Review: "The Teacher – The Tony Sheridan Story"

Review by Vaughan Griggs

The Teacher – The Tony Sheridan Story 

by Alan Mann

In 2006, the author Alan Mann began researching and writing a biography of Beatles associate Tony Sheridan, with his full co-operation. However, in  2010  Tony abruptly withdrew his consent and threatened legal action if the book was published. Therefore, this book is not the full blown biography originally intended; instead it takes the form of interviews conducted between Alan and Tony, with added comments from the author throughout. It’s a slim volume (at 120 pages) but the question and answer format works well allowing Tony Sheridan to tell his story in his own words.

The book is divided into themed chapters, including Tony’s early years in skiffle bands in his home city of Norwich and his involvement in the 1950s rock ‘n’ roll scene. Of most interest to us of, course, is the early 1960s period in Hamburg when Tony befriended the Beatles and regularly appeared with them on stage. Famously, in 1961, they also recorded several songs as Tony’s backing band (their first recordings in a professional recording studio.) This section covers about a third of the book, but the other chapters are also of great interest as Tony led a very colourful life!

Tony Sheridan emerges from this excellent book as a fascinating, enigmatic character, brutally honest at times, but with a self destructive streak that hampered his career. He was, by all accounts, an impressive performer on stage and one of the best guitarists around, but he was unwilling to compromise to gain mainstream success. Consequently, his career never took off in the way it should have. Hopefully, this book will bring Tony’s work to a wider audience because as Alan Mann says,”There’s so much more to the man than as a minor footnote in a Beatles article.” Perhaps this book will also create enough interest for Tony’s full biography to be published one day.

The Teacher is available at: http://alanmannauthor.weebly.com/the-teacher---the-tony-sheridan-story.html
and at the City Book Shop website: www.citybookshopnorwich.co.uk

The Epstein Theatre Presents The Mersey Beatles - April 27

After a SELL OUT concert last November the Mersey Beatles are back by popular demand at Epstein Theatre this spring!
The Mersey Beatles "Get Back To Liverpool" concert includes all your favourite Beatles classics from "Love me do" to "Let it be" via "Beatlemania" and a trip to "Pepperland". It's the show The Beatles never gave and there's no more fitting venue for The Mersey Beatles to perform this theatrical concert than right here at The Epstein Theatre. 

Like the original fab four, The Mersey Beatles are Liverpool lads born and bred. No phoney accents needed, no script required. They react and interact with the audience in the relaxed and natural way of their role models. All the songs are performed 100% live & in the original recorded key.

"There are a lot of Beatles tribute bands from all over the world and I've seen them all, but The Mersey Beatles are the best I've heard". So said John Lennon's sister, Julia Baird, in 2008.

Since then Liverpool's favourite Beatles tribute band have racked up over 350 performances at the Cavern Club alone and have headlined festivals and events the world over. So busy were they with overseas tours that they had to leave their Cavern Club residency in February 2012. After 10 years in the role as the one and only resident Beatles band at the world's most famous club, it was an emotional farewell.

Having sold out concerts & events in Vegas, Sweden, Germany, Malaysia & Barbados, all since leaving The Cavern, the boys announced their "Get Back to Liverpool" concert & promptly sold out the Epstein theatre last November.

Don't miss this magical homecoming evening with The Mersey Beatles in the town where they were born. Get your ticket to ride now!

Entry Price: £13.50

For more information about this event, and to buy tickets, visit
http://www.epsteinliverpool.co.uk/the-mersey-beatles/

The Starrlite Beatles to Recreate Rooftop Concert in Hastings!

The Starrlite Beatles recreate the classic Beatles rooftop gig of '69 atop of The White Rock Hotel, Hastings.

Join us on Hastings promenade to see us perform a very special set of the rooftop hits and more!

This special event is a warm up for Hastings Beatles Day which will see us performing alongside local Beatles acts and fans in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support at The White Rock Theatre, the next day.

6th April 2013
Showtime - 1pm
The White Rock Hotel Rooftop.

For more information visit:
www.thestarrlitebeatles.co.uk
www.twitter.com/starrlitebeatle

Out on Monday! - Ringo at the Ryman

Ringo At The Ryman, filmed on July 7, 2012, celebrates Ringo’s birthday with an extra special line-up featuring great players and touching on some unforgettable classic hits spanning four decades – from Steve Lukather (Toto), Richard Page (Mr. Mister), Mark Rivera (Billy Joel), Gregg Rolie (Journey, Santana), Todd Rundgren and Gregg Bissonette.

The set list is undeniably familiar: “Yellow Submarine,” “Photograph,” “It Don’t Come Easy,” “Act Naturally,” and his bandmates’ contributions “Kyrie Eleison,” “Roseanna,” “Black Magic Woman,” “Bang the Drum All Day,” alongside a special guest appearance from Joe Walsh performing “Rocky Mountain Way” amongst others.

Ringo at the Ryman is out on Monday 1st April! Pre-order now!

Review: James -- and Paul! -- at the Ambassadors Theatre

Review by Lynda-Louise Lee

A Beatle, a Rolling Stone and a Beatle’s Son. Not a line up you expect to see in a small theatre in a London backstreet for twenty quid.

c. Lynda-Louise Lee

But that is exactly what the lucky audience of James McCartney’s tour preview witnessed last night at The Ambassadors Theatre.

Sir Paul’s son James is set to release his first full length album, ME as he embarks upon a forty-seven date, twenty-seven state tour of the USA but with support from friend and fellow musician, Ronnie Wood, and with friends and family cheering loudly from their seats James soon realised he was in perfect company as he nervously presented his new material to an audience that would have screamed and whistled no matter what he sang.

c. Lynda-Louise Lee

James’ interaction with the audience highlighted his shyness but his inability to explain the reasons behind his songs was soon helped by the assistance of Wood asking his inspiration and what he was thinking whilst writing.

Along with tracks from his new album, James performed his previously released singles Angel and My Friend and dedicated a couple of songs to his “mum and dad”.

c. Lynda-Louise Lee

And it was during this introduction that “Dad” crept out of his seat and onto stage to surprise son James.

Having shocked  the audience into an irrupting frenzy, Sir Paul then made his way behind the piano and after a heartfelt thank you from his son, played backing vocals and piano to the last few songs.

You would think with a Rolling Stone and a Beatle onstage, James’ thunder would have been somewhat stolen, but Ronnie Wood and Sir Paul made it clear from that the night was James’ and all attention was on him whilst they played in the background, only attracting attention to then direct it right back to James “Isn’t he a talent?” - a question that was then bounced back and fourth between the three of them for the next few moments whilst the audience loudly agreed.

c. Lynda-Louise Lee

The support and cheeky banter between the three had obviously put James at ease as he then rocked his way through a finale of Rock and Roll and New York Times, causing more “What’s it about James?” jokes from Ronnie and Sir Paul.

After the show, Sir Paul, Ronnie and James, arm in arm with sister Stella fought their way with friends and family through the crowds of fans and paparazzi for an aftershow party at The Ivy.

It was clear in his performance that James has found his own voice and despite his father helping in the production of ME (out now) his individual talent and musicianship is clearly now his own. A singer / songwriter, in his own write…. 

Full Set-List

1- Mexico (with Ronnie)
2- Life's A Pill
3- Snap Out Of It
4- Butterfly
5- Bluebell (piano)
6- You And Me Individually
7- Old Man
8- Wisteria
9- Home
10- Angel
11- Snow (with Ronnie)
12- Wings of A Lightest Weight (with Ronnie)
13- As Strong As You (with Ronnie and Paul)
14- It's All About Rock N Roll (with Ronnie and Paul)

Encores
15- My Friend
16- New York Times (with Ronnie and Paul

The BBFC would like to thank Lynda-Louise Lee for sharing this account of last night's show, and for allowing us to publish her photographs.  Please do not reproduce or download anything, including photos, in this article without the express permission of the copyright holder.

"The Teacher - The Tony Sheridan Story" Out Now!

Out now!

Alan Mann's latest book takes the form of interviews between Alan (a childhood friend of Tony's) and Tony, covering all periods of his life, including of course his relationship with the Beatles in Hamburg. 

Available from Alan's website here 
or from the City Book Shop website: www.citybookshopnorwich.co.uk

Buy your copy now!  

Alan Mann, who lives in Little Melton just outside Norwich, has been interested in early rock n roll and pop music for decades and the result has been a series of books that stand as a tribute to some of the greatest artists ever.

An A to Z on Buddy Holly, a book contrasting the careers of Holly and Elvis Presley and now a new biography of former Beatle Tony Sheridan have all flowed from the pen of the unassuming Mann who admits that his twin obsessions for music and writing have led him down a new career path since retiring as a bank manager in 1993.

"I had spent a lifetime as a banker and realised when I retired that I wanted to be a writer. I found that I could channel my artistic desire through the music that I loved," he said.

Alan is the son of well known Norfolk artist John Mann from whom he believes he has inherited an artistic outlook on life. He was captivated by Holly's music from the time he first heard it in 1957. Ironically despite spending so much time writing about Holly, Alan never saw him perform.

"When he appeared on television in the programme Off the Record I was at night school. I missed his appearance on Sunday Night at the London Palladium as we didn't have ITV and then I didn't get to Ipswich when he played a concert there," Alan said, pointing out that in those far off days video recorders didn't exist.

Eventually Alan decided to channel his efforts into writing about the artist:

"There was always something in Buddy's voice that was special, a kind of timeless quality that has survived even 50 years after his death. You just have to listen to classics like "It Doesn't Matter Anymore," "Everyday" and "True Love Ways" to hear that timeless quality that has influenced so many artists over the years. Some of the early rock n roll like Bill Haley has aged but Holly's music has endured. It has had a lot to do with the fact that he wrote his own songs. He was creating music and in many ways was the antitheses of a rock star - even making it fashionable to wear glasses.

"There have been some remarkable artists from Texas but to me Holly was the best. Had he have lived I believe he would have kept up with the times and maybe have become a top producer. I was 19 when he died and I remember the sadness I felt."

So Alan's lasting memorial to a man he never met began to take shape many years later. 

"When the first book was published in 1994 there weren't many biographies of Buddy Holly on the market. I had all the information and knew so much about this guy that I decided to publish the book. When I wanted to update it I had numerous rejection letters from publishers until Aurum stepped in. It is often felt that Buddy Holly has a bigger fan base in the UK than in America but his popularity soared with the film The Buddy Holly Story, the stage musical Buddy and Don McLean who referred to Holly's death as 'the day the music died' in his song American Pie."

During his research and meetings with members of Buddy's family and his backing band The Crickets, Alan found out a lot more about Buddy the person:

"He was very charismatic on stage. Offstage he was quite quiet but there was always plenty of humour about him. For me his musical legacy can be summed up in the words of the Abba song 'Thank you for the music'. If he had lived I think he would have become a great humanitarian."

With the biography of Holly behind him Alan then set about his next project looking at the linked lives of Buddy and Elvis Presley despite the fact that Presley went on record as saying the two had never met, although they did share the bill on one occasion in Holly's home town of Lubbock, Texas.

Alan found that there were plenty of parallels between the two legends. "Elvis and Buddy - Linked Lives" was published by Music Mentor books in 2002 and took a detailed look at the artists' early years, comparing their backgrounds and influences and chronicling the parallels of their lives, careers and tragic deaths.

With the Holly and Presley published, Alan turned to an artist much closer to home for his next and current biography. He remembered a pal from his schooldays at the CNS in Norwich with the exotic name of Anthony Esmond Sheridan McGinnity.

"This guy just couldn't keep still. You would certainly say that he had the music in him. We lived close to each other for a while. When skiffle music came out it just blew him away. I can remember seeing him perform at the Blue Room in Prince of Wales Road, Norwich" Alan said.

Anthony McGinnity was destined to have his own place in rock music history. The boy from Norwich changed his name to Tony Sheridan and played an important part in the developing history of a little known Liverpudlian band by the name of the Beatles.

Alan has spent the last four years piecing together a biography on "Norwich's Beatle" with the full co-operation of Tony Sheridan himself. Today Alan's study is awash with notes written by Sheridan as part of an aborted autobiography.

"Over the years we kept in touch and Tony came back for CNS re-unions. Four years ago he came back to one re-union and picked up a guitar and started to play. I realised that he has written a wealth of songs and there was a lot more to the guy than met the eye. There never has been a biography of Tony Sheridan and I was keen to put that omission right. 

"I am delighted to say that Tony co-operated fully and the biography has been written with his blessing and is currently with the publishers and due for release later this year."

"Today Tony is something of a maverick. He refers to himself as a troubadour and hates the commercial aspect of the music business. He has lived a fascinating life and there are so many stories to tell from his early days with the Beatles and their first recordings, through the time when he entertained American forces in Vietnam and was reported missing believed killed to the present day," Alan added

The book's title, "The Teacher", is a reference to Tony's ability with the guitar, something that greatly influenced George Harrison and the other Beatles. 

Alan Mann is hoping that the Sheridan biography will attract interest from Beatles fans throughout the world and in particular those who remember Tony Sheridan in Norwich, Liverpool and maybe even Germany. 
__._,_.___

For more information on Alan Mann and to buy his books, visit his website at http://alanmannauthor.weebly.com/

Competition Winners Announced!

We are delighted to announce the names of the five lucky winners in our recent competition to win a copy of Angie McCartney's book!

Congratulations to Danilo Cavaliere, Andrew Joynson, Peter Byrne, Anne-Marie Trace and Jamie Pinnow!

Your books are on their way to you!

Watch this space for our next competition!!  We have a copy of a great DVD to give away - Becoming The Beatles.  Details of how to win will be posted very soon!