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The Love You Make: An Insider's Story of the Beatles
The national bestseller that Newsday called “the most authoritative and candid look yet at the personal lives…of the oft-scrutinized group,” from the author of All You Need Is The Beatles in Their Own Words.In The Love You Make, Peter Brown, a close friend of and business manager for the band—and the best man at John and Yoko’s wedding—presents a complete look at the dramatic offstage odyssey of the four lads from Liverpool who established the greatest music phenomenon of the twentieth century. Written with the full cooperation of each of the group’s members and their intimates, this book tells the inside story of the music and the madness, the feuds and the drugs, the marriages and the affairs—from the greatest heights to the self-destructive depths of the Fab Four.In-depth and definitive, The Love You Make is an astonishing account of four men who transformed the way a whole generation of young people thought and lived. It reigns as the most comprehensive, revealing biography available of John, Paul, George, and Ringo.Includes 32 pages of rare and revealing photosA Literary Guild® Alternate Selection
460 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1983
281 people are currently reading
2249 people want to read
About the author
Peter Brown
4 books4 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Peter Brown is an American-based English businessman. He was part of the Beatles' management team as Epstein's and the Beatles' personal assistant. He was involved in founding Apple Corps and served as board member. After Epstein's death, he took over his duties. After the Beatles disbanded in 1970, Brown went on to establish several companies (such as the Entertainment Development Company and Brown & Powers - now BLJ Worldwide).
Peter Brown is an American-based English businessman. He was part of the Beatles' management team as Epstein's and the Beatles' personal assistant. He was involved in founding Apple Corps and served as board member. After Epstein's death, he took over his duties. After the Beatles disbanded in 1970, Brown went on to establish several companies (such as the Entertainment Development Company and Brown & Powers - now BLJ Worldwide).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 198 reviews
November 21, 2016
2.5 stars -- On the book jacket of the edition I am reading, Paul looks ready to punch the photographer, George looks disgusted, Ringo seems despondent and John looks as if he’s plotting something evil. This will give you a clue of what’s inside THE LOVE YOU MAKE, one of the most controversial Beatles biographies.
While some have painted it as a shag-a-minute scandal sheet, it isn’t really. That said, the writer peppers the pages with exasperating phrases such as “revealed here for the first time” and tries to recreate conversations and scenes he admittedly wasn’t within miles of. I don’t think Peter Brown wrote the book either, but rather suspect it was written almost entirely by his collaborator.
When a mistake jumped out at me within the first couple of pages, I knew right off the bat that other reviewers’ warnings of the large number of factual errors would hold true.
-The author describes John sitting in his sunroom at Kenwood, under a cabinet with a decal reading “MILK IS GOOD.” Photos of John’s sunroom are a dime a dozen, and the decal clearly reads “SAFE AS MILK.” (This was on page 2!)
-When George auditions for the group, we are told he played a song named “Ranchee” for them in a bar, and the other band members are unimpressed. Erm, actually, the song is called RAUNCHY, he played it on the top seats of a double-decker bus, and the guys are very impressed—this is recounted many times in interviews with the Beatles themselves!
-When John, George, and their wives are unwittingly dosed with LSD by the dentist, the author attributes the quote “you can sit by me only if you don’t talk,” to Pattie Harrison, when in actuality it was John who said that…once again, this is recounted in later interviews with John.
-When Brian Epstein dies while the Beatles are studying with the Maharishi, the author maintains that they responded with stupid and flippant quotes to the press. Did he see a different film than I have? What I see is a group of human beings who are profoundly shocked, staring and stuttering at the throng of reporters, as any of us would be upon hearing such awful news.
-The author messes up both the title and lyrics of Paul’s song “Too Many People.”
-The Yoko, Inc. story of John’s househusband phase is accepted without question. After the Lost Weekend, we are told, he never again touched drugs in favor of carting around a toddler and baking bread. According to John himself and just about everyone besides Yoko, this wasn’t the case.
-In a Dewey-defeats-Truman moment, the writer mocks Neil Aspinall’s work collecting Beatles archival footage as a “pathetic project.” This turned out to be the Beatles Anthology!
These are just everyday things I caught. I’m not an expert. I can’t tell you what Ringo had for breakfast on Jan. 3, 1967 like some folks seemingly can. There are no doubt many more mistakes that the Beatleologists have caught.
At the same time, some of the things that were probably scandalous at the book’s release have now been confirmed by others and passed into the canon of accepted fact, like that Yoko stalked John for months, trying to get his attention and art patronage before he began paying attention to her.
With such a mishmash of solid info and flights of fancy, the real shame in this book is that it’s so hard to separate the two. There’s a roaring fantastic Lennon quote from when the Beatles visit Greece—“What good is the Parthenon without LSD?” yet because of this book’s untrustworthy nature readers have no idea if it’s true or not. I also laughed out loud at Aunt Mimi snapping at George’s mother Louise, “You thing! We’d all have had lovely peaceful lives but for you encouraging them!” Yet once again, I have no idea if it’s real. The author can offer up a funny turn of phrase, too, such as “There was also more baggism [sic], in which [John and Yoko] appeared inside large canvas bags and made noises at public events.”
Is THE LOVE YOU MAKE mean to the Beatles? At times it indeed is, but it’s not the character smear offered up by some people like Goldman. I’d argue that it’s meaner to Brian Epstein, especially written as it was in a far more homophobic time.
Should Beatles fans read this book? Sure, but don’t make it the first or only Beatles book you read—get a good grip on the facts first. And be sure to take it all with a shovelful of salt, as well.
While some have painted it as a shag-a-minute scandal sheet, it isn’t really. That said, the writer peppers the pages with exasperating phrases such as “revealed here for the first time” and tries to recreate conversations and scenes he admittedly wasn’t within miles of. I don’t think Peter Brown wrote the book either, but rather suspect it was written almost entirely by his collaborator.
When a mistake jumped out at me within the first couple of pages, I knew right off the bat that other reviewers’ warnings of the large number of factual errors would hold true.
-The author describes John sitting in his sunroom at Kenwood, under a cabinet with a decal reading “MILK IS GOOD.” Photos of John’s sunroom are a dime a dozen, and the decal clearly reads “SAFE AS MILK.” (This was on page 2!)
-When George auditions for the group, we are told he played a song named “Ranchee” for them in a bar, and the other band members are unimpressed. Erm, actually, the song is called RAUNCHY, he played it on the top seats of a double-decker bus, and the guys are very impressed—this is recounted many times in interviews with the Beatles themselves!
-When John, George, and their wives are unwittingly dosed with LSD by the dentist, the author attributes the quote “you can sit by me only if you don’t talk,” to Pattie Harrison, when in actuality it was John who said that…once again, this is recounted in later interviews with John.
-When Brian Epstein dies while the Beatles are studying with the Maharishi, the author maintains that they responded with stupid and flippant quotes to the press. Did he see a different film than I have? What I see is a group of human beings who are profoundly shocked, staring and stuttering at the throng of reporters, as any of us would be upon hearing such awful news.
-The author messes up both the title and lyrics of Paul’s song “Too Many People.”
-The Yoko, Inc. story of John’s househusband phase is accepted without question. After the Lost Weekend, we are told, he never again touched drugs in favor of carting around a toddler and baking bread. According to John himself and just about everyone besides Yoko, this wasn’t the case.
-In a Dewey-defeats-Truman moment, the writer mocks Neil Aspinall’s work collecting Beatles archival footage as a “pathetic project.” This turned out to be the Beatles Anthology!
These are just everyday things I caught. I’m not an expert. I can’t tell you what Ringo had for breakfast on Jan. 3, 1967 like some folks seemingly can. There are no doubt many more mistakes that the Beatleologists have caught.
At the same time, some of the things that were probably scandalous at the book’s release have now been confirmed by others and passed into the canon of accepted fact, like that Yoko stalked John for months, trying to get his attention and art patronage before he began paying attention to her.
With such a mishmash of solid info and flights of fancy, the real shame in this book is that it’s so hard to separate the two. There’s a roaring fantastic Lennon quote from when the Beatles visit Greece—“What good is the Parthenon without LSD?” yet because of this book’s untrustworthy nature readers have no idea if it’s true or not. I also laughed out loud at Aunt Mimi snapping at George’s mother Louise, “You thing! We’d all have had lovely peaceful lives but for you encouraging them!” Yet once again, I have no idea if it’s real. The author can offer up a funny turn of phrase, too, such as “There was also more baggism [sic], in which [John and Yoko] appeared inside large canvas bags and made noises at public events.”
Is THE LOVE YOU MAKE mean to the Beatles? At times it indeed is, but it’s not the character smear offered up by some people like Goldman. I’d argue that it’s meaner to Brian Epstein, especially written as it was in a far more homophobic time.
Should Beatles fans read this book? Sure, but don’t make it the first or only Beatles book you read—get a good grip on the facts first. And be sure to take it all with a shovelful of salt, as well.
April 12, 2015
I loved this book! Actually, I read it aloud to my husband each evening and we enjoyed it very much. This is a book on everything you didn't know about the Beatles and everything perhaps you are really not sure you want to know about the Beatles. Peter Brown was an insider into the Beatles' beginnings, a manager at Apple and follows them through the dissolution of the group.
The book begins with their early lives in Liverpool, their Hamburg gigs and their entry into the London pop world. Brown really emphasizes each of the Beatles' unique personalities. John, the angry and often rude "working class hero", George the young, underage brat, Ringo the most normal of the four northern blokes and of course Paul.
Paul clearly was the most different of the fab four. He always aspired to be more cultured, more in tune with society and what was expected of him. Image was everything to Paul and he couldn't abide to have his image tarnished. After several pot busts with Linda, he still managed to maintain a fairly clean cut image.
There are so many juicy tidbits to this story. The section on how Yoko moved in on the married John and became obsessed with making him her own, the sexist manner in which George flatly refused Patty Boyd his wife to have a career and was just happy to have her cooking at home. Of course, along came Eric Clapton to steal Patty away from George. Then there was Ringo's wife Maureen who ended up sleeping with George!
It is clear that although the Beatles moved on to become one of the most famous bands ever, they could not get that "northern man" mentality out of them. After all, they still were products of the fifties. There was no taking the Liverpool out of these guys! It's sad toward the end when Paul tried to reconcile with John right before his death, that John flatly refused anything to do with Paul. He was so enmeshed with Yoko that if anyone rejected her, he'd have nothing to do with them as well.
Many people blame Yoko for the Beatles breakup. However, according to Brown, Paul and the Eastmans had a great deal to contribute to the growing animosity between the four. Paul really tried to take control, treated the group as if he were in charge and demanded his own way. So many things went right at times for the Beatles but so many things went terribly wrong! Mismanagement and greedy folks taking advantage of the Beatles as well as the ever present "taxman" of England wiped them clean time and again.
They were so young when they started off and it was amazing to follow their personal growth, who they were involved with and the book dispels so many of the Beatles' myths out there. This was truly an eye opener, a truly FAB read!
The book begins with their early lives in Liverpool, their Hamburg gigs and their entry into the London pop world. Brown really emphasizes each of the Beatles' unique personalities. John, the angry and often rude "working class hero", George the young, underage brat, Ringo the most normal of the four northern blokes and of course Paul.
Paul clearly was the most different of the fab four. He always aspired to be more cultured, more in tune with society and what was expected of him. Image was everything to Paul and he couldn't abide to have his image tarnished. After several pot busts with Linda, he still managed to maintain a fairly clean cut image.
There are so many juicy tidbits to this story. The section on how Yoko moved in on the married John and became obsessed with making him her own, the sexist manner in which George flatly refused Patty Boyd his wife to have a career and was just happy to have her cooking at home. Of course, along came Eric Clapton to steal Patty away from George. Then there was Ringo's wife Maureen who ended up sleeping with George!
It is clear that although the Beatles moved on to become one of the most famous bands ever, they could not get that "northern man" mentality out of them. After all, they still were products of the fifties. There was no taking the Liverpool out of these guys! It's sad toward the end when Paul tried to reconcile with John right before his death, that John flatly refused anything to do with Paul. He was so enmeshed with Yoko that if anyone rejected her, he'd have nothing to do with them as well.
Many people blame Yoko for the Beatles breakup. However, according to Brown, Paul and the Eastmans had a great deal to contribute to the growing animosity between the four. Paul really tried to take control, treated the group as if he were in charge and demanded his own way. So many things went right at times for the Beatles but so many things went terribly wrong! Mismanagement and greedy folks taking advantage of the Beatles as well as the ever present "taxman" of England wiped them clean time and again.
They were so young when they started off and it was amazing to follow their personal growth, who they were involved with and the book dispels so many of the Beatles' myths out there. This was truly an eye opener, a truly FAB read!
December 1, 2007
I just remember hating this one - Peter Brown seemed to remember all the bad times and the miserable anecdotes.
November 1, 2013
I read this 1983 Beatle bio many years ago and decided to give it another read. I don't remember what I thought at the time but, this time around, I thought, "Oh, the misery."
According to Peter Brown, being a Beatle was a nightmare. This is likely due in no small part to the fact that Brown and Gaines managed to include every negative aspect of every member in this cast of characters. Brian hates his homosexuality, Paul is greedy, George is a lothario, Ringo is a third rate Beatle, John is an asshole, Yoko has serious emotional problems, etc. On and on, page after page of tabloid gossip and sadness.
My understanding is that a lot of these people granted interviews and disclosed tons of personal information only to find themselves essentially trashed. Brown was more or less cut off from The Beatles and their inner circle following the book's publication. After the picture painted by the authors, it's hard to imagine any other reaction.
On the other hand, it is of value to note that The Beatles and friends were not mythical beings. They were very human with myriad human flaws. John really was an asshole, making fun of the handicapped, beating his wives, being the perfect absentee father to Julian. Eventually, after lots of mysticism and primal scream therapy, he found some kind of peace and began to make amends in his life. Had Chapman not cut Lennon's life short, a great tale of redemption may have played out. As it is, Brown denigrates each of Lennon's efforts as each being "The Next Big Thing," making light of the spiritual journey Lennon was trying to undertake. He treats all The Beatles this way and all their friends and business associates. In the end, you just don't get a complete picture.
This is a very quick and easy read for being just shy of 400 pages long. Anyone interested in the dirty little secrets will enjoy this book. Those seeking insight into who The Beatles were, however, will get only a drab, poorly executed caricature.
According to Peter Brown, being a Beatle was a nightmare. This is likely due in no small part to the fact that Brown and Gaines managed to include every negative aspect of every member in this cast of characters. Brian hates his homosexuality, Paul is greedy, George is a lothario, Ringo is a third rate Beatle, John is an asshole, Yoko has serious emotional problems, etc. On and on, page after page of tabloid gossip and sadness.
My understanding is that a lot of these people granted interviews and disclosed tons of personal information only to find themselves essentially trashed. Brown was more or less cut off from The Beatles and their inner circle following the book's publication. After the picture painted by the authors, it's hard to imagine any other reaction.
On the other hand, it is of value to note that The Beatles and friends were not mythical beings. They were very human with myriad human flaws. John really was an asshole, making fun of the handicapped, beating his wives, being the perfect absentee father to Julian. Eventually, after lots of mysticism and primal scream therapy, he found some kind of peace and began to make amends in his life. Had Chapman not cut Lennon's life short, a great tale of redemption may have played out. As it is, Brown denigrates each of Lennon's efforts as each being "The Next Big Thing," making light of the spiritual journey Lennon was trying to undertake. He treats all The Beatles this way and all their friends and business associates. In the end, you just don't get a complete picture.
This is a very quick and easy read for being just shy of 400 pages long. Anyone interested in the dirty little secrets will enjoy this book. Those seeking insight into who The Beatles were, however, will get only a drab, poorly executed caricature.
August 15, 2011
Still the best Beatles book I've ever read(and I have read many!)
August 24, 2025
well i know a lot about the beatles now.
3.5
3.5
June 10, 2016
Complete and utter CRAP. Just look at the pic of the author on the back (original) cover......and this will be no surprise. Fantastical garbage, written as if the author was somehow a little (retarded and very dishonest) bird, sitting nearby EVERYONE, at EVERY moment mentioned in this book. And somehow able to hear and memorize everything. It also speaks lies about Paul. If you are a true Beatle fan......stay far away from this bound joke of daft drivel, it will anger you (if you have any good sense at all).
April 22, 2019
Fame does some crazy things to people. Sometimes famous people started out as straight-up rotten (looking at you, Lennon) and sometimes people have the rotten foisted on them, and sometimes they stay sane, but the Beatles seem to have all the bad stuff as a common denominator. The author was a Beatles insider and so has some things to say that other Beatle books don’t. At times, the tone is a little breathless and exploitative but it’s otherwise a good time.
January 16, 2022
Can’t believe they killed one of the main characters at the end.
If anyone can direct me to a book specifically about a stoned, horny Macca running around swinging sixties London please let me know.
If anyone can direct me to a book specifically about a stoned, horny Macca running around swinging sixties London please let me know.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 9, 2017
As I was reading through the five star reviews about this book, I came across one which read "...this is one of the greatest Beatles books ever written nd (sic) fuck you if you don't agree."
Well, I guess that was intended for me because I don't agree. The actual title of the book should have been "And Here, For The First Time" because of the frequency with which that phrase is used. Although it does contain some interesting anecdotes, it's difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff because of the many errors invoked in this book. For example:
1) "Starr Time" was not the point at which Ringo played a drum solo with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. Ringo always eschewed drum solos. He practically had to be forced to play one on "The End" on "Abbey Road." "Starr Time" was actually the point at which Ringo sang a song.
B) Brown recounts the worn out tale from John's childhood when his Father was sailing for New Zealand and allegedly forced John to choose between his Mother, Julia, and him. This story was probably perpetuated by John himself but was debunked in Lewisohn's "Tune In."
3) John's primal screaming "Moooooother," at the end of his song "Mother" from the first Plastic Ono Band album. In reality, he sings "Mama don't go" and, with every verse, screams on the word "go."
Errors such as these drive the Beatlemaniac in me crazy and cause me to be skeptical of the rest of the stories told by Mr. Brown.
However, I still gave it three stars because it's a book about the Beatles and, as they sing in "She Loves You," you know that can't be bad.
Well, I guess that was intended for me because I don't agree. The actual title of the book should have been "And Here, For The First Time" because of the frequency with which that phrase is used. Although it does contain some interesting anecdotes, it's difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff because of the many errors invoked in this book. For example:
1) "Starr Time" was not the point at which Ringo played a drum solo with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. Ringo always eschewed drum solos. He practically had to be forced to play one on "The End" on "Abbey Road." "Starr Time" was actually the point at which Ringo sang a song.
B) Brown recounts the worn out tale from John's childhood when his Father was sailing for New Zealand and allegedly forced John to choose between his Mother, Julia, and him. This story was probably perpetuated by John himself but was debunked in Lewisohn's "Tune In."
3) John's primal screaming "Moooooother," at the end of his song "Mother" from the first Plastic Ono Band album. In reality, he sings "Mama don't go" and, with every verse, screams on the word "go."
Errors such as these drive the Beatlemaniac in me crazy and cause me to be skeptical of the rest of the stories told by Mr. Brown.
However, I still gave it three stars because it's a book about the Beatles and, as they sing in "She Loves You," you know that can't be bad.
March 20, 2015
A good history of the Beatles, but bloody depressing. The lovable moptops were nasty to everyone, including each other, got a dozen girls pregnant, took a lot of drugs, sued everyone and each other, and were generally not "nice". Especially John. Shattered a lot of my preconceptions about the whole "all you need is love" ethos.
There's a lot more here about their business and legal interests than you might want to read, and a lot less about their music.
There's a lot more here about their business and legal interests than you might want to read, and a lot less about their music.
February 6, 2022
Determined to highlight the darkest seediest aspects of the Beatles story, the balance of this book is really uneven.
I finished it feeling like I needed a shower and detox diet.
I’m uncertain how much of the content of this book to trust. The accounts of the ‘Get Back’ period don’t seem to sync very well with what we see in Peter Jackson’s new documentary.
Compelling reading but trashy.
I finished it feeling like I needed a shower and detox diet.
I’m uncertain how much of the content of this book to trust. The accounts of the ‘Get Back’ period don’t seem to sync very well with what we see in Peter Jackson’s new documentary.
Compelling reading but trashy.
January 4, 2026
Read this 30 years ago when I started reading every Beatles book I could get my hands on. Re-read it again just now. A much more complete story than I remembered although one has to question its objectivity.
August 18, 2019
This was more business-oriented rather than music-oriented, which was disappointing. The author is opinionated and judgmental in language rather than objective in writing. It felt more about Brian Epstein than the Beatles themselves. It certainly gets into the dark and dirty aspects of the Beatles and felt more negative than positive. The ending was sudden with no conclusion other than Yoko living with John’s death. Despite the assurance that interviews were had with all Beatles and many that worked with them, it really felt like a secondhand account. Overall, disappointing and unsettling.
February 24, 2018
Ironic that it is called "The Love You Make". Not much love being made by the four lads. Unless gratuitous sex, drugs and financial folly count for love. Yet, I loved the book. These aren't the cute Beatles you fell in love with. This book shows the demons that destroyed them. Highly recommended.
December 17, 2007
This book had less to do with how the music was made as how their business dealings evolved. Precious little of the 400 pages is devoted to the music itself.
November 21, 2009
A gossipy tell-all penned (with help) by former Beatles' insider Peter Brown.
January 8, 2011
I read this in 7th grade and still remember bizarre and inappropriate details I probably didn't need to know in the first place.
August 8, 2019
Did not finish. Thought there would be more insight into the music and songwriting and less about the personal lives of the band.
February 22, 2018
I bought The Love You Make: An Insider's Story of the Beatles by Peter Brown and Steven Gaines in 1983 when I was seventeen and at the height of my Beatlemania craze. I bought anything associated with the Beatles, regardless of merit. If it had the Beatles' name on it, I got it. With so much Beatles stuff on the market in the early eighties, I am amazed that I still managed to put myself through university without incurring any debts. The Love You Make caused a scandal when it came out, not just by its salacious contents but because of who wrote it. Peter Brown, name-dropped in "The Ballad of John and Yoko", was a personal assistant to the Beatles and a member of their inner circle. If anyone had the inside scoop on the Beatles' lives it was Peter Brown. He claimed to have had the authorization from all four of the Beatles to tell their story (having started to write the book in 1979, one year before Lennon's murder), so it made for essential reading.
As readers of my blog or my on-line book reviews already know, I often acquire books and then may take years to read them--sometimes decades. In this particular case, it has taken me thirty-five years to finally read this book. Why didn't I read such a scandalous book when it first came out? I was still in high school and had plenty of time for pleasure reading. I certainly read my share of Beatles books back then. I recall that I took some heat from my circle of Beatles friends for having bought this book. And I didn't buy just one copy--I bought three: the original American hardcover edition; the original UK hardcover edition; and the Canadian paperback. I read the paperback. Did I decide not to read it because my friends would disapprove? Did I not want to know the dirt behind the Beatles' image? I cannot answer now why I didn't read the book back then.
There is no doubt in my mind that any insider's story of the Beatles would turn the tables on their lovable moptop image. No one should believe that the Beatles were as innocent as their reputation portrayed in press releases. Brown must have witnessed drug and sexual escapades that no one--not even friends of the Beatles and least of all the press--would ever have known about. I don't have a problem with the Beatles experimenting with drugs or sleeping around with a harem of women. I listen to their music, not police their sense of character. Yet Brown and Gaines did lay it on pretty thick, where the Beatles--especially John--are portrayed as stumbling around daily in the latter half of the sixties stoned on weed, LSD and heroin.
Brown tries too hard to be scandalous. The constant drug binges would have killed anyone else. The story reads as if Brown needed to create a scandal in order to make it seem interesting. Since I come from reading The Beatles' authorized biography by Hunter Davies only a month ago, the stories are still fresh in my mind and indeed some of them appeared to be lifted word-for-word. Beatles manager Brian Epstein was given a most pathetic portrayal, where he carried an unrequited love for John until his untimely death in 1967. Brown insinuates that the two had a gay affair while vacationing in Spain, but even in 1983 this wasn't news.
In spite of Brown being who he was and all the genuine access to the Beatles that he had, The Love You Make was still overrun with errors, many of which were chronological. Other errors misspelled names. It is normally my style to list every mistake an author makes but I just couldn't be bothered this time. Why should I spend my time documenting the factual errors when what I am reading amounts to trash. I just let the mistakes pass. Two examples of how he or Gaines could have prevented errors would have been simply to listen to the albums they were writing about. The authors confused the contents of John and Yoko's first collaborative effort, Unfinished Music No. 1. Two Virgins with their second, Unfinished Music No. 2: Life with the Lions. They also got the lyrics to John's song "Mother" incorrect. Another mistake that made me roll my eyes was this statement:
"Although it had certain merits, Let It Be was purely a Phil Spector Wall of Sound Production, with his inimitable backdrop of vast choruses and lavish orchestrations. Paul was mortified by the kitschy female voices--the first female voices ever on a Beatles record--any by what Spector had done to one of his prettiest songs, 'The Long and Winding Road,' which Klein had earmarked as the album's first single."
I expect then that neither Brown nor Gaines even listened to the White Album, the popular name for the double album known simply as The Beatles, for there are a number of songs on it which feature women's voices, including "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill", "Birthday" and "Revolution 9".
When Allen Klein entered the scene this was the only time that I felt the book became boring. (Trashy book as it is, I could not put it down.) I found all the talk about taxes, royalties and renegotiated contracts to be confusing as well. The authors sometimes flipflopped between UK pounds and American dollars in the same paragraph.
Brown revealed many stories for the first time, and told us so. Was the UK press such a close-knit circle of conspirators that no one wanted to scoop the others by revealing any of this dirt? I found the authors' convenient and overused excuse that the press miraculously kept some events quiet to be beyond my scope of belief. Who has the press at their beck and call to write or withhold writing articles? Why would the press stifle a story about paternity lawsuits or junkie Beatles scoring acid? Were the Beatles so untouchable that the press--every single columnist who ever covered the group--decided at certain times to leave them alone?
In spite of when Brown claims to have started writing this book (in 1979), I firmly believe that after John Lennon's assassination he and Gaines (the more experienced rock journalist coauthor) focussed on scandal to sell more books. The Beatles were everywhere in the early eighties, and what better way to direct attention your way among the dozens of tell-all books being published or reprinted at that time but to wholly tarnish the Beatles' image. Now that I have read this book, I have to go back in time thirty-five years and ask myself, why did I buy three copies? Do I even want to keep these three on my bookshelves anymore now that I have read it?
As readers of my blog or my on-line book reviews already know, I often acquire books and then may take years to read them--sometimes decades. In this particular case, it has taken me thirty-five years to finally read this book. Why didn't I read such a scandalous book when it first came out? I was still in high school and had plenty of time for pleasure reading. I certainly read my share of Beatles books back then. I recall that I took some heat from my circle of Beatles friends for having bought this book. And I didn't buy just one copy--I bought three: the original American hardcover edition; the original UK hardcover edition; and the Canadian paperback. I read the paperback. Did I decide not to read it because my friends would disapprove? Did I not want to know the dirt behind the Beatles' image? I cannot answer now why I didn't read the book back then.
There is no doubt in my mind that any insider's story of the Beatles would turn the tables on their lovable moptop image. No one should believe that the Beatles were as innocent as their reputation portrayed in press releases. Brown must have witnessed drug and sexual escapades that no one--not even friends of the Beatles and least of all the press--would ever have known about. I don't have a problem with the Beatles experimenting with drugs or sleeping around with a harem of women. I listen to their music, not police their sense of character. Yet Brown and Gaines did lay it on pretty thick, where the Beatles--especially John--are portrayed as stumbling around daily in the latter half of the sixties stoned on weed, LSD and heroin.
Brown tries too hard to be scandalous. The constant drug binges would have killed anyone else. The story reads as if Brown needed to create a scandal in order to make it seem interesting. Since I come from reading The Beatles' authorized biography by Hunter Davies only a month ago, the stories are still fresh in my mind and indeed some of them appeared to be lifted word-for-word. Beatles manager Brian Epstein was given a most pathetic portrayal, where he carried an unrequited love for John until his untimely death in 1967. Brown insinuates that the two had a gay affair while vacationing in Spain, but even in 1983 this wasn't news.
In spite of Brown being who he was and all the genuine access to the Beatles that he had, The Love You Make was still overrun with errors, many of which were chronological. Other errors misspelled names. It is normally my style to list every mistake an author makes but I just couldn't be bothered this time. Why should I spend my time documenting the factual errors when what I am reading amounts to trash. I just let the mistakes pass. Two examples of how he or Gaines could have prevented errors would have been simply to listen to the albums they were writing about. The authors confused the contents of John and Yoko's first collaborative effort, Unfinished Music No. 1. Two Virgins with their second, Unfinished Music No. 2: Life with the Lions. They also got the lyrics to John's song "Mother" incorrect. Another mistake that made me roll my eyes was this statement:
"Although it had certain merits, Let It Be was purely a Phil Spector Wall of Sound Production, with his inimitable backdrop of vast choruses and lavish orchestrations. Paul was mortified by the kitschy female voices--the first female voices ever on a Beatles record--any by what Spector had done to one of his prettiest songs, 'The Long and Winding Road,' which Klein had earmarked as the album's first single."
I expect then that neither Brown nor Gaines even listened to the White Album, the popular name for the double album known simply as The Beatles, for there are a number of songs on it which feature women's voices, including "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill", "Birthday" and "Revolution 9".
When Allen Klein entered the scene this was the only time that I felt the book became boring. (Trashy book as it is, I could not put it down.) I found all the talk about taxes, royalties and renegotiated contracts to be confusing as well. The authors sometimes flipflopped between UK pounds and American dollars in the same paragraph.
Brown revealed many stories for the first time, and told us so. Was the UK press such a close-knit circle of conspirators that no one wanted to scoop the others by revealing any of this dirt? I found the authors' convenient and overused excuse that the press miraculously kept some events quiet to be beyond my scope of belief. Who has the press at their beck and call to write or withhold writing articles? Why would the press stifle a story about paternity lawsuits or junkie Beatles scoring acid? Were the Beatles so untouchable that the press--every single columnist who ever covered the group--decided at certain times to leave them alone?
In spite of when Brown claims to have started writing this book (in 1979), I firmly believe that after John Lennon's assassination he and Gaines (the more experienced rock journalist coauthor) focussed on scandal to sell more books. The Beatles were everywhere in the early eighties, and what better way to direct attention your way among the dozens of tell-all books being published or reprinted at that time but to wholly tarnish the Beatles' image. Now that I have read this book, I have to go back in time thirty-five years and ask myself, why did I buy three copies? Do I even want to keep these three on my bookshelves anymore now that I have read it?
February 8, 2022
Desde pequeña he escuchado canciones de los Beatles porque mi padre es muy fan pero nunca había sabido su historia. Este libro me ha permitido descubrirla sin aburrirme con fechas y hechos listados de manera interminable (quizás hacia el final cuando se centra más en los problemas que llevaron a su disolución sí que se vuelve un poco más denso). En cambio, sigue un hilo narrativo que, además de presentar de manera cronológica sus vivencias, también nos acerca a ellos y nos permite entenderlos como personas. Llegaron a lo más alto y consiguieron cosas sin precedentes en el mundo de la música, sí, pero detrás de estos cuatro chicos bien peinados y con traje había mujeriegos, drogadictos y derrochadores, algunos además crueles (John) o con demasiado ego (Paul). Aun así, no se puede negar su talento y su gran creatividad musical, y es de admirar cómo Brian Epstein se esforzó para que el mundo los conociera. Gracias a todo esto pasaron de tocar en bares pequeños, cochambrosos a hacer historia y llenar estadios.
June 22, 2024
This is the 2nd time I've read this book. First time I was over the moon because of all the tidbits and details. But going through it now, I really had to revise my opinion. There is virtually nothing here about the creation of the music. When you consider that first and foremost, The Beatles were a BAND, one would think there would be a heavy emphasis on their songs. You would be wrong.
Mr. Brown was the Executive Director of NEMS Enterprises, the Beatles' management company. As such, he was extremely well connected to the lads and was in fact John Lennon's best man when he married Yoko. Having said that, this is a gossipy mess. Sordid tales, particularly of Brian Epstein and John, are extensive. There is a lot of focus on the marriages. John & Cynthia's marriage was obviously not a happy one, and you can't but feel sorry for Julian.
But I didn't buy this to hear about Cynthia or Yoko or any of the other people involved with the 4 musicians. I wanted to understand how George came up with the iconic opening chord of "A Hard Day's Night", or why did Paul make them spend 4 solid days taping "Ob La Di, Ob La Da". Not everybody is interested in the musical details, so I sort of understand the focus on the lives of the guys. Still, this is not a happy book, and it actually ends with the death of John.
Not for everyone, but worth reading along with a generous amount of salt.
Mr. Brown was the Executive Director of NEMS Enterprises, the Beatles' management company. As such, he was extremely well connected to the lads and was in fact John Lennon's best man when he married Yoko. Having said that, this is a gossipy mess. Sordid tales, particularly of Brian Epstein and John, are extensive. There is a lot of focus on the marriages. John & Cynthia's marriage was obviously not a happy one, and you can't but feel sorry for Julian.
But I didn't buy this to hear about Cynthia or Yoko or any of the other people involved with the 4 musicians. I wanted to understand how George came up with the iconic opening chord of "A Hard Day's Night", or why did Paul make them spend 4 solid days taping "Ob La Di, Ob La Da". Not everybody is interested in the musical details, so I sort of understand the focus on the lives of the guys. Still, this is not a happy book, and it actually ends with the death of John.
Not for everyone, but worth reading along with a generous amount of salt.
October 22, 2025
Good Beatles books know how to make fun of their faults (both One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time and You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup had a blast at making jokes about Paul's perfectionism and John's naive obsessions), bad Beatles books let you feel that the author has hidden resentment for them. I don't think Peter Brown liked Paul, Linda and Yoko much. But he had a lot to spill "as reported here for the first time". Even if not super factual.
September 13, 2025
"The muck you rake" sagði einhver um þessa bók, og það lýsir henni nokkuð vel. Á köflum skemmtileg og fræðandi innsýn og á öðrum hressandi sleggjudómar, en sumar lýsingar eru því sem næst grimmar svo ég skil vel að eftirlifendum hafi ekki verið skemmt. Bestu innsýnina veitir bókin í fjármálin og rekstur bandsins, þar er Brown líka á heimavelli, en annars staðar er hann mun lélegri, t.d. þegar hann kemur að tónlistinni (gítar og Long and winding road, í alvöru?) eða þegar hann virðist skálda atvikalýsingar að sér sjálfum fjarstöddum. Stefndi samt í fjarka, en svo kom langur kafli í lokinn þar sem hann er að draga saman sögu þeirra fjögurra eftir 1970. Þar er nær ekkert nýtt, og áherslan á Lennon leiðinlega dómínerandi, svo við hendum þessu niður í þrist.
June 27, 2025
*4.5
Love, but I wanted more George and Ringo :(
Love, but I wanted more George and Ringo :(
Read
June 29, 2025Read this a long time ago. Don't really remember it.
December 22, 2024
The third and final of my Beatles 'season' following a trip to Liverpool in September. More graphic in its depiction of the seamier side of events, this book is written by Peter Brown who was closely associated with the Beatles (being a Director of NEMS and Apple and being a personal friend to them all).
It provides a satisfying augmentation to the authorised work of Hunter Davies and the 'in the room' period as Beatlemania took hold as depicted in Michael Braun's work. Ultimately all 3 have left me feeling a little sad that four boys who brought so much pleasure to the world were all left suffering issues with drugs, drink and inner demons, so that they struggled to reach contentment with their lives. There was so much tragedy in their story too...the ultimate being that just at the point that John Lennon finally reached a kind of peace with himself...he was shot dead. Mark Chapman...I hope you continue to rot in prison.
It provides a satisfying augmentation to the authorised work of Hunter Davies and the 'in the room' period as Beatlemania took hold as depicted in Michael Braun's work. Ultimately all 3 have left me feeling a little sad that four boys who brought so much pleasure to the world were all left suffering issues with drugs, drink and inner demons, so that they struggled to reach contentment with their lives. There was so much tragedy in their story too...the ultimate being that just at the point that John Lennon finally reached a kind of peace with himself...he was shot dead. Mark Chapman...I hope you continue to rot in prison.
February 18, 2025
This is an excellent supplemental book to Bob Spitz's Beatles biography. It shares a lot of the nitty gritty many casual Beatles fans are probably unaware of, mostly about John, coinciding with the end/his tragic murder.
Peter Brown was involved with the Beatles' personal lives and business from the beginning until the end and can be viewed as a rather credible primary source, though some views are conflicting with other biographies as well as details that are omitted from other works.
"John confessed how terribly self-conscious he was about his glasses." (10)
"Herberstrasse was like a sexual Disneyland." (44)
"The boys became a walking laboratory of venereal diseases." (44)
"The public health facilities in Hamburg were free and very accommodating, and the boys were cured, stricken, cured, and stricken at an alarming rate." (44)
Brian Epstein's obsession with John is more apparent. "Instead, John lay there, tentative and still, and Brian fulfilled the fantasies he was so sure would bring him contentment, only to awake the next morning as hollow as before." (94)
"The girls were screwed, blewed, and tattooed before Mal and Neil swept them out of the Beatles' suite at dawn." (154)
"For John, Elvis was a god who had achieved indescribable sanctity." (155) Lennon doesn't try and show up "The King" in this version of their meeting and the event is described significantly more cordially. (189)
I'm surprised the discovery of amplifier feedback in the studio isn't mentioned once.
"According to Alistair, Paul had the crabs and needed a pesticide to shampoo with...There was also a sense of urgency to this mission, lest Paul give the tiny parasites to Jane, who would certainly realize he had been unfaithful to her." (220)
There are more details about the Maharishi's sexual advances on female students during the long retreat and Magic Alex does not come across as much as a phony.
The art show where John meets Yoko is pitched to him as an "orgy." (227)
Yoko Ono had tons of abortions.
Lennon crafted long letters to both Cynthia and Yoko. "'I got so excited about her letters,' John said. 'There was nothin' in them that wives or mothers-in-law could've understood, and from India I started thinkin' of her as a woman, not just an intellectual woman.'" (286) He was also a physically abusive husband. "More than a few times John hauled off and gave Yoko a good walloping- just as he had done to Cynthia years before." (362)
The recording of the dying heartbeat of Yoko and John's "baby" being released as part of an album was really disturbing. This book has a lot more details on their dark heroin usage.
The other biography has very little on Linda's first daughter, Heather.
There is only a few paragraphs describing the final rooftop concert.
Paul was always the most keen and successful Beatle, but his drug smuggling with Linda often gets brushed under the rug.
For a band that sang so much about unconditional love, the fanaticism of attraction and dependency is baffling. John Lennon initially brushed off Yoko, but then was addicted to her for years and couldn't exist without her by his side. She effectively split the band up, crushed Cynthia, and then later pushed May Pang out.
Linda stalked Paul and had photos of him in her living quarters, but they were eventually married. Paul even argued to split half the Wings song rights with her despite her lack of musical abilities.
George Harrison also had an affair with Ringo Starr's wife.
Is love still a powerful emotion that can actually help heal past metaphysical wounds or simply a euphemism?
Peter Brown was involved with the Beatles' personal lives and business from the beginning until the end and can be viewed as a rather credible primary source, though some views are conflicting with other biographies as well as details that are omitted from other works.
"John confessed how terribly self-conscious he was about his glasses." (10)
"Herberstrasse was like a sexual Disneyland." (44)
"The boys became a walking laboratory of venereal diseases." (44)
"The public health facilities in Hamburg were free and very accommodating, and the boys were cured, stricken, cured, and stricken at an alarming rate." (44)
Brian Epstein's obsession with John is more apparent. "Instead, John lay there, tentative and still, and Brian fulfilled the fantasies he was so sure would bring him contentment, only to awake the next morning as hollow as before." (94)
"The girls were screwed, blewed, and tattooed before Mal and Neil swept them out of the Beatles' suite at dawn." (154)
"For John, Elvis was a god who had achieved indescribable sanctity." (155) Lennon doesn't try and show up "The King" in this version of their meeting and the event is described significantly more cordially. (189)
I'm surprised the discovery of amplifier feedback in the studio isn't mentioned once.
"According to Alistair, Paul had the crabs and needed a pesticide to shampoo with...There was also a sense of urgency to this mission, lest Paul give the tiny parasites to Jane, who would certainly realize he had been unfaithful to her." (220)
There are more details about the Maharishi's sexual advances on female students during the long retreat and Magic Alex does not come across as much as a phony.
The art show where John meets Yoko is pitched to him as an "orgy." (227)
Yoko Ono had tons of abortions.
Lennon crafted long letters to both Cynthia and Yoko. "'I got so excited about her letters,' John said. 'There was nothin' in them that wives or mothers-in-law could've understood, and from India I started thinkin' of her as a woman, not just an intellectual woman.'" (286) He was also a physically abusive husband. "More than a few times John hauled off and gave Yoko a good walloping- just as he had done to Cynthia years before." (362)
The recording of the dying heartbeat of Yoko and John's "baby" being released as part of an album was really disturbing. This book has a lot more details on their dark heroin usage.
The other biography has very little on Linda's first daughter, Heather.
There is only a few paragraphs describing the final rooftop concert.
Paul was always the most keen and successful Beatle, but his drug smuggling with Linda often gets brushed under the rug.
For a band that sang so much about unconditional love, the fanaticism of attraction and dependency is baffling. John Lennon initially brushed off Yoko, but then was addicted to her for years and couldn't exist without her by his side. She effectively split the band up, crushed Cynthia, and then later pushed May Pang out.
Linda stalked Paul and had photos of him in her living quarters, but they were eventually married. Paul even argued to split half the Wings song rights with her despite her lack of musical abilities.
George Harrison also had an affair with Ringo Starr's wife.
Is love still a powerful emotion that can actually help heal past metaphysical wounds or simply a euphemism?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 12, 2014
The Beatles are my favorite band and I went through a period of obsession with them during my high school years, which had tapered off for a while although I'll always love them. This was the perfect book to return to at age 25 when I hadn't read or thought much about them in several years. What I loved immediately about this book was it's honesty and portrayal of The Beatles as real, flawed people. All too often I had seen them caricatured as the cutesy, loveable mop tops, so it was refreshing to read this book which confirmed many of the rumors that I previously had only heard vague hints of. I think for some people this would destroy the "fantasy" of them but I am in favor of that, although I may be biased because there's probably nothing new I could learn that would make me love The Beatles any less.
The best part of this book, in my opinion, is the anecdotes. Some are hilarious, some are shocking, all of them are interesting to read. I couldn't put the book down--it was like reading a fast paced fiction novel with favorite characters who I already knew and loved. "Truth is stranger than fiction" would apply to many of the events early in The Beatles career, especially during their touring days. Another high point of this book for me was it's focus on Brian Epstein and Cynthia Lennon, so often put on the sidelines in other publications about The Beatles but both incredibly fascinating people who I learned so much about. Of course I had always respected Brian Epstein in an abstract way, but after this book I feel a stronger emotional connection to thinking about what he was like as his own person.
About halfway through the book I could not deny my growing frustration with it's neglect of George, Ringo, and even Paul, which would only grow stronger the more I read. In fact, the author's stark honesty doesn't always cast them in the best light either and I think he could have done more to remedy that or make the book appear less biased. John is definitely treated as the most interesting Beatle in this book, and his faults are often tempered with portrayals of his redeeming qualities, but the author does not extend that courtesy to the other three. And I definitely don't mind reading that much about John, but I thought this book was out of balance--I feel motivated to read the biography of George I have sitting at home now.
My only other complaint about this book is that the lengthy descriptions of legal proceedings and "money issues" can get dry and boring after a while (although initially it's pretty shocking what kind of messes they got into). Other than that, I would recommend this book to any Beatles fan. To revisit one of my old favorite stories as an adult and to learn so much new information made it an incredibly interesting and exciting read.
The best part of this book, in my opinion, is the anecdotes. Some are hilarious, some are shocking, all of them are interesting to read. I couldn't put the book down--it was like reading a fast paced fiction novel with favorite characters who I already knew and loved. "Truth is stranger than fiction" would apply to many of the events early in The Beatles career, especially during their touring days. Another high point of this book for me was it's focus on Brian Epstein and Cynthia Lennon, so often put on the sidelines in other publications about The Beatles but both incredibly fascinating people who I learned so much about. Of course I had always respected Brian Epstein in an abstract way, but after this book I feel a stronger emotional connection to thinking about what he was like as his own person.
About halfway through the book I could not deny my growing frustration with it's neglect of George, Ringo, and even Paul, which would only grow stronger the more I read. In fact, the author's stark honesty doesn't always cast them in the best light either and I think he could have done more to remedy that or make the book appear less biased. John is definitely treated as the most interesting Beatle in this book, and his faults are often tempered with portrayals of his redeeming qualities, but the author does not extend that courtesy to the other three. And I definitely don't mind reading that much about John, but I thought this book was out of balance--I feel motivated to read the biography of George I have sitting at home now.
My only other complaint about this book is that the lengthy descriptions of legal proceedings and "money issues" can get dry and boring after a while (although initially it's pretty shocking what kind of messes they got into). Other than that, I would recommend this book to any Beatles fan. To revisit one of my old favorite stories as an adult and to learn so much new information made it an incredibly interesting and exciting read.
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July 1, 20252.5 stars - I won't give it two stars as it had enough material I found interesting that it was a mildly worthwhile read, but three is a stretch.
The bad: This book isn't especially well-written, and is rife with typos and spelling errors (at least in the Kindle edition). For instance, it goes back and forth between "Cilla" and "Cilia" from one sentence to another when referring to singer Cilla Black, whom he mentions frequently. At one point it had "Waharishi" for "Maharishi," and at another it had "Hamaiian" instead of "Hawaiian." This kind of error popped up many times, and was just silly to have in an ebook that could've easily been spellchecked. It was first printed in 1983, but once you "reprinted" it as an ebook years later, surely modern software could've fixed any errors missed in the original. Many times, it used the letter "S" instead of a dollar sign, as in "S2 million" instead of "$2 million." Just as bad, the author had a habit of repeatedly noting that a story was "revealed here for the first time" about some small, uninteresting tidbit that hadn't been in the press before.
The good: It was interesting enough that I read the entire book. It's from the view of someone who worked with the Beatles for many years, from the early days, so it goes more into business aspects than I cared to read about. It managed to toss in a few tidbits about their personal lives and relationships, however, which is more where my interest lies. I'm especially interested in how Paul and Linda ended up together, and the same for John and Yoko - neither woman seemed likely to catch the attention of two of the biggest superstars in the world, and yet they did - and both men seemed to have picked a wife who was actually a good match for them, which can't be an easy task when women are falling at your feet everywhere you go. The author did give a tiny bit more insight into how this all came to be - not as much as I would've liked, but I discovered a few things I hadn't heard before.
All in all, I learned enough of interest to make it worthwhile for the few bucks I paid for the book on sale.
The bad: This book isn't especially well-written, and is rife with typos and spelling errors (at least in the Kindle edition). For instance, it goes back and forth between "Cilla" and "Cilia" from one sentence to another when referring to singer Cilla Black, whom he mentions frequently. At one point it had "Waharishi" for "Maharishi," and at another it had "Hamaiian" instead of "Hawaiian." This kind of error popped up many times, and was just silly to have in an ebook that could've easily been spellchecked. It was first printed in 1983, but once you "reprinted" it as an ebook years later, surely modern software could've fixed any errors missed in the original. Many times, it used the letter "S" instead of a dollar sign, as in "S2 million" instead of "$2 million." Just as bad, the author had a habit of repeatedly noting that a story was "revealed here for the first time" about some small, uninteresting tidbit that hadn't been in the press before.
The good: It was interesting enough that I read the entire book. It's from the view of someone who worked with the Beatles for many years, from the early days, so it goes more into business aspects than I cared to read about. It managed to toss in a few tidbits about their personal lives and relationships, however, which is more where my interest lies. I'm especially interested in how Paul and Linda ended up together, and the same for John and Yoko - neither woman seemed likely to catch the attention of two of the biggest superstars in the world, and yet they did - and both men seemed to have picked a wife who was actually a good match for them, which can't be an easy task when women are falling at your feet everywhere you go. The author did give a tiny bit more insight into how this all came to be - not as much as I would've liked, but I discovered a few things I hadn't heard before.
All in all, I learned enough of interest to make it worthwhile for the few bucks I paid for the book on sale.
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