The Walrus Was Ringo: 101 Beatles Myths Debunked

Rating:
Summary: Living on the Beatles coat-tails???
Review: Alan Clayson (author of many music related books - including biographies on John, Paul, George and Ringo) and Spencer Leigh (also an established author, e.g. "Drummed Out - The Sacking Of Pete Best") have gotten together to once and for always put paid to the many, many misconceptions that exist around The Beatles. Misconceptions which seem to crop up in almost any new tome about the Fab Four, as there would seem to be very much copying and very little proper research going on.
As the title indicates, there are 101 topics in this book, each in a separate chapter for easy reference. A lot of the topics described here are of course already known to avid Beatle collectors, but there might well be a few things in this book that might surprise you. For instance, I didn't know that "Love Me Do" was not the first Beatle lyric ever to appear on an official record. It turns out that Johnny Gentle recorded a song called "I've Just Fallen For Someone" under the name of Darren Young. This song features a middle eight by John Lennon and was recorded and released (July 1962) prior to "Love Me Do" which was released a few weeks later!
And for any would be author of a new book on John or indeed all four: This book once again proves that John was NOT born during a luftwaffe bombing raid! Many, many books claim that he was (some even claiming that the raid was particularly fierce on Wednesday morning 06:30 on October 6, 1940) but the Liverpool Echo for that week confirms that there wasn't a single German aeroplane over the city for that night or even the following night!. Let's hope we won't encounter that mistake again in any new books about The Beatles.
So, all in all a very pleasant book to pick up every now and again to check on certain topics and certainly a must buy for anyone planning to write anything at all on the Fab Four!

Rating:
Summary: Trivial trivia
Review: Few would argue that the Beatles are the most well-documented and critiqued act in entertainment. Admist a vast sea of literature, there are bound to be books that don't necessarily give those who are casually interested in the Beatles or those who are avid fans the best and most interesting source of information. This book is one of those examples. To the casual fan, the book will mean nothing since it does not serve as an introduction to the group's history. More notably, to the more serious fan, the book presents nothing new -- these "myths" have been known and understood for years. For example, it's safe to say that a handful of them stemmed from Philip Norman's "Shout" and Nicholas Schaffner's "The Beatles Forever" - two far more superior books, but not without their flaws and questionable interpretations. If you are an avid fan or a more serious Beatle "scholar", you may want to skim through this book as I did and see the humor in it. Then, toss it in the pile of other trivial Beatle books to recycle. If you are a casual fan and want more of an introduction to the greatest rock act of all time (including all the "mythology"), you are better off investing your hard-earned money elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't Put It Down
Review: I stayed up all night reading this book. Spencer bravely shoots down myths like the Cunard Yanks and others. There are so many Beatles books to sift through, at least this has a different angle besides "stories behind the songs" or "another Hamburg tale" or even a book about their various drum kits. I think you'll enjoy it if you're tired of the same stories rehashed over and over again. Spencer has a very popular radio show on Merseyside and is a leading historian.

Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your money on this one...
Review: I was beyond disappionted with this book. The "myths" the title refers to are nothing but trivia, and many are "trivial" Beatles trivia at best. There are absolutely no revelations or new facts here. It is also full of errors and inaccuracies. The authors approach this book with arrogance, condescension, and a lot of snideness. I'm very sorry I threw away almost $20 on this.

Rating:
Summary: Another Beatle Rip Off Book
Review: Most of the other reviews have said it well, this book is a total waste of time and I wouldn't have told my wife to get this for me for x-mas had I seen who the "authors" were (I was basing my want for the book based on the title which sounded like it could have been very cool) Most of the "myths" aren't, has some very bad, inacurate and distorted facts, poor writing, I could go on and on---I think the only reason I even finished it (mostly when taking a crap) is for the laughs I got on how stupid and ludicrous it was---If I could give this a negative star I would, in fact it pisses me off that I have to give this 1 star ---don't buy any Beatle book by these "authors" they all stink.

Rating:
Summary: Another Beatle Rip Off Book
Review: Most of the other reviews have said it well, this book is a total waste of time and I wouldn't have told my wife to get this for me for x-mas had I seen who the "authors" were (I was basing my want for the book based on the title which sounded like it could have been very cool) Most of the "myths" aren't, has some very bad, inacurate and distorted facts, poor writing, I could go on and on---I think the only reason I even finished it (mostly when taking a crap) is for the laughs I got on how stupid and ludicrous it was---If I could give this a negative star I would, in fact it pisses me off that I have to give this 1 star ---don't buy any Beatle book by these "authors" they all stink.

Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your money on this one...
Review: The dictionary defines myth as "a traditional or legendary story". Most of the "myths" in this book are nothing but trivia; hardly legendary. For example, was the recording of the Beatles at Hamburg's Star Club in 1962 unauthorized? Some may believe that to be true, but you could hardly call that a belief of mythical proportions. I got the impression that many of these 101 items are simply obscure facts with the truth inverted and then debunked as myth. More disturbing, however, is the authors' putting forth their own questionable theories as myth-breaking fact. Despite assertions by John Lennon, Ringo Starr, George Martin and Julian Lennon that "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" was inspired by a drawing by young Julian and was not secret code for LSD, Clayson/Leigh cook up a conspiracy between Lennon and Jimi Hendrix to write code named songs. Hendrix did indeed write "The Stars That Played with Laughing Sam's Dice" with STP and LSD in mind and I don't doubt that Hendrix or his manager knew Lennon, but that's hardly a basis for a conspiracy theory. Similarly, their theorizing on John's "bigger than Jesus" comment is appalling.

There are many good books on the Beatles. Get one on those. If you've already got those, you don't need this one.