Customer Reviews

Before They Were Beatles: The Early Years: 1956-1960

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
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Before they were Beatles is a wonderful exploration of the early (Primarily Teen) years of the Fab Four and those that encountered them. Mr. Porter's dedication to gathering accurate facts is obvious throughout the book.
Rather being a boring "History" book however, the reader is drawn into the lives of the young men as they strive to hone their craft. Interspersed Quotes allow the reader to "Be There" as it's happening essentially participating in the events.

The "Where are they now" section is particularly enjoyable.

This is ultimately a must have for any Beatles fan or student of music and popular culture.

Before They Were Beatles: The Early Years: 1956-1960 by Alan Porter is an amazing chronological exploration of the way the "Fab Four" formed. Porter's extensive love and dedication to conveying the lives of the Beatles before they were, in fact, Beatles is enthralling and fascinating. England native, Porter, instantly draws his readers into the history, geography, and background of Paul, John, Ringo, and George in a way that is unobtrusive yet engaging. Each year has been extensively researched and documents they unique way the boys came together to form the world-wide phenomenon they became. Porter is thoughtful, thorough, and thrilling in his expose of the lives of the rising stars. It is a book that appeals to many and would be a much welcomed additioned to any library.

I didn't want it to end! As a Beatle fan for over 40 years, I really enjoyed this book. It was full of names and dates and stories about the Beatles in the very early days. The problem with the book is...I wanted more! I wanted to have the inside story about Beatlemania and beyond! But the book did exactly what it said it would do, and I enjoyed every page.

Note: I listened to the book on my car stereo through the Kindle app that lets you hear the words--the presentation was very robotic and full of distracting numbers that made no sense. It passed my 4-hour journey quickly, but it gave me a headache. Good reading, though.

As a life long Beatles fan, I've bought dozens of Beatles books and thought I'd read it all. But this book really does provide a lot of information I'd never be aware of. This book focuses on the earliest days of The Beatles musical careers, from the forming of the Quarrymen to the trip to Hamburg. It explores a time and people that are merely footnotes in the other books. I found it fascinating and very well written. I felt like I was right there with them as they were broke and struggling. Who helped them get their first gigs, where and how did they get their instruments, what happened to all the people that joined and left the band on the way to the top of the world? Lots of great anecdotes here. I loved this book and it's now one of my favorite Beatles books.

If you are a diehard Beatles fan, then this book is a good buy. There were some nice little nuggets of info in there that I hadn't heard before. There's more info on John than on the others, so John fans will be particularly happy.

However - was this book ever proof read? The number of typos, misspellings and grammatical errors is appalling! A few examples: Rev Pyrce-Jones (of Woolton Church), should be 'Pryce'; "...becoming a nescient rock group" should be "nascent"; Groverner Ballroom in Wallasey is actually 'Grosvenor'.

If you are a true, eternal Beatlemaniac like I happen to be, I'm assuming you own or have read the excellent book titled "The Beatles" by the respected journalist, Hunter Davies. I'm also assuming your opinion of that book is good, but tell me if I'm wrong. This book is equally as much fun as I personally found Davies' book to be. The key difference being, that this one focuses entirely on the pre-Beatle musical history of the four boys. Though the Beatles are the main characters, they are not always together through the course of this book. Various other musicians are also, given the rightful place they deserve in the story. The book is packed full of interesting facts about that time period and it also, has loads of quotations from people connected to the Beatles and for once, thank you it uses quote marks! I am infinitely recommending this book as well as Davies' book. They are both absolutely needed by ANY Beatlemaniac!

Very well researched and at times fascinating insight into the Beatles formative years. Sheds light on the personalities of the other Quarry Men and their influences.

Big criticism is that it reads like a first draft - lots of horrible grammar, incomplete sentences, missing words, etc.

This is an excellent book that covers the Beatles during their pre-Fab period, even their pre-Ringo, who would join the Beatles in 1962 period. Alan Porter's book chronicles the lives of the young men who would later become the Beatles in rich detail. The book covers the years 1956-1960, from the time George, John and Paul took up guitar prior to their famous meeting at the Church fete in 1957. Porter takes readers on a Magical Mystery Tour with the pre-Beatles as boys, during their puberty which was heralded by the advent of rock and roll. Readers get to travel the England of the Beatles and English landmarks are described as part of the boys' heritage and history. The time fram is meticulously researched as are the lives of the Fab Four and the pre-Fabs (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stu Sutcliff and Pete Best) and even Ringo Starr, who came to the party later on. Beatle fans will love this book and those just coming into the Beatles will find this to be an excellent history book about the World's Greatest Band!