Magical Mystery Tours: My Life with the Beatles

This one is good. Really good. Ever fantasized about sitting in a pub with Paul and just chat - or go crawling the clubs with John? This book tells us what it's like, from someone who did. So many Beatles books tell the standard story. This one provides the background of how things came together; the motivation, the coincidences, many times I found myself saying, "Ah, so THAT'S why they did that." Much material was new (to me), and I have LOTS of Beatle books! John dyslexic?! Background about Yoko, her daughter and her previous husband(s)? Substantiated speculation of how, after constant rejection and under pressure to prove his boasting to the Beatles, Epstein finally got that first recording deal through? All the interconnections between people around the Beatles, the music business, who knew who, where the connections were - juicy stuff, soberly told. All here, all very "Ah-ha!" Details, details, details. Yet with humour to have me laughing loud and often. And when Tony Bramwell sprinkles doses of self-irony in the narrative, you find yourself smirking with him! Negatives? Let's think... Tony is usually careful to separate what he knows first hand and what he gathered from others, but not always. The lapses are few but significant. Did he really personally witness all the scenes as John and Yoko got together? Surely not. Which bits did he hear it from other Apple employees? This to me was the most important part of the book and I wish he'd been more specific, all the more important since he clearly is very anti-Yoko. Nevertheless, it is fascinating to compare this with Yoko's version of events, for example as told in her interview with Larry Kane in "Lennon Revealed". I could go on for ages, but I won't. The book is, I'd say, in the top 5 of Beatles books in terms of relevance AND entertainment value. Excellent stuff. Can't recommend it enough.

This has been some year with some excellent Beatle books being published. This year three books on the Beatles have been published that are, to some extent, companions of each other. Tony Bramwell's book, Tony Barrow's Book and Geoffrey Ellis' book. Each of the authors were part of the second or third ring (Mal Evans and Neil Aspinal being part of the "first ring") of Beatle intimates who were part of "the back room boys" helping the Beatles in their business and other endeavours. Of the three, Tony Bramwell comes over as the more jovial character who enjoyed himself and had fun during the swinging sixties, dating many girls and so on. Of all the books I have read about the Beatles (50 plus), I think only Tony Bramwell, Richard Dilillo and Derek Taylor come out enjoying themselves and having little, if any, resentment. Tony Bramwell was originally a friend of George Harrison's and graduated to working with Brian Epstein at NEMS and then became a Record Promoter at Apple. It is very hard to argue against his impressions - because that it was what they are - his impressions of what happened and what life was like during his tenure at NEMS and Apple - it is not a history book. There are criticisms of certain factual errors in the book, and I do not think that is so important - what is invaluable and what makes it an absolute must for all Beatle fans is his description of the behavior of the Beatles and their times during the 60's. There are criticisms posted here that Tony is too "pro Paul". I think such criticisms are unwarranted and imply that the author has a grudge against John. Simply put, John was no saint - and it's the human, eclectic and contradictory qualities in John which, today, so many of his fans, including me, find interesting (in fact far more interesting than certain other members of the fab four). If John gets a "bad press" from this book, then please also read the other books, referred to above - the recollections of Geoff Ellis and Tony Barrow are not too different (and even Derek Taylor, in his wonderful, but out of print book, "As Time Goes By", alludes to the difficulty in handling John when Yoko comes on the scene). I would also add, for those who criticize this book as being "anti John" that they should also read the John Lennon Rolling Stone interview (published as a book under the title "Lennon Remembers") where the great man himself admitted he (as well as the other Beatles) were complete b******* to their entourage (especially Neil and Mal). For those who think the book is "too pro Paul", I would suggest reading Alistair Taylor's book who balances matters by revealing the lack of any support Paul gave him when Klein dumped him (or alternatively read Peter Brown's book). All in all Tony Bramwell's book is very good, well written and well worth reading. BTW, for those advanced Beatlemanicas out there it is interesting to compare Tony Bramwell's description of his visit, with Paul and Derek Taylor, to a pub, one summers d

If you're a Beatles "scholar" like myself who has read virtually every single book on The Beatles, this book will immediately jump to the top of your pantheon. I frequently read entire books on The Beatles just to learn a single fact about the boys that I did not already know. This book was, cover to cover, packed with new anecdotes and stories with which I was unfamiliar. Bramwell's accounts are warm and frank. This book is also, after years of indecision, and along with Pete Shotton's, the book that finally convinced me that Yoko Ono was not only the disruptive force that split the Beatles but also an out and out evil woman. I loved every page of this book and read it slowly to savor the experience.

I bought this book because, while not a hardcore Beatles fan, I lived through that magical era when I and my friends were young and anything was possible. It's an evocative gem, a little chunk of history, one that brilliantly paints the fun, the music, the madness. Tony Bramwell tells his story in an intimate way, as if you're his best mate, drinking a pint of beer down at the local. You can imagine yourself sitting there half the night, talking, discussing, having a laugh, remembering. There are moments of irony, witty stories, sad stories. There are many wonderful pages when whole scenes come vividly to life, such as the opening scene, riding through snowy Liverpool Streets one Christmas with a young George, when the world lay before them and the future seemed bright and shining with promise; or later, riding on a midnight train with a jaded John, who was totally off his rocker. We read of Paul in sunny, languid Hotel California, and then move with him to a rainy day in London Town when he discusses his hero, Buddy Holly. The Stones talk of music; Ringo shaves his head in Paris and wonders how he looks ("Bald" Bramwell tells him.) I'll never forget reading of the summer's day when Paul escapes the pressures of fame, to walk along a meandering stream in the country with his dog, Martha. The day ends with Paul playing the piano in a traditional country pub while the locals sing along. Bramwell was there; but even though people like me weren't, every word paints a picture and you can imagine that you were. Much is made of Brian Epstein, full of angst and torment. His kindness, genius and neuroses are portrayed vividly. His bizarre sex life and manic use of drugs, when everyone thought he was goody two shoes, is discussed. Bramwell runs a theatre for him and some moments leap off the page: such as James Baldwin - fresh from his exile in France - telling Brian to admit that he's a queer; Jimmy Hendrix dazzling London; an unknown Yoko Ono running across stage like a spider, then sitting stoically while the audience cuts off her clothes. When Brian sees her, starkers and illegal, he almost swoons in dismay. Bramwell goes on to describe how Yoko initially stalked John before capturing him. He describes rave-ups in erotically charged mews flats all over town; dinners with Joan Crawford, millionaire Getty and the louche Chelsea set; the hilarious punch-up in Cannes with Sharon Osbourne; the night Bruce Springsteen ran away from his big come back concert and ended up watching films in Bramwell's home... the stories just keep on coming. You feel you were actually there, caught up in the frenzy and the fun. And yet -- don't get it wrong -- this isn't a drug or sex-driven book, or even a tell-all. It's charming and kindly told. And, although you would need to go to the index to appreciate the full extent of all the famous and great names mentioned, the Beatles are its core and its strength. I wish more books had the narrative story-telling voice of Dic

I love this book. I stopped reading Beatles books after the Goldman Lennon biography, partly out of disgust, but this one is a great one to come back to. It's a bittersweet joy. Bramwell, who basically knew all the Beatles since they were pretty-much kids is full of great stories I've never read anywhere else (or forgotten), like how Stuart Sutcliff got the head injury that eventually killed him or what Paul did the night he joined the Beatles. On several pages you get a marvelous feel for exactly what it was like to be sitting with John or Paul, rubbing elbows, talking, in a pub, or at Mick and Keith's house. Bramwell's take on Yoko and Lennon's initial negative reaction to her is fascinating--as are his tales about Brian. Some of the dollar/pound figures he tosses about, estimating how much the Beatles lost to bad deals, will leave you slack jawed. Thanks for this fantastic book Tony! It's got a lion's heart. Both the beginning and ending of this book left me sighing, sadly, gladly...