As the first insider Beatles tell-all (not counting Francie Schwartz's Body Count - because why would I) - 1983's The Love You Make, a collaboration between Brian Epstein's protege Peter Brown and today's guest, shocked fans with what was perceived as an airing of dirty laundry. Drug use, infidelity, betrayal, wife-swapping, and overall bad behavior was chronicled in detail, and Brown's insider status gave credence to the reporting. But many Beatle historians recognize the inaccuracies and questionable decision making, rendering what was once a best-selling book into something with considerably less esteem, to put it one way. But the original interviews with an array of insiders, many of them now dead, has arrived as a sort of unfiltered access to the source material. All You Need is Love is out now, and presents many witnesses, sum of questionable veracity, but with little comment, allowing the reader to judge their truthfulness for themselves. Read it here - Erin Weber's review of the earlier book (and Steven's response in the comments): https://beatlebioreview.wordpress.com/2019/08/19/and-in-the-end-book-review-peter-browns-the-love-you-make/

At last: the SATB conversation with the man who brought The Beatles' road manager's long missing manuscript to press. Living The Beatles Legend is the story Mal wanted to tell before his life ended at 40 in Los Angeles in a hail of gunfire in 1976. But perhaps the wait was worth it to get his insider eye-witness story augmented by research and interviews Ken has conducted to fully flesh out the story. This talk covers the first volume of this must-read book. Another volume, presenting the Evans photo archive and diaries, is due out later this year

Today is her 80th birthday, and given the attention being brought by the auction of some personal items through Christie's (see https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/pattie-boyd-collection/lots/3508 ), the time was right for a conversation. We made the most of the hour, given the demand for interviews right about now, but among the things discussed were: Meeting George on the set of A Hard Day's Night Her views on how fans see her The Fool Apple boutique Rishikesh Get Back Philip Norman The happiest time and more...

Listeners: you may recall my conversation with Robert Rosen (245), detailing the blocking of a pair of books by reputable authors that detailed the "househusband" years of John's life; it evolved out of an essay Robert wrote. Well, one of those writers is here to tell his story himself. Michael Meideros was hired in 1977 to work on the indoor gardening at the Lennon's Dakota apartments. But as he performed his assigned tasks, his role grew to ad hoc personal assistant and eventually, archivist. His memoir, Barefoot in Nutopia, remains unpublished - yet. But Michael wanted to share some stories and insights and we're happy to have him, in what we project to be the first of at least two conversations. Subjects include day-to-day life, Yoko, Bermuda, Fred Seaman, and the night the unspeakable occurred, and its aftermath.

Listeners: you may recall my conversation with Robert Rosen (245), detailing the blocking of a pair of books by reputable authors that detailed the "househusband" years of John's life; it evolved out of an essay Robert wrote. Well, one of those writers is here to tell his story himself. Michael Meideros was hired in 1977 to work on the indoor gardening at the Lennon's Dakota apartments. But as he performed his assigned tasks, his role grew to ad hoc personal assistant and eventually, archivist. His memoir, Barefoot in Nutopia, remains unpublished - yet. But Michael wanted to share some stories and insights and we're happy to have him, in what we project to be the first of at least two conversations. Subjects include day-to-day life, Yoko, Bermuda, Fred Seaman, and the night the unspeakable occurred, and its aftermath.

Picking up where we left off (259: Sgt. Pepper Olympiad ), lecturer/professor Gary Wenstrup and I resume the Olympiad series with a pair of releases featuring film score music, the 1967 Magical Mystery Tour EP/album and 1969's Yellow Submarine release. Owing to the unique issues, with the latter representing only four new Beatle songs and the former being a six-song double 7" set, we got creative with the tracks reviewed. Previous installments can be found here. Gary Wenstrup's site is here.

There's no joy to be had in this subject, but it is an important topic for an open discussion. We have been fed a narrative for 43 years regarding the murder of John, yet there were aspects that either lacked detail or, upon closer inspection, made little sense. At least a couple of of authors have published books on the case, but documentary-maker David Whelan has approached the subject with fresh eyes, resulting in three years of research and interviews that he presents in Mind Games: The Assassination of John Lennon. He makes the case that virtually nothing we were ever told about what happened is supported by evidence and much is substantially contradicted. We managed to touch on only part of his research in this conversation, but you can learn more through the book, David's Substack site, and his YouTube channel.

The author of Shout: The Beatles In Their Time has brought out his third Beatles individual biography, forty plus years after the publication of his group one. George Harrison: The Reluctant Beatle was put together tapping Norman's body of old interviews (with witnesses now beyond reach) as well as fresh research and new conversations (including his star witness, Pattie Boyd). The complexity of the subject matter is matched by the complexity of the narrator, who through series of unforced errors has led many a Beatle fan to view him with scorn. But SATB has always been about opening doors rather than shutting them, and if one is prepared to listen without prejudice, one can make up one's own mind on the value of what he has to say about George in this book.

We have discussed the insights of 1st gen fans who, frankly, were screamers in the presence of The Beatles (Debbie Gendler, author of this upcoming memoir and Carol Tyler, author of this one); see thisfor a detailed discussion. Then there's Sibbie O'Sullivan - a high schooler when Deb and Carol were middle-schoolers. She too was swept up in the wave of mania in her native Maryland; like Deb, she witnessed an in-person Ed Sullivan Show taping, but unlike many girls, she did not scream. Her book, My Private Lennon: Explorations From A Fan Who Never Screamed, offers a series of essays, rich with insight and perceptive observations about her very personal fandom and what The Beatles meant to her, then and now. Leading the discussion is Dr. Allison Bumsted, who is cultivating a specialty in examinations of Beatles fandom. An essay by Sibbie here. Allison's review of Sibbie's book here.

This British journalist/author/screenwriter/playwright is a SATB fave and was heard most recently among the 21 guests in the "Now and Then" discussion. But here he is alone in the spotlight, recounting his fabulous life as a chronicler of creators and a creator himself. Check out his website for a full accounting of his works - https://www.rayconnolly.co.uk/ - and this show for a discussion of his 2023 memoir. Ray was friends with The Beatles and the screenwriter of THat'll Be The Day (1973), Ringo's finest film project. He discusses all and much more here.

The release of a new Beatle recording in our lifetime warrants a special approach. To that end, I assembled a group of some of your favorite podcast guests, plus a few new ones to discuss, critique, and analyze the new Beatle record. Folks representing a number of geographical and generational perspectives weigh in with their insights and observations. In alphabetical order, they are: Nancy Lee Andrews (Photographer and Author, A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll) Dr. Allison Bumsted Ray Connolly (British journalist and Beatles insider, author of Born At The Right Time and Being John Lennon, etc.) Richard Courtney (Beatles radio host and author, From Me To You) Dennis Diken (The Smithereens) Dr. Duncan Driver (University of Canberra) Dr. Christine Feldman-Barrett (Author, A Women's History of The Beatles) Debbie Gendler (Author, I Saw Them Standing There) Glenn Greenberg (Author of Beatles bookazines) Cameron Greider (Musician and musicologist, RPM-School.com ) Jerry Hammack Chip Madinger Skylar Moody Dr. Sibbie O'Sullivan Dan Rivkin Luther Russell Arion Salazar Pat Sansone Carol Tyler Erin Weber Gary Wenstrup

The first half hour+ was taped live at The Fest in August 2023, as you can doubtless tell. The rest was done in the usual way, and you'll note we didn't necessarily cover everything we listed in great detail, but that's showbiz. Here's Erin's list: 1. A Hard Day's Night film 2 and 3. The Internet. Two slots because I see it impacting the historiography in two major ways: First, it has vastly increased accessibility to primary sources and research materials that in previous decades were extremely difficult to find. Second, its fundamentally changed the fandom experience thru podcasts, discussion boards, etc. 4. Hunter Davies: The Beatles - An Authorized Biography 5. Lennon Remembers/Rolling Stone 6. Mark Lewisohn: The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions 7. Philip Norman: Shout! 8. The Beatles Anthology (mainly the documentary, but the book, too). 9. Barry Miles: Many Years From Now 10. Christine Feldman Barrett's A Women's History of the Beatles Here's mine: Influential Red and Blue albums The Beatles: An Illustrated Record by Roy Carr and Tony Tyler Shout! Lennon Remembers Here, There and Everywhere by Geoff Emerick Important The Beatles and The Historians by Erin Torkelson Weber Lewisohn Chronicles/Tune In Love Me Do by Michael Braun The Beatles: An Authorized Biography A Women's History of The Beatles What's your list look like?

Between 1970 and 1979, George issued six studio albums (plus one triple-live one), followed by a second draft of his 1980 album the following year. Rock scribe Eoghan Lyng and I re-examine these works with fresh ears - we hope you will too. Eoghan's book: https://www.amazon.com/George-Harrison-70s-Eoghan-Lyng/dp/1789521742

The Beatles were the end result of an array of confluences, circumstances and influences. On the short list near the very top (if not THE top) was American rocker Buddy Holly. In his short career, he wielded his influence on the budding Liverpool rockers in an array of ways, which returning guest Luther Russell and I discuss here. Though his time on earth was brief, the impact he made casts a long shadow, as he provided an unwitting blueprint on what a successful rock artist looked like, sounded like and could aspire to.

Conversations about a familiar subject with guys who know what's what are invaluable, because the depth of knowledge shared will always shed new light and get you to listen with fresh ears. My guests are the returning trio of pro musicians and musicologists: Cameron Greider (Sean Lennon), Jack Petruzzelli (Fab Faux) and Walter Everett (The Beatles as Musicians Vol 1 and 2). You've heard their insights on previous shows, and this time they counter some myths that have grown about The Beatles' most acclaimed album, focusing on the guitars. Their Sgt. Pepper online class at RPM-School begins October 2 - you can see about registration and other details here.

The author of Nowhere Man (2000) returns for a conversation prompted by the book's recent re-publication, augmented with an array of new material and appendices. Robert will also be making a rare personal appearance in St Louis on October 4th in St. Louis - details here. Among the subjects we talked about this time round were: May Pang Fred Seaman Early 1970s US politics and its coverage in Observation Post His upcoming book, tentatively titled No Future John's opinion of Double Fantasy Jack Douglas John's murder The Manchurian Candidate Theory Robert's purported role in John Lennon's murder Robert's website and blog can be found here.

Returning guest and renowned producer John Leckie is back on SATB and this time he brought his friends; colleagues from EMI with impressive credentials of their own, who also worked with The Beatles: Nick Webb and Roger Ferris. It was a real delight to be a fly-on-the-wall as three guys who've known each other for decades spun stories about working at the most famous recording facility on earth, and the clients they supported. Among the topics that came up: What well-known event coincided with the day John Leckie interviewed for a position at EMI Quick takes on George Martin - Norman Smith - Geoff Emerick - Ken Scott - Ken Townsend - Alan Parsons - Peter Bown and other EMI staffers Stealing from Mick Jagger Their takes on Get Back The 1971 Wings Launch Party Phil Spector Sessions for "All You Need is Love" and "You Know My Name" Seventeen Watts by the late Mo Foster In the studio with Paul and Wings IRA bomb scares of the 70s John and Yoko's curry plus loads more...

As a follow-on to my last conversation with author Glenn Greenberg, we sat down to explore the Harrison-Lennon dynamic. A couple of things referenced in the show can be found below: Here's John's 1974 note to George. Here's John's 1976 Q&A. Glenn Greenberg's Making of the White Album bookazine can be found here. "I Know It's True" (end song) by Iamaphoney can be found here.

Journalist Steve Matteo has a new book out - Act Naturally: The Beatles on Film. It's an all-encompassing volume detailing and contextualizing the making of every one of their cinematic projects, including a few that didn't actually get filmed. For this first discussion, we focused on their first two, both directed for United Artists by Richard Lester and produced by Walter Shenson.

My guest today has recently completed the first volume of an exhaustive study of Paul's body of work in Paul McCartney: Music is Ideas 1970 - 1989. Luca Perasi is a Beatles historian who specializes in the group's bassist, post-split. He was a consultant hired by MPL for the recent 7" single box set, as well as the Italian translator for Paul's The Lyrics book. For our first discussion, we focused on the broad parameters of Paul's art, pre-Beatles through the first Wings album. Luca's book discusses every McCartney session and the music it yielded, whether released at the time or not, for a greater context into Paul's musical development. You can find out more at Luca's site, and I encourage you to follow him on Twitter (@LucaPerasi ) for daily postings featuring amazing rare photos of Paul at work.