Wednesday 30 December 2020

Two wonderful musical tributes to John Lennon

In recent weeks we have received two original tribute songs from fans honouring John Lennon.  We thought it was fitting to share these with our members and followers as 2020 comes to an end.

The first is called "Practical Dreamer" and is by David Horton from Sheffield, England.

The second,"Song of Sixpence" by Robert Robert Metcalf was written a while ago. He tells us, "I´m a singer/songwriter living in Berlin. I wrote the ballad SONG OF SIXPENCE shortly after John Lennon´s death and after decades of neglecting the song, I recently got round to doing a video of it. I released it 10 days ago to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of John´s death."


Wednesday 23 December 2020

Review - It's All Too Much by David Stark - Wonderful read

IT’S ALL TOO MUCH.

By David Stark.

This Day in Music Books ISBN 978 1 8380708 1 6 RRP £14.99

This new book is something I would have love to have written.

David Stark has been a Beatle fan for virtually all his life, and this book tells his story. It is not your normal Beatle fan story (collected the records, went to gigs), this one goes much further.

David was born and grew up in London. He became a Beatle fan after hearing ‘Please Please Me’ on the radio.

In 1964 while on holiday with his parents in Torquay he was lucky enough to meet Clive Epstein, the younger brother of Beatle manager Brian Epstein. In early 1965 he went with his parents to ‘Another Beatles Christmas Show’ at the Hammersmith Odeon.

David was now on a mission to meet his idols. In 1968 he gate-crashed the premier of the film Yellow Submarine ending up in the seat immediately behind Paul and sitting next to Keith Richards.

Over the years Dave met The Beatles on numerous occasions obtaining their autographs and exchanging a few words, not just in the 60s.

He would eventually meet Paul at Graduation Day at LIPA in 2011.

In between there are so many exciting meetings not just with The Beatles. He has also met Freda Kelly (original Fan Club secretary), Olivia Harrison, Julian Lennon, Cynthia Lennon, and Sir George Martin, plus many more people associated with The Beatles.

The book tells stories of The Beatles you would not have heard anywhere else. It is beautifully written with pictures from David’s own personal archive.

David also plays drums in the tribute band The Trembling Wilburys.

Of all the Beatle books I have read this year, this one is the best.

 ~ Ernie Sutton.

Thursday 17 December 2020

A Christmas tune from one of our members

 Just because we need a little extra joy today, we are sharing this catchy Christmas tune created by our very own fan club member, Alan Millen, from Zurich.  We hope you like it as much as we do!

Thursday 10 December 2020

Review - New Enamel Beatles Pins by Numskull make perfect stocking stuffers

 

Enamel Beatles Pins by Numskull

Price: UK £7.99 / USA $7.99 / EU €8,99 

These pins are excellent quality, crafted in enamel with a glossy painted finish.  They have a nice weight to them, better than most pins on the market.

The set includes two pins finish featuring ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ and ‘Help!’ designs on a backing card. The pin on the back is sturdy and fits snugly so there is no chance of the pins falling off unexpectedly.

Both are good size and come attached to a nicely designed backing card making them an excellent gift for all those Beatles fans in your life.

The pins can be purchased here and shipped worldwide.

Review - Moptops' Fables - This wonderful book is not just for children


Moptops’ Fables

By Robert Haynes

Published 2019

Price: UK £16.00 + £3 postage in the UK (for orders from outside the UK, postage will be calculated based on location). All payments will be via PayPal 

ISBN-13: N/A

To order send an Email to book@moptopsfables.com

This delightful children’s book was a lovely surprise to review. Author Robert Haynes has crafted clever life lessons in fable format starring John, Paul, George, and Ringo interacting with many of the animals that have featured in their songs.  The tales meld imaginary events with real life facts about the Beatles.  Each fable is not only interesting and unique, but the illustrations (also by Robert Haynes) are delightful and appealing.  Some of the animals featured include monkeys, pigs, birds, dogs an octopus and a tiger. 

There are twelve fables in all and each one revolves around a particular song.  For example, “Paul and the Blackbird” merges the true facts about the civil rights movement inspiration for the song with an imaginary tale of a blackbird flying onto Paul’s shoulder in his back garden and Paul noting that this bird has the freedom to fly where he likes and leads Paul to write a song about the need for fewer cages and more freedom.  The ultimate lesson is that our similarities on the inside are more important that the differences we see on the outside.

This book would make the perfect gift for the young children in your life.  While reading the book and sharing its lessons with those children in your life, you will also be able to share your love of The Beatles Music and the real-life lessons of love and inclusion that is present in so many Beatles compositions.  Even though I have no young children in my life, I still want a copy of this book for the illustrations alone.  It is a joyful happy book that will entertain us all.

~ Michele Copp

Thursday 3 December 2020

WIN A LIVE ACOUSTIC DUNG BEATLES GIG IN THE COMFORT OF YOUR OWN HOME!!!!

 A message from one of our favourite tribute bands:

Really excited to be involved with the #ILoveLive prize draw (along with Coldplay, Sam Smith, Nick Cave, Mark Knopfler and many more big names... ) which launched recently to raise vital funds for all the unsung heroes who work behind the scenes in the live music industry. We are expecting this campaign to feature on national television during it's course.
We are giving away a package of prizes as follows:
1. The Dung Beatles will come and play a live acoustic gig in your front room (within 75 miles of Aylesbury UK)
2. A pair of theatre tickets from any of The Dung Beatles 2020/21 theatre shows
3. A signed, framed photo of the band
4. A signed guitar foot pedal
To be in with a chance of winning enter here : http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/the-dung-beatles-live

Wednesday 18 November 2020

Issue 75 is in the post to our subscribers this week

The November 2020 BBFC Magazine Issue 75 is being posted to subscribers this week.

Just in time with the new lockdown you will now have something interesting and fun to read while isolating at home.

If you are thinking about the coming holidays, remember that membership in the British Beatles Fan Club makes a wonderful gift that keeps on giving all year long with four quarterly issues of the magazine included in membership. Click here for membership details.

Non-members can order a copy of the magazine from our website here.
  

The new issue includes:



  • The Beatles A Day In The Life
  • Media Watch
  • Power of Lennon
  • I Met Paul (Briefly)
  • The Beatles Not For Sale
  • The Beatles and their Apple artists
  • Let It Be Box Set
  • The Legacy of George Harrison
  • There Are Places I Remember
  • Paperback Writers
  • Try Some, Buy Some-New Releases
  • BBFC Competition
  • Offers and Discounts
  • As I Write This Letter
  • Great Photo of the Month

Wednesday 11 November 2020

Review - without the beatles by David Johnson

without the beatles (A possible history of pop)

by David Johnson

Available as Free PDF download from by emailing the author at withoutthebeatles@gmail.com.

Now this is a book that will not take up any room on your already groaning shelves, as it is an e-book! Yay!

Aussie David Johnson took 5 years to complete this 239 pager and instead of taking the time and effort to fight with publishers to have his work published, he decided to make his work available to all in the form of an online free PDF.

'Without The Beatles' is a musical journey divided into 3 sections 1. Before The Beatles, 2. Without The Beatles and 3. After The Beatles. All of those take us through a plotted musical history of the 1960s with a twist. What if there had never been The Beatles? What would have been the fate of the other Liverpool bands without the Beatles at the forefront? Over in America the musical landscape would have been very different without their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964. Just think of how many bands may not have formed if they had not made that TV appearance? It’s mind boggling. This PDF therefore is a written version of the movie "Yesterday", sort of.

The only thing that constantly caught my proof reading eye was the annoying way that the song titles were typed out, for instance, ‘Day tripper’, with a small ‘t’ instead of a capital ‘T’. Then later on ‘Paperback writer’, instead of ‘Paperback Writer’. Seemed an odd oversight to me, otherwise very well written and researched, however I did not find anything I had not read before. So, with no photos or illustrations, this turns into a reference/history book (if ever actually printed) and something that would be suitable for a library or school, which is not a bad thing.

I enjoyed it and as it was a free download you cannot go wrong, can you?

Craig Smith

Out Now! The book all Beatles Fans need to read


 Order link

 https://thisdayinmusicbooks.com/product/its-all-too-much-by-david-stark/ 


Tuesday 20 October 2020

A Chance to See the Dung Beatles December 13 2020

The Dung Beatles have been asked by The Court Theatre in Tring to stage a Dung Beatles evening. The theatre is struggling to keep up with rent and rates payments at the moment. The group replied with a resounding yes to both help them out whilst also giving the band some welcome performance time.

The date was set to Saturday the 12th Dec and the tickets sold out within 48 hours! 

As a result, the theatre set up a second night on December 13th.  There are less than 40 tickets left for that one, so if you are looking for a great evening, snap up those remaining tickets!

Saturday 10 October 2020

Book Review - Murder of a Multitude, a Beatles themed mystery

 

Murder of a Multitude


By Dexter James
Published Independently, August 2020
Price: UK £8.02 US $10.50 (also available as an ebook)
ISBN-13: 979-8675957330

This book will slip under the radar of most Beatles fans because the title doesn’t reference the Fab Four, but for those Beatles fans who also enjoy murder mysteries, this is a must read.

The second book in the Mario Simpson book series concerns a serial killer at loose in New York City. The victims are not random but targeted because of their first names. Young women whose names appear in Beatles songs are being murdered on the anniversary dates that the songs matching their names were released.

Although the clever detective figures out this pattern quickly, the wily killer is frustratingly frequently one step ahead and the politically minded police commissioner exasperatingly obstructive.

The book was a fast and fun read. While it is a murder mystery, the killer is identified quite early in the story and the majority of the book is the fast-paced, race to apprehend the culprit before more victims are murdered. Beatles fans reading will enjoy the lyric-based clues which add an interesting extra layer to the story, but readers who don’t know anything about the Beatles will still have a gripping story to read and enjoy that has clever twists to keep the reader hooked.

Friday 9 October 2020

Beat Archiv in Germany honoring John in many ways

 Our friends from Beat Archiv in Germany have been been busy in recent weeks and have shared the following to share with our readers.

On October 3rd, 2020 there was a recital in honor of John Lennon with his songs and songs that he also played. Many musicians performed, including the Quarrymen Chas Newby and Rod Davis.

Corona-Home-Concert-DVD-R

Exhibition "20 Years - One Minute Silence - In Memory Of John Lennon"

"A tribute to John Lennon" 21.09. - 08.12.2020

You can stay up-to-date with all their tributes and activities by visiting their site: www.beatarchivgc.de