The Beatles: BBC Archives | Page 2 | Fab Forum | The Beatles Bible

My Mum, given to getting me all sorts of rubbish for Christmas because she doesn’t know what I want, actually had the sense to ask me this year, so I ordered this from Amazon and she gave me the dosh (£20, I gave the money to the missus who looks after our money, then it came down to £13.60 so 1) I’m out £6.40 and 2) I still got a bollocking for spending and not telling her. However, our domestic tomfoolery is hardly part of a sensible book review).

For reasons I don’t fully understand (I say “fully”, I don’t understand them at all), the book was always listed on Amazon with a May 2015 delivery date despite being published in 2013 – an anomaly is that the 2nd BBC album is mentioned in the introduction, but not in the appendices. Anyway, here it is.

I have Howlett’s earlier BBC book, a paperback which was a useful reference work, but with an irritating emphasis on the acts who originally recorded the non-Beatles songs which were covered in BBC recordings. It appears clear that, for this new volume, Howlett has well and truly trawled the BBC archives, both audio and paper.

The new book is a large format hardback. Of necessity it covers the same ground as the previous book in terms of what songs were recorded for which programmes, but it includes a great deal of other material. The commentary which places the BBC work in context (both historical and as regards The Beatles progress) is very welcome, and there are a lot of transcribed interviews. These are excellent reading once you get past the frivolous inconsequentiality of 1963/64. There are lots of pictures, too, from copy BBC memos to photographs many of which were new to me. The book is beautifully presented and, at £13.60, excellent value.