THE GOOD AND THE BAD BOOKS THAT I HAVE READ

That long-defunct group of entertainers known as The Beatles remain a source of fascination for writers. Spencer Leigh, a Fab author himself, has read and rated 100 Beatle books - so you don’t have to. But you’d be missing out on a lot, as he explains

THE GOOD AND THE BAD BOOKS THAT I HAVE READ

When The Beatles were in their heyday, we read about them in newspapers and music weeklies. There were hardly any books about The Beatles during the 60s. Therefore, nearly every book written about The Beatles has been written with the benefit of hindsight and not as it happened. Contrast that with the book market today. Any act with a hit record or anyone who has won a reality show is a potential subject, and a glance at the reviews pages in RC is enough to tell you that there are so many new publications about Elvis Presley, The Beatles and Queen that you wonder what is left to discover.

For this feature, I have waded through the staggering number of books on The Beatles: around 500, by my reckoning. I have assessed them for readability, accuracy, depth of original research and, it has to be said, fairness. Some books are written with the worst of intentions. Many more are badly researched (or steal from others’ work), which is partly due to poor advances from the publishers preventing the authors doing all they wish. The wife of one music writer told me that her husband now stayed at home to write his books as he could get his information from the internet. Mark Lewisohn is the most highly regarded of the Beatle writers, though not the best known: the notorious Albert Goldman holds that accolade, probably in perpetuity. Lewisohn has written …

by Spencer Leigh
<< Back to Issue 402

You must be a subscriber to view the full article, subscribe now for full access to all online content.

Already a Magazine Subscriber? Register now for online access.

You might also like: