Beatles Magazine

PAUL, RINGO DINE WITH FELLOW MUSIC LEGENDS

By Beatles Magazine Wednesday, May 31, 2017Thursday, June 1, 2017 In THE BEATLES 0 No tags 8

Days before the 50th anniversary of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” The Beatles’ remaining members were spotted celebrating with some fellow legends in Hollywood.
Spies said that on Friday night, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr were sitting at a corner table at LA Italian eatery the Ponte with Eagles rocker Joe Walsh, country star Vince Gill and Jack Nicholson. Paul and Ringo were next to each other in the group.
The Ponte is the new hot spot opened by NYC chef Scott Conant.The album’s 50th anniversary is June 1.

Paul said last week on his Web site of creating the classic, “What really happened was, I was coming back from a trip abroad with our roadie . . . and we were eating and he mumbled to me, asked me to pass the salt and pepper. And I misheard him. He said, ‘[mumbles] saltandpepper.’ I go, ‘Sgt. Pepper?’ I thought he said, ‘Sgt. Pepper.’ I went, ‘Oh! Wait a minute, that’s a great idea!’ So we had a laugh about it, then I started thinking about Sgt. Pepper as a character. I thought it would be a very interesting idea for us to assume alter egos for this album we were about to make.”
As far as which historical faces made the iconic cover, Macca revealed, “Someone brought [up] Hitler. And that was vetoed immediately.”

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH ROD DAVIS (THE QUARRYMEN)

Read my exclusive interview with ROD DAVIS (THE QUARRYMEN) with fantastic comments greatly treasured and appreciated.
Rod is a lovely person, hospitable and very humble, especially for a man who is part of the pre-Beatles history, and this made the interview a real pleasure. The Quarrymen continues…
Rod,… you rocks!!

BEATLES MAGAZINE: Can you tell us something about your family roots in Liverpool ?

ROD DAVIS: Well , I was born in Liverpool. My mother was born in Liverpool , in Woolton . My father was born in Dublin , but he came over to Liverpool with his family when he was about 3 or 4 years old . So part of me is … has been in Liverpool for … my family has been in Liverpool for many years , but other bits only arrived about a hundred years ago .

BM: How did you get interested in music and what do you consider your musical influences ?

ROD: Well , the biggest musical influence on me and the rest of the Quarrymen was a man called Lonnie Donegan who in 1955 brought out a recording called ” Rock island line ” . And this inspired us and thousands of other young lads in Britain , England , Ireland , Scottland and Wales to start playing music . And when rocknroll came along there were loads and loads of people who thought rocknroll was sexier than skiffle . But the advantage was that by this time they knew how to play the guitar , so that s why Lonnie Donegan and Skiffle is so very important .

BM: How did you become a member of the Quarrymen? Do you remember some details of that event ?

ROD: Well … a few details , yes . As I said , I was inspired by Lonnie Donegan to start to play an instrument … and he played guitar but he also played banjo and so in 1956 I asked my mother and father if I could have a guitar or a banjo and my uncle who lived in Wales had a friend who was selling a guitar and a banjo and by the time I contacted this man with the guitar and the banjo , the guitar had already been sold … so we went to buy , I think it costed 5 pounds , that must have been on a sunday and the next day , on Monday , I went into school and spoke to a friend of mine called Eric Griffiths and said : ” yesterday a bought a banjo ” and so he said : ” Would you like to be in our group ? ” and I said : ” Who else is in this group ? ” , so he told me the other guys in the group : Pete Shotton , Bill Smith and John Lennon . So they all were friends of mine in the same year at school , so I said : ” Yes , Ok , fine ” . So thats how I became a Quarryman . They knew I couldnt play because I only bought the banjo the day before .

BM: Do you remember some school days with John ?

ROD: Yes , I knew John … I first knew John when he was about 6 years old , because we were in the same class at Sunday school in Saint Peters Church in Woolton. So thats when I first met him and he was a young boy full of mischief . And he would lead other people into bad ways . We used to take a couple of pennies to put in the collection and he persuaded Pete Shotton to spend this collection on chewing gum , bubblegum . So John was a bad influence from the very early age . And then when I was 11 years old John , Pete , Eric Griffiths , myself , all found ourselves at Quarry Bank School . And we were in the same year and in the same part of the school but I was never in the same class as John . So I got to know him fairly well . And from 11 to 14 years old which is when I started to play for the Quarrymen I knew John fairly well and again he was not a very good pupil . He would be what we called today a disrupted pupil . He would fool around and made it very difficult for teachers to teach anything and often made it very difficult for the other boys to learn anything. In fact , Pete Shotton and Eric Griffiths both said John ruined their education .

BM: As you have mentioned before ,there were some shows prior to the Rosebery Street and the Saint Peters Church events . Of those previous shows , do you remember any special performance ?
ROD: Well , John is quoted as saying Rosebery Street was the Quarrymen s first public performance . I am afraid John s memory was not accurate . The Quarrymen started some time in 1956 , possibly in September 1956 and it might even have been earlier. So Rosebery Street was in fact probably the next to last time I played with the Quarrymen .There were lots of others before Rosebery Street , I am afraid John had been enjoying too many interesting substances . It obviously affected his memory . The way we got on the Cavern was ….another friend of John s called Nigel Walley – he was the Quarrymen s manager – started to work as a apprentice … professional …at the Golf Club when he was 14 years old and one of the men who was a member of the Golf Club was Alan Sytner who had started the Cavern and Nigel knew about this and so he tried to get us …. asked Alan Sytner if he could book the Quarrymen at the Cavern and Alan said : ” Well , I d like to hear you first ” . So he got us a booking at the Golf Club and our band uniform at that time was white shirts and black jeans and I bought an old pair of black jeans , a friend of mine , because my parents wouldn t buy me black jeans. And just before we went on stage at LIPA Golf Club the zip split on my jeans and I had to spend quite the whole set behind my banjo , hidding my embarrassment . I remember that one very well . And as a result of that we were invited to play at the Cavern . . We played there , I think 5 or 4 times between January and July of 1957 . The first time the Quarrymen were mentioned in the adverts of the Cavern was the 7th of August 1957 . And that was because the advertisements were very , very small and they went on the front page of the paper and there were only about 3 or 4 lines and they only put the most important groups names in the advertisement . That s why people think we didn t play at the Cavern until August 1957 .

BM: Talking about the Cavern performances , there was a moment when you argued with John about the playlist . Please tell us some details of that moment .

ROD: Well , the Cavern was a Jazz Club and the audience didn t like rock n roll and the management didn t like you playing rock n roll . Skifflke was fine , because Skiffle had come out of New Orleans , our Jazz bands in England . So you could play Skiffle , that was fine , but if you played rock n roll the audience would get angry and the management would get angry so I was trying to persuade John that it wasn t a good idea to play a rock n roll number and he just went on and played rock n roll anyway . I can t remeber what it was . Maybe ” That s alright mamma ” .. I don t know … John , he didn t care , he just played his rock n roll anyway .

BM: Let s talk about that famous saturday July 6th 1957 when the Quarrymen performed at Saint Peter s Church in Woolton . Did you rehearse a lot for that performance ? Were you all nervous ?

ROD: No ,we weren t particulary nervous . It was quite a big ocassion for us . I think it was the biggest ocassion we played .We may have been nervous … I don t remember to be honest, I have to say ….

BM:Do you remember any special moment from that performance ?

ROD: I remember that we went round the village .There was a procession with about 5 or 6 trucks and we were driving round the village . There was a boy scout s band , there was a military band , children in fancy dress – they were boy scouts – and the very last lorry was the Quarrymen and as the procession went down the road where my house was , my father came out with his camera and took about a dozen of photographs of the entire parade , of the entire procession and I do remember going round the village in the procession and I remember playing on stage , but I don t remember seeing Paul McCartney that day .

BM: How did you feel while performing there ?
ROD: Well , it was very … it was exciting because we were in front of all our friends , you know , moms and dads , uncles , aunts , cousins and all of , you know , young friends , boys and girls . So from that point of view it was quite exciting , because the intention , the whole idea of us playing in a group was to be on stage , to be able to play in front of people and maybe impress a few the young ladies. That was going through our minds that afternoon

BM: Please tell us about the moment when John first met Paul while he was introduced to the Quarrymen…

ROD: Well , I did not witness the moment when John was introduced to Paul,. I wasn t there.. I mean , I wasn t there when Paul was introduced to John and when he played the guitar for John . When we were playing on the stage behind the church – I am speaking about it later , many years later , Eric Griffiths said he remember seeing Paul in the audience . Paul remember seeing the Quarrymen , because he was very impressed with John . After we played in the afternoon we took our instruments over the road to the hall where we were going to play that evening and I don t remember seeing Paul . If I d seen someone playing guitar left handed I think I would remember . So I think I went home for my evening meal . In Liverpool we don t call it dinner , we call it tea . I went home for my tea , right . I didn t see Paul that day . Some years ago I was in America and we were doing a question and answer session at the Beatles convention and so for a joke I said : ” I think I went to the bathroom at the most excited moment in musical history , when John met Paul ” , but it was only a joke .

An American friend has done a beautiful picture of John and Paul being introduced to each other . He said : ” All the other guys in the band are in the picture , but I haven t put you in the picture . You can see your banjo is there , on the chair . But I was there when you told everybody that you were in the bathroom at the moment John met Paul ” .So it s now part of the Quarrymen history , but it s completely untrue !

BM: Did John afterwards make any comments of Paul to the other members of the Quarrymen ?

ROD: So , as far as I was concerned Paul did not exist , until a couple of weeks later . The only time I remembered the Quarrymen practising at Mimi s house , I arrived at Mimi s house and there was a boy there whom I didn t recognize . And I said to John : ” Oh , who is this ? ” And he said : ” This is Paul . He s come to listen to us practising ” , so that was the only time I met him , and I don t even remember exchanging any words with Paul . Our friends came and listen to us practicing , so this was quite a normal thing . I imagine , in retrospect , that by that time Paul had been invited to join the Quarrymen and may knew that at the of July – it was the end of the 5th year of school – John , Pete , Eric would all leave Quarry Bank School . I was already staying on to try to get University , so they knew that I would be leaving the Quarrymen . So they have already invited Paul to take my place – not that it was a problem to me – but that , I think , is what most probably happened . That s why he was there at Mimi s house listening to the Quarrrymen practicing .

BM: Skiffle fashion left its place to Rock n roll in 1957 . You left the Quarrymen before Paul became member of the band . Why did you leave the group ?

ROD: Well , John , Pete Shotton , Eric Griffiths and myself were all in the same year at Quarry Bank . At the end of July 57 , if you wanted to leave school ,you could leave school . So Jonh decided to leave and go to arts school . Pete Shotton decided to leave and become a police cadet . Eric Griffiths decided to leave and become an engineering apprentice . And I stayed at school . So I didn t really leave the group . What happened was that the group left me . And again , they wanted to play more and more Rock n roll . At that time I didn t like Rock n roll . Now I have changed my mind , now I enjoy playing Rock n roll . But I was a banjo player and you can t really play Rock n roll on a banjo , ok ? For the same reason , Pete Shotton stopped playing the washboard , because it was becoming more and more Rock n roll and he was fed up of playing the washboard . So that way John lost the washboard player , lost the banjo player and gained another guitar player who was very good . So he was moving his group , moving the Quarrymen into being more of a Rock n roll group and less of a Skiffle group . So that s how it happened really . But they left me . I don t remember leaving the Quarrymen .

BM: After leaving the band , did you follow the Quarrymen career or even the Beatles career in Liverpool ?

ROD: As it happened , no … I think I was quite surprised, because they didn t play very much , maybe half of dozen times at the end of 1957 and in 1958 they didn t play very much . And I think I was quite surprised to hear that they continued to play , so I didn t follow their career . I didn t go down to the Cavern to listen to the music at the Cavern . It was a Jazz club , I didn t go down . So I didnt follow their career . And the last time I saw John was , I think , at Eastern 1962 when I was at home on holiday in Liverpool . I was in the University in the south of England , in Cambridge which is 300 kilometers away and I was at home for Eastern . I was walking through the town and I bumped to John and we started talking . We haven t seen each other for quite a long time . He said : ” What kind of instruments are you playing now ? ” . So I explained I become very into folk music and american blue grass music . I was playing some mandoline , guitar and banjo and he said : ” Oh , it s a pity you can t play the drums . Maybe you could have come to play drums with us in Hamburg ” .

BM: Why did you study Frech and Spanish in the 60s ?

ROD: Well , I actually studied in the 50s really , because , for some reason , I think I had some kind of talent for learning languages and when I was a very small boy like 4 or 5 years old I used to – when I learnt to read – I used to read everything . If it was a package on the breakfast table I would read all the words on the package , you understand ? And there was a bottle of sauce called H P . The writing in this bottle on one side was in English and on the other side it was in French . And I read the English side and then turned the bottle over and tried to read the other side and I didn t know what French was, so I said to my father : ” Dad , what are all these strange words ? I can t understand them . ” And he said : ” They re in French ” . I think that s when my interest in French started . So when we got to Quarry Bank school at age 11 , we had to learn French and I enjoyed French and then in the 4th year , that would be 1955 I think , I had the opportunity to learn Spanish as well , so I started learning Spanish and I enjoyed French and Spanish so much , I decided to continue studying in the University . So that s how it happened really . It wasn t a concious decision . I found French and Spanish easy and enjoyable . That s why I continue .

BM: Which is your favourite Quarrymen song and which your favourite Beatles song ? And why ?

ROD: Well , I think probably the favourite Quarrymen song is got to be ” Rock island line ” , because that s what started everything , but not just for the Quarrymen . ” Rock island line ” started off all kinds of people in Britain : Hank Marvin , Cliff Richard , Ringo , George , they all started playing skiffle music . Jimmy Page, Adam Faith – you can go on , right ? – dozen of them , they all started playing because of ” Rock island line ” . We played ” Rock island line ” and I sing it with the Quarrymen . So I think that is my favourite Quarrymen song .

My favourite Beatles song ? I really like ” Penny Lane ” , because ” Penny Lane” is a very important place in my youth , you know . And when we were at Quarry Bank school we used to jump over the wall at the bottom of the school field in the lunchtime . We would walk pass the fire station and then we would walk down to Penny Lane and we buy chips and we sit in the shelter in the middle of the roundabouts and eat our chips . We would nt get our hairs cut . The hairdressers in Pauls song . So that one for me evokes my younger days . That s why I like Penny Lane so much

BM: Chas Newby has recently joined the Quarrymen . Please , tell us more about this

ROD: Well , the Quarrymen …… When we started in 1997 – when we got back together – we had everybody that was on stage with John the day he first met Paul …. in other words , everybody that was on stage on the 6th of July 1957 . And however in 2000 Pete Shotton ,the washboard player , had a couple of problems with his heart . And he said : ” Right , I m not going to play with the Quarrymen anymore . I m retiring ” . So he retired. And in 2005 guitar player Eric Griffiths suddenly died from cancer . So we asked piano player John Lowe who played on ” In spite of all the danger ” and ” That ll be the day ” if he would like to play piano with us and so John has been playing piano with us most of the times , but not every time since 2005 . And then recently Len Garry – we all are getting old men ,… aroud 74 – …Len s fingers has been getting a bit of trouble with the guitar , so we thought we would like to try to find somebody else to join the group , but it had to be someone who had some kind of history connected with the Quarrymen or the Beatles , yes ? We met Chas – he d been in Liverpool at the Casbah a year or two ago – … I discovered that he was a very good bass player and also a guitar player . So early at this year I visited him and we played a few songs , we met , we get on very well with our Liverpool sense of humor , so we had to practise , rehearsal with him . He s got a very driving bass style , he is very good , he plays a left-handed Hofner bass , just like Paul McCartney . And he was able to drive the band and make ….. he s playing really solid rythm guitar . So that s why we have Chas now .

And in January our drummer Colin , myself and Chas played for Hunter Davies s 80 years birthday party in London, also Chas with the group- played the 27th of April, a new start for the Quarrymen plus Non -Beatle .

BM: Can you tell us about the future plans for the Quarrymen ? More shows ? Maybe an album in the future ?

ROD: We made our first album in 1997 . Then we did another one in 2003- 2004 . So it s been my hope that we would be able to do a live album , because a lot of what the Quarrymen performance is about is the stories not just the music . And I have made several attempts to get a decent recording which we could turn into a live album , but we haven t been completely successful so far , which is perhaps fortunate , because if Chas now starts to play with us , Chas would be part of the new alive album in future . It s not a concrete plan , but it s certanly a plan which I had for a long time : to do a live album . That s what we would like to do . With regard to shows , our next show is in June , we re playing in Barcelona . Every year we do a gig for some Spanish friends called ” Acordes por la Paz ” and they do this in aid of ” Medicos sin fronteras ” , so we re playing a concert for them in Barcelona at the end of June , beginning of July . We re also playing in Liverpool as a part of the Beatle week in a theater , I think it s on the last saturday of Beatle week . After that , we don t know . But I can open my computer tomorrow and there will be an email saying ” Do you wanna play somewhere ? “, so … And we were talking about a gig in Russia this year – we ve played in Russia 3 times already – we were talking about playing in Russia , but that didn t happen . We were also talking about playing in Sweden in July .That hasnt happen. We don t do many gigs , we don t do live acts , 6 or 7 a year . This year may be a little bit quite , but , I think , next year which is 2017 , 60 years since John and Paul first met I have the feeling next year is gonna be very busy . And then again , as I said , I can open my email tomorrow , and there could be an invitation to play anywhere in the world.

BM: Thank you very much Rod, is a pleasure talk with you, thank you!

ROD: Thanks to you, all I can say really is : Beatles music is fantastic , it has lasted so many years . So many people enjoy it . It gives so many millions of people pleasure . Listen to their music and keep playing music and enjoy . That s my message. And, we would say : “BEATLESMAGAZINE da,da,da,da,da” you are continuing to help people to enjoy Beatles music and the Beatles humour and I think you are doing a great job . Keep going !!

BEATLES MAGAZINE: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH BRIAN RAY

By Beatles Magazine Saturday, June 7, 2014Saturday, January 4, 2020 In BRIAN EPSTEIN 0 BEATLES MAGAZINE 10

Brian Ray is a great person, great musician, guitarist, bassist, singer–songwriter and musical director, is rhythm, lead and bass guitarist with Paul McCartney many years ago…he has worked with an extensive list of artists in addition to his own solo career with The Bayonets…thank you Brian!

BEATLES MAGAZINE: Your first contact with the music was at the age of 9 years old , you saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show and you witnessed Beatlemania . How do you remember that ?

BRIAN RAY: Well , you know, I just remember hearing the songs on the radio and recognizing that there was a different sound that anything I was used to. And I was very in the music from the very young age, from 3 or 4 age already . but when the Beatles came , it was a sort of a combination of all of the coolest things I ever heard before mixed together by a band of brothers who were the same age , so when I – roughly the same age – . When I tuned into the television show – the Ed Sullivan show – that night like so many people in the world did , I was transported into a dream world and I’ve never woken up from that dream world .

When the Beatles arrived you really had this feeling that these 4 guys are a unit and they decide what they sound like . They sounded so vital and different and I was taken and I’ve never waken up of it . Thanks God !

BM: Many musicians dream of playing with Paul McCartney . Did you ever imagine you would be there in a band with Paul ?

BR: Well you know , when I was young I would dream about being succesful , succesful in music . I guess for me I had dreams and I always believe I was meant to do something bigger than even my imagination . I didn’t think : “The Beatles ” , because they are sort of Gods and they were a band , so I never really thought about Paul is the solo artist that I will play with him one day , but I always saw myself doing something big . I didn’t know what , but it´s a kind of thing you can’t even admit to your friends , because it sounds ridiculous . It sounds like – you know – they laughing at you , so I didn’t want to admit it loud , but yes , I thought something is gonna happen .

BM: What is like to be there with Paul and to work with him ?

BR: You know , Paul is , before anything else , he’s a man , he’s a family man , he’s a father , he’s a friend , a kind hardy man , so you start with that first and then you hear his catalogue of music and his ability that still play all of the songs he wrote 50 years ago , the ability to still write songs, so you feel like you’re really doing something special , not because he’s a superstar , but because he’s a super talent and a pretty super person , so you know , it’s a gift that I can even quantify . It’s a gift !

BM: What do you like more from Paul ?

BR: Musically , what I like more ? I don’t know , it’s hard to say . I like rock and I like his work. So I like everything from Queenie eye – New to And I love her to Helter Skelter . Think of the dynamics that he can employ as a singer , as a songwriter and as a musician . You can’t name no one in the planet that can do those 3 things and with so much diversity and variety . There’s no one else . Think about . There are great singers , there are great writers , there are great musicians , but how many of them do all 3 and then do it from And I love her to helter Skelter . I can’t name one . No one !

BM: What do you like more when you are not on tour or when you are home ?

BR: When I’m home I really like a life style, I like the ocean. And I enjoy the company of my friends , my family . My parents are getting older now , so I’m treasuring my time with them and I behave me like a good son and they need me. I have a very simple life, I like unplugged , I have a lovely home with the ocean view , I like to do what I like , have nice meals with nice friends , read a little bit , bycicling on the beach on ( White Palm ) , walk my dog , and hang out with who I love . It’s pretty simple !

BM: Charlie!…the lovely Charlie!

BR: Oh , Charlie ! It’s the sweetest dog! and I also collect vintage guitars and I like vintage american cars . So I have a few hobbies , yeah !

BM: Brian tell me more about THE BAYONETS on ROBO RECORDS . When will the new material be released ? What´s the title of this new album ?

BR: Well , I have a friend called Rob who has been a supporter of my solo music for 10 years , really since 2005 – almost 10 years – he was guiding me then way back , he helped me with the physical release of THIS WAY UP , my second solo album , did some advicing and some assistance. Now The Bayonets had a first song last year , and I played him “SUCKER FOR LOVE” and “SMARTPHONE” – first 2 singles, a success on the radio. The title of the new album is Crash , boom , bang

BM: Is the new album totally different from MONDO MAGNET or THIS WAY UP ?

BR: Yeah , it’s very different ! You know , the Bayonets is a partnership between myself and Oliver, who’s a really good songwriter and producer in his own right . He’s been working for , you know , 30 years in his own field doing Pop …. beat music for people like …. Adam lambert ,…. Rod Stewart , ….. Paula Abdul… He is a very , very strong talent , so our music takes a different angle in my solo stuff . Oliver also wrote with me my solo material . He wrote 4 , 5 songs in my first 2 records.

BM: How do you write the songs with Oliver ?

BR: Well , with Oliver – like any songwriter – it starts with one of us having the beginning of an idea , wether it’s a title or a guitar lick or a melody or sometimes close to a whole song almost finished .

BM: Is there any method of writing songs together ?

BR: Well , I usually doing most of the chords and the melody and hearing the arrangements in my head , off the pallet of sound, and Oliver – he’s an incredibly lyricist – so usually , say 8 times out of 10 , Oliver writing the lyrics – kind of bubbling in his head , I throw a line , he’ll write a line and I throw a line and he’ll improve that line and so it’s a great partnership , we really have a lot of fun laughing . And in a couple of songs he came to me with the start of the song . “SUCKER FOR LOVE” was his beginning and a new song called “WOODO DOG” on the new record was his beginning and then I finished it.

BM: Any future plans for the Bayonets this year , or in 2015 ? Will be there any tours?

BR: Yeah , I hope to do a record release party , ’cause the album released following on Robo records in July , I make the date clear later, but are 10 newest songs, 10 songs , 5 from last year …This July , coming soon !

BM: Thank you so much dear Brian

BR: Thank you, thank you Beatles Magazine is a great place to turn for the latest news on the world´s greatest band!

Here a message to Beatles Magazine followers all over the world:

BEATLES MAGAZINE : MARK LEWISOHN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

By Beatles Magazine Sunday, February 16, 2014Thursday, October 3, 2019 In BRIAN EPSTEIN 0 BEATLES MAGAZINE, INTERVIEWS 0

Tune In is the first volume of All These Years—a biographical trilogy by the world’s leading Beatles historian. Mark Lewisohn uses his unprecedented archival access and hundreds of new interviews to construct the full story of the lives and work of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr.
Ten years in the making, Tune In takes the Beatles from before their childhoods through the final hour of 1962.
Tune In is the lesser-known Beatles story—the pre-Fab years of Liverpool and Hamburg—and in many respects the most absorbing and incredible period of them all. “Tune In: The Beatles: All These Years,” an imposing book, with 944 pages, it’s the first of three volumes, the other two expected to four and six years.The book constitutes interwoven individual biographies of each member of the Fab Four.
Said Mark Lewisohn: “What he didn’t know all the time he was saying that is that I was doing it. I’ve done the best possible job I can”. And about Ringo, Mark said: “His story, the Richy Starkey story, is one of the real strengths of this book. Despite the strength of John, Paul and George’s stories, the Richy story (he always writes it with a Y)- is about the strongest of them all.That’s a tremendous story,” Lewisohn said.

BEATLES MAGAZINE: Having been yourself a big Beatles fan for so many years, what were your first impressions when you saw and talked for the first time with Paul, George and Ringo?

MARK LEWISOHN: The first ex-Beatle I met was George, in 1979, when he went into theBBC to appear on a radio show. We had a few words, and I asked him for an interview, which he didn’t give. I met George a few timesafter that and had a mixture of experiences. I don’t know Ringo. I got to know Paul pretty well and have many memories – mostly great ones – of working with him for fifteen years, from 1987 to 2002.

BM: You were one of the first researchers of the BBC radio sessions. I remember you reviewed these sessions in a 2-parts article in Beatles Monthly magazine many years ago. Did you ever wish to publish a book about these BBC sessions?

ML: I wrote a lot about the Beatles’ BBC radio and TV appearances in The Complete Beatles Chronicle, as well as their radio and TV work for other broadcasters. Beyond that, no, I didn’t want to write a bookabout it. The subject interest me greatly, and I’ve been researching itsince 1979 (those magazine pieces were published in 1980), but I leave the books to my friend Kevin Howlett.

BM: Knowing that you are an accurate researcher with journalist methodology, what do you consider the most amazing or surprising facts you have discovered while researching for your newest book TUNE IN?

ML: I really can’t say – there were so many. My feeling before I started the book was that the Beatles’ story had never really been told properly – and during my years of research, and then writing, I was managing to prove that pretty much every working day. One of the things that most pleases me about the reactions from people who’ve read TUNE IN, and also the people who’ve reviewed it, is that they’re all finding different things to excite them, different things they hadn’t known before and are enjoying for the first time, So I’m sorry, but it is impossible to name just one.

BM: Is a very hard question but If you have to choose just one Beatles favourite song and one Beatles favourite LP, which ones would be and why?

BM: How many people who love the Beatles’ music can specify their favourite song or favourite album? I certainly can’t. It’s part of the Beatles’ appeal that so much in their catalogue – in fact almost everything – is of special appeal

BM: Beatle fans around the world are waiting anxiously to read TUNE IN. What are you own expectations with your new book? Can you tell us some more surprising facts that will appear in your next 2 books about the Beatles’ life?

ML: My main hope is that after people have read it they’ll have a clearer, sharper picture in their head of who the Beatles were and what made them so different to everyone else. Therefore, I hope that the Beatles will be better understood, and knowledge of them and their work will be more thorough and accurate for all the years, decades and centuries to come. As for volumes 2 and 3: it’s way too early for me to start giving away the content. All I’ll say at this point is that the degree to which readers have been surprised by volume 1 will continue.

BM: Thank you so much Mark, i´ts been an honour to talk with you.

ML:Thank you for your interest and All the Best!