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Love me do! A ascensão dos Beatles
The year is 1963 and "Love Me Do" is the Beatles' first number one hit, closely followed by "Please Please Me". John, Paul, George and Ringo celebrate their new found success with a hectic six-week tour, briefly interrupted by an historic live appearance at the "Royal Variety Performance" at the London Palladium. This is the beginning of "Beatlemania" and American writer, Mike Braun, is there to chronicle events and watch as the drama unfolds. A year later, The Beatles are the world's biggest pop group. This book details what really happened in those first magic weeks.
184 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1964
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June 6, 2025
3.5 stars
"As we toured up and down the country, [the Beatles] riffed and joked among themselves, sharpening the collective personae they would present to the world. They were a tight little island unto themselves, these four -- and that is what probably permitted them to survive that time when the whole planet seemed to revolve around their sun." -- on page 6
Although the somewhat ungainly-titled Love Me Do! The Beatles's Progress may not be a 'must-read' for all but the most devoted Beatles' fans, it holds a special place in the otherwise endless list of books about the group because it is likely the first of its kind. As written by Braun - a New York City native who spent the 1960's and 70's working as a journalist for The Observer and The Sunday Times in London - he was apparently allowed some unprecedented and unguarded access to 'The Fab Four' during 1963 - when the 'Beatlemania' craze took hold, although at that time the act was still more of a regional success in the U.K. - and the early part of 1964, when they first visited New York City and Washington, D.C. to break through with American audiences. So it's not so much about their music - esteemed producer George Martin receives only ONE brief mention - but their unusually overactive professional life at the time consisting of non-stop concert dates / touring, television appearances, songwriting, and filming for their cinematic debut in A Hard Day's Night. Occasionally there are some telling moments - such as a joint interview of recent newlyweds John and Cynthia Lennon at their new home quietly depicts the strain that would exist for most of the union - but this is otherwise a very low-key affair, punctuated by the sincere (manager Brian Epstein's continual worry about 'the boys') and the heartfelt (a young American fan's letter thanking the band with "you are the first happy thing that has happened since November 22 - you are the first spot of joy to come to a nation that is still very much in mourning", of course referencing JFK's assassination just three months earlier).
"As we toured up and down the country, [the Beatles] riffed and joked among themselves, sharpening the collective personae they would present to the world. They were a tight little island unto themselves, these four -- and that is what probably permitted them to survive that time when the whole planet seemed to revolve around their sun." -- on page 6
Although the somewhat ungainly-titled Love Me Do! The Beatles's Progress may not be a 'must-read' for all but the most devoted Beatles' fans, it holds a special place in the otherwise endless list of books about the group because it is likely the first of its kind. As written by Braun - a New York City native who spent the 1960's and 70's working as a journalist for The Observer and The Sunday Times in London - he was apparently allowed some unprecedented and unguarded access to 'The Fab Four' during 1963 - when the 'Beatlemania' craze took hold, although at that time the act was still more of a regional success in the U.K. - and the early part of 1964, when they first visited New York City and Washington, D.C. to break through with American audiences. So it's not so much about their music - esteemed producer George Martin receives only ONE brief mention - but their unusually overactive professional life at the time consisting of non-stop concert dates / touring, television appearances, songwriting, and filming for their cinematic debut in A Hard Day's Night. Occasionally there are some telling moments - such as a joint interview of recent newlyweds John and Cynthia Lennon at their new home quietly depicts the strain that would exist for most of the union - but this is otherwise a very low-key affair, punctuated by the sincere (manager Brian Epstein's continual worry about 'the boys') and the heartfelt (a young American fan's letter thanking the band with "you are the first happy thing that has happened since November 22 - you are the first spot of joy to come to a nation that is still very much in mourning", of course referencing JFK's assassination just three months earlier).
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November 26, 2025Beatlemania #1/2
No átrio, quase três mil adolescentes alinhavam-se junto às barreiras, respiravam contra o vidro, penduravam-se das barras e subiam os portões de seis metros de altura da plataforma.
- Graças a Deus que estes miúdos não podem votar - disse um jornalista quando a multidão entusiástica quase o levantou do chão.
Aí entre 1960/66, sem se conseguir muito bem explicar porquê ("há mais coisas entre o céu e a terra do que sonha a nossa vã filosofia"), quatro miúdos pretensiosos, rebeldes e pouco dados à cultura erudita partiram corações, provocaram delírios, desmaios, frenesis (e muitas dores de cabeça). Michael Braun, criatura, também ela, relativamente mitológica, apanhou os Beatles no auge da fama e colou-se a eles durante os anos da Beatlemania, quando as suas idades rondavam os 20/23 anos. Resultou daí Love me do, a primeira biografia da banda que acompanha a sua digressão entre Inglaterra, França e Estados Unidos:
Durante a época natalícia, praticamente não havia uma família na Grã-Bretanha que permanecesse imune aos Beatles. O seu LP With The Beatles tocava num milhão de gramofones. As meias penduradas nas lareiras ostentavam fotografias dos Beatles e estavam cheias com perucas dos Beatles e oveiros dos Beatles. Debaixo das árvores de Natal, inúmeras T-shirts, bonecos, camisas de noite e fatos dos Beatles. As paredes dos quartos estavam forradas com murais fotográficos do grupo e, se isso não fosse possível, as raparigas erguiam altares no sótão feitos de fotografias. Um bailado em Londres tinha música baseada em canções de Lennon-McCartney e milhares de rapazes começavam a aprender a tocar guitarra. Os cortes de cabelo à Beatles estavam por todo o lado e o director de uma escola proibiu-os porque disse que fazia os rapazes parecerem idiotas. Um rapaz, confrontado com uma ordem para mudar de penteado ou sair da escola, foi-se embora.
Nos últimos dias do ano (1963), os Beatles atingiram o estatuto de instituição nacional.
A loucura, sabemos, foi grande, mas alguma coisa estes miúdos fizeram bem feita - nos anos 90, a sua música foi, para mim, uma companhia constante (vá, nem toda a gente tem a sorte de ser educada num modelo que valoriza de igual maneira um Live Aid e os Quatro Cabeleiras do Após-Calipso), e, aqui estamos, no século seguinte, ainda a reeditar e ler sobre uma banda de guedelhudos barulhentos dos anos 60 (ninguém ainda fazia ideia do que o verdadeiro barulho ou uma guedelha eram...).
De qualquer forma, este livro de Braun parece ser o derradeiro documento destes anos e eu não podia deixar de o comprar para oferecer. Felizmente, quando um livro cai nas estantes cá de casa passa a ser também propriedade minha e reclamei esse direito neste fim de semana.
A leitura acabou por confirmar as minhas suspeitas de que os adultos até que tinham razão: estes miúdos eram um grupinho de engraçadinhos irreverentes sem qualquer respeito pela etiqueta...
No palco, os Beatles cantaram várias canções para um público adulto respeitoso, embora reservado. Antes da última canção, um dos elementos do grupo, John Lennon, avançou para a frente do palco.
- Na nossa última canção - disse ele, gostaria de pedir a vossa ajuda. Aqueles que estão nos lugares baratos batam palmas. Os outros podem só chocalhar as jóias.
...ou pelas hierarquias:
Antes da recepção, os Beatles encontraram-se com o embaixador e com lady Ormsby Gore na residência da embaixada. Quando John lhes é apresentado, sir David diz:
-Olá, John.
-Não sou o John - diz John. Sou o Charlie. Aquele é que é o John - e aponta para George.
-Olá, John - diz o embaixador, virando-se para George.
-Não sou o John - diz George. Sou o Frank. Aquele é que é o John - e aponta para Paul.
-Oh, credo! diz o embaixador. Nunca irei acertar. A minha mulher é muito melhor a fixar nomes.
Mas em que medida é que isso os limitava? Talvez o oposto seja a mais provável. Até porque, pelo retrato de Braun, a loucura não se estendia assim tanto para trás da cortina. Do lado do público o furor parecia não diminuir, mas nos bastidores o sucesso parecia fomentar reflexões estranhamente maduras e desproporcionadas, ou não.
Isto não é o mundo do espectáculo. É algo mais. Isto é diferente de tudo o que alguém possa imaginar. Não se segue em frente depois disto. Faz-se isto e depois acaba-se.
(Lennon)
Num misto de relato jornalístico na primeira pessoa, recortes de revistas e cartas de fãs, este Love me do relata a loucura do que foi a primeira tour na companhia destes quatro ídolos recentemente entrados na idade adulta:
Um público constituído principalmente por raparigas adolescentes tinha sido convidado a assistir ao ensaio para o programa dessa noite, bem como à gravação de duas canções adicionais para o programa daí a três semanas. Mantiveram-se razoavelmente silenciosas até a bateria de Ringo ser levada para o palco. Nessa altura, começaram aos gritos. Antes de os Beatles aparecerem, [Ed] Sullivan subiu ao palco e pediu ao público que desse a sua atenção a todos os outros excelentes intérpretes que iriam actuar para além dos Beatles, porque se não o fizessem, mandava chamar um barbeiro. Depois disse:
-A nossa cidade... Na verdade, o nosso país... nunca viu nada como estes quatro jovens de Liverpool. Senhoras e senhores, os Beatles!
O que aconteceu a seguir ao público levou um escritor do New York Herald-Tribune no dia seguinte a estabelecer uma comparação com «aquele terrível guincho que o comboio BMT Astoria faz ao virar para leste no cruzamento da Rua 59 com a Sétima Avenida».
[...]
De imediato, a rapariga soltou um grito frenético. As duas raparigas que estavam com ela começaram a gritar. Depois, sucessivamente, as raparigas nos bancos directamente atrás delas começaram também a gritar. Num instante, todo o público de 8092 pessoas estava de pé, a gritar, a berrar, a assobiar e a bater palmas.
À medida que o ruído subia em crescendo, os Beatles, escoltados por 12 polícias, entravam em palco. Quando começaram a cantar, um dos polícias junto à primeira fila tirou duas balas de calibre 38 do cinto e enfiou-as nos ouvidos. Não há nenhuma regra contra a utilização de flashes no Coliseu, pelo que, do cimo do recinto, a atmosfera parecia uma trovoada com os gritos e as luzes a piscar.
No, I never beard them at all... cantava Paul e, na Secção 46, a cerca de um quilómetro e meio do palco, as pessoas ouvian os seus transistores e gritavam.
Nenhum deste material se debruça sobre o processo criativo, o reportório ou as relações de amizade entre os membros da banda. O trabalho de Braun é exclusivamente dedicado a um fenómeno cultural, aqui narrado na primeira pessoa, e sem a profundidade crítica que o distanciamento temporal hoje nos permite. Daí o seu valor.
Podemos hoje debater o que levou milhares de jovens (e menos jovens), anónimos e famosos (de Janet Leigh a David Niven) a uma quase insana obsessão - ou, no mínimo dos mínimos, a ceder a uma curiosidade inesperada -, podemos hoje perguntar-nos que relações se estabeleciam nos bastidores, como e quem operava os mecanismos ocultos, mas Braun, no momento, captura sob a forma de instantâneos visuais alguns dos instantes cruciais da Beatlemania e uma série de pormenores que nos escapariam de outro modo. Timidez, ousadia, vícios, lampejos de brilhantismo, piadas sem graça, inseguranças pessoais e tudo o mais que habita um grupo de jovens adultos empurrados subitamente para a ribalta e para os meandros claustrofóbicos de uma máquina de fazer dinheiro. Para quem lá não esteve, não deve haver muito melhor.
Paul: Pergunta ao Ringo de que tipo de música é que ele gosta.
Eu: Ringo, de que tipo de música é que gostas?
Ringo: Gosto de todo o tipo de música. Especialmente da do Shakespeare.
No átrio, quase três mil adolescentes alinhavam-se junto às barreiras, respiravam contra o vidro, penduravam-se das barras e subiam os portões de seis metros de altura da plataforma.
- Graças a Deus que estes miúdos não podem votar - disse um jornalista quando a multidão entusiástica quase o levantou do chão.
Aí entre 1960/66, sem se conseguir muito bem explicar porquê ("há mais coisas entre o céu e a terra do que sonha a nossa vã filosofia"), quatro miúdos pretensiosos, rebeldes e pouco dados à cultura erudita partiram corações, provocaram delírios, desmaios, frenesis (e muitas dores de cabeça). Michael Braun, criatura, também ela, relativamente mitológica, apanhou os Beatles no auge da fama e colou-se a eles durante os anos da Beatlemania, quando as suas idades rondavam os 20/23 anos. Resultou daí Love me do, a primeira biografia da banda que acompanha a sua digressão entre Inglaterra, França e Estados Unidos:
Durante a época natalícia, praticamente não havia uma família na Grã-Bretanha que permanecesse imune aos Beatles. O seu LP With The Beatles tocava num milhão de gramofones. As meias penduradas nas lareiras ostentavam fotografias dos Beatles e estavam cheias com perucas dos Beatles e oveiros dos Beatles. Debaixo das árvores de Natal, inúmeras T-shirts, bonecos, camisas de noite e fatos dos Beatles. As paredes dos quartos estavam forradas com murais fotográficos do grupo e, se isso não fosse possível, as raparigas erguiam altares no sótão feitos de fotografias. Um bailado em Londres tinha música baseada em canções de Lennon-McCartney e milhares de rapazes começavam a aprender a tocar guitarra. Os cortes de cabelo à Beatles estavam por todo o lado e o director de uma escola proibiu-os porque disse que fazia os rapazes parecerem idiotas. Um rapaz, confrontado com uma ordem para mudar de penteado ou sair da escola, foi-se embora.
Nos últimos dias do ano (1963), os Beatles atingiram o estatuto de instituição nacional.
A loucura, sabemos, foi grande, mas alguma coisa estes miúdos fizeram bem feita - nos anos 90, a sua música foi, para mim, uma companhia constante (vá, nem toda a gente tem a sorte de ser educada num modelo que valoriza de igual maneira um Live Aid e os Quatro Cabeleiras do Após-Calipso), e, aqui estamos, no século seguinte, ainda a reeditar e ler sobre uma banda de guedelhudos barulhentos dos anos 60 (ninguém ainda fazia ideia do que o verdadeiro barulho ou uma guedelha eram...).
De qualquer forma, este livro de Braun parece ser o derradeiro documento destes anos e eu não podia deixar de o comprar para oferecer. Felizmente, quando um livro cai nas estantes cá de casa passa a ser também propriedade minha e reclamei esse direito neste fim de semana.
A leitura acabou por confirmar as minhas suspeitas de que os adultos até que tinham razão: estes miúdos eram um grupinho de engraçadinhos irreverentes sem qualquer respeito pela etiqueta...
No palco, os Beatles cantaram várias canções para um público adulto respeitoso, embora reservado. Antes da última canção, um dos elementos do grupo, John Lennon, avançou para a frente do palco.
- Na nossa última canção - disse ele, gostaria de pedir a vossa ajuda. Aqueles que estão nos lugares baratos batam palmas. Os outros podem só chocalhar as jóias.
...ou pelas hierarquias:
Antes da recepção, os Beatles encontraram-se com o embaixador e com lady Ormsby Gore na residência da embaixada. Quando John lhes é apresentado, sir David diz:
-Olá, John.
-Não sou o John - diz John. Sou o Charlie. Aquele é que é o John - e aponta para George.
-Olá, John - diz o embaixador, virando-se para George.
-Não sou o John - diz George. Sou o Frank. Aquele é que é o John - e aponta para Paul.
-Oh, credo! diz o embaixador. Nunca irei acertar. A minha mulher é muito melhor a fixar nomes.
Mas em que medida é que isso os limitava? Talvez o oposto seja a mais provável. Até porque, pelo retrato de Braun, a loucura não se estendia assim tanto para trás da cortina. Do lado do público o furor parecia não diminuir, mas nos bastidores o sucesso parecia fomentar reflexões estranhamente maduras e desproporcionadas, ou não.
Isto não é o mundo do espectáculo. É algo mais. Isto é diferente de tudo o que alguém possa imaginar. Não se segue em frente depois disto. Faz-se isto e depois acaba-se.
(Lennon)
Num misto de relato jornalístico na primeira pessoa, recortes de revistas e cartas de fãs, este Love me do relata a loucura do que foi a primeira tour na companhia destes quatro ídolos recentemente entrados na idade adulta:
Um público constituído principalmente por raparigas adolescentes tinha sido convidado a assistir ao ensaio para o programa dessa noite, bem como à gravação de duas canções adicionais para o programa daí a três semanas. Mantiveram-se razoavelmente silenciosas até a bateria de Ringo ser levada para o palco. Nessa altura, começaram aos gritos. Antes de os Beatles aparecerem, [Ed] Sullivan subiu ao palco e pediu ao público que desse a sua atenção a todos os outros excelentes intérpretes que iriam actuar para além dos Beatles, porque se não o fizessem, mandava chamar um barbeiro. Depois disse:
-A nossa cidade... Na verdade, o nosso país... nunca viu nada como estes quatro jovens de Liverpool. Senhoras e senhores, os Beatles!
O que aconteceu a seguir ao público levou um escritor do New York Herald-Tribune no dia seguinte a estabelecer uma comparação com «aquele terrível guincho que o comboio BMT Astoria faz ao virar para leste no cruzamento da Rua 59 com a Sétima Avenida».
[...]
De imediato, a rapariga soltou um grito frenético. As duas raparigas que estavam com ela começaram a gritar. Depois, sucessivamente, as raparigas nos bancos directamente atrás delas começaram também a gritar. Num instante, todo o público de 8092 pessoas estava de pé, a gritar, a berrar, a assobiar e a bater palmas.
À medida que o ruído subia em crescendo, os Beatles, escoltados por 12 polícias, entravam em palco. Quando começaram a cantar, um dos polícias junto à primeira fila tirou duas balas de calibre 38 do cinto e enfiou-as nos ouvidos. Não há nenhuma regra contra a utilização de flashes no Coliseu, pelo que, do cimo do recinto, a atmosfera parecia uma trovoada com os gritos e as luzes a piscar.
No, I never beard them at all... cantava Paul e, na Secção 46, a cerca de um quilómetro e meio do palco, as pessoas ouvian os seus transistores e gritavam.
Nenhum deste material se debruça sobre o processo criativo, o reportório ou as relações de amizade entre os membros da banda. O trabalho de Braun é exclusivamente dedicado a um fenómeno cultural, aqui narrado na primeira pessoa, e sem a profundidade crítica que o distanciamento temporal hoje nos permite. Daí o seu valor.
Podemos hoje debater o que levou milhares de jovens (e menos jovens), anónimos e famosos (de Janet Leigh a David Niven) a uma quase insana obsessão - ou, no mínimo dos mínimos, a ceder a uma curiosidade inesperada -, podemos hoje perguntar-nos que relações se estabeleciam nos bastidores, como e quem operava os mecanismos ocultos, mas Braun, no momento, captura sob a forma de instantâneos visuais alguns dos instantes cruciais da Beatlemania e uma série de pormenores que nos escapariam de outro modo. Timidez, ousadia, vícios, lampejos de brilhantismo, piadas sem graça, inseguranças pessoais e tudo o mais que habita um grupo de jovens adultos empurrados subitamente para a ribalta e para os meandros claustrofóbicos de uma máquina de fazer dinheiro. Para quem lá não esteve, não deve haver muito melhor.
Paul: Pergunta ao Ringo de que tipo de música é que ele gosta.
Eu: Ringo, de que tipo de música é que gostas?
Ringo: Gosto de todo o tipo de música. Especialmente da do Shakespeare.
July 4, 2013
wonderful. gets you right inside the early days of Beatlemania 1963/64, holed up in the hotels on tour with the band, inside the besieged cars, quipping with the reporters, doing Jke Box Jury and the Morecambe and Wise Show, meeting ambassadors, Cassius Clay (as was)... of course I'm old enough to remember, although I was only 8/9: She Loves you on the radio and the Beatles faces in the newspapers that dropped through our letterbox. A great liberating force.. more later.
On the front John says:A true book. He wrote how we were, which was bastards. But I think they show remarkable grace under pressure. Imagine someone getting out scissors and cutting a lock from your hair, imagine being crushed, imagine the patronising great figures who want autographs for their daughters, imagine being asked constantly, which one are you? (they always answer wrongly, John will say I'm Paul, Paul will say I'm Roger etc.) Imagine groups of people parading with signs saying 'Eliminate the Beetles'. The animosity as well as the adulation, the disgruntled along with the lovesick. A lesser quartet would have buckled, a group with less talent could not stand such scrutiny.
Of course they are sometimes insensitive, ego-tripping, unaware. Jane Asher, for example says this, after being told to stay indoors in Paris because she might be recognised:
That’s typical of Paul.. it’s so silly of me to stay at the hotel. It’s just that he;s so insecure.. the trouble is he wants the fans’ adulation and mine too. He’s so selfish; it’s his biggest fault. He can’t see that my feelings for him are real and that the fans’ are fantasy. Of course it’s the trouble with all the boys. When I first met them I liked them all. Then when I found out I liked Paul more, the others became angry with me.
This book is written by Michael Braun, an American who travels with the band, like an 'embedded war reporter' recording everything from their jokes to the letters they receive, to their reaction to receptions in the UK, France and America. Mark Lewishon, the great Beatles scholar, says in the foreword: 'for insight into the Beatles' personalities it is unparalleled.. it may even be the best book ever written about them.'
On the front John says:A true book. He wrote how we were, which was bastards. But I think they show remarkable grace under pressure. Imagine someone getting out scissors and cutting a lock from your hair, imagine being crushed, imagine the patronising great figures who want autographs for their daughters, imagine being asked constantly, which one are you? (they always answer wrongly, John will say I'm Paul, Paul will say I'm Roger etc.) Imagine groups of people parading with signs saying 'Eliminate the Beetles'. The animosity as well as the adulation, the disgruntled along with the lovesick. A lesser quartet would have buckled, a group with less talent could not stand such scrutiny.
Of course they are sometimes insensitive, ego-tripping, unaware. Jane Asher, for example says this, after being told to stay indoors in Paris because she might be recognised:
That’s typical of Paul.. it’s so silly of me to stay at the hotel. It’s just that he;s so insecure.. the trouble is he wants the fans’ adulation and mine too. He’s so selfish; it’s his biggest fault. He can’t see that my feelings for him are real and that the fans’ are fantasy. Of course it’s the trouble with all the boys. When I first met them I liked them all. Then when I found out I liked Paul more, the others became angry with me.
This book is written by Michael Braun, an American who travels with the band, like an 'embedded war reporter' recording everything from their jokes to the letters they receive, to their reaction to receptions in the UK, France and America. Mark Lewishon, the great Beatles scholar, says in the foreword: 'for insight into the Beatles' personalities it is unparalleled.. it may even be the best book ever written about them.'
July 4, 2021
I had been searching for a book about the Beatles a while and I’m glad I got this one:) I really got to know them as persons and I really like that. This book was so honest and realistic on them and that’s what made it so good. It wasn’t perfect and jolly. They were very real and had flaws and weren’t always nice, but who would’ve been in their situation. It actually made me feel closer to them and like them better. The book very much described the atmosphere surrounding the Beatles beautifully. It felt as if you were there. I also really liked reading their conversations.
January 10, 2023
How do u make a boring book out of the most interesting band ever
October 28, 2024
Recently I visited Liverpool, did the Beatles bus tour, met one of the original Quarrymen and took a front pew at the Cavern Club for a simply joyous Beatles tribute act. It then occurred to me that, whist I grew up hearing the records and seeing the films in the cinema, I had never read a book about them. To whittle down the still growing list of hundreds of Beatles books, I consulted Rolling Stone magazine's top 10. So my Beatles fest of 3 books starts with this one, ranked at number 1.
The author Michael Braun was given exclusive access to ride along with the Beatles in 1963. This was the iconic year when they were breaking in the UK; they got there first No. 1 and Beatlemania had taken grip of the nations sanity and given it a good shake. In Watford, far from Merseyside, an evidently very with it small boy of 5 drew a stick men picture of the Beatles performing, signed it Roger and gave it to his father. It remained on his father's work notice board for 20 years until he retired.
Don't read this book for any historical information about the Beatles career. However, it is the nearest you will get to a fly on the wall, travelling with the boys in the days of hysteria when they toured the UK and went over to conquer the USA. It is a snapshot in time...at the perfect time. There is no detail or analysis, it is a simple, rapid, quick fire account of what was going on with or around them. It captures a lot of the humour and 'in' banter as they often had to huddle together against the world.
John Lennon later described this as his favourite Beatles book, saying that it depicted them as they were....b*stards. That is not at all the case. They come over as intelligent, quick witted and retaining a sense of humour as a counter to the barrage of inane questions and requests that were impossible to fulfil. They were often confined to their hotels, regularly eating meals in their rooms. They were constantly inveigled upon to meet a stream of people, within or without their inner sanctum. The same people who frequently could not be bothered to even learn which one was which, would then diss them and their music behind their backs (with the notable exception of the Times music correspondent!).
Apparently, according to the press, there were signs that they were 'past it' come the middle of 1963 and the USA was going to be a stage too far. History has thankfully judged otherwise. Wonderful.
The author Michael Braun was given exclusive access to ride along with the Beatles in 1963. This was the iconic year when they were breaking in the UK; they got there first No. 1 and Beatlemania had taken grip of the nations sanity and given it a good shake. In Watford, far from Merseyside, an evidently very with it small boy of 5 drew a stick men picture of the Beatles performing, signed it Roger and gave it to his father. It remained on his father's work notice board for 20 years until he retired.
Don't read this book for any historical information about the Beatles career. However, it is the nearest you will get to a fly on the wall, travelling with the boys in the days of hysteria when they toured the UK and went over to conquer the USA. It is a snapshot in time...at the perfect time. There is no detail or analysis, it is a simple, rapid, quick fire account of what was going on with or around them. It captures a lot of the humour and 'in' banter as they often had to huddle together against the world.
John Lennon later described this as his favourite Beatles book, saying that it depicted them as they were....b*stards. That is not at all the case. They come over as intelligent, quick witted and retaining a sense of humour as a counter to the barrage of inane questions and requests that were impossible to fulfil. They were often confined to their hotels, regularly eating meals in their rooms. They were constantly inveigled upon to meet a stream of people, within or without their inner sanctum. The same people who frequently could not be bothered to even learn which one was which, would then diss them and their music behind their backs (with the notable exception of the Times music correspondent!).
Apparently, according to the press, there were signs that they were 'past it' come the middle of 1963 and the USA was going to be a stage too far. History has thankfully judged otherwise. Wonderful.
August 11, 2016
I first heard about Love Me Do!: Beatles Progress on Rolling Stone's list of 10 best Beatle books--it was ranked in the top slot. I had to check it out for myself, and I sure am glad I did. I wish more people would write biographies like Michael Braun writes about the Beatles first years. There isn't much background biographical information in here, but rather it's like we're right there with the band. It shows the lack on competence of journalists, the ridiculousness of Beatle-crazed fans, and the out-of-the-loop nature of many who just want to see the spectacle. It's engrossing, addictive, and fascinating, both from a cultural standpoint, but also a historical stand point. This book is not easy to find--but try. It's well worth the read.
September 4, 2024
I picked this slender volume up because John Lennon said it was the only accurate book about the Beatles. I was surprised to find it’s a firsthand account of a journalist traveling with the Fab Four during the first bloom of Beatlemania, culminating with their (brief) US tour. As such the book functions as both a documenting of history but also historical document in its own right, depicting a world in which everyone (except for Brian Epstein) assumed that the Beatles were a passing fad of little importance.
It is interesting to note that a few inaccuracies made it into the book, including the odd statement that Stuart Sutcliffe died of leukemia. I would be curious if this was a simple error on the author’s part, a willful deception on the author’s part (why?) or a willful deception on the Beatles part (why again?).
It is interesting to note that a few inaccuracies made it into the book, including the odd statement that Stuart Sutcliffe died of leukemia. I would be curious if this was a simple error on the author’s part, a willful deception on the author’s part (why?) or a willful deception on the Beatles part (why again?).
November 8, 2025
Really 2.5 stars, rounded up because I'm not sure there could ever be another book like it about the Fab Four
Snapshots from the cloistered behind-the-scenes life with the Beatles. I didn't care for the style of Michael Braun's book, or some of his arch quips, but I did appreciate having these glimpses into well-established Beatlemania in Britain and the explosion of Beatlemania in America.
There's a lot in here about how some of the newspapers panned the Beatles early on. That was surely interesting to Braun, a journalist, but not to me. For me, Braun got in his own way here.
Snapshots from the cloistered behind-the-scenes life with the Beatles. I didn't care for the style of Michael Braun's book, or some of his arch quips, but I did appreciate having these glimpses into well-established Beatlemania in Britain and the explosion of Beatlemania in America.
There's a lot in here about how some of the newspapers panned the Beatles early on. That was surely interesting to Braun, a journalist, but not to me. For me, Braun got in his own way here.
September 22, 2019
Until finishing it last week, I’d never read “Love Me Do!: The Beatles’ Progress” – Michael Braun’s 1964 chronicle of Beatlemania in Britain and the U.S. – but I feel like I have.
That’s because whole sections of the book have been used in other Beatles biographies – I’m pretty sure I read some of the anecdotes in Nicholas Schaffner’s 1977 “The Beatles Forever” – and my shelves are full of Beatles biographies. For that matter, some of the passages ripped from Alun Owen’s script for “A Hard Day’s Night.” In fact, there were times I thought it might be the other way around -- that Owen had stolen sections from Braun’s book, given that Braun’s book begins in late 1963, not long after the October show that made “Beatlemania” into a literal household word.
“What will your film be about?” a reporter asks Paul McCartney after a show in Cambridge. “Sort of a fantasy type thing?”
“Well, yeah,” says Paul, who obviously has no idea. I wonder if Owen did at the time.
Yet, despite this familiarity, Braun’s book has the benefit of still seeming fresh. The Kindle edition I read had been based on a 1995 reissue with an introduction by the Beatle Brain himself, Mark Lewisohn, who praised it as perhaps “the best book ever written about them.” (This is before his own “Tune In” was released, of course, not to mention Bob Spitz’s biography and not long after Ian MacDonald’s “Revolution in the Head.”)
Braun, an American working for British media, is an engaging writer and had the boldness – at the time – of presenting the Beatles warts and all, making jokes at others’ expense and drinking actual alcohol, and presumably taking up the offers of some of their female fans. No less an expert than John Lennon said it was “a true book. He wrote how we were, which was bastards.” But Lennon, who was in the midst of his post-Beatles flagellation when he said that to Jann Wenner, overstates the case: What comes across in Braun’s book is a companion to “A Hard Day’s Night,” except without the occasional quietude of the movie’s escapist sequences.
Indeed, it’s amazing the group was as funny and resilient as they were, given the meat grinder of early Beatlemania. Imagine being trapped in your own fame, your own lives. Wherever you go, you’re surrounded by security. You have to be, otherwise you’d be ripped apart by fans. Your managers – Brian Epstein, who maintains a loving distance, and Brian Sommerville, who handles publicity and appears frequently on the verge of quitting (which he did not long after) – have to protect you at all costs from … everything. The media keeps asking you how long you’ll last, and you wonder the same thing, since mere months earlier you were nobody, just four Northern lads struggling to impress the moguls in London.
My favorite quote about Beatlemania is from the acerbic George Harrison, who once said, “They gave their money, and they gave their screams. But the Beatles kind of gave their nervous systems. They used us as an excuse to go mad, the world did, and then blamed it on us.” But “Love Me Do!” has perhaps a more pertinent quote, from Paul after a concert in York: “Oh my God, my ulcer.”
I could only think: 21-year-old Paul McCartney had an ulcer?
So if the group in “Love Me Do!” are bastards, they’d earned the right. Here are the sniffy Americans grimacing at their hair. Here are the cops rolling their eyes. Here are the media asking for autographs, then waiting to tear down the pedestal they’d just built. (Epstein to a reporter after an American show: “Great, just great … the best reception ever.” Reporter: “Would you say it was the best reception ever?”) At one point, Harrison mutters on a plane, “Why don’t you leave us alone?”
And yet the group couldn’t help but be their cheeky selves. A BBC reporter asks John, “The French have not made up their minds about the Beatles. What do you think of them?” Lennon responds, “Oh, we like the Beatles. They’re gear.” Paul, whom Jane Asher characterizes as “insecure” (Paul?), lights up at the prospects of trying new things, like foreign films and intellectual repartee – things that likely wouldn’t have been available to a working-class teacher in Liverpool. And the JFK press conference still makes me laugh.
Braun, too, gets his licks in. He notes that the most dissonant sound to be heard in the Plaza Hotel ballroom is “the rare one of too much vermouth pouring into a martini,” and that “only Time [magazine] and the New Yorker used the word ‘coleopteran’ (the New Yorker being the only one to use it correctly).”
“Coleopteran,” incidentally, means “beetle-like.” I had to look it up. Now, there’s a similar word, “Beatleseque,” and nobody has to look it up.
Paul may have been insecure, but he knew there was something happening, even if others outside their bubble didn’t know what it is. At one point, Braun asks John and Paul if they’re going to change into song-and-dance men. John offers a flat, “We don’t want to learn to dance or take elocution lessons,” but Paul is a bit more expansive.
“People keep asking us whether we’re going to broaden our scope,” he says. “I don’t know whether we will or not. One of the things about us is that we intrigue people. We seem a little bit different.”
To say the least. And for tidbits like that, even with the story told a hundred times or more, “Love Me Do!” remains an excellent investment.
That’s because whole sections of the book have been used in other Beatles biographies – I’m pretty sure I read some of the anecdotes in Nicholas Schaffner’s 1977 “The Beatles Forever” – and my shelves are full of Beatles biographies. For that matter, some of the passages ripped from Alun Owen’s script for “A Hard Day’s Night.” In fact, there were times I thought it might be the other way around -- that Owen had stolen sections from Braun’s book, given that Braun’s book begins in late 1963, not long after the October show that made “Beatlemania” into a literal household word.
“What will your film be about?” a reporter asks Paul McCartney after a show in Cambridge. “Sort of a fantasy type thing?”
“Well, yeah,” says Paul, who obviously has no idea. I wonder if Owen did at the time.
Yet, despite this familiarity, Braun’s book has the benefit of still seeming fresh. The Kindle edition I read had been based on a 1995 reissue with an introduction by the Beatle Brain himself, Mark Lewisohn, who praised it as perhaps “the best book ever written about them.” (This is before his own “Tune In” was released, of course, not to mention Bob Spitz’s biography and not long after Ian MacDonald’s “Revolution in the Head.”)
Braun, an American working for British media, is an engaging writer and had the boldness – at the time – of presenting the Beatles warts and all, making jokes at others’ expense and drinking actual alcohol, and presumably taking up the offers of some of their female fans. No less an expert than John Lennon said it was “a true book. He wrote how we were, which was bastards.” But Lennon, who was in the midst of his post-Beatles flagellation when he said that to Jann Wenner, overstates the case: What comes across in Braun’s book is a companion to “A Hard Day’s Night,” except without the occasional quietude of the movie’s escapist sequences.
Indeed, it’s amazing the group was as funny and resilient as they were, given the meat grinder of early Beatlemania. Imagine being trapped in your own fame, your own lives. Wherever you go, you’re surrounded by security. You have to be, otherwise you’d be ripped apart by fans. Your managers – Brian Epstein, who maintains a loving distance, and Brian Sommerville, who handles publicity and appears frequently on the verge of quitting (which he did not long after) – have to protect you at all costs from … everything. The media keeps asking you how long you’ll last, and you wonder the same thing, since mere months earlier you were nobody, just four Northern lads struggling to impress the moguls in London.
My favorite quote about Beatlemania is from the acerbic George Harrison, who once said, “They gave their money, and they gave their screams. But the Beatles kind of gave their nervous systems. They used us as an excuse to go mad, the world did, and then blamed it on us.” But “Love Me Do!” has perhaps a more pertinent quote, from Paul after a concert in York: “Oh my God, my ulcer.”
I could only think: 21-year-old Paul McCartney had an ulcer?
So if the group in “Love Me Do!” are bastards, they’d earned the right. Here are the sniffy Americans grimacing at their hair. Here are the cops rolling their eyes. Here are the media asking for autographs, then waiting to tear down the pedestal they’d just built. (Epstein to a reporter after an American show: “Great, just great … the best reception ever.” Reporter: “Would you say it was the best reception ever?”) At one point, Harrison mutters on a plane, “Why don’t you leave us alone?”
And yet the group couldn’t help but be their cheeky selves. A BBC reporter asks John, “The French have not made up their minds about the Beatles. What do you think of them?” Lennon responds, “Oh, we like the Beatles. They’re gear.” Paul, whom Jane Asher characterizes as “insecure” (Paul?), lights up at the prospects of trying new things, like foreign films and intellectual repartee – things that likely wouldn’t have been available to a working-class teacher in Liverpool. And the JFK press conference still makes me laugh.
Braun, too, gets his licks in. He notes that the most dissonant sound to be heard in the Plaza Hotel ballroom is “the rare one of too much vermouth pouring into a martini,” and that “only Time [magazine] and the New Yorker used the word ‘coleopteran’ (the New Yorker being the only one to use it correctly).”
“Coleopteran,” incidentally, means “beetle-like.” I had to look it up. Now, there’s a similar word, “Beatleseque,” and nobody has to look it up.
Paul may have been insecure, but he knew there was something happening, even if others outside their bubble didn’t know what it is. At one point, Braun asks John and Paul if they’re going to change into song-and-dance men. John offers a flat, “We don’t want to learn to dance or take elocution lessons,” but Paul is a bit more expansive.
“People keep asking us whether we’re going to broaden our scope,” he says. “I don’t know whether we will or not. One of the things about us is that we intrigue people. We seem a little bit different.”
To say the least. And for tidbits like that, even with the story told a hundred times or more, “Love Me Do!” remains an excellent investment.
February 2, 2020
The best book about The Beatles I've read, and I've read a few - but not obsessively. If you love something (or someone), don't examine it (or them) too closely. A little ignorance is some kind of bliss. Leave it to a sociologist (quoted toward the end of the book) to sum up (the very much not phoney) Beatlemania, thus: "... people see four basically nice young boys who project some of the same contradictions that exist in many Americans, who are having a wonderful time at the acceptable expense of both themselves and their audience, who have expressed their gratitude for this fling and who have promised a graceful adjustment to the time when the party will be over." And leave it to John to sum up the upsum - "he wrote how we were, which was bastards."
September 6, 2020
A repress of the original 1963 biography on the Beatles. Surprsingly honest account of the band.
January 23, 2024
With behind the scenes dialogue from “the boys”, newspaper clippings, and quotations from some of the biggest names of the time (Billy Graham?), Braun captures the Beatlemania days well. His narrative is detached, but warm.
Your dad might be a legacy fan, but little girls made them famous. Remember: A teenaged girl is screaming. Listen and learn.
Your dad might be a legacy fan, but little girls made them famous. Remember: A teenaged girl is screaming. Listen and learn.
August 2, 2024
3,75*. Apesar de ter como tema a minha banda favorita, por vezes torna-se confuso e sem uma linha de raciocínio. Simples, por vezes até demasiado.
July 20, 2020
A fascinating little read in places, especially the interviews and fly on the wall observations in the hotel rooms, but it fizzles out in the American chapters and the newspaper excerpts and fan letters are dated and rarely insightful, and don't justify their inclusion.
September 12, 2016
If you ever wished you were a fly on the wall in a Beatles dressing room, this is the book for you! The book is written in snippets of conversations overheard here and there by the author so the format is not the smoothest but it's a wonderful insiders view of beatlemania in 1963.
January 15, 2023
A minha opinião sobre este livro pode ser lida aqui: https://www.instagram.com/p/CmwmlDUMmKA/
February 27, 2024
I was a little disappointed by this one since it's been called the "Number One Beatles Book" when it felt like just a long, slightly above average magazine article on the band. (I've only read one Beatles book and that was the gossipy The Love You Make in high school, but I feel like I will read a better one day than this one day, like say that big Lewisohn book). Apparently this caused controversy at the time because it revealed that the Beatles used foul language and drank alcohol! (And some refused to believe it was true). Definitely a valuable document as there is interesting info about the madness and banality of their touring process and some fun conversations recounted. It just feels like more could have been made out of the extraordinary access the writer was given to hang out with the Beatles. For example he's there at the first Ed Sullivan appearance and it only merits a few pages, whereas much is more devoted to quotations by "scholars" and outraged editorialists. The most interesting part for me were all the fan letters he quotes in full, some of which were surprisingly thoughtful. He ends with a long quote from H.G. Wells' Time Machine for reasons known only to the author.
May 5, 2022
I have an original 1964 printing of this, for which I paid the princely sum of 40p in the early 80s (the price on the jacket says 4/6, equivalent to 22 and a half New Pee). Braun's account, which ends with the Beatles' triumphant storming of America in early 1964, can lay claim to be the first and truest account of Beatlemania. Unlike even the earliest retellings of the Beatles' career, such as Hunter Davies' 1968 authorised biography, so much still lay ahead when this book came out that it has the flavour of dispatches from the front line. Almost from the off, the British press were fiercely protective of the Beatles' image, but Braun, as an American, has no patriotic qualms about repeating verbatim the lads' often salty language. Many of the quips and anecdotes that found their way into subsequent endless retellings of the Beatles story had their origins here.
Braun pads out his slim volume with lengthy extracts from the contemporary press and fan letters and ends with three pages of H.G Well's The Time Machine. Perhaps more of a historical curio than an essential read, but still enjoyable. 4 stars.
Braun pads out his slim volume with lengthy extracts from the contemporary press and fan letters and ends with three pages of H.G Well's The Time Machine. Perhaps more of a historical curio than an essential read, but still enjoyable. 4 stars.
May 16, 2025
This is the best (though not necessarily most essential!) Beatles book I've ever read. It is also the earliest reputable Beatles biography, published way back in 1964. Braun spent months in the Beatles inner-circle, during the fascinating period when they were huge in Britain, but not yet international superstars. The reader is made part of their entourage as they tour their home country, push into Paris, and finally conquer America. Because the band wasn't nearly as big as they would become, Braun is able to get surprisingly close to them, to record intimate conversations and inside jokes. The Beatles discuss their insecurities, their views about their place in the culture, sometimes their imposter syndromes. The portraits are often unflattering, and always feel authentic. We get glimpses of them cultivating their image, working on their verbal back-and-forth, preparing for the big press conferences that are just around the corner. In terms of feeling the excitement of the band, and feeling dropped into their world, the only comparable piece of media is the Get Back documentary. I'm very glad to have found this short, fast-paced, fascinating book.
July 29, 2025
Prefer a print edition if possible
This book lasted me less than a week. It's an easy and mostly enjoyable read. It's a sort of travel diary written by a journalist who accompanied the Beatles for most of 1963. It comes across as a fairly direct narration of the experiences without much filter or spin. It only covers a fraction of the story of the Beatles but it does so in quite a convincing and compelling way.
The focus is perhaps more on beatlemania than the band or their music, and the first person experience bits are liberally interspersed with secondary sources such as letters, press cuttings, even an extract from an H. G. Wells book.
The quality of the Kindle edition is shockingly bad, there are chunks of repeated text, misspelled words, missing words, one of the chapter titles has a typo in it. I suspect this was the result of an optical character recognition scan which went on sale without being properly proof-read. If you want to read it, prefer a print edition if you can get one.
I would rate this book higher if it wasn't for all the typos which were really distracting.
This book lasted me less than a week. It's an easy and mostly enjoyable read. It's a sort of travel diary written by a journalist who accompanied the Beatles for most of 1963. It comes across as a fairly direct narration of the experiences without much filter or spin. It only covers a fraction of the story of the Beatles but it does so in quite a convincing and compelling way.
The focus is perhaps more on beatlemania than the band or their music, and the first person experience bits are liberally interspersed with secondary sources such as letters, press cuttings, even an extract from an H. G. Wells book.
The quality of the Kindle edition is shockingly bad, there are chunks of repeated text, misspelled words, missing words, one of the chapter titles has a typo in it. I suspect this was the result of an optical character recognition scan which went on sale without being properly proof-read. If you want to read it, prefer a print edition if you can get one.
I would rate this book higher if it wasn't for all the typos which were really distracting.
November 18, 2024
This was a fast-paced book, which I think was both a good thing and a bad thing. There's a lot of action happening that keeps you as a reader enthralled, but there were also moments when the timeline got confusing and things cut away too quickly to really leave you in a moment.
I liked how various fan letters and opinions from journalists were interspersed throughout. Braun gave a lot of context for the general reception of The Beatles and Beatlemania, and it was cool to get insight as he observed not only the Beatles, but the people around them.
Which leads me to maybe my biggest issue -- not enough Beatles???
We get so much of them spending nights listless in hotel rooms, their various moods and snarky responses as the monotony and exhaustion of three- or four-show days sets in. They were just kids thrown into an impossible situation, but it seems that, although we caught glimpses of them as their true selves, Braun only just scratched the surface.
Even a few months in the life of the Fab Four are too eventful to be covered in only 150 pages.
I liked how various fan letters and opinions from journalists were interspersed throughout. Braun gave a lot of context for the general reception of The Beatles and Beatlemania, and it was cool to get insight as he observed not only the Beatles, but the people around them.
Which leads me to maybe my biggest issue -- not enough Beatles???
We get so much of them spending nights listless in hotel rooms, their various moods and snarky responses as the monotony and exhaustion of three- or four-show days sets in. They were just kids thrown into an impossible situation, but it seems that, although we caught glimpses of them as their true selves, Braun only just scratched the surface.
Even a few months in the life of the Fab Four are too eventful to be covered in only 150 pages.
March 5, 2025
Trying to find the words to explain why exactly I don't think book quite worked for me is hard...the front claims "#1 Beatles book" and maybe it was once but I don't think so anymore and I've read over 50 books relating to them. There's something about the way the author wrote this. Yes he had a backstage view into the goings-on at the beginning of Beatlemania but it is written in the most boring way! I mean this is the freaking Beatles we're talking about and it seems so...unenthusiastic. It's like just written so matter of factly (i.e. "first this happens then someone does this then he says that). And then it somehow also manages to be somewhat disorganized/all over the place. I'd say the random fanmail/news articles don't help in that manner because they seem to be placed with no logical explanation. Anyway, it's still Beatles related so I'll give it 3 stars but overall, this was quite disappointing for me.
Grade: C
Grade: C
October 4, 2025
As a longtime Beatles fan and reader of any Beatles book I can get my hands on- how had I not come across this before?! I loved it!
The Rolling Stone review said “This is as close to a Beatles ride-along as you’ll get”, and I can’t put it any better. Michael Braun followed them for the last few months of 1963 and witnessed the insane tumult of their rise to superstardom.
The book is written in short bursts, much of it direct quotes from the boys or observations of small surreal moments. Braun’s “snapshot” style fits the material well. I can appreciate a lengthy Beatles tome that indulges in a lot of analysis, but this book makes its points by showing you two scenes consecutively and allowing you to draw your own conclusions.
I enjoyed getting to eavesdrop on the many funny side conversations the author overheard among fans, staff and police.
4 / 5 stars. I recommend this one to any Beatles fan. It’s a lot of fun.
The Rolling Stone review said “This is as close to a Beatles ride-along as you’ll get”, and I can’t put it any better. Michael Braun followed them for the last few months of 1963 and witnessed the insane tumult of their rise to superstardom.
The book is written in short bursts, much of it direct quotes from the boys or observations of small surreal moments. Braun’s “snapshot” style fits the material well. I can appreciate a lengthy Beatles tome that indulges in a lot of analysis, but this book makes its points by showing you two scenes consecutively and allowing you to draw your own conclusions.
I enjoyed getting to eavesdrop on the many funny side conversations the author overheard among fans, staff and police.
4 / 5 stars. I recommend this one to any Beatles fan. It’s a lot of fun.
January 9, 2026
Imagine you have a cool cousin who managed to get you in The Beatles' dressing rooms and hotel suites, it would be surreal and once in a lifetime experience, no? But the problem is, this is not really happening to you, which would probably take most of the excitement out of this experience, and probably that's my problem with this book, it's no more than snippets of how things were during the Beatlemania, and how The Beatles were and how they behaved, the snippets maybe smartly selected, but still snippets, plus they get really repetitive, overall the book doesn't have much to offer beyond some interesting interviews and how it captured The Beatles at a certain moment in time. The book is not about music, it's not about culture, it's not about the history of one of the most influential bands in all time, it's about the Beatlemania, and even when it comes to trying to capture that, it falls short for all that hype it received.
November 12, 2022
Uma desilusão. Primeiro, o conteúdo: nada de substancial, apenas o desfilar de historietas e episódios, curiosos e/ou engraçados os quais, nada acrescentam a tudo aquilo que foi escrito (e dito) sobre os Beatles. Depois, a edição portuguesa: na capa, o antetítulo “O Melhor Livro dos Beatles de Todos os Tempos” deixava adivinhar o pior (nem o livro é dos Beatles, mas SOBRE os Beatles, nem é de “todos os tempos”, mas de somente três ou quatro meses coincidindo com o início de Beatlemania) e o pior confirmou-se - a tradução de Maria Ferro é miserável! Estou triste por escrever isto: por razões diversas que não são para aqui chamadas, à editora Guerra & Paz ligam-me alguns laços que serão sempre indestrutíveis!
March 21, 2024
This book was unlike anything I expected out of a Beatles book. Michael Braun writes from the perspective of a fly on the wall that constantly follows the Beatles throughout the year of 1963. This approach was so interesting because it really feels like you’re right there with them, which I’m sure was the full intent. The book is so raw and so genuine that I loved reading it almost every page. From infamous moments like the Ed Sullivan show to reading quotes and getting the full context of the situation, this book covered it all. I also really loved all the newspaper clippings and letters that he included which further immerses the reader by showing them how the Beatles were recieved by the public in ‘63. If you are a Beatles fan, you absolutely need to read this book.
February 18, 2024
For the avid Beatles fan this book is a perfect quick read! From addressing the progression of the Beatles during the rise of Beatlemania for sure was enjoyable to read conversations from interviews, in hotel rooms, notes and letters from crazed fans, and the travels they did during that time. The only reason why I rated it a 4/5 is because for a person just getting into the Beatles or this is the first time reading about them this is not the book. It doesn't go in depth with the surrounding people who also run the show of the Beatles so to hear Brian Epstein and not really understands how much he did makes this book feel less valuable. But, all in all this book was a great read.
May 26, 2017
I can see why John Lennon rated this book so highly. It's unusual in that it doesn't seem to be hiding anything or trying to present a false or polished image of The Beatles. It's raw and all the better for it. And this is especially unusual given that it was published at the height of Beatlemania, when you'd think protecting the band's initial squeaky clean image would have been paramount.
This is probably as close as the rest of us are going to get at seeing what it was really like. And what they - the band - were really like. Definitely a hidden gem for Beatles fans.
This is probably as close as the rest of us are going to get at seeing what it was really like. And what they - the band - were really like. Definitely a hidden gem for Beatles fans.
January 17, 2022
An amazing look into the everyday lives of the just booming Beatles. Although the book can get rather repetitive at times, it works in the scheme of the overall idea, showing just how tiring this lifestyle can be. Braun uses a great diverse selection of quotes and stories from the boys themselves. Making this one of the most lively books explaining the life of The Beatles. The author does a phenomenal job of bringing the pages alive, where you feel you are almost in the room with these boys at times. This is a must read for any Beatles fan.
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