The Ray Connolly Beatles Archive

The Ray Connolly Beatles Archive

Most books about the Beatles are by writers who never met them. Ray Connolly was lucky. He was a journalist and he knew all of them, John Lennon confiding in him that heâ‚¬d left the Beatles four months before it became public knowledge; and later Paul McCartney asking him for an interview so that he could explain his side of the break-up.

Before that, Connolly went to Beatlesâ‚¬ recording sessions at the Abbey Road studios, knew the Beatles' wives, visited the homes of three of them, and was a frequent visitor to the Beatles' Apple London base. In the front row at George Harrisonâ‚¬s Concert for Bangladesh in Madison Square Gardens, he also followed the Magical Mystery Tour around Englandâ‚¬s West Country, and when John Lennon decided to send his MBE back to the Queen it was Ray Connolly he phoned to break the news.

Later, when John Lennon lived in New York, there would be letters from him, while Ringo had the second lead in the movie Thatâ‚¬ll Be The Day which Ray Connolly wrote.

This isnâ‚¬t a biography of the Beatles. Nor is it a dissertation on their music or an analysis of their lyrics. It is Ray Connolly's story of the Beatles, a selection of some of his many interviews with them and others connected with them, as well as articles, reviews, news stories and reflections that he's published over the past forty five years in various British national newspapers â‚¬â€œ as well as several pieces being published here for the first time.

Home, culture and Lady Madonna - Paul;
Ringo back from meditating - â‚¬ËœIt was just like Butlinsâ‚¬;
The Magical Mystery Tour - â‚¬ËœMaybe we goofed,â‚¬ says Paul;
â‚¬ËœSometimes I go to Johnâ‚¬s house and play with his toys and sometimes he comes and plays with mineâ‚¬- Ringo;
The Apple boutiqueâ‚¬Â¦from take-away to give-away;
The enigmatic Yoko;
Paul talking about the White Album;
Great and turbulent times at Apple;
â‚¬ËœIf George leaves, he leavesâ‚¬Â¦â‚¬ said John, during the unhappy filming of Let It Be;
On the roof - the last gig;
Paul marries Linda and John marries Yoko;
The Ballad of John and Yoko;
There are various ways of doing businessâ‚¬Â¦and thereâ‚¬s Allen Kleinâ‚¬s way.
Elvis, Dylan, John Lennon and me;
Paul talks about the Abbey Road album;
â‚¬ËœPaul is deadâ‚¬ and Johnâ‚¬s MBE goes back to the Queen;
â‚¬ËœIâ‚¬ve left the Beatlesâ‚¬Â¦â‚¬ said John;
A weekend in Canada with the Lennons;
â‚¬ËœYouâ‚¬re the journalist, not meâ‚¬Â¦â‚¬ said John;
Paul on â‚¬ËœWhy the Beatles broke upâ‚¬;
John and 'the Ignoble Alf';
John talking about his songs;
Johnâ‚¬Â¦â‚¬Ëœperforming fleaâ‚¬ or â‚¬Ëœcrutch for the worldâ‚¬s social lepersâ‚¬?;
George and the Concert for Bangladesh;
'Imagine thatâ‚¬s the B-side', said John;
John and Yokoâ‚¬s early days in New York;
Michael X and John;
'No more four gods on stageâ‚¬, says John;
Ringo in the movie Thatâ‚¬ll Be The Day;
Paul on how he turned down Johnâ‚¬s invitation for them to play together again;
John's Lost Weekend;
Paul and his favourite songs;
Paul â‚¬â€œ the Japanese Jailbird;
Unimaginable - December, 1980;
Mark Chapman and what turns a fan into a killer;
The story of Working Class Heroâ‚¬- the Beatles movie that never was;
Twenty years after Sergeant Pepper - hit and myth?
Paul talks about the Beatles Anthology;
Linda McCartney 1941-1998;
The story of Paul and Linda;
â‚¬ËœThatâ‚¬s the youngest tramp Iâ‚¬ve ever seen,â‚¬ when George first went to the Cavern;
Paul back at the Cavern;
George is stabbed;
John, the FBI and MI5;
Hospitals, gangs, drums and Ringo;
Has Yoko whitewashed Johnâ‚¬s image?
George the reluctant Beatle 1943-2001;
Paul in Las Vegas;
Liverpool Dr Winston O'Boogie Airport;
Mal Evans - the gentle giant;
â‚¬ËœThat was so cruel, inhumanâ‚¬ - Cynthia Lennon;
Pete Bestâ‚¬Â¦the man with a knife in his back;
My lost Beatle interviews;
A degree in Beatleology;
â‚¬ËœSave Abbey Roadâ‚¬;
Lennon the Unfunny - never;
Produced by George Martin.

Country	USA
Author	Ray Connolly
Binding	Kindle Edition
Edition	1
EISBN	9780956591524
Format	Kindle eBook
IsAdultProduct
Label	Plumray Books
Manufacturer	Plumray Books
NumberOfPages	336
PublicationDate	2011-05-22
Publisher	Plumray Books
ReleaseDate	2011-05-22
Studio	Plumray Books