- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Jawbone; illustrated edition edition (1 Jun 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1906002096
- ISBN-13: 978-1906002091
- Product Dimensions: 21.4 x 14.6 x 2.7 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 426,913 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Beatles for Sale: How Everything They Touched Turned To Gold
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
"Beatles For Sale" is a brand new way of looking at a story you may think you know inside out. Author John Blaney shows for the first time how the group and their inner circle invented so much of what we now recognise as the modern business of making and selling rock music. This was certainly not because Lennon, McCartney, Epstein, and the rest had a clear vision of the way things ought to be. Very often it was simply down to making things up as they went along - because no one had been there before and no one knew how to do these things. This book details the ups and downs of the group as they promoted, advertised, and sold records, played concerts, sold merchandise, made films, and set up publishing and record companies of their own. It is a story of naivety and greed, inexperience and luck, gullibility and ingenuity. It is the story of every aspect of how The Beatles made money - and how virtually every group since then has followed in their footsteps.
About the Author
John Blaney is the author of Jawbone's Lennon And McCartney - Together Alone: A Critical Discography Of Their Solo Work. He is a passionate Beatles fan who brings to his writing the expertise and rigour of a professional historian.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
`Beatles For Sale' might tell a familiar story, but it's a story worth re-telling, and as far as I know this is the first time anyone's brought all the threads of their chaotic business dealings together to do it. Blaney looks at the Fabs from a perspective few have explored before. This isn't a typical Beatles book. It's not about the music. It's not about their recordings. It's not about the group and their rise to fame. It's about something few of us consider when buying Beatles product; it's about The Beatles as a business. Blaney tells the story from pre-fame Liverpool to the present day troubles with Apple Computers, and sheds new light on an often told story. The book's a little light on analysis, but do you really want to wade through page after page of dense business analysis? Unless you're an account or lawyer, chances are the answer is, no. While the book isn't an exact chronology of The Beatles business dealings, (how boring would that be?), Blaney does a pretty good job of unraveling their complex miasma of business deals. I've been a fan of The Beatles for 30 years and I discovered something new in almost every chapter. (Did you know The Beatles were sold as the new Temperance Seven by British music journalists? I didn't. Or how much they were paid for their BBC sessions? While it might not be exhaustive, I found it informative, well written and a real page turner. There is something here for Beatles anoraks and those with only a passing interest. Not perfect perhaps, but worth adding to your library.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If we didn't know it before, we now are privy to every business blunder and nakedly greedy decision Brian Epstein and other handlers made at the expense of the Beatles, portrayed here as poor naifs ripe for exploitation. Unfortunately, like most young talents, they were. But Blaney spends a lot of time excoriating Epstein for being too money-hungry or too inexperienced, while somewhat shortchanging his role as the Neil Armstrong of rock and roll, going where almost no man had gone before. Some of his decisions were short-sighted, uninformed or selfish. That seems to be the case with almost everyone who had any control over the band, except George Martin. But clearly, Epstein had enough genius to earn them international stardom and success, even if he didn't fill their bank accounts fast enough. The book's message is mainly that the Beatles could have been far richer far sooner. But who among them would be able to say they didn't come out all right, financially at least, in the end?
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Well presented book but unforgivable mistakes, transparent to even the most casual Beatles reader - for instance, Tommy Moore on drums for the Billy Fury audition and one the reasons for their failing...really!!! Beatles for Sale: How Everything They Touched Turned to Gold
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Don't fall for the blurb...
This book doesn't in any way reflect "the expertise and rigour of a professional historian." The publishers (Jawbone) should know that. Read more
Published on 7 Jun 2008 by Wayne Arleigh
Beatles still making money
This book is about how The Beatles were conned out of hundreds of millions of pounds by the greed and incompetence of the people around them who managed their affairs. Read more
Published on 5 Jun 2008 by Brother John
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