Publishers Weekly
04/01/2024
Forty years after The Love You Make, Brown, former COO of Apple Corps, the Beatles’ media corporation, and journalist Gaines reunite for a revealing oral history of the forces that spurred the band’s breakup, which was first announced in 1970. Drawing from a trove of never before published conversations with each band member, except for John Lennon, and their intimates, the account touches on shifty characters within the group’s orbit, including “Magic” Alexis Mardas, who almost talked the Beatles into buying four Greek islands; Lennon’s descent into heroin addiction; and the fraying friendship between Paul McCartney and Lennon as the two fought over shares in the Beatles’ business ventures. There are also plenty of tender moments, including Yoko Ono’s musings on the genesis of her relationship with Lennon while he was still married to his first wife, Cynthia; their love was “bigger than both of us,” Ono claims. Taken together, the interview transcripts reveal that “the time had come” for the band’s split: “Realistically, how long could they go on being a Beatle and feel creatively satisfied?” Brown and Gaines write. Nearly all the interviews were conducted in the two months before Lennon’s 1980 murder, casting a melancholy shadow over his estrangement from McCartney, who seemed to have been softening toward his former bandmate (“I still do feel for the guy.... I still see that he thinks he’s the one who was hurt”). Beatles fans will be impatient to get their hands on this. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
Praise for All You Need Is Love:
"I can think of no one better placed to tell the story behind the Beatles than Peter Brown" —Pattie Boyd
"Brown and Gaines’s new book... goes even deeper into Beatle lore than their first." —The New York Times
"Insider oral history... Recalled with the split still reverberating, unresolved grievances are aired and scores settled, but recrimination is tempered with perspective." —Mojo
"a valuable, historical, and utterly enlightening collection of chats about the chaps from Liverpool. The book could be twice as long and still enthrall and enlighten." —Houston Press
"For those interested in the interplay of personalities and the ambience of the Beatles era, this is a treasure trove. A rich collection of Beatles material, reported by those closest to the band during its heyday." —Kirkus Reviews
"[A] revealing oral history of the forces that spurred the band’s breakup...drawing from a trove of never before published conversations with each band member, except for John Lennon, and their intimates...Taken together, the interview transcripts reveal that “the time had come” for the band’s split...Beatles fans will be impatient to get their hands on this." —Publishers Weekly
"Want to know why the Beatles broke up? Reveal[s] previously unknown details about the band’s story, including that devastating breakup. Brown is himself a long-time Beatles insider, having known the Fab Four since their early days as a band; he was best man when Lennon and Oko married in 1969. Steven Gaines is a journalist and author. For the new book, the pair have mined archival interviews with members of The Beatles, as well as with the women who were among their inner circle, including Yoko Ono, Cynthia Lennon, Pattie Harrison Clapton and Maureen Starkey." —From the People Magazine Announcement
Praise and reviews for The Love You Make:
"Finally the real story.” —Rolling Stone
“Literate, complex…more than sensationalism…a hard-hitting yet sympathetic book that unflinchingly captures the highs and lows.” —The Boston Globe
“The best backstage memoir yet of the most amazing musical phenomenon of our times.” —The Washington Post Book World
“The definitive book on the Beatles.” —New York Post
“A gothic tale of drugs, sex, music, greed, booze, and genius…an entire generation’s loss of innocence.” —People
“Fascinating.” —The Indianapolis Star
“The most sensational Beatles biography…emotionally involving.” —Esquire
“The definitive book on the world’s greatest rock group…tells the truth with surprisingly little varnish.” —Chicago Tribune
“A dramatically good story....Peter Brown catches us with the headiness of it all.” —Publishers Weekly
