Current reading: Tune In by Mark Lewisohn, which is the first volume of his trilogy The Beatles: All These Years.
Clocking in at a lazy 946 pages (to be fair, that includes 102 pages of notes, credits and index), this covers The Beatles from birth (actually quite a lot of family history) to December 1962.
This came out in 2013 after 10 years’ research. Volume Two might be out in about 2023 and then there’s a third book yet to come.
I picked it up for a quick browse and was hooked. It’s actually really well written and cleverly structured. The first section is four separate stories that gradually overlap and combine in a very appealing way.
I’m sure it helps that I’m familiar not only with The Beatles’ work but also 90% of the music that influenced them individually and collectively. It seems pretty honest – teenaged John Lennon is not a nice person – and I’m certainly finding it immensely entertaining.
I’ve just finished the section covering 1959, which ended with the memorable line, “And when they all woke up the next day, it was the Sixties.”
This’ll keep me occupied for a bit.
And if I get antsy before Volume Two comes out, there’s always the Extended Special Edition of Volume One that runs to 1700 pages!