With The Beatles

The first full biography of the group in nearly 20 years.
Written by bestselling author and music journalist Patrick Humphries.Contains previously unpublished interviews with Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr conducted by the author during his 40-year career as a music journalist.

Patrick Humphries was there for the 1963 tsunami of Beatlemania - he still has his Fan Club membership card. Today, he feels the Beatles' UK origins have been overlooked for too long. Inside With the Beatles: Previously unknown details of the Beatles' third film are revealed... Paul talks about the controversial Lennon/McCartney songwriting credit... George reflects on Beatlemania and Ringo on his skiffle roots... Plans for Lonnie Donegan to act as go-between to coax John Lennon out of his New York exile... First-hand accounts of Liverpool and Hamburg paint a picture of the Beatles' roots, plus an exhaustive analysis of how their American breakthrough was achieved... There are fly-on-the-wall accounts of Paul rehearsing for a world tour... and the Beatles' Love musical in Las Vegas... There are interviews with George Martin, "fifth Beatle" Chas Newby, Cavern DJ Bob Wooler, E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg and his memories of Beatlemania, and Tom Jones discussing plans for him and Elvis Presley to recruit the Beatles as their backing band... And the last words John said to Paul. As well as telling the story from the birth of Ringo Starr in 1940 to the group's break-up in 1970, With the Beatles also tells the story of how the Beatles' brand continues to live on long after their demise. With unique access to archives, interviews and all media, Patrick Humphries traces the Beatles' progress in cyberspace, on film and in print. The author reveals how the group dominates auction house sales, including an interview with Hilary Kay from BBCs Antiques Roadshow on the group's enduring appeal. The long battle with Steve Jobs' Apple is chronicled and how the Beatles' own Apple meticulously guards their legacy with box sets, re-releases and documentaries. With the Beatles is that rarest of things, a new look at the enduring impact and legacy of the world's most influential band.


"With the Beatles is a terrific book. More than the story of how the group emerged...