Bob Spitz - The Beatles: The Biography

In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the authors intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the authors rights.

Copyright 2005 by Bob Spitz

Cover design by Mario J. Pulice; cover photograph Bob Whitaker / Camera Press / Retna Ltd.

Cover copyright 2012 Hachette Book Group, Inc.

All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the authors intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the authors rights.

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Twenty Flight Rock

Words and music by Ned Fairchild and Eddie Cochran

1957 (Renewed) Unichappell Music Inc. & Elvis Presley Music Inc.

All Rights Administered by Unichappell Music Inc.

Lyrics reprinted with the permission of Warner Bros. Publications

All Rights Reserved

ISBN 978-0-316-03167-7

Irresistible. The Beatles amplifies and corrects some of what is known about the bands formative years. It shapes a particularly vivid picture of the young, surly John Lennon.It powerfully evokes both the excitement and the price of such a sudden rise. A captivating picture that hasnt been seen before.

Janet Maslin, New York Times

Masterly. A deep, serious, and accomplished account worthy of the most important band in the world. A book that, although exceptionally lengthy, is actually the perfect size. Spitz expertly captures the sense of time and place to frame his story.

Tom Sykes, New York Post

Richly detailed. The Beatles comes as close to being a quick read as any 983-page book has a right to be. Spitz also does a remarkable job capturing the distinct qualities of each Beatle.

Jonathan Bor, Baltimore Sun

Juicy, detailed, well-written, and authoritative. What makes Spitzs book a standout is his attention to visual detail. He has a knack for description and for cliffhangers. Every chapter of The Beatles promises more misery for the lads, more pleasure, more surprise.

David Kirby, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Beatlemaniacs will swoon.

People

Riveting. Startlingly well-reported and consistently engaging. Even though the Beatles story is well known, Spitz has fleshed it out fully, revealing the flawed, singularly creative human beings behind the lovable moptop image. What Spitz does exceptionally well is contextualize.

Carlo Wolff, Boston Globe

In its scope, structure, and sheer length, this meaty 983-page true-life epic unfolds as a sort of Beatles War and Peace. Spitzs genius is how he stitches together available Beatles knowledge with the artistry of a fine novelist.

Michael Tarm, Cincinnati Enquirer

Spitz has done a masterful job of focusing his kaleidoscope eyes on the greatest pop thing since Jesus.

Richard Gehr, Village Voice

Spitz knows his subject. His encyclopedic grasp pervades every page.

Joe Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle

Spitz marshals a staggering mass of research. The early chapters are irresistible; they have the hypnotic effect of a film clip run backward.

Lev Grossman, Time

Spitz has performed a valuable historical service. The Beatles respects its subjects without canonizing them. Best of all, at the end of the long and winding road, it sends us back home to the music.

David Hinckley, New York Daily News

Filled with intimate scenes. The first third of this opus is a treasure chest of revelation. Spitz demonstrates his deep research and writing chops by transporting us to the place where it all began. This book reminds usin generous detailthat the Fab Four were just people.

John Kehe, Christian Science Monitor

A real page-turner. A vibrant and exhaustive factual and emotional picture of John, Paul, George, and Ringos early life and times. It actually adds some new informationor at least a fresh analysisto this often-told story. The lads schoolboy years are told in captivating detail. Engagingly written, meticulously researched and documented, and tremendously insightful.

Ruminator Review

Fresh, terrifically entertaining. Packed with details and anecdotes that bring the Fab Four to life. Spitzs group portrait should now be considered the definitive Beatles biography.

June Sawyers, Booklist

for
Sandy & Angie DAmato
and Lily
And for all those whose lives are enriched
by the Beatles music

When the mode of the music changes,
the walls of the city shake.

P LATO

December 27, 1960

T hey had begun to pour into the village of Litherland as they always did, half an hour before the doors opened. Nightcrawlers: their bodies young and liquid, legs spidering along the sidewalks, exaggerated by the blue glare of the streetlamps. This time of year, Sefton Road at 6:30 was already dark; evening pressed down early from the desolate sky, raked by gunmetal gray clouds drifting east across the river toward the stagnating city of Liverpool.

Tuesdays at Litherlands town hall were usually what promoters referred to as soft nightsthat is, midweek affairs attracting a reasonable 600 or 700 jivers, as opposed to the weekend crush of 1,500but tonights shindig was billed as a Christmas dance, which accounted for the unusually large crowd. Every few minutes another double-decker bus groaned to a halt outside the hall and emptied a heaving load of teenagers onto the pavement. The crowd, moving erratically in the brittle night air, swelled like a balloon waiting for a dart.

The main attraction, ex post facto, had not yet arrived. Running customarily behind schedule, the band had left West Derby Village later than anticipated after choosing, by consensus, a playlist for that nights performance. The selection process was no mean feat, considering their repertoire of well over 150 rock n roll songs, from the seminal hits (Whole Lotta Shakin Goin On, Whatd I Say) to pop standards (Better Luck Next Time, Red Sails in the Sunset) to obscure gems (You Dont Understand Me); each demanded brief consideration. Afterward, equipment was loaded into the old bottle green van that had been recruited for service only that morning.

"old crate rattled north along the Stanley Road, past shops splashed with a waxy fluorescence. The road hugged the shoreline, where they could see harbor lights and the wharves of the distant port, then broke inland along the Leeds & Liverpool Canal. Even to a native, which they all were, it was difficult to tell where one borough ended and another began: Crosby became Kirkdale and eventually Bootle, then Litherland, their boundaries marked only by wide-mouthed intersections and the occasional shop sign incorporating a piece of local heritage into its name.