthology, p. 69.
“Where’s Stu?”: Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 150.
“Oh, what’s the matter?”: Coleman, Lennon, p. 162.
“a bomb going off in his head”: “Millie told me it was like a bomb…. ” Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/7/97.
“he was going blind”: “Millie told me that she’d got a letter from Stuart, who said he was afraid he was going blind.” Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/2/97.
Other times, she struggled to hold him down: Norman, Shout!, p. 149.
According to one account, he’d blacked out: Ibid.
On April 10: Lewisohn, Chronicle, p. 56.
“He has to go to the hospital”: Coleman, Lennon, p. 162.
No one that close in age had died: “Not many of our contemporaries had died.” Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 69.
“a real shock”: Ibid.
“looked up to Stu”: “I depended on him to tell me the truth.” John Lennon, 1967 interview, in Anthology, p. 69.
Even Astrid insisted that they go on: “[S]he did, indeed, go to the Star Club when the Beatles opened there on 13 April.” Coleman, Lennon, p. 163.
The rest of the bill featured: Beatles Book Monthly, 1/83, p. 19.
“without [his] approval you did not work”: Author interview with Adrian Barber, 10/4/97.
“spoke English with a typical German… accent”: Ted “Kingsize” Taylor, 9/2/85, AGA.
“ruthless” pit bull: Ibid.
“an immense, cavernous rock ’n roll cathedral”: Author interview with Adrian Barber, 10/4/97.
“twistin’ base”: “News from Germany,” Mersey Beat, 5/3/62.
The Beatles took one look: “The Star-Club was great.” Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 69; “a big place and fantastic.” George Harrison in ibid.
“the first real theatrical setting”: Author interview with Adrian Barber, 10/4/97.
“There was a fucking curtain”: Ibid.
“The beatings he gave to people”: Author interview with Ray Ennis, 10/1/97.
the missing three fingers: “When you shook hands with him, he only had a finger and thumb on his right hand. The rest had been cut off.” Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/5/97.
He doted on them: “He always spoke English very grammatically.” Ibid.
“Horst made sure we were protected”: Author interview with Tony Crane, 10/7/97.
“gave [them] immunity”: Author interview with Ray Ennis, 10/1/97.
“Manfred’s Home for Itinerant Scousers”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/5/97.
“roughly 850 to 1,000 people”: Don Arden in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 93.
“a step up”: Coleman, Lennon, p. 163.
Only one of his songs, “You Better Move On”: Whitburn, Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits.
“We wanted to [sound] like Arthur Alexander”: Liner notes, The Ultimate Arthur Alexander, Razor & Tie RE 2014.
“He opened the barn door”: Author interview with Adrian Barber, 2/29/00.
John Lennon managed to fuel his rage: “During that trip in Hamburg, John was certainly often wild.” Gerry Marsden in Coleman, Lennon, p. 164.
He’d begun blowing off steam: Horst Fascher in Coleman, Lennon, p. 163.
“foamed at the mouth”: Author interview with Ray Ennis, 10/1/97.
“all people [were] basically shit”: Author interview with Adrian Barber, 10/4/97.
“And all of us just stood there”: Gerry Marsden in Coleman, Lennon, p. 169.
“a trend [for musicians] to bounce around”: Ibid.
“Hey, remember the war?”: Ibid.
“a little bit mad”: Ibid., p. 164.
“out of my fucking mind”: John Lennon, 1972 interview, in Anthology, p. 78.
“let loose like maniacs”: Author interview with Colin Manley, 10/2/97.
a “shabby little… bedsit”: Hello!, 5/7/94.
“Imagine having her there all the time”: Letter to Cynthia Lennon, 4/62.
“The pressure was really getting to him”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
CONGRATULATIONS BOYS: Lewisohn, Chronicle, p. 56.
HAVE SECURED CONTRACT: Ibid., p. 55 (picture).
None of the Beatles had been forewarned: “It was only Brian telling us we were going to make it and George.” John Lennon, 1972 interview, in Anthology, p. 68.
By way of celebration: Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 159.
Unable to make ends meet: C. Lennon, A Twist, p. 61.
“they played tick with hatchets”: Author interview with Dave Foreshaw, 10/3/97.
“money had run out”: C. Lennon, A Twist, p. 70.
“period got later and later”: “Cynthia Lennon: In Her Own Words,” Hello!, 5/21/94.
“The horror of it”: “Cynthia Lennon: In Her Own Words,” Hello!, 5/14/94.
Bursting with shame: “For awhile I tried to ignore the problem. The difficulties were almost too great to contemplate.” Ibid.
“crummy” meals: Author interview with Dot Rhone Becker, 11/19/98.
took the stairs “two at a time”: Hello!, 5/14/94.
“As the words sunk in”: Ibid.
“I thought it would be goodbye”: Davies, Beatles, p. 153.
Resignedly, he proposed: “There’s only one thing for it, Cyn, we’ll have to get married.” C. Lennon, A Twist, p. 73; “I was a bit shocked when Cynthia told me, but I said, ‘Yes, we’ll have to get married.’ ” John Lennon in Davies, Beatles, p. 153.
“John didn’t share much”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/5/97.
“was [their] last chance”: “According to Brian, it was very much a case of like—‘okay, this is your last chance.’ ” Pete Best, Abbey Road transcripts, 2/19/97.
“Where’s the recording studio?”: Ibid.
“It’s a house!”: Ibid.
It had originated in 1831: Southall, Abbey Road, p. 14.
the world’s first “purpose- (or custom-) built” studio: Spitz, “The Long and Winding Abbey Road,” Sky, 9/97, p. 53.
The fundamentals of stereo: Author interview with Alan Brown, 6/23/97.
“stepping into… another world”: Pete Best, Abbey Road transcripts, 2/19/97.
“Coming into Abbey Road”: Paul McCartney in Southall, Abbey Road, p. 130.
“corner suite”: Sky, 9/97, p. 56.
“We were nervous”: Pete Best, Abbey Road transcripts, 2/19/97.
“Look at the size of this place!”: Ibid.
“it was love at first sight”: Martin, All You Need, p. 122.
“wasn’t terribly impressed”: Author interview with Ron Richards, 12/27/97.
John had patterned it after: “It was my attempt at writing a Roy Orbison song.… I heard Roy Orbison sing ‘Only the Lonely’ or something. That’s where the song came from.” Sheff, Playboy Interviews, pp. 142–43.
“They didn’t impress me at all”: Southall, Abbey Road, p. 81.
George Martin shared their reservations: “Frankly, they didn’t impress me, least of all their own songs.” Martin, All You Need, p. 123.
“They were rotten composers”: Ibid.
“Their own stuff wasn’t any good”: George Martin, Arena archives.
“suitable material”: Martin, All You Need, p. 123.
“embellish[ing] the sound”: Norman Smith in Southall, Abbey Road, p. 81.
“the drummer was no good”: Author interview with Ron Richards, 12/27/97.
“During that one conversation”: Dowlding, Beatlesongs, p. 35.
refer the band to a venereologist: Author interview with Rex Makin, 11/1/97.
“[Paul] was trying to be good about it”: Author interview with Dot Rhone Becker, 11/19/98.
Jim McCartney… “was delighted”: Ibid.
Between the Parlophone audition: Lewisohn, Chronicle, pp. 70–71.
“the Eppy-center”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
Everyone was crammed: Author interview with Beryl Williams, 10/7/97.
“He was very meticulous”: Author interview with Frieda Kelly Norris, 10/5/97.
“We’d talk in his office”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“Sometimes he’d rub his hands”: Ibid.
“It was an amazing scene”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/1/97.
“reminded him of a German concentration camp”: Author interview with Johnny Byrne, 10/8/97.
“boring” image: “We had our original names at Butlins. Rory said, ‘It doesn’t sound good, it sounds boring.’ ” Ibid.
The only group member who balked: “Ringo was a bit reluctant to do that.” Ibid.
one of the city’s fleetest dancers: “His dancing used to amaze us.” Ibid.
“Rings”: “In Liverpool, I was still wearing a lot of rings, and people were starting to say, “Hey, Rings!’ ” Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 39.
an effort to amend it to Johnny Ringo: Clayson, Ringo Starr: Straight Man or Joker (hereinafter, Straight Man), p. 34.
“Ritch wasn’t that interested”: Author interview with J. Byrne, 10/8/97.
“Starr was a natural”: Melody Maker, 11/14/64.
“He was an excellent drummer”: Author interview with Adrian Barber, 10/4/97.
“There was a feeling we all had”: G. Harrison & D. Taylor, I, Me, Mine, p. 33.
“always made for the drums”: Richie Galvin in Leigh, Drummed Out!, p. 56.
“Paul was showing Pete”: Ibid.
it was no secret that the other Beatles resented Mona: Clayson, Straight Man, p. 56.
“Mona was an attractive, strong… woman”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/4/97.
“she could also be a harridan”: Leigh, Drummed Out!, p. 67.
“If she said it was Sunday”: Richie Galvin in ibid.
“didn’t want her interference”: Bill Harry in Clayson, Straight Man, p. 56.
Kingsize Taylor’s band, on tour: Clayson, Straight Man, p. 54.
“Teddy wrote to Ringo”: Leigh, Drummed Out!, p. 44.
“the lifestyle… was ideal”: Author interview with Johnny Byrne, 10/8/97.
“fabulous… the best place”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 39.
“But Ringo was… ruthless”: Author interview with Johnny Byrne, 10/8/97.
“Is it possible for us to talk later?”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/31/97.
“his face looked scared”: Davies, Beatles, p. 137.
“found Brian in a very uneasy mood”: Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 166.
“hedged a little”: Epstein, Cellarful, p. 69.
“Pete, I have some bad news”: Best & Harry, Best Years, p. 157.
“in a state of shock”: Ibid., p. 159.
“Why?”: Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 166.
And neither did George Martin: “George Martin had not been too happy about Pete Best’s drumming.” Epstein, Cellarful, p. 68.
“The lads don’t want you”: Pete Best in Leigh, Drummed Out!, p. 41.
“my mind was in a turmoil”: Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 166.
“stab in the back”: Ibid.
Brian offered to form another group: “I suggested many alternatives. That he could be the nucleus of a group that I would form, that he could be fitted into one of my existing groups…. ” Epstein, Cellarful, p. 69.
“What’s happened?”: Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 166.
Pete was stunned: “The fact that they weren’t at my dismissal hurt me a lot more than the fact that Brian told me that I wasn’t a Beatle any longer.” Leigh, Drummed Out!, p. 49.
Where were the Beatles?: John said, “We were cowards when we sacked him.” Davies, Beatles, p. 140.
“disgusted”: Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 167.
Throughout his residency there: Author interview with Bill and Virginia Harry, Johnny Byrne; also Leigh, Drummed Out!, pp. 36–37.
The birth certificate: City of Liverpool, Legal Services, Registrar of Births.
It was all Pete could do: Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 167.
“I’m not going to the gig”: Best & Harry, Best Years, p. 159.
“Once I was home”: Best & Doncaster, Beatle!, p. 167.
“I never felt sorry”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 72.
“ordinary, poor”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 33.
“He was not a barefoot, ragged child”: Author interview with Marie Crawford, 11/1/97.
“really rough”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 34.
“artisan working class”: Author interview with Quentin Hughes, 10/3/97.
“Most of us were brought up there”: Author interview with Marie Crawford, 11/1/97.
“palatial”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 33.
“the cherry on top”: Author interview with Marie Crawford, 11/1/97.
Big Ritchie: Clayson, Straight Man, p. 1.
“no real memories of dad”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 33.
“filled me up with all the things”: Beatles Book Monthly, 12/86.
Richard provided support: Norman, Shout!, p. 160.
“You kept your head down”: Author interview with Adrian Barber, 10/4/97.
told by his doctors to prepare for the worst: “They told my mother three times that I’d be dead in the morning.” Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 34.
“was very lucky to survive”: Ibid.
“doted on him”: Author interview with Marie Crawford, 11/1/97.
“cotton bobbins to hit”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 36.
“Someday, I’m going to play”: Author interview with Marie Crawford, 11/1/97.
never went back to school: “I never went back to school after 13.” Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 36.
“biscuit tins”: Ibid.
“He was a really sweet guy”: Ibid., p. 35.
339–40 Harry had access to all the luxuries: Author interview with Marie Crawford, 11/1/97.
“great gentleness”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 37.
“because they give you suits”: Ibid., p. 36.
“But it was a great gang”: Author interview with Roy Trafford, 11/3/97.
“We knew him pretty well”: Author interview with Johnny Byrne, 10/8/97.
Ritchie borrowed £46: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 36.
“lapped” pigskin: Clayson, Straight Man, p. 23.
“had about three lessons”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 37.
Ritchie was influenced: “I went through modern jazz—Chico Hamilton, Yusef Lateef, people like that.” Melody Maker, 8/7/71.
“a bubble of personality”: Author interview with Iris Caldwell Fenton, 9/10/97.
“who liked to take care of the other guys”: Ibid.
“He always loved his rings”: Author interview with Marie Crawford, 11/1/97.
“was nominally of the Orange lodge”: Ibid.
“to say [he] was actually something”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 38.
“It was a difficult decision”: Author interview with Johnny Byrne, 10/8/97.
“Why not?”: Author interview with Roy Trafford, 11/3/97.
“We felt sorry for him”: Author interview with Ray Ennis, 10/1/97.
“I felt sorry for the lads”: Author interview with Colin Manley, 10/2/97.
“From the time the doors opened”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“very solid beat”: Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 72.
“Ringo didn’t try and direct the beat”: Author interview with Adrian Barber, 10/4/97.
“it had all been settled”: Author interview with Dot Rhone Becker, 11/19/98.
“a bizarre affair”: Hello!, 5/14/94.
Fortunately, Brian sent a car: Ibid.
“was never even told”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 73.
John waited until the last minute: “I went the day before to tell Mimi.” John Lennon, 1965 interview, in Anthology, p. 73.
“a fucking pad”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/3/97.
“We actually did a gig that night”: George Harrison in Anthology, p. 73.
“the only one thinking about the future”: Cynthia Lennon in Coleman, Lennon, p. 176.
Bruce Welch of the Shadows: Abbey Road archives.
“intimidating”: Author interview with Ray Ennis, 10/1/97.
“a very strong engineering discipline”: Author interview with Alan Brown, 6/23/97.
“You had to polish your shoes”: Geoff Emerick, Abbey Road archives.
“a right time to speak to artists”: Martin Benge, Abbey Road archives.
“had to know your place”: Ibid.
“blissfully unaware”: Southall, Abbey Road, p. 78.
the Beatles rehearsed six songs: Norman Smith in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 105.
“any evidence of what was to come”: George Martin in Southall, Abbey Road, p. 81.
“it might have made a good ‘B’ side”: George Martin in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 104.
“Do it!”: Paul McCartney in ibid., p. 104.
“We just don’t want this kind of song”: Paul McCartney in Lewisohn, Sessions, p. 7.
“Ringo at that point”: Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 76.
“he didn’t have quite enough push”: Norman Smith in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 106.
“Ringo had a lot more zest”: Author interview with Ron Richards, 12/27/97.
“probably the top session drummer”: Author interview with Ron Richards, 1/8/98.
Ringo was stunned: “I was devastated that George Martin had his doubts about me.” Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 76.
“I knew he could play the beat”: Author interview with Ron Richards, 12/27/97.
“but he was not pleased”: Ibid.
“It didn’t call for any drumnastics”: Goldmine, no. 425, p. 40.
Martin called it “much too dreary”: George Martin in Arena archives and in Lewisohn, Sessions, p. 20.
“work out some tight harmonies”: George Martin in Lewisohn, Sessions.
“undesirable” image: George Harrison in Anthology, p. 73.
“open doors”: “It did open doors for us.” Paul McCartney, Arena archives.
He’d blame the outfits on Paul: “So Brian put us in neat suits and shirts and Paul was right behind him.” Wenner, Lennon Remembers.
quite “gladly”: George Harrison in Anthology, p. 73.
“Hey, listen, Cavernites”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“an extra two hundred kids”: Ibid.
It was Brian, not the Beatles: “Brian was furious—he was livid. He complained to Ray, and Ray must have been very contrite.” Ibid.
“He’d been picking my brains”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
“John… likes the colour black”: EMI press release accompanying demo disc of “Love Me Do,” 10/62.
“It was a hell of a job”: Author interview with Ron Richards, 12/27/97.
Even Parlophone was chagrined: Ibid.
EMI did buy time: Lewisohn, Chronicle, p. 80.
Jimmy Saville… was “unimpressed”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
“wasn’t at all that thrilled”: Author interview with Dot Rhone Becker, 12/19/98.
“Brian bought boxes”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98. “They bought many boxes of records. That’s how they got it into the charts.” Author interview with Ron Richards, 12/27/97.
“EMI never gave us any budget”: Author interview with Ron Richards, 12/27/97.
“When you can write material”: Martin, All You Need, p. 129.
“We’ve revamped it”: Ibid., p. 130.
“He spent all day”: Author interview with Frieda Kelly Norris, 10/5/97.
he met promoter Sam Leach: Author interview with Sam Leach, 10/6/97.
“Sam had a habit of not paying groups”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“Even before the Beatles exploded”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/3/98.
“the Beatles had really hit the big time”: Lewisohn, Chronicle, p. 82.
“When I saw them on the stage”: Author interview with Frieda Kelly Norris, 10/5/97.
“Immediately… the kids started screaming”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
“Everyone had said, ‘You’ll never make [it]’ ”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 97.
“take a look up North”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/9/97.
Alistair Taylor, who left NEMS that November: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
“No one ever mentioned London”: Author interview with Tony Bramwell, 8/6/97.
“His own press officer”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
“did virtually nothing”: Martin, All You Need, p. 127.
Though it placed at forty-nine: Record Mirror, 11/22/62.
“a riff”: Norman, Shout!, p. 171.
“Dick said, ‘Why don’t we sign… ’ ”: George Martin, Arena archives.
“a slave deal”: Paul McCartney, ibid.
“Dick James’s entire empire”: Author interview with Paul McCartney, 3/21/97.
Northern Songs to acquire Lenmac Enterprises: Harry, Ultimate Beatles Encyclopedia, p. 339.
Thank Your Lucky Stars: Taped 1/13/63 at ATV’s Birmingham Studios for ABC, ATV archives.
the spots were all “mimed”: Author interview with Kenny Lynch, 1/16/98.
“To those of us in England”: Author interview with Ray Connolly, 8/7/97.
Radio Luxembourg had added it: “You’ve Please—Pleased Us,” NME, 1/2/63.
And sensing some ground gained: Author interview with Frieda Kelly Norris, 10/5/97.
“Things were going so well”: Author interview with Tony Bramwell, 8/8/97.
“probably fancied the lad”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
“I was just a wild card”: Author interview with Billy J. Kramer, 12/16/97.
“Whenever word spread”: Author interview with Frieda Kelly Norris, 10/5/97.
Harry Epstein wasn’t pleased: “Mr. Epstein was very upset about it. He made Brian make other plans.” Ibid.
“I’ll ask Bob Wooler”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“The Beatles made little or no impression”: Author interview with Kenny Lynch, 1/16/98.
happy “just to get out of Liverpool”: Davies, Beatles, p. 171.
“the audience repeatedly called for them”: “An Improved Helen!” NME, 2/8/63.
the cast album for Beyond the Fringe: “George and I went up to Edinburgh and sat under the stage for three nights recording Beyond the Fringe.” Author interview with Ron Richards, 12/29/97.
Instead, Martin prepared a list: “I knew their repertoire from the Cavern… and said, ‘Right, what you’re going to do now… is play me this selection of things I’ve chosen.’ ” Martin, All You Need, p. 130.
sessions ran “strictly to time”: Author interview with Martin Benge, 3/98.
“[His] voice was pretty shot”: Norman Smith in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 119.
“the sound of the Beatles singing”: “What I tried to do was to create the live pop group on tape.” Ibid., p. 118.
They cut “There’s a Place”: “[Paul] was the owner of the soundtrack album of Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story, which is where the title phrase came from.” Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 95.
Paul had written down in the van: “I did this song going home in a car one night.” Beatles Book Monthly, 8/83, p. 6.
the second line was “useless”: Ibid.
Sitting on the living-room floor: M. McCartney, Thank U Very Much (picture), pages unnumbered.
they ran through the alphabet: “We went through the alphabet: between clean, lean, mean.” Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 93.
a galloping bass line: “I played exactly the same notes as he did and it fitted our number perfectly.” Paul McCartney in Beat Instrumental.
“for a pie and a pint”: Richard Langham in Lewisohn, Sessions, p. 24.
“We couldn’t believe it”: Ibid.
a “hack song”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 95.
“They just put their heads down”: “Brian was so proud of them. He told me they worked their asses off.” Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/9/97.
“someone suggested they do ‘Twist and Shout’ ”: Lewisohn, Sessions, p. 26.
“A real larynx-tearer”: George Martin in Anthology, p. 93.
Everyone knew they’d have to get it: “It’s not an easy number for any vocalist to sing, but we had to get it in one take.” Norman Smith in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 119.
“got it in one”: “I was ready to jump up and down when I heard them singing that.” Richard Langham in Lewisohn, Sessions, p. 26.
“dead chuffed”: “As it happens, we were very happy with the result—or to put it more eloquently, dead chuffed!” NME, 4/19/63.
“to give the boys some air”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
This was a trick they had practiced: “I used to see them backstage, practicing shaking their heads—on a count.” Author interview with Kenny Lynch, 1/16/98.
“Just a few weeks before”: Author interview with Colin Manley, 10/2/97.
drawing the biggest queue: “The queue outside on Mathew Street was amazing, larger than any I’d ever seen. The kids had been there all day, maybe all night.” Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“a small piece of motorway”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 83.
The NME Top Thirty: NME, 2/20/63.
Since breaking up with Dot Rhone: “I’d go out with Frank, who would give me a pound for the taxi home. But Paul would meet me, and we’d have the pound to spend.” Author interview with Iris Caldwell Fenton, 9/30/97.
“was berserk over [Iris]”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/4/97.
Disc, on the other hand: Disc, 2/23/63.
The bus was “a drag”: “No one liked it.” Author interview with Kenny Lynch, 1/16/98.
Before the opening bars: “We all got loud. Everyone was cheering.” Ibid.
“Britain’s top vocal-instrumental group”: Melody Maker, 4/13/63.
“We want the Beatles!”: “All one of us had to do was go out there and they’d be screaming, ‘We want the Beatles!’ ” Author interview with Kenny Lynch, 1/16/98.
“all the people coming to the show”: George Harrison in Anthology, p. 90.
“have a walk through the streets”: Author interview with Kenny Lynch, 1/16/98.
“in the dressing-rooms”: Coleman, Lennon, p. 195.
the guesthouses: “The night staff were terrible—poor people.” Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 86.
“It was always a bore”: Ibid., p. 90.
To fulfill an urgent request: “I asked them for another song as good as ‘Please, Please Me,’ and they brought me one.” Martin, All You Need, p. 131.
“Thank You Little Girl”: “We’d already written ‘Thank You Girl.’ ” John Lennon in Melody Maker, 4/19/63.
just “fooling around” on the guitar: Ibid.
The new tune came quickly: Talking about “From Me to You,” Paul said: “We have such a fairly easy job thinking up tunes.” NME, 5/10/63.
“It went to a surprising place”: Paul McCartney in Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 149.
“Paul and I had been talking”: John Lennon in NME, 5/10/63.
“very direct and personal”: “There was a little trick we developed early on… which was to put I, Me, or You in it, so it was very direct and personal.” Paul McCartney in Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 148.
“people can identify… with it”: Paul McCartney in NME, 5/10/63.
“From Me to You” was finished: “Before that journey was over, we’d completed the lyric, everything.” John Lennon in NME, 4/19/63.
Why not sing the intro?: Author interview with Ron Richards, 12/29/97.
Brian shared their dream: “Brian Epstein was putting pressure on George [Martin], who, in turn, was giving me a hard time.” Author interview with Roland Rennie, 8/7/97.
The stumbling block… Capitol: “When EMI bought Capitol, or bought the major position in Capitol, we had an agreement between us—that [with] any of EMI’s English artists… we had the right of first refusal, and the same in reverse.” Alan Livingston, Arena archives.
“The idea was that [Capitol]”: Author interview with Roland Rennie, 8/7/97.
“didn’t even hear the first Beatles record”: Alan Livingston, Arena archives.
the Beatles were “nothing”: “He said, ‘Alan, they’re a bunch of long-haired kids, they’re nothing, forget it.’ ” Ibid.
“a jazz man”: “Of course, the A&R guy… was a jazz man… who couldn’t see pop records anyway.” Paul White in ibid., p. 141.
“I wasn’t going to call [Dave] Dexter”: Author interview with Paul Marshall, 8/28/97.
“fell right to the bottom”: “I released the record about a month and a half after the English did and it fell right to the bottom.” Paul White in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 137.
NME broke the story: “The Beatles, yet to have a major British hit… have been snapped up for America by Vee Jay.” NME, 1/25/63.
Then, in the February 8 issue: NME, 2/8/63.
a small follow-up in Melody: “American star Roy Orbison is set for a three-week British tour.” Melody Maker, 3/23/63.
clocked somewhere around E: “He had refined his voice into a crystal instrument with which he can hit his E above high C.” Dalton & Kaye, Rock 100, p. 30.
always speed to fall back on: “Roy, who toured with Johnny Cash… was also devoted to speed and sleeping pills.” Amburn, Dark Star, p. 67.
A stone staircase swept up: Description of building—author interview with Shelagh Johnson, 10/29/97.
“Eppy’s Epitorium”: Author interview with Frieda Kelly Norris, 10/5/97.
“there are three groups in Liverpool”: John Lennon in Hit Parade, 4/63.
music “scene that could only find its counterpart”: “The Beat Boys!” Melody Maker, 3/23/63.
“idolized him”: “She only had the one son, and she idolized him.” Author interview with Frieda Kelly Norris, 10/5/97.
“Elsie felt they were taking him”: Author interview with Marie Crawford, 11/1/97.
the Harrisons and Jim McCartney “were thrilled”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/5/97.
Friends close to Louise Harrison: “Mrs. Harrison enjoyed it all.” Author interview with Frieda Kelly Norris, 10/5/97.
“She followed the Beatles as avidly”: Author interview with Arthur Kelly, 1/10/98.
“Jim was probably the Beatles’ biggest fan”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/5/97.
“showing blood”: “She was showing blood, and the doctor told her she had to go to bed.” Author interview with Dot Rhone Becker, 11/19/98.
“drank whiskey after whiskey”: “He insisted we drink whiskey after…” Paddy Delaney in Badman, Off the Record, p. 54.
a tall, “spunky” seventeen-year-old: Author interview with Virginia Harry, 8/10/97.
they’d been hanging out together: “We didn’t know that Cyn was pregnant at the time.” Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/10/97.
Even with the Beatles: Goldman, Lives of John Lennon, p. 135.
“He had no shame”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/10/97.
Had it been a girl: “We’d already decided that if the baby was a girl she would be called Julia.” Hello!, 5/14/94.
“triumphant at the news”: Coleman, Lennon, p. 171.
“over-sensitive”/“moody”: Hello!, 5/14/94.
carping about Cynthia’s “willfulness”: Author interview with Dot Rhone Becker, 11/19/98.
“a perverse pleasure”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/7/97.
“didn’t even emerge from upstairs”: Coleman, Lennon, p. 180.
John turned up two days: Lewisohn, Chronicle, pp. 106–7.
Julian and Cynthia were still in the hospital: Coleman, Lennon, p. 171.
“Who’s going to be a famous little rocker”: C. Lennon, A Twist, p. 87.
“bloody marvelous”: Ibid.
“a miracle”: Hello!, 5/14/94.
Brian had insisted that John keep the marriage a secret: “It was wholly down to paranoia on Brian’s part about the private lives of his artists.” Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
Cynthia may have suppressed: “I saw the whole thing in a flash and I realized there and then that I’d have to close my mind to the situation or my relationship with John would be impossible.” Hello!, 5/21/94.
John “was beginning to feel trapped”: C. Lennon, A Twist, p. 87.
“But he never talked about Julian”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/10/97.
“Once the Beatles hit the pop charts”: Author interview with Johnny Byrne, 11/3/97.
“plenty of sparkle”: “Beatles Sparkle Again,” NME, 4/12/63.
“so-so melody”: Melody Maker, 4/13/63.
“came crashing”: NME, 4/19/63.
sales hit 200,000 copies: “Beatles Back with a Bang!”Melody Maker, 4/20/63.
“By now, the Beatle legend”: Melly, Revolt Into Style, p. 63.
“The Beatles could take it to the Americans”: “Beatles—One Out for Week,” Melody Maker, 3/16/63.
“Latest visitors from America”: “Screams Acclaim Beatles, Montez, Roe,” NME, 3/15/63.
“A couple of records in the charts”: Melly, Revolt Into Style, p. 68.
“They acted that way”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
“It was my chore”: Melly, Revolt Into Style, p. 69.
evicted Gerry Marsden from his perch: “Top Thirty,” NME, 4/24/63.
“highlight of the pop music year”: “Now 4 Extra Acts at NME Poll Concert,” NME, 4/19/63.
“more like that of a father”: Author interview with Tony Bramwell, 8/8/97.
“Clive took one look”: “George once told me a very revealing story.” Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“He was in love with me”: Sheff, Playboy Interviews, p. 76.
“wanted to know if [she] objected”: C. Lennon, A Twist, pp. 87–88.
She was “hurt”: “I concealed my hurt and envy and gave him my blessing.” Ibid., p. 88.
“what a bastard”: John Lennon, 1970 interview, in Anthology, p. 98.
“stayed in the sun too long”: George Harrison in Anthology, p. 98.
“nothing would stand in his way”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“a smart cookie”: Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 98.
“Paris of Spain”: Hans Christian Andersen, 1862.
“Where else may I have a gin”: Brian Epstein, private journal, 10/5/60.
“My God, how he ranted”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“I watched Brian picking up boys”: John Lennon, 1970 interview, in Anthology, p. 98.
“It was almost a love affair”: Ibid.
“[John] and Brian had sex”: Goldman, Lives of John Lennon, p. 140.
“I let [Brian] toss me off”: Shotton, John Lennon in My Life, p. 73.
“John lay there, tentative”: “Brian and John undressed in silence.” Brown & Gaines, Love You Make, p. 94.
“something to build on”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/8/97.
“the homosexual thing”: Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 98.
“really had my backside kicked”: Dick Rowe in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 122.
“almost as good as our Roadrunners”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/8/97.
He took the next train back: “Well, I left him right on the spot, went down to London… and drove to Richmond”: Dick Rowe in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, pp. 122–23.
Gomelsky invited the boys: Wyman, Stone Alone, p. 127.
“full-bodied R&B” band: Hotchner, Blown Away, p. 91.
“Keith and Brian—wow!”: “I knew then that the Stones were great.” Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 101.
both boys did nothing all day: Ian Stewart in Hotchner, Blown Away, p. 78.
“a little bit more radical”: John Lennon, 1974 interview in Anthology, p. 101.
“a cozy little setup”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
“the ins and outs of a dog’s dinner”: Author interview with Frieda Kelly Norris, 10/5/97.
“utter nonsense”: Mimi Smith, AGA (undated).
“Ritchie came in [the office]”: Author interview with Frieda Kelly Norris, 10/5/97.
Barrow also invented a national secretary: Norman, Shout!, p. 182.
“the world’s worst chain-smoker”: Tony Barrow, “The Girls They Like,” Beatles Book Monthly, 6/83, p. 8.
“undercover existence”: C. Lennon, A Twist, p. 94.
“For up to eighteen months”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
“We still can’t mention your marriage”: Ibid.
One journalist… “browsed through the pile”: Beatles Book Monthly, 6/83, pp. 8–9.
“a flop”: Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 115.
Cash Box pounced on it: Cash Box, 6/28/63.
“it was patently unfair”: George Martin, Arena archives.
“I was considered a traitor”: Ibid.
Parlophone exercised its option: EMI memorandum from L. G. Wood, 5/28/63.
Finally, on June 18: Brian Epstein’s journal.
John was descending into a black funk: Author interview with Pete Shotton, 1/19/98.
“out of my mind with drink”: John Lennon, 1972 interview, in Anthology, p. 98.
“sinking a fair bit of booze”: Tony Barrow, “What a Party,” Beatles Book Monthly, 7/83, p. 6.
“Bob has a sarcastic note”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/2/97.
“Come on, John, tell me”: McCabe & Schonfeld, John Lennon: For the Record, p. 94.
“tightly closed fists”: Beatles Book Monthly, 7/83, p. 6.
“Bob was holding his hands”: Author interview with Billy J. Kramer, 12/16/97.
“I was beating the shit out of him”: John Lennon, 1972 interview, in Anthology, p. 98.
Cynthia, who “was freaking out”: Author interview with Billy J. Kramer, 12/16/97.
“He arrived with a black eye”: Author interview with Rex Makin, 11/1/97.
“For my trouble”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“I first called John in Liverpool”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
BEATLE IN BRAWL: Daily Mirror, 6/21/63.
“racing up and down the country”: “Backstage (and Elsewhere) with the Beatles, Dakotas,”NME, 7/26/63.
“girls were plucked”: “Fans Invade Homes but Boys Love ’Em!” NME, 6/21/63.
“nearly five thousand fans”: Melody Maker, 7/27/63.
The boys had to climb a scaffolding: “Beatles Paris Date, as EP Makes History,” NME, 7/26/63.
Publicly, the Beatles laughed it off: Melly, Revolt Into Style, p. 70.
“like persistent termites”: NME, 7/26/63.
“Wave the Union Jack!”: NME, 7/5/63.
“It’s terrible,” John complained: “I wouldn’t buy it.” “Beatles Blast Own Hit Disc!” NME, 6/22/63.
sold an astonishing 150,000 copies: “We had orders for 40,000 within a half-hour.” “Beatles Blast Off!” Melody Maker, 7/20/63.
first EP ever to enter the Top Ten: “Survey by Derek Johnson,” NME, 8/2/63.
“Bad to Me”: “Billy J. Kramer—So Much Melody,” NME, 7/19/63.
“Tip of My Tongue”: Released on Piccadilly no. 7N 35137, NME, 8/2/63.
“answering song”: “I’d planned an ‘answering song.’ ” Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 96.
a “crummy idea”: Ibid.
“brilliant… one of the most vital [songs]”: George Martin in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 125.
“Oh my God, what a lyric!”: Lewisohn, Sessions, p. 32.
“No one played it”: Author interview with Paul Marshall, 8/28/97.
“stone-cold dead”: Dave Dexter, Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 134.
“They didn’t pay anything”: Author interview with Roland Rennie, 8/7/97.
“Sometimes, you know, I feel”: “Close Up on a Beatle: Paul McCartney,” NME, 10/7/63.
“Beatles fever”: Melody Maker, 10/26/63.
“a staggering 235,000 copies”: NME, 8/16/63.
“sitting round a big fire”: “There’s nothing better, for me, than a bit of peace and quiet.” “Close Up on a Beatle: George Harrison,” NME, 8/16/63.
“I’m not really interested in sport”: NME, 8/9/63.
Ringo “didn’t have a large vocal range”: Paul McCartney in Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 148.
“If he couldn’t mentally picture”: Ibid., p. 152.
The boys had been on the way: “We’d go to his office and window shop on the way.” Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 154.
“Mecca”: “It was where all the guitar shops were.” Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 101.
“Well, Ringo’s got this track”: Ibid.
“a throwaway”: “We weren’t going to give them anything great, right?” Sheff, Playboy Interviews, p. 145.
They played what they had: Wyman, Stone Alone, p. 150.
“So Paul and I just went off”: Sheff, Playboy Interviews, p. 145.
“Can I have that song?”: Author interview with Billy J. Kramer, 12/16/97.
“their act [was] fast”: Boyfriend, 10/63.
“We were like kings”: John Lennon, 1974 interview, in Anthology, p. 101.
“This is it! London!”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 120.